barbeml
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2002
- Messages
- 5,422
FYI, my idea of a "good value" is food that is of high quality, prepared interestingly, and of reasonable portion size for the money.
Arrived Saturday, 10/28, had PS for O'Hana. We liked the wontons, veggies, rice, dipping sauces. Beef was best, pork and turkey quite good, hubby loved shrimp (I don't do shellfish). Pineapple with caramel surprisingly yummy. Altho we enjoyed, once was enough. We made a habit of visiting the adjacent bar everyday for a rum fix. The Backscratcher was especially potent and worth the price because it was huge.
Breakfast Sunday and everyday thereafter was at Kona Cafe, since we fell in love with the 100% Kona Press Pot and Hubby did not want to have breakfast anywhere else. If you like good strong coffe that is smooth, not bitter, treat yourself to the press pot. Tonga Toast was awesome and not to be missed, but again, once was enough. We also enjoyed the Kona Delight--fresh melon, raspberry yogurt, granola and honey--a perfect light breakfast and a bargain at $3.59, altho I had it four times and portion varied from generous to huge. Also had the banana pecan pancakes. Light and fluffy, good pecans, couldn't find the bananas.
A note about the Kona Coffee: We are gourmet coffee fans. One server told us we could purchase the Kona Blend for $12 per pound, and 100 percent Kona for $40 per pound. Yes, per pound. Since this was Hubby's only souvenir request, we got 3 packages of blend and one of the 100 percent. Beware--when I got home last Sunday and looked at the packages, they were only 12 ounces each. Not too happy about that, but I should have looked closely before I bought.
Coral Reef gets our vote for most overrated ever. We live in NJ and get excellent fresh fish all the time. I saw no seafood that appealed to me, and had the chicken with the macaroni & mascarpone. It was different and quite good, but not worth the price. My husband had a very ordinary and skimpy portion of salmon. Nothing special at all. Lunch without appetizers, alcohol, or dessert was $50, but the waiter fawned all over us.
We had dinner at the Rose and Crown. Very authentic fish and chips, HUGE portions, very cheerful servers, and great pints of Harp and Boddingtons. We love the pub atmosphere and always have at least a pint or two there. We met an English family who were amazed at how well Disney did the pub.
In Magic Kingdon we did Columbia Harbor House for a quick lunch. Hubby had a delivious salad and I had the ham sandwich with broccoli slaw. Good bread, real ham, good value. Tip: the downstairs was mobbed because hardly anyone knew about the upstairs seating.
Dinner that night at Cindy's. Very funny server. We had a good view of the fireworks. Hubby had crabcakes--he enjoyed, but a little skimpy for the price. I had the salad with stilton cheese and toasted nuts--excellent. I had the steak with potato quiche--that was mighty tasty. Hubby's seafood risotto was inedible because someone had loaded on the salt. Seriously, his tongue swelled up. Our server immediately and graciously fetched a replacement which was excellent and arrived quickly. We shared the delicious apple custard for dessert--sort of a bread pudding. A fair value and great atmosphere (what could be better!).
On Tuesday we did DisneyQuest for the first time--not crowded so we had a blast. The Cheesecake Factory Express was fine--we had Mexican and Teriyaki hot wraps. Enormous portions and good value.
Kona Cafe for dinner that night. We loved the Sticky Wings--good portion for sharing. I had Pan-Asian Pasta--it was fine, but I cook a lot of Thai and Asian food and expected more flavor. Hubby had
Mahi Mahi and enjoyed. We shared the Koko Puffs for dessert--a bit too much sweetness for our taste, altho we managed to finish them. Something we shared did not sit right and we were both sick less than an hour after dinner. Maybe it was just too much rich food. Did not put us off the Kona Cafe.
In Animal Kingdom we did Tusker House--we love the veggie sandwich, and hardly anyone eats in the garden around back so it is peaceful.
Dinner at California Grill was truly spectacular. I had a glass of house chardonnay which was quite good. We shared the sausage, pepper, and pesto flatbread to start-excellent. Watched the sunset. Hubby had a wonderful salmon and I had the free-range chicken--fabulous. For dessert, we shared the Hazelnut Crunch Pyramid with Hazelnut Ice Cream. It was brand new on the menu that day--our server had not tried it yet. I consider it one of the best desserts I have had anywhere. The pyramid was like a huge Godiva chocolate, but lighter in consistency. The ice cream was much less sweet and provided a nice balance. A generous drizzle of what must have been Valrhona chocolate decorated the plate. Sublime. All that and the best view of the fireworks anywhere. Cannot say enough about California Grill. Good value.
At Disney Studios we did a quick lunch at ABC Commissary and would not do again. Skimpy yakitori chicken was tough and gristly, Hubby's tabbouleh wrap was tiny. Not so great and way overpriced.
We finished our dining extravaganza with Le Cellier. The cheese soup was wonderful, I had the 7 oz filet and Hubby had trout. Always a great meal with excellent service. A good value.
We love dessert, but often can't fit it after Disney meals. However, we always try to get a couple of Skol Brod's at Kringala Bakery. It is the ultimate if you like custard-filled pastry.
Special note for those considering the drive down 95--we drove for the first time and it went fine. Those friendly Cracker Barrel restaurants have good comfort food at really low prices. Lets you save your money for the Disney meals! And get a jar of the blackberry cobbler filling (I am eating some as I write this), cheap, versatile, and awesome.
I hope this information is helpful. Tomorrow we get back to those diets.
Arrived Saturday, 10/28, had PS for O'Hana. We liked the wontons, veggies, rice, dipping sauces. Beef was best, pork and turkey quite good, hubby loved shrimp (I don't do shellfish). Pineapple with caramel surprisingly yummy. Altho we enjoyed, once was enough. We made a habit of visiting the adjacent bar everyday for a rum fix. The Backscratcher was especially potent and worth the price because it was huge.
Breakfast Sunday and everyday thereafter was at Kona Cafe, since we fell in love with the 100% Kona Press Pot and Hubby did not want to have breakfast anywhere else. If you like good strong coffe that is smooth, not bitter, treat yourself to the press pot. Tonga Toast was awesome and not to be missed, but again, once was enough. We also enjoyed the Kona Delight--fresh melon, raspberry yogurt, granola and honey--a perfect light breakfast and a bargain at $3.59, altho I had it four times and portion varied from generous to huge. Also had the banana pecan pancakes. Light and fluffy, good pecans, couldn't find the bananas.
A note about the Kona Coffee: We are gourmet coffee fans. One server told us we could purchase the Kona Blend for $12 per pound, and 100 percent Kona for $40 per pound. Yes, per pound. Since this was Hubby's only souvenir request, we got 3 packages of blend and one of the 100 percent. Beware--when I got home last Sunday and looked at the packages, they were only 12 ounces each. Not too happy about that, but I should have looked closely before I bought.
Coral Reef gets our vote for most overrated ever. We live in NJ and get excellent fresh fish all the time. I saw no seafood that appealed to me, and had the chicken with the macaroni & mascarpone. It was different and quite good, but not worth the price. My husband had a very ordinary and skimpy portion of salmon. Nothing special at all. Lunch without appetizers, alcohol, or dessert was $50, but the waiter fawned all over us.
We had dinner at the Rose and Crown. Very authentic fish and chips, HUGE portions, very cheerful servers, and great pints of Harp and Boddingtons. We love the pub atmosphere and always have at least a pint or two there. We met an English family who were amazed at how well Disney did the pub.
In Magic Kingdon we did Columbia Harbor House for a quick lunch. Hubby had a delivious salad and I had the ham sandwich with broccoli slaw. Good bread, real ham, good value. Tip: the downstairs was mobbed because hardly anyone knew about the upstairs seating.
Dinner that night at Cindy's. Very funny server. We had a good view of the fireworks. Hubby had crabcakes--he enjoyed, but a little skimpy for the price. I had the salad with stilton cheese and toasted nuts--excellent. I had the steak with potato quiche--that was mighty tasty. Hubby's seafood risotto was inedible because someone had loaded on the salt. Seriously, his tongue swelled up. Our server immediately and graciously fetched a replacement which was excellent and arrived quickly. We shared the delicious apple custard for dessert--sort of a bread pudding. A fair value and great atmosphere (what could be better!).
On Tuesday we did DisneyQuest for the first time--not crowded so we had a blast. The Cheesecake Factory Express was fine--we had Mexican and Teriyaki hot wraps. Enormous portions and good value.
Kona Cafe for dinner that night. We loved the Sticky Wings--good portion for sharing. I had Pan-Asian Pasta--it was fine, but I cook a lot of Thai and Asian food and expected more flavor. Hubby had
Mahi Mahi and enjoyed. We shared the Koko Puffs for dessert--a bit too much sweetness for our taste, altho we managed to finish them. Something we shared did not sit right and we were both sick less than an hour after dinner. Maybe it was just too much rich food. Did not put us off the Kona Cafe.
In Animal Kingdom we did Tusker House--we love the veggie sandwich, and hardly anyone eats in the garden around back so it is peaceful.
Dinner at California Grill was truly spectacular. I had a glass of house chardonnay which was quite good. We shared the sausage, pepper, and pesto flatbread to start-excellent. Watched the sunset. Hubby had a wonderful salmon and I had the free-range chicken--fabulous. For dessert, we shared the Hazelnut Crunch Pyramid with Hazelnut Ice Cream. It was brand new on the menu that day--our server had not tried it yet. I consider it one of the best desserts I have had anywhere. The pyramid was like a huge Godiva chocolate, but lighter in consistency. The ice cream was much less sweet and provided a nice balance. A generous drizzle of what must have been Valrhona chocolate decorated the plate. Sublime. All that and the best view of the fireworks anywhere. Cannot say enough about California Grill. Good value.
At Disney Studios we did a quick lunch at ABC Commissary and would not do again. Skimpy yakitori chicken was tough and gristly, Hubby's tabbouleh wrap was tiny. Not so great and way overpriced.
We finished our dining extravaganza with Le Cellier. The cheese soup was wonderful, I had the 7 oz filet and Hubby had trout. Always a great meal with excellent service. A good value.
We love dessert, but often can't fit it after Disney meals. However, we always try to get a couple of Skol Brod's at Kringala Bakery. It is the ultimate if you like custard-filled pastry.
Special note for those considering the drive down 95--we drove for the first time and it went fine. Those friendly Cracker Barrel restaurants have good comfort food at really low prices. Lets you save your money for the Disney meals! And get a jar of the blackberry cobbler filling (I am eating some as I write this), cheap, versatile, and awesome.
I hope this information is helpful. Tomorrow we get back to those diets.
