Just resturned with reviews (and some pics)

[gatorgirl2]

Hope everyone is well. Been back a week from a wonderful WDW trip. We were not on the dining plan and only made three ADR's because we like to freestyle it. Also, we had a full kitchen at our villa at SSR, so we mainly grabbed breakfast bars and juice on our way out the door in the morning. We snack during the day and like to have a nice dinner.

Cast of characters:

Me-My only food requests-a cup of coffee in the morning and a waiter at night (with preferably a good wine list)
DS13- Tanner will try alomost everything
DS17-Matthew will hardly try anything (grrr)
DSF14-Tanner's friend Dylan- Loves to eat--especially when someone else is paying.

Restaurants reviewed-Chefs de France, Yak & Yeti, Rainforest, Chef Mickeys, and Biergarten, along with alot of snacking on the way!!

And the awards go to........

Chefs de France- "biggest disappointment" award
Yak & Yeti - "best surprise" award
Rainforest DTD - "consistently average" award and kids' favorite!
Chef Mickeys - "waitress dropped the ball" award
Biergarten - "always a good time" award




The culinary journey got off to a bumpy start. The first night was Dominos delivery at 1:00 AM. I'll spare you the review, but at 1:00AM, when you haven't eaten since lunch (why didn't I eat those Cheez Nips on the plane??? it actually tasted pretty good.

Our plane touched down at 9:30 PM but we didn't get to the resort until 12:00 midnight- Had to wait 45 minutes at airport for ME, plus dropped off at three other resorts first.

So here we go...Chefs de France first....

 

[CJ]

I'm here !!

Can't wait for the Yak & Yeti review!!

 

[Camster0307]

I'm in!

Interested to hear what was wrong with Chefs de France - we're trying it for the first time in about two weeks!

 

[gatorgirl2]

First of all, I have to apologize for some of the pictures. Our camera was misbehaving the first two days--lots of glare and back light. I'll try to compensate with words!!

I've always wanted to try Chefs de France and this was the year! I was not going to give in to the pleas of the boys for Japanese or Chinese (which we can get anytime at home). I also like to practice my French on the staff-Parisian French with a southern accent-ha they could see right through it, but they played along nicely. The boys were relaxing in a little play area next to Chefs, while I checked on the ressie.

They could take us right away.

The service was wonderful. Our waitress was attentive and helpful. (Sidebar: Everywhere we went, they first asked if we were on the dining plan. When we said "no" they seemed very pleased. Hmmm)

We asked for an appetizer suggestion and she recommended the Tarte a la Flame Alsacienne - Alsace specialty. It's flatbread baked with cream fraiche, onion and bacon ($8.50) Sounded like a fancy pizza to me, and after having Dominos at 1:00 AM that morning, I wasn't too eager to have a pizza at a French restaurant, but the boys seemed interested, so we ordered it.

Plus, I had taken my first sip of Chardonnay so all was right with the world.. The tarte was wonderful--light and tasty, with white cheese carmelized onions and bacon on top. Yum. This, along with a salad would make a great lunch.

My "picky" son ordered the roasted chicken. He actually liked it. Very tender and tasty, but didn't fill him up, since he wouldn't eat the tomato or mashed potatoes.

Dylan ordered the duck. I thought it was tender and juicy, as well, and the sweet potatoes were AMAZING.

Tanner ordered the $18 Mac and cheese. Not sure why "Mr. Exotic" ordered M&C, but the dish was bland and uneventful--very average and way over-priced IMHO. The picture we took for the mac didn't even turn out!

I ordered the scallops and shrimp. Here is the picture. Don't blink or you'll miss the entree. I think there was one scallop and two shrimp. Time to start that diet!!:

We skipped dessert and I think the bill was $160. The menu was just so limited. The worst thing was, the boys were still hungry, so we left to check out the school bread at Norway.

By the time we got back to the resort, and the boys swam, they were starving--luckily there was left over pizza and hot wings!!

I might try the restaurant again, but not with teens. Not enough selection for them. Up next Yak & Yeti.......

 

[TigerKat]

We tried Chefs for the first time last trip and really enjoyed it. In fact I had the duck dish and DH had the shrimp & scallop dish, both were very good.

I wish we could have tried the Alsacienne flatbread, it looks so good!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Sorry you didn't enjoy Chefs. I've been twice and enjoyed it both times, but DH had the mac and cheese the first time and he found it bland too. The rest of the meal was good though.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Cannot wait to hear about Yak and Yeti, we are trying it for the first time in less than 2 weeks!

 

[toyman70]

what camera did you use? why are all the picture orange, you weren't shooting through a orange were you

 

[gatorgirl2]

Can't explain the camera. I think it did some shifting on the flight..

The reason Yak & Yeti's gets the "biggest surprise" award is because we didn't have an ADR there. We went to Animal Kingdom on our second full day. As mentioned above, we usually just snack during the day. However, we got so much done during the morning, we wanted to relax for a bit--rode all our favorites 2-3 times each--Expedition Everest was only a 20 minute wait!! And the Primeval Twirl (aka Primeval Hurl) had our stomachs rumbling for stable food.

We were contemplating a break as we were walking by Yak & Yeti's. We decided just to see if we could get in. My mouth dropped when the hostess said they could seat us right away--at 12:30--right in the middle of the lunch hour. The boys didn't appreciate our getting in without an ADR and it would have taken too long to explain it to them..so we embraced our good luck and were seated in this cool, dark, cozy restaurant. (ZZZZZZZZZ)

We decided to just order some appetizers (so it's still officially just a snack- ). We ordered the wok fried green beans, pot stickers, lettuce wraps and egg rolls. My picky son ordered a bowl of steamed rice--his fave dish.
The waiter was great and helped us decide on these selections.

The green beans were similar to those at TGIFriday's except the outside seasoning was a little different. I refuse to accept that both come from the same institutional food company, so I'm sticking with the fact that Y&Y's are unique. The sauce was more of a sweet and sour type, but superior to your average Chinese restaurant duck sauce. My kids said they preferred the wasabi sauce that TGIFridays serves with their beans, but this sauce was delicious, nonetheless. The serving size was generous.

The egg rolls were very fresh and crisp--much better than the ones they sell in China at Epcot. They give you three large rolls. My oldest doesn't like egg rolls, so we each got one. I think the sauce was about the same on all of the appetizers, with only slight variations. It seemed to coat the pot stickers, as well. The waiter recommended the pot stickers and they were a good balance of tangy and sweet. But our favorite was the lettuce cups...

The filling (probably pork) was so delicious with the sauce folded into the butter lettuce. The portion was ample; I don't think we even finished it all.


This was a wonderful one-hour break from the heat and walking. We will obviously add this stop on future trips--only next time I'll make an ADR--don't think I'll get that lucky in the future.

$50 was an expensive snack, but worth every penny. We exited from Yak & Yeti's refreshed and ready to search out the "tree lady" and those Safari animals!!

 

[CJ]

Thanks so much for this review! I was planning on ordering just appetizers for us as well, and they sound just great!!

 

[candykisses]

I enjoyed your reviews.

We'll be leaving in 10 days and I think I'll try the Yak & Yeti.

 

[TigerKat]

This is exactly what we plan on ordering when we stop for our "snack".

 

[jacksmom]

Thanks for sharing your reviews! We will be trying Yak & Yeti in July!

 

[annie1995]

Loving your reviews so far!!! Can't wait for more!!!

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Great reviews, thanks!!

 

[mom2my3kids]

Love your reviews!!Can't wait to read more..

 

[wilma-bride]

Shame you didn't enjoy Chefs. Yak and Yeti sounds good though - this place is getting increasingly good reviews lately.

 

[SassyLassy]

Hopefully you'll have better luck next time with Chefs. I have always had a great experience there!

 

[Disneyof3]

Great reviews!! Can't wait for more. That is too bad about your camera. It looks like it got water in it???

 

[gatorgirl2]

Review #3

After our great day at Animal Kingdom, we headed back to the resort for a power nap. We then headed over to DTD /Marketplace on the ferry. We loved being able to take the ferry from SSR all week. That amenity alone, will probably keep me gong back to SSR or OKW

Rainforest is one of our Disney traditions--we always go on the night we arrive at Disney to kick off the trip. However, since it took so long to get to the resort on Sunday night, we missed our ressie. We have a RC here in Nashville, but the boys will only go when we're at WDW, as to not spoil the magic. I never have high expectations for the quality of food, but we know we'll never get a BAD meal. This was the first time we've voluntarily gone on a different night, but my son's friend had never been to RC, so...off we went.

We stopped by the hostess stand at around 5:00 PM to see if we could make a ressie for later, with the intention of heading to DisneyQuest to play for a few hours. She said we couldn't make a reservation on the same day, but said that there wasn't much of a wait, so we should be able to come back later and get right in...NOT.

So we headed to DQ. I don't last long there because so many of the games make me motion sick. We stayed there awhile, then I ditched out to get our name on the list at RC. Now (8:00) there was a 90-minute wait! The hostess said if we wanted to eat on the back porch, she could probably seat us in 15 minutes. My son's friend had never been to Rainforest so I really wanted to sit inside. Conference time. I called the boys at DQ, and they said they were starving (too long since our Y&Y snack??) So they left DQ for RC and I picked up a margarita from the Margarita Bar (executive decision), which is located at the dock on Lake Beuna Vista. $8 for a top shelf--not too bad. It was great. All was right with the world again. They also have other drinks, and chairs on the deck to relax.

Back at RC, we were seated promptly on the porch and we quickly ordered the Big Blue Crab Delight ($10). Matt & Tanner ordered the Caribbean Coconut Shrimp ($20), Dillon ordered a shrimp comdo that was on a "promotional" menu, and I ordered Pastalaya-- (shrimp, sauteed chicken breast, bell peppers, onions and Andouille sausage tossed in a hot and spicy Cajun sauce and served over linguini $19.99) My son took his friend in to see all the animal action, since we were seated outside (hard to impress a teenager but Dillon said it was "pretty neat"). I'm glad we opted for the quick seating on the porch. The weather was wonderful--75 with a nice breeze!! It had lots of ceiling fans to boot. We had a great time enjoying the view and watching the ducks--"good move, Mom".


It took the appetizer 30 minutes to arrive--it looked like it had been nuked a couple of times to keep warm. Instead of bubbly and steamy, the appetizer was stale and the cheese topping was dry and crackly. I spared you the pic!!The server was apologetic, but not sorry enough to make it right. By now, our stomachs were growling so the chips were even looking good. Worse yet, our dinner arrived two minutes later. It rescued us from the appetizer, but the server gave a HARD GLARE to the kitchen help that brought out the meals. I never ask or expect freebies in a restaurant but I personally felt the server should have removed the appetizer from our bill. The Southerner in me didn't want to push the issue or worse yet, embarass my children."Oh that's OK, we love our appetizer late, cold and in unison with our meal--hee hee"


My boys loved the coconut shrimp. They get it every year. The mango sauce is sweet, tangy and fruity. It comes with a slaw that is OUTSTANDING--light and unique--good balance between sweet and tart. I think Dillon lked his shrimp. It was gone lickity split. (You can never accuse Dillon of wasting food). My pasta dish was really good for RC. The sauce was zesty and the portion was huge. I had to take half of it to go.

Bill was around $135 (tip included). I only tipped 15%. If the server had removed the appetizer, I would have tipped 20%. (passive aggression )

The RC in DTD is fun--bottom line. It's great for kids--especially small ones. The menu is SO VAST--pages of options. Everyone in the group is going to find something they like. It may not be the best burger or Mahi mahi you ever had, but I feel the quality is consistent with most of the Disney restaurants offering table service. Portions are ample--nobody wanted a dessert. If you asked my boys, they would say it was twice as good as Chefs de France.

We strolled around Marketplace and over to Ghiradelli after RC and got some chocolate squares for the ferry ride home--walked past McDonalds--oblivous to what was in store for us the following night--we would be begging to come into McDonalds and buy their fast food the next night--anyway great ending to great day!!

BTW. They are adding a T-rex restaurant at DTD--over by Legoland. I think it will be opening in the fall '08. Just a head's up for all those families with dino lovers!!

I'll try to add pcs later. My golden retriever wants to get to the puppy park before dark.