Downtown Disney

O.K., Okay, Ok… I know it is now Disney Springs. And what a cool spot it still is.

We started the day looking for some citrus. 🍊 Most interesting is the knockoff Key West buoy out front.
Fries 🍟 and chicken 🐓 tenders from Everglazed Donuts. 🍩 💥

The chicken tenders and donut 🍩 from Everglazed were both fantastic. You should have seen the donut with whipped cream and sprinkles we helped Lawson eat.

Sharing a Guinness with Andrew and Lawyer outside of Ragland Road on St. Patrick’s Day ☘️! Erin go bragh.

Cool 😎 spot with Irish 🇮🇪 music at Disney Springs.

Andrew taunting a sand hill crane.
Lawson and Andi checking out the crane outside our back patio.
Lawson, Kenlee and Dubs at Twistee Treat.

After Disney Springs we grilled dogs and sausages at the condo and went for ice cream 🍨. Just gearing up for Epcot tomorrow.

Chef Mickey’s

The Contemporary Resort

Spring Break with the grandkids means a third set of children going to Chef Mickey’s. First, Rae and Lawyer, then Sophie and Liam. Today, Lawson and Kenlee. What a wonderful tradition to share across three generations!

Lawson, Pluto and Kenlee.
Pog Juice. Pomegranate and orange juice combo. Cheese 🧀 omelette, shrimp and grits, fritada.

Whoa! Let me tell you about the shrimp 🍤 and cheesy grits. Creamy and delicious pretty much sums it up. My favorite dish on the buffet!

Beignet with whipped cream and a Mickey Mouse 🧇 waffle.

The beignet and shrimp and grits was like being in New Orleans! and the Mickey waffle 🧇 was large and in charge!

Cinderella’s Castle 🏰 from the Contemporary. Great view.

Andi, when are you going to Chef Mickey’s?

Sugar’s Ribs: Chattanooga

💥

Heidi and I shared the half rack of ribs, cornbread warmed up on the grill and branched out with wood-fired okra.

Six sauces to choose from.

The ribs were delish, the cornbread had kernels of corn 🌽 and onion 🧅 baked in and the okra was a pleasant surprise as we like is to try new things. One thing “fo sho, y’ouse in the South” with this meal.

Banana 🍌 pudding.

We followed up with a southern favorite, banana pudding with crunchy vanilla wafers and topped with whipped cream. 💥

Sugar’s is built into a hill and you can’t miss it driving on I 24.

Finally, they have pet goats living outside on the hill and provide you with a bowl of cabbage to feed them.

I don’t always get to stop while driving to Florida, but, today was the day!

On a side note we hiked trails at the Allatoona Civil War Battlefield and Kennesaw Mountain Batylefield in Georgia to try and burn some calories on our way to spring break.

Louisiana Memorial at Allatoona.

Pho Shiki

Located on 25th Street just east of Highway 31 in Columbus, Pho Shiki is a 🇻🇳 Vietnamese/ Japanese 🇯🇵 restaurant that we enjoyed.

Crunchy Munchy roll in foreground, crab 🦀 rangoons middle right, egg rolls left and Volcano 🌋 Roll on🔝 .

The Crunchy Munchy had avocado 🥑, shrimp 🍤, cream cheese and crab 🦀 and it was fantastic! On a side note, I always use chop sticks while dining on Asian food.

The Crab 🦀 Rangoons were also delicious!🤤 I enjoyed the crispiness.

Steak 🥩 and chicken 🐓 with broccoli 🥦, mushrooms 🍄 and fried rice 🍚.

Heidi and I had the good sense to share the entree and every bit was tasty!😋

We did some shopping at Target 🎯 before and didn’t even have to exit the parking lot to reach Pho Shiki. Plenty of dining in Columbus and this one was a winner 🏅.

Poppyseed Chicken: Grandkids Favorite

It was the late 1980s or early 1990s that Billie Mae (Mom) found this recipe somewhere and started making it and ever since, Poppyseed Chicken has been a grandkid favorite!

Even that year she forgot to put it in the oven on Thanksgiving and provoked Rae to say: “ How are you not ready, you know it’s coming.” We have been enjoying it for three generations.

Poppyseed 🐓 Chicken!

The ingredients are: chicken (rotisserie from Sam’s Club), Cream of Chicken soup, two cans, two sleeves of crushed Ritz Crackers, sour cream(we substituted Greek yogurt, and two sticks of butter 🧈. We used Kerry Gold and it is fantastic!

When Heidi discovered we didn’t have Alfredo sauce, she came up with a wonderful Plan B.

Pumpkin Bread.

Then, Heidi comes up with a pumpkin bread mix that turns out excellent.

Pumpkin bread with Kerry Gold Irish butter. Over the 🔝!

These snow days have been wonderful dining experiences. Biscuits and gravy, Swamp

potatoes 🥔 with smoked sausage and green beans. And it’s only Monday.

Surf 🦀 and Turf 🥩 Christmas 🎄

Crab 🦀 legs, filet mignon with bacon 🥓, potatoes 🥔, sweet corn 🌽 and sausage balls.

Heidi wanted The Wintin Christmas 🎄 to be special. So, for starters we cooked a beef tenderloin and boiled king crab legs . They were over the top tasty!

Aerial view of our feast.
Christmas Cookie Lasagna. Oreos, Cool Whip, cream cheese, white chocolate pudding. 💥

Above is the cookie dessert and an iced cookie that Rae made and it was fantastic!

The good stuff.

Heidi reading 📖 to Lawson and Kenlee to complete a wonderful Christmas party.

Trisha at the Palace

For starters, The Palace in Louisville is a wonderful venue. I enjoy the art decoration and the vibe. (Too dark for good inside pictures)

Trisha Yearwood

We saw Trisha Yearwood perform with her band and an orchestra and they were fantastic! There were approximately 35 musicians on the stage and the talent was incredibly thick. She told stories between a mix of ballads, Christmas 🎄 and hit songs and was very entertaining. Although I missed the Packers overtime loss to the Bears, ( my lack of support may be why they lost) Heidi and I really enjoyed the show. Trisha showed great personality and of course her music was spot on.

Ultimate Feast

We shared the Ultimate Feast at Red Lobster 🦞 before the show and it was excellent as well. Fried shrimp 🍤, coconut 🥥 shrimp, lobster tail, crab 🦀 legs and baked potatoes 🥔. Heidi had a cool cocktail 🍹 called The Snow Globe while I had a Blue 🌙 Moon with an Orange 🍊 slice.

Jack Benter with The Flush!

I also missed the Purdue/Auburn game. But all is good this holiday season.

Mae’s Town House

Mae’s Town House has recently extended their hours to 8:00 in the evening. We used to take Mom there on Wednesdays and she would get the salmon 🍣 patty special every time.

Chicken 🐓 Tender Platter

I went with the chicken tender platter with cottage cheese and onion 🧅 rings. (BBQ sauce for dipping.) Although I couldn’t eat all of the rings, the platter was a good choice.

Before ordering I was on the fence as I also considered the biscuits and gravy which is also darn good. ( Note: they have several breakfast items that are served all day.)

Coconut 🥥 Cream Pie 🥧

The 🥥 coconut cream pie 🥧 was a homerun! I actually had it first and it was, as always, incredible. The crust was flaky and ever about it made me happy.

The Dragon King’s Daughter: New Albany

Located in downtown New Albany, this place was recommended by a couple of guys at the bank 🏦 where we had an appointment. We are glad we fought the traffic and went.

I started with a Tangerine Wheat beer out of Eureka, California on draft that was l

ight and crisp!

🍊 Tangerine Wheat

We shared two cooked sushi 🍣 rolls: The Swanson and the Ballin’ Out of Crunch Roll.

Swanson on 🔝.

We finished with the banana 🍌 pudding won tons drizzled in caramel and topped with candied walnuts with vanilla ice cream 🍨 on the side.

The atmosphere, service, and food was all on point!

Brew Link: Mooresville

Lawyer, Rae, Lawson and I had a day out that included lunch and a visit to the Best Card Shop in Mooresville.

I delivered Law and Rae’s Pokémon cards from 25ish years ago as Lawson’s current interest has ignited a renewed fire 🔥 for the older generation. I stuck with the 1970s basketball cards.

Brew Link
I started with a flight of Blueberry 🫐 Blonde, Blonde 👱‍♀️, Pumpkin 🎃 Spice (yuck) and Oktoberfest.
The Black and Blue burger 🍔. Cajun spices and Bleu Cheese and the Loaded fries.🍟
I had the Hangover. 🥓 Bacon, cheese 🧀 and a 🍳 fried egg. The fries were tremendous!
Rae had a grilled chicken.

Throw in a trip to Costco and some fall foliage and the day was a success.