CHIPSTER
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 711
Our plan on this trip was to eat at one sit down restaurant per day and catch our other meals on the fly (counter service) - keep in mind we with the rainy weather we managed to do Fantasmic 2 times, Osborne Lights once, Candlight Processional 4 times and Spectromagic once. My dogs were tired!!! We also were determined to try some new restaurants to all or some of us. Here are the highlights:
Brown Derby Lunch - Strip steak/smashed potatoes - very good. Grouper was excellent. This was the only PS we made in advance of our departure and we were not disappointed. We were seated promptly and our service was very good. I had been there before, my friend not - but we would definitely go back on our next trip.
Cape May Clambake - 2 times. The first time was Monday 12/9 and it was raining all day. This was our worst dining experience ever. They ran out of pagers and even though I check back at the desk each time they still did not have pagers. What was to be a less than 60 minute wait turned out to be 1 hour and 15 minutes. They lost our slip. We were annoyed to say the least. When I check back at the desk to say people who came behined me without PS were seated long before me they finally gave me a pager and immediately turned it on. We were seated and this was the first time I was ever at a buffet that ran out of food (they didn't refresh items because it was late in the evening) no more strawberries for the shortcake, only one recognizable dessert and only one salad dressing. The manager on duty that night was a real jerk and laughed as he tried to explain to me that running a restaurant was not rocket science. We tried it again later in the week and had no problems. We have always liked the clambake -- but our philosophy was 2 strikes and you are out. It was great the second time. I was a little disappointed that they no longer have cold shrimp or the red skin potatoes. They are now on the steam bar.
Olivia's (Old Key West) - This was probably the best meal for the money and one of our 2 best meals on the trip. Catoe our waiter was excellent! There were 5 of us that night as we met several friends at WDW. The shrimp and artichoke dip is excellent. 2 of us had the petite filet and lobster stuffed shrimp with sauteed squash and smashed potatoes - excellent. One had the snapper with a mango butter which she said was out of this world and was the best dish she had on the trip. 2 had the small cut of prime rib done to perfection. They definitely were more than 8 oz. The atmosphere here is not fancy but we enjoyed our company and the Catoe that it didn't matter. For five of us - 5 dinners, two appetizers, soft drinks and 1 dessert the total was $140. GREAT GREAT PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is off the beaten path (we stayed at Beach Club) but well worth the trip.
Chefs de France (Lunch) - I had always wanted to eat in France so we decided to do a lunch. 2 of us had the lunch special @$14.95 each - a large crock of french onion soup, grilled ham, cheese (boursin) and tomato sandwich, salad and for dessert a large serving of creme brulee. All was very good and well worth the $14.95 - I thought it a good bargain. Our friend had a crepe and soup of the day which she said was very good. Will go back for dinner - but would like to try Bistro de Paris based on the menu.
Fulton's Crab House - After reading mixed reviews I was a little skeptical, but this was our 2nd top meal. My sister and I split the twin lobster tails and an order of Cioppino (enough to feed 3 people). The Ciopinno was to die for. We're going back and I'm getting the Ciopinno. We don't care for mussels which was no problem -- they would add extra of any other shell fish you wanted. It was loaded with calms, scallops, shrimp, crab and lobster. The sauce was not overpowering with just a little zip. We had a great table by the window, service was wonderful.
Plaza Restaurant (Lunch) - This is always a must do for us. I know it is basically sandwiches but we like the Reuben's and Grilled Chicken Sandwiches. Both are huge. This restaurant is a nice break when in MK.
Cape May Buffet (Breakfast) - A lot of fun. Buffet kept clean and well stocked - at least 4 different Krispy Kreme Donuts on the buffet bar.
Naturally we had our share of snacks - can't go to WDW without a French pastry, Rice Kreme from Norway or a sweet pretzel from Norway.
We also ate for the first time at the Fish and Chips counter service in England. Hot, tasty and more than enough food. Other good counter service stops were Pecos Bills (good fixin's bar), baked potato in MGM (took it in on a cool night while waiting for Fantasmic), Mickeys Gourmet Pantry in Downtown Disney (good potato cheese soup and chicken quessidilla(sp??). Affordable shrimp cocktail), Electric Umbrella for breakfast - good bacon egg and cheese bagle for breakfast. Also did Pepper Market to get my dippy eggs at least one time.
Sorry I rambled on, but we really had no bad experiences except the Clambake.
Brown Derby Lunch - Strip steak/smashed potatoes - very good. Grouper was excellent. This was the only PS we made in advance of our departure and we were not disappointed. We were seated promptly and our service was very good. I had been there before, my friend not - but we would definitely go back on our next trip.
Cape May Clambake - 2 times. The first time was Monday 12/9 and it was raining all day. This was our worst dining experience ever. They ran out of pagers and even though I check back at the desk each time they still did not have pagers. What was to be a less than 60 minute wait turned out to be 1 hour and 15 minutes. They lost our slip. We were annoyed to say the least. When I check back at the desk to say people who came behined me without PS were seated long before me they finally gave me a pager and immediately turned it on. We were seated and this was the first time I was ever at a buffet that ran out of food (they didn't refresh items because it was late in the evening) no more strawberries for the shortcake, only one recognizable dessert and only one salad dressing. The manager on duty that night was a real jerk and laughed as he tried to explain to me that running a restaurant was not rocket science. We tried it again later in the week and had no problems. We have always liked the clambake -- but our philosophy was 2 strikes and you are out. It was great the second time. I was a little disappointed that they no longer have cold shrimp or the red skin potatoes. They are now on the steam bar.
Olivia's (Old Key West) - This was probably the best meal for the money and one of our 2 best meals on the trip. Catoe our waiter was excellent! There were 5 of us that night as we met several friends at WDW. The shrimp and artichoke dip is excellent. 2 of us had the petite filet and lobster stuffed shrimp with sauteed squash and smashed potatoes - excellent. One had the snapper with a mango butter which she said was out of this world and was the best dish she had on the trip. 2 had the small cut of prime rib done to perfection. They definitely were more than 8 oz. The atmosphere here is not fancy but we enjoyed our company and the Catoe that it didn't matter. For five of us - 5 dinners, two appetizers, soft drinks and 1 dessert the total was $140. GREAT GREAT PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is off the beaten path (we stayed at Beach Club) but well worth the trip.
Chefs de France (Lunch) - I had always wanted to eat in France so we decided to do a lunch. 2 of us had the lunch special @$14.95 each - a large crock of french onion soup, grilled ham, cheese (boursin) and tomato sandwich, salad and for dessert a large serving of creme brulee. All was very good and well worth the $14.95 - I thought it a good bargain. Our friend had a crepe and soup of the day which she said was very good. Will go back for dinner - but would like to try Bistro de Paris based on the menu.
Fulton's Crab House - After reading mixed reviews I was a little skeptical, but this was our 2nd top meal. My sister and I split the twin lobster tails and an order of Cioppino (enough to feed 3 people). The Ciopinno was to die for. We're going back and I'm getting the Ciopinno. We don't care for mussels which was no problem -- they would add extra of any other shell fish you wanted. It was loaded with calms, scallops, shrimp, crab and lobster. The sauce was not overpowering with just a little zip. We had a great table by the window, service was wonderful.
Plaza Restaurant (Lunch) - This is always a must do for us. I know it is basically sandwiches but we like the Reuben's and Grilled Chicken Sandwiches. Both are huge. This restaurant is a nice break when in MK.
Cape May Buffet (Breakfast) - A lot of fun. Buffet kept clean and well stocked - at least 4 different Krispy Kreme Donuts on the buffet bar.
Naturally we had our share of snacks - can't go to WDW without a French pastry, Rice Kreme from Norway or a sweet pretzel from Norway.
We also ate for the first time at the Fish and Chips counter service in England. Hot, tasty and more than enough food. Other good counter service stops were Pecos Bills (good fixin's bar), baked potato in MGM (took it in on a cool night while waiting for Fantasmic), Mickeys Gourmet Pantry in Downtown Disney (good potato cheese soup and chicken quessidilla(sp??). Affordable shrimp cocktail), Electric Umbrella for breakfast - good bacon egg and cheese bagle for breakfast. Also did Pepper Market to get my dippy eggs at least one time.
Sorry I rambled on, but we really had no bad experiences except the Clambake.
