A Totally Different Kind Of Report

[wilma-bride]

Still loving your reviews - don't know if it's just me but the food at Maya Grill just doesn't look appetising at all.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Tweety

Hi there!

If you and I are ever at DW together and there is only ONE bowl of butternut squash soup left I will arm wrestle you for it and I will cheat too! I am usually a nice person but I am hooked on that stuff. They had a piece on Wolfgang Puck, the chef, on Nightline the other night and showed a picture of the soup and my scream is still reverberating! lol

They have other versions at Tony's and elsewhere but you could put me in a room, blindfolded, and I could pick out which one is WGP's. I do not usually like soup either.

BTW, one time they made a Mickey head out of the red pepper sauce on MY soup.

Slightly Goofy (who, just might, let you have ONE taste)

 

[tweetylori]

Food coming out altogether irritates me so much!!! I'm sorry your experience at Maya Grill was so bad as far as service that can really put a damper on the whole evening! i'm glad the food wasn't bad as well because that may have totally ruined the evening But i'm glad that the event was good!! Keep up the good reviews

Oddly enough, it really didn't put a damper on the evening, because our evening was focused on what we were there for. However, the prices are not inexpensive, and for what is being paid, there's really no excuse. Being a convention hotel, perhaps they assume everyone's on an expense account and doesn't care? I don't know. I hope not.

 

[tweetylori]

Awesome review so far, looking forward to more!!

Thanks! Got more coming.

 

[tweetylori]

What a great review! The event you went to looks like a blast.

Thanks, it was amazing! Full of amazing kids and families, celebrities...really special!

 

[tweetylori]

Yummy reviews! I can't wait to try T-Rex!

I really don't think you can go wrong there, unless you forget to make reservations.

 

[tweetylori]

Now that looks cheesy!

Nothing better than cheesy, huh?

 

[tweetylori]

So how do you all quote multiple people in one reply???????????????

This thread has been quite the college education for me. I apologize for replying to people individually, but I can't figure out how else to do it. Copying and pasting didn't work too well earlier in the thread.

 

[tweetylori]

great review so far! thanks so much!

Thank you!

 

[tweetylori]

Well, now I don't know if we should try Maya Grill or not?
We've stayed at the CSR seven times (number eight coming up) and have never eaten dinner there. It's been getting good food reviews, but not so good service reviews. I'm all the more confused now.

But I am loving your reviews. Keep them coming.

If you're going to pay full price out-right for it, I'm not sure I can recommend it. I can tell you that I would've been very happy with just the scallop appetizer and a salad. But even just those two would've been $20.

 

[tweetylori]

Still loving your reviews - don't know if it's just me but the food at Maya Grill just doesn't look appetising at all.

Well, part of that (a good part) is my horrible picture-taking. Not to mention, I don't think my camera was working right. It was going through batteries like crazy.

 

[tweetylori]

Tweety

Hi there!

If you and I are ever at DW together and there is only ONE bowl of butternut squash soup left I will arm wrestle you for it and I will cheat too! I am usually a nice person but I am hooked on that stuff. They had a piece on Wolfgang Puck, the chef, on Nightline the other night and showed a picture of the soup and my scream is still reverberating! lol

They have other versions at Tony's and elsewhere but you could put me in a room, blindfolded, and I could pick out which one is WGP's. I do not usually like soup either.

BTW, one time they made a Mickey head out of the red pepper sauce on MY soup.

Slightly Goofy (who, just might, let you have ONE taste)

Well, let me tell you, you WILL have a fight on your hands. I might be under 5' 2, but nothing stands between me and my soup.
That is so COOL about the Mickey head. I have never had that happen for me, although, I confess, if it had been brought to me, I would've had my spoon in it so fast I might not have noticed.

I am so GLAD I'm not the only one obsessed with this wonderful soup! I agree that I've had other versions of it, but none compare. And I will say that Wolfgang must have really good quality control, as it tastes as wonderful in Chicago's Ohare as it does at Wolfgang Puck express, as it does at Wolfgang Puck Cafe.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

tweetylori, a new casino recently opened very close to our home and it was advertised that they were going to have a WGP's. I was in hog heaven, literally. When I went to check the website for the menu to see what dishes were going to be served I found that they had evidently NOT put a WGP's in, after all. I am bummed out, mentally disturbed and thinking of suing for mental distress.

5'2? I had better put on some knee pads to protect myself from you. Have you tried the Macadamia Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake? They have the chicken at the express but not the cake. You can get a good substitute for far less money at Starring Rolls at the Studios though. The carrot cake at the express is not bad though, not bad at all. Hey, it has carrots so it has to be low cal, right?

Slightly Goofy, who is liking your report also

 

[tweetylori]

tweetylori, a new casino recently opened very close to our home and it was advertised that they were going to have a WGP's. I was in hog heaven, literally. When I went to check the website for the menu to see what dishes were going to be served I found that they had evidently NOT put a WGP's in, after all. I am bummed out, mentally disturbed and thinking of suing for mental distress.

5'2? I had better put on some knee pads to protect myself from you. Have you tried the Macadamia Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake? They have the chicken at the express but not the cake. You can get a good substitute for far less money at Starring Rolls at the Studios though. The carrot cake at the express is not bad though, not bad at all. Hey, it has carrots so it has to be low cal, right?

Slightly Goofy, who is liking your report also

I got my hopes up here too when I heard we were getting a WGP's in the new terminal of our airport. Unfortunately, it has yet to pop up there and I haven't heard another word about it, so I know how disappointing that can be! I have not tried the chicken or cake, or carrot cake. I have tried in the Cafe, the Butternut Squash Ravioli, some of the pizzas, and other pasta dishes, but not those. So much to try, not enough Florida time to do so!

 

[bonzarella]

Don't know what airport you were referring to, but if it is Indy the WGP is open as of last week. We didn't stop as we wanted to get home

 

[tweetylori]

Okay, on with the report. I do have a confession to make though. I don't have many food pictures left. I have more to report, but I didn't do well taking more food pictures. To make it up to you, I have a few more celebrity pictures, including a chance-encounter -with- a celebrity- picture that is, well, hilarious. It even qualifies in this food category, as it happened in Pepper Market.

So let's talk alcohol for a minute, shall we?

There is a bar outside the lobby area that serves some frozen drinks, as well as other drinks. I had to ask what a "Caribbean Mojito" was? Uh, it's a Mojito with a fancy name, was the Bartender's response. Hey, works for me, I'll try one of those! YUM. Very nice, with lots of fresh mint, lime juice, rum. So refreshing! While I was enjoying my drink, someone came up and ordered a strawberry margarita. The bartender made it for them, but then they said that they didn't want strawberry, they wanted lime. Hmmm, the bartender graciously fixed a new drink, dumped the old one . I swear, not three minutes later, someone came up and ordered a mango margarita. Bartender made it, started to hand it over, and that person swore they had said lime margarita. I do believe you have to have the patience of a saint to be a bartender. When that customer left, I made a comment to the bartender about two customers in a row ordering one thing than saying something else...she sounded relieved to hear that I had heard the same things, that she hadn't imagined them. She asked if I wanted to try the mango margarita. Uh, sure, I'd hate to see any more perfectly good alcohol get poured out. I'll do my part. I'm sure it's just personal taste, as I didn't really care for it. It was so salty! Even though I drank it with the straw and avoided the salt on the rim, it was just too salty and not enough sweet mango taste for me. Especially after the refreshing mojito. However, it didn't stop me from drinking it.
I was charged $8.75 for the mojito+.57 tax. I added $5 gratuity. $14.32 for a nice refreshing break.

Later in the trip, I introduced my husband to the Caribbean Mojito, and he thought it was great too. It is sad, though, when the glass is empty:

 

[tweetylori]

Don't know what airport you were referring to, but if it is Indy the WGP is open as of last week. We didn't stop as we wanted to get home

Nope...RDU for me. But it's nice to know there's one in Indy now...thanks for the info!

 

[KatMark]

Okay, on with the report. I do have a confession to make though. I don't have many food pictures left. I have more to report, but I didn't do well taking more food pictures. To make it up to you, I have a few more celebrity pictures, including a chance-encounter -with- a celebrity- picture that is, well, hilarious. It even qualifies in this food category, as it happened in Pepper Market.

So let's talk alcohol for a minute, shall we?

There is a bar outside the lobby area that serves some frozen drinks, as well as other drinks. I had to ask what a "Caribbean Mojito" was? Uh, it's a Mojito with a fancy name, was the Bartender's response. Hey, works for me, I'll try one of those! YUM. Very nice, with lots of fresh mint, lime juice, rum. So refreshing! While I was enjoying my drink, someone came up and ordered a strawberry margarita. The bartender made it for them, but then they said that they didn't want strawberry, they wanted lime. Hmmm, the bartender graciously fixed a new drink, dumped the old one . I swear, not three minutes later, someone came up and ordered a mango margarita. Bartender made it, started to hand it over, and that person swore they had said lime margarita. I do believe you have to have the patience of a saint to be a bartender. When that customer left, I made a comment to the bartender about two customers in a row ordering one thing than saying something else...she sounded relieved to hear that I had heard the same things, that she hadn't imagined them. She asked if I wanted to try the mango margarita. Uh, sure, I'd hate to see any more perfectly good alcohol get poured out. I'll do my part. I'm sure it's just personal taste, as I didn't really care for it. It was so salty! Even though I drank it with the straw and avoided the salt on the rim, it was just too salty and not enough sweet mango taste for me. Especially after the refreshing mojito. However, it didn't stop me from drinking it.
I was charged $8.75 for the mojito+.57 tax. I added $5 gratuity. $14.32 for a nice refreshing break.

Later in the trip, I introduced my husband to the Caribbean Mojito, and he thought it was great too. It is sad, though, when the glass is empty:

Ooooh....I think I'll have to try one of those Mojitos. Nice picture of you and the background of El Centro!

 

[KatMark]

So how do you all quote multiple people in one reply???????????????

This thread has been quite the college education for me. I apologize for replying to people individually, but I can't figure out how else to do it. Copying and pasting didn't work too well earlier in the thread.

To quote more than one person: first, hit the box with the "quote marks" in it in each person you want to quote; when you come to the last one, hit the box with the word quote in it.

If you're going to pay full price out-right for it, I'm not sure I can recommend it. I can tell you that I would've been very happy with just the scallop appetizer and a salad. But even just those two would've been $20.

We're always on the dining plan so this would not be a problem. I'll have to think about this.

 

[tweetylori]

Now, let's talk breakfast at Coronado Springs. One morning we wanted just a little something, knowing we were going out for an early lunch, so we went to Rix Cafe, got an Egg/Cheese/Bacon sandwich and two beverages. The sandwich was $7.50, two cold beverages $4.38. With tax it was $12.66. The sandwich was really tasty. Cut in half, it was only a few bites each, but it was a little something to hold us over til lunchtime. This breakfast also taught us to stop at a grocery store and buy some drinks to put in the fridge in our room, since soft drinks & tea cost so darn much! I'd rather save my drink money for alcohol.
Another morning, we brought our own drinks from the room, bought two Egg/Cheese/Bacon sandwiches, and for $15 + tax, it felt like we got a better value for our money.

So Friday, March 20th, was a breakfast for those of us with the Children's Miracle Network. They had lots of fresh fruit, muffins, bagels & cream cheese. I wasn't very hungry, so I got a plate of fresh fruit. Honeydew, blueberries, watermelon. Very light and refreshing, along with a cup of tea. While I was looking to connect with the other folks in our group, I saw there were tables set up outside. I decided to look and see if they were outside. There was a teenage boy standing outside the door. He greeted me, with a "Hi, how are you?" and stuck out his hand to shake. I shook it, noticing it was not a real hand. It felt plastic-like. I said, I was doing fine, and how are you? His reply was, "I am EXCELLENT". I was soon to find out just how excellent he was.

The festivities at the breakfast for the Children's Miracle Network started with a wonderful inspirational speech from Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton. After that was one of the most moving ceremonies I've ever seen. It was the Champions Medal Ceremony, where each Champion Child from every state, plus Australia, Ireland, Canada and United Kingdom, had their turn on stage. Each was presented with a champion medal and given a standing ovation. Some were carried out by a parent, others ran out, some came out in wheelchairs (one stood up after the medal was placed around his neck, out of his chair and gave the victory sign with arms out-stretched). Truly moving, as every one of these kids overcame incredible odds in their Children's Miracle Network Hospital...each with an amazing story. Such courage and strength! Which takes me back to the breakfast greeting on the patio, with the young man with the prosthesis hand...he turned out to be the Champion from Wisconsin, a 16-year old named Zach who had suffered "multi-system organ failure and septic shock, the result of an often-fatal blood infection". He was not expected to survive, but did, although "the disease took its toll". He had to have a series of surgeries, that included the amputation of both is legs below the knees and his right hand at the wrist. Yet Zach walked on stage to get his medal, grinning ear to ear. What an honor to be there and give him and all the Champions a well-deserved standing ovation.

I didn't get any pictures during the ceremony as all the kids had family with them that were taking pictures, and I sure didn't want to get in any of their way. Also, I stood applauding and crying through the whole Ceremony.

Afterward, tiny little Mary Lou Retton put on some slippers (she was wearing heels on stage), stood on a block and was doing some kind of television shoot in the lobby:

I might add that as we were leaving, I saw Zach leaving as well. This time, he was being pushed in a wheelchair. Medal around his neck. And a family member was following behind him, carrying the hand I had shook earlier.