Hi everyone! Sorry I have been out of the loop for a while. Now that Disney is done we have been planning some camping trips (and it will surprise no one I am just an obsessive a planner with that as with WDW!). Ok, but now we are back and on to the good stuff - dinner at Jiko!
After our day at AK, we headed over to Jiko for an adults only dinner (Kids went to Simba's clubhouse). This was the only day we didn't return to the room mid-day for a break so we were sort of hot and sweaty. In hindsight I would have left time to go back to the resort since even with a quick change and wash up in the bathroom, I think we both felt a bit harried. But I think we cleaned up pretty well...
(Brenda if you are reading, this is in honor of your many "will show cleavage for food" photos!

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So after attempting to get ourselves presentable, we headed over to Jiko. As usual, it is an oasis after the chaos surrounding Boma. We had a 6:00 ADR and were seated almost immediately. Our table was in the long row of two-tops on the window wall site so we (or I) had a nice view outside.
Two side notes: have you ever noticed that the women almost always sit on the booth side of a booth/chair table? DH and I went out once and out of 15 tables in a row, the woman sat on the booth side. Same thing here. Second, I have to complain about these tables - SO CLOSE TOGETHER! I am not exaggerating when I say I could have held hands with the tables on either side. And I can tell you exactly what they all ate for dinner. This is a big pet peeve of mine (not limited to Jiko - same problem at Bistro de Paris), especially in a nice restaurant.
Ok, back to the food. I had been craving the cheese plate ever since I read someone else's review. And it did not disappoint. Here is what it looked like:
And because I am a dutiful DIS boarder, I even took a picture of the piece of paper they give you accompanying it to tell you what cheeses they are (think you feel silly taking a picture of food, wait until you see the looks when you take a picture of paper!

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(this is sort of small so it anyone wants a larger version to read better, just tell me)
So you can read the descriptions, but here is my take on it. Far left is the humbolt fog. It basically tasted like blue cheese but less crumbly, although it was actually goat cheese. Above it is a little pot of raspberry preserves.
Next too it was something called "Midnight Moon". Sort of dry and aged tasting. I really liked it but that is my favorite kind of cheese. Up top some sort of apricot in a glaze. Yum. In the middle was some sort of soft cheese that had a little bite. And then two more that I can't really remember much about. On the right were some little crisps (the bread at the very end was from DHs appy). If you like cheese, get this appetizer! It was delicious. A nice variety of flavors and textures. Nice portions and great accompaniments.
DH got the Taste of Africa. It is a sampler of breads and spreads (I think mostly different kinds of hummus). It had the lavosh style bread, some sort of peppercorn crackery thing, and one other type. He LOVED it. I thought it was really good but I wasn't quite as over the moon. But he was really happy with it, and again, really nice size portion.
You can sort of see in the background the bread and butter you get with the meal. A sort of sweeter yeasty bread with flavored butter.
For dinner I had the filet with macaroni and cheese. Last time I had this I was gushing and thought it was the best meal I had all week. It is what made me want to come back again this year. This time I enjoyed it a lot, but it was not the same life changing experience. I am not sure why. But it was really good with the filet cooked perfectly and the sauce really nicely complemented by the creamy mac and cheese. I don't think you can go wrong with this and it was really good, but I would consider other options next time.
DH got the beef short ribs. He thought these were AMAZING! When I say the meat fell off the bone, I am not exaggerating. The meat was very tender and slightly sweet (it had carmelized onion). The pototoes were delicious as well. He would highly recommend it (and I thought it was great too).
For dessert DH had the chocolate pistachio creme brulee (I think this was his fourth creme brule of the week!). I am not a big pistachio fan (or a creme brulee fan) but I thought this was really good. The chocolate coats the bottom so you get a bit in each spoonful.
I had the lemon curd (House-Made Meyer Lemon Curd - With pomegranate and blueberry compote, white chocolate biscotti, and sour cream ice cream $8.00). I had this last time I was there as well and raved about it. Again, I thought it was really good, but not AS good as before. Not sure why. But it is a delicious mix of flavors - tangy lemon curd, sweet blueberries, cool creamy ice cream, crunchy bits of biscotti. I thought it was great and would definitely get it again.
Apparently I didn't take any pictures but you are in luck, b/c these are the same desserts we had last trip! So if you don't mind recycled pictures...
(Mine in the foreground, DH's in the background)
Last thing was I got tea with dinner. I had to laugh when I ordered b/c the description of this thing was like soft core porn! ("Two flavors, uniting together, intertwined...") The tea was called "Eros" and it was sort of a super mild Chai. It suggested serving with milk and I thought it was yummy (especially with their homemade raw sugar cubes). Served in a pressed pot for those who are interested.
Overall it was a really great meal. Last time we went crazy over Jiko. This time the meal was excellent, but for some reason I was slightly less enthusiastic. I would still recommend it whole heartedly, especially the cheese plate!
We used 4 TS credits for the meal and paid $63 out of pocket for DHs two whiskey sours, our appys, tip, and my porn tea.
Next up, lunch at Old Port Royale.