"I Heard They Shaved A Gorilla" - Reviews & Pix - COMPLETED Post # 155

[Ms. Heimlich]

Sorry Shovan, you are indeed much deeper South, but I currently reside (trapped) here in the Bible Belt. In NC, there is no happy hour, liquor sales are governed by the state ABC commission and can only be purchased through their state-run stores, and beer & wine purchases can only be made on Sundays after 12:00 p.m. (noon). No Sunday liquor purchases, at all.
(though brunch cocktails are permitted, you can't buy beer or wine at any store until after Noon time on Sundays).
We've even got a few 'dry' counties still, where alcohol isn't sold outside of the restaurants, if then.
As you can see, we're somewhat culturally repressed. Sigh.

I thought Texas was bad!!

Mental Note -- Never go to NC!!!

 

[Robert P]

I thought Texas was bad!!

Mental Note -- Never go to NC!!!

Yep, that's NC. Either bucolic splendor or redneck hell, depending on your point of view. I go back and forth between the two.

Rob's Mental Note - I have to get back to Austin someday. I loved that place.

 

[oybolshoi]

"wheys of the curd" ...

best pun evah ... at least for today.

 

[shovan]

I totally agree about the calamari. We have found none better, though Il Mulino's was quite nice.

We just finally made our October ADR for FF last week. And I think we may add dessert to the adventure next trip, and skip the candy shop visit afterwards.

We did have desserts on our last visit to FF. They were quite good.

We are going to have to make our decisions pretty soon. We're primarily going for F&W Fest events, but I am going to book a few of our favs. I know I can't wait until Aug. when F&W schedule comes out.

Am we likely to bump into you cruising the booths? We'll be there from the Oct 26th-1st.

Sorry Shovan, you are indeed much deeper South, but I currently reside (trapped) here in the Bible Belt. In NC, there is no happy hour, liquor sales are governed by the state ABC commission and can only be purchased through their state-run stores, and beer & wine purchases can only be made on Sundays after 12:00 p.m. (noon). No Sunday liquor purchases, at all.
(though brunch cocktails are permitted, you can't buy beer or wine at any store until after Noon time on Sundays).
We've even got a few 'dry' counties still, where alcohol isn't sold outside of the restaurants, if then.
As you can see, we're somewhat culturally repressed. Sigh.

Well in down here in Cajun country, we would head to the Drive-Thru Daiquiri Shop on our way to Church!

Dry counties, No Happy Hour's & No Liquor before Noon! Well, let's just say that Boudreaux & Thibodeaux would be sure they had died & gone to Hell!

 

[oybolshoi]

Did you know that Mississippi has all those state run liquor stores, too? We found that out the hard way after attending one of those mid-afternoon weddings where the reception consists of cookies and melt-away mints and cardboard wedding cake.

Jay and I couldn't find a drink fast enough ... except that there was no fast and there was no drink either because the state store had closed and they don't offer the yankee convenience of selling booze at grocery stores and gas stations.

I think that a good portion of Tennesee is dry, too. I know for sure that Lynchburg is dry, which always cracks me up since that's where they make Jack Daniels. I wonder how they sample the product while it's still in the casks if they can't drink there?

Sorry to get carried away with the booze talk ... I'm at my desk suffering from a food and drink withdrawal. Soon I will have the pleasure of attending a business continuity meeting where we will discuss what the bank will do in the event of an outbreak of pandemic flu.

Other than running around screaming, "WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!" I'm fresh outta ideas.

 

[Robert P]

We did have desserts on our last visit to FF. They were quite good.

We are going to have to make our decisions pretty soon. We're primarily going for F&W Fest events, but I am going to book a few of our favs. I know I can't wait until Aug. when F&W schedule comes out.

Am we likely to bump into you cruising the booths? We'll be there from the Oct 26th-1st.

Well in down here in Cajun country, we would head to the Drive-Thru Daiquiri Shop on our way to Church!

Dry counties, No Happy Hour's & No Liquor before Noon! Well, let's just say that Boudreaux & Thibodeaux would be sure they had died & gone to Hell!

I will take that as an affirmation to my dessert idea for next trip. Some of them have looked great, but having an ice cream parlor and candy shop right next door can't be good for the dessert business at FF.

Right now, as things stand, we will be leaving WDW on the 25 or 26th (depending on if we try to snag PFTS this year). We are doing our cheapskate version of the a/p maximization trick, and try to get in a trip at the very beginning, and the very end, so we are planning to go one week earlier than last year. Last year we were down there for Halloween as I recall, so we have to be done this year before then.

When I saw your 'Drive-Thru Daiquiri', I first thought it said Dairy Queen. I was really jealous there for a minute, thinking you can get liquor at Dairy Queen. Though to be fair, a Mud Slide Blizzard would sure be nice right now.

Any more words ending with -eaux and I'm going to have to go home and look up a recipe from my Justin Wilson cookbook for dinner tonight.

 

[kabuki]

Well in down here in Cajun country, we would head to the Drive-Thru Daiquiri Shop on our way to Church!

Dry counties, No Happy Hour's & No Liquor before Noon! Well, let's just say that Boudreaux & Thibodeaux would be sure they had died & gone to Hell!

As liberal as we are here in California you gotta love a Drive-Thru Daiquiri Shop! Just the thought makes me miss New Orleans even more!

Great reviews Robert .. Love the FF .. We just came back from your area. It was beautiful and I am not just talking about the BBQ from Lexington!

 

[Mister Disney]

Mr. Disney, you are a genius. You have just given me the perfect solution to my problem of having too many tomato plants, and not enough tomato eaters. I could (once again) pickle much of my green cherry and grape tomato crop, for such uses as dirty martinis. Wonderful idea.

If you send us pickled tomatoes, we'll send you homemade blueberry jam from our blueberry bushes!

Yes, I have become quite fond of my pre-dinner cocktails, but especially so on vacation. It must be more of a Northern thing, because I can hardly recall anyone doing that here in the South when I was growing up. I guess its 'learned behavior' , and my wife and assorted in-laws are starting to rub off on me.

Yes, we "northerners" DO partake in pre-dinner cocktails. As a matter of fact it is a known fact in our neck of the woods, that martinis happen on the porch every afternoon promptly at 5:30p

Note: I am 'discouraged' for having copious amounts of pre-dinner cocktails (on any regular basis) when we are home, due to a particularly funny incident last year at my house (after many such cocktails), which I still haven't heard the end of. So I tend to live it up while I'm on vacation.

oh the stories that the K-Man could tell about me!

 

[Robert P]

Did you know that Mississippi has all those state run liquor stores, too? We found that out the hard way after attending one of those mid-afternoon weddings where the reception consists of cookies and melt-away mints and cardboard wedding cake.

No way. Another state as backwards as North Carolina??

Jay and I couldn't find a drink fast enough ... except that there was no fast and there was no drink either because the state store had closed and they don't offer the yankee convenience of selling booze at grocery stores and gas stations.

Similar here. Beer & wine available at grocery stores, in non-dry counties.


Sorry to get carried away with the booze talk ... I'm at my desk suffering from a food and drink withdrawal. Soon I will have the pleasure of attending a business continuity meeting where we will discuss what the bank will do in the event of an outbreak of pandemic flu.

Might I suggest dreaming of the new Dairy Queen Mud Slide Blizzard that I have recently imagined....

As for how a bank deals with the flu, well, you don't want to spread germs, but I guess having the money laundered would be an unpopular suggestion. Just use loads and loads of hand-sanitizer instead........ a more politically correct answer.

Other than running around screaming, "WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!" I'm fresh outta ideas.

Maybe a Ralph Wiggum-esque "I won, I won" , then run out the front door.


p.s. Please tell me how to multi-quote. This reply probably looks like crap.

 

[Tatania]

Sorry Shovan, you are indeed much deeper South, but I currently reside (trapped) here in the Bible Belt. In NC, there is no happy hour, liquor sales are governed by the state ABC commission and can only be purchased through their state-run stores, and beer & wine purchases can only be made on Sundays after 12:00 p.m. (noon). No Sunday liquor purchases, at all.
(though brunch cocktails are permitted, you can't buy beer or wine at any store until after Noon time on Sundays).
We've even got a few 'dry' counties still, where alcohol isn't sold outside of the restaurants, if then.
As you can see, we're somewhat culturally repressed. Sigh.

Tell me it ain't so!!
My sister and I (plus our 3 teens) are headed to the Carolinas (North and South) for vacation in August and we were looking SO forward to laxer liquer laws. I was planning on bringing my Disney cocktail collection and trying a good chunk of them. We come from Canada were liquor can only be purchased at government stores or licensed private stores as hugely inflated prices because it's taxed to the max. We love the cheap booze in the States.

 

[TigerKat]

Tell me it ain't so!!
My sister and I (plus our 3 teens) are headed to the Carolinas (North and South) for vacation in August and we were looking SO forward to laxer liquer laws. I was planning on bringing my Disney cocktail collection and trying a good chunk of them. We come from Canada were liquor can only be purchased at government stores or licensed private stores as hugely inflated prices because it's taxed to the max. We love the cheap booze in the States.

Head down a little further south and come visit shovan & I and you'll be in liquor heaven....

 

[CoolDisneyKitten]

Yes, I have become quite fond of my pre-dinner cocktails, but especially so on vacation. It must be more of a Northern thing, because I can hardly recall anyone doing that here in the South when I was growing up.

My grandmother, North Carolina born and bred, was quite fond of a pre-dinner cocktail, or "drinkie" as she always called it. Scotch and water was her favorite. I think it's just gone out of style among the younger generation in the South, maybe?

And laxer liquor laws in North Carolina? Ok, I'm not laughing at you, Tatania... just laughing. We have a casino, ya know, on the Cherokee reservation, but it's in a dry county. So you know all those free drinks they give you at a casino? Yeah, no liquor... sad... gambling and can't even drink... I like my vices in pairs, thanks. :/

 

[whogirl'smom]

Sorry Shovan, you are indeed much deeper South, but I currently reside (trapped) here in the Bible Belt. In NC, there is no happy hour, liquor sales are governed by the state ABC commission and can only be purchased through their state-run stores, and beer & wine purchases can only be made on Sundays after 12:00 p.m. (noon).
As you can see, we're somewhat culturally repressed. Sigh.

We can't even get wine here on Sundays!!! We lived in NC for a long time and I got used to it being in the grocery store. Not so here! Just know it could be worse.

Great review, though! We had an Asian dipping sauce that sounded like yours at Narcoossee's with fried oysters. It was out of this world.

 

[Robert P]

My grandmother, North Carolina born and bred, was quite fond of a pre-dinner cocktail, or "drinkie" as she always called it. Scotch and water was her favorite. I think it's just gone out of style among the younger generation in the South, maybe?

And laxer liquor laws in North Carolina? Ok, I'm not laughing at you, Tatania... just laughing. We have a casino, ya know, on the Cherokee reservation, but it's in a dry county. So you know all those free drinks they give you at a casino? Yeah, no liquor... sad... gambling and can't even drink... I like my vices in pairs, thanks. :/

Yes indeed. Harrah's Cherokee Casino. No booze, no cards (that means no poker, if you read between the lines). Video everything, including video blackjack. Maybe that's why I have to go to Foxwoods every time I am anywhere near Conn.....

The NC Cherokee casino stinks!

 

[Robert P]

If you send us pickled tomatoes, we'll send you homemade blueberry jam from our blueberry bushes!

Yes, we "northerners" DO partake in pre-dinner cocktails. As a matter of fact it is a known fact in our neck of the woods, that martinis happen on the porch every afternoon promptly at 5:30p

oh the stories that the K-Man could tell about me!

I think an arrangement can be reached on a produce exchange. Now, I just need a decent tomato season to keep up my end of the bargain. Oh, the pressure....

As for the stories, I may need a few of those pre-dinner cocktails before I hear many of those.

 

[Robert P]

We can't even get wine here on Sundays!!! We lived in NC for a long time and I got used to it being in the grocery store. Not so here! Just know it could be worse.

Great review, though! We had an Asian dipping sauce that sounded like yours at Narcoossee's with fried oysters. It was out of this world.

Worse......it gets worse???

Yeah, I don't know what goes in that sauce, but it is terrific, isn't it.

 

[wintergreen]

Great reviews!!

 

[Robert P]

REVIEW: Crystal Palace – (but no pictures. Sorry. I just don’t take pictures of the food at buffets. Plus. As you may deduce from this review, the food appearance wouldn’t make for a good photo anyway).

SUMMARY: “I Heard They Shaved A Gorilla” or “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”

This was our character meal for our trip. We usually try to do one character meal, and this trip, nobody felt like heading to Norway for the Princess Breakfast. After reviewing past visits of a few character meals, we decided on Crystal Palace (CP) for an early lunch. Contributing factors to this decision were:

It was a short trip, so we needed to maximize our park time.
Nobody wanted to get up super early for breakfast.
We have liked Crystal Palace on our previous visits.
Pooh and the Gang were the featured characters.

So Robert P, being the smart guy that I think I am, decides we’ll do the first possible lunch. That way, it won’t be ridiculously crowded, or at least not a mad house, that early…. …. Anyway, I called and snagged an 11:35 ADR for our party of 5. Cool, I thought. The place starts serving lunch at 11:30 a.m., so we’re pretty much one of the first ones to be seated, and any lines won’t be too long that early in the lunch service…. ….

The best laid plans of mice and men….

We hit the MK this morning bright and early, and knocked out several attractions. Approaching 11:00 a.m., we started steering our touring plan towards arriving back at the hub well before 11:30, just to be safe. We ended up in front of CP at 11:20, to check in for our 11:35 ADR. I can only compare the ensuing chaos to a horrid hodgepodge of:

The ‘wounded’ scene from Gone With The Wind.
The beachhead landing scene from Apocolypse Now.
The multiple studios finale fight scene from Blazing Saddles.
The cantina scene from Star Wars.

The porch seating area (the only place in the shade) to the left of the entrance, was wall-to-wall people. Unfortunately, that is also where the check-in booth/area/counter/window is. So, I had the rest of our group find a seat out in front (and away from the crowd), and I went to get in line. Apparently, only a few of us checking in had that idea, and the rest decided to drag their entire party of screaming children, grandparents, gardeners, and lodge brothers up there with them, clogging the line with people definitely not needed for the checking in process. The line moved quickly enough all things considered, but the huge crowd on the porch was a combination of people trying to check in, and people who had already checked in, and had grabbed a seat in the shade, up on the porch. So, a family name would be called, and they would get up off their porch seats, and have to cut through the jam-packed check-in line, to find the seating host screaming their name, to then be escorted inside. And, as soon as those people got up, some geniuses from the sunny sidewalk section decided that their entire party needed to be ‘shade seated’, so they would come clamoring up, cutting their way back through the jam-packed check-in line, to try and grab the freshly emptied seats.
Now, add to all of this confusion, there were two ways to check in, though nobody was announcing these options. Way # 1 – wait in line on the left, get to the ‘window’, give them your name, then they check you off, hand you a pager, and off you go. They also tell you to listen for your name to be called, even though you have the pager. Way # 2 – about 15 feet before that line could get to the check-in window, there is a lady with an electronic clipboard, taking names and checking people in. But, she doesn’t give anyone a pager, and just tells people to listen for their name to be called. Very confusing.

While I am in line, a family of 5 ahead of me is trying to get walk up seating from the lady at the ‘window’. The 2 parents have dragged their 3 kids up on the porch, with a large plastic stroller, and have created a roadblock for the check-in line, and the people trying to cut through the check-in line, to reach the seating host calling out their name. Total gridlock, nobody can move. Cap it off, one child is screaming bloody murder, while seated with another oblivious child in the stroller, and the largest child, a girl maybe 9 years old, is standing there kicking and shoving the stroller (which is banging into the parents), angry at one or both of the children in the stroller. This kid is screaming as well, and keeps shoving the stroller and screeching at an octave almost inaudible to human ears. I say almost, because along with the dogs howling in the distance, at least 4 or 5 nearby adults (not in their party, mind you) are covering their ears in pain. Finally, after at least 4 or 5 minutes of blocking all traffic flow, the parents notice the shoving and screaming (though they remain clueless to the traffic jam they have created) and tell the kids to ‘stop it’. After that course of action fails to have any impact, they finally are done at the ‘window’, and take screaming girl and melt-down kid, and oblivious kid who was fine, off the porch. This now involves asking 8 people to move, so they can wedge their stroller off the porch and back to the main sidewalk level, because since they have caused such congestion, everyone around them is now packed in like sardines. So, I end up getting to the window, as the clipboard lady doesn’t attempt to speak to me, and I get us checked in, and I am issued a pager. Off the porch I go, to get clear of the line behind me, and to be able to observe the mass of humanity trying to crowd onto that porch.

After 10 minutes, our pager went off. I headed to the front steps, and nobody was calling our name. Another minute goes by, and finally a hostess calls us. She immediately says “follow me”, then ducks inside the place, right before a party of 6 come barreling out the door, thus breaking contact between the hostess and our group. Once the door clears, a few seconds later, I lead us inside with my oldest daughter in tow, only to be stopped by the ‘bouncer hostess’, who tells me I can’t come in. What the *&%$#?? Fortunately, our hostess had turned around by now, and called for us from the foyer, which made the ‘bouncer’ step aside. What is this place, Studio 54?
We were soon seated to the right, at a round table that could have held six. Again, I appreciate not being seated at the smallest possible table. In some WDW places, they would have shoved us at a table for 4, then tried to pull up an extra chair on the end. Our server came by after one minute. It was Sherri, who I believe we have had before on a previous visit. (I did notice that many of the servers at CP seem to be there every trip, so I think their turnover rate is pretty low). Sherri asks if we have been there before, explains the character rotation, then goes to get our drinks. We immediately split our party, to get the girls some food first, then later, the adults can start making their way to the buffet. Some of the obvious kids meal items this day were mac & cheese, and chicken nuggets. Our girls usually eat more off the adult buffet anyway, but tried the mac & cheese, and said it was pretty good. Once they had their food and started eating, the adults hit the buffet. Aside from the salad bar and cold items, some of the hot items we sampled were (with my comments):

Garlic red skin smashed potatoes (fair)
Broccoli in some sauce (decent)
Vegetable medley (okay)
Roasted corn bread (excellent)
Cheese pizza (I didn’t bother)
Veggie fritatta (decent)
Sir Fried Curry Noodles (excellent)
Pasta primavera (good)
Mediterranean chicken (excellent)
Veggie pasta (okay)
Some kind of infused rice (good)
Ancho chile rubbed Atlantic Salmon (terrific)
Herb flank steak (terrific)
Pork tenderloin (just okay, but a bit dry)
Ratatouille (good)

Dessert rocked! I was hoping they would have Tres Leches, as that has been offered before, but this time, no dice. So, I sampled:
Coconut flan (surprisingly good)
Boston Cream Pie (excellent)
Brownies (good if you like brownies)
Bread Pudding with Cream Sauce (very good)
Lemon Squares (just okay)
Soft Serve Ice Cream (good enough)
Various cookies (just okay)

Rant ON – Just a few things I saw myself happen: One lady was feeding her kid chicken nuggets, from the chicken nugget bin, while in line. The child was happy, but this was not the place to be eating, while in the line. Another lady was loading cookies from the dessert buffet into a small baggie for later. Several ‘free range’ kids roamed unattended, helping themselves to various items, cutting into the lines and making a total mess everywhere they scooped. The patron I call Dessert Guy, who cut a piece of pie, then licked his fingers after putting the knife back down. (Ew, how many people had touched that knife before him, and Double Ew, where did he go visit next??) The ‘reach backers’, those who go past a dish, step forward to the next dish, then decide to ‘reach back’ across you to get a scoop of the dish that they passed just a few seconds ago. Lastly, the family who kept letting their two kids run up to the characters as they made their way around, getting in the way of other tables taking pictures. The touring pattern is explained to each table when you sit down, and the characters will get to your table in due time. Letting your kids run loose, and distract the characters from the table they are presently with, is downright rude (more so if you are obnoxious enough to try to sneak in a picture of them with that character). Control your children, and have some respect for the other 150 guests who are following the rules and waiting their turns! - Rant OFF

I myself, hence the title to this thread, made four or five visits to the buffet, which I am not very proud of, because I ate way too much. But I was hungry, and there was some really good food (the salmon, flank steak, Boston Cream Pie, and bread pudding really stood out). Also, we had skipped breakfast, so we were all starving by the time we got there, fought through the front lines, and were seated. No food went to waste at our table though, as Kang and Kodos would advise “Take all that you want, but eat all that you take”.

Character Interaction: Excellent (I’d give it 9 out of 10 stars). They had the napkin parade, which we had not seen before. Every character visited our table in the 75 minutes we were there, and Tigger and Eeyore even made it around twice. These people ‘helping’ the characters are great, as there were no accidents or collisions that we saw, despite all of the kids running around, and foot traffic to and from the buffet area. We got some very good pictures of the girls with Tigger. On a side note, they really turn over the tables here quickly, because within 2 minutes of a family next to us getting up, that table was cleared, and another family was on the way to be seated.

Sherri was great during our meal. Drinks were refilled, plates were cleared, and the check came timely. Our total bill, after subtracting the DDE discount of 20% but adding in the DDE auto tip of 18%, came out just under $90 for 3 adults and 2 children. This lunch was a little more expensive than our usual breakfast character meal, but there was a lot of food, and it was all quite good for a buffet. The character interaction and pictures saved us valuable touring time, which on a short trip like this one, was at a premium. If they could streamline and/or better organize the zoo that they have for a check-in process, we’d be back more often.


Summary:

Good – Character interaction. Most of the food. Service.

Bad – Tables are tight together. Check-in was confusing and disorganized.


NEXT UP: Raglan Road (with pictures)

 

[oybolshoi]

You are my hero.

EDIT ... D'OH! the rest of my post seems to have been sucked into a black hole. What I meant to say is that your CP review was spot on ... I recognize a lot of the same issues from our breakfast there this fall, but the food, service, and interaction were all good.

Your comparison of the human log jam at the check-in area to the Atlanta depot scene in GWTW just about made me wet my pants (TMI???) - what a great visual! I will never again be able to walk past the mass of humanity waiting for a table at CP without picturing them all scattered around the neatly manicured lawns, wrapped in dirty bandages, groaning pitifully for morphine.

As an aside did you ever happen to watch Ren & Stimpy in the good old early days of its production? They had a "toy" that they ran commericals for called Log and one of the accessory kits it came with was "Civil War Log" and it was wrapped in old bandages, came with rusty surgeon's tools, and screamed hideously. It was very funny ... in a sick and twisted sort of way. Seemed like the sort of thing you might get a chuckle out of.

Because I think it's so dumb it's funny I'd like to share the Log song with you.

Ahem ...

Log rolls down stairs
alone or in pairs
rolls into the neighbors' dog
it's good for a snack
and fits on your back
it's Log, Log, Log!

It's Log .. it's Log...
it's big, it's heavy, it's wood!
it's Log... it's Log...
it's better than bad, it's good!

Everyone wants a Log!!



OK ... I'm leaving now.

 

[Robert P]

Brenda,
I loved the Log commercials on Ren & Stimpy!! I once knew the words to the whole song, cause it got stuck in my head. I quite enjoyed R&S as well, til they ran out of new material....
Thank you for the reminder. (Though now that song will be stuck in my head until the weekend, when I'll flush it out with a nice pitcher of a Rioja Sangria)

My television tastes, and recollections of shows, have been questioned over the years, but I guess I like what I like.
I still enjoy the occassional rerun of Manimal, but have not been able to find playing anywhere the reruns of The Master (starring Lee Van Cleef and co-starring Salami from the White Shadow).
Great stuff!!