2010: A Year of Wine and Disney Trip Report- Victoria and Albert's Part 2 6-7!!

[anthonut]

Ok, let's get this show on the road

Luckily my first nights plans worked out perfectly. My plane landed on time, ME dropped me off at POR as the first stop and I had a room exactly where I requested. A great omen for a start to the vacation, even if it was still somewhat rainy.

After dropping off my carryon luggage I made my way to the Magic Kingdom to see if I could pick up my ticket a day early, upgrade to an AP and get a Tables in Wonderland card. Once again no trouble at all and was fully equipped in under 5 minutes at Guest Relations. In fact I still had an hour before my ADR so decided to check out the MK for a bit, maybe pick up a Fastpass for after dinner. Well, the torrential downpours during the day an continuing to that point allowed me to ride BTMRR and Splash with no wait. And no worries about getting soaked on Splash as the weather was doing a better job than the ride

The brief sojourn into MK was just the thing to get my appetite going for 'Ohana, so a quick trip via monorail took me to my first ever visit to the Polynesian resort. It didn't take me long to find this:



I checked in and waited for my table in the Tambu lounge. I was so looking forward to trying a Lapu Lapu, however, my hopes were dashed when they ran out of hollowed out pineapples just before I ordered. I mean this is a tropical island I am at how do you run out of those? Don't they grow them on property? Disappointment aside (and i will achieve victory later in the week) I asked the bartender to make something somewhat tart with a slight sweetness. I'm not sure exactly what it was. Something along the lines of Pomegranate Lemonade Fusion something or other. My receipt says Lynchburg Lemonade, but I know it didn't have JD in it. In any case it was perfect and hit the spot.

While I was waiting to pay for the drink my table became ready and I felt bad for the man waiting to seat me standing off in the distance waiting for me to settle the bill. One word of warning, there can be a wait for a bill to be settled if using a TIW card, especially it seems in the lounges as a manager is required to put the discount into the register.

We started with a walk around the restaurant passing a display of a faux bread pudding, I guess as a warning to not overeat on the main courses Finally I was at my table where I could see the castle in the distance. I'm sure I could have drawn out my time at 'Ohana and watched the fireworks from there as it would have been a nice view, but decided that I would make my way to MK and watch from there. On the other side of the table I had a nice view of the fire pit.



On our way past the false dessert, we also picked up some Welcome Bread.



This bread was very tasty, light and not overpowering in the flavor of either pineapple or coconut, but enough to make their presence known. I did find the bread a tad yeasty in flavor though no more so than some white bread loaves I have made at home. Guess I was just surprised to find that in a restaurant loaf.

After the bread came the Mixed Greens salad with honey-lime dressing.


Really liked the mix of sweet and sour of the dressing, it went well with the drink. There was enough dressing to add flavor but still keep the greens crisp.

Following shortly after was the appetizer plate. As a solo diner, they put the wings, pot stickers, veggies and noodles on a single plate.


The wings were good. I liked the sauce and they were meaty, though I prefer my wings a little more crispy. I ate one The pot stickers had a nice, moist filling and were flavorful. The seam was a little crusty and dry but overall a good appy. The noodles were just ok, they were a little dry and not that flavorful. And finally there were the veggies. Quite frankly these were one of my favorites parts of the meal. If I wasn't keeping room for dessert I would have asked for more of the veggies.

Next came the "meat" of the meal



Peel and eat shrimp, marinated steak, mesquite grilled chicken, and bbq pork loin. These were accompanied by 3 dipping sauces, which you can sort of see in the salad photo, sweet and sour, spicy mustard and peanut sauce. I am a shrimp fan and these were delicious and needed no sauce in my opinion. The Steak was good, not overly chewy and went well with the spicy mustard. The pork was my least favorite. It wasn't terrible, but just not as good as the other choices. And actually my favorite of the meats was surprisingly the chicken. Not sure when they substituted chicken for the turkey, but this was juicy, flavorful and downright tasty and really went well with the peanut sauce.

Full and bursting I still was cognizant enough to leave a little more room for the grand finale, the 'Ohana bread pudding.



What a wonderful mix of cold and warm desserty goodness and this time not one bit, faux, false or fake. I will admit as good as it was, I was unable to finish the generous portion offered.

'Ohana was a fantastic first meal of my vacation and I look forward to visiting again, hopefully in the near future.

As this particular meal concluded I was renergized to close down the Magic Kingdom with a couple more rides on Splash, BTMRR and Space Mountain while enjoying the lightest crowd I could imagine for viewing Wishes and Spectro.



That is all for tonight. Must get some sleep before returning back to work tomorrow. Coming soon Les Chefs de France.

 

[franandaj]

That looks really good, did they bring the meat separately on skewers for you or did they just bring you a plate? I really want to try Ohana, it sounds a little like a brazillian BBQ only asian style.

 

[anthonut]

That looks really good, did they bring the meat separately on skewers for you or did they just bring you a plate? I really want to try Ohana, it sounds a little like a brazillian BBQ only asian style.

Yes, they came around with the various meats on skewers. They placed them on the plate directly from the skewer. The other elements were brought to the table on their own dishes from which you served yourself what you wanted. They came by a few times to make sure I didn't want anything else and were very attentive. Definitely worth trying.

 

[darthtatty]

welcome back.x

great review of O'hanas, i loved it there.
sounds like you had a lovely meal.

 

[anthonut]

welcome back.x

great review of O'hanas, i loved it there.
sounds like you had a lovely meal.

Thanks it is good to be back...in some ways

Definitely will have 'Ohana on my list for a future visit.

Thanks for reading along!

 

[anthonut]

Before I get started on my review of Les Chefs de France, in the name of thoroughness, here is a pic of my breakfast:



Not a terrible way to start the day, though I wouldn't have minded some pineapple in the mix. On a plus, there were no shriveled grapes. I always find they are the first to falter in a packaged fruit cup.

Ok, on to the main point of this post, which is lunch at Les Chefs de France:



The restaurant was a bit crowded at the checkin area as I had a 12pm ADR and that is when the restaurant opened. It wasn't too long after 12 that I was seated, though it seemed that the crowd around the entrance was fraying a few customer nerves.

I was sat in a sort of corner table that stared at the bathroom entrance, and really was the only time I felt that I was given a less than desirable location because I was a party of one. However, it wasn't a terrible seat, and the food made up for it.

They brought out a small baguette in a cute little paper bag along with some butter. I also decided to enjoy a glass of wine with lunch, because, hey I was in France. The wine is Vouvray Savion, a Chenin Blanc from the Loire region.



The wine was excellent for lunch on a warm day. Not too full bodied to be heavy but not abundantly sweet. The bread was warm with a nice crisp crust. I could have eaten the entire mini-baguette, but decided to save room for the prix fixe 3 course lunch.

I started with the French Onion Soup:



The soup was excellent. Great flavor, covered in a great gooey cheese. I did have to let it cool off for a bit or the cheese would have permanently adhered to the roof of my mouth. The soup was full of big slices of onion and floating pontoons of bread. There also seemed to be a few nuts in the soup, not many but I seemed to find some when attacking some of the bread. Couldn't quite tell what it was.

For the entree, I chose the Quiche Lorraine:



The quiche was accompanied by mixed greens with splash of balsamic vinaigrette. The quiche itself was very savory. I'm not sure but it almost seemed that at the bottom of the quiche was a bit of sausage. The ham was more suspended in the light eggy center, but something else was adding the fully savory flavor. I should have asked the server, Valentine, as she was very good and even suggested the wine.

And finally came desert, Creme Brulee:



I love me some creme brulee and this didn't disappoint. It wasn't the greatest I've had, but it was of a good size, the sugar was appropriately caramelized (i.e. not burnt), and had the proper mix of cool and warm. The custard was nice and sweet and not overly eggy.

The various courses were nicely paced and I found the restaurant a nice respite from the crowds. I was a little disappointed that Remy had not made it around the restaurant to my table, but not so much so that I was going to draw out the meal and wait. If I were to want to see Remy on a future visit I would get a ADR for around 12:30 instead of directly at noon.

Coming up, a mini post from Sunshine Seasons.

 

[wdwfanatic316]

Great reviews so far! We ate at Ohana on our last trip and loved it! I dream about that bread pudding!

Can't wait for more reviews

 

[franandaj]

The onion soup looks awesome, same with the creme brulee, I'm a soso on quiche person, but it still looked good! Looking forward to the rest!

 

[Disney owl]

great start

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your reviews, great job!!!

 

[anthonut]

Great reviews so far! We ate at Ohana on our last trip and loved it! I dream about that bread pudding!

Can't wait for more reviews

Thanks wdwfanatic! There was so much good food at Ohana that it took all my will power to hold some space for the bread pudding but I'm glad I did

The onion soup looks awesome, same with the creme brulee, I'm a soso on quiche person, but it still looked good! Looking forward to the rest!

Thanks Alison. I am also not a huge quiche fan, though I liked the choice better than a ham and cheese sandwich or mac and cheese. The mac and cheese actually sounds delicious but it seemed a bit heavy for a lunch. I liked the prix fixe choice as it gave me a sampling of various items without ebing too much food. Hope to get a little more posted tonight.

great start

Thanks for following along Disney owl!

Enjoying your reviews, great job!!!

Thanks TigerKat! Hope you enjoy the rest as well

 

[anthonut]

Hello again. It's nice to see a few more people post to say they are following along. Definitely ups the motivation to continue on

My original plans for Saturday evening was to have dinner at Cape May Cafe. We really enjoyed the seafood buffet on our Spring Break trip last year and I thought cracking open a few crab legs would be a nice respite from a full day at Epcot. However, a co-worker was also down for Spring Break and was arriving that evening and offered to take me along for a grocery run. Well, stocking the room with water and snacks took precedence over a buffet.

It also gave us time to plan some other meetups that week.

So after a trip to Publix, I dropped my groceries back at the room and made my way back to Epcot to use up a Soarin' FP and watch Illuminations. After a quick hangglider flight over California I decided to give Sunshine Seasons a shot at my culinary dollars. Perusing the various stations, I settled on the Smoked Ham and Salami Grinder:



The sandwich is served on an Asiago Ciabatta and also came with a side of potato salad. While nothing grand about it, this was a really good light dinner. The potato salad had an appropriate amount of vinegar to give some tartness without overwhelming the other flavors. The bread had a crisp crust and enough chewiness to lend some extra "meat" to the sandwich What can I say, I sometimes want a bread you can literally tear into. The meats were lunch meat, but of good quality. The sandwich was finished off with a small amount of some type of dressing. Not sure what kind but paired well with the rest of the ingredients.

Fully fed it was now time for Illuminations. I positioned myself well to exit the park at the conclusion and caught the next bus to Riverside. Not fully finished for the night, I decided to catch this man:



Yeeha Bob!!!! Very fun and I made sure to catch him a couple times during my stay. This was quite convenient because it turns out they sell alcohol at that place

This evening I decided to try the Wild Orchid:



Not a terrible drink by any means, but nothing special either. I was looking for something a little more tart. But given it was the end of my first full day at the World, I was a happy man.

Coming up soon, lunch at Tusker House.

 

[franandaj]

The mac and cheese actually sounds delicious but it seemed a bit heavy for a lunch.

Oh man, I could eat Mac and Cheese every day, and I'm one of those who has to save my leftovers for the second day cause I can't eat the same thing two days in a row!

I decided to catch this man:


Yeeha Bob!!!!

Where is this?

Also is this the trip where you are eating at Boma & Jiko several meals in a row? I'm so confused between now and June!

 

[oybolshoi]

glad you enjoyed your lunch at Chefs - we've always had great success with lunch at this establishment and find it's a nice, tasty break from theme park madness. the quiche is my favorite lunch item on their menu!

 

[Fairy Godnana]

Great reviews! I've never eaten at Chef's but i plan to next trip (Oct).
I'd really like a solo trip but the granddaughters would be heart broken --
and thier parents too!!

 

[anthonut]

Oh man, I could eat Mac and Cheese every day, and I'm one of those who has to save my leftovers for the second day cause I can't eat the same thing two days in a row!

Where is this?

Also is this the trip where you are eating at Boma & Jiko several meals in a row? I'm so confused between now and June!

Oh, there is no doubt that I could eat the Mac and Cheese, just decided I didn't want to rent a scooter to get around the rest of the day

Yehaa Bob plays most Wed-Sat nights from about 8-11:30pm at the River Roost lounge at Port Orleans Riverside. Lot's of fun.

No meals in a row at Jiko or Boma. I think that was another poster asking about eating at the same place. Not that I couldn't do it, I just have so many other places yet to try Actually I will have a Jiko review up after Tusker House and then a Boma review a little while later.

I am a huge fan of Boma and have also scheduled it for one time during my June trip.

glad you enjoyed your lunch at Chefs - we've always had great success with lunch at this establishment and find it's a nice, tasty break from theme park madness. the quiche is my favorite lunch item on their menu!

I definitely agree. The food was good and it was a pleasant respite from park craziness.

Great reviews! I've never eaten at Chef's but i plan to next trip (Oct).
I'd really like a solo trip but the granddaughters would be heart broken --
and thier parents too!!

Thanks for reading along. This was my first solo trip so I wasn't sure how it would go. I loved the freedom, but at times it would have been nice to share the experiences with others. It was fun enough that I'm already looking forward to my June trip. Actually, there is the quick April trip in less than a month, but given that is chaperoning an entire class of high school seniors, it will be a much different trip

 

[Fairy Godnana]

OH MY!!!!! I have enough trouble keeping up with three girls, can't imagine a whole senior class!!!!
Sorry, I meant to say "AWESOME,you're going to have a great time"

 

[anthonut]

OH MY!!!!! I have enough trouble keeping up with three girls, can't imagine a whole senior class!!!!
Sorry, I meant to say "AWESOME,you're going to have a great time"

It will definitely be an adventure

On the plus side, its another Disney trip with a couple of days that will be much less busy than March or June. I get to see the Grad Night fireworks display. And we are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I've always wanted to stay there, so even if it is just one night, it will be fun

 

[anthonut]

I was surprisingly spry the next morning, even after Illuminations, some piano sing-along and a night cap. It was only my second full day, but I was concerned that my plan to hit rope drop each of the first four mornings would be dashed by late night partying

So after a little rope drop fun, a controlled power walk to Expedition Everest, a ride on a safari and a meetup with some dinosaurs it was already time for lunch. A quick trip through Asia to Africa (I think Disney needs to work on its geography ) and I was here, Tusker House:



I scheduled lunch a little early today (11:40) as my dinner at Jiko was at 5:45pm so I wanted to make sure I was fully clear for a food fest that evening. Because of this you will see that I was also somewhat judicious in loading up my plates. I was sat along a low wall in the large dining area to the right of the food stations. Not a bad seat, but I found the server to be very limited in his interactions. I could have swore that they served some type of juice at Tusker House but I was only asked what I wanted to drink with no options listed. I decided to just go with a Diet Coke, but sort of wished afterward that I had asked if they still served the juice.

After settling into my table I made my to the food stations for round 1:



I remember from two years ago really enjoying some of the breads offered here. To the upper left was a soft bread with whole corn kernals for which I really wish I had asked the name. Next to it was some more typical corn bread. Both were good, but a little dry. The bread station has a number of spreads/dips and I think I should have tried one. The taste of the breads were nice, just that they got a little stuck to the roof of the mouth.

Next is some couscous salad, I believe they call Tunisian couscous salad. Not bad but again nothing special. Finally on my appetizer plate are some green beans. These are slightly marinated and served cold. They remain nice and crispy and probably could have eaten a few more. However, it was time to try the hot side of the offerings:



Going round the plate we have pork loin with hot and sweet mustard as well as top sirloin roast, both from the carving station. Next is a small sampling of curry chicken along with pearl coucous with basil essence. The pearl couscous is slightly enrobing a piece of caramelized plantain. Finally there are potatoes two ways oven roasted potato wedges and mashed potatoes and gravy.

As with the appetizers, nothing really wowed me. Not that anything was downright terrible, just that there is very little memorable. It's never a great thing when the potato wedges are your favorite thing on a plate with a variety of non-standard fare. I typically like the more interesting food items, but here they just didn't do it for me. Thankfully I had Boma coming up later in the week to make up for it

Looking over my photos it seems that somehow I forgot to take a pic of my small dessert plate. I believe I had a few of the small pastries and cakes. I'm almost certain I had a piece of baklava and at least something involving chocolate. Once again, nothing special and all put to shame by Boma a few nights later

As you can tell by my tepid review, this was not one of my favorite places this trip. In fact, it was probably my least memorable meal of the trip. I remember enjoying it much more in 2008 but given that was my first trip to Disney trying sit-down restaurants it may just be that other places have excelled beyond what Tusker offers. I think in the future if I'm looking for a sit down experience at Animal Kingdom, I will go back to Yak and Yeti.

Coming soon - Jiko!!!

 

[jeminni]

Enjoying your reviews. As a past band chaperone at disney, all I can say is being solo is much more fun.


Looking forward to more reviews.