Niki's Nightly Nom Nom's, A culinary trip report

[Niki Andiokno]

Hi all. This is my second food report. I keep trying to convince my DH to allow me to take food photos. Alas, he is shy and would be way too embarrassed if I took photos of our food. He even gets embarressed when I take photos of him, LOL. I am very descriptive, especially when it comes to food. So I hope that my verbal descriptions of the Yummy Yummy food we ate will make up for it.

Here is the cast of characters:

Niki - I LOVE food! All kinds of food. I cook and eat all different types of nommys. I am known as the dessert lady for my chocolate grand marnier souflee, bread pudding and cheesecakes. Dessert is my favorite part of the meal. My favorite meals are fish and seafood. Previously my favorite restaurant was Flying Fish. That has changed from this trip, as I tried a new place that is just heavenly. But more on that later.

DH - Shy boy. He also LOVES food. He is Filipino, so his love of food is cultural. He also prefers fish and seafood, but he loves him some good steak as well. Of course, being Filipino he is a big pork fan, too. Dessert is an important part of every meal to this man. His favorite is O'Hana.

Our vacation style includes lotsa food and drink. We like the lowliest of dive diners, and the fanciest of signature restaurants. Unless there is a shortage of great restaurants, we don't typically cook on vacation. I cook at home all the time. I want someone else to serve me when I am away.

DGB - DH's golfing buddy. He seems pretty adventurous. A meat and potatoes kinda guy. He does all the cooking at home, as his wife doesn't cook. Really likes breakfast.

DGBW - Golfing buddy's wife. She says she doesn't like food. (Although her figure belies this statement.) She only eats plain things. Doesn't care much for meat or chocolate. She doesn't understand my twisted relationship with all things edible and good. Was really looking forward to me cooking, as she appreciates the way I cook. Not understand the concept that Niki doesn't cook on vacation in Florida.

DGBS - Although this was originally supposed to be an adult only vacation, we were informed that the golfing buddy's son was coming along a couple of weeks before we left. Due to this suprise, we had to nix the DDP (too expensive, as they needed a $175 per person budget for the week ) and re-work all of the ADR's for 5 people.

Well, this did not turn out to be the vacation we had planned. Our friends ended up going their own way to cater to their son's desires on vacation. DH and I had a nice time trying new places and having alot more alone time than we had expected. It turned out to be a great thing for our dining plans, as DH and I were no longer stuck to the $175 per person week budget. While our buddies at at CiCi's pizza (which they absolutely LOVE) and burning DGBW's attempts at cooking in our SSR 2BR Villa (smoky room all week), DH and I at at the following places:

Pollo Campero
Kimono's
Fulton's Crab House
Maggiano's Little Italy (family style w/ friends)
LBV golf course beer cart
Sand Trap
Il Mulino
Jake's American Bar
Captain Cooke's
O'Hana
Olivia's Cafe

It is a bit late now, and I have to work tomorrow, so I will start in with the actual reports tomorrow. Night all.

 

[ChefMickey123]

I'm subscribing. I want to hear about your restaurants bc I did not get to eat at very many from your list.

Tell your hubby not to worry. Many of the diners and probably all of the staff are used to people snapping plate pictures.

Have fun writing.

 

[mandibc11]

Sounds like you guys had a great trip - I can't wait to read all about it!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

joining in

 

[sophie832]

I'm definitely in, since you have a lot of restaurants that don't seem to have a lot of reviews. Nothing against kids, but I'm glad you and DH had the adults-only dining experience you originally planned on, even if the restaurant choices might have ended up differently.

 

[crazycatlady]

I'm on-board and excited to start reading your reviews.

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Hi all. Nice to have some subscribers, even though I don't have photos. Next time.

Since I am doing this on my Ifon it will be a short one. We ended up leaving a couple days late, so we drove overnight from Chicago and arrived at Downtown Disney about 1:30. We were starved. I headed right to Earl of Sandwich only to find a HUGE line. DH did not want to battle the line, as he had driven the last leg in a big line of traffic. I thought Ah Ha! Let's try the new chicken place. Off we went to Pollo Campero!

This is a new place where McDonalds used to be. You couldn't recognize it as Micky D's. The vaguely southwestern decor is very comfortable and relaxing. Just what we needed. And only one person in line. It is set up almost like cafateria style. There is a big glass case where you can pick out hour chicken and sides. DH and I both had quarter chicken and a side. The chicken was really well seasoned, but bit too spicy. I think I detected some chili powder and cumin in the seasoning. Very light though. The pieces were rather small. The guy ahead of us was really complaining. DH didn't say anything, but ends ip gettin an extra wing in his platter by suprise. I think because he joked with the server that the complainer should know better than be crabby at the happiest place on earth.

For sides, I ordered beans and rice. DH ordered fried plantains. The sides were the best suprise. The beans were nice and tender with just the right amount of thick sauce. I like stuff spicey, so the toppings bar called my name. Several types of salsa and hot peppers were available. Great for a chicken place. The plantains were awesome. A big serving! Nice thick slices. Sweet, not starchy. Caramelized the way perfectly ripe plantains should be. We loved them. dH wished he had not said we would split our respective sides. Next time I won't be so lucky.

Overall this was a good fast food place. Don't look for a huge meal, but just enough.DH thought it was a little overpriced but not bad. This will be a great place if we ever DDP again!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

I made a mistake. I DID NOT mean the chicken was too spicey. It was NOT too spicey. Forget I ever said that. I meant to say it was not too spicey. In fact That phrase will NEVER EVER EVER be in my vocabulary. For me, if my ears aren't turning red it is not hot enough.

Pollo Campero was not hot spicey. It had just enough spice to make it flavorful.

Sorry about mu misstatement.

 

[TigerKat]

I made a mistake. I DID NOT mean the chicken was too spicey. It was NOT too spicey. Forget I ever said that. I meant to say it was not too spicey. In fact That phrase will NEVER EVER EVER be in my vocabulary. For me, if my ears aren't turning red it is not hot enough.

Pollo Campero was not hot spicey. It had just enough spice to make it flavorful.

Sorry about mu misstatement.

You sound like me, too spicy doesn't exist!!!!!!!!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Finally getting back to the food report.

ESPN - this is not really a dining experience, but I think it is worth mentioning. We are HUGE Chicago Bears fans. Anytime we are in the World for a game, this is where we go. It is always packed, though. For the first time, we found tables set up outside! Two big TV screens were outside within site of the tables. Smoking was permitted, making DH very happy. We could go into ESPN, get a beer or food and watch the game. I even saw people bringing stuff from the Bakery here to eat and watch. I grabbed a brew and sat outside to watch da Bears kick Eagles butt.

So our friends were supposed to meet us at the Boardwalk after they finished their round of golf to watch the game. We had ressies to go to Boma for dinner after the game. Our buddies said they couldn't find the entrance to BWV, even though they had driven past the resort. They decided it was not worth it to go. They said they would meet us at dinner, and how much? I pulled it up online to find out the price and found that Boma had gone up to almost $50 per person once tip is added. That did not fit into their budget, so they decided that McDonalds was more their speed. I was NOT NOT NOT doing Micky D's in Orlando. So:

Kimono's- We decided to take a nice walk to Kimono's. We love sushi and have heard this is where the Japanese convention tourists go. I can see why. When we entered, there were only about three tables filled. All with Japanese people dressed in business casual clothing. The place was a little dark, as any good bar should be. There were tables with half booths, as well as comfy couches and chairs set up around tables. There was also an actual bar area. It was very peaceful and quiet. The waitstaff was extremely nice.

DH ordered some Miso soup. He really seemed to like it. I am not a miso soup fan, so I can't say. We shared an order of chicken satay. This was really good. The chicken was moist and well spiced. The peanut sauce was thinner than most with a great soy base. I really liked this, as a heavy peanut sauce would have overpowered the nice spice on the satay. On to the sushi, the best part of the meal. We had grouper, which was very fresh and sweet. I wanted more than the 2 pieces you get. We also got a Spicy Rainbow Roll (spicy tuna, fish and avocado) and Banzai roll (eel spicy tuna and avocado). I know these two sound a bit alike, but the taste was totally different. One of them, I think the Banzai roll, had a great spicy sauce on the outside. The Rainbow roll had an alternating piece of white fish and red fish on the outside, making the rainbow. Not sure what kind of fish, but one tasted like tuna. All were very good. Well rolled. Lotsa fish. Just the right amount of rice to hold it together without hijacking the fish flavor.

Another great tip. You can often get Restaurant.com certificates for this restaurant. I was able to snag $25 gift certificates for $2. Just in case the whole budget dining didn't work for us, I got a couple before leaving home. One for here and one for Il Mulino. Both places can be a bit over-priced, but with the certificates this was an excellent deal.

Kimono's Bar and Grill is a great adult upscale bar. It was a nice respite from the crazy-ness that can be WDW at times. The sushi was fresh. The staff was very accommodating. Overall a really good experience. I can't wait to get back here.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Monday was our first golf day, so we played at Lake Buena Vista. Since we were tired from our trip the night before, we slept in a bit and missed breakfast at Artist's Pallette as planned. Our friends had gone grocery shopping before we got there, since they didn't know for certain when we were going to be there. They got some microwave breakfast bowls and toaster struedels. They gave DH a breakfast bowl, but I was not into it. I held out for lunch.

While playing at LBV, I started feeling like I was running outta fuel. What do ya know, the beer cart came up. For $7, I got a turkey wrap that had turkey, cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato and a little mayo. This was very good for a beer cart. Nice and fresh. The wrap was flavored and not soggy. It was so big, DH shared it with me and we were good until dinner. DGB got a 1/4 lb. hot dog. I have had these before. Good dog, but nothing different than at Sam's Club Cafe but at 3 times the price. DGBW got some chips and candy. She doesn't like food, ya know.

I was suprised at how good the sandwiches were from the cart. Not bad for the $7 price tag. Especially when you are a captive audience and you didn't pack a lunch.

 

[TigerKat]

We're looking forward to trying Kimono's for the first time in May, sounds great!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Monday night we had decided to venture offsite to get some decent eats at a budget price. We love Maggiano's Little Italy in Chicago, so we went to the one in Orlando. This was our second trip here, and it didn't disappoint. Our friends almost missed out by begging out. Their son was bugging them for CiCi's Pizza. DGBW wasn't sure she would like anything there, especially since we would be spending $25 per person for family style. Fortunately for us all (you need 4 person minimum for family style) their daughter loves Maggiano's in Chicago as well. It is her favorite restaurant. When she heard they were giving up on Maggiano's family style meal, she was baffled. She convinced Mom and Brother they would find lotsa great food. SHE WAS RIGHT!

Maggiano's is on I-Drive near the Convention Center. You miss the I-Drive traffic. There are several other nice chain restaurants in this little mall area like Capital Grill and B.B. King's Blues House. Parking is validated at the restaurant, and provided in an adjacent parking garage. Maggiano's is a basic Italian restaurant with a big bar, laid back feel, checkerboard table cloths and large booths. The five of us were seated here at a great big booth.

I started out with a raspberry martini, then moved on to a lemon drop martini and ended with a cosmo. Don't worry. We were there for hours. DH had Terrazas Malbec. He really likes this nice bold red. DGB had a nice Sam Adams. He said they had a nice selection of beer. DGBW and DSon had a Coke. I almost made a boo boo. When Jr. asked for a sip of my raspberry, I said OK and started to hand it to him. Since he works as a barback at a Tilted Kilt, I assumed he was 21. He has a couple more months to go. OOPS Mama set me straight with a little hissy. I was a bit embarassed, but WTH. I didn't mean to almost contribute to the delinquency of a minor. If he wasn't 21, he shouldn't have asked. Especially in front of Mama.

When ordering family style, you choose two appetizers, two salads, two pastas, two entrees and two desserts. There are many great things to choose from. They keep bringing out as much as you want to eat. Anything left uneaten can be taken home as leftovers.

We started off with fried onion strings, fried calimari, chopped salad and ceasar salad. The fried onions were super crispy thin onion strings. Just plain onion rings. The calimari was great. Nice and crispy outside. It was not chewy, but soft and sweet inside. Served with a nice marinara sauce for dipping. It had both rings and tentacles. DSon tried it and liked it, even though he was afraid he would not. Go adventure kid. The chopped salad is a favorite of mine. Nice chopped lettuce, bacon, blue cheese (I pick off cuz of an allergy) avocado and tomato in a house vinegarette. Yummo. The ceasar salad was pretty typical with one exception. The stand out feature is the large shavings of romano cheese on type. Really distinguishes it from your ordinary salad. Oh, and the bread was good too. It came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping rather than the typical cheese. Everyone liked this. DGBW liked the onion strings only. She guarded them with her life so she could take them home and put them on burgers she wanted to cook later in the week, LOL.

For pastas we ordered my favorite Rigatoni D' with Chicken and Mushroom Marsala and Spaghetti and Meatballs (only thing DGBW would eat, or so she thought.) For entrees we ordered grilled salmon with lemon and herbs and sauteed pork tenderloin. This was all really good. The spaghetti was good with large meatballs. A bit of filler in the meatballs, but I am picky about my balls as I make my own from scratch at home. I know, I am spoiled. Gotta love the marinara sauce, though. Wonderful. Rigatoni D' is the ONLY white sauce on pasta I like. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff. It is tender chicken, sweet onions and whole button mushrooms in a marsala cream sauce served with rigatoni. The MOST awesome pasta ever. Creamy, not cheesy. The wine adds a really nice flavor to the mushrooms. NOMMY NOMMY NOMMY! Everyone liked this stuff. What's not to like, huh?

The entrees were really great, too. The salmon is very citrus tasting, served on a bed of sauteed spinach. This is really good. Nice and refreshing. Not fishy as salmon can be at times. Other than my own salmon, and Boma, this is the only one I will eat. And I will eat and eat and eat it. Yummy. This is the first time I tried the pork tenderloin. Really good. Nice tender pieces of pork loin lightly floured and sauteed in butter with other spices. Just brown enough to give some good texture but not be dry or chewy. Not oily at all, even though sauteed. Fork tender. The sauce was sparce, but it didn't need it. I will get this again.

As if we had not already consumed enough food and liquor, we got dessert. None of them were certain what they wanted, or what they would even like. So I took it upon myself to order my favorites. Again, my meal so it is all about me. I chose Apple Crostada and Creme Brulee. They were all a bit hit. The apple crostada is sooo goood! Nice big apple slices enclosed in a home made crust packet and served with vanilla ice cream with a bit of cinnamon in it. This is one great dessert. DSon ate an entire one, so we had to order another, then another. Our eyes were a little big for our bellies, so we barely got into the third one. Luckily we could take it with us, though that was not our intent. We also ate the creme brulee. It was very firm with a perfectly caramelized sugar top. Everyone loved this as well. Our waiter said he wouldn't suggest it when I ordered it, and I found that strange. He said he didn't like it himself, but he is not a big custard fan. I politely told him I wanted it anyway, much to the dismay of my buddies. They were all very glad I did.

Afterwards, about ready to hurl, we rolled ourselves outta there. We had to pick up a couple of those dutch chocolate mints on our way out, though.

This is a WONDERFUL VALUE at $25 per person. We ate way too much, and had plenty of leftovers to take home even though we did not get but one extra Rigatoni D' and extra desserts. If you can get off site, this is a must do.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

thanks for the update, we love Kimonos. We went there for one night b/c our son wanted to snack on a california and edemame. The next night we asked him where he wants to eat and he said he wants to go back to Kimonos and have edemame, miso soup and california roll. My husband and I loved it...we had sake and a few rolls. The 2 nights we were there it was crowded with kids and our son loved it and of course my husband and I had a relaxing dinner there too.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Pooh - I can't believe Kimono's was packed. We have walked by several times, and each time it has been very quiet. Well, except for the one time years ago and we could hear kareoke. Not sure if they still do that.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

The next day, our friends took their son to look at a flight school about an hour away. That left us alone again for lunch. It seems like this was the vacation we spent at DTD. I don't think I have ever spent this much time at DTD.

While downtown, we started looking for a place for lunch. I had a taste for fish. We thought of hitting the CS by Raglan Rd. Once I saw how expensive the entrees were, I figured there was not that much difference between a CS and a TS lunch. So we decided on Fultons. I know, it seems alot more expensive than the CS, but not really. Lunch is very nicely priced there. A nice suprise.

We sat down to an almost empty restaurant. The waitress was very attentive, but not overbearing. She was from Chicago, like us. She said she was very happy to be in Florida when it is so cold back home. We agreed. Shortly after we arrived, we received a plate of crab and boursin dip with crackers. This was really good. They even put the recipe with the dip. A nice little starter. Then came bread. DH liked the dip on the bread better. I liked the crackers better.

DH ordered the Seafood Cobb salad. This was fabulous. The dressing was nice and sweet with a bit over tangy tartness to it, if that is possible. There was plenty of seafood on it. I know alot of people really like the Cobb at HBD, but this totally blows HBD away.

I ordered the fish soft tacos. The fish was flavorful Mahi Mahi. Large pieces of flaky goodness filled these little babies. I think I got four. DH had one, as they were really filling. The fish had a hint of lime to whatever seasoning or marinade was on it. This was sooo goood.

We had stayed away from Fultons for a few years, doing DDP or just not going. I really can't remember why. I now remember why we used to love this place so much. I will definately return.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Forgot to add that our friends ate at Cici's Pizza on their way back from the school. I guess it is just down the street from Crossroads strip mall area. They just love this place. They said it had really good selection of pizza, as well as some pasta and dessert. For the price they can't beat it. I have never eaten at Cici's in Orlando, only in Chicago suburbs. I do not mean to dis Cici's in any way, as many people love it. I am spoiled, being from Chi-town. To me, pizza is not pizza without a spicy tomato sauce like Pete Sinagra of Uncle Pete's pizzaria in Chicagoland. He lives near me and has his shop near me. Even Emeril Lagasse says his pizza is da Best. Who can fight with Emeril, right? Anyway, Cici's does not stack up IMHO. If you want a really cheap filling meal, and if you aren't spoiled by Uncle Pete's, you will probably love this as much as my friends do.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Alright. Next I am on to the first of many burned meals in my villa. The place smelled the rest of the week, as DGBW decided to learn to cook on vacation. OY! We had planned to golf at Osprey Ridge today. I love this course and will greatly miss it once the Four Seasons takes over. I just hope I don't lose my DVC discount. So she had purchased one of those pre-seasoned pot roasts in a bag meant for a slow cooker. Since we didn't have a slow cooker, she decided to put it in the oven before we left for golf and leave it in there all day while Jr. was at home. I noticed that she had the oven at 350 degrees. As we would be gone about 5 hours, I mentioned that might be a bit too high. If she really wanted to cook like a slow cooker, she would have to lower the temp to around 200 or 225 at most. She didn't want to, saying Jr. will take it out if it is done while we are gone. Her DH said to go ahead. I change the temp and head out. We golf and lunch at the Sand Trap. We come back to a smoke filled room, with Jr. watching TV in the 2nd bedroom! I just couldn't understand, as I had turned it down. Low and behold, it was back to 375 this time. Odd how that happened. Well, they must be used to burned food, as we all ate in the room. DH and I ate our leftovers from Maggiano's and they supplemented the leftovers with the burned roast that they thought was pretty darned good. All I can say is that no smoking room I have ever been to could hold a candle to this smokey mess. And we couldn't leave the windows open, as early on I had mentioned that SSR may have snakes so we don't want to leave the sliding door open. Now I wished I had not mentioned that. I could have dealt with a snake better.

Luckily, we had a pretty decent lunch at the Sand Trap Bar & Grill. This is the bar at the Osprey Ridge golf course clubhouse. This used to be a full service sit down place. I don't think it is like this anymore. But we just got our sandwiches to go. I had a tuna salad. It was pretty different, as it had roasted peppers and cheese on it. The multi-grain bread it came on was really good. DH had a turkey sandwich, which suprised me as he isn't a big turkey fan. Lordy, twice in one week. Must be Disney turkey is better than mine. His sandwich was on like ciabotta bread, or focaccia or something like that. I don't remember. Sorry. I just remember it was Italian type bread that was really hearty. It was good as well. Had really fresh veggies on it. I thought the mayo was kinda flavored, but couldn't place it.

This is a nice place to catch lunch. If not on the DDP the sandwiches are a bit expensive, but worth it. It would be an awesome value for CS on the DDP if you have a car and want to take a ride.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Pooh - I can't believe Kimono's was packed. We have walked by several times, and each time it has been very quiet. Well, except for the one time years ago and we could hear kareoke. Not sure if they still do that.

The first night we got there it was half full but by the time we were leaving almost all the tables were full...Kareoke started as we were finishing and my son loved it...he wanted to stay longer but it was our arrival day and I was tried and we did not unpack anything yet. The next night when we got there around 6, we got a table but it was almost full. I like the place and the food too was good.