Our non-TS night to balance the 2 credit TS at Hoop-De-Doo. We usually go to the Rainforest Cafe (I earn gift cards throughout the year for this one and my OOP is usually very minimal). I called the restaurant directly even before my 90th. day and had no problem getting a reservation. We chose 5:30pm as we were spending the whole day at DTD.
When we walked up I noticed two things, a long line and that everything was "BIG". The line didn't scare me because we had reservations and I happended to catch and employee who took our information and checked us in. The majority of the people in the line "DID NOT" have reservations but were not being turned away. Don't get me wrong, I am sure those little one's who were definetely ready to eat "now" waited at least an hour for their table. Moral of the story. Even if it is an hour or two before you want to eat, program the Landry Restaurant in your phone, and use the phone ahead option... Much better than those crying "Moms and Dads" who really needed food and drink.
When we walked in all of us were in awe, when I say big, I mean big. So big that even though this is a dining review, my pics will be what surrounded us...
See bigger than life. But really cool. I enjoyed the surroundings much more than the Rainforest cafe. We had a really great waitress. Either she was very bored or we were her last table. She was a chatty Cathy if I ever saw one. She recommended her favorites, talked in detail about a lot of the different items, and was just plain enjoyable. And a little tidbit from our waitress... "The Mesozoic Mahi Mahi and Age of Salmon dishes should not be on your want list - the cooks just can't seem to get it right and more goes back than is ever eaten (under her breath - undercooked everytime). So after a 15 minute conversation we decide on our drinks and an appetizer. DH had a coke, DS - root beer, Unsweetened tea w/lemon for me....But.... suspense, yes here it goes.... Kiddie Cocktail for DD! Yeah
we broke the mold. Aren't you all excited. I was and the waitress was hysterical and even brought out two for DD to celebrate it.
We all were having a very hard time deciding on what to order. The oversized menu along with your oversized surroundings tend to stiffle your creative thinking process. So you may want to pick something before you go and stick with it..
DH, DS, and I could not for the life of us decide what we wanted. So we ordered this:
Supersaurus Sampler - For an appetite as big as T-REX! Pepper jack queso with tortilla chips, Brachiosaurus Bruschetta, T-Rexadillas and Onion Rings and added the ribs for DS to eat for dinner and he would share with the rest of us.
DD ordered the chicken pot pie and DH and I ordered the sliders to share. (don't go looking for them on the menus around here, cause they are not there)
First came our sampler. It was three tiers of snacks and the bottom tier was very large. I was actually worried about it tipping and took the plates off and sent the holder back with the waitress. DD and DS immediately took the queso and chips. Ever since Chi Chi's and Don Pablos closed they have been at a loss for good queso. This was up to the challenge. DD let DS eat the majority though since he was sharing entrees. The -Rexadillas were also very good and huge (4 of them on the plate, each the size of a large slice of pizza) The chicken was moist and it had a lot of different veggies and spices inside. Even the closed minded kids enjoyed them. I passed on the onion rings because no one would try the bruschetta with me. It was wonderful. The flavors melded together perfect and the basalmic vinegar was sweet as it should be. Only problem was a very little corner of each one was a little soggy. I am talking a very small area and I just tore that part off. Very, very good though. The onion rings were huge and didn't fall apart while eating. Not greasy at all. We had a few dips including ranch for them. Only one survived. (See pic above
). They also brought DS's ribs out at this time. He enjoyed them, but said they were not the best he has had nor the worst. There was a lot of meat on them and he even gave DH one to try. Our entrees came out. There were 3 sliders on the plate. I took all the onions and stuff off one and gave it to DS. DH and I had the works on ours. Once again, good, not earth-shaking (haha get the reference to the beginning of time
).
So last, but not least out came DD's pot-pie. It was the size of a flying saucer. Huge. And very golden brown on top. Yes, lets start with the top, layers and layers of light, fluffy, perfectly cooked puff pastry. Enough to feed the whole table. And in hind site, we should have just asked for 3 extra plates. The insides were hot and fresh. There were great big chunks of rotisserie chicken, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and I think celery. The sauce was wonderful. Not too thick and definetely not flavored with fake chicken seasoning. It was really good. But between the 4 of us, we only tackled a half of it.
So the waitress returns and asks about dessert. DS wanted back to Disney Quest and his eyes were pleading, NO, NO, NO. And in reality we were all full, but I did order a cup of coffee to drink while the kids walked around and visited the gift shop. The waitress brought my coffee out in what she called the "good cup". It was a T-Rex coffee mug, really cool. She told me how if I didn't finish my coffee, the mug wouldn't be missed if I took it with me. So I did.
and I may be going to HE double hockey sticks, but trust me the tip made up for the $5.00 mug....
Would we go back yes, but probably to try the desserts.
Quote of the meal: Me to DH - "Should I take it, do you think anyone will notice?" DH to me - "Yes, I think you should take it, but wait 5 minutes and meet me and the kids out front!"
This year we are trying Mama Melrose and The Plaza for the first time. Thank you for such a great thread
