I actually live around 30 miles away but I work in London so I am here 5 days a week!
It's getting pretty busy in town right now, I just hope that the sun shines for everyone and we put on a good Olympics show
If they should do any "streets of London" shots during the television broadcast, I'll be sure to look for you.
Love Part II!! I wonder if I can just blindfold my husband and drag him to Jiko? He has refused to go there again based on our '09 experience. However it is looking mighty tasty now-a-days!!
Well, maybe you could show him my review...just be sure to skip the part about my mouthful of fatty meat.
Those appetizers look wonderful - I'd never heard of tibs but it looks like I could make a meal out of that! Love to see the Tinkerbells abound in your review thus far.
I found it amusing that in 2001 you took food photos! And I'm glad you did because that bread basket has an authentic African theming to it - very nice!
Once again, I am so looking forward to Part III!
Actually the bread picture was from our Jiko dinner last year. But your comment reminded me that we do have one picture of our food from our 2001 dinner at Jiko. It was taken by my DD1 of her fish & chips!
Maybe I will add it to Part I of my review???
I didn't do a review but I'll tell you it was awesome! Granted we did this the day after running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon so our judgement may be a little screwy. They were very informative about the process of making tequila and it was interesting to learn the different tasting and aroma notes while trying the 3 different tequilas. And the pairings they did with appetizers were wonderful. We had a chicken tostada, a cup of shrimp ceviche and a crab tostada. They were all wonderful. I would highly recommend the tequila tasting if you are going to be there during the Food and Wine Festival.
The Disney Food Blog did a review of the tequila tasting back in 2009 but it was pretty much the same thing we had in 2011. Here's the link:
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/09/26/2009-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-tequila-tasting-seminar/
You had a crab tostada???
I haven't had those since our March 2010 trip to SAI, where we had both crab and chicken tostadas. They dropped them from the menu sometime after that (thankfully, the chicken ones remained), but for awhile you could still get them at La Cava. I was all set to have them again on my May 2011 trip when we visited La Cava, only to find out that they had been dropped from the menu just one week before.
But now that I know that they serve them at the Tequila Tastings, it might be worth doing just to have those crab tostadas again.
Oh, and thanks for the link, butiflfeet!
Love the review of Jiko so far and I especially love that you posted a photo of yourself wearing a fanny pack! You learn a lot about someone from their dining reviews! I'm glad to hear that you found the best cheese plate of the trip here and that a Wisconsin cheese was there to represent!! I'm going to have to look that up now to see if I can get it around here!
My DD is a picky eater so I'd kind of dismissed Jiko thinking that she wouldn't like anything there but I might need to reconsider this! She would probably really enjoy that filet. Excited to read the rest!
You know, I think that old fanny pack might just be making another appearance in my next review.
Sorry to hear that your entree disappointed. Despite your forkful of fat (sorry, that doesn't sound so great!) the idea of Jiko is really growing on me. Darnit, don't make me come over there and change my ADRs again! I know DD would only eat the filet but there are some really good looking items on that menu for me to choose from! And the service sounds great. Hmmm...
Forkful of fat...very nice use of alliteration, Tracy!
For a couple of years Jiko was DS's favorite restaurant anywhere, not just Disney mostly because of the once awesome mac & cheese filet. Even if it wasn't authentic, it was delicious! Last year was a bit of a disappointment in that it just wasn't the same. Still high on DS's list, but behind Artist Point and probably the Yachtsman.
I do agree that the cheese plate is the best I have had on property. And also agree that while I do love a good lean short rib, fatty ones turn me off! I tend to pick them apart to find the good meat!
We will be eating at Jiko as part of the Wanyama Safari and are both looking foward to getting to try a little bit of several things. Although I can't help but wonder if there will be something on the menu that we will end up wishing we could have ordered.
Ahhh, yes...I too am usually very cautious (and picky, or should I say pick at
) when eating potentially fatty meats like this. I don't know what got into me that night??? I guess I will blame it on that "false sense of security" (aka "being under the influence of the Disney magic"). Then again, maybe it was just that Jiko Sunriser that I was under the influence of.
Oh, and thanks for reminding me that you are doing the Wanyama Safari & Jiko dinner. I'm very much looking forward to your review of this, as it sounds very interesting. Both that and the weekly wine tasting that they have a Jiko. Anyway, I am glad that you will be doing this your first night, because that means I won't have very long to wait before I can read about it when you begin your reviews.
And what a great way to start your trip, I might add!!!
Holy cow - so many Tinker Bells! And your Jiko review has turned into a three-parter? This is newsworthy right here.
Last summer we had the cheese plate, chicken flatbread, and short ribs (although it wasn't the current version of the dish) and also really liked all of them. The Inguday Tibs in Brik look great! With such an awesome start to the meal, I'm really hoping everything ended on a high note.
And according to my comprehensive research
laughing
, zough is chili paste originating in North Africa or the Middle East (it's popular in countries like Tunisia and Yemen). Sounds delicious (and it clearly didn't make the flatbread overly spicy, since even my mom was able to enjoy it).
Thanks for the explanation of "zough", Donald! I knew I could count on you!
I'll add it to my review now.
Aw, I was really hoping that you enjoyed your entree (although thank you for being honest - I despise fatty meat as well) and I wish the chocolate and tea safari had been better than "good" (maybe the green tea ice cream would've helped), but I'm happy that the meal had a happy ending overall. Maybe next time, all of the stars will finally align (appetizer, entree, dessert, service).
Yes, I would bet that if we had had this dessert (as it is described on the menu), including the green tea ice cream, we would have probably given it at least a "Very Good".
And I have a feeling that after having two "not so good" entrees at Jiko, the third time will be the charm. I hope so, anyway.
If it were not a Tuesday today, it would definitely be a "Time for Cheesecake" day.
Good start with the cocktails. The restaurant is so lovely. I have had my eye on Jiko since my last trip but haven't ventured outside my comfort zone yet. Your review may very well change that.
). Another interesting tidbit is that our waiter last year made a point of telling all his customers (he told us and I overheard him telling his surrounding tables) that he had fought with the new chef on the behalf of his customers and convinced him to keep the mac 'n' cheese as a substitution option (by keeping it on the Kid's menu). I can only imagine the ******* among the Jiko staff at that time. 
Things were a little hectic at work today so didn't get a chance to work on Part II over my lunch. But I promise to work on it now and hopefully will finish and get it posted later tonight. 
