But Why Is The Rum Gone?-A May 2022 Disney/Universal DTR- Completed 8/5

[amalone1013]

I had started a reply and lost it
I really want to go to Strongwater again I'm Sept. We went in 2019 just for drinks and I remember they were really good and it was just a fun place to hang! The food looks good too! Really I'm just having food envy for everywhere except maybe Cityworks Now I can't wait to plan dining!!!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Wow that brunch spread looked great! I bet if you loaded up at the seafood bar you’d definitely get your money’s worth.

 

[tinabina919]

Following along, and just found you on Insta! Love your pics and reviews!!

 

[Raeven]

I had started a reply and lost it ​

Oh no I hate when that happens!​

I really want to go to Strongwater again I'm Sept. We went in 2019 just for drinks and I remember they were really good and it was just a fun place to hang! The food looks good too! Really I'm just having food envy for everywhere except maybe Cityworks Now I can't wait to plan dining!!!​

It's really good! Come drink rum with us ​

Wow that brunch spread looked great! I bet if you loaded up at the seafood bar you’d definitely get your money’s worth.​

Definitely! I thought that too, I think the seafood is part of why the price is so high.​

Following along, and just found you on Insta! Love your pics and reviews!! ​

Thanks for following along!​

 

[Raeven]

Confisco grille

On this trip we decided to go to Confisco Grille for the first time!




I decided to get my daily rum drink.




and got the:

Islander
Malibu Coconut rum, Créme de Banana, Peach Schnapps, pineapple juice, raspberries




This was okay, but mostly just tasted like raspberry, and I didn’t think it was worth the price.

To eat Josh got:

Pad Thai
Rice noodles, mixed vegetables, chicken and shrimp tossed in our house made peanut sauce.



He had Pad Thai for the first time at Mythos a few years back and loved it. He makes a version at home, but said this one was definitely better. (Though I think he still likes the Mythos one the most).


I got the:

Hearthstone Baked Chicken Sandwich
Mozzarella cheese, Roma tomatoes, leaf lettuce, basil aioli, aged balsamic, and focaccia baked in the wood oven



I’d seen some reviews of this online before we went and some mentioned the bread being “sharp” or hard. But my bread seemed to be a normal texture. I did think the chicken was baked and had breading based on pictures too, but it was just grilled. I thought the chicken to other items ratio was a little off, but the sandwich was really flavorful and a nice, lighter option. It also came with fries, and they were really crisp and delicious.

Overall the meal was pretty good, and although we still think Mythos is the best restaurant in Islands of Adventure; Confisco Grille isn’t a bad option either. ​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

LOL Josh’s face in your drink picture. Is he jealous? Angry he didn’t order one for himself?

 

[Raeven]

LOL Josh’s face in your drink picture. Is he jealous? Angry he didn’t order one for himself? ​

Lol he just likes to make funny faces when I take pictures. ​

 

[Raeven]

Amatista Cookhouse/Boardwalk Bakery

So after the waiter was rude to me at Amatista on my solo visit last year, and since that was not our only bad experience there I wasn’t planning to go back this trip. But on our first checkout day we decided not to do any parks until we went to Epcot later, so it was more convenient to just eat in the hotel. The lunch menu looked good, and despite my bad waitress at Amatista last time, I did really like the quesp fundito I got.

This time we arrived to an empty restaurant that had just opened for lunch. The woman checking us in was so new she didn’t know how to check us in, and she couldn’t find anyone else to help her which in retrospect was a sign of what was to come.



At least our waiter seemed nice this time.

Josh ordered the:

MOJO MARINATED ROTISSERIE CHICKEN
Half rotisserie chicken accompanied by garlic sauce, spicy cilantro sauce and choice of two sides.



He said this was completely flavorless, and he’d had better rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for $5 vs the $25 this cost. We also saw them selling what looked to be the exact same chicken in the grab and go right after, even the fries weren't very good.

I had figured I’d get the dip again instead of a meal because it was a big dish, and we were going to Flower & Garden in a couple hours.

Here's what I ordered:

QUESO FUNDIDO
Mexican chorizo sausage, artichoke, mozzarella and provolone cheeses, roasted poblano and blue corn tortilla chips.

And here's what I got:



Now I didn’t want to complain, but I also didn't want to eat this. Not only did it not match the description at all (it was missing half the items in it). But this was literally just a plate of super greasy chorizo with a very thin layer of melted shredded cheese on top. This was not queso fundido in any form I've ever seen. (I wish I took a picture under the top layer to show it was all just loose chorizo but you can kind of see on the right side).

Here is the dish I got in September with the same description for comparison:



Once he set it down, and walked away it was very hard to get the waiter’s attention again. I figured I'd ask if maybe they made a mistake; and they could re-make the dish. When I got the waiter’s attention he seemed confused, and then kind of annoyed. He just kept saying that’s how they make it and he looked at me like I was crazy when I asked why it was missing most of the items in the description. Then he just said he’d take it off the bill.

Overall I’d have to say it’s not worth it to eat there. I’ve never seen a dish come out at a restaurant that was so far off what was on the menu and looked like 0 effort had been put in to make it. If they were out of things or changed the description since my last trip, I’d understand, but then I also think that would’ve been stated on the menu or told to us. (The description is still the same). They always seem to have staffing issues (everyone being new, slow service, and sometimes bad service). All I know is I won’t be going back. I love Sapphire Falls, but for some reason this restaurant has never really been as good the restaurants in the other Universal hotels in terms of food and service.

If you're heading to Sapphire Falls for a meal I'd recommend Strongwater Tavern, which was fantastic. We also found the grab and go to be lacking in basic items, and they seemed to have trouble managing the lines especially at certain times of day.

But with Amatista I think at this point we’ve just had so many bad meals there that we’d never go back. And that’s the first time I’ve passed this judgement on a restaurant in 7 years of going on vacations to Universal & Disney. I know I said last time I didn't think I'd be back anytime soon, but that was because of the service which I could overlook because I knew we wouldn't get the same server and the food was good. But I can’t overlook the food being terrible.

Now once we got to Disney I was starving and the room wasn’t ready. So we headed to Boardwalk Bakery.

I got the:

Grilled Cheese
Choice of side-Tomato Soup



I loved this! I’m not sure what kind of bread this was (it looks like it had some seeds in it). But the sandwich was gooey, cheesy, and delicious. I’m also not the biggest fan of tomato soup. But this was more of a creamy bisque, and actually tasted a lot like the delicious Tuscan Tomato Soup they serve at Mythos. I know Boardwalk Bakery will be gone next year, but I recommend trying this sandwich while you have the chance, and hopefully they’ll move it somewhere else after the bakery closes. ​

 

[tinabina919]

I love the Boardwalk and can never find anything good to eat at the bakery but after going to DL in February and having their grilled cheese and tomato soup, I think I will have to try this when we stay at YC in September.

 

[jrmint427]

Here is the dish I got in September with the same description for comparison:

It’s not even close! I’m sorry you had such bad experiences. We liked the food we ordered at Amatista and our server was nice at least, but we ran into odd service as far as the timing of our food (one appetizer came quickly, the other came right before our main dishes and they tried to take the app away too, and our drinks didn’t come out at the same time). We also ran into items not matching the menu exactly, like the drink with pineapple didn’t have any pineapple in it.

We also found the grab and go to be lacking in basic items, and they seemed to have trouble managing the lines especially at certain times of day.

We found the same with the grab and go! The line was always terrible and the service was rude there. We felt like the workers didn’t want to be there at all, and there were a lot of them but service still took forever.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I would have complained about that alleged “queso” too!

 

[Raeven]

I love the Boardwalk and can never find anything good to eat at the bakery but after going to DL in February and having their grilled cheese and tomato soup, I think I will have to try this when we stay at YC in September.​

It was really good! Although I think it's different than the DL grilled cheese at least the bread part is. ​

It’s not even close! I’m sorry you had such bad experiences. We liked the food we ordered at Amatista and our server was nice at least, but we ran into odd service as far as the timing of our food (one appetizer came quickly, the other came right before our main dishes and they tried to take the app away too, and our drinks didn’t come out at the same time). We also ran into items not matching the menu exactly, like the drink with pineapple didn’t have any pineapple in it.​

I'm glad to hear other people can tell it's not queso It's weird the menu descriptions can be so off there. ​

We found the same with the grab and go! The line was always terrible and the service was rude there. We felt like the workers didn’t want to be there at all, and there were a lot of them but service still took forever.​

Yes! I didn't include it in there but I had a bad experience with the workers too. I got ice cream one day, and the lady put it like sideways on the cone so it was falling off and tried to hand it to me. The other lady who I assume was the manager told her she couldn't give a customer ice cream that looked like that. And she just kept trying to get me to take it and complaining that the cone was too small? The manager ended up taking over and making me a new one. ​

I would have complained about that alleged “queso” too!​

Alleged "queso" I love it!​

 

[Raeven]

Flower & Garden Festival

Later that night we went to Flower & Garden Festival. The first dish I got was the:

BLT Scone with Nueske’s applewood
smoked bacon, sundried tomato, and basil



This was pretty good, but it was a little bit dry. It definitely tasted like bacon, but I couldn't taste any of the other flavors.

The next stop was France for the:

Beignet Caramélisé, Fourré Crème Vanille, Glacé au Caramel Fleur de Sel
Caramelized Beignet filled with vanilla cream and glazed with caramel fleur de sel



I liked the flavors of caramel and the cream together and thought it was really good in this. It was basically just a donut despite the description, but it was a pretty big portion for the festival.

Next we got:

Coconut Tres Leches
Vanilla cake soaked in oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk with toasted coconut



Honestly, I've never had Tres Leches before and I'm not sure this was the one to start with. It sounded like something I'd really like, but I found the texture to be kind of like boxed cake mix, and there wasn't a lot of flavor.

Josh got the:

Arepa topped with chorizo



He enjoyed this.

At one of the kiosks in the America section we got a strawberry hard cider.



This was so good, and definitely tasted like strawberry, but not in an overly sweet way.

Another non festival item I had to try was the new Pretzel Bread Pudding in Germany.



This was delicious, and a good size portion for the price which I think was under $5. It was moist, the topping tasted like vanilla and caramel, and there was a hint of cinnamon to it too.

Finally we ended our trip around the world with the:

Taco Vampiro
Barbacoa beef in a corn tortilla with crispy grilled Monterey jack cheese, salsa ranchera, and esquites



This was our favorite from last year, and was just as good this year. The shredded beef was super tender.

And we had to grab a Violet Lemonade too.



I was very happy with the amount of things we got to try at F&G this year. We tried items from all around the World Showcase, and got to just about everything on our list. We went to the park at night which was really nice because it cooled down quickly.

After the sun went down it got pretty cold and windy for May which did make eating the last two things a little difficult, but all in all we had a lot of delicious dishes this year. Though I think if I had to rank them the Pretzel Bread Pudding would be at the top despite not being a festival dish. ​

 

[TeresaNJ]

It's so nice to see a familiar face here! I'm really enjoying your report!

 

[jrmint427]

The manager ended up taking over and making me a new one.

I’m glad she fixed it! I forget what happened with mine but I tried to make a joke and she either didn’t hear me or wasn’t amused at all, she just glared at me the whole time.

That pretzel bread pudding looks so good! So does the violet lemonade. I’m definitely planning to try that when we go soon!

 

[Raeven]

It's so nice to see a familiar face here! I'm really enjoying your report!​

Nice to see you again too! And thank you! ​

’m glad she fixed it! I forget what happened with mine but I tried to make a joke and she either didn’t hear me or wasn’t amused at all, she just glared at me the whole time.​

She sounds really friendly I wonder if it was the same lady lol​

That pretzel bread pudding looks so good! So does the violet lemonade. I’m definitely planning to try that when we go soon!​

They're both so good! ​

 

[Raeven]

Boma/Boardwalk Ice Cream

We had arrived at our Boma breakfast!
This was one of my most anticipated meals because we'd loved it so much in 2018, and hadn't had a chance to go back.

We started with some POG juice:



Yum!

We had a late morning time, and the buffet was more crowded than I'd ever seen it before. Usually I feel like they're less crowded towards closing time, but this was crazy. One side had 0 line, and the other had a really slow moving line. Considering things like omelets are ready made now, I'm not sure what everyone was waiting for.


To my disappointment the french toast bread pudding was extremely low, and didn't look like it was being regularly refilled. This is my favorite item on the buffet so I was really looking forward to it. I took a little, but what was left was all dried out and gross.



They eventually did refill it so I grabbed some more. Here's my plate:



Same plate + one of the ready made omelets I grabbed afterwards:



Josh's plates:



The good: The bacon was crispy, the tater tots were good as always, and I always like the feta/spinach/tomato eggs. POG juice is delicious, and the bread pudding is pretty good. The bad: The bread pudding seemed different than before, and even after I got some of new tray they put out I wasn't really impressed with it. Overall the food was okay, but seemed a step down in quality from what I remember. Nothing here stood out, and it mostly seemed very generic. We always loved the custom made omelets, but the ready made ones were just kind of sad. (Thin with barely a layer of anything in them). For how pricey most the buffets are, I'm not sure we got our money's worth either. I still think Boma is a good choice, but I no longer think it's worth going out of your way for.

Also when we came back from parks we stopped at the ice cream shop on the Boardwalk. This only opens after 3pm which I thought was a little strange, but I guess most people aren't looking for morning ice cream. (The day before when I had my sandwich I watched several people try to go in around 2 pm-ish and look disappointed it wasn't open yet). It's just standard ice cream, but it hit the spot after a hot day in the parks.


​

 

[sarah4770]

I haven’t been to Universal in years, so thanks for including Universal in your dining report.

 

[Raeven]

Shula's Steakhouse

Tonight was my birthday dinner at Shula's!



Shula's is one of our favorite restaurants, and we go almost every trip. Every meal we've had there has been excellent, and the quality is probably the most consistent of any of the restaurants we've been too. It's definitely a pricey meal, but it's a nice treat for a birthday or anniversary. They used to do a promotion where near you're birthday you could get an entree free with the purchase of another one, but sadly they've stopped doing that in recent years.
To drink I got the:

Daiquiri
Cruzan Light Aged Rum, Demerara Syrup, Fresh Lime Juice



This was really delicious, and I enjoyed it a lot.

We also got some of the delicious Sourdough bread. Sourdough bread usually isn't my thing, but the bread at Shula's is perfect. It's warm and soft with a crisp crust.



For an appetizer I got the:

Tomato Burrata Salad
Basil Pesto, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinaigrette



My goodness the burrata was the creamiest I've ever had! I'm not the biggest fan of dishes that are just tomatoes, but there was enough burrata and dressing here where this was really good.

Also Josh always gets a Scotch, but I never write down which one. All I know is he really enjoys the Scotch at Shula's. You'll see it in the picture with his appetizer, but I didn't get one of just the drink.
​

Shula's House Salad​

Tomatoes, Bacon, Ricotta Salata, Carrots, Scallions, Apple Cider Vinaigrette



He enjoyed this, and it definitely sounds like a good mix of ingredients.

For an entree I got the:
​

10-oz Filet w/ bernaise sauce ​

I always get the 10 or 12 oz filet, and it's always cooked perfectly medium. It's tender and juicy, and I love the buttery Bernaise sauce with it.

Josh preparing for his steak.



He enjoys the:
​

22-oz Cowboy Rib-Eye ​

Which he also says is always cooked to perfection.

Table view:



As a side we decided to share the: ​

​

Macaroni & Cheese​

Cavatappi Pasta, Gouda & Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Bread Crumbs



I had this before and was a little disappointed by the lack of flavor in it, but Josh wanted to try it this time since he couldn't before while he was eating gluten free. It's really creamy, but I still found it lacking in flavor. Josh added some salt which helped, but it was still only okay.

Because I'd noted that it was my birthday dinner on the reservation they asked us to pick a birthday dessert out while we were ordering our meals. I got the:
​

Chocolate Soufflé​

This was such a nice gesture, and absolutely delicious. Although I was really full by the time dessert came out.

All in all this was an amazing birthday meal! I always highly recommend Shula's to everyone, and I definitely think it's the best steakhouse in WDW. ​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Shula‘s looks great. I would have ordered exactly what you did! Glad you had such a perfect birthday dinner