Send in the Wheelbarrows, I Can't Walk or Move UPDATED 11/7/10 Captain Cooks

[crystalcml]

We love 50's and try to make it there once a trip. This year we chose to go there for lunch. We had an 11:15 ressie and checked in around 11am and were seated promptly. This place is so unique and fun! The hostess came out and goes (insert last name here) Kids, table is ready for ya and I'm not getting any younger. Then the hostess proceeded to ask where we were from and we said Minnesota and she seated us here:

This is like a page from an old calendar and it said Minneapolis, Minnesota and me being a baseball fan was ecstatic to see that!

Our Auntie came out and had Brandon set the table while she got our drinks then she proceeded to take our food order.

Crystal ordered:
Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken served with Mashed Potatoes, Chicken Gravy, and Southern Greens (I substituted greens for green beans and carrots)

This is my favorite dish here. The portions are huge. You get a half of a chicked and big heaping helping of potatoes and veggies. The chicken was moist and fried crunchy on the outside. I ate, Brandon ate and my mom ate and yet again, I still had food left on my plate lol

Brandon ordered:
Mom’s Old-fashioned Pot Roast slow-cooked ‘til fork tender served with Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Celery and Onions

Brandon orders this every time he comes here as well. He thinks this is amazing. He ate every single drop except for the bite I took. He loves this and will not order anything else lol

Mary ordered:
Caesar Salad with Chicken Romaine Lettuce tossed with Caesar Dressing, Grated Parmesan, and Garlic Croutons topped with sliced Grilled Chicken

Mary thought this was good but not as good as Tony's. I tried a bite and thought it was excellent! So much so that I ate a mini plateful and shared my chicken with her.

Mary also ordered:
Vanilla Malt

She has an obsession with real malts and said this is the best this she's had at 50's.

On to the desserts

Crystal ordered (drumroll please):
Peanut Butter and Jelly Shake

I've heard about this infamous beauty and decided to give it a whirl. It sounds kind of nasty so I wasn't too sure what to expect. This was probably the best ice cream treat in all of WDW! I ate this entire thing and asked for a to go cup and continued to eat the rest of it while wandering around Hollywood Studios. I will most definitely go back and get another one even if we don't have dinner there.

Brandon ordered:
Dad’s Brownie Sundae Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, and Caramel Topping

This is a very large dessert. Brandon ordered it and ate about 3 bites. He was too full to eat any more. I ate a couple bites and loved it! The brownie is always perfect and soft and the caramel corn is the perfect compliment!

Mary ordered:
50’s Boston Cream Cupcake White Cake filled with Pastry Cream and covered with a Chocolate Glaze

This looks beautiful but Mary said it wasn't as good as she thought it would be and it looked a lot better than it tasted. She said it was cold like it was in the fridge.

Wrap up:
This is always one of our favorite places. Our waitress was outgoing and fun. She played along but wasn't over the top or obnoxious! I enjoyed my experience a lot.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

The PB&J shake is amazing, we sometimes get it at Cheeburger Cheeburger. BUT, we also make it at home and it is just as good! You should try it!


1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons grape jelly
1/4 cup milk
3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened

Combine peanut butter and jelly in a small bowl, mixing well.

Combine milk, ice cream, and peanut butter mixture in container of an electric blender.

Process mixture until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides.

 

[crystalcml]

We decided to go to Le Cellier due to the fact that they are upgrading it to 2 TS credits for the 2011 DDP. We couldn't get anything and I was starting to lose hope when low and behold, some gracious person on the Disboards put their cancellation on the cancellation thread and we were able to swap and get their cancelled ressie! Thanks!!!!! Our ressie was for 8:45pm and we checked in around 8:15pm hoping to be seated before our time. Well that didn't go over so well and we were seated at 8:45pm even though there were empty tables all around.

We were seated and our server came over and took our drink order and brought that along with the scrumptious pretzel bread along with multi-grain and sourdough bread:

We also had a friend join us for supper:

Crystal ordered:
Le Cellier Mushroom Filet with mushroom risotto. However, since I absolutely hate mushrooms I substituted the mushroom filet for a plain filet and risotto for cream cheese mashed potatoes.

This looked phenomenal when it came out, but I was disappointed in the filet. I ordered it medium and it came out so well done it was tough and brown on the inside. The cream cheese mash is always great and this time around it was still phenomenal!

Brandon ordered:
Le Cellier Mushroom Filet with mushroom risotto. However, since he absolutely hates mushrooms also, he substituted the mushroom filet for a plain filet and risotto for cream cheese mashed potatoes.

Brandon ordered his medium and it came out medium. It was really really good too! It was pink on the inside and melted in your mouth. He thought his dinner was delish and mopped up every last bite on his plate.

Mary ordered:
Le Cellier Mushroom Filet with mushroom risotto (She's the only one that got it as it came lol)

Mary ordered hers medium as well and her's came out just like mine. It was well well done and tough. She thought the risotto was good though.

Desserts:
Crystal ordered:
Chocolate moose

This was really good and creamy on the inside and there was a nice almost cookie like crunchy topping on the outside. I enjoyed this a lot. There wasn't a strong chocolate flavor like I was expecting so that was a plesant surprise. My favorite part were the maple leaf antler cookies! Yummo

Brandon ordered:
S'Mores

He gets these every time we go to Le Cellier. He says it's one of the best desserts in all of WDW! The top are marshmallows rolled in sprinkles and the bottom is 2 kind of soft/chewy graham cookies with a scoop of ice cream in the middle.

You can see he let no time pass from when this was set on the table to when he started eating lol

Mary ordered:
Chocolate on Chocolate Whiskey Cake

Mary thought this was good. She said it was moist and ver very chocolaty. She said what makes this cake the best is the sauce (I don't know what it was) that they put over it.

Final Thoughts:
I like Le Cellier but I think it's over rated. There is no way I would have paid $35 OOP for an over cooked couple ounces of beef. I also feel like Le Cellier has lost some of it's uniqueness/magic. The servers weren't the friendliest and I also felt like I was sitting on top of people as they've added more tables since the last time I was in there. Would I go back for 2 TS credits? No. Would I go back for 1 TS credit? Probably not.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for the update, we are trying LeCellier for our first on our next trip.

 

[crystalcml]

Thanks for the update, we are trying LeCellier for our first on our next trip.

This accidently posted before I was done writing. I've added desserts and a final thought. Feel free to re-read. I hope you enjoy your experience there

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

we are on the DxDDP so I wanted to try before it goes to 2 credit b/c I really not want to try for 2 credits.

 

[crystalcml]

On our DTD day, we were wandering around trying to figure out where we wanted to eat. We finally narrowed it down between WPE or Earl of Sandwich. We went with WPE and boy was that the best choice we could've made!

We walked in around 11:15am and were greeted by a happy cast member at the counter! There were so many choices I was having a hard time making up my mind Luckily for me, I studied the menu they have posted outside before we went in so I had some what of an idea. We proceeded to order our food and drinks and found a table to sit. WPE is kind of neat because they make everything to order and bring it out for you.

Brandon and I decided to split 2 meals because we both wanted the same things lol

Crystal and Brandon ordered:
Pepperoni, Sopressata, Toscana Salami and Chilies Wood Stone Oven Pizza

This was one of the best pizza's Brandon and I have ever had! It was light, thin, crisp and full of flavor. This was also really good sized. There were 8 slices altogether and we had to take a to-go box for the rest.

and
Spaghetti & Meatballs, Tomato-Basil-Garlic Sauce and Fresh Herbs

This was phenomenal spaghetti. The noodles were cooked perfect, the sauce was robust and full of flavors and the meatballs were bellissimo, absolutely wonderful! I've never had such a flavorful meatball in my life. Brandon set in and started scarfing down on the spaghetti. This was also a good sized portion. He and I ate and we still left about 3/4 on the plate.

Mary ordered:
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Port Wine Sauce and Crispy Onion Rings

Mary said this was moist and tender and good. The bacon added a nice flavor. The onion straws were really really good. I ate a lot of these lol. The mashed potatoes were creamy and scrumptious.

The desserts:
Brandon and Crystal ordered:
Brownie and sugar cookie

Brandon said his brownie was good but nothing spectacular. He said it was your average brownie.

I liked my sugar cookie. It was soft and chewy and I was able to pack it in my bag for later because I was too full after lunch to eat it.

Mary ordered:
CRÈME BRÛLÉE

She said this was sweet and creamy with a crisp topping. The inside was really creamy and good. It was a vanilla custard flavor that wasn't too sweet yet not bland. It was very good.

Final Thoughts:
I am soo thrilled we chose WPE! I thoroughly enjoyed my entire experience there including the wonderful food. The cast members were very nice, cheerful and helpful. We went at a great time of day for lunch. We did leave a tip for our waitstaff because we were unsure if you tip there because it's a counter service or not so we did decide to leave a tip just in case. I will definitely be returning next year as this has become my 2nd favorite restaurants in WDW!

 

[kimgof]

Just caught up on your wonderful reviews. We are major fans of WPE...awesome food, escpecially for a CS. That meatloaf looks phenomenal...I might have to try that next trip.

 

[crystalcml]

We originally had a ressie for 1900 Park Fare breakfast but after reading wonderful reviews on this board, we decided to try Akershus. We went to the lunch seating and had a ressie for 11:15. We checked in around 11am and were walked in shortly after that. Once you are inside the restaurant, you are brought to a line to have your picture taken with a princess. The best part of the picture was that it's included in the price of the meal. I'm not sure if the princess changes but ours that day was Belle.

They took a professional picture and allowed my mom to take one with her camera. As you can see, Brandon was a little afraid of Belle.

We were then seated near the appetizer buffet. They had a lot of different cold salads, cheeses, breads, fruits, veggies and fish. They also had some things left over from the breakfast seating that they left out.
My appetizer plate:

For lunch, you are given a menu and you get to choose from their offerings.
Brandon and I both ordered the:
Sautéed Chicken Breast served with fresh Vegetable Farro Risotto and Herb Chicken Jus

Brandon and I both agreed this was not the meal for us. It had a flavor to it that we didn't care for even being from Minnesota. Brandon loves mashed potatoes but wouldn't even eat these either.

Mary ordered:
Traditional Kjottkake Ground Beef and Pork Dumplings served with Mashed Potatoes, seasonal Vegetables, and Lingonberry Sauce

Mary thought this was an odd dish. She was not expecting meatballs when she ordered dumplings as this is not what dumplings are back home. She thought it tasted a little strange also.

All three of us didn't eat our meals but the appetizer bar was fantastic and you could eat as much of that as you liked. So I went back and filled my plate with salad and other offerings.

The characters their were Belle, Cinderella, Ariel and Aurora (I don't remember Jasmine being there and she's my favorite).

After we met with the princesses and our dishes were cleared, we were brought out dessert. It's a sampler so it's three smaller sized desserts.
From left to right: Flaky Puff Pastry filled with Mascarpone Mousse topped with fresh Berries, Traditional Rice Cream topped with Strawberry Sauce, Sweet and Savory Chocolate Mousse, :

My favorite dessert was the chocolate mousse followed by the flaky pastry. These were wonderful! The rice cream tasted like tapioca pudding to me but my mom loved it so it was gobbled right up!

All in all, I didn't like the main dishes served but I loved the restaurant. It was beautiful and it looked like an old castle. The characters were all extremely nice and willing to chat and seemed to enjoy their jobs. They gave Brandon a little extra attention as he was one of the few boys in the entire place and I think he liked it even though he'll tell you otherwise. I would really like to try this restaurant again but maybe for breakfast!

The picture package-Included in our meal price was an 8x10 photo of Brandon, Belle and myself along with 6 wallet sized photos. That was a pleasant surpirse for us as our photo turned out great!

 

[crystalcml]

I've heard so much about these that I had to try one. I know there has been talk as to wether it's on the DDP as a snack credit or not. I went to the stand and there is not a DDP symbol next to it. I decided to pay cash for it. I costed around $5. It was kind of large so Brandon and I shared it.

I believe we ordered tangerine, melon and strawberry

While I was waiting for mine, a gentleman walked up and ordered his and was able to use a snack credit which drove me nuts! I really think Disney should have things clearly marked because people shouldn't have to second guess if something is included or not.

Anyway, this little creation is very tasty and the syrups taste very good and aren't doused in sugar like your typical sno-cone.

 

[crystalcml]

We went to Captain Cooks for dinner after Akershus. By the time we got there we were ravished. I love the Polynesian and think it's beautiful and was super excited to try their counter service. We went around 4:30/5:00pm and it was actually pretty quiet. We looked around and realized that it's not your typical counter service. They have these automated/touch screen machines and you order your food from them. They do let you remove and add things from an entree.

After we ordered our lunch we found a spot to sit while they cooked it. They call your name when your food is ready.

Crystal ordered:
Adult Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Served on multigrain sunflower bread with cheddar, Swiss, and blue cheese, frisee, and tomato. Served with Polynesian chips. Minus the tomato

This was fairly large and a very good sandwich! It was cooked well, had a nice crunch and the cheese was gooey. I love grilled cheeses and I like to see different variations of them. The poly chips were my highlight. They were made fresh and they were a mix of potato chips and fried wonton chips. Absolutely fantastic!

Brandon ordered:
Pulled pork with BBQ sauce, pineapple cole slaw, cheddar cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes, served warm on a pineapple-coconut hoagie roll. Served with Polynesian chips. Minus the cole slaw.
Take #1

They left the cole slaw on it and Brandon wouldn't go near it.

Take #2

Without slaw. Brandon loves bbq and thought this was really good. He gobbled it up before anyone could even get a taste. He said it was moist and full of flavor but not overpowering and he would definitely get this again.

Mary ordered:
Hawaiian Flatbread with ham & golden pineapple

This came on a platter sized plate. She said it was crisp, sweet and good. You could definitely taste the pineapple. I had a taste and would have to agree.

Desserts:

Crystal ordered:
Chocolate chip cookie

I was too full to try my cookie so I was able to wrap it up and bring it with me to eat later. It was good, fresh tasting and soft. Other than that, nothing extremely special.

Brandon ordered:
Brownie

This was large as it filled up most of the dessert sized plate. It was a thinner brownie with a thick layer of chocolate frosting. He loved this and was covered in chocolate after devouring it.

Mary ordered:
Some sort of apple crisp

She also was too full to eat her dessert and they have these fantastic to go containers for the larger desserts so she was able to pack hers away also and save it for later. Once she ate it, she said it was good and she ate the whole thing as this was another dessert on the large side.

Final thought:
I really enjoyed this restaurant and it's pretty easy to get to. The ordering system is a little on the advanced side but it was neat to try. We all enjoyed our food, the atmosphere and the people were very nice. I would definitely head back there on our next trip. Not just for the food, but for the views:

 

[TruBlu]

Every trip I plan to try that grilled cheese. Hopefully this time we will make it to the Poly for lunch or dinner. It looks great!

 

[Linda67]

Captain Cooks is on my list of places to try on our next trip

Probably twice, once for the Tonga Toast and once for the Grilled Cheese and Dole Whip

 

[vettegirl]

Great review of Captain Cooks. I love their chips and the dole whips are good too.

 

[kmrein]

Thanks for the review of Captain Cooks. I've never eaten there, but will during our next trip, I'm sure, since we're staying at the Poly.

That grilled cheese looked pretty good!