A Drinker and a Dessert Fiend Dine Around Disney - Completed 11/20!
- Thread starter cbg1027
- Start date
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
Can't wait to hear what you think of Boma, we have our first ADR there in March
Until I get around to the review, I'll give you a hint and say that you should definitely keep that ADR!
That culinary tour sounds awesome! I will have to try that next Saturday when I go for my solo day-trip! The price can't be beat.
And those wine trees- I WANT ONE! (Does Santa come in March? Because I don't think that I could wait until December!!!
It was awesome, if you can make it over there at 4, you should definitely take the tour! Maybe then you can ask about buying a wine tree.
Thanks, glad you like them!
More, please ...
They're coming!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
I had signed me and Mark up for DIS Meet that evening - dinner at Boma with a group of about 25 DISers! We met at the check in podium and ended up with a group of about 25 people. (Our poor server! 
)
They put some tables together for us and Mark and I took seats down at the end (closest to the food, of course!). We were really hungry and eager to try everything after our preview on the culinary tour, so we dove right in!
For my first plate, I went some salad and bread:
The salad was mixed baby greens, and I opted for the Apple Vinaigrette dressing. It was sweet and tart, just like a green apple. I liked it, but would have prefered some other veggies in the salad.
The bread was a piece of Pita and what I think was Pap, with a red pepper hummus. I thought all of those items were good.
On my next trip I went with some soup:
That is the Ginger-Carrot I tasted earlier. It was wonderful! Creamy, thick, and sweet with a bit of ginger flavor.
For my next trip, I tried some of the main course dishes:
Starting from the large piece on the top left, with the Durban Spiced Chicken - This was pretty good. I loved the flavor, and the skin was crispy and covered in spices, the way I like it, but the meat was a tad too dry.
Next we have the Couscous Marrakesh - coucous with vegetables and a tomato based sauce. I liked this dish a lot too...nothing spectacular, but tasty and filling. The couscous was cooked nicely, not too hard or soft, and the vegetables were the same.
The next dish going clockwise is...Pap? I think? Sorry, I'm not too sure...but whatever it was, it's obviously forgettable...so not too good, but not bad either. Nothing I would get again if I go back to Boma.
Next up is the Bobotie - ground lamb and beef with onions and raisins, topped with a savory corn-type of bread. This was just OK. The meat mixture was good in flavor, but could use some more moisture. The bread was pretty dry as well, so whole dish had a dry texture profile. Nothing bad, nothing good, just meh.
The next item is Falafel with Mustard Sauce. This was the best item on the plate. The falafel was excellent - crispy and hard on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, with a wonderful blend of spices. The mustard sauce was very tasty and nice change from the usual accompaniment of a cucumber-yogurt sauce. I've had Falafel all over Israel and Europe, and I thought this was just as good as the best stuff I've had in my travels.
The last item is a cornbread muffin. It was really sweet, but very good. Moist bread, but somewhat crumbly.
I went for another round because I really wanted to try more stuff:
Top left is the Curry Pasta Salad. This was pretty good, and different for a pasta salad. The dressing was creamy and curry-fied!
The next item to the right was a Corn and Plantain salad. This was my favorite item from the cold salad pod. I love sweet fried plantains, and mixed with some corn and a sweetish dressing....delicious!
The last item on the bottom is the Watermelon Rind Salad. I did not like this at all. The watermelon was, as it says, the part from close to rind, so it was very bitter. It had a dressing that was somewhat spicy. I usually like spicy stuff, but when paired with bitter fruit, it doesn't make a tasty combination in my book.
After an eating break, where we sung happy birthday to one of the DISers and presented her with a cake, it was time to hit my favorite pod of all - the dessert pod!
My plate:
Almost all the desserts at Boma are these adorable individual 2 bite servings. Right up my alley, because I love being able to sample lots of things, rather than committing to one item per course!
In the middle of the plate is the Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake, my favorite item. It was cheesecake with a cooked pineapple layer...just like you get on the cake...but on cheesecake. Yummy!
Directly above that is the Guava Cake. I didn't really like this too much. The texture was somewhere between custard and jello, but much harder. Guess I'm not huge on Guava though either.
The next item, going clockwise, was a Cinnamon-Coffee bon bon type of thing. The outside was chocolate, and the inside was a wonderful cream filling flavored with coffee and cinnamon, garnished with a coffee bean on top. It was like a really good piece of chocolate from Godiva, but the chocolate coating was thin. Probably my 2nd favorite item.
Next we have the Zebra Dome - a cake base with a Kahlua cream filling, topped in white chocolate. I didn't get what all the fuss is over. I'm not a white chocolate fan, so that may have something to do with it, but the Zebra Dome just didn't do anything for me.
The next item was a Passion Fruit Panna Cotta. This I could take or leave. Very light and fruity, but nothing I'd run back for.
The last piece is a coffee tartlette of some sort. It had a pasty shell filled with a coffee-flavored cream. I liked this a lot, and it was my third favorite item.
I enjoyed my dinner at Boma and felt that it was a good value (for Disney dining). I got to sample lots of different foods, which is a huge plus for me. I think Boma warrants a visit at some point for everyone, but it's not a place I would go rushing back to on every trip.
A respectable 7 out of 10 rating.
)They put some tables together for us and Mark and I took seats down at the end (closest to the food, of course!). We were really hungry and eager to try everything after our preview on the culinary tour, so we dove right in!
For my first plate, I went some salad and bread:
The salad was mixed baby greens, and I opted for the Apple Vinaigrette dressing. It was sweet and tart, just like a green apple. I liked it, but would have prefered some other veggies in the salad.
The bread was a piece of Pita and what I think was Pap, with a red pepper hummus. I thought all of those items were good.
On my next trip I went with some soup:
That is the Ginger-Carrot I tasted earlier. It was wonderful! Creamy, thick, and sweet with a bit of ginger flavor.
For my next trip, I tried some of the main course dishes:
Starting from the large piece on the top left, with the Durban Spiced Chicken - This was pretty good. I loved the flavor, and the skin was crispy and covered in spices, the way I like it, but the meat was a tad too dry.
Next we have the Couscous Marrakesh - coucous with vegetables and a tomato based sauce. I liked this dish a lot too...nothing spectacular, but tasty and filling. The couscous was cooked nicely, not too hard or soft, and the vegetables were the same.
The next dish going clockwise is...Pap? I think? Sorry, I'm not too sure...but whatever it was, it's obviously forgettable...so not too good, but not bad either. Nothing I would get again if I go back to Boma.
Next up is the Bobotie - ground lamb and beef with onions and raisins, topped with a savory corn-type of bread. This was just OK. The meat mixture was good in flavor, but could use some more moisture. The bread was pretty dry as well, so whole dish had a dry texture profile. Nothing bad, nothing good, just meh.
The next item is Falafel with Mustard Sauce. This was the best item on the plate. The falafel was excellent - crispy and hard on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, with a wonderful blend of spices. The mustard sauce was very tasty and nice change from the usual accompaniment of a cucumber-yogurt sauce. I've had Falafel all over Israel and Europe, and I thought this was just as good as the best stuff I've had in my travels.
The last item is a cornbread muffin. It was really sweet, but very good. Moist bread, but somewhat crumbly.
I went for another round because I really wanted to try more stuff:
Top left is the Curry Pasta Salad. This was pretty good, and different for a pasta salad. The dressing was creamy and curry-fied!
The next item to the right was a Corn and Plantain salad. This was my favorite item from the cold salad pod. I love sweet fried plantains, and mixed with some corn and a sweetish dressing....delicious!
The last item on the bottom is the Watermelon Rind Salad. I did not like this at all. The watermelon was, as it says, the part from close to rind, so it was very bitter. It had a dressing that was somewhat spicy. I usually like spicy stuff, but when paired with bitter fruit, it doesn't make a tasty combination in my book.
After an eating break, where we sung happy birthday to one of the DISers and presented her with a cake, it was time to hit my favorite pod of all - the dessert pod!
My plate:
Almost all the desserts at Boma are these adorable individual 2 bite servings. Right up my alley, because I love being able to sample lots of things, rather than committing to one item per course!
In the middle of the plate is the Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake, my favorite item. It was cheesecake with a cooked pineapple layer...just like you get on the cake...but on cheesecake. Yummy!
Directly above that is the Guava Cake. I didn't really like this too much. The texture was somewhere between custard and jello, but much harder. Guess I'm not huge on Guava though either.
The next item, going clockwise, was a Cinnamon-Coffee bon bon type of thing. The outside was chocolate, and the inside was a wonderful cream filling flavored with coffee and cinnamon, garnished with a coffee bean on top. It was like a really good piece of chocolate from Godiva, but the chocolate coating was thin. Probably my 2nd favorite item.
Next we have the Zebra Dome - a cake base with a Kahlua cream filling, topped in white chocolate. I didn't get what all the fuss is over. I'm not a white chocolate fan, so that may have something to do with it, but the Zebra Dome just didn't do anything for me.
The next item was a Passion Fruit Panna Cotta. This I could take or leave. Very light and fruity, but nothing I'd run back for.
The last piece is a coffee tartlette of some sort. It had a pasty shell filled with a coffee-flavored cream. I liked this a lot, and it was my third favorite item.
I enjoyed my dinner at Boma and felt that it was a good value (for Disney dining). I got to sample lots of different foods, which is a huge plus for me. I think Boma warrants a visit at some point for everyone, but it's not a place I would go rushing back to on every trip.
A respectable 7 out of 10 rating.
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
On Monday 12/14 Mark and I went to DHS. We had an 11:40 ADR for the Hollywood Brown Derby.
The check in podium:
I loved the decor of the restaurant. It's a perfect theme for DHS. The atmosphere is a little 'off' because you have waiters in suits and bowties but the customers are in shorts and sneakers. Looks a little funny, but being inside a theme park, it wouldn't be a good idea to impose a dress code.
The dining room is open, and airy, with a sunken in main area and more tables up a level on the sides:
We were sat at one of the neat horseshoe shaped booths. Our server was Linda and she was very attentive throughout our meal.
I got a water to drink and Mark had a beer on draft called Red Hook that he seemed to enjoy since he ordered a second glass later.
Linda brought out rolls with butter after we placed our orders:
These were good rolls - hard and crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Much like an individual baguette type of bread.
We started with the Cobb Salad for Two:
It's made with chopped greens, turkey breast, bacon, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, bleu cheese, avocado, and chives. Neither one of us wanted the avocado so had that omitted from ours. Mark didn't want chives, so I had Linda bring those on the side. The dressing is a French-style vinaigrette.
The salad is brought to the table and presented to you like it appears above.
Then the server will ask if they can toss your salad, so afterwards it looks like this:
Once Linda left the table, Mark commented to me that he's never had a sever ask to toss his salad before.
But back to the food...
The Cobb salad was delicious! I could not get enough of it. I love salads, and the smaller the pieces are, the better to me. I like to get a bit of all the ingredients in each bite, so the way this was prepared was right up my alley. Mark doesn't eat too much green stuff, so the Cobb salad was definitely split more along the 75/25 range.
After we finished our salads Linda brought out our main courses. Mark had the Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Baby Spinach, Cannellini Beans, Ugli Tomato, Warm Bacon Vinaigrette, and Lemon Aioli.
I tasted the fish and greens and they were excellent. The salmon was moist and flaky and cooked to perfection. It was especially delicious with some of the spinach and a dollop of the lemon aioli. Mark loved the fish, but as I'm sure you can predict by now, left most of the vegetables alone.
For my entree I picked the Cremini Mushroom Chevre Tortelloni with Tomato-Fennel Sauce and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, which was actually an appetizer dish.
This was another hit except for one problem - the pasta was not cooked all the way where the pieces overlap. It didn't really bother me since the single layers around the filling were al dente though. I just are around the hard undercooked parts. It was a very good dish otherwise. The filling was soft and light and the sauce was a bit creamy. Very tasty tortelloni in my book.
One of the reasons I had ordered the tortelloni as an entree was so I could save room for dessert. I knew months in advance that I had to try the Grapefruit Cake!
I love grapefruit, and I love cake.....so how could I go wrong with this little beauty? It's now one of my favorite Disney desserts. Layers of light yellow cake, with cream cheese icing and a grapefruit jelly/glaze substance....perfection on a plate!
Mark didn't order a dessert, his 2nd glass of beer did the job for him!
I had a cappuccino after my cake. That was an excellent finish to an excellent meal, and the whole affair was nice break from theme park touring.
I'd rate the Hollywood Brown Derby at an 8.5.
Be aware that is considered a signature restaurant and takes 2 TS credits if you;re on the DDP. Accordingly, prices are pretty high - the salmon was $33. They do take TIW, which we used for a 20% discount.
The check in podium:
I loved the decor of the restaurant. It's a perfect theme for DHS. The atmosphere is a little 'off' because you have waiters in suits and bowties but the customers are in shorts and sneakers. Looks a little funny, but being inside a theme park, it wouldn't be a good idea to impose a dress code.
The dining room is open, and airy, with a sunken in main area and more tables up a level on the sides:
We were sat at one of the neat horseshoe shaped booths. Our server was Linda and she was very attentive throughout our meal.
I got a water to drink and Mark had a beer on draft called Red Hook that he seemed to enjoy since he ordered a second glass later.
Linda brought out rolls with butter after we placed our orders:
These were good rolls - hard and crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Much like an individual baguette type of bread.
We started with the Cobb Salad for Two:
It's made with chopped greens, turkey breast, bacon, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, bleu cheese, avocado, and chives. Neither one of us wanted the avocado so had that omitted from ours. Mark didn't want chives, so I had Linda bring those on the side. The dressing is a French-style vinaigrette.
The salad is brought to the table and presented to you like it appears above.
Then the server will ask if they can toss your salad, so afterwards it looks like this:
Once Linda left the table, Mark commented to me that he's never had a sever ask to toss his salad before.
But back to the food...The Cobb salad was delicious! I could not get enough of it. I love salads, and the smaller the pieces are, the better to me. I like to get a bit of all the ingredients in each bite, so the way this was prepared was right up my alley. Mark doesn't eat too much green stuff, so the Cobb salad was definitely split more along the 75/25 range.
After we finished our salads Linda brought out our main courses. Mark had the Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Baby Spinach, Cannellini Beans, Ugli Tomato, Warm Bacon Vinaigrette, and Lemon Aioli.
I tasted the fish and greens and they were excellent. The salmon was moist and flaky and cooked to perfection. It was especially delicious with some of the spinach and a dollop of the lemon aioli. Mark loved the fish, but as I'm sure you can predict by now, left most of the vegetables alone.
For my entree I picked the Cremini Mushroom Chevre Tortelloni with Tomato-Fennel Sauce and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, which was actually an appetizer dish.
This was another hit except for one problem - the pasta was not cooked all the way where the pieces overlap. It didn't really bother me since the single layers around the filling were al dente though. I just are around the hard undercooked parts. It was a very good dish otherwise. The filling was soft and light and the sauce was a bit creamy. Very tasty tortelloni in my book.
One of the reasons I had ordered the tortelloni as an entree was so I could save room for dessert. I knew months in advance that I had to try the Grapefruit Cake!
I love grapefruit, and I love cake.....so how could I go wrong with this little beauty? It's now one of my favorite Disney desserts. Layers of light yellow cake, with cream cheese icing and a grapefruit jelly/glaze substance....perfection on a plate!
Mark didn't order a dessert, his 2nd glass of beer did the job for him!
I had a cappuccino after my cake. That was an excellent finish to an excellent meal, and the whole affair was nice break from theme park touring.
I'd rate the Hollywood Brown Derby at an 8.5.
Be aware that is considered a signature restaurant and takes 2 TS credits if you;re on the DDP. Accordingly, prices are pretty high - the salmon was $33. They do take TIW, which we used for a 20% discount.
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
After seeing Fantasmic and the Osborne Lights, we headed to the GF for a late dinner at Narcoossee's. When I first asked Mark about what kind of cuisine he'd like to try on our trip, his first response was "Lobster!". 
We had a 9:15 ADR but checked in early at 8:40 in hopes of being seated sooner. This was our longest day of the trip and in order to see Fantasmic, we had to book dinner later than we would have liked to eat.
The restaurant was extremely busy when we checked in - all the tables were full and the small lobby area was jammed. We waited a while in the lobby because part of the kitchen is right there in view - mainly the area where they prepare the whole lobsters!
At this point, and with the smells, sights, and sounds of the kitchen wafting our way, we were starving. But the buzzer I had my hand remained quiet and still. We walked out to the great wrap-around porch and watched the Electrical Water Pageant go by. There's a great view of the MK and the CR:
After what felt like an eternity, our buzzer FINALLY went off at 9:40 - 1 hour after our arrival and 25 mins after our ADR time. This was the only time of our trip that we waited more than 5 minutes to be seated.
We were lead to a table on the lower level opposite the window side, but still had a great view.
It took a long time for our server to show up, and unfortunately, that was the trend of the evening with her. It was late and the restaurant was maybe 1/4 full by the time we were seated, so I'm not sure why the service was lacking. She only seemed to have 1 other table to attend to. She was perfectly nice and attentive when she was at our table....it just took a really long time in between visits, so we would sit with empty drink glasses and such for a long time.
We ordered waters to begin with, and were brought our some of Narcoossee's sourdough bread and butter with sea salt:
I thought this was the worst bread I've had in a Disney restaurant. There was almost no crust, but the outside edge was extremely tough to tear and hard to chew. It tasted like something from a bad grocery store bakery. Not what I expect at a signature restaurant.
Mark knew long before we arrived what he was ordering. He started with a glass of Trentadue Merlot while I had an appetizer - Hearts of Romaine with Ceasar Dressing, Cripsy Prosciutto and a Parmesan Crisp:
This was an excellent salad. The lettuce was crispy and fresh, the croutons were homemade, the cheese was freshly grated, and the prosciutto was a genius addition. It had been dried in some way so that it became cripsy and then chopped in to tiny pieces. I called it high-end bacon bits. My only complaint was that there could have been a bit more dressing. But overall, a very enjoyable dish.
When it came time for entrees, Mark of course had the Whole Steamed Maine Lobster with Drawn Butter, Potato Gratin, and Haricot Verts.
It's served all torn apart and ready to eat - not much more work required to eat the Lobster here!
I tasted the Lobster and wasn't a fan. It was a bit too chewy for my tastes, but I don't like lobster that much to begin with. Mark LOVED it though. The Potato Gratin was very good, but the slices were too thick to me. The Haricots Verts were just ok - plain steamed green beans. Nothing special.
Mark had another glass of wine with his Lobster - the same Trentadue Merlot. Doesn't seem like an optimal pairing to me....but hey, Mark was a happy camper so more power to him.
I selected the Lobster Agnolotti - Sauteed Lobster, Sherry-Lobster Cream, Micro-Chard, and Fresh Winter Truffles, which was an appetizer special, as my entree.
My first thought when describing this dish is "OK". It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. You're probably wondering why I ordered a dish where Lobster is the prominent ingredient when I said I'm not a huge fan. To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure. I guess the pairings sounded good, and at all the other signatures, I've found that I love the dishes even when they have an ingredient I'm not wild over.
Mark ate every last bit of Lobster and barely touched the Potatoes and Green Beans. He drank all the wine too, of course. I nibbled at his potatoes some since I wasn't wild over my dish.
By the time we finished dinner, it was 10:45 and we were very tired. I declined to even look at the dessert menu because I didn't want to be tempted. It was late and we had an early breakfast ADR the next morning, so we paid the bill and were on our way.
I'd rate Narcoossee's a 6 out of 10. The service was lagging and most of the food was just....OK. The salad was delicious, and Mark thought the Lobster was excellent so it wasn't a wasted meal, but it's no where on my list of places to rush back to. On the other hand, if someone I was with REALLY wanted to go, I wouldn't have a problem joining them.
Coming up next: Breakfast with our friends from the 100 Acre Wood.
We had a 9:15 ADR but checked in early at 8:40 in hopes of being seated sooner. This was our longest day of the trip and in order to see Fantasmic, we had to book dinner later than we would have liked to eat.
The restaurant was extremely busy when we checked in - all the tables were full and the small lobby area was jammed. We waited a while in the lobby because part of the kitchen is right there in view - mainly the area where they prepare the whole lobsters!
At this point, and with the smells, sights, and sounds of the kitchen wafting our way, we were starving. But the buzzer I had my hand remained quiet and still. We walked out to the great wrap-around porch and watched the Electrical Water Pageant go by. There's a great view of the MK and the CR:
After what felt like an eternity, our buzzer FINALLY went off at 9:40 - 1 hour after our arrival and 25 mins after our ADR time. This was the only time of our trip that we waited more than 5 minutes to be seated.
We were lead to a table on the lower level opposite the window side, but still had a great view.
It took a long time for our server to show up, and unfortunately, that was the trend of the evening with her. It was late and the restaurant was maybe 1/4 full by the time we were seated, so I'm not sure why the service was lacking. She only seemed to have 1 other table to attend to. She was perfectly nice and attentive when she was at our table....it just took a really long time in between visits, so we would sit with empty drink glasses and such for a long time.
We ordered waters to begin with, and were brought our some of Narcoossee's sourdough bread and butter with sea salt:
I thought this was the worst bread I've had in a Disney restaurant. There was almost no crust, but the outside edge was extremely tough to tear and hard to chew. It tasted like something from a bad grocery store bakery. Not what I expect at a signature restaurant.
Mark knew long before we arrived what he was ordering. He started with a glass of Trentadue Merlot while I had an appetizer - Hearts of Romaine with Ceasar Dressing, Cripsy Prosciutto and a Parmesan Crisp:
This was an excellent salad. The lettuce was crispy and fresh, the croutons were homemade, the cheese was freshly grated, and the prosciutto was a genius addition. It had been dried in some way so that it became cripsy and then chopped in to tiny pieces. I called it high-end bacon bits.
My only complaint was that there could have been a bit more dressing. But overall, a very enjoyable dish.When it came time for entrees, Mark of course had the Whole Steamed Maine Lobster with Drawn Butter, Potato Gratin, and Haricot Verts.
It's served all torn apart and ready to eat - not much more work required to eat the Lobster here!
I tasted the Lobster and wasn't a fan. It was a bit too chewy for my tastes, but I don't like lobster that much to begin with. Mark LOVED it though. The Potato Gratin was very good, but the slices were too thick to me. The Haricots Verts were just ok - plain steamed green beans. Nothing special.
Mark had another glass of wine with his Lobster - the same Trentadue Merlot. Doesn't seem like an optimal pairing to me....but hey, Mark was a happy camper so more power to him.
I selected the Lobster Agnolotti - Sauteed Lobster, Sherry-Lobster Cream, Micro-Chard, and Fresh Winter Truffles, which was an appetizer special, as my entree.
My first thought when describing this dish is "OK". It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. You're probably wondering why I ordered a dish where Lobster is the prominent ingredient when I said I'm not a huge fan. To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure. I guess the pairings sounded good, and at all the other signatures, I've found that I love the dishes even when they have an ingredient I'm not wild over.
Mark ate every last bit of Lobster and barely touched the Potatoes and Green Beans. He drank all the wine too, of course.
I nibbled at his potatoes some since I wasn't wild over my dish. By the time we finished dinner, it was 10:45 and we were very tired. I declined to even look at the dessert menu because I didn't want to be tempted. It was late and we had an early breakfast ADR the next morning, so we paid the bill and were on our way.
I'd rate Narcoossee's a 6 out of 10. The service was lagging and most of the food was just....OK. The salad was delicious, and Mark thought the Lobster was excellent so it wasn't a wasted meal, but it's no where on my list of places to rush back to. On the other hand, if someone I was with REALLY wanted to go, I wouldn't have a problem joining them.
Coming up next: Breakfast with our friends from the 100 Acre Wood.
Gouden Leeuw
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2010
Just got caught up on your review and lovin it so far. I will be heading to some of the same place for my upcoming trip so your reviews will be helpful.
I cant wait for that lobster!
Cheers
I cant wait for that lobster!
Cheers
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
Thanks for joining in! I'm going to try to post the next review this weekend.
ChristaDeVil
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2008
Leshaface
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
Once Linda left the table, Mark commented to me that he's never had a sever ask to toss his salad before.
Such a guy!! I got the cobb salad as well and DH muttered something like as well! 
Great reviews so far!!
Must say I'm a dessert fiend too!!
But I'm also an alcohol fiend! so I get to enjoy everything you have to offer!!! 
By the way aren't the margs in La Cava sooo marvelous?! If they were 13 bucks a piece I'd have them all!! 
vinotinto
Just Keep Swimming
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
Well Abby, we drink too and we eat desserts, so I'm finding your reviews lovely! You are hitting many spots I have ADRs for: Y&Y, Brown Derby, Narcoosee (which I'm likely changing to Jiko soon), Cali Grill, Coral Reef, Le Cellier, and 'Ohana.
Looking forward to the rest!
Looking forward to the rest!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
Aw thanks.
Great reviews so far!!
Must say I'm a dessert fiend too!!
I love those La Cava margs. I'm already pondering which one to try next time!
I see mixed reviews for Narcoossee's, so maybe their problem in consistency. Hope you have a great meal!
I think changing to Jiko would be a smart move. I recently tried Jiko and it was fabulous. One of my favorite signatures now! I'll do a review in my next report.
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
I was lucky enough to score an 8:05am Crystal Palace ADR on December 15. I was very excited about being able to show Mark an almost empty Main Street and get good castle pictures.
It was a damp, overcast morning, so I was very disappointed when we passed under the train tracks in to the MK to see......well, not much! It was so foggy you couldn't see the castle from the end of Main Street!
Oh well...there were good things to come!
We checked in at CP and shortly after the CM's, Winnie the Pooh, and Friends come out on the front porch to welcome everyone. Then they started calling people in.
The restaurant is very light and airy with large windows and open space.
Our server, Edward, greeted us right away, took drink orders and told us to help ourselves to the buffet!
The Buffet area:
Mark and I wasted no time (we had a date with Space Mountain at 9am!) and collected our breakfasts!
My first plate:
First we have the Chocolate(!) Mickey Waffle - I have never seen these before and thought maybe it was special for the holiday season. I was super excited by it, and I LOVE chocolate, but I thought the regular ones tasted much better. The chocolate made for a heavier waffle I think and the flavor just wasn't....right.
And next, going clockwise, there is the Cinnamon Puffed French Toast - OMG.
This is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. Imagine that the best Cinnamon French Toast you've ever eaten had a love child with a warm, freshly cooked, homemade donut. It was puffy, fluffy, light, and cinnamon spiced on the inside and cripsy and sugared on the outside. I dipped it in some maple syrup and thought I was about to have a food coma. I am now addicted to Puffed French Toast and have a hard time going to Disney and skipping CP!
OK moving on....Breakfast Pizza. This was also very good. It's a pizza crust, spread with gravy and topped with scrambled egg and what I think is Monterrey Jack cheese. For some reason it didn't look that appealing to me, but I wanted to try it and see. I was glad I did. It's a very filling item, so you can't eat too much of it, but I reasoned that I needed some protein with all those carbs so I didn't crash before lunchtime!
The orange item is the Pastrami Smoked Salmon. Another excellent item! It's very strong and fishy though, so it didn't really go with the other foods I was eating. If I was just having a bagel with cream cheese and some fruit, I would have eaten a ton of this.
The next thing up is a Red Jacket Potato. They're just basic roasted(I think) potatoes with a few seasonings, but done very nicely. They were a bit crisped and perfectly spiced, soft on the inside, and a tasty accompaniment with the breakfast pizza.
In the middle is a sausage link. I think it was pork. It was a basic breakfast link, but tasty, especially dipped in maple syrup!
While eating our meal, we had some visitors stop by to say hello. We saw piglet first, then the bear himself, Winnie the Pooh stopped by.
I went for a second plate of mostly the same items.
On the bottom right is a vegetable frittata. This was just ok. I suppose it was too healthy for the rest of my meal so it just didn't do anything for me that morning. It was the slightest bit on the runny side and I don't like undercooked eggs either.
On the bottom left is Pooh's Breakfast Lasagna. This had to be the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten at Disney. I'm not even sure what it was or how to describe it. It had a cake like layer, a jam/fruit layer, and this...custard stuff that reminded me way too much of jello for some reason. I took one bite and didn't touch the rest.
Luckily I had more Puffed French Toast to wash it down with and end my meal on a high note!
For some reason I didn't take any photos of Mark's food. I know he got a made-to-order omelet at one point that he really enjoyed, along with some biscuits and gravy.
Edward was a great server. He kept our juice and coffee filled and was always there to clear the dirty plates. He was also extremely cheery and encouraged us to join the little parade they have with Pooh leading the way.
We saw my favorite, Eeyore, near the end of our meal.
Oh he just so adorable and sad. He's one of my all time favorite characters.
We missed Tigger because we decided getting to Space Mountain asap was more important to us. Nothing personal Tigger!
The Crystal Palace is my favorite breakfast spot in Disney now and I highly recommend it. I find shelling out almost $25 for breakfast somewhat painful, but it's totally worth it to have that pre-park opening ADR, the (mostly) delicious food, good service, gorgeous setting, and wonderful characters in the same package.
A 9 out of 10 rating!
It was a damp, overcast morning, so I was very disappointed when we passed under the train tracks in to the MK to see......well, not much! It was so foggy you couldn't see the castle from the end of Main Street!
Oh well...there were good things to come!
We checked in at CP and shortly after the CM's, Winnie the Pooh, and Friends come out on the front porch to welcome everyone. Then they started calling people in.
The restaurant is very light and airy with large windows and open space.
Our server, Edward, greeted us right away, took drink orders and told us to help ourselves to the buffet!
The Buffet area:
Mark and I wasted no time (we had a date with Space Mountain at 9am!) and collected our breakfasts!
My first plate:
First we have the Chocolate(!) Mickey Waffle - I have never seen these before and thought maybe it was special for the holiday season. I was super excited by it, and I LOVE chocolate, but I thought the regular ones tasted much better. The chocolate made for a heavier waffle I think and the flavor just wasn't....right.
And next, going clockwise, there is the Cinnamon Puffed French Toast - OMG.
This is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. Imagine that the best Cinnamon French Toast you've ever eaten had a love child with a warm, freshly cooked, homemade donut. It was puffy, fluffy, light, and cinnamon spiced on the inside and cripsy and sugared on the outside. I dipped it in some maple syrup and thought I was about to have a food coma. I am now addicted to Puffed French Toast and have a hard time going to Disney and skipping CP!OK moving on....Breakfast Pizza. This was also very good. It's a pizza crust, spread with gravy and topped with scrambled egg and what I think is Monterrey Jack cheese. For some reason it didn't look that appealing to me, but I wanted to try it and see. I was glad I did. It's a very filling item, so you can't eat too much of it, but I reasoned that I needed some protein with all those carbs so I didn't crash before lunchtime!
The orange item is the Pastrami Smoked Salmon. Another excellent item! It's very strong and fishy though, so it didn't really go with the other foods I was eating. If I was just having a bagel with cream cheese and some fruit, I would have eaten a ton of this.
The next thing up is a Red Jacket Potato. They're just basic roasted(I think) potatoes with a few seasonings, but done very nicely. They were a bit crisped and perfectly spiced, soft on the inside, and a tasty accompaniment with the breakfast pizza.
In the middle is a sausage link. I think it was pork. It was a basic breakfast link, but tasty, especially dipped in maple syrup!
While eating our meal, we had some visitors stop by to say hello. We saw piglet first, then the bear himself, Winnie the Pooh stopped by.
I went for a second plate of mostly the same items.
On the bottom right is a vegetable frittata. This was just ok. I suppose it was too healthy for the rest of my meal so it just didn't do anything for me that morning. It was the slightest bit on the runny side and I don't like undercooked eggs either.
On the bottom left is Pooh's Breakfast Lasagna. This had to be the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten at Disney. I'm not even sure what it was or how to describe it. It had a cake like layer, a jam/fruit layer, and this...custard stuff that reminded me way too much of jello for some reason. I took one bite and didn't touch the rest.
Luckily I had more Puffed French Toast to wash it down with and end my meal on a high note!
For some reason I didn't take any photos of Mark's food. I know he got a made-to-order omelet at one point that he really enjoyed, along with some biscuits and gravy.
Edward was a great server. He kept our juice and coffee filled and was always there to clear the dirty plates. He was also extremely cheery and encouraged us to join the little parade they have with Pooh leading the way.
We saw my favorite, Eeyore, near the end of our meal.
Oh he just so adorable and sad. He's one of my all time favorite characters.
We missed Tigger because we decided getting to Space Mountain asap was more important to us. Nothing personal Tigger!
The Crystal Palace is my favorite breakfast spot in Disney now and I highly recommend it. I find shelling out almost $25 for breakfast somewhat painful, but it's totally worth it to have that pre-park opening ADR, the (mostly) delicious food, good service, gorgeous setting, and wonderful characters in the same package.
A 9 out of 10 rating!
Great reviews!!
My bf and I were just talking this am about our ADRs for our September trip and I can't talk him into Crystal Palace for breakfast. He looked at the menus on allears and likes the dinner better, I told him that we could take our picture in front of the castle with hardly anyone else around and he SO did not get the allure like I do!! LOL
Glad to see you had a nice vacation!
My bf and I were just talking this am about our ADRs for our September trip and I can't talk him into Crystal Palace for breakfast. He looked at the menus on allears and likes the dinner better, I told him that we could take our picture in front of the castle with hardly anyone else around and he SO did not get the allure like I do!! LOL
Glad to see you had a nice vacation!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
Thanks!
I would keep working on your BF about CP breakfast! It's also fun to go in to the restaurant when it's empty and not be there while it's completely full.
bonnielynn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2005
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
After our breakfast at the Crystal Palace and a morning spent in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, we decided to get some lunch before heading back to POFQ for our afternoon rest.
I normally always go to Columbia Harbour House, but we had 2 days scheduled for MK, so we decided to give Cosmic Ray's a try.
The place is HUGE and LOUD. The ceilings are high, and floors are linoleum. Throw in tons of people, half of them small children....and it felt like an expensive elementary school cafeteria with a Space theme.
There are 3 'bays' serving different items. Mark and I went to different bays and met back up at a table.
Mark went to the burger bay and came back with a Bacon Double Cheeseburger, served with Fries.
They have a pretty substantial toppings bar at Cosmic Rays, so the burgers are served plain and you can add all sorts of stuff to the sandwich on you own. Mark chose to go with just the plain meat and bread.
He said the burger was decent, but nothing special. I didn't taste it, but I did have some of his fries. They're the standard Disney fries found at most the CS locations. When they're hot and fresh, I think they're pretty good. I like the bits of potato skin still on some of the ends. Makes them taste more potato-ey.
I went to the sandwich bay, which also serves burgers, along with some other items like wraps and salads. I chose the Turkey Bacon Wrap, which is served with house-made potato chips.
There wasn't anything that particularly excited me on the menu. I generally like anything with Turkey, but I wasn't wild over bacon. I ordered the wrap thinking I would just take the bacon out, but once I got it, I saw that the bacon was cut in small pieces all throughout the wrap. Hmm.
Besides the turkey and bacon, there was lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese. I decided upon first bite that the wrap seemed too dry, so I went to the toppings bar thinking there would be some ranch dressing. No such luck. They had honey mustard....and that was it.
The line was really long to get to the counter and didn't feel like waiting, so I grabbed a honey mustard. It did not go well with the Turkey and Bacon so I just had the dry wrap. The chips were good, but I felt more like fries at the time, and Mark was nice enough to share.
As I said, I wasn't crazy over bacon. But ever since I ate that wrap, I have been CRAVING bacon! I don't like eating it plain, but I love it on sandwiches. I keep making myself BLT's. Luckily, I found that Turkey Bacon does just fine for me. It's a lot less messy to cook too. Pretty funny huh.
Cosmic Ray's has an Audio-Animatronic alien named Sonny Eclipse who does music sets. I'm sure it's entertaining for children, but I found him super annoying. We didn't linger long.
So all in all, the food was halfway decent, but the enormous size, the noise level, and Sonny Eclipse made Cosmic Ray's a no-go for me. Next time I'll stick with my fish and tuna at Columbia Harbour House.
Rating: 4 out of 10
I normally always go to Columbia Harbour House, but we had 2 days scheduled for MK, so we decided to give Cosmic Ray's a try.
The place is HUGE and LOUD. The ceilings are high, and floors are linoleum. Throw in tons of people, half of them small children....and it felt like an expensive elementary school cafeteria with a Space theme.
There are 3 'bays' serving different items. Mark and I went to different bays and met back up at a table.
Mark went to the burger bay and came back with a Bacon Double Cheeseburger, served with Fries.
They have a pretty substantial toppings bar at Cosmic Rays, so the burgers are served plain and you can add all sorts of stuff to the sandwich on you own. Mark chose to go with just the plain meat and bread.
He said the burger was decent, but nothing special. I didn't taste it, but I did have some of his fries. They're the standard Disney fries found at most the CS locations. When they're hot and fresh, I think they're pretty good. I like the bits of potato skin still on some of the ends. Makes them taste more potato-ey.
I went to the sandwich bay, which also serves burgers, along with some other items like wraps and salads. I chose the Turkey Bacon Wrap, which is served with house-made potato chips.
There wasn't anything that particularly excited me on the menu. I generally like anything with Turkey, but I wasn't wild over bacon. I ordered the wrap thinking I would just take the bacon out, but once I got it, I saw that the bacon was cut in small pieces all throughout the wrap. Hmm.
Besides the turkey and bacon, there was lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese. I decided upon first bite that the wrap seemed too dry, so I went to the toppings bar thinking there would be some ranch dressing. No such luck. They had honey mustard....and that was it.
The line was really long to get to the counter and didn't feel like waiting, so I grabbed a honey mustard. It did not go well with the Turkey and Bacon so I just had the dry wrap. The chips were good, but I felt more like fries at the time, and Mark was nice enough to share. As I said, I wasn't crazy over bacon. But ever since I ate that wrap, I have been CRAVING bacon! I don't like eating it plain, but I love it on sandwiches. I keep making myself BLT's. Luckily, I found that Turkey Bacon does just fine for me. It's a lot less messy to cook too. Pretty funny huh.
Cosmic Ray's has an Audio-Animatronic alien named Sonny Eclipse who does music sets. I'm sure it's entertaining for children, but I found him super annoying. We didn't linger long.
So all in all, the food was halfway decent, but the enormous size, the noise level, and Sonny Eclipse made Cosmic Ray's a no-go for me. Next time I'll stick with my fish and tuna at Columbia Harbour House.
Rating: 4 out of 10
chocolateMinnie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2008
Great reviews, love the photos. Boma is my absolute favourite restaurant at WDW and my excuse for booking AKL for October 2011.
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