Our dining report! 9/18-27. LONG!

[Jen D]

We ate a lot, we spent a lot, what can I say. I'll write about everything we did in this thread except our dinner at Victoria and Albert's, which surely deserves its own entry and besides I want to post our menu and don't have it here. So with the exception of V/A's here it is! (Prices are approximate and to my memory- they include what we paid in tax and tip; all meals were for two adults and one seven year old. Unless noted we ate breakfast in the room.)

Sat 9/18:

KONA CAFE (breakfast): Very good, although I ordered the famous Tonga Toast and found it good but just too heavy and rich for me. DH got the steak and eggs, dd got the Goofy Toast. We all liked it and enjoyed the Kona coffee as well. About $40.

OHANA (dinner): I thought it was just okay. The appetizers were yummy-- loved the wontons and wings-- and the meat was good enough, a bit dry but well-spiced, but we didn't really fall in love 23with it. Did enjoy the pineapple with caramel sauce. It was a fun place, though, and a festive place for the first night of our stay at the Polynesian. About $72.

Sun 9/19:

ABC COMMISSARY (MGM, lunch): I actually really enjoyed this place, and was surprised because I thought I'd remembered reading some pans. I had the feijoda, which was just your basic black beans and rice, but it was very tasty and hit the spot better than your average burger and fries. I'd come here again. Dh got the Cuban sandwich and dd got the chicken strips, no complaints there. $20

BOMA (AKL, dinner) This was our second trip to Boma. It is still excellent for all-you-can eat fare-- I wasn't as in love with it as I was last time, but I still think it is pretty great and an amazing value for the money (unlike 'Ohana, which at the same price I'm not sure is worth it.) The entrees are great at Boma but this time the meal was made by the amazing soups, salads, and deserts-- the range of interesting tastes.Can't believe how many beautiful deserts are available. About $72


MONDAY , 9/20

'OHANA (Poly, breakfast) A great character breakfast-- barely anyone else there at 7:40 when we arrived. Lots of character interaction and so forth. Eggs and pineapple bread were excellent, breakfast meats a little greasy but okay. Didn't care for the potatoes. Overall a good breakfast if you're staying here (but my favorite character breakfast is definitely Crysal Palace.)

CASEYS (MK, lunch) We always stop here because we like the piano player. Hot dogs tasty with a good fixins bar; french fries better than elsewhere in WDW for some reason. A Magic Kingdom tradition. $20

CALIFORNIA GRILL (Contemporary, dinner) We chose this place because the kid wanted sushi and I thought it would be nice to have a pretty setting and view for her birthday. Dh and I were going to order entrees but we ended up wanting sushi too so we ordered a lot for the table. First, though, we had some flatbread: we did the BLT flatbread. Excellent. Then on to the sushi: we got the Deluxe platter, the Sashimi trio, the Peeky Toe California Roll... and maybe one other kind of sushi, maybe the Banzai roll. Desert was a birthday cake I'd ordered from the Conteporary-- six inch cake, a bargain at $12.50. I had two excellent wines by the glass and we all had coffee at the end. About $150.00

TUESDAY. 9/21

MATSU NO MA (Epcot, lunch) After the previous night's dinner DH decided he wanted lots and lots of sushi this trip so when we got to Epcot we headed to Japan. This is a nice little spot, the sushi is perfectly good, not creative, but a nice, clean presentation. We ordered a la carte, a few maki, some sushi, some sashimi, we didn't overdo it too much. About $45

SPOODLES (Boardwalk, dinner) We'd had PS for Whispering Canyon but got stuck in an Epcot attraction and would never have made it. By 6pm we could have eaten in the World Showcase but had been in Epcot all day and had to escape the theme park so walked to the Boardwalk and settled on Spoodles. It was excellent, we ordered several tapas: Chili Garlic Shrimp, Mediterranean Dips, and a sampler platter. The kid got pizza. I also had one of their girly frozen drinks. It was a really nice meal, not too expensive and a nice surprise for a spontanteous choice. About $65

WEDNESDAY, 9/22

TUSKER HOUSE (AK, lunch) An AK tradition. I usually get the chicken but I tried to be different and ordered the grilled veggies on focaccia. Not bad but I wouldn't order it again. It was obviously prepared and then put in the fridge all morning, so it was very cold which made the bread less tasty and the veggies seem a little slimy. Dh got the chicken, which was fine, and dd for mac n cheese. $24

KONA CAFE (Polynesian, dinner) We had originally booked the Brown Derby Fantasmic package but cancelled it because we didn't want to spend that much. We ended up spending almost that much at Kona, go figure. We also didn't want to eat at 5pm. It would be great if Brown Derby was open after Fantasmic-- they would do a huge business! I digress. We had a very late dinner at Kona when returning to resort after Fantasmic. I had the pot stickers and the vegetable rice bowl, which was FABULOUS, and a glass of wine. DH had a beer and the filet mignon, which was wonderful, and the kid had pasta and meatball. An excellent meal. $91.

THURSDAY, 9/23

TYPHOON TILLIES (TL, Lunch) Eh. Burger baskets all around, it was pretty mediocre but about what we expetced. We were hungry and it filled us up. $21

WOLFGANG PUCKS (DD, Dinner) On our quest for Sushi! We originally wanted House of Blues but there was a wait; Wolfgang Pucks there was no wait for the bar which was fine, we just wanted sushi. We got the chef's sampler for two... excellent. Plus drinks. $72

FRIDAY, 9/24

PECOS BILLS (MK, lunch) Better than average burgers-- we enjoyed the fixin's bar. Some of the better fast food we had that week. $24

VICTORIA AND ALBERTS: I will post this review separately. But definitely a big thumbs up.

SATURDAY, 9/25

KONA (Poly, breakfast): Excellent-- dh had steak and eggs again, this time I had eggs benedict. Really enjoyed this meal. $42

SUNSHINE FAIR (MGM Lunch) We went all over-- I got my hot dog from Touluca Turkey legs, my fries from Fairfax (Mickey D's), and dd and dh gor burgers from Rosie's. It was all fine, nothing special. I prefer a dog with sauerkraut and onions, they were selling the Cheese/Chili variety. Just got mustard. This meal was fine, we ate in the windy food court late afternoon while watching the CMs tie everything down for Jeanne

KONA (Poly, dinner) We lunched so late we were going to skip dinner but a CM advised us to "eat a big good dinner since you'll be confined to your room!" So we went to Kona that night-- I finally tried the Wasabi Mary, figured if I was going to try it now was the time, stuck in the hotel for 2 extra days in the path of Jeanne. The Kona staff worked like champs just hours before the storm. We split the pot stickers (again) and I got the Caesar and the Kona seafood chowder, which was very filling. Dh got the Kona salad. Even though we did all appetizers, we got very filled up. The kid had pasta again. Oh, and we did the Koko Puffs. Mmmmmmmm. $54

SUNDAY 9/26

KONA (Poly, dinner) We spend the day in the room eating box meals so were glad to get back to Kona. I had the chowder again and the wings, DH had the vegetable rice bowl and the kid had, you guessed it, pasta. Low-key, small meal. $48

MONDAY 9/27

LOTTAWATTA GRILL (Blizzard Beach, lunch) More mediocre water park burgers. What are you gonna do. $22

This was our last meal at WDW.

 

[vettechick99]

Great report! Eager to read the V&A one!

 

[Rhonna]

Thanks for the reports on the sushi at Wolfgang Puck's and Matsu No Ma lounge - we are going to try both for the first time.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Great report our favorite restaurant is Spoodles. We eat there on every trip.

 

[rigsby25]

Can you elaborate on the birthday cake? Did you pre-order it? How did you order it? Can you pick it up? Can it be sent to another hotel? Would appreciate any help because we are going to CBR for DD's 18th birthday in November

 

[danny1649]

For sharing your reviews,we to love to get a hot dog at Casey's.

 

[perdidobay]

great reviews... thanks!

 

[TwingleMum]

Great reviews. I was wondering who "the kid" was????

 

[harlock_jds]

I had the feijoda, which was just your basic black beans and rice, but it was very tasty and hit the spot better than your average burger and fries.

i had that too and thought it wsa bland (and they don't have hot sauce as a condoment GRRRRRRR) plus the rice was very undercooked.

 

[francie]

great reviews! by the way, how was that wasabi bloody mary?

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Jen D]

To answer some questions:

1) Cakes are ordered from room service in the resort your restaurant is in. So for dinner at the California Grill, II ordered it in advance from Contemporary room service and gave them my PS info. I don't know how it works if you want the cake at abhotek without a bakery or at a resort-- call WDW Dining.

2) The "kid" is DD, age 7

3) The rice on my feijoda was cooked fine, although I agree the beans could have used a bit more kick. Get some Tabasco our there!

4) Wasabi bloody Mary was great. It packed a big punch. A lot of bartenders around here make some pretty mild bloody Mary's so it was nice having one that packed a wallop.

 

[BraveMom3]

JenD,
You sound like a sushi expert! My three children and I want to try sushi on our next trip (Thanksgiving). I have been looking at the menu for Matsunoma, and am overwhelmed by the large selection of sushi. Can you describe the different ones.? How different are the flavors of the different sushis? I'm used to putting away dozens of raw oysters but my children are really new to anything "raw"! What would be a good selection for them (ages 12, 8, and 7) ? Thanks.

 

[Jen D]

Although I do love going for sushi, I am far fom an expert-- although there are quite a few folks on this board who are quite knowledgable about it, I actually have learned a few things here. I recommend you start a new thread on sushi because you'll get tons of responses. But here are some pointers from this sushi non-expert (and experts PLEASE jump in to correct):

For timid beginners, maki (rolls) seem to be popular, and you can avoid the raw altogether this way. There are vegetable rolls with no fish, and the ever popular California roll, with cooked crab meat, avocado-- and help me out, fellow sushi lovers- cucumber? All wrapped in seaweed/rice. Anyway, hard-core sushi fans may mock this but there is a reason it is so popular- it is great. I am also a fan of the spicy tuna rolls. Restaurants like Wolfgang Pucks and California Grill usually have "signature" maki-- little unusual creations specific to that place.

Regular sushi is raw fish on rice. For beginners I recommend shrimp, tuna, yellowtail, salmon... it is all good. Sashimi is just fish, no rice.

A little dish comes with the sushi, most people put a little soy sauce in the dish, add a little wasabi (the green stuff) and make a little place to dip the sushi.

Mmm, I'm hungry.

An unrelated note on this thread-- I never did post a separate Victoria and Albert's report, mostly because I noticed some of the other menus coming back recently (Uncleromulus, KatieNYC) were identical. But we adored this place. Loved the wine pairings, although I probably should have restrained myself from finishing every glass, I was near stumbling at the end. I think it is six glasses counting the champagne? Anyway, the place is amazing, truly special, we are dying to go back.