Thanksgiving '08 (Nov 22 - 28) w/ pictures

[kyirish25]

Lunch - Contempo Cafe
We decided to give Contempo Cafe a try for lunch as we had been impressed with all of our breakfasts. The options were nice as it wasn't strictly hamburgers and such. The food was prepared in a timely manner and was fresh and tasty.

Kids Chicken Nuggets – with fries and chocolate pudding

Pepperoni Flatbread

Honey Lime Chicken – served with pepper jack cheese on multigrain roll with salsa-ranch dressing

The only complaint was the construction noise taking place during the afternoon. It was nice that they didn't start until after breakfast and would be finished by dinner but did make for a very noisy lunch.

 

[kyirish25]

How did the Toy Story pizza compare to other pizza?

The only other pizza we had was a flatbread at Contempo Cafe. DH said he liked the Pizza Planet pizza much better. I would compare it to your average chain type pizza place (Papa John's is the big one here in Louisville). It isn't gourmet pizza but taste good.

 

[kyirish25]

Hollywood Brown Derby
We didn't do a Fantasmic package as we wished to use the TIW card. We have eaten at Brown Derby the last few trips and it has always been very good. On this night however, a few in the party didn't care for their meals. I'm not sure if it was a different chef as the waiter handled our food allergies instead of the chef coming out to the table or if it was just an off night for them. Either way we will give Brown Derby a break for awhile.

Marilyn Merlot Wine

Appetizers
Cobb Salad for Two – finely chopped greens, turkey breast, egg, bacon, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, chives and Cobb dressing.
Missed getting a picture of this.

Cremini Mushroom Chevre Raviolo – with spinach, veal stock reduction and shaved parmigiano.

Blue Jumbo Lump Crab Cake – with potato crust, green cabbage slaw, Dijon mustard and remoulade sauce.

This is a dish that has been ordered every visit that DH said didn't taste good this time around. It didn't have the spicy kick it used to have.

Entrees
Pan Fried Black Grouper – with provencal vegetables, crispy capers and citrus juices.

This got a just okay rating. DH was expecting a "blackened" fish based upon the name so he was disappointed when it arrived.

Rotisserie Chicken – with rice pilaf, cranberry polonaise and maple vinegar sauce.

Roasted Sterling Silver Pork Rib Chop – with mustard spaetzle, white cheddar, rainbow chard, vinegar onions and pan juices.

FIL didn't care for this dish as the vinegar taste was over-powering.

Char-Grilled New York Strip Steak – with herb-roasted red potatoes, cremini mushrooms, tiny onions and cabernet syrup.

Delicious! Everyone had wished they ordered the steak.

Kids Chicken Breast – with fries.

Desserts
Another place that has safe nut-free options.
Grapefruit Cake – light layers of yellow cake with fresh grapefruit cream cheese icing.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – with port wine chocolate sauce, fresh berries and sweetened crème fraiche.

Vanilla Ice Cream – topped with gummy worms

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Pan Fried Black Grouper – with provencal vegetables, crispy capers and citrus juices.

This got a just okay rating. DH was expecting a "blackened" fish based upon the name so he was disappointed when it arrived.

Black grouper is actually the name of the fish. You probably figured that out after the fact but I thought I'd let you know.

 

[kyirish25]

Whispering Canyon Cafe
This is one of the places we had issues with the Mickey waffles. The chef said the batter was made in the bakery and could be cross-contaminated. But she did offer to make up gluten-free waffles for DS that would be safe. The only disappointment though was they weren't Mickey shaped and he really felt left out. We in turn asked them to remove our Mickey waffles so that the table would be completely safe.

Canyon Skillet - Scrambled Eggs, Red Bliss Potatoes with Sauteed Onions, Bacon and Sausage, Buttermilk Biscuits, Sausage Gravy, and Waffles

Western Omelet - three egg omelet with ham, bell peppers and onions,. Served with red bliss potatoes and sauteed onions

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Looks like a yummy breakfast! I think we are going to go to WCC for lunch. I just have to change an ADR later today.

 

[kyirish25]

Chef Mickey's - Thanksgiving Day Buffet
We thought the perfect place to eat Thanksgiving would be at Chef Mickey's. We were staying at Contemporary so it was close and you had all the characters.

Our ADR was for 4:30pm which I assumed would be shortly after opening but I guess they opened much earlier as all the tables were full when we arrived. We took our family picture and then the wait began. It was close to 5:15pm before we were seated. By the time the chef made it us to walk the buffet we were looking at 5:45pm before we started eating. This was fine as we didn't have any other plans for the evening but there were tons of grumpy families around as they were clearly overbooked.

They had most of the normal dinner buffet - prime rib, parmesan mashed potatoes. Plus they had traditional Thanksgiving items - turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes. This made for a nice selection of items. I stuck to the normal buffet items and thought it was all very good. The rest of the family went for the Thanksgiving items and gave it a thumbs down. They said the turkey was dry and the sweet potatoes were more just yams and not sweet.

DS was more than ready to leave after the characters had made their rounds shortly after sitting down so IL's were kind enough to take him back up to the room while I finished eating. You know Mom does all the running for the kids food and everyone else is finished before she starts. This did allow DH and I to hit up the dessert bar which was very good. They had mini-pumkin pies and mini-cheesecakes that were just perfect.

Overall the meal was just average and we ended up spending just slightly less than we had for our meal at Citrico's. Once realizing that is when we decided we would just stick to breakfast buffets from now on as we would much rather have sit down meals over buffets.

 

[kyirish25]

'Ohana Breakfast
This has became our tradition to have as our last breakfast of vacation. The tropical atmosphere and the great character interaction just puts the final bit of relaxtion there before the long drive back home.

Hua Paka (Scrambled Eggs) - made fresh, hot & delicious
Uala Kahiki (Fried Potatoes) - island-style potatoes, caramelized onions & scallions
Pua'a (Pork) - pork breakfast sausage links & smoked bacon
Seasonal Fruit Bowl

Here they also serve Mickey waffles which we were told were safe. We questioned the batter being made in the bakery and was told that they made it in the kitchen. Sounds good to us, so we got to enjoy Mickey waffles here.

The juice is also a family favorite. It is a blend of something like orange, pineapple and guava juice. Our waitress was sweet enough to leave two pitchers on the table as everytime she turned around we needed refills.

We will definately be back to continue our tradition on our next vacation.

 

[kyirish25]

Chefs de France
This was our first time dining at Chefs. We all enjoyed the food very much but the service and food arrival were very slow. It took a good 20 minutes for our appetizers to arrive and then 15 minutes for our entrees arrive once we were finished with our appetizers. We opted out of even asking about dessert as we had looked around at the other tables and could see how long it took for theirs to arrive. Despite that, the food was good enough that we plan to return on our next vacation.

Appetizers
Cassolette d’escargots de Bourgogne au beurre persille – casserole of escargots from Burgundy baked in parsley and garlic butter.

Soup a l’oignon gratinee – the classic onion soup topped with Gruyere cheese

Entrees
Noix de Saint Jacques et gambas sautees Flan d’epinards, sauce a l’oseille – sautéed scallops and black tiger shrimp served with lemon butter, vegetables and fresh herb sauce, black pearl rice.

Lasagnes de legumes du soleil a l’huile d’olive au thym – zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, onions and tomato baked into thin layers of pasta.

Filet de boeuf grille, sauce au poivre noir Gratin Dauphinois et haricots verts – grilled tenderloin of beef with a black pepper sauce, original potato gratin of Savoy and green beans.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Wow! That food looks really good. I love escargot! Now I have a hankering.

You said you found the service slow but that's about what I expect for a place like Chefs. And I actually prefer slower service for dinner. I can't stand when your entree comes out right at the heels of your appy. Or even worse, when you're still eating it!

 

[kyirish25]

Wow! That food looks really good. I love escargot! Now I have a hankering.

You said you found the service slow but that's about what I expect for a place like Chefs. And I actually prefer slower service for dinner. I can't stand when your entree comes out right at the heels of your appy. Or even worse, when you're still eating it!

We were seated at 5:00pm and the time on our check is 6:27pm. So an hour and half for just appetizer and entree seems slow to me. Yes, I like to not be rushed but there did seem like long lulls between.

To compare: Citrico's we were seated at 5:40pm and out check is stamped 6:48pm. Just slightly over an hour for appetizers and entrees and we never once felt rushed here.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I guess it's just a matter of preference. I never allocate less than 2 hours for a nice meal.

 

[ShellieR]

We are headed to Disney after Christmas and seeing your posts has made me wonder if I should call disney about my 9yr. olds allergy to peanuts. His reaction to peanuts or peanut products has never been severe only watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing which will last the whole day even with benedryl.

 

[Lexxiefern]

Thank you so much for sharing all your pictures and reviews! I really enjoyed them and they are getting me excited for my trip in 3 weeks (even tho I sit here with the flu!).

 

[kyirish25]

We are headed to Disney after Christmas and seeing your posts has made me wonder if I should call disney about my 9yr. olds allergy to peanuts. His reaction to peanuts or peanut products has never been severe only watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing which will last the whole day even with benedryl.

I would call back and have it noted on your reservations or you can even tell your server about it when they first come to your table. The chefs will then know about the allergy and be able to make sure your child is given safe items. No reason to risk a reaction in the middle of vacation.

If you visit the disabilities board here on the DIS there is tons of helpful information on dining with food allergies. Each reaction doesn't have to be the same, next could be full blown anaphylatic (sp) and not just a runny nose.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Great Reviews

 

[iluvpluto27]

Great reviews and pics.

 

[Tricia7]

Great reviews. I can't wait until October 2009 so we can try some of the yummy foods!