Biergarten / CP dinner package:
Biergarten, I thought, was like Sci Fi: a place that you eat at for the ambiance not the food. This was our Candlelight Processional package and I wanted a really festive environment.
The choices for CP package times weren't great. I don't know why they no longer let you have your meal after the show. With that rule I ended up choosing an early dinner time (5ish) for the last show (8:15). At least we wouldn't be rushed and we could see the restaurant's 5:45 show.
As we approached Germany we all knew this was the right choice. That country had more Xmas decorations than many others. We were actually right on time for this one as we approached the host stand. What happened next is one of the things that may have turned the tide making my family actually trust that my OCD planning was worth it. I gave my name and the time and the guy just kept looking at his printout. He asked if it might be under another name and we got worried. Well I whipped out my Passporter and gave him the ADR #. He went into the restaurant and came back and apologized for the oversight. Don't leave home without a list of your ADR confirmation numbers!
We got a pager and then waited inside the restaurant. It wasnt too long (well, long enough for DSis to go scope the buffet), but that area got crowded. We were sat at a table not far into the restaurant so we were on the upper platform a little left of center stage. The hostess told us our server, "Desiree" would be out in a minute. We all assumed from the name she wasn't German.
Another family of 4 then joined our table (I was glad we got there first so we were up against the railing and had the better view). They were also all adults. We did intros and said were we were from. They said they'd been to Biergarten many times and thought it was great. Once we all got food the convo didn't resume-fine by us!
Desiree came out and she was most definitely German! She was also very funny (in a sarcastic way). She took our drink orders. DDad saw another CM bring a huge stein of beer to a neighboring table and asked if he could have a small beer instead and Desiree said "of course we have a small." Well he got a surprise when that "small" came out:
The rest of us got our sodas and we all hit the buffet.
This buffet isn't huge. The desserts, kids items, and carving station are in the center and the lines that led to it on either side are identical. There are more offerings than it looks like at first. A German restaurant may seem like an odd choice for a vegetarian, but they have tons of sides and DSis made a big plate.
We all tried a variety of things-some good, some not so good. Here's my plate (sorry all the pics I took there turned out dark as its supposed to look like nighttime inside):
Clockwise started with the mac and cheese (couldnt resist) we have: mac and cheese, spaeztle, pretzel bread, potato leek soup, veal loaf with chutney and a potato dumpling.
DDad and I both tried the veal loaf from the carving station. Neither of us liked it. Its very ground up meat and almost spongy. However, though it's not in this pic, the pork roast from the carving station that I got later after DMom sung its praises was great-super moist. The pork schnitzel was also very good. They had several good sauces for the meats-a very good mustard, a wine sauce, the chuntey/compote
The spatzle was very dry (as was the beef roll I tried later) and I neglected to get the sauce for it so it wasn't good, but other sides were. I especially liked the potato dumpling and the soup (me, liking potatoes- shocking!
). Ive got to say Ive had pretzel bread at Le Cellier, CRT and now Biergarten and I cant say that one is better than the others. This pretzel bread dipped in that creamy soup was yummy.
After 2 plates of good, but heavy food the show started:
It wasn't just stereotypical oompa/polka music, which we were relieved to discover. They were excellent and did a few Xmas songs too. When two of the band members came down onto the dance floor and played the hand bells it was a real highlight.
After the show I went and got a plate of desserts for us all to share:
Clockwise from the left they are: fresh fruit, linzer torte, black forest cake, apple strudel and bavarian style cheesecake-and that pool is the vanilla sauce for the strudel, which I determined was good on everything! We all found the cherries is the Black forest cake so bitter they overpowered the chocolate-ick. The linzer torte wasn't good either, too bready. The strudel was quite good, but the strong fave was that cheesecake. It's very different than Cheesecake Factory or NY style cheesecakes. It's more, well, cheesy - you can taste the sharpness of the cheese so it's not very sweet except for all the powdered sugar on top and it's fluffy light too. Very good.
Overall- Biergaten surprised us. The show is a fun touch, the look of the place (there's even a super believable projection of the moon) is very transformative and there were lots of good choices. I'll give it an A- for the whole thing.
Price-4 TS credits + beer = $148.53 (we were given our stickers to wear for entrance to the processional with the check)
Up next day 4 (Crystal Palace, Liberty Tree Tavern, Roaring Fork)
If he's willing to share with your DH and you can take bites of your DD's you'd probably be fine. But, I think this is where snack credits really come in handy. I'd guess that with the 2 meals plus one snack (like a bagel and cream cheese) you'd be just fine. You could also get a snack type item OOP if you want to bank credits.
) great job!
. I should have had more than 1 piece. This item is from the kids buffet as is the breakfast pizza (scrambled eggs and cheese on pizza crust), which was also pretty good.
