Crossroads Restaurants????

[futomara]

We have always been on-property restaurant pursuers. This trip, we are contemplating going off-site for food. I am specifically looking for any opinions on Joe's Crab Shack, Pebbles, and Jungle Jim's that are located in the Crossroad's Marketplace area.

We will be in WDW and I am anxious to see responses to these reataurants........please advise!!!

 

[colleen costello]

Pebbles gets lots of good reviews and there are also Olive Garden, Pizzeria Uno (we like this one) and even the humble Perkins, which my kids LOVE. Lots to offer here for reasonable prices!

 

[robinb]

Jungle Jim's has great burgers which can also be made with chicken breasts and veggie burgers. They also have really good, really strong, fairly cheap silly drinks. Two of them is my absolute limit!

I also like Chevy's which is a Tex-Mex chain. Their food is very fresh and good. The prices are OK, but higher than at Jungle Jims.

There is also an Uno's pizza which is always good for carry-out. While none of the franchises hold a candle to the ones in downtown Chicago, they are still good. You can actually find better Pizza a little farther north on Vineland at Giordano's. It's "stuffed" pizza and the spinach and mushroom is to die for!

 

[Epcotgal8]

We like Chevy's Tex-Mex if you like that sort of food. We do and have always had good food, service, and the prices are reasonable. If you take a left onto Apopka Vineland Road as you are approaching the Crossroads from the Downtown Disney area there is a Romano's Macaroni Grill on the left which is similar to Olive Garden but actually we liked it better and had better food there (and less costly) than at Alfredo's in Epcot also. We haven't eaten at Joe's Crab Shack on Disney trips but have in other locations (this past summer in Destin, Fl. was our last visit) and we're getting one here soon. It is a fun place, people from our party enjoyed the fried catfish, the etoufee, and the Alaskan King Crab legs. I was torn on what to get and the waitress talked me into the barbequed dungeness crab which she said was her favorite. It tasted ok but WAY too much work to get any crab and my friend's Alaskan King Crab legs were far less work and a better choice IMO.
I guess either we hit Pizzeria Uno's on a bad night or maybe we just like a different kind of pizza but we were not impressed with the one at the Crossroads. The prices seemed a bit steep but hey it's near Disney World so that's not the problem. It's just for one thing we had a very young waitress who had her mind on some young man (I assume her boyfriend) who was there and she was forgetful and acted like we were taking up her time with her b/f which the manager (also very young) didn't seem to mind. I ordered lasagna and they said they were out of it, so we ordered pizza that had huge chunks of tomatoes instead of just sauce. Maybe that's how some like it but we've eaten at another Uno's while out of town and didn't find it quite so "chunky". My kids didn't like it and I NEVER thought there would be a pizza my kids would meet and not like. The funniest thing was that I was craving a salad so I ordered a side salad with Ranch dressing. She replied, "We don't have Ranch." So I asked for Italian. No Italian. "I don't care if it's creamy or clear." No Italian at all. This is when dh and I start to laugh because we're in a pizza place that has salad but no ITALIAN dressing?" "What kind of dressing DO you have?" I ask. "Just Thousand Island". The one dressing I don't care for and at this point I felt like we were in the Twilight Zone or something so I opted not to get a salad. So someone who has eaten a salad there recently or does in the future will you PLEASE tell me if they offer anything other than Thousand Island lol. It was our first night in WDW that trip so we were in a good mood and just laughed about it but we basically wasted our time and money. And btw, this wasn't late at night or anything, this was at about 7 p.m.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Humble Perkins? LOL I have to say that this place is probably our favorite place to eat while at DW. OK, maybe Bomba's and Hollywood & Vine are our very favorites but for a great place to eat on the cheap, super clean and wonderful service Perkins cannot be beat. It is several cuts above most Perkins that I have been in and well worth a visit IMHO.

No, I don't work there or even know anyone who does but I am a secret shopper and cannot help grading each restaurant we frequent whether it is an assignment or not and I would give this particular restaurant top scores, which I seldom do.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[colleen costello]

SlightlyGoofy, your job sounds wild. Maybe someday we can meet at the Orlando Perkins and we can talk about it! My family eats at this one a lot and it IS great... Nice meals and we save TONS of money... We always laugh when the bill comes because it is about a TENTH of what a Mickey meal costs!

 

[futomara]

Thanks folks....I am sure we'll venture into some of these places. Again, having only eaten at the WDW restaurants for years, I think it's time to try something different.....and maybe we can save a little money while doing it!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hello Colleen

We are neighbors as I live near Columbus and am in Bloomington a lot since we have family there.

Who knows, we may well meet there sometime. We have trips in May and Oct/Nov planned for this year.

The best thing about Perkins as far as I am concerned is that the food and everything is great so you don't feel as though you are slumming.

Any other reccomendations for our next trip? I am night blind and do not do a lot of driving around the property but can find my way to Crossroads. LOL Is why we stay at the All Stars. Cannot get lost as you go right into the complex if you follow the road.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[KLAIT]

Jungle Jims-

We ate at Jungle Jims this past trip with our DS (5). The atmosphere was pretty cool and the food was good too. We all had burgers, of which there are several different kinds to choose from, and they were really good. But, they were so big, my husband and I could have shared a meal....I think the prices were reasonable too.

 

[swandiverpatt]

We are Jungle Jim fans -- have been for years. It's a must-do for us (mainly for the daily drink specials, but hey ...) They have a very large menu, great appetizers (the nachos are big enough for a meal for a very hungry person), the salads are great (the steak with blue cheese is my favorite), and for burgers, it's the Peanut Butter Bet!

www.jungle-jims.com

 

[swandiverpatt]

P.S. The Napa Valley Quesadillas at Chevy's are great, too -- chicken, sauted onions, apples and brie .... yum!!

They've got great chips as salsa as well.

 

[colleen costello]

Hey, Linda, we go right through Columbus on our way to WDW... It's the pokiest part of the trip getting there! No one here will believe me, but we pass through a town (?) called Gnaw Bone. Gotta love Southern Indiana!

We order lots of pizza when we are too lazy/busy/broke to go out. There is a Pizza Hut up from the Crossroads and they deliver to WDW resorts. My kids think ordering a pizza to a hotel room is great fun! There is also a nearby Papa John's. Sometimes we take out there when we shop at the Winn-Dixie. But Perkins still wins my "best value in Orlando" award!

 

[kda]

There's an Olive Garden at Crossroads???? Or is it nearby? Don't recall noticing that. We're going with friends and they're looking forward to Olive Garden

I appreciate all the input. We've eaten at Chevy's twice and did like it.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Colleen, don't forget Bean Blossom and Stoney Lonesome and Storey. There is book somewhere that tells about all those names and how they came about. Did you know that the town of Trevlac is Calvert spelled backward? The guy who donated the land demanded that the town be named after him but he was not too popular soooooo. LOL Don't know if it is true but makes a good story. Might have come from the Liar's Bench at the Nashville courthouse.

We take 65 down to Nashville, then 24 to Chattanooga and then 75 from there past Ocala and then the turnpike on in. Takes a day and a half. Most wonderful sight is the purple and red signs.

Next time you go through Gnaw Bone be sure and stop for the huge tenderloin voted the best in the state at the Marathon gas station. Not kidding one bit, is wonderful. Sit in the back at the red and white oilclothed picnic tables and think of me. I am doing the low carb thing and cannot have such anymore. Have lost over 80 some pounds and struggling to get the rest off.

We are supposed to stay 'on topic' or get in trouble so if you would like to visit with a great group please check out the EWP group over at the Community Board. Would love to have you come and visit.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[BWVDee]

Orlando Ale House is not at Crossroads but only a few blocks down the road and they have a great menu with a large selection of very good food with daily specials at very reasonable prices. Orlando Ale House has a website for more info.
Enjoy!!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

Just back from WDW for President's Week '04. We had eaten at Pebbles a few years back and liked the food and atmosphere. At first we thought they wouldn't be kid friendly, but they were. We decided to dine there again on this trip.

We arrived at 7:10 and were told it would be 20-30 minute wait. We could see several empty booths and one empty banquette that would hold our party of five. After 50 minutes of not being seated, I confronted one of the hostesses. She gave me some spiel about limiting their servers to four tables so guest would get great service. Her attitude was one of total arrogance and offered for me to speak to a manager.

After another 10 minutes, I took the pager to the main hostess and told her we were leaving. She said we were to be the next party called and I told her there was no way we would enjoy eating there after waiting so long and that we had seen this one banquette empty the whole time we were waiting and she said that there were normally two servers in that part of the dinning room and they were one short this evening and it was taking a while to get to us. I told her she shouldn't have told my wife 20-30 minutes if she had known it would be longer.

Any restaurant in business more than a few years should know their turn around time better and shouldn't fudge the time.

Definitely not worth going back.

 

[Mymatisse]

Another vote for Chevy's. Good food and reasonable prices.