8/24-8/31: A first timer and a vegetarian on free dining (reviews w/ pics)--updated!

[smartestnumber5]

Day 4—Pop, Sommerfest, Kringla Bakery, Whispering Canyon Café

Today was supposed to be an early day at Epcot. I woke up at 8, GF at 8:30, and after quickly getting ready we went over to the Pop main building. GF went to the concierge to have our problem with TS credits fixed (though we only got one full meal at Artist Point they took off 4 TS Credits) and change our dinner reservation, while I went to get some breakfast. GF gets this done way faster than I get my breakfast, so she sits for awhile waiting for me. I choose chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate soy milk, and I ask for a cup for tea as well.

The line I was in to check out was the slowest of all of them, and there appeared to be an issue with one of the family’s ahead of me. They looked unhappy and the person checking them out had to call another cashier over to help her. I was getting pretty ancy waiting in line. When it was my turn I asked for the cup for tea and she said I couldn’t have soymilk and a hot beverage for a CS credit. I thought that you were supposed to get one drink and one juice with breakfast and soymilk seemed to be the same price as juice (which I never drink because most types are very acidic and hurt my stomach) so I figured I could still get a fountain beverage or coffee type product. I wasn’t about to wait in line any longer due to asking questions, though, so I just got the soymilk and nothing else.

I didn’t realize that the pancakes automatically came with sausage and bacon which were placed on top of the pancakes. GF was happy to eat those. The top pancake they had been resting on vaguely tasted of meat so I mostly avoided that one. Luckily there was plenty even without that particular pancake.

Receipt:
1 CS Credit
Choc chip pancakes (w/ meat)—5.59
Soy milk—2.40*
Tax—.48
Total—8.47

* I’m just guessing on the price here. I found that most of the time the receipts at CS places didn’t include the prices of anything. Sometimes this was also true of the TS places, but at least there I could easily write in the prices.

Food: 3 out of 5. I was pretty happy with the chocolate chip pancakes (but, you know, anything chocolate tastes good to me!) and GF enjoyed the bacon and sausage.
Atmosphere: 1.5 out of 5. Walking through the Pop food court and waiting to check out just took so long that I felt frustrated when I actually got to eat. We always tried to sit near the Classic Concoctions area, though, which was usually less crowded or even empty.


We went to Epcot and stopped for espresso for GF at Fountainview Café. She was dismayed to find that that only Nestle espresso is served here as well. She opted for a mocha which she said tasted more like a hot chocolate than an espresso drink. I also made her buy me a hot chocolate and a bottle of water since we’d forgotten to bring one from the hotel. The hot chocolate was pretty yummy, though I was mostly interested in it for its soothing effect on my sore throat (I had started getting a cold the day before).

Fountainview Café
Mocha—3.7
Water—2.00
Hot Choc—1.89
Tax—.37
Total—7.95

Food (well drinks): 1.5 out of 5—the same horrible coffee as before, though the hot chocolate was fine.
Atmosphere: 2 out of 5—the line was somewhat long for a bakery/drink spot and there weren’t very many seating options (and those that were available were stools at a counter). Not a place you’d want to eat a relaxing meal, but fine for a quick breakfast or drink.


Around 1:30 pm we got to Germany in WS by taking the boat. We got off and I wanted to check in Italy to see if I could get any good desserts with a snack credit (nope). While I was checking, GF started feeling a little woozy and decided she needed food right then. We walked over to Sommerfest in Germany and she sat down while I ordered. She had a bratwurst with sauerkraut, an apple strudel, and an iced tea. I chose just a soft pretzel because I was hoping to eat later in Norway.

GF thought the bratwurst was fairly good as the sauerkraut was not totally Americanized. The actual meat was run of the mill and the bun was dry, but a pile of sauerkraut and mustard fixed that. GF says the apples in the strudel were too hard, but the pastry was flaky and good and the vanilla sauce was delicious with a strong real vanilla flavor. The soft pretzel was not quite as good as the one from AK, but a pretzel can never be that bad, especially not with all of the mustard I pile on. GF said it had a strange taste, but didn’t elaborate; I didn’t notice this. I ended up only eating half of it and taking the rest with us—I wanted to leave some room for the food in Norway.

1 CS Credit
Bratwurst w/ sauerkraut—6.39
Apple Streudel—3.69
Drink—2.09
Tax—.80
Total—12.97

Pretzel—3.39
Tax—.23
Total—3.62


Food: 2.75 out of 5.
Atmosphere: 2.5 stars out of 5. It was outdoors, but shaded and it seemed to pick up some of the air conditioning from the surrounding buildings. Was right next to the Biergarten so had some comings and goings nearby, but it was mid-afternoon so it wasn’t busy at all.



We moved on through WS toward Mexico, stopping to look around and buy a small piece of candy as a souvenir from each country. In Norway, I announced that I wanted food from the Kringla Bakery. I already knew that for a CS credit you could get soup, sandwich, and any pastry from reading the disboards, but I asked just in case anything had changed. Nothing had changed. The sandwiches were ham and cheese, maybe turkey, and salmon. I thought maybe GF would be interested in the salmon, as it’s one of her favorite foods, but these particular sandwiches weren’t appealing to her. I said I was going to use a CS credit and would just not get the sandwich if she didn’t want any of it, and she asked why I would do that when I could eat the sandwich. I think she was not quite as aware as I was of how many credits we still had at this point! We had a few awkward moments as I ordered, but it ended up fine. We got cheese and leek soup, a ham and cheese sandwich, a cloudberry horn, and a large iced tea with the credit, and then I paid OOP for a school bread and a lefse (potato bread).

I was pretty happy with this CS experience, but GF complained almost the entire time. I enjoyed the soup. It wasn’t exceptional or anything, but there are very few soups without meat in them so I appreciated it. (Actually there are even fewer w/out animal stock in them. I didn’t bother asking about this one.) GF said that while the soup tasted okay at the time, for several hours after eating some she had some burbing that tasted like “rancid Campbell’s cream of broccoli soup.” I replied that I really don’t think it’s fair for her to blame the restaurant for her burping problems. GF ate most of the sandwich, though I tasted some of the bread and cheese. She said it was made of an unpleasant piece of very thick, dry, tasteless bread topped with butter and then tasteless white cheese with heaps of shaved ham, finished off with a tiny, limp, slightly warm, revolting pickle. She reported being a little afraid to eat it because it was slightly warm and was sitting uncovered in the deli case and she only ate it because it came along with my meal. (I informed her that she could just throw it out! Also, the part of the sandwich I tasted—with a little mustard on top—seemed just fine.) The cloudberry horn was GF’s choice of dessert. It appeared to be a puffed pastry (kind of like a croissant) filled with cream. GF, however, described it as the kind of thing you buy prepackaged in the grocery store. She said the pastry seemed to be made of hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of butter, and the filling was so heavy it was like eating spoonfuls of butter. (Boy, she really is complaining here!). Though I chose the lefse and school bread, GF decided to have some of that too (I don’t know why since she disliked everything so far!). The lefse was a type of tortilla rolled up with a filling of butter and sugar. On GF’s first bite she didn’t get any filling and said she taste a nasty undertone in the bread. She sarcastically told me “this is delicious” and I bit in thinking that it was, in fact, somewhat tasty and saying so. GF tried it again and this time got some filling, which she said made it slightly less disgusting. I thought it was okay, but not great—not sweet enough and texture-wise it felt like butter and sugar in a rolled up tortilla—not all that pleasant. Finally there was the school bread. I ate this first and liked it—sweet coconut topping, creamy custard inside, not very sweet pastry on the outside—what’s not to like? GF found lots not to like—she said this also tasted like a grocery store purchase, that the pastry seemed to be made of hydrogenated oil again, and that the coconut topping was unnecessary and disgusting. I respond, “What??!!”


Kringla Bakery
1 CS Credit
Ham Sandwich—5.89
Soup—2.99
Iced tea—2.39
Cloudberry horn—3.09
Tax—.86
Total—15.22

OOP
Lefse—1.99
School bread—2.49 Tax—.30
Total—4.78


GF and I will have to give separate ratings here since we completely disagree.

Food (Me): 3 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it all and thought that getting soup, an open faced sandwich, a choice of all of those pastries, and a large drink was a great deal.

Food (GF): .5 star out of 5. She hated it all and thought it all was disgusting. She couldn’t understand why anyone on the disboard liked it.

Atmosphere: 2.5 stars out of 5. The eating area was outside, thus not air conditioned = loss of at least one star. It was peaceful, shaded, and uncrowded however, so I didn’t let the lack of air conditioning stop me.

 

[Figment's friends]

Enjoying your comments. I AM however wondering if at some point you decide to send your GF home by herself. I hope she wasn't as negative about EVERYTHING, cause hey it's Disney it can't all be bad right? We have booked several of the restaurants you've written about! Makes me more anxious than ever... 3 more days!!!!!!

 

[melomouse]

WOW! Just read all 3 pages and I am loving your reviews and commentary. Also it's really helpful in finalizing my trip with DD next month to see how you used the credits at various places.

I was married to a very "different" eater than myself for many years - at least the variables are a great source of discussion!!!! I think there are some observations your GF has right on the mark, and you, too...

The food in Disney is exceptional in a few places, average or better in most, poor in a few. Thanks for telling it as you sees it!!!! It's refreshing!

 

[smartestnumber5]

Enjoying your comments. I AM however wondering if at some point you decide to send your GF home by herself. I hope she wasn't as negative about EVERYTHING, cause hey it's Disney it can't all be bad right? We have booked several of the restaurants you've written about! Makes me more anxious than ever... 3 more days!!!!!!

Haha, GF seems more negative on paper than she is in actuality I think. Partly it's just that I have so little to say other than "it's okay" or "it's good" that she feels the need to fill in. Really she was quite happy everywhere we ate other than Norway. She'd gobble down the food and then when I'd ask for a rating later it would always be later than I would have guessed given her apparent happiness with the food while she was eating it. Guess she just has some high standards when it comes to dining reviews.

Glad the reviews are making you excited for your trip. Have a great time!

 

[smartestnumber5]

We originally had an ADR at Whispering Canyon for 7:30 pm. However, during out Artist Point dinner we explored WL’s lobby and GF witnessed Whispering Canyon during some of the hoopla. It was loud, crowded, and there were lots of kids. GF took one look and knew this was not for her. I told her we could try to get an ADR somewhere else, but she said she really wanted to try the food. So we agreed to get a much later ADR, thinking the restaurant would be clearing out by then. We got an ADR for 9:40 pm.

That day we were at Epcot and then went back to the hotel for a rest before dinner during which GF fell asleep. The past two nights we left about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to get from Pop to the resort where we were having dinner. Both times, we had been there in plenty of time. This time I thought we should plan on the 1 hr 15 minutes end of things, so I tried to wake GF up around 8pm, thinking she’d have almost a half hour to get ready (doesn’t take her that long). GF, however, did not want to wake up. Finally, at 8:29 pm (after two to three more attempts on my part) she got up. She hurried and we got to the main Pop building by 8:45, but we still had to buy more band aids for blisters, and GF wanted to fill up her mug with coffee. Since this wasa after the closing of MGM and just before the closing of Epcot, I figured our best bet for getting to WL was to take a bus to MK (now we realize downtown Disney might have been a better option) and another bus to WL. We exited the main building at Pop just in time to see a MK bus just leaving. We realize we’re probably going to be late for our ADR, but there's nothing to do now but wait. We get on the next MK bus and we don’t arrive at MK until 9:20 pm when we begin to look for a bus to WL—a bus, it turns out, which doesn’t exist! I knew there was a boat from MK to WL, though, so we head over there just in time to see a boat pulling away. Great!

GF says “We’re not going to be able to eat there are we? They’re going to stop seating before we get there." I say I’m not sure, but it’s possible and that if that happens we can probably eat somewhere in downtown Disney. Neither of us are very happy and GF is obviously feeling guilty for not getting up earlier. The next boat leaves the dock 7 minutes after our ADR. At about 9:59 pm the boat docks at WL and GF tells me I should “run like the wind” to see if we can still eat. She can’t walk nearly as fast as I can because of her foot cramps. I walk quickly into WL and arrive at WCC around 10:03 pm. While breathing heavily, I tell her I’m 20 minutes late for an ADR. The hostess looks like she might not be able to help me, but after a moment she hands menus to someone and asks him to seat me. Yes, we’re going to get fed!

GF shows up a few minutes later. We’re both in a better mood now. We get a great server. She’s very nice and is definitely playing the WCC server role well, but she’s not over the top. She just teases us a bit and throws some straws at us. She asks if we’re on the DDP and tells us we can have all you can drink milkshakes for drinks and have refills of different flavors. Of course, GF and I jump on this. I ask for a vanilla and she asks for an orange. For dinner, GF gets the skillet which comes with a salad for an appetizer while I get nachos without the meat and the chipotle chicken pasta without the chicken.

Along with the appetizers we also have some cornbread with butter. GF is in love with this; she described it as “tender, sweet, and delicious” with butter that was almost as good at Artist Point. I also enjoyed the corn bread, but I’m not a connoisseur of bread and butter like GF. Along with the bread, she ate a little of her salad. It’s your average salad, but hey, it’s not what we’re here for. I dig into the nachos and GF follows. Who can eat salad when there are nachos on the table? They are okay, but seem to be missing something—(like meat!). They’re just corn chips with cheese (half of which isn’t melted) and tomatoes and sour cream. Maybe some salsa or beans or olives or jalepenos would have livened them up? I guess they would have been completely different with the meat chili on them.

We eat a lot of the nachos and drink a lot of our milkshakes as well (which are great of course). GF’s is like a creamsicle—orange and vanilla mixed—and she loves creamsicles. Out come our entrees. I’m already somewhat full by now, but the pasta does look good. It’s got a very unusual sauce. Kind of creamy, maybe even cheesy, but spicy. I eat as much as I can before I feel like I'm going to burst (which isn’t much at all). GF is shocked by the size of the skillet. It has three cobs of corn and what seems like half the side of a cow all just for her! She reported that it was generally tasty (at least for those who like bbq and meat) and the mashed potatoes were excellent, though she would have liked gravy with them. Somewhere during the course of the meal we actually asked for refills on the milkshakes—chocolate for me and strawberry for her. I don’t know why we did such a thing since we were already stuffed—must have been the allure of them being free—it’s dangerous! GF says the strawberry tasted more like a smoothie--a natural strawberry taste but not so sweet that it was cloying. All I have to say is that the chocolate was yummy (how can a chocolate milkshake be anything else?).

By this point there was only one other table which people were occupying and they were paying the bill. Here are some shots of the empty restaurant:

Shortly after our server came by and said the kitchen was closing, and though we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted, she’d have to get our desserts now. There was no way we were eating more so we got a s’mores cheesecake and chocolate mousse cake to go. While our server was preparing the desserts, the person who had seated me (who seemed to be bit bored as there was no one else in the place) came by and asked us how our day had been, etc. We ended up having a long conversation with him as it turned out he used to live around the same city where GF went to graduate school and he’s a big fan of the football team at the school I attend (and was shocked to find out I’ve never gone to a single game). After we left GF said she thought this was our first “Disney” experience—someone who went out of their way to be extremely nice and friendly to us.

Our server returned with our boxed desserts and she also brought boxes for our food. She had said something earlier about how GF could just take the skillet back to our hotel with us as there was probably a microwave at the food court. I thought she was probably just joking, since you generally can’t take food out of all you can eat places, but she seemed to be serious and brought us a box for my pasta and an extra box which must have been for the skillet. I supposed since it was so late at night and no one else was around what could it hurt to let us take it with us? It was a ton of food going straight to the trash anyway. Unfortunately, GF knew that with the next few days full of DDP reservations there was no way she was going to eat any of this. (In fact, at this very moment there was still an untouched box of leftover sushi from California Grill sitting back in our room in a cooler.) So we left it all. I didn’t bother taking my pasta for the same reason.

It was at this dinner that, as GF puts it, “we hit the wall.” The food wall that is. We had been full after other dinners, especially Boma, but not like this. Also, it was kind of depressing leaving all that food on the table. This was our first glimpse of just how wasteful the DDP can be. (Okay, part of the fault lies in GF’s choosing the skillet, which is in itself very wasteful to begin with, but the majority of my meal got tossed too and that was just a normal appetizer and entrée.) We both decide we needed to sit for awhile and digest so we grabbed a table outside near Roaring Fork. GF had enjoyed the WCC experience and the food, but she wasn’t sure she would put the restaurant high on the list of places to return to. While the food in the skillet was good, it wasn’t exceptional, and when we finally did eat the desserts (for breakfast the next morning) we found they were a little substandard compared to the rest of the desserts we experienced at TS restaurants. The chocolate mousse cake was not as good as the one we'd had a Sunshine Seasons--this one was sweeter and less like a mousse. The cheesecake was fine--not as good (or as sharp) as the one at Boma. I'd really gotten it for the s'more aspect as I thought there was some other s'more dessert on the menu I'd looked at online that wasn't on the menu we were given. However, s'more simply meant added chocolate sauce and a few tiny marshmellows--a little disappointing.

2 TS Credits
Nachos (no meat)—6.49
Grilled Chicken Pasta (no chicken)—17.49
Skillet (w/ salad)—22.5
Milkshake—4.79
Milkshake—4.79
S’more cheesecake—5.79
Chocolate Mousse Cake—5.79*
Subtotal—67.64
Tax—4.06
Tip—12.18
Total—83.88


* Again, I’m guessing about this price.


Food: 2.5 out of 5—One should probably choose WCC for atmosphere (if you like that sort of thing) and the plentifulness of the skillet, but not for the exceptional food quality. While everything was good, nothing was great, and this wasn’t the best place for a vegetarian.

Atmosphere: 3 out of 5—Since we weren’t looking for the normal craziness of the place, we were happy to have a late ADR and happy that the restaurant was almost empty for most of our dinner. We also enjoyed our server who was fun without putting us off.

 

[battricia]

Isn't there a vegetarian option at whispering canyon?? They have one on allears.net. If there is might I ask why you didn't choose it? I'm just curious because I generally get bored of pasta dishes as the vegetarian meal. We have ADRs for whispering canyon next week!

Thanks.
tricia.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Isn't there a vegetarian option at whispering canyon?? They have one on allears.net. If there is might I ask why you didn't choose it? I'm just curious because I generally get bored of pasta dishes as the vegetarian meal. We have ADRs for whispering canyon next week!

Thanks.
tricia.

WCC did indeed have a vegetarian option--a vegetable stew. (I should have mentioned that in the review--oops!) I had looked at the menu before we decided to go to WCC and just wasn't that interested in the stew. I probably should have questioned the server about what it was like, because I can imagine it being very good. But I can also imagine it not being so good. The thing that scared me off was that the first ingredient listed in the description was beans. I just imagined a stew that it might be too bean heavy. I like beans, but I don't love them, and I don't really know what cannelli beans are. Also, I went to WCC a few years ago with my family and at that time the vegetarian entree was a pasta dish which was pretty good. The pasta I had this time was different though, but I think I was picturing the first pasta when I ordered this one--silly!

I usually get tired of having to eat pasta everywhere too, but in fact this trip WCC was the only place I ate pasta, so I actually enjoyed it.

Hope you enjoy WCC!

 

[CDoobee]

If anyone wants to see more pictures of vegetarian WDW food, I have some pictures on the "Post your pictures of Disney Dining Food Here..." thread. I have pictures of my vegetarian choices, as well as my meat-eating friend's choices.

smartestnumber5.....I got the Cannellini Bean Stew at WCC, and thought it was great! There is a picture of it on the thread.

Here are the links to the pages I have pictures on. If they don't work, my pictures are on pages 101 and 102 of the thread.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=773269&page=101&pp=15

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=773269&page=102&pp=15

Hope this helps!

 

[smartestnumber5]

If anyone wants to see more pictures of vegetarian WDW food, I have some pictures on the "Post your pictures of Disney Dining Food Here..." thread. I have pictures of my vegetarian choices, as well as my meat-eating friend's choices.

smartestnumber5.....I got the Cannellini Bean Stew at WCC, and thought it was great! There is a picture of it on the thread.

Here are the links to the pages I have pictures on. If they don't work, my pictures are on pages 101 and 102 of the thread.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=773269&page=101&pp=15

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=773269&page=102&pp=15

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the links to pics! The stew does look good, but also looks pretty heavy on the beans, so I'm glad I didn't go for it. Glad you enjoyed it though--good to know they've got a tasty vegetarian option on the menu.

 

[LisaS]

We both thought the falafel tasted strange—not bad—as if it was made with potato and the pasta salad had some strong spices, maybe cumin, which I didn’t love and GF disliked. We had read some reviews of Boma which indicated that it tasted like everything on the buffet had been doused in cinnamon or ginger. While we didn’t agree with that, we did think that there were numerous items—like pasta salad and potato salad—of which one has a very specific idea how they will taste. And at Boma, they taste nothing like that idea, and that is a little disturbing. Even though we liked a lot of the other items, these weren’t that pleasing to us. Moral of the story: don’t stick to what you already know you like at Boma (you’ll be disappointed) – try new and different things.

I'm really enjoying your dining reviews! Thanks for taking so many photos of everything you ate during your trip.

I can see where some people might not like the potato salad and the pasta salad if they are expecting them to taste the way you're used to. But I absolutely love both of these done the Boma way. I think Boma's potato salad is my favorite thing on the entire buffet, or maybe the pasta salad is my favorite... I get cravings for both of them. I'm not sure what the spices are that they add, but the dressings they use make those dishes pale yellow in color. DH and I love Indian food and find that several dishes at Boma use similar spice combinations. Since Disney doesn't have an Indian restaurant, Boma is the next best thing for us.

I also will second the positive comments made about WCC's bean stew. It's a bit rich but very tasty. DH and I both like beans so we really enjoyed the bean stew.

 

[Hope73]

I love tusker house. Kids always want pizza so e w get tusker chicken and walk down to pizza with them and eat the chix with them. the potatoes aree real ones with llumps I am a mashed pot snob

 

[smartestnumber5]

Day 5—Mon 8/29

We slept in today and upon waking ate some of the leftover dessert from WCC decided to hang out at the pool. Due to GF’s foot cramps, we decided today would be a non-park day. We were going to visit some resorts and I had a surprise for her (taking a pontoon boat) and we thought we could stop by Beaches and Cream for a sundae. I was hoping before all this we could go to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. However, we took our time at the pool and then getting ready to go out, so I was pretty hungry before GF was even ready to go. We decided to forego the Earl :-( (we never did get there) so I could get food at Pop instead. I wasn’t feeling great at this point (probably from eating nothing but cheesecake) so I didn’t really care so much what I ate, I just wanted a short line. The line for the flatbread was the shortest, so that’s where I headed. I ordered a veggie flatbread and then picked up a cookie and drink.

The actual bread part was very good and I mostly stuck with eating that. The vegetables were mostly unidentifiable, though I know there were artichoke hearts which were a nice surprise. I had some of those, but didn’t really enjoy the dressing on the veggies that much. GF ate more of the veggies when she showed up to meet me. I finished off the cookie and was feeling better already now that I had a little bit of real food in me.

1 CS Credit
Drink—2.30
Veggie flatbread—7.19
Cookie—1.89
Tax—.68
Total--12.06

Food—2 out of 5. I was quite happy with the cookie and the frozen coke and the bread part of the flatbread. The veggies weren’t so great, but then I wasn’t really in the mood for them either.



When dinner rolled around, we were a bit early for our 6:10 pm ADR, but we went and checked in. After you check in they tell you to go wait by the elevator until someone from upstairs comes down to take you up. I guess too many people were going up there just to see the fireworks, so now you have to check in first and be escorted on the elevator. The person taking you up gets cards from the check in station with everyone’s name and ADR time on them to give to the hostess upstairs. I check in and the woman says “go right ahead on the elevator.” At that moment, there is an open elevator with about 4 people waiting for the escort to get the cards and bring everyone upstairs. So GF and I get in it as we were told to do. Right behind us comes a group of 6 people. They get on making things very tight. GF looks unhappy as strangers are forced to touch her (this makes her anxious) in order to fit. I think “what the heck, there will be another elevator people!” The escort comes over and squeezes in and hits the 15th floor button. While we’re going, he calls the names of people on his cards—3 names, none of which are my name. We wonder why he doesn’t have our card. We get off and after everyone else gets seated we tell him he didn’t have our card. He goes down to get it, and sure enough it’s in the next batch of cards. I guess we were the people who didn’t belong on the elevator. Once they got our card we were seated right away, this time a few tables away from the windows on the other side of the restaurant, near the open kitchen.

We once again used on 2 TS credits and bought some things OOP. We had the cheese plate for an appetizer, R had the ribeye steak for the entrée, I had an iced tea, and we split the bananas buzz again. We also got the same flatbread again and I got the goat cheese ravioli OOP. (No pics of the flatbread or dessert since they’re the same as before).

This was a strange dinner which had both pleasant and unpleasant aspects. Once again, the food was great, but there were strange happenings with our server. When we were first seated our server came by and introduced himself and explained the cheese plate—an appetizer that must have been a special that night, because it wasn’t mentioned to us when we were there a few nights before. We informed him about we wanted to do with the DDP credits and he was fine with that. He left to give us some time and brought us water. There were five cheeses and you could choose any combination of them so that you end up with 5 helpings of cheese. Since 2 of them were goat cheeses, we decided on getting only 3 kinds and having double of two of those kinds. We also figured out everything else we wanted to order by this point. We were actually hoping this meal could be hurried along a little bit if we ordered all at once because I was supposed to get a Beaches and Cream sundae as the beginning of my surprise and GF wanted to maybe go to Pleasure Island after my surprise.

When our server came back, we told him what we wanted regarding the cheese plate, and just when we thought he would say “Okay and did you want to order anything else right now?” or at least “And what drinks can I get for you?” he said, “Okay, I’ll take care of it” and walked off. I thought this was a little weird, but we figured maybe he was in a rush right then. We though he’d be back in a few minutes to take our order, but a few minutes passed and he didn’t show up. No asking if we wanted drinks. No giving us bread. Nothing. Another 10 to 15 minutes passed and still he hadn’t been back except a quick passing by with other people’s plates in his hands to say “that cheese plate will be right out.” We noticed that his other tables which had seemed to arrive around when we did had drinks, bread, and even appetizers on them by now, and we hadn’t even given a drink order yet. I started getting a bit anxious. Clearly this was not going to be an even moderately quick dinner. GF suggested we just relax and enjoy it and forget about trying to hurry it. She though maybe I could be convinced to have a candy spree at Goofy’s Candy Co as the beginning of my surprise rather than a sundae at Beaches and Cream. I was slowly convinced.

Out came the cheese plate. It look great and tasted even better. I know the cheese to the right in the picture is a blue cheese, but I can’t remember what kinds of cheese the other two were. I do know, though, that we loved them all. GF was shocked that she enjoyed the blue cheese so much because she usually finds it a bit strong; she described it as smooth and delicious. The plate came with five accompaniments (going from left to right)—honey, pear spread, apple pieces, fig leaf, and candied almonds. GF was very excited about the mixing and matching. She began going on about how we should have a housewarming party and do a cheese plate with these sorts of accompaniments. At this point, we had been seated for over a half an hour. I assumed that the server would be over any minute to take our order. Once again, though, he stopped by (I mean, full stop—not like he was going to another table and just happened to think that we needed a quick hello) and asked “how’s the cheese?” We said, “It’s great.” He said he was glad we liked it. We waited for him to ask us about ordering, but instead he just walked off again! Ahhh! GF and I can’t really understand what’s going on. She comments that at this rate, we might still be here during Wishes, just wondering when he’ll come ask what we want. We realize we’re going to have to just ask him to please get us some more food when he comes back. When we’re almost finished with the cheese plate he stops back again and asks a specific question about the cheese. We answer, but this time R also quickly says, “Are you ready to take our order?” He says, “Well that really depends on you. Did you want to order now?” We nod vigorously. He says “Well then sure thing. I’m just trying to follow your lead and not be pushy. I know when I come to a place like this I’m planning on being here a few hours and I don’t want to be rushed. So I try to treat everyone else how I’d like to be treated and not hurry them.” We make small talk about this—“that’s nice of you”—and then get to ordering. We then realize maybe we have to get more assertive. What he was apparently reading as leisure was actually us just being to timid to say anything.

I get my iced tea shortly after and there is some wait before bread comes out and then the flatbread. The bread and flatbread are just as good as before, but we try to save room for the entrees and desserts. At some point here GF decides she needs to go have a cigarette. We’ve been here an hour but haven’t really been eating or drinking most of that time, so we’re a little bored. There’s another significant pause between the flatbread and the entrees, so I decide to take a trip to the restroom. While I’m away, GF eats even more of my flatbread even though she has a huge steak coming soon. Finally the entrees arrive. GF’s steak is as big as her head. Seriously, in most of the pictures I’ve seen of the entrees (especially involving pieces of meat) at signature restaurants the portions are small to moderate. Our tortelloni from our experience at California Grill on Thursday night, for example, had only 4 tortelloni each not that much bigger than a Chef Boyardee ravioli. We were not expecting her ribeye to be this huge. She digs in and starts enjoying it and reported later that it was extremely tender. She would have rated it as the best steak ever except that it was charred, which she does not enjoy (so I guess it’s the 2nd best steak ever). The steak was served with a delicious salty blue cheese crumble sauce as well as potatoes and some salad underneath. The salad and potatoes were not so great as they were saturated with steak juice and the salad was limp. Overall, though, GF says she enjoyed it tremendously and she seriously injured her stomach eating it.

My ravioli was fine. I’d had it before a number of years ago and remembered it being more exciting. As it was, the goat cheese was pleasant—not too strong—but at this point I just wasn’t that interested in eating a ravioli. Our server came by with a dessert menu and pointed out his favorites and gave us some time to decide. We figured we should order dessert early since each course took quite awhile to come out, so we discussed what to get. There were a few desserts that were fruit based and didn’t sound very sweet that GF was interested in and there was a chocolate lava cake that I was interested in. GF said she couldn’t deal with the chocolate and I was only willing to go with a blueberry dessert of all the fruit based ones and GF didn’t want that. So we decided just to get the bananas buzz again as we both knew we’d enjoy that a lot. GF was still working on her steak at this point, but I had my fill of the ravioli quickly, so I decided to go outside for some picture taking from the observation deck. The sun was just beginning to set so I wanted to get the pictures before dark.

I was a bit afraid the dessert would arrive and GF would eat it all without me, but things were moving slowly enough that I had plenty of time. We gobbled down the dessert and when our server came by to check on us he looked at the empty plate said “you know, if you didn’t like that dessert I could have gotten you something else.” I laughed and then asked for the check while GF took another cigarette/bathroom trip. The check came quickly and I had signed the receipts before GF returned.

Our meal had been almost 2 and a half hours long, and that was just too long for me, and we found interactions with our server to be a little strange because we didn’t find it easy to be as assertive as we needed to be. Overall, the meal was just as good as the one a few nights before had been. This time, however, GF was in a lot of pain—she’d eaten way too much of that huge hunk of meat (which was now in a doggie bag).

2 TS Credits
Iced Tea—2.19
Cheese plate—16
Ribeye—41
Banana Buzz—10
Tax—4.5
Tip—12.45
Total—86.14

OOP
Flatbread—10
Ravioli—11
Tax—1.37
Tip—4.40
Total—26.77

Food 4.5 out of 5. The flatbread and dessert were just as good as last time. The steak was almost the best steak ever according to GF. My ravioli was just okay, but that might have been a result of my mood more than the ravioli itself. And the cheeseplate was outstanding.

Atmosphere 4 out of 5. Still somewhat noisy and busy but still great.

 

[Moonpie]

I would have called the waiter over and asked him to take our order. I don't know how the waiter could have judged your ideal meal timing by just looking at you. I would have been completely frustrated with service like that, and I may have not had the patience to stay for the entire meal.

 

[Samandmom]

I agree about the veggie flatbread from Pop. It was weird. I only ended up eating the bread.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Wow--I guess I never finished my dining reviews from our August trip.

It's three months later and I'm just feeling in the mood, so here it goes.

 

[smartestnumber5]

This was a late sleeping morning for gf (who had a little too much to drink the night before), so I hung around the hotel well she slept and got some early lunch at Pop--cheese pizza, chocolate soymilk, and yogurt parfait.

I was plenty happy with this simple meal--except half way through I spilled chocolate soymilk all over the table, tray, and pizza I'm such a clumsy person!

1 CS
Cheese Pizza—5.59
Yogurt—3.79
Choc soymilk—2.40
Tax—.71
Total—12.49

Food: 4 out of 5 (until it became chocolate-soy-cheese-pizza that is)

Later that afternoon I had another half a lunch at MGM while gf ate. We had heard there weren't very good options at MGM for CS. We found this to be mostly accurate. We scoped some things out on Hollywood Blvd. while waiting for our Rock n Roller Coaster fast pass time. Unfortunately gf got kind of dizzy on it and her tummy started feeling a bit weird after riding it. We decided she needed something simple and quick to eat so we ended up at Rosie's All American for chicken strips and fries, iced tea, and apple pie.

We took that over to Starring Rolls which had a better sitting area and was less crowded. I started looking around in Starring Rolls which had a veggie pita for a vegetarian option, but I just didn't want a bunch of veggies in dressing again. I also wasn't feeling all that hungry. (Actually, I really had a craving for fried food--don't really know why--so I started regretting not getting a veggie burger and fries at Rosie's All American). We still had a good number of CS credits, so I decided to just get an uncrustable (the pre-made pb&j sandwiches w/ no crusts) with a drink (chocolate milk) and dessert (tiramisu). The casheir wasn't sure if I could use a CS credit for an uncrustable, so she wanted to use 3 snack credits for what I picked out instead. Except, we had too many CS credits than we'd use, but not too many snack credits, so I asked, "Are you sure it won't work for a CS?" She said she'd try it and see if it worked and it did. Glad I asked again that she try!

GF enjoyed her chicken strips and said they really hit the spot given her tummy had been feeling weird. But her apple pie was not very good. I was not happy with my meal (okay, I know I chose an uncrustable, but still). The uncrustable was actually fine--like every other pb&j I've ever had. But the tiramisu was tasteless so I hardly ate any of it. Also, I realized it was really stupid of me to get chocolate milk when it was so hot outside because I couldn't drink much of that. Hey, at least we got to see what an uncrustable is like!

Don't know the prices for these meals, but they came to 2 CS meals.

Rosie's
Food 3.5 out of 5. You can't really mess up chicken strips too badly right?
Atmosphere 1 out of 5. All outdoor seating, a lot of it in the sun or with ineffective umbrellas, and lots of people

Starring Rolls (based on the tiramisu alone)
Food 1 out of 5. Really yucky tiramisu.
Atmosphere 2.5 out of 5. Nice little corner tucked away, not crowded, partly in the shade and more effective umbrellas.

We decided to hit Magic Kingdom for a few hours before dinner and I had the brilliant idea of getting an ice cream cookie sandwich at Main Street Bakery. YUM! Why didn't we eat one of these everyday? (Actually my ex-roommate did the college program and so we asked her if there was anything at Disney she wanted as a souvenir. She said an ice cream cookie sandwich from the bakery--which is where she worked. We brought her back some Main Street Bakery cookies, but told her she'd have to get her own non-Disney ice cream.)

1 S Credit
Ice Cream Sandwich—3.99 (guess)
Tax—.24
Total—4.23

Food: 4.75 out of 5.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Dinner was at Spoodles, and we managed to be late again. We left MK and must have just missed a bus to the Boardwalk, because we waited about 15 minutes for another bus. We already knew we were going to be late. GF suggested I run to Spoodles like I did at WCC, but since it wasn't close to their closing time, I figured why bothering running. We got there and still were seated within a few minutes.

Our server brought out bread with herbed dipping oil. GF usually doesn't like herbs and prefers butter over oil anyway, so I asked for butter. To my surprise, though, she really liked the bread and oil. We ate too much of it and were getting full before our appetizers came out. Unfortuanately, at some point one of us broke a glass and though our server helped us clean up the table, we weren't sure if any glass got into the oil and he left before we thought to ask for a new dish of it just in case.

For appetizers I got the Mediterranean Dips and gf got one of the flatbreads (actually, she only got that because I couldn't decide between the two and guilted her into it). The flatbread was okay--nothing compared to the one at the California Grill--but the Mediterranean Dips totally overshadowed it. The dips included tzaki (sp?) which I can never find anywhere and can't make very well at all, two kinds of hummos, and olives with pita bread. We totally chowed down on this and were almost full by the time our entrees came out.

Luckily we really liked the bread and dips, because our entrees weren't that good. GF got the Portuguese Seafood Stew but there were so many different kinds of seafood and she didn't think they mixed that well together. I had ordered a vegetarian gnocchi dish which wasn't on the menu. While ordering I had asked the server about other vegetarian options. He had told me about the gnocchi and about some type of sampler. He had a very strong European accent, though, and with that and the noise I couldn't hear most of what he was saying was on the sampler. I asked him to repeat it but still didn't catch most of it, so I just went with the gnocchi. The gnocchi themselves were fine and I am a fan of gnocchi, but the sauce they were in was really boring--just plain old red sauce. The vegetables were just a few onions and green peppers. The only interesting part of the dish was a small amount of blue cheese on the top which, though at least not boring, still wasn't that good (blue cheese and marinara sauce?? it hurts my italian heart)

Both gf and I ate a few bites of our entrees and quit. We figured we were already full and they weren't very good and besides, dessert was still to come. GF got creme brulee and I got the chocolate pistachio cake. Both of them were great. I questioned getting the chocolate pistachio cake because it had apricot in it, and I'm not that big of a fan of fruit mixed with chocolate. But it was great--I was glad I got it.

Don't have the prices for this meal, but it was 2 TS credits.

Food: 4 out of 5 for desserts and appetizers (much less for entrees)
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5. Not too busy, not to fancy, a little bit noisy.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Me—24 year old vegetarian (though I was lenient this trip with gelatin and animal stock). This is my 5th trip to Disney. I like to eat often in small to medium quantities and have an insatiable sweet/chocolate tooth. I have some acid reflux issues which are improving now that I’ve doubled my dose of prilosec. Though I'm usually not that discerning about the quality of food—okay, good, great are often the extent of my comments--I’m trying extra hard to be detailed here.

Wow, are we twins? I'm 24, have acid reflux, and eat way more chocolate at WDW than should be legal. I was vegetarian for a year, but stupid pepperoni pizza made me give in, and I figured out that my body gets grumpy if it doesn't get meat now and then, so I just eat a little meat now. (And man, how much does acid reflux suck?) Oh, and I don't eat much, either!

Your cats are flippin' cute, by the way!