A Not so Grim(m) Fairytale Dining Reviews 2011-That's a Wrap! complete

[librarygeek]

Yup, I'm definitely thinking this is a place we will never visit. I like really good food or really good theming, and this place obviously has neither.

 

[LowesChevy]

Jiko

We drove over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge a bit early this to check out the savannah before dinner. There were quite a few animals wandering around so I snapped a few pictures. I find the AKL very beautiful, but it feels kind of dark and drab to me. We made our down the elevators to the Jiko and Boma entrance. I still think this was a bad design-all of the noise and echoing from the tall ceilings of the high energy Boma take away from the quiet serenity of dining at Jiko. I just think there could have been more separation between these restaurants.

We arrived and check in early at Jiko. The hostess still handed me a pager and by the time I can back inside from taking a few photos, it was buzzing. We were lead to our table with a beautiful view of the water feature and Donald & Daisy. These were the appropriate names given to the two ducks that frequent the waterfall area at Jiko. We sat and admired the view and perused the menu. We had already decided last year we were going to focus on appetizers, salads, soup and a flatbread rather than each ordering an entrée because the other stuff just looks so good!

Our server arrived and went through the pre dining questionnaire. He also welcomed us back and talked about the menu and house specialties. I immediately noticed that he had foul smelling breath, which is such a turn off from eating. It is unfortunate, but it is really important to make sure the staff doesn’t smell offensive by wearing too much cologne or has not bathed. While I am opposed to seeing servers chewing gum, they are other ways to ensure fresh breath like mints, breath strips or binaca spray even. Nonetheless, he was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and described the items well.

He brought the beverages and I ordered several items for the table and my DM ordered a salad and the corn chowder with the crab on the side. In the meantime the house bread arrived-this had got to be about my favorite bread. It is like warm focaccia with turmeric I believe. I am still looking for the recipe if anyone has it or knows where to find it! After a piece or two the Taste of Africa, flatbread and salad arrived. The Taste of Africa offers house made naan bread, lavosh and whole wheat pappadam-which is similar to a tortilla and four dips-ranging from sweet to sweet and very spicy. The flatbread was good-roasted chicken, cheese, peppadews, arugula and chili paste made for an interesting combo. The Jiko salad included peaches, goat cheese, hazelnuts and plantain with a blood orange vinaigrette. DM gobbled it up, but I did manage to get a bit of the honeyed goat cheese that accompanied it.

There were some empty plates that were not cleared before the rest of the meal arrived combined with the fact that the next part of the meal arrived rather soon. DM’s corn soup arrived with the crab in the bowl even after she clearly asked for it on the side. The runner would have poured the soup with the crab garnish in the bowl. After I alerted the food runner she mumbled a few things under her breath! So unprofessional, the only thing she said have done was said sorry and fixed the problem! Whether the server did not mark it clearly or the kitchen missed the notation-that isn’t my fault as the customer. Just make it right-the servers should know that. Luckily my mom was paying attention and caught it, she would have been totally grossed out otherwise. I on the other hand enjoyed the crab.

DF ordered the beet salad with Serrano ham, pistachio crusted goat cheese with a blackberry shiraz vinaigrette. He did share a few bites of the beets, which I love, and the salad was very well balanced. One thing I have been wanting to order was the beef bobotie roll. Finely ground beef mixed with spices, vegetables and nuts are rolled in spring roll wrappers and fried till crisp. They cut the rolls at an angle and presented with the cucumber raita –similar to tzatziki-sour cream or crème fraiche mixed with shredded cucumber making a creamy cool refreshing sauce to counter balance the spice of the mango atjar. Also served with the roll are slices of mango, onion and carrot as well as some cilantro sprigs. This dish was fabulous, I really like these flavor combinations to begin with, so I am a bit partial. For $9 I found the price very reasonable because after all of the other goodies and my DF taking a few bites, I did not quite finish the plate.

Well even though I could not finish my last plate, this is another venue you do not want to miss the dessert course! DF even ordered the cheesecake and he usually never orders dessert. DM ordered the house crème brulee…again. At least here at Jiko they have the pistachio-chocolate bottom to liven it up a bit. I went with the chocoholic dream Tanzanian chocolate-Cup of Africa-it was basically a chocolate espresso mouse with semi sweet ganache to pour over it, although the sauce was so thick much of it did not leave the cute little carafe it was served in-I needed to do some excavating with my spoon. Desserts overall were very good.

Our first experience here four years ago was probably our best. It seems to have declined over the past few years. The food was wonderful, but the issue with the crab and the empty plates and sometimes our server was absent for long periods of time. It is the attention to detail that makes WDW so incredible, but Jiko seemed to lack that attention to detail in service tonight unfortunately for us.

Overall
Food: 10
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 9

 

[LowesChevy]

Can't wait! Loved your last review!

Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed my more detail oriented ones this year

 

[LowesChevy]

Yay Yay!!

Love the reviews - thank you for taking the time, and adding pictures! Its been so long since we went to Captain Cooks - like you said, its crowded in there!

Going in Jan, and no DP for the first time - so I appreciate your take -

Thank you, besides planning and eating, writing the reviews are the next in line on the fun list!

I hope you have a great trip...let me know if you have any questions, I will try to help

 

[LowesChevy]

i have loved your review so far.. and I am so happy to know that Citrico's was good for you.. I am trying it for the first time this trip.. Looking forward to reading more!

Thank you! Yes, I am hoping last year was a fluke as well. I hope you have a wonderful time in the spring!

 

[LowesChevy]

Welcome home Erika, great job on reviews so far!

Double thank you!

 

[LowesChevy]

Librarygeek, MickeyNicki & Vettegirl

Yes, it was just not a pleasant experience. The Boardwalk is such a nice area to walk around at, but next time for lunch I think we will head to the Captains Grille or Swolphin.

 

[Linda67]

Wonderful reviews
So much great detail; I am really enjoying reading them

 

[LowesChevy]

Wonderful reviews
So much great detail; I am really enjoying reading them

thank you! plenty more to come!

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
Great reviews!! I'm really enjoying reading them. Can't wait for more!!

 

[librarygeek]

Jiko looks good! I really want to try this some day. I'm hoping that in a few years we will save up enough to actually take a trip where we stay at the AKL, and that would be the perfect time to try it!

 

[ShesAPirate]

Great reviews so far. Looking forward to more!

 

[disneyquilter]

Wonderful reviews so far!! Thank you!!! I love it when people are thorough and detailed

 

[LowesChevy]

Mama Melrose

Not being big fans of counter service food, finding suitable places to eat at DHS can be quite a challenge. This location certainly gets a lot of mixed reviews;
however we always seem to have good service and great food at Mama Melroses. I think one of the biggest problems is that people expect similar food to Carrabbas or Olive Garden. MM is its own unique restaurant-know as the Italian restaurant with a Californian twist. It is set to resemble an old warehouse, near Hollywood-hence all of the memorabilia, that has been converted into a restaurant.

The restaurant doesn’t open till noon and the waiting room is always full come mealtimes. They actually had a CM posted by the door letting in guests with adrs. It was a busy weekend in general at WDW, so empty tables in restaurants were scarce. We only waited about 5 minutes till we were taken to our table. This was the first time we ever were seated in the back section-normally we were situated up front. It is smaller than it appears from the front of the restaurant, but the place still seems like a good size for the park.

Our server came over within a few minutes to greet us and take our drink orders. I just ordered a water for the time being as I had to test my blood sugar to see if I was sticking with water or if I could treat myself to a soda.

The one thing that really annoys me here..the Pillsbury rolls! Why cant they serve some focaccia bread or Italian bread-this is so lazy imho!

We ordered our usual appetizers, salads and flatbreads for entrees meal and sat back to relax for a while. The appetizers and salads arrived rather quickly-we ordered a tomato mozzarella salad with tomato slices, mozzarella, marinated onions and a balsamic glaze; a Caesar salad-this one had large whole leaves of romaine lettuce light tossed with a garlic/anchovy heavy dressing; and the mixed greens salad with cherry vinaigrette, dried cherries, pears, candies walnuts and blue cheese. I think there may have been one lonely tomato slice left on the plate.

Our server cleared all of our plates and was going to bring more, but our flatbreads showed up before she came back so we kind of sat there for a few minutes staring at the pies. She finally returned with the plates a few minutes later, but we already started digging into the pizzas. The carne D’Italia pizza is a new addition with Italian sausage, pepperoni, and pancetta-it has a bit of a kick, but not too spicy. We also had a margherita pizza with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. Between the three of us only one slice was left-they are a good size portion.

No dessert for us…we are getting a Mickey Bar later!

Overall, the food was great. The service was good, I just think the food was coming out too quick and she could not keep up. I know you are dining at a park, but the food was flying out of the kitchen. Normally I wouldn’t mind it, but I am dining at a table service restaurant to relax, plus I do not want the place to become a food factory either. Still a great place to have a nice little lunch.

Food: 8
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 7

Next up...dinner at Teppan Edo!

 

[LowesChevy]

October 2

We were moving from the Polynesian to our home BLT today so we slept in a bit. We ended up skipping our morning plans to head to the Magic Kingdom first thing and instead packed up the car and grabbed breakfast at IHOP and grabbed a few things at Goodings Supermarket. We didn’t eat breakfast till 10 AM, so our Plaza plans would have to be scrapped. I was pretty disappointed because not only did I not get to enjoy one of those delicious chocolate milkshakes there, finding alternative lunch spots was not easy. Not with these two (DM & DF) especially. They both like table service as I do, but a couple times during the trip I do not mind grabbing a meal at one of the counter service restaurants.

So we were getting a fp for Peter Pan and DF had mentioned previously that he wanted to try Pinocchio House. We used to dine there a lot for burgers, but I mentioned to him that it had changed over in its menu weeks before the trip. Well he threw a fit and did not want to eat there or Columbia Harbor house, which in my opinion is on the best. I told him if he wanted a burger, we would have to head to Pecos Bill. So we did and we waited in line for 10 minutes to order and then again for 10 minutes to get the food in a jammed packed restaurant that had little seating available-luckily we did find a table after a few minutes. He took four bites out of his burger and fries and did not eat one bite more because he didn’t like it. “No Way! I just stood in line for 20 minutes for that darn burger you had to have and you do not even like it?!” I now know why parents get mad at their kids for this crap. They just do not listen-I told him he wouldn’t like it, but he insisted so there. Now I get to rub it in his face from time to time. “Where do you want to eat tonight?” “How about Pecos Bill?” I say. Ha take that! Done venting.

 

[LowesChevy]

Teppan Edo

We did not try Teppan Edo for years because we have a fabulous Japanese Steakhouse right in our hometown called Hibachi. My cousins used to go there all time, so a few years ago we decided to give it a try. Well it was an instant hit-it is dinner and a show!

Now if you frequent Teppan Edo, you know that nine out of ten times there is a long wait and big crowds waiting in the lobby. I made sure to schedule an adr for an earlier time to be sure we were seated before the place became very backed up. We arrived about ten minutes early and made the trek up the stairs to be greeted by several hostesses who opened the door for us and were very friendly and welcoming. I check us in and was given a pager, but by the time I came back from the bathroom they had already attempted to seat my parents. There were still some open tables, but you have to love the sheer size of this place-you can really pack in the people! We were led to the middle section of the restaurant, which I was glad to sit in since the two years before we were in smaller rooms in the back. We were seated with a lovely family of four from Virginia.

Sachiko quickly appeared to introduce herself and discuss the menu. I love how graceful they are about everything-dining really takes on an art form here. She brought back our round of beverages-tea, diet soda and beer then took our food order. We all ordered an appetizer too. DM ordered a salad with creamy sesame dressing; I ordered the spicy tuna roll; and DF ordered the tempura. The spicy tuna roll is a huge order, easy enough to split or woof down yourself like I did, well my father had a piece. To me the sushi is as good as Wolfgang Puck Café, but there you can get a wider variety of rolls and other sushi styles. I did not try the tempura, but my father seemed to enjoy it.

We had just finished our appetizers when Mizuki from Kyoto arrived to begin cooking our teppanyaki dinner. Pop and I went for the NY steak and shrimp combination, while mumsy ordered the filet mignon. Mizuki got started by cooking the vegetables and making the biggest onion volcano I have ever seen! He was very entertaining as was the chef the previous year. It is more exciting when the chefs show some emotion and come out of their shells’ a bit instead of just cooking your food like a robot. If you have ever read anything about training to be a teppanyaki chef you may be aware that it is a difficult program. Their knife skills and hygiene skills are really put to the test. I love how neat and clean these chefs are able to work while cooking for such a large group of people at once.

While my DM and I are not huge fans of the udon noodles, everything else is excellent. The beef is tender and delicious and the shrimp is fresh. I am so used to frozen shrimp from living up north, so this is a real treat. I was able to eat all of the beef and shrimp, but there were still some leftovers on my plate. I feel the portion is generous and after dinner and an appetizer most people will not leave hungry! Just a wonderful experience overall year after year and you cannot say that at many restaurants. See you next year Teppan Edo.

Overall
Food: 10
Service: 10
Atmosphere: 10

Cheers,

Erika

Coming up next Rose & Crown

 

[librarygeek]

So glad to see such a positive review of Teppan Edo! I've heard people say that it's not as good as a local hibachi place, and we love ours. But since you've experienced both and still loved this one, I that's a good sign! We may have to try this one someday

 

[Linda67]

More great reviews

It sounds like Teppan Edo was a big hit with you, we haven't been there since 2007 but I really enjoyed it so hope to visit again some time

 

[LowesChevy]

So glad to see such a positive review of Teppan Edo! I've heard people say that it's not as good as a local hibachi place, and we love ours. But since you've experienced both and still loved this one, I that's a good sign! We may have to try this one someday

Yes, the quality of the food and service here is awesome. While our local place serves the not so Japanese fried rice, which is delicious, the service is no where near as good as Teppan Edo. TE is def a favorite of ours.

 

[LowesChevy]

Rose & Crown

Last year was the first time we had dined at Rose & Crown and I really loved the experience. Even with the Food & Wine Festival happening, there usually are long waits and many guests trying to get a table by walk up. I checked us in about 15 minutes early, knowing that it was going to be a long wait regardless. The check in line is even long and I made a mental note of who checked in before us. We received a pager and were quoted a 15-20 minute wait. No problem we just grabbed a spot to lean by the bar entrance and we waited.

And we waited some more, then we waited, well about 25 minutes went by and DM went over to see where we were in place because other parties were being seated left and right. Well it turns out that our ADR was dropped to the lost list and we were put in as a walk up ressie. “What the hell are you talking about?” My mother said, we checked in 30 minutes ago and they just spoon fed us some crap about how the ADR was dropped. Then all of the sudden they were going to seat us immediately. I wanted to speak to the manager, but she was busy with another guest-go figure they had a problem with their ADR too. I was furious, but then again I was really hungry and my blood sugar was running low from waiting so long-I did not think it would take so long to be seated-that’s ridiculous.

The manager never bothered to come over and we never heard an apology. I am not looking for a free meal, in fact I do not want to be one of those people who constantly argues for a free lunch, but the front desk check in CM really messed something up and it wasn’t our fault-we shouldn’t have had to pay the price.

Stuart came by the table to introduce himself and get us some drinks. I told him that I was having a lousy day and he tried to cheer me up by ensuring us we would have a pleasant experience for dinner. Then I ordered myself a “snakebite” to drown away my sorrows. Harp lager and Strongbow cider make for a lovely concoction. DM went with a Harp and DF a Bass Ale.

Stuart returned to take our order letting us know the beers would be a few minutes due to my blend. You have to pour the cider, then the lager, so it takes a few minutes to settle. I ordered myself a Scotch egg and the bangers and mash, while my parents went with fish and chips and shepard’s pie. He returned with the beers a few minutes later and brought over some bread and butter. I remember there being nice soft rolls last year and somehow this year the Pillsbury doughboy dropped of some crappy freezer rolls for them to serve. Oh well, it is not like I need to eat a ton of bread, especially when I have my snakebite at my side.

My Scotch egg arrived and I quickly dug in to its delicious egg and sausage deliciousness. It is like a portable breakfast-maybe they should sell these out of a cart at the park. I downed that rather fast. A tasty little appetizer indeed.

The entrees arrived shortly after I had finished my appetizer. Stuart had cleared my plate away, so I was happy about that. The classic bangers and mash really had an elegant modern twist on your typical pub food. The sausages were nicely browned and had a great subtle flavor of spice. The texture was more like a real bratwurst-very fine. Don’t let Johnsonville fool you on what to believe a bratwurst is either-those so called bratwursts they package are nothing like the real thing. My grandparents are from Switzerland, we know a few things about sausages. These of course were excellent. It looks like a small portion, but after eating an appetizer, I could barely finish all three bangers and mash.

DM enjoyed her fish and chips, but need a little more tartar sauce. DF was a little disappointed with the shepard’s pie this year. There were huge chunks of carrot in it that were mushy, almost like they had been frozen. All of the other food was spot on delicious, I just wonder why this flagship dish was prepared so sloppy, unfortunate. For dessert DM and I split a whisky custard, which was basically a cream brulee with whiskey. Nothing special, but a nice after dinner treat.

The service was great, it is just a shame we had such a seating fiasco. This little black mark really resonates with me. I think we will definitely be back next year, but I am still pretty wizzed about the adr issue because it doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t know if this has happened to anyone else, but feel free to give me your opinion. I know I should have complained right there to the manager, but after a while you are just really frustrated and do not want to be bothered.

Overall
Food: 8
Service: 9
Atmosphere: 8

Up next...lunch at Raglan Road