Monday, September 17 - Dinner at T-Rex in Downtown Disney
First Impressions: What a gigantic place this is! Our reservation was for 5:30 but we were seated immediately after we arrived at 5:15. I was surprised how busy it was at such an early hour. We were seated next to the baby Wooly Mammoth, just outside of the Ice Cave. The restaurant is clean and everyone seems friendly. The tables are very close together and it is quite noisy. It's a neat place and there's something different to look at everywhere you turn.
Once seated, our smiling waiter greeted us promptly and asked if we were on the dining plan. He then took the time to explain what was included and what was not with our plan, pointing out the items that we could not order on the menu for credits. He was not patronizing, and gratuity was never mentioned. He also explained the Landry's Club to us, but was not pushy about joining. He asked for our drink order, which was
2 ice waters, an iced tea, and a Coke. He told us to take our time reviewing the menu and he would be available to answer any questions we had.
This restaurant has a large menu and it took us several minutes to figure out what we were interested in. Our waiter appeared and asked if we had questions or if we were ready to order. Being diabetic with high blood pressure, I wasn't sure what would be best - he immediately offered to go get the chef so I could discuss my options with him.
Chef Chuck came out to speak with me, and he couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. He is very personable and friendly, and tried hard to work within my dietary needs. He made several suggestions and left the decision up to me.
I ended up ordering the
Neanderthal New York Strip, medium-well, with Seasonal Veggies as the side. Chef Chuck said he could prepare it without any seasonings, and that the steak butter should be left off since it is salty. DH ordered the
Neanderthal New York Strip medium-well also, but he wanted the
Garlic Mashed Potatoes as his side.
Once we ordered, the food was brought out to us in no time.
My special-order
Neanderthal New York Strip ended up being cooked well instead of medium-well, so I let our waiter know nicely that I would like to send it back. The waiter was very understanding and didn't make a fuss about it whatsoever - he said he would have a new steak out as soon as possible. It came out quickly and was cooked to perfection the second time around.
I have to say this was one of THE best steaks I've ever eaten. Tender, juicy, and it needed nothing at all. It tasted fantastic. I probably could have cut this steak with a butter knife - that's how tender it was. The
Seasonal Veggies were zucchini, carrots, and green beans. They were cooked crisp-tender and were delicious as well.
Rating for Special Order Neanderthal New York Strip with Seasonal Veggies:
DH's
Neanderthal New York Strip came out cooked perfectly the first time around. He also pronounced it one of the very best steaks ever. Tender, juicy, and so flavorful. He opted to use the steak butter and loved it, too. The
garlic mashed potatoes he chose as his side, however, were not good.
Way too much garlic - so much, in fact, he couldn't eat them at all. I love garlic, so I went ahead and tasted them - even I thought they were yucky. When the waiter came over to check on us, he asked why they hadn't been eaten, and DH was honest. The waiter quickly offered to get him something else instead. He said it was absolutely no problem to switch out the side for something else.
DH opted to get the
Waffle Fries, and they were brought out fast. Those were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and oh-so-good. I should know ... I had a few!
They were hot, lightly-seasoned and needed no ketchup.
Rating for Neanderthal New York Strip with replacement Waffle Fries:
After we were finished eating, the waiter appeared and reminded us of our choices on the dining plan for dessert. None of the options would work for me, unfortunately, so I asked for a few more minutes to try and think of how I could do dessert. The waiter disappeared only to come back a few minutes later to ask if I could eat fresh fruit. Most definitely! I asked him if I could possibly just get some
strawberries and whipped cream. He said he would check, then came back a few minutes later and said yes, they definitely could do that. DH ordered the
Ice Age Indulgence.
My dessert of
strawberries and whipped cream was delicious! The berries were sliced and placed artfully on the plate with a large spiral dome of whipped cream beside them. It was the perfect light finish to my meal.
Rating for Strawberries & Whipped Cream:
The
Ice Age Indulgence my hubby ordered looked fantastic! I can't comment on the taste because I didn't try it, but he said it was delicious. He was worried he wouldn't like the Heath Bar Crunch, but it turned out to be just a sprinkle over the top instead of being coated in it. I've never seen him smile so much while eating dessert! He said the dessert was not as rich or overly-sweet as he thought it would be from the description, but instead was creamy, satisfying and pretty much perfect.
Rating of Ice Age Indulgence:
Total Cost of Meal: $93.14 (2TS Credits Used)
Rating of Quality of Service:
Final Thoughts: T-Rex is a great restaurant with a fun atmosphere. Chef Chuck was more than accommodating for my special requests - he's extremely nice and has a fun sense of humor. Our waiter Israel was friendly and provided excellent service - and he went out of his way to try and figure out what I could have for dessert. We did not feel rushed at all, even with as busy as the restaurant was.
We actually ended up speaking to one of the managers to compliment the chef and our waiter. She noticed the uneaten mashed potatoes on DH's plate. She told us the supplier for the mashed potatoes had been changed and that people weren't enjoying the new ones as much. If you've ordered them in the past, you might not like them now.
To us, this meal was worth the TS credits and then some.