With fresh eyes.

by TheRealEdwin on 17/05/09 at 11:32 pm

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I’ve been living in South Florida since 1987. A time honored tradition of living near Orlando is going to the theme parks as often as possible for as cheap as possible. I remember in the 1990′s my parents would combine their AAA, IATA, and Florida residence discount to get our family into most of the parks. So while I am sure I enjoyed myself in the theme parks I can’t really say for sure. It probably had to do with all the small things that can ruin an otherwise fine vacation, but does anyone really enjoy vacationing with the immediate family? So when my significant other mentioned to me she hasn’t been to Epcot or most of the other Disney/Universal theme parks in over twenty years, the gears started turning and the light bulb went on.

I did a born-again virgin theme park thing. I mean Christians can bullshit it why can’t I? So one long weekend we made our trek up north and on a breezy, dare I say, perfect weekend we both headed to Epcot and NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center for the first time. Again.

Whenever my parents would take our family to Disney, we would usually get any cheap motel we could. That all changed in 1994 when the All-Star Music and Sports resorts opened up. Value priced hotels on property was akin to winning the lottery. All the amenities of an in park resort at a dirt cheap price. Could you ever imagine before then getting a room for two adults and two kids for $45 a night on property? So we tried to get one but it was such short notice we had to resort to Hotels.com, and they came through on a very nice place only three miles outside the Epcot theme park. It was a really nice apartment and much less of a hotel room. For $69 a night at Westgate Vacation Village we had a hot tub and shower combo, queen bed, living room with desk, full kitchen, and a awesome view over the pool and lake. The service was excellent, the rooms were clean, and the location could not have been better unless we stayed in the park itself. If you want to go to the Orlando area on a budget, but all of the All Star Resort are full, Westgate is a nice alternative.

Immediately walking into Epcot some sense of awe overcame me. Things I’ve never noticed or seen before hit me and I am just left there with my mouth slightly open. I know this won’t be the case, the second and consecutive times since it’ll be an old hat. But for the moment it was a wonderful feeling of discovery. So many new sights! So many new things to experience. I truly was a kid again. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center was the same way. Lots of new things to see and experience but with such deep history. The tales of men and women struggling against all odds to create a way and a place for beings not meant to be in space. Even after almost two months I am still trying to get a grasp of it all.

While at Epcot we stopped by at Morocco for lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh. I’ve never had Moroccan food before but I have had parts of it. Couscous, lamb curry, etc. Here is one area Disney deserves props in, it’s the food and restaurants. I skipped appetizer but my SO got the Chef’s pre-fixed lunch menu ($20), Seasoned Beef Rolls Appetizer (Served with tomato and cucumber salad), Chicken Kebabs, and Baklava dessert. I had the cousous with lamb shank (rolled semolina steamed & served with seasonal vegetables) accompanied with a mint tea. Extremely satisfying! I finished off desert with Bastilla ($6.95, Crispy leaves of pastry topped with vanilla cream and sprinkled with toasted almonds. The nice thing about this restaurant is that they have a cook book for all their dishes for sale as a souvenir. The perfect gift for a culinary person.

Later that night I had some of the best food I’ve had in my life. During the day we grabbed a park dining guide to plan out dinner. I also have never eaten at a French restaurant before. We grabbed reservations for Bistro de Paris. We started with the Escargot and Mushroom Cassolette ($14, Parsley butter, frog leg fritters, and watercress veloute). While shmoozing with our waiter about what else to order the chef surprised us with a truly wonderful Amuse-bouche that was not on the menu. I’ve never had such excellent service in my life anywhere. I guess it really does pay to have a significant other in the culinary business. For our main course I had the Duck Breast ($34, Polenta galette with raisin, artichoke, and sun choke “purse”, with verjus sauce. My SO had a equally yummy looking Sea Scallops ($32, Grilled with smoked salt, green peas flan, and sauteed salsify, champagne beurre blanc). We finished things off with a vanilla creme brulee when something truly special happened. The restaurant closed so there was just us and two other tables. We were sitting on the corner of the building right at the window and the firework show starts. A truly wonderful and magical evening to finish off a really fun day. It couldn’t have been planned better. Then the bill came. $164! My god. That had to have been the highest restaurant bill I’ve ever had in my whole life. I don’t even spend that much at the grocery store in a month!

But I learned an important lesson about life, food, and money. I constantly stress about being financially safe and secure. This time I learned to relax and just enjoy myself. Eating this one meal taught me to not treat eating as a utility to continue living but as entertainment. Slow, deliberate, and absorbing everything from the taste to the conversation. We discussed what we were eating and the various aspects of it. Not only was it the best tasting meal of my life so far, it was the most enjoyable from every angle. Not only do I highly recommend this restaurant, but I implore you to eat differently than you normally do. Discuss what you taste. Describe what you feel. Enjoy the conversation.