8 nights of Disney Deliciousness with Pics---Vegetarians on DDP UPDATED!

[spaceacewannabe]

Alas, we are back. We have been back for almost a week, and I was going to start writing right away, but when I loaded the pictures the post-Disney depression set in...I loathe acknowledging that our trip is actually over

This trip was my mom (veg. for a little over 40 years), me (vegetarian for 12 years), and my sister (vegetarian for 10 years). This was our fifth trip in 5 summers and our second using the dining plan.

*sigh* Hopefully my enthusiasm will return at some point during these reviews---we were looking at a teacher convention trip for F&W, but we hesitated and airfare jumped $200 yesterday...but maybe I'll take a personal day and we'll do a long weekend during the holiday season. We will be going back next spring or summer, in any event, but at the moment I feel very down.

Anyway, back on track. Here's where we ate:
July 12: Crystal Palace lunch (OOP---rewards dollars...this turned out to be a mistake)

July 13: Cape May breakfast (OOP)
Cosmic Ray's snack (OOP)
Chefs de France dinner (DDP)

July 14: Crystal Palace breakfast (OOP)
Wine at France (OOP)
Le Cellier dinner (DDP)

July 15: Sunshine Seasons Breakfast snack & lunch (DDP)
Treats at Sommerfest in Germany (OOP)
Coral Reef dinner (DDP)

July 16: Flame Tree Barbeque snack (DDP)
Alfredo's dinner (DDP)
Drinks from Morocco (OOP)

July 17: Flame Tree snack (DDP)
Starring Rolls lunch (DDP)
Rose & Crown dinner (DDP)

July 18: Sunshine Seasons lunch (DDP)
School Bread at Norway (OOP)
'Ohana dinner (DDP)

July 19: Crystal Palace breakfast---meant to be brunch (DDP)
Samosas in MK (OOP)
Alfredo's dinner (DDP)
Boulangerie Patisserie to take back to hotel (DDP)

July 20: Sunshine Seasons lunch & many extra to take home (DDP)

We also ended up taking home 15 snacks, I believe. It did feel like a lot of food this year, but it really is fun to take home food, so if it stays the same (which I really hope it does), we'll likely do it again. Just the table service, even with the cheap ones like the CP breakfast and 'Ohana, made the plan worth it. Our bill at Alfredo's was $150 and there wasn't a course we wouldn't have wanted (which is why we added a second---we were going to repeat Chefs but didn't love it as much this year...still good, but didn't need the second).

In the interest of not losing what I've written, I'm going to start a new post for Crystal Palace...

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Anyway, this is our second year starting our trip with Crystal Palace. This is a tradition we definitely intend to continue: We fly out early in the morning, so our bodies are all confused by the time we get there, and this way we all can eat whatever it is we want without being committed to one dish. This is good because you never know what you'll feel like eating after all the preparation and flying, and we love Crystal Palace.

It didn't disappoint! I think our server that day was Stephen, and he was fine. We asked for (and received) a window seat so we could look out at the castle and glance at the parade (which I didn't find particularly riveting). We also had a beautiful tree with gorgeous purple flowers right outside our table. Stephen told us what it was called, and I promptly forgot.

Anyway, on to the FOOD!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7d907b3127cceb884038419b600000026100FcN2bVi3Ym
Clockwise from broccoli: Broccoli, Corn Spoon Bread, Fritata, Pasta Salad, roasted vegetables (I think---including the peas), vegetable caponada (can barely see this), lemon infused basmati rice (?), mashed potatoes

Same plate, different angle

Coconut flan!

Lots of different salads

clockwise from broccoli, seasonal vegetables with something aioli, corn spoon bread, vegetable caponada on basmati rice, couscous salad, garlic mashed potatoes

Lots of stuff---I'm not even going to try on this one. My mom puts everything so close together!

Clockwise from pineapple: pineapple & grape in mixed fruit with honey & mint salad, roasted vegetables, veg. caponada, cheeses: murcia del vino, fourme d'ambert, and cu...?, couscous salad

Another hodge podge plate

Clockwise from pineapple: pineapple, honeydew, & grape in mixed fruit with honey & mint salad, roasted vegetables, veg. caponada, cheeses: murcia del vino, fourme d'ambert, and cu...?, couscous salad

Clockwise from cheese: Murcia del Vino (purple rind), couscous salad, veg. caponada on basmati rice, mixed fruit with honey & mint salad

Clockwise chocolate cake: Chocolate whiskey cake torte (?), bread pudding, coconut flan, fourme d'ambert, and murcia del vino

Clockwise from pink stuff: strawberry cheesecake, chocolate whiskey cake torte (this was great---not a strong alcohol flavor), coconut flan, murcia del vino, and fourme d'ambert

ETA: OKAY! I THINK I have it working now, and hopefully all the photos are still attached to the right descriptions as I had to start fresh and put the pics on shutterfly instead of snapfish

Actual reviews are coming, as are pics of the buffet itself (courtesy of my sister, who---honest to goodness---did it with the disboard vegetarians in her heart )

More later because this has been a source of some frustration!

 

[Sparklin]

The only picture that is showing up is your first one.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Bah, it looks like maybe Snapfish doesn't support this anymore. It worked last year...
So it'll be a bit since apparently I need to use photobucket.

 

[Busymom85]

Looking forward to the rest.

 

[battricia]

subscribing!

tricia.

 

[TigerKat]

Subbing...

 

[AnninIowa]

Subscribing!! I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm not a big meat eater at all; so I'm looking forward to seeing what you ate.

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent ~ Lovely piccies.

 

[budbeerlady]

Love it, keep it up for the vegetarians who love pictures and new places to eat. It will be our first time to Crystal Palace before MNSSHP, I am excited after seeing all the great food.

 

[M2DD's]

Can't wait to read more

 

[lovemydisney]

Hey space ace~~I notice you didn't go to Boma on your trip. I've got it down for 3 meals on our trip just for the great reviews on veggie dining. Love the pics from Crystal Palace as we too are having lunch there in December. Thanks so much for sharing and looking forward to your other reviews as well.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Hey space ace~~I notice you didn't go to Boma on your trip. I've got it down for 3 meals on our trip just for the great reviews on veggie dining. Love the pics from Crystal Palace as we too are having lunch there in December. Thanks so much for sharing and looking forward to your other reviews as well.

Have you been to Boma? We've had two extremely negative experiences there (there's a link in my signature to my 2006 review)...poor service and not that great of food. Also, almost none of the desserts are vegetarian.

Sorry, Boma is a sore spot for me.

 

[battricia]

I've been to boma 2x and had great experiences both times. If you can't find anything to eat as a veggie please ask the chef or your server, when I did this they MADE me a huge meal, and also made a special dessert that was insane. But the second time I went there was pleanty to eat anyway we just ate the buffet.

I would say though, depending on your trip length, that 3x is a lot. There is TONS of other vegetarian dining options in the world, I would consider trying other places! Some of the great places we've found: Mama Melrose in MGM, San Angel Inn (they have a seperate menu that has 2 veggie options and the one we had was really good!), Alfredos the food was good but the service was definately lacking. In the past I had great meals at spoodles but since they have changed the menu I'm not sure I'd try again. In 2003 they had this vegetarian stuffed pepper that was one of the best meals I've ever had.

Anyway just wanted to mention that.

tricia.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Anyway, the Crystal Palace food reviews. We LOVE, love, LOVE Crystal Palace. So here we go:

Broccoli tossed in Puri Puri and topped with Key Lime Ponzu: It was good, as usual. I found the Puri Puri & Key lime...had a little less kick than before. I think this was running low when I grabbed it, but one would think that would have given it more kick.

Corn Spoon Bread: LOVE this stuff. I love black pepper, and this definitely has it! Crunchy on the outside, sweet, spicy, and creamy on the inside. YUM.

Frittata: Per my mom, "Delicious, seasoned just right, with lots of veggies, particularly roasted red peppers." I don't do frittata because I don't care for obvious egg---unless it's egg custard in a dessert or occasionally quiche. But anyway, my mom really enjoys the frittata here---interestingly, she's found it to be far better at lunch than at breakfast.

Pasta Salad: "Oh, it was yummy. Lots of Kalamata olives. Absolutely delicious." Somehow I missed this one and then later I was too full and didn't seek it out. You can see this in one of the hodge podge plates (my mom would like it noted that that's an olive in the foreground, not a prune )

Seasonal Vegetables with ??? Aioli: I think I called this roasted vegetables somewhere, so as you can tell, they weren't super memorable. As I recall, they were very good, but not really unusual. My sister just finished pointing out that Crystal Palace has the leg up because so much of the vegetarian stuff isn't or doesn't feel like side dishes, and even with these, they felt main dish-y. What looked like white asparagus in this, however, was nasty-stringy and bitter.

Vegetable Caponada: This was DELICIOUS! This had eggplant and capers and some other things---we're thinking summer squash and zucchini. This replaced a curry dish that we LOVED, but this was really excellent. Everything in it was perfectly cooked, and it was seasoned so it had a little kick but also a definite sweetness. This was great paired with the basmati rice, which was, as always, great under the various dishes but remarkably delicious in its own right.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes: As usual, really, really yummy. My one word of advice would be to make sure that you don't eat these right after the caponada, which is super-flavorful, because the first bite or two of the potatoes seems bland by comparison---which they really aren't! They're spectacular, so try to go into it with a fresh or refreshed palate.

Mixed field greens with zinfandel dressing: This was "very likely" my mom's favorite thing all week, and she notes that it was especially good with the kalamata olives from the pasta salad. This is one thing she keeps talking about.

Romaine & Blue Cheese Salad: No beef anymore! At least, not when we were there---my mom loved this one, too, and closely examined the salad and the sign...and no more beef! I never understood why there had been beef in it...seemed like an odd combination As a general thing, it seemed to me like a LOT more of the salads were vegetarian this year, as well as being better labeled. My mom agreed strongly.

Couscous Salad: Honestly, I don't remember much other than that this was really good. I think the green was cilantro, which I love and I'm pretty sure that was a dominant flavor. I think there were also raisins and chickpeas, and I enjoy that in my couscous. BTW, this is a cold couscous salad. My sister just pointed out that this was kind of a mixture of tabbouleh and couscous, but way better than tabbouleh we've had at Disney. I think I had two servings of this, so I know it was good!

Mixed fruit with honey & mint: Very good, but not a lot different from regular fruit salad (which is just fine!).

Fourme d'ambert: This is the blue cheese. My mom & sister are still raving about this. I don't care for blue cheese, so this wasn't for me---there's too much salt in the finish. For the Top Chef fans, this is what Miguel couldn't pronounce in season 1.

Murcia del vino: This is the cheese with the purple rind, and we all liked this. It was very creamy and smooth and mild. This was my favorite, my mom & sister both preferred the fourme d'ambert (although they enjoyed this one, too).

Cu... cheese: My mom & sister tried this one. I think the sign described it as "vintage" and having a caramel or nutty flavor---they just found it to be bitter. Per my sister, "I disliked it less the more I ate of it, but..." So this was not a hit. She does speculate that it might be better with wine (not helpful in the MK).

Coconut flan: What can I say? This is a big part of what made us fall in love with Crystal Palace in the first place, and it's still great. THIS is a context in which eggs are good by me. This is so creamy and just melts in your mouth. YUM.

Chocolate Whiskey Mousse Cake: I don't know if that's the right name, but it's something like that...but more importantly...this may have been better than the flan, and I'm NOT a chocolate cake girl. I didn't really notice an alcohol flavor, which was perfect as far as I was concerned. The pudding-y layers really made the whole thing moist and delicious.

Strawberry Cheesecake: It was good, and if I were eating it elsewhere (like, say, Boma), I'd think it was REALLY good, but at CP, it's not the star, for sure. I'm not hugely in to cheesecake, though.

Bread Pudding: Good but not wow, kind of like the strawberry cheesecake. There's just too much competition at CP for it to be a standout.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Courtesy of my sister, some buffet shots.

Cheeses at the dessert bar

Description of the funky cheese

Description of the yummy cheese

Description of the cheese beloved by my posse

Sorry, forgot this last plate. Towards the end of our lunch, they put out a vegetarian pasta dish. It was very tasty and had grapes, which added a nice sweetness and crunch. We were pretty stinkin' full by this point, though.

 

[lovemydisney]

Have you been to Boma? We've had two extremely negative experiences there (there's a link in my signature to my 2006 review)...poor service and not that great of food. Also, almost none of the desserts are vegetarian.

Sorry, Boma is a sore spot for me.

~~I have never eaten at Boma because the only time we stayed at AKL (before DDP) it was always so crowded that we didn't feel like waiting. This year since we will be at AKL again, my DH insisted we try it with ressies. I didn't really want to eat there 3 times though as it was booked one time in place of the new Tusker House buffet that I originally asked for. They weren't taking ressies there yet. Since I had the Concierge make all my ressies I got stuck with Boma 3 times. It's no biggie though as I know my DH will be easy to please and I know I can find a salad, some bread and a good glass of South African wine I will still more than likely cancel one of them and try to get in at the new restaurant over at the Animal Kingdom.

 

[AnninIowa]

Yum, the cheese looks yummy! Not to change the subject, but does anyone know if any other buffets have cheese offered?

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Yum, the cheese looks yummy! Not to change the subject, but does anyone know if any other buffets have cheese offered?

Can't wait to read more!!

This was the first time we've seen it! CP usually has some cheese, but in the past it was always like for sandwiches rather than the fancy stuff.

 

[KimWDW]

Awesome. Can't wait to see more pics as I don't like meat, either.