Our Dining Review - Byte by Bite (*NEW Final Day 8 w/Pictures)

[scoutsmom99]

Great reviews and pics! Thanks for sharing

 

[we3disneygo]

great report and love the pic's --thanks!

 

[Kaycee]

Great reviews, and amazing pictures. I can't wait to read, and see, the rest!

 

[robinb]

Thanks so much for your great review and pictures! I want to change all my ARs around now .

 

[PrincessAurora]

Great Pictures - more please...

 

[Dustmouse]

Day 5 - Beaches & Scream and Le Cellier, eh?

It was starting to catch up with us. Even the kids were tired and voted to sleep in rather than heading to Blizzard Beach at daybreak. Short on supplies this morning, DH visited the BC Marketplace for a dozen eggs, OJ, donuts and chocolate milk. What a handy place this turned out to be and the prices weren’t bad either! Restocked and back in action, we had breakfast in the room and then decided to have some different water fun by renting boats from Bayside Marina. All that sun and fun can give you an appetite, so we headed over to Beaches and Cream. The posted wait time was 30 minutes, but it ended up being more like 45-50! (Where’s a FastPass when you need one? And why don’t they expand this restaurant? They could build out towards the arcade and have twice as many tables.) But I digress, DH and I waited outside while the boys poured their financial support into the arcade. Did you know you could use your room key to get arcade credits to play games? Ya, neither did I until we checked out and looked at the room charges. Anyway, as we were waiting, two families arrived together with small children and added their name to the growing waiting list. One family had two beautiful daughters, but one of them was crying and generally upset about life. Mom tried the old “Do you want me to take you back to the room?” trick, but the crying just went on. Big crocodile tears and lots of sobbing followed. (I think it was their first day and the kids were tired and hungry, but that’s just my guess.) Well, mom gets fed up with the bawling and picks up daughter to whisk her back to the room or at least somewhere out of public view and daughter gets the death grip on the arms of the chair. Daughter is screaming, chair is flailing; mom is desperately trying to pry it loose from her fingers. Poor dear, I’ve been there myself! Luckily, our table is ready and we are seated next to the jukebox.

DS13 and I hatch a plan to share a meal so we have room for dessert, so we order 3 double cheeseburgers, fries and onion rings for the table. We watch as the table beside us tackles the Kitchen Sink and consider canceling our order and getting four more spoons! The burgers arrive pretty quickly and they are great! The double burgers are BIG and even with DS and I splitting we are too full for dessert. The horror! Hakuna matata, we know they are open until 11pm.

Later that afternoon, we head back to Epcot for a little shopping in the WS and dinner at Le Cellier.

We arrive at 6:20pm for our 6:30 ADR and are seated very promptly. Our server is delightful and explains that the dining room is split up into provinces just like Canada and that we are currently in the province of Ontario, which is where she is from. Our drink orders were taken and arrived quickly, which is a big plus in DH’s book. For appetizers, DH ordered the Steakhouse Caesar salad.

On recommendation from our server, I ordered the Shrimp Cocktail w/wasabi slaw. It was excellent and so much better than the one at 50’s Prime Time. I thought the presentation was good and the flavor was great.

The boys wanted to pass on appetizers, but I convinced them to try the Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup. They both had the same opinion….”give me some tortilla chips and it would make a decent dip, but other than that we’ll pass.” Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all. I tried it and thought it was good, but was glad I went with the shrimp cocktail.

Service continued to be good with our server checking on us periodically and giving us time to finish our appetizers before asking about entrees. Again, I took her suggestion and ordered the Mushroom Filet Mignon. The steak was good, but I just couldn’t get excited about the risotto. I am not well versed on risotto, but for me this was kind of thick and starchy. The fried parsnips on top were different, but didn’t add that much to it.

DS13 ordered the 7 oz. Filet with maple bbq sauce cooked medium. He likes his steak to be pink in the middle which is what you get in Texas if you order medium; however, at Disney it was much more rare. I mentioned this to our server and she confirmed that Disney medium is Texas rare. She suggested trying medium-well and it turned out to be perfect! (Wish I would have asked about that back on Day 2.)

DS14 ordered the Seared King Salmon with corn, corn, and more corn. (Actually, it is served with sweet corn, succotash and corn puree.) He said it was very good and would definitely order it again. He really seemed to enjoy the veggies.

DH ordered the 14 oz. New York Strip cooked medium, which he enjoyed but not as much as WCC the night before.

Again we had prompt refills and time to enjoy our entrees before being asked about dessert. To my amazement, the boys decided to share the Chef’s Signature Dessert plate. (That’s right, I said they shared something for once! This truly is a magical place!)

DH confessed that he has been pining for the Maple Crème Brulee since our last visit in 2001. I noticed that he started ordering it at various restaurants over the past few years, but I didn’t know he was trying to find one he thought was as good as Le Cellier. He was not disappointed and truly enjoyed this dessert.

Fortunately for him, crème brulee is not my sort of thing but the Strawberries and Balsamic Ice Cream was. It had a butter cookie on the bottom, then a scoop of ice cream, then another cookie, then a dollop of whipped cream that was so thick and rich I thought it was ice cream. All that was swimming in a pool of strawberries and cream. YUM!

Meanwhile the little girl at the table beside us ordered this whimsical concoction and it was so cool looking I just had to take a picture. (DH thinks I may have crossed the line there by starting to photograph other people’s food. Oh well!)

Time to pay the check and head out to secure a spot for Illuminations. We camped out on the bridge going from Canada towards France and met another wonderful family from Nashville. Meanwhile, down below us they were setting up a beautiful reception on that little terrace that juts out on the water. DS13, being a nosey kid, went around to peak at the reception area and trade pins with the CM. Swayed by his boyish charm, she tips him off that the lower viewing area in front of the reception terrace will open to guests after the bridal party is seated. Cool! We score a perfect view for Illuminations and save a seat for our new friends from Nashville. Halfway through Illuminations, I looked up over my shoulder and there stood the most beautiful bride and her handsome groom hand in hand watching the fireworks. It was breathtaking!

After the show, DH and DS14 took the short walk back to BCV while DS13 and I meandered back past the arcade and Beaches & Cream. Applying the “we’re on vacation, so why not splurge” theory, we decided at about 10:45pm to hop in the To Go line at Beaches. We got a chocolate shake, fries and some mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone. Mmmm. We sat outside on the patio and looked out over Stormalong Bay as the restaurant closed up for the night. Enjoying some quiet time with my boy, we noticed someone coming up the walk. Bless their hearts; it was the bride and groom from the earlier reception. He was in a full tuxedo, sweating bullets, exhausted beyond belief carrying the train of her dress. She still looked beautiful, but was very hot and tired. The groom had the most pitiful look on his face as he stopped near our table and sighed, “They’re closed?” Oh ya’ll, it was so sad! Poor things probably hadn’t eaten any real food all day and were running on pure adrenaline. He just looked at me, asked how to get into the hotel and crawled back down the sidewalk. Oh to be young and in love…

Stay tuned for Episode 6 – Bad Cubans and the Kungaloosh!

 

[ShellyBelly]

Great reviews and pictures! I am enjoying it very much!!

 

[robinb]

DS13 ordered the 7 oz. Filet with maple bbq sauce cooked medium. He likes his steak to be pink in the middle which is what you get in Texas if you order medium; however, at Disney it was much more rare. I mentioned this to our server and she confirmed that Disney medium is Texas rare. She suggested trying medium-well and it turned out to be perfect! (Wish I would have asked about that back on Day 2.)

"Texas rare"? Who knew that Texas has it's own steak cooking system? I always order Medium-rare and my steaks are always perfect at WDW. Chared on the outside and pinky-red on the inside. Yum!

 

[Princess4Eeyore]

Thanks again for sharing your wonderful pics with all of us! Your reviews are really awesome!

 

[Dustmouse]

"Texas rare"? Who knew that Texas has it's own steak cooking system? I always order Medium-rare and my steaks are always perfect at WDW. Chared on the outside and pinky-red on the inside. Yum!

Well, Texans do alot of things differently! I thought medium-rare was as you described, but that medium was just pink not red. We were getting more red than pink.

 

[cocowum]

More, more, more
Great reviews, can't wait for the next installment.

 

[flamestarrdust]

I love your reviews! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[tammy]

Outstanding reviews. Loved the comment made by you DH about you crossing the line in photographing other people's food.

Thank you for your reviews.

 

[schatterjee]

Loving your reviews and photos!

 

[Liliyana]

To my amazement, the boys decided to share the Chef’s Signature Dessert plate. (That’s right, I said they shared something for once! This truly is a magical place!)

On the DDP, can one person order that dessert sampler plate, or does it have to be shared by two? Not that I think I'd require THAT much but I'd sure love to try all three. That would be impossible if I was sharing with dbf, as he is the fastest eater I've ever witnessed in my life (and I am probably among the slowest!).

 

[theycallmered]

Service continued to be good with our server checking on us periodically and giving us time to finish our appetizers before asking about entrees. Again, I took her suggestion and ordered the Mushroom Filet Mignon. The steak was good, but I just couldn’t get excited about the risotto. I am not well versed on risotto, but for me this was kind of thick and starchy. The fried parsnips on top were different, but didn’t add that much to it.

Stay tuned for Episode 6 – Bad Cubans and the Kungaloosh!

Risotto is essentially a method of cooking rice. Basically it entails cooking the rice very slowly with constant stirring all the while adding stock at a very slow rate. This method allows for the starches of the rice to develop and thereby become creamy and, for what some consider, very rich and succulent. Perhaps you're just not a rissotto person , which is fine and we'll still like ya!

Great report so far, keep it up!!

 

[dvc at last !]

Dustmouse,

Love the reviews and the pictures. Keep it coming !

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

Terrible reviews- they make me wish my trip was sooner!! Great job, keep em coming!

 

[Dustmouse]

On the DDP, can one person order that dessert sampler plate, or does it have to be shared by two? Not that I think I'd require THAT much but I'd sure love to try all three. That would be impossible if I was sharing with dbf, as he is the fastest eater I've ever witnessed in my life (and I am probably among the slowest!).

Yep, the dessert sampler has to be shared. You could try ordering it while DBF was in the bathroom and then eating really fast! (FYI, that is the only dessert that we found that isn't a single serving.)

 

[Dustmouse]

Risotto is essentially a method of cooking rice. Basically it entails cooking the rice very slowly with constant stirring all the while adding stock at a very slow rate. This method allows for the starches of the rice to develop and thereby become creamy and, for what some consider, very rich and succulent. Perhaps you're just not a rissotto person , which is fine and we'll still like ya!

Great report so far, keep it up!!

Thanks for the risotto lesson. I know Chef Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen is very particular about his risotto, so I was looking forward to it. I wanted to like it. Really, I did. Thanks for not hating me.