Food Reviews: F&W, Epcot, MK, Studios & DTD

[Todd&Copper]

DH & I just returned from 6 days at the WDW resort and here are our opinions of the food we ate while on vacation

Epcot’s Food & Wine
I am giving this its own category because it is a temporary event. I’ll go around the World Showcase lagoon clockwise, starting at Mexico. We did not eat all of these things in one day, but I am listing them all together here for anyone making F&W plans.
CHINA: The Chicken Sha Cha was skewered chicken thigh portions with a peanut sauce. I found the chicken to be moist and tender, and the sauce was quite good. The pork pot stickers (portion = 2) had a very flavorful sauce that counted rice vinegar as one of its components. We buy frozen pot stickers from Trader Joe’s on occasion, and I will try to recreate the sauce here at home.
GERMANY: The Debriziner sausage with sauerkraut in a pretzel roll was a good-sized portion (roll = approximately 3" long) and really hit the spot. I liked the pretzel roll much better than the roll you get at the CS in Germany (Sommerfest) and I liked the fact that it was portable, meaning I was able to walk around while consuming the snack, as my DH does not have the deep affection I have for sausage and sauerkraut.
POLAND: As an aside, I thought it was funny that the Poland kiosk was across from Italy, since I am of both Italian and Polish descent. We had the kielbasa and pierogies with the Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel. There were two slices of kielbasa and 2 pierogies. This was alright, but nothing I couldn’t make at home. I am a sucker for Zin, so of course I enjoyed the wine.
JAPAN: We had a California roll, a Crispy Sukiyaki Beef roll, a plum wine, and a Kirin. The sushi was very good, I love plum wine, and the Kirin was very refreshing. I had not had Kirin in a long time, and had forgotten that it lacked the bitterness of many beers, and was closer to American style lagers.
AUSTRALIA: We had a Foster’s and a Rosemount Traminer Reisling. We’d had both before. Fosters, again, is very refreshing, and the wine is a good choice for those who like semi-dry (slightly sweet) whites.
FRANCE: I love my escargot (yes, I know they are snails), so I of course had to get this. The order consisted of three escargot in brioche cups. The snails were a bit on the small side, but very tasty, and matched very nicely with the brioche. The serving size was perfect, since they are so buttery and decadent.
GREAT BEERS OF THE WORLD: We each got a Bass; I gave half of mine to DH since it is one of his favorites. Here’s a tip: if you do not plan on keeping the plastic beer stein (22 oz.) as a souvenir, then order two 12 oz. beers. You save $1.25 doing this.
CANADA: I had to try the cheese soup, after hearing so much about it on the Boards. I thought it was very tasty, but also very salty. DH, who is sensitive to salt, took one taste and couldn’t eat any more. I am a salt fiend (thank goodness I do not have blood pressure issues), so I liked it, but even I thought it was a little heavy on the sodium.

Epcot
Future World:
DH got a muffin and a latte at The Land. Both were fine, nothing special. But the muffin was cheaper here than it was at a cart outside of Universe of Energy (about $3 at the cart, aabout $2 at The Land).

World Showcase:
Norway - we tried the sweet almond pretzel and the school bread at the bakery. The pretzel was pretty good - it had a very generous amount of almond slices on top, and a few raisins (or maybe currants?) folded into the dough. The school bread is like a gigantic Boston cream doughnut with a coconut topping instead of chocolate glaze. Both were good, if not just a little bland. They were a tasty snack, but I’d take the pastries at France any day. We had these for our “dinner” one night, and I’d say they are too large for just one person to enjoy as a breakfast or a snack.
China - we had the Mongolian BBQ sandwich as a snack, with a glass of plum wine. The bun, although flat, tasted like the traditional char sui bao buns. I thought the meat was a little dry, but overall it was tasty.
France - we hit the bakery twice, once on each day we visited Epcot. Both days we had ham & cheese croissants. We also tried the almond croissant - it was delicious - and the pithiviers (sp?) which also had an almond filling. Last year, I tried the lemon tart and the chocolate mousse. I’d heartily recommend ANYTHING from this bakery, as I have yet to be disappointed. We also had a latte here, but it is from a machine so it was just alright but nothing special.

Magic Kingdom
Cosmic Rays - we split the ribs and chicken meal, and got an extra order of french fries. The ribs were very tender and tasty, and the chicken had a nice sized portion of breast meat, which is the only part of the chicken I like, aside from the thighs (and I only like those if they are boneless). DH thought the mashed potatoes had a strange flavor, but I liked them well enough. The carrots are cooked and have some semi-sweet glaze on them, which I didn’t care for too much. I prefer my baby carrots raw. All in all, this was a good choice give the CS dining options at MK.
Dole Whip - no visit to MK is complete without them! We got one and split it because I wasn’t sure if DH would like it as much as I did. He like pineapple, but sometimes he is funny about things. He scarfed it down, and absolutely loved it. It is somewhere between a sherbert and a softserve, for those who are not in the know, and you can get it swirled with vanilla ice cream or in a pineapple juice float if you so choose. DH was going to suggest we get another one, but the line grew to about 10 people deep in the time it took us to eat it, and we didn’t really want to wait.

Animal Kingdom
We did not eat anything here except for a latte. We almost ate at Flame Tree, which I enjoyed last summer, but we decided to head over to House of Blues at DTD instead (the call of the air condition was too great).

Disney-MGM Studios
Sci Fi Dine In - we had a 3:40 reservation and were promptly called to our table at that time (we had arrived about 5-10 minutes early, and saw several people turned away or offered seating times after 7:30). The set-up is very cool. The low lights adds to the feeling of a fall evening at the tables. The faux-car tables were very cute, but the space on the table was kind of lacking. We both had beers, and started with an order of the chili and the onion rings. The rings (my choice) were crispy and fresh and not too greasy at all, as I have heard others complain. Perhaps theirs had been sitting for a minute or two before being brought out. DH liked the chili, but thought the hint of spiciness would hurt him later (he has GERD), so we traded. The chili was very good, but more like a bean stoup (like a cross between a soup and a stew - Rachel Ray (tm)) in my opinion, but it was still tasty, garnished with diced tomatoes and onion and shredded cheese. For our main course, we both chose the burger with the cucumber melon salad as the side. I got my burger with cheese and bacon. There were three slices of bacon (most places give only 2, so I was impressed), and it was far tastier than burgers from Pecos Bills, Cosmic Rays, or the resort food courts. The cucumber melon salad was alright - it was cucumbers, cantaloupe and diced onions in a very light vinaigrette. It would have been better if they left out the cantaloupe, made a stronger vinaigrette that had some lemon in it, and added a dash of finely chopped mint leaves. But, it was still healthier than fries. And we had to save calories for dessert. DH got a chocolate tart, which was mousse in a shell, garnished with chocolate leaves/pieces. I got a chocolate shake, which was stupendous. For all the bashing this place gets on the boards, I was a bit nervous about going here, but it was actually pretty good, evocative of the old drive-in with car hops. It was a well-needed respite on a very hot day, and we left refreshed but extremely full.

Polynesian Resort
Captain Cooks - Just wanted to point out for the Dole Whip lovers that there is a self-serve Dole Whip machine in Captain Cooks. You can fill your cup as little or as much as you like. On a couple of afternoons, DH and I grabbed some DW’s and relaxed at the beach. He actually managed to make his about 10" tall. They also had a Hawaiian pork sandwich on the menu that looked tasty, but the Dole Whip was our siren call there.

Pop Century Food Court
We got meals here twice, and neither one was very good. The food and the atmosphere reminded me of a high school or college cafeteria - lots of noise, massive quantities of food - most of which is pretty bland or unappetizing, and a great deal of confusion and crowds. DH got a double cheeseburger, and I got a “sun dried tomato” calzone. His burger was standard issue, and his fries were good and crispy. I did not find any sun dried tomato in my calzone (hence the quotes above) but I did find a TON of garlic. Another night, we had lo mein, and neither of us could eat more than half. It was bland, greasy, and the noodles were very over-cooked. We also had a sundae, which we split. It was three scoops of Edy’s ice cream with hot fudge topping. It was a good size for sharing - we had considered each getting one for ourselves b/c I wanted chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce and he wanted anything but chocolate ice cream with fudge, but we saw another one being made before we ordered and decided it was too large for one person to eat by themselves, so we ended up getting cookies & cream with hot fudge.
We also had drinks on night at Classic Concoctions, the small bar in the food court. I had a pumpkin drink in a martini glass, and DH had a beer. The pumpkin drink had ice cream, vodka (I think), and pumpkin pie spices and was very good and fairly strong. Lots of Brits were hanging out at the bar watching ESPN, or ESPN2, or some other sports-ESPN channel.


Downtown Disney / Pleasure Island
Earl of Sandwich - On our first afternoon there, we went to Earl of Sandwich. While the Hot Roast Beef Smoothie was tempting, I ordered the Scudetto and DH ordered the Beef and Bleu. I like the bread the sandwich was on - kind of a rustic bread, with a nice firm crust and soft innards. The Italian cold cuts in the Scudetto were very tasty; I was impressed that it wasn’t just salami and mozzarella. DH’s Beef and Bleu was very good, too, although I would have wanted more Bleu (I am a cheese fiend).
Raglan Road - we went in for a beer and a wine around 2:30 or so and noticed the Happy Hour sign and decided to come back for more drinks later. We were the first ones there as Happy Hour started. DH got Bass and I got Kronenburg, which is ideal for someone who likes American beers (read: hates the bitter). We met some very nice people, including a young couple who had just purchased annual passes, a Virgin Megastore employee who I chatted with for a long time about the newer rides at the parks, and a gentleman who was escaping his HSM-Hannah Montana-obsessed daughters for a little while (that sounds harsh - I think he just wanted a break from the madness). DH and I had an order of calamari and an order of fish & chips. The calamari came with a roumelade sauce and was not only squid but also vegetables prepared tempura style. It was very crispy, although I thought it was a little bit greasy (which I really don’t mind as much if I am at a bar). The fish was crispy and less greasy and the chips were OK, but cut too large to be really crispy. The drink specials ($2 off drafts and $1 or $2 off well-drinks) really made this stop worth it.
Bongos - Both of us were interested in trying this Cuban restaurant. We were seated right away when we arrived at about 5:30. We didn’t get an appetizer, so we started with the Cuban bread, which is very crusty but also pale in color. It was almost closer in consistency to a cracker than a dinner roll. I ordered the ropa vieja, which translates to “old clothes.” It is a shredded beef dish, with the beef cooked in a very light tomato-based sauce, with a few onions thrown in for flavor. It came with a mountain of rice and fried sweet plantains. Everything was very tasty, though I couldn’t come close to finishing all of that rice. DH ordered the vaca frita, which was a thin steak prepares on the griddle, served with a lot of grilled onions, yucca, and black beans and rice. The steak was very good - the marinade is a mojo, so the citrus flavor was infused nicely - and the yucca tasted exactly like a baked potato, so he used some butter and salt on it to Americanize it. It was so much food, we took the beans & rice home to have for breakfast the next day [don’t laugh, it was very filling and provided a good carb-protein balance, though it may have contributed to some windiness on DH’s part]. For dessert, we chose the Tres Leches cake, which is a sponge cake doused in three kinds of milk. I had never had it before, so I wanted to try it and we both enjoyed it very much. We also had Cuban coffees, which is like a sweet espresso. OMG was it good! I could have had a dozen of them, but then I never would have fallen asleep that night. It was the absolute best coffee of the trip, not that that is saying much give Disney’s penchant for Nescafe. We would definitely go back here - it was good food and a good value.
House of Blues - DH got the rack of ribs, which were tasty but a little fatty, and it came with whipped sweet potatoes and green beans, both of which were very good. I got the pulled pork sandwich, which was a smoked pork and had an excellent flavor, but it was kind of dry, so I used some of DH’s BBQ sauce to moisten it up. Mine came with sweet potato fries, which were great, and cole slaw, which was good because it wasn’t too sweet. I also ordered a house salad, which was a good size for a starter. This meal was pretty good, but nothing I couldn’t get at Smokey Bones, Red Hot & Blue or Famous Dave’s.

CLOSING NOTES:
It probably looks like a paltry few meals for the six and a half days of vacation, but we ate breakfasts in the room (breakfast or granola bars, dried fruit and yum-yum-Nescafe in refillable mugs!) and brought almonds and beef jerky to snack on in the parks. We don’t really eat big meals often, so the three times we did on vacation, we kind of felt like we were going to burst. I have to say, the food at WDW is not really all that great, but I wasn’t expecting greatness, and aside from an exceptionally good meal at Bongos and the delicious French pasteries, it really lived up to my expectations. Except for Pop, nothing was terribly disappointing. But I am glad I brought the nuts & jerky!

 

[suzimar57]

those were no paltry meals - combined with your CS, snacks and grazing the F&W, you must have been stuffed full!

excellent reviews - lots of detail, very visual!!!

 

[Busymom85]

Thanks for the reviews

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for the detailed reviews particularly of the F&W Festival.