No Longer coming to you Live from Disney World! Take 3 DDW'S TAMBU LOUNGE 8/6

[jabead]

And then there were four...


Sadly the California Grill review was Linda's last from her December trip. However, she has another trip to the World coming up in a couple of months so hopefully we will be seeing more dining reviews from Linda soon.


And since my Crew's Cup review was our last one from Thursday, it's now time to begin our Friday, December 13th reviews. I think at this point we were beginning to suffer a bit from food overload, since between the four of us we will only have 6 meals to review from Friday. But on the bright side, all six are from restaurants that haven't been reviewed by anyone previously in our joint dining report.

So any guesses as to what those 6 might be??? Oh, and no cheating for those of you who are already in the know.

 

[wilma-bride]

So any guesses as to what those 6 might be??? Oh, and no cheating for those of you who are already in the know.

I have no idea

But did I get the location of the beer goggles right?

 

[emmysmommy]

Brenda's Captain's Grille Breakfast...​

The first of the 6 Friday reviews are starting with my breakfast...

We had plans to get together with our friends Dean and Linda this morning at YC’s Captain’s Grille. Despite our initial visit to this place in 2010 that was less than stellar, I decided to give it another try a few trips later and it completely redeemed itself. We now try to make it here for breakfast every trip. If you are looking for a great non-character breakfast outside the parks, this is a great option.

Captain’s Grille offers both a full breakfast buffet as well as an a la carte menu. Check out the dark chocolate waffle with a dried cherry compote on the menu and tell me that doesn't sound good to you chocolate lovers? This morning no one was interested in indulging in the buffet so I didn’t venture over there to get any photos. In fact, I don’t have a lot of photos from this breakfast.

Group photo before in the YC lobby:

Menu photos:

Em decided to try something new and ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes. You are not reading this incorrectly… I passed over the Mickey waffle for …. the two egg breakfast that includes the savory hash browns and bacon or sausage. I substituted fruit for the breakfast meat. I know, what a shocker that I didn’t order a waffle or French toast!

Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes with Blueberry Compote, Lemon Curd, and Savory Hash Browns

I have no clue what Em thought of these pancakes but they sure look good!

Tailored Eggs: Two Eggs, Savory Hash Browns, and fresh fruit and a Biscuit

This was a great breakfast choice! Especially the biscuit. I can’t recall the last time that I had a biscuit so I was glad they served that with the breakfast rather than a boring toast option. Although no doubt if you wanted plain old toast is available.

I’m glad that this is a great breakfast option in the Epcot area. In fact, we'll be there in about 4 weeks with Barb!
​

 

[smile4stamps]

Can you ask Em what she thought of those pancakes?!? Those are exactly what have caught my eye and I will be ordering if I can drag my butt out of bed that morning!!

 

[jabead]

Can you ask Em what she thought of those pancakes?!? Those are exactly what have caught my eye and I will be ordering if I can drag my butt out of bed that morning!!

Me too, Paula!! I've had my eye on those pancakes ever since someone reviewed them for the live thread. Actually, I think it might have been DeeDee?!?!

 

[buzz1121]

Barb, you have a stellar memory!

Yes, I did indeed have the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote on our anniversary trip. And they were so good! You probably recall that I like lemon curd. The small amount they typically put on top of the first pancake just didn't do it for me so I asked for an additional amount. Our server brought me a medium sized condiment container full of it.

The ricotta adds a creamy smoothness to the pancakes. And the lemon curd here is pleasantly tart without being overpowering, just tart enough for some zip

I specifically just bought lemon curd and a lemon/blackberry mix to try to recreate these pancakes this coming weekend. If they turn out well, maybe I'll post a picture.

Well worth trying ladies and well worth getting up for in my opinion Paula!

I'm trying my best to squeeze this in for our upcoming trip, but it's a challenge with so many very good breakfast spots. And with Kouzzina closing in September, I have to get DH back there once more. And juggling the berry croissant pudding which is a must do for me at Sunshine Seasons.......I have food dilemmas ladies!

 

[smile4stamps]

Barb, you have a stellar memory!

Yes, I did indeed have the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote on our anniversary trip. And they were so good! You probably recall that I like lemon curd. The small amount they typically put on top of the first pancake just didn't do it for me so I asked for an additional amount. Our server brought me a medium sized condiment container full of it.

The ricotta adds a creamy smoothness to the pancakes. And the lemon curd here is pleasantly tart without being overpowering, just tart enough for some zip

I specifically just bought lemon curd and a lemon/blackberry mix to try to recreate these pancakes this coming weekend. If they turn out well, maybe I'll post a picture.

Well worth trying ladies and well worth getting up for in my opinion Paula!

I'm trying my best to squeeze this in for our upcoming trip, but it's a challenge with so many very good breakfast spots. And with Kouzzina closing in September, I have to get DH back there once more. And juggling the berry croissant pudding which is a must do for me at Sunshine Seasons.......I have food dilemmas ladies!

DeeDee... we ALL have food dilemmas! Have you seen my PTR? Most of it is about food!!

 

[Linda67]

I really like the sound of those pancakes as well
Hoping one of you will order them in May and report back

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Linda, you've got me drooling over your cocktail from CG.

 

[buzz1121]

DeeDee... we ALL have food dilemmas! Have you seen my PTR? Most of it is about food!!

I have checked out your PTR, but I have been very bad and not posted yet. I will remedy that very soon. And yes, your food planning does make me feel a little more "normal". It takes a foodie to understand there are so many conflicting/competing criteria for selecting any given dining choice on a trip. There are the favorites, the yet to try, the "interesting", the experience, etc.

I can not wait to see and hear the details about the upcoming reunion trip!

 

[buzz1121]

I'm afraid we had a very lackluster breakfast, just bars and Pop Tarts in the room, but never fear, this would be the only time this happened during the trip.

After having good luck riding everything we wanted, including TSMM three times, we were all ready for lunch. Lunch is a "must do" for the kids every trip. They particularly love that their ages are advanced significantly to allow them to DRIVE THE VEHICLE!!

On the sixth day of our Christmas trip, our family chose to eat...Lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In.


The kids absolutely love Sci-Fi, from the drive in old B movie clips, sitting in the front seat, and receiving honorary driver's licenses, this location is just a magnet to kids. I will add that neither of the older kids have ever found the movie clips to be scary. Mileage may vary for younger children, but my own kids have seemed to intuitively understood the campiness of the clips.

For his lunch, DS chose the kid's popcorn chicken and fries.





He was kind enough to share a few pieces of chicken with his baby sister as he had a little something in mind for dessert. He said that the chicken bites were very good. I could tell they did have more meat than breading which was a plus. He always likes the fries at Sci-Fi so those were a win as well.


DD went with the kid's mac and cheese.






DD is a fan of WDW's mac and cheese. She did only receive about three fries so I did give DS and DD most of my french fries as you will see from my food photo in just a minute.


DH chose the Reuben sandwich with fries.




DH's "go tos" at Sci-Fi are the Reuben or the burger. He said that his sandwich was very good, quite possibly his best sandwich experience at Sci-Fi to date.


I chose a Bacon Cheeseburger with Cheddar Cheese and french fries.





This picture is not the best as it looks like a giant bun. I can assure you that there was plenty of meat in the burger. I usually leave a portion of this meal on my plate as it is a lot of beef. My burger was very good, but to me the best part of the meal was the fries. They were perfect, hot, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Yummy!


We have had good luck at Sci-Fi asking for a milkshake to be split between DS and DD. Our server in December did comment to us that they are not really supposed to do this, but he told us he would bend the rules for us. We have requested this several times in the past with no issue at all, so I'm not sure if this was just our server on this particular visit or truly a guideline.





This is half of the shake, which is plenty for the kids. They each had a glass with this amount. The flavor was cookies and cream. I tasted a sip of DD's and it was very good. In fact, I wish DH and I had gone with a milkshake as well.


We went with the "Out of This World" Caramel Turtle Cheesecake.





Don't get me wrong, this was a good dessert. There wasn't anything wrong with it, the cheesecake had a good flavor and there was plenty of caramel sauce and whipped cream. But the milkshake was just a little bit better.

After lunch we shopped around the park a little and then headed back to WL for a little R&R.

We had plans ahead to partake in our third Italian meal of the trip.

 

[jabead]

This was the last day at Disney World for Emily and me and the plan was to spend it shopping and eating at Downtown Disney until it was time to head back to the Wilderness Lodge for our ME pickup at 4:30. During our May 2012 trip, we had had breakfast at Wolfgang Puck Express and Emily had the breakfast pizza and loved it.

Smoked Bacon Pizza with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar cheese and Ranch Dressing


So per her request, the plan was to get up early, pack up our stuff, and take a bus to DTD sometime during WPE's breakfast hours of 9:00 - 11:00. But sadly, things did not go quite as planned. Emily of course had a hard time getting up so we were later getting to the bus stopped than I had hoped...but we still would have made it if there had actually been a DTD bus come during the 15 - 20 minutes that we waited. Not being able to wait any longer, I was yet again forced to take a cab. This driver though was great and tried his very best to get us there on time, but was unable to stop in the area close to WPE. He got as close as he could though and I sent the girls running ahead to the restaurant, as we had only about 5 minutes before breakfast would be over. Well, they got lost and I ended up beating them in the door...but it was a little after 11:00 by then and we could no longer get breakfast food. Once the girls arrived we discussed our options for lunch and decided that since we were already there, we might as well stay.


And so, our lunch (not breakfast ) on our final day was at...





The menu for the breakfast that we wanted to have here...





And then the lunch/dinner menu...









I thought Emily would order a pizza but she surprised me and had the...




Macaroni & Cheese - A creamy blend of four cheeses baked with macaroni. - $11.00



She liked this but commented that she likes the mac & cheese at Panera better.




Unfortunately I'm not really sure what her friend ordered and I've been unable to find my receipt. So I'm going to have to guess and say that she got the...





Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich???



...though it kind of looks like a Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwich, however I don't see that on their menu. Does anyone recognize this sandwich?



Anyway, I do know what I had...



Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf with Port Wine Sauce and topped with Crispy Onion Rings served with Mashed Potatoes - $15.00


I had wanted to try the meatloaf here for quite some time, as the photos of this that I'd received for the live thread had always looked really good. Sadly though IMO it wasn't as good as it looks. The meatloaf itself was pretty good but I didn't care for the port wine sauce. So I think the next time that I don't make it in time for breakfast at WPE, I'll give something else a try. My only other visit to WPE was for lunch and we all had pizzas, which everyone enjoyed. So I might just stick with that next time, whenever that might be.


We didn't have any dessert here because we had somewhere else in mind for dessert. But I'll save that for my final review. ​

 

[Couchy]

Barb- I love the BBQ chicken pizza at WPE. It is so good

 

[emmysmommy]

Can you ask Em what she thought of those pancakes?!? Those are exactly what have caught my eye and I will be ordering if I can drag my butt out of bed that morning!!

Em says that if you love lemon curd you will love these pancakes. She liked them but they were not her favorite breakfast of the trip. I think DeeDee had a better take on these.

Barb, you have a stellar memory!

Yes, I did indeed have the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote on our anniversary trip. And they were so good! You probably recall that I like lemon curd. The small amount they typically put on top of the first pancake just didn't do it for me so I asked for an additional amount. Our server brought me a medium sized condiment container full of it.

The ricotta adds a creamy smoothness to the pancakes. And the lemon curd here is pleasantly tart without being overpowering, just tart enough for some zip

I specifically just bought lemon curd and a lemon/blackberry mix to try to recreate these pancakes this coming weekend. If they turn out well, maybe I'll post a picture.

Well worth trying ladies and well worth getting up for in my opinion Paula!

I'm trying my best to squeeze this in for our upcoming trip, but it's a challenge with so many very good breakfast spots. And with Kouzzina closing in September, I have to get DH back there once more. And juggling the berry croissant pudding which is a must do for me at Sunshine Seasons.......I have food dilemmas ladies!

I LOVE lemon curd so I may have to give these pancakes a try. Thanks for providing your feedback on these.

Barb: Too bad breakfast at WPE didn't work out. That is one meal there that I try to work into our plans each trip but it hasn't worked out yet.

 

[emmysmommy]

Brenda's Shula's Dinner Review on Friday December 13, 2013​

Dinner tonight was with Beth and her husband Wil at Shula's Steakhouse. We had made plans to reunite for dinner the day before so I was glad to not only spend more time with Beth but to meet her husband as well. And better yet, we were dining at one of my absolute favorite steakhouses in all of .... anywhere! Not just WDW.

This was the second time that we were dining at Shula's. Our first visit was last summer when we fell in love with everything about our dining experience - especially those steaks! I'm not a big football fan, in case anyone was curious. ha ha! No? Ok.... Although the overtly themed Miami Dolphins decor isn't my "thing" it is still a beautiful restaurant with the crisp white linens and dark wood paneled walls with low lighting. And by low lighting I mean pull out your flashlight to read the menu lighting.

Em and I arrived at the Dolphin Hotel by taxi. There was some bizarre issue with the credit card machine that wouldn't allow the transaction to go through. The taxi driver blamed the porte-cochere at first with interfering with the wireless transmission. Okaaayyyyy. I texted Beth to let her know that we were delayed since we had taxi issues. I ended up paying cash just so we could get out of there but you know I was thinking de ja vu Barb!!! What is it with Orlando taxis?

So we met up with Wil and Beth in the lobby and made introductions before heading upstairs to the restaurant.

I asked if we were able to be seated in John and Mario's section. They were our server team last time and were awesome! We were in luck tonight and they were able to accommodate my request.

We had our drink orders taken. I can't find my receipt but I ordered some unknown vintage glass of cabernet.

Em ordered a raspberry-sage tea that she had loved last time. However, they delivered a ginger-peach tea which she ended up liking even better.

Wine menu - apparently I was only interested in the reds!

Dinner menu:

They rolled the meat trolley over to the table so we could behold all of the amazing plastic wrapped meat samples. The cuts of meat run from, "ok, I think I can eat that" to "Good Lord! What are you thinking!"

We placed our orders.... Em went with the 16-oz New York Strip steak while I went off menu with the petite 8-oz filet that is a smaller size that is served with the surf & turf.

We were started with the amazing sourdough bread. This is bread perfection!

Em and I started with the Shula's house salad which we split. It was a perfect start to the meal. Between that and the bread we were off to a great start.

A side of creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes - delightful!

NY Strip Steak - $49

8-oz Filet with Bearnaise Sauce

Ohhhhh man! We discovered that Shula's was not just a one meal wonder. These steaks were just as amazing as last time. They were carne perfection! They have you check the done-ness of the steak while the server hovers over you with their little light. Our steaks were cooked perfectly so we had no complaints. Like last time, when we used our steak knife to cut into the meat it glides through it like butter. Perfectly tender.

I have no idea what happened but my steak disappeared! Gone. Poof. Strange I tell you.

Dessert was served compliments of our wait team. The chocolate lave cake must be ordered ahead of time since it takes 20 minutes to bake. We were presented with this lovely creation....

The server dissected the cake so that the chocolaty "lava" part oozed out...

And then drizzled the vanilla sauce over the top for an appealing looking presentation.

For what I imagine any chocolate lover would think is an amazing dessert!

I believe between Beth, Wil and Em they didn't have any trouble finishing this.

Beth and Wil

This was a seriously spectacular meal - one of our favorites of the trip. I was especially glad that we were able to share it with Beth and Wil.

Group Photo

Brenda and Em with our wait team of Mario and John

I'm definitely looking forward to dining at Shula's in another month.

​

​

​

​

 

[auntfrannie]

Brenda, your Shula's dinner looks wonderful! They have sautéed spinach! No one ever has sautéed spinach! I love my spinach. Shula's is one of my last fine dining restaurants I have to experience. Maybe on my trip next year!

Barb, I agree with you on the WPE meatloaf. It was just too fancy for me with the wine sauce. Good thing WPE has so many other great options.

It's sad to think this thread will be ending soon!

 

[vettegirl]

Well I am glad I have never ordered the meatloaf at WPE, I agree stick to the pizzas

Brenda the meal at Shula's looks amazing. I wish they still had the restaurant.com certificate for that place, as I know it's $$$, but looks to be quite worth it.

 

[jabead]

Barb- I love the BBQ chicken pizza at WPE. It is so good

It's been 4 years since we had lunch at WPE, but I seem to recall that one of the three different pizzas that we tried there was the BBQ chicken one. I'm 100% sure though that we enjoyed all three!

Barb: Too bad breakfast at WPE didn't work out. That is one meal there that I try to work into our plans each trip but it hasn't worked out yet.

Yes, but at least I didn't have to make the difficult decision between getting the Breakfast Pocket that I had last time and really liked or trying the Corn Flake French Toast.

Brenda, your Shula's dinner looks wonderful! They have sautéed spinach! No one ever has sautéed spinach! I love my spinach. Shula's is one of my last fine dining restaurants I have to experience. Maybe on my trip next year!

Barb, I agree with you on the WPE meatloaf. It was just too fancy for me with the wine sauce. Good thing WPE has so many other great options.

It's sad to think this thread will be ending soon!

I seem to recall reading someone's review of the spinach at Shula's (maybe for the live thread???) and they loved it.

Though I'm generally not a fan of red wines, I usually don't mind a red wine sauce with steak so I thought I would be ok with this. But this port wine sauce was really strong and seemed to overpower instead of complement the meat and pretty much ruined the mashed potatoes for me.

Well I am glad I have never ordered the meatloaf at WPE, I agree stick to the pizzas

Brenda the meal at Shula's looks amazing. I wish they still had the restaurant.com certificate for that place, as I know it's $$$, but looks to be quite worth it.

I haven't been to Shula's since Nov. 2011, but it seems to me that they do take Tables in Wonderland for a 20% discount so that does help a little. Beth or Brenda can confirm this??


And speaking of my one and only visit to Shula's, my DH, DS, and I tried several things there. We had the Barbecue Stuffed Shrimp, French Onion Soup, Lobster Bisque, Hash Brown Potato Pancake (which doesn't seem to be on the menu anymore), Sautéed Mushrooms, and the Chocolate Souffle for dessert. Yes, way too much food, especially since my son also had a NY strip and my DH and I shared the 12 oz. filet. The odd thing about our experience though was that while we really liked all of the other food that we had, none of us were impressed by our steaks. Perhaps our expectations were too high going in, but nevertheless my DH said afterwards that he wouldn't ever return. He didn't feel like their steaks were worth $40+ and that was just for the steak, as everything is a la carte here. However, I have really been wanting to give this place another try. So when I found out that Brenda, Michael, Paula & Hunter were planning to have dinner there on the last night of my upcoming trip, I was thrilled when they invited me to tag along. In fact, I think I already know what I want to order...French Onion Soup to start (my favorite FO soup at WDW), the 8 oz. (off the menu) filet (thanks for that tip, Brenda! ), plus the sautéed mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes sides. Way too much food for just me, so I'm hoping to do some sharing. Also I will be very tempted to order the chocolate soufflé again for dessert, especially since you have to order it at the beginning of your meal when your stomach is still empty.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Barb, sorry you missed your breakfast at WPE. I've told my late sleeping family that I'm going to breakfast without them next trip. If they wake up and find me gone, I will have a happy full belly! Glad you're going to try Shula's again. Its been several years since I've eaten there, but I still say its in the top five best steaks I've ever eaten.

Brenda, amazing pictures of Shulas. It is so dark in there I am impressed you were able to get those great pictures.

And so glad to hear there's going to be another trip for you guys!

 

[Couchy]

Shula's.... ahhh Shula's
This place is amazing. We had eaten there once before several years ago and we were more than happy to be able to have dinner with Brenda and Em at Shula's

I started the meal off by checking out the wine list and ordering the Liberty School Cab that our server recommended(Brenda I believe you also had this.It is fantastic and I have since gone to my local wine store and have picked up a few bottles


Next came the wonderful sourdough bread. Usually I can control myself around bread, but not this bread. It is so very delish


I then ordered the Shula's House Salad. It was light and the perfect start to my meal

While the salad was good, it is not what I came for. I came for this



Filet, and one that melts in your mouth. Thanks to Brenda I knew I could order an 8 ounce filet that was not listed on the menu. That is much more reasonable for me to eat than the 12 ounce on the menu. It was delightful and my mouth is watering as I type.

Wil ordered the Ribeye


He loved it. I think he came close to finishing it. However, we were not done. Em told us how good the chocolate lava cake is here so we decided to split one between the three of us and I am glad we did. I was scrapping the plate


Dinner was a success and I could hardly waddle after it I was so full. I was glad to see Brenda and Em again Shula's is fantastic and they accept Tables In Wonderland which makes it even more appealing