I'll have what she's having-DDP reviews 12/11-18 (updated 12/24 with LTT and Y&Y CS)

[Quicklabs]

My husband and I just returned from the celebration of our 27th wedding anniversary at WDW. Now, after 27 years, we have developed the same tastes in many things, including what we choose to eat. So, while I have a nice list of reviews to share with you, the range of foods sampled from each was fairly limited, since usually, we just ordered the same thing. Now, I won't have any pictures of the food, because after taking more than 1,000 pics during the past week, taking pics of our meals would have send my DH over the edge. ("Are you going to take pictures of every square inch of these parks!?")


Here's where we dined:

Table Service:

Tutto Italia
Raglan Road
Boma
Liberty Tree Tavern
Chefs de France
Le Cellier
Coral Reef
Tokyo Dining

Counter Service
(lunches)
Tangierine Cafe
Columbia Harbour House
Cosmic Ray's
Earl of Sandwich
Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafe
Studio Catering Company
Sunshine Seasons

(breakfasts)
Riverside Mill Food Court
Pepper Market

Snacks
Boardwalk Bakery
Kringla Bakeri og Kafe
Yak and Yeti (again)

OK--let's get this food party started!

First up, Tangierine Cafe (sorry no pics of the place; my camera was in my luggage which was back at the BWV, where the room was not yet ready).

We ate here within an hour of our arrival. Since it was already just past 1 p.m., and we had dinner ADRs for 6:30, we decided to split the Chicken and Lamb Platter. The line there was verrrrrry long, but clearly worth it once the food finally came. We grabbed a nice table in the shade just right for people watching while we ate and sipped our refreshing lemonade. The chicken and lamb were oh-so-tender. We spread the spiced-just-right hummus on the fresh, still warm Moroccan bread. I could eat bread all day, and that stuff was a winner in my book. I'm not a big fan of tabolleh, but the couscous salad was tasty. The baklava for dessert was good--they took it right out of the refrigerator. I think it would have been much better just a little warm. Both of us were full sharing that huge platter of food. I'm a pretty big eater, but I've had trouble finishing off that bad boy by myself. All in all, a very good meal and a very encouraging way to start off burning those DDP credits! I would definitely go back.

Now, just to give you a little something extra in this first review, I will tell you about the Banana Split Pie we had from the Boardwalk Bakery as a snack one hot afternoon. It was as you'd expect, with vanilla pudding-type bottom filling and a good helping of sliced bananas, but the "split" topping really made the dessert: whipped cream, with some sort of chopped candy coated nuts (maybe pralines), sprinkled generously on top, and finished off with a drizzle each of caramel and chocolate syrups. I ate it poolside at the BWV, so life was really good. That dessert was much better than some I'd eaten in the TS restaurants; if you like banana splits, then you'd best pop by the BW bakery when you're in the neighborhood for this little treat. (And it won't ruin your appetite for dinner, I promise)

 

[duffy]

That sounds so goood!! You could write menu descriptions.

 

[mom22boys]

Can't wait to hear what you thought of Tutto Italia. As a side note, your dogs are beautiful!

Happy Holidays!

 

[my3disneygirls]

Can't wait for more. You ate at many places I want to check out my next trip.

 

[Quicklabs]

I won't keep you in suspense: here's the worst TS--best to get that out of the way, so that we can only get better from here!

We had loved this restaurant on all our previous trips. In fact, when I booked the ADRs waaaaaaaaaay back in June, I started to regret that I had not booked this place twice. This place is Chefs de France.

Now, Momma taught me to be nice, so I will say this about Chefs. The decor there really reminded me of being in a restaurant in Paris. From the newspapers hanging on the hooks to the tile floor patterns, it is authentic looking. However, I can't remember anyplace in Paris being quite as noisy as this.

We arrived approximately 10 minutes before our ADR time. The young lady at the podium couldn't have had a more sour, unwelcoming expression on her face than if she was auditioning for the part of Scrooge. How incongruous it was so see the patrons with smiles on their faces being "greeted" by someone who appeared so miserable. She looked as if she wished the earth would swallow her up and transport her anywhere but back to that podium. However, her apparent misery was not only matched, but OUTDONE by both maitre d's working in the 45 minutes we waited past our ADR time. One of the gentlemen was there the last time we dined there. I remember commenting two years ago about how he seemed to be a Saturday Night Live parody of the fabled rudeness of French waiters. Except he was real *shiver* Anyway, my DH and I looked to find amusement in that, rather than dismay, as we were looking forward to a great French dinner!

We were one row away from the windows, but quickly found ourselves having to shout to each other simply to be heard. It took awhile for our waitress, Charlotte, to arrive. We placed our orders fairly quickly and waited....and waited...and waited....for our drinks and our basket of rolls. Only there was no basket. Just one roll, deposited from a basket on our plates. I will say it was a good roll. The butter was soft and spreadable.

For appetizers, my DH ordered up the Tarte a la flamme Alcasienne. To give credit where credit is due, the flatbread was covered with a lovely creme fraiche and a generous abundance of nicely cooked bacon and onions. Since it was so large and he felt he would NEVER be able to eat ALL THAT, he had offered to share some with me. I told him to save me a little until I was finished with my appetizer. He never asked again and "accidentally" ended up eating the whole thing--it was that good. I ordered the Assiette campagnarde. I really do enjoy pate and charcuterie and all that stuff, and we usually don't have that available at home on your typical weeknight (heavy sarcasm here--I never have that stuff available at home). When it was delivered, I asked Charlotte for additional rolls to spread the pate on. Perhaps this was "tres gauche" because 15 minutes later, my "assiette" was half gone and still no "pain" for the pate and meats. Finally, just as I was eating the last bits of the pate, I was offered ONE more roll (perhaps there was a shortage or a roll-bakers strike going on that evening?) Anyway, I will say that this was a very nice appetizer, one which I did not offer to share with DH. (I swear I didn't choose it all for my myself simply because I know he does not like any of that stuff--that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

So, the appetizers were a hit and the memories of long waits and greeters with bad attitudes were long gone as we awaited our main course.

My DH had the Salmon with red pepper sauce. I'll tell you, they cooked the bejeebers out of that salmon. It was as dry as dust. My DH kept mopping the red pepper sauce off the plate just to try to squeeze some flavor out of it. I had the duck because I am a duck fanatic! The good news (and I promise to always find some) was that it was sliced nicely off the breast and made very easy to eat. However, it was lukewarm and pale looking. There was no crispness to the skin at all, which made the leg "confit" just kinda fatty and gross. The whole thing seemed as if it had been cooked in a microwave. The spiced honey sauce seemed like watered down honey from the jar, not even warm. I had hoped the sweet potato would be good, but here again, it was bland as paste and just lukewarm and after two bites, I left the rest, unable to eat it. The green beans saved that plate.

But dessert! Now this is a French restaurant, so surely they couldn't mess up the dessert! And what is more French than a crepe? So both of us ordered the "Crepe filled with cinnamon, apple, vanilla ice cream and apple caramel sauce." and waited in eager anticipation for over 20 minutes until it was brought to the table. There was some vanilla ice cream on the side of a crepe that appeared to have been filled with unsweetened apple sauce (like the kind I use to make my girls their dog biscuits). They must have just waved the jar of caramel sauce over the plate, but didn't actually spill any. For one of the few times in my life, I found a dessert that was absolutely unpalatable. I had a spoonful of the sadly-melting vanilla ice cream and that was that. My husband, a dessert lover from the day he was born, was equally crestfallen by that "crepe".

So, all in all, I'd give the appetizers very high marks, and am appreciative of the lovely decor (which I had close to 2 hours at table to appreciate). The entrees and the desserts we selected were woeful, and the service was laughable (if only to keep it from being cry-able). We won't be back....alors!

Well, c'est la vie, right? At least I had not made the grand mistake of booking this twice, as was my initial inclination. There's much more ahead.....

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the reviews. We also ate at Chef de France last week 12/15 and had a totally different experience. We only waited about 10 minutes for our table and had the best waitress of our whole trip. She had a party of 12 right next to our table and she was fantastic. Refilled our drinks, asked about our food etc. I had the beef shortribs and they were great. Sorry that your experience was not more like ours. Looking forward to reading more of your reviews.

 

[TigerKat]

Sorry to hear this. We ate at Chefs for the first time last month and had a great meal and exceptional service. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!!

 

[WNYDISNEYFAN]

Thanks for the reviews looking forward to the rest

 

[duffy]

Eeek! We have reservations to eat at Les Chefs in Feb. I won't let this review affect me, though, unless I start reading dozens and dozens of bad ones and very few good ones....

 

[dishm12/08]

I can't wait for the rest of your reviews.

 

[Minniespal]

Looking forward to reading more

 

[Quicklabs]

Liberty Tree Tavern and Yak and Yeti Counter Service (with pics)

Let's move on to the "Biggest surprise" TS of the trip--Liberty Tree Tavern.
I have to tell you that DH was less than thrilled when I told him I booked a character dinner. But even he had to admit, "I'm really glad we came here."

We were taken back within minutes of our 5:30 ADR on a Saturday night. I had feared a long wait, since the MK on a Saturday was darned crowded. No worries! We were promptly greeted by our waitress, Shari, who provided outstanding service despite being busy with lots of tables and lots of demands for "more" of one thing of the other from so many diners. She was cheerful and smiling throughout--really made it a pleasant dining experience. She told us to let her know if all the characters didn't visit, but no need to worry there, because we were visited twice by Minnie and Dale, and once each by Chip, Goofy and Pluto. They were interactive and funny, even though it was just us two adults with no kids. I love Minnie!

The dinner rolls they served there were just the way I like them: warm and soft, with a hint of sweetness. Very yummy, and Shari kept them coming! The meats on the Patriots platter included turkey, flank steak and pork. I thought the pork was a little dry, the turkey was okay, but oh, the flank steak. It was outstanding! It would be very hard to keep flank steak from being tough, but I'll tell you, the LTT cooks (Minnie and Pluto?) di themselves proud with that cut of meat. We got exta helpings of that, and I put some on one of those buns with a little gravy. Ah, heaven! My DH liked the mac and cheese a lot; I preferred the mashed potatoes, which were smooth and creamy. The stuffing was pretty good, too, as were the green beans.

For dessert, we had an apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. It was the perfect, not-too-filling end to a very enjoyable meal. All this was washed down with ice cold root beer served in nice cold mugs, which Shari kept filled as soon as they were nearly drained. We left Shari an extra tip, we thought she was so good!

So, Liberty Tree Tavern, though not a gastronome's delight, provided a happy, fun dining experience that put smiles on our faces while filling our tummies.

Let's talk about a CS lunch now. We actually dined twice at the Yak and Yeti for CS. Once was for a "real" lunch. I had a need for a pasta fix, so I ordered the Shrimp Lo Mein. I was surprised by the amount of Shrimp in there. Tasty and satisfying. Hubby had the Honeyed Chicken, and he said he liked his, too. The order was huge. Both of us had the Chocolate Cake (though I had ordered the Mango Pie). Mostly, I just ate the frosting because I was just too full!

Now the real deal of the Yak and Yeti could be found in their snack options. One afternoon, my DH and I were hungry, but didn't want a big lunch since we had ADRs for the Coral Reef at 4:40 later on. So, we used just three SNACK credits to order a carton of Fried Rice, and each got an order of two eggrolls each. The food was pretty good, and it was more than enough to tide us over to dinner. On a normal, non Disney day, that would have been a huge lunch for either of us. So, if you're looking to save on CS lunch credits, but you still need a lunch-type meal, head on over to Yak and Yeti to grab up those snacks.

All the CS food at Y&Y is served in a carton. No plates, just cartons. THe good news is that the food gets out to you right quick and there's a lot of it, but I'm not a big fan out of eating out of cartons (maybe too many bad memories from my living in my single-girl apartment ages ago?).

I have to say that the outdoor dining spot there is lovely. I really do like that section of the park--the themeing really makes me feel as if I'm in a place far from Florida. There don't appear to be a lot of tables in the shade, which could be a problem on a really hot day.

Anyway, here's some pics of a really pretty little spot, which I recommend for a CS lunch if you've got a taste for pretty typical fast-food Chinese fare.

The fountain is really a nice touch.

My DH wondering where I went off to 15 minutes after leaving him at our lunch table with promises of "I'll be right back." (I was busy taking lots of pictures)

 

[John's Mom]

Great reviews! Thanks for posting. Looking forward to Y&Y on our next trip.