Eat Beat-updated 9/25 Yak & Yeti

[tortoni]

Well, we just returned from a lovely 11 day holiday at WDW. I have learned so much from reading all of your reviews, so I am going to attempt preparing one of my own. We took lots of pictures, but I am a novice at posting, so may need some help along the way.

First, the cast of characters. There is DH, a Disney lover since our first trip together back in 1991. I am a veteran Mickey fanatic and made my first trip to the World in 1980. What a difference between then and now! Our three kids were also along for all or part of our trip—DS 20, DD 18 and DS 15. We stayed at the Beach Club on the Stone Harbor floor and also had a studio villa for the part of the time that older DS was with us so that we would not be cramped. We had free dining as part of our BC stay, lots of snacks in the concierge lounge and 2 overlapping nights on the DXDP. In total, we had 67 TS credits, 63 Snack credits and 55 QS credits. WOW- it was a lot of food! In fact, it was so much food that we had trouble using all the credits and, by the last few days, I was not really hungry for our meals. But no worries, eat we did and we used up all those credits.

Where? In addition to lots of QS places, we ate at the following TS restaurants.

Rose and Crown
Le Cellier (2X)
Tony’s Town Square
Sci-Fi Diner
La Hacienda
The Plaza
Via Napoli
Yak & Yeti
Beaches and Cream
Teppan Edo (2X)
Flying Fish
Yachtsman Steakhouse
Kouzzina
Hollywood Brown Derby
Garden Grill

We ate at the following QS restaurants:

WPE
Hurricane Hannas
Pecos Bill
Yakatori House (including on the last day that it was open)
Boulangerie
Sommerfest
Kringla Café
Earl of Sandwich
Sunshine Seasons
Boardwalk Bakery

We also enjoyed snacks at Fountainview, Seashore Sweets, Goofy’s, Karamel Kouche and many other venues! Plus, we enjoyed cocktails at the Crew’s Cup Lounge.

First up will be our arrival lunch at Yakatori and our dinner at Rose and Crown. I hate to start on a down note, but our first meals were not memorable in a good way. Rest assured, however, that the few misses were outweighed by many delicious dining experiences.

Best, Toni

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Really looking forward to your reviews as we are eating at most of the same places in just under two weeks! I am nervous to hear about your Rose & Crown dinnner with your note that your first day was bad. We love Rose & Crown and are eating there on our first night as well.

 

[MickeyNicki]

YAY! I am so excited to read all about it and drool over your photos!

We are eating at some of the same places you ate at on our upcoming trip..never been to Kouzzina and Rose & Crown before so I cannot wait for those!

 

[tortoni]

Test photo

 

[tortoni]

Really looking forward to your reviews as we are eating at most of the same places in just under two weeks! I am nervous to hear about your Rose & Crown dinnner with your note that your first day was bad. We love Rose & Crown and are eating there on our first night as well.

Welcome! Thanks for joining in. I'll try to get this report done before you go. I am a firm believer that everyone has different views about what they like/don't like, so even if we were not thrilled with Rose and Crown, you may continue to love it. We certainly appreciated the wonderful view.

 

[tortoni]

YAY! I am so excited to read all about it and drool over your photos!

We are eating at some of the same places you ate at on our upcoming trip..never been to Kouzzina and Rose & Crown before so I cannot wait for those!

Hi Nicki, and thanks for joining in. I often read your reviews (love when you go live) so I am feeling a bit of pressure now since you are the review queen on the boards! Hope I can keep it interesting.

 

[Linda67]

Count me in

 

[tortoni]

Count me in

Hi LInda, welcome. Hope to post a bunch of reviews today!

 

[tortoni]

We arrived at the BC around 2 and were whisked up to the Stone Harbor floor, a lovely upgrade! While we were checking in, DS and DD headed to the lounge and munched on the chocolate chip cookies and lemonade that were there every afternoon. Our room was not ready, and we were quite hungry since we left before breakfast and had not eaten (except for the lounge snacks). I had booked an ADR for Tutto, but none of us wanted to start the vacation with a hustle, so we asked the concierge to cancel this ADR and we set off on our own. DH suggested the ESPN Club. I’m sure he was thinking of a cool brew in a cool room with a tasty burger, but we had just arrived with dining credits and I had the “I don’t want to waste a TS credit on a hamburger” mentality, so we went with DS’s request—Yakatori. Should have gone with DH’s recommendation.

We started off with a walk over to Epcot, upgraded our two-day passes to DVC annual passes (yay, more trips) and headed straight for Japan. Now, this summer has been hot in the Northeast, but I was not prepared for the blazing sun under which we walked to Japan, especially not in my long pants and black shirt. DH was surely wondering why we were not in the air-conditioned ESPN Club. I know this because he was musing about it out loud. I announced that we would not be sitting outside on the patio, our usual spot, and would have to find an indoor table for Yakatori to work. As soon as we got there, a table opened and the kids claimed it.

Now, for a long time, Yakatori has been DS’s favorite. It is one of his 3 must-do’s foodwise. You may be wondering if he likes the chicken teriyaki or sushi, but no, he simply enjoys a large bowl of white rice! This goes back to his days when he would eat one food for a whole week to the exclusion of everything else. Once while we were at Disney, it was rice and so I guess the Yakatori rice holds a special place in his heart. In fact, he insists that the Yakatori rice is better than Lotus Blossum in China.

Well, sadly I did not take pictures here because we were so hungry and hot that I did not think of it. However, the real news is that we ate one of the last meals at Yakatori. Upon return another day, we saw that the area is completely blocked off and they had gutted the eatery! We were told that a completely new QS eatery will be there in November. This may be a good thing since DH and I did not enjoy the lunch. We split 3 QS meals, plus the bowl of rice. DD had the chicken teriyaki which she enjoyed. DH had the Shogun combo and he said the meat was very fatty. I had the Sushi Udon combo, which I did not like. I am lucky to have some very nice Japanese restaurants near my office that serve very good food. The Yakatori sushi tasted like supermarket fare and the udon did not have that great salty broth that I have come to expect. None of us had the cookies that came with dessert as we had already had a cookie in the club lounge. So no pictures, but you would not be going there anyway because it is closed.

Next up, Rose and Crown—with photos—as soon as my daughter wakes up and guides me through the posting process!

Also, I know some like to see the cost of the food to determine if the DDP is worth it so I have tried to keep track of this. We used 3 QS credits for a meal that would have cost $41 (rounded up) plus about $2 out of pocket for extra rice.

 

[Tinker12]

I'm in!!

 

[tortoni]

I'm in!!

Hi Tinker, welcome.

 

[tortoni]

/Users/jpbene/Pictures/PB Photos/iPhoto Library/Previews/2011/08/13/20110813-195625/IMG_1004.jpg

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Can't wait to read your reviews, you ate at some of my favorite places!

 

[vettegirl]

Count me in, sounds like a super yummy lineup. Thats too bad Yakatori house wasn't that good, its one of my favs. I am sad it will be closed in Nov, but I will just hit up the Japan booth at the F&W fesitival instead

 

[tortoni]

Can't wait to read your reviews, you ate at some of my favorite places!

Thanks for joining in-most of our meals were great!

 

[tortoni]

Count me in, sounds like a super yummy lineup. Thats too bad Yakatori house wasn't that good, its one of my favs. I am sad it will be closed in Nov, but I will just hit up the Japan booth at the F&W fesitival instead

We are sad that Yakatori closed too, I hope the new one will be an improved version. We are lucky to be going to Food and Wine too for a long weekend and plan to check on the progress.

 

[tortoni]

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr


For our first night, we went to Rose and Crown. I had booked R&C with the intention of being able to watch Illuminations from the R&C viewing area on our first night. This worked out very well. The splendid viewing area for the fireworks certainly made up for a not so spectacular meal.

First, let me say that the atmosphere at R&C, in my opinion, is very nice and authentic. I was lucky enough to be in London several times over the last few years and the pub atmosphere seemed spot on to what we experienced in London. As soon as we sat down, DH announced that he knew what he was having. He had been chatting with the bartender out front when he picked up a beer, and the bartender told him that the Sunday Roast was the best thing on the menu. This, coupled with the fact that we had never accomplished having a Sunday Roast in London, put the dish on the top of his list. I announced that this was a great choice, having recently read Dizneat’s review of this very dish. DS and DD both went with the Grilled Sirloin and I ordered the Grilled Sirloin and Fried Fish, along with a sampler of beers. The beer sampler and some tasty rolls came out right away and we thought we were off to a good start.


Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr


Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr


We had a lovely table indoors (it was still hot out) and were chatting away when our waiter came back to report that the Sunday Roast was sold out! DH looked stricken. Well, he decided to go with the Grilled Sirloin at the waiter’s suggestion. We continued to enjoy our drinks and some very tasty looking dishes came our way not too long after. Looks are not everything.


Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr


Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr

The problem here was the steak-it was just not a good cut of meat. The best I can do to describe it is say that it was gritty and dry. “Medium” in their lexicon means no pink at all—what I would consider “well-done.” The kids decided to make do, but DH told the waiter that his was overdone when he came by to ask. A new steak was brought out very quickly, but just as well-done, dry and gritty. Still, the waiter was very good and tried to please and it certainly wasn’t his fault. My steak was just as dry but I enjoyed the fish and the veggies. I did have something on my plate that was purportedly a Yorkshire pudding. NOT. It was so hard, I could not even cut it with a knife.

Not a great start to our dining adventure, but it was now time for Illuminations and we were escorted out to a viewing spot where we had a very good view of the show.


IMG_1063 by tortoni2, on Flickr

Upon our return, we each had our desserts, two chocolate cakes, a trifle and the lemon pie. I thought the lemon pie was terrific, very tart and filled with lemon flavor. DH and DS enjoyed the chocolate cake, but DD did not like the trifle. Can’t find photos of these, will post if I locate them.


Up next, Le Cellier for lunch, which did not disappoint!

4 TS Credits, bill came to $144 plus out of pocket for the beer sampler. Total use of plan thus far=$188

 

[tortoni]

Now that I have mastered the posting of pictures, let me post one of my favorite snacks in WDW-the mammoth! I had one while there and brought another home. Got them both at Goofy's-great use of a snack credit-but you can also find them at other locations.


Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr

 

[tortoni]

On our first full day, we stopped in the Club Lounge for breakfast and had hard-boiled eggs, mini croissants, juice and fruit. This was a great way to start the day, just enough.

Off to EPCOT where we hit Test Track, Soaring and Innoventions. Then it was on to the first of our 2 ADRs at Le Cellier. DH is always surprised by how necessary it is to get ADRs for some restaurants and he was glad we had them today as many walk-ups were being turned away. That said, the restaurant was not full and we asked our lovely waitress, Ashley, why people were turned away when the restaurant was not full. She said they hold tables for ADRs for 15 minutes before another guest can use them. She brought over a basket of bread, including the famous pretzel bread. Since my crew could not wait, I only snapped a photo of the second batch of pretzel bread. It is very good!

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr
DD and I had the raspberry smoothie which was very tasty and included on the DDP as a drink. We all knew, or thought we knew, what we wanted-the mushroom filet. Ashley, however, also recommended the strip steak and said it was her favorite so DH ordered that, knowing there were would be a round 2 at this restaurant. We each have our own version of the filet. I take it as is, my daughter subs the mashed potatoes and my son omits the sauce and subs fries. Yes, he turns it into a filet and fries, but that is what he enjoys! DH subbed the risotto instead of mashed in the strip steak dish, not completely willing to divert from the signature dish. Everything was great and completely delish. DH loved the strip steak. I tried it and it had a lot of flavor. The filets were tender and cooked just right. The risotto was very good. Hits all around.

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr
At dessert time, we all picked something different. DS had the chocolate mousse which he enjoyed.

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr
DH had the chocolate cake, which he liked, but not loved.

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr
DD enjoyed her sorbet, I think it was peach.

Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr
I had the cobbler dish. I would say this was just okay. The ice cream was tasty, but I’ve had much better cobbler.


Untitled by tortoni, on Flickr

Overall, I give the meal an A, left off the plus due to the desserts not hitting high marks. We had a great server, nice table and delicious food. This is usually our favorite meal-but not on this trip. Our favorite is yet to come and is at a restaurant that we have stayed away from because of a miss years ago. It will go on our must do list in the future. But, that is for another post.


Le Cellier meal was 4 TC credits, worth $155. Up to $335, with 8 TC used and 3 QS used.

 

[starousse]

Looking forward to more of your reviews