marciemouse
Raised on Disney
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2008
- Messages
- 1,652
Hi, everyone! So I got back last night from a very short Disney trip. I was only there two nights, but it was fun, and I did eat some good food!
I'll be reviewing Pop Century's food court, Beaches & Cream, Grand Floridian Garden View Tea Lounge, and Earl of Sandwich.
Before I actually got over to Disney, I was visiting a friend in Cape Canveral. So first, I'll also cover the few places that I ate with her and her DH, and then do my Disney reviews.
Sonny's Real Pit BBQ in Cocoa Beach:
I grew up eating this and still love it! I got the salad bar with pulled pork and a side of garlic toast. The salad bar does not disappoint! YUM-O! The pulled pork was slightly sweet and almost a bit caramelized...very yummy! The garlic toast wasn't as buttery and savory as I wanted. My friend and her hubby shared ribs. I didn't try any, but they thought they were good (although slightly chewy).
La Fiesta in Cape Canveral:
This place was fabulous! It's fairly authentic Mexican food (which I love) ... not Tex Mex. First off, I thought the lunch menu was a great deal, very affordable. (Maybe about $6 per entree?) Chips and salsa were good...and free. Salsa was flavorful without being insanely spicy. Friend and I both ordered the lunch burrito. Her's was ground beef and mine was chicken. They came with rice and beans. The food was ridiculously good. Friend's hubby had the fajita salad. None of us finished our food, since the portions were big for lunch. This was the best Mexican food I've had in a while, and that coming from a person who lives in the Southwest!
Joe's Crab Shack in Lake Buena Vista:
Friend and I ate dinner here before she dropped me off at Pop Century. She got clam chowder, which she said was good, but had an odd spice in it. I had the lobster bisque. The flavor was good and rich. It wasn't a true bisque though, and I occasionally had to pick out tiny bits of shell. Well, at least I know it was real lobster in there! I ordered a side of friend shrimp, too. I didn't like how they were butterflied, but I love their seasoning at Joe's. Friend got chicken fingers, which she said were good. We also shared a side of hush puppies. They were very heavy/dense and had an odd herb seasoning in them. They were okay dipped in ranch dressing (what isn't?!) but I wouldn't get them again.
Pop Century Food Court:
I wanted something for dessert, and I'd heard a lot of good things about the Tie-Dye cheesecake. Sorry to say, it was disappointing. I thought it was kind of dry and parts of it were just too sweet. I ate about half and threw the rest away. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't that good.
Beaches & Cream:
I had also heard great things about this place, and I was really excited to try it out. Thankfully, this one lived up to the hype! I arrived about 5 minutes after they opened, and I was the third party seated. My waitress introduced herself as Crystal, although her nametag said Agnes. I ordered a cheeseburger, substituting onion rings for the fries. Note that while I really wanted a Coke, my 2008 New Year's resolution was to not drink any soda all year, and I wasn't about to give in after 8 whole months!
My burger didn't take very long to come out, but Crystal/Agnes brought it out with fries. I reminded her that I had subbed onion rings, so she took the plate back over to the grill. The cook told her to give me the plate anyways, so my burger wouldn't get cold. So she served it to me with the fries and then brought me a small side of onion rings a few minutes later. The burger was nice and juicy, flavorful and cooked perfectly. This was not your typical counter service burger. I tried the fries since they were there, and they were pretty good, too. The onion rings were awesome, thick cut and nicely battered.
I really wanted to order a sundae, but I knew that there was no way I could eat a whole one. Instead, I ordered one scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge. It was still larger than I excpected, but I did manage to eat it all! It was so incredibly good! The ice cream was nice and hard, cold enough to hold up under the hot fudge. I hate it when hand-scooped ice cream is softish. The hot fudge was rich. This was a great choice, and I can't wait to go get another one on my next trip!
Crystal/Agnes didn't charge me extra for subbing onion rings, maybe because she had messed up the order? So my total was $13.50 plus tip. Totally worth it!
Garden View Tea Lounge at the Grand Floridian:
I had scheduled this for 5:00 pm, so it could be my dinner. I was seated immediately upon checking in at 4:50. With good reason, too. I was one of only 3 people in the entire restaurant! The hostess said it was a very slow day. Obviously! I was seated at the farthest left corner table next to the window. It was a nice view, and the other table (an older couple) was on the opposite side of the dining room.
I had a server all to myself, and I think her name was Da Layne? She was friendly and informative. I ordered hot chocolate since I don't like tea. (I know...why did I go there then?!) She brought it out in a teapot and gave me a huge bowl of whipped cream to "doctor it up" since the hot chocolate is just made with water.
I ordered the Buckingham Palace Tea. The tea sandwiches came out about 1 minute after I ordered them, so I'm sure they were already made up.
I'll be reviewing Pop Century's food court, Beaches & Cream, Grand Floridian Garden View Tea Lounge, and Earl of Sandwich.
Before I actually got over to Disney, I was visiting a friend in Cape Canveral. So first, I'll also cover the few places that I ate with her and her DH, and then do my Disney reviews.
Sonny's Real Pit BBQ in Cocoa Beach:
I grew up eating this and still love it! I got the salad bar with pulled pork and a side of garlic toast. The salad bar does not disappoint! YUM-O! The pulled pork was slightly sweet and almost a bit caramelized...very yummy! The garlic toast wasn't as buttery and savory as I wanted. My friend and her hubby shared ribs. I didn't try any, but they thought they were good (although slightly chewy).
La Fiesta in Cape Canveral:
This place was fabulous! It's fairly authentic Mexican food (which I love) ... not Tex Mex. First off, I thought the lunch menu was a great deal, very affordable. (Maybe about $6 per entree?) Chips and salsa were good...and free. Salsa was flavorful without being insanely spicy. Friend and I both ordered the lunch burrito. Her's was ground beef and mine was chicken. They came with rice and beans. The food was ridiculously good. Friend's hubby had the fajita salad. None of us finished our food, since the portions were big for lunch. This was the best Mexican food I've had in a while, and that coming from a person who lives in the Southwest!
Joe's Crab Shack in Lake Buena Vista:
Friend and I ate dinner here before she dropped me off at Pop Century. She got clam chowder, which she said was good, but had an odd spice in it. I had the lobster bisque. The flavor was good and rich. It wasn't a true bisque though, and I occasionally had to pick out tiny bits of shell. Well, at least I know it was real lobster in there! I ordered a side of friend shrimp, too. I didn't like how they were butterflied, but I love their seasoning at Joe's. Friend got chicken fingers, which she said were good. We also shared a side of hush puppies. They were very heavy/dense and had an odd herb seasoning in them. They were okay dipped in ranch dressing (what isn't?!) but I wouldn't get them again.
Pop Century Food Court:
I wanted something for dessert, and I'd heard a lot of good things about the Tie-Dye cheesecake. Sorry to say, it was disappointing. I thought it was kind of dry and parts of it were just too sweet. I ate about half and threw the rest away. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't that good.
Beaches & Cream:
I had also heard great things about this place, and I was really excited to try it out. Thankfully, this one lived up to the hype! I arrived about 5 minutes after they opened, and I was the third party seated. My waitress introduced herself as Crystal, although her nametag said Agnes. I ordered a cheeseburger, substituting onion rings for the fries. Note that while I really wanted a Coke, my 2008 New Year's resolution was to not drink any soda all year, and I wasn't about to give in after 8 whole months!
My burger didn't take very long to come out, but Crystal/Agnes brought it out with fries. I reminded her that I had subbed onion rings, so she took the plate back over to the grill. The cook told her to give me the plate anyways, so my burger wouldn't get cold. So she served it to me with the fries and then brought me a small side of onion rings a few minutes later. The burger was nice and juicy, flavorful and cooked perfectly. This was not your typical counter service burger. I tried the fries since they were there, and they were pretty good, too. The onion rings were awesome, thick cut and nicely battered.
I really wanted to order a sundae, but I knew that there was no way I could eat a whole one. Instead, I ordered one scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge. It was still larger than I excpected, but I did manage to eat it all! It was so incredibly good! The ice cream was nice and hard, cold enough to hold up under the hot fudge. I hate it when hand-scooped ice cream is softish. The hot fudge was rich. This was a great choice, and I can't wait to go get another one on my next trip!
Crystal/Agnes didn't charge me extra for subbing onion rings, maybe because she had messed up the order? So my total was $13.50 plus tip. Totally worth it!
Garden View Tea Lounge at the Grand Floridian:
I had scheduled this for 5:00 pm, so it could be my dinner. I was seated immediately upon checking in at 4:50. With good reason, too. I was one of only 3 people in the entire restaurant! The hostess said it was a very slow day. Obviously! I was seated at the farthest left corner table next to the window. It was a nice view, and the other table (an older couple) was on the opposite side of the dining room.
I had a server all to myself, and I think her name was Da Layne? She was friendly and informative. I ordered hot chocolate since I don't like tea. (I know...why did I go there then?!) She brought it out in a teapot and gave me a huge bowl of whipped cream to "doctor it up" since the hot chocolate is just made with water.
I ordered the Buckingham Palace Tea. The tea sandwiches came out about 1 minute after I ordered them, so I'm sure they were already made up.
I saved the little jar of raspberry preserves and threw it in my purse to take home. For the most part, the scone didn't really need it. Especially sipping hot chocolate between bites!
