This is my restaurant report for my recent trip to WDW. The first two nights I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the next five nights were at Beach Club Villas. Also, I spent the first five days solo; my first solo trip, and for the record, I highly recommend solo traveling at Disney. My solo dining experience couldn't have been better. I was given uniformly excellent service and generally well-located tables. I have seen some discussion about what to do while solo dining-bring a book, a journal? I found that there was so much going on at all the restaurants, it was fine to just sit and enjoy the action around you. No added distraction required.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
On my first day, I arrived at MK at 12:00pm and decided to have lunch at Cosmic Ray's. So far, no problems. Until I ordered: veggie wrap and pasta salad. By way of introduction, I am a pretty healthy eater while at home. Lots of salads, not much fried food (alas, I am definitely french fry deficient). In contemplating an eating vacation at WDW (I specifically planned around the Food and Wine Festival), I figured I would save calories at breakfast and lunch, then wildly expend them at dinner. And, such a plan is theoretically possible, but really, I don't recommend it. For example, ordering a veggie wrap at Cosmic Ray's was a mistake. Looking around a place like CR, it's clear that burgers are the most popular food sold, with maybe chicken strips a close second, mayo-heavy bacon turkey wraps third (although you can ask for mayo on the side). Veggie wraps are probably 10th or lower (falling someplace after people opting for "just a soda") on the popularity list. So, with this as the introduction, I owe everyone a description: the wrap had lettuce, tomato, a few assorted other veggies, and some of the worst hummus (chic pea dip) I have ever tasted. In fact, I suspect the humus was on the verge of being spoiled. The pasta salad was also very bland and pretty awful. A sad meal to start my culinary tour. Before, I finish, I want to add one positive note-I returned to Cosmic Ray's later in my trip, ordered a burger w/fries (you see where this report is going), and was perfectly pleased with the meal (see below).
I had an 8:00pm dinner reservation at Boma. I checked in at 7:40pm, and was seated by 8:00pm. I tried so many different foods that I can't remember all of them, however, of particular note was the pap and sheeba (a cooked white cornmeal that you top with a sweet and spicy tomato topping), the bobotie (a traditional African lamb casserole), corn soup, and zebra domes. And, I must say I was more than a little surprised by my affinity for the domes. Despite the many recommendations I read on this board, I expected a sugary, almost inedible pastry-not so at all. They were pretty sweet, but very good (my apologies to all whose reviews I doubted!). Some general thoughts about Boma: the food options are very interesting, and dishes are replaced very quickly. The buffet is extremely clean and well-maintained. My biggest criticism of the food was that the chefs seemed too generous in their use of sugar-they liberally used it in almost every dish, sweet, spicy, or savory. Most of the soups for example, seemed to have a lot of sugar in them. One other comment about Boma, I was seated next to a family with a young child, and, rather than make any attempt to engage in a pleasant meal, they spent the entire time giving their daughter food and silverware (really) to throw on the floor. Lots of food. Their child was also encouraged to yell, a lot. When they finally left (after complaining loudly that they had not liked the food or service-and I can attest that the service was exellent) the waitress had to enlist a cleaning crew of three with shovel implements to clean up the area around the table. Two comments: one, it is entirely inappropriate to encourage that sort of behavior in a restaurant, Disney or not. And I observed scenes like this everywhere. By contrast, I also saw a lot of children who were very well-behaved everywhere, with parents who needlessly apologized for their kids' high spirits-it is equally unrealistic to eat at most WDW restaurants and expect silence and perfect behavior during the meal.
Monday, October 31, 2005
I went to Animal Kingdom and had lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue. I had the smoked beef sandwich, which came with barbecue beans and corn on the cob. No more veggie wraps for me, although the salads at FTB did look very good. My compromise was no french fries or onion rings (alas...). The meal was very enjoyable. Everything was fresh and tasted great. The beans and corn were also good, although the corn is a little messy. I have previously had the fries and onion rings at FTB, and want to take this opportunity to highly recommend them as well if you feel like splurging (calories that is, it's not an enormous monetary price Disney-wise in the overall pile of money you will be spending).
There are a lot of places to compromise on calories at WDW. For example, any sandwich can be ordered with mayo-or anything else--on the side, which is a huge calorie/fat savor. I saw special orders happening at a lot of counter service venues.
Monday's dinner was at the restaurant Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I had an 8:00pm ADR and was immediately seated at the Cooking Place (explanation to follow) at 7:45pm, when I checked in. I ordered the assorted appetizer plate, which is not on the menu, but readily available to all who ask. My appetizer selection included:
Duck and Pork Firecracker - Hot Spring rolls with Hoisin sauce and jicama-apple slaw; Lentil "Pastilla" - Lentil filled phyllo pockets with a sweet and sour sauce; Maize and Sweet Potato "Tamales" - herbed maize pudding and truffled sweet potato mash with shredded goat cheese in corn husk boat. The spring rolls weren't that good. Nothing too different than the type of spring rolls you get at any decent Chinese restaurant. And I found them oily. The pastilla were okay, although a little dry-like they had been made twenty minutes earlier and kept in an oven warmer, which I'm pretty sure, based on my seat at the Cooking Place, was what had happened. The tamale I really enjoyed. It was a creative combination of ingredients, hot, and tasted great (I should add that I am a real fan of tamale in general). If I were to return to Jiko, I would probably opt for an order of Tamale and a flatbread, which I didn't have, but looked very good. I also ordered the Pistachio Crème Brulee with a chocolate crust for dessert. My waiter recommended this, and I owe him for the recommendation. This I really enjoyed, and highly recommend to all who partake at Jiko.
And now for my general comments: I was seated at the Cooking Place, which is a bar-like table space in front of the chefs preparing the appetizer plates. I have read many positive accounts of the experience at this table, and I was expecting a great time, however, when I got there, at least one of the chefs was having a pretty bad night, another chef was working with an obvious cold, and everyone seemed generally low. The result was a mediocre meal, which I had to watch prepared by, at best, dispirited, and at worst, physically ill people. Although I attempted to engage the chefs in some conversation about the food early on in the meal, my attempt fell flat. Awkwardly flat for me. In the future I will request an individual table, whether or not I am there solo. There is something to be said for not watching your meal prepared (I am fully prepared for an onslaught of disagreement, having read many positive Cooking Place reports on these boards, however, there is a downside to taking a chance in watching your chefs prepare your meal, and I came up short).
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
I started the day by breakfasting at Boma. The food and the service were great. Of particular enjoyment for me was the bobotie, made for breakfast with corn beef, eggs, cream, potato and onions; meat lovers breakfast pizza; more pap (white corn meal); and quinoa porridge, served lightly sweetened, which is a grain that is supposed to be very good for you, with decent protein and fiber content. The quinoa was so good that despite the many food options I sampled (leaving me ridiculously full), I couldn't resist a second helping. There was also a large selection of excellent pastries, a lot of fruit, and other hot dishes including great French toast and good pancakes. You could have an omelet made to order, but there were too many other, more exotic choices, so I didn't order one. Finally, I must recommend the Frunch drink-that is, West African Frunch (a combination of lemonade, pineapple juice, guava juice, orange juice, and papaya juice).
I had another screaming child experience at Boma's breakfast, actually two separate experiences rolled into one. Unfortunately, despite a number of open areas in the restaurant seating (I had a 9:00am reservation), I was seated at a table next to a family with a baby that just screamed off and on (mostly on) for the better part of twenty minutes. The family did nothing about this, other than continue eating. In back of me, a mother with another screaming infant had chosen to carry the baby away from her large family table, and sit at the empty table behind me. Somehow, this was more acceptable to her than bothering her own party. At this point, I asked to be seated elsewhere, and my waiter couldn't have been nicer about finding me a quieter table.
This seems like a good place to write about an idea I have for Disney restaurants: It might be nice if the larger WDW restaurants tried to seat adults without children in one area of the dining room. I'm not asking for a child-free zone, just a general attempt to accommodate diners without children. Clearly, we can't rely on all parents to do the right thing and remove the long-term screamers and/or food throwers from the dining room. A little more peaceful dining wouldn't be a hardship. I suspect this idea is going to generate some controversy, but even the most lovely children tend to be a little rambunctious at Disney. What harm is it to offer adults with no kids a modicum of peace?
I had a late lunch on Wednesday at the Studio Catering Company at the Disney Studios. I ordered the steak sandwich, served gyro style with hummus and tomato relish. The few pieces of steak in a pita were pretty awful. Salty and rubbery, the meat was almost inedible. From what I could see, none of the food options were too appealing, with the exception of the selection of three dips and pita, which looked like a good snack.
Tuesday night dinner was spent visiting the different international Food and Wine Festival kiosks in a pouring rain. The heavy rain (happily, it lightened up as the night went on) made things a little challenging, but lines were non-existent, and the CM's working the kiosks couldn't have been nicer. During my visit, I tried so many different foods around the world showcase that I will have to describe them in a separate report. Luckily, Tuesday's rain signaled a change in weather, and we had dry weather and sun for the rest of the week.
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
I went back to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, and, by this time, had pretty much given up any pretense of following a healthy eating program. So, I happily made my way for an early lunch at Pecos Bill, where I ordered a burger with fries. Both were very fresh and very good. I really liked the topping bar with its options of fresh or sautéed onions and sautéed mushrooms. Everything was well-maintained (there was an attendant watching over the food at the bar) and very good. Having bought and topped, I went outside to a table. There I was greeted by an audience of crows, reminiscent of "The Birds." I saw the crows eyeing my food-the fries in particular, and swatted them away on a few half-hearted dive bomb attempts. And then, I was mugged. Three birds collaborated to steal my food-one dove at me, and as I waved my arm, two more swooped in and grabbed fries---right under my nose. It was bizarre, and incredibly funny. I suppose there's a lesson here (eat inside!), but I can't say it wasn't worth the laugh I had. So, if you eat at Pecos Bill, be forewarned.
Dinner was a 7:40pm reservation at Le Cellier at Canada in the EPCOT World Showcase. I checked in at 7:15pm, and was seated at 7:40pm sharp. This was a great meal all around! My server was friendly and incredibly helpful. The food was excellent. I started with the mixed field green salad, served with blue cheese and a pecan-shallot vinaigrette, fantastic although a little heavily dressed (next time, at the risk of offending the staff, I'm going for dressing on the side), followed by the mushroom filet mignon-wow! The filet was perfectly cooked, the mushroom risotto fabulous. For dessert, despite the fact that I had just eaten a huge entrée, I tried the selection of desserts, which included the maple crème brulee, Canadian club cake, and raspberry sorbet. Everything was excellent, but I have to distinguish the crème brulee, which was amazing! Whoever came up with the idea maple crème brulee should be given credit and a reward. The chocolate cake was good too, although not as unique as the brulee. And the sorbet was a perfect accompaniment.
I want to give credit here to the great service I received while at Le Cellier. My server spent a considerable amount of time helping me select my appetizer and entrée, and later, the dessert, and then checked back after each course. He also checked on the bread, and when I told him I loved the pretzel bread, brought me more warm pretzel bread right away. Le Cellier had the best bread basket I had at WDW bar none, and I think the pretzel bread alone would have been worth a return visit. But everything added up to a totally enjoyable meal experience.
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Spent the day in and around EPCOT, lunching at F&W kiosks around the world showcase.
I had a 7:10pm solo dinner reservation at Callifornia Grill. I emphasize solo, because I made the reservation with the hope that I would get a table overlooking the fireworks, and I was a little worried that they would not give a prime table to a solo diner. However, yet again Disney came through and I was given a fantastic table with a beautiful view of the castle and fireworks.
My meal at CG was only okay, but I admit that I may have ordered badly. I took a lot of advice from my very nice server, and I suspect we may just have very different food preferences. I started with the grape tomato, buffalo milk mozzarella, garlic, basil and balsamic flat breat. It was okay, but really nothing special if you live near a good brick oven pizza restaurant. I was under-whelmed. I followed with an order for the Sonoma goat cheese ravioli with sun-dried tomatoes, ****ake mushrooms and basil. This arrived as a large, single ravioli in sauce. I really did not like the taste of this ravioli. The ****ake, the tomato and the goat cheese flavors seemed at odds with each other. The server indicated that this was one of the restaurant's signature dishes, so I may be in the minority. After two unimpressive appetizers, I opted to finish my meal with the five-cheese tasting platter. That was fantastic! The cheese selection was wonderful. I wound up very glad that I ordered it. And after all the tastings, I had no ability to even consider dessert.
Friday, November 4, 2005
On Friday morning I was joined by my sister and we started the day having breakfast at the Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom. Finally, I had the opportunity to try the French Toast Loaf I have read so often about on these boards, and it didn't disappoint! I loved the French Toast. It was served fragrant and warm, and although there was a very generous portion, I ate almost all of it (breaking only to give a taste to my sister). I highly recommend this as a breakfast or snack. After all, you are on vacation! Enjoy!
For lunch we returned to Cosmic Ray's, where I corrected my mistake of earlier in the week and ordered a cheeseburger with fries (no carrot sticks this late in the week!). I thoroughly enjoyed my second burger of the trip. Like Pecos Bill, CR has a great toppings bar. And I get a little kick out of the cheesy animatronic entertainment that comes free with the burger.
We dined on Friday at the F&W kiosks.
Saturday, November 5, 2005
Breakfast was at Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom. Both of us had the egg/bacon/biscuit breakfast, which was fresh and hot. One tip, I notice during the morning there is always a long line outside Tusker house for the pastries, but a pretty short pastry line inside, so it pays to buy inside. There are separate lines for the baked goods and the hot breakfasts.
We had dinner reservations at the F&W Party for the Senses. This was my second PFTS, and it didn't disappoint (this report is already too long, so I will save any thoughts on the Party for another thread). As a result, we did not have much lunch.
Sunday, November 6, 2005
The last day. I sadly had breakfast at the Electric Umbrella, which had a pretty standard selection of hot and cold breakfast items.
For lunch we made one more visit to the F&W kiosks around the World Showcase. If you've read this far, you've probably noticed that I spent a decent amount of time sampling the food at the F&W kiosks, and I would be happy to write up reviews, however, since the Festival is over, I'm not sure if it's timely. Any thoughts?
Well, that's it. It was a great trip. And lots of good food. I'm already planning another Food and Wine trip next year. Perhaps a visit to Victoria and Albert included. And a report to follow...
Sunday, October 30, 2005
On my first day, I arrived at MK at 12:00pm and decided to have lunch at Cosmic Ray's. So far, no problems. Until I ordered: veggie wrap and pasta salad. By way of introduction, I am a pretty healthy eater while at home. Lots of salads, not much fried food (alas, I am definitely french fry deficient). In contemplating an eating vacation at WDW (I specifically planned around the Food and Wine Festival), I figured I would save calories at breakfast and lunch, then wildly expend them at dinner. And, such a plan is theoretically possible, but really, I don't recommend it. For example, ordering a veggie wrap at Cosmic Ray's was a mistake. Looking around a place like CR, it's clear that burgers are the most popular food sold, with maybe chicken strips a close second, mayo-heavy bacon turkey wraps third (although you can ask for mayo on the side). Veggie wraps are probably 10th or lower (falling someplace after people opting for "just a soda") on the popularity list. So, with this as the introduction, I owe everyone a description: the wrap had lettuce, tomato, a few assorted other veggies, and some of the worst hummus (chic pea dip) I have ever tasted. In fact, I suspect the humus was on the verge of being spoiled. The pasta salad was also very bland and pretty awful. A sad meal to start my culinary tour. Before, I finish, I want to add one positive note-I returned to Cosmic Ray's later in my trip, ordered a burger w/fries (you see where this report is going), and was perfectly pleased with the meal (see below).
I had an 8:00pm dinner reservation at Boma. I checked in at 7:40pm, and was seated by 8:00pm. I tried so many different foods that I can't remember all of them, however, of particular note was the pap and sheeba (a cooked white cornmeal that you top with a sweet and spicy tomato topping), the bobotie (a traditional African lamb casserole), corn soup, and zebra domes. And, I must say I was more than a little surprised by my affinity for the domes. Despite the many recommendations I read on this board, I expected a sugary, almost inedible pastry-not so at all. They were pretty sweet, but very good (my apologies to all whose reviews I doubted!). Some general thoughts about Boma: the food options are very interesting, and dishes are replaced very quickly. The buffet is extremely clean and well-maintained. My biggest criticism of the food was that the chefs seemed too generous in their use of sugar-they liberally used it in almost every dish, sweet, spicy, or savory. Most of the soups for example, seemed to have a lot of sugar in them. One other comment about Boma, I was seated next to a family with a young child, and, rather than make any attempt to engage in a pleasant meal, they spent the entire time giving their daughter food and silverware (really) to throw on the floor. Lots of food. Their child was also encouraged to yell, a lot. When they finally left (after complaining loudly that they had not liked the food or service-and I can attest that the service was exellent) the waitress had to enlist a cleaning crew of three with shovel implements to clean up the area around the table. Two comments: one, it is entirely inappropriate to encourage that sort of behavior in a restaurant, Disney or not. And I observed scenes like this everywhere. By contrast, I also saw a lot of children who were very well-behaved everywhere, with parents who needlessly apologized for their kids' high spirits-it is equally unrealistic to eat at most WDW restaurants and expect silence and perfect behavior during the meal.
Monday, October 31, 2005
I went to Animal Kingdom and had lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue. I had the smoked beef sandwich, which came with barbecue beans and corn on the cob. No more veggie wraps for me, although the salads at FTB did look very good. My compromise was no french fries or onion rings (alas...). The meal was very enjoyable. Everything was fresh and tasted great. The beans and corn were also good, although the corn is a little messy. I have previously had the fries and onion rings at FTB, and want to take this opportunity to highly recommend them as well if you feel like splurging (calories that is, it's not an enormous monetary price Disney-wise in the overall pile of money you will be spending).
There are a lot of places to compromise on calories at WDW. For example, any sandwich can be ordered with mayo-or anything else--on the side, which is a huge calorie/fat savor. I saw special orders happening at a lot of counter service venues.
Monday's dinner was at the restaurant Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I had an 8:00pm ADR and was immediately seated at the Cooking Place (explanation to follow) at 7:45pm, when I checked in. I ordered the assorted appetizer plate, which is not on the menu, but readily available to all who ask. My appetizer selection included:
Duck and Pork Firecracker - Hot Spring rolls with Hoisin sauce and jicama-apple slaw; Lentil "Pastilla" - Lentil filled phyllo pockets with a sweet and sour sauce; Maize and Sweet Potato "Tamales" - herbed maize pudding and truffled sweet potato mash with shredded goat cheese in corn husk boat. The spring rolls weren't that good. Nothing too different than the type of spring rolls you get at any decent Chinese restaurant. And I found them oily. The pastilla were okay, although a little dry-like they had been made twenty minutes earlier and kept in an oven warmer, which I'm pretty sure, based on my seat at the Cooking Place, was what had happened. The tamale I really enjoyed. It was a creative combination of ingredients, hot, and tasted great (I should add that I am a real fan of tamale in general). If I were to return to Jiko, I would probably opt for an order of Tamale and a flatbread, which I didn't have, but looked very good. I also ordered the Pistachio Crème Brulee with a chocolate crust for dessert. My waiter recommended this, and I owe him for the recommendation. This I really enjoyed, and highly recommend to all who partake at Jiko.
And now for my general comments: I was seated at the Cooking Place, which is a bar-like table space in front of the chefs preparing the appetizer plates. I have read many positive accounts of the experience at this table, and I was expecting a great time, however, when I got there, at least one of the chefs was having a pretty bad night, another chef was working with an obvious cold, and everyone seemed generally low. The result was a mediocre meal, which I had to watch prepared by, at best, dispirited, and at worst, physically ill people. Although I attempted to engage the chefs in some conversation about the food early on in the meal, my attempt fell flat. Awkwardly flat for me. In the future I will request an individual table, whether or not I am there solo. There is something to be said for not watching your meal prepared (I am fully prepared for an onslaught of disagreement, having read many positive Cooking Place reports on these boards, however, there is a downside to taking a chance in watching your chefs prepare your meal, and I came up short).
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
I started the day by breakfasting at Boma. The food and the service were great. Of particular enjoyment for me was the bobotie, made for breakfast with corn beef, eggs, cream, potato and onions; meat lovers breakfast pizza; more pap (white corn meal); and quinoa porridge, served lightly sweetened, which is a grain that is supposed to be very good for you, with decent protein and fiber content. The quinoa was so good that despite the many food options I sampled (leaving me ridiculously full), I couldn't resist a second helping. There was also a large selection of excellent pastries, a lot of fruit, and other hot dishes including great French toast and good pancakes. You could have an omelet made to order, but there were too many other, more exotic choices, so I didn't order one. Finally, I must recommend the Frunch drink-that is, West African Frunch (a combination of lemonade, pineapple juice, guava juice, orange juice, and papaya juice).
I had another screaming child experience at Boma's breakfast, actually two separate experiences rolled into one. Unfortunately, despite a number of open areas in the restaurant seating (I had a 9:00am reservation), I was seated at a table next to a family with a baby that just screamed off and on (mostly on) for the better part of twenty minutes. The family did nothing about this, other than continue eating. In back of me, a mother with another screaming infant had chosen to carry the baby away from her large family table, and sit at the empty table behind me. Somehow, this was more acceptable to her than bothering her own party. At this point, I asked to be seated elsewhere, and my waiter couldn't have been nicer about finding me a quieter table.
This seems like a good place to write about an idea I have for Disney restaurants: It might be nice if the larger WDW restaurants tried to seat adults without children in one area of the dining room. I'm not asking for a child-free zone, just a general attempt to accommodate diners without children. Clearly, we can't rely on all parents to do the right thing and remove the long-term screamers and/or food throwers from the dining room. A little more peaceful dining wouldn't be a hardship. I suspect this idea is going to generate some controversy, but even the most lovely children tend to be a little rambunctious at Disney. What harm is it to offer adults with no kids a modicum of peace?
I had a late lunch on Wednesday at the Studio Catering Company at the Disney Studios. I ordered the steak sandwich, served gyro style with hummus and tomato relish. The few pieces of steak in a pita were pretty awful. Salty and rubbery, the meat was almost inedible. From what I could see, none of the food options were too appealing, with the exception of the selection of three dips and pita, which looked like a good snack.
Tuesday night dinner was spent visiting the different international Food and Wine Festival kiosks in a pouring rain. The heavy rain (happily, it lightened up as the night went on) made things a little challenging, but lines were non-existent, and the CM's working the kiosks couldn't have been nicer. During my visit, I tried so many different foods around the world showcase that I will have to describe them in a separate report. Luckily, Tuesday's rain signaled a change in weather, and we had dry weather and sun for the rest of the week.
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
I went back to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, and, by this time, had pretty much given up any pretense of following a healthy eating program. So, I happily made my way for an early lunch at Pecos Bill, where I ordered a burger with fries. Both were very fresh and very good. I really liked the topping bar with its options of fresh or sautéed onions and sautéed mushrooms. Everything was well-maintained (there was an attendant watching over the food at the bar) and very good. Having bought and topped, I went outside to a table. There I was greeted by an audience of crows, reminiscent of "The Birds." I saw the crows eyeing my food-the fries in particular, and swatted them away on a few half-hearted dive bomb attempts. And then, I was mugged. Three birds collaborated to steal my food-one dove at me, and as I waved my arm, two more swooped in and grabbed fries---right under my nose. It was bizarre, and incredibly funny. I suppose there's a lesson here (eat inside!), but I can't say it wasn't worth the laugh I had. So, if you eat at Pecos Bill, be forewarned.
Dinner was a 7:40pm reservation at Le Cellier at Canada in the EPCOT World Showcase. I checked in at 7:15pm, and was seated at 7:40pm sharp. This was a great meal all around! My server was friendly and incredibly helpful. The food was excellent. I started with the mixed field green salad, served with blue cheese and a pecan-shallot vinaigrette, fantastic although a little heavily dressed (next time, at the risk of offending the staff, I'm going for dressing on the side), followed by the mushroom filet mignon-wow! The filet was perfectly cooked, the mushroom risotto fabulous. For dessert, despite the fact that I had just eaten a huge entrée, I tried the selection of desserts, which included the maple crème brulee, Canadian club cake, and raspberry sorbet. Everything was excellent, but I have to distinguish the crème brulee, which was amazing! Whoever came up with the idea maple crème brulee should be given credit and a reward. The chocolate cake was good too, although not as unique as the brulee. And the sorbet was a perfect accompaniment.
I want to give credit here to the great service I received while at Le Cellier. My server spent a considerable amount of time helping me select my appetizer and entrée, and later, the dessert, and then checked back after each course. He also checked on the bread, and when I told him I loved the pretzel bread, brought me more warm pretzel bread right away. Le Cellier had the best bread basket I had at WDW bar none, and I think the pretzel bread alone would have been worth a return visit. But everything added up to a totally enjoyable meal experience.
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Spent the day in and around EPCOT, lunching at F&W kiosks around the world showcase.
I had a 7:10pm solo dinner reservation at Callifornia Grill. I emphasize solo, because I made the reservation with the hope that I would get a table overlooking the fireworks, and I was a little worried that they would not give a prime table to a solo diner. However, yet again Disney came through and I was given a fantastic table with a beautiful view of the castle and fireworks.
My meal at CG was only okay, but I admit that I may have ordered badly. I took a lot of advice from my very nice server, and I suspect we may just have very different food preferences. I started with the grape tomato, buffalo milk mozzarella, garlic, basil and balsamic flat breat. It was okay, but really nothing special if you live near a good brick oven pizza restaurant. I was under-whelmed. I followed with an order for the Sonoma goat cheese ravioli with sun-dried tomatoes, ****ake mushrooms and basil. This arrived as a large, single ravioli in sauce. I really did not like the taste of this ravioli. The ****ake, the tomato and the goat cheese flavors seemed at odds with each other. The server indicated that this was one of the restaurant's signature dishes, so I may be in the minority. After two unimpressive appetizers, I opted to finish my meal with the five-cheese tasting platter. That was fantastic! The cheese selection was wonderful. I wound up very glad that I ordered it. And after all the tastings, I had no ability to even consider dessert.
Friday, November 4, 2005
On Friday morning I was joined by my sister and we started the day having breakfast at the Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom. Finally, I had the opportunity to try the French Toast Loaf I have read so often about on these boards, and it didn't disappoint! I loved the French Toast. It was served fragrant and warm, and although there was a very generous portion, I ate almost all of it (breaking only to give a taste to my sister). I highly recommend this as a breakfast or snack. After all, you are on vacation! Enjoy!
For lunch we returned to Cosmic Ray's, where I corrected my mistake of earlier in the week and ordered a cheeseburger with fries (no carrot sticks this late in the week!). I thoroughly enjoyed my second burger of the trip. Like Pecos Bill, CR has a great toppings bar. And I get a little kick out of the cheesy animatronic entertainment that comes free with the burger.
We dined on Friday at the F&W kiosks.
Saturday, November 5, 2005
Breakfast was at Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom. Both of us had the egg/bacon/biscuit breakfast, which was fresh and hot. One tip, I notice during the morning there is always a long line outside Tusker house for the pastries, but a pretty short pastry line inside, so it pays to buy inside. There are separate lines for the baked goods and the hot breakfasts.
We had dinner reservations at the F&W Party for the Senses. This was my second PFTS, and it didn't disappoint (this report is already too long, so I will save any thoughts on the Party for another thread). As a result, we did not have much lunch.
Sunday, November 6, 2005
The last day. I sadly had breakfast at the Electric Umbrella, which had a pretty standard selection of hot and cold breakfast items.
For lunch we made one more visit to the F&W kiosks around the World Showcase. If you've read this far, you've probably noticed that I spent a decent amount of time sampling the food at the F&W kiosks, and I would be happy to write up reviews, however, since the Festival is over, I'm not sure if it's timely. Any thoughts?
Well, that's it. It was a great trip. And lots of good food. I'm already planning another Food and Wine trip next year. Perhaps a visit to Victoria and Albert included. And a report to follow...
