January 16 - 18: Where/what we ate

[Luv2Roam]

Thursday, January 16:
Breakfast - Starring Rolls (MGM). Good as usual. Too bad they serve Nescafe coffee like most of WDW.
Lunch: A first for us -- Pizza Planet. Surprisingly not too bad. Wouldn't say it was outstanding, but not bad at all and better than I anticipated. I also had a salad. I would eat there again for lunch. Quick counter service.
Dinner: Akershus (World Showcase/Norway) Another first for us and we were pleasantly surprised. The service was great and the food was very good; fresh and good quality. The one cheese they have is sweet and creamy. I asked the waitress about it. The brownish color and the sweetness is from BROWN SUGAR! What a combination, but it sure is good. The waitress was especially proud of that because it is made in the region she is from. She shared her family life with us. It was very interesting and she was a sweetheart. (Her name is Tone. I'll have to make sure to mention her name to WDW.)
We tried quite a bit from the buffet and were not disappointed with anything. We would return. $51.71 with tip for two adults, no dessert or alcoholic drinks.

Friday, January 17:
breakfast - Fountainview Bakery, near the main pin cart and fountain in Future World. (Right by Ice Station Cool)
I can't believe DH and I have not eaten here before. It was VERY good and better than Starring Rolles at MGM. It's on our must list for desserts and breakfast. They even carry many of the desserts found in World Showcase! Good selection, and everything we had was good. Big thumbs up.
Lunch: Kringla Bakery. We have eaten lunch there before and knew what to expect. DH likes the salmon and scrambled eggs open face sandwich. I had smoked ham and cheese open face sandwich. They pile on the stuff. Not a great place, but very good. The only downside is having to sit outside. And it was a little chilly and windy that day.
DH did treat himself to a Viking Coffee. He said it was very good, with whipped cream on top too.
DH raved on and on about his fruit tulip cup. Fluted pasrty shell lined with chocolate, cream on the bottom and fruit piled on top. DH said it was just as good as any dessert he has eaten at the French bakery -- which is saying a lot.
Dinner: Another first for us -- Bistro. After eating at Chefs de France and really enjoying it, we were looking forward to Bistro. It didn't disappoint. It was very good and very quiet. Almost too quiet really. The selection is limited and more pricey than Chefs. And to be honest I thought the food quality was just as good as Chefs.
I had chicken madellians in a wine sauce, a pasta that reminded me of coucous (sp), and mushrooms. Good, but I would have been just as happy (if not happier) in Chefs.
DH had venison and said it was excellant. It wasn't very big, and had a lot of bone and fat. But he said there was more to it than it looked and it was very good.
We both agree to stay with Chef's, but glad we tried Bistro.
No dessert, coffee to drink -- $99 with tip. cough, cough...

Last day -- Saturday, Jan 18:
Breakfast: We liked the Epcot Fountainview Bakery so much, we returned and then rode the boat to MGM. More out of our way, but worth it. The Fountainview had the tulip cups that DH had eaten the day before at the Kringula Bakery. I was surprised he didn't have that for breakfast.
Lunch: Backlot Express. Disappointed as before when they had the fixin's bar, it was a decent place to eat. No fixin's bar, so that just makes BL Express an over priced fast food counter burger joint. Too pricey and too crowded. Only eat there in a pinch, like we were yesterday. It took twice as long to wait in line to order and get the food than it did to eat it. The only plus side was the nice CM taking the orders and $. Don't bother with Backlot unless you just happen to be there and can't do a sit down.
MGM eating is too limited, IMHO.

That's all on the meals.
We had a few odds and ends. We made a special trip to Riverside for their pralines only to see they also sell them in the MK.
DH loves the Marvellous from the French bakery. So that was a must for him one night too.
? Feel free to ask.

 

[Muffy]

Thanks for the reviews!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Thanks for the reviews. Bistro is on our list for May. But now I'm not so sure--I like the quiet aspect a lot, but that limited menu is REALLY limited.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I also forgot we had an appetizer at Bistro. I think it was Mixed Crab and Asparagus in crusty layers of thin dough, Persil vinaigrette. It was good, but as you can see it didn't stick in my mind that much! We split the appetizers, I recall it was small. Almost just a taste (around 3 bites each).
The crab cakes at Flying Fish were better and more memorable.

 

[BCV23]

Enjoyed your reviews. We haven't dined at Bistro for several years but lunch at Chefs has jumped back to a must-do each trip for us.

We're going to have to try Fountainview...sounds like a good place to pick up a quick breakfast!

 

[Krissalee]

Thanks for the reviews. I may have to consider Akershus....

The Viking Coffee made me laugh! In 2001, DH and I were at WDW for the Food and Wine Fest. We snacked around the world, and also drank quite a bit of wine. DH decided to get some coffee to help him sober up, as he was getting a little giddy. We went to Norway, and while I waited outside, he went in to get coffee and a pastry. He came out with Viking coffee! I asked him why he got coffee with liquor if he wanted to try to couter-act the effect of the wine. He didn't realize it was a "funny coffee", he thought Viking Coffee sounded more manly, when they asked him what he wanted.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Like your DH, I thought "OH! Some good strong coffee!" (Besides Nescafe.) Then I read the details.....
One situation we witnessed at Akershus really made me feel for what CM's must have to put up with.
When we walked in the door, just to our left a small boy was playing with toy's on a table made specifically for children to play while waiting. Nice touch.
He was by himself, making a lot of noise by stacking blocks and knocking them down.
He was getting loud enough and people were entering in the direction he was knocking the blocks off.
A CM very nicely asked him to please be careful.
It soon was apparent to us that no adult was with this little boy! (Basically just out of the toddler stage.) Caretakers/parents must have just dropped him off. I don't know where the they were or how long the boy was there by himself.
Maybe they asked the CM's if they could do leave him for awhile. But I don't know why a CM would agree to basically babysit someone's kid at a restaurant entrance at dinner time!
I'm sure they see it all.
We were glad he finally was gone because he was making a racket and we weren't sitting far (enough) away. I was about ready to be asked to move and all of sudden it was quiet. aahhhhh....