Leaving behind a blizzard for Florida sun - A Week of Disney Dining UPDATED 4/2 Tangierine Cafe

[peteykirch]

After my Breakfast at the Wave I took the stroll over to the MK. Although I didn't get any food, I did get some interesting pictures, well at least to me.

Perhaps the best picture of the EPCOT model I ever captured, and then I was treated to another surprise.

In all my times riding the People Mover, I never experienced the Lights On experience of being able to see the innards of Space Mountain.

I left the Magic Kingdom, hopped on the one resort launch and ended up at;

The Wilderness Lodge!

The Lodge sells perhaps on of my favorite snacks in all of Disney World.

The Magic Bar! This thing is like the kitchen sink in terms of ingredients. It has pretty much anything and everything inside it. Toasted coconut, chocolate chips, sprinkles, toffee, butterscotch chips, all baked into what I believe is a blondie brownie bar base. It's so rich and so decadent that finishing half a bar in one sitting is a challenge. I packed up the rest and walked around the front of the resort to hop the first bus that showed up.

Th
Disney's Hollywood Studios. I'm so glad to finally see the hat come down, and bring back the true nature of the entrance to the park. It seemed so out of place and ruined the immersion of being in Hollywood. This was the first time I had a chance to test getting a 4th FP and man was it a disappointment. I wanted to get a FP for Star Tours, but was told there was no allotment left for the day. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so I decided what the heck, and see how bad the stand by wait was....Well, what a shock it was a 10 minute wait, which in reality was pretty much 0.

Prior to leaving I had to get my other favorite snack.

The Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwich. What was once only available at the Writers Stop buried in the rear of the Studios now has seen itself being sold at the entrance at the Villain's Sweet Shop place. The flavors blend perfectly in this portable carrot cake substitute. The tang of the cream cheese icing, the moist soft cake, it's just perfection. I like to chill it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before eating, I don't know why, but it just makes it taste better to me for some reason.

So that's it for this update, 2 snacks in 2 parks. I'll be heading back to The Contemporary to the California Grill in my next update.

 

[dixonsontour]

Your photos are great thanks for posting

 

[KathyM2]

That carrot cake cookie sandwich looks delish...does it have raisins in it though? Not a fan. The magic bar looked awesome too.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I've had that carrot cake cookie...yum! Glad it's available somewhere else now

 

[hockeygirl14]

That bar from wilderness lodge looks delicious! I'll have to try it on my next trip

 

[vettegirl]

That magic bar looks really good, a little birdy told me they have unlimited magic bars on the CL at the WL. I may need to check that out one of these days. Wow SM with the lights on, I would not want to see that, as it kills the magic for me.

 

[Adgie128]

Really great reviews! Thanks for sharing them with us.

 

[hogwartsdropout]

Still loving your reviews. Unfortunately I had the same service issue when I ate at Flying Fish, it put me off from going back. Good to know the carrot cake cookie is available at Villains in Vogue too!

 

[EvilQueenT]

I'm glad that I decided upon having dinner at Flying Fish for the evening because well I was beat. Not getting much sleep the night before, the long travel day, it was taking it's toll, and I don't think I could've dealt with having to jump through hoops to get to certain restaurants. I could see Flying Fish from my balcony, and most likely could've yelled down to the lady at the podium to check in.

Let's just say this review is where things started to decline in terms of my overall experience. I never dined at Flying Fish before, so it was all new to me going in.

I was seated promptly shortly after arriving, which was a good thing because inside the Village Green courtyard they were playing Frozen on the big screen, and it just got to the Let it Go number and it was pretty much cat nip for kids and out of nowhere it was a giant offkey singalong.

Also I apologize in advance for the pictures, I wasn't exhausted and didn't want to carry around my DSLR at this time of night, so make due with mediocre cell phone pictures.

The Menu;

This was the only thing I had for nearly 15 minutes, no one came over to my table at all. I tried flagging down anyone that came near but no one saw my attempts to garner some sort of attention. My server finally arrived, with no apology, not a simple "How are you tonight?", "Have you dined with us before?" or anything. It was "Are you ready? What do you want?"

Mozzarella di Bufala alla Caprese
Florida Yellow Beefsteak, UgliRipe and Tiny Tomatoes, Aged Balsamico, Exotic Peppercorns, Petite Basil, and Sicilian Olio Verde
​

I don't think I could put it into words how amazing this was. The tomatoes so juicy, exploding with flavor coupled with the salty mozzarella di Bufala, the sweetness of the aged Balsamic vinegar. What the picture doesn't show is exactly how much cheese you got. There was a ton of it, even after trying to take equal bites of everything at the same time.

Grilled Berkshire Pork Tenderloin
Wilted EpcotGreens, Wild Mushroom-Leek-Focaccia Knödel, Truffled Red Wine Sauce
​

The running joke tends to be, does Disney use anything that they grow inside the Land Pavilion, well according to this dish, the greens were grown in there, so take it for what it is. I sent this picture to my GF, and she couldn't believe it was pork, with the Red Wine Sauce it coated the pork in a deep red hue which made her think it was beef. Her other comment was what is the deal with the lawn clippings on top of the meat. I believe they were flash fried super thinly sliced potatoes, and sliced scallions. The pork was rested on a mushroom-leek-focaccia knodel, which to my knowledge is pretty much a bread/potato dumpling, more or less in this case a savory bread pudding. How did I like it?

I liked it! I liked it a lot!

The outer char on the pork had a rich smoky flavor, the truffled red wine sauce added some earthiness to the dish, which was compounded with the knodel. All the flavors were on point, and everything was cooked perfectly to specification.

It was a great meal, it was just a shame that the service was pretty much non-existent. My server didn't even bring me either dish, and didn't check on me until I was finished with the pork. It was another food runner who saw I didn't have bread, and asked "Did I want any?" and if so he'd gladly go get me a basket. It wasn't a particular busy night in there either, there were plenty of vacant tables, and it was pretty late in the evening, so I didn't understand why my server was so sparsely seen.

I skipped on dessert because nothing really caught my eye and decided to walk a bit further down and pick something up at the Boardwalk Bakery to enjoy in my room for later.

Sad to hear you had bad service...although it can certainly happen anywhere on our 4 trips to flying fish one of the things we've always been able to say was that the service we experienced was as wonderful as the food was. It's one of our favorites.

 

[jedijill]

Great reviews! Glad you escaped the snow.

Jill in CO

 

[Dentam]

LOVE your photos and reviews! Look forward to reading more!

 

[peteykirch]

LOVE your photos and reviews! Look forward to reading more!

Thanks for the compliments

Great reviews! Glad you escaped the snow.

Jill in CO

Yeah I got really lucky with the timing of my vacation

Sad to hear you had bad service...although it can certainly happen anywhere on our 4 trips to flying fish one of the things we've always been able to say was that the service we experienced was as wonderful as the food was. It's one of our favorites.

I really enjoyed the food, I was just disappointed with the service, sad to say it wasn't the only place I experienced pretty lousy service.

Still loving your reviews. Unfortunately I had the same service issue when I ate at Flying Fish, it put me off from going back. Good to know the carrot cake cookie is available at Villains in Vogue too!

The only places I had really bad service prior to this trip was Rose & Crown, and 'Ohana. R&C my entree showed up before my appetizer, and my server was MIA. At 'Ohana we went over 30 minutes from time we got our apps and sides prior to the first skewer made it to the table. They didn't continue the skewers where they finished, they went back to the beginning of the rotation.

Really great reviews! Thanks for sharing them with us.

Thanks again

That bar from wilderness lodge looks delicious! I'll have to try it on my next trip

It is, but don't try eating the entire thing in one shot.

Your photos are great thanks for posting

Thanks again, I'm glad other people are enjoying this.

That carrot cake cookie sandwich looks delish...does it have raisins in it though? Not a fan. The magic bar looked awesome too.

Honestly I don't remember, even if it did it didn't seem like there was that many in there, you could easily pick the raisins out.

 

[peteykirch]

So, in the evening I made my way back to the Contemporary for supper at The California Grill. This is hands down perhaps my favorite restaurant in all of Disney World. I never had a bad meal here foodwise, but service has been pretty spotty. The first time I ate here, I felt like royalty, the second time like a pauper in the back of the room, so I was hoping the third would revert back to good service...

Well, it didn't. Once again and two nights in a row the service I experienced at dinner was well below par, and I tried to find ways to rationalize it, but in the end there really was no excuse.

Some random pictures;

I was seated as soon as the sun made it's escape below the horizon across The Seven Seas Lagoon behind The Grand Floridian.

Now I can't remember how things are normally here, but I was seated only with the wine/cocktail menu, no regular menu. I don't drink so other than reading what's on the menu it was no interest of me. I sat at my table for 10 minutes before my service finally showed up with the food menu for me. Now this was pretty much 20 minutes into dinner service, and the place was still pretty much empty. There's no reason why there should be that much of a lapse in terms of greeting your tables.

I knew the one thing that I had to have, as I was waiting well over 2 years for it.

Pork Belly Nigri
House-cured Pork, Bacon and Yuzu Rice, Spicy Teriyaki
​

I'm not usually a fan of sushi, and I know this really isn't real sushi persay, but this is perhaps one of the best things I ever put in my mouth. The salty pork belly, the sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce, and just a hint of wasabi on top to clear out the sinuses. Each piece is the perfect mouthful, it's the only way to eat it. If you're eating sushi in more than one bite, then you're doing it wrong.

Normally I'd also get the Crispy Rock Shrimp salad which has been a menu staple for years it seems, but I wanted to get something different, so I tried;

Three-Meat Signature Meatballs
Piquillo Pepper and Parmesan Grits, Eggplant Pipérade, Tiny Basil
​

These were added to the menu after the California Grill reopened with the oak burning ovens in their kitchen. I had no idea what I was going to get, the menu says meatballs, so I had no clue how big they were going to be, or how many I'd receive. Well, I got 5 slightly larger than golfball meatballs, rested on top of a bed of grits that were intertwined with parmesan and piquillo peppers. I had to look up what a piperade is, apparently it's a Spanish dish prepared with onions, peppers, and sauted with tomatoes, the colors are supposed to represent the Spanish flag, this version also included eggplant into the mix. The one thing that made me nervous was the fact the meatballs had a deep rich char on them, and made me wonder how moist could they be inside, but don't worry these were flavorful, juicy, and bursting with flavor.

Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Rich Vanilla Custard, Caramelized Turbinado Sugar, and California Strawberries
​

I was told this was the signature dessert of the California Grill, and it was the only thing that really sounded delicious to me. The last time I was here they had this amazing Fall Flavor dessert sampler that featured heirloom apples.

I didn't have creme brulee until recently, but I'm quickly becoming a huge fan. This one had it all, the creamy, thick, custardy insides with the crunchy outer shell.

Now, while the food was amazing, it was just disappointing again to get substandard service. I'm not expecting to be waited upon like I'm royalty, but it would be nice to have my server check in periodically, ask me how my food is, if there is anything that I need or could want. Part of me can't be upset because I saw my server really going all out for the table next to me which was a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and if anyone should be treated like they own the place it's them.

Some random pictures from one of the observation decks atop the California Grill.

 

[Dentam]

Great photos once again! Love the one of the sunset over the Grand! I wonder if substandard service is a common downfall of dining solo?

 

[KathyM2]

Sorry to hear about the sub-par service. Food looked good though as did the view.

 

[vettegirl]

That is a shame about the service! We had bad service at the Yachtsman in December. Your sushi rolls looks and sounds amazing!! The creme brûlée looks excellent as well. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Adgie128]

Gorgeous sunset and evening MK shots! Your menu choices look great. I haven't really gotten into creme brulee either, but that one looks yummy and perfectly prepared.

 

[jedijill]

Its a shame that your service was so bad. I've had consistently bad service my last 2-3 trips both as a solo and in a group. It's a shame since the food is so good. I love that pork belly nigiri!

Jill in CO

 

[eeyore45]

What a great report! Thank you for taking the time to post the awesome pictures, you have such a great eye, and that must be some camera - - I usually only bother with my cell phone camera, but I'm thinking I should rethink that!

Also, you seem to have made some choices that we're considering for our trip - which is what drew me in to your report, the pictures and your descriptions have a lot to offer! Its been so long since we've been, I can't wait to try the German Karmel, and the French Sandwich also is now on the list! But I love you took the time to post pictures from the Boardwalk Bakery - there is a long Cake thread and people talk about getting a cake from the bakery, and you did get a few cakes in your pictures - but there are so many choices there! Why get one cake when there are so many choices! Thank you for posting!

 

[RogueKnits]

Part of me can't be upset because I saw my server really going all out for the table next to me which was a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and if anyone should be treated like they own the place it's them.

See, I disagree. While yes, someone celebrating a special occasion merits special treatment, that should not in any way diminish the quality of service for the waiter's other tables. I have to wonder if the poor service was due to you dining alone and not being a drinker (and therefore less tip for the waiter)? It's highly unprofessional, but I can't think of any other reason why a server would treat you so differently from one of his other tables.