Just back--where we ate...(long)

[lonegungirl]

Just back from a week in the World--several pounds heavier, here's where we dined...

Tubbies: 24hrs, and the only place open near us the day we arrived. Pizza was good, burger and caesar salad wrap OK.

Tusker House: Used the vouchers (thumbs up to the vouchers!) and got the salmon which was very good for theme park food--the veggies were particularly surprising as being well-cooked.

California Grill: Possibly the best single dish of the week--the sushi sampler was excellent, and my Mom was especially impressed with the quality of the rice. We also had the portabello mushroom flatbread which was very good, and DB had the pork tenderloin which he said was exceptional, and later couldn't remember at all.

Tempura Kiku: As you might surmise from the name, the tempura was great--very fresh tasting. Unfortunately (perhaps from comparison from the California Grill the night before), the sashimi was only average with some gristle. I would go there again, but just get the tempura.

Flying Fish: We split the potato-crusted red snapper which was good but maybe not particularly memorable. Also had the banana napoleon--definite yum!

50's Prime Time Cafe: We split the small salad and the steak sandwich and the s'mores. The theming was wonderful--we have most of the paraphenalia in our own kitchen! Even the black and white tiles! The sandwich was only average, as it had a great deal of fat, but the s'mores, introduced on the dessert menu on the viewmaster, were excellent!

Counter service in Tomorrowland (I have forgotten the name): Had the Kosher corned beef plate...which actually had anti-theming, as they served it to us in the original plastic bags that it came in! Not even any perforations--we practically had to rip the bags apart with our teeth to get at the plate. Oily and forgettable with small potato latkes and roll.

Cinderella's Castle: Major domo's pie for everyone--very good, possibly because we still had the memory of that corned beef from the night before. The puff pastry and vegetables were again, nicely done.

Spoodles: Maybe our overall favorite meal as the food was great--we split the paella--and the prices were more reasonable than most of the other places we visited. Plus the 3-tier dessert sampler was awesome--flourless chocolate cake, dulce du leche cheesecake, and creme brulee!

Brown Derby: Used the Fantasmic! package...and got rained out Nevertheless, the food was wonderful--crab cake with lots of crab, filet of beef wonderfully tender, and hazelnut creme brulee.

Palios: Split the lobster martini and rack of lamb--excellent, but took an extremely long time...so long that the manager came out and apologized and gave us complementary desserts (like our waistlines needed more desserts). Terrific, and would have been more so if we hadn't needed to rush off to Cirque in a bit of a hurry. Moral: probably leave at least 2 hours for dinner here.

Cape May Character Breakfast: We went here because I got a free voucher with my tickets from Paramount (thanks Rosa!) Food was not particularly good or unusual (but we were spoiled by all the other places by this time) but the characters were great, and having pictures of DB with Chip, Dale, and Goofy were worth the price of admission.

Soo...in summary:

Definite return: California Grill, Cinderella's Castle, Brown Derby, Spoodles

Definite not: Tomorrowland counter service

Probably try other places instead: Cape May, Flying Fish, Tempura Kiku

Wanted to try but ran out of time/appetite: Boma, Jiko's, Bistro, Chefs de France, Coral Sea, Ohana

Ugh--back to dieting...

 

[Disneymoon04]

Thanks for the review! Several of those places are on my list!

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for sharing ~ Wonderful reviews!!!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Enjoyed your reviews. Glad you were pleased with most of your choices!!

 

[BCV23]

Enjoyed your reviews. Haven't see many of Spoodles lately. I have to try it one of these days.

 

[holcomb-mania]

Was the place in Tomorrowland Cosmic Ray's?

Maybe we'll do Pecos Bill's after all....

 

[disneyfan551]

if you are back to dieting...why don't you join us on the WISH board? It's a wonderful place to be!

Thanks for the reviews!

 

[Dana49]

Lonegungirl, excellent reviews. My wife and I have been thinking about eating at Spoodles. I looked over the menu choices from June 2003 and didn't see the paella? Is it now listed on the menu or was it a special? Thanks.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there ~ sorry about the Brown Derby Rainout

Could you have used your seating ticket to go another night?

>>^..^<<

 

[lonegungirl]

holcomb-mania :

Yes, I think it was Cosmic Ray's, come to think of it. The other stuff might have been better--they have separate lines for chicken and salad and burgers...the kosher meal seemed like an alien thing to them--we just tried it because we weren't in the mood for any of the regular items.

disneyfan551:

I'll have to check out the WISH board...now that I'm back to my 2 oz of protein/1 cup of greens meals...

Dana49:

The paella was a special, I believe. They had 1 or 2 special tapas and entrees listed on a separate menu. It was really good and they split it for us in the kitchen...even down to the one shrimp! It wasn't huge which was why we felt justified in ordering the triple threat dessert.

>>^..^<<:

Although I didn't consider it at the time, I think you can get a raincheck. When I reserved it, I think I was told that there was no guarantee/refund that the show would go on, but I've recently read online of many people who went to customer service and got rainchecks for another night. It wouldn't have helped us though, as we only had 1 other night there, and that was reserved for La Nouba.

I think the moral there might be to either schedule it early in the trip in case of rain, or not schedule it until you get there and see the updated schedule. In our case, the next day they extended the park hours and added another show...possibly because it had been cancelled a few times earlier that week.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the great reviews. Glad you likes Spoodles so much, it along with Jiko's are our favorite two restaurants at WDW that we have dined at so far. When we ate at Spoodles this past Dec. I had the best Tuna that I had ever had, plus there flatbreads are great also.