Kevin's Latest Restaurant Reviews

[catycatcat4]

But he'd be happier if he didn't separate these issues.

wow just wow

What your saying is so crazy its hard to reply

If ya don't like it don't listen!

This ain't wdw raido show he ain't gonna say everything is perfect (when it stinks in his opinion).
Thats one reason why this podcast is so awesome the people on it are not disney is perfect robots.

 

[lugnut33]

wow just wow

What your saying is so crazy its hard to reply

If ya don't like it don't listen!

This ain't wdw raido show he ain't gonna say everything is perfect (when it stinks in his opinion).
Thats one reason why this podcast is so awesome the people on it are not disney is perfect robots.

Oh don't get me wrong, I totally LOVE Kevin's reviews. They are my favorite segments on the podcast and I am not baggin' on him. I'm actually b-slapping the current state of dining at Disney.

 

[Captain Hook Jr]

This ain't wdw raido show he ain't gonna say everything is perfect (when it stinks in his opinion).
Thats one reason why this podcast is so awesome the people on it are not disney is perfect robots.

Couldnt agree more with this statement. Disunplugged is certainly unbiased. Thats what I love about it. I dont get the same feeling with most other podcasts!

 

[Captain Hook Jr]

I totally LOVE Kevin's reviews. They are my favorite segments on the podcast

I also couldnt agree more on this statement too!

 

[DisneyKevin]

Thanks for the compliments.

I try to approach every review as if I were a tourist, I want everyone to have the best time they can possibly have, because I have an undying love for Disney. ...Walt Disney World in particular.

With that being said.....there are costs associated with dining at WDW (or anywhere for that matter). There is a time cost, as your hours at WDW are limited.

There is a monetary cost, whether paying out of pocket or using the DDP. Even though you got the DDP for "Free"....you didnt get any discount on your room. You paid for the DDP whether you think you did or not.

The other cost is harder to define. If Kouzzina fills every night with unsuspecting tourists and a percentage of them have a bad meal / bad time without saying anything....then we are telling Disney it's ok to serve bad / mediocre, poorly cooked and presented and wildly overpriced food. This hurts everyone in the lomg run.

I also have a hard time with the idea that because it appears to be "free", it must be good. I could understand that sentiment if we were talking about an impromptu dinner invitation from a neighbor. Yes....that would be good regardless of the food quality / presentation. That's a kind gesture.

Giving Disney the idea that you are willing to accept anything of any quality because they convinced you it's "free" leads me to only one conclusion and it's harsh.....you get what you deserve.

If you are willing to accept this premise....then I would expect to see menus at Disney restaurants continue to decline until Disney can reduce things to the cheapest and lowest common denominator.

If you are willing to accept cheap swill....Disney will happily provide it while raising the room rates so that they can offer you "free" dining again next year.

I'm not willing and will happily tell you what I like and what I dont.

But again....it's only my opinion.

 

[Kellygurlz74]

I agree with Kevin. If we continue accepting medioche crappy food because Disney says it's free or discounted etc, the prices of the tickets & resorts will continue to rise. Valet Parking will be a charge, pretty soon they'll start charging us to ride the Monorail! It's ridiculous!

The reason why we all love listening to the Podcast & reading the forums, is that it's unbiased reviews from people who eat, sleep & breathe Disney. EVERY time before I go to Disney I always do new research, because I don't want to spend more money on something I know is awful, poor quality or I can get cheaper at home.

I was absolutely dumbfounded with Kevin's review as I am a HUGE Food Network Fan & love Kat Cora. I'm very disappointed that her new resteraunt is getting bad food reviews. I expected something much better from Disney- especially at a Deluxe Resort Area, and especially from a well renowned chef such as Kat. It's very disappointing.

** Kevin, I got your back **

 

[dmccarty]

Reading this thread while listening to Kevin's review.

Oh My. Kevin just hit the punch line....

$50 per person for that mess.

That is unreal.

We go to WDW to eat good food. Its there. We love CG and eating at Japan in EPCOT. Narcosse's, Jiko's and Boma have excellent food. We have never spend more than $50 per person INCLUDING drinks and that was at Narcosse's and the wife had Surf and Turf with Maine lobster. That was a splurge for us. But we usually have to be rolled out of CG.

We have a small Greek take out restaurant in our town. It sounds so much better. The owner does not charge $18 for a couple of meat balls. For $18 we can get enough for four of us to eat. And it is GOOD!

Disney better remember that Guests are not a money sponge to be squeezed to get the last penny. There has to be value for the money spent. If not people will go else where.

Later,
Dan

 

[Becx N Gav]

We tried it in September and while I didn't find my food as bad as Kevin and his party did, it wasn't as good as my previous Spoodles meal (in May). I would not go back any time soon - if Spoodles had still been open I think I would have chosen to eat there a couple of times whilst we were there last month (we stayed at the BCV so it would have been easy to get there).

 

[kafitty]

Oh don't get me wrong, I totally LOVE Kevin's reviews. They are my favorite segments on the podcast and I am not baggin' on him. I'm actually b-slapping the current state of dining at Disney.

you may want to make that ABUNDANTLY clear in your first post. your sarcasm, while completely spot-on, is hard to identify in text.

 

[Paul in CT]

I am listening to Kevin's review now. My DW and I had dinner at Kouzzina last week and were not impressed. I had the Pastitsio and my wife had the Greek salad. My portion was large, but bland with little meat. My wife was not pleased with the salad. The tomatoes were cold as though it were made up early and stored in the fridge and the portion was tiny. There was little feta cheese on it. Our server was very good. He told us that he had come over from Italy years ago to start up Alfredo's at EPCOT.

Kevin's right about the decor. It does not seem to be much different from Spoodles. We were there after IllumiNations so it was not very crowded.

However, we had breakfast there a few days later and really enjoyed it. My wife had the Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast (Two Poached Eggs, Kalamata Olive Toast, Artichoke Spread, and Sweet Potato Hash with Bacon. I had the Classic Waffle with Whipped Mascarpone Cheese, Honey, and Chopped Pecans and Chicken Sausage. My SIL had the American breakfast. We also shared a press pot of coffee - only $6.95. We all enjoyed these meals. I really liked the waffle sauce. My DW was the only daring one to try a Kouzzina signature dish.

We will go back for breakfast, but not for dinner.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I was in Disney two weeks ago on the "free" dining plan, and have said in my reviews that it was the least impressive trip food-wise to date. DDP vs. OOP does not at all effect the quality of the food.

I also think value matters either way, as does portion size, service, etc.

I also wouldn't base eating at Kouzzina or not on one review. I think Kevin's reviews are good, and I appreciate them, but I don't always agree with them.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I think Kevin's reviews are good, and I appreciate them, but I don't always agree with them.

I'm good with that.

My reviews...as are all reviews....are opinions.

There are some facts thrown in....prices etc.....but for the most part they are opinions.

Just as you have written reviews.....they are your opinions.

 

[doconeill]

Likewise, despite the infamous "sad little crabcake" review, we had a very excellent meal at Coral Reef in Dec. 2007. And I have no doubt that excellent meals are generally still possible, but they may be becoming fewer and farther between, and Disney needs to know that it is not acceptable to generalize, genericize, dumb down, an cheapen everything.

 

[lindsey clare]

Kevin, i appreciate your reviews as they are. i do not see the point of lowering your standards in relation to whether you're getting meals for a discount, or even free. after all, i'm not going on the dining plan and neither are many (most?) of the DIS listeners.

having said that, i still want to try Kouzzina! hopefully by the time i get to WDW, they will have improved somewhat.

 

[lindsey clare]

Disney needs to know that it is not acceptable to generalize, genericize, dumb down, an cheapen everything.

interesting. i remember seeing on another thread someone saying that no matter how good a meal might be at Disney, it is still theme park food. i think this was in relation especially to international foods, though i guess it would apply to American foods too.

i'm going to keep this in mind so that i'm not disappointed! not that i don't think Disney can do good food (from what i've seen on the restaurant board, some meals look amazing), but if i truly want great food, i would go elsewhere. i'm also a bit spoilt because where i live i can get pretty much any kind of cuisine of an excellent standard (except Mexian! why is there no good Mexican food in Sydney??). so i don't expect to have my best ever Italian meal or seafood meal or Greek meal at WDW.

 

[robertgp124]

My reviews...as are all reviews....are opinions.

There are some facts thrown in....

and a healthy helping of humor, don't forget that!

Whether or not I agree with Kevin's review, I always listen (and enjoy). He knows more about food than I do. I listen for his descriptions of what he ate, and what he knows about the food. Even though DW and I aren't headed for WDW anytime in the immediate future, we will eat out here. When we do eat someplace new, I go armed with knowledge Kevin has provided. I think we've become more adventurous diners as a result of listening to the podcast.

For example, my knowledge of sushi is limited to what they sell at the Giant Eagle in little plastic cartons. Based on what Kevin and Corey have said, I've just about persuaded DW to try Benihana in Pittsburgh.

The way Kevin reviews - and indeed the way the entire team functions is why I keep listening in iTunes.

And let me say it - they were on FIRE this week! Teresa's rapid fire on Gatorland about killed me!

 

[PhenoSteve]

oops...wrong thread.

 

[FireDancer]

If the World Wide Web Consortium takes my advise and adds the sarcasm tags to the HTML5 revision sarcasm will be much easier to get across in text.

It would go something like this.

<sarcasm> Kevin should just be happy he is at Disney and eat the swill they fling on his plate </sarcasm>.

I don't know how it would actually render yet, maybe some translucent rolling eyes will appear over the sentence or something.

Back to the topic I think there are two different issues. First, the difference between included and free. If dining is included in your package it sure isn't free, it is just not itemized out. Of course free dinning is different but don't fool yourself, even that is subsidized by...I don't know...increased parking and ticket prices.

Second is expectation. I expect when I go to Disney to pay more for the food because of where I am eating it. I expect that most of it will be good, not out of this world, but good. I expect the "exotic" food will be tamed for the American pallet (I love Boma but the African food there is much more mild that more authentic African restaurants I have eaten at). I also expect that some of the premium I am paying will be justified by the atmosphere, the service, the location, or something else.

Kevin is not only giving us a single snapshot of an experience but he is also flavoring it with his individual expectations in a meal. We all have different criteria in what we look for in a meal and we all have different tastes. I often times find my experience was different but that doesn't make Kevin wrong, it makes his opinion different. I love the dining segments even if they are ragging on a restaurant I like or applauding a restaurant I don't.

 

[Hollie]

Even Kevin's BAD reviews make me hungry.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I expect when I go to Disney to pay more for the food because of where I am eating it.

Frank....I think you have hit upon a point that gets lost.

It's more expensive to eat at most places at Disney than somewhere comparable off property.

I have no problem with a meal being expensive. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

However.....

Along with the expense should come a feeling of value for your dollars spent.

The comparison I will use is Kouzinna and Narcoosee's.

I expect to pay $50 bucks a head at Narcoossee's. The atmosphere is casually elegant. The setting is some of the priciest real estate in WDW. The views are spectacular. The service is above reproach. You feel you have been taken care of without ever feeling like it was an intrusion and the food has been superb....simply wonderful No complaints. On top of this....we have always come out feeling full and relaxed and that the cost was secondary to the marvelous experience.

That's a $50 per person meal.

Compare that to Kouzinna. I sat looking at a wall. The service was rushed but acceptable. The atmosphere was loud and chaotic. The portions were small. The food was served cool to cold. One of the items was deemed "the worst in the World" and compared to Italian ice tasting like Sucrets. We left humgry and went to Burger King. And I think the most telling part is that six diners all had the same reaction. I'd never go back there.

That experience was the same price as the Narcoossee's experience. I had no trouble with the sost of one and big trouble with the cost of the other. That's because I didnt see the value for my money.

You expect to pay more at Disney but, that's okay if you come away thinking that that you got some value for your hard earned dollars