Emmysdaddy Joins the Damsels to Dine, Even with Princesses: Em started PDR see link

[ksromack]

I would love Chefs de France but the dh isn't so fond of french food (and I'm already subjecting him to BOG table service and counter service next month)! Really looking forward to your 'Ohana review. It's one I'm really eager to try to next month as well!

 

[smile4stamps]

Chefs de France was good for us as well! We were also seated where we could see the characters... Unfortunately my husband thought I was nuts when I told him to watch that area as we only saw one!

 

[Linda67]

We've never been to Chefs De France but both of us love the look of the menu
Next time we are going to have to hit it for lunch

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Your review of Chefs de France is making me wish we had a ressie there fo our next trip. Hmmmm, I swore I wasn't going to start changing things around, but...

Can't wait to hear your take on 'Ohana.

 

[TigerKat]

I had the A la flamme Alsacienne at Chef's last month for the first time...Oh...my...word...AMAZING!!!! I had to share a taste with my DH and our friends who were dining with us. Everyone was WOWED by it! It is my new WDW obsession.

By the way, we had no ADR. Walked up at 7:00 and were seated in 10 minutes!!!

 

[nanienamou]

Your review really puts Chefs on my radar. That cheese board looks amazing! And I wonder if the crème brûlée at Chefs is made from the same recipe as used at the Boulangerie-Pâtisserie. They have a seriously good crème brûlée!

 

[Jersette]

Everything you had at Chefs sounds (and looks) great!

Now I'm even more excited we're going there in January.

Love your reviews!

 

[emmysmommy]

Glad to see you are back. I hope everything is well with your family! I need to eat at Les Chefs de France one of these times.

And you are back too!!! I tuned into your DR and TR.....I want to hear all the highlights and how everything worked out for your awesome planning!

I love everything that I have eaten at Chefs de France so I encourage others' to try it too.

I would love Chefs de France but the dh isn't so fond of french food (and I'm already subjecting him to BOG table service and counter service next month)! Really looking forward to your 'Ohana review. It's one I'm really eager to try to next month as well!

I don't doubt that BOG will be an awesome dining experience. I would likely choose that over Chefs de France. The good thing about Chefs is that I really don't order anything that I consider really "french" food.

Chefs de France was good for us as well! We were also seated where we could see the characters... Unfortunately my husband thought I was nuts when I told him to watch that area as we only saw one!

Glad you liked Chefs Paula! That's funny that you didn't see a lot of characters rotating in/out. We saw someone about every 15 minutes - Beast, Belle, Marie, or Aurora. Of course, it was really rainy so I wonder if that had something to do with the timing.

We've never been to Chefs De France but both of us love the look of the menu
Next time we are going to have to hit it for lunch

Hi Linda! Why yes, you should hit it up next time!

Your review of Chefs de France is making me wish we had a ressie there fo our next trip. Hmmmm, I swore I wasn't going to start changing things around, but...

Can't wait to hear your take on 'Ohana.

I know the temptation to switch things around!!

I may get 'Ohana posted tonight!

I had the A la flamme Alsacienne at Chef's last month for the first time...Oh...my...word...AMAZING!!!! I had to share a taste with my DH and our friends who were dining with us. Everyone was WOWED by it! It is my new WDW obsession.

By the way, we had no ADR. Walked up at 7:00 and were seated in 10 minutes!!!

I'm so glad that you agree that the flatbread is amazing!! I share your obsession. I have ordered it the last 4 times!!!!

You sound like you had good luck (rather like MickeyNicki) for walk ups. That's not bad considering this is one restaurant where I have seen them turning away walk ups the last 3 times.

Your review really puts Chefs on my radar. That cheese board looks amazing! And I wonder if the crème brûlée at Chefs is made from the same recipe as used at the Boulangerie-Pâtisserie. They have a seriously good crème brûlée!

Hmmmm... you have me thinking that maybe Chefs and the boulangerie share the same recipe for the creme brulee. I will just have to try the bakery version next time so that I can compare!!

Everything you had at Chefs sounds (and looks) great!

Now I'm even more excited we're going there in January.

Love your reviews!

Thanks Jersette! I'm glad you are excited to try Chefs in January. I hope you like it as much as we do!

 

[emmysmommy]

Before I post my 'Ohana dinner review I have a quick real life update to share.

I shared last week that we were spending time with our youngest son and his wife before he is deployed to Afghanistan in December. We had some great family time and I wanted to share a photo of me with all 4 of my kids (a rare occassion!)

The day he left to go back to Texas, I had a business trip to Las Vegas. (Seriously, it was business even if I had a ton of fun and parties to attend!)

Since this is a DR, here's a few of the dishes that were amazing. The photos are not great since I didn't use the flash. (I didn't especially want to draw attention to the fact that I was photographing my food - rather like my own dirty little secret!)

Braised Short Ribs with Polenta and cabbage at Table 10 at the Palazzo (An Emeril Lagasse restaurant):

Chicken with a soy sauce glaze and mushroom risotto at Sensi at the Bellagio:

Banana Foster Belgian Waffle at Bellagio Cafe:

View from the Ghost Bar on the 55th Floor of the Palms Hotel:

Hyde Club at Bellagio:

View of Bellagio "Lake" from Hyde Club:

 

[wilma-bride]

Brenda, thanks so much for sharing your photos of Vegas. I am so excited for our planned trip there

We are thinking of you guys and praying for Chad to stay safe xxx

 

[emmysmommy]

Brenda, thanks so much for sharing your photos of Vegas. I am so excited for our planned trip there

We are thinking of you guys and praying for Chad to stay safe xxx

Thanks so much Joh! Michael said that he had 'chatted' with you on FB! Vegas is so mesmerizing with all the pretty lights!

BTW: Your kitchen looks lovely!

 

[emmysmommy]

'Ohana Dinner

With so many wonderful reviews of ‘Ohana for dinner it is amazing that we had not tried this meal until now. I was a little intimidated by the sheer volume of food that I had read was served since I definitely wanted to make it to the finish line with the dessert!! No fear, I did not make the rookie mistake of overdoing it simply to end up not enjoying the bread pudding. But I am getting ahead of myself here so let me back up.

We had an 8:30ADR and after checking in and receiving a pager we had literally a 60 second wait. We were doing the bread walk with our cousin when Diser, Disneymomfanatic – Karla came up and said hi! We knew we had dinner at the same night/time so it wasn’t a surprise but it was good to see a familiar face! After taking a circuit around the restaurant we ended up being seated at the table next to Karla and her family.

Kalani was our server and he had just as much charm and charisma as he did skills at keeping the meal well-paced and making sure we had the perfect dining experience. He wasn’t bad to look at either.

The restaurant itself was a rush of activity and yes, it is a bit noisy but I really liked the vibe that feels rather like you are having a big old family reunion and everyone is happy and eating!! I had a distinct sense that all of the servers and wait staff were on their A game since they were all very nice and helpful and stopped by our table to provide more food even if we had no idea who they were!

We were started with the pineapple coconut bread and butter which was soft and delicious. It wasn’t the texture that I had expected since it was sweet from I believe the pineapple juice but didn’t have chunks of pineapple. I don’t recall the coconut in it at all. However, everything started to come at once so the bread was momentarily forgotten. The salad was the official first course. It has a sweet honey lime dressing which I liked, I just would have preferred a little less honey. However, it was fresh and delicious so really my minor complaint is rather lame.

Pineapple Bread with Butter:

Green Salad with honey-lime dressing:

Kalani brought the dipping sauces for the meats and I have no idea what flavors they were since I believe I only tried one that was a ginger soy version. Ok, I’m way off, I looked this up on AllEars and according to their information the 3 sauces are: House Made Peanut Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce, and Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce. Now that I know what they are I wish I had tried all 3 since they sound delicious. Just because I don’t know the difference between ginger and pineapple, I hope I have not lost all credibility with my dining reviews!!!

Dipping Sauces; Peanut, Chimichurri, and Pineapple Sweet & Sour:

Next, a platter of pork fried dumplings (pot stickers) and honey coriander chicken wings arrived at our table. These were both fabulous!!! About that same time a bowl of steamed broccoli and pad thai noodles with peanut sauce were served followed by servers bearing skewers of chicken, beef, pork, and un-peeled shrimp. It was a bit chaotic to try and communicate meat choices, serve ourselves from the family style platters/bowls, and make sure that I took some photos since I didn’t want to miss anything!

Pork Fried Dumplings and Honey Coriander Chicken Drumettes:

Steamed Broccoli and Peanut Noodles:​

You know how I was determined to leave room for dessert and not over indulge in all the delicious food? Well, I accomplished this by only have one chunk of chicken with sweet & sour sauce, steak (looks like I had 2 from my photo), pork, and chicken wing each and then 3 peel & eat shrimp for which I only ate 1 since they were too much work and I don’t like to get my fingers messy from my food! I also only had a small portion of salad and noodles and 3 florets of broccoli.

Here’s my plate with only the salad and bread missing before shrimp:

After shrimp was added​

:

Family Photo:

A fine selection of wet towels with lemon were left at our table so that we could address any sticky finger issues. Glad to see it since I hate messy hands and I don’t particularly like to touch my food with my fingers!

While we were still enjoying the meal the house lights were turned down and the Wishes fireworks music was queued up so that you could see and hear the show. We were seated near the window so we had a good view of the fireworks. What a nice way to enjoy the show.

Right after the fireworks, Kahula, one of the male Hawaiian entertainers, started to circle the room with his ukulele and songs. He coordinated the coconut races for the kids – be careful around those corners! Then he had special recognition for birthdays and anniversaries.

Michael made me go up with him and participate in the honors. They asked each couple where they were from and how many years they had been married. They then presented us with leis and he asked us to exchange them. I asked, “with each other?” Kahula said he’s not going there! Ok, smart aleck moment aside, he then serenaded us to Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’. It was oh so romantic and lovely… until I heard Michael declare, “Stop leading! Let me lead in the dancing.” Oh, was I doing that? Em was video taping this moment and you finally see Michael pick me up and set me down where he wanted me to be since he would go left and I would go back right. He had the nerve to say that I was un-dancable - here's the proof! You can tell that we don’t get out on the dance floor too much! Here’s the video that captured this little misunderstanding!

And then that glorious moment arrived when the bread pudding was delivered to our table!! It looked just as delicious as all the photos I had seen. It was served with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream on top and a gravy boat of banana foster sauce. Em was also given a chocolate cupcake with Mickey sprinkles and a dish of vanilla ice cream. That was a nice gesture! Perhaps they saw the rabid look in my eye for dessert and felt sorry for the kid??
I am not ashamed to admit that I would have eaten the entire dessert if I had not been so distracted by taking some photos and saying good-bye to Karla and her family! However, I did have a good healthy portion followed by another good healthy portion so I had that going for me.

Banana Foster Bread Pudding a la mode in all its Spectacularness!!!!

My portion of bread pudding. I actually "broke" my personal rule of one portion is more than enough when I went back for a second helping of this delicious dessert! This was just as amazing as I had read:

Cupcake with ice-cream:

Photos with Karla:​

Family Photo:

Here’s what I loved about the meal and would make a pig out of myself for future visits if only for these items: pork dumplings, peanut noodles, steak, honey coriander chicken wings, and of course the bananas foster bread pudding!!

Here’s what I liked about the meal but wouldn’t be compelled to have seconds: chicken, salad, broccoli, and bread.

Here’s what I generally didn’t prefer as far as choices for the meal: pork (I didn’t prefer the sauce/marinade) and the peel and eat shrimp. If the shrimp were peeled I would likely have 2 pounds of this stuff.

There was not a flaw with this meal or our entire dining experience! Well, other than I wouldn’t let Michael lead with the dancing thing! We will definitely return since this place ranks up there with some of the Signature restaurants like Cali Grill and Citricos!

The bill for the three of us was $102.14 which included $19.79 in TiW discount.

Michael abusing the tiki dude:

Up Next: Change of plans due to Isaac

 

[KatMark]

Two great reviews.

You have me so excited for our first ever visit to Chefs with Nicki and Todd next month and I am so having that french onion soup--my all-time favorite soup.

We have yet to hit Ohanas either. I'm going to try very hard to get it on the August list for Mark and I if it will fit with our schedule.

Great pictures of the three of you.

 

[nfggirl5454]

Great review of Chefs. I chose that for our Candlelight Processional dinner next month, and there are such mixed reviews, so I like reading good things about it. Same with Ohana! What a nice picture of you and your children, btw

 

[wilma-bride]

Daniel and I both love 'Ohana. Sadly, Gary is indifferent and vetoed a trip there in August. We are planning to go back in October 2014 (yes, I know it is a long way away) when we are taking both Gary's Mum and Step-Dad and my Mum to WDW for their respective Birthdays. The perfect location for a big family dinner, in my opinion.

Oh, and I do hope you and Michael would be able to 'pop' up to Vegas in March (if we ever get it booked). Would love to celebrate my (dreaded) big four-oh with you guys

 

[Linda67]

Hi Brenda!

Love the photos from Las Vegas

Tonight we have had our anniversary dinner and seeing as we got married in LV it was very timely to see your photos!

We totally loved 'Ohana when we had dinner there and the chef prepared me a wonderful vegetarian feast whilst DH tucked into to the meat!

Awesome videos of you and Michael dancing

Oh and love the photo of you and your kids

 

[Jersette]

Oh, boy! Another new place for us on our Jan trip gets a good review from Emmysmommy! Yay for 'Ohana! I'm a sucker for noodles/potstickers/wings anyway. Great pics, looks like a great evening.

And your whole family is filled with good lookin' people. Glad you had such a good visit with your son and daughter in law!

 

[SweetSpot]

Your review of O'hana makes me wish to go there again. My DD and I went but she is so picky she didn't care for any of it so it would be a waste to bring her and my DH is a plain eater and wouldn't care for anything. I loved it though. I'm not a big meat eater so really only tried one piece of beef but I ate almost all the brocolli and a good bit of the salad. I loved the noodles and the inside of the pot stickers (the outside was really tough so I just ate the inside). What I can't stop wanting again is the banana pudding. I am not a sweets eater really. We never order desserts but the I could have eaten several orders of the bread pudding. Luckily my DD also didn't care for that and I didn't have to share. Considering my small appetitie and how little I am usually able to eat at a meal I really ate way more than my share of this meal.

I love your reviews especially seeing how sweet a relationship you and your DH have with your DD. You have a beautiful family!

 

[jabead]

I just got caught up on your reviews. So many great pics! While the pic of Michael getting friendly with the tiki god made me chuckle, my favorite is the one of you and all your kids. Thanks so much for sharing all the pics with us!

 

[AvasMommy526]

Great review of O'hana!!! I cannot wait to have dinner there, I've read many great reviews and yours just seals the deal

Love the Vegas pictures! Did you stay at the Bellagio? Beautiful! My DF has been to Vegas many times and I have never, (I love the slot machines so I need to go lol) I am so looking forward to that grown up trip someday

Lovely picture of you and all your children!! And also all the family pics in your update too! Em is very photogenic! I'm so happy you all enjoyed your family time together, and again prayers and thoughts for a safe, speedy return for your son