RPH 9/25 -9/29 Universal Newbie (Gone to the Dark Side) Part 2

[southjerseymom]

OK...I have been trying to get the time to do a section about the food on our last trip and I am finally going to get around to it. Hope it helps and I don't bore you too much. As I told you on my last post DH and I are travelling with our young guys age (almost) 6 and 4. DS (almost 6) is a traditional kind of pizza, chicken fingers kind of guy. DD 4 is our adventurous one. She will eat just about anything (oysters, calamari, clams, hot stuff...anything!) It makes it extra special if it is on Mommy's plate. DH says I should just order her what I get then I might be able to eat mine. (I regret the day I gave her shrimp - I have had no peace since then!)
DH is a gourmet server at a casino. I worked in all facets of the restaurant business for over 20 years. We love food, tip well, and rarely complain even if it is not wonderful. In the end it is only food and not worth getting worked up over.
All and all I give Universal food a B-. As a comparison I would also give WDW food a B. You should know that I live in a resort area and I am used to seeing menu prices comparable to both resorts. My favorite thing in the world for years was eating out. Now I just think it has gotten so expensive (restaurants have reached my "threshold of pain") I just can't justify the cost for the value anymore. I never minded paying good money for food...but you sure better know what the heck you are doing in the kitchen to charge the prices that are common now.
We had hoped to eat at either Tchoup Tchoup or Emeril's and we did have reservations at both that we had to cancel because DS was just not feeling well enough for me to drop $200+ on a dinner we would not enjoy. I was sorry I didn't get to try either of those restaurants. Anyway, I have gotten away from my point here. Going to give my impressions of some of the places we ate. Everyone has different tastes. This is just what we thought.
Day One: Lunch at Bula Grill in the RPH. First thing we ate since we got on the road at 4:30 am. Great Bloody Mary (they are a food group!) and Gin and tonic for Mommy and Daddy. DH had a great cheeseburger while I opted for a wrap with chicken, cilantro, mayo, crunchy onions and a sweet chili sauce. Very good. Surprised it was sliced chicken instead of pieces. (Had the quesadilla around the pool a few days later. Very good - but again the sliced chicken). DS had kids cheeseburger and DD had grilled cheese. DS's was ok..DD's was these giant slices thick white bread grilled with no butter and filled with about 2 slices of yellow american. Yech...(she loved mine). This would be my complaint about Universal's kids menus. Piled with fries, huge portions and no healthy alternatives. WDW does this part better. By the way I am not one of those crazy people of vacation. My kids are not going to be harmed by 4 or 5 days of so so nutrition. We eat well at home and I figure it is a vacation for all of us. I did buy tons of fruit and veggies when we got home so I think they will be ok. (How did we ever grow up? My mother thought a vegetable was a can of green beans she boiled in water for an extra 20 minutes!)
We also did room service at RPH. Nice touch...the server mentioned that a 20% tip was included. We have used room service a lot on our previous trips to WDW (kids asleep...adult beverages....food delivered....priceless) and the servers there never mention that 18% goes on and some of them get pissy if you don't leave more. Hey - I worked as a server too - and a guaranteed 18% tip is nothing to sneeze at. Tell me what the scoop is and I may leave you more like I did for the RPH girl for being honest. (The gratuity is added at Bula's and around the pool....everyone is very upfront in telling you...good policy!!
Gotto to go....got a little more long winded then I wanted to...I promise to be short and sweet when I finish!

 

[highlander447]

Good that server at Bula grill told u about the tip being added as at HRH I ended up basically tipping 40%

 

[southjerseymom]

Ok I am going to try and be short and sweet and give some general impressions of food at US IOA and CW.

1. Lunch at Mythos
DH and I start with cream of ****ake mushroom soup. DD loved mine.
DH grilled chicken ceasar
DS dueling dragons kids pizza/DD cheeseburger (with a TON) of fries - I was beginning to see a pattern.
Me - like a knucklehead - orders the spinach salad which comes with tomato bacon dressing. Unfortunately, I forgot about the spinach recall and the server didn't tell me romaine was being substituted. Wasn't the same with romaine. Spring mix would have been better.. but the two beers a piece DH and I had helped. Overall rating: B (Cost $65 before tip)

2. Dinner at the Kitchen
We drove over from RPH about 7:30 and had no reservation. We chose the Kitchen because we wanted to see HRH and I knew the dining room had a "kid" area. I was hoping DH and I could have a somewhat civilized dinner while the kids hung out. We asked for a table right next to the kid area....no problem becuase there was only one other table in the place. Our hostess the kids could make pizza's and that was fun. We went up to a counter next to the open kitchen and they put topping on a personal pie. (Kids ate free when they dined in specific Lowe's hotels. Kitchen was one of them) When we sat down I told the server it had been a long couple of days and we were really looking forward to relaxing. As I mentioned before I have worked in a LOT of restaurants. When a server is told people want to relax you need to do whatever you can to slow it down. If the kitchen is cranky you just put the app dupe in and tell them the table hasn't ordered entrees. That way they won't be throwing food at you. Whether it was the kitchen's fault or whether the server had a hot date we were on the speed dining tour.
We ordered the calamari app which arrived in a colander barely cooked. We are talking not a hint of even golden brown on the squid. We split the iceberg lettuce blue cheese salad which arrived with the app. I asked the hostess to please take it back and slow it down because I really really wanted another martini. Well they waited 3 minutes - brought it back and asked if we wanted the calamari wrapped. Ahh....no....I'm still eating it!!!! At this point we have pizza plates, bread, colanders, oils, salads, and drinks on a small table of four. Yikes. I managed to drink my martini in the 3 more minutes we had before the entrees came. It took 3 servers to stand around the table and ask what the could take away. DH and I both had the fish specialties of the day. Can't remember what the preparation was but we both loved them. Would have liked it a LOT more if it hadn't been so rushed.
Overall: C- for service (including the hostess and head chef who should have been aware of what was happening) B+ for food (Cost $111 before tip)

3. Breakfast in the Orchid Lounge. Hot cinnamon buns and good coffee. Fairly reasonable in price.

4. Kid Eat Free Lunch at Captain America.
DH wanted to ride the Hulk so I took the kids to get one of our free lunches. A very cranky old man put put wristbands on my kids and pointed to the free menu. DS got a cheesburger which came...surprise...with a mountain of fries. DD asked for mac and cheese. I asked for a courtesy cup and split a soda between them (the small was large enough for an adult). So when I pick up the tray at the counter there is the cheeseburger and a plate with what looks like chicken nuggets and the usual mountain of fries. I tell the guy my daughter ordered the mac and cheese. Well it is the mac and cheese which has been DEEP FRIED! While as an adult the idea of frying one of my fav's may be an interesting option....but I can't believe they are serving that to kid's. Oh well, it is vacation. PS DD loved the "fried mac and cheese"
Overall: very so so C mostly for convienence and the free food.

5. Late Lunch for Mommy and Daddy at Lombardo's
Later in the day the kids had already eaten and DH and I were hungry. We decided to hit Lombardo's while we were walking by. No wait. Nice room. We got some fruit for the kids and DH and I each had lobster bisque. No discernable lobster flavor. Needed some sherry and salt. We split a shrimp cocktail. It was the white shrimp which are not my favorite but they are common in FL. Nice size, well cooked and chilled. Split a Lombard's shrimp cobb salad. It was ok. Food was ok. service pleasant. (Cost $51 before tip)
Overall: B

Just a couple more to go.....maybe I can't be short and sweet......stay tuned!

 

[highlander447]

Sounds pretty good overall

 

[AlexandNessa]

Too bad you missed Tchoup Chop -- they have an excellent Bloody Mary-type drink there .. I believe it's called the Hoki Hoki Mai or something like that. It's made with wasabi instead of tobasco. Excellent! Thanks for your report.

 

[southjerseymom]

OK Now I am going to be short and sweet and end this too long trip report:

Dinner at Pastamore - one of the best dinners we had. Awesome Chicken Piccata and Veal Parm. Good service/resonable price. A+

9/28 Lunch at Midway Grill with chicken from Amity Chicken Stand for DD: "It is going to cost me HOW MUCH!" Just wanted a quick snack for lunch today. We were going on Jaws so I got chicken for DD. $8.51 for a greasy leg and nasty thigh with the usual mountain of fries. I decided to split a dog with DS and DH would have his own. Two soda to split between the 4 of us. Well the hot dogs only come in "platters" which includes a small nathan's dog in a huge bun piled with all kinds of ____! For two hot dogs (which included yet again more fries) and 2 small sodas it was $17.41 YIKES - them is some expensive dogs!

9/28 Dinner
Margaritaville
Big Buffet fan. Saw him this summer during a horrendous heat wave at the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ. I am way too old to be tailgating in 105 degree weather - but it had to be done!!! Margaritaville has good food, good service, kids loved the volcano and the stilt walkers. Great time! (PS I also got a few margarita's to go from the outside bar during the week........yummmmmm!


9/29 Breakfast at Crescent Moom in IOA. Excellent croissant sandwiches. Reasonable price. One of the winners!

Impressions of Universal Overall

Rides:
IOA we Loved:
One Fish Two Fish, Cat in the Hat, Seuss Trolley, Unicorn Roller Coaster, Jurrasic Park River Adventure (I especially loved the T Rex...I rode it again and again), Bilge Barges. Pteronadon (sp) Flyer was a bust for the time it took to ride it. Kids loved it though. DH did Ripsaw Falls, Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Free Fall and loved them all. We have a family joke about where the heck was Spiderman? He would come and talk to us during the ride then leave us to get beat up by the villians. What's up with that!

US
Some rides are getting a little dated. BTTF, ET, Jaws and Twister could all use some updating. Younger kids have no idea what the movies are about. They were all ok...just dated. Loved Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Woody Roller Coaster, and DD loved the water area in Curious George. We did the Animal Show and Barney. Both were good. No MIB or Terminator this time. Kids too little. I did, however, go on Mummy. What a hoot! DH told me I had to do it and I was laughing my ___ off! Very fun!

That's about it....we enjoyed our first stay. We have discussed next trip staying onsite and doing day trips to WDW. 4 days was a comfortable time to see everything we wanted and get some down time around the pool. Much more relaxing. And lastly.......
............................................FOTL is the most AWESOME thing in the world!!!!!! Even though we didn't always need it it was the BEST! What a way to make a theme park vacation more fun!!! Universal Rocks!!!

 

[JawsCPA]

Just had to reply to your experience at the Kitchen. You wanted a slow meal and you got rushed. When we there in June, we felt the meal was S-L-O-W!!! It took a long time to get our different courses. We don't want to feel rushed through our meal, but we didn't want to spend 2 hours eating dinner.

Looks like we should have traded nights.

The food was good and our waitress was great.

 

[highlander447]

Thanks for taking the time to share

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reports ~ Thanx for sharing.