abminer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 462
Whispering Canyon Cafe -
After a return trip to Epcot we gathered for our last meal
It's funny how restaurants come in and out of vogue on these boards. When I went to the world 2+ years ago WWC had rave reviews and I was sorry I couldn't squeeze it in. By the time we left for this trip WWC was getting bad reviews left and right. Nonetheless after hearing the ruckus from my room (4th floor over the Mercantile) all week I was eager to see what it was all about. We had a 1pm lunch ADR. It just made sense to go as our last meal since we had to come back to WL to catch DME anyway.
We waited less than 10min to be called and checked out the menu during that time. We were seated in the main room not far from the hostess stand. Our server (Leah) was very nice. What comes next is funny. DDad finally figured out the DDP! I told him we had 3 TS credits between us and we all talked about the menu while we waited so when our server came he piped up and pretty much ordered for all of us! Well, just appies and entrees. Our server was great about the DDP. She said "using up credits? 3? We can do that!" Very different than our server at Kona who was anti-sharing.
DSis also had a clue now so she and I both ordered sheriff shakes. I got strawberry and she got vanilla:
They come in fairly small mason jars, but are really thick. We each tasted both kinds and the strawberry was the clear winner. They just take vanilla shakes and mix in strawberry or chocolate syrup so the taste is subtle. This shake was one of the best I've had (it holds its own next to the strawberry shakes at Sci Fi). They are so rich and filling, but we both finished them. DSis got a refill, but a strawberry one.
On to the appies. I got the skillet so I didn't get an appetizer, but DMom and DDad shared an entree and DSis got her own so we had two to choose. DMom ordered the southwestern chicken soup as she didn't plan to eat too much of the entrees (shes holding up in the pic) and the rest of us shared the western chips and dips:
I didn't try it, but DMom raved about the soup. Remember how she doesn't like spicy stuff? Well, she said it had a light kick, but she still loved it. And speaking of a kick, the queso dip rocks! This appetizer sounded really dull on paper. I know they used to have nachos and this seemed like yet another way WDW and the DDP are homogenizing and cheapening the menus. Well, I was quite surprised when we all loved it! The chips were hot and fresh and the cheese dip was zingy. We all liked it so much that I don't think anyone ever touched the salsa. I should have as it was the pico de gallo type, which I prefer. Oh well.
On to the entrees! DSis ordered the veggie enchilada:
I got the skillet fulling planning to share:
here's the sides-
DDad and DMom got the pulled pork sandwich to share:
DSis's enchilada was very big. It has quinoa in it, which surprisingly she'd never had. I have and I'm not even a vegetarian. She really liked it and managed to eat a bit more than half.
The bummer with the skillet was that DMom and I love cornbread and the menu said that it came with the skillet, but a biscuit came out instead (it didnt come with veggies or coleslaw either?). We were so full it didnt seem worth inquiring about, but I assume they ran out. It was a good biscuit though. So technically you can't share the skillet, but no one remotely enforces that once it comes to the table. It had chicken, ribs and sausage with, ta dah - mashed potatoes (which nobody even tried btw). They bring you the side plate for your bones and that is where the biscuit, beans and sauce go. The meats are dry and the bbq sauce comes on the side, which was kinda odd to me. That said, the sauce is sweet and good. The beans were really good too. DMom, DDad and I all picked at it. It worked out well as I liked the chicken, but thought the ribs were just ok (I didn't even try the sausage - not my thing), DDad liked the sausage, but strongly disliked the ribs, and DMom loved the ribs. Happy people.
I tried a bite of the pulled pork sandwich too. It was pretty good and DMom and DDad seemed happy with it. Like the skillet it came with the bbq sauce on the side and beans and that icky pasta salad from Roaring Fork. My only issue with it was that the kaiser roll it was on was bland and not very soft.
We were all so stuffed when our server came back for dessert orders. My fam was ready to order nothing, but hey, this is the DDP! We can't let that all go to waste! DDad bowed out, DSis ordered a latte as her dessert and I got the chocolate cake and then DMom and I agreed on the fruit plate for us all to share. I always like when dessert options include cheese plates and/or fruit plates. It's a nice change. Here they are:
That fruit plate was huge! It had a few types of berries, bananas, apples, grapes, pineapple and strawberry yogurt dip. We were all stuffed, but couldn't stop picking at it. It was great after saucy, spicy stuff.
I was the only one to try the kahlua chocolate cake. It was just ok. I thought chocolate was the way to go since I'd had a strawberry shake, we got the fruit plate and there'd been multiple apple pie desserts on the trip. However, I also know I really don't like the chocolate whiskey cake at Le Cellier so that should have been a clue. The thing that detracted from this cake for me was actually the consistency of the filling-I thought it would be mousse and thus soft, but it's dense-more like fudge. The top is also a thick ganache layer so it's not creamy and soft like frosting either. Maybe it was frozen? I dunno - the flavor was nice, but it wasn't soft and fluffy and I was painfully full so I barely ate 3 bites.
So that's the food, but what about the antics? Lunch was perfect for our all adult group. While we were there we saw one round of "pony" races and we watched a family face some healthy humiliation at the direction of their young son who was celebrating a birthday. He made his brother ride the pony around the lobby Xmas tree while singing happy birthday! Two rounds of fun to watch from a safe distance was about right for us. We didn't see any tables of ketchup or giant mason jars of soda, but the restaurant was less than half full and that was just fine by us.
Overall- We had a nice server, liked the food and saw some fun. It was the perfect end to our WL stay. A-
Value- 3 TS credits = about $100
Final treats-
After WCC I went to the Merchantile (aka gift shop) to spend down our final 2 snack credits. I got a box of cookies and a chocolate rice krispie treat to bring home for my cat sitter:
For people who love Dis planning (and especially planning meals) like me the end of WDW trips is especially hard, but we have good memories. I don't have any plans to return sadly, but if I get the chance to I'll do the same-try all new restaurants and eat like a pig!
- the end -
After a return trip to Epcot we gathered for our last meal
It's funny how restaurants come in and out of vogue on these boards. When I went to the world 2+ years ago WWC had rave reviews and I was sorry I couldn't squeeze it in. By the time we left for this trip WWC was getting bad reviews left and right. Nonetheless after hearing the ruckus from my room (4th floor over the Mercantile) all week I was eager to see what it was all about. We had a 1pm lunch ADR. It just made sense to go as our last meal since we had to come back to WL to catch DME anyway. We waited less than 10min to be called and checked out the menu during that time. We were seated in the main room not far from the hostess stand. Our server (Leah) was very nice. What comes next is funny. DDad finally figured out the DDP! I told him we had 3 TS credits between us and we all talked about the menu while we waited so when our server came he piped up and pretty much ordered for all of us! Well, just appies and entrees. Our server was great about the DDP. She said "using up credits? 3? We can do that!" Very different than our server at Kona who was anti-sharing.
DSis also had a clue now so she and I both ordered sheriff shakes. I got strawberry and she got vanilla:
They come in fairly small mason jars, but are really thick. We each tasted both kinds and the strawberry was the clear winner. They just take vanilla shakes and mix in strawberry or chocolate syrup so the taste is subtle. This shake was one of the best I've had (it holds its own next to the strawberry shakes at Sci Fi). They are so rich and filling, but we both finished them. DSis got a refill, but a strawberry one.
On to the appies. I got the skillet so I didn't get an appetizer, but DMom and DDad shared an entree and DSis got her own so we had two to choose. DMom ordered the southwestern chicken soup as she didn't plan to eat too much of the entrees (shes holding up in the pic) and the rest of us shared the western chips and dips:
I didn't try it, but DMom raved about the soup. Remember how she doesn't like spicy stuff? Well, she said it had a light kick, but she still loved it. And speaking of a kick, the queso dip rocks! This appetizer sounded really dull on paper. I know they used to have nachos and this seemed like yet another way WDW and the DDP are homogenizing and cheapening the menus. Well, I was quite surprised when we all loved it! The chips were hot and fresh and the cheese dip was zingy. We all liked it so much that I don't think anyone ever touched the salsa. I should have as it was the pico de gallo type, which I prefer. Oh well.
On to the entrees! DSis ordered the veggie enchilada:
I got the skillet fulling planning to share:
here's the sides-
DDad and DMom got the pulled pork sandwich to share:
DSis's enchilada was very big. It has quinoa in it, which surprisingly she'd never had. I have and I'm not even a vegetarian. She really liked it and managed to eat a bit more than half.
The bummer with the skillet was that DMom and I love cornbread and the menu said that it came with the skillet, but a biscuit came out instead (it didnt come with veggies or coleslaw either?). We were so full it didnt seem worth inquiring about, but I assume they ran out. It was a good biscuit though. So technically you can't share the skillet, but no one remotely enforces that once it comes to the table. It had chicken, ribs and sausage with, ta dah - mashed potatoes (which nobody even tried btw). They bring you the side plate for your bones and that is where the biscuit, beans and sauce go. The meats are dry and the bbq sauce comes on the side, which was kinda odd to me. That said, the sauce is sweet and good. The beans were really good too. DMom, DDad and I all picked at it. It worked out well as I liked the chicken, but thought the ribs were just ok (I didn't even try the sausage - not my thing), DDad liked the sausage, but strongly disliked the ribs, and DMom loved the ribs. Happy people.
I tried a bite of the pulled pork sandwich too. It was pretty good and DMom and DDad seemed happy with it. Like the skillet it came with the bbq sauce on the side and beans and that icky pasta salad from Roaring Fork. My only issue with it was that the kaiser roll it was on was bland and not very soft.
We were all so stuffed when our server came back for dessert orders. My fam was ready to order nothing, but hey, this is the DDP! We can't let that all go to waste! DDad bowed out, DSis ordered a latte as her dessert and I got the chocolate cake and then DMom and I agreed on the fruit plate for us all to share. I always like when dessert options include cheese plates and/or fruit plates. It's a nice change. Here they are:
That fruit plate was huge! It had a few types of berries, bananas, apples, grapes, pineapple and strawberry yogurt dip. We were all stuffed, but couldn't stop picking at it. It was great after saucy, spicy stuff.
I was the only one to try the kahlua chocolate cake. It was just ok. I thought chocolate was the way to go since I'd had a strawberry shake, we got the fruit plate and there'd been multiple apple pie desserts on the trip. However, I also know I really don't like the chocolate whiskey cake at Le Cellier so that should have been a clue. The thing that detracted from this cake for me was actually the consistency of the filling-I thought it would be mousse and thus soft, but it's dense-more like fudge. The top is also a thick ganache layer so it's not creamy and soft like frosting either. Maybe it was frozen? I dunno - the flavor was nice, but it wasn't soft and fluffy and I was painfully full so I barely ate 3 bites.
So that's the food, but what about the antics? Lunch was perfect for our all adult group. While we were there we saw one round of "pony" races and we watched a family face some healthy humiliation at the direction of their young son who was celebrating a birthday. He made his brother ride the pony around the lobby Xmas tree while singing happy birthday! Two rounds of fun to watch from a safe distance was about right for us. We didn't see any tables of ketchup or giant mason jars of soda, but the restaurant was less than half full and that was just fine by us.
Overall- We had a nice server, liked the food and saw some fun. It was the perfect end to our WL stay. A-
Value- 3 TS credits = about $100
Final treats-
After WCC I went to the Merchantile (aka gift shop) to spend down our final 2 snack credits. I got a box of cookies and a chocolate rice krispie treat to bring home for my cat sitter:
For people who love Dis planning (and especially planning meals) like me the end of WDW trips is especially hard, but we have good memories. I don't have any plans to return sadly, but if I get the chance to I'll do the same-try all new restaurants and eat like a pig!
- the end -
