Food Glorious Food (please, may I have some more) Updated OPR & Sunshine Seasons!

Ok, I can't resist making the 100th post! I am glad everyone has been enjoying the reviews and been so enthusiastic. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next review done tomorrow. Today was a bit crazy. Plus, American Idol is on tonight! ;)

JJ
 
For our second Animal Kingdom day, we decided to sleep in and have a late character breakfast at Tusker House (and by "sleep in" I mean DH and I try desperately to ignore our children who wake up early anyway :laughing:).

I made the latest possible breakfast reservation, which was 10:30. When we got there, the CM told us their would be at least a 20 minute wait. We had promised the girls they could get their faces painted so the girls and I dashed over to the booth around the corner while DH manned the pager. Ta-dah!

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We had a little wait so it was closer to 30 minutes and we got back just as the pager was going off. They have a new layout now that it has converted the buffet and, at least for breakfast, you go around to the back of the building instead of entering off the "main street" of Africa. When you get to the courtyard they take your portrait (are they doing this at all the character meals now?) and then lead you into what used to be the room with the registers. That has now been turned into the buffet room and after a getting a quick overview we were lead to our table.

Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures of the food, but here is the quick rundown as best as I can remember. There was a pod with bagels and bread for toasting, as well as various spreads. Also fruit, various breakfast meats, biscuits, potatoes (hash brown style and tater tots), some quiches and frittatas, cereal, cottage cheese, hmmm, what else. Oh yeah, Mickey waffles, eggs, oatmeal I think. And then in the center, the "dessert" station with donuts, muffins, coffee cakes, etc. Overall I think an excellent spread. Here is my plate:

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From the top left it was bacon, sausage patties, coffee cake, mickey waffles, tater tots, regular hash browns, some sort of chocolate pastry, and some sort of fritata. I thought the food was very good.

DH got pretty much the same assortment as me. DD8 had a nutritious breakfast of two donuts, fruit, and a dry bagel - the breakfast of champions! :lmao: DD5 had fruit loops, a huge bowl of cottage cheese, and a donut. All I can say is thank goodness we weren't paying OOP. I am not sure I could stomach at $10 bowl of Fruit Loops! But they were thrilled with breakfast, so I guess I can't complain.

Oh, and they also serve that delicious juice that they apparently also offer at Boma for breakfast. I am the only juice drinker in the family so I not only drank two of my own glasses, but also DHs, and both DDs!

Ok, so here is the only problem. By the time we were seated, it was close to 11:00. I asked our server Jim whether it was going to be a problem getting breakfast since I knew it had to be close to time to turn over for lunch. He assured me that this wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately that wasn't really the case. We had time to get and eat our first plates, but by the time I went back with DD to get a second plate, much of the buffet had already been turned over for lunch. And then the CMs all came hurrying out, resetting tables, etc, getting ready for the lunch crowd. Now we had no trouble seeing the characters (in fact a CM came over to make sure we saw them all before they left), but I definitely would have liked a more leisurely pace. If we had really wanted to eat 2-3 plates we wouldn't have had time. And although they didn't push us, we felt pressured to hurry up and get out of there.

I should have realized this might be an issue b/c they serve lunch back to back with breakfast. When we did a late breakfast at CM, we had no problem b/c they don't serve lunch. So breakfast can drag on with no real problem. But here they need to turn over diners. So while I would definitely recommend the breakfast and would certainly return, I'd make an earlier ADR.

Ok, on to the fun stuff... the characters. The interaction was great, even in our more rushed environment. Much better than at 1900 PF. We saw Goofy, Mickey, Daisy and Donald, all in their safari gear. They were very fun and interactive. Here are a few pics...

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Overall it was a really good meal and we would definitely recommend it. Our total bill was $63.86 plus an 18% tip. We used DDP credits for the kids but paid OOP for us since we had an extra signature dining planned that night for DH and I and wanted to save credits.

Next up, Jiko!
 
I'm really enjoying your take on what the girls did and didn't eat. My DS6 is uber-picky as well, no pizza sauce, "green thingys", and "weird-looking" things. What I really like is that you guys prepped for that, brought stuff and ate where you wanted to eat and didn't seem to sweat "running around for something the kids would eat".
 
I'm really enjoying your take on what the girls did and didn't eat. My DS6 is uber-picky as well, no pizza sauce, "green thingys", and "weird-looking" things. What I really like is that you guys prepped for that, brought stuff and ate where you wanted to eat and didn't seem to sweat "running around for something the kids would eat".

Thanks! I think it helped that we had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to eat and what they served before we got there (thanks to Deb at allearsnet). So I did try hard to find places where there was at least a chance they could find something. But as I mentioned, buying some basic groceries and carrying them around with us, both from Garden Grocer and from the resort Grab and Go, really helped. At least I knew they would have something to eat no matter where we went. That and ignoring "apple and blueberry muffin" as a meal! ;)

Glad you are enjoying the reviews!
 

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...

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(Brenda if you are reading, this is in honor of your many "will show cleavage for food" photos! :rotfl:)

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:

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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! :laughing:)

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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...

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(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.
 
I am looking forward to a return trip to JIKO in October! I'm pretty sure the cheese plate will be at the top of my list of new things to try.:goodvibes
 
Great review of Jiko! I had the filet and the blueberry lemon curd the last time we went, I sure hope it lives up to my memory this Oct.

As for the booth thing, if you ever see a DH sitting on the booth side and a DW on the chair side that would be Todd and I...he prefers a booth for some reason and I like the back support of the chair...we are just such odd balls :rotfl:
 
Thanks for the review of Tusker house, I just made rezzies for 8:20 bkfst with all 5 of us in August. We have done CM before, and wanted to try something different but still see the mouse. ;)

The menu sounds good, and the characters look awesome (nice to see Daisy in there!) As my DDs really wanted to dine with the princesses, not sure how this one will go over with them. Cannot get a meal at CRT at this point :sad2: but this looks like a fun option!
 
Thanks for the review of Tusker house, I just made rezzies for 8:20 bkfst with all 5 of us in August. We have done CM before, and wanted to try something different but still see the mouse. ;)

The menu sounds good, and the characters look awesome (nice to see Daisy in there!) As my DDs really wanted to dine with the princesses, not sure how this one will go over with them. Cannot get a meal at CRT at this point :sad2: but this looks like a fun option!

Yes, I think it was a great meal with lots of choices. And really nice character interaction. Maybe you can tell your DDs that Daisy is a princess! ;)
 
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. QUOTE]


Dang girl, we are going to have to put an adult only rating on your posts!!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: ;) LOL!
 
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

Another Bewb-Flasher!!! :lmao:

That's awesome ... did they give you the cheese plate for free? ;)

Honestly, the cheese plate is the primary reason that I want to go back to Jiko for dinner in October. Is that wrong? :confused3:laughing:

And I have to say ... it looked like your mac and cheese was skimpy and overdone and there wasn't enough sauce. Still, glad to read that you enjoyed your meal there. :goodvibes

BTW, you and your hubby are a very cute couple. :cutie:
 
Hi everyone, here are a couple more reviews for you all...

Starring Rolls Cafe

While waiting for HS Musical to start at HS, we stopped at Starring Rolls. I will admit I was drawn here after seeing an amazing looking chocolate/peanut butter cupcake in someone else's review. So the girls and I ran in looking for something yummy. We have never been here but they had a nice selection of pastries (I think maybe some sandwiches too?) Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but here are the basics.

- DD5 got a blueberry muffin (who gets a muffin with all that yummy dessert? :confused3) It was your average muffin. Nice size though.

- DD8 got a cinnamon roll. Pretty big, but I thought it was a bit dry. Maybe b/c it was probably sitting since breakfast time and this was almost noon. She really liked it though.

- I got a chocolate eclair. Very big and tasty.

- For DH I got this colossal cupcake. I mean, imagine the tallest cupcake you can think of and double it! It was a white chocolate cupcake with icing and then layered white chocolate shavings. The topping part was probably 6 inches tall by itself. I could hardly carry it! Definitely delicious.

As a funny aside, the cupcake was decorated with this hard, red mickey head. DH put it in his mouth and tried to bite it but it was rock hard. A guy next to him looked at him and said, "Are you supposed to EAT that?" :laughing: Poor DH was a bit embarrassed... but he got the last laugh as you will see during our Narcoosies review!

Overall, great snacks and a good use of four snack credits.


Old Port Royale

We were not thrilled with any of the dining options at HS and since we were leaving early we decided to have lunch back at our resort.

Having learned our lesson from the CHH yucky kids chicken nuggets, we ordered DD8 an adult meal of Chicken Nuggets and fries. These were MUCH better and a very big portion (you could also get fewer nuggets I think but this was on the DDP so we got it). On the DDP she got a drink (water) and a dessert. We found you can choose a dessert from the grab and go, not just the few things they had at the CS line. In fact, they have a huge sign listing all the things that qualify as a snack credit, plus a note by which ones are considered dessert, which I thought was really helpful. She got an m&m cookie.

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For DD5 we got her a bowl of cantalope and yet another uncrustable. As usual she thought they were the best thing she ever ate! We got her a sugar cookie as well.

I had a special from the sandwich line, the Beef and Blue sandwich. This was SO GOOD. It was a huge sandwich with roast beef, blue cheese sauce, marinated red onions, lettuce and tomatoes. It was great. I am not sure how often they have this but I would definitely recommend it. It came with jerk seasoned potato chips which were really good but quite spicy. For dessert I had a vanilla cupcake from the grab and go. Very big and yummy. This was a great deal for one CS credit.

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DH had a buffalo chicken sandwich and chocolate cake. Apparently I took no pictures. I feel like the cake was the "in the cup" kind, not a slice but I am not sure. IMO his sandwich was just ok. He seemed to like it but it was basically chicken with spicy sauce on a roll. I like it when they put some blue cheese on it or something. Plus there was no lettuce or tomato or anything. But I think they assume you will use the "fixings" over by the sodas so maybe they leave it plain on purpose? But of course we didn't notice it until we left.

Overall, we were definitely pleased with the meal and I think it was a good deal and a lot of food. Actually probably one of our better CS lunches. We used 3 CS credits, plus 3 snack credits for DD5s "meal".

Next up... Narcoosies!
 
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

Another Bewb-Flasher!!! :lmao:

That's awesome ... did they give you the cheese plate for free? ;)

Honestly, the cheese plate is the primary reason that I want to go back to Jiko for dinner in October. Is that wrong? :confused3:laughing:

And I have to say ... it looked like your mac and cheese was skimpy and overdone and there wasn't enough sauce. Still, glad to read that you enjoyed your meal there. :goodvibes

BTW, you and your hubby are a very cute couple. :cutie:

:rotfl: We can start the Brenda honorary cleavage flashing club!

Yes, I totally agree that the cheese plate is worth the trip alone. I think it actually might have been your review of it that encouraged me to get it this time, so that post is a double homage to you!

I agree that filet was a bit skimpy on the sauces. It just didn't have that same cheese melting into red sauce yumminess that it had last time. But I definitely wouldn't write it off, I just might try something else next time.

Thanks for your nice comments about DH and I! We cleaned up pretty well considering we had been sweating at AK all day. Of course, you can't smell us in this picture! :rotfl2:
 
DH had the buffalo chicken sandwich when we went in March. He thought it was delicious! I didn't seem to think it was that good but DH thinks anything is great when he's hungry! :rotfl2:

Great reviews. Keep it up! :thumbsup2
 
DH had the buffalo chicken sandwich when we went in March. He thought it was delicious! I didn't seem to think it was that good but DH thinks anything is great when he's hungry! :rotfl2:

Great reviews. Keep it up! :thumbsup2

Yeah, I don't think it was bad, as much as sort of boring. But if you like chicken with buffalo sauce on a roll, it is perfect! ;)
 














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