Better Late Then Never ... Right?? Dining Review. COMPLETE

[reking96]

Hello Everyone!!

Welcome to my first ever Disney Dinning Review. The Dinning Review Thread is my favorite on the DIS so I have read several of your wonderful reviews. I have always wanted to do this but always chickened out .. thinking I never had anything to really say. Haha. So I have decieded to do a little review of my trip in 2011 on the DxDDP! I know, whats the point right? Well the point is I have finally built up enough corage, so why not? We all love pictures of Disney Food!! And more importantly, I will be going on another Disney trip in January. So if I do ok with this review, I'd like to do another one.
I know what you are thinking & How is she ever going to remember what she ate and how it was from 2011? Fear not, my fellow DISers. Whenever I travel (I do for work), I post a blog of my travels for my neices and nephews to keep in touch and see what I am up too. And because I travel alone & lets my Mom know I am still alive. Ha-ha.
Anyway, if you want to hear about and see pictures of food from my trip in September 2011, then this is the place to be. And Thank you for putting up with my tardiness. =)

Traveling Info:
This trip consisted of myself, Rachel (33) and My Mom - Barb (60). We also go at the same time as my best friend and her family. She and her hubby have 2 little girls, or as I call them, my little BFFs. At the time of this trip, they were 4 and 1 1/2 . I mention then because I have some pics of kids food as well. We dont stick together for the trip, just meet up from time to time. It's nice to have an adult trip and kid trip at the same time.

So Let me know if ya'll are interested in hearing about a past trip!! If so I will continue. Thanks! =)

 

[reking96]

POR Riverside Mill Food-court - Lunch
Cinderellas Royal Table - Dinner
Chef Mickeys Breakfast
Whiserping Canyon Café Dinner
POR Riverside Mill Foodcourt - Breakfast
Le Cellier Lunch
POR Riverside Mill Foodcourt Dinner
Tusker House Breakfast
Raglan Road Dinner
POR Riverside Mill Foodcourt Breakfast
The Hollywood Brown Derby Lunch
Epcot QSs Yorkshire Fish Shop & Tangerine Café Dinner
Cape May Café Breakfast
Via Napoli Dinner
Flying Fish Dinner

I realize while reading some of fellow DISer reviews, that I am not up to par!! I always forget to take pictures of the snacks and QS & buffet meals. I promise I will do better on my next trip! But most of our snacks consist of popcorn (I actually call it Disney CRACK .. its so freakin addicting), various cupcakes and pretty much 1 of everyting from the carmel shop in Germany. Ha-ha So when I say we had snacks just picture one of those in your head. LOL!

 

[jasperess]

Looking forward to it! Count me in!

 

[emmysmommy]

I definitely want to hear about your dining experiences. I'm glad you are sharing it with us. Especially your CRT , Tusker House and Raglan Road! You dined at some really great places.

 

[reking96]

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, in Oak Manor. After we checked in, we headed straight for our food court. I had fresh pasta made to order. You get to pick your pasta type, sauce type and ingredients you want with it. Then they make it for you while you wait. I had mushroom, chicken and spinach with alfredo sauce. Everything was so nice and fresh and hot!! My Mom had a beef and blue sandwich on some fancy bread and pasta salad. We brought our desserts back to our rooms; a magic cookie and a piece of chocolate cake. We also picked up our refillable mugs at this time. We both thought how good this food was for being in a food-court.

Around 3:00 we headed out and jumped on the bus to the MK. We timed it perfect as there was a bus just pulling up. We had a 4:00 dinner ressie at Cinderellas Royal Table. Only waited about 10 minutes and then we were called in. From reading the reviews on the DIS, we all had low expectations about this meal but we did it because the girls wanted too. And hey, everyone should eat inside the castle at least once. Our dinner was great!
Appetizers: Castle Salad, Rock Shrimp Cocktail
Entrees: Beef Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes, Stuffed Chicken Breast & Braised Cobia with Angel Hair pasta.
Desserts: Trio Sampler (Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse and a Fruit Tart) and Chocolate Mousse.
I had the salad was just a huge plate of various greens and had the best dressing. The others had rock shrimp cocktail. This ended having corn in it so my BFF didnt like it. But I was surprised she ordered it to begin with because she doesnt really like shrimp! Ha-ha. So my mom ended up eating her shrimp.

I had the Braised Cobia with Angel Hair pasta. OMG!! This was absolutely amazing. The combination of the sauce and fish with the noodles was outstanding. I would definitely get this again. My mom got the stuffed breast with asparagus, mozzarella and prosciutto smothered in leeks, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes. She loved it. Said the chicken was nice and juicy and everything was very flavorful. The other two adults had the Beef Tenderloin with mashed potatos and asparagus and said it was very good. I didnt try this but it looked very good.
Both little girls had a little garden salad wit Ranch (they love their salads), a cheese pizza and make your own cupcake. But they could have cared less about the food once the princess started walking in!
CRT was an unexpected pleasant surprised. We all agreed we would go there again. As Snow White is leaving, Mom says to her "Don't eat any apples now". Snow White: "Only green ones". LOL. It was too funny.

 

[reking96]

Looking forward to it! Count me in!

Thanks!

I definitely want to hear about your dining experiences. I'm glad you are sharing it with us. Especially your CRT , Tusker House and Raglan Road! You dined at some really great places.

Thanks. Yeah we ate at some really good places. Which why my Mom and I are heading back! We love Disney food! haha

YAY!! I have 2 followers!!

 

[reking96]

First we headed to the Contemporary to eat breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. Buffet style breakfast. But you don’t come here for the food. You come for the characters!
Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and mine and Donald Duck were out for pictures and autographs. The girls faces were priceless when they spotted the characters. They kept waving and saying “Hi Mickey. Hi Minne.”
Sorry guys, like I said before, I always forget to take pictures at buffets. I vow to get better at this!! For those who have been to Chef Mickey’s probably can agree, that is can be a little hectic in there in the mornings! I would definitely recommend a cup of coffee before you enter if you are not a morning person! Ha-ha! I’ve never had bad food in there, but nothing outstanding either. For some reason I love Disney scrambled eggs … I know pretty weird! At all the breakfast buffets I like to get the salmon on a bagel with cream cheese and capers because this is something I will never get at home. Hell, I never even eat cereal at home!! But like I said, we don’t come here for the food. The girls love the characters and that is why we are here … rather get the autographs here then we don’t have to stand in line in the heat!!

Tonight we went to Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. This located at the Wilderness Lodge Resort. OMG! This resort was absolutely beautiful. Ok back to dinner … this place is known for the “skillet”. This is an all you can eat dish that includes the following: salad, cole slaw, cornbread, roasted chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket, spare ribs, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and baked beans. Of course there are other things on the menu, but we all decided to get this.

Even though we were all on the Deluxe Dinning Plan, no one got appetizers or dessert here. The skillet was good. Nothing outstanding. But a good meal especially for a group of people I thought. We ended up getting more ribs, beef, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Everything was hot and fresh. Of course the waitress tricked the 4 year old into asking for ketchup … the next thing we know there are 30 bottles of ketchup on our table!!
Because it was my BFF’s birthday, for dessert I ordered a little cake for her. The entire restaurant sang to her. Good stuff.

After dinner we headed to the World Showcase and did a little shopping. Just as we are strolling through Canada there is a cart selling CRACK!! I mean Disney Popcorn. Sweet Jesus that stuff is sent from the Heavens above. So needless to say on our way out, we some popcorn and beer and headed back to your resort. What a way to end a day. =)

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on!

 

[reking96]

Today was our first full day at Epcot ... Our favorite park ... Especially World Showcase. It's a foodies dream come true.
We had a late morning and slept in a little bit. My mom goes to the food court and brings back our breakfast when we have these mornings = BEST.MOM. EVER! =)
I had the basic breakfast Platter: Eggs, Potatoes, Bacon, Sausage and a biscuit.
POR has a make your own omelet station. So my Mom had a ham, egg, mushroom and cheese omelet with potatoes.
We've all had the breakfast platter ... same eggs, bacon etc as everywhere else in Disney. Eggs were hot and fresh, potatoes were average and well the bacon was well, Disney bacon! ha-ha.
My Mom's omelet was very good. I would get one for sure.

By the lunch came around, we were hungry.So it was time to stop at Le Cellier for some grub! We checked in and the lobby was packed, but we were seated in less then 10 minutes.
All I can say, is there wasn't one bad thing about this meal. Yeah you can hear your neighbors conversations beside because you might as well be sharing a table they are so close. But when the food comes, all conversations stop anyway.

Appetizers:
PEI Mussels: with Tomatoes, Garlic, and Fennel Cream.
These were very tasty. Best I ever had until I ate at the Flying Fish a few days later.
Tomato Stack: with pickled Onions, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Minus "8" Vinegar and micro basil. My Mom loved this. Said the tomato tasted like it was right out of her own garden.
Bread Basket: Of course the pretzel bread was out of this world!

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Entree:
Fillet with mushroom risotto
Fillet with mashed potatoes
I ordered mine with the mashed potatoes because I wasn't sure I would like the risotto ... biggest mistake of my life! That mushroom risotto was out of this world! And the steaks were done to perfection. Nice juicy and tender.

No Dessert - we were too full!
We won't make that mistake on our upcoming trip next month! ha-ha. We can't wait to go back.

After lunch we continued our way around World Showcase. And of course as we are in Germany it starts pouring down rain. We were stuck there for about an hour, so I passed time having a few adult beverages! Once it stopped we started on our way again. As we reached Norway it let loose again. So we stopped in the bakery and got a school bread to share. Ok, I don't see what the bug fuss is about. I think if it were served warm it would be better. But glad we tried one.

We had dinner ressie for Hollywood Brown Derby that night. But by the time we ventured to the front of Epcot, we were soaked and in no mood to go back to our hotel and change clothes. We were ready to be in for the night. So we cancelled our reservation and just ate at our food court that night. I had turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy and corn. And my Mom had fish and chips. My meal was good. Again hot and tasty. But my moms was luke-warm and soggy ... just like we were!! ha-ha! I have to say, for a food court, POR far exceeded my expectations. Sorry, I was tired and wet and forgot to take pictures. =(

 

[reking96]

Signing on!

Thanks

 

[reking96]

Today for breakfast we just had some coffee and a quick pastry before catching the bus. Is it just me, or do these things always look better then they really are?? I always get lured into getting one, and am always disappointed. ha-ha

Anyway, our plan was to go to Magic Kingdom for the day. But when the bus to the MK pulled up and it was packed. Right behind it pulled in the Hollywood Studios bus with 4 people on it. No brainer there. So to Hollywood Studios we went. We got there around 10:45. The park was pretty empty by Disney standards. On the way over to HS I made a lunch ressie at Hollywood Brown Derby. So we went on a few rides then went to lunch.
I cannot say enough how fabulous this meal was. From the time we entered the restaurant to the time we left, everything was perfect. Our waiter Derrick was absolutely amazing! He made the entire experience something we will never forget.
So my Mom and I have a rule that we never order the same things, so we can try different items.
Appetizers: Lobster Bisque & Cobb Salad:
Our waiter knew we were sharing these, so he actually made individual portions for each of us.

Salad Before it was mixed.

Salad After:

We also got individual dressings.

And of course some bread and butter.

No explanation needed. Both were wonderful.
Entrees: Roasted Free-range Ashley Farms Breast of Chicken & Pan-Seared Coriander Dusted Grouper. Both of these were very good as well. The chicken was very moist and flavorful. It was excellent until you tried the grouper! I ordered the grouper, and it was at the meal where my mom said we are never following our "don't order the same thing" rule again! This grouper is the kind of dish you crave and actually think about. It was fabulous. Our server actually recommended it to us.

For dessert, I had the grapefruit cake and my mom had the cream brûlée.
This was the first time she had ever eaten it ... she is hooked on it now. You will see she ordered it a few more times fore dessert. I have to say, I really enjoyed the grapefruit. It was very light and refreshing. I would order it again for sure.

 

[reking96]

For dinner we headed over to EPCOT. We had no reservations and after the lunch at the Brown Derby we weren't starving by any means! ha-ha So after walking around we ended up trying the fish and chips at the Yorkshire Fish Shop and the Chicken Shawarma Platter at the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco. With this we also got the olive side salad and baklava for dessert. The fish and chips were great ... piping hot and fresh. We loved it! In Morocco, I had read about this meal on the boards for several people and wanted to give it a try. The chicken and sauce was great ... like nothing I had ever tasted before. I wasn't so thrilled with the cold salads but I would try them again. I just think it was so unfamiliar to me that I wasn't sure what I was eating. Sounds strange I know. But I do want to try it again and would actually just order the chicken! Of course the olive salad ... well you have to like olives. ha-ha. And the baklava was great. We will probably stop just for some of that next trip.

Also while strolling around the world, we stopped at the Carmel Shop in Germany ... Yum!

We also had some delicious beverages.

The Grey Goose Slush is well worth the price!

 

[reking96]

Breakfast was at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort. As typical, I don't have pictures of the food, but I will say this ... This is by far my favorite character breakfast buffet. The character interaction is great and it is far less hectic then some of the other buffet breakfast (Chef Mickey's). And there is this french toast casserole that is fabulous!! My Mom and I are actually going back to this one in January even without any kids.
After a lovely day in Epcot, we ended up at Via Napoli for dinner. Everything we had here was fantastic. The best pizza and calamari I have ever had. I can't wait to go back here!!
Appetizers:
Calamari Fritti - corn-crusted rings served with spicy tomato sauce
Gamberetti Fagioli - jumbo shrimp, cannellini bean salad, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice

My Mom loved this so much she already said she is getting it again on our next trip. =)
Entree:
Margherita - tomato, mozzarella, basil
Pepperoni - pepperoni, tomato, mozzarella
We stuck to the basics just to be safe. But we already said we are getting a little more adventurous the next time around.

Dessert:
Tiramisu - Mascarpone cream, espresso coffee, lady fingers, and chocolate
Zeppole di Ricotta - Ricotta cheese fritters, served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce
I have to admit, these were nothing spectacular. Not bad, but nothing memorable. But I don't come here for the desserts! ha-ha

 

[reking96]

This morning we went to O'hana for breakfast. I don't have food pictures and like many breakfasts, there was nothing spectacular ... except the juice. From breakfast, we went over to Magic Kingdom and for lunch we stopped at Columbia Harbor House. We shared a tuna sandwich and a shrimp and fries platter. As far as quick serve goes, we thought these were both very good and said we would go back again.
It was dinner that we couldn't wait for! We headed to the Broadwalk and went to Flying Fish.
Appetizers:
Chardonnay-steamed PEI "Canadian Cove" Mussels - Fennel, Chiles, Pesto Crema, and Ciabatta Crostini
Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala - Florida Yellow Beefsteak, Ugli-ripe and tiny grape Tomatoes, aged Balsamico, Exotic Peppercorns, Petite Basil, and Sicilian Olio Verde

A great drink ... The Boardwalk Bay Breeze
Entree:
Char-crusted Angus New York Strip Steak - Fingerling Potatoes, Hericot Vert, young carrots, and bermuda onions with Classic Sauce Foyot
Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops - Mediterranean vegetable, basil, pecorino romano and mascarpone-laced risotto di carnarolli

Side of Grilled Asparagus with Sauce Foyot.
The sauce on these and the steak was amazing! I just couldn't get enough of it.
That New York Stripe Steak was great and and very much needed after a few of those drinks. The scallops were so big, and the risotto was delicious.

Desserts:
Trio of Concession Sweets - Out on the Boardwalk - Popcorn Mousse and Caramel Corn, Cherry-limeade popsicle, dark chocolate fudge burger, and pound cake fries
Créme Brulée - wild blueberry conifiture and biscotti, white chocolate laced cape gooseberry

 

[reking96]

Somehow I forget my Raglan Road Review! Sorry it's a little out of order. This is the morning we went to Tusker house for breakfast. I do like how this buffet is laid-out compared to some of the others. You can kind of pick and choose which section you want to go to rather then stand in line for everything and wait. The juice here is amazing!! But I will say I find this to be the loudest of all the buffets. We have always had to wait much longer to be seated then at any other. But regardless, we keep coming back.
After touring the Animal Kingdo, my Mother and I headed to Saratoga Springs for mani's and pedi's! What a great way to spend an afternoon. And nothing makes you work up an appetite like being pampered! LOL!
So we went to Raglan Road in Downtown Disney for dinner. I love their flights of beer here.

We actually drank our appetizers and dessert for that matter and only had entrees.
Serious Steak - 10 oz sirloin topped with Irish whiskey marmalade glaze, with fresh basil oil, mashed potatoes, and topped with crispy fried onion strings
It's Not Bleedin' Chowder! - Freshest cuts of seafood and potatoes in a white wine infused cream broth.

Both items were very good. I had the chowder and I will say there is so much more there then you think. It's never ending. And it does have garlic in it. So if you are sensitive to garlic like I am, you've been warned. haha We were can of bummed that we don't have time on our next trip to squeeze this place in. It really was good food and a great atmosphere.

 

[emmysmommy]

I just read through your last few dining reviews and I'm glad to see that Serious Steak at Raglan Road! We'll be going there next trip and I'm not sure what to order..... I hope they still have the bread pudding.

Thanks for sharing your reviews!

 

[CaliBear]

Thank you for sharing! I feel you on wanting to contribute but feeling a little shy. Good job!

 

[reking96]

I just read through your last few dining reviews and I'm glad to see that Serious Steak at Raglan Road! We'll be going there next trip and I'm not sure what to order..... I hope they still have the bread pudding.

Thanks for sharing your reviews!

Thank you for sharing! I feel you on wanting to contribute but feeling a little shy. Good job!

Thanks for reading and responding to my review. I'll do better on my next trip with getting more pictures. Not to mention ... posting earlier. Still intimading though. ha-ha Thanks.