It’s been a crazy busy week since returning from Clearwater & Orlando (a win for work, but a loss for the blog!)—but it wouldn’t be a proper Wednesday without linking up for What I Ate Wednesday. This week, I thought I’d share some of the fabulous (and disappointing) meals we consumed on vacation.

First up: As per tradition, Mark and I shared a couple pounds of boiled crawfish from K Jean’s at the Endymion parade. While some of these delectable crustaceans were tiny and proved difficult to peel, the flavor was perfectly spicy—and perfectly washed down by local beer.

On our first night in Clearwater—and my birthday—Mark’s uncle and grandmother took us to a casual dinner at Village Inn. My turkey avocado melt hit the spot after a long drive (you can never go wrong with avocado).

After a drive through Clearwater and a relaxing walk along the shores of St. Pete Beach, we freshened up for our second dinner out, which was a real treat. Island Way Grill sits on beautiful marina and offers fresh-off-the-boat seafood with a pan-Asian twist. I wish I’d photographed my grilled sea bass (stuffed with shrimp), but you’ll just have to trust me in saying that it was impeccably fresh and delicious.

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in Disney! We spent the evening in Downtown Disney and ended up eating dinner—a mix of barbecue chicken pizza and shrimp tempura sushi—at Wolfgang Puck Café. Both were decent, but the sushi was over-priced for the quality.

We spent Wednesday with two of our friends at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I could gush incessantly about how absolutely perfect it was (you must go on the ride inside Hogwarts!), but since this is about food, I’ll just mention the frozen butter beer tasted like a dreamcicle, the fish and chips were ok (but Ash Wednesday-approved!), and the Hog’s Head Scottish Ale (on tap at the pub) was quite good.

For dinner, the four of us escaped the rain and dined in Downtown Disney again—this time at Portobello. Mark and I shared a bottle (well, more like half bottle) of Gascón Malbec; I chose the vegetarian-friendly ravioli gigante while he had the gnocchi with pork ragu. Though the pasta was a little too al dente, I thought the meal and company were wonderful.

We spent a rainy Thursday at Epcot; Mark and I rode rides in the front of the park and then met up with the rest of our friends and their family at the World Showcase. Lunch included a bratwurst and beer from Germany: decent, but nothing special. While two more hardcore members of our group completed their goal of imbibing in beverages from every country, we walked through half of the showcase and had prosecco and a bellini in Italy before returning to the hotel to clean up for dinner.

Mark and I decided several weeks back to give Morocco a try. We both love Middle Eastern food and were able to make a reservation at Restaurant Marrakesh that left plenty of time to see the fireworks. Rather than order entrées (which mostly consisted of kebabs and couscous), we split a half carafe of house red wine and three appetizers: goat cheese with crispy bread; a sampler of sun-dried tomato hummus, falafel, baba ghanouj, and tabouleh; and a sampler of jasmine salad and beef brewat/chicken bastilla (which are both meat pastries topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar). We both thoroughly enjoyed the meal—and the belly dancer’s entertainment.

Friday we enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day in the Magic Kingdom. Though I failed at my goal of eating vegan on Friday (truth be told, I forgot about that part!), I did manage to eat vegetarian by ordering a grilled vegetable sandwich while all the real Catholics around me inhaled bacon cheeseburgers. Mark and I had to enjoy a Mickey Mouse ice cream before the fireworks (which were beautiful).

We all met up again later in Downtown Disney—a farewell for Mark and me. We started off with drinks and dinner at House of Blues (I need to recreate the seared ahi salad, which included cabbage, shaved fennel, red onion, and a spicy dressing, which was surprisingly delicious). We made our way through Bongos for mojitos and margaritas and to Raglan Road Irish Pub before closing and last bus boarding (please, somebody, shake me if I ever decide that drinking an Irish car bomb will somehow be a positive experience).

I’d like to share more about our trip in a later post—but that’s it for the food. This week, it’s back to the real world and creatively utilizing our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer goods for the entire week since we didn’t feel like grocery shopping after the long drive back. Happy Hump Day, folks!