34. The 6 best dining experiences I had while traveling in 2023 & a visit from Cindy Chupack

Michele:

Hello, my friends and welcome to episode number 34 of Let Me Adjust My Ears. I am your intrepid host this week, meaning I am suffering from a bad case of cedar fever. So if I sound a little less emphatic than normal, it is because My throat doesn't sound like me. We don't need to be graphic about it. Just know that I may not be speaking emphatically like I usually do with all the heart and soul that I put into this, but I mean every word of it. So I started this podcast 6 months ago this month, and one of the very first episodes that I ever did was my top 5 Disney world dining spots for adults. And because traveling with my taste buds is Such a big thing for me. And everyone is barreling towards the end of 2023 and end of 2024.

Michele:

I just Don't even know where December has gone. It's like I blinked and it was my birthday in October and now it's like the holidays. I wanted to end kind of like I started, but with a little bit of a twist. So, join me as I take you on a delectable journey through the best meals that I savored while traveling in 2023. So no surprise, the place that I travel the most is Orlando, Florida. And so 3 out of these 6 I was going for 5, but I think I have 6. 3 of them are in fact at Walt Disney World slash Orlando Studios. Actually, 4, 4 of the 6.

Michele:

I knew it was a majority. And so let me start. 2 came from the same trip and it was all the way back in January of 2023. And this was the marathon weekend. It was my first of our marathon weekend. I actually did the 10 k, but I had a friend complete the half marathon. And I had 3 friends and my 4 friends early, but 3 of my cheering squad who my Friends from Once Upon A Wardrobe, who you also heard and one of my very first episodes, 6 months, but you've heard me shout them out probably on majority of This episode's my BFF husband, who's not my husband, John. John, shout out to you, Lauren, Ashley, Crystal and Wendy and our VIP tour guide, Cuddles.

Michele:

So 2 of these meals were on that trip. And I know, no, no, that these are so high in my heart because of how special that trip was, the company, the VIP tour guide. It was just everything. It was one of my top Walt Disney World Trips ever, and that's saying a lot since I've been going there since I was 8, and we all know how old I am now. So the first one is Ohana, and we went there for the Character breakfast at Disney's Polynesian Cafe. And I should also shout out Aaron, who got to come to this Breakfast, but didn't go on the tour with us. And Nikki, who went on the tour with us, but didn't have breakfast with us. But You've heard both of them on this podcast, so I have to be sure and say, Nikki and Aaron, I love you too.

Michele:

So Disney Polynesian Cafe. So I have to say, I had never ever understood what everyone thought was so great about Ohana. It just wasn't Something that was ever really a character breakfast on my radar. That's because I'm just not a Stitch fan. 613 Stitch And Lilo, they just don't do it for me. But after breakfast here, I am a newly found Stitch and Lilo fan. The character interactions with Lilo and Stitch were amazing. But one thing that is incredible about this character breakfast that you really don't get at chef Mickey's and the character breakfast at the Grand Floridian Beach Resort and Spa hasn't reopened yet, and even that didn't have a view is You get this incredible view of the Magic Kingdom.

Michele:

It is on the 2nd floor, and we had a table in the corner. And as you can imagine, it was a huge round because we were a big group and it was just amazing. The view was incredible. It's our family style, so all the food was really, really good. And I already said the company was impeccable, but the pineapple coconut breakfast bread, like, Could have been a meal unto itself. It was sticky, ooey gooey goodness, and therefore, Ohana makes it as one of my favorite meals this year. On that same trip, following our VIP tour, we went to Space 220 at Epcot Center, and This restaurant has been on some lists of the most overrated restaurants at Walt Disney World and Epcot in particular. I guess that's because it is very, very pricey, but it was the highlight for me of my dining in 2023.

Michele:

And I have a list of people that I would want to bring there. Now, I know that part of it had to do with our very good Looking server that no more than 3 different people at our table got their flirt on for, and I do mean 2 girls and a guy each Got their flirting on with our very good looking handsome waiter who was from Italy, so his accent didn't hurt either. But this experience was truly unlike anything. There's no other place. There's no other restaurant that you could ever have this experience other than at at Walt Disney World theme park, and I didn't even get motion sickness on the way up to 220 feet above Earth. I kid Or do I? I had the Big Bang burrata, which is with mozzarella and Romanesco sauce with preserved fruits and a focaccia crostini. Now in September of 2023, there were already menu updates, even though this is a very new restaurant, and they took my most amazing dessert off of the menu. But I looked back and saw pictures and it was some chocolatey goodness, but it had my favorite food, popcorn.

Michele:

In this case, it was caramel popcorn as part of the topping of the dessert. And I mean, You had me at popcorn. And I know that the short rib that I ordered was phenomenal. It was price fixed. So We tried really hard at our tables to order different things so that we could all try it. I know I got to taste the steak and salmon and my short rib, And really my sides were the mashed potatoes were like intense. They were so good and they weren't lumpy. The 3rd restaurant at Walt Disney World, also at Epcot Center is Takumi Thai.

Michele:

Now I did actually mention this on that very first Podcast where I talked about the best adult dining experiences. It is and definitely makes my list of top dining for 2023. I have promised a deep dive into all 7 of the courses, which of the amakase menu, which means leave it up to the chef. So I dare say that even what I ate would not be the same because The chef is going to make up his mind based on what is fresh and what he has really in the kitchen on any given day, but the service was just impeccable. I mean, every time you get up, you come back to the table, your napkin is folded, your seat is pulled out. You are given the warm wash God, when you come in to rinse off the sweat and epcotness of your body and then a cold washcloth to wash your hands with before you dine. It is just an amazing, amazing experience. And unlike the other 2, which are high in my heart again because of the company and the day I was by myself and I really leaned into this Quiet, phenomenal, fine dining experience.

Michele:

It is a little hidden in the outdoor kitchens and the Phenomenal restaurants all over Epcot. This one is a gem unto itself. My 4th and final one for the theme parks in Orlando and my favorite meals of 2023 is over at Universal Studios and it's at the kitchen at Hard Rock Hotel. And this one, Nikki and Erin were actually with me. So 3 shout outs to both of them. So I think this one hits my highlight reel mostly for the company. Nikki and I were definitely high on life having experienced a truly phenomenal VIP shared tour experience the day before. You can hear all about that on an episode that Nikki and I did together.

Michele:

We were just foaming at the mouth to tell Aaron and mister Aaron All about our day and all the cool things that we learned that make all 3 of us better travel advisors and better able to help you plan a trip, not just to Walt Disney World, but to universal experiences and resorts. And the restaurant itself, the kitchen is very unassuming. There's no table costs. You can walk in, you can make a reservation, but it belies how good the food and the service really are. So I know we ordered more than 1 appetizer because by the time our main course came, I was stuffed, but we shared them all and there really is something to eating with people who love to hashtag travel with their taste buds the same way that I do because Just means you get to try more on the menu and I love community dining. I really do. So I know we got the brussels sprouts, which come with Applewood smoked bacon and a sweet chili glaze with scallions. And I do remember it being Really a little bit too spicy for me, but it didn't stop me.

Michele:

But Aaron and mister Aaron ordered the hand breaded calamari, and I could not keep my hands off of their calamari. So I'm glad that they ate some of my too spicy brussels sprouts because they're a calamari, which I'm really not supposed to eat because it is borderline shellfish, which I do have a bit of an allergy, but I couldn't stop. It was so good. Now their main menu had so many different entrees on it that I had to ask our server, Whether it was mac and cheese, the smoked turkey Reuben, a great just a great burger that I needed, what did I need to order? And I know That one thing was the mac and cheese, but I think we ordered it like a side dish, so that the whole table could share it. And I got the smoked turkey Reuben. I'm always on search for a good Reuben. And again, I did say that this restaurant was very unassuming. So it was comfort food all the way.

Michele:

It's The complete opposite from Takumi Thai. It is not a fine dining experience, but the food was Great. And the company was even greater. And of, of course, dessert is a separate stomach, so I know we had more than One of those that we shared and mine was a s'more brownie sundae. Because if it has the word s'more or peanut butter and chocolate in it. I'm getting it. So, oh, my God. It was just amazing.

Michele:

And all 4 of those We're just phenomenal experiences that I had in dining in 2023. Now, it's no coincidence that the other 2 come from my Favorite activity, vacation activity, which is cruising. So it's a 100% my most favorite way to see the world, which is not theme park related. And as you also know from hearing these podcasts, I got to do a river cruise that started in Budapest. And then, another cruise that I got to do was just really recently on Virgin Voyages to the Dominican Republic, where I had that great dining experience, but it didn't make my list. And if you haven't heard that episode, I highly recommend that you go back and listen to that as well because I just had a great cruise experience on Virgin Voyages, but also on this river cruise It was a Jewish heritage river cruise, and we had traveled by car for 5 hours from Prague to Budapest where we were gonna catch our ship. And it is really, really hard for me to justify eating off the ship whenever I'm on a cruise because you have paid for those meals. So especially on a river cruise, they're known for their dining And, you know, it was the 1st night and that's kinda where you meet other people on your ship.

Michele:

I was tired from traveling, and My traveling companion had a recommendation to one of these restaurants, which is considered by travel adviser to be in the top 10% of worldwide restaurants, so you know I was in it to win it. But the recommendation was from a few years ago. I was pessimistic that we would be able to get a reservation, that we would be able to find it, and that it would truly be as good as this decades old referral was. But I can admit when I am wrong. It's a beautiful open air restaurant. I'm gonna try and say the name, but I don't know that I can do it justice. It's called, and this is German. So Perosliget.

Michele:

And I don't even really know what that means because when I looked it up, it gave me the place in Budapest, which As I said, it has this open air restaurant, but it's also the name of the area, which is the Budapest Zoo and this beautiful open air Park where parents bring their children to you every day. I won't ever forget it. It was the best schnitzel I've ever had. The chef is from Germany, but has also cooked in the Far East as well. The menu was such that I didn't even know what everything on it was. So I asked our wonderful server and our bar waiter for recommendations, and they were both great. And my 2 Fabulous dining companions, my Maham and a friend of ours. We were all traveling together.

Michele:

Again, we all got different things and we shared and it made it for a very, very special night. And of course, I do have some pictures which I will post on my Instagram, which if you don't remember, I think I say it every episode. My name is Michelle with 1 l, and my Instagram is at michelle visits mickey, and I will be sure and share pictures, not just from the restaurant in Budapest, but from all of these restaurants and my dining of 2023. I will do that when this episode airs. I will make sure and do a reel for you. I'm learning how to do reels. It's a little scary for me. So finally, as I said, my other restaurant that ranks in my Top dining experiences of 2023 was on my most recent Virgin Voyage on the Resilient Lady Razzle Dazzle.

Michele:

So I do wanna say, which is a quote, naughty and nice restaurant. It actually has the most vegetable forward and vegan forward menu on the ship. It is actually on all the Virgin ships, so we will all get to dine there together again this summer. We went for dinner and I failed to order the secret menu item. And in fact, I walked away feeling that the meal was, okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. So much so that the manager called me back the next night and made me order the secret menu item. And literally, the juice from that secret menu item when I take my 1st bite, it comes out of my mouth and you can see that already on Instagram.

Michele:

It was I don't even know how to describe it. It was the best first bite of 2023. It was amazing. But based on how fabulous the manager of that restaurant and all the team were to invite me back after Dried only had a okay meal. We returned for brunch, and now brunch was Freaking awesome. And need I say any more than rainbow churro desserts. Yes. There are desserts on the breakfast menu that you cannot get at dinner time.

Michele:

So when I say you must go for brunch, You must go for brunch. You'll just have to order it and taste those rainbow churros. And I kid you not, I think I ordered every dessert on the menu because I needed to prove to myself that it truly was the best dessert on the menu. I mean, aside from being party, it was just everything a churro should be. Hot fried Joe with colored sprinkles and ice cream and whipped cream. I know you're salivating right this very minute, which brings me to all the restaurants and eating on a virgin voyage ship. As you know from my most recent episode of this podcast, The dining is one of the reasons that I know our friends from Sex and the City, Carrie and Squad would absolutely find themselves on this cruise. And so I recently spoke with Cindy Schupack.

Michele:

She pronounces her name for me since I say it a different way every single time I refer to her on this podcast. Her full bio is gonna be on her web site, which is cindyshoopac.net. We will put that in the show notes for you, but she will be forever known to me because of her work as a writer and producer on Sex and the City, and that is only one of the fabulous things she has done. I should tell you that she also wrote for Modern Family, Everybody Loves Raymond, Better Things, Divorce, and most recently Fleischmann is in trouble. She has done a directing debut on a film which Stars, Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Huffman. I mean, this woman is all that. And like I said, the voice of Carrie because she was a true romance column author before she was discovered to go into television and TV and script writing and producing and all of that wonderful stuff. So I got to spend a few minutes with her.

Michele:

She is, of course, one of our VIPs on the Sex and the City fan cruise that is this summer in June of 2024. I hope all of you will consider coming on that cruise. Right now, With the 12 days of fabulous going on, if you enter by tomorrow, you will be eligible to win 3 $100 off of that cruise and get a $600 bar tab. That's like almost $1,000 off of this cruise. So I asked her what she was most excited for. She doesn't actually say the food about sailing on board the summer with all of us. So I really hope you will take a listen to everything that Cindy says and then explore the link in the show notes for this upcoming fabulous Once in a lifetime experience to dine with Cindy. You can even go to Razzle Dazzle for brunch if you want.

Michele:

So I'm very, very excited to have someone that I hugely fangirl out about, miss Cindy Shupik.

Cindy:

Did I say your last name wrong? Shupac. Cindy Shupac.

Michele:

I say it differently every single time, so now I know for sure. So, Cindy, will you please introduce yourself and Tell everyone your history with Sex and the City.

Cindy:

Yeah. My name's Cindy Schupack, and I was a writer and exec producer on Sex and the City from the 2nd season to the finale in Paris, and I wrote, I think, 15 or 16 seen episodes. And before I joined, I just loved the show, so I was a fan to begin with.

Michele:

Who's not a fan? So I always refer to you as Kind of the voice of Carrie Bradshaw because episodes that you have the writing credit on are the most that I identify with Carrie. So I always am, like, she's my real Carrie Bradshaw and not Candace. No offense to Candace, but do you have a favorite episode of the Senior 17 that you have the writer's credit on.

Cindy:

It's so hard. It's like choosing their favorite child, but I did wanna address what you said before. I also had written and have written columns about dating. So before I joined Sex and the City, I had written some things like that, then I used as samples when I joined the show. Carrie was just such a great character. It was easy, but thank you for saying that about the episodes. I loved writing that show. Let's see.

Cindy:

I think I could narrow it down to maybe 3 episodes I wrote, and it would be Evolution, which was the 2nd season. That was my 1st season on the show. I wrote chicken dance, and then Evolution was when Charlotte was dating the pastry chef and she Couldn't tell if he was gay or straight, and Carrie was big brought all her stuff back from his apartment. So she said he's like Teflon for women. Nothing sticks. That one, I just really like how that turned out. I can rewatch that and still really love it, and it was just fun to be there When we filmed it in this beautiful apartment that was Samantha and Richard wait. Was that evolution?

Michele:

Richard wasn't Theriault, was he?

Cindy:

I know what it was. The apartment where we shot the kitchen scene

Michele:

With the mouse.

Cindy:

Yes. With the mouse when she finally decide she could be open to this guy because She had great sex with him and maybe he's just seems evolved, but then there's this mouse and he screams and gets up on a chair. That kitchen That we filmed that in It

Michele:

was beautiful.

Cindy:

The kitchen and the apartment that we eventually used for Richard Wright. It was this gorgeous apartment.

Michele:

Okay.

Cindy:

That's so funny.

Michele:

See, these are the behind the scenes things we're all gonna get to hear about on the cruise, so this is why I'm so excited.

Cindy:

Anyway, that one got nominated For an Emmy as an individual episode, which was a really big honor, and that was, you know, my 1st season on the show, so I just felt like I was in the right place. And then, I got to write one with Michael Patrick King that was I love a charade, and that one took place in, like, this glass house. And it was When Betsy Von Muffling was gonna get married and they had the big party, and that one was just a lot of fun to write and to film, and we went like Jersey City to that great house. That was fun to write with Michael too because he was, like, the voice of the show. And then I think Attack of the 5 foot 10 woman, that was season 3. That was one where Carrie went Right? Yeah. Carrie ran into Natasha. But it starts with all the women at brunch, and they talk about how The New York Times wedding section is like the single woman's sports pages, And then they see that they got married, and they try to kinda hide the New York Times from Carrie, and then Charlotte goes back to her apartment.

Cindy:

And they read through it, and I studied journalism, so it was fun to write the fake like, the vows column of what they would say about that wedding, And, you know, they're reading it together, and then Carrie, like, just wants to burn the paper. She says, what I wouldn't give for a working fireplace. And I don't know. The whole thing felt very New York, and I really love that scene even when I go back and watch it. And then that whole episode, I think, was just really a fun one.

Michele:

Interesting that you say it was fun because it was so heartbreaking as a viewer.

Cindy:

Yeah. I guess that's why it kinda sticks with you. Well, also that one had where Miranda had hired the housekeeper and she was sort of trying to replace her vibrators. That did kinda happen. I well, not the vibrator, but I had a housekeeper who I didn't really know she was paying attention, but I had had this boyfriend for, like, 3 years and then We broke up and I didn't mention it to her, but then she just finally said after a while, like, what happened to Steve? And I realized She was kinda keeping track and she told me how long she'd been married and I can just tell she was worried about me. But, anyway, I think those bittersweet were my favorite to write, and there was a lot of bittersweetness in that whole show. That's what made it fun. Fun to write and also Rewarding because it reached a good place in people, I think.

Michele:

Oh, thank you so much. I can't wait to get more insights from you. I just have to ask, especially since you were the 1st person that I reached out to and you signed on to do this, is there anything that you're particularly looking forward 2 in Greece or on the Resilient Lady or anything special?

Cindy:

So many things. Well, I'm single again. I think we're gonna have mostly ladies on this Cruise, though, like,

Michele:

ladies and gentlemen.

Cindy:

But if anyone has a friend who needs to come along anyway, I'm single again, and I remembered that A long time ago, I had a past lives reading, and the woman told me that I hadn't had a good relationship since ancient Greece.

Michele:

Oh, cool. I was like,

Cindy:

I know it's in a slump. But, anyway, I always have feel like maybe in ancient Greece, maybe in Greece. But I also love Greece. I mean, those islands, it looks so dreamy. Santorini, those are all the places, like, with the Blue roots, and I think that's a beautiful area. And then to be on a beautiful cruise ship, I did a few cruises with my Parents when I was young, like a Hawaiian cruise kinda thing, and I remember feeling really grown up, being able to, like, go to the disco by myself and walk around the boat by myself. And then I went once with my daughter and my parents and my sister and her kids on this Alaskan cruise not that long ago. My daughter's 12 now.

Cindy:

But I haven't been on 1, you know, just with friends, just kind of for fun, and I'm excited to see Molly, our costume designer, whose store came on in Just Like That. So I think it'll be really fun. And then to be with fans, I mean, people always say, aren't you tired of talking about Sex and the City? And they don't really ask about it because they figure I've talked about it, but nobody really has asked about it in a while, so I'm kind of looking forward to being with fans who are excited to talk about it.

Michele:

Well, it's having a renaissance. I mean, the 25th and the sequel and yeah. It's just having a renaissance, but I've never stopped talking about it. So I just really wanna thank you for your time. This is great. And I know for me, I definitely cannot wait to see you and to More with you in Greece. So, Cindy, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it so much.

Michele:

Tell us where we can find you and follow your new endeavors and just keep in touch.

Cindy:

I'm not the best social media, but I have a website, cindy schupack.net. It has the books that I've written, and there's a couple books, and then a new book that's my 1st children's book called We Waited For You That's really a celebration of, like, children however they come to you because my daughter's adopted. I have kind of how to's on there too for people who I think about writing, and then I have a lot of pictures from behind the scenes on there from different shows I've done. I got that together during the writers' strike, and I feel like that was something at least.

Michele:

Very exciting. We will definitely put that in the show notes as well for everyone who's listening.

Cindy:

Okay. Thanks so much.

Michele:

And with that, I will see you real soon.