Someday, my private water carafe will come....an April 2015 dining report! (5/10 Kona Cafe))

[BlovesC]

Hot off the presses! Our five-day spring fling at CSR just ended and ~for the first time in forever~ (sing it with me!) I've decided to do a full dining report...and put to good use the copious amounts of food-porn pics we captured!

Intro to come later, but for now I'll share the lineup of eateries to be featured within:


Artist Point
Cafe Rix
Olivia's Cafe
Las Ventanas
Kona Cafe
Tusker House
Paradiso 37
Pepper Market
Coconino Cove
Hollywood Brown Derby
California Grill
Las Ventanas
Sanaa

 

[archdandy]

Subbing in! Looks like a great lineup!

 

[BlovesC]

OK, let's get this show on the road!

Introductions & Setting the Scene!
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That's me (B) on the left and my DH C on the right...this photo was taken on the top of the Space Needle in our favorite city in the world, Seattle. Our dream is to move out west someday, but for now we're stuck in FL making frequent escapes to WDW. We have largely similar tastes in most things Disney, so there isn't much variation in our favorites....Animal Kingdom is our favorite park, Flying Fish our favorite restaurant, and Beach Club our favorite resort

On this trip we were celebrating my recent graduation with my master's degree (yay!) and so, naturally, this was also the first trip where not a single cast member asked "are you celebrating anything?"

We had to switch our stay dates last minute, which unfortunately left us locked out of our previously booked resort (BC) and few others to choose from. We wind up trying a resort that was entirely new to us...

Coronado Springs!

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Which of course means that CSR restaurants (and the business-class lounge) will be prominent in this dining report!

Moving on to our first meal...!

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[BlovesC]

Dinner at Artist Point


We checked in to our resort in the late afternoon and after exploring for a bit, we were off to the Wilderness Lodge. We'd skipped lunch and so our dinner ADR was among the very first seatings at 5PM. We had a lovely table near the windows and there was a lot of natural light filling the restaurant, but unfortunately that made photos turn out quite dim.

The menu (if you can read it!)

None of the appetizers were really appealing to us, so we passed and munched on the yummy warm bread while awaiting our entrees. And as our server came to refill my water glass for the sixth time, making some half-hearted joke about the humid weather, the title of my dining report was born. I drink a lot of water (between 100-120 oz) every day. At each restaurant we went to I felt that our servers grew more and more exacerbated with the frequency in which they had to refill my water glass, and at some point I started fantasizing about them just simply leaving an entire carafe of water on our table, making life easier for the both of us. Alas, that never happened. If only other restaurants would take a page from Via Napoli who have designated CMs just on water duty!! But I digress...

Our entrees arrived, looking beautiful!

C chose the Wild Caught Prawn Pho:

"with mussels, calamari, pork, rice noodles, broccolini, shiitake, red curry"

The photo looks deceptively small, but this was a sizable dish with generous amounts of fish and a nicely nuanced curry broth. C loved this, and from the bite I had I definitely think he had ordered wisely! C doesn't drink wine often but went with the pairing for this, "Nuthouse" riesling, and thought it was excellent. What he really wanted though was to try the seasonal Voodoo Ale flavor, but he'd learned from our last meal here that 750ml of beer is a bit too much for him at dinner.


For my entree, I went with the Wild Halibut:

"with carrot-ginger risotto, blue crab, bok choy, sea beans, citrus-soy glaze"

A very beautiful dish, but I could only guess that it was perhaps sitting under a heat lamp for a bit too long. Everything was overdone, especially the halibut, which was dry, and the risotto, which was gummy. There were some good flavors here, just poor execution. And I honestly have no idea where the 'blue crab' from the description was on this dish...

I didn't snap a picture of the dessert menu, and wish I had since our choices don't seem to be on any online menus. Now, I have a major sweet tooth and dessert is usually where I'm least picky....but AP's offerings this evening all magically contained elements I didn't like. I was gung-ho for the donuts until our server told us they were filled with jam (which, ew) and then switched my interest to the strawberry cheesecake, until reading it was made with goat cheese (another ew). I was ready to pass on dessert entirely but C twisted my arm and so I decided to give the cheesecake a try and see perhaps the goat flavor was buried under layers of sweetness.


Strawberry Chevre Cheesecake

Well, the goat cheese flavor was somewhat subtle amidst all that sugar, but it still unfortunately left too strong an aftertaste for my liking. C ate most of this and seemed to enjoy it a bit more (and now you understand why he pushed me to order dessert! ).



Ricotta Donuts with marionbery jam and warm nutella

Going off memory here so I may be forgetting a component, but this was C's dessert pick. The donuts were piping hot and filled with the jam, which C loved. The white toothpaste tube there (which, really? a little too try-hard) contained the "Nutella", which was indeed warm but it tasted nothing like Nutella to me...it seemed more like dark chocolate ganache. C didn't think the donuts needed it, in any case, he thoroughly enjoyed them.


So all in all, a pretty solid meal for C, kind of a total bust for me. We had great service, I enjoy the solitude of the restaurant, and we love the PNW theme, so I'm sure we'll be back here in the future, but it just may take awhile.

 

[pumba]

good start...I love my seafood..so I would be in heaven with C's food..

 

[Vernie822]

I'm here. I love a good dining report. Congrats on your masters. Can't wait to read more!!

 

[disneymomof1]

Following -- can't wait to hear more !!!

 

[BlovesC]

Gelato at Cafe Rix


Later in the evening as we strolled around the resort (which was truly lovely at night) we decided to stop into Cafe Rix for a snack. Cafe Rix at CSR is a little quick-service coffee, pastry, and smoothie bar that also happened to have a selection of gelato! We each chose a "large" size which was 2 scoops (cost around $6.49 each, a tad pricey IMO) and took them to one of the outdoor patio tables by the water.

(Cafe Rix is located directly inside the patio doors leading out onto the outdoor patio)

In the background (white) is C's flavor, "Biscoff Cookie" and the front (orange) is my "Dulce de leche" flavor.

What's not to love about gelato? These were both creamy and delicious, and a much better dessert than my awful AP cheesecake!

 

[Mrsd]

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews. Thanks for posting.

 

[jabead]

Hooray!!! So happy to see you're doing a dining report, Becky. It's been way too long!

Sorry to hear Artist Point was a bust for you. It was one of my favorite dinners on my April/May 2014 trip but then in Oct. it was not so great. Hopefully next time we will both have better luck there.

 

[kastoney]

Jumping up and down here for the prospect of some new Disney food porn.

Sorry your meal at AP was a bust. Your entree looks absolutely amazing, too bad it was overdone. Your hubby's donuts sound amazing. Looks like you all had a fairly new menu as I hadn't heard of any of your dishes. Perhaps they still have some kinks to work out? Speaking of kinks, can I refill your water

 

[OurDogCisco]

Bummer about Artist Point... I'm excited to read the rest.

 

[archdandy]

Ugh, its always so disappointing when things don't live up to your expectations. Dessert should always be a good ending to a meal, not a so-so one. I love Coronado Springs by the way.

 

[Pfau]

Congratulations on obtaining your Masters! What an accomplishment!

Looking forward to your dining report as it's not chock-full of the same ol' same ol' (although, I don't tire of the same ol' same ol' because, well, food ... )

 

[BlovesC]

good start...I love my seafood..so I would be in heaven with C's food..

There's more where that came from...seafood was the theme during this trip!

I'm here. I love a good dining report. Congrats on your masters. Can't wait to read more!!

Thank you so much!

Following -- can't wait to hear more !!!

Woot!

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews. Thanks for posting.

Welcome aboard!

Hooray!!! So happy to see you're doing a dining report, Becky. It's been way too long!

Sorry to hear Artist Point was a bust for you. It was one of my favorite dinners on my April/May 2014 trip but then in Oct. it was not so great. Hopefully next time we will both have better luck there.

YAY BARB! I really enjoyed my last meal at AP before this one, and Charlie loved his dish, so we're definitely not writing it off.

Jumping up and down here for the prospect of some new Disney food porn.

Sorry your meal at AP was a bust. Your entree looks absolutely amazing, too bad it was overdone. Your hubby's donuts sound amazing. Looks like you all had a fairly new menu as I hadn't heard of any of your dishes. Perhaps they still have some kinks to work out? Speaking of kinks, can I refill your water

Bwahaahaha! That made me laugh....thank you!

Bummer about Artist Point... I'm excited to read the rest.

Woot woot!

Ugh, its always so disappointing when things don't live up to your expectations. Dessert should always be a good ending to a meal, not a so-so one. I love Coronado Springs by the way.

Yessss! Although this trip taught me that apparently I may actually have standards for my sweets...previously I believed I'd happily down anything with a high enough sugar content.

Congratulations on obtaining your Masters! What an accomplishment!

Looking forward to your dining report as it's not chock-full of the same ol' same ol' (although, I don't tire of the same ol' same ol' because, well, food ... )

Thank you so much!!! And yes, we enjoyed trying some new places during this trip, we tend to always go back to our favorite places so it was good to branch out!

 

[BlovesC]

Breakfast at Olivia's Cafe


Our plan for our first full day on property was...to relax and not do much of anything, besides swim. Old Key West is one of the only resorts we'd never set foot on and I thought it would be fun to explore the grounds a bit on a lazy morning. So Olivia's beckoned!

The restaurant was mostly empty and we were seated quickly. Wish I'd taken a picture of the decor...I was unfortunately very hands-off with my camera for this trip, which does not make for great dining reviews!

The menu:

I love the unique offerings they have and it was hard to choose! Deep in my heart I really, really wanted the banana bread french toast, but the older I get the less I can handle a ton of sweetness in the morning. But luckily the savory options were just as appealing!

At the top is C's choice:
Crab Cake Eggs Benedict - Two-Poached Eggs and Two Crab Cakes on an English Muffin with Key Lime Hollandaise and breakfast potatoes.

And at the bottom, my selection:
Conch Republic Omelet - Shrimp, avocado, and pepper jack cheese, and a buttermilk biscuit.


I looooooved this! My omelet had three of my favorite foods all rolled into one eggy delight. The omelet was a very slight bit overdone, but truly delicious and generously packed with goodies. I also liked the biscuit, which was soft and buttery. The potatoes though did nothing for me and I left them mostly untouched. And that started an anti-potato trend that carried on throughout the rest of the trip.

C had no complaints about his meal (and loved his potatoes)...I tried a bit of the lime hollandaise sauce and really liked the freshness the lime flavor brought to the richness of the sauce.

We loved our breakfast here...very relaxed atmosphere and good eats! This is on our list to try again for the future.

 

[BlovesC]

Siestas Cantina (CSR pool bar/QS)

We spent the morning at the CSR pool and as the afternoon approached and the humidity rose, we decided to hit the quickservice/bar, Siestas Cantina, for a refresher. Neither of us relished the thought of drinking something alcoholic in 91 degrees, so we chose some non-alcoholic smoothies!

Cotton Candy - Raspberry & Ice Cream $5.50

Mango Frosty - Mango and Ice Cream $5.50

Okay so obviously at an outdoor pool bar I shouldn't have expected anything different, but I was a little disappointed when while watching the bartender blend the drinks he pulled out a carton that said "ICE CREAM MIX" on the side, instead of hand-scooping frozen creamy goodness into a blender like I'd imagined. I can't say we'd buy these again, but they were cold and smooth and did the trick for the time being!

 

[kastoney]

Your meal at Olivias looks absolutely great. I'd always heard it was a bit of a hidden gem, but these are the first breakfast pics I'd seen. Being a Chesapeake Bay girl with an infinity for Key West, C's breakfast looks right up my alley. And I'm with ya on sweets in the morning. I can't do them either.

Looks like the smoothies hit the spot, but too bad they weren't made with fresh ingredients.

 

[RyuKokoro]

I'm looking forward to your report. My fiancé and I are going to be there in exactly one week for our Disneymoon and we're staying at Coronado as well. Olivia's breakfast looks wonderful though. And I'll be sure not to order the ice cream smoothies from by the pool.

 

[lilandvisma]

We are booked for CSR this October Love the gelato pics...I'm an irish girl, never had "gelato" that I can recall but they both look good!! Artist Point didn't really impress us foodwise our last visit, and like you, we'd definitely go back...just not in a hurry!