Hungry Are The Damned! 10/15/07-10/25/07 - COMPLETED W/LOTS OF PICS!!!

[disgrits]

Lovin' it! That steak looked sooooo good! Your descriptions make my mouth water, B.

Can't wait for the next update...........

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Hehe, I've just gone back to read Argle-Bargle again, to read the Adventures of Grimace again

I'm in the middle of writing (well, when I say middle I should really say start) of writing my August TR, and we're currently in IOA. Reason I mention this is that everytime we went on Spiderman, DBF (who is a huge Simpsons fan and loves your quotes when I read them out to him) insisted on pretending to be Dr Nick, "I want upside down kiss with Mary Jane"

 

[cntkg1]

This update actually left this Beer and Burger Girl wanting to try some of your choices. Actually, it was the Mac n Cheese and all the desserts only.

I was always wondering now that most of our Breweries left Wisconsin, what would replace it? Looks like the Cheese wins. Sorry, California...we still have the best cows!

I am also happy to report that DCL has NOT changed the recipe for those Mochaccinos Brenda. Just to be sure, I had 4 of them.

VIVA LE MOCHACCINOS!!!!

 

[WDW Fan]

Your meal at Jiko's looks fantastic Brenda!!! The picture of your filet mignon had my mouth salivating The dessert looked very appetizing also. I just might have to try Jiko's after your review. Can't wait for more.

 

[PinkPrincessZ]

Hi Brenda! Awesome review of Jiko - we had an ADR but ended up cancelling it on our last trip because of the remote location. The idea of being shuttled with the tired masses while we are all dressed up did not sound too appealing. Taking a taxi is definitely the way to go, although it did not occur to me at the time either.

Darling dress, by the way! And here's hoping Grimace fared well in her match! heh heh

Looking forward to more!

 

[HKinDC]

Oooooohhh...foooood...<drools on keyboard>

Brenda, this last installment was fabulous. Lots of cheese & puns - just how I like it! I've always wanted to eat at Jiko, it looks so delicious, and my DH is a total fire-eater like Jason and he'd love all that spicy stuff. I have to say though, from the papadum to the lentils to the masala sauce, those items sound much more Indian food than African food.

I loved your crickets at the beginning, I almost died when you downgraded Hurricane Hannah's to a Depression (lol!) and absolutely agreed with your idea about adding a nice dollop of goats cheese on top of that steak...deeeelish!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Love your report as always. Might have to put Jiko on my list to do's

 

[KatGarcia]

U are freakin' hilarious! Loved the update!!!!

 

[dicar123]

I do so love food reports and yours are the funnest!

I'm not at all an adventurous eater, so thanks for letting me know Jiko is not a place I'm likely to enjoy! LOL!

I'd like to be adventurous, but I think my unsophisticated taste buds are holding me back.

I recently encountered a recipe calling for "Brick" cheese. Having no idea what that was, I googled it. Apparently, it is a very special Wisconsin cheese and nearly secret. I haunted the aisles of my local grocery store to no avail. Finally, I timidly approached the deli-guy to see if he had any idea how to find it, or what a decent substitute might be.

He had brick cheese! I was so excited! Hey, I'm going to get to try a special cheese! A highly recommended cheese!

I arrived home to tell my husband of my triumph. We sampled the cheese with great anticipation.

It tasted just like Monterey Jack to us.

Maybe we lack the ability to discern "good" food?

 

[PrincessTiff]

More please!

 

[D&R love Disney]

Seeing that cheese plate gave me a flashback to when Rick and I ate there. I had it for dessert and like you so beautifully described, it was pure heaven!

Oh, and I so agree about a nice piece of goat cheese on top of the filet

Deb

 

[zweihund]

Ok, that's settled. We have to try Jiko next.
Lionel and I made a plan over our anniversary dinner Tuesday at the Flying Fish that we would try a new Disney restaurant every other month. Although I just showed him the filet, and he said "that looks weird."

And the Grimace photo? Made me snort.

 

[Timon]

That pic of the filet just may convince me to try Jiko next time yum

I'm not a HUGE fan of cheese and would never order a cheese plate per se but the way you describe it makes me want to run out and make myself a cheese plate NOW!!

Thanks for another great installment!

 

[thunderbird1]

Great reviews, as always. Though I must be careful--the constant drooling combined with the hysterical laughter tends to cause uncontrollable choking.

I know it sounds funny coming from me, but I think the DDP is too much food, especially if you don't do a lot of counter service meals.

I've been wondering whether the DDP appeals to real foodies, such as you and your disgustingly photogenic dh. (Seriously--does he take a bad picture? I'm hoping his gastronomic distress on this trip at least led to some pictures of him looking more like, well, my family, on our best day.) What about the new deluxe DDP? It looks to me like your Jiko dinner probably ran around $100 with tax (excluding the alcohol). I don't know what else you ate that day (besides Toblerone, and your liquid lunch), but the deluxe DDP would have included another meal (either CS or TS) and 4 snacks (and, of course, the refillable mugs) for $40 more. Financially, probably not a bad deal, but then again, you do have to use all those credits to see the savings. And, if you eat all those snacks, it would probably just kill your buzz anyway.

 

[shovan]

More great adventures in dining!!!

Hurricane Hannah's has been downgraded!!!

I totally agree with you about the homogenization of WDW bar drinks!!! Are they trying to discourage us lushes from drinking? Don't they mark up liquour like 2000% & make huge profits on them?

Thank goodness Jiko continues to spread the joy of great dining!

We'll be back there in February & we'll have to do 2 appetizers because my DH continues to rave about the Taste of Africa, 11 months after dining there. But I will have to try that cheese! Maybe we can share the filet. Brwaaa aaahhh! No way I'm gonna let my sweet DH of many many years touch my Jiko filet!!!

 

[cdtommie]

Brenda, we were told by one of the bartenders (gee I think we spent more time in bars than on rides...this is why I only seem to contribute to this board stuff about booze) that the new beverage head came from TGI Fridays and he came up with the standardization idea...I guess they are trying to turn WDW into a TGI Fridays resort.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Okay, I had thought I might TRY to start a TR tonight but after reading this I just plain give up the ghost. I know when I am outwrote. I know my stuff when it comes to writing as I read a lot, a whole lot. This is enthralling, entertaining and altogether educational as well.

oybolshoi, that silence at the beginning was in awe of the fact that you spelled both words correctly and used them in the right context. I know cause I looked them up.

I am afraid that the standardization is not only confined to the adult beverages but to the food menus as well. I hope that the deluded person in charge who thought this up is soon banished to the depths of Universal and forced to subsist upon a diet of frozen Stouffer's mac and cheese forever!! I cannot imagine that any real chef would prefer to serve such standard excrement either. (I have found that if you use high faluting language the (shhhh) censors do not catch it.

Jiko's might not have served authentic African food but it does appear as if they are many, many steps above your average McD's so that is a very good thing. A bed of sweet potato puree might have been a tad bit better than mac and cheese though. Would fit a Chinese restaurant a bit better??

If you liked the cheese tray might I suggest you try out the one at Rose & Crown? I quite enjoyed it and plan to eat it for a meal on our next trip. I am all about the appetizers. Seems that is often where the most orignal (and fattening) foods are found on the menu. I like my cheese strong enough to leave marks on the dish.

I loved the pic of you guys standing in your room. I see you cropped the picture to hide your 'deformity'.

More, I want more!!!

Please?? Pretty please??

SG/Linda

 

[disneyjunebug]

Ooooooooooooooo, Brenda, you are the Cheesiest!!!

I wanted sooooooooo much to go to Jiko when we go in 7 DAYS!!!! But even as much as you are an unadventuristic eater, my DH is worse. I guess you could say he is the epitome of a CPA -- very focused. No sauces shall touch his food.... No foods that he can't identify within 5 seconds..... If he could line up his veggies into columns like debits and assets, he considers that a great meal! So we are playing it safe.

And in 7 years, 5 months, 10 days, 22 hours and 33 minutes when I retire from tormenting middle school students with periodic tables and beakers, I have the great dream of opening a Wine, Cheese and Specialty Dessert store, with selections from near and far and even from Wisconsin!
Of course, my Jay will only be 12, so I think I shall get to torment Middle Schoolers at least 6 more years past the magic "30 years" number.....

Seriously, I hated cheese as a child and LOVE it as an adult. My DH thinks it is so funny that I hunt up local cheeses everytime we travel. (I'm secretly hiding a champagne white cheddar from New York right now to eat Christmas Eve that we picked up while "Wining" around the Finger Lakes this last summer.) Of course, he prefers cheese that comes flat with a wrapper around it made from "American" cows......

Keep the reviews coming!!

 

[Sheldon J. Plankton]

Brenda, we were told by one of the bartenders (gee I think we spent more time in bars than on rides...this is why I only seem to contribute to this board stuff about booze) that the new beverage head came from TGI Fridays and he came up with the standardization idea...I guess they are trying to turn WDW into a TGI Fridays resort.

Ah, TGI McScratchy's Goodtime Foodrinkery.... I believe I hired that same guy to improve things at the Chum Bucket.... boy was that a disaster


next they need to sell all the restaurants to the Blandy Franchising company so they can 'standardize' all the menus into the same swill.... heck, they could make even the Chum burger look tasty

 

[oybolshoi]

Oh Brenda, every time I read another installment of your report I have to add another restaurant to our 'to do' list! Not that I'm complaining you understand! I'm not a big fan of cheese (sorry), but that dessert with the strawberries looks absolutely delicious. What's next? and when?

Hi CarolAnn! You know, at this rate you're going to spend your entire anniversary trip at WDW restaurant hopping - I'm jealous, can we come too? And that vanilla bean mousse with the strawberries was excellent!

Reviews coming up for Crystal Palace and Casey's.

Food looks good. I'm laughing at the Tolberone.

The food was top notch, and the toblerone was one of the best laughs we had the entire trip. We still giggle about it.

Thank you for the great review on Jiko. It was the second runner-up from making our list for this year, so it was good to hear what you thought of it. We'll probably have to add it to our restaurant roster for 2008, though I still can't figure out the pairing of filet with mac & cheese. The poor steak looks like it's stranded on Gilligan's Island.

The cheese plate did look most 'excellent'.

Keep those reviews coming. Maybe you will win the dining review award equivalent of a local Emmy, not unlike Kent Brockman.

Thanks for reading and posting, Rob! I agree that the mac & cheese pairing with the filet is a little strange - I could really do without it altogether and just eat the steak and the wine sauce (which is divine). And yes indeedy, if you like cheese go for the cheese plate - good sized portions and great, distinctive tastes!

A local food review emmy ... You guys are going to make my head swell up like a balloon if you keep saying such nice things.

Lovin' it! That steak looked sooooo good! Your descriptions make my mouth water, B.

Can't wait for the next update...........

Sistah P was in the house! Thanks for reading ... can I plan your dining itinerary for your trip next summer? Don't you and the hubby need a romantic dnner for two one night?

Hehe, I've just gone back to read Argle-Bargle again, to read the Adventures of Grimace again

I'm in the middle of writing (well, when I say middle I should really say start) of writing my August TR, and we're currently in IOA. Reason I mention this is that everytime we went on Spiderman, DBF (who is a huge Simpsons fan and loves your quotes when I read them out to him) insisted on pretending to be Dr Nick, "I want upside down kiss with Mary Jane"

Poor Grimace ... I don't think I can ever take her back to WDW. Someone would walk up to her and say, "Howya doin' Grimmie?" and she'd be totally baffled. And I promise to finish that trippie ... as soon as I'm done with the reviews here. To be honest I like doing the food reports better - it's a little easier to focus. **To quote Moe: "Sheeeez, Homer, you're kinda all over the place here. You gotta focus."**

Tell your DBF he made me choke on my coffee when I read that. I thought you were going to tell us that he started singing the Spider Pig song from The Simpsons Movie. I want that for my ringtone on my cell phone.

This update actually left this Beer and Burger Girl wanting to try some of your choices. Actually, it was the Mac n Cheese and all the desserts only.

I was always wondering now that most of our Breweries left Wisconsin, what would replace it? Looks like the Cheese wins. Sorry, California...we still have the best cows!

I am also happy to report that DCL has NOT changed the recipe for those Mochaccinos Brenda. Just to be sure, I had 4 of them.

VIVA LE MOCHACCINOS!!!!

Hi Nancy! Thanks for reading ... you didn't like the cheese plate? I thought you liked cheese ... or was this one too weird for you? And yeah ... when we make it up to WI this summer it looks like I'm going to have to go on a search for those pretentious cows and cheesemakers of yours.

Excellent! The mochaccino hasn't been tampered with. I was worried, even though there isn't a DCL cruise in our future. Of course, if the stars align themselves just right that could change.

Your meal at Jiko's looks fantastic Brenda!!! The picture of your filet mignon had my mouth salivating. The dessert looked very appetizing also. I just might have to try Jiko's after your review. Can't wait for more.

I thought the entire evening at Jiko was terrific (other than the 30 minute wait for our table) and would definitely go back again to have the exact same meal.

Thanks for reading!

Hi Brenda! Awesome review of Jiko - we had an ADR but ended up cancelling it on our last trip because of the remote location. The idea of being shuttled with the tired masses while we are all dressed up did not sound too appealing. Taking a taxi is definitely the way to go, although it did not occur to me at the time either.

Darling dress, by the way! And here's hoping Grimace fared well in her match! heh heh

Looking forward to more!

Hey there PinkPrincess! Glad you liked our Jiko review - it really was an outstanding meal. If there is a single downside it is the location ... the travel time with Disney transportation is rather long, especially on the return trip because you have to catch a bus to DTD and then another bus to your resort. It's a long trip ... especially when you need a bathroom break.

A taxi is the chariot of choice for all future dining adventures at Jiko!

Thanks for the compliment on the dress and thanks for reading!

PS. Grimace was disqualified for betting on the outcome of her match.