Curiousers Dining Reviews and Photos- Days 1-6 Now Posted! (Mmm..clams)

[richard_andmel]

Next time your waitress is rushing you, don't be afraid to tell her to slow down. They are trained to turn over tables quickly, but you can get them to slow down the process.

Thanks for sharing more of your reviews and pictures.

Mel

 

[curiouser]

Day 5 (12/27):

When we were in MGM the day before we noticed a little Herbie themed stand that seemed to be new. Besides water, pop, and chips, it was serving three types of steamed buns so we decided to come back today and try them.

Herbie Quick Foods Place.. (I can’t remember the name!)
There were three types of steamed buns offered: BBQ Pork, Chicken and Mushroom, and Vegetable Curry. You could get a sampler plate of all three, or buy them individually. Since neither SO or myself like mushrooms, we bought one BBQ Pork and one Vegetable Curry to split and try.

The buns are steamed dumpling style buns similar to what you’d find at Dim Sum. They were soft and chewy and I was impressed for them being fast food. The BBQ Pork was tender and flavorful, but the Vegetable Curry fell flat. Very disappointing for me as I am a curry fiend, but it was really lacking in any sort of strong flavor that made it appealing. Both buns were good to try, but overall I think they’re a bit too expensive for what you get. One bun was around a $1.75 and its about the size of a child’s palm.

Herbie Buns Place: B- (Nice to try, but probably not again)

Flatbread Grill:
Since the buns were small and left a bit to be desired, and we were already sitting there, we decided to try the Flatbread Grill. We got a BBQ Pork sandwich and split it. We were both impressed for CS BBQ Pork. No, its no Flame Tree (we’ll get there later) but it was the same BBQ Pork as in the steamed buns and was a good choice to follow the steamed buns. Our only low point was that it comes with potato chips and no other side options. Neither of us are big chip people and we ended up giving our chips away. It’d be nice if it came with a carrots/fruit option like other CS places.

Oh, and the line system here is HORRIBLE. If its busy expect to stand in a line a long time. They really need to work on their system behind the counter.

Flatbread Grill: B- (Good food, slow slow slow lines!)

Le Cellier:
We had dinner ADRs at Le Cellier as part of the Candlelight Processional package. We chose to eat after the show so our ADR was a bit late in the evening already, and Le Cellier was so booked that we ended up having to wait even longer. The natives started getting restless.

We of course started with the Cheddar Cheese Soup. Why would you not? Its heavenly. Creamy, cheesy, flavorful with just a hint of the silkiness brought on by the Moosehead beer. Combine it with the pretzel bread and you have my idea of bliss. Our waitress joked that I cleaned my bowl so well that she couldn’t tell if it was clean or dirty. (I would have a picture of it, but unfortunately, it doesn’t want to photograph well!)

Both myself, SO, and SO’s dad ordered the 14 oz. New York Strip Steak. SO’s mom had the 7 oz. Filet Mignon. I am sad to report that although I ordered my steak medium it came to my plate most definitely medium well, except for last 1/3 portion which was cooked medium. Unfortunately, by that time it was so late in the evening I didn’t want to bother sending it back. SO’s steak, which was also odd shaped as mine was, had portions that were overcooked, but not as much as myself. Both SO’s mom and dad’s were cooked perfectly. It really put a damper on my thoughts of Le Cellier, which depresses me because its my favorite restaurant at WDW!

For dessert I had the Chocolate Whiskey Cake, which I could not finish but was soo good!! I love the addition of the orange marmalade to the chocolate cake – it reminds me of a Jaffa Cake! I need to figure out how to recreate this wonderful dessert!

Le Cellier: A- (For serving an overdone steak.. still my favorite restaurant though!)

Chocolate Whiskey Cake:

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Great reviews and pictures! I couldn't agree more about the turkey legs. I could eat more than a few bites if they came all pulled apart and on a plate. Chewing on a bone just doesn't do it for me.

Cosmic Rays was almost empty when were were there 9/1/05 - it was almost eerie.

Your picture of the whisky cake looks so good I'm going to try that instead of the usual maple creme brulee that I love.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Thanks for the great reviews & pics! We also like that combo meal at Pizza Planet. The only CS at MGM we've always been happy with.

 

[jluvsdis]

I'm really enjoying your reviews, they are wonderful and are actually making me quite hungry!

I am also from Northeast Ohio and am curious where you eat your mexican food? I love good mexican food and although I am not as adventurous as you sound like you are, nothing beats an authentic margarita!

 

[disneytraveler]

Wow great reviews Curiouser and you better have breakfast someplace lol!

 

[curiouser]

I'm really enjoying your reviews, they are wonderful and are actually making me quite hungry!

I am also from Northeast Ohio and am curious where you eat your mexican food? I love good mexican food and although I am not as adventurous as you sound like you are, nothing beats an authentic margarita!

Its a place on the west side, in Parma called Don Ramon. Its family owned and pretty authentic. Their prices have went up a bit in the past few years, but its still a good bargain for the food you get. I can't tell you how their margaritas are, though, because I usually stick with the Coronas!

 

[tinkamom]

Excellent reviews! I love that you included pictures.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for posting.

Lovely piccies.

 

[llfowl]

Thank you so much for the reviews!!!

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Day 5 (12/26):

Le Cellier:[/B]
We had dinner ADRs at Le Cellier as part of the Candlelight Processional package. We chose to eat after the show so our ADR was a bit late in the evening already, and Le Cellier was so booked that we ended up having to wait even longer. The natives started getting restless.

Which CP show did you attend? And wasn't that a cold night for Florida???

 

[curiouser]

Which CP show did you attend? And wasn't that a cold night for Florida???

You know, I had my date wrong.. It was the 27th that we went! We saw the 6:40 (?) show and though it was cold, we're from Ohio so it was still warm to us!

 

[ufgator]

This is a mean review! I'm so hungry after looking at those pictures!

Thanks for the great reviews and pictures!

 

[curiouser]

Day 6 (12/28):

Well, staying at the Beach Club finally got to me. I couldn’t walk past another dinner at Cape May and not eat there. The smells were attacking brain to the point of submission. “You want to spend your money here!” the smells would transmit to my brain. “You can eat your weight in clams” it would seductively call.

Blast.

We managed to get a dinner seating for the same evening.

But before attempting the worlds fastest clam eater training, we had to first tackle lunch. Actually we first had to tackle a “short” DVC tour that took a “short” 3 hours, but eventually we got to lunch.

Earl of Sandwich:
We got to Earl at prime lunchtime, around 12:30 and we expected a crowd. DTD was fairly crowded but amazingly we walked right up to Earl at the same time an outdoor table was becoming available. SO’s mom and myself sat at the table and let the guys tackle the line that stretched to the door. I didn’t really mind a wait, because I knew the sandwiches at Earl were worth it. I was really surprised when only about 5 minutes later SO and his dad appeared at the table with our food! Now that’s fast food!

I had The Earls Club, SO had The Original, and SO’s dad had the Caprese. I don’t remember what SO’s mom had, but I do remember that we all loved our food. The sandwiches are quite sizeable and make for a filling lunch on their own. And I love the bread at Earl, its so fresh and alternately crunchy and crusty with a soft heartiness in the middle. The meat and veggies on my sandwich were very fresh and didn’t make my sandwich soggy at all. A big testament to that is that I ate the tomatoes on my sandwich, and I’m extremely picky about tomatoes.

I have to say that Earl’s is the best CS at all of DTD hands down. Their sandwiches have never disappointed me. I wish we had a sandwich place as yummy and as good quality as Earl around here!

Earl of Sandwich: A

The Original:

The Earls Club:

Cape May Café:
At last it was time for our ADR at Cape May Café. Would it be the feast that smells promised it to be or would it be all washed up? (Haha. Bad pun, I know.) We were seated fairly quickly.. I think. (We were a bit disorganized and kept running back to our hotel room until my SO called the room frantically telling us we needed to be at the restaurant NOW-- that’s the problem with eating in your hotel!! Haha!).

Our hostess seated us, told us our servers name, and said we didn’t need to wait for her- we could just go start the buffet. Well our waitress was over quickly so we ordered our beverages and headed to the line up.

Okay, this isn’t a great review. I can’t tell you how the salad is. Or the soup. I have no idea how the ribs, fried chicken, the carving station, or any of the sides were. All I can tell you about its the clams. And the mussels. I didn’t waste any time or stomach room on these other items. I loaded up on clams and mussels. At the end of the night, about 5 or 6 dozen clams and mussels. I do believe I ate my and SO’s moneys worth. The clams were, well, clams! They were good, fresh, not overcooked, not old. Goooooood. I was a little unimpressed with the mussels, so I ate less of those, but SO’s father actually preferred the mussels to the clams, so to each their own. Oh! I can tell you the corn on the cob was much too over cooked. It was soft and mushy and got stuck in my retainer, which annoyed me (yes, I have a retainer, no I’m not 14, its permanently glued behind my teeth).

If you really, really like clams, I recommend Cape May Café. If you have someone in your party who really, really likes clams, I recommend Cape May Café (because they will eat their and your moneys worth). Otherwise, I think SO and SO’s mom were a bit nonplussed at the other food options. Not bad, just not spectacular.

The desserts.. Eh. They had chocolate chip blondies, which satisfied me. The cupcakes are disgusting. Stay AWAY! You have been warned!! I make cakes for a hobby and I can honestly tell you this frosting was disgusting! The store bought frostings are better. Yech!

But not to leave you on a bad note about Cape May Café... Just think of miles and miles of tasty little clams soaked in melted butter. (Insert Homer Simpson-esque drool here).

Cape May Café:B (I have to keep the rest of my party in mind with this grade!)

Clams and Mussels!:

Ribs, beef, mashed potatoes, etc.. (no clams, boo!):

Desserts:

 

[kaceyisme]

Loved reading your reviews!! Thanks