COMPLETED**1st Anniversary, 2nd Dining Review...Updated 1/15 Final Posts

It could be that it didn't live up to our hyped up expectations. I am really not sure. DS and I got the filet and I thought it was the worst of the steaks we had all week ... not bad, just not as good as the others we had. If it was the only meal we had in Disney, it would have been pretty good. Comparing it to other meals and our last meal there, it just didn't live up. Again, not bad... just not spectacular as we had remembered.
I totally get that. It happened to us once or twice as well.

Great review of Jiko! Can't wait to read more!
Thanks for reading! I hope to add another one this afternoon or tomorrow.
 
Before I get into our lunch, I have to tell you about two FANTASTIC snacks we had from Boulangerie Patisserie in Epcot.

I got the famous Napoleon.
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I have heard so much about this thing, and I just had to finally try it. I am so glad I did! I'm a sucker for custard- or pudding-type desserts, so I absolutely loved this. It was positively delicious...flakey and creamy at the same time.

DH got the Ham and Cheese Tartine.
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The nice guy in the store heated it up for him and DH was in heaven. He says it was delicious and the best use of a snack credit.


So....onto Biergarten...

I have no pictures (so sorry).

First of all, I have to say it was weird sitting with people. I knew we we going to have to and I was cool with it...but we joined another group as they were halfway finished their meals. That was odd. And, they didn't say a single word to us. :confused3 Luckily, a really nice couple joined us shortly after we sat down. They were very sweet and we had a nice time chatting with them.

I loved the atmosphere of the place. The thematic details really made for a fun experience. The band began playing just as we were almost finished, and it was a lot of fun to watch their little show. We particularly enjoyed the guy who rings the bells!

The food was really good to me. I especially enjoyed all the salads and the pretzel bread. Also, they had cauliflower soup that was super yummy. I wasn't a huge fan of most of the hot stuff, but I tried it all. The sauerhraut was my favorite. I skipped out on dessert (can you believe it?!?) because none of it really looked that good to me. Also, I was completely stuffed. I think I ate four plates of food! :sick:

DH says, "It was alright." A man of few words, he is.

Would we go back? Probably not. Are we glad we went? Yes. (Well, I am anyway.) We can check it off our list.

We used 2 credits and would have paid $43.98 (plus beer and tip.)


Next up...Yachtsman Steakhouse.
 
The Biergarten is one of our favorites but we missed it this trip. It can really be a downer if the people you sit with aren't at least a bit friendly. We had a great time there New Year's Eve 2009. I am sorry you weren't happy with the meal.

Can't wait for your review of the Yachtsman. It was our favorite meal this trip.
 


This was the meal my DH was most looking forward to. Reason number one: He loves steak. Reason number two: This was one of two signatures we had yet to try. Reason number three: He loves steak.

When we arrived, we had a short wait in the bar/lounge area (VERY comfy chairs BTW) and enjoyed looking at the strips that were aging in the...well...aging room?

We were seated at a table for two in the middle of the restaurant. It was a great table, but we both had the feeling that this was a different atmosphere than most of the signatures we had dined at previously. It was a bit loud, chaotic, and much like a steakhouse...hence the name Yachtsman Steakhouse. Silly, I know, but I think we were both expecting something a little bit more upscale (geez, we sound like snobs...I swear, we aren't). Either way, what we were really looking forward to was the food.

For his drink, DH got a Dogfish IPA, his all time favorite (Go Delaware!). I got the iced tea. And I am proud to admit that I got the iced tea for one reason and one reason only...the little bottle of sweetening syrup that comes with it. I saw it on another dining review here on the DIS and just knew I HAD to get it. It was all that I imagined it would be and I would highly recommend it. :)

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For his appetizer, DH got the Charcuterie Plate.

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Now, this is not listed on AllEars, so I can only give you opinion, not fact. This was the weirdest appetizer I had ever seen. Keep in mind, we aren't the fanciest of people, so this is something we have never, ever ordered before. DH saw meat, meat, cheese, and meat, so he ordered it. I have to say that we were both glad he did. We cannot tell you what most of it was...the egg shell held chicken liver pate (our least favorite). DH's favorite was the meat in the bottom left. Really, he liked it all. It was something so fun and so different.

I decided to step out of the box (and I mean WAY out of the box) on this one as well, by ordering the escargot appetizer.

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Being a person who is petrified of slugs, this was a really tough one for me. I decided to get them becuase it was now or never. I would never, ever go to a non-DWorld restaurant and order this, but why not here? So I went for it. I must tell you our server Bill was excellent. He was definitely a foodie and explained everything to us to help us make the best decisions. It was because of him that I didn't chicken out on the whole escargot thing. DH liked these more than I did. For me, it was a mind-over-matter thing. I'm glad I got them and they weren't terrible, but I would not order then again, even from here. DH actually liked them. He liked the flavor and he liked the sausage pieces that are mixed in with the escargot. My favorite part was the little puff pastry that came as an accompaniment. For those of you wondering if you should take the leap, I say go for it. Especially if you are on the DxDP.

As his entree, DH got the ribeye.

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The ribeye is his absolute, all-time favorite cut of meat. Actually he was torn between the strip and the ribeye, but went for the 16oz ribeye. It came with sweet potato and (some-kinda) cheese beignets. The steak was topped off with some sort of buttery sauce. He ate all of the steak (and almost all of mine, too...but we will get to that in a minute). He said it was delicious, but he was a bit disappointed that there was nothing "extraordinary" about the steak. He really like the beignets, too. They were savory with a hint of a mellow sweetness from the potato. This was unusual for us because we are used to sweet recipes (brown sugar, marshmallows, etc.) with sweet potatoes, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.

I got the "prime" NY strip.

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Mmmmm. It was good. DH and I agreed that we like my cut of meat better, but his sauce better. Mine had a peppercorn brandy sauce. I like pepper, but it was almost a bit overpowering. The cheddar potato gratin was good, but not as good as it had sounded on the menu. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely order the strip again. DH actually got a big portion of my steak because...well, you know...dessert was around the corner.

For dessert, I got the Trio of Valrhona Chocolate.

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OMG. If you go to Yachtsman, you HAVE to get this. This was one of my absolute favorite desserts of the trip. (I'm sure I will say that again, but this was seriously good.) It was a combination of peanut, espresso and caramel. OMG. It was freaking awesome. If you do get this (and you should), DO NOT skip over the little pile of what looks like peanuts in the top right corner. It tastes like a spectacular peanut brittle and I almost missed it. YUMMMM

DH got the creme brulee.

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It was creme brulee. That's all I can say. Not bad by any means, but nothing (at all) compared to my dessert.

So, in review...Yachtsman provided us with excellent service (best of the trip), good meat, and one dang fabulous dessert. We were slightly disappointed in the atmosphere. And we are left wondering if this is truly 2-credit worthy. We had a great time and truly enjoyed ourselves, but it was nothing that we felt like we couldn't get somewhere else... I could see us returning at some point in the future, but I'm not sure it would make the cut if we needed to limit our number of signatures.

Final cost was $158.89 (inc. beer and tip). We used 4 DxDP credits.
 
I am sorry to hear you were disappointed in the Yachtsman ... it was easily our favorite meal of the trip. Funny though, we didn't find it loud at all (Flying Fish had the honor of our loudest signature) so it must just depend on the make up of the diners.

DH had the same steak as you and also didn't completely love the sauce but he liked the steak itself so much that it didn't matter.

Good for you on trying the escargot! I don't think I can get over the "mind over matter" part!
 
I am sorry to hear you were disappointed in the Yachtsman ... it was easily our favorite meal of the trip. Funny though, we didn't find it loud at all (Flying Fish had the honor of our loudest signature) so it must just depend on the make up of the diners.

DH had the same steak as you and also didn't completely love the sauce but he liked the steak itself so much that it didn't matter.

Good for you on trying the escargot! I don't think I can get over the "mind over matter" part!

It is funny how different people have different experiences. I guess it's all just when you go and what your expectations are.
 


Subbing in!

I really want to try that boar appetizer at Jiko, it seems as though most people really love it! I must say I'm really jealous of all your sub places where you live - I can't find a good sandwich place that I really love here in Colorado (compared to where I grew up in Pennsylvania).

And I'm quite in awe of your decision to try escargot! I'm definitely not that brave. Dogfish is such a cool company. We watch Brew Masters every once in a while and it's neat to see what specialty beers they come up with.
 
Great reviews so far! And good job on trying the escargot - when DH and I were on a cruise he tried it, and I had a bite - like you, the idea repulsed me but I found that it actually tasted pretty good! It still seemed weird though.
 
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary and enjoying your reviews!

Would definitely like to take a sans-kids trip at some point and hit up the signatures.

We haven't been to Jiko but it looks like something we would like.

Next trip the only signature we are doing is Cali Grille
 
Just joining in. Enjoying your reviews. Congrats on your anniversary. Looking forward to the rest of the reviews and pics.
 
Great reviews so far! And good job on trying the escargot - when DH and I were on a cruise he tried it, and I had a bite - like you, the idea repulsed me but I found that it actually tasted pretty good! It still seemed weird though.
Thanks! And, yes, it seemed weird to me, too.

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary and enjoying your reviews!

Would definitely like to take a sans-kids trip at some point and hit up the signatures.

We haven't been to Jiko but it looks like something we would like.

Next trip the only signature we are doing is Cali Grille
The signatures are one of our favorite parts of D-World. Jiko is definitely one of my must-dos.

Just joining in. Enjoying your reviews. Congrats on your anniversary. Looking forward to the rest of the reviews and pics.
Thanks for reading!
 
Congrats on getting married! Your reviews are great so far. I especially liked the Yachtsman as we were thinking of adding that to our list of restaurants to try next trip. My DH complained last time we went to Disney that he didnt get a steak the whole trip :rotfl: The peppercorn steak looks fantastic and you have made me want to go there even more.
 
Hello, I'm a little late, but joining in now!

I totally agree with you DH about the Wild Boar App at Jiko - it's amazing!!!!

Yachtsman looks pretty good...I will be trying it for the first time in about a month. Sorry it wasn't stellar for you..seems to get mixed reviews.
 
Congrats on getting married! Your reviews are great so far. I especially liked the Yachtsman as we were thinking of adding that to our list of restaurants to try next trip. My DH complained last time we went to Disney that he didnt get a steak the whole trip :rotfl: The peppercorn steak looks fantastic and you have made me want to go there even more.
Thank you! And thanks for reading. I am definitely glad we ate at Yachtsman this time. I hope to go back again in the future. My DH and your DH sound like two peas in a pod!

Hello, I'm a little late, but joining in now!

I totally agree with you DH about the Wild Boar App at Jiko - it's amazing!!!!

Yachtsman looks pretty good...I will be trying it for the first time in about a month. Sorry it wasn't stellar for you..seems to get mixed reviews.

I agree with you that Yachtsman seems to get mixed reviews. I try to remember that everyone has different tastes, but it is hard to overlook what people say about a particular restaurant or dish. I hope you enjoy it! We definitely are glad we went and hope to return someday.
 
Great reviews!! I just found this thread- and am definitely subscribing! Can't wait for more yummy reviews :)
 
Subbing!! Congrats on your anniversary, we are at almost 3 years and going to The World to celebrate in November. Love all of you reviews so far, we love Jiko and have had Michelle as a server twice, once on our honeymoon and last Christmas with extended family, she was wonderful both times. Like you said attentive with out being to pesky.

Haven't been back to Yachtsman for a while and am always on the fence about going back..

Can't wait to read more reviews!!
 

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