Short Takes--Dining Snippets from a Recent Visit

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I won't even try and compete with the extensive food reviews that appear on this board. Heck, we didn't even take any pictures! Of course, with twin girls celebrating their 2nd birthday we were either catching crayons before they dropped or moving the knives out of the way. So, how do you spend six evenings on property with two little urchins? Suffice it to say the we didn't let it stop us (much).

The line up was pretty much on the fly for our dinners, just two ADRs made ahead of time and the others made the day of. Fortunately, we went for early dinners with the girls so it was easy to get tables. The lineup was:
Monday arrival: (flight was late) take out at Big River Grille
Tuesday: Flying Fish with grandpa (who made the drive from Hilton Head for the girls' birthday)
Wednesday: Princess Breakfast in Norway; ESPN Club dinner (no, really!)
Thursday: Victoria & Alberts (best $120 babysitting bill ever)
Friday: late lunch at Rose & Crown followed by take-out pizza slices after Illuminations
Saturday: Jiko
Sunday: Big River Grille (groan . . . again!)

I will not remember everything, will only occasionally consult menus (so don't get snippy if I don't get the name right ), and will probably make strange references to Spoodles along the way. Comments are welcome, sarcastic remarks appreciated and commiseration over having twin toddlers enthusiastically received.

Big River Grille take-out:
So, we arrive 2 hours late in Orlando. Grumpy. Instead of a town car the company sends a van since "we can't put two child seats in a town car." Uh, sure, must be a Florida thing cause they sure do it here in the North. Grumpier (that should have been the 8th dwarf). Check in at the Boardwalk. Happy. We're at the far end of the building involving several horror movie length hallways. I don't know, none of the other dwarves fit the emotion so let's move straight to Hungry. We're not going anywhere, we're not ordering private dining (nice euphemism that) and I don't want to change diapers so I'm in charge of rustling up some food.

We figured some club sandwiches or something would go well and I figured Big River Grille would be the best option. I was always pretty good at math but my figuring did not add up. Nope. Not many sandwich options there. So it was the:

Chicken Alfredo:
Maybe it was the famished taste buds (can they even BE famished?) that made this so tasty. Maybe it was the extra time walking from the restaurant to the room (which was like walking from DC to NY) that allowed the flavors to meld further. Maybe it was the Sweet Magnolia Brown that I had while waiting for the food to come up. Or maybe just the low expectations. Not sure but this was a really tasty dish (not 5 star tasty but pretty good). The sauce had the right mix of cream, butter and parmesan cheese. The penne was just fine. The chicken was tender. Oh and this was dinner for the girls so I didn't get to eat much of it as they wolfed it down right quick.

Blackened Mahi Sandwich:
Yes, yes, I did get a sandwich but it was the only sandwich on the menu (unless you purists count hamburgers). It was average. Overcooked, boring, well, you get the idea. This was the adults meal but we did steal a few bites from the kids. Bad parents.

Next installment: Flying Fish for 5.

 

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It was a cold and starry night (always liked that better than dark and stormy). Okay, so it wasn't starry yet as our reservation was at 5:30 but it sure was cold. The girls were clutching a balloon each as a pre-celebration for their birthday the next day and we were seated all the way in the back. Smart move with soon-to-be two year old girls.

As always, Flying Fish was a pleasure with good service and good food. And, as always, Disney prices are about 20% higher than comparable restaurants elsewhere. Well, that's why we have a Tables in Wonderland card . . . offsets that price inflation nicely.

Appetizers:
Yellowfin Tuna Tartare:
This was surprisingly good. It was a layered dish, much like a terrine, with seaweed, yuzu, wasabi and other fun things. The fish had a noticable flavor, unlike many other raw preparations, which might be objectionable to some. I shared with others at the table . . . well, some . . . not much.

Crispy Sesame and Togarashi Scented Calamari:
This was the complete opposite of your local Italian restaurant calamari. Not rubbery, not greasy, not heavy on the breading. It was delicate, just slightly spicy, and tender as can be. I would highly recommend as a good sharing dish for the table.

Cheese Plate:
I don't remember which cheeses were represented on the plate but, after tasting each one I just shrugged a little. Not completely true, the Stilton was good, but the others were quite bland and non-descript.

Entrees:
Were there little girls with us? Yes there were but they were so quiet and comfortable that we hardly noticed other than snagging falling crayons and tipping juice cups. We did order their entree with our appetizers so that they could enjoy as well.

Kid's Meal Fish:
I don't remember what kind of fish was served to the girls but it was light, flaky, and disappeared inthe blink of an eye. Even the roasted potatos and vegetables were a hit. We just split a single kids portion between them and it was fine.

Oak-Grilled Diver Scallops:
The scallops were quite good, though small, and surrounded a bed of mascarpone laced risotto with clamshell mushrooms (among other things). Was it good? Certainly. Was it swoon under the table, I've got to order another one RIGHT NOW! kind of good? Not really. But I did like the wood smoke scent permeating the scallops. It was surprisingly delicate.

New York Strip:
Grandpa's a meat guy. He did order the calamari but it must have been a moment of weakness. What is there to say other than it was prepared to a perfect medium rare, well charred on the outside.

Mystery Dish #4:
Not a new menu entry (though intriguing, yes?) but just a faulty memory for the final order at the table.

The girls were getting restless so we released them from their prison and skipped dessert. This was our second time at Flying Fish and it has delivered as expected both times.

Next up . . . party with the princesses in Norway . . . yah, you betcha!

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your reviews! I can so relate to the long walk to the room, we had the same trek two years ago.

I just LOVE the calamari at FF, it's the best I've ever had!

 

[QueueCT]

Enjoying your reviews! I can so relate to the long walk to the room, we had the same trek two years ago.

I just LOVE the calamari at FF, it's the best I've ever had!

Thanks! It was strange how sometimes the walk seemed to take forever and other times we reached the room in the blink of an eye. There must be some strange type of space-time continuum thing going on at the Boardwalk.

Or maybe it depended on the quantity of alcohol consumed prior to the journey . . . just not sure which.

 

[buzz1fan]

I see you did some signature dining. How was that with the little ones? We are debating about trying Jiko in June, and I worry about the atmosphere with my boys.

 

[QueueCT]

I see you did some signature dining. How was that with the little ones? We are debating about trying Jiko in June, and I worry about the atmosphere with my boys.

The quick story is . . . not one single problem. We spent the day at AK and headed to AKL at 4:30. We had never been there and wanted to see the hotel before heading to dinner. First reaction was "wow, it's dark in the lobby." We took the girls outside to see the animals on the savannah which they loved.

We had a 6:00 ADR but arrived 30 minutes early and they were able to seat us right away. The host took us to a booth in the main dining room but, wanting high chairs, we requested a table and he ended up seating us in the wine room which was nice. There were several tables with children ranging across all ages so we didn't feel out of place.

I can't speak for the main dining room but the wine room was quiet and all the kids were well behaved (including the toddlers). Completely the opposite of what I've found at CG. The kids menu is varied and includes fish, beef, chicken, mac & cheese, PB&J, etc.

Only you know how your boys will do. We didn't find it to be stuffy, nor did our girls, but it is quiet. My opinion is go for it and good luck!

 

[natalielongstaff]

Lovely reviews

 

[QueueCT]

Lovely reviews

Thanks! Hopefully I'll get the next one up on the train tonight. Catching up from vacation is always a challenge and free time tends to be non-existent.

 

[skellingtonfreak]

Love the reviews so far!

 

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Princess Storybook Breakfast
What better way to celebrate a little girl's birthday than a visit with 5 princesses in a royal banquet hall? Well there are a few things that come to mind . . . a 2x4 to the head is one. Nope, I'm not a fan of all things princessy but off we went to Norway bundled up against the cold (real cold, not pretending that we were headed to Scandinavia).

Arrival:
The arrival sequence was very quick; they took our name and we stood in line for the picture with Belle in her ball gown. So here is a beautiful young lady in a three foot wide gown kneeling to say hello to the birthday girls. She was ignored. She smiled even more widely and started chatting the girls up. She remained invisible. Mom and Dad swoop in, pick them up and pose on either side of the princess. No excitement with Belle, maybe there would be more interest with the others.

Food:
We were seated at our table and encouraged to go up to the cold buffet. If you're a fan of smoked salmon, this is the place to go. Not the best quality but oh my, the quantity! All you can eat with capers, onions, etc. There's even cream cheese. Great, where are the bagels. Hmmmm, I suppose that's not a Scandinavian food group. Guess it's biscuits and cream cheese. Other than the fresh fruit the remainder of the buffet was just okay.

The hot food came out, a skillet of scrambled eggs, bacon and potato casserole with plenty for everyone. Eggs were marginal, bacon was fine but the potato casserole was to die for! Cheesy, creamy, fattening and fantastic. It's worth the price for these alone. Am I overstating? Well, maybe, but they sure tasted good that morning. By the way, does anyone know if they use Egg Beaters or a similar pasteurized product to make the scrambled eggs at Disney? That's precisely what it reminded me of.

Princesses:
A steady parade of gowned cast members visited our table stopping briefly for a photo and chat with the girls. Snow White showed up, no eye contact by the girls. Aurora said hello, the eggs were much more interesting. Jasmine smiled and the orange juice fell on the floor (missing her outfit). Mulan made a valiant effort at engaging the kids and they actually turned away (well, she was a little scary). The pictures, by the way, are hilarious as we kept snapping away regardless of what happened.

Overall, we should have waited two years before doing this though we really weren't surprised by the outcome. In general, the parade of princesses was a little rushed; just enough time at each table for a smile, a photo, a signature and maybe a two sentence chat. That's the adult perspective, the other kids seemed to love it.

We may go back in a few years once the girls really know who the princesses are but I don't look forward to having to pay for their meals as well as our own.