OCTOBER: Disney Dinners - Haunted Mansion by The Rose Table

As we head towards one of the biggest holidays of the year (Thanksgiving, duh), I thought what better time to write about the last holiday we just had! How fitting is it to make my October post about Halloween?! I've chosen to feature the amazingly spooky and fabulous Haunted Mansion Disney Dinner hosted by The Rose Table. It just so happens to be the 50th Anniversary of The Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, so she did a THM themed dinner party just in time for Halloween.

Home of The Rose Table
* These are private dinner parties for her friends/family.
* No, she doesn't take reservations. 

If you follow my Instagram, you've probably seen me attend several of The Rose Table's Disney Dinners. These are always SO fun and SO creative. I absolutely loved the menu, decor, and presentation of the Haunted Mansion dinner. It was one of my favorite tablescapes. How easy and cheap is it to get a bag of spiderweb from the craft store? But it made one of the coolest table runners I've seen to date. The color scheme is on point and she even projected skeletons dancing on her wall.

The food fit the theme so well... as usual. Starting with the Foolish Mortal Cocktail (Midori, elderflower liquor, pineapple juice, dry ice). 

Dry ice cocktails are always super cool. The smoke and bubbling lasted all the way through the appetizer course! This is my favorite cocktail I've ever had at any of her Disney Dinners. I mean... I don't really drink... mostly because I'm probably allergic to alcohol as it makes my face red plus all the other horrible side effects, but I also don't really like the taste of alcohol. This, however, was delicious, and just so much fun. The green was so vibrant and the dry ice kept it super cold for a really long time. What a fantastic drink for a party and I would have one again in a heartbeat!

For the appetizer, we had Ghost & Coffin Hand Pies (filled with brie and cherry jam) on top of Spinach & Blackberry Salad (with pumpkin seeds and balsamic vinaigrette). 

This salad is great. It's so light but full of textures... tartness of the berries, crunch from the pumpkin seeds and paired beautifully with the buttery hand pies. And can we just go "D'awwwww" at the cute little ghost? It's adorable.

Graveyard Pasta (bucatini pasta, alfredo sauce colored black, topped with toasted panko bread crumbs) Toasted slices of bread as the tombstones. 

Her alfredo sauce is so versatile. I'm not sure if I've had it 2 or 3 times now but every time it's so easily infused into the dinner theme and gave a different vibe. For her Captain Marvel dinner she had dyed it a brilliant blue, but for the Haunted Mansion it's gotta be spookier! What's more ghoulish than black? You can do this with squid ink pasta too, if you're fancy. But black food coloring is more accessible. This might look scary to you, but trust me, it's delicious. Just be careful slurping it, as the black will literally go everywhere. Haha.

Minnie Mouse Ear Cakes (chocolate cake, vanilla frosting, topped with a black fondant bow, edible flowers, and purple sprinkles). 

The dessert was super iconic. Everyone in Disneyland wears Mickey or Minnie ears. She use the Haunted Mansion colors to make it on theme. I loved the shade of the purple. And look closely... how cool is the rose pattern on the bow?

Such a fun dinner. I've never done anything like this and it definitely put me in the mood for Halloween. Usually this is a holiday I kind of skip over... I was very impressed with how she transformed her dining room. I think she said this was the cheapest dinner she's ever decorated for! If you want the recipes and watch the full episode of the Disney Dinner, check out therosetable.com!

I'm so honored to be friends with such a talented individual and have gotten to be a part of all these wildly creative experiences. Here's to many more! Also... check out the attendees at the dinner. We definitely had some fun with the theme and lighting. And thanks to Jacob for the amazing photo editing! (He's wearing the Mickey ears.)

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Vapiano - Interesting Concept

My sister told me about Vapiano. It’s a fairly new place at Mockingbird Station. The concept of it peaked my interest. You get a card when you walk in, the orders are swiped on the card and you pay for everything at the end.

Vapiano
5319 East Mockingbird Lane
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 887-1557
http://www.vapianointernational.com/
Price: $-$$

There are different stations: pizza, salad, pasta…where you place your order and they make it right there in front of you. The décor was very contemporary and different. The seating is open, so you can sit in the main dining area, the bar, or outside seating.

We ordered a bunch of different things:

Side Salad (iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes) $2.50~ This was totally not worth it. It was small and meh. The dressing was supposed to be arugula/mustard vinaigrette but it was really light and I tasted none of the mustard.

My friend got the Bruschetta (roasted ciabatta bread, fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil) $3.95~ I didn’t try it but she said it was just ok.

Chicken Alfredo (penne, chicken breast, cream sauce, parmesan) $9.95~

The portion was pretty big but could’ve used more chicken. The cream sauce was very lightly seasoned and a little more watery than normal alfredo sauce. It could’ve been a little creamier but I didn’t mind it being lightly seasoned because I could taste the actual pasta…which I like. The pasta was cooked pretty well…had a nice texture to it. I liked the dish.

Ravioli Ricotta e Spinach (ravioli with spinach and ricotta filling, tomato sauce) $10.95~ The ravioli also had good texture but could’ve used more filling…especially spinach. The tomato sauce was a little too sour for me and the sauce overpowered the flavor of the ravioli. It was ok…but the portion was quite small. Luckily we had lots of other food.

Chicken Pesto Pizza (chicken breast, basil pesto, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic) $10.95~ This looked soooo good when I picked it up. It was pretty big and the crust just looked yummy. And it was. The crust was like thin cheesy bread…not overly crispy with a nice texture. The pesto sauce was also really good…not overly seasoned but still had good flavor. And there were lots of chicken pieces on top. :)

Overall, the food was pretty good…I would probably go back. But I would say check out this place more for the décor/concept. If you want really good Italian food, there are better places with similar prices.

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Good Good Restaurant~

I was really craving pasta last weekend…I don’t eat Italian food very often because it’s usually a lot of carbs and cheese and cream. I mean, I loveeee those things, but it’s hard to eat that all the time while trying to maintain my weight. :(

Bene Bene Ristorante
4727 Frankford Road # 409
Dallas, TX 75287
(972) 267-2363
http://www.benebeneristorante.com/
Price: $$

I had a $25 gift certificate to Bene Bene Ristorante, a new Italian restaurant on Frankford and Tollway. It was a very sophisticated and classy little restaurant…a bit fancier than I had imagined. It’s a good place to go for a date or a quiet meal, but still good to take family there.

The prices were also a little higher than I had expected. Good thing I had that gift certificate!! :P

We started off with salads. I got the Insalata di Campo (mixed leaf lettuce with Italian vinaigrette), basically the house salad. $5.95~ It was fresh and light, just what I wanted to start my meal. My friend ordered the Special of the Day Salad (cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and avocado slices tossed with a vinaigrette with basil, olives, and croutons). $11.95~ Since this was the special, we didn’t know the price. A LOT more expensive than I expected. At this price, I would expect the portions as a meal, not a starter. Nevertheless, it was very good. It was fresh, with creamy mozzarella, and the avocado added a nice touch.

For the main course, my friend ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo (with classic alfredo sauce). $12.95~ The portions here are smaller than normal, however, I think it’s good that they don’t give you a gigantic plate of food. It was just enough because Italian food can be quite heavy. This was really good! They hand made the pasta, and you can really taste the difference! You can tell by the texture and the freshness of the pasta.

I asked the waiter for a suggestion and he recommended the Rigatoni Ruspanti (chicken, Portobello and asparagus in a light cream sauce), which is one of their most popular pastas. $15.95~ The pasta was cooked just right. I hate it when restaurants overcook the pasta and it becomes too soft. The cream sauce wasn’t too heavy or greasy, and there were plenty of ingredients in the pasta…big chunks of chicken that you can actually see and generous slices of mushrooms and asparagus. Mmm Mmm GOOD!

They didn’t have a physical dessert menu so we weren’t very intrigued by their dessert offerings. Somehow seeing the desserts written out on a menu or a dessert tray makes me want to have it more. Haha.

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So we went to Braum’s to get some ice cream instead. It was such a good deal!! I got the double dip cone (which was on special) with cookies n cream and cake batter, and he got a banana split. Soooo much ice cream for only 5 bucks!! That was a great way to end the night! :)










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