**A Week of Om Nom Noms! ~ 12/09 Dining Report**

[Elevationist]

Hello, all! This is my first attempt at a dining report, and I know it's not going to be perfect. I just returned from a magical week in Walt Disney World, Dec. 1-7, 2009. So magical, in fact, that there were several meals that I totally forgot to take pictures of, LOL. But I did get a fair amount of photos of the rest, and have thoughts and opinons so express on each, so I do hope you'll join me as I relive the treats and eats that we enjoyed while in the World!


About Us:

Billie (29), and my boyfriend Ron (30)

I have been to WDW quite a few times, I love it with all my heart. This was Ron's first trip, and he had a blast. The week was filled with magic, pixie dust, and GOOD EATS! (And as you can see from our photo... We like to eat. )


Where?

In this report, I'll be recapping our experiences at the following lounges, eateries and restaurants:

Main Street Bakery
Outer Rim Lounge
Chef Mickey's
Maya Grill
Aloha Isle
The Lunching Pad
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Pepper Market - 12/2
Kringla Bakeri og Cafe
Tutto Italia Kiosk
Yakitori House
Tangierine Cafe
Chefs de France
Pepper Market - 12/4
Le Cellier
Starring Rolls Cafe
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre
Ohana
Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery
Flame Tree Barbeque
Boma
Pepper Market - 12/7
Cape May Cafe



Hope you enjoy reading about our experiences as much as we enjoyed having them!

 

[Elevationist]

By the time we arrived at the Magic Kingdom on our arrival day, we both agreed that something snacky sounded good. The delicious smells of the bakery were wafting out onto Main Street and calling to us, so we wandered in to have a peek. Ron got a cheese danish, and I had a few bites of it. It was so yummy! Perfect and flakey and the filling was divine. I'd get another one of these anytime.

My only complaint was the service that night. Nobody seemed in a very Disney mood. Both the CMs behind the counter and the ones at the register... they all just seemed annoyed and ready to go home. =/

 

[Elevationist]

While waiting for our ARD time at Chef Mickey's to roll around, we decided to pop over to the Outer Rim Lounge next door for some glowtinis. I'd been seeing these on the DISboards, and knew that we needed to try them. (He has a think for blue drinks, and I am a sucker for anything with a glow cube!) We certainly weren't disappointed!

They were very sweet, but I liked that. I don't like a strong alcohol taste in drinks, and I felt that I could drink several of these! We didn't, of course, since $11 per drink was a bit indulgent.

The service was also good here. The bartender was very upbeat and friendly, as were the serving staff. We relaxed here for quite some time before reporting to the podium for dinner.

 

[pinkxray]

Great job so far, can't wait to see more reviews.
I am a little embarrased to say that I have been to Disney about 8? times and have never been to Main Street Bakery. I have no idea how this happened. It is high on my list for my upcoming trip.

 

[Elevationist]

Great job so far, can't wait to see more reviews.
I am a little embarrased to say that I have been to Disney about 8? times and have never been to Main Street Bakery. I have no idea how this happened. It is high on my list for my upcoming trip.

Nothing to be embarrassed about! This was my 8th trip, and it was my first Main Street Bakery experience. And if not for the DIS, I probably would have overlooked it yet again!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I'm ready for more! These always make me sooooo hungry though...

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Great start! Can't wait for the rest!

 

[DreamingPink]

Wow, I have been a lurker at your ptr, but must admit never wrote. I have been waiting for you and Ron to get back, and very happy that I am at the beginning of your Food review. Can hardly wait to read more, keep them coming. So glad you had an awesome time. I will definately try MS Bakery this trip

 

[Elevationist]

I'm ready for more! These always make me sooooo hungry though...

LOL! Me too. But I loved loved loved reading dining reports while I was waiting for my trip to get here! So what if I drooled all over my keyboard?

Great start! Can't wait for the rest!

Yay, welcome! About to start on the next installment now.

Wow, I have been a lurker at your ptr, but must admit never wrote. I have been waiting for you and Ron to get back, and very happy that I am at the beginning of your Food review. Can hardly wait to read more, keep them coming. So glad you had an awesome time. I will definately try MS Bakery this trip

Well then you should definitely unlurk, it's great to have you!

 

[Elevationist]

Yay, finally time for dinner! Our ADR was for 9pm, but I went to the podium at 8:30pm and we were seated very quickly. They had us do the pic with the Chef Mickey statue thingy, but we couldn't see spending that kind of money on it. If it had been with a "real" character, we definitely would have.

Anyhow! So after we were shown to our table, it was time to get in line for some grub! I booked this restaurant primarily because I thought that meeting Mickey & Co. would be an awesome way to start our trip. (And it was!) But I'd read multitudes of unflattering things about the food, here on the DIS. So I was a little leary as I approached the buffet line and started filling my plate.

My first plate: Clockwise from top; Parmesean Mashed Potatoes, Prime Rib, some sort of creamy pasta, Broccoli w/ cheese, Cheesy potatoes, some sort of curried chicken, Mickey ravioli hiding under the chicked, salmon, and in the center chicken pot pie.

Ron's First Plate: Clockwise from top; Salmon, Parmesean Mashed Potatoes w/ gravy, green beans, cheesy potatoes, and in the center Prime Rib. Also, note the flatware in his hands, sitting there ready to dig in! .

Honestly, we both agreed that we don't understand what all the complaints are about. We both thought everything was delicious! So much so that we both went back for Round 2!

I randomly snapped a pic of the carving board while waiting in line! Prime rib on the left, ham on the right...

My 2nd Plate; Clockwise from top: More creamy pasta (I loved this stuff!), a chicken tender from the kid's section, more prime rib (this peice was more well done that I like, unlike the first peice I had which was rare and perfect for me), more salmon, more cheesey potatoes, and in the center a couple of chicken nuggets from the kid's section. Honestly, the two items from the kid's selection where the worst things I tried there... There were absolutely disgusting, completely dried out and tough and just gross. All of the "Adult" offerings were very yummy, though!

Ron's 2nd Plate; Clockwise from top: Prime Rib, cheesy potatoes, corn, cheddar biscuits, creamy pasta. He especially loved the biscuits! (I dunno why this pic is bigger than the others, I must have goofed when resizing them in Photoshop. I'll go back and correct that later. )

Then it was time for dessert! Earlier in the meal, our server (who was VERY good, more about him later) brought me out a special birthday surprise:

This made my night! I have a thing for cupcakes, they are one of my favoritest! So this was just perfect! And it was absolutely delicious, too!

So Ron and I headed up to check out the dessert offerings...

My dessert plate: Key Lime Tart, Carrot Cake, Mickey Mousse Ears, and Minnie Cheesecake.

Ron's dessert plate: He had all the same, minus the carrot cake and plus a fudge brownie.

We both thought all the desserts were good, but were way too full to finish any of them... Well, except for my birthday cupcake! It was really scrumptious! It was my favorite!

The service was also very very good. Everybody was so warm and welcoming, and our server was great. He kept my iced tea topped off, which also impressed me because I drink alot of tea with a meal. He also did this thing that I thought was kinda funny, anytime he whisked by our table to pick up a plate that we were through with, he said "Thank you!" LOL. And then the birthday cupcake made me like him pretty well also.

So again... Neither Ron nor I understand why there's so much negativity about Chef Mickey's dinner selections? We very much enjoyed our meal, and got hungry again just looking at the photos last night as I was uploading them to photobucket! It's not 5-star dining, but neither of us have 5-star palettes either. It was all good, hot, comfort food that was very well-prepared and perfect for a buffet setting of it's kind.

 

[natalielongstaff]

great reviews so far

 

[jenbear123]

I loved how you just slipped in the link to your Dining report in your TR! Now I have even MORE to catch up on! You're fast when you get going, you know that?

Okay I'm caught up on your Dining report (for now). That carving table looks like they just through the whole pig on the table! The food looks decent at Chef Mickey's. I'm considering (as you might know) having dinner here in April. Seems to be some good choices (especially those cheese potatoes!)

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great reviews so far!

 

[msce2]

We went in 2003 and really enjoyed Chef Mickey's. But then again, I'm perfectly happy at Old Country Buffet aka Old Crunchy Buffet as my 3 year old calls it.

You guys are a really cute couple and I'm enjoying your reviews! Looking forward to more!

 

[Elevationist]

great reviews so far

Thank you!!

I loved how you just slipped in the link to your Dining report in your TR! Now I have even MORE to catch up on! You're fast when you get going, you know that?

Okay I'm caught up on your Dining report (for now). That carving table looks like they just through the whole pig on the table! The food looks decent at Chef Mickey's. I'm considering (as you might know) having dinner here in April. Seems to be some good choices (especially those cheese potatoes!)

LOL, I am sneaky like that. You should definitely try Chef Mickey's. It was an incredibly fun experience, and the food really wasn't as bad as people say. Just don't walk in expecting gourmet cooking, and you'll hopefully enjoy your meal.

Great reviews so far!

Coming from the Food Queen of the DIS, that means so much to me! Thank you!

We went in 2003 and really enjoyed Chef Mickey's. But then again, I'm perfectly happy at Old Country Buffet aka Old Crunchy Buffet as my 3 year old calls it.

You guys are a really cute couple and I'm enjoying your reviews! Looking forward to more!

Exactly! I was raised in a family that considers the Golden Corral buffet as "going out for a nice dinner."

 

[Elevationist]

We had a 7:45am ADR for Maya Grill on the morning of our first full day. I knew they did a breakfast buffet and I wanted us to have good meal to get us going!

We got there pretty early, but I'd read on the DIS that you don't actually need ADRs here, and it was true. We were immediately seated. I snapped a couple pictures of the restaurant itself as we were shown to our table.

The view from our table....

Ron went up first while I hung back at the table to watch our things. When he returned, this is what he brought with him. Yum! I see hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, and breakfast potatoes!

Then I ambushed him with a photo as he was digging in...

Then it was my turn. Before loading up my plate, I took pictures of every food station...

Then I fixed my own plate! This was so delicious! Cinammon roll, cheese blintz (this thing was AWESOME), mixed fruit topping, mickey waffle, sausage links, biscuits & gravy, and scrambled eggs.

All in all, a very good meal. We both had just enough to eat, and we left very satisfied. The service was good also, very prompt and friendly. If looking for an inexpensive non-character breakfast buffet, I would definitely recommend Maya Grill.

 

[Elevationist]

So this is one of those moments where I was SO overwhelmed and excited, that I totally forgot to get out the camera. Ron and I each had the Dole Whip Float, his with pineapple soft serve and mine with the vanilla soft serve. SOOOOOO YUMMMMY. I craved another one for the rest of the trip, but never had the opportunity. Shoot!

I feel bad for not having any photos, so here's a generic one that I googled:

 

[MickeyNicki]

That breakfast looks awesome!

 

[Elevationist]

That breakfast looks awesome!

It was pretty good, especially for the price!

 

[jenbear123]

I've always heard bad things about Maya Grill. Almost so bad that I never wanted to eat there. Your review changed my mind! Thanks for all the pictures. The dining area looks really nice, especially with the views. The food looks very very yummy. Probably like all the rest of the breakfast buffets out there. I'm disappointed we didn't get to try Maya Grill when we stayed at CS in July. I don't think I'll make a special trip to eat here but maybe next time I happen to stay at CS, we'll definitely make this a breakfast stop!