Of course it's all about the food! 12 Days of DDP, loads of pics UPDATED 10/21!

[iluvpluto27]

Before heading out tonight we popped to Marthas Vineyard for a drink. We’d never visited here before but it was a nice quiet spot.
I had a key lime martini with a graham cracker crust. The bartender took a while to make this, it certainly had a strong lime flavour but was a little sweet for me.

I’d chosen California Grill for my dads birthday meal. We checked in 15 minutes early for our 7:45 ADR, and was shocked to be sat immediately (we’ve always had to wait at least 20 minutes in the past).

We were sat at a nice window table in the wine room, with good views over Bay Lake. It was much quieter in here than the main dining room, even with a party of 10 sat behind us.
Our server was friendly, and happy to sort out our complicated check. We didn’t have quite enough credits, so I’d decided we’d use two from each room tonight, and charge everything else to my room.

I had a glass of my favourite californian wine to drink, Conundrum while DH chose a red called Helix.

We love the sushi here so ordered the Tempura Seafood roll to start. This was very good, light tempura batter on the outside, filled with crab, shrimp, white fish and salmon tartar. The fish was very fresh, rice perfect, it was a little spicy for me but it was still amazing. The salmon tartar was my favourite part, so rich it was almost buttery. My mum won’t eat sushi but she tried a little piece of the salmon and agreed it was very good.

For my entree I got the Pork Tenderloin again, served with Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms and a Zinfandel Glaze. As usual this was incredible, the pork was cooked medium, pink in the middle and very tender. The polenta is one of my favourite dishes, it has a strong goats cheese flavour and is lovely on it’s own or with a bite of the pork.
After eating half the sushi I couldn’t quite finish this dish, but I made a good attempt.

DH chose Florida Red Snapper served with Fingerling Potatoes, Summer Pole Beans, Garlic Scapes and a Mustard Vinaigrette. He said the snapper was very well cooked and tasted great, the mustard vinaigrette was good with just the right amount of mustard flavour. He felt the potatoes and vegetables were a little bland, it wasn’t bad but certainly not his favourite entree of the trip.

My dad chose the Diver Scallops with Southern Sweet Corn Risotto and Spiced Tomato Broth. You only got three scallops but they were huge, he raved about this dish saying they were the best scallops he’d ever had.

My mum chose the Roasted Organic Chicken, with Sweet Corn Cake, Corn Purée, Petite Carrots, Chipotle Emulsion. She was hoping for something light with this dish but actually I think this was the biggest dish of the four! There was a lot of chicken, and she didn’t come close to finishing it. She enjoyed it but like DH, she didn’t think it was amazing.

Mum and I were full so passed on dessert, but the men both got a cheese plate. This is really good value on the DDP, as you don’t see many $20 desserts.
They both really enjoyed this, a lot of the cheeses were the same ones we’d sampled last year, Mt Tam, Humbolt Fog and Roaring Forties blue, but there were two others DH hadn’t tried before. There was a good selection of accompaniments including blackberry jelly, raisins, honey, nuts and fig.

Once we’d settled our bill it was around 8:55 so we headed to the observation deck. It was very busy so we couldn’t get a spot at the rail, but still managed to see most of Wishes which was a nice end to the meal.

 

[SweetSpot]

DH and I both chose the caramel apple egg roll for dessert.

I've never seen a picture of the apple cin egg roll and remember only a quick mention of it in a review. I saw this was on the menu a couple years ago and haven't had a chance to try it. I loved the McD's version years ago and understand that they removed it to prevent further lawsuits but I miss it. I haven't found a wrapper that creates the proper imitation so maybe this will be closer than my tries.


I chose the strawberry cupcake, as an aside I love the containers they put the cupcakes to go in here, it keeps them perfectly intact.

Every review lately mentions this cupcake and yours is the first who didn't love it. Thank you! I don't really care for cupcakes and felt like I needed to give it a try. You saved me the valuable calories

The potato casserole looks so good!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Sorry your strawberry cupcake was missing the filling.

As for Cali Grill, it looks like a very nice meal! The tempura seafood roll and scallops look absolutely fantastic.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Just joining in! All of your meals look excellent thus far! It may be because I expect Disney food to be excellent, but I must say I was impressed with the quality of your airline food! Does that make me a bad Diser? I hope not.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing!

 

[klacey1]

Subbing! I love your reviews! I've ready too many stories about Disney lovers bringing their families to the World and them HATING it, so I'm so glad your parents enjoyed themselves!!

 

[emmysmommy]

What a great restaurant to celebrate your dad's b-day at Cali Grill!! I always get the pork tenderloin but I am ready to expand my horizons next time.

I haven't seen the apple caramel egg roll at Lotus Blossom... now that I know about it I really want one! Especially if it is like the old crunchy McDonalds apple pies.

The CS breakfast at BC - is that from the BC Marketplace. I've not seen cheesy potatoes outside Akershus.

Looking forward to more!

 

[NorCalGal]

They both really enjoyed this, a lot of the cheeses were the same ones we’d sampled last year, Mt Tam, Humbolt Fog and Roaring Forties blue, but there were two others DH hadn’t tried before. There was a good selection of accompaniments including blackberry jelly, raisins, honey, nuts and fig.

Subbed to your trip report, and had to comment on this! I live in Humboldt County, and just picked up some Humboldt Fog at the grocery store yesterday!!!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Sorry your strawberry cupcake was missing the filling.

As for Cali Grill, it looks like a very nice meal! The tempura seafood roll and scallops look absolutely fantastic.

The sushi was amazing, definitely worth a try when you're next there.

Just joining in! All of your meals look excellent thus far! It may be because I expect Disney food to be excellent, but I must say I was impressed with the quality of your airline food! Does that make me a bad Diser? I hope not.

Thank you. Virgin give pretty good meals in their business class cabin.

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks

Subbing! I love your reviews! I've ready too many stories about Disney lovers bringing their families to the World and them HATING it, so I'm so glad your parents enjoyed themselves!!

Thanks. I know, I've read those sort of reports too and was dreading them just not getting it. As it happens they loved it, I'm just sad we can't afford to take them every year as we all had such a good time!

What a great restaurant to celebrate your dad's b-day at Cali Grill!! I always get the pork tenderloin but I am ready to expand my horizons next time.

I haven't seen the apple caramel egg roll at Lotus Blossom... now that I know about it I really want one! Especially if it is like the old crunchy McDonalds apple pies.

The CS breakfast at BC - is that from the BC Marketplace. I've not seen cheesy potatoes outside Akershus.

Looking forward to more!

That pork is just so good though, good luck tearing yourself away from it.

Lol at the egg rolls. It's been many years since I had their apple pie, but as soon as I had a bite of the egg roll it reminded me of McDonalds.

Yeah the potatoes were from BC Marketplace. It was a new breakfast option they just added in September, I liked them but DH hated them. I think that's just a personal taste thing though, as my dad ate them multiple times without complaint.

Subbed to your trip report, and had to comment on this! I live in Humboldt County, and just picked up some Humboldt Fog at the grocery store yesterday!!!

Thank you. I'm so jealous you can pick up Humboldt Fog any time you like!!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Today we had breakfast booked at Captains Grille. The restaurant was around half full and we were greeted quickly by our server and offered drinks. We all chose the buffet, and there was plenty of choice for everyone.

My mum had some oatmeal, then scrambled egg on toast. There’s no way she gets her moneys worth from a buffet but she enjoyed it.

My dad got a selection of savoury items and liked everything.
I had a piece of toast, sausage, frittata and french toast. It was all nice and hot, the french toast was my favourite, it was soft and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. By the way I didn’t use all that butter you see on the toast, that was just the size of the butter pats offered.

DH had scrambled egg, egg white frittata, a biscuit, potatoes and bread pudding. He enjoyed all of this.

For my second plate I got a piece of bread pudding (very good, dense, sweet with a good amount of raisins in it), a mickey waffle with blueberry compote (good but the waffle wasn’t that hot) and fresh fruit.

DH finished with a waffle and french toast. He agreed with me that the french toast was excellent.

We all enjoyed our breakfast here, it was quiet with good service and a really nice selection to choose from. I think this was the best breakfast of the trip for all of us.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We had no lunch today, but had a Fantasmic Package reservation at Brown Derby for 4pm. We arrived early and were seated immediately.
Brown Derby was very quiet, with only a few tables occupied. The weather was awful today with heavy rain that lasted around 4 hours so there may have been a lot of no shows.
We were sat in a booth and our server was excellent. She greeted us quickly, frequently refilled drinks, she was friendly and provided all round excellent service.

DH ordered a wine flight to drink. I think this was $12, they were small pours but I did like the detailed information they provided about each wine

I ordered the Margarita flight which was excellent value at $11. The flavours were classic, pomegranate and mango. I wasn’t too keen on the classic but really liked the other two.

Because we had the F package we were entitled to appetisers here. DH and I ordered the same thing, Feuilles de Brick Napoleon of Blue Affine - with wild mushroom duxelle, griled portobello, golden chanterelles, and a fig reduction. This was very good, layers of thin crispy pastry with a mushroom and blue cheese filling. The fig reduction was quite sweet but complemented the blue cheese perfectly.

My parents also chose the same appetiser, Lump Crab Spring Rolls, Snow Crab Claw, and an Asian Slaw with spicy Miso Aïo. I didn’t get to taste this but they both really enjoyed it, saying it was packed with crab meat which worked well with the sauce.

My mum and I chose Grilled Loch Duart Salmon brushed with a Ginger-SoyGlaze over Wheat Noodles with Julienned Vegetables, with a lemon grass broth. The dish was brought to the table ‘dry’, then the server poured the broth over it.
The salmon was beautifully cooked and the broth kept it nice and moist. The vegetables were nice, and the noodles were well cooked. I felt the only disappointment was the broth which really didn’t seem to have any flavour, therefore all it brought to the dish was moisture. We still both enjoyed this entree, and it wasn’t too big a portion for my mum.

DH had the Pan-seared Coriander-dusted Grouper, Haricot Verts, Goat Cheese, and Watermelon Salad with a Balsamic Reduction and Fennel Oil. I liked this when I stole a bite but DH wasn’t so keen. He enjoyed the fish, it was nicely cooked with a little bit of coriander flavour, but felt it didn’t work with the cold watermelon salad. It was quite an unusual combination but I thought it was quite refreshing.

My dad chose the Charred Filet of Beef over a Brentwood Corn and Pancetta Risotto, Arugula Pesto, and Pickled Rainbow Carrots. He loved this, saying it was one of the best steaks he’s had (this will become a repeating theme as these reviews continue). He cleared his plate completely much to our servers amusement.

For dessert I chose the Chocolate Three Ways Praline Milk Chocolate Cream,crunchy Ganache,and Orange-Chocolate Mousse. There was a strong orange flavour throughout this dessert, the mousse was nice as was the chocolate cream. My only criticism was it could have done with a bit more crunch in the ganache bottom layer, for a bit of contrast.

My mum and DH both chose the Creme brûlée. It was a pretty big portion but they both finished it.

My dad didn’t want his dessert but as it was included DH had two. His second choice was the Citrus Honey Nest filled with Candied Ginger Blueberries over Lemon Cheesecake. This was interesting as the cheesecake was definitely the focus, not the honey nest I was expecting. The cheesecake was very good, rich, creamy with pronounced lemon flavour. This worked really well with the tart blueberries, with just the tiniest hint of ginger. I’m not really sure what the nest was made of, it didn’t have any flavour really so we assumed it was more for decoration.

As my dad’s birthday was listed on the reservation our server brought him a free chocolate mousse. This was very good, my dad actually ate it and he doesn’t normally bother with desserts.

In summary this was a really good meal, with DH’s entree being the only dish that wasn’t a hit. The atmosphere was great because it was so quiet, the meal was well paced with good service. This was definitely the best meal we’ve ever had at Brown Derby and it is still a must do for us.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Love you HBD review. That restaurant tends to get a lot of flack, but it seems to be getting a lot better lately.

 

[Andreak0428]

I have to say I was really on the fence about Brown Derby because I am the only one in the family who wants to go and I only want to go for the Cobb Salad but Im pretty sold on it and I think the rest of them will find something they like just fine! Thanks for posting your experience! Welcome back!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Great Brown Derby review! Both of those seafood entrees look fantastic to me - HBD is one of my favorite signatures.

 

[monica23535]

Great reviews! We're trying Captains Grille and Sunshine Seasons for the first time this trip so was great to read good reports

 

[emmysmommy]

I enjoyed both your Captain's Grille and HBD reviews. I had to chuckle at your disclaimer for the butter pats at CG - they only have those large slabs!!

Glad you had a great experience at HBD. Your appetizer looks wonderful! I don't know what the "nest" part of the dessert is but it looks interesting. My DH had that dessert and I tried a bite and loved it.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Love you HBD review. That restaurant tends to get a lot of flack, but it seems to be getting a lot better lately.

Thanks. We've had a few mixed experiences there in the past, but that meal was most definitely a step up from a few years ago.

I have to say I was really on the fence about Brown Derby because I am the only one in the family who wants to go and I only want to go for the Cobb Salad but Im pretty sold on it and I think the rest of them will find something they like just fine! Thanks for posting your experience! Welcome back!

Thanks, glad my review was helpful. Really hope you enjoy Brown Derby, it was one of my parents favourite meals of the holiday, above both California Grill and Narcoossees much to my surprise.

Great Brown Derby review! Both of those seafood entrees look fantastic to me - HBD is one of my favorite signatures.

Thank you very much, the salmon was very good.

Great reviews! We're trying Captains Grille and Sunshine Seasons for the first time this trip so was great to read good reports

Thanks, hope you enjoy Captains Grille.

I enjoyed both your Captain's Grille and HBD reviews. I had to chuckle at your disclaimer for the butter pats at CG - they only have those large slabs!!

Glad you had a great experience at HBD. Your appetizer looks wonderful! I don't know what the "nest" part of the dessert is but it looks interesting. My DH had that dessert and I tried a bite and loved it.

I know, I don't get why they only had such enormous butter pats, that would have done around three slices of toast for me!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Sorry I've been so rubbish with updates. We've been planning our 2013 holiday (which is no longer Disney World) so that's been taking up a lot of my free time. We're going to tour the west coast of the US, a couple of stops in Canada, and of course a trip to Disney Land. I can't wait but having to learn about all these new destinations is quite daunting!

The Wave


Today we were heading to The Wave for breakfast. I’d read plenty of good reviews for it so was really looking forward to it.
We arrived at 7:25 for our 7:30 reservation and there was no hostess at the podium. We waited in the bar area, along with a few other parties until around 7:45 when she finally showed up.

A huge party of 26 had arrived, and she explained that because they hadn’t made reservations they would be sat at separate tables. She then proceeded to check them in and get them sat, while the four smaller parties with reservations were just left waiting.

My parents weren’t particularly impressed and neither were the other diners. When she heard a few people grumbling, the response was ‘don’t worry, we’ll get you sat soon’.
Being honest an apology for the delay in greeting us and being sat would have gone a long way here and this didn’t get the meal off the best of starts.

We were sat at a nice four top in the centre, not too close to the large party. My parents realized the buffet was going to get very crowded soon, so headed straight up to get food.
I didn’t get many pictures of their selections, they didn’t enjoy it as much as Captains Grille but I’m not sure how much the crowds at the buffet were a factor. I don’t think the kitchen was set up for such a large party, and they seemed to be struggling to keep dishes full.

This was one of my mums plates, scrambled egg and a sweet potato pancake I recommended she try. I had a little bite of the pancake and it was really good, but the flavour was predominately cinnamon for me, I was expecting to taste more sweet potato in it.

Our server took a while to greet us but was pleasant when he did. DH and I both ordered al a carte, eggs benedict with key lime hollandaise (with no ham for DH)
This didn’t take long to arrive and we both really enjoyed it. The eggs were perfectly poached, the muffin nice and soft, the hollandaise had an unusual citrus cake which worked well with the salty ham. It was served with breakfast potatoes which were nicely cooked, but a little salty for DH.

We shared a press pot of coffee which was good, but not quite as good as the one’s we’ve had at Kona in the past.
Overall this was a bit of a mixed bag for us. DH and I enjoyed our selections, but my parents much preferred Captains Grille.

As there’s a lack of pictures in this update I’ll throw in a few bonus snack credit pics.

This is carrot cake from the BC marketplace chilled section. It was surprisingly good, the cake was light and moist, and there was plenty of cream cheese frosting.

A red velvet cake pop from Main St Confectionary. Very nice, but very sweet! The cake is very dense, and surrounded with a thick layer of chocolate then sugar.

 

[iluvpluto27]

After spending the morning at MK, we headed back to the BC for a light lunch.
The marketplace was very busy but the staff were able to get the orders out quite quickly and we were able to find a table outside without too much trouble.

DH ordered a cheese flatbread, the base was very thin but it had a thick cheese topping, including a couple of different types of grated cheese. It was nice that it was made fresh when you ordered.

I had the Turkey, brie, cranberry and bacon panini. This was huge, luckily my dad hadn’t ordered anything so he was able to share with me. Again the sandwich was made fresh and could easily be customised.
The bread was fresh but nice and crusty, there was lots of turkey inside, a slice of brie and a smear of cranberry jelly. They offered to heat it up which I accepted, and this melted the cheese nicely. It was served with homemade kettle chips, which were fresh and crunchy.

My dessert was a red velvet cupcake. For a refrigerated cake it was pretty good. By the time I got round to eating it, it had warmed up somewhat and the frosting was nice and soft. The cake was very soft, and the frosting wasn’t really cream cheese, it had a little cream cheese flavour but was quite sweet and sugary.

DH chose a lemon and blueberry scone which he said was good.

And my mum just had a chocolate chip cookie for her lunch, as she was still full from breakfast.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We had a 7:45 reservation at La Hacienda tonight. I was expecting to wait a while as we did last year, and as I’d anticipated there was a large queue to check in and a very busy waiting area. However once I checked in we weren’t given a pager this time, and were actually called within a few minutes.

We were taken to a booth style table, in the main room about two rows back from the window. This is such a pretty restaurant with it’s big windows and unique lighting.

Our server stopped by, apologized for the delay and said he’d be with us soon. Five minutes later he came to take our orders. He was very friendly, and he worked very hard, they always seem to have a lot to do in this restaurant but he gave as good a service as he could, considering how many tables he was looking after.

I ordered the much talked about Avocado margarita. As has been discussed on here, this is a very good drink, served frozen it had a predominately banana flavour but you could certainly taste the tequila.

DH tried the Orange mango fire margarita, which had tabasco in it to give it the heat. I had a little taste but it was way too spicy for me, I just don’t get the idea of spicy drinks to be honest. DH quite liked it but I’m not sure he’d order it again.

And we all enjoyed the complimentary chips. The red salsa was too spicy for me, but the green one was very mild.

DH and I shared the Queso Fundido for an appetiser, with no chorizo. This was less like a queso dip and more like melted cheese, good but very rich. The tortillas were lovely and soft, and served warm. This probably tastes better with the chorizo to cut through the cheese, but it was still good.

For my entree I chose the Grilled tilapia served with esquites (roasted corn), nopales (cactus leaves) and mango chutney. This was absolutley delcious, the fish was well cooked and had a nice flavour to it, the mango salsa was fresh and light, and the corn was the best I’ve ever had. I’m not sure what was served with the corn but it was really, really good, not spicy at all but loads of flavour.

DH had the shrimp tacos. He got four tacos, with three shrimp in each one. The shrimp were nicely cooked, very lightly coated in a crumb with lots of flavour. He enjoyed these but said the shrimp were overwhelmed by the huge amount of red cabbage served and the two different sauces, a salsa verde and an aioli.

My parents shared the Mixed grill which contained New York stip, chicken, chorizo and vegetables. My dad loved the steak, the chorizo were very flavourful but incredibly hard on the outside, so much so it was difficult to stab them with a fork. They both enjoyed the chicken, but said it could have been warmer, and like me my mum loved the roasted corn that was included.

The dish was served with the fresh tortillas, rice, and re-fried beans which were for all of us to share. The rice was nicely cooked, flavourful but not spicy and we all loved the re-fried beans.

My parents both passed on dessert but DH and I soldiered on! I chose the Chocolate custard served with crunchy bunuelo strips and caramel syrup. This was just like a thick, creamy chocolate mousse, the strips added a nice crunchy texture but didn’t have a lot of flavour by themselves. A nice dessert.

DH chose the Empanada, puff pastry filled with sautéed caramel apples, served with dulce de leche ice cream. The pastry was nice and flaky, but could a have done with a bit more apple filling. DH said the Dulce de leche ice cream was the best part by far, with a very rich caramel flavour and smooth texture. He enjoyed this but would have preferred a big bowl of just the ice cream.

Illuminations started just before desserts were served, and although not the best viewing of the show, there’s something special about finishing a meal off watching such an amazing fireworks display.

We all had a good meal here, I was on the fence about this ADR before we left, as I didn’t love our meal here last year but in the end I was glad I kept it. The food was pretty much all good, it was a nice atmosphere, we weren’t rushed at all and being able to watch illuminations at our table was the perfect ending.