Kouzzina -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Boardwalk

*This dining experience took place in November 2013.If you're craving a taste of the Mediterranean and more specifically Greek food, then you simply must head to Kouzzina located at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. This restaurant is celebrity Chef Cat Cora's collaboration with Disney World, and there's certainly no shortage of Greek inspired fare at this restaurant.As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Kouzzina for breakfast. I adore their allergy Mickey waffles and think they are some of the best on Disney property (they have that whole crispy waffle thing down to an art), and I also really love that they use great olive oils in their breakfast offerings. And don't get me started on their turkey sweet potato hash! I have a slight addiction to that breakfast entree! However, what many of you probably don't know is that I hadn't been to Kouzzina for dinner until October 2013 with my friend and special diets collaborator Laurie Sadowski. She is a huge, and I mean huge fan of Kouzzina, and it only seemed fitting that I dine there for dinner my first time with her. And stay tuned for our combined dinner review - Laurie & I will be sharing that review together with her gluten free & vegan offerings and my gluten free & dairy free offerings. If you haven't checked out our combined review of Ohana, you'll want to check it out!But back to this dinner review! After such a wonderful experience the first time, I wanted to stop back again and get something different with my family who also had never been for dinner. And the perfect time to visit was during my pre-race dinner for the Jingle Jungle 5K race.One thing I love about Kouzzina at night is that it totally transforms, and this evening was no different. And it smells amazing in here! Like seriously, amazing. The open fire is just ridiculous, and makes the entire restaurant smell of whatever deliciousness comes out of it.Upon being seated we were greeted by a bit of an overzealous server. He really really tried to sell just about every upcharge thing he could think of to us. I appreciate that he's trying to make a living, but sheesh. I was really glad when Chef Miguel came out to the table to assist me because it got our server to settle down a bit.Chef Miguel is super nice and having met him before, I was glad he was on hand for the meal. I knew he would make sure I got great offerings. This time, I knew I wanted something different but not super spicy. I learned my lesson after a little bit of a spicy meal at Jiko before the Happy Haunted 5K. This time - go mild! I decided that I wanted to get some dolmades (which are grape leaves stuffed with rice), a salad, and the Kouzzina Appetizer Sampler as my entree.Before the appetizers and entrees, Chef Miguel brought me an olive medley with two kinds of extra virgin olive oil along with Udi's pizza crust cut into wedges and heated.I adored the olive medley here (and as you will see I didn't suffer from a lack of olives at this restaurant). I love the variety of them and the high quality. These are not your typical canned olives! The Udi's pizza crust is probably one of my least favorite Udi's products interestingly enough. I just find them really tough (as in chewy and not in a good way). Still, you top anything from Kouzzina on it and it's OK. As you can see, Chef Miguel was extra generous. (hello, carb loading!)Up next came the House-made Dolmades - rolled grape leaves with rice, dill and lemon. Oh my god these are amazing. Like seriously. Amazing. If you've ever had dolmades, you'll know that they are typically filled with rice and often times are bland. These are filled with lemon and dill and the rich flavor of the dill really comes through. They top them with olive oil and some type of crisped nut mixture. Oh and more olives. Nothing wrong with that.Up next was my House Salad -seasonal lettuces with vine-ripe tomatoes and cucumbers in a thyme-honey vinaigrette. This was really light and fresh but very flavorful. I'm not a huge raw tomato fan, but they worked well with the rest of the salad. The mixed greens were nice and I adored the thyme-honey vinaigrette. It married well with the ingredients and really brought out the essence of Greek flavors.For my entree I ordered the Kouzzina Sampler. It typically comes with the choice of two (spicy gulf prawns, Greek lamb meatballs in sauce, or pork souvlaki), along with marinated olives, dolmades, tzatziki, hummus and pita. I chose the gulf prawns and the pork souvlaki. Since I couldn't have the tzatiziki, Chef Miguel brought out the eggplant dip instead. It the sampler also has some marinated nuts as well.I really love this appetizer sampler either as an entree or appetizer. It's phenomenal. The hummus is made in a really unique way (no tahini) and the eggplant spread is spicy and savory. I love the unique spices on the nuts. You can't go wrong with more Dolmades (you know I pigged out on those) and the two meat options were really well done. The pork was actually my favorite and the marinade used on it was awesome. The shrimp has a spicy marinade and was perfectly cooked. This is a hands down favorite dish for me.Overall, I can't say enough good things about Kouzzina. For dinner or breakfast it's fantastic. I just wish they served lunch. That would be so amazing!For this dining experience I'm giving it a 9 out of 10, despite our server who basically ignored us for the duration of our meal after we told him we weren't ordering wine or lots of extra dishes. It's still a fantastic restaurant with amazing food, especially if you have a special diet.