'Ohana as a vegetarian - a question

[Vegcentric]

Hi all!
So my husband and I just returned from our trip to Walt Disney World from the 15th-21st and we had a wonderful time. Now, normally at home he and I are both vegan but we bent a little bit to make things easier while on vacation. After hearing about what a meat-fest 'Ohana is, he and I weren't exactly placing this restaurant high on our list, but after seeing about four other vegetarians as well as vegans share their photos of their amazing meals, we decided to go ahead and make a reservation.
Chef TJ is the one who made those amazing meals, and I heard he didn't work on Fridays or Saturdays so I made a reservation for a Thursday. When I filled out the sheet I was given via e-mail from the dietary hotline, and was assured that the woman informed the restaurants that my husband and I were going to be dining there.
The part that gets confusing is that when I checked in and mentioned this, the hostess just stared at me (actually this is what happened at nearly every restaurant we went to) and when I asked if there was anything my husband and I would be able to eat, she assured me there would, and that she herself was also a vegetarian and loved eating there.
We were taken to our table, and when I spoke to my server I told her that my husband and I were both vegetarians. She gave us both a very blank look and then said, "Oh, you'll be fine with the noodles and the salad!" and then said, "I'll bring out the chef to talk to you, maybe he can do something." Moments later a bewildered man came to our table with a bowl of salad, put it down on the table and then disappeared. Twenty minutes later, our server reappeared with two "veggie dinners" and then disappeared before I had a chance to speak with her again.
The veggie dinners were fine - steamed rice, stir fried veggies and tofu. We aren't picky eaters and we enjoyed what we had, but we couldn't help but feel a bit let down especially since we had read about others' dining experiences at 'Ohana and they seemed so much more memorable. She didn't come back until much later in the evening, after a man came to our table with shrimp and asked if we wanted any. When my husband said, "No thank you", the man with the shrimp kept standing there and finally asked, "Are you sure?"
Overall it wasn't the most pleasant experience but it also wasn't what I'd call bad, just a bit of a let down. Sorry for this post being so long, but my question basically is...is Chef TJ still at 'Ohana? Does he not work on Thursdays, or did I just have a bout of bad luck? My husband and I aren't upset, we got to see some really nice fireworks while sitting there, we were just bummed. Thanks!

 

[olive]

I'll definitely be bummed if that happens when we go in January! I, too, booked on a day that Chef TJ is supposedly working in the hopes of getting an exciting meal. I'll cross my fingers. It's too bad things are so inconsistent.

 

[ajpa]

Who is Chef TJ?

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We just went at the end of October and I couldn't get an ADR on a night when Chef TJ worked, so I knew that I wouldn't get much special treatment. My husband, however, was annoyed b/c he had heard about TJ and was at least hoping for them to acknowledge my dietary needs. They did, it just took some time and he really didn't like that everyone in the family was eating except me.

The waitress kept telling us that the chef was coming out, but then eventually told me they were just really busy and that I could eat the noodles, broccoli, and the salad (which is COMPLETELY incorrect, the salad has HONEY). I really wasn't too phased by it, other than being annoyed that someone had told her that a vegan could have salad with honey. I would hope they would inform people correctly b/c if I didn't eat honey I would have been upset (I eat honey occasionally).

She did bring out the standard rice/tofu dish which I really enjoyed. She brought my dd, who is a vegetarian, a mac-n-cheese meal AND brought another rice/tofu dish for her as well! I thought that was so nice of her, she said that maybe my dd might like to try it!

We waited a very long time for dessert b/c a chef did finally come out. He offered me fruit & chocolate or tofutti, and I chose the tofutti! I thought it was nice and had I NOT KNOWN about Chef TJ, I would have thought this was an amazing experience. So, I considered dinner a success even though I knew in the back of my mind that TJ would have made me a vegan feast!

We are going back in Sept. and I will make sure to have a mid-week ADR, but will remind myself that if he's not there, at least I'll get a nice tofu dish and some tofutti!

 

[Vegcentric]

Twoboysnmygirl, this is actually how my husband and I felt about the whole thing. Had we of not known about Chef TJ, we would have actually booked a different restaurant. If we were with a group and taken along to 'Ohana, I would have been quite happy with the stir fry and veggies.
It seems as though the waitstaff there thinks that honey is acceptable to vegans, because my waitress told me that I would he okay with the salad and I told her that I was actually a vegan, and my husband was a vegetarian. Vegan at home, I should say, because eating vegan at Walt Disney World proved to be quite tricky. She asked me specifcally, "are you vegan, or vegetarian?" I said vegan, and she said I could eat the salad. I know from reading other dining reviews on these boards that the salad actually isn't vegan due to the honey. :\
Oh well, thanks for the reply! I think I saw someone else on these boards with a picture of the tofu dish, and in retrospect the tofu served at 'Ohana is probably the most texturally satisfying tofu we had during our entire trip. The Tuskar House and Boma's tofu was not quite as good.

 

[TDC Nala]

As far as I know TJ is still at Ohana, but I am sure he does take time off for vacation or even switches shifts sometimes, so his presence can't be guaranteed.