Reco Off-Site Restaurants for Family?

[BuzzLightYear3]

Hi.....we (me, DH, DS-10, DD-5, and DS-3) are going to be in WDW in June for nearly two weeks. We're staying at BWV, so we'll probably eat most breakfasts in the room and lunch at counter service restaurants or in our room. We're going to make a few PS', but I expect we'll also want to eat off-site for dinner a fair amount of time as well. (While DH and I love all the WDW restaurants, it seems like a lot of money to eat dinner at those places every night.....especially since many of our dinners are interrupted with taking kids to the bathroom, settling arguments, etc. Anyway, can anyone recommend some off-site restaurants in the area? I know there are many chains. Personally, I love Chili's, so we'll definitely go there. Any other recos?

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

A couple of years ago my family had two good dinners at Cracker Barrel. The food is not what I would call healthy food -- chicken fried steak, chicken and dumplings, mac and cheese, but it is fresh and it is good. It is also inexpensive. My daughter (5 1/2 at the time) loved the mac and cheese and the hamburgers.

They serve great biscuits and cornbread with the food. There is also a cute store to wander through if you have to wait for your table.

 

[madcoco]

In the Crossroads area. All are casual.Imho

Jungle Jims: Great burger place.
Chevy's: Mexican
Bahama Breeze: Caribbean style
Pebbles: excellent small local Floridian chain.
Orlando AleHouse: Very reasonable. Good food. (Its a brewpub Can get very noisy).
A number of other spots to choose from in the Crossroads area.
Enjoy your stay.

 

[cinamin27]

Pizzaria Uno, the location on Hwy 192 (eastgate -- they are right next door to a Chili's, 3 restaurants have connecting parking lots Macaroni Grill, Chili's and Pizzaria Uno) has great food & wonderful service. We were just there on Febr 15th (2003) it was crowded & we were given a 30 minute wait time which actually turned out to be only 15 minutes! The wait staff was friendly & worked their tails off! And the biggest bonus was their everyday special, kids eat for 1 penny per pound (thier wieght, there's a scale at the reception stand)!!! The manager said they are the only location that offers this special everyday.

They have a good variety of food from pasta, Chicago style or thin crust pizza, buffalo fingers, all at really great prices.

p.s. there are other locations all over town, but as the manager said, the Hwy 192 location is the only one doing the penny per pound.

 

[dandelion]

<b>cinamin27</b> That's a great tip, thank you! We like Pizzaria Uno locally.

<b>BuzzLightYear3</b> we have two children, dd 6 1/2 and ds will be almost 4 at the time of our trip in April. Besides Jungle Jims and Bahama Breeze, we might also try another chain mentioned here recently, Sweet Tomatoes. IIRC they said it was out on I-Drive. My friends who live in Miami and NC recommend it highly.

 

[SimonV]

Sweet Tomatoes is up on I-Drive just north of its junction with Kirkman Road, and I rate it very highly. Other favourites include Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Bennigan's, Darryl's and Wild Jack's. Ponderosa, Sizzler and Black Angus all offer a similar budget-priced menu which goes down well with kids, while I'll also vote for Cracker Barrel. Golden Corral is another chain which seems to do well in Orlando. The new Olive Garden on I-Drive is another good mid-range choice (with large portions!). But, with some 4,000 restaurants to choose from, you won't find it hard, methinks!