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

[partyof2]

Thanks for your review of the Three Broomsticks!

I am tempted to eat there purely for the experience but honestly I don't think the food looks great at all, yours fish and chips is the best looking meal I've seen so far. Nice to hear that it tastes better than it looks! The fact that they don't sell soda is a killer for us really.

 

[Roma]

Honeydukes​

A little later in the day we stopped in HP world again to go to Honeyduke's and get some treats to eat back in the hotel. We got a...

Pumpkin Tart


and a...


Cauldron Cake
​

... because they were two of the things mentioned frequently in the books. I'm fairly certain these both cost $3.99 or somewhere around there.

Our dinner that night wasn't until 9:00 PM, so after coming back to the hotel around 2:00 and napping until 4:00, we decided to bust out the sweets. I really liked the pumpkin tart, and thought it tasted just like a pumpkin pie. The cauldron cake was less impressive because it was slightly dry, but the chocolate filling was delicious and I'm sure I would have liked it more had it been more fresh. The "handle" on the cauldron was pure dark chocolate, which I really liked.

Mr. Roma is not reviewing these because he "does not remember them." This is likely due to the fact that I woke him up and told him he needed to eat his portions, making him too groggy to recall anything . I do know that he said he preferred the pumpkin tart at the time.

 

[Roma]

Artist Point​

I had originally planned for us to eat at the Yachtsman for our other signature meal, but Mr. Roma looked at the two menus and decided he liked Artist Point's better. This really surprised me because he is firmly a steak and potatoes man, and doesn't typically gravitate towards more fancier selections without prodding. Artist Point was being reviewed very nicely on the DIS at the time as well, however, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Looking back, I can't imagine what would have happened if we had dined anywhere else, because we both agree now that AP was the highlight of our Disney dining experience.

We were seated promptly on arrival, and because of our late reservation, the restaurant was mostly empty. We were seated in a small alcove right before the main dining area in a booth/table combo, which made for a very intimate experience. We did have some rather loud and clearly tipsy neighbors a few booths down from us, but they were mostly just amusing and didn't really bother us.

First some menu pics:

Appetizers



Entrees



Martinis and Cocktails



And just because I found this unique... Oregon Saké

​

I knew from the DIS that there would be no question about our appetizer - we wanted the mushroom soup. While waiting for our soup to arrive we each had slices of the

Sourdough Bread
​

... which was moist but still crusty and by far the best bread we had the entire trip. I love sea salt on butter, and this butter was no exception. I'm pretty sure I didn't even glance at the oil on the plate... I was all about the butter.

Our soup didn't take very long to arrive, and I'm pretty sure I literally exclaimed out loud after my first bite.

Smokey Portobello Soup - with Roasted Shiitakes, Chive Oil, and Sourdough Croutons $10.00
​

There is a reason this soup has been around since AP opened and that everyone likes it - it is delicious. I don't even like mushrooms that much and I loved this soup. In fact, the title of our report comes from this soup... because after taking a few bites each and struggling to determine what we thought it tasted like, we both concurred (almost simultaneously) that "it tastes like bacon!" It was creamy and full of flavor, and each sip was warm and even comforting.

We savored every last bite of the soup, and used some more of the bread to sop it up. I seriously could have made a meal out of the soup and bread alone, but we didn't want to miss out on the entrees. Mr. Roma, who is a budding salmon fanatic, went with the famous plank-roasted salmon, while I chose the buffalo. When Mr. Roma's salmon was brought out (on the plank of course), we were informed it had been caught in Alaska that morning and flown to the restaurant. We certainly had never eaten a salmon so fresh, and boy what a difference does it make. The few bites I had were divine. The fish was cooked a soft medium, and the flavor was vibrant and not at all "fishy" or laden down with salt. I didn't care much for the sides, however, so Mr. Roma will have to comment on those!

I am still gun shy when it comes to ordering my meats "medium," but my waiter insisted that I must order the buffalo this way so I did not dry it out. Supposedly this is very easy to do since buffalo is only about 8% fat. I obliged and was not disappointed.

Slow-Roasted Buffalo Strip Steak - Zellwood Corn-sausage mash, Yukon gold potatoe smear, and blackberry Pinot Noir reduction $43
​

The buffalo was so tender I could have cut it with a fork, and it had an almost smoky flavor - not "gamey" like some people might worry about with more "exotic" meats. The potatoes were also good, but the corn accompaniment wasn't particularly memorable. This hardly mattered to me though because I was there for the buffalo (and maybe the potatoes) and little else.

Had this been any other time, dessert would never have even been an option. However, I was dying to try the cobbler!

Desserts


After-Dinner Drinks
​

To add to my gluttony, I also ordered a...

Wilderness Coffee - Bailey's Irish Cream, Kahlúa, and Chocolate Shavings $8.50
​

... which tasted excellent. It was as if the coffee, Bailey's, and chocolate had all come together to contribute just enough hints of flavor to make something rich and decadent. It paired excellently with our cobbler, which came out hot and covered in berries.

Artist Point Cobbler - Seasonal berries and housemade ice cream $11.00
​

The crust was crisp on the outside but soft on the inside and tasted perfect with the warm cooked berries inside. The ice cream added a nice cool touch. Despite being ready to burst, we somehow finished this whole thing as well.

We thought our meal could not have gotten any better at this point, but at the end our very kind waiter emerged with two small glasses of champagne for our anniversary.

Anniversary Champagne... priceless
​

I was so full and high on good food at that point that I barely remember the champagne, but it was good. I should note here that our server at AP was excellent. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and more than willing to answer all of our questions. I'm fairly certain his name was Stephen, but I'm not sure. Our total cost of the meal with tip was $155.00.

We loved AP and are seriously wondering how we will ever go back to WDW again without going there. At the same time, we're almost scared to go back and ruin the perfect experience that currently lives in our minds!

Mr. Roma says:​

Skipping right to the conclusion  this was by far the best meal I had during our trip. But, thats not what you wanted to hear, so Ill go back to the beginning.

I was pretty impressed walking into the Wilderness Lodge. The lobby really is an astounding sight. To be honest, it was probably the most impressive of the Disney resorts walking in. The lighting gave off a golden glow and set the stage for what was a great meal. I thought the restaurant gave off a good atmosphere too  not quite as majestic, but still inviting. It was casually-formal. The only down side is we were seated next to a drunk couple, but I guess I cant hold that against the restaurant.

We started with the

Washington Apple $9.50
​

 our fruity drink experiment of the trip. It was a good mix of sweet and sour, something I would drink on occasion but never with any regularity. It was not at all relaxing, I guess, might be the way to put it? Its hard for someone who doesnt drink a lot to judge a drink, so well just say that it was acceptable.

What I am capable of judging, however, is bread and butter. And the bread and butter at Artist Point was delicious. The bread was good. The sea salted butter spread? To die for. I really could have just eaten that with a spoon. To hell with my arteries, right? Well for me thats probably fairly true, much to the dismay of the wife. Ill trade Wendys for that butter any day of the week though. In all honesty it was a great combination.

I almost wanted to skip this part of the review and save it for the end, but it doesnt fit right. Ill cut to the chase: the soup made this meal. It was probably the best soup Ive ever had in my life  which is saying something, because I distinctly remember a clam chowder I ate when we went to New York City. Its almost unfair to call this a mushroom soup  it was bacon soup really.

For an entrée, I had the

Cedar Plank-roasted Wild King Salmon with Autumn Pumpkin Puree, Chestnuts, Baby Fennel, Rapini, and Buerre Rouge $39.00​

It was a great piece of fish served with lots of flair  sizzling on a hot cedar plank and dropped on the plate. Its hard to imagine that just a few hours ago it was swimming off the coast of Alaska. The salmon was very well cooked. It was very flaky on the outside, but still a little rare on the inside for a great warm/cool combination that left me feeling very satisfied.

I finished with the Berry cobbler which was like eating Captain Crunch for dessert. It was a very good take on a traditional dessert that I enjoyed and would have again.

But to stress the point the bread, the soup and the salmon made this meal the most complete and satisfying meal I had in Disney World. From what the wife tells me, thatll upset some of the California Grill folks but its the truth. I cannot wait to go back and itll be really hard to try anything different, but Ill do what I can.



--
Up Next: An anniversary breakfast at Chef Mickey's

 

[jmm476]

Loved your review of AP! It made my mouth water, remembering the salmon from my January 2011 visit. Someone posted on my review afterward that king salmon is unlike any other salmon, and it's very true.

I still dream about it 2 years later...

 

[partyof2]

My mouth is absolutely watering at the sound of AP. I am desperate to eat there. It wasn't even a restaurant on our radar until recently but now it's a must do.

How on earth am I going to choose between the salmon and the Buffalo!? Salmon is a favourite of mine but I love the sound of the Buffalo's sides.

Boyfriend will without a shadow of a doubt order the chicken so I can't even con him into sharing!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I have been following along and I'm loving your report!

We had a fabulous meal at AP several years ago, and I still dream of the soup and the buffalo. The only disappointing dish on our table was the salmon, but that was in the preparation that day (it was citrus-y and not to our taste), certainly not the quality of the fish. AP is one of the places we've tried to which we'd all love to return.

Can't wait to read more of your dining adventures!

 

[Roma]

Your Raglan Road review convinced me to give it a try...just made my Open Table reservation for our upcoming March trip...now to convince my guys that they will like it! (The Bread Pudding alone should do that, though...)

I'm so glad our review inspired you! I really feel like there is something for everyone at Raglan, even if it is "presented" a little differently. That Bread Pudding is sinful and dangerous... but if you have more than two people you should have no problem finishing .

Thanks for your review of the Three Broomsticks!

I am tempted to eat there purely for the experience but honestly I don't think the food looks great at all, yours fish and chips is the best looking meal I've seen so far. Nice to hear that it tastes better than it looks! The fact that they don't sell soda is a killer for us really.

My mouth is absolutely watering at the sound of AP. I am desperate to eat there. It wasn't even a restaurant on our radar until recently but now it's a must do.

How on earth am I going to choose between the salmon and the Buffalo!? Salmon is a favourite of mine but I love the sound of the Buffalo's sides.

Boyfriend will without a shadow of a doubt order the chicken so I can't even con him into sharing!

I imagine living in Scotland can make one a little skeptical of American attempts at food typically found in the UK . Honestly little of the quick service fair in US/IOA is that good - but TTB far outstrips the others in terms of efficiency, theming, and quality. I would eat there over any of the other options at IOA. We were willing to forgo the lack of soda because it's easily accessible just outside HP world (the only place there is no soda).

I totally agree that AP is a must do. They have been knocking it out of the park lately. I know what you mean about being torn over options - sometimes it really does come down to the "accompaniments" for me. I was more into corn mash and mashed potatoes then whatever was with the salmon at the time, hah! Boo to lack of sharing with your boyfriend. Despite Mr. Roma's general dislike of ice cream and chocolate, I can usually count on him to always get something I will want to try. Can't say I always reciprocate with that though .

Loved your review of AP! It made my mouth water, remembering the salmon from my January 2011 visit. Someone posted on my review afterward that king salmon is unlike any other salmon, and it's very true.

I still dream about it 2 years later...

I still dream of AP as well. It's one of those "happy places" I usually end up to traveling to when I'm very hungy .

I have been following along and I'm loving your report!

We had a fabulous meal at AP several years ago, and I still dream of the soup and the buffalo. The only disappointing dish on our table was the salmon, but that was in the preparation that day (it was citrus-y and not to our taste), certainly not the quality of the fish. AP is one of the places we've tried to which we'd all love to return.

Can't wait to read more of your dining adventures!

Thank you for reading iloveeeyore! So happy to see another AP fan. I like citrus-y fish but it is polarizing. I could probably drink that soup (although my waistline wouldn't appreciate it I'm sure).

 

[Roma]

Chef Mickey's​

I had originally planned for our anniversary breakfast to be a little more low-key and intimate (a la the Grand Floridian Cafe), but after realizing we would have no other opportunity to have a character meal or (more importantly) for me to get my hands on those precious Mickey waffles, it came down to Mr. Roma choosing between 1900 Park Fare, 'Ohana, and CM for the big meal. CM won because it featured the Big Five... and I was comforted by the thought that an endless supply of Mickey waffles would be mine .

I was lucky enough to secure an early ADR at CM... but with "early" being the operative word here, I desperately wanted to get my hands on a later time. After compulsively checking for openings up until the final two days before our breakfast, I was able to land an ADR for 9:20. Goodbye 8:10... hello more sleep.

We set off for the Contemporary with plenty of time to spare, but we got slightly lost when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom gates. We somehow managed to circle all the way back around to the exit, and at this point we were pushing our ADR time. Of course I started to panic because I did NOT want to lose our spot, and I had no clue at this point how long it was going to take us to get there. It took a good fifteen minutes to get back on the main road and on the correct path to the Contemporary, but we finally made it with literally one minute to spare. We dashed inside and were greeted by a mob - the place was overrun with three huge families of 15+ people each. We ended up waiting roughly fifteen minutes pass our ADR time to be seated, so my worries were for naught. We had our picture taken with the Mickey outside but I don't care to pay $30+ for a photo when I'm spending that much already on the food.

We were seated in the far right of the restaurant at a window table overlooking the parking lot and the Magic Kingdom. Although CM is always loud, this was probably one of the quietest spots we could have had. Our server was a sweet older woman who ended up being one of the nicest of our trip. She made sure we had plenty to drink and was quick to remove the plates from our very small table.

Since it looked like we had a while to go before the characters got to us, we set out immediately to get our food. Although we got two plates each, I only ended up getting a picture of our firsts (mainly because I only had Mickey waffles the second time). I am also a little gun shy about photographing buffets so no pictures there either, sorry!

My first run through the buffet was not particularly pleasant. A lot of the trays were empty and it took a long time for them to be refilled. There was also a lot of food and liquid spilled onto the counter that made things appear unsanitary. All of this was rectified my second trip up, however, so it is possible that this was just bad timing on my part.

Main plate


Syrup and fruit plate​

Yep, I know what you are thinking - does this girl know what protein looks like? I do, actually, which is why the hardboiled egg was a last minute addition . I had made a pretty firm goal not to return for seconds though (save for more Mickey waffles), so I had to make the most of my first plate. Clockwise from the top is a biscuit with gravy, Mickey waffles (with chocolate drizzle), a yogurt and fruit salad, the aforementioned egg, breakfast pizza, and a hashbrown. A cheese blintz rests on the top. I had some coffee and water to drink. The coffee was fine, neither life-changing nor bad.

The biscuit was good, but I would have preferred it to be a tad warmer (the primary bane of buffets in my opinion is the lack of warmth). The sausage gravy wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, and I could actually taste the sausage and not just salt. The Mickey waffles barely need a review... they are simply amazing and I would have been happy only to eat those (my second time around with the waffles I just had plain syrup). The fruit salad was good but I suddenly got really scared about how it looked and how long it may have been sitting out, so I didn't finish it. The egg was tasty - it's hard to mess those up. The breakfast pizza was cold and bleh so I didn't finish it. The hashbrown was surprisingly one of the stars of the plate because it was hot and crispy. Finally, the cheese blintz was flavorless and all around disgusting so I didn't eat any more after the first bite.

I added some strawberries and grapes to my syrup plate so I would have some more color. They were juicy and sweet.

My second plate of Mickey waffles was, again, amazing. I know I sound like a completely ridiculous Mickey waffle fan girl right now, but I can't help myself. Those waffles are like crack .

At the end of our meal our server brought us out one of the cute yellow Mickey cupcakes for our anniversary, complete with a candle. I have no idea how we failed to get a picture of this, but I'm sure you all have seen one before. We took a few bites each, but I was too overloaded on carbs at this point to enjoy it that much.

I was hoping we would get some good interaction with the characters but I think we were on the end of their route and as a result we barely got a passing glance. I'm not too upset about it (after all it was just the two of us and we were surrounded by literally dozens of children) but it would have been nice to have spent more than five seconds with each of them.

I've been to Chef Mickey's before and I'll probably go back again. I go in with the expectation that it is a buffet full of children and is therefore going to be loud and not exactly the gold standard of fine cuisine. With that mindset I have yet to be overly disappointed. Our total bill was $78.00 with tip.

Mr. Roma says:​

My wife will tell you that breakfast probably isn't my best meal. Don't get me wrong, I love breakfast, but on vacation I don't do well in the mornings. None of that could ever have to do with getting up every morning at 7 a.m. and staying out until 10 or 11 p.m., right? No, of course not. For some reason, I just don't do well in the mornings on vacation. I say all of that because I probably wasn't in a good mood on the morning of our trip to Chef Mickey's.

But I do love breakfast food, so in hindsight I should have been more excited.

The Contemporary Resort had much more of a typical hotel feeling when we arrived, compared to the other resorts. The waiting area outside of Chef Mickey's felt a lot like somewhere you would get a continental breakfast in a regular hotel lobby. It felt pretty contemporary.

We had our picture taken and moved on to breakfast.

I took on a pretty typical breakfast variety - fruit, french toast, an egg quiche, some bacon and some sausage. I had a glass of chocolate milk and some water.

My first plate​

My meal was OK. I wasn't impressed and it didn't leave me dying to go back. It was a typical buffet breakfast. The wife loved the mickey waffles, I think. I would score it an arbitrary 6 out of 10.

Before I conclude, I do want to say that the character part of the breakfast was pretty cool. I really enjoyed watching the kids wait for the characters to make it around to their table.

Considering the overall experience, Chef Mickey's wasn't bad.




--
A quick poolside lunch at the Beach Club and California Grill!

 

[Leslieann1024]

Love Raglan Road and manage to eat there just about every time we go; however (and this is a very minor issue, just one that kind of "gets" to me) - the Dunbrody Kiss dessert really has no description on the menu ! And when I asked our last server, she said "well, you know, it's chocolate ! "

 

[Roma]

First of all - thanks for sticking with me, everybody! The great news is Mr. Roma is done with the craziest two months of the year for his job so he finally has time to regularly write reviews again! I'm hoping we'll be able to get them all done very soon seeing as we still have some major food to cover, including Le Cellier and Food & Wine!

Beach Club Marketplace ​

After breakfast, Mr. Roma and I decided to take a tour of the monorail resorts. He had never seen the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian so I figured now would be a good time to do so. Although I think the Polynesian is pretty, I am not a big beach fan so it doesn't hold the same appeal for me as it does for others. I really love the look of the Grand Floridian and its restaurants, but I'm not particularly wowed by its rooms. Am I the only one who thinks they look a little dated?

After our tour we headed over the Beach Club, where we would be staying for the remainder of our trip. Our check in went rather smoothly, and I was happy to hear we had been granted our request for a king bed. We had a "garden" view but it was mostly just swampy looking brush and trees and we couldn't really see anything.

This was our only day to really lounge by the pool, so we quickly suited up after getting settled in our room and went down to the lobby. Mr. Roma was famished so we decided to get lunch to go at the Marketplace. Since we were sharing we went with a sturdy stand by for both of us, the turkey sandwich on white bread, which was currently experiencing its holiday iteration with brie and cranberry sauce. We opted out of the sprouts that were also offered.

Turkey Sandwich - with bacon, brie, and cranberry spread with housemade chips $9.99​

I actually really liked this sandwich. It was nicely toasted and I loved the combination of flavors. The chips were crunchy and also flavored well. There was plenty enough for the both of us to tide us over until dinner.

Mr. Roma insisted on sleeping by the pool after lunch, so I took it upon myself to explore Stormalong Bay. I wasn't thrilled with its compartmentalized layout vs. being totally open, but overall I liked the atmosphere and loved the slide and sand on the bottom. I eventually coaxed Mr. Roma to join me, but as you'll read below, he wasn't as excited as I was. We capped off the afternoon by accidentally leaving our mug by the pool, which set us both off in a panic. Thankfully it was still there when we went back.

Up Next: A special anniversary dinner at the California Grill!

Mr. Roma says:​

After our breakfast at Chef Mickey's, we toured the Monorail resorts - looking at all the places we wanted to stay on future visits. The Grand Floridian was probably my favorite, even though it's not really our style price wise . I definitely want to eat at Victoria & Albert's on our next visit.

After we checked in at the Beach Club, we decided to hang out by the pool for a little while. For lunch we went with the Beach Club Marketplace quick service.

We ordered a turkey sandwich with brie cheese, bacon and cranberry spread and some homestyle chips. Once we found a quiet spot by the pool, we started to chow down.

The sandwich was fairly routine. I do like brie cheese and cranberry and the wife and I both love turkey sandwiches. Other than being a great lunch choice for a day of relaxing, nothing stands out about this sandwich. The chips were good and I enjoyed the meal very much.

What I did not enjoy was the pool. I wanted to take a nap, so the wife went swimming for a little bit while I fell asleep. She eventually came and woke me up and made me get in the water. We took a trip down the slide and meandered around the pool for a bit. We tried to dig to the bottom of the sand with our feet, but that was an unsuccessful adventure.

The water was cold and I'm not much of a water guy anyway, so I didn't stay long. We accidently left our mug at the pool when we went back to the room, so I had to run back down after and get it. Fortunately, it was still there.

Overall, I enjoyed the afternoon. Lunch was good and eating by the pool in Florida in November was exactly the kind of thing one should want to be doing.




--
A special anniversary dinner at the California Grill!

 

[Roma]

Love Raglan Road and manage to eat there just about every time we go; however (and this is a very minor issue, just one that kind of "gets" to me) - the Dunbrody Kiss dessert really has no description on the menu ! And when I asked our last server, she said "well, you know, it's chocolate ! "

From what I've read it has some type of crunchy, "Corn Flakes" crust at the bottom? That is about all I know... other than it seems to be entirely milk chocolate, which I'm not a fan of. Give it to me in dark chocolate though, and maybe we can talk .

Thanks for reading!

 

[DLFan123]

I'm enjoying these reviews! Thanks!

 

[nessz79]

Subscribing!

 

[Roma]

California Grill​

I ate at the California Grill on my first visit to Disney World with my family, and we all agreed that it was the highlight of our dining experience that trip. As a result, I couldn't wait to take Mr. Roma there and stalked the Disney dining reservation page for months trying to get a prime reservation on our anniversary date. The fireworks would be starting at 8:00 PM that particular night, and while I was hoping for a 6:30 reservation, the best I could do was 7:30. I figured at the very least we could watch the fireworks outside before coming in to eat.

I had also arranged in advance to have Chef Brian at the Contemporary make a mini replica of our wedding cake. The whole process went very smoothly and they were able to do everything I requested. I'll talk more about the cake later!

Having gotten lost on our way to Chef Mickey's that morning, we were bound and determined not to repeat the same mistake on our second journey to the Contemporary that night. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and quickly made our way to the second floor check-in desk. Ironically enough another couple celebrating their anniversary that night were also there waiting. I requested a Magic Kingdom view, and was told we may have to wait. I was prepared for this though and told them that it wouldn't be a problem.

We took the elevator to the fifteenth floor and then commenced waiting. It was roughly 7:20 at this point, so there was still plenty of time before our actual reservation. While Mr. Roma went to the bathroom, I tried to discreetly speak with the receptionist to confirm whether or not everything was in place for our cake. Turns out Mr. Roma saw me doing so and thus my surprise was slightly ruined... oh well!

Much to my surprise, we were told we could be seated after waiting less than ten minutes. Not only that, we were given the perfect table at the window overlooking Magic Kingdom. So far things were looking great! Here are some menu pics (these will likely be outdated now, but you get the general idea):

Appetizers


Sushi & First Course


Entrees



Specialty drinks
​

Our server arrived and we proceeded to order the triple cheese flatbread. She then left us with some of the sourdough bread and sea salted butter.

Sourdough Bread
​

While I have practically never met a slice of bread I did not like, this particular bread did not wow me. The crust was very tough, and there was very little bread on the inside. I felt like I took two bites of actual bread and then proceeded to spend the rest of the time gnawing on the crust. The butter was good, as always, but I definitely wasn't tempted to overdo the bread basket this time.

Our server returned rather quickly with our flatbread (this would be one of the few times she returned quickly), and then proceeded to take our dinner orders. I made a mistake at this point of assuming our meals would not be brought out until after the fireworks, because by that time it was 7:40 and they would be starting in twenty minutes. This would not be the case, as I'll describe shortly.

First: our flatbread. I felt like we needed to order this because flatbreads are as ubiquitous as cupcakes at WDW these days and I figured we might as well try one here:

Triple Cheese Flatbread - Pecorino, Asiago, and Provolone with Sun-dried Tomato, Arugula Pesto $12.00
​

While I would have preferred this to be a little warmer, it was very good overall. The three cheeses paired really well with the pesto and sundried tomato. I typically abhor tomatoes but actually liked their presentation in this dish. The dough was a little softer then I would normally like, but this is a flatbread after all and not a thin crust pizza. We only ate about two slices each before deciding to save the rest for later.

We had barely set aside the flatbread when our main courses came around, at which point my heart instantly sank. It was 7:55 and we had five minutes before the lights dimmed and the fireworks started. I seriously could not believe our meal had been timed like this, and I kicked myself for just not asking if we could wait to order until the fireworks ended. Before I could ask our server to bring a plate cover, she ran away and did not return until way after the fireworks ended. About ten minutes into the show we managed to stop another server and ask him to bring a cover, but he didn't end up coming back until the last five minutes. At that point our dishes were stone cold, which severely impacted our impression of them.

I ordered the:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, and Crispy Sage $37
​

This decision was made easy for me because the current iteration of the filet at that time did not tickle my fancy. I also love polenta and pork tenderloin so this was the perfect choice for me. If this dish had been hot, I would have absolutely loved it. The polenta was rich and full of goat cheese flavor, and the pork was tender and sweet. It was just way too cold to truly appreciate, however, and I could not eat it all. I also ordered a glass of red wine on the recommendation of our server, but I cannot remember the name of it now and it was not particularly memorable.

It took our server an eternity to fill up our drinks and take away our plates... and even longer to return with the dessert menu:

Desserts
​

I knew we had to order dessert if I was going to try to continue to cover up the cake surprise, because Mr. Roma would suspect something was up immediately if I decided to opt out of a sweet end to the meal. He was clearly feeling very nice (or he knew he would be having something else...) when he suggested we have the Valrhona cake and ice cream, so that is what we went with.

At this point I was starting to get very, very frustrated with our server. We were now past 9:00, and she had only refilled our drinks once. Another thirty minutes dragged by before she returned with dessert, at which point she rather unceremoniously dropped both cakes on the table. I wasn't expecting her to put on a show or anything, but she really could not have acted like she did not want to be there any more than she did.

No matter though - I had our adorable mini wedding cake to admire. As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Roma had caught that something was going to happen, but he was still pleasantly surprised. Here are some pictures:

Mini Cake $40
​

Our actual wedding cake did indeed have chocolate frosting and was decorated in a similar fashion to this. I sent Chef Brian a picture of our cake and asked him to do his best to replicate it (the giant flower on the top was his addition, however). While our original cake was all chocolate with raspberry mousse, I opted to have the top tier of this cake made with yellow cake since that is Mr. Roma's preference (they do not typically make these cakes in two flavors but they can if you ask). I stuck with the original raspberry for the filling, which took up way more space inside then I expected it to but was still good.

The cake itself was very moist, while the frosting struck the right balance in both texture and richness. As I said before, there was a lot of raspberry mousse to go around, and it had a very strong flavor. I could have done with less, but it didn't detract too much from the overall taste. In a nutshell, I was very impressed with the flavor and presentation of our mini cake and thought it was worth the price. I know it is not easy to execute something so small and have it both look nice and taste great, but somehow they managed.

Unfortunately our other dessert was overshadowed a bit, but it was equally delicious:

Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Gianduja Ice Cream and Frangelico Chocolate Sauce $13
​

Mr. Roma of course was not as enthralled with this as I was, especially since it was very, very rich and heavy on the chocolate. The cake was warm and had a very dark cocoa taste. The ice cream (which was a hazelnut flavor) paired with it perfectly, making for a very delightful hot and cold experience with every bite. I wish I had not been so overly stuffed already so I could have finished this.

As was par for the course that evening. it was a very long time (9:45 PM) before our server returned to take our dessert plates. We then had to wait again for her to bring the check and then again for her to take it away. Meanwhile, we could see her being very attentive to the large group of men across from us. I know serving is a tough job and I really try to give servers the benefit of the doubt, but I could not help but look around and be incredibly jealous of the tables next to us whose servers were acting very friendly and were returning promptly. When ours finally arrived with the check, it was pushing 10:30.

Overall this was not a star night for California Grill, but that was mainly the result of poor timing and our very inattentive server, and not because the food or atmosphere was lacking. We loved the fireworks and were delighted with our desserts. If our entrees had been warm I'm fairly certain we would have loved those too. We will go back and give it another chance, especially since it will have undergone its renovation by then. However, it definitely loses out to Artist Point for the best signature meal of our trip.

Our final total for this meal was $207.00 including the tip and the cake.

Mr. Roma says:​

I'll just lay it out there early on: California Grill didn't get a fair shake on this trip. First, it had been talked up as the best of the best that Disney had to offer (at least, the best of what we had selected). The expectations were high going in. And we had just come off our incredible Artist Point experience, which to this day remains one of the best all around meals I have had. Combine those two factors and California Grill was never going to meet my expectations going into the evening.

We arrived, checked in and went up the elevators. The restuarant was a little loud and a little crowded, but no so much that I was turned off right away. The wife snuck away and talked to a hostess while she thought I was in the bathroom. I ended up seeing her and knew something was up.

We were shown our table and I have to admit, it was pretty impressive. We had a view overlooking the Magic Kingdom that would be perfect for the fireworks later on.

But, I was pretty hungry so we got started.

The bread they started us with wasn't great, but I'll admit it's on me - I'm not a fan of hard bread, much prefer soft bread. I won't dock points for that.

I ordered a Whiskey Sour to drink, which I thoroughly enjoyed - I haven't had one as good since.

We ordered a triple-cheese flat bread for an appetizer. It was a very fulfilling appetizer, but not so filling. It was tasty and delicious, but didn't leave us overstuffed for dinner.

Here's where things got interesting. At right about 7:45, we started to realize that our entrees would be coming out right as the fireworks started and the restaurant got dark. There was nothing we could do, mainly because our server was missing in action for most of the night. She was slow and unresponsive and really damaged our experience.

Sure enough, our entrees came out right as the fireworks started. We couldn't see to eat and we didn't want to miss the fireworks. We asked for covers for our food, but it took forever and the fireworks were almost over by the time we got some.

I had ordered the Oak-fired filet of beef. I'm sure it was delicious, but eating it cold really ruined the entree part of the meal all together.

Oak-fired Filet of Beef with Cheesy Potato Casserole, Carrots (instead of Brussel Sprouts), Bacon, and Teriyaki Barbecue $47​

Fortunately though, there is dessert!

The wife had made arrangements for the Chef to bake us a miniature version of our wedding cake for dessert, since we were celebrating our one year anniversary. The cake was delicious, though not as good as our wedding cake, and helped cap the evening on a good note.

We did have some other chocolate thing for dessert, but you know I'm not a big fan of chocolate and I honestly don't remember it much.

I refuse to make a judgment on the entirety of the visit due to the bad experience with the server and the poor timing of the entrees. I've heard too many good things about California Grill to think our experience is anywhere near the norm. I look forward to trying it again and getting the better end of the deal next time.


--
Up Next: Le Cellier and Food & Wine at Epcot!

 

[Roma]

I'm enjoying these reviews! Thanks!

Thank you for reading!

Subscribing!

I'm so glad you like them .

 

[Roma]

Le Cellier​

I knew I wanted to eat lunch at Le Cellier on our Epcot day because a) I knew they would be phasing out the lunch menu in January and b) We wanted to graze on Food & Wine booths in the evening. I had amazing luck with ADRs for Le Cellier during the whole trip planning process (I had to change park days and reservations several times as our plans shifted) so I don't know if I just got lucky or people just weren't as interested anymore.

We were famished well before our ADR arrived, but our attempt to check-in thirty minutes early failed. We toured the Canadian pavilion while we waited, but our hunger was seriously distracting at this point. I was overjoyed when the hostess finally said we could go in, and we proceeded to wait in the lobby for about ten minutes before our name was called.

We were seated in the far right corner of the restaurant next to a wall. People who say the place is cramped are not joking - I could have sat on top of the man seated to my left and there was no room for anything more than two plates of food on our table at any given time. The lights were also very dim, but not so dim that you couldn't see anything (I'm looking at you, Be Our Guest).

I cannot remember our province or our server's name, only that she was new and clearly still timid about the job. Throughout the meal she seemed to have a hard time keeping up with her section, and frequently skipped our corner while paying repeat visits to other areas. I tried not to let it bother me though because she was clearly still learning. Here are some menu pics:

Appetizers


Entrees


Sides
​

Mr. Roma had decided to order from the Prix Fix Lunch menu (no longer available), so we decided to share his order of Cheddar Cheese soup for an appetizer. Our server then brought out the bread basket in the interim. I have to say, pictures are really deceiving when it comes to the size of the bread here. For whatever reason I was expecting baguette sized pretzel loafs, and instead they came out roughly 1/3 the size .

Bread Basket​

The size really didn't matter though, because that pretzel bread is divine. People wax poetic about this pretzel bread because it deserves it, trust me. I recently bought some specialty pretzel bread from my local grocer solely because I was dying to have another taste of its fluffy goodness. The grocery bread was still good, but it didn't live up to Le Cellier's. I don't even remember trying the other bread, which should tell you how much it pales in comparison to the pretzel.

Somehow we managed to stop ourselves from eating all the pretzel bread before the soup arrived, because we wanted to use it for dip.

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - made with Moosehead Beer and Bacon $7.49​

The soup also lived up to my expectations. It was warm, rich, and creamy without being overpowered by either the cheese or the beer. When paired with the bread, it was like a symphony of flavors. I would come back here just to eat the bread and the soup alone.

Alas, we had to stop the bread and soup fest because we did indeed want to try the entrees. I urged Mr. Roma to try the burger from the Prix Fix menu because it had very positive reviews and would be disappearing in January. When it came out, I was shocked at how big it was (especially for the relatively low Disney price of $14.99). It was by far the biggest burger I had ever seen at Disney World or anywhere else for that matter, and the pictures don't quite do it justice. Mr. Roma, who normally has no problem finishing his food when he is particularly hungry, could only take down half of this. I tried a bite, and it was definitely an exceptional burger. The bun was nicely buttered and toasted, and the various toppings made for a great combination of flavors with the perfectly cooked patty. It's a shame this burger is gone, because I think it was a stand out. The fries were also very good, but I've rarely met a fry I didn't like.

I chose to order the famous filet with cream cheese mashed potatoes instead of the risotto.

Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - Le Cellier "Signature Dish" served with cream cheese mashed potatoes (subbed for the risotto), white truffle butter sauce and micro chervil $28.99​

Don't get me wrong - I like risotto. But I love mashed potatoes and I knew that they too would be gone in January. I was also glad that I was able to eat the smaller lunch portion of the filet, because I can't really eat more than 4-5 ounces of meat in a sitting. My filet was cooked exactly to medium and didn't even need a knife to be cut. The sauce was smooth, rich, and full of flavor that went along perfectly with each bite of filet and potatoes. I absolutely loved the potatoes, and am gutted that I won't be able to get them again. The cream cheese added a slight sharpness that took them to the next level. I too could not finish my entire plate, especially since we wanted to save room for dessert. How I wish I could have taken my leftovers home with me!

Dessert Menu
​

Mr. Roma chose the maple creme brulee from the fixed menu - again on my suggestion that Disney is well known for its good creme brulees. Neither of us had tried creme brulee before, so we were excited to taste something new. I'm not an expert on creme brulee, but I think this one was done very well. The topping was hard and crackled when you pushed down into the creme, and each bite was a really nice combination of the sweet, maple-y goodness of the creme and the crunchy toasted sugar of the topping.

I opted for a new addition to the desert menu, "Chocolate Pecan Pie 'On-the-Rocks'."

Chocolate Pecan Pie "On-the-Rocks" - Chocolate Whipped Cream, Graham Cracker Crumbs, Sugared Pecans, and Canadian Whiskey Chocolate Sauce $7.99​

Let me just say I love pecan pie, and I love chocolate pecan pie even more. I only eat it once a year (Thanksgiving), because one slice is the caloric equivalent of an entire meal. But, I had told myself I was going to let my healthy sensibilities go on this trip... so pecan pie it was.

Words fail me to describe this desert and how ridiculously good it was. I am salivating right now just recalling it in my mind. The various ingredients were layered in the cup, so I made a point to dig my spoon all the way down so I would have all the ingredients in every bite. Mr. Roma started to make fun of me because I would not stop commenting on how good it was. I could have eaten the entire cup (which was huge, by the way) and then another, but I knew I had to stop or I would regret it later. Of all the things I ate at WDW, this ranks probably number one in my mind. It was THAT good, and I would go so far as to say it is in the top ten best things I have ever eaten in my entire life. I notice that it is no longer on the menu, which is a crying shame. I hope they bring it back in the future.

At this point we were both thoroughly stuffed beyond capacity, moreso then we had been the entire trip, so we begrudgingly handed over our half eaten deserts and asked for the bill, which came to $86.00... fairly cheap all things considered.

Le Cellier exceeded our expectations on this trip, but with the lunch menu now a thing of the past, I'm not sure how it would fare a second time since so much of our experience was tied to what was offered then. We will probably give a try for dinner eventually, but probably not on our next trip... and definitely not unless the pecan pie is back !

Mr. Roma says:​

We started the morning off eating some of our leftover cake for breakfast, so by lunch time I was pretty hungry. Who am I kidding though? I stayed hungry on this trip.

The wife had told me that LeCellier was a great place to get a burger - and you already know that I've admitted to eating probably about 7 too many hamburgers a week.

We had to wait for a little while, despite having a reservation. It wasn't too bad. We were inside and were lucky enough to grab a bench. When we got seated, we were tucked away in a corner. It was pretty backed, but not uncomfortable. The restaurant was dim and trying to create a mood effect. I didn't pay much attention - I just wanted to eat.

The bread they gave us was great - especially the pretzel bread. It was a excellent way to get us started.

We shared a soup which I don't remember much about - (sorry, I know i'm not writing reviews often enough) - but it doesn't really matter when you think about the Artist Point soup.

I ordered the House burger.

Le Cellier House Burger - Roasted Mushrooms, Smoked Bacon, Maple Barbecue, Black Diamond Cheddar, crispy Onions, and French Fries $14.99​

It's a big burger, so if you're getting it in the future, make sure you're ready for it. I cut it in half and started in. The burger has lots of different flavors - mushrooms, cheddar cheese, bacon, crispy onions. The barbecue sauce keeps it moist and the bread was soft. I really enjoyed the flavor combination. It's somewhat traditional, but adding the mushrooms is a little different than your typical bacon cheddar burger.

For dessert, I had créme brulée:

Maple Créme Brulée $6.99​

Now, I've heard that Disney does some of the best creme brulee around. Before this I wasn't a big eater of creme brulee. I'd only sampled a few. This one was very good. I ate it all and enjoyed it very much.

And recently I was lucky enough to have a wealthy coworker take me to Morton's Steakhouse (for the uninitiated, it's a very expensive, upscale steakhouse chain, a 6oz steak is usually around $50-$60). When the waiter brought the dessert cart, he said "no one ever leaves our creme brulee unfinished."

I gave it a shot, and have to admit, I liked Le Cellier's better. In fact, I purposely left a bite of the Morton's creme brulee in the tray just to see the look on his face. It was pretty funny.

All in all, I really enjoyed lunch. It was the start of a long afternoon and night, but fortunately there was plenty more good food on the way!


--
Up Next: Food & Wine Booths!

 

[auntfrannie]

Rats! I've never been tempted by the desserts at Le Cellier but that Pecan Pie on the Rocks looks really good! It doesn't help that you rave about it. Looks like I just might have to save some room for dessert! Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there! I love your tandem reviews - it's a 2 for 1 dining review experience.

You were absolutely right on with your advice to Em to try the bread pudding at Raglan Road. It was ahh mazing! Better than 'Ohana - oh yes!

You ate as some of my favorites; LTT (now you know what all the hype is about for the toffee cake), California Grill (sorry your service and timing of your meal wasn't better - it definitely would have made a difference) and Le Cellier (the filet was always good) oh sooooo good!

 

[Roma]

Rats! I've never been tempted by the desserts at Le Cellier but that Pecan Pie on the Rocks looks really good! It doesn't help that you rave about it. Looks like I just might have to save some room for dessert! Thanks for the great reviews!

I seriously cannot say enough good things about that delicious Pecan Pie on the Rocks! I am sure Mr. Roma is sick of me reminiscing about it... I even felt the need to lament at Thanksgiving that none of our pecan pies lived up to its remarkable taste

Hi there! I love your tandem reviews - it's a 2 for 1 dining review experience.

You were absolutely right on with your advice to Em to try the bread pudding at Raglan Road. It was ahh mazing! Better than 'Ohana - oh yes!

You ate as some of my favorites; LTT (now you know what all the hype is about for the toffee cake), California Grill (sorry your service and timing of your meal wasn't better - it definitely would have made a difference) and Le Cellier (the filet was always good) oh sooooo good!

Hi Brenda ! I'm so glad you decided to stop by and read my reviews! I'm glad that my RR suggestion encouraged you to try the bread pudding. I'm not sure how we'll go back to WDW again without getting it. We have yet to try 'Ohana's though... so we may have to "sacrifice" .

We definitely loved LTT and wish we could have loved CG more! I had a wonderful time there my first visit so I was incredibly disappointed that Mr. Roma didn't get that experience . I too loved that filet and loved those potatoes... I am gutted that they are gone!

I hope you'll keep reading!

 

[Roma]

Food & Wine Festival​

Now that we are five months removed from the last festival I'm sure you'll appreciate this jog down F&W memory lane! Instead of separating our reviews I've gone ahead and labeled Mr. Roma's comments in blue within my post for easier reading. He struggled a little to remember a lot of this so I think he may have been in a bit of a food/travel coma at the time.

When we found out that WDW had extended the festival to November 12th, I decided to alter our park days so we could visit Epcot on that day. I had been to WDW before during F&W without even realizing it (I'm not sure how, but that is another story) so I really wanted to take the opportunity to try some things this time around.

Before we went to Le Cellier for lunch, we stopped by the festival center to look around. You could hear crickets chirping it was so empty, and we didn't find much that captured our attention... except for this:

Ghirardelli Drinking Chocolate $2.75​

Being the on-again, off-again chocolate hater that he is, Mr. Roma refused to share this me. I was fine with that because I was happy to hoard it all for myself . I have to admit, however, that even the chocoholic in me had to admit defeat after about four sips of this stuff. When they say drinking chocolate they really mean it - this stuff is thick and sweet. It was very tasty, but entirely too rich to finish. If they offer this in the future, try to share with someone so you don't have to worry about it going to waste.

We were thoroughly stuffed after lunch, more stuffed than we were the entire trip. I'm not sure how this happened, but it certainly put a damper on our F&W aspirations. We were determined to stick to our plan though, and figured the small portions split between us wouldn't do too much damage.

Mr. Roma's thoughts on F&W:​

It was hard, oh so hard, to spend the rest of the afternoon sampling food at the food and wine festival. I mean, after that lunch? #firstworldproblems - seriously.


After watching the The American Adventure, we went over to the Hops & Barley booth to pick up a:

Pumpkin Mousse with Craisins and Orange Sauce - $1.50 ​

Mr. Roma: I promise, pumpkin mouse isn't the best America has to offer, but this doesn't disappoint.

Using the spoon and Mr. Roma's hand for reference points, you can see this was a pretty small offering, and after finishing it we would have gladly opted for another (or two...). I was a little concerned that that Craisins would overpower the rest of the flavors, but it was actually that pumpkin that took center stage. It tasted like pumpkin pie mousse, and since I'm a big fan of pumpkin pie, I wasn't complaining. We would both recommend this if it makes future appearances.

Up next was the Belgium booth:

Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream - $3.00
Stella Artois - 6 oz: $3.00 ​

Mr. Roma: Though the wife ruined our Belgian waffle with whipped cream and stuff, I'm sure it would have been good if I could taste it . The beer was fairly standard but hit the spot.

Mr. Roma knows that I could probably subsist on a diet of Belgian waffles alone, so we were not going to be skipping this booth. In exchange for allowing toppings, Mr. Roma got a small beer. I'm not the biggest fan of beer but this was one was fine - I'm fairly certain you can get it at anywhere. As I expected I would, I loved the waffle. It was thick and warm, crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. The berry compote was sweet and soaked into the waffle nicely. The whipped cream was mostly flavorless and forgettable. We would get this again.

We spent another hour or so touring the countries in the middle of the World Showcase without trying anything else before Mr. Roma suddenly announced he was hungry (I'm not sure where this came from) and wanted something sweet. We were in Italy at the time so we decided on the cannoli. Somehow I failed to take a picture, so here is one linked from disneyfoodblog.com:

Courtesy of Disney Food Blog: Cannoli al Cioccolato (Chocolate-Covered Cannoli filled with Ricotta, Chocolate, Candied Fruit) $3.50 ​

Mr. Roma: I enjoyed the cannoli. It was routine, but very good.

Honestly I felt like this was just your standard cannoli, and I cant even remember tasting the candied fruit. The chocolate covered coating was a really nice addition though, and the cannoli itself was crisp and not soggy.

We then meandered over to France and decided that it was time for a more exciting drink, so we stopped to get the:

Grey Goose Citron Slush $9.34 ​

Mr. Roma: This was one of my favorite things from the food and wine festival. Great flavor and a great kick

The price tag on this thing is a little hard to swallow, but this is vacation so we went with it. As I've probably said before I'm not a drink connoisseur by any stretch, but I can safely say there is a reason this drink is so popular - it's fruity and you can barely taste the alcohol . I really enjoyed the lemonade slushie taste and the kick, as Mr. Roma mentioned. With all the food consumed before and still waiting to be consumed after, however, we couldn't finish it between us. I'd like to get it again outside of a Le Cellier lunch and F&W!

While still in France, we also decided to order the:

Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Macaroni - $5.50​

I am not a huge fan of mushrooms, especially whole mushrooms, so the fact that two of them were on prominent display here freaked me out a little. Nevertheless, I pushed them aside and went straight for the chicken, which ended up being rather tough. It also felt like the sauce overpowered everything, because even the noodles and gratin were so saturated I couldn't pick up any other flavors. Some people would probably like this though, so I can't discount the dish completely. Mr. Roma doesn't really remember this, and that is because he didn't care for it that much.

We crossed the bridge into England, where we made a detour that had nothing to do with F&W. I had been wanting to get my hands on a Scotch egg for quite a while, and when I heard you could order them at the bar inside Rose & Crown pub I was all game. Unfortunately Mr. Roma was really starting to drag at this point (and I don't really blame him because it had been an incredibly long day), so he waited outside. The inside of the R&C was deafening loud and literally filled with drunken individuals so take the pub label literally here. I placed my order at the counter and then was given a number. I went back outside to wait because it was too crowded and loud inside, but I was still able to see through the window for when my order came up. It took almost twenty-five minutes to come out and I was being hit on by drunken men the entire time, so at that point I was a little annoyed, but what can you do?

Scotch Egg - Golden-fried Hard-boiled Egg wrapped in Sausage Meat with Mustard Sauce $8.99​

Mr. Roma: This was also a favorite, though we had to wait a long time to get it and I was getting really tired. I would definitely go for this once a day for breakfast.

Oh to not be so stuffed as to fully enjoy this culinary masterpiece. I know some people are absolutely abhorred at the thought of an egg encased in sausage and deep fried, but if you only order one once a year you should be okay. It is hard to tell in the picture but these things were huge. Neither of us could eat our entire portions. Paired with the mustard sauce, the entire thing really came together for a delectable savory taste. If you like sausage and hard-boiled eggs you really can't go wrong here.

We circled back around the World Showcase for our last stop of the day at the Hawaii booth. Mr. Roma had really wanted to try the pork slider, and it had gotten exceptionally positive reviews so I went along:

Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise - $3.25
​

Unfortunately this did not live up to the hype for us. Even if we hadn't already been stuffed (which always puts a damper on things), our bun was soggy in some spots and hard in others and the pork was stone cold. We took about two bites before the rest was thrown away - so a pretty big disappointment. Mr. Roma in particular hated this and for a few moments I was afraid he was going to be sick from it he was so turned off.

So an unfortunate ending to our Food & Wine adventure, but overall we had a great experience. We would love to do it again when we have more time for Epcot and therefore fewer reasons to try to cram Le Cellier in on the same day!

--
Next: Breakfast at Kona Cafe