So today I was pretty useless. After the Sunrise Safari we were back in our room by noon and DH took a nap. I then laid down with him and fell asleep until 4pm!
Let me rant a bit first. I had to book one night at rack rate CL and the next 3 nights at the 40% off code which gave me 2 reservation numbers. We did keep the same room and hung the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. The door was locked and deadbolted. Mousekeepers came by at 1ish and tried to get us to check out. I said that we were not checking out, we just re-checked in and kept the room and we did not need mousekeeping today. At 3pm they came by again, DH was cranky because they woke him up twice and he is still in a lot of pain and he is trying so hard to relax so I ignored him
, also we missed lunch and he was hungry and basically acting like a child
I wish that you could have one reservation number and have the different days priced out so you did not have to do this silly check in and check out business. Ok I am finished, thank you for allowing me to get this off my chest!
We both fell asleep and woke at 4pm, just in time to shower and dress for dinner at Jiko. I picked this because it was my birthday, it was in our hotel and because I am the planner and what I say goes
We went downstairs at 5:10 and tried to check in, we were the only ones there. The CM said they will not take our names until 5:20. Ok fine, then she proceeds to take about 6 other parties that lined up behind me
What the heck is up with that. A few minutes later the same CM that said they could not check us in did just that and gave us a pager. They were also taking walk ups. There was a young couple from England (the accent gave it away
) and they were really cute, they were a walk in, were given a pager and sat next to us in the bar. Their pager went off the same time ours did and the CM said they cannot be seated because he was wearing a tank top and had his tattoos exposed and he would need to go upstairs and change or purchase a shirt from the gift shop. He asked why they did not tell him that when he checked in....which I agree...why make them wait??
So anyways we were seated in the far back of the restaurant and had a huge view from the window that run along side the place. I was given a birthday button and a card signed by the staff.
Our server was Dawn and she was fantasic. DH is not a wine drinker although he wants to try it so Dawn brought out some red and white wines and he settled on a African Pinot Noir (sp?) and he really enjoyed it. I thought it was so sweet that she let him sample all different kinds before he settled on one.
I just had a plain old ice tea
DH ordered the Field of Greens salad with a lemon dressing and it was amazing. The greens tasted like they were just picked from a garden, tons of veggies and croutons and the dressing was light and tart and so clean tasting, just awesome!
I had the Taste of Africa bread sampler with a very spicy Lavosh, nutty tasting Naan bread and toasted pita with a Kalamata Olive dip, Tomato bean dip and a Pesto Herb dip (none of these were like the ones at Boma). This was amazing and DH fell in love with it. All the dips were fantastic, the olive was DHs fav and I loved the sweet tang of the tomato one. The breads were all wonderful but the spicy lavosh is a hidden killer, the heat kicks in after you eat it! At this point DH was head over heels in love with Jiko and said that it was the best place we have ever eaten at in WDW. He said Jiko is worth a trip out of the way, and I agree!
I knew I wanted the filet with red wine reduction and macaroni and cheese but DH was torn between the shrimp, pork or filet. Dawn told him the Shrimp was super spicy, 5 on a scale of 5 for heat and the pork was a 4 on a scale of 5. DH decided on the filet too and boy was he glad he did. I had mine medium rare (cooked perfectly) and DH had his medium well (again cooked perfectly. We cut these steaks with a butter knife they were that tender. The sauce was so fantastic and the mac and cheese was unlike anything I have ever had before, all three items together complimented each other perfectly, like they were made to go together.
Dawn also brought out a sweet corn bread and a grain bread with tandori butter. Again, just perfection on a plate!
We both are members of the clean plate club tonight but DH did have to help me out and eat the last 3 bites of filet for me! DH and I agreed, Jiko kicked Yachtman in the tush!
Of course we had to have dessert, again Dawn was so helpful and suggested the pistachio creme brulee and the lemon curd with sour cream ice cream, blueberries, pomegranets (sp?) and fruit nut biscotti. OMIGOD these were so good.
My only experience with creme brulee was not a good one, Chefs de France burned the top but Jiko did it just right. Light and creamy, just enough rich chocolate on the bottom, wowza it was good!
The other dessert was so light and refreshing, the lemon curd was just sweet and tart enough, the blueberries and poms were so sweet and yummy and the sour cream ice cream was awesome! Would def get this again!
I have a feeling this dinner is going to be the highlight of our trip, it was top notch from beginning to end, everything was just perfect and wonderful and relaxing. Super quiet and calm dining room, no kids that I saw, very helpful server! LOVING IT! I just cannot rave about this place enough
Chocolate & Rasberry, how do I love thee 
Light is good, but I wouldn't have been insulted if it was really rich and decadent 
).
Again, thanks for the food porn. BriarRosie, did you write a trip report? You attended an event we were supposed to go to and I wanted to read your report too.
