Big appetites take on the Dining Plan! Added Pecos Bills

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Hi folks! We JUST returned from an 8 day, 7 night trip to the World with free Dining. We had the regular DDP. In this thread, I will be reviewing the following restaurants (sorry, no food porn):

Table Service
T-Rex Post 3
CRT (lunch) Post 5
Crystal Palace (dinner) Post 7
Yak & Yeti (lunch) Post 10
Sanaa (dinner) Post 14
La Hacienda de San Angel (dinner) Post 20
'Ohana (dinner) Post 25
Kouzzina (dinner) Post 27
Biergarten (dinner) Post 29

Counter Service
Sassagoula Floatworks at POFQ (1 lunch and several breakfasts will be combined into one review) Post 2
Tangierine Cafe (Morocco) Post 19
Lunching Pad Post 24
Starring Rolls Cafe Post 26
Yakitori House Post 28
Pecos Bills Post 30

In the interest of full disclosure, I will let you know that we RAN OUT of snack and QS credits at the end of our trip. Oh yeah, and we paid OOP at T-Rex, for adults at CRT and kids at Sanaa and Kouzzina. Yup, this family out-ate the DDP. What can I say, we like to eat!

So, on to the cast.

First up is DH (age 36). DH loves to eat and drink. And I'm not talking Diet Coke... DH loves beer, wine, and the occasional mixed drink. As for food, he generally prefers international cuisine (Indian is his favorite, followed by Mexican, Thai, and Mediterranean) but has a weakness for all-American fare such as chili dogs.

Then there's me (age 32). I'm the trip planner, dining report reader, and generally Disney obsessed host. My taste in food is similar to DH (except I don't eat pork and I think corned beef hash is gross). My favorite cuisine is Mexican, but I really love Chinese, Greek, and Indian food.

DD 1 (age 6) has a sophisticated palate for a 6 year old. She likes to try new foods and generally dislikes processed chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. She loves fruit and ice cream too.

DD 2 (age 4) is our picky eater. She would happily live on processed chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pizza (the cheesier the better) and chocolate. She also loves rice and noodles (preferably lo mein). Sometimes she surprises us and tastes new things, but her typical reaction to new food is to assume its gross without trying it.

For good measure, I'll mention DD3. She's only 7 months, so she didn't sample much Disney foods. Her favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, and monkey puffs (banana flavored).

Now, on to the reviews!

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Sassagoula Floatworks

As I mentioned in my first review, I'm combining all of my meals here into one review.

On day 1, we arrived at POFQ and ate lunch after checking in. We were famished.

I ordered chicken nuggets for each of the girls with french fries. Both DDs ate the nuggets. I wasn't sure if DD1 would eat them, but she ate them without complaining. So I guess they were good!

DH and I both got the shrimp po boys. These are HUGE sandiwches. We totally could have shared one. Each came in a sub roll and was filled with a ton of shredded lettuce, fried shrimp with a crisp, spicy breading, and with a cajun mayonnaise. The sandwiches came with a side of chips. The chips were very fresh and tasty. The sandwiches, on the other hand, were not so good. While they were freshly made (we had to wait for the shrimp to be fried), the bread was stale, there was too much lettuce and there wasn't enough sauce. We both thought the sandwich was dry. It was also very hard to eat. Shrimp kept on rolling out of the sandwich and onto the plate or table. I ended up eating the shrimp with my fork and leaving the mediocre bread. Overall, our first meal at Sassagoula Floatworks was a C-.

We ended up eating breakfast at the resort every day. This surprised me, as we didn't do that last trip. I think it had to do with the fact that our room was across from the food court. Anyhow, during the course of the week, we ate the following (aside from yogurt and bananas):

Beignets: These treats are unique to POFQ. The beignets are tasty and freshly made. They are fried when you order them and dusted in powdered sugar. I got them for breakfast the first day and DD1 tasted one and fell in love. An order of 3 is a snack credit (though I got 4 in my first order for sume reason). Eat them right away though because after 10 minutes they get kind of spongy and hard. When fresh, they are air puffed, pillowy, donut like creations. Beware, they are messy.

Bounty Platter: DH ordered this twice and LOVED it. This includes scrambled eggs, a small mickey waffle, a biscuit, sausage, bacon, potatoes, and (I think) a biscuit. He thought it was a lot of food and a great value. This can probably be shared.

Mickey Waffles: We got the adult size a bunch of times. You can get it either with fruit or with a breakfast meat. We got it with fruit (strawberries once and apple sauce a few times). We tended to get it for the girls to share. We also ordered the kids version twice. The kids version comes with 2 small mickey waffles, a breakfast meat and either apple sauce or grapes. Unfortunately, Disney doesn't keep turkey sausage on hand (my DDs and I don't eat pork). Happily, they make it for you upon request, but it takes a while (10 minutes).

Cheese Omelet: I got this a few times and it was very good. The omelet is a nice size and served with a generous portion of potatoes. The omelet and potatoes were tasty. I thought this was a good value (along with Mickey Waffles) for people paying OOP. It is around $6.50.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

T-Rex
On arrival day, I planned to eat at WPE. I was overruled because it looked boring. DH and the kids chose T-Rex. T-Rex has cool theming. Initially we were seated in the main dining room near a T-Rex. DD2 FREAKED out (she thought the T-Rex was going to eat her) so we made the strange request to move to a dino-free section. We were moved to the "Ice Cave" which has benign dinos and a meteor shower light show every few minutes (maybe 15?). Unfortunately, T-Rex is very loud, between kids running around to see dinos, the meteor showers, and roaring dinosaurs. I knew it would be noisy, but I wasn't prepared for HOW noisy it actually was.

Prices were in line with many Disney restaurants. It's pricier than your average diner, with most entrees hovering around the $20 mark, give or take a few dollars. Sadly, they do not bring any bread or chips to nosh on while you wait.

I ordered this: Mammoth Mushroom Ravioli - Walk on the "wild" side with our massive mushroom ravioli simmered in a rich lobster cream sauce with roma tomatoes and fresh spinach $17.99

I didn't order any drink - just water with lemon. I thought the ravioli were good. They were large and I could taste the mushrooms. The sauce was creamy. I couldn't really taste any lobster in it though. It came with a wedge of garlic toast, which was tasty by itself and dipped in the sauce. The meal was fairly filling, but I wasn't too hungry after eating the giant shrimp po' boy for lunch.

DH ordered a mixed drink. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it and can't find it online. It came with a "free" glass that you can take home and was a whopping $12. DH thought the drink was rather fruity and he couldn't taste any alcohol in it. He advises against ordering the mixed drinks at T-Rex. For his entree, he got a mahi mahi dish that I don't see on the T-Rex allears menu. However, I believe it is the same dish as the one at Yak & Yeti (Yak & Yeti and T-Rex are owned by the same company). This is the description of the Yak & Yeti mahi mahi from allears.

Crispy Mahi Mahi - filet of mahi mahi, Japanese bread crumbs, Cantonese sweet and sour sauce, jasmine rice, stir-fried vegetables $21.99

I don't know what it was called at T-Rex. I believe it was a few dollars more expensive at T-Rex too. DH thought that it was a nice dish, but a bit bland. He thought the sauce was delicious but felt that the dish relied too much on the sauce for flavor. The fish, vegetables, and breading didn't have much flavor on their own.

DD1 ordered pasta with marinara and ate about half of it. It was a decent sized portion for a 6 year old, but probably not enough for a 10 year old boy. She really enjoyed the accompanying garlic toast wedge.

DD2 ordered mac and cheese. She ate the entire thing, so it must have been good. Happily, this wasn't Kraft Mac and Cheese - the pasta was fatter and the sauce was creamier. She also received a garlic toast wedge and ate the whole thing.

I'd give T-Rex an overall grade of B-. The food was just ok. It was overpriced for what it was and WAY too loud.

We didn't order dessert. Instead we went to Goofy's Candy Company. DH got a fantastically moist peanut butter cookie, I got a delicious pretzel coated in chocolate and mini m&ms, DD1 got cotton candy, and DD2 got a wonderful yellow cupcake with pink frosting. This was the best food we had all day!

 

[Bickimook2]

Thanks for your review on Floatworks, DF and myself are staying at POFQ for our honeymoon in June and it's good to see what they offer for breakfast since we will be eating breakfast there a couple of times during the trip.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

CRT Lunch!

We spent our first full park day at MK. We had a 12:20 ADR at CRT. We were a few minutes late (DH and I became separated when we did some different things in Tomorrowland) but it was no problem. We immediately went in and got our picture taken with Cinderella - we received two poses because we were a party of 5. Cinderella was friendly and the girls enjoyed talking to her. I was worried that the interaction would be so so, but it was great. After the picture, we were brought upstairs and seated in the middle of the dining room. The Castle is really lovely. They are rehabbing the windows right now, so the windows are covered with long drapes. It makes the room a bit dark, but it doesn't really interfere with the experience of eating IN the Castle.

After we were seated, we were brought our menus. It is a prix-fixe, so we ordered everything at once. DH and I both ordered Major Domo's favorite pie. For dessert, I ordered creme caramel. DH initially ordered the valrhona chocolate mousse, but switched to the sorbet with fresh fruit.

Before bringing the entrees, the server brought out an appetizer. It was prosciutto (I didn't eat it, but DH enjoyed it) with some bean spread, salad, fresh mozzarella balls, and toasted bread. I thought this was good and light.

The Major Domo's Pie is served as a pot roast (shredded meat and julienned vegetables) over a puff pastry smeared with mashed potato. It was pretty good and had a garlicky flavor. I did get one fatty peice of meat, but I thought it was overall enjoyable. DH agreed. We both would order this entree again.

The kids both got pizza. They ate the cheese and sauce center but avoided the crust. It looked dry, but they ate it (at least when they weren't distracted by princesses!).

For dessert, DH really enjoyed his sorbet with fresh berries. He found it light and refreshing. The caramel custard was essentially flan. I LOVE flan when it is creamy and flavorful. This custard, however, was not good. It had a rubbery texture and was a bit bland. I wouldn't choose it again.

The girls got the create your own sundaes. They enjoyed the ice cream.

Overall, we really liked the Castle. The food was generally good, but not $51/adult good. However, the experience more than made up for the lackluster food. The princesses spent quite a bit of time with each girl, the service was great, and the wishing star ceremony was fun. We all thought CRT was worth the experience. We will definitely return when DD3 is older, but we will most likely return to Norway before we try CRT again.

Having been to Akershus and CRT, I think both truly are great experiences, but CRT is a bit better because you're in the Castle. If your DD is in to princesses and you can swing CRT, definitely try it while your child still believes. It was truly magical to watch them in THE Cinderella Castle. Throughout the trip, they told anyone who would listen that they ate at Cinderella's Castle.

 

[vinotinto]

In the interest of full disclosure, I will let you know that we RAN OUT of snack and QS credits at the end of our trip. Oh yeah, and we paid OOP at T-Rex, for adults at CRT and kids at Sanaa and Kouzzina. Yup, this family out-ate the DDP. What can I say, we like to eat!

Ya'll are probably perfect candidates for the DxDP. We also ran out of credits in our DDP trip in 2009 and that helped us choose DxDP on the following trip (2010).

Looking forward to the reviews.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

After lunch at CRT, we headed to Liberty Square and eventually made our way into Frontierland to use our FPs for Splash Mountain and to pick up a FP for BTMRR. Right when DH and DD1 went to ride, Splash Mountain went down. BOOOO! But...it was the perfect time for a snack. DD2 and I each had Mickey bars. Somehow, I'd never had one before. Those things are soooo yummy. Way better than a plain old ice cream bar. To me, it was like a Dove bar on a stick. Sadly, it was a bit messy for DD2 to eat, so we all ended up with some chocolate smeared on our clothes thanks to DD2's messy hands! DD1 had a mickey ice cream sandwich and enjoyed that as well.

After riding Splash Mountain and BTMRR, it was time for our dinner ADR at Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace was DD2's request. She is a HUGE fan of Pooh. We checked in about 5 minutes early for our 5:55 ADR and were seated within 10 minutes. We were seated in a round table in the center of the dining room, to the left of the buffet. The chef came out to talk to us about DD1's peanut allergy and we went to the buffet. Both DDs ate the chicken tenders, which were on the main buffet. I ate some too. Those were good - nice white meat chicken and well seasoned. DD2 ate mac and cheese as well. She nibbled on the pizza. I didn't taste the pizza, but it looked gross to me. DD1 didn't like it. DD1 also enjoyed the meatballs from the kids buffet - as did I! Those were very tasty.

DH and I had some other items, including salmon (I didn't like it - it was too fishy), prime rib (this was good and served medium rare) with au jus, mashed potatoes (this was good), carved turkey (very good), and some assorted pastas. We both thought this meal was good. The best part of the meal was the coconut flan. THAT was good flan - rich and creamy and delicious.

I wasn't expecting our dinner at Crystal Palace to be great because of some reviews here, but I really have no complaints. No, CP is not fine cuisine, but the buffet was big and clean, service was good, and food was plentiful. The meal took a long time because we had to wait for the characters to circulate. We saw Pooh within a few minutes of sitting down. Then, they did the kids parade (SO cute). After that we saw Tigger. Tigger bounced with the kids and kissed the baby. It was very sweet and memorable for my DDs. We saw Eeyore next. Then, they did the parade again (my girls loved it again). Finally, we saw Piglet.

When we left, the MSEP was going on. The park was crowded but we wedged ourselves into some slivers of space near Casey's and watched the end of the parade. We then moved closer to the Castle as some people left and watched the new Castle show followed by Wishes.

All in all, we would definitely return to CP for dinner. The character interaction was great, the food was decent, and we ended dinner with easy access to the nighttime shows. Only change I would make is to choose an ADR about 2 hours (or more) before MSEP so we could have gotten a better spot to see the parade (and not missed half of the parade).

Overall grade for CP: Food was a B, but we thought the experience was an A.

 

[DLo]

great start. Looking forward to your review on La Hacienda. It is on my list to try in oct. We like CP - it is our tadition before MNSSHP. We tried O'hana last year for the first time but it gets mixed reviews so want to see what experience you had. Thinking of switching to Kona. Sounds like a good trip and good food so far.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

great start. Looking forward to your review on La Hacienda. It is on my list to try in oct. We like CP - it is our tadition before MNSSHP. We tried O'hana last year for the first time but it gets mixed reviews so want to see what experience you had. Thinking of switching to Kona. Sounds like a good trip and good food so far.

Thanks! As a preview, we really enjoyed La Hacienda. It was our second favorite meal of the trip. I was a bit nervous about it due to reviews on the Dis but I can't say enough good things about our meals and the service. If you go and if you like margaritas, be sure to ask for the margarita flight. It's not on the menu, but they have one with 5 different margaritas to sample. They are very creative - I can't remember all of them, but one had rose petals floating in it, one had tabasco, another was a more traditional one with pomegranate...

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Yak & Yeti

We had an 11:00 ADR for lunch at Yak & Yeti. I was a bit concerned we wouldn't be hungry at 11 and was considering going to the check in desk and asking to switch the time. But at 10:45, right as we completed the Maharajah Jungle Trek, DD1 and DD2 complained that they were STARVING (we ate breakfast every morning too!). DH said he was hungry too and my tummy started to rumble, so we went to the restaurant to check in.

We waited a few minutes until the restaurant opened and were seated upstairs. The decor here is lovely with lovely Asian artifacts and a distressed feel. The staircase is beautiful. However, if we return, I would ask to be seated downstairs, as it is closer to the bathrooms. DD2 has a knack for asking to use the bathroom right when the food comes.

For people with kids, the kids menu is great. The girls each got chicken tenders - real white meat and nice and crispy. They aren't those round, fake looking nuggets that you get in some other places. The kids meal included a side of chicken fried rice, which the kids loved. I was very impressed with the serving size.

DH ordered the miso glazed salmon. This is a description of his dish:

Seared Miso Salmon - miso glazed Atlantic salmon, jasmine rice, baby bok choy and shiitake mushroom stir-fry $22.99

DH loved this dish. I tasted it and really loved the flavor too. If we go back to Yak & Yeti, this is what I plan to order, assuming it's still on the menu.

I already knew what I was going to order before I got to WDW. I chose the Malaysian Seafood Curry based on this scrumptions sounding description:

Mahi Mahi, scallops, little neck clams, mussels, shrimp, zucchini, roma tomatoes, red curry coconut broth, and jasmine rice $21.99

Unfortunately, this dish didn't quite meet my expectations. It was good, the seafood was plentiful, and I ate it all, but there was something about the flavor that I didn't love. The curry broth was a bit sour maybe? I can't put my finger on it. DH tasted it and thought it was very good, but we agreed that his dish was better.

After our entrees we were quite full, but we got dessert anyway. DH got the sorbet trio (mango, lemon, raspberry) and enjoyed it. I got these little fried pillows of deliciousness:

Fried Wontons - Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, honey vanilla drizzle $7.99

These were wonderful. The wontons were warm and crispy, filled with sweet (but not too sweet) cream cheese and nestled with grilled pineapple. Add in melty vanilla ice cream and the warm honey vanilla glaze and this was heaven on a plate. Yum!

Overall I give Yak & Yeti a grade of A-. I thought my entree was a B or B+, but the kids entrees (A) and DH's entrees (A) were all excellent, as was dessert. Service was great too. We'll be back eventually, but probably not during our next trip.

 

[phabric]

I enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I enjoyed reading your reviews.

Thanks!

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Ya'll are probably perfect candidates for the DxDP. We also ran out of credits in our DDP trip in 2009 and that helped us choose DxDP on the following trip (2010).

Looking forward to the reviews.

We're considering DxDP for our next trip. We actually discussed it last night. We'll probably choose between just going OOP and Deluxe. We think, though, that we still ended up saving a lot of money with the free dining plan. The credit structure for the regular DP doesn't match our eating habits that well.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Sanaa

After a busy day at Animal Kingdom - including some magic from guest relations involving a very upset 6 year old and the "restoration" of a lost safari hat with a leopard mickey (i.e. a voucher for a new one) - it was time to get on the bus for AKV. Just as we were exiting the park, raindrops started to fall and we ran for cover under the bag check kiosk just as the heavens opened up. The torrential downpour lasted for about 10 minutes and we made our way to the AKL/AKV bus.

We didn't wait too long and AKV was the first stop. We absolutely love this resort. We could see Zebras and giraffes from the viewing area and we really enjoyed sitting by the fire on the viewing deck, waiting for our buzzers to go off. We also got to chat with a CM from South Africa. We waited about 20 minutes past our ADR time for a table. We got a table by the windows. It was a 4 top, but we didn't mind!

This was my family's second trip to Sanaa. When we ate there in 2009, DH and I enjoyed the cornish hen (no longer on the menu) and the sustainable fish, as well as samosas and bread service. This time, we decided to try some new things.

We started with the bread service:

Indian Style Bread Service
Choice of 3 breads and 3 accompaniments
Serves Two $8.99

We chose the Naan, Onion Kulcha, and Paneer Paratha. All of the breads were hot and delicious. For the accompaniments, we selected the Red Chile Sambal, Coriander Chutney, and Mango Chutney. Our favorites were the sambal and the coriander chutney. The Mango Chutney was good with chunks of mango in it, but very sweet. We preferred the spiciness and saltiness of the other two chutneys.

DH also ordered an African Star Mojito (Starr African Rum, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South African, fresh mint, lime $9.50), which he greatly enjoyed, and a glass of red wine (sorry, can't remember what!).

I ordered a Painted Lemur (Amarula Fruit Cream Liqueur and Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur combined in a Chocolate-striped glass inspired by the distinctive striped tail of the Madagascar lemur $8.50). This was fabulous! I raelly enoyed it.

For our entrees, DH and I decided to share the slow cooked meats and the vegetarian sampler.

For our vegetarian choices, we selected the spinach with paneer cheese and the dal. The dal is a black dal, like dal makhani, not a yellow dal. Both dishes were very good. They were mildly spiced but not bland at all. We did mention to our server that we like spice and we were pleased with the spice level, but also would have been happy if it had been spicier.

For our meat choices, we went with the slow cooked short ribs in a red gravy and the chicken. Both of these were wonderful and included a good amount of meat. Our daughters both really enjoyed the chicken and if we return, we will order three adult samplers (2 meat, 1 vegetarian) to share, rather than kids meals. Like the vegetables, this had a nice spice level and as spice levels we (a) were satisfied with the spiciness but (b) also would have been happy if it was spicier.

Both samplers are served with rice. You get a choice between basmati (not plain - I think it had coriander seeds in it) and a 5 grain pilaf. We chose Basmati. Our kids love rice and they ate quite a bit of it, along with the curry chicken. We ended up requesting more rice. Unfortunately, our service was very slow, so it took a while to actually get the extra rice. Next time, we may request extra rice at the outset.

The kids ordered the pizza. The pizza here is really good. Dh and I sampled it because it looked good, not like the cardboard kids pizzas you see at other TS locations. This pizza was on the naan bread and the girls liked it, though they preferred our entrees.

For dessert, the girls got the chocolate cake. It's the same chocolate cake as the adult menu. When we were at Sanaa in 2009, they got the same cake, but the serving was about 3 times bigger. We actually laughed at the size of the cake they were serving to a 3 year old and 4 year old. This time, the cake was a reasonable size and they ate the whole thing.

DH ordered the chai cream, which he greatly enjoyed. He had it last time too. I ordered the sampler, which includes small portions of chai cream, chocolate cake, and passion fruit kulfi (kind of like a dense ice cream). I liked the chai cream best. It's very rich and creamy with lovely spices. The passion fruit kulfi was very good and drizzled with a sauce (maybe raspberry?). The chocolate cake was only so so. I am generally a chocolate lover but I thought the cake itself was a bit dry. I expected to like the cake best, so I was surprised.

All in all Sanaa was a wonderful meal and we highly recommend it. We will be back for sure. We also note that this is a great choice for people looking to pay Out of Pocket - most of the entrees are under $20 and you get a lot of food. The only negative comment I have is that the service was painfully slow, although the server was very nice.

Overall grade for Sanaa: A-

 

[MickeyNicki]

Great reviews!

 

[auntfrannie]

Thanks for the Sanaa review. I'll be going there for the first time in a few weeks and am really looking forward to it!

 

[lblume91]

While we don't run out of credits, we certainly don't leave any behind either! Looking forward to more reviews!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great reviews - Sanaa is on our possible shortlist for October

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Tangierine Cafe

After getting to Epcot, we spent some time in FutureWorld. At lunch time, DH announced that he was ready to go eat. I mentioned Sunshine Seasons, but DH insisted on heading to the World Showcase. I told him that if that's what he wanted, then I would eat in Morocco. So, off to Morocco we went, stopping to admire the Flower and Garden festival topiaries and catching the last few minutes of the Serveurs Amusants acrobats in front of Les Chefs de France.

We made it to Tangierine Cafe and I snagged a table.

Like the good DIS-er that I am, I already knew what I would order! I got the Chicken and Lamb Shawarma combo. This came with some Moroccan bread, couscous with golden raisins, tabouleh salad, and plenty of seasoned chicken and lamb meat. This was yummy. While I didn't love the tabouleh salad by itself (it's a parsley salad), I enjoyed it when mixed with the cous cous. The bread was just ok - it was a bit stale. I had been expecting more of a warm pita.

DH ordered the kofta sandwich, which is a thick, spiced ground meat patty on moroccan bread. This came with chips but DH subbed that for cous cous and hummus. He loved it. I sampled it and thought it had a nice flavour. DD1 agreed.

For the kids, we ordered one chicken tenders kids meal. We figured that they could also share with us. This came with four chicken tenders and a bag of chips. It also came with baklava. DD2 ended up eating all of the chicken tenders herself. DD1 didn't like them - they were processed chicken disks. DD1 generally prefers "real" chicken, not processed chicken. She didn't go hungry, however, as she ate half of my lamb shawarma, some bites of the bread with hummus, a few bites of DH's kofta, and chips. She didn't like the couscous because it was sweet (she doesn't care for sweet entrees).

DH and I ate the Baklava. The kids ignored it. Overall we liked Tangierine Cafe. Overall grade B+.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Karamell Kuche

After lunch, we explored the WS for a bit. About an hour later, DD decided that she was hungry. At that very moment, I spied the caramel shop in Germany. So we ditched DH and DD2 and went inside. The line was a bit long but moved quickly. While in line, we watched the CM's make several treats. The caramel chocolate strawberries caught DD1's eye and she ordered one. I got a fudge cookie filled with caramel and drizzled with more caramel. As we paid with our snack credits, we were warned "careful with the cookie, the caramel is still hot." That's a warning I can happily ignore.

For some bizarre reason, DH and DD2 didn't want to share my cookie with me. That's OK! I ate the whole thing. DD1 also refrained from sharing her strawberry!

Grade: A+ This is a can't miss for sweets-lovers!

Cava de Tequila

After the Karamell Kuche, we headed back to FutureWorld, as it was time to use our Test Track fastpasses. We rode some rides and then headed towards Mexico at around 5. We went inside the pavillion and headed for the Cava de Tequila. The line was pretty long, so DH waited while the girls and I played in the market area.

I got an Avocado Margarita - the last one of the day. It was a yummy, creamy frozen margarita. It was around $12, but large and definitely potent. We felt that it was worth the cost.

DH got the Jalapeno Margarita. He loved it. I tasted it but I didn't love it, I was too happy with my Avocado Margarita.

Grade: A+ If you like Margaritas, the Cava de Tequila is a can't miss!

La Hacienda de San Angel

After drinking our margaritas and getting our pictures taken with Mexico Donald, we checked in for our ADR at La Hacienda de San Angel. We were seated within 5 minutes of checking in. Let me say that this restaurant is lovely. It is bright, with big windows and a lovely view of the lagoon. I prefer this bright restaurant over the much darker San Angel Inn (disclosure: I haven't eaten at SAI but I've used the bathroom there).

We were seated at a nice table with a view of the lagoon, although not immediately next to the windows. Staff was wonderful and eager to speak to us in Spanish. We were brought chips and salsa. The chips were red and black, hot and fresh. They were served with two fresh salsas. One was a tomatillo salsa (green) and one was (I think) a poblano pepper salsa (red). The red one was spicier. The girls tended to eat the green one, but we ate the red one. We also got refills on the chips.

DH ordered a tequila flight. I have no idea what was on it, but he enjoyed it. The server, from the Tequila region of Mexico, explained about the different Tequilas. There were four in all in the flight. I ordered a Margarita flight. It's not on the menu, but they do have one. I received 5 small margaritas, with a variety of flavors. One was sweet - passion fruit, I think. One had rose petals. One had tabasco and was kind of like a bloody mary. One was a more traditional lime margarita. I can't remember what the last one was, but they were all different and several were pretty unique. I enjoyed this, but couldn't finish it. I actually was extremely full towards the end of this meal.

We ordered the Botana to start. The Botana is described as:

A sampling of traditional mexican favorites, chicken tostada, chilorio sope(marinated pork) and cheese empanada - $9.95

DH eats pork, I don't. So we shared the cheese empanada, he ate the chilorio all by himself, and I ate the chicken tostada all by myself. This was all delicious! I didn't try the chilorio, as mentioned, but DH loved it. The cheese empanada was crispy and flavorful. I wish I could have eaten it by myself. The tostada was wonderful too. It was very well seasoned - very nicely spiced. The kids were brought cut up fruit as a starter.

For the main course, I chose this:

Pescado a la Talla - Grilled Tilapia served with esquites (roasted corn) nopales(cactus leaves) and mango chutney - $23.95

This was served with Mexican rice and black beans. Holy cow, this entree was an incredible mix of flavors, between sweet, savory, and spicy. I can't even find the words to capture the deliciousness. Suffice it say that this dish had wonderful flavor and was so fresh. I also enjoyed the rice and beans. I mixed them together, as I normally do at home.

DH ordered the steak, described as:

Arrachera - Flank steak with spring onions, tamal, cactus leaves and beans - $25.95

DH enjoyed this (I had a taste and it was good) but he was a bit jealous of my entree. He thought it was excellent, but that mine was outstanding. Like my entree, DH's meal came with rice and beans.

The girls each ordered the kids chicken taco. This taco was stuffed with shredded chicken and both girls finished the entire thing. The meal comes with fries, but I requested rice and beans. The girls really enjoyed the rice and beans too.

Then the unthinkable happened... DH and I did not order dessert. We were stuffed. So stuffed that I couldn't contemplate another sip of margarita. I couldn't even think about eating dessert. DH was in the same boat.

After leaving this meal, we assumed that La Hacienda would be our favorite meal of the trip. It was hard to imagine another dinner exceeding this one. But readers, stay tuned! We had a different favorite!

Overall grade: A/A+