Mmmmmmm....5 Nights with Shameless Pics! *Updated with California Grill!

[west&east]

Hello to my fellow Disney Foodies!

Inspired by Nicki and Todd's Dining Reviews, I am submitting my first dining report!!

My family spent 5 nights (1/21-1/26) at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Club Level. We are two adults who appreciate good food and adult beverages, and are willing to pay for it. DD9 (aka Minnie) is developing quite the varied palate, but DS5 (aka Baloo) generally still prefers a hamburger or mac and cheese. Minnie and I are writing a Mommy/ Daughter Trip Report, but I thought it would be best for the restaurant readers to have a separate dining review. We were not any dining plan. I was quite brazen with my camera, so lots of food porn to come.

Here is where we ate (I will link to each review as I post it):

Boma Dinner
AKL Concierge Lounge Evening Indulgences
AKL Concierge Lounge Breakfast
ABC Commissary at Hollywood Studios
Biergarten Dinner (Epcot)
Special Treat from France (can you guess?)
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe (Magic Kingdom)
Main Street Confectionary treats
AKL Concierge Lounge twilight offerings
California Grill (adults only dinner!)
Snacks from France and Germany
Chef Mickey Dinner
Sunrise Safari Breakfast at Pizzafari (Animal Kingdom)
Boma Dinner Again!
Boma Breakfast!
Plaza Ice Cream Parlor

 

[KatMark]

I'm in and anxious to read.

 

[2ScottishPrincesses]

Sounds fab, can't wait

 

[danalee]

i'm ready

 

[west&east]

We arrived at AKL at about 7:30 and had ADRs for 7:55. I wasn't sure if we would be hungry for Boma after traveling, and as a backup planned on getting something quicker at Mara. The rumbly in my tumbly started as we checked in, and DH and I agreed to try Boma. For those of you who have never been, check-in for Boma is in the main lobby, just to the right of the main entrance if you are facing the lobby doors from inside the lobby. We checked in just about 7:55 or 8pm and were handed a pager. We explored the lobby a bit, watched the "Primal Parade" and within minutes, the pager spoke to us telling us our table was ready! We headed down the stairs and were seated toward the back of the restaurant on the carving station side.

To start our trip off right, I had to order Glow-Tini! It was fruity, cold, and went down smooth. Yum. DH had a couple of the African beers and was happy. DD had regular lemonade which she enjoyed (she can be picky about her lemonade) and DS was happy with a Sprite. Now the food!

Boma has a tremendous, flavorful and unique selection. If you are inside the restaurant facing the buffet, it may appear that it "starts" to the right with the carving stations and "finishes" to the far left where the desserts are. I think many people felt compelled to line up on the far right, starting with the meats, but this was not necessary and resulted in a bit of a slow line for that station. So, I encourage you to explore the various areas before you eat. You will find the soups, salads, and dips are in the middle.


I started off with some flatbread, pita bread, and the various dips. I seem to have missed taking a picture of them, but I believe they are the same every night: sundried tomato, black olive, and white bean hummus. These were all yummy but not mindblowing.


The soups were a tremendous hit! This picture does not show them off too well (I was just getting the feel for taking food pics, but it does show you the choices they had that night, a Wednesday):

DD, DH, and I especially loved the Coconut Curry Chicken Stew. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I made it at home two days after we got home! It has such a delicious flavor. Anybody want to guess what the secret unnamed ingredient is? DD also enjoyed the Carrot Ginger soup. In fact, she made soup along with fresh fruit the main part of her meal!

Here are the salad offerings from Wednesday evening:

DD also enjoyed the mango vinagrette on her mixed greens. I thought the pasta salad was quite nice with a mild curry flavor. I didn't take a picture of the fresh fruit section, but there was pineapple, watermelon, honeydew, and cantelope. May have been grapes and other items as well.

Next post will be the main entrees and sides!

 

[DisneyDancin7]

bring it on!

 

[msce2]

Very nice start! Can't wait to see more!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Wow this is going to be an awesome report! Cannot wait to hear about Cali Grill!

 

[west&east]

Baloo (DS5) doesn't do well eating late dinner and filled up on Sprite, so he didn't eat too much. DH fixed him a plate with a lot of experimental items, but he only picked at most of it and ate some fruit and some mac and cheese. Here is a picture of the child-friendly hot items (the far right contains Penne Pasta and Meatballs):

If you start at the far right wall, facing the buffet, you will first find these items:

Can I tell you how much I loved these green beans? They were just so, so good. I know, how excited can you get about green beans, but they were delicious. Still on the crisp side and full of flavor. The potatoes were good, but didn't say "more." I didn't try the rice.

Next is the carving station. Wednesday was rib night. They also served the strip sirloin which is the replacement for prime rib. After reading many reviews on the DIS, I was psyched to see the ribs. In my opinion, they were not that super. They were good, nothing wrong with them, but they didn't make me drool or dream of more the next day. On the other hand, the sirloin was actually excellent. DH and I agreed that it is actually better than prime rib! Not as much fat but still tender with an excellent texture. The flavor was delicious and the sauces were yummy. We really liked the Boma Mustard sauce and both went back for seconds of the beef with the Boma sauce. I have also looked up the recipe for this sauce and can't wait to make it. The tamarind BBQ sauce was also quite yummy. So for any readers who were disappointed about the prime rib change, please keep an open mind. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Here is a picture of the next section of the buffet, to the left of the carving station:

The mealie bread is sort of a cornbread. The nut crusted salmon was pleasant and I did not try the chicken.

The next area contains a variety of interesting options:

The falafel is served with a yogurt mustard sauce. I liked the sauce better than the falafel. I think the falafel was a bit overcooked. I have had awesome falafel in New York City and in Israel and this didn't come close. I was a bit disappointed as I was looking forward to some good falafel with pita, but oh well. I enjoyed the coconut rice, but never did get to try the other items that evening (but don't worry because we returned to Boma on Sunday night!)

Next- how many desserts can you put on one plate??

 

[Joie29]

Fantastic start! We really want to try Boma on a future trip--looks terrific.

Can't wait to read more

 

[tallpkb]

Sub'ing....I'm in too!!

 

[mmmears]

Great start to your dining thread -- I can't wait to read (and see) more!

 

[aceys_h0ney]

Great start I am in ! Cannot wait to read the rest.

 

[west&east]

Boma has a beautiful selection of desserts from the cookies...

to the cobbler and bread pudding...

and the other assorted goodies...

Here is the plate I prepared for myself:

Starting at the top of the plate and moving clockwise: Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake, Banana Bread Pudding with vanilla sauce (a rum sauce was also available), Cocomisu, Zebra Dome, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Chocolate Mousse.

Wow, what I would give to have that plate right now as I drink my coffee. (Wait a minute, I just completed my first sculpting class of 2009 and that would defeat the purpose!)

All the desserts were delicious, but a few were real standouts. The Zebra Dome was delicious and unique. For those of you who have never tried one, it is a round of a yellow cake topped with a spiked chocolate mousse and then covered with white chocolate and chocolate stripes. This probably would have been my favorite had I not also tried the Cocomisu. I am finding that most tiramisu served at restaurants is lackluster. The cocomisu was positively delicious and the coconut provided a fresh twist on a dessert that is getting tired. I hope to find the recipe for this one. The bannana bread pudding was warm and comforting. And the chocolate chip cookie should not be underestimated. It was baked perfectly- a bit crisp on the outside but soft on the inside. Had I thought about it, I might have slipped a few of these in my bag for later!

I also tried the flourless chocolate cake and found it uninspiring. I might have been more excited by the chocolate mousse had it been the only dessert but it paled in comparison to the other choices. DH disagreed and had a huge serving of the mousse! DD loved the zebra domes, the cookies, the brownies, the mousse (yes, I let my kids try 5 or 6 desserts!) while DS stuck with the flourless chocolate cake and the cookies. We all left Boma happy and satisfied.

We had prompt service at Boma. Our drinks were refilled and our plates cleared regularly. The only drawback was the line that forms by the "first" station, the carving station. This was actually worse on Sunday night when our ADR was much earlier. The flavors of Boma are definitely exciting to my palate and may be new to some diners (curries, tamarind, couscous, various beans and lentils), but no dish would be considered spicy hot. The coconut curry chicken stew has a slight kick at the back of the throat, but even my 9 year old daughter enjoyed it. I imagine that most readers who take the time to read this type of review will enjoy and appreciate Boma. There will be a bit more Boma to come when I write about our 2nd dinner there (yes, we liked it that much), and Boma breakfast.

 

[Joie29]

Those desserts look incredibly yummy...makes me want to eat at Boma even more!

What a fun start to your trip

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I'm in! You went to some great places!

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on!

 

[natalielongstaff]

Wow ! those boma pics have me salivating

 

[Beauties n the Beast]

Sounds and looks tasty so far - can't wait to read and see more!!

 

[west&east]

One would think that after a late dinner at Boma, we wouldn't need another thing. But the AKL Concierge Lounge was calling. While I tucked the kids in bed, DH went up and returned with some after dinner drinks, a brandy for him and Bailey's for me. The children were fast asleep as we relaxed on our bed sipping our cordials. No pictures, but throughout the week, we enjoyed cordials and small dessert treats including Zebra Domes, Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake, flourless chocolate cake, and cookies. The kids were able to enjoy delicious African Smoothie, milk, chocolate milk, or apple juice.