Palo's overrated?

[spyhill]

Sounds like a good surprise! We also had great (and less expensive) meals at Flying Fish, Cal Grill, and Jiko.

 

[smchan]

I've only tried California Grill once. It was a good meal but didn't live up to my expectations - especially for the price. (OK, already, I know I shouldn't say "Disney" and "price" or "value" in the same sentence. ) I should give it another chance before writing it off. I had sushi there which wasn't very good, but the desert was nothing short of amazing.

I've never eaten at Flying Fish despite several, abandoned plans to do so. It would certainly be easier on the wallet than V&A. Hmmm....

Sam

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by spyhill
My dictionary says insipid means "lacking in flavor or taste"--so I think it would actually be hard for a chef to be insipid and more likely for a pork chop.
:=)

I looked it up as well, and you are correct, although I've never seen or heard it used that way before. I've always heard it to mean banal or dull, generally referring to a conversation.

Anne

 

[spyhill]

I've usually heard it that way too.
I think I said "insipid and tasteless"--so according to our dictionaries I can be accused of redundancy!

 

[howardk613]

Anne -
Hi
Hope you and your family are all well. We just booked a cruise with our entire family and our Disney Club again , the 7 day Western 11/6/2004 and we were lucky enough to get a category 1 again. Can't wait and since the anticipation is half the fun we will have 629 days to think about and plan our cruise and the food (even if it is insipid and lacks complexity).
Howard

 

[ducklite]

Howard--We'll be doing back to back 7 days just a few weeks before you...October 9 & 15 2004. We booked Cat 3 (8032) again...just can't justify the Cat 1 with only two or three of us!

Anne

 

[howardk613]

Anne -
Back to back in 8032 is REALLY great. Those midship category 3 s
are just as nice as the category 1 s (just a bit smaller) and in fact we have reserved both the category 1 and a midship category 3 just in case our entire family can't go with us you are right we wouldn't be able to justify the extra expense for only 3 of us in a category 1

 

[crusnprincesses]

Spyhill & Sweetspot - I agree with all your comments...had the same experiences, will not bother with Palo on our next cruise.

 

[spyhill]

dear crusenprincesses,
very quick off-topic question: i see you are from quebec. we were thinking of going there in june with kids (3 and 1)--any opinion on tremblant resort or montebello resort or do you have another rec? thanks so much!

 

[crusnprincesses]

If you want I can email you info, both are great choices..
BTW - Do you remember your abnoxiously fawning server's name? Did you do the High Tea...can they ruin tea??? Dumb question..but some in our group are interested in doing the tea...have any input?

 

[inkkognito]

For me, High Tea is one of the highlights of the Magic cruises. I can't even imagine how it could be ruined! We know a couple of the servers (Dalibor and Carita), so we thought the service was great. I have a full report in trip report #28 on my website, but I adored the whole leaf tea. The cinammon tea was the best, and the scones must be what they serve at High Tea in Heaven. This is the only thing that I really wish they had on the Wonder. Make your reservations EARLY!!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[jporter]

My husband decided at the last minute to have
Valentine's dinner at Palo's. My husband ordered
the filet and that was my first choice as well. Our server
kept insisting I order the Sea Bass, so I finally did.
We left thinking it was O.K. I woke up a couple hours
later with food poisoning and spent the entire night
in the bathroom. I missed the whole next day at
Castaway Cay with my family because I was too sick
and tired to be with them!! I feel so cheated and sorry
I went there, so I missed out on PC and Tritons! J.

 

[4u2dream]

Did you get diagnosed with food poisoning? And were there others that got it from eating at Palo? Just thinking that the Norwalk is still hanging around, may it have been a bout of it? Did you get quarintined to your cabin or just on your own? Sorry to hear the unfortunate news!

 

[ducklite]

Have to agree with 4u2, it was probably not food poisoning. More than likely you had either a GI bug, or possibly just an irritable digestive system that was upset by a lot of new and rich foods. It could have been Norwalk, although that usually presents with a fever as well.

If it were food poisoning, pretty much anyone who ate that entree or possibly even at Palo that evening would have been sickened, and the ships doctor or the CDC would have been tracking down everyone who ate it, so you would have been contacted.

Anne

 

[jporter]

I had food poisoning once before and am pretty sure this is
what I had. Very severe stomach cramps, etc. and 24 hrs.
later I was fine. Certainly not Norwalk and no one else in
my group of 6 got ill. I did not report it for fear of having my
family quarintined. I certainly was too ill to leave the cabin
and I am guessing that is what their suggestion might be,
to stay in my cabin. I have heard of whole families being
quarintined because of one sick member. I didn't want to
ruin everyone elses time. I can't disagree with the poster
above, it could have been something else, but I do avoid
rich foods and eat very healthy no matter where I am. I don't
think that just because food is there you should eat it!! J.

 

[ducklite]

Jporter-

Not trying to argue with you, but as an FYI I had Norwalk in October. Severe stomach cramping, V&D for 36 hours, spent most of that time sleeping on the bathroom floor Neither DH nor DS came down with it, even though DH and I slept in the same bed.

Sometimes it's not even rich foods, just a change in the drinking water can casue that type of propblem in people...I know it does with me, so I drink bottled water when I travel, and try to stick to a brand that I drink at home (Dasani, Poland Spring, Perrier, Pelligrino, etc.)

Anne

 

[jporter]

No offense taken. This really should have been a whole different
thread, I appologize to people coming here for info on Palo's.
End of subject. J.

 

[nyloc]

OK, so I'm not much of a gourmand.

But I have eaten around ...

I think what happens to some folks with Palo is they don't read that little "Northern" just before Italian and assume it's just a fancy Sbarro.

As snobby as this might sound, this is important to the foundation of what I want to say: I'm very familiar with many types of Italian food ... speak Italian at a bilingual level and knew what to expect.

I was not disappointed, though I was more than prepared to be.

What someone somewhere described as "a piece of mushroom with some corn mush on the side" - the portobello mushroom and polenta - was exquisite. I ordered a second!

We asked the server for suggestions ... I would normally have avoided the calamari 'cause when they're tough they're devilish. They were so good my college age nephew ended up with three orders and no main course. Good suggestion. The lamb was superb, and the desserts were magnificent.

I thought Palo was one of the best Northern Italian restaurants I've ever eaten in ... including in Northern Italy! Definitely as authentic as any I ever eaten at outside of Italy.

So ... moral of the story: when in Venice ... eat what the Venetians do.

If you're not up to have your expectations maybe jolted a bit, there's always Topsiders/Beach Blanket.

Overall I think most of the published "official" critics' reviews of Disney food are smarmy ... they're just saying what's expected. On the whole, our experience was that DCL's food is a cut above.

 

[spyhill]

Actually the problem for us was exactly the opposite: We expected Northern Italian regional cuisine and found a fancy Sbarro, or, to be fair, a fancy Bertucci's or Olive Garden. But again that was just one night.
In general, though, I don't think you can assume that someone "just doesn't get it" if they don't like a restaurant, just as I wouldn't call someone a hick because they were impressed by a restaurant that I thought was mediocre.

 

[nyloc]

Sorry if my remarks were read as an insult.

They really, really, weren't meant as such.

My point was that much of the negativity I've read on this board and elsewhere about Palo had more to do with disappointed expectations focused on the type of food served than anything else.

I think it's important for folks to know what to expect, and I wanted them to know that this is one of those restaurants where it's best to trust the server if you're doubtful - and don't mind a bit of dining adventure.

And by the way, I'm about as much of a hick as anyone can get and still hold a fork and a knife correctly. I think.

Bon app ...