The down-and-dirty drive-by dining report! 8/1-8/5/11 *~The End~*

25eels

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
73
No photos … no menu descriptions … no real back story. :confused3

But I’m writing this because in the weeks before my August 1-5 trip, I scoured the DISboards, second-guessing and double-checking my ADRs and hoping I was going to be pleased with my choices. The more recent reviews meant more to me than anything else, because I thought they’d be the best indication of what to expect during our vacation.

Naturally I came away with some pretty strong opinions and impressions, so I’d like to return the favor by sharing some of these thoughts with all of you, especially those of you traveling in the coming weeks. And perhaps I’ll have my act together for the next trip and write a real trip report!

A very quick introduction to the diners:

Me: Age 41, a lover of food. I like trying new things, enjoy most foods and am generally pretty adventurous; it helps that I live in a very multicultural area (DC) and am surrounded by wonderful ethnic restaurants. I do not always believe the adage that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Favorite foods: fresh chips and salsa, sourdough bread, cheesecake.

DH: Age 42, one who eats to live vs. living to eat. Can easily leave ¼ of a sandwich on his plate without worrying about it being separated from its friends and thinks baked chips are a fine alternative to the real thing. Somehow we’ve stayed married 18 years anyway! He can be adventurous when he wants to, but prefers the basics: a good burger, Caesar salad, apple pie.

DS12: Your typical preteen bottomless pit, DS12 is learning that hunger can drive you toward trying (and enjoying) new things, but generally prefers sticking to the basics. His favorites: Steak, burgers, wings, most desserts.

DD7: Eats like the proverbial bird. Her opinions will not mean much to this dining report, as she had to be coaxed to eat the kids’ pizzas at almost every meal. Her favorites: Fruit, sweets, rice.

***

A bit of history:
I hadn’t been to WDW since childhood when in 2010 my in-laws kindly arranged a gathering of all the kids and grandkids. While not a first-timer, I was a neophyte all the same, not to mention a little contemptuous of the Disney mania I’d seen grip my friends. Little did I know I’d be swept up in it too! :love:

During the 2010 trip, we stayed at the Contemporary garden wing. At the last minute, my in-laws upgraded everyone from QSDP to the regular dining plan, which meant we ate at the few places Disney Dining could get us reservations for 10 on a few days’ notice! Even so, we got to sample some good restaurants (The Wave – loved it!), some interesting experiences (‘50s Prime Time, Princess Lunch at Norway) and a couple of ho-hum options (Cap’n Jack’s, Grand Floridian Café). After that trip, I became addicted to reading WDW dining reviews and had a pretty good idea of where I’d go if I could be in charge of ADRs … and that time came just a year later!

Setting the scene for this year:

Yacht Club Resort, Park Hoppers, regular dining plan. Although determined not to overplan, I did set up our ADRs the day I booked the trip and made just a few changes along the way (including a few at the last minute). For the most part, everything worked out pretty well, including this sweet upgrade to YC water/park view when it turned out our original BC assignment included men on scaffolding as our balcony view:

DSC_0084.jpg


Nice, eh? Certainly a magical setting to a long-anticipated trip. :banana:

Now, about that dining ...

Day 1:
Lunch: Beaches & Cream (out of pocket)
Dinner: Coral Reef (DDP)

Day 2:
Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery (CS credits)
Lunch: Sci Fi (out of pocket)
Dinner: Whispering Canyon (DDP)

Day 3:
Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery (CS credits)
Dinner: Kouzzina

Day 4:
Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery (CS credits)
Lunch: Earl of Sandwich (CS credits)
Dinner: Liberty Inn at the American Pavilion (CS credits)

Day 5:
Breakfast: Cape May Café (DDP)
Lunch: Beach Club Marketplace (CS and snack credits)

Snacks sampled:
Mickey ice cream bars, Cloudberry Horn from Norway, popcorn at MK, ice cream floats at MK, Grey Goose Slushie (OOP, of course)

I’ll rate our dining experiences using a standard A-F scale, taking everyone’s enjoyment and satisfaction into the final grade.
 
I'm in and very excited to read your reviews!! It looks like you got some great ADRs and I'm curious to see what you thought of Kouzzina and Grey Goose slushy! I have plans for both of those on my upcoming trip as well! :banana: What an amazing view from your room - sounds like the upgrade worked out well for you! Looking forward to hearing more!
 
I'm in! Congrats on your upgrade! I love that magical view. Can't wait to read your reviews!
 
... a few words about my cancelled ADRs …

When I booked our trip, the agent offered to put me straight through to Disney Dining. I was a little flustered but knew generally what I wanted so went ahead and named a few places. Over the next few months, I did a bit more switching around. But never fear, I cancelled everything we didn’t use, so my Disney Dining karma should be OK.

The whys of my cancelled ADRs:

  • Biergarten: Realized no one but me would appreciate sauerkraut and oom-pah music at communal tables. I’d still like to try it someday!
  • Le Cellier: Booked this one feeling the pressure to experience the ultimate in Disney Dining, at least according to these boards! My ADR was for lunch and for some reason the thought of a heavy steak meal on our arrival day just wasn’t doing it for me. Felt guilty and disloyal when I called to cancel and hope someone else was able to swoop in and enjoy it!
  • Garden Grill: I thought my DS12 would like the revolving restaurant, but he got his chance at a revolving restaurant in NYC a couple of months ago, and I was afraid the menu would be a little too heavy on the green stuff.
  • `Ohana: I just loved the idea of this whole experience, right down to the Electrical Water Pageant and Wishes from the Poly beach, but I had the prescience to realize that schlepping to a monorail resort from an Epcot resort and vice versa constituted more of a commitment to an ADR than anyone but me would be willing to make. (My fears about this were confirmed with the Whispering Canyon experience, which we did do!)

And being me, I felt guilty whenever I came across these restaurants in my travels. I've got to stop assigning emotions to food and restaurants. Sheesh! :sad2:

Now, on with the show! :thumbsup2
 

Just hopped on here to read some reviews. Nancy, ur posts are amazing and I cant wait to read them all!!
 
Day 1: Arrival Day
Lunch: Beaches & Cream (out of pocket)
Dinner: Coral Reef (DDP)

(Remember … no photos, no menu item descriptions. It’s the down-and-dirty drive-by dining report, after all!)

Beaches & Cream
Before we left, I couldn’t get a good answer about whether Beaches & Cream was a QS or not. In the end I decided to risk it and pay OOP if it wasn’t, because we’d been traveling since 5 a.m. and had to do SOMETHING while waiting for our room at the Beach Club.

Naturally, we learned it indeed was NOT QS. :sad2: Briefly we considered heading to nearby Hurricane Hanna’s so we could start dipping into our QS credits ... but after hours of travel, none of us felt like standing in line for food and eating outside, so the four of us elected to split two entrees and drink only water and pay OOP. Yep, starting off our long-anticipated vacation with a fizzle! :thumbsup2

At least it was smart to pay OOP and share because the food was adequate but nothing memorable. The kids split a burger; DH and I split a French dip. The restaurant was small and noisy and filled with people in wet bathing suits. Who’d waste a TS credit on this? :confused3 Disney Dining, what are you thinking here? This glorified soda shop is QS all the way!

We tipped generously to make up for our cheapskate bill and got the heck out of there!

Grade for Beaches & Cream:
C-
. No effort, no ambiance, no value. No reservations, long waits, mediocre food. It's Disney Dining's identity crisis.

Coral Reef
I considered cancelling this ADR right up until our arrival day. So many mixed reviews, and a menu heavy on seafood wouldn’t appeal to 3 of the 4 of us … would it be worth the risk? Little did I know that it would end up being a dining highlight for all of us, and a great way to start five days of Disney Dining (because I won’t count our cheapskate Beaches & Cream detour!).

We were pleasantly surprised to be given a table right against the aquarium, and all four of us were instantly mesmerized by the ocean life sharing our space. Here’s my one exception to my no-photos rule since it happens to be one of the 9 photos I took over the whole trip:
DSC_0043.jpg


The server was helpful and friendly and never rushed us, making us feel right at home. her recommendation, I ordered and relished the catch of the day … which for the life of me I can’t recall any details about, just that it was a mild white fish on a bed of pea risotto. Good flavors, nicely portioned. DH and DS12, neither of whom are seafood eaters, ordered the steak entrée and enjoyed it. Outstanding desserts topped off our meal (again I can’t remember the specifics, but we got 3 out of the 5 or 6 options and all were good). All four of us had that happy-restaurant buzz, where we were all well-fed and excited and treated like valued guests. We were sad to leave our fishy friends afterward, but how great it was to exit so close to so many of the Epcot attractions we were looking forward to!

Grade for Coral Reef:
A-
. No surprises in terms of food, just solidly enjoyable and well-prepared dishes all-around and an unbeatable ambiance with great service. We will definitely go again, especially as a first-night meal!

Up next: Day 2, featuring Boardwalk Bakery, Sci Fi and Whispering Canyon.
 
I'm definitely in for this one - the view from yc is amazing - we are booked for BC first time next year.
 
I love your pic, that one was definitely worth taking. Glad you enjoyed Coral Reef! We had a wonderful experience there last trip, too. We would definitely go back.
 
Day 2: Ups and Downs

Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery (CS credits)
Lunch: Sci Fi (out of pocket)
Dinner: Whispering Canyon (DDP)

Note: With our early Monday arrival and late Friday departure, we stayed 4 nights but enjoyed 5 days of WDW. As a result, we had to ration our dining credits here and there, so most QS meals ended up being shared among us, 2-3 meals for 4 eaters (though as mentioned earlier, DD7 eats next to nothing). Having been on the DDP the previous year, I knew that the QS meals were plenty shareable, so this worked out just fine and we used up every credit by the time we left.

Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery
I woke up early on Day 2 and decided to explore the Epcot Resorts area. We’d stayed at the Contemporary the previous year, so we’d been rather spoiled by the convenient (though mediocre) Contempo Café for quick meals. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything equivalent at the Yacht Club so I wanted to scout out our breakfast options for the next few mornings.

I ended up at the Boardwalk Bakery and figured at least the food would be freshly baked (though I wasn’t impressed when I saw the bakery workers taking frozen muffins and croissants from cardboard boxes and putting them on baking sheets. I guess technically they were still baking, but still …). It was a cute little shop, however, and the menu was pretty varied for breakfast, so I went for it, ordering a ham/cheese/egg croissant, a chocolate chip muffin, and a couple of juices and pieces of fruit. It ended up “costing” 2 QS credits.

My family appreciated having breakfast delivered right to them, so they weren't going to be overly critical of the food! But it was all fine. The croissant sandwich was tasty in a McSandwich kind of way; the muffin was hearty. These options were nothing to write home about but were solid breakfast choices so we ended up returning here twice more for breakfast and never left hungry. Splitting two QS meals among 4 people worked out just fine for us!

Grade for Boardwalk Bakery, for all 3 days we went:
B-
. Nothing innovative, but served us well for breakfast and we were always sated and satisfied. After eating, we took Boardwalk buses to whatever park we were visiting.

Lunch: Sci Fi
I booked this ADR right after booking our trip, thinking my DH and DS12 would adore it. Cheeseburgers, milkshakes, campy films … what’s not to love? And my DS7 would certainly get a kick out of eating in a car. Of all the options at DHS, it seemed to make the most sense. Unfortunately, it ended up being the biggest dining disappointment of our trip.

I know I shouldn’t be surprised at this; after all, I read the reviews here on the DIS! But we’re generally pretty easy to please, and Sci Fi had all the elements of a meal that everyone would get something out of. I tried to drum up my family’s enthusiasm despite the early ADR (11:15) and pointed out the long lines waiting to get in. C’mon, it was Disney kitsch at its best!

Except … it wasn’t. The dining room, for all the crowds waiting outside, was oddly quiet and half empty. The wait staff was subdued and not exactly thrilled to hear we were splitting dishes. I even contemplated walking out and hightailing it to Starring Rolls instead.

However, we were all a bit (!) cranky at that point, and storming out wasn’t going to help that. I ordered a milkshake and shared it and a kids’ pizza meal with DD7. DH and DS12 sat behind us, splitting a burger and bickering about this and that. They were underwhelmed by the burger and not terribly amused by the B-reels playing. Basically, we couldn’t wait to get the heck out of there and back into the searing humidity of a Florida August. Yikes!

Luckily, I’d planned from the start to pay OOP for this one, so at least we didn’t waste TS credits on it. Fortunately for us, we had much better dining options ahead.

Grade for Sci Fi:
D-
. Bummer of an experience despite high hopes (and quite reasonable expectations). Has the magic disappeared entirely from this old standby? Can this restaurant be saved?

Dinner: Whispering Canyon Café
After our disappointment at Sci Fi, I had grave reservations about our ADR at Whispering Canyon. I’d booked it because DS12, a fan of the National Park Service, had really wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge, so I figured it was a good chance to check out the resort and enjoy what I understood to be a hearty and fun meal.

However, after our bummer of a Sci Fi lunch, I was very concerned that my grumpy family wasn’t in the mood for antics surrounding ketchup and hobby horses. Hours before our ADR, I frantically emailed my friend Tracy, a Disney Dining aficionado herself, for advice: “What should I do? Do you think I could get into Kona Café tonight? What’s on the menu? What can I find near the Yacht Club? Anything at Epcot you can recommend off the top of your head? Help me, Tracy Wan-Kenobi, you’re my only hope!”

Tracy came through with some suggestions, but to their credit, my family was game about schlepping to the WL from MK, so off we went. But while they were game (and probably picking up on my angst), I had figured out that they wouldn’t want to take part in the schtick.

Luckily, our server seemed to understand that immediately, for which I was very grateful. (She was either extraordinarily perceptive or well-trained. Seriously, I was impressed.) Except for bringing DH the gallon-sized mason jar of water (since he’d asked for “all the water you can carry” – seriously, he didn’t have any idea of the WCC routine either! We all got a kick out of it and DS12 insisted on drinking from it), she was simply motherly and accommodating, which we all sorely needed that night. Phew!

While DD7 ate yet another pizza or chicken nugget platter, the 3 adults (on the plan, I mean) all chose the skillet. Yum! The skillet absolutely brought our good moods back. We discovered we were hungrier than we’d thought and simply attacked the parts of the skillet closest to us, all of us thoroughly enjoying whatever was within easy reach. DS12 devoured the chicken, DH raved about the ribs and I was thrilled with the pulled pork. We all sampled the other meats but ended up sticking with our first impressions for the most part – we were all THAT happy with our favorites!

We never asked for ketchup, but gamely got up to do the Hokey Pokey when asked to, and DD7 enjoyed the hobby-horse parade. However, I think we were anxious to get going before we got roped into antics we weren’t prepared for. Oh well; lesson learned there! :rolleyes1

We barely made a dent in the skillet despite how much we liked it, so we asked for our desserts to go. If memory serves, we brought home s’more cheesecake, chocolate chip bread pudding and deep-dish apple pie. These three things happen to rank among our personal favorites, but perhaps they didn’t travel as well as we’d hoped because they weren’t anything all that special once we ate them back at the Yacht Club. No worries though – it didn’t put a damper on our overall enjoyment.

Grade for Whispering Canyon Café:
B
. The skillet was absolutely delicious, but it turns out we aren’t dinner-antics types (which I probably should have figured out after `50s PTC in 2010). We’d probably return for the food, as long as I could gauge everyone’s threshold for resort-to-resort travel in advance!
 
Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery (CS credits)
Dinner: Kouzzina

(For Boardwalk Bakery breakfast review, see Day 2.)

Note: Lunch kind of got lost today. We ended up split between DHS and Stormalong Bay. I think the guys went to Pizza Planet between rides on the new Star Tours, and DD7 and I pretty much forgot about lunch altogether.

Dinner: Kouzzina
This was a late-in-the-game ADR.

Days before our trip, I had the prescience to know that my family may not be game to schlepping to the Poly for dinner at `Ohana. While I love eating out and new experiences, none of the rest of the family feels the compulsion to go to great lengths for food … particularly when there are good options that are more convenient!

In desperation, I’d plugged in “dinner” and “Epcot Resorts” online and Kouzzina seemed like the best fit. I love Greek food; DH likes it and I figured there’d be something or other DS12 would find to eat. (Again, I had no worries about DD7 and the children’s meal options!) This would be a meal of convenience; enjoyment would be a bonus. Even so, I held onto our `Ohana ADR until almost the last minute because it was something I’d really wanted to try.

DS12 was a little cranky once I made the final decision to ditch the `Ohana ADR and was worried about Kouzzina’s menu. Before we checked in, I asked the hostesses if it was possible to tone down on the Mediterranean flavors in order to appeal to a less sophisticated palate. They were momentarily struck silent and invoked the first of many mentions of Cat Cora we’d hear that evening.:rolleyes:

After I assured the hostesses that I was aware that it was Cat Cora’s restaurant and was prepared for her special flavors myself, they said the flank steak entrée was very lightly seasoned and DS12 would enjoy it. He was feeling better as we made our way to our table, and we attacked the bread basket the server brought while listening with half an ear about Cat Cora again.

I ordered a lamb ragout on saffron noodles and was really pleased with the dish. I’m not ordinarily a big fan of lamb, but a pasta dish sounded appealing and the flavors were wonderful. It was all I could do not to finish every bite and lick the plate clean, as I explained to the server who took away my plate afterward (and who also talked about Cat Cora).

DH ordered the Greek lasagna, which I thought was pretty adventurous of him although he does like Greek and other Mediterranean flavors in general. It came in deep white crockery and contained ricotta, feta, ground lamb, and noodles made of moussaka dough. As we dug into it, another server came by and informed him that Cat Cora recommends that the whole dish be thoroughly mixed before eating it, then added, “You DO know who Cat Cora is, don’t you?” :rotfl2:

(At this point, I wouldn’t have cared if Cat Cora were twirling flaming shish kebab stakes at our table, but knew better than to share this sentiment with the besotted servers.)

DS12 enjoyed a tender flank steak and was able to substitute sweet potato fries for the Greek-flavored potatoes that came with the dish. For dessert, he and I both ordered the loukemades, freshly made Greek doughnuts drizzled with honey. Excellent! DH ordered, I believe, a chocolate lava cake he had been willing to swap with DS12 if he hadn’t liked the doughnuts. This turned out not to be an issue.

Best of all, it was a leisurely walk from the YC to the Boardwalk, and a pleasant walk from Kouzzina to an evening at Epcot, which was becoming our nighttime ritual. Isn’t it nice when your plans actually work out the way you want them to? (I’d like to say Cat Cora would have been pleased as well.)

Grade for Kouzzina:
A-.
I really loved this meal, and everyone else thoroughly enjoyed theirs as well. If Kouzzina were in my hometown, I’d return often! For the rest of the family, it was a good chance to sample foods slightly outside of their comfort zone in a nice environment. Minor points taken for the entire staff’s obsession with name-dropping Cat Cora every 5 minutes.
 
(At this point, I wouldn’t have cared if Cat Cora were twirling flaming shish kebab stakes at our table, but knew better than to share this sentiment with the besotted servers.)

:rotfl2: Hilarious! Glad you enjoyed Kouzzina. I really would like to try it some day, but sadly, I can't fit it in this trip.
 
Loved your Kouzzina review and I am sure it was so much better than Ohana. We are going to try Kouzzina in Oct and I cannot wait...DH likes ground lamb but he doesnt know it :lmao: See he always gets the meatballs from Marrakesh CS and they are lamb but he has no clue that they are lamb and he loves them so much that I dont have the heart to tell him :rotfl2:
 
Loving your reviews! I was laughing out loud at your Kouzzina review. We have a breakfast ADR at the end of this month which I'm very excited about. I guess I'd better brush up on my Cat Cora before I go!
 
My husband and I ate at Sci-Fi last year and I was some what disappointed myself. Not my hubby, he likes anything. First of all it was too dark and I couldnt see my food. I ordered ribs and they were like chewing rubber. I sent them back and got a cheeseburger that was very good.
 
Day 4: The Day of No ADRs

Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery (CS credits)
Lunch: Earl of Sandwich (CS credits)
Dinner: Liberty Inn at the American Pavilion (CS credits)

Some background:
When my in-laws took the family to WDW in 2010, I was too cool for school. I was ONLY going because it was a family trip. I rolled my eyes a lot when I told people where we were vacationing. No way was I going to get swept up into all the Disney mania, and I had far better things to do than research anything.

So that’s why we had the following trip SNAFUs last year:
  • I thought Star Tours was the studio backlot tour and thought it was a lovely thing to take my ride-wary 6yo DD on. After that, she was cooked for the day and wouldn’t get near anything else at DHS.:headache:
  • I didn’t know about the option to upgrade tickets to Park Hoppers and spent four days at the Contemporary within spitting distance of MK but was only able to go inside once. :sad2:On our 2011 trip, we learned we are definitely Park Hopper people!
  • I hated Epcot because it was hot that day and didn’t make it past Spaceship Earth bef
ore making an excuse about DD being overheated and returning to the Contemporary pool for the rest of the day. I texted my brother: “Epcot sucks.” He texted back, “I know.” (What does he know? He hadn’t been to Disney in 20 years.) :laughing:

Now, back to the regularly scheduled DR:
I was actually looking forward to The Day of No ADRs. Although I had made an effort not to be a slave to reservation times as much as was practical, it felt very freeing to know that today was all about playing things by ear. We’d planned a DTD day, and then I figured it would be easy to hop over to World Showcase for a QS dinner (I had my fingers crossed for the Mexico Pavilion).

Breakfast: Boardwalk Bakery
(See Days 2 and 3 for review; it still applies!)

Lunch: Earl of Sandwich
I’d read plenty about EOS on the DIS and figured it made sense for a QS. Knowing it gets crowded, I encouraged the rest of the family to eat lunch before the noontime rush started, so none of us were especially ravenous (especially after our third Boardwalk Bakery breakfast).

I left DH and DD7 saving a table while DS12 and I went inside to order. We chose the standard roast-beef-and-horseradish for DH, a hot ham-and-cheese for DS12, and a kids’ PB&J; I planned on having a few bites of both of the guys’ sandwiches but ended up eating half of the PB&J; as I’ve mentioned quite a few times already, she eats next to nothing.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but was indeed surprised, to learn that the PB&J was toasted. (Admitting this makes me feel like I didn’t attend class all semester and missed an obvious question on the final.) It took some convincing for DD7 to try it, but she ended up enjoying it. The guys enjoyed their meaty sandwiches despite the hotness of the day and earliness of the hour. (Clearly, they were doing their best not to rock the boat with me since I’d masterminded all of these eating plans.)

Grade for Earl of Sandwich:
B-.
It was a nice twist on standard food, the line moved quickly, the side selections were good and it was an overall positive experience, though not especially memorable.

Dinner: Liberty Inn at the American Pavilion
With a world of dining choices just steps from our hotel, I was excited to consider the possibilities. Naturally I had been gunning for Mexico, but just about anything would have appealed. Italy … Morocco … China … bring it on!:banana:

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when DH read the description for Liberty Inn and said it sounded good to him. It was really the only dining decision he had been permitted to make, and much as I wanted to make a case for fish-and-chips or orange chicken, I resigned myself to eating the cuisine of our native land. :rolleyes1

It should come as no shocker that we got burgers and chicken nuggets. (“Oh beautiful for deep-fried foods, for amber grilled chopped steak!”) The adult chicken nuggets (DS12) were a big improvement over the kids’ meal (DD7), making me wish I’d ordered the adult version for her as well. The hamburgers were pretty standard if you ignore the slice of pressed ham atop the burger patty. Now, I’m not only an American, but a Virginian as well, and trust me, even in this Land of Ham, I’ve never heard of a slice of ham being a logical topping for a burger. At any rate, it was the impetus for a somewhat lively discussion over the origin of the word “hamburger” with DS12.

Frozen Cokes were a dessert option, so we ordered these along with our regular sodas and laughed it off when the CM at the register warned us about potentially floating away. We soon learned why: The standard soda size was like a Big Gulp! Even on a hot August day, we couldn't do justice to either beverage.

Grade for Liberty Inn:
C+
. Bland, caloric, filling and unsurprising. The Voices of Liberty will never sing about our meal, but long may it wave, I guess! The pressed ham slice on the burger wasn’t a hit, but I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t another typically American fixing, like a doughnut or lobster claw. I’m all for democracy, but in the future I’d try to sway my true-blue patriotic family toward something more international in flavor!

Next: Our last day
 
Day 4: The Day of No ADRs

=Dinner: Liberty Inn at the American Pavilion
With a world of dining choices just steps from our hotel, I was excited to consider the possibilities. Naturally I had been gunning for Mexico, but just about anything would have appealed. Italy … Morocco … China … bring it on!:banana:

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when DH read the description for Liberty Inn and said it sounded good to him. It was really the only dining decision he had been permitted to make, and much as I wanted to make a case for fish-and-chips or orange chicken, I resigned myself to eating the cuisine of our native land. :rolleyes1

It should come as no shocker that we got burgers and chicken nuggets. (“Oh beautiful for deep-fried foods, for amber grilled chopped steak!”) The adult chicken nuggets (DS12) were a big improvement over the kids’ meal (DD7), making me wish I’d ordered the adult version for her as well. The hamburgers were pretty standard if you ignore the slice of pressed ham atop the burger patty. Now, I’m not only an American, but a Virginian as well, and trust me, even in this Land of Ham, I’ve never heard of a slice of ham being a logical topping for a burger. At any rate, it was the impetus for a somewhat lively discussion over the origin of the word “hamburger” with DS12.

Frozen Cokes were a dessert option, so we ordered these along with our regular sodas and laughed it off when the CM at the register warned us about potentially floating away. We soon learned why: The standard soda size was like a Big Gulp! Even on a hot August day, we couldn't do justice to either beverage.

Grade for Liberty Inn:
C+
. Bland, caloric, filling and unsurprising. The Voices of Liberty will never sing about our meal, but long may it wave, I guess! The pressed ham slice on the burger wasn’t a hit, but I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t another typically American fixing, like a doughnut or lobster claw. I’m all for democracy, but in the future I’d try to sway my true-blue patriotic family toward something more international in flavor!

Next: Our last day

Ok, have to comment...I think this is funny....really, really, wake-the-DH-up-to-read-to-him funny...:rotfl2:

BTW, I also think ham on a hamburger is tasty, but nothing beats a thick pile of pastrami stacked on top of you burger!:goodvibes
 
Ham on a burger??:scared1: I've never heard of that nor do I want to try! Sorry that you didn't get to try some of the more adventurous foods around the WS but I guess that means you'll just have to plan another trip, right? :lmao:
 
mmm, we have a place near here that serves a "3 Little Pigs" burger--pulled pork, ham, and bacon on a burger! Yummy but a heart attack on a plate.

Jill in CO
 
Thanks for taking the time to review. Appreciate you saying exactly why you did (or didnt) like the place. Looking forward to more
 















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