Diet? What diet? A countdown: 18 TS restaurants on TIW card...#1 on pg. 18!

[Leshaface]

BTW, you're not gonna believe this...but I had to do it....














I started a TR....

 

[franandaj]

Leshaface, there's not a link in your signature! How are we to subscribe and follow you? I'm working on one too, but I'm not going to post it until I have several installments ready to go since it's waaaay far out....

 

[Leshaface]

Leshaface, there's not a link in your signature! How are we to subscribe and follow you? I'm working on one too, but I'm not going to post it until I have several installments ready to go since it's waaaay far out....

Hey Allison!

You're so right!!! Duh, I forgot...thanks for telling me!

I'll post it in my siggy soon but here is the link...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2541775

I couldn't think of a good title...I'm so bad with coming up with only a few words to sum up an awesome trip..

Let me know when you got your TR going!!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

No the thread got closed before I was able to tell anyone...

So we started looking over a month ago, and voila, our dream house appeared to us! It's a brand new house that was built back in Jan 2010, the owners backed out, and it sat there for months. The house itself is really nice and in a great location 4 bd/2 bath, however, the agent said over at the community said no one wanted to purchase it because there was a sitting room and a connecting formal dining room, that know one could 'picture' how to set up (there was a model in home in another town about 20 mins from here that had this type of floorplan, and you really do have to look at the model home to see how to set up this 'awkward' room) No one went to look at the model home. We did however! And it was gorgeous! We knew we had to have it! We signed loan docs Monday evening, did the second walk-through this morning, so I should be hearing something tomorrow!!

Sorry, wasn't trying to leave you out of what was going on, but didn't think it would be appropriate to hijack your thread with my going-ons.

No joke about the holidays and food...I bake up a STORM during the Fall and Winter...it just feels right! Thanksgiving is wonderful! The past few years, in addition to the leftover turkey we get from my family dinner, I make an extra 10 pound turkey for me, DH and my mom, so we can have stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sandwiches!!! Yummy!!!! Obsessed with turkey sandwiches! Christmas, I'm always excited for my nanie's (Grandmother) homemade enchiladas and tamales....uggggghhhhh I literally, no joke, gain an extra 10 to 15 pounds in between Thanksgiving and the New Year...I drop it fairly quickly though. That's the part that sucks!

I've been meaning to ask you, how's the Chalean going for ya? Are you still working out?!

BTW, you're not gonna believe this...but I had to do it....

I started a TR....

Wow, your house sounds beautiful!!! Lots of luck with it! Does this mean there may be some little ones on the forefront soon? Sorry, don't mean to bug you about that but I just had to ask!!

I love what you do for Thanksgiving!!! I love the leftovers too. One year, my mom made this turkey pizza the day after Thanksgiving and it came out great!! I also bake a ton in the fall and winter. As soon as we get a snowstorm, on goes the oven, out comes the flour and sugar, and I begin the baking! For Thanksgiving, between me, my sister and my mom, we always have tons of pies! Hey, we have to make all the traditional ones! I make a chocolate pecan pie that is always a success, it is made with bourbon too! Then comes Hanukkah and potato latkes, doughnuts and lots of other tasty treats!! Then comes Christmas...we go to my dad's best friend every year on Christmas Day and we all do some of the cooking. I always make the brown sugar glazed ham, my dad's friend makes a turkey and stuffing, my mom and sister take care of the Italian food. And I always bake a red velvet cake, and my sister always bakes an egg nog cake. It's kind of like a spice cake made with egg nog and has a delicious glaze on top!

As far as working out, I am working out 5 days a week still, but I stopped doing Chalean when my back went out about 3 months ago. I tried to go back to it, much lighter and more carefully (never doing deadlifts again!) last week, but my back started to bother me afterwards. So, I am back to doing lots of low impact aerobics, and light weights with lots of reps. My back feels fine when I do this, so I am sticking to it. I miss the heavier weight lifting, but I sure DON'T miss knocking my back out!

I will definitely check out your TR!!

 

[franandaj]

I make a chocolate pecan pie that is always a success, it is made with bourbon too!

Where did you get your recipe? I tried one that I saw on Paula Deen's show that is just fantastic! I never thought I liked pecans and once I tried that I was hooked!

 

[Leshaface]

Wow, your house sounds beautiful!!! Lots of luck with it! Does this mean there may be some little ones on the forefront soon? Sorry, don't mean to bug you about that but I just had to ask!!

I love what you do for Thanksgiving!!! I love the leftovers too. One year, my mom made this turkey pizza the day after Thanksgiving and it came out great!! I also bake a ton in the fall and winter. As soon as we get a snowstorm, on goes the oven, out comes the flour and sugar, and I begin the baking! For Thanksgiving, between me, my sister and my mom, we always have tons of pies! Hey, we have to make all the traditional ones! I make a chocolate pecan pie that is always a success, it is made with bourbon too! Then comes Hanukkah and potato latkes, doughnuts and lots of other tasty treats!! Then comes Christmas...we go to my dad's best friend every year on Christmas Day and we all do some of the cooking. I always make the brown sugar glazed ham, my dad's friend makes a turkey and stuffing, my mom and sister take care of the Italian food. And I always bake a red velvet cake, and my sister always bakes an egg nog cake. It's kind of like a spice cake made with egg nog and has a delicious glaze on top!

As far as working out, I am working out 5 days a week still, but I stopped doing Chalean when my back went out about 3 months ago. I tried to go back to it, much lighter and more carefully (never doing deadlifts again!) last week, but my back started to bother me afterwards. So, I am back to doing lots of low impact aerobics, and light weights with lots of reps. My back feels fine when I do this, so I am sticking to it. I miss the heavier weight lifting, but I sure DON'T miss knocking my back out!

I will definitely check out your TR!!

Kids?? Not for a few more years I'd say, but we're getting ready for them as you can see! But plans can always change!

Turkey pizza? Great idea! I'm always looking for new ideas for leftover turkey besides turkey sandwiches, and well, turkey sandwiches!

I'm drooling about that chocolate pecan pie! With Bourbon? Oh lord, sign me up now! That sounds heavenly! DH doesn't like pecan pie, but i'm in love with it...i took a look at the calories and fat content of pecan pie once, and I about fainted...why, oh why does the good stuff have to be soooo bad!?!?

I don't know how you do it...5 days a week still?! Craziness. The past two weeks have been horrendous as far as the workout dept goes. I didn't work out at all. This past Sunday I was like, "Okay. Brand new week this week. Gotta get my butt in gear." Went to cycling class on Monday. Tuesday nada. Wednesday, slept through my alarm, and today...another alarm mishap. Who knows about tomorrow! Will you be checking out some other programs then, since it looks like you won't be doing Chalean for a while??

 

[bangzoom6877]

Where did you get your recipe? I tried one that I saw on Paula Deen's show that is just fantastic! I never thought I liked pecans and once I tried that I was hooked!

Also from the Food Network, but it's the Neelys recipe. I saw them make it on their show once and I just had to make it myself!

Kids?? Not for a few more years I'd say, but we're getting ready for them as you can see! But plans can always change!

Turkey pizza? Great idea! I'm always looking for new ideas for leftover turkey besides turkey sandwiches, and well, turkey sandwiches!

I'm drooling about that chocolate pecan pie! With Bourbon? Oh lord, sign me up now! That sounds heavenly! DH doesn't like pecan pie, but i'm in love with it...i took a look at the calories and fat content of pecan pie once, and I about fainted...why, oh why does the good stuff have to be soooo bad!?!?

I don't know how you do it...5 days a week still?! Craziness. The past two weeks have been horrendous as far as the workout dept goes. I didn't work out at all. This past Sunday I was like, "Okay. Brand new week this week. Gotta get my butt in gear." Went to cycling class on Monday. Tuesday nada. Wednesday, slept through my alarm, and today...another alarm mishap. Who knows about tomorrow! Will you be checking out some other programs then, since it looks like you won't be doing Chalean for a while??

The chocolate pecan pie is terrific!! But yes, it is so bad for you. That's why I only make it for Thanksgiving and try to eat it SLOWLY!!! My DH isn't a fan of pecan pie either but he is a big fan of chocolate and he actually likes this one!

Yes, I still work out 5 days a week! But remember, I'm on summer vacation still. Although, I also keep up with the workouts during the school year. I have to because I love to eat so much, that if I didn't work out I would definitely be overweight. You will get back into a groove with it, don't worry. You also have a lot going on right now.

I'm looking into Chalene Johnson's newest program, called Turbo Fire. I love her Turbo Jam workouts and have been doing those because my back is OK when I do that. I am trying to find out more info about Turbo Fire to see if it is OK for my back. It's supposed to focus on high intensity interval training, which is supposed to burn way more fat for a lot longer after your workout than a traditional cardio workout. Worth looking into for me. I just have to find out how long I have to work out each day. I can't do more than an hour, that's for sure!! Plus, I have to make sure this will not have an impact on my back. We'll see, but it would be nice to have some new material. DH has been doing Chalean and he loves it! For cardio, he rides his bike, and he tries to do that as many days of the week as possible, but it rained for a couple of days here so he couldn't do it. He does the weightlifting workouts every other day, and he works on his abs a few times a week as well.

I saw your trip report, and I love it!! See you there, and here too!!!

 

[Leshaface]

Also from the Food Network, but it's the Neelys recipe. I saw them make it on their show once and I just had to make it myself!



The chocolate pecan pie is terrific!! But yes, it is so bad for you. That's why I only make it for Thanksgiving and try to eat it SLOWLY!!! My DH isn't a fan of pecan pie either but he is a big fan of chocolate and he actually likes this one!

Yes, I still work out 5 days a week! But remember, I'm on summer vacation still. Although, I also keep up with the workouts during the school year. I have to because I love to eat so much, that if I didn't work out I would definitely be overweight. You will get back into a groove with it, don't worry. You also have a lot going on right now.

I'm looking into Chalene Johnson's newest program, called Turbo Fire. I love her Turbo Jam workouts and have been doing those because my back is OK when I do that. I am trying to find out more info about Turbo Fire to see if it is OK for my back. It's supposed to focus on high intensity interval training, which is supposed to burn way more fat for a lot longer after your workout than a traditional cardio workout. Worth looking into for me. I just have to find out how long I have to work out each day. I can't do more than an hour, that's for sure!! Plus, I have to make sure this will not have an impact on my back. We'll see, but it would be nice to have some new material. DH has been doing Chalean and he loves it! For cardio, he rides his bike, and he tries to do that as many days of the week as possible, but it rained for a couple of days here so he couldn't do it. He does the weightlifting workouts every other day, and he works on his abs a few times a week as well.

I saw your trip report, and I love it!! See you there, and here too!!!

I believe you're just gonna have to share the recipe so I can indulge MAJORLY this winter...I'm gonna need it I'm sure!

But even so, on vacations, no one likes to do anything but chill out and relax so I think that's wonderful that you're so determined to keep up with your regimen. I wish I could afford a trainer so they could drag me out of bed...I think that would work well for me! Actually this weekend, if there's time, I want to go to Big 5 or some other sports store, and get some boxing gloves, since every tuesday morning starting next week, I'll be taking a box and bag class with my friend. That should motivate me more, knowing that someone else is depending on me to be there!

That's awesome that your hubby works out too! Daniel literally has no time. He's out the door at 6:40am and doesn't get home until 6:15pm, Mon-Fri. So he's seeing and feeling a difference in his body, knowing he hasn't been working out. It looks like now, i'm going to have to add some new low-fat recipes into our regular dinner menu. Have any good ones?

 

[franandaj]

Also from the Food Network, but it's the Neelys recipe. I saw them make it on their show once and I just had to make it myself!

They have some good recipies too! I've made their peach cobbler and Chicken Fried Steak, but not recently...those don't fit in my 1500 calorie diet.

 

[Leshaface]

They have some good recipies too! I've made their peach cobbler and Chicken Fried Steak, but not recently...those don't fit in my 1500 calorie diet.

Lol! Seriously! And I LOOOOOOVE chicken fried steak!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I believe you're just gonna have to share the recipe so I can indulge MAJORLY this winter...I'm gonna need it I'm sure!

But even so, on vacations, no one likes to do anything but chill out and relax so I think that's wonderful that you're so determined to keep up with your regimen. I wish I could afford a trainer so they could drag me out of bed...I think that would work well for me! Actually this weekend, if there's time, I want to go to Big 5 or some other sports store, and get some boxing gloves, since every tuesday morning starting next week, I'll be taking a box and bag class with my friend. That should motivate me more, knowing that someone else is depending on me to be there!

That's awesome that your hubby works out too! Daniel literally has no time. He's out the door at 6:40am and doesn't get home until 6:15pm, Mon-Fri. So he's seeing and feeling a difference in his body, knowing he hasn't been working out. It looks like now, i'm going to have to add some new low-fat recipes into our regular dinner menu. Have any good ones?

Well, I made the tandoori chicken rather healthy. I used fat-free greek yogurt in the recipe, and we had whole grain rice and whole grain Naan with it. I measure all my portions though. I have a digital scale on my kitchen counter and I measure out 3 or 4 ounces of protein at dinner every night, and I always measure out things like rice, salad dressing, etc. I had 1/2 cup of rice last night, and only 1/2 a Naan. I try to eat a lot of fiber to fill me up, as Weight Watchers recommends (and so does my doctor!). I was also thinking that maybe next time I will make the tandoori chicken with boneless skinless chicken breast tenders. It will probably taste great! I think the key is mainly portion control, and also learning how to substitute ingredients in certain recipes so they are healthier, lower fat and lower calorie. One thing I did a couple of days ago...I bought a sugar-free chocolate mousse mix, sweetened with Splenda (the brand is Sans Sucre). I bought a Keebler chocolate pie crust (100 calories per serving, which is 1/8, a normal size piece of pie), made the mousse with fat-free Lactaid milk and put it into the pie crust. After 2 hours in the fridge, we had chocolate mousse pie for only 170 calories per serving! A serving is 1/8 of the pie. DH loves it!! We have been eating it for dessert the past 3 nights and we are very happy the kids can't eat it, and we have it all to ourselves! I don't give them artificial sweeteners.

The Weight Watchers website has message boards that are free even if you are not a member, and there are several recipe threads on there. Definitely worth checking out.

Yes, DH works out too, but it has only recently become consistent for him. In the past, he would take the bike to work but that of course was seasonal. The doctor always tells us that exercise is not seasonal. So in the spring he started Chalean and loved it. Then he stopped when we went on vacation, and now he is back on track. After tonight's workout, he will be done with the first phase!

They have some good recipies too! I've made their peach cobbler and Chicken Fried Steak, but not recently...those don't fit in my 1500 calorie diet.

I completely understand about not fitting the Neelys' recipes into a lower calorie diet! I do make their ribs sometimes though, and they really are fantastic. I made them on the 4th of July (a few days before we left for WDW), and they were a big hit. They're easy to make too, just have to keep the oven on for 6 hours!! I will have to check out that peach cobbler recipe for sure. I'm not into chicken fried steak though.

 

[franandaj]

Lol! Seriously! And I LOOOOOOVE chicken fried steak!

I wish you could get one at WDW! That would have been perfect at the Fried restaurant we were planning on your review!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I wish you could get one at WDW! That would have been perfect at the Fried restaurant we were planning on your review!

The Fried Restaurant!! They would definitely have to serve puffed french toast!!!!

That reminds me of something I saw this morning on Good Morning America...they were talking about some event (I think in Texas) where they are making deep-fried beer!!! They fill ravioli with beer and then deep-fry it! How crazy is that?!

 

[franandaj]

Well, I made the tandoori chicken rather healthy. I used fat-free greek yogurt in the recipe, and we had whole grain rice and whole grain Naan with it. I measure all my portions though. I have a digital scale on my kitchen counter and I measure out 3 or 4 ounces of protein at dinner every night, and I always measure out things like rice, salad dressing, etc. I had 1/2 cup of rice last night, and only 1/2 a Naan. I try to eat a lot of fiber to fill me up, as Weight Watchers recommends (and so does my doctor!). I was also thinking that maybe next time I will make the tandoori chicken with boneless skinless chicken breast tenders. It will probably taste great! I think the key is mainly portion control, and also learning how to substitute ingredients in certain recipes so they are healthier, lower fat and lower calorie. One thing I did a couple of days ago...I bought a sugar-free chocolate mousse mix, sweetened with Splenda (the brand is Sans Sucre). I bought a Keebler chocolate pie crust (100 calories per serving, which is 1/8, a normal size piece of pie), made the mousse with fat-free Lactaid milk and put it into the pie crust. After 2 hours in the fridge, we had chocolate mousse pie for only 170 calories per serving! A serving is 1/8 of the pie. DH loves it!! We have been eating it for dessert the past 3 nights and we are very happy the kids can't eat it, and we have it all to ourselves!



I completely understand about not fitting the Neelys' recipes into a lower calorie diet! I do make their ribs sometimes though, and they really are fantastic. I made them on the 4th of July (a few days before we left for WDW), and they were a big hit. They're easy to make too, just have to keep the oven on for 6 hours!! I will have to check out that peach cobbler recipe for sure. I'm not into chicken fried steak though.

I'm so glad to hear you do this! It makes me feel less OCD! I know that a chicken breast is about 8 oz, so one is a portion for the two of us. I also calculate which package of meat to buy in the store based on the number of servings and that it won't be too much on our plates. If we have rice, I'm allowed 1/2 cup, the only thing I don't measure is vegetables, they are sort of "free".

Interesting about the grains. My diet only allows 2 grain servings per day, that includes bread, rice, beans, it's a big list and only 2 per day. I just made a turkey patty melt with 3 oz of turkey (protien) 1 slice of cheese (fat - I get 4 of those in a day), grilled onion (vegetable - 6 per day) and a slice of rye bread. I measure everything out too, so good to know I'm not alone!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I'm so glad to hear you do this! It makes me feel less OCD! I know that a chicken breast is about 8 oz, so one is a portion for the two of us. I also calculate which package of meat to buy in the store based on the number of servings and that it won't be too much on our plates. If we have rice, I'm allowed 1/2 cup, the only thing I don't measure is vegetables, they are sort of "free".

Interesting about the grains. My diet only allows 2 grain servings per day, that includes bread, rice, beans, it's a big list and only 2 per day. I just made a turkey patty melt with 3 oz of turkey (protien) 1 slice of cheese (fat - I get 4 of those in a day), grilled onion (vegetable - 6 per day) and a slice of rye bread. I measure everything out too, so good to know I'm not alone!

What you are doing is great! Not OCD at all, just smart I think! You are definitely not alone! My mom joined Weight Watchers 5 years ago. She lost 80 pounds (took her one year), and has kept it off! She still weighs and measures. For us, it has just become another normal routine at home. No big deal at all, takes literally seconds to do! At restaurants, we are pretty good at eye-balling the right portion size. Of course on vacation, all of that goes right out the window for me! I'm doing OK though...I went to WW for my monthly weigh-in today and I got 3 of the 7 (that I gained on vacation) pounds off. Not bad considering we have been home from Canada for 3 weeks.

By the way, I don't measure veggies either, unless they are starchy veggies (potato, corn, etc.). Bring on the broccoli though!!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Well folks, we've come to that point...my #1 TS restaurant from our WDW trip! It's an old favorite from 2 years ago, a place that has now officially become a tradition for us, a dinner we look forward to returning to once again on our next trip!

And coming in at #1 is...

BIERGARTEN!!!

This is absolutely my favorite WDW restaurant I have been to (so far)! Many may disagree with me, but please keep in mind that we have not yet been to a signature restaurant at WDW!

Biergarten is a German buffet at Epcot, in Germany of course! Now, let me just tell you guys...my grandfather's mother was from Germany. She passed away when my mother was a baby. According to my grandfather, she cooked the best German food! When I was a kid, there was only one restaurant where he would eat German food...it was in Queens, NY. My family had been going there since as far as I can remember (and way before that, I'm sure!), and my husband and I also used to go there a lot. Then, unfortunately, about 6 years ago the original location closed but they were in a different location. The place was nice inside, but did not have that true German feel to it. However, the food was just as good as always. A couple of years back however, it closed down for good.

Once our favorite German restaurant closed down, we couldn't find another one that was as good. There is one about 15 minutes away from us in Brooklyn, and it is very good, but it's just not the same. However, Biergarten is now our favorite German place! I know that sounds silly since we could only go there every 2 years, but it really is that good! Put it this way...my grandfather would have been very impressed by the food here, everything from the sauerbraten to the apple strudel! Sometimes I think he "sent" this place to us from wherever he is looking down upon us!

OK, enough spiritual talk...onto my review!

We were originally going to go to Biergarten on our last evening of the trip. We figured it would be a wonderful last dinner. However, one afternoon when we were having lunch at MK with the rest of the family, my sister and mom started asking us about Biergarten. They also miss the old German restaurant. They asked me if I thought we could get into there for dinner the following night when we were going to be at Epcot. Originally, we were going to just eat around the world (CS), because we had lunch at Akershus the same day. But, I was able to score an ADR for 10 people the following night for dinner, at our requested time of 5:45pm!! That was when I switched our last evening for an ADR at Marrakesh.

When you enter Biergarten, you completely feel like you are outside in a German garden! But it is comfortably air-conditioned which is a nice treat in the FL summer heat. I thought they would seat us at 2 different tables, since I was under the impression that all the tables at Biergarten were only for 8 people. However, we had our very own table for 10! That was very nice for all of us, even though we wouldn't mind either way. All of us knew we just NEEDED to have some German beer! All 6 adults ordered the beer flight. I can't remember all the beers in it, but they were all delicious! I think the first one, on the left in the photo, was Beck's. The one next to that was very smooth, and had a little bit of an aftertaste like root beer! The other 2 were heavenly! All adults at the table were VERY happy with their beer flights! Hre's a pic, sorry I had already had some of the first one...just couldn't wait!

Now, onto the buffet!!!!! Wow, endless possibilities here! A HUGE display of salads, including wurst salad (with German sausages, cut up), herring salad (my parents enjoyed that), etc. I had very little from the cold section of the buffet. I had enjoyed the cold buffet earlier in the day at Akershus when we had lunch there, and I was more interested in the hot food. Here's my plate:

Top left: cucumber salad, to die for!! This was the only thing I took from the cold section of the buffet! Next, going clockwise: we have warm German potato salad with bacon bits in it , 3 different types of German sausages with German mustard , a few roasted potatoes , chicken schnitzel covered in hunter's sauce , and spaetzle . OK, now for the description!! The warm German potato salad was so amazingly good that I went back up to the buffet to get a very generous second helping! The bacon added a wonderfully smokey flavor, and I was in heaven! I took one bite of each sausage. I wish I could have eaten more of it, but sausage tends to give me heartburn if I eat too much of it. Plus, it fills me up and I wanted more of the other food. But every single one of these sausages were delicious! And the German mustard is wonderful too. Has a nice kick to it, but not too spicy. I still like to be able to taste my food! The mustard was the perfect complement to the sausage. The roasted potatoes were very good. Perfectly cooked, tender inside, and had a nice flavor, with rosemary. The schnitzel...oh the schnitzel. Now, I am used to veal schnitzel, that's always what I have eaten. Occasionally I have had pork schnitzel but the veal is my favorite (sorry to the folks that are against eating veal...I love it!). The chicken was delicious. Basically, a breaded and fried chicken cutlet. The hunter's sauce is like a mushroom gravy. At the buffet, you put it on yourself. So, the schnitzel was very crisp since it was not covered in sauce until you put it on yourself! The hunter's sauce was some of the best I ever had! So yummy and delicious!!! And the spaetzle was delicious too!! Spaetzle is sort of like pasta, I guess that's the best way to describe it.

I went back up to the buffet for more warm German potato salad, and I also went over to the carving station to get some German meat loaf. This was delicious too! The CM working the carving station said it would taste like a big hot dog, and it did...but a very high-quality and delicious hot dog! I also had that with German mustard but forgot to take a pic, sorry. Another thing we all enjoyed were the pretzel rolls on the buffet. These were so delicious, I could make a meal out of just those and the warm potato salad!
Another thing I enjoyed with my second plate was sauerbraten. Now this dish was my grandfather's all-time favorite German food!! It was what he ordered every time we went to the German restaurant growing up. For those not familiar with it, sauerbraten is like a pot roast, but with a sort of sweet 'n' sour sauce, kind of...hard to describe completely without trying it. Traditionally, it is served with red cabbage (also sweet 'n' sour), so I took some of that as well. This was so delicious!!!! My grandfather would have enjoyed this, as it was just as delicious as the one he used to get. I didn't get a pic of mine, but DH also got some sauerbraten (minus the red cabbage...he won't touch cooked cabbage). So, here's a pic of it on his plate along with a pretzel roll:

Then it was onto dessert. I didn't get a photo because I had to eat my dessert quickly (you'll find out why in just a moment). But, I tried a little of everything...well, a LOT!!! The best dessert here by far was the bavarian cheesecake. It's not like a traditional NY style cheesecake, and it's not made with ricotta like an Italian cheesecake either. It's a very soft cheese (softer than cream cheese), with thin layers of sponge cake and powdered sugar on top. It was so decadently good, yet so simple at the same time. My mom was very impressed and so was I. There was also vanilla pudding with mini chocolate chips in it, so I had to have some of that. I took a couple of bites because I wanted to enjoy the other dessert. Then there was the apple strudel...oh the strudel! This was so perfect. Buttery, but not overly buttery, delicious pastry on the outside, juicy sweet apples on the inside. And vanilla sauce on the side so you can put on as much as you like. Heavenly!! Definitely the best strudel I have ever eaten...even better than the one at our old family favorite in Queens! I went up for a second helping of both the apple strudel AND the bavarian cheesecake because they were so so good!

To top off the experience at Biergarten, they have some wonderful entertainment. They have a band play some really great German music. There is pretty big a dance floor in front of the stage, and DS5 and his 6-year-old cousin decided they wanted to go up there and dance to the music! This is why I forgot to take a pic of my dessert...I was keeping an eye on them and taking turns with DH, my sister and my dad watching them. They had so much fun and loved this place. They asked to go back and of course we have no problem with that!!

Throughout this entire meal, DS3 was sleeping. He fell asleep just before we arrived at Biergarten, even though he took a nap late morning when we were in Future World. The CMs were so kind that they allowed us to bring the stroller right to the table so he could continue sleeping. I know they don't allow strollers in the restaurants, so I thought this was extra nice. He was still sleeping when we were about to leave. Our server told us that although we can't take any food to go technically, that since they had to charge for him because he is 3 and was present in the restaurant, she could give us a large to-go cup (like they give you for coffee) and we could take some food for him in that. We didn't expect them NOT to charge for him, but I didn't want to ask for anything to go because I knew you couldn't do that at a buffet. It was so nice of the server to do this for us. We took some mac 'n' cheese from the buffet for him, and she also said to bring his juice with us because it is already in a paper cup anyway. She just asked us not to tell anyone we were bringing food out of the restaurant, and to do this very discreetly because it is technically not allowed. So we did just that. Then I grabbed a plastic fork from the CS outside. DS3 woke up about 10 minutes after we left the restaurant! He enjoyed some of his mac 'n' cheese and I was glad he got to eat dinner!

No doubt, Biergarten is our favorite Disney restaurant! As DH says, where else could you have meat for dinner, with a side of meat?! It's truly a carnivore's paradise, and they have simpler things on the menu like the breaded chicken schnitzel, mac 'n' cheese and the pretzel rolls. They also have hot dogs in the kids' section. If we lived locally, we would probably go there at least twice a month! All the kids and adults LOVED this place and agreed they had the best food of the trip in there! And, the staff went above and beyond the call of duty, from allowing my son to peacefully sleep in his stroller during dinner, to allowing us a cup of mac 'n' cheese so he could still eat dinner after he woke up.

If you haven't given Biergarten a try, I HIGHLY recommend it to ANYONE!! Even if you are not into German food, there are familiar more plain things as I said above, and you can't beat the entertainment and the atmosphere!! A definite Disney gem!

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Sounds like a great meal!! Really pleased that is your number 1 restaurant - we have booked it for our first night this year and can't wait to try it!!

 

[Liliyana]

Loved your reviews!

I think Biergarten was my favorite, too. It's the exact food that I grew up with, but no longer get to eat because of where I live now.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Yeah! You got your pics back! And your #1 is Biergarten!!! I've never eaten there before but we have an ADR for our trip in a few weeks so now I am even more excited to try it.
Thanks for your unique countdown!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I have really enjoyed your countdown. I have to say I am a bit surprised with your top choice. I have never dined there but have assumed that I wouldn't like it. I have heard some great reviews recently, including yours, so you definitely have me rethinking it!