Short Easter Week Dining Reviews--Old Favorites and New Fun

[ratfam]

Part I

We got back a week ago from a great Easter week trip. Our group was DH, me, DD17, DD's friend DF17and DS14, but we didn't all eat every meal. We were celebrating DD's upcoming high school graduation, and I decided that in addition to returning to some of our favorite places we we would try some new ones, and we were really happy with our choices! We are DVC members and stayed at BCV, so we are all breakfasts in the villa. I don't eat beef or pork so I am relying on the others' input for those items.

We arrived on Good Friday around 2pm and were famished but knew we had an ADR at La Hacienda de San Angel. We split some sandwiches from the Marketplace, the turkey, brie and cranberry sauce sandwich. This was really good--they mix up a fesh salad with I think arugula to put on top and it is served on a multi-grain bread. The sandwiches are very good and come with nice homemade chips or a good cucumber/tomato/feta salad, but they are REALLY slow there. Then we headed to Beaches and Cream where the 5 of us shared 3 sundaes--the no way jose, the milky way, and the hot fudge brownie sundae (we subbed in some mint chip ice cream in that one). They were all great, but the no way jose, with the peanut butter and fudge, is by far the best.

After strolling around Epcot for a while, we had our dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel, which had opened after our last visit. I have to highly recommend this place--the food was really good, seemed like it would probably be more authentic Mexican than the typical tacos and super cheesy stuff you get at most US-Mexican restaurants. DH and I decided to try some of the special margaritas. Our server was lovely and gave us a lot of information to help us pick good ones--DH had the raspberry lime, which was really good but a little on the sweet side for me. I had the one which had orange and tabasco sauce--I know it sounds weird, but the server said just to tell her if I didn't like it and she would get me another one. I really liked it--it had a nice amount of kick but wasn't too spicy or sweet (I am just not a fan of very sweet alcoholic drinks, I had planned to get the avocado margarita after reading so much about it here but our server also said that was very sweet). They are not inexpensive, but they are worth it! The chips and salsa were also good. For dinner the 5 of us split the two mixed grill platters for two--between the 5 of us (including DS the human vacuum cleaner) we pretty much ate it all (if we hadn't eaten a late lunch, I suspect at least DS, and maybe DH, would have still been hungry). It was a really good combination. The chorizo was different from what I have seen before, smaller links, but everyone said it was really good. The meats and fish were all very good, lean and very flavorful. Everything on the seafood platter was equally good. The platters came with good grilled vegetables and corn and tortillas. We were too full for dessert. It was about 8:20 or so when we finished (we had a 6:30 ADR and had to wait probably 20-25 minutes to be seated, but the pagers work in the Mexico pavilion so we walked around and rode the boat ride). I had tried to push our reservation later so that we could see Illuminations from the restaurant, but couldn't. We had a window table, and our server was so nice, she told us that we had a great view and we should stay to watch Illuminations and we didn't need to order anything, but the kids wanted to go outside. Even at 8:30 on a holiday weekend, we were able to get a spot along the water next to the restaurant which had a great view for the show.

We also tried another new Epcot experience, Biergarten, for lunch. This was just me, DH and DS. We had a noon reservation and were one of the first groups seated, but the first band show wasn't until 1:15, so we ended up waiting (which our server was very nice about and encouraged, even though the family of 5 sharing our table did not). I was really going more for the experience, since German food is not a favorite of mine since it is so pork heavy, but it turned out that DS and I liked it a lot and DH thought it was just ok. The highlights for me were the cold salads (I love beets in particular), the pretzel bread and beer/cheese soup (all 3 of us loved the soup) and the cheese spaetzle. I had a fish dish that was ok, and DS really liked the schnitzel and the sausages. DH and I split a medium-bodied German beer. The desserts were really nice because they were different than what you see at the other restaurants, and as a dessert lover I tried them all. The apple strudel with vanilla sauce was very good, as was the bavarian cheesecake and the pear tart. The black forest cake was just ok. The setting is very fun and we enjoyed the band's show as well--DS even danced with me! I don't know whether we will return, but I am really glad we went.

 

[ratfam]

We spent Easter Sunday at DHS, as we did 3 years ago, and for lunch had to return to Starring Rolls, mainly for the cupcakes. However they do have very good sandwiches--turkey or ham on foccacia bread with cheese, some veggies and some kind of sauce. They are big and flavorful and they come with chips or a piece of fruit. We splie 3 cupcakes between the 5 of us, the red velvet, the butterfinger and the chocolate peanut butter. I think that the butterfinger and the chocolate peanut butter were the best but all were great. It was only 11am and we got the last red velvet from the case, don't know whether they restock or not.

We did the fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melrose. While it gets mixed reviews here, we had a fabulous dinner there 3 years ago and did again this year. The package comes with appetizer and entree and a dessert sampler. For apps we had 3 calamari, one caprese salad and the server (another very nice one) let DS order the antipasto tray even though it was a "for two". The calamari was excellent, it had changed from the last time and was no longer a "for two" but was still a nice serving, and it came with three separate dipping sauces. The caprese was fresh and good, and the antipasto tray was a nice assortment and had a great blue cheese in particular. For entrees, I can't remember the name but I had a pasta in a cheese sauce with shrimp and vegetables which was great, DH DS and DF had the seafood pasta arrabiata which they all loved and DD had the steak which came with macaroni and cheese (she liked the steak but said the mac and cheese was amazing). We were too full to eat dessert then, but our server packed it and we ate it before Fantasmic, it was an assortment of smaller desserts including tiramisu which were all pretty good but probably would have been better if we ate them in the restaurant rather than 1.5 hours later. Definitely recommend this.

Later in our visit we ate at 50's prime time, just the 4 of us because DF had to go home early for college visits, and we had another great meal with a great server. DH and DS started with wedge salads. For dinner DS had the pot roast (which based on everyone's reaction seemed to be the big winner), DH the meatloaf (he liked a lot) and I had the fried chicken (I don't even really love fried chicken but this was very good, not greasy at all, and I don't love mashed potatoes but these were really good). I subbed the greens for the green beans, which were fresh. Unfortunately DD had picked up a bit of a stomach bug by this point in the trip so she just had the chicken noodle soup which looked good and she shared a bit of ours. For dessert DS had the pb&j shake (amazing) and DH had a strawberry malt (weird, I know). After reading about it here and the server's recommendation I had the bostom cream parfait, which I really liked. I think that we enjoyed our meals a lot more since we waited to order the shakes for dessert instead of having them before or with the meal.

 

[csjordan]

Part I

We got back a week ago from a great Easter week trip. Our group was DH, me, DD17, DD's friend DF17and DS14, but we didn't all eat every meal. We were celebrating DD's upcoming high school graduation, and I decided that in addition to returning to some of our favorite places we we would try some new ones, and we were really happy with our choices! We are DVC members and stayed at BCV, so we are all breakfasts in the villa. I don't eat beef or pork so I am relying on the others' input for those items.

We arrived on Good Friday around 2pm and were famished but knew we had an ADR at La Hacienda de San Angel. We split some sandwiches from the Marketplace, the turkey, brie and cranberry sauce sandwich. This was really good--they mix up a fesh salad with I think arugula to put on top and it is served on a multi-grain bread. The sandwiches are very good and come with nice homemade chips or a good cucumber/tomato/feta salad, but they are REALLY slow there. Then we headed to Beaches and Cream where the 5 of us shared 3 sundaes--the no way jose, the milky way, and the hot fudge brownie sundae (we subbed in some mint chip ice cream in that one). They were all great, but the no way jose, with the peanut butter and fudge, is by far the best.

After strolling around Epcot for a while, we had our dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel, which had opened after our last visit. I have to highly recommend this place--the food was really good, seemed like it would probably be more authentic Mexican than the typical tacos and super cheesy stuff you get at most US-Mexican restaurants. DH and I decided to try some of the special margaritas. Our server was lovely and gave us a lot of information to help us pick good ones--DH had the raspberry lime, which was really good but a little on the sweet side for me. I had the one which had orange and tabasco sauce--I know it sounds weird, but the server said just to tell her if I didn't like it and she would get me another one. I really liked it--it had a nice amount of kick but wasn't too spicy or sweet (I am just not a fan of very sweet alcoholic drinks, I had planned to get the avocado margarita after reading so much about it here but our server also said that was very sweet). They are not inexpensive, but they are worth it! The chips and salsa were also good. For dinner the 5 of us split the two mixed grill platters for two--between the 5 of us (including DS the human vacuum cleaner) we pretty much ate it all (if we hadn't eaten a late lunch, I suspect at least DS, and maybe DH, would have still been hungry). It was a really good combination. The chorizo was different from what I have seen before, smaller links, but everyone said it was really good. The meats and fish were all very good, lean and very flavorful. Everything on the seafood platter was equally good. The platters came with good grilled vegetables and corn and tortillas. We were too full for dessert. It was about 8:20 or so when we finished (we had a 6:30 ADR and had to wait probably 20-25 minutes to be seated, but the pagers work in the Mexico pavilion so we walked around and rode the boat ride). I had tried to push our reservation later so that we could see Illuminations from the restaurant, but couldn't. We had a window table, and our server was so nice, she told us that we had a great view and we should stay to watch Illuminations and we didn't need to order anything, but the kids wanted to go outside. Even at 8:30 on a holiday weekend, we were able to get a spot along the water next to the restaurant which had a great view for the show.

We also tried another new Epcot experience, Biergarten, for lunch. This was just me, DH and DS. We had a noon reservation and were one of the first groups seated, but the first band show wasn't until 1:15, so we ended up waiting (which our server was very nice about and encouraged, even though the family of 5 sharing our table did not). I was really going more for the experience, since German food is not a favorite of mine since it is so pork heavy, but it turned out that DS and I liked it a lot and DH thought it was just ok. The highlights for me were the cold salads (I love beets in particular), the pretzel bread and beer/cheese soup (all 3 of us loved the soup) and the cheese spaetzle. I had a fish dish that was ok, and DS really liked the schnitzel and the sausages. DH and I split a medium-bodied German beer. The desserts were really nice because they were different than what you see at the other restaurants, and as a dessert lover I tried them all. The apple strudel with vanilla sauce was very good, as was the bavarian cheesecake and the pear tart. The black forest cake was just ok. The setting is very fun and we enjoyed the band's show as well--DS even danced with me! I don't know whether we will return, but I am really glad we went.

Thanks for the great review! We were there this week, as well, 3/30-4/6. We had nachos from the fast food La Hacienda, which were awesome! We also had the Mama Melrose Fantasmic package, which turned out to be one of my favorite meals of the trip! We had Mahi Mahi Picata, which was OUTSTANDING! Can't remember the true name of the dish, but I would HIGHLY recommend it! We ate at Biergarten last trip and enjoyed it very much. Missed eating at 50's Prime Time...maybe next time. Glad to hear the food was good! We are now planning a Grand Gathering for 13 for Thanksgiving 2014! I appreciate all of the input, as we will be trying to decide where to ADR for that trip!

 

[ratfam]

We had a few lunches at Hurricane Hanna's at Stormalong Bay, and we really liked the way they had changed the menu. DS loved the grilled cheese with bacon (although DH's the next day was not nearly as well-prepared or full a sandwich, and he thought it was too heavy to be eating out at the pool). DH and DS both had the new lobster salad sandwich, which was served on mini rolls, it definitely was full of seafood and very fresh but had too much celery seed for my liking. DF had a cheeseburger which she liked, and DD and I had a grilled chicken sandwich that came with avocado spread and some other things on it, she loved it and I thought it was ok. I preferred the wrap with quinoa, goat cheese and roasted vegetables--I know it sounds weird, but it was great! They still have great fries here, and the other side option was an apple slaw which was good but a small serving (the fries were a large serving).

At AK it was DH, DS and I, and for a morning break we went to the coffee and pastry cart near the entrance and we split a blueberry muffin and a crumb coffee cake. Both were good and very big. They were moist and the only down side was that we all ended up covered with powdered sugar from the coffee cake, as did our bag. But it was worth it!

We had lunch at Yak & Yeti, which was a last minute plan, as we were walking by on the way to EE DS said "why don't we eat here" and at that point (around 9am) they were still taking reservations. Unfortunately DH was coming down with the same stomach bug that DD had, so he left the park before lunch and it was just me and DS. We shared the lettuce wraps to start, these were really great, I liked them even more than the ones we get at PF Chang's. For mains DS had the tempura shrimp, it was bigger than I expected with around 7 or 8 shrimp, steamed rice and stir fried vegetables. I had the honey chicken, not something that I would usually get given my mixed feelings about fried chicken but it sounded good, particularly with the broccoli and carrots as I love both and was feeling a little vegetable deficient by this point in the vacation, and it was really good. I had it with the brown rice, not the most exciting thing but it was well cooked and not crunchy like can sometimes be the case. We were too full for dessert.

That night the girls were off on their own and DH still wasn't feeling well, so DS and I went to Downtown Disney. DS chose Earl of Sandwich for dinner over WPE. We had never been there before, and while it is a good value I don't think that I would return. I had a seasonal special sandwich which had chicken, pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, and I thought it did not have much flavor and that overall the sandwich was really bready (and I love bread so that is not something I would normally criticize, although I am not as big a white bread fan). DS had an Italian sandwich, and he really liked it. We shared a tomato soup, that we both thought was really good (although they put big croutons in it so more bread, I could have lived without that). After reading so much about them here and given my love of dessert I really wanted to try a brownie sandwich. They were out of my first choice, peanut butter (sense a pattern here?), so we got a vanilla to share. This disappointed me too, I had a bite but it was just too sweet (and this is not something that is a problem I have, I have no problem with the Starring Rolls cupcakes, etc.). DS had a little and we brought the rest back for the rest of the family to try (DS and the others liked it a lot).

DS and I finished our evening with sundaes at Ghirardelli. The sundaes are expensive, but wow are they great, especially if you love dark chocolate like we do. DS had an all-chocolate one with the dark chocolate fudge sauce, I think it may have been called midnight reverie, and i had the mint bliss, which is chocolate and mint chip ice cream with the dark chocolate fudge sauce. Amazing, best hot fudge ever for a dark chocolate fan. They also come with squares of really dark chocolate on top, we took those back to the room in the brownie container and ate them the next day.

 

[ratfam]

Thanks for the great review! We were there this week, as well, 3/30-4/6. We had nachos from the fast food La Hacienda, which were awesome! We also had the Mama Melrose Fantasmic package, which turned out to be one of my favorite meals of the trip! We had Mahi Mahi Picata, which was OUTSTANDING! Can't remember the true name of the dish, but I would HIGHLY recommend it! We ate at Biergarten last trip and enjoyed it very much. Missed eating at 50's Prime Time...maybe next time. Glad to hear the food was good! We are now planning a Grand Gathering for 13 for Thanksgiving 2014! I appreciate all of the input, as we will be trying to decide where to ADR for that trip!

Glad you guys had a good trip too! A trip for 13 sounds amazing, I hope to have an extended family trip at some point too. Happy planning! We may not be back until DS' pre-graduation trip in spring 2016, so it may be a long time before I can start planning again

 

[ratfam]

Another new experience for us this trip was Be Our Guest. The setting is amazing, and even though our waiter had something of an attitude we were really glad we went. It was all 5 of us. DH and I each had a glass of wine, I think just because it was a novelty to be doing so at the first restaurant in the MK to serve alcohol. DD and DF each had the special fruit punch drink, I think wildberry, but they said it was a little weird and didn't really care for it, although DD said that it tasted very fresh. DH and DS started with the french onion soup, which they thought was great. DD and I split the salad starter, which was a beet salad, a carrot salad, and I think some kind of tomato salad, all were good. For mains DH and DF had the steak frites, which also came with green beans. DH really liked it, DF not so much, I think she just didn't like that it was prepared somewhat charred (DH said that it was well cooked, and juicy, as did DS and DD who had some of DF's, so I think it was just a question of personal taste). DD had the pork dish which again came with mac and cheese, which she loved. DS and I had the seafood in puff pastry. I thought it was great, the seafood and vegetables were fresh, the sauce not too heavy and I love puff pastry. DS, though, thought it was
bland and preferred what he tried of the others' dishes. We skipped dessert since I had read it was not too great there and had sundaes later in the evening.

Other old favorites were Sanaa and Crystal Palace. DH missed Sanaa while he was sick, the other 4 of us went. I figured I deserved a cocktail since I was in charge of 3 teens for the evening and I had I think the African star mojito, it was a little strong but good (although I hate those paper straws). We shared the bread service, appetizer sampler for 2 and a salad trio, all of which were great as always. I like the new bread service where they give you all of the breads, instead of just a choice of 3. I skipped the lamb on the sampler but the kids really liked it, and the samosas and cauliflower were both tasty and spicy without being overwhelming. For mains we shared tandoori lamb and tandoori chicken. Not a bit was left, but we were too full for dessert.

Crystal Palace was my DD's choice for our last night dinner as it is her sentimental favorite and Pooh is her favorite character, unfortunately she stayed back in the hotel sick that night with DH so it was just DS and I.
we have eaten here every trip and have never had a bad meal. They always have a good fish, and the corn spoon bread is a favorite. They also had some really delicious broccoli, of all things. I thought that the pasta dishes have been better in the past, but there was a paella which my son liked. The desserts seemed to be fewer choices than in the past but still plenty and they were all good (I liked the turtle cheesecake and coconut flan the best, and the lemon and key line tarts were also very good). There are cookies and soft serve ice cream as well.

One final new treat--DS and I split the waffle with nutella and fresh fruit for a snack earlier that afternoon from Sleepy Hollow in the MK, and it was delicious and had a lot of really fresh strawberries, banana and blueberries on it which helped with my feeling fruit deprived. Not too many people were ordering it, but when we got ours all of the people with funnel cakes commented on how good it looked. DS and I also had a quick lunch that same day at Pecos Bill, I had the chicken wrap and he the burger that comes with the bacon and the onion ring, which he loaded up at the fixins bar. The wrap was ok, the fries were really good. DS loved the burger.

 

[ratfam]

Our final lunch was at Marrakesh (we were supposed to be at Via Napoli but cancelled the ADR since DH and DD had missed so much park time and since DD still wasn't eating much. We shared chicken and lamb shawarma platters and DS had the falafel wrap. The chicken is different than previous years--not the shaved pieces like the lamb but more like sauteed chicken, it was much more flavorful. The couscous is a bit sweet with raisins, DS and I liked it, DH and DD not as much. I like the pita over the bread they used to serve with it.


So our trip came to an end. I would have liked to try some bakery goodies but both the Boardwalk Bakery and Main Street Bakery were closed during our visit. Next time! I also still want to try the carrot cake cookie one day. We didn't make it to Sunshine Seasons or Columbia Harbor House, both old favorites. Still want to try Via Napoli next time and check out the new France counter service as well as the caramel shop in Germany for the fresh caramel corn. It is always good to have things to look forward to!

Happy eating on your travels!

 

[HeidiGW]

thanks for writing your review, I enjoyed reading it very much!!!
Now, of course, I am hungry!

 

[bluejasmine]

Did you eat at San Angel or La Hacienda? I wasn't sure b/c of the mixed grill...