Quick Takes on a Quick Weekend

[ChloroFiend]

DW and I decided last minute (Wednesday) to take a long weekend trip down to the World our 2nd anniversary. Due to the last second nature of the trip (and it being opening Star Wars Weekend), ADR availability was a bit scarce.

For those of you that read my previous (and unfinished ) dining review, I award 0-3 goals. A whiff to a perfect Hat Trick. Yes, I'm a die-hard hockey fan.

Here's some quick takes of the more major meals.

La Hacienda de San Angel. Snagged a walk up at 915p on an Epcot EMH night. We passed on appetizers (though the Queso Fundido looked stellar), sticking with the chips and salsa. The salsa is the same two types as available outside at the CS location; I find the hotter chipotle to be quite good, while the verde lacks the bitterness normally found in tomatillo based salsas. The chips were a bit thicker than most which added a good textural feel.

I ordered the Blood Orange Fire (I think...something like that) margarita and the wife had the premium. The latter was near perfect. The former had a bit too much of tabasco flavor coming through, so the first few sips were a bit vinegary. I was sort of surprised by the choice of tabasco over many other real mexican hot sauces. It does pack a bit of heat, so be warned. Would I get it again? Maybe. It was ok, but I've had better sweet/heat magaritas other places.

For the main course, we shared the 'La Hacienda' platter. There was PLENTY of food for two, as suggested. We found the beef and chicken to be average to good, nothing stellar, but not disappointing. The chorizo sausages were quite tasty; I pretty well hogged those. The true stars of the plate were the sides. Beans so tasty my bean-hating wife kept digging in. A corn & chipotle mayo combination that made my taste buds rejoice to an extent I normally reserve for a Red Wings Stanley Cup championship. Flavorful rice far from the dry drek normally found in Mexican restaurants. Tortillas were provided but mainly went unused. Unnecessary filler when so much awesomeness was able to be shoveled in via fork.

Service was stellar and pricing reasonable (well, as much as anything at Disney is reasonable ). It shoots, it scores...3 times. Hat Trick, right off the bat. We'll definitely be returning and are already prepping to gorge even more.

 

[ChloroFiend]

Bistro de Paris

We waffled back and forth about where we wanted our 'nice' dinner to be. We originally had Citrico's on the list...then though about Narcoosee's...a few others. We settled on Bistro for its location, ambience, and to try something a bit new. The low chance for screaming children pretty well cemented it. Nothing against kids, of course, but when having a fine dining meal, its nice to have a bit more...shall we say tranquil?...atmosphere.

We both elected the prix fixe meal with wine pairings. I started with the sauteed shrimp and crab balls, she the butternut squash soup. Our main courses were the pork and beef, respectively, then we both finished with the chocolate cake.

We received a (rather large) amuse bouche of roasted vegetables. Tomato, eggplant, and perhaps zucchini. It was fairly bland and visually unappealing. The first courses were both uniformly spectacular and changed the tone of the meal significantly, as did the bread. Simply spectacular baguettes. Unfortunately, that tone quickly fell off. Both entrees were simply OK and the dessert felt a bit uninspired. The wine pairings were all tasty, but I'm not sure they were worth the $30 upcharge. Neither of the first two pairings ( a white burgundy that I can't recall and a Bourdeaux from Chateau Tour de Segur) were served in the appropriate stemware, but rather the generic 'wine glass' so often seen at wedding receptions and the like. Other diners ordering wine by the glass or bottle did receive appropriate glassware.

Service was fairly lacking; the pacing of the meal was completely off. We waited easily 20 minutes between courses. While it did provide my wife and I needed time to relax and spend time with each other, without the normal distractions of work email, television, or our puppy, our server was nowhere to be seen until the next course was presented. The ambience inside the Bistro struck me as bland and dated.

Bistro comes out shooting, but weakly. It notches a goal and an assist (I'm counting that as a half ) for 1.5 points. The first courses and wine could not make up for inattentive service and mediocre food. I don't think we'll be returning; there's several other Signature and other nice restaurants on property we'd like to try and plenty of tried-and-true favorites (Cali Grill, Jiko) that provide a better dining experience for the money.

 

[ChloroFiend]

Quick Serve Quick Takes
Whoever was driving the fryer at Cosmic Rays was simply ON when we did dinner there. The chicken nuggets and fries we had were some of the best (hottest, crispiest) we've had on all our trips. 2 goals.

Despite the heat, Flame Tree BBQ served up phenomenally tasty food once again. My slab of ribs was falling apart in my hands; the bones came right out and I nearly resorted to silverware...but my baser instincts prevailed and I dug right in with my hands. The wife's salad was large with flavorful chicken and a refreshing dressing. The onion rings were even better than Beaches and Cream. It's also one of the few QS/CS locations to take Tables in Wonderland. 2.5 goals; only reason it doesn't get a hat trick from me its lack of indoor seating or more prevalent fans.

 

[DLo]

Glad you liked LaHacienda - we are trying it for the 1st time in oct. Thanks for taking the time to review