Quick Trip, Quick Fix, Quick Service! -Final Thoughts QSDP/Complete 8/25

[eventamy]

Love CHH too! My favorite is the Lighthouse Sandwich (hummus and broccoli slaw!!!), but the fish and chips and chowdah is good too!!! Love that there's a place with different options!

 

[ExtinctDino]

Thanks for the entertaining and informative report. Well written too. you could be a professional writer.

 

[that's nice]

Now I'll have to add HH to my list of possible CS meals in MK! I never realized the menu... it looks good!!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Thank you for the review of CHH, I may have to eat there on my next trip.

 

[Macsfiveplus1]

We have eaten at CHH before and I never noticed the upstairs. We have been lucky enough to find a large table but only because half our party stalk the tables while the other half orders. Good tip!!!

I love the food pics, we have never tried the fish there. Now I will.

 

[onelilspark]

Love CHH too! My favorite is the Lighthouse Sandwich (hummus and broccoli slaw!!!), but the fish and chips and chowdah is good too!!! Love that there's a place with different options!

I'm slowly branching out to foods like hummus, broccoli, & "slaw." So perhaps by my October trip I might be up for trying it I hear lots of great things about that sandwich, but I'm slightly picky, so I've steered clear so far...though it intrigues the foodie in me

Thanks for the entertaining and informative report. Well written too. you could be a professional writer.

Thanks...though that makes me laugh a bit. My boyfriend (an engineer) and my brother (an english major) are constantly correcting my grammar. I'll have to brag to them

Now I'll have to add HH to my list of possible CS meals in MK! I never realized the menu... it looks good!!!

I was really impressed. I can't believe I've never been in there! Especially for how many times I've gone in February! It's got a lot of great options for a cooler day IMO!

Thank you for the review of CHH, I may have to eat there on my next trip.

It's definitely worth stopping by!

We have eaten at CHH before and I never noticed the upstairs. We have been lucky enough to find a large table but only because half our party stalk the tables while the other half orders. Good tip!!!

I love the food pics, we have never tried the fish there. Now I will.

I'm glad I saw the tip on here about the upstairs! It was so quiet and nice to sit away from people! And I was really surprised at the quality of the seafood!

Okay everyone...I work from home and I'm sitting on a boring conference call (that requires zero participation on my part! Just listening...) Which means it's time for an update!! ...Next update is small anyway

 

[onelilspark]

After lunch, the heat was really starting to kick up. It was pool time!

We took a dip, cooled down, and I spotted the bar...it was calling my name. Seriously. So I persuaded my brother it was time for a drink. We headed over and plopped ourselves down on a barstool.

A picture of the bar area:

Now, I had been stalking some dining reports...it's kind of what I do. And I had my eye on the Orange-Dream drink. I don't know if that's what it was called, but it supposedly tasted like an Orange Creamsicle. And that sounded yummy. So I decided before I even got to the bar, that would be my drink. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Siestas doesn't have the standardized WDW drink menu I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! I mean, that meant no Orange drink, but it meant I had options! Shocking.

So I got the Raspberry Crush. I have a weakness for raspberry drinks and blue drinks. Raspberry won out. My brother opted for a standard Margarita.

My drink:

No picture of my brother's drink. He was getting tired of the picture taking...and well, it was a margarita! Same kind of glass, salt on the rim. I really liked my drink...it went down fairly easy. He still had half his drink left...so I had another

The bartender was very friendly. I rather enjoyed sitting there.

Two thumbs up!

 

[medicgirl911]

I LOVE that pool!! Your drink looked mighty yummy, wish I would have tried that one last time!

 

[Shenanigoat]

Your drink is the color of the Swolphin!

 

[onelilspark]

I LOVE that pool!! Your drink looked mighty yummy, wish I would have tried that one last time!

I really liked the pool. It was big enough that you didn't feel like anyone was on top of you and the theming was great! Plus that drink just made me happy

Your drink is the color of the Swolphin!

You're right! I didn't notice that before!!

 

[that's nice]

This might be crazy but I don't think I had a drink from Siesta's when we were at CSR in March.

Wait a sec... that isn't possible. I know I had something.. I think DW and I had frozen drinks. I just can't remember what we had.

 

[onelilspark]

This might be crazy but I don't think I had a drink from Siesta's when we were at CSR in March.

Wait a sec... that isn't possible. I know I had something.. I think DW and I had frozen drinks. I just can't remember what we had.

Maybe you didn't have just one

 

[basketlacey]

Now, I had been stalking some dining reports...it's kind of what I do.

This is kind of what I do too!

 

[onelilspark]

Before heading to the Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours, we had dinner at one of the most controversial Counter Service locations in all of WDW...Pepper Market! Some people love it...others loathe it. Me? I thought it was alright.

For those of you unfamiliar, Pepper Market is the Counter Service location at Coronado Springs. Instead of your typical resort CS location, you check in at a host stand and are seated. You have a waiter/waitress bring you drinks & silverware. In our case we had a waitress, her name was Nancy and was possibly one of the best waitresses I've ever had, shame she's stuck here. Nancy explained to us how the PM worked, since we had never been there before, and exactly what we got as part of the DP. You go up to the stations yourself, order, and in my brother's case, come back in a few minutes to pick up your order...in my case, I stayed put and it was done right there. They stamp your card, we each got our own card, and then we bring it up to the cashier at the end. A 10% service charge is automatically added to your bill, if you're on the DP, it's included.

I'll start with what my brother had. He noticed a salmon dish that I completely skipped over somehow (I'm slightly jealous of his meal...) It was cooked fresh to order and came with wild rice & veggies. He got his meal back to the table first, so he dug in before I could take a picture (sorry!) Notice that I mentioned already that he had to come back to pick up his order? And I didn't? And he beat me back to the table??

...Problem with the Pepper Market (that honestly you do run into at other CS places, but with the way the PM is set up, it's a little more obvious) is that everyone's meal is done at a different time. Not a huge problem for us, but if you had a family and especially if it were busy...problem! Now, I was standing in the pasta/pizza line. One person in front of me. The woman handling that line was moving so slow it was ridiculous. My brother's meal, made fresh to order mind you, was done before I was even acknowledged in that line. They finally had someone come over to start helping her when a substantial line had formed, and they started with the end of the line! I ordered the Baked Penne Pasta. They scooped it out of a half pan...honestly, I wished I would have noticed it while I was waiting. I have this thing about food sitting out. I know sometimes it's unavoidable and with baked penne dishes, that's how they're made, but you never know how long it's been sitting out! But since I had waited already and my brother already had food, I just took the dish without complaining. Figured I would pick up some Corn Dog Nuggets if I needed to

My baked penne:

This surprised me. It tasted a lot fresher than I expected after seeing it come out of the pan. The portion was right too. I can't tell you how many times on my short trip I left food on my plate. For once, I actually finished my meal! Good and bad. Good because it prevents you from overeating. Bad because I do tend to split meals when I don't travel with my brother and the prices at the PM are a little on the high side (and that's an understatement.) So after all my complaining, I'd totally order this again My brother's salmon dish? Awesome too. Especially for a counter service meal.

As soon as we sat down, Nancy was there to collect our trays so we wouldn't have to sit with them cluttering the table. She refilled our drinks without asking. As soon as she noticed we were done with our main dishes, she took away our plates. She was so on top of things, really nice.

One of the things we liked about the Pepper Market was just eating off of real plates & flatware. If you're using paper & plastic for the rest of the trip, it's a nice change.

For dessert, little brother had the carrot cake. Heavy on the icing, light on cake. He's not a big dessert person (ummm, remember the YOGURT ) so while I would have liked lots of icing, he wasn't feeling it I had the cheesecake:

I wanted a little bit of chocolate, so I got one drizzled with chocolate sauce. It just tasted like a Hershey's sauce, but it was good enough for me. They had some with strawberries, but I wasn't really feeling it. The cheesecake was tasty, but kind of heavy...because well, it's cheesecake Desserts here were alright, nothing to write home about.

I noticed walking around deciding what I wanted that they had a coffee bar. So I mentioned it to my brother who's a Starbuck's fiend. He got a latte to go. Not Starbuck's quality, but he said it was a nice fix. He carried it to the MK with him. Considering that at most resorts you can't get that, it's a nice perk! (This is also available in Rix Cafe.)

Our meal, minus the lattee, would have come to $45. That's with the service charge I believe. So it was a pricey meal. Great to have the QSDP! Since I thought Nancy was awesome and I wasn't sure if she'd get anything because we were on the DP, I did leave a tip on the table. I did it purely because I think she deserved a little extra, not because I felt obligated.

All in all, thought the Pepper Market was alright. I don't think it lives up to the hype of those that love it. And I don't see why people hate it either. I wouldn't make a special trip to it. And I wouldn't eat here unless on some kind of DP. But it worked for us!

 

[onelilspark]

This is kind of what I do too!

It's a good hobby, isn't it?

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for an update...can't wait to read more.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Thanks for the great reviews, I'm really enjoying them! I'm staying at CSR next month so a few trips to PM will be had.

 

[Shenanigoat]

Was that $45 for just the two of you? I live in So Cal, overpriced food center of the west coast, and that seems crazy to me for a counter service. I eat w/ the Spouse at Claim Jumper, Cheesecake Factory, and other places for less than that.

I guess maybe business people are expensing things, so they jacked up the prices? It seems like I won't be going there to eat anytime soon.

 

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

I'm back!! Just caught up on your report. Everything sounds good but you're right about the Pepper Market, a little too pricey if you don't have a dinning plan!! That's a crazy amount for just 2 people for cs!! Anyway, can't wait to hear about the other restaurants you ate in!

 

[DLR29]

Great update! I'm still reading