Here I go again...eating my way around the world! Oct 2010 F&W -COMPLETED 11/10

[vettegirl]

Love the pics from RR, looks great

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I don't think it's any big secret that the Quick Service options at HS are a little lacking. We found ourselves looking for lunch at HS and used Geoff's handy dandy iPhone (the Undercover Tourist App) to pull up menus. We decided on Backlot Express.

My Mom was with us, so we split 2 sandwiches 3 ways.

This was the grilled turkey & cheese with arugula and red peppers. Mine was without the peppers (they're gross!) I think this will become our go-to lunch at HS. It was pretty darn tasty and easily the best QS meal I've had at HS.

Overall: 9/10. I wish there were a few more options at HS that were as good as this was!

Good to know that there is a decent DHS option. We didn't do CS at DHS last year. This year, I decided on a TS dinner at the BW resort instead of a TS meal at DHS, so I've been struggling with which option to choose. I think my kids would like Toy Story Pizza Planet, but I would HATE it. That sandwich looks great!

 

[habg1]

Thanks for the pics of Raglan Road. We've never been, but are trying it next Feb.

Looks yummy!

 

[KatMark]

We want to try Fairfax the next time we are at the Studios, but that turkey sandwich at Backlot doesn't look bad at all (it's probably been about six or seven years sinc we've been there).

 

[onelilspark]

Love the pics from RR, looks great

We all really enjoyed Raglan Road. I can't recommend it enough!

Good to know that there is a decent DHS option. We didn't do CS at DHS last year. This year, I decided on a TS dinner at the BW resort instead of a TS meal at DHS, so I've been struggling with which option to choose. I think my kids would like Toy Story Pizza Planet, but I would HATE it. That sandwich looks great!

I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, I was setting everything up for disaster, so maybe that played a part

Thanks for the pics of Raglan Road. We've never been, but are trying it next Feb.

Looks yummy!

You'll love it!

We want to try Fairfax the next time we are at the Studios, but that turkey sandwich at Backlot doesn't look bad at all (it's probably been about six or seven years sinc we've been there).

The reason I'm not crazy about Fairfax is that it's all outdoors. I enjoy getting out of the sun for lunch!

 

[onelilspark]

I have a confession to make: I've never understood the hype around Le Cellier. Yes, I understand you can get filets on the DDP. But still...why bend over backwards for that? But my Dad requested that we go to Le Cellier this trip. So like a good daughter, I woke up early every day for a week to get that elusive Le Cellier ADR. ...oh, and make that a dinner ADR! I finally got one for Thursday on our trip, but it was early! Like 4:15 early!!

My Dad had to work part of that day (he works 45 minutes away!) so he was meeting us at Epcot when he was done. So Geoff, my Mom, & I made our way back to the World showcase. Since we had some time to kill, my Mom and I got these to sip on:

Eventually my Dad showed up (a little late, they wouldn't let us check in until he was there.) And we were seated in a short while.

My Dad & I each started with a cup of cheese soup:

Geoff tried it and then wished he had gotten his own! I love this soup. It's absolutely declious. I'm way too nervous to try making it myself.

Geoff grew up in Burlington, VT, fairly close to the Canadian border. One of the things that he misses from that area is Poutine. I saw a picture of it on the Disney Food Blog and knew he'd be disappointed (made with yellow cheese...a total faux pas to a Vermonter.) So he asked our waitress what she thought of the poutine, making sure to point out he was quite familiar with the item. She suggested that he would be disappointed in it, but if someone was trying it for the first time, it would be a good start. So, plus 1 for the waitress for being honest with us. Minus 1 for Le Cellier since I can't imagine it's that hard to get white cheese curds to make it more authentic.

In any event, for our main course we were all boring and ordered the same thing! (Yeah, after I made fun of the family at Raglan Road for doing the same thing! ) We all got the filet. My Mom & I got it medium rare, Geoff & my Dad ordered theirs medium.

We kept the risotto. This was delicious. Perfectly cooked. A good cut of meat. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it.

Finally, it was time for dessert. I couldn't resist the chocolate mousse

It was good, much more chocolatey than I thought it would be.

And of course Geoff, being from VT finds it physically impossible to avoid anything labeled "maple." So he got the maple creme brulee:

Overall: 10/10. Yep. Seriously. This meal shocked me. The food was excellent, service was wonderful, just an all around wonderful meal. So okay...I get the hype now

 

[cbg1027]

I understand the hype of Le Cellier, but don't really agree with it. The meal I ate there was great, but the steak itself was just ok. Next time I go I am just going to stick with apps and side dishes!

I'm glad your enjoyed it since you had to be up so early to get the ADR!

Love your reviews and am wishing I could take the Cosmo Slush out of your hands in the pic with your mom!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for the update, we never tried Le Cellier and my husband has no desire to go but of course with the hype I wanted to try so I got an ADR. My husband said fine so I can try to get it off my system or as he would say check it off my list of restaurant and we can move on

 

[KatMark]

So glad you "got the hype" about LeCellier. It is by far our favorite meal on the dining plan. I really regretted not going in September (we decided to go somewhere else this trip). I could eat that soup every day and the filet (although I get the cream cheese mashed potatos instead). We will definitely be booking LeCellier next year (Nicki, did you hear that!!!!).

 

[franandaj]

I'm in the "don't get the hype" crowd. But I'm also not big on filets. I'm a Rib Eye gal, and Yachtsmen does the heck out of a Rib Eye.

I do love the Cheese soup and have made it many times at home, it's really easy, almost fool proof!

Their Macaroni & Cheese was spectacular!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

I'm in the "don't get the hype" crowd. But I'm also not big on filets. I'm a Rib Eye gal, and Yachtsmen does the heck out of a Rib Eye.

I do love the Cheese soup and have made it many times at home, it's really easy, almost fool proof!

Their Macaroni & Cheese was spectacular!

Thanks for the heads up on Rib Eye at Yatchtman's...that's actually what I'm ordering.

 

[franandaj]

Thanks for the heads up on Rib Eye at Yatchtman's...that's actually what I'm ordering.

I don't want to hijack Kelly's TR, but any restaurant which has meat dry aging in view at the check in podium has my vote, I have pictures and food porn from my meal.

 

[onelilspark]

I understand the hype of Le Cellier, but don't really agree with it. The meal I ate there was great, but the steak itself was just ok. Next time I go I am just going to stick with apps and side dishes!

I'm glad your enjoyed it since you had to be up so early to get the ADR!

Love your reviews and am wishing I could take the Cosmo Slush out of your hands in the pic with your mom!

I wish I had a Cosmo Slush right now! So what if it's only 7:30am

Thanks for the update, we never tried Le Cellier and my husband has no desire to go but of course with the hype I wanted to try so I got an ADR. My husband said fine so I can try to get it off my system or as he would say check it off my list of restaurant and we can move on

I'm not sure if I would stress myself out to get an ADR anytime soon again. It was good and I loved my meal, but there are so many other places in WDW to try! I'm with you though, gotta try everything once!

So glad you "got the hype" about LeCellier. It is by far our favorite meal on the dining plan. I really regretted not going in September (we decided to go somewhere else this trip). I could eat that soup every day and the filet (although I get the cream cheese mashed potatos instead). We will definitely be booking LeCellier next year (Nicki, did you hear that!!!!).

I can't eat mashed potatoes So I was very happy with the risotto!

I'm in the "don't get the hype" crowd. But I'm also not big on filets. I'm a Rib Eye gal, and Yachtsmen does the heck out of a Rib Eye.

I do love the Cheese soup and have made it many times at home, it's really easy, almost fool proof!

Their Macaroni & Cheese was spectacular!

I love filets. I've started making sirloins at home though because tenderloins are so expensive (I got cheap at the grocery store. ) So a filet is a treat now!

The Mac & Cheese at Yachtsman? Hmmm...I do love Mac & Cheese.

Thanks for the heads up on Rib Eye at Yatchtman's...that's actually what I'm ordering.

I don't want to hijack Kelly's TR, but any restaurant which has meat dry aging in view at the check in podium has my vote, I have pictures and food porn from my meal.

I don't mind the hijaking! If I'm being honest, I don't like going to steakhouses. 9 times out of 10, I'm disappointed. Not that I'm bragging (okay, maybe a little!) but I can make a pretty darn good steak, so my standards are so high when I head to a restaurant. But if I see a filet on the menu, I'm drawn to it at the same time! So I've never been to Yachtsman because it's a steakhouse. As I mentioned, LeCellier was at the request of my Dad, otherwise it would have been even longer for me to go!

 

[onelilspark]

Friday afternoon, we headed over to Epcot to skip our way around the world.

Geoff started with Brazil, the pork skewer with farofa.

He enjoyed this, but didn't give me too many details.

October 8th was National Pierogie Day. My Mom works for Mrs. T's and had to show her "Pierogie Pride." So we stood around the Poland kiosk for a while handing out coupons. Good times

This year the pierogie was cooked better. Last year it was a little rubbery, so I was happy to see it was cooked properly this year. Personally, I think they should do something more exciting with the pierogie. I know this is more traditional, but it's boring.

Next we headed over to South Korea. We got one of each of the food items.
Short Rib:

This was really good. I was surprised at how much food you got with it! And it was really tasty!

Lettuce Wrap:

This was the surprise of the festival for me. The flavor was phenomenal. I wish I would have gotten it towards the beginning of the week so I could have gotten it again!!

Next up was Germany. Where we again got everything!
Apple Strudel:

Nothing to write home about, but certainly tasty!

Sausage & Pretzel roll:

I don't understand why the sausage is so much larger than the roll. It's just a little weird to me. But yeah, tasted like sausage.

Ham & Cheese Spatzel

This was surprisingly good. I really enjoyed the spatzel they used to serve (with mushrooms) and I didn't think this would be as great. It was very creamy.
Overall, Germany was good, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

I had gotten a cold earlier in the week and on Friday it was full blown. So I opted to get a pretzel from Germany for a little comfort food. I love the pretzels they serve in Germany. Warm, super soft, just wonderful!

(this picture is totally my desktop background!)

After the pretzel, I was done. But my parents still had a few more things they wanted to hit.
From the Hops & Barley kiosk, the Lobster Roll:

My parents really liked it, but I didn't get to try a bite. (They didn't want my germs or something like that... )

My Mom also got the Bison Chili from the US kiosk:

Her only comment was that the portion was small. So I guess she liked it!

That wrapped up F&W for us, but Geoff & my Dad went into Japan to try some sake.

They both enjoy it. I think it'd be nice if they had a flight they could have tried.

Overall, we enjoyed the booths again today. For me, the lettuce wrap from South Korea really stood out among the rest. Probably one of my favorites from the entire festival!

 

[onelilspark]

Okay, I want to get this wrapped up so I can start my trip report & hopefully get that wrapped up by the time I take my December trip!

So now...for Jiko. Going into this trip, Jiko was part of my top 3 restaurants in WDW (along with Bistro de Paris & Citricos.) Would it stay that way?

Things started off promising. We were seated quickly and our server came over in a timely manner to get us started. Before I really get into this, just a heads up...the pictures are terrible, I was knocked up on cold meds for this meal, so I wasn't careful to get good pictures. Sorry about that. Also, Jiko has had a change in their head chef recently and they've been playing with the menu on a weekly basis it seems (for a while the filet & mac & cheese was a filet & potatoes. I don't know if that's changed.) So if I get any of the descriptions wrong, sorry!

We started off with two flatbreads and the corn chowder. I forgot a picture of the corn chowder, but it was wonderful. Absolutely delicious.

My Dad had the Kalamata Olive Flatbread:

And Geoff & I split the Grilled Flank Steak Flatbread:

The apps were wonderful. There's a lot of apps at Jiko I'd love to try, but I always seem to get the Flatbreads.

Now...for our main courses. First, our waiter was wonderful, checking in on us, getting us what we needed, etc. BUT the one thing we noticed was that he was clearing his tables as well as doing the standard waiter things...like taking orders, bringing drinks & food, etc. So they didn't have any help like they used to as far as bussers. So we wound up sitting with dirty dishes for a while. It did hurt service, but we all knew our waiter was doing the best he could. I blame Disney for this (this was not the only place we noticed it, it was just the worst because of how much you're paying for the meal.) I do intend on writing a letter to Disney about it.

Anyway, back on track...an hour after our apps, we still didn't have our meals. We were starting to get agitated. We like to dine at a relaxed pace, but this was getting ridiculous. The manager eventually came over and had an intermezzo (we hadn't complained...yet) to apologize for the delay. She said something about the kitchen printer ran out of paper, so they never got our order. ...and no one noticed this for a half hour... until our waiter went over to figure out what the heck was going on. Eventually (a good hour and a half after finishing our apps) our meal was being served.

Ok, so they were having a bad night. But what about the food? (The wait for the food also attributed to the bad pictures, I tried to snap them quickly.)

My Mom got the Halibut:

It was okay. She said it was rather salty and she thinks she got it last time and thought it was salty then too. Also mentioned if she would have remembered that, she would have gotten something different.

Geoff got the Duck Breast:

He was disappointed. He said it was a little under cooked and not the best cut of meat. Not terrible, just a little disappointed in it.

My Dad got fish:

Ummm, I totally don't remember what this is. Sorry! Again, he thought it was alright, probably the best of the night.

And I? Well, I wanted to try something new. But I was sick and I like steak. And Mac & Cheese. So I went with it. (Yes, I know I just had a steak the night before at LeCellier. Shush.)

It was overcooked. I like my steak medium-rare. It was definitely closer to medium. Plus, at this point, since dinner was taking a lot longer than it should have, my medicine was wearing off, so I was feeling really bad (I just want to put that out as a disclaimer.) The cut wasn't great...I gave some to Geoff & he confirmed this. I still loved the mac & cheese. But again...the dish itself was disappointing. The cut of meat I got at LeCellier was much better...and I don't think it cost as much. That didn't help things.

Now, I'm a dessert fiend, but by this point in the night I just wanted to go home, pack, and sleep. I was feeling miserable. None of the desserts sounded great, so we all decided we had enough and asked for the check.

The silver lining? The manager was going to take off dessert for us if we ordered it. Because she couldn't do dessert, she took off our first round of drinks. We picked up this bill since my parents had gotten all the tickets for PFTS (it was easier to order them as 4 instead of 2 and 2.) Without the cost of drinks, it was probably one of the cheapest meals of the trip. And actually in line with what we got that evening.

Overall: it pains me to say, but I'm going to have to go with a 4/10. I was so terribly disappointed. The food wasn't bad, but it was certainly subpar. The apps were fantastic. I almost got the soup and a flatbread for dinner, but when we got them for an app, I went with the steak for dinner. Bummer. The service from our waiter was as good as he could have done under the circumstances. While I loved Jiko, I do need to reevaluate my top 3 after this. I hate writing a negative review, but this just wasn't up to my standards. Maybe after the head chef has been around for a while it'll change. But one thing's for certain, I can't recommend it right now, and I won't be hurrying back anytime soon.


This wraps up my reviews...sorry to end on a bad note! Overall we enjoyed our meals at Disney, it's just that Jiko was a bad egg. Our favorite meal of the trip has to be tied between LeCellier & Ragland Road. My favorite items from the F&W Festival are the Lettuce Wrap or the Tuna Sensation, the Nainamo Bar for a dessert, and the Cosmo Slush for a beverage. I'll post the link to my TR when I start it!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Sorry to read its the end of a GREAT food review...I have enjoyed reading it. I'm so glad you are going back in 22 days Are you attending MVMCP? We are attending that party for our first time (we have done Halloween and Pirate Princess Party)...my son loves those parties.

I'm so glad you liked the Korean food...My husband, 5yrs old son and I order Korean once a week (my son loves that lettuce wrap...a little meat, a little rice and few veggies and lettuce)...maybe we can get that for dinner. My husband loves the ribs and rice...
Its only breakfast time and here I am drooling over the pictures.

Thanks again for sharing

 

[onelilspark]

Sorry to read its the end of a GREAT food review...I have enjoyed reading it. I'm so glad you are going back in 22 days Are you attending MVMCP? We are attending that party for our first time (we have done Halloween and Pirate Princess Party)...my son loves those parties.

I'm so glad you liked the Korean food...My husband, 5yrs old son and I order Korean once a week (my son loves that lettuce wrap...a little meat, a little rice and few veggies and lettuce)...maybe we can get that for dinner. My husband loves the ribs and rice...
Its only breakfast time and here I am drooling over the pictures.

Thanks again for sharing

Thanks for the kind words! We are going to MVMCP! I'm so excited. I've been to MNSSHP, but never Christmas! Which one are you going to?

Before this, I had never tried Korean food and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it! One of the many reasons I like F&W! I get to try new things!

It's my cousin & I going in December. We're planning on Biergarten and Bluezoo for sit down meals. The only other thing we have planned is to get dinner at the tequila bar in Mexico!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for the kind words! We are going to MVMCP! I'm so excited. I've been to MNSSHP, but never Christmas! Which one are you going to?

Before this, I had never tried Korean food and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it! One of the many reasons I like F&W! I get to try new things!

It's my cousin & I going in December. We're planning on Biergarten and Bluezoo for sit down meals. The only other thing we have planned is to get dinner at the tequila bar in Mexico!

Have a wonderfutime at the party...

 

[Macsfiveplus1]

That is awful the news about Jiko. It was my favorite on my last trip. I probably wont book it for all 8 of us to try unless I hear better reviews. Raglan Road is on the list of must do restaurants.

Sorry your trip is over(and reviews), but happy you will be going again real soon!!!

 

[BlueSkies]

Just finished catching up!!!

Thanks for your reviews Onelilspark!! Really enjoyed them!!!