It was a wonderful trip and not a bad dining experience anywhere. It's a little long winded, but here's most of what we ate.
Spoodles Breakfast - We both had the all-you-can eat breakfast skillet. The bread pudding was outstanding, as was the French toast! Everything else was good, prepared fresh and piping hot. The scrambled eggs were especially good, too. I didnt care for the chorizo sausage too greasy for my taste, but DH liked it. Neither of us liked the vegetable rotollo much and Im usually a veggie lover.
Boma Breakfast This has become one of our favorite meals. I really like the flatbread breakfast pizzas, and also the Bushmans casserole eggs, peppers, onions, chunks of roast pork, potatoes and cheese baked together. Another thing I really liked was the quinoa a type of hot cereal. The pastry selection didnt seem as large as it had in the past, but it was still more than adequate. The Kenyan coffee is wonderful!
Biergarten Lunch: This is a great buffet with a neat atmosphere and fun entertainment. The price is reasonable, too, especially with the 10% AP discount at lunch. I think people frequently overlook this place. It has a lot of good variety roast chicken, meatballs, ham, chicken schnitzel, wursts of many kinds, red cabbage, sauerkraut, spaetzle, a great salad bar (including a cold barley salad that I particularly enjoyed), and plentiful dessert bar. Dont miss the apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce! DH enjoyed a liter of Becks on draft with his meal while I had a glass of Riesling.
Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner: I usually dont expect too much from Character Meal food, but was pleasantly surprised by LTT. The mixed greens in the salad were a nice, fresh blend. The strawberry vinaigrette was a tad too oily for my tastes, but I usually eat low-fat or fat-free salad dressings. The meal is served family style, starting with slightly sweet rolls and honey butter. Next they bring out a platter of turkey, ham, flank steak, stuffing, mac n cheese, mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. Good stick-to-your-ribs food! The flank steak and turkey were both moist and flavorful. The ham was kind of dry. The mixed vegetables were a surprisingly tasty blend of yellow & green squash, onions and other veggies. The stuffing, mac&cheese and potatoes were all good, nothing spectacular. The character interaction was a lot of fun! Goofy flirted with me, Minnie flirted with DH and Chip was broken hearted because I called him Dale. Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale all came to our table twice, Minnie only once. I have heard people say they felt rushed at this meal, but we didnt experience that at all.
Palios This was our Anniversary dinner. We were seated in a quiet alcove off of the main floor. The restaurant wasnt very crowded, maybe only about a third of the tables were filled. There was a strolling mandolin player who seemed to be able to play any request. Our waiter was wonderful, attentive but not hovering and eager to make recommendations. We ordered a bottle of wine on our waiters recommendation. I should have written down what it was, because I cant remember now. All I can remember is that it was a blended red. Anyway, it was perfect, exactly what I wanted, not too sweet, not too dry. I started with calamari sautéed in a thick tomato sauce. It was very tender and the herbs in the sauce gave it a good flavor. DH started with the gnocchi, which were wonderful, especially with the addition of the pine nuts. For entrees, I had osso buco, one of my all time favorite dishes. This was wonderfully tender and fell off the bone. It was served with a creamy, cheesy risotto. DH had the Piccata alla Milanese served over linguine. It too was very tender and tasty. For dessert, we split a chocolate dessert that was rather like a soufflé with a warm chocolate center, vanilla sauce drizzled on top and fresh berries garnishing it. If you miss California Grilles chocolate soufflé, this is a good substitute. Between the wonderful ambiance and excellent service, I would definitely recommend Palios for a romantic dinner.
Flying Fish This is one of my favorite restaurants, and it did not disappoint us. We started off with a couple of Martinis and then shared Our Lovely Soup, which was a smooth, creamy corn chowder flavored with curry and also included lump crab meat. We also shared the frisee salad, which was very good with the sweet glazed pecans, salty goat cheese and tangy vinaigrette making a nice blend. For an entrée I had the oak-grilled mahi-mahi with tomato risotto & basil cream sauce. It was almost too pretty to eat. The fish was prepared perfectly as was the tomato risotto. The basil cream was the perfect complement. DH had the New York Strip, which was one of the best steaks Ive tasted in a long time. The outside was charred nicely, while still being perfectly medium-rare inside. DH said to make sure I mentioned the Sauce Foyot it was served with. Rather like a rich Bernaise sauce. Too full for dessert.
Cape May Café Clambake I have hesitated about dining here because DH is not fond of seafood. After reading all the good reviews and looking over the menu, I convinced him to try it. We were both pleasantly surprised by the quantity of the selections here as well as the quality. Seafood selections included steamed mussels & clams, baked salmon in lobster sauce and peel & eat shrimp. The mussels and the salmon were both wonderful! The clams were a little gritty, but not bad, and the shrimp were messy and a bit of work to peel. It didnt help that our table was rather dimly lit, so you couldnt always tell if you had all the shell off. DH enjoyed the roast chicken, which had almost a wood-grilled, outdoor barbecue taste and he also liked the lean barbecued ribs. The salad bar had some good selections and the clam chowder was also very good. The dessert bar was spectacular! I had read reviews that mentioned it, but nobody warned me about the sheer enormity! Oreo Bon-Bons, flan (to die for!), mini lemon meringue pies, chocolate cake (DH said it tasted like a Ho-Ho), coconut cake, cheesecake, build your own strawberry shortcake, warm apple crisp, cookies, brownies, rice krispie treats and more that I cant remember.
Burger Wars Throughout the week we had burgers and fries at Beaches n Cream, Cosmic Rays, Pecos Bills and the Liberty Inn (American Adventure). The best burger & fries award goes to.. Cosmic Rays! It won the vote by being piping hot, slightly charred on the outside, but not overly done or too tough. Slight smoky, char-broiled taste. Non-greasy. The fries were hot out of the fryer, and perfectly salted. American Adventure was a close second. Pecos Bills burgers tasted like they had been cooked long, long before we got there and were cold and rubbery. Beaches n Cream were too greasy, and the fries were cold.
Tusker House We split an order of the peanut crusted chicken skewers. Very good! This is a great place for an out of the ordinary counter service meal. It is especially a good deal if you buy the meal plus certificate.
Other snacks and quick comments:
Sunshine Seasons food court in the land is a great place for a light meal. I had a veggie wrap and DH had vegetable soup.
The side of black beans at Cantina San Angel makes a great small snack.
Dole whips. Hmmm. I just don't get why people rave about these things. I mean, it's just pineapple flavored soft serve.
Boardwalk bakery - Wow, those are the biggest donuts I have ever seen. Tasty, too.
Boardwalk pizza window - Pizza? Don't bother - cardboard crust and sauce from a can. Calzones? Yumm! Piping hot and tasty!
Spoodles Breakfast - We both had the all-you-can eat breakfast skillet. The bread pudding was outstanding, as was the French toast! Everything else was good, prepared fresh and piping hot. The scrambled eggs were especially good, too. I didnt care for the chorizo sausage too greasy for my taste, but DH liked it. Neither of us liked the vegetable rotollo much and Im usually a veggie lover.
Boma Breakfast This has become one of our favorite meals. I really like the flatbread breakfast pizzas, and also the Bushmans casserole eggs, peppers, onions, chunks of roast pork, potatoes and cheese baked together. Another thing I really liked was the quinoa a type of hot cereal. The pastry selection didnt seem as large as it had in the past, but it was still more than adequate. The Kenyan coffee is wonderful!
Biergarten Lunch: This is a great buffet with a neat atmosphere and fun entertainment. The price is reasonable, too, especially with the 10% AP discount at lunch. I think people frequently overlook this place. It has a lot of good variety roast chicken, meatballs, ham, chicken schnitzel, wursts of many kinds, red cabbage, sauerkraut, spaetzle, a great salad bar (including a cold barley salad that I particularly enjoyed), and plentiful dessert bar. Dont miss the apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce! DH enjoyed a liter of Becks on draft with his meal while I had a glass of Riesling.
Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner: I usually dont expect too much from Character Meal food, but was pleasantly surprised by LTT. The mixed greens in the salad were a nice, fresh blend. The strawberry vinaigrette was a tad too oily for my tastes, but I usually eat low-fat or fat-free salad dressings. The meal is served family style, starting with slightly sweet rolls and honey butter. Next they bring out a platter of turkey, ham, flank steak, stuffing, mac n cheese, mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. Good stick-to-your-ribs food! The flank steak and turkey were both moist and flavorful. The ham was kind of dry. The mixed vegetables were a surprisingly tasty blend of yellow & green squash, onions and other veggies. The stuffing, mac&cheese and potatoes were all good, nothing spectacular. The character interaction was a lot of fun! Goofy flirted with me, Minnie flirted with DH and Chip was broken hearted because I called him Dale. Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale all came to our table twice, Minnie only once. I have heard people say they felt rushed at this meal, but we didnt experience that at all.
Palios This was our Anniversary dinner. We were seated in a quiet alcove off of the main floor. The restaurant wasnt very crowded, maybe only about a third of the tables were filled. There was a strolling mandolin player who seemed to be able to play any request. Our waiter was wonderful, attentive but not hovering and eager to make recommendations. We ordered a bottle of wine on our waiters recommendation. I should have written down what it was, because I cant remember now. All I can remember is that it was a blended red. Anyway, it was perfect, exactly what I wanted, not too sweet, not too dry. I started with calamari sautéed in a thick tomato sauce. It was very tender and the herbs in the sauce gave it a good flavor. DH started with the gnocchi, which were wonderful, especially with the addition of the pine nuts. For entrees, I had osso buco, one of my all time favorite dishes. This was wonderfully tender and fell off the bone. It was served with a creamy, cheesy risotto. DH had the Piccata alla Milanese served over linguine. It too was very tender and tasty. For dessert, we split a chocolate dessert that was rather like a soufflé with a warm chocolate center, vanilla sauce drizzled on top and fresh berries garnishing it. If you miss California Grilles chocolate soufflé, this is a good substitute. Between the wonderful ambiance and excellent service, I would definitely recommend Palios for a romantic dinner.
Flying Fish This is one of my favorite restaurants, and it did not disappoint us. We started off with a couple of Martinis and then shared Our Lovely Soup, which was a smooth, creamy corn chowder flavored with curry and also included lump crab meat. We also shared the frisee salad, which was very good with the sweet glazed pecans, salty goat cheese and tangy vinaigrette making a nice blend. For an entrée I had the oak-grilled mahi-mahi with tomato risotto & basil cream sauce. It was almost too pretty to eat. The fish was prepared perfectly as was the tomato risotto. The basil cream was the perfect complement. DH had the New York Strip, which was one of the best steaks Ive tasted in a long time. The outside was charred nicely, while still being perfectly medium-rare inside. DH said to make sure I mentioned the Sauce Foyot it was served with. Rather like a rich Bernaise sauce. Too full for dessert.
Cape May Café Clambake I have hesitated about dining here because DH is not fond of seafood. After reading all the good reviews and looking over the menu, I convinced him to try it. We were both pleasantly surprised by the quantity of the selections here as well as the quality. Seafood selections included steamed mussels & clams, baked salmon in lobster sauce and peel & eat shrimp. The mussels and the salmon were both wonderful! The clams were a little gritty, but not bad, and the shrimp were messy and a bit of work to peel. It didnt help that our table was rather dimly lit, so you couldnt always tell if you had all the shell off. DH enjoyed the roast chicken, which had almost a wood-grilled, outdoor barbecue taste and he also liked the lean barbecued ribs. The salad bar had some good selections and the clam chowder was also very good. The dessert bar was spectacular! I had read reviews that mentioned it, but nobody warned me about the sheer enormity! Oreo Bon-Bons, flan (to die for!), mini lemon meringue pies, chocolate cake (DH said it tasted like a Ho-Ho), coconut cake, cheesecake, build your own strawberry shortcake, warm apple crisp, cookies, brownies, rice krispie treats and more that I cant remember.
Burger Wars Throughout the week we had burgers and fries at Beaches n Cream, Cosmic Rays, Pecos Bills and the Liberty Inn (American Adventure). The best burger & fries award goes to.. Cosmic Rays! It won the vote by being piping hot, slightly charred on the outside, but not overly done or too tough. Slight smoky, char-broiled taste. Non-greasy. The fries were hot out of the fryer, and perfectly salted. American Adventure was a close second. Pecos Bills burgers tasted like they had been cooked long, long before we got there and were cold and rubbery. Beaches n Cream were too greasy, and the fries were cold.
Tusker House We split an order of the peanut crusted chicken skewers. Very good! This is a great place for an out of the ordinary counter service meal. It is especially a good deal if you buy the meal plus certificate.
Other snacks and quick comments:
Sunshine Seasons food court in the land is a great place for a light meal. I had a veggie wrap and DH had vegetable soup.
The side of black beans at Cantina San Angel makes a great small snack.
Dole whips. Hmmm. I just don't get why people rave about these things. I mean, it's just pineapple flavored soft serve.
Boardwalk bakery - Wow, those are the biggest donuts I have ever seen. Tasty, too.
Boardwalk pizza window - Pizza? Don't bother - cardboard crust and sauce from a can. Calzones? Yumm! Piping hot and tasty!
