~ A 21 month old, a celebrity sighting, & a whole lotta food~2 week trip~ 2/28 update

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Whew, finally all caught up. I sure missed a lot. I don't even know where I've been. Good updates. Love the Micky/Minnie update. Those pictures are so cute. Beautiful room this time. Love that porch for sure. Your lucky mom and retirement. Congrats to her. Well deserved. Your updates are wonderful. Will follow better this time.

Ginny

 

[jhagan0923]

I am loving all your updates! We kept saying we wouldn't go to Disney till our son was at least 5 but we took him for the first time when he was 23 months! We all had a blast! We are headed back in Sept to celebrate his 5th birthday (sept 23rd) Keep the updates coming! I can't wait to read more!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

We used to helicopter trauma patients to Redding all the time. My Uncle owned a golf course in Redding until about 8 years ago. The world is getting smaller all the time!

That is so crazy!

My son played in a baseball tournament a few years ago in Redding at the Field of Dreams, that place is awesome!
My Niece n Nephew live in Marysville, thats not too far away from Redding right?

Can't wait till you update again sunset cliffs!

Yeah, Field of Dreams is a really cool place. Marysville is 2 hours or so from Redding, but it is only a 1/2 hour from Oroville (where I grew up).

Whew, finally all caught up. I sure missed a lot. I don't even know where I've been. Good updates. Love the Micky/Minnie update. Those pictures are so cute. Beautiful room this time. Love that porch for sure. Your lucky mom and retirement. Congrats to her. Well deserved. Your updates are wonderful. Will follow better this time.

Ginny

Thanks for continuing to read. The Mickey/Minnie part was definitely a highlight for us.

I am loving all your updates! We kept saying we wouldn't go to Disney till our son was at least 5 but we took him for the first time when he was 23 months! We all had a blast! We are headed back in Sept to celebrate his 5th birthday (sept 23rd) Keep the updates coming! I can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading! I'm so glad we decided not to wait to take him. It sounds like you were too. Birthday trip sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I checked in at the podium and was given a buzzer. I was worried because there were so many people in the waiting room, but it started buzzing within 5 minutes of arriving. Todd had just made it in from parking the car as we were walking in.

We were sat down at a table for 4 with a high chair on the end. Our table was right on the main path that runs through the center of the restaurant, which seemed like a great location. Not too far from the food, and a little space in the aisle for Dylan’s high chair.

My parents went to get their food first while we waited with Dylan. I remember looking around and saying that it wasn’t too crowded. We were all just taking in the atmosphere and people watching. I guess that I didn’t take a lot of pictures of the restaurant. I thought I did but they are not there. The only pictures I found were of the light fixtures.

I thought these were so pretty

I forgot to say that from now on I will be mixing in pictures from my mom’s camera as well as mine. She has a better camera than me, so it’s nice to have both.

We noticed that everyone was lining up on the far side where the meat section is. There was no line for the salad area. I think it’s because the salad station was in the middle of the buffet. We’ve noticed this in the past where it seems like people don’t understand that you can jump in wherever to get the food you want. I always start w/ salad and fruit and then go back later for heavier stuff like meat.

Dylan was really happy for some reason. He was smiling, talking, playing with us. I was a little worried because he’d only had a short nap, but he was on some of his best behavior I had seen so far on the trip. Score!

We realized that suddenly there was a super long line that was running down the main aisle past our table. People were standing right behind the high chair. It was the line from the meat counter! Are you kidding me? We looked and the salad section still had no line. Since I knew Todd wanted to get some of the meat items (he said he didn’t want to waste space on salad!), I told him to get in line. My parents came back a few minutes later and Todd had barely moved in line. I went and grabbed a plate by the kid’s section to get some food for Dylan. I was also able to fill up my plate with items from the salad section. By this time Todd was finally up to the meat counter so I asked him to get a couple items for me & Dylan. I felt a little bad but the line was so long & it didn’t look like it was going to go down any time soon. The restaurant had really started to fill up by now and there were a lot of people walking around.

I am looking at the menu on All Ears and I’m trying to remember all of the things that I tried at first. In the picture below I had : the Coconut Curried Chicken Soup (VERY good), salad with an Apple vinaigrette (unique salad dressing that I really liked), fruit, some sort of African flatbread, some sort of pasta salad, 2 different types of hummus (Sun-dried tomato and black olive) with a cracker-type bread, mealy bread and roasted chicken. Oh, and a Diet Coke. Trying to cut back on the calories, you know.

For Dylan, they had Mac & Cheese, chicken nuggets, fries, etc. If you can’t find anything from the other areas, you can always eat the stuff from the kid’s area.

Let me start off by telling you that I am not the most adventurous eater. On a scale from 1 – 10 I would be a 5…just right in the middle. I have to say that out of all of the stuff on my plate, the things that I liked best were the soup and the hummus. I am not a big hummus person but WOW! I really liked the 2 flavors that I got. I will warn you that the black olive hummus was pretty salty. I like salt so it wasn’t a problem for me, but someone who is not prepared might not like it so much! The Mealy bread was also really good. It was kind of sweet and was thicker (a little like cornbread).

Now, here is a picture of Todd’s plate. Can you see a difference? That is what I call a MANLY plate of food. No sissy salad for this guy. I told you he wasn’t wasting space on anything from the salad section. On his plate is the Roasted Chicken, Pepper Steak (they have a choice of sauces to put on your meat. I think there were 5 different choices!), ribs, Potatoes with Affritude, Falafel, Bobotie and more Mealy bread. The ribs were his favorite thing.

I was so full from the one plate of food that I only got a couple small bites of a few things during my second trip. One of those things was the FuFu, which is a sweet, white mashed potato with cinnamon in it. Yum!

For the record, Dylan ate every single thing that we gave him. We tried to stick to mostly regular stuff so that we didn’t upset his little system. We gave him little bites of things and his favorite was the Mealy bread. I had taken a bite of mine and given him a bite. He grabbed the whole thing out of my hand & finished it. Then he stole a whole one off of Todd’s plate. I think he ended up eating 4 of those things! The last one he took off of my plate had some black olive hummus on the side of it, and he got a sour face as he got a taste of it. LOL. I told him that’s what he got for being a thief!

Now came the best part…the dessert! We have tried almost every type of dessert at this restaurant since this was our 4th time eating here, so we just stuck to what we knew we loved. We had the zebra domes and a bread pudding that had vanilla & caramel sauces on it. OMGoodness! Why hadn’t I saved more room for these?

I love this picture because it looks like he is begging for more dessert.

Dylan was on cloud 9 with all of the desserts we were letting him eat, and he had an instant sugar rush right at the table. Usually it takes a while to set in but not this time! He was shaking his head back & forth really fast and pointing everywhere. I guess you had to see it… but trust me, it was funny.

The total bill for the 4 of us (Dylan was free) was $140 before tip. We knew that this would be expensive but it is still hard to get a bill for $70 a couple. As much as we love the food, I don’t know if we will continue to do this meal on every trip. When you think that you can spend $35 a person at any restaurant that you want, it opens up a lot of other restaurants that we might otherwise think are too expensive. This is a great place to go if you are on the Disney Dining Plan because then it is already included. We have never been on the DP so we always pay out of pocket. The only thing that bothers us about the price is that the first time that we ate here it was $25 a person and now it is up to $35, but they have not added anything new or upgraded it since we tried it the first time. I understand that costs increase, but to someone paying OOP it makes it a little more difficult when you don’t see the value increase.

My summary of Boma is that it is great food and a really unique setting. Even picky eaters will find something here that they like. The first time that we were going to eat here years ago, we chickened out when we got to the door! It looked too intimidating to us. But on the next trip we were determined to eat there, and I’m so glad that we tried it because it is one of the more unique food places that we have eaten.

Next up, AKL, animals and the craziest storm we have seen in years.

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Good update. I have not eaten there. Sheri really wanted to as she loves hummus. All flavors. We will give a try next time. That picture of Dylan saying "Please sir,can I have some more" is quite cute. That was the first thing to my mind when I saw it. You know from Dickens?

 

[DisneyMissy]

I'm a picky eater too, so I'm always afraid to try places like that. I'm glad you guys eventually got in there and enjoyed it! That's crazy that the price went up $10 and nothing on the menu changed...I probably wouldn't be able to talk myself into it, which is why I like the dining plan. That picture of Dylan begging is too cute!

 

[SleepingBeautyOH]

Great update! We have ADRs at Boma for next week. I was afraid there wouldn't be anything I'd be willing to eat, but I was sold at hummus!
The pic of Dylan "begging" for more dessert is too cute! Can't wait for the next update, AKL is such a neat place to explore!

 

[tinkgurl]

Looks like y'all had a great meal! I love the one of him "begging"!

 

[cjackearl]

Boma looks very yummy. The soup sounds great, and oh how I remember that storm because we drowned in it!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Good update. I have not eaten there. Sheri really wanted to as she loves hummus. All flavors. We will give a try next time. That picture of Dylan saying "Please sir,can I have some more" is quite cute. That was the first thing to my mind when I saw it. You know from Dickens?

I used to think that hummus was just the kind with no flavor! I was always saying, "why does everyone think hummus is such a big deal?" Now I know why! LOL on the Dickens quote!

I'm a picky eater too, so I'm always afraid to try places like that. I'm glad you guys eventually got in there and enjoyed it! That's crazy that the price went up $10 and nothing on the menu changed...I probably wouldn't be able to talk myself into it, which is why I like the dining plan. That picture of Dylan begging is too cute!

I think you could convince yourself to try this place. They had salmon and other items that I didn't list, just because I don't like seafood. But I think there are enough normal things to eat that it didn't feel made me feel like I was jumping into the deep end of the pool, you know?

Great update! We have ADRs at Boma for next week. I was afraid there wouldn't be anything I'd be willing to eat, but I was sold at hummus!
The pic of Dylan "begging" for more dessert is too cute! Can't wait for the next update, AKL is such a neat place to explore!

Yay! I'm so excited for you. Just remember to leave room for dessert because there are a lot of choices and you will want to try all of them.

Looks like y'all had a great meal! I love the one of him "begging"!

It was good. We always enjoy eating here. And yes, he has learned the puppy-dog eyes early in life!

Boma looks very yummy. The soup sounds great, and oh how I remember that storm because we drowned in it!

I remember thinking the same thing when I read about the storm in your trip report. It will go down in history as a "do you remember where you were when" type of story.

 

[MaryAz]

Looks like a fun and yummy dinner. We want to try it next time.

 

[ladybugmom]

Great update! I love the pic of Dylan begging for food! Sooo cute!! Glad you enjoyed your dinner at Boma!!

 

[jordanyosh]

The food does look really good. I love new flavors as long as I know what I'm eating!

yeah 140 is hard to swallow, especially for a buffet-even an upscale one.

Do people comment on how cute your son is...! it almost, almost makes me want kids..though I guess I wouldn't be having a blond haired child....

You never said if the line for the meat went down..did it?

 

[SunnieRN]

Awwww, how cute the "begging for more dessert" picture is!! How cool that Dylan liked the food so much and even helped himself to more bread from you and DH!

Our first trip we were not on a dining plan (stayed at shades of green) and we ate all CS, due to the prices. We will be going to Boma for breakfast in September.

My son played in a baseball tournament a few years ago in Redding at the Field of Dreams, that place is awesome!
My Niece n Nephew live in Marysville, thats not too far away from Redding right?

Can't wait till you update again sunset cliffs!

Marysville is even closer to Sutter, (where I used to live). It's only about 7-10 miles, depending upon where in Marysville they are.

Field of Dreams is cool!! I am so jealous of you being in San Mateo! I miss SF, Santa Cruz. Monterey, Carmel, Disneyland and San Diego!!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Looks like a fun and yummy dinner. We want to try it next time.

It is worth giving it a try. The experience is really fun.

Great update! I love the pic of Dylan begging for food! Sooo cute!! Glad you enjoyed your dinner at Boma!!

I'm hoping he doesn't pull the begging on me at other times. How do you say no to that?

The food does look really good. I love new flavors as long as I know what I'm eating!

yeah 140 is hard to swallow, especially for a buffet-even an upscale one.

Do people comment on how cute your son is...! it almost, almost makes me want kids..though I guess I wouldn't be having a blond haired child....

You never said if the line for the meat went down..did it?

LOL. Your comment made me roll! Um, yes, I have heard a few times that my son is cute. It's nice to hear though, since I tend to agree with them.

The line did go down, but not for a long time. I think it was because we got there right when it opened and they just filled all of the tables. So of course, everyone was getting food at the same time. It might be better to go an hour after opening and the flow might be a little better. It was so weird because I just walked over & got my food with no wait, but I did get a couple of looks like I was "breaking the standing in line rules."

Awwww, how cute the "begging for more dessert" picture is!! How cool that Dylan liked the food so much and even helped himself to more bread from you and DH!

Our first trip we were not on a dining plan (stayed at shades of green) and we ate all CS, due to the prices. We will be going to Boma for breakfast in September.

Marysville is even closer to Sutter, (where I used to live). It's only about 7-10 miles, depending upon where in Marysville they are.

Field of Dreams is cool!! I am so jealous of you being in San Mateo! I miss SF, Santa Cruz. Monterey, Carmel, Disneyland and San Diego!!

I used to live in San Diego too. That is actually where I get the most homesick for. We try to get down there at least once a year, and then we always manage to sneak in a day or 2 at Disneyland. We would love to move back to SD sometime but it is too expensive for us right now. BTW - that is where my screen name comes from...my favorite place in SD.

 

[jordanyosh]

People are so willing to line up like Lemmings...

 

[ptcrn]

Jumping in for your trip report! I just read through it all and I'm really enjoying it. Dylan is such a cutie pie! Our sons are the same age! David will be 2 on Sept 26th. I love reading about other people's adventures with a little one the same age as mine. We went in March/April, so he was a little younger, but it seems they enjoyed a lot of the same things.

Boma looks awesome, we will have to try it on our next trip (hopefully with free dining!)

Looking forward to reading more, especially your celebrity sighting!

 

[DreaGirl]

Boma looks so good! I do agree with you that $35 is a little steep if they haven't expanded the buffet at all!

Dylan is such a little trooper and I was cracking up at him stealing items off your plate.

 

[jenjolt]

What a great update!! I have never eaten at Boma's but it is one that I would really like to eat at in my future!!! Dylan looks like he had a great time at dinner!!!! Zebra domes...oh I will be getting me some of those this trip though!!!!

Storms...ewww...that doesn't sound like that much fun at all!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

Jumping in for your trip report! I just read through it all and I'm really enjoying it. Dylan is such a cutie pie! Our sons are the same age! David will be 2 on Sept 26th. I love reading about other people's adventures with a little one the same age as mine. We went in March/April, so he was a little younger, but it seems they enjoyed a lot of the same things.

Boma looks awesome, we will have to try it on our next trip (hopefully with free dining!)

Looking forward to reading more, especially your celebrity sighting!

How cool! Their birthday's are 13 days apart. Did you have a great time with him when you went? Are you doing a TR?

Boma looks so good! I do agree with you that $35 is a little steep if they haven't expanded the buffet at all!

Dylan is such a little trooper and I was cracking up at him stealing items off your plate.

It's a bummer because the food is really good. We will just have to try the DDP sometime and then it will take the sting out of the cost!

What a great update!! I have never eaten at Boma's but it is one that I would really like to eat at in my future!!! Dylan looks like he had a great time at dinner!!!! Zebra domes...oh I will be getting me some of those this trip though!!!!

Storms...ewww...that doesn't sound like that much fun at all!!

Can't wait for more!

You should definitely try it sometime! Yeah, this storm was crazy! Worse than most.