Carb it up! 8 days of pre- and post race food! Feb. 2014 *Complete*

I loved La Hacienda on our last trip - quite a pleasant surprise considering it isn't mentioned often with the other Epcot restaurants.

Your tacos look especially tasty! :thumbsup2

I think seeing Illuminations from the restaurant would be a fun and different experience. It would also be nice to have the experience without several thousand extra people!
 
I'm enjoying reading your review and seeing your photos. :)

Ohana looks interesting, may have to do some more checking on that one.

Thinking about California Grill too, have never eaten there.

Normally we don't do many TS restaurants, but this trip we will be with other family members and we are all on the dining plan (I called last week and added it to our package for only $355, it was a no brainer) and have quite a few reservations made already (BOG dinner, Coral Reef, 50's Prime Time, Crystal Palace, Akershush, etc.). It will be different but I'm looking forward to it, especially after reading so many dining reviews and seeing all the great food pictures! :)

Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)
 
I loved La Hacienda on our last trip - quite a pleasant surprise considering it isn't mentioned often with the other Epcot restaurants.

Your tacos look especially tasty! :thumbsup2

I think seeing Illuminations from the restaurant would be a fun and different experience. It would also be nice to have the experience without several thousand extra people!

Yeah, I feel like I don't hear too much about La Hacienda, but we had a great experience! I get a little sick of the crowds sometimes so seeing Illuminations from inside was nice and relaxing.

I'm enjoying reading your review and seeing your photos. :)

Ohana looks interesting, may have to do some more checking on that one.

Thinking about California Grill too, have never eaten there.

Normally we don't do many TS restaurants, but this trip we will be with other family members and we are all on the dining plan (I called last week and added it to our package for only $355, it was a no brainer) and have quite a few reservations made already (BOG dinner, Coral Reef, 50's Prime Time, Crystal Palace, Akershush, etc.). It will be different but I'm looking forward to it, especially after reading so many dining reviews and seeing all the great food pictures! :)

Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

Thank you! That's a great deal on the dining plan! It sounds like you have a lot of good choices for places to eat. A lot of those are a fun of fun!
 

Hi Becky!

I'm so sorry - I keep forgetting about the DR board. I'm all caught up now though. And, as always, loving your reviews. I'm glad you both enjoyed 'Ohana - we ate there on our first trip when Willow was 3 and haven't been back. I just wasn't impressed at all, but maybe one day, I'll give it another chance. :laughing:

I'm glad to see a positive review of La Hacienda - it always seems VERY appealing to me. :thumbsup2

Too bad about Spice Road Table - definitely pricey. I could still see going there for a glass of wine on that beautiful patio for a break though. :goodvibes
 
Hi Becky!

I'm so sorry - I keep forgetting about the DR board. I'm all caught up now though. And, as always, loving your reviews. I'm glad you both enjoyed 'Ohana - we ate there on our first trip when Willow was 3 and haven't been back. I just wasn't impressed at all, but maybe one day, I'll give it another chance. :laughing:

I'm glad to see a positive review of La Hacienda - it always seems VERY appealing to me. :thumbsup2

Too bad about Spice Road Table - definitely pricey. I could still see going there for a glass of wine on that beautiful patio for a break though. :goodvibes

I feel like Ohana can be very hit or miss, from what I've read and heard about. I would guess that's because of the mass amount of food they produce and how they serve it... they've also done some menu changes recently in the past two years, but since I only at there a year ago I don't really know how it compares!
 
Those fish tacos look super yummy!! I've always been apprehensive about Mexico's TS (and let's be honest, Mexican food in general ;)) but we've hit almost everywhere else at Epcot so I think La Hacienda and San Angel are next up!
 
Those fish tacos look super yummy!! I've always been apprehensive about Mexico's TS (and let's be honest, Mexican food in general ;)) but we've hit almost everywhere else at Epcot so I think La Hacienda and San Angel are next up!

We ate at San Angel about a year and a half ago and really enjoyed that as well. I'm not even a huge fan of Mexican food, but I liked them both a lot!
 
Hollywood Brown Derby - Dine with an Imagineer

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For our lunch on Wednesday we had a special treat planned - Dine with an Imagineer! Since this is the dining review I'm mostly just going to talk about the food - if you're interested in the other stuff you can check out my TR or take a look at the blog post I wrote about it: http://disneyinyourday.com/2014/03/10/bucket-list-dine-with-an-imagineer/

The lunch was over two hours, which was great because we got to spend a lot of time talking with the Imagineer. There was a pre-set, 4 course menu, which I thought was a pretty good deal for the $60 or so per person that we paid, since it included all of the food and the talk.

The first course was a lobster bisque soup. They offered the children (and any picky adults!) chicken noodle soup as well.



It was a pretty nice lobster bisque, with some small chunks of breaded lobster in the middle. It also had a jalapeno drizzle in it that you can see in the picture - I thought it worked really well to add something a little more interesting to the soup! DH is not a huge fan of lobster bisque and I know that he didn't particularly care for it, despite his love of japaleno.

For the second course we were all given the famous Brown Derby cobb salad:



I had this salad last time I ate at the Brown Derby and really enjoyed it - again, it didn't disappoint. DH didn't care for it (unfortunately the set menu was not a great one for him).

For the entree we got a choice of three dishes - there was a steak dish, a Thai style chicken noodle bowl, and a fish dish. DH went with the steak:



It was a very good steak and probably his favorite thing that he ate at lunch. Rather basic, with your typical mashed potatoes, but cooked well and a quality piece of meat.

I went with the noodle bowl:



This tasted quite good, but the portion was huge! Especially since we had already had soup and salad, I definitely could not finish this all. I enjoyed it though - plenty of chicken and a good balance of spices.

For dessert we got a trio - grapefruit cake, chocolate-orange mousse, and creme brulee:



I loved everything about this. I wish I could get this trio on the regular menu! The grapefruit cake is so amazing if you like grapefruit, and I always enjoy a good creme brulee. Chocolate mousse can be a little one-note and overwhelmingly chocolate-y for me, but the fact that this one had orange flavoring as well made it a big win!

Overall I really enjoyed the food at Brown Derby, and that coupled with the chance to talk with an Imagineer definitely makes the meal a 9 out of 10.

Price per adult when we went was $63.99. When all was said and done, including tax and an auto 18% gratuity, we paid $159.34. Definitely hefty, especially if you think about it as a lunch, but if you consider it as a whole experience I would definitely recommend trying it at least once!
 
Yum yum!! Is that noodle bowl always on the menu? That looks fantastic!! As does the cobb salad - someday I'll try it, for sure.

I agree with you, for the conversation the price definitely seems worth it!
 
Yum yum!! Is that noodle bowl always on the menu? That looks fantastic!! As does the cobb salad - someday I'll try it, for sure.

I agree with you, for the conversation the price definitely seems worth it!

I think the noodle bowl is on the menu but with tofu instead of chicken, to make it a vegetarian option. Maybe they could look into doing chicken if you asked!
 
The Imagineer lunch looks delicious! Of course, I am a HUGE fan of HBD, so that may play into my take on it. :laughing:
 
Boatwright's

We headed back to our resort after the day at Hollywood Studios, and got ready for our dinner reservation at Boatwright's. We had stayed at POR before and hadn't tried it, so this trip seemed like a good opportunity to do that!



I think our reservation was at 7 or 7:30, but the place was pretty empty when we got there. I'm guessing it's one of those places you can pretty easily get into even if you don't have an ADR - something to keep in mind if you're going last minute or just playing it by ear!

We ordered our drinks to start, and while I went with a boring diet Coke, DH got something a little more exciting - the lemonade with berry foam.



It was fairly tart but I think he enjoyed it. Another nice touch that fit with the theme of the restaurant and makes the place a little different is that instead of the typical rolls, the meal starts with cornbread. It was pretty good, too!



For his meal DH had the jambalaya (Slow-cooked Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, and Chicken in a spicy Sauce served over Rice):



We love making jambalaya at home, it's one of our favorite meals, but we just use the boxed rice mix and add chicken sausage to it - so it was nice to get jambalaya with a little more to it - and there was a lot packed in there with the shrimp and chicken as well! He gave it a 7.5 out of 10.

For my meal I had the pasta with shrimp, which on the menu looks like it has been replaced by a different pasta/fish dish. This one had pasta shells, shrimp, peas, cheese, and a creamy sauce:



I am a huge pasta lover, and I can say that this was good. It wasn't outstanding or anything, but it definitely did the job and had a nice flavor - it felt very rich and I couldn't quite finish it all. I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Although I was full, DH was still pretty hungry so in a somewhat unusual change of pace, he ordered dessert while I didn't! He went with one of his favorites, the creme brulee:



It was your pretty standard creme brulee. DH can be very picky with them, and how crunchy the top is. He said this one wasn't torched as much as he likes and was rather mushy on the top. The raspberries were a nice touch too. He gave it a 6 out of 10.

Overall Boatwright's is a nice choice if you're looking for a place to get a table last minute, or you're staying at POR. I wouldn't particularly go out of my way to eat here, but it's nice if you're in the area. It gets a 7 out of 10 overall.

Price breakdown:

Lemonade: $4.19
Coke: $2.99
Jambalaya: $17.99
Pasta with shrimp: $20.99
Creme Brulee: $5.99

Total with tax and before tip: $55.54
 
I have really enjoyed your reviews so far! We are considering a few of the places you ate for our next Disney trip (HBD, La Hacienda, Boatwrights) because I am trying to pick some places that we haven't eaten at before instead of just going back to our favorites. I am going to read your trip report tonight after work. :)
 
I have really enjoyed your reviews so far! We are considering a few of the places you ate for our next Disney trip (HBD, La Hacienda, Boatwrights) because I am trying to pick some places that we haven't eaten at before instead of just going back to our favorites. I am going to read your trip report tonight after work. :)

Thanks! It's always hard to decide whether you want to try a new place or go to an old favorite - there's so many options! We try to do a mix now of a couple favorites and some new places.
 
Spice Road Table




I will first up admit that this review will be a little difficult to write - the food we had was all very good, but the portion sizes were super small and just didn't seem worth the price to us. But it was new and we wanted to try it out, so we headed here for lunch. I took a decent amount of pics since it's new and all (or was very new at the point when I ate here!) so I'll have those to share.



The seating area, out on the patio, is very nice. I love the look of it - it's well decorated and you do of course have a great view out over the lagoon. We got lunch around 11:30 and it was almost completely empty at that point.



I imagine a table right on the water would be really nice, as you get an awesome view of the Lagoon.



I decided to try the white wine flight, which has three different types of wine that you can see below. These glasses were pretty tiny.



I enjoyed them and found them all to be pretty light and pleasant. I don't think one really stood out to me as a big favorite, but they were nice.

DH had a red wine that was described as very sweet, called the "King of Hearts":



He liked it, it was very smooth, but not as sweet as he was hoping. He enjoys a really good sweet red wine. JamJar sweet shiraz that we had at Jiko is his favorite wine of all time.

For the food we shared the Tingis sampler (Lamb Slider; Harissa Chicken Roll; Moroccan Lamb Sausage):



I know I'm writing this 6 months after the trip, but I really can't remember much about this food. I know it was decent, but no flavors were overwhelmingly fantastic to stick out in my mind. Obviously small portions, but tasted good.

We also shared the spicy garlic shrimp (sauteed shrimp with dried chilis and fried garlic):



This had 6 shrimp for $10. I do remember really enjoying the flavor of this dish. It had a good level of spiciness for me. I didn't care much for the bread accompanying it though.

We probably should have ordered more food. But we had already spent $60 at this point - granted, we did get wine, but since the place was really advertising their drinks it seemed silly not to get alcohol. As you can tell from the pictures, this didn't really fill us up at all. It was good, but not outstanding enough to warrant the price for us personally.

DH rated it an 8*. As for the * , he says "not good enough to justify the price. Too expensive to get anything in acceptable quantities, so you are compelled to buy less. Which just leaves you unsatisfied." I would probably give it a 7 out of 10. I would never go back there for a meal, but knowing what I know now I might go back in the afternoon if we wanted to stick around for Illuminations but didn't feel like going back to the room for a break. It would be a nice way to relax off your feet for an hour or so, enjoy a glass of wine, and share a small plate or two. But thinking of it as a meal didn't work for me personally.

Price breakdown:

White wine flight: $12.99
King of Hearts wine: $8.99
Spicy Shrimp: $10.00
Tingis Sampler: $16.00

Price including tax: $51.10

With 18% tip: $8.64

Our bellies were so unsatisfied when we left that we had to fill them up with this:



Ice cream from France!

First I wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your dining review. All of the pictures are great, making me look forward to our trip!! DH and myself loooove JAMJAR sweet shiraz, luckily for us we can get it hear at home in TX. I just found it funny that you mentioned that your DH loves it too, I just bought some last weeked.LOL Looking forward to reading more of your report.
 
Your meal at Boatwright's looks delicious! That pasta looks out of this world and your DH's jambalaya is the first time that dish has actually looked good to me. There's a very high chance we'll be staying at POR on our next visit and I'll definitely try it if we do.
 
First I wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your dining review. All of the pictures are great, making me look forward to our trip!! DH and myself loooove JAMJAR sweet shiraz, luckily for us we can get it hear at home in TX. I just found it funny that you mentioned that your DH loves it too, I just bought some last weeked.LOL Looking forward to reading more of your report.

Thank you! The Jamjar is so good - we can't find it any places out here, but there's a store near my parents' house that carries it. So now every time we go home for a holiday or visit they make sure to have a bottle in stock! We just enjoyed some on Thanksgiving :)

Your meal at Boatwright's looks delicious! That pasta looks out of this world and your DH's jambalaya is the first time that dish has actually looked good to me. There's a very high chance we'll be staying at POR on our next visit and I'll definitely try it if we do.

Nice! I love POR and eating right at the resort is always nice and convenient :)
 
Hi Becky! As usual, I was behind. But I really enjoyed getting caught up on all the yummy food tonight. Love your reviews as always! :goodvibes
 















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