Dining Reviews Sep 2008 & Feb 2009 Update 8/13 - Complete!

[TigerKat]

I'm so glad you decided to post your pics again. Great review of The wave!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Where have I been, I've never heard of The Wave. It looks very nice! You had two of my favorite things: crab cakes and reuben sandwich. I usually go to ESPN at the Boardwalk for a reuben at least once per trip.

Thanks for giving me an idea for a new place to try!

It just opened in June. I think it's a nice alternative to some of the other more "usual" restaurants.

I'm so glad you decided to post your pics again. Great review of The wave!

Thank you.

 

[Northern_Julie]

I went to the Wave for dinner and it was the best meal of our trip. It was amazing how wonderfully the tables with children were even without the standard chicken fingers.
I mixed and matched and the chocolate mouse was yummy but if you go back the raspberry cheesecake was to die for.

 

[wilma-bride]

Just found these reviews and have read the whole thing (so far) from start to finish. What an excellent set of reviews - I can't believe you managed to eat at every signature restaurant in one trip - kudos

Not sure what the 'blip' in the middle of the reviews was all about but I'm glad you've decided to carry on - and with incredible pictures too

 

[Poppinsme]

YUM!!!
Wow the Wave looks delish!!!

I cant wait to leave in 20 days!

Thanks for some great reviews. You will see mine!

 

[ClareH37]

Thank you for posting your pictures

The Wave looks great, I think I might have to add that to my ever expanding list lol.

 

[TPCShauna]

The Wave review was great. We are dining here in a bit over two weeks and I'm thinking that crab cake looks fab!

Did you say you had two beverages on the DxDP at the Wave? You mentioned Evian and a milkshake. Was the Evian OOP or was that the water option? I ask because I don't drink tap water and would love a nice bottle of still water that I didn't have to pay for OOP.

We were planning to walk from MK to the Contemporary for our Wave lunch. Do you think that would be faster than the monorail?

 

[disneyfav4ever]

The heat and humidity really bothered me this day, more then any other day during my trip, so I took a nice nap back at Pop that afternoon, and half-debated skipping dinner just to stay in my nice air-conditioned room. But I decided to go to dinner anyway.

Dinner that night was at Ohana, and this was my third time having dinner there. I hadn't originally planned on eating at Ohana this trip, since even though I've always enjoyed the food there is the past, I like to try new things, and this is a been there - done that kind of placed for me.

There had been some menu changes since the last time I had eaten there, which had caused, if you remember, great commotion on the restaurant board, mostly concerning a huge debate of potatoes vs. noodles. There were some other changes as well, like bread, dumplings, and shrimp on skewers being added, and sausage, wonton chips, and sweet and sour shrimp being removed. I say good riddance to the sausage and wonton chips, (the sausage I'd never cared for, and the chips were never crisp,) so I was excited to try these new, much debated items.

I arrived at the Polynesian and checked in at 4:40 for my 5:00 ADR, and was seated at 4:50. I was seated in the main area of the dining room, with a good view of the fire pit. Before I had always been seated in the back, with a nice window table, but I was glad to finally see the pit. I was also run by a lot with the kids playing there games, and while I know it's Disney, and it didn't bother me that much I think I prefer the window seats.

My main server this evening was Patti, and she had an assistant server, whose name I don't remember, but the were both very nice and attentive.

I was served some "welcome" bread, as well as being taken through the whole "Ohana means family" speil.

The bread had a sweet pineapple flavor, but I found it to be quite dry, and I didn't eat more then I few bites of it. I wish they'd serve the same bread as Kona, same flavor, but much better in my opinion.

I also ordered a drink, the Malibu macaw, and it was very good. Strong, with a nice tropical taste.

Then the appetizers were served;

Salad with honey lime dressing, this has been on the menu every time I've eaten there, though it seeems to be a hit or miss with me. This time was a hit. (The only time I didn't care for it was when I ate at Ohana is 2007, and there was virtually no dressing.) The dressing is what makes this salad. I found the recipe for it somewhere, and really want to try it on my own sometime.

The honey-coriander chicken wings I've always liked before, but not this time. The sauce seemed gritty to me, like there was flour or cornstarch that wasn't added correctly or cooked long enough. Not a very pleasant feeling in my mouth.

The sweet and sour pork dumplings were a new addition to the menu, replacing the wonton chips that used to be served. I liked these a lot better then I ever liked the chips, and this was one of my favorite items all night.

There were three dipping sauces served as well, peanut, sweet and sour, and chimichurri sauce, with is an oil-based herb sauce. Personally I can take or leave the sauces with the exception of the peanut one, which I love the turkey dipped in.

I spent a little time on the appetizers, before being served the meats.

Going from left to right are the grilled shrimp, steak, turkey, and then a piece of pork with sweet and sour sauce behind the turkey. I really wasn't that hungry after all the appetizers, so I only took one piece of each, except for the shrimp, which I took a couple of.

The shrimp where described on the menu as spicy, but I didn't find them spicy at all. They were rather messy however, but I had the washcloth they gave me for the chicken wings still, and I was glad I had hung onto it. The steak had a nice taste to it, and while it was a little more over-cooked then I would like, it was still good. The turkey is mesquite-grilled, and is wonderful with the peanut sauce, though I found my piece a bit dry. The Asian bbq pork was nice as well.

With the meats I was served a mix of vegeatables and peas;

and noodles.

I really liked the broccoli and peas, I don't know if that's because they were prepared well, or because I'd had a serious lack of vegetables the last few days. I usually don't eat as many rich foods as I do when I'm at Disney, and at home I usually live on diet Coke, Lean Cuisine, and celery sticks. Except when I cook, which is maybe once a week, and then whatever I make seems to have some kind of fat in it. But one day a week I allow myself a "fun" day, when I'll eat whatever, and not worry about the calories or whatever. I don't pig out, but I also don't bother with calorie counting that day.

Of course next week is Thanksgiving, and somehow all of the carb and fat-loaded dishes are my favorites, and that day I do plan to pig out.

Anyway, back to Ohana . . .

The noodles had replaced the potatoes on the menu, and while I thought they fit the theme better then the potatoes ever did, I found them to be rather bland.

After all that food, I still managed to save a little room for dessert, as I knew I was in for a special treat, bananas foster bread pudding.

This has consistantly been one of my favorite Disney desserts, and this time was no exception. I wonder if next time I eat at Ohana they'd let me just start with dessert.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I went to the Wave for dinner and it was the best meal of our trip. It was amazing how wonderfully the tables with children were even without the standard chicken fingers.
I mixed and matched and the chocolate mouse was yummy but if you go back the raspberry cheesecake was to die for.

I've heard a few times that the cheesecake is really good, and I do love a good cheesecake. If I go again I think I'm going to get the creamy indulgences, which includes the cheesecake.

Just found these reviews and have read the whole thing (so far) from start to finish. What an excellent set of reviews - I can't believe you managed to eat at every signature restaurant in one trip - kudos

Not sure what the 'blip' in the middle of the reviews was all about but I'm glad you've decided to carry on - and with incredible pictures too

Doing all the sigantures, plus everything else, was insane. (But in a good way.) If I were ever to go with the deluxe plan again I'd probably eat a little less.

YUM!!!
Wow the Wave looks delish!!!

I cant wait to leave in 20 days!

Thanks for some great reviews. You will see mine!

Looking foward to them.

Thank you for posting your pictures

The Wave looks great, I think I might have to add that to my ever expanding list lol.

You should try it. It was really good, while being a little more on the unusual side.

The Wave review was great. We are dining here in a bit over two weeks and I'm thinking that crab cake looks fab!

Did you say you had two beverages on the DxDP at the Wave? You mentioned Evian and a milkshake. Was the Evian OOP or was that the water option? I ask because I don't drink tap water and would love a nice bottle of still water that I didn't have to pay for OOP.

We were planning to walk from MK to the Contemporary for our Wave lunch. Do you think that would be faster than the monorail?

I have no idea if the monorail or walking would be faster, but the wait I had on the monorail was very unusual.

I got both drinks included. I can't drink the tap water at Disney either.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I am really enjoying all of your reviews and your great photos!
Can't wait to read more

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I have gone back and added the pictures for my Coral Reef and Spoodles reviews. I'm going to try and get the Raglan Road review up sometime today or tomorrow.

 

[jeminni]

Thanks for posting the Spoodles pics. We have a late 9:40 ressie there on my next trip. I can't wait for the dips and the Sangria.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Thanks for posting the Spoodles pics. We have a late 9:40 ressie there on my next trip. I can't wait for the dips and the Sangria.

That right there is a great meal itself. I hope you have a great meal.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Day six was my "off" day, since I had eleven full days in Disney, but only a ten day park pass, so I had no parks planned for this day. I did however have a lunch ADR and planned to spend the day shopping or doing whatever at Downtown Disney.

My brain must have told my body it was an "off" day, as I overslept, (I'm probably the only person who sets their alarm to go shopping,) and my throat was dry. I'm not sure what was up with that, but I developed a nasty cough, which the only thing I can think of for irritating that would be the fire pit from Ohana the night before. It wasn't too bad, I just switched from diet Coke to drinking water, (which was probably better anyway, dry throat or not,) and headed to Downtown Disney, just in time for my lunch reservation.

Raglan Road is an Irish pub, and this was my first time eating there. My ADR was for 11:00, which is when the restaurant opened, and I arrived a few minutes early, but the time passed quickly since I got completely engrossed looking at the cookbook in the gift shop. I am somewhat of a cookbook collector, so I always enjoy looking at them, especially ones with pictures.

The wait staff here seemed somewhat less efficent then it did in other restaurants. First, I was given a dinner menu instead of a lunch one, then when I asked about menu items, I was given an answer, but then a few minutes later the waitress would come out of the kitchen, saying she was wrong, and it was something else instead. They were very nice though, just not very well trained.

I had a choice of only three appetizers, tomato-gin soup, a salad that sounded more like an entree then an appetizer, and something else, which I can't remember what it was, but I do remember knowing right away that I would not be getting it, so maybe the mushroom chowder? (I don't eat mushrooms.) I choose the tomato-gin soup.

First of all, I can all but gaurantee that this is made fresh, since there were seeds in the soup - definatly not canned. It did have a strong gin taste though, and that left a slightly bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Other then that the soup was quite nice, I just didn't care for the aftertaste.

With the soup I was served Irish soda bread. I don't really care for soda bread, but this was good for what it was, and I dipped some in the soup, which made it better.

For my entree I had something that I had not seen listed on the menu before. (I check the menus on All Ears almost daily, even when I don't have a trip planned, as I like to stay up to date in the Disney restaurant world.)

This was the "bee"lt sandwhich, which was a honey-tarragon marinated grilled chicken breast, with bacon, lettuce, and tomato. I had a choice of many sides, and I choose the French fries, since I thought they'd go well with the sandwich.

The sandwich was good, but with my throat bothering me, (don't worry, I feel all better by the next day,) I only managed to eat about half of it, though I did pick out most of the chicken from the remaining half, and just ate it plain. Same deal with the fries, they were good, but I couldn't eat many.

For dessert I had decided long before on the bread pudding, but that was out of the question, plus I'd had bread pudding the night before, so I probably wouldn't of ended up getting it anyway, sore throat or not. Instead I got the creme brulee tart.

This was wonderful! It was super creamy and rich, and very easy to eat. If you like creme brulee you must try this, it is absolutly amazing.

I'd love to go back to Raglan Road sometime when my throat's not bothering me. Maybe even go, and just try a couple more desserts.

 

[elyse43230]

These are absolutely amazing pics! I want to go to Ohana now! Thanks so much for doing this!

 

[ClareH37]

Raglan Road looks great, but a shame you had a poorly throat.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I want to start off by saying I really don't like buffets, and I especially don't like them solo, when I feel the need to take my purse up to the buffet with me since I'm afraid of it getting stolen if I leave it at the table, (even in Disney.) I also worry about the food being dried out from heat lamps, as well as sanitary issues, from everyone serving themselves.

That all being said, I love Boma. Even though I still drag my purse up to the buffet with me, I have no worries of the food, (which Disney does an excellant job of keeping fresh,) and there's an excellant variety and quality to the food, the other buffets don't quite match, (though I am now quite fond of the Crystal Palace lunch buffet, Boma is still my favorite.) Sure there are some old standbys like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets, but most of the food is unusual at the very least.

This was my third time dining at Boma. The first time was in 2005 on a Tuesday night, the second time was in 2006 on a Thursday night, and the most recent time was in 2007 on a Friday night. Boma is on a roational menu, which is Monday and Thursday has the same menu, Tuesday and Friday have the same menu, and Wednesday and Saturday have the same menu. So up to this point I have been able to try every rotational night except for Wednesday and Saturday. Even though both of the other rotations are very good, (though if I had to pick one, I'd pick the Tuesday / Friday menu for the day's soups alone,) I really wanted to try the Wednesday / Saturday menu since I heard that was the night that ribs are served, as well as some soups that sounded good. (I could just eat soup all night when at Boma and be happy.)

It would of fit my original schedule better to eat here the next night, (which was my other Animal Kingdom day, and if you remember from my Jiko review, I think spending the day at Animal Kingdom, before eating at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, adds to the mood,) but due to the rotational menus, I decided to eat here Saturday, even though I was not spending the day at Animal Kingdom.

Between my lunch at Raglan Road and my dinner at Boma I had gone back to Pop for a break, though I didn't actually sleep, I had a nice rest, as well as a fabulous drink, (more about that in my review of Disney drinks and lounges.) I had a 5:00 ADR, but got bored in the room before that, and headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge around 3:30.

I had excellant luck with the buses, as one pulled up at both stops as soon as I arrived, (I had to transfer buses at Epcot to get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge since I went from Pop.) I arrived at Boma early, but was seated right away, since it was only 4:40, and no one was really eating dinner at that time.

My server was Nikki, and she was very nice, and recommended a lot of the things I'd read about that I was already anxious to try. I was very pleased that both the ribs, and the carrot-ginger soup, the two main reasons I had booked Boma on Saturday night, were both being served that night.

Now I must admit that my throat was still not feeling that great, but I had bought a few packs of cough drops, and they were doing wonderful things for my throat, like allowing me to swallow without pain, so I was able to eat more then I was at lunch. Still, had my throat not been bothering me, I probably would've eaten more.

I started with a plate of hot food, since there was no line at the meat station, I'm sorry, meat "pod," and I knew from experience, that there would be a line there later. (Maybe Disney could start making buffet Fast Passes, LOL.)

Going clockwise is prime rib with some kind of sauce, (you'll have to excuse me, but I don't remember the name of the sauce,) nut-crusted salmon, peanut rice, fufu, and a rib.

The prime rib was good as always. It was nice and rare, though I prefer it without the sauce, which I thought was bland. Granted, I took the one that was "least spicy" according to the guy carving the meats, so the other sauces may be better. The nut-crusted salmon was good, as was the peanut rice, which was much better then the rice I had at Crystal Palace. The fufu a.k.a. mashed sweet potatoes are always a favorite of mine. The rib was good, I found it to not be too spicy, like I'd read they were, I enjoyed it.

I had also gotten a bowl of soup. This is the carrot-ginger soup that I was so excited to try.

This was so good, and may be my favorite soup Boma serves, (which is really saying something, as I love all the soups there.) It was so creamy with a slightly sweet very delicate flavor. Well worth the anticipation.

I wanted to save some room for zebra domes, but I also wanted to try at least one more soup, so my next plate was rather small.

This is the coconut-curried chicken soup, and it was very similar, and just as yummy as the coconut curry seafood stew that I'd had last year. I think they must use the same base for both soups, and just change a few ingrediants, as I don't remember there being tomatoes in the seafood one. Anyway this was delicious. With the soup I had some sun-dried tomato hummus, which is another "oldie but goodie" and some assorted dipping breads.

It was then time for dessert. Overall, I have always been almost consistantly dissapointed with the desserts at Boma, (except for the zebra domes,) but I always take a little bit of everything, hoping to find something I like.

Unfortunatly, this time wasn't much different. I would blame it on me not feeling 100% well, but being as this was my fourth time at Boma, I know that I just don't care that much for the desserts. There were a few highlights however.

Starting with the fruit tart and going clockwise. The fruit tart was all right, nothing to complain about, but also nothing special. Then there was a milk tart, which was pretty bland, and kassava cake, which was also bland, and had the strangest texture, it really had to be chewed. That's a pineapple cheesecake at the top of the plate, which I hated on my first trip to Boma, but after reading good reviews about it I grabbed one, and was pleased with it this time, it was one of the better desserts. The amarula cake was very dry, and not good. The chocolate mousse tasted all right, but I much preferred it when it was served in little individual portions. There's also some coconut tiramisu on the plate, which was very light, and had a nice taste to it. In the center there are of course two zebra domes, which were good as always.

So long story short the only desserts I really enjoyed were the pineapple cheesecake, the coconut tiramisu, and the always delightful zebra domes.

I'll be keeping Boma on my "must" list, though I'd recommend eating there on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday, due to the rotational menus. The next time I eat there I'm going to try Sunday night though, since that's a random night, and I read somewhere that the chefs recommend eating there on Sunday, since they try new recipes and such that night. I think that would be fun.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Hello everyone, I hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving.

I want to apologize for taking so long to finish my reviews. I've been so busy recently that I haven't really had that much time for my reviews. Work was crazy, and I did a lot of baking and cooking last week, and now I have to do all my Christmas shopping and decorating, before I start my Christmas baking.

And I'm going away for Christmas, so why am I even bothering to decorate? I'm also probably the only person crazy enough to make and decorate a gingerbread house, and then take it to my relative's with me.

So just a warning that I may not be around a lot in December, but hopefully I'll get these reviews done by the end of January.

Honestly, I thought I'd be done by now, seeing as I've been home for two months, but I'm only half done.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Fantastic reviews, as always! I think everyone's life is getting a bit crazy this time of year and I hadn't been able to keep up w/ your updates. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed spending this afternoon catching up! Looks like you had some great meals and your descriptions and pictures are awesome!

I enjoyed all of them but especially the Wave which I am considering for a solo meal in December; Yachtsman which has been on my most coveted list for a while; Spoodles which I've been thinking about; and love that tropical drink you had at O'Hana!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Fantastic reviews, as always! I think everyone's life is getting a bit crazy this time of year and I hadn't been able to keep up w/ your updates. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed spending this afternoon catching up! Looks like you had some great meals and your descriptions and pictures are awesome!

I enjoyed all of them but especially the Wave which I am considering for a solo meal in December; Yachtsman which has been on my most coveted list for a while; Spoodles which I've been thinking about; and love that tropical drink you had at O'Hana!

I think Ohana has the best drinks. Even if I don't have any meals booked at the Polynesian I make a point of stopping there for a drink at the Tambu Lounge. I think it's the best on Disney property.