December 2009 Better Late than Never Quickie Review

BriarRosie

<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
Joined
Mar 7, 2002
I didn't do a full fledged food report for my December 2009 trip, but I still did manage to snag some decent food porn and lot of opinions about the food I did have in December.

Let's cut to the chase!

Sanaa: I did not take any food porn, and it was my first visit there. I met a couple friends for dinner, and I ordered the sustainable fish entree. At this time, that was an arctic char with shrimp and scallops on a bed of veggies in a light curry broth. The best part for me is that "curry" is a turn off for me, in the normal sense. The smell just turns my stomach. Luckily, this entree does not equate the "curry" smell like the other curry dishes on the menu.

I thought it was not only an excellent portion, the fish, shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly. I would not hestitate to recommend this to anyone, especially at the wonderful value for the dollar compared to most Disney table service restaurants.

Next up: Crew's Cup Lounge (aka "Yachtsman Lite")

I know many of you reading reviews may not know this, but you can often have food from various Disney restaurants in their lounges. Some places make it obvious, while others, not so much.

Located just to the left of the Yachtsman Steakhouse is the Crew's Cup Lounge. And you can order food off the Yachtsman menu in a limited menu. The only steak choices were filet mignon or sirloin. But there are plenty of starters and side dishes for those who don't want steak, as well as the full bar at your disposal.

I decided to try out the "Yachtsman Lite" menu there on December 12, 2009. I went into the lounge early, somewhere between 5:30pm - 6pm. I believe they serve food around 5:30pm, so this worked in my favor.

The best part of my meal I didn't photograph. It was the bread service. They have bread and then they have the onion rolls. :love: And you get butter and a little cup of soft roasted garlic cloves, which spread so well on the bread. This has got to be one the most appetite-destroying dangerous bread baskets at WDW. It's almost addictive as the Kona Crack (aka the Hawaiian bread with macadamia nut butter).

I ordered the filet mignon, and at $40, I expected it to be decent. Or as good as the filet I had a year earlier at Todd English's bluezoo™. Here's what I got:

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Unfortunately, you cannot tell from this photo that there are two pieces of meat laying on top of each other deceptively. The sauce hides that fact. The steak is not outstanding, just ok. Definitely not worth the $40 price tag compared to the steak that Todd served me. The mashed potatoes, however, were everything you want in spuds. Creamy, buttery, may I have more, sir?

I was a piggy and decided to try a side dish, so I ordered creamed spinach. This is a dish you find at almost every steakhouse.

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Loved the parmesan tuile they stuck in it! This was creamy as it should be and had good flavor without the bitterness that spinach can have. I did not eat most of it, since I did have a huge dinner and lots of bread. I ordered this specifically because I knew I could save the leftovers at my DVC unit a few minutes away at BCV.

My biggest problem with my steak was that the quality of the steak was not equal to the price charged. I would have been fine with that price had I gotten a filet comparable to the Todd English filet. Instead, this was closer to Outback quality, IMHO. I was really disappointed. Did I pick the wrong cut of meat? Did they serve me the wrong steak? I have no clue. I would have to order a different cut inside the restaurant to determine if my steak was not the norm.

And now, I want to share with you a food so wrong, yet tasted so right. I mean that in the best possible sense. It looked like it should be called the Clogged Artery. But the name of this beast is called the English Bulldog. You can find this at the Rose and Crown Pub. Yes, pub. Not the restaurant.

Let me describe the English Bulldog first. It is:
Split Banger stuffed with Mashed Potatoes, Chopped Bacon, Irish Cheddar, and a Spiced Mustard Sauce.

I warn you, it looks scary.

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It's served in a thick piece of toasted bread that was bent in half. And you don't have to order chips. As you can see, you get even more potatoes with your potatoes! All for $6.99.

I would never have ordered this had I not heard about this from my friend Kevin, who was at WDW during this time, as well. (We were there for meeting up with our other Disney fan friends.) So I walked into Rose and Crown while I was solo, and who should be there? Kevin! With some other Disney fan friends of ours. They had just placed their order, so I placed mine and joined them. I told Kevin that I was so intrigued by his recommendation, I had to try it, too.

And boy, I am so glad I did! This ought to be gross. It looks like it ought to be gross. But it was so good, beyond my expectation. One of the bartenders who was serving us told us this was not authentic at all to pub food in the UK. Disney made this up themselves thinking it sounded like it should have been "traditional". He admitted he liked this sandwich, too.

I am officially calling this a Guilty Pleasure. Call your cardiologist before ordering one.

And my last review is one of my favorite places not to order an entree: California Grill. I went to the Magic Kingdom to catch the Castle lights ceremony, which I hadn't seen before. I hadn't purchased a ticket to the Christmas party, so I had said my goodbyes to the other DISers I saw there and made my way to California Grill close to 7pm, hoping I could catch a seat at the bar to eat.

While I asked if there was a counter spot available, there wasn't. But I did ask if I could take my chances at the bar, so I was allowed to be escorted up to the restaurant. Wishes didn't start until 9pm, so I was surprised I had that much of a problem. It took me a while to find a spot, and it was a bit awkward, but the bartender was able to relay my order and get me some food. I would have preferred sitting there at the bar itself, but those spots were completely filled.

I ordered an autumn squash soup and one of my favorite sushi rolls, the Spicy Kazan.

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I am a soup person. I love soup. I make soup. I really enjoyed this soup. 'Nuff said.

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There are bay scallops hiding under the panko crumbs and spicy sauce. There was a sunomono type cucumber salad, which was as still as good as I remembered. The roll consists of crab, shrimp, bay scallops, tuna and fireball sauce. It's not fireball. It's your typical type of spicy mayo found at most sushi places I've experienced. I love the stuff, so this was a great dinner for me!

I won't have any more food porn to share until my next Gluttoberfest experience in 6 months. Glad I finally got off my butt and reviewed these!
 


I'm getting the feeling that sushi is the theme of the day :goodvibes Looks yummy! Not so sure about that dish at Rose & Crown Pub :confused3
 
Enjoyed the mini review! :goodvibes

I had a "sustainable" fish at Sanaa in October, totally different than what you were served (would have to look up my photos/notes to see what it was), but it was quite good too. And.... sustainable!

My DH thought the English Bulldog sounded good - he was skeptical about the picture, but liked the sound of the ingredients, thanks for telling us about it. I don't think I've seen it on the pub menu before.

Now to wait for your Gluttoberfest posts! :earsboy:
 
Yum! I am glad Brenda pimped this update or I might have missed it. I was sad to read that your experience with the Crew's Cup/Yachtsman Lite menu was not as good as ours was in October. I really think the butcher mis-cut your filet, hence the two pieces. Maybe they thought you wouldn't notice?? :confused:

The sushi at CG also looked good, but I probably won't be trying it anytime soon. We are on hiatus from that spot for a while.

Now the R&C Pub concoction is right up myBob's alley. We may have to try that out in October when he gets there. Thanks for a new idea, Lori!
 


Thanks for the review- even if it was a quickie! Lol. I have to say, that English bulldog might be enough to get my (gasp) dis-hatin'DH back to epcot for an extra day
 
I'm getting the feeling that sushi is the theme of the day :goodvibes Looks yummy! Not so sure about that dish at Rose & Crown Pub :confused3

Yes I know the artery clogging sandwich appears scary, but it wasn't bad at all! And one thing I always find consistently good at California Grill is the sushi.

Enjoyed the mini review! :goodvibes

I had a "sustainable" fish at Sanaa in October, totally different than what you were served (would have to look up my photos/notes to see what it was), but it was quite good too. And.... sustainable!

My DH thought the English Bulldog sounded good - he was skeptical about the picture, but liked the sound of the ingredients, thanks for telling us about it. I don't think I've seen it on the pub menu before.

Now to wait for your Gluttoberfest posts! :earsboy:

If they have the artic char at Sanaa for a little while, I'd tell anyone to get it while the getting is good! Don't let the picture fool you. The English Bulldog is meat and potatoes goodness.

Yum! I am glad Brenda pimped this update or I might have missed it. I was sad to read that your experience with the Crew's Cup/Yachtsman Lite menu was not as good as ours was in October. I really think the butcher mis-cut your filet, hence the two pieces. Maybe they thought you wouldn't notice?? :confused:

The sushi at CG also looked good, but I probably won't be trying it anytime soon. We are on hiatus from that spot for a while.

Now the R&C Pub concoction is right up myBob's alley. We may have to try that out in October when he gets there. Thanks for a new idea, Lori!

If yourBob doesn't like the English Bulldog, forget that I even mentioned it. :laughing: I will have to give the Yachtsman Lite another chance before I completely write it off. There are such things as flukes. I don't think I have a hiatus restaurant.

Thanks for the review- even if it was a quickie! Lol. I have to say, that English bulldog might be enough to get my (gasp) dis-hatin'DH back to epcot for an extra day

The English Bulldog and La Cava del Tequila (food and drinks alike) are enough to keep me in Epcot for a good long time. :banana:
 
If yourBob doesn't like the English Bulldog, forget that I even mentioned it. :laughing: I will have to give the Yachtsman Lite another chance before I completely write it off. There are such things as flukes. I don't think I have a hiatus restaurant.

I agree that every restaurant is allowed its off nights, but our less than stellar experiences with CA Grill have been going on for 5+ years. I think they have had ample opportunity to show us a different side! I am glad to hear you plan to let Crew's Cup change your mind!


The English Bulldog and La Cava del Tequila (food and drinks alike) are enough to keep me in Epcot for a good long time. :banana:

Amen, sis-tah! :thumbsup2
 
Loved the mini-review... Wish I could just take a mini-trip! You got me to thinking... LOL...

The airfares I'm seeing are making mini trips cost prohibitive for sure! :scared1:

Glad you enjoyed the mini review. I'm probably going to commit to a huge review for October again.
 

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