Food Filled Adventures....Updated 9/14/09! Palo Brunch and Captain's Gala

[SSRJen]

There are a lot of mixed reviews regarding Planet Hollywood. We went once before (about 5 years ago) and really enjoyed ourselves. We figured we would try it again this time around. We are doing a lot of Downtown Disney restaurants Pre-Cruise this time around.

We arrived at 5:45 for a 6:00 reservation and were seated within a couple of minutes. We were brought to our table and noticed how close together they were. It wouldn’t be terrible except the woman behind me was staking her claim and would not budge when we sat down. There is no way I would have fit there if I were larger. My DH actually moved the table towards his chair. I got in, he pushed the table towards me (so I was tucked in) and then sat down himself. Once in the seat, I was fine though. We repeated this process when I got up from the table. LOL!

We both decided to order drinks. It cooled off quite a bit last night, so I went ahead and ordered an alcoholic coffee drink. It was a Far and Away - Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Kahlua and coffee blended with fresh whipped cream. It was pretty good. I would have liked for it to be a bit more creamy.

My Dh went for a Legally Blond - This pina colada is truly a smart choice of Midori, coconut rum, strawberry and coconut. He upgraded to the souvenir glass and loved every last sip of the drink.

I ordered a side garden salad for a starter. It was very basic with tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce. It is exactly what I wanted.

We had both decided we were going to get pasta dishes for our main course. So, we asked if there was any way to get garlic bread. He said they had breadsticks, so we decided to try those.

The serving came with three breadsticks. We were so excited when they came we forgot to take a picture. Here is what is left…sorry! They were warm and had a slight garlic flavor. They were a bit dry, but I didn’t mind. I dipped most of what I ate in my main course.

We both decided on the Spaghetti Pomodoro for our main course. This consisted of a mixture of plum tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. I had fresh ground Parmesan cheese added to the top.

I loved this dish, my DH thought it was just okay. It was very light and the pasta was cooked well (not mushy like you can sometimes get in non-Italian restaurants).

Our server told us to save room for dessert, but I didn’t. The main course was just too good. Plus, we were headed to Epcot and I had plans for dessert later.

We enjoyed our experience at Planet Hollywood. It wasn't our favorite meal so far, but service was great and the atmosphere enjoyable. I don't like how close the tables are together, but it would not have been so bad if the person behind me would have shared the space. My DH had plenty of room to get in and out of his chair. We would go back again, but it is not a must do location.


Around 9 O’clock last night, we walked past the Fountain View in Epcot. We decided it was time for dessert! They serve hand scooped ice cream here (I like hand scooped over soft serve). I saw the fresh cookies and knew I had to go for one of these…

A chocolate chip ice cream sandwich with vanilla ice cream. I have never had one at the Bakery on Main Street (Magic Kingdom), but my guess is this is just as good. The cookies were cooked perfectly. A little bit of crunch, but soft enough to bite without the ice cream spilling out everywhere.

DH ordered one scoop of chocolate chip and one of butter pecan in a waffle cone. He devoured the entire thing. I assume he loved it!

 

[kimgof]

OMG that ice cream looks delish!

 

[gardengirl628]

I totally want one of the ice cream cookie sandwiches! Yumm-o!

 

[BriarRosie]

I've never gone into Fountain View since they changed over to ice cream, but now I'm jonesing for your cookie sandwich.

 

[MickeyNicki]

I read her review as well and was a little nervous ours would be as bad. My husband really wanted the pasta, but I wouldn't let him. I told him I would show him a picture when we got back to the room!

I am so glad you guys enjoyed your meal at RR, wish I could say the same! Glad your DH listened to you and avoided the pasta! In theory the dish sounded very good, I could see why he wanted it!

 

[hmgray95]

I'm glad to know that you can get the ice cream cookie sandwich at Epcot as well....I thought it was only at the bakery at MK. It looks delicious!

 

[SSRJen]

Thanks everyone for reading so far! We are getting on the Magic tomorrow, so the live reviews will have to take a pause for a little while. I have tonight's dinner, the cruise food and then the final days at WDW to post after the cruise. Wish I could do the cruise live as well, but I don't plan on buying an internet package.

 

[gardengirl628]

Have a great time on your cruise! We'll be waiting for your return!

 

[tlynk]

Loving your reviews! I can't wait to read your Disney California Adventure's food and wine festival reviews as well. I'm hoping to go to Disneyland during the food and wine festival next year.

 

[paras4ri]

Last night we had dinner at Raglan Road. This was the first time eating at this location. I was very excited since they offer Fish and Chips, and you just can not find decent Fish and Chips in Southern California. Being born and raised in Rhode Island, where Fish and Chips could be found fresh like Starbucks in Seattle and look like this…

At the restaurant above you can get two orders of fish and chips, two bowls of clam chowder and six clam cakes for under $20. YUM! I always get as much of this as I can when I go back and visit R.I.! If you have never had a clam cake (mainly found in R.I and M.A….they are soooo good!!

I don't mean to hijack your Disney food thread but since I'm RI born and RI bred I just wanted to take a guess that this is from Iggys?

Hope you have a wonderful cruise - can't wait to see more dining reviews.

 

[ILoveMK2008]

Loving these reviews so far!

paras4ri, as a fellow Rhode Islander and URI alum, I'm wondering if you're referring to the URI fight song "We're Rhode Island born and we're Rhode Island bred, and when we die we'll be Rhode Island dead" in your post ? Love that song!

 

[MinnieMom5]

Lurker here! Great live report, can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip. Enjoy!!!

 

[attagirlx2]

Thanks for the great info!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Hope you are out having fun.

Loving your reviews! Keep 'em coming!

 

[nel79]

Can't wait for more...specially House of Blues, I made reservations for our upcoming trip.

 

[SSRJen]

I'm back. The cruise was amazing and soooo relaxing. We were so sad to say goodbye to the Magic today. However, there is so much to report. The food was great and, I thought much better than our November 2006 cruise. The food wasn't bad then by any means, but has only been improved upon.

I still have to review our last dinner at WDW prior to the cruise. We had planned on going to House of Blues, which is one of our favorites...but, we just didn't feel like having a full sit down dinner. We knew we would be eating so much within the next week and opted for Wolfgang Puck Express again!

I knew exactly what I wanted. I saw pictures of it on DIS and decided on Rigatoni with Chicken Bolognese. I walked in, saw it on the menu and ordered and was told they did not have any. WHAT? You ran out?...Nope...they just took it off the menu. Turns out they have made some changes, but the printed menus have not been updated yet.

Well, I am sure you all know what it is like to have your mind and stomach planning on one thing and then having to make a quick decision. This is what happened...

Yep, the same chicken tenders and fries as last time. The chicken tenders were still wonderful and served fresh and hot. The fries however, were old, cold, and hard. I couldn't eat them. Wolfgang Puck was great and replaced them for me. I just had to mention it to someone bringing out the orders. Soon enough this arrived...

They were hot, fresh and crisp. So glad they replaced them without any hassle.

My DH wanted pasta and decided on the Spaghetti and Meatballs.

He thought it was good, but different. I tasted it and did not like it at all. The flavor is much different than what you would expect.

His meal also came with a side salad, which he gave to me. This was probably the best Caesar Salad I have had in a while. The dressing was light and lettuce crisp. The croutons were crunchy and had a nice garlic flavor.

Up next...The Disney Cruise Line dining experience!!!

 

[SSRJen]

I totally want one of the ice cream cookie sandwiches! Yumm-o!

It was very great. I didn't think I would be able to eat even half of it, but it was so good, I only left behind part of one cookie!

I've never gone into Fountain View since they changed over to ice cream, but now I'm jonesing for your cookie sandwich.

We go every trip, but this is the first time I saw the ice cream cookie sandwich on the menu! It is usually pretty empty and easier to get ice cream on a hot day as compared to Main Street at MK! DH is also picky and likes waffle CONES (not bowls) with hand scooped (not soft-serve) ice cream. Fountain View is one of the few places have has the combo.

OMG that ice cream looks delish!

It was.

I am so glad you guys enjoyed your meal at RR, wish I could say the same! Glad your DH listened to you and avoided the pasta! In theory the dish sounded very good, I could see why he wanted it!

I showed him the picture when we got back to the room and he could not believe it. He thanks you for saving him from that mess!

I'm glad to know that you can get the ice cream cookie sandwich at Epcot as well....I thought it was only at the bakery at MK. It looks delicious!

I have never had one from the bakery. The cookies tasted fresh, but were not warm. Not sure if the bakery serves them warm or not.

I don't mean to hijack your Disney food thread but since I'm RI born and RI bred I just wanted to take a guess that this is from Iggys?

The picture above is from Iggy's, but R.I. has so many great Fish and Chip places! Now that I am live in CA, no one knows real Fish and Chips. When I talk about clam cakes people say, "Oh, like a crab cake?"...(shakes head).

Can't wait for more...specially House of Blues, I made reservations for our upcoming trip.

We didn't make it to House of Blues. It is a great restaurant though, we plan to go every trip. We just were not feeling it the day before our cruise! I recommend the ribs and appetizer pizzas!

 

[Aunt KatKat]

I'm enjoying this review soo much!

I can't wait to see the rest, thanks for writing it up and sharing it with us.

Katherine

 

[SSRJen]

The next portion of my dining reviews will be Disney Cruise Line food. I know this is a WDW board, but I figured no one would mind reading more about food here.

We were aware of and informed by our serving team that they were rolling out all new menus this cruise. Our server told us they started some of the new menus last cruise, but were changing over them all this cruise. I was excited to try some new things and see what I thought about the changes. If you are interested in seeing the new menus, I took pictures and posted them here. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2214851

Please note that I did not take pictures of Topsiders, breakfast food, or food up on deck 9. I strictly stuck to longer sit down meals.

Our assigned dinner rotation was 8:15, LAPLAPL

Day 1 – Embarkation Buffet/Lumiere’s Rotational Dinner

Upon entering the ship, we made our way to Parrot Cay for the Embarkation Buffet. I was not that hungry and only got one plate of food. Pictured below are Spaghetti and Meatballs, which was pretty good. I skipped the meatballs and only ate the pasta. Rice, which was wonderful. Very light and I believe it was basmati rice (my favorite), a cold pasta salad...I wasn’t a huge fan of this and didn’t eat much of it. Too much of a vinegar taste. Also on the plate were roasted potatoes (very good) and sweet and sour pork (not good). Overall, decent meal, but not the highlight of the trip by any means.

For dinner on the first night, we were assigned to Lumiere’s. DH and I ended up getting the chicken noodle soup for our appetizer. This is on the kid’s menu, but I love Disney’s chicken broth and had to get it. It was served very hot (which I like), and tasted as wonderful as I remember. The noodles were Mickey shaped, which is always a plus. There were plenty of veggies and chicken in the soup as well.

Next for me was the Market Green Salad which was described as cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppered goat cheese, and a Raspberry Vinaigrette.

The salad was delicious and full of flavor. The dressing was great and complimented the goat cheese well. It was light and refreshing, which was great since I had this next…

This is a three-cheese mac and cheese with lobster and shrimp. This is an item added to the Lumiere’s menu. I have to say it is a welcomed addition. There was not much on the previous menu I liked.

The cheese was more of a sauce than a baked pasta, which made it feel lighter. The server still joked that it was only 5000 calories. Haha. The pasta was cooked al dente, which is how I like it. The lobster was tender and I liked how it was placed on top, rather than mixed in the sauce. It allowed me to enjoy the lobster by itself or take a bit with a noodle. I wish I could have another bowl of this right now! I should also mention that the meal tasted like it was created fresh. The sauce was not congealing and it was hot rather than just warm. A change welcomed this cruise. I remember thinking everything was served warm last cruise. I like my food very hot when served.

DH went for the beef option on the menu. Tonight it was Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Olive-Oil mashed potatoes, bacon-wrapped green beans, and Madeira Mustard Sauce. He thought it was pretty good. I tried a piece and thought it was okay. He likes his meat cooked medium-well to well done and this was definitely well done. I prefer more medium cooked beef. There has been a lot of discussion on the DCL boards regarding the use of sauces on the new menu. As you can see here, the sauce is under all the food. It can easily be left off the plate.

For dessert, we both had the Grand Marnier Soufflé with Vanilla Sauce. We both thought that this was very tasty but doesn’t compare to the chocolate soufflé at Palo. It was served fresh and very hot. I like that they give you the sauce for your own distribution.

 

[Evette]

Thanks for all the wonderful pictures and your review of the food. We will be sailing on September 12th on the Magic and I appreciate the info on the food. Looking forward to the rest of your report.