It tastes like bacon! An anniversary DR from Mr.&Mrs. Roma: COMPLETE

[Roma]

Bonjour everyone!

DH and I just got back from a one week trip to the World (and the dark side!) where we celebrated the one year anniversary of 11/11/11... otherwise known as the day we got married .

Now before we get this dining report rolling I thought I would give you a wee bit of background about the two of us.

Me: Twenty-something, third visit to WDW. I LOVE planning trips and DH tells me I should have been a travel agent instead of going to college . I also love WDW and have greatly enjoyed learning more about it over my last few months on the Dis. A great number of my dining choices were influenced by these boards, so thanks folks ! I try to eat pretty healthy at home, and don't typically eat a whole lot of meat or ever order dessert. Those behaviors fly completely out the window on vacation though. Be prepared to see me take down multiple meats and desserts in a single day on this trip. My favorite restaurant at WDW is (currently) Artist Point, and my favorite snack is a Mickey Rice Krispy treat (dipped in chocolate and coated in mini M&Ms of course).

Mr. Roma: Also twenty-something, and also on his third trip to the world. However, he was with rookies on his previous trips and barely saw anything!! So it was up to me to give him the realllll tour, if you know what I mean. He loves to eat anything, except brussels sprouts. He also does not particularly care for chocolate or ice cream , which means he doesn't always feel like sharing with me. However, he made some pretty big exceptions on this trip so I'm grateful! His favorite restaurant as of this trip is Artist Point and his favorite snack is a churro. Yep, he gets them everywhere and loves them everywhere. WDW was no exception.

This trip was actually Mr. Roma's idea seeing as he shot down my original suggestion of going to WDW for our honeymoon. We ended up going to Europe instead - which I'm definitely not complaining about! However, I still really wanted to go to WDW together so I was a little bummed that we might not get to go for a while. Imagine my joy then when back in June Mr. Roma suggested we go to WDW for our one-year anniversary! I told him he didn't even have to ask .

Lastly, Mr. Roma got really involved in the dining review process towards the end of the trip and made up his own rankings and reviews. As a result I'll let him do the reviewing for his items!

Now on with the show!

It took from June all the way until the second-to-last day of our trip to get all the ADRs I wanted at the right times, but I finally succeeded! Here is our dining line up (and where I'll add the links later).


Day 1:
Louie's Italian Restaurant @ Universal Studios
Churro @ Universal Studios
Raglan Road

Day 2:
Dole Whip
Liberty Tree Tavern
Be Our Guest
MVMCP Snacks

Day3:
Butterbeers and the Three Broomsticks @ Islands of Adventure
Pumpkin Tart & Cauldron Cake from Honeydukes
Artist Point

Day 4:
Chef Mickey's
Beach Club Marketplace
California Grill

Day 5:
Le Cellier
Food & Wine booths
Rose & Crown Pub

Day 6:
Jalapeño cream cheese pretzel
Kona Cafe
Earl of Sandwich
Mickey Rice Krispy Treat
Boma

Day 7:
Churro @ Hollywood Studios
50's Prime Time Cafe
Starring Rolls cupcake
Popcorn @ Fantasmic
Beaches & Cream

** Note: Because I was participating in the live reviews I ended up taking all of the pictures with my iPhone, so I apologize for the poor quality of some of the pictures!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Cannot wait to read your reviews! We are going back in 3 weeks and I need food porn to get me even more excited!

 

[TruBlu]

You had me at bacon.

 

[Jersette]

I really enjoyed your live updates, so I'm looking forward to the king size version!!!

 

[jabead]

Count me in!

 

[Rumpletinker]

Count me in! Your ressies looks yummy!

 

[klacey1]

Subscribing! Artist Point is my favorite, too!

 

[xkaittloveex]

Joining in!

 

[Roma]

Louie's Italian Restaurant


​

Just in case anyone was wondering about our breakfast on departure day, our flight didn't leave until 9:40 so we had plenty of time to eat at home. If I'm remembering correctly, I had an egg and a slice of bacon on top of a bagel thin. Knowing Mr. Roma he probably didn't eat anything.

Our flight got into Sanford at 11:15 and we were in our rental car and on the road by 11:40. We decided to spend our first half day in Florida at Universal, and by the time we arrived and got into the park we were famished. I had read ahead of time about CS at Universal and the options didn't look good. It seemed like the consensus was Louie's Italian Restaurant in the New York area was the best of the worst, and since I knew we wouldn't be having a whole lot of pizza on this trip, I figured we had nothing to lose going there.

The lines inside were long (it was roughly 1:00 PM at this point) but seemed manageable. Unfortunately the laws of nature dictate that no matter what line I choose, it will end up being the slow line because something will go wrong with the person in front of me. Sure enough, there were a host of communication issues between the non-English speakers, who could not understand why they weren't allowed to get an entire pizza on their Universal meal plan, and the CMs attempting to man the line. Even with the one CM speaking fluent Spanish, the gentleman in front of me could not grasp that he could only have two pieces of pizza with his meal plan. He ended up barging away in a huff, but his tantrum caused us to endure another 10 minutes in line…

We chose to split the "meal deal," which was any slice of pizza (we choose pepperoni because it was the more expensive of the three) and a small Caesar salad. We also got an additional slice of cheese. We paid $10.91, which included a 10% savings with our AAA card.

​

I took out half my pizza before I realized that I was supposed to be doing a dining report . The pizza looks worse than it actually tasted. It wasn't amazing but it wasn't bad either. Since we were starving, it served its primary purpose of making sure we didn't pass out from low blood sugar. The Caesar salad was actually made fresh in a big bowl along the line. It could have done with less dressing, but the lettuce was crisp and it tasted like a Caesar salad should taste. I'd probably try somewhere else in the Studios next time, but if you're wanting pizza this isn't any worse than anything you could get a home.

And here is what Mr. Roma thought:


The counter service at Louie's was about what you would expect. Overall, just average but in no way disappointing.

The line was long, and the service was slow. The menu was simple - cheese, pepperoni or veggie, with a few other options like a grilled chicken salad and spaghetti and meatballs.

We shared two slices - one pepperoni and one cheese. We also had a side Caeser salad. Again, everything was to be expected. None of it blew you away, but none of it left you disappointed. The crust could have had more flavor, but the pizza was served hot and served its purpose. The same with the salad - it could have been better, but served its purpose.

Overall, this was your typical over-the-counter pizza service. It was about what you could expect in any run of the mill shopping mall. I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't tell people to avoid it either.

 

[Roma]

Cannot wait to read your reviews! We are going back in 3 weeks and I need food porn to get me even more excited!

So glad you are here MickeyNicki!! I loved your live reviews

You had me at bacon.

DH and I both love bacon... and you'll see where the quote comes from soon! Thanks for joining in

I really enjoyed your live updates, so I'm looking forward to the king size version!!!

Woohoo I have a follower! Happy to hear you liked my live updates. I'm excited to share the king size version as well .

Count me in!

Dear jabead! I feel like you'll be right at home with these updates, hehe.

Count me in! Your ressies looks yummy!

Thanks for reading Rumpletinker! I was really happy with all our ADRs.

Subscribing! Artist Point is my favorite, too!

I don't think we'll get away from going to AP for a long time! Thanks for joining in.

Joining in!

Glad to have you!!

 

[nutz2notz]

Great start.

Looking forward to more.

 

[Roma]

Universal Studios Churro


​

A couple of hours after we had lunch Mr. Roma was getting very hungry again and started asking for a churro. There are quite a few carts around US and it seemed as if almost all of them carried churros. We decided to get one from the cart directly in front of the Rip it, Rock it coaster. Unfortunately none of the carts take AAA cards so no discount here. It cost $3.19

This was your standard churro. Not as big as the one we would have later in Hollywood Studios, but still a big enough size for us to share comfortably. My only real complaint is that it could have been hotter, but that is a rare occurrence in general.

Mr Roma says:​

The churro we bought at Universal Studios was good. It could have been warmer, but it was crunchy and sweet. It more than served its purpose. The worst thing about buying a churro at Universal was that it wasn’t fresh fried. You know it was probably just warmed in the microwave and put in the hot box until it was bought. Nonetheless, I’ll probably buy another one when we return.

 

[Roma]

Raglan Road​

Our first real Disney meal was at Raglan Road. Our ADR was for 8:15 and we arrived at Downtown Disney around 8:00. The place was absolutely mobbed! For whatever reason I was not anticipating having to circle around the parking lot for 10 minutes before we were able to finagle getting a space. There were multiple cars weaving in and out of lanes attempting to stake out spots and I was starting to get very worried that we were going to be late for our ADR. When we finally got a spot and made it up to the restaurant, it too was mobbed. I had to pass through a throng of people to get to the check in desk, where I ended up being behind a couple who had a reservation for much later but were insisting they be seated sooner. Like I said the place was packed so I wasn't sure how this was going to be accomplished. They got a buzzer anyway and were told they would likely be facing an hour or more wait. I checked in right at 8:15 and thanked my lucky stars we had an ADR. However, this ended up being our longest wait of the entire trip. The minutes started to roll by and before I knew it was 8:35. The couple who had demanded to be seated earlier was now back at the check in desk making a fuss over not being seated. It seemed like the management had no desire to deal with people intent on making a scene in front of everyone, so they were seated within minutes. We, however, continued to wait. After thirty minutes of waiting I went back up to the desk and asked what was going on. We had walked around a little bit and watched some of the Celtic dancing outside, but the cold and our hunger were starting to get the best of us. The poor girl didn't seem to have any idea but assured me that we were next in line for a table for two. Shortly after that our buzzer went off and we were seated on a high top table next to a pillar just outside of the dancing circle. It put us right in the flow of traffic and made seeing the entertainment difficult but I was just so happy to finally be seated that I didn't care.

Our server, Joe, was friendly but a little preoccupied. I cant really blame him though seeing how overrun the restaurant was. He took our drink orders (a Coke for Mr. Roma and a Diet Coke for me) and then brought out the:

Irish soda bread with Guinness reduction.​

This is one of those items that Ive read about frequently on the Dis but had never really gotten the impression that people particularly enjoyed it. Therefore, I had tempered my expectations about its taste - especially since I typically prefer butter over oils on my bread. My first bite, however, was a complete surprise. The slightly nutty and earthy tasting bread paired with the sweet reduction was excellent. We had to stop ourselves from eating the entire basket before our appetizer arrived, and not just because we were completely famished from our long wait. Mr. Roma says he completely forgot about this bread but he ate plenty that night and remarked on how good it was so don't take his forgetfulness as a sign of disapproval .

After a short wait our appetizers arrived. We ordered the:

​

Dalkey Duo - Battered cocktail sausages with a Dalkey mustard dipping sauce.​

These clearly came to us right out of the fryer because they were smoldering hot and crispy. The sausage was smoky with just a hint of spice, while the mustard added a nice kick. I enjoyed eating them both with and without the sauce - and may or may not have dipped one in the Guinness reduction as well. We would definitely order these again.

For our main courses, I ordered the:

Pork Vienna Breaded and seared pork Schnitzel with fried egg and chips​

I had never had pork Vienna before and I'm not exactly sure what possessed me that evening to order this, but I'm glad I did. The portion was way above and beyond anything I could consume on my own since it took over the entire plate. I knew right off the bat that I would only be able to finish roughly a third, so I shifted the egg over to the third I planned to eat and got to work! The pork was warm and plentiful they definitely didn't attempt to skimp on the meat by over breading and frying. The egg was warm and added to what I like to call the homey taste of the dish . The fries were also hot and crispy, but I did my best to limit my intake of them seeing as how much we had eat and still had to eat.

Mr. Roma ordered:

Keen eye for the Shepherds Pie - We give the traditional Shepherds Pie a little makeover with our contemporary twist to this favorite dish.​

I had warned him ahead of time that this variation of Shepherds Pie wouldn't be what he was typically used to (and not just because he thinks it requires way more vegetables, haha). Nevertheless, he seemed to enjoy it. I took a bite and thought it was good but I preferred my dish. Then again I am not a big fan of large amounts of ground beef so my reaction can mostly be attributed to personal taste.

After all that food we were starting to feel the bulge - but I knew we couldn't leave Raglan without dessert. I had been debating whether or not we would actually get the bread pudding, seeing as neither of us particularly care for it, but in the end we went ahead and decided to take the plunge. So many fellow DISers couldn't be wrong& right?

First the dessert menu:

​

And then the final act

Gers Bread & Butter Pudding Like no other pudding you have ever tried. Believe us.​

First let me say that looks are very deceiving in these pictures. There is WAY more pudding than meets the eye. This is evidenced by what the plate looked like after we scooped it out and poured the sauce on top

​

Mind you there is still well over a fourth of the pudding left in the cup because we didn't take it all out!

I can sum up how I felt about this pudding with the statement that I certainly believe whoever is talking to me on the Raglan Road menu - that pudding was like nothing I had ever tried. Unlike the bread pudding I have been exposed to in the past, wherein the bread is usually spongy and flavorless, the bread in this pudding was the star of the show. It was very warm, but still retained its shape, leaving you with a little pillow of creamy fluff in your mouth. I couldn't even tell you which sauce I preferred because we poured them both on top at the same time, and I honestly could have eaten the bread by itself, but they served as a nice backdrop and accentuated the flavors of the already sweet tasting bread.

Unfortunately our stomachs were too full to keep going and we had to leave this behind

​

Remember there is still plenty left in the cup! This was so delicious but also so filling. This bread could seriously be a meal by itself.

We both really enjoyed our food despite the long wait to be seated and will definitely return in the future, although maybe not until we try some other places first. Mr. Roma commented that he thought the live band that night was particularly good and we loved the dancers and atmosphere in the room. Our total cost was $80.00 with tip.

Mr. Roma says:​

Our first real meal on the trip was Raglan Road at Downtown Disney. It had been a long day. I left home without eating breakfast, and the Louie's pizza and churro had barely kept me going until our dinner reservation.

The wait at Raglan Road was long. We had reservations, but still had to wait about 30 minutes for our table. We looked through the gift shop and watched a dance performance outside to pass the time. After waiting, we were really hungry and really ready to eat.

Unfortunately, we had to sit at a tall table. We had an obstructed view of the live band that was on stage, but the music was good. The restaurant was full and the atmosphere was inviting. Our server was a little too friendly, but he did his job well enough.

Before I go any further, I have to point out that Raglan Road had the best Coke of any place we ate during the entire trip. I know it seems silly, but this was just the right mix of fizz and syrup. I probably drank three glasses.

Our appetizer was the fried sausages, which were served piping hot with a Dijon mustard dip. This was a great way to start the meal. We had to make ourselves stop eating the sausages which really were delicious. They weren't too spicy, but had just enough kick to remind you what you were eating on the way down.

For dinner, I had the Shepherds pie. It was served as a molded mound, with mashed potatoes. It was very good. There was plenty of flavor, it wasn't dry and the potatoes were very creamy. I have had better pie, but I think I probably think of Shepherds pie as having more vegetables. This only had beef and carrots. My wife tells me I have the wrong impression of what Shepherds pie actually is, so Ill work off that assumption.

The best part of the meal was undoubtedly the dessert. The bread pudding was incredible. It was warm and soft. There was absolutely nothing to complain about.

I was very happy with the meal, overall. I expect well return here after we've tried some of the other restaurants. The overall experience might have been perfect, but the wait time and sometimes overly friendly server knocked it off by a few points.

-----
Coming up next: A scrumptious island snack in Magic Kingdom!

 

[jedijill]

You are off to a great start! Can't wait to hear more.

Jill in CO

 

[Jersette]

Oh, how I love Raglan Road! Just made an ADR for our trip in January. Can't wait.

Before I go any further, I have to point out that Raglan Road had the best Coke of any place we ate during the entire trip. I know it seems silly, but this was just the right mix of fizz and syrup. I probably drank three glasses.

Oh, Mr Roma, I don't think this is silly at all. I go to McDonalds sometimes JUST for their Coke. It's the perfect amount of carbonation for me. I can judge a place on that.

 

[butiflfeet]

Despite the wait I'm glad Raglan Road was yummy Looking forward to more of your reviews!

 

[Roma]

You are off to a great start! Can't wait to hear more.

Jill in CO

Thanks so much for reading! I am enjoying your reviews as well .

Oh, how I love Raglan Road! Just made an ADR for our trip in January. Can't wait.

Oh, Mr Roma, I don't think this is silly at all. I go to McDonalds sometimes JUST for their Coke. It's the perfect amount of carbonation for me. I can judge a place on that.

We really liked Raglan Road! I'm not sure if we'll be able to make it there every trip but that is certainly not because it lacks in the yummy food department.

Mr. Roma will be happy to hear you agree with his soda observations! There is a Taco Bell where we live that has the BEST Dr. Pepper. We too go there sometimes just for that.

Despite the wait I'm glad Raglan Road was yummy Looking forward to more of your reviews!

Glad you are here! Thanks for reading .

 

[Roma]

Dole Whip​

​

This is another one of those Disney treats I had no idea existed until I came to the DIS, and all I can say is how on the earth did I not know about this swirl of goodness earlier!? I have to admit I chickened out a little bit and ordered the pineapple/vanilla swirl, but I can safely say I would have enjoyed the plain pineapple just as much. Despite it being 10:30 in the morning and slightly chilly, something about this completely hit the spot for both of us. I actually did not expect Mr. Roma to like this at ALL because he is typically not an ice cream fan. It only took a few bites, however, before we were hovering over each other waiting for it to be our turn to have a bite again. This is why it looks half eaten in the photo . The texture was impeccable and the very faintly sour taste of the pineapple added an unexpected surprise to your standard soft serve. This is a must do snack for us on future trips.

It was also around this time that I scored our reservation for BOG that night… and in between bites of this I started to panic a little bit over all the food we were going to have to try to consume that day (we also had the Christmas party that night…!).

Mr. Roma says:​

I thought my wife was crazy. Who the heck gets ice cream at 10:30 in the morning?

After eating Dolewhip, the answer is this guy, that's who.

The pineapple-vanilla creamy goodness that was this masterpiece left me wishing we would have ordered more. It was satisfying in every way. The flavors were balanced and reasonable. The texture was soft and enjoyable. It was like pineapple and vanilla exploding in your mouth with all the enthusiasm of a jam-packed football stadium but the class of a ballerina.

I was very impressed. It definitely beats the Churro on its merits, but the churro maintains its spot as my favorite snack based on my own preference for dough or bread based snacks, as opposed to dairy.

I would highly recommend the Dolewhip for any snack-eating Disney-goer, at any time of the day.

---
Up Next: Lunch and a sweet surprise at Liberty Tree Tavern.

 

[Roma]

Liberty Tree Tavern​

Only a short time after we finished our Dole Whip, Mr. Roma and I were starving again. Our ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern wasn't until 12:30 and it was only 11:30, so we went on the riverboat in an attempt to fill in the time. Unfortunately we were also exhausted so I couldn't tell you a single thing that happened on our ride because I'm fairly certain I was sleeping... whoops!

We got off the Riverboat at 12:00 and decided to try our luck at getting in early. The hostess said she would check for us but when she returned we were told they were very busy and it was a no go. She then proceeded to say "You should always only come to your ADRs at your reserved time." We were then extremely confused as to why she even checked for us to be seated early then, but no bother. We looked for some presents for some of our family members at the Emporium on Main Street for a little while and came back promptly at 12:30.

We asked to be seated in the Thomas Jefferson room, and although they said we might have to wait past our ADR time as a result, we were seated within minutes of getting our buzzer. We sat about four tables back from the kitchen at a table hugging the right wall. Mr. Roma ordered a Coke, while I stuck with water. We skipped appetizers this time and went straight for the entrees.

First some menu pics:

​

Since we suddenly had a surprise ADR at Be Our Guest that night on our hands, I decided to take it easy and order the

Colony Salad - Washington apples, sweet pecans and applewood smoked cheddar, dried cranberry Craisins, and grilled chicken tossed with field greens in honey shallot vinaigrette
​

I asked for the craisins and dressing on the side since I'm not the biggest fan of raisin type extras in salads and I like to control how much dressing I have. Mr. Roma ordered the burger, and you can find that photo and his review below .

This salad really was a pleasant surprise. I normally shy away from fruit in salads because I don't care for sweet flavors paired with greens, but everything worked wonderfully here. The apples were cut small enough so where they could be skewered easily with the rest of the bowl's contents, and the honey vinaigrette dressing had just the right amount of kick to balance out the sweetness of the apples and craisins. The chicken was moist and flavorful, although a wee bit cold for my tastes (I know some people prefer it this way). It pained me not to finish the whole thing - that is how much I loved it! I should also note that there was another slice of chicken on the salad, but I started cutting it up before I remembered to take a picture so it is hidden beneath the rest for aesthetic purposes .

Shortly after our entrees arrived I remembered about the LTT rolls with honey butter, and asked our server if she could bring us some. She was happy to oblige our request and they were brought out fresh after a small wait.

Rolls with honey butter​

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but these rolls did not really impress me. They seemed like the standard rolls you get at all non-signature TS restaurants at Disney, and the butter was stone cold and very heavy on the honey flavor. I liked them well enough, but not enough to eat more than one or ask for them outside of dinner again.

We stopped ourselves from completely clearing our plates because we could not dream of leaving LTT without dessert. As I'm sure you could have guessed by now I was dying to order the

Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake - vanilla cake with a gooey toffee filling, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce​

Somehow it managed to be even better than I thought it would be. It certainly lived up to part of its name, being both ooey, gooey, and toffee rich. However, like other reviewers have commented the "cake" part more closely resembles a chocolate chip cookie, which makes all the difference. It was rich and luscious and the perfect size to share. Mr. Roma even passed over his general disregard for ice cream and chocolate and ate a sizeable portion.

At the end of our meal we were surprised by a very sweet gesture by our server, who had gone over to the Christmas store and purchased us an ornament in honor of our anniversary. It was so incredibly sweet and thoughtful of her and completely unexpected. Our final cost was $52.00 with tip.

We very much enjoyed our lunch at LTT and will definitely return again... most likely to order the exact same things we ordered this time!

Mr. Roma says:​

Whats more American than eating a cheeseburger and drinking a Coke while old, dead white guys stare down at you from the walls? Probably nothing, and thats what you get at the Liberty Tree Tavern.

Liberty Tree Tavern takes you back to a Revolutionary-era tavern serving good, old-fashioned American meals. The rooms are decorated with pictures of Presidents and the staff wears the entire get up. It makes for a great experience overall, but everyone really just cares about the food.

We started with some rolls and honey-butter spread (ROMA: We actually had these at the middle of the meal... goes to show how much he remembered them ). I dont particularly recall these being anything spectacular. In fact, I couldnt really remember them until I saw the picture. Although I think that says more about my meal  which I do remember  than it does about the bread.

I had the

Angus Chuck Cheeseburger - topped with bacon and cheddar or mushrooms and provolone served with fresh fruit or tavern fries​

Im a burger guy. I eat burgers all the time. At fast food, chain restaurants, local restaurants, home  everywhere I go to eat, Ive probably had a burger at some point. Theres nothing better than a full, juicy beef patty layered between two pieces of warm bread with any variation of condiments. Its really a full on experience.

The Liberty Tree Tavern burger didnt disappoint. The burger was very flavorful and moist. The cheddar cheese was melted and the bacon was somewhere between chewy and crunchy. My one criticism is that the patty was a little small. While it was probably less than 1/3 lbs. after cooking, I cant really say I was still hungry after eating  but I will. Next time Ill have to ask for a double.

Ill pause here to say I didnt really eat French fries while we were in Disney world. I had them a few different times. I just couldnt bring myself to eat plain old potatoes when I had so much other food in front of me. This upset my wife, I think.

The Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake was a great way to finish this meal. Im not a huge ice cream guy (as I mentioned last time), so this was just the right combination. I really enjoyed the warm cake and all the toppings. The ice cream was fine.

Overall, I really enjoyed this meal. The restaurant is well decorated (as you would expect) and the food was very good.

--
Up Next: A surprise dinner at Be Our Guest!

 

[Herfnerd]

Love it! Subscribed to the thread!