FINALLY updated 8/20 - 8 nights of vegetarian dining on the DDP - with pictures!!

[amarberry]

Wow...what an experience at Spoodles. I'm sorry that it was so horrible. We ate there in January and it was decent. Well, the entire meal was sort of ruined when my poor little DD started having an allergic reaction to something in the 4 cheese flatbread. We were assured that there was no eggs in it (she is severely allergic) so we aren't sure if it was a cross contamination issue or one of the cheeses. The best part of our meal was the Mediterrian Dips appetizer, so I am very sorry that you weren't able to try them. We have an ADR for next month that I've been a little on the fence about. Maybe I'll try to come up with something else...

 

[Moonpie]

Thanks for the great vegetarian reviews! I just got back from going to at our local Cheese Cake Factory, and I can't believe they took the veggie burger off their menu! It's my favorite! I was so annoyed that we got up and walked out.

 

[KAYELIZ]

What a disappointment! I can never understand why they try to give you the worst table in the restaurant when there are better ones available, but that seems to happen a lot to us too. In fact, so often that I now start scouting out a better table as they are walking us to the first one, just in case

 

[princesstigerlilly]

Thanks for the great reviews and photos!

 

[Ltl Mermaid]

Thanks for the great veggie reviews!!

 

[punkin712]

Thanks for the great vegetarian reviews! I just got back from going to at our local Cheese Cake Factory, and I can't believe they took the veggie burger off their menu! It's my favorite! I was so annoyed that we got up and walked out.

Our local Sam's Club carries Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes. I checked the ingredients and the sour cream they use contains gelatin. I'm not sure if the cheesecakes they serve at the restaurant have the same ingredients, but I'm not taking any chances.

 

[Disney owl]

Great reviews thanks

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Anyway, DH and I went to Spoodles once a few years ago and I thought the food then was pretty good. I remember getting some type of pasta with mushroom cream sauce for my entree and I'm pretty sure we had an appetizer, but I can't remember what it was. I do remember that the restaurant was pretty empty (although they made a big deal about us not having reservations) and that the server was annoying. Every time she came to clear our plates, she made a point of commenting on the fact that we finished our food. One time she said to me "Did a tiger come through here and eat your meal? You really cleaned your plate!" Without getting into too much detail, I am very self-conscious about eating in front of strangers and having her comment on my "clean plate" made me increasingly uncomfortable. DH wanted to stick around for dessert and coffee, but I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I'm sorry about your server! I wonder if this one didn't get that she wasn't at 50's Prime Time?...which, btw, is part of why we've not yet eaten there...I would be super uncomfortable with that comment, too! Plus, shouldn't they be much more concerned if you hardly touch your food? Although that would imply that they cared if you enjoyed it, and it certainly seems that at Spoodles, they may not.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

I thought LeCellier had a Butternut Aquash Risotto?

I was really looking forward to trying it

I know that they did in the winter; my cousin had it (I was also hoping that maybe they'd whip up one entree like that for us).

Anyway, depending on when you go, they might have something along those lines again. I would bet in October or November they'll be switching over to a winter vegetable...we've been watching Le Cellier's menu for quite some time, and they always have a summer dish and a winter dish. I wouldn't be surprised to see squash come back for the cooler months, especially since so much of what was in the dish we had won't be seasonal. So don't give up hope! And if it doesn't change, I have to say that this dish was great!

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Oh no! I was going to post my Chefs review now, but Snapfish isn't working!
BOO! But I will soon, and it will be good! (it was SO good, I'm still daydreaming of the salad and dessert)

 

[spaceacewannabe]

We went to AK right away this morning, but this time we got smart and left for Epcot to eat our CS.

We headed straight for Sunshine Seasons again, again getting the veggie Cuban Sandwiches & chips (I think I got a bag of popcorn this time---which was also delicious).

My mom got the fruit tulip for dessert again (she loved them!).

I picked up a Key Lime Pie for myself and a Strawberry Bavarian for my sister (to be shared or swapped, since I was picking for her...but I think we basically ate our own):

These two were my personal favorites. Obviously, the fruit tulip is my mom's favorite. My sister says it all depends on your mood, that she liked them all differently.

The Strawberry Bavarian was kind of a cross between a mousse and a firm custard. It was delicious! Notice the hidden mickey---those thin circles of cake were a nice touch, too. This was delicious and light.

The Key Lime Pie was also nice and light and delicious! The topping is kind of a meringue instead of a whipped cream, and it was great.

YUM!

 

[princesstigerlilly]

Thanks again for the reviews and pics! I realize this is a bit OT, but with all of your park hopping, did you have a car or use Disney transportation?

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Thanks again for the reviews and pics! I realize this is a bit OT, but with all of your park hopping, did you have a car or use Disney transportation?

Hi Princesstigerlilly,
Nope, no car, all Disney transportation We really didn't have too many problems (with a few notable exceptions, but those were mostly from AKL, where we were staying). We've always been very into park hopping...it's kind of our way of taking a break midday (since we don't go back to the room).

 

[tinkerrn]

Awesome reviews!!! I can't wait for the Chefs De France review. I have always wanted to go there....just wasn't sure what to order. We are going for dinner.

 

[budbeerlady]

Wonderful reviews! I am disapointed about Le cellier, we are eating there again and I am hoping to call and make a note on my ressie. I detest mushrooms and onions, I hope they do something else for vegetarians.

 

[princesstigerlilly]

Hi Princesstigerlilly,
Nope, no car, all Disney transportation We really didn't have too many problems (with a few notable exceptions, but those were mostly from AKL, where we were staying). We've always been very into park hopping...it's kind of our way of taking a break midday (since we don't go back to the room).

Great to know!

 

[spaceacewannabe]

We arrived at 5:50 for our 6 p.m. ADR at Chefs de France. Thibault checked us in and immediately showed us to a lovely table in the sun room, with a view of the pastry area (now THIS is a kitchen view we like!). Thibault was very nice, friendly, and courteous, as were all the CMs here. He seated us and removed my sister's and my wine glasses and left my mom's (we're still laughing about this one; apparently we don't look of age).

Lisa, our waitress, arrived to take our drink orders and tell us about the menu. We were on the DDP, and the menu at Chefs is set up so that anything off the first page is an appetizer and anything off the second or third is an entree. I'm sure this makes life easier for the servers!

The other beautiful thing about the menu here is that there are TWO, yes, TWO vegetarian entrees, and quite a number of meatless appetizers. The other beautiful thing is that this is simple food, prepared exquisitely...so there aren't weird sauces or chunks of surprise meat or anything to guess about. So, we actually didn't even have to ask what our options were, we could actually SEE on the menu what was vegetarian (I'd also read in the Veg. Guide to Disney that one of the founding chefs here was big into the vegetarian movement in noveau French cuisine...nice!).

Anyway, before we received our appetizers, we were brought these delicious rolls:

YUM! Crunchy and crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. Perfect.

For an appetizer, my mom had the tomato & goat cheese tarte:

This was like a really, really outstanding, super thin crust pizza.

My sister had the cheese plate, which came with a fair amount of salad:

This included brie, gruyere, ?, and some type of blue cheese. My sister says this was good, but it was a lot to eat with a three course meal. She said the salad was a nice touch and a great way to kind of "cleanse the palate" between cheeses. We are from WI, btw, and we really know our cheeses. She and my mom were impressed with these. All but the gruyere were a bit sharper than I enjoy (but...I'm not a huge cheese fan and I prefer mild and not-too-salty ones for the most part).

I had the salad with endive, mixed greens, grapes, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, and baked goat cheese:

I'm feeling a bit teary eyed writing this because I loved this salad SO much and wish I had one right now This was awesome! We all had this when we went back on Sunday night (more on that later). The greens were perfect, the balsamic vinagrette on this was perfect and light. The walnuts and grapes were fabulous. Oh, the baked goat cheese. I didn't really know what to expect here. It was so good. It was warm and creamy on the inside, had a little bit of a cream cheese (but BETTER) flavor to it, and it was kind of crusted on the outside. The flavors in this salad were so wonderful together. Yum. I want one NOW! We're going to have to experiment with cream cheese here, because from the goat cheese at Coral Reef on Monday, I suspect this was imported, French goat cheese & I doubt I'll find any this good here.

Anyway, the entrees.

My sister had the Gratin de Macaroni (Mac & Cheese, with Gruyere Cheese):

I really expected this to be super heavy, which is why I didn't order it. I got to sample a bite, and somehow they managed to make macaroni and cheese taste 1. sophisticated, and 2. almost light! This was very good. I shouldn't be calling it mac and cheese, because it's really not anything like the image that conjures up. And gruyere cheese is just heaven.

My mom & I had Lasagnes de legumes du soleil a l'huile d'olive au thym - zucchini, eggplant and tomato baked into thin layers of pasta:

(sorry, this one looks gross---I was trying to show the veggies inside)

YUM! This was so good. I should mention that both of these were much larger than they appear. When they arrived, I thought the Gratin de Macaroni in particular looked like a very small serving, but my sister couldn't finish. I think I was the only one able to finish my entree, and I probably shouldn't have (it's so hard not to when it's SO GOOD!). Anyway, this had a very nice, light tomato sauce---not too heavy on the garlic. It really relied more on the sweetness of the tomatoes than on spices...don't get me wrong, I usually love spices, but as I said before-simple food prepared exquisitely. I'm trying to come up with more ways to describe this, but I can't! It was fantastic, though.

For dessert, my sister had Carmelized Apricots with honey & cumin and Earl Grey Sorbet:

She loved this dessert. I had a taste and thought it was only okay (but I could take or leave apricots and Earl Grey Tea).

My mom and I had a really hard time deciding (their whole dessert menu looks awesome), so we asked Lisa (I will get back to her soon) what her favorites were. She listed two, and my mom ordered the Macaroon with Strawberries, Rhubarb Coulis, and homemade Vanilla Ice Cream:

Sorry these didn't come out so well. This has two macaroon cookies (which tasted like really excellent cham [meringue] tortes), which were each about the size of my hand (I think they were quite a bit bigger, but we're having some disagreement on this and I don't want to mislead anyone). Anyway, the bottom cookie has a scoop of ice cream in the center, then the rhubarb coulis (I don't always like rhubarb, which is why I didn't jump on this one) around the edges. Then those NICE strawberries around the edge, and the other cookie on top. We can't agree/remember what the red sauce around the plate was (my sister says raspberry, my mom & I don't think it was but it didn't taste like strawberry either...perhaps it was mixed red berries...but in any event, it was delicious). Anyway, this was THE BEST dessert. It was so good. It was just amazing. And...if you don't like rhubarb, I have to say I didn't really notice a strong rhubarb taste, it just added a little something extra. This was excellent.

I took Lisa's other suggestion and ordered the Opera Cake: Chocolate & Coffee flavored cake and homemade praline ice cream:

This was good, but I didn't love it. I can definitely see where other people would; I think this was just a personal preference---this cake was just not my thing (but it was still good!). I really liked the praline ice cream, however (which was a pretty big selling point, really). The rest of it...just not for me. It didn't hold a candle to the macaroon, and there were a lot of other really good options that I'd try instead. BUT...I wouldn't advise against this, depending on your tastes. Did that make sense?

Anyway, Lisa's service was absolutely impeccable. There really wasn't anything she could have done better. She was friendly and made pleasant (and not awkward!) conversation when she came to introduce herself. She asked where we were from, and we talked about what part of France she was from (near the Riviera, lucky girl!) and how she'd come to the US. She was speedy with refills and considerate of what we might need. She came by to ask how things were enough that we felt taken care of but not so much that it became intrusive. She gave great recommendations for dessert (even though the opera cake wasn't MY favorite...and the macaroon was also her suggestion-yum!). And she was sweeter than sweet the whole way through. She was just a total professional, and her exemplary service made the whole thing feel like an even bigger deal, an even better restaurant, and an even nicer meal. We left $20 in cash beyond the 18% included in the DDP...which put the gratuity around 40%, which we now wonder, was it enough? She was great.

In fact, the whole meal was so great that before we left Epcot...in fact, before we'd even left "France"...we decided we wanted to drop Alfredo's for Sunday night and get another ADR at Chefs if one was available. We swung by Guest Relations on our way out, and they had a 5:40 ADR for Sunday at Chefs, so we cancelled Alfredo's and booked another Chefs. Woohoo!

But, before that, Crystal Palace breakfast

 

[spaceacewannabe]

Wonderful reviews! I am disapointed about Le cellier, we are eating there again and I am hoping to call and make a note on my ressie. I detest mushrooms and onions, I hope they do something else for vegetarians.

Hi Budbeerlady,
I actually don't think there were any mushrooms in the entree (just the tomato stack), and I think leaving off the onions would be easy (they said they could leave off the asparagus on my mom's, but we declined). The entree we had was really great (besides having too long and complicated of a name!).
Good luck!

 

[KAYELIZ]

Wow... that looks fabulous!! We're going to have to try to rework our reservations to include this restaurant!!! I hope I can get a reservation.

 

[tinkerrn]

OMG!!!!! I AM SO GOING TO FRANCE NOW!!!!!! Everything looked sooooo good!!!
The macaroni and cheese, the lasagana, the bread!!!! I need to maybe make 2 ADRs also!!! Thank you sooo much for this awesome review!!!! Did they give you butter...real butter with those yummy crusty rolls?