Not the Hardest to Please: An Aug 2011 Dining Report!-- Uptd Artist Point!

[butiflfeet]

I can't wait for our Rose and Crown reservation now! Great pics keep em coming

 

[klacey1]

Thanks for the positive responses, everyone! I can't believe I haven't updated this in so long!

Our first full day was spent at the Magic Kingdom. Around 11:00, we got hungry and decided to stop for lunch. Looking for a variety of choices, Cosmic Rays was the winner!

I went with the rotisserie chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes:

There were many things I couldn't believe about this meal-- one of which was the portion size! For families that do the QSDP, or just use their CS credits during dinner, Cosmic Rays is a great choice. I didn't come close to finishing this.
The other surprise was the quality of the food! I love rotisserie chicken, and this was as good as any other one that I've had. It was juicy with a nicely seasoned skin. The potatoes and beans both had a garlic flavor that wasn't too overpowering-- just right. I love smashed potatoes and these had the perfect texture-- creamy potatoes against the roughness of the skin. I prefer my beans on the crunchy side, so I thought they were cooked perfectly. Anyone who likes softer veggies may not be a fan.

Zach had the ribs with the same sides:

He also loved this. He prefers meaty, dry-rub ribs, which is exactly what these were. They had little fat and a great smoky flavor. He agreed that the mashed potatoes and beans were above-par for CS sides.

I forgot to grab a picture, but we both got the chocolate cake as a side. We were both shocked at the quality of this as well-- it had the taste of boxed mix/canned frosting, which neither of us mind. It was moist and fudgy! We're usually not dessert eaters at lunch, but both of us ate about half of our cakes-- they were that good!
We both give Cosmic Rays a 5/5. We'll definitely be returning!

 

[kmedina]

That chicken looks good.

 

[vettegirl]

Wow that chicken at CR looks good

 

[librarygeek]

I'm with you, I'm pretty easy to please! It takes a lot to give me food that I don't like We never did get to Cosmic Rays, but I wish we had because that chicken looks amazing!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I finally made it over! I am loving the dining report so far. Cosmic Rays looks yummy! We tried to eat there on the honeymoon, but it was raining that night and was packed, so we had to go somewhere else. I am hoping to go sometime in the future after reading your update, though!

 

[klacey1]

That chicken looks good.

It was so good!

Wow that chicken at CR looks good

It was!

I'm with you, I'm pretty easy to please! It takes a lot to give me food that I don't like We never did get to Cosmic Rays, but I wish we had because that chicken looks amazing!

Cosmic Rays is definitely a must do for us from now on!

joining in

Welcome!

I finally made it over! I am loving the dining report so far. Cosmic Rays looks yummy! We tried to eat there on the honeymoon, but it was raining that night and was packed, so we had to go somewhere else. I am hoping to go sometime in the future after reading your update, though!

Hi Courtney! Definitely try to go your next trip-- it was great!

 

[klacey1]

Our next food adventure was at the Coral Reef! We waited about twenty minutes past our ADR time, but it was totally worth it, as we had the best seats in the house! I had been worried that we'd be overtaken by kids and people getting a look at the tank, but fortunately, no one invaded our space.

What was kind of annoying was this guy sitting behind us. This is copied directly from my TR, but I'm including it because it kind of affected the beginning of our mea. (well, not really. I just chose to let it temporarily agitate me) It seems we had come in on the tail end of what had been a bad dinner for this guy and his family. The father kept loudly griping to his two kids that the meal cost $180 and he could have bought them an iPod for that much.(I didn't really understand the correlation there.) Their waiter (who would be ours as well) was clearly very nervous when he brought their check and told the man that they had taken his entree off the bill. The guy just grabbed the check and shoved some money in without saying thank you. We did hear him say that he was tipping $20. For a $180 meal. The wife grabbed the bill and looked like she was trying to put more money in, to which he fiercely told her to stop and that “I tip well for good food. This wasn't good food—a couple of appetizers and drinks for $180 is ridiculous.”

I was glad to see them leave-- the guy just seemed like such a jerk. What he was saying really bothered me. First of all, you tip for service, not for whether you feel like you're receiving good value for your food. Secondly, it shouldn't have been a surprise that your meal was expensive if you got some appetizers and drinks. That stuff adds up and hello-- the prices are on the menu! You weren't getting a surprise bill!

I do love the atmosphere of the Coral Reef-- I think it's romantic at the same time of being fun for kids. Sitting near the tank was fun, but we've sat far away too, and it's just as nice. The lighting is really calming and I love the drink goblets.

We started out with some nice hot dinner rolls. These were pretty typical frozen, Pilsbury-style rolls, but they were hot and filing and did the job.

Zach stuck with what he ordered last time-- the NY strip. Last trip, they had these delicious mini roasted potatoes, which were awesome. Unfortunately for Zach, they replaced them with horseradish mashed potatoes. He hates horseradish and decided to sub french fries:

Sorry the picture is blurry! He really enjoyed the steak-- it wasn't fatty and was cooked exactly to order. The fries were perfectly normal-- hot and crispy. If we ever return (won't be for awhile), he would order this again.
On the other hand-- I would NOT order my meal, the salmon again. I subbed the jasmine rice for the horseradish mashed potatoes.

The salmon was flaky and well cooked on the inside, but the outside was way too crispy. The glaze (whatever it was) was incredibly sweet. I'm not a fan of sweet with savory (probably why I didn't like Ohana), and this just didn't taste good. The potatoes were beyond gross, though. The horseradish had this weird flavor-- I like horseradish, so it wasn't just a taste preference thing. Something was just...odd. Also, the texture was awful. They were whipped to the point of soupiness-- the taste of potato wasn't even discernible, they were so thin. Yuck.
Dessert was only slightly better. We both ordered the chocolate wave.

We agreed that the cake part was good, but neither of us like white chocolate, so the lava center wasn't that great. The accompanying raspberries and raspberry sorbet were refreshing and went well with the cake.
Overall, this meal was just okay. I pretty much only liked the bread and part of the dessert, so I have to give it a 2. Zach did like his entree, so he puts it at a 3. Still, we agreed there are many other places in the World we want to try before returning here. We won't be back for awhile.

 

[rachel09985]

Wow your mashed potatoes are horrible!!!! They are sooooo flat, Coral Reef should be embarassed to serve those like that, they should have at least put them in the bowl!

Shame on the man sitting by you. some people are SO rude to workers in customer service. Working in a restaurant really makes you bitter!!

I feel the same way about Coral Reef, It was just "eh". I would go back again just to give it another shot but if that didn't work out I would not go back again.

 

[librarygeek]

It looks like we had the same (or a very similar) table at Coral Reef! It was a great view and I had read that people had issues with children coming up at their table to see the tank, but we didn't have any problems like that at all.

The steak and fries look good, and I think I would like the salmon (because I do like sweet with savory), but those potatoes are just sad looking. Just from the picture you can tell how thin they are. Unfortunate.

 

[kmedina]

I find the Coral Reef underwhelming. Slow and unsatisfactory service with cold and untasty food. If we ever venture back over there, I will have to try that chocolate wave. It looks amazing. We have never complained at any restaurant and found that people seem to do it more at Disney than elsewhere when we eat out. Sorry it affected your meal.

A complainer at the Brown Derby was really rude and time consuming for our waitress causing us to almost miss out on our Fantasmic package. The poor waitress could not stop shaking long enough to compose herself. I wanted to give her a hug. Those people do not care that their bad behvaior affects other people.

 

[ShesAPirate]

Good reviews so far. I'm looking forward to more!

 

[mouser_momof2]

Your review of Coral Reef has me re-thinking our ADR... hmmm.

You're doing great on the TR!

 

[klacey1]

Wow your mashed potatoes are horrible!!!! They are sooooo flat, Coral Reef should be embarassed to serve those like that, they should have at least put them in the bowl!

Shame on the man sitting by you. some people are SO rude to workers in customer service. Working in a restaurant really makes you bitter!!

I feel the same way about Coral Reef, It was just "eh". I would go back again just to give it another shot but if that didn't work out I would not go back again.

They were just awful! Potatoes shouldn't look flat like that!

It looks like we had the same (or a very similar) table at Coral Reef! It was a great view and I had read that people had issues with children coming up at their table to see the tank, but we didn't have any problems like that at all.

The steak and fries look good, and I think I would like the salmon (because I do like sweet with savory), but those potatoes are just sad looking. Just from the picture you can tell how thin they are. Unfortunate.

Yeah, I think the glaze on the salmon was more a preference thing (me not liking sweet glazes), but the potatoes were just gross!

I find the Coral Reef underwhelming. Slow and unsatisfactory service with cold and untasty food. If we ever venture back over there, I will have to try that chocolate wave. It looks amazing. We have never complained at any restaurant and found that people seem to do it more at Disney than elsewhere when we eat out. Sorry it affected your meal.

A complainer at the Brown Derby was really rude and time consuming for our waitress causing us to almost miss out on our Fantasmic package. The poor waitress could not stop shaking long enough to compose herself. I wanted to give her a hug. Those people do not care that their bad behvaior affects other people.

I feel terrible for your waitress at the Brown Derby! I can never understand how people can be so rude to others-- especially someone serving them!

Good reviews so far. I'm looking forward to more!

Thanks!

Your review of Coral Reef has me re-thinking our ADR... hmmm.

You're doing great on the TR!

We had a great experience in 2009, so don't judge your ADR on just my experience this year! From reading other dining reviews, though, it does seem to be a hit or miss place.

 

[klacey1]

No pictures in this update, sorry, but to make up for it, I posted two today. See my Pizza Planet one below!

Writer's Stop: I love how much more relaxed this place is than Starring Rolls! The couches make it cozy and I love the books (I work in publishing).
Zach used snack credits to get an espresso and chocolate-chip muffin. Both were excellent, but the muffin was huge. We easily could have split it! He gives them both a 5.
I used credits to get a milk and the carrot cake cookie.
I thought the milk was a bit small, but I guess it usually is children who usually get it! The cookie, which is really a whoopie pie, was yummy, but had a couple of large chunks of carrot that weren't shredded finely enough. Those bites weren't that great. Those minor flaws in mind, I have to give this snack a 4, but I would obviously get both again!

 

[klacey1]

Pizza Planet: This is the only CS we go to in DHS. The pizza is always dependable and I love the atmosphere. Even at 2:30, however, the lines were ridiculously long. After waiting 20 minutes with Zach, I went off to save us a two top. 10 minutes later, he came back with our food. We both got the pepperoni pizza with Caesar salad and large sodas.
Zach doesn't like salad, so I had planned on eating his as well, but after a few bites of mine, I was done. The dressing had zero flavor, so I was basically eating wet lettuce. No thanks!

The pizza was slightly oversauced for my taste, but I prefer VERY little sauce and extra cheese. This is more of a nit-picky thing on my part, because Zach, who likes a normal amount of sauce, thought it was perfect. I hate pizza where the cheese isn't perfectly melted and prefer it slightly browned, which this was. So yummy!
We skipped dessert. Both of us give this meal a 4.5. It'll always be where we go in DHS!

 

[librarygeek]

I'm with you on the pizza, I don't like much sauce - in fact I'm a big fan of white pizza Too bad your salads weren't that good - I was not expecting much when I tried the salad that came with the pizza here and I was impressed at how much I liked it! Must depend on who's preparing it or something.

 

[kmedina]

The carrot cake cookie sounds delicious. Sorry the pizza was not as good as it looked. I do not like it oversaused either.

 

[Liza111577]

Was looking forward to pizza planet next trip, but not so much anymore....