A Fish Eating Vegetarian's Guide To The World..(UPDATED 8/28 p.3 #40!!)

[ericafny]

Hello everyone! DBF and I have just returned from a fabulous 9 day vacation in the world. Being a fish eating vegetarian means I eat fish, but no red meat, pork, turkey or chicken (or any other wild game that can be considered meat) I thought I would have a difficult time finding different things to eat while at Disney. I also have some dietary restrictions where I can't eat certain spices or foods. Boy was I wrong! Not only did I have a magical vacation, I had some of the best food I have ever eaten!

I am going to give my dining reviews from a vegetarian's perspective, however DBF is not a veggie so feel free to ask me questions about other dishes at the restaurants I ate at as well, I may still be able to answer them (via DBF). Before I get started I want to let everyone know that (a) I took some pictures of some of the food I ate, however sometimes I was so hungry that I forgot to take a pic before I devoured my plate so I will try in detail to describe those dishes to you as best as possible (b) we were on the dining plan (c) we actually stayed 2 nights off property for the first 2 nights so I will not be discussing food I ate there (although I will say Universal does a very poor job catering to vegetarians)...OK, so on with the dining review

DAY ONE

Our first day in the world we were at Epcot and we had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I choose this place because I know it has a variety of choices and many healthy offerings as well. I got the roasted beets and goat cheese salad with cilantro lime dressing. First of all when I got up to the counter to order the salad, the woman that was working must have been training coupled with the fact that she did not speak english very well so when I ordered my salad she thought I said 'chicken ceaser' and she almost gave me that. The person who was training her came over and figured out what I had wanted...so always be aware and try at all times to watch what they give you and make sure they hear you correctly!

On to the salad. I was NOT impressed at all. The salad not only had beets and goat cheese but candied pecans and it came with two pieces of some sort of flat bread cracker (that was actually the best part of the salad!). The beets were not very good and the goat cheese did not taste fresh. I don't even think mine had dressing on it because I barely tasted it. Good thing the dining plan comes with dessert because the chocolate chip cookie I had was delicious! This is the second time I have eaten at Sunshine Seasons and not been impressed. Last year I ate there and got some sort of noodles with broccoli asian dish and thought it was way too salty. I say try one of the CS's in World Showcase if you want to eat CS at Epcot.

For dinner, we ate at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian. Originally we were going to eat at Ohana but the fact that all I can eat there is the shrimp and side dishes coupled with Kevin's really bad review on the podcast, I opted with Kona Cafe. I am soooo glad I did because I have to say this was by far one of the better meals I had all trip. Our server - Donna was amazing! She was really friendly and did not rush us at all. And she knew we were on the dining plan so I am not sure why some people are reporting bad service with the dining plan. They obviously have not had Donna as their server

You start with this wonderful bread and butter (forgot what it was called but it was delicious!!) For appy I order the Creamy Kona Seafood Chowder. This was sooooo yummy! It had chunks of crab meat, lobster, white fish, and shrimp. It was so good that I would definitly say it was the best soup I had all trip! After the soup, I was getting full, but I had to save room for the main dish. I ordered the Shrimp and Scallops. The shrimp was fried tempora style and the scallops were seared. It also came with white 'sticky' rice which had a really good flavor to it as well. I finished about half of my meal but if we weren't going to MK that night to see Spectro & Wishes I would have taken the rest to go )which Donna offered to wrap up for us of course!

By this time I was bursting at the seams but then Donna brought over the dessert menu and well it does come with the dining plan...I ordered the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart. Oh my this was amazing!!! It kind of tastes like pecan pie with chocolate. It is very decadent and it also comes with vanilla ice cream which makes it doubly sinful. I say order it, you are on vacation!

All in all, my experience at Kona was awesome and I will definitly be returning next time I am in the world

Next installment is CS at AK and Cape May Clam Bake Buffet dinner! Stay tuned..

 

[jkmmah]

I'm a fish eating veggie, too, so I will be looking forward to the rest of your reviews. Great start!

 

[ericafny]

I'm a fish eating veggie, too, so I will be looking forward to the rest of your reviews. Great start!

Thanks! I hope to add an installment every day or two.

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent, looking forward to reading more.

 

[hmp2z]

One who eats fish is actually a pescatarian, not a vegetarian. Vegetarians don't eat any animals at all, even seafood. I myself am a pescatarian.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[ericafny]

One who eats fish is actually a pescatarian, not a vegetarian. Vegetarians don't eat any animals at all, even seafood. I myself am a pescatarian.
Cheers!
Heather W

Didn't realize I had to be so technical.

 

[kelleigh1]

I thought I'd seen many favorable reviews of Sunshine Seasons, so we were thinking about dining there. Maybe I'll rethink that.

Ohana was originally in the running, but it just seemed that with the kid games, we wouldn't have enjoyed it ourselves. And I haven't been hearing the best things about the food so we crossed if off the list. Kona sounds good. I think the only reason we didn't choose it was because we didn't need another "MK" area restaurant, but it's definitely on the "maybe next time" list.

One who eats fish is actually a pescatarian, not a vegetarian. Vegetarians don't eat any animals at all, even seafood. I myself am a pescatarian.
Cheers!
Heather W

Thanks for that info. I didn't realize there was a term. Learn something new every day.

 

[jkmmah]

Originally Posted by hmp2z
One who eats fish is actually a pescatarian, not a vegetarian. Vegetarians don't eat any animals at all, even seafood. I myself am a pescatarian.
Cheers!
Heather W

As a fairly recent convert to the non-meat eating side of life I've wondered if there was a term for someone like me who still eats fish but no other animal flesh. I always feel a little guilty saying I'm a veggie when I'm not officially animal-free. Good info to know! Thanks!

 

[ericafny]

I thought I'd seen many favorable reviews of Sunshine Seasons, so we were thinking about dining there. Maybe I'll rethink that.

Ohana was originally in the running, but it just seemed that with the kid games, we wouldn't have enjoyed it ourselves. And I haven't been hearing the best things about the food so we crossed if off the list. Kona sounds good. I think the only reason we didn't choose it was because we didn't need another "MK" area restaurant, but it's definitely on the "maybe next time" list.

Yes I had heard similar reviews about Sunshine Seasons thats why I gave it another try. Oh well..everyone has different tastes!

I definitly say try Kona Cafe. You will be glad you did

 

[TigerKat]

Subscribing...

 

[ericafny]

DAY TWO

Breakfast was cereal in the room, very basic. Since we were on the dining plan we didn't want to waste any CS credits on breakfast (except for one day that we had a late breakfast).

Today we were going to AK, and what better place to eat lunch at in AK is Tusker House. Last year when we went, I was still eating chicken sometimes, so I had their rotisserie chicken they serve there. This year I did some research and saw they had not only a salmon plate but also a veggie sandwich. I asked what was on the veggie sandwich and the woman told me it was a greek salad in a pita. Perfect! Here is a pic of lunch:

It came with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, green & red peppers (which I picked out because I can't eat peppers), red onion, black olives, feta cheese, and greek vinagrette dressing. The pita was nice and soft and the feta cheese was very yummy! It also came with a side of red grapes, which were OK, not the greatest, but was a good side dish for this sandwich (and not to mention healthier than fries too!). For dessert I had chocolate cake:

This was an excellent meal and filling but light enough that I didn't feel weighted down. It was also ridiculously hot that day (OK, OK, it was ridiculously hot EVERY day) so this was a nice refreshing meal. One tip I will also add regarding Tusker House is to eat before 12. We ate around 11:30 and the place was near empty and we got a nice table inside in the AC. As we were leaving, around 12, it started to get very very crowded. I highly recommend Tusker House for lunch or a quick early dinner

On to dinner...Early on in the planning stages of our trip I had made up my mind that we were going to do some buffets this year. I became skeptical though because I wanted to find a buffet that would serve food I would eat (not just meat!). I came across 2 I wanted to try and Cape May Clam Bake Buffet at the Beach Club was one of them (the other one will be talked about later on in the trip).

This was also another great experience for us. We had a 5:30 ADR, which we almost didn't make, but got there at 5:28. I didn't realize this until that night but the buffet opens for dinner at 5:30 so we were one of the first people eating there. I recommend doing this as it gets VERY crowded and the buffet lines were long as we were walking out. We were able to walk right up and get our food. Cape May does a character buffet breakfast, but their dinner does not have characters.

They have a variety of offerings for the seafood lover! There are different spiced clams (garlic, butter, garlic & butter, plain, italian flavored). They also had clam chowder which was good, but not as good as the Kona seafood chowder from the night before. There was peel and eat shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce and baked salmon which was also very good.

In addition to the seafood they had steamed red potatos, a cold salad bar, pasta, chicken, ribs, corn on the cob and a kiddie buffeet with pizza, mac & cheese, and fried chicken.

For dessert there were cookies, brownies, and specialty pastries (mini cheesecakes were good!). They also had this strawberry mousse that was amazing I had to help myself to two servings! It kind of tasted like cotton candy but not as sweet. REALLY yummy!!! (my mouth is watering now as I write... )

I really enjoyed this buffet and the service was great too. Our server brought us as many refills as we wanted and was sure to clear our plates when we got up for more. The atmosphere of the restaurant was really nice and calming too. I felt like I was in a bed and breakfast in a beach town. This is a definite must for the 'pescaterian's' (just learned that term today...see a few posts up) who want to try a buffet.

Up next is lunch at POFQ food court and dinner at Wolfgang Puck Cafe in DTD...stay tuned

 

[Hedy]

Loving the food reviews-it's too bad Tusker House is changing to a buffet-that pita sounds good!

 

[2manypets]

Love your reviews, that pita sounds amazing.

 

[ericafny]

Loving the food reviews-it's too bad Tusker House is changing to a buffet-that pita sounds good!

HAHA, yeah it was definitly good! I forgot that they are changing to a full service restaurant...that stinks! I don't know why they are changing it. With the new Yak & Yetti Restaurant being built they don't really need to change Tusker House to a full service restaurant.

Hopefully they will still keep the pita in some form or another..

 

[ericafny]

Love your reviews, that pita sounds amazing.

Thanks! I'm glad you are liking the reviews.

The pita is good, I highly recommend it

 

[ericafny]

DAY THREE

Today we went to MGM during the day and I am not a HUGE fan of the CS restaurants there. We actually managed to do everything we wanted to do (and it was getting to be extremely hot outside) so we left aroun 12 to head back to POFQ for lunch and to lay by the pool.

I have to admit that I really thought there were going to be a variety of things for me to choose from at the foodcourt. While this was our third day at the resort, it was really the first time we had eaten there (we were eating cereal in the room for breakfast and all our lunches were at the parks). I circled the different areas only to find that I was able to eat the cheese pizza (which being a NY'er I really don't eat pizza when I am in WDW because I know I am going to be dissapointed) the cesar salad minus the chicken and the veggie burger. Since I needed the protein and veggie burgers are soy based I opted for that. It also came with fries which I decided to have as well.

First off, I must have been one of VERY FEW people that order the veggie burger. After I ordered it the poor girl had no clue where to find the patties. She looked in two refrigerator cases and then finally had to ask someone else. After I ordered it, I realized I did not want them to cook it on the same grill as the regular burgers and I asked them if they do that. She told me 'I just put it through the turbo' (I took that to mean she put it in the microwave but if someone else knows what she is talking about please let me know!!). I opted to have american cheese on it (the other choice was provolone). It did not come with any fixins and there were none displayed (although I order this again in a few days and they had a fixin bar with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles set up so someone either complained or they forgot to put it out that day).

The burger was pretty good, standard veggie burger. But the second time I ordered it it was much better because I was able to put the fixins on it. The fries thought I thought tasted like frozen fries that you would buy in the grocery store. Maybe that is standard for all of WDW but I didn't think they tasted the same as the ones you get in the parks. I also ordered a choc chip cookie (remember you get dessert with the DDP) and that was yummy!!

**SIDE NOTE---I forgot to mention that the first night we were there I ordered Beignets because I had heard all these wonderful things about them. I have to say that for me, they are just like what we have here called 'zeppolis' (basically fried dough and powdered sugar). Not impressed, but if you don't have regular access to a treat like this (they sell them in most pizzarias here) then I would say try them...

OK, back to the review..

For dinner we decided on Wolfgang Puck Cafe (downstairs) since it seemed to have a wide offering of food. It kind of reminded me a little bit of the Cheesecake Factory. Our server was very accomodating here. He asked if we had any food allergies or preferences and I told him I ate fish but no other meat. He was so accomodating that the appetizer I ordered Asian Style Vegetable Spring Rolls came with some sort of cucumber salad that had fish oil in it and he wasn't sure if I ate that so he put some lettuce and tomato on my plate instead. Here is a pic of my appetizer:

I didn't enjoy this dish as it was too spicy for me. Also, the rolls are fried and to me when I hear vegetable spring rolls I think steamed, so right there I was duped! But thats OK, because I was allowed to order sushi as my main dish (which I absolutely love!) and ordered a California Roll. Here is a pic of it:

The lighting wasn't great on that pic, but hopefully you will get the idea. Anyways, the sushi was really good and def enough for me as I do not eat alot at one sitting. This was the one meal where I actually did not feel like I was wasting any food. My advice to you if you want to order the sushi as your main deal, order a heavy appetizer and you will be good to go. Even though I didn't really like the appetizer I pretty much ate most of it and since it was fried it was pretty heavy so it filled me up nicely.

OK, please don't flame me here, but we decided to forgo dessert. I know, I know, but we just couldn't possibly stuff anything else into our stomachs. Our server offered to wrap it up for us, but we were headed over to Epcot so we weren't able to do that.

All in all, I highly reccommed Wolfgang Puck. It was a nice restaurant with an interesting and different menu. The service was pretty good too!

Next up is lunch at Earl of Sandwich and dinner at Hollywood & Vine! Stay tuned...

 

[2manypets]

Another good installment. I almost regret dumping my WGP Cafe ressies. The timing just wasn't right. Hopefully next time. That sushi looks really good.

 

[Hedy]

I'm interested to hear that about WGP-after reading in my vegetarian WDW guidebook that their ravioli contain chicken stock, I was hesitant to go there.

 

[ericafny]

Another good installment. I almost regret dumping my WGP Cafe ressies. The timing just wasn't right. Hopefully next time. That sushi looks really good.

Yes I say next time def go. Make it a DTD night and go there and maybe catch a show at the Comedy Club afterwards or go to DisneyQuest. The sushi was yummy! Some of the best sushi I have ever had!

 

[ericafny]

I'm interested to hear that about WGP-after reading in my vegetarian WDW guidebook that their ravioli contain chicken stock, I was hesitant to go there.

Maybe they have changed their ways since then?

Either way if you decide to go I would definitly let them know that you don't eat any meat including chicken stock and I am sure they can accomodate you. I saw the chef walking around talking to people so he may have been speaking to them about their food preferences and restrictions.