72 Hours on the Ground: A Quick, and not so Dirty, Disney Dining Review

[chrisw127]

Just came back from a short weekend trip (May 9 - 11) at Disney World. Although I've been to Disney many times, I've never managed to eat at a table service restaurant for some strange reason, in part because I didn't know the importance of making ADRs, so this time I vowed to rectify that. Unfortunately, a trip this short meant I could only make a few ADRs and even then, I ended up cancelling a Crystal Palace breakfast and lunch at Chefs de France. Still, we did have a few good dining experiences, including California Grill.

I travelled with a large group of moms and kids and we split up a lot, so I won't intruduce anyone unless they are pertinent to the story. One constant however will be me, a bit hard to please, and my son, a very picky five-year old.

First up: Columbia Harbor House in the Magic Kingdom.

First of all, the crowds at Disney were great this weekend. Easily found a table on late Friday morning and got our food in under 10 minutes.

I ordered the Fish and Chips, which were surprsingly good. The fish wasn't fishy tasting at all, very mild, and the fries were good. They weren't spectacular, but they were acceptable. One thing was awful, though: The tarter sauce, which mostly tasted like vinegar and nothingness. I kept wondering where I'd seen those packets and then I remembered! It was when I was in the army, but it wasn't even in the mess hall (um, dining facility) where they had pretty decent food, but when we were out in the field (camping, for you non-military types) and they would bring us out hot food. It was terrible then and it's terrible now. Which is too bad, because the fish itself was really good.

My picky kid ordered the chicken nuggets and they were fine. Really, exactly what you'd expect.

My best friend, probably the most accomodating vegetarian you will ever meet having braved the wilds of Canada with me with nothing but fries, old apples and hard rolls for sustainence, ordered the veg sandwich and really enjoyed it. She did say the dressing was a bit sweet, but overall a good sandwich.

My son and I split the chocolate cake. It was fine--for cake in a plastic tub.

Overall, this was a decent counter service experience. I'm more of a Pecos Bill kind of girl, but I'd go back, particularly if I was with a vegetarian. Also, it was attractive and not crowded. A big plus.

Next up: Our bumpy adventure down Raglan Road.

 

[chrisw127]

Friday night we had dinner at Raglan Road. I'd read a lot of different reviews on the Dis Board, most of them positive, so I was really looking forward to seeing if it lived up to my expectations.

We arrived about 20 minutes before our 6:00 p.m. ADR hoping to get an early table and were seated right away. There were maybe two other tables of customers at that time, with maybe one couple per table; it stayed that way for aboug 45 minutes. Our waitress Shannon (are they all named Shannon or did we just get the only one with an Irish name?) gave us our menus and left for a few minutes.

First, I have to say that the atmosphere was really very impressive. They did a beautiful job, as Disney usually does. There is a lot of dark woodwork yet it remains very airy. The chairs were comfortable, we were not crowded next to other tables, and there were some cozy romantic nooks that couples would probably enjoy.

Unfortunately, my dining companions were not in an eating mood having braved many hours in the theme parks. Two of them had the grilled chicken salad, which they both enjoyed and looked great. The three kids seemed satisfied with their orders of chicken fingers and fried shrimp, although none of them liked the fries at all. The fries were really thick, crispy on the outside and slightly underdone on the inside.

I ordered my son the creamed corn, which he refused to touch, so like any good mother, I ate it for him. This is worth the trip to Raglan Road alone. The corn tasted fresh and wasn't overcooked. I tasted a bit of garlic, maybe some onion, and basil? Something green that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It doesn't matter. Order the overlooked creamed corn. It's amazing.

I ordered the steak with the whiskey glaze. It came with the mashed potatoes and fried onions on top. Since I'd heard that the kitchen tends to overcook the meat, I ordered it medium (I prefer it medium well) and it arrived a textbook medium well, which was exactly what I normally prefer. The steak was really good. I could only taste the whiskey glaze on a small part of the meat, but it was really flavorfull nonetheless and I didn't mind. I expect that most of the glaze was soaked up by the boring mashed potatoes.

Now, I'm pretty sure anyone reading this could have made better mashed potatoes at home. Perhaps the chef has never heard of the Paula Deen School of Food, whereby anything tastes better with sour cream and butter? Because these seemed like they had almost nothing added. They weren't awful, but nor really worth the calories.

Finally, the real reason we went to Raglan Road: The bread pudding. I should warn you here that I love to cook but what I'm really into is baking, so it takes a LOT to impress me when it comes to dessert. Also, I live in the south and can get good bread pudding just about anywhere. Maybe this is why the bread pudding seemed pretty ordinary. It seemed like they used ordinary bread (not an egg bread, for example) and the pudding itself had an overall eggy taste to it. The creme anglaise was most likely made with vanilla extract rather than a vanilla bean. It was okay, but I missed that essential vanilla quality that creme anglaise should have. The caramel sauce was excellent however, and when added to the bread pudding it brought the pudding up a level. It did have a funny, almost metallic aftertaste, but overall the caramel sauce was amazing.

If you'd like an almost replica of the caramel sauce, minus the weird aftertaste, I have one that is amazing. PM me. It's also incredibly simple to make.

The only problem we had with Raglan Road was our server. I rarely complain about bad service and always leave a 20% tip, but this time I thought I needed to say something. If it had been as simple as never refilling our drinks, I would have not said something. I know it's a hard job and even though the restaurant wasn't even half full by the time we left two hours later (possibly a warning sign), I don't like to give waiters a hard time. But this time, I spoke to the manager. Shannon was rude. She rolled her eyes. She ignored our table, and when a simple request was made, she stomped away and yelled "Geez!" and promptly began complaining to a co-worker at the waiter's station a few feet away. I was sitting there thinking "Hey, I can almost hear you and I can certainly see you pointing at me!" In short, she sucked. And I really resented the 18% gratuity automatically tacked onto our check.

Needless to say, we complained to her boss.

Overall, the food at Raglan Road was good, the atmosphere was great, and the service was appalling. I won't go back and yet I can't say that for a couple on a romantic dinner it wouldn't be a bad choice, provided you don't get our waitress. One other thing: I don't think it's the best place for kids. I know that it says bringing kids is fine, but it's not really set up for kids. It was quiet (that early, at least) and they had a very limited kids' menu, but there are better choices for little ones at Downtown Disney. I didn't see a lot of kids there at all.

Next up: Breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Great reviews so far.

 

[DisOrBust]

So what did the boss say???

 

[chrisw127]

She was very polite and gave me the usual "this never happens" and said she would speak to her. Shannon may just have been having a bad day. It happens.

 

[Booknut]

Great reviews and thanks for the tip re Raglan Road and kids, i'll have to scrap it from my list this next time. I really wanted to try that bread pudding, mostly because of that caramel sauce so i'll gladly take that recipe you have please

 

[TigerKat]

I was born and raised on excellent bread pudding so I'm curious to see how RR's measures up. We'll be going in November for the first time.

 

[chrisw127]

Great reviews and thanks for the tip re Raglan Road and kids, i'll have to scrap it from my list this next time. I really wanted to try that bread pudding, mostly because of that caramel sauce so i'll gladly take that recipe you have please

This comes from the March 2008 Food and Wine. It's pretty exactly like RR. There's a cheesecake recipe that goes with it, which is amazing; you can find it on the website under magazine recipes. When it says to boil for two minutes, it means close to a full boil, otherwise it won't be as firm as you want, but it will still be delicious. You can double this easily. I tripled it the other day to give some away.

TOTAL TIME: 15 MIN plus chilling
1 1/4 CUPS
ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
directions
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter with all three sugars and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook over moderately high heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cream and boil for 2 minutes longer. Transfer the caramel sauce to a pitcher. Stir in the vanilla and salt and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
MAKE AHEAD The caramel can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Whisk to combine before serving.

 

[suzimar57]

enjoying the reviews - sorry, but just the words "creamed corn" make my stomache tweak.....

 

[Booknut]

TOTAL TIME: 15 MIN plus chilling
1 1/4 CUPS
ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
directions
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter with all three sugars and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook over moderately high heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cream and boil for 2 minutes longer. Transfer the caramel sauce to a pitcher. Stir in the vanilla and salt and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
MAKE AHEAD The caramel can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Whisk to combine before serving.

Thank you, will let you know how my DH likes it - i'm sure he'll LOVE it Will need to save up my WW points like crazy to eat this

 

[chrisw127]

Thanks so much for the replies!

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe. I highly recommend this place. It was very bright and airy and the food was excellent. We arrived at about 9:00 without ADRs but didn't wait at all.

My son had the Mickey pancakes, which come with Mickey sprinkles (I asked for them on the side). He really liked them.

I had the breakfast skillet, which is biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, cheese, and two bacon slices on the side (which, incidently, were covered and cheesy and oh so decadent--who would have thought? Cheese covered bacon!). It also had bits of onion, peppers, and tomato scattered through it, which was a nice contrast to the richness of the cheese and eggs. Delicious. I normally don't eat like this (although my poor husband, who was home with our 14 month old twins, would have loved this and I started to feel a bit guilty), but what the heck. It's a vacation, right?

My veg friend had the stuffed croissant, which was very attractively garnished with fruit and whipped cream. She offered me a bite and it was pretty amazing, although deep frying a croissant that is already stuffed with mascarpone cheese may overkill. Despite being fried, it wasn't greasy. Too many carbs for me, but my friend really liked it.

Our server here was excellent. They were busy and it was a bit slow, being the weekend an all, so if you're in a hurry, you might want to eat elsewhere, but for a nice, leisurely breakfast, particularly if you're staying in the GF, it's a great choice. Even if you're not staying at the GF, it's so comfortable and easy to get to from the MK, it would be an excellent place to take a break from the park. I'm planning on doing this on our next trip, as we won't stay at the GF as a family of five (well, not without having to raid the kids' college funds).

As an aside, my veg friend had a dinner here while we were in the parks and a lunch. She found a lot of choices that were meat-free and recommends it to any vegetarian.

Better go--twins waking up from naps.

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent

 

[auntfrannie]

Thanks for the great reviews! Keep 'em coming!

 

[nswift]

Enjoying your reviews!