A tale of breakfasts and snacks from an Italian perspective! (with pics) - FINISHED!

[Alby]

I finally get to write my first dining review, about my April 30 – May 7 solo trip.

A few words about me : I am Italian and live in Italy, but I fly to the US fairly often for business reasons, and I have managed a few solo trips to WDW. I have never gone there with my family, but I plan to do it sooner or later.

I love food, and particularly trying new food, and American staples like pancakes and corn dogs are exotic and exciting to me!

I don’t particularly like eating alone in restaurants, therefore during my trip I usually had a large TS breakfast (I found restaurants at 7.30 am fairly empty, and I did not feel conspicuous, even at character breakfasts) and CS or snacks later in the day. But there were a couple of exceptions (notably, Yachtsman Steakhouse)!

Here is my restaurant list:

April 30
B/L: Universal snacks
D: Yachtsman Steakhouse

May 1
B: Cape May Cafe
L: Pizza Planet
D: Min's Dockside Diner/ Starring Rolls

May 2
B: The Wave
L: Columbia Harbour House
D: Beach Club Marketplace

May 3
B: Kouzzina
L: Boulangerie Patisserie
D: Beach Club Marketplace

May 4
B: 1900 Park Faire
L: Raglan Road
D: Tangerine Cafe

May 5
B: Kona Cafe
D: Earl of Sandwich

May 6
B: Boma

Unfortunately, at this point my camera stopped working, so I have no pictures of the last meals of the trip:
L: Yak and Yeti
D: Yacht & Beach Club Private Dining

May 7
B: Kona Café (again)
L: Columbia Harbour House (again)
D: Casey’s Corner

Let's get started...

 

[Alby]

Before we get serious, here is an amuse bouche of airline food.

Last year in January I flew Frankfurt – Orlando with Lufthansa for the first time (there are no direct connections with Italy, and this time I found Frankfurt connections were better than London) and I was enthusiastic about everything: from punctuality, to service, to food. This year, the flight was perfectly on time again, but the food left a lot to be desired.

Yes, I know, airline food… but they had spoilt me and my expectations were high!

This is supposed to be Moroccan chicken with couscous and vegetables. Actually, it was not couscous, rather orzo pasta or something similar, and it was grossly overcooked anyway. The chicken was rubbery.

Breakfast wasn’t better: the bread and croissant were very good, but the cheese, bacon and tomato omelet was frankly inedible.
So this review is not off to a good start… but it gets better, I promise!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Sounds great, I am in! Love to see more breakfast reviews!

 

[Tracerr00]

I'm in too!! I"m very excited to read about your breakfasts (and other meals)!

 

[Alby]

April 30th

I spent my first night at Hard Rock Hotel (which is very convenient, by the way, and has beautiful grounds) and my first day at Universal.

I have no pictures of the food because I did not carry my camera around to avoid using lockers before each thrill ride, but I had only a few snacks anyway: a cheese Danish and a blackberry muffin bought at the hotel Starbucks (which were very good) for breakfast, and Nathan’s crinkle cut fries from Monsters Café at Universal.

But in the evening I had my camera with me again, and I had an ADR at…

Let me say that I loved it: it was quiet, relaxing, and the food was superb. Service (by Sam) was not exceptional as he seemed quite put out by a solo diner, but it was prompt and that was enough for me.

I started with the bread, which was fresh and tasty. Strangely enough, I expected to prefer the onion rolls, which are surely good, but I actually liked the plain ones better. They were delicious.

I continued with the lobster bisque, which was full of lobster and had the right amount of cream: very good.

As an entrée, I had the fillet mignon, with cabernet sauce on the side, and I substituted the mashed potatoes with the potato gratin (I am very sorry for the half eaten picture).

It was undoubtedly the best steak in my life. This is possibly due to the fact that it was the first American steak in my life (I am not very keen on steak as a rule), and I am told that American cows are fed in a different way from European ones.

Anyway, it was very good, both with and without sauce, and while some reviews consider the potato gratin bland, I thought it was tasty and complemented the meat perfectly.

None of the desserts sounded particularly inviting, so I asked for the bill and had a relaxing walk around a very nicely lit SAB.

 

[t_daniels]

I'm in! Haven't read a strictly dining review!

 

[t_daniels]

I love steak. That looks phenomenal.

 

[iloveeeyore]

I'm in! Can't wait for Yachtsman next week!

 

[Alby]

May 1

My first breakfast was at Cape May Café: it is not one of my favorite breakfast venues, food-wise, but it is usually quiet and relaxing in the early morning, and it was convenient as I planned to go to DHS via boat afterwards.
I found the food was better than the previous year anyway, and I loved that Goofy kissed my hand and flirted with me!

I started with an orange juice, and then I had a plate of eggs and sausage (the usual kind, but good), bacon (meh), potatoes (they were less onion-y than the last time I tried them, and I love onions, but they were flavorful anyway) and an eggs and bacon casserole (very good and new to me).

I then tried some Cheddar grits, which were the winner dish for me, and some quinoa with apples and cinnamon, a bit unusual in taste and texture but not bad.

Finally, I had a couple of mickey waffles, delicious as usual, with watermelon (ripe and sweet) and a strawberry (sour).

This was really a large breakfast, and I didn’t feel hungry again till 3 pm!

I think Cape May Café is a very good choice for families with children or, even better, for adults looking for characters (Minnie, Goofy and Pluto) who don’t feel like putting up with the chaos of Chef Mickeys.
It is relaxing and the food, if not gourmet, is perfectly satisfactory. And I had one of the 2 best servers of the trip here, a lovely elderly lady whose name I regret not remembering!

 

[t_daniels]

Interesting . I've never even considered that place...

 

[Alby]

I'm in! Can't wait for Yachtsman next week!

I love steak. That looks phenomenal.

It was! You'll love Yachtsman!

Sounds great, I am in! Love to see more breakfast reviews!

I'm in too!! I"m very excited to read about your breakfasts (and other meals)!

Thank you and welcome!

 

[Alby]

Lunch was at Pizza Planet.

I usually avoid Italian food when I am abroad, but this does not include pizza. I actually love even fast food chain pizza!

I had a pepperoni pizza with a small Caesar salad, and they were both very good. The dough was strangely unsalted, but the tomato and cheese more than made up for it. I was completely happy with my lunch!

In the evening, I bought something to eat in DHS, but I ate in my room after Fantasmic, because I simply could not face more food earlier.

I had a chicken Caesar salad roll from Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner, which is not often reviewed here, and a red velvet cupcake from Starring Rolls.
The savory roll looks harmless in pictures, but it is actually enormous! It has also a bit too much stuffing and too much dressing for my taste, but once I squeezed some of it out, it was good (unfortunately, I wasn’t very hungry).

The cupcake has a scrumptious, creamy frosting enhanced by toffee bits, and I loved it, although the cake itself was a bit dry.

Looks yummy, doesn’t it?

 

[nanienamou]

Interesting line-up! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Alby]

May 2

On the following day, I would have liked to have breakfast at Crystal Palace, before park opening, but it was impossible to get a table for 1 before 8.50.
I therefore decided to have breakfast at The Wave and then walk to the MK, and it proved to be a good solution!
The buffet at The Wave is not large, but the quality and uniqueness of its offerings are high.

I started with a grapefruit juice…

… followed by multi grain waffles (I actually prefer the plain ones), fruit (the watermelon was perfect!) and sweet potato pancakes (very tasty).

I then had (clockwise from top) eggs and bacon (nothing special), biscuits and gravy (very tasty, much better than the ones at both Cape May Café and Boma – I tried them in the past), cheddar and bacon grits (delish), breakfast potatoes (good) and eggs Benedict (nothing special, the muffin was rubbery).

The Wave doesn’t get much coverage here, and it was actually empty when I went there at 7.30, but it is very good and slightly out of the ordinary, I recommend it to all but the most picky eaters!
The only negative was service: it was really too slow for an empty restaurant. I waited for my juice for ages! But it did not ruin the experience for me.

 

[OThopeful35]

DS9 and I went to Cape May Breakfast last year and we loved it! The character interaction was phenomenal. Goofy sat at our table and played tic tac toe with my son. The food was good too. I'm loving your other reviews as well. I miss disney so much I can't wait til we return next year

 

[Alby]

I spent the day in the MK (which on this trip became my favorite park, overtaking Epcot) and around 2 pm I had a break at Columbia Harbor House.

First of all, it is a beautiful restaurant; its theming is perfect . From the lady shaking a bell outside to attract customers, to the wooden beams and tables, it effectively brings you back in the past.
It helped that I had just enjoyed The Hall of Presidents!

I had what is possibly the best CS of the trip: clam chowder and fries. I liked it so much, that I had exactly the same lunch on my last day!

The chowder was rich and creamy, and I liked it better than the clam chowder I’ve eaten in San Francisco (I haven’t tried it in Boston). The fries were good fries… Casey’s are better, but the atmosphere and peace here can’t be beaten, I had a room upstairs to myself!

I had dinner at the Beach Club, before going back to MK for parade and fireworks, and I did what I had decided I would not do: I bought it at the Beach Club Marketplace.
The Marketplace is a good hotel shop, but I am not a fan of its CS: its offerings are banal and often sparse. But this time, I was surprised!
I had a roast beef and cheddar sub with gravy and horseradish, which was delicious! Next time, I would avoid the horseradish, tough.
(OK, maybe it doesn't look that good in the picture... just consider that it had been wrapped to bring it to the room).

As a late night dessert, I had a walnut brownie from Main Street Bakery.
I have never seen it reviewed here, but it is the best brownie I have ever eaten! It is becoming a tradition for me, every time I am in the MK I have to buy one.
It was delicious as usual.

 

[Alby]

DS9 and I went to Cape May Breakfast last year and we loved it! The character interaction was phenomenal. Goofy sat at our table and played tic tac toe with my son. The food was good too. I'm loving your other reviews as well.

Thanks!

I miss disney so much I can't wait til we return next year

Unless I get there on a business trip with time to spare, I won't be back before 2016...

 

[Alby]

May 3

May 3 was the first of my Epcot days, and I visited the Boardwalk and had breakfast at Kouzzina before walking to the International Gateway.
The Boardwalk at 7 am is beautiful, so clean and cool before heat sets in… as the whole WDW resort is. I really love getting up so early (due to jet lag, I usually get up at 5) and enjoying an empty, silent and cool resort before everything and everyone else wakes up.

Kouzzina was empty at 7.30; this did not guarantee a prompt service, though (this was becoming a constant: maybe also servers are not fully awake at that time?).

On the other hand, the food was very good. I had French Toast Baklava (bread with figs and anise), which was good, but SWEET! Maybe too sweet for me, despite the tasty and slightly spicy chicken sausage.

As I knew that I would possibly need something savory, I also ordered a side of sweet potato hash, and I liked it a lot. It is actually a mix of potatoes and sweet potatoes, with onions and peppers mixed in. Very interesting!

And very interesting is my overall comment on Kouzzina. There are several unusual dishes that I would be glad to try, and I think I will be back.

On the other hand, it is surely possible to find something for picky eaters, but I would go there only if at least someone is keen on trying something “new”. It’s not worth it otherwise!

 

[tluvstink]

Great reviews and pics

Terri

 

[MrsB1228]

I'm really enjoying your reviews and your pictures are wonderful! Looking forward to more!