Chef Lance took us to the meat (?) selections first, which is where
everyone was lined up. They were blocking all the non-meat selections, just to get to the meat! Gross. Anyway.. haha. He decided we would go over that section last, so we walked over to the salads:
I'm about 95% sure all the dressings here were vegan. We had a choice of Balsamic Vinegarette, Chile Cilantro Vinegarette, Mango Vinegarette, and Apple Vinegarette.
Vegan Items: Kokonut Rice, Roasted Vegetables, and Cous Cous Marakesh
Vegan Items: Avocado-Grapefruit-Papaya Salad, Tunisian Cous Cous Salad, Pita Bread
Vegan Items: Watermelon Rind Salad
Vegan Items: Black Olive Hummus (both of the other varieties contained cheese)
Vegan Items: Geelrys Rice(?), Potatoes with Afritude, Tofu and Green Bean Curry, Falafel (You can see Chef Lance in the background of this picture!) Lance didn't mention the falafel when he went over all the items, so I asked and he said they were fine.
My first plate: Pita bread, cous cous Marakesh, roasted vegetables, kokonut rice, Tunisian cous cous salad, avocado-grapefruit-papaya salad, and a dollop of black olive hummus.
The pita bread and hummus were nothing special. I *loved* the roased vegetables
with the kokonut rice. This is going to sound weird, but the kokonut rice almost tasted like popcorn. I guess it's because they use coconut oil on popcorn so much these days? The Tunisian cous cous salad wasn't my favorite, and I didn't like the Avocado-grapefuit-papaya salad at all. I don't like grapefuit, so that explains that
I loved the Cous Cous Marakesh, because this was the same cous cous dish I had at Tusker House! YUM!
Jon's first plate: Mixed field greens with apple vinegarette, Tunisian cous cous salad, pita bread with either sundried tomato or white bean hummus (can't remember), kokonut rice, fufu, and (I think) Pap and Chaka Laka (whatever that is).
He liked the apple vinegarete and the hummus. I don't think he liked the kokonut rice. He said the fufu was similar to sweet potatoes. I can't remember what he thought about the cous cous or that last dish (I can't even remember what was in it)
The meat line finally went down after we finished our first plates, so we were able to make it to the non-meat section over in that area on our second trip.
My second plate: Geelrys rice (?), mealie bread, cous cous Marakesh, falafel, tofu and green bean curry, potatoes with afritude.
I didn't like the rice. The mealie bread.. OMG. It was so good. It was a sweet, moist cornbread. I was so suprised and happy when Lance said it was vegan! Yum, yum, yum! The falafel was
really good. The curry wasn't very flavorful, so I didn't like it. I did like the potatoes, though!
(Edited to say that upon looking at recipes posted online, both the falafel and mealie bread appear to have eggs in them. The cornbread recipe also shows milk as an ingredient. This contradicts what I was told by the chef, so I'm not sure if the recipes have changed or if the ones posted online are the same as what they actually use
)
Jon's second plate: Macaroni and cheese, falafel with yogurt-mustard sauce, Geelrys rice, fufu, roasted vegetables.
He always loves mac-n-cheese. He liked the falafel. I don't think he liked the rice. He obviously must have liked the fufu, since he got more. And I think he enjoyed the roasted vegetables.
After our second plates, Jon decided to get a plate of fruit. He was determined not to miss out on all the fresh fruit at this buffet, so he made sure to save some room this time
Jon's fruit plate: Pineapple, watermelon, strawberries, grapes.
While he was munching healthily on a plate of fresh fruit, I decided to get another plate of all my favorites..
My third plate: Roasted vegetabels, kokonut rice, falafel, mealie bread, and cous cous Marakesh.
Best. Plate. Ever.
Chef Lance had mentioned that he could get me some Tofutti (or Rice Dream) ice cream when checked in on us during our meal. So I asked our server about it, and he said he would get some. I asked for chocolate, but when our server came back he said they were pretty much out of chocolate, so this is what I got:
It was fine. I just ate all the chocolate that was there, and Jon ate the rest of the vanilla.
Jon wanted to go back and get a few more small desserts, so I went up with him.
**There are no vegan items in the following buffet pictures:
Jon's dessert plate: Fruit tarts, chocolate mouse crunch, pineapple upside-down cheesecake, and a piece of watermelon rind salad (which I put on there!)
He loved it all. I only ate the watermelon rind salad. It was good, but much too ginger-y. I liked it, but I couldn't have eaten more than that.
After our meal, we headed back upstairs to the lobby. Then we walked outside to take a peek at some of the animals. We witnessed some vicious bird fights. We also saw zebras and kudus. It was a lot of fun.
After we left, we went back to Epcot and walked around The Seas. The manatees were sleeping, but, oh, they were so cute. We rode Soarin', watched Illuminations from Canada, and called it a night.
Verdict: Boma is a must-do on future trips! I don't think I could ever pass it up again. It was so good, and there was so much variety. The atmosphere was lovely, and it was really nice to be able to check out the resort for the first time.
Coming Up: Restaurantasaurous, Dinoland frozen treat cart, Cantina de San Angel, Sunshine Seasons
And an awesome one, at that!!
We have Boma and Tusker House (1st time for both) on our ADR list for Nov, I'm so excited!!! Thanks again!
I was so freakin' excited! We jumped back in line for pictures, and Jon got in this time.
