The Quest for Grownup Food, aka A Vacation From Nuggetized Foods

[2littlez'sandme]

BFF and I ate at CHH for our last in park meal on our trip. It was very satisfying. I think I had fish and fries, BFF had chicken. I really enjoyed sitting upstairs...I'd never been up there to sit before. Have to admit, I haven't had dessert there, EVER. I always save dessert for Main St. Bakery or Plaza Ice Cream.

Sorry you didn't care for Boma. It's one of my family's favorite places. Admittedly, I can't tell you much about the buffet lines (DH always makes me a plate so I can sit with the kiddos) or what is actually served (except for the Zebra domes, squash soup and ribs), but I'm glad you did find a few things to like there. I'll be looking for that mango dish next time I go. Hopefully, its not a seasonal thing. The Lodge is wonderful, isn't it?

The ice cream cookie sandwich you had at Dino-bites sounds like the one I had @ Main St. Bakery. I had seen it on one of the 'Food Pic' threads. Now it is a 'can't miss ' treat.

My BFF talks about FlameTree BBQ all the time. For some reason, we missed it this outing. Don't know how much time the family will spend @AK this time, so I'll have to put it on the list to 'must try'!

Keep it coming!!

 

[Schmoodle]

littlez, can you believe I have never been in the Main Street Bakery before? That will be remedied on the next trip! Really, usually staying off-site, having breakfast and dinner at the condo, and carrying our snacks in, food exploration inside WDW is pretty new to me, and as you can tell I am having a blast!
I don't know if we'll get to AK either next trip. It's not my favorite and I'm going to let the kids decide. If they decide yes, I am looking forward to another visit to Flame Tree.

 

[Schmoodle]

Mid-afternoon we decided to take a break from the heat with a Dole Whip Float at Aloha Isle. As many times as I’ve been in the Magic Kingdom, I can’t believe I’ve never paid any attention to this place! I love pineapple, and these were so yummy and refreshing. DF loved it too.

Cost: 2 snack credits, OOP $7.98 + tax

 

[Schmoodle]

At dinnertime, we headed over to the Contemporary to try out The Wave. Based on reviews I had read and the type of food I like to eat, I was prepared to fall in love with the place. It is a very cool-looking restaurant, clean and modern. I ordered the filet with wine reduction sauce and mashed potatoes. The filet was tender and cooked medium rare, as I had requested. Overall, I was a little disappointed in this meal. Although the steak was good, the wine reduction sauce had no flavor. I do pan sauces at home all the time, and they are so good. I couldn’t really even tell that there was any wine in this one. The potatoes were rich and creamy, but must have been plated long before the steak was ready, because they were cold, so I took this as a sign that I had already had too many carbs that day, and did not eat them. DF ordered the Cinnamon Rubbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin and said that it was moist and tender. I think she was much happier with her meal than I was. For dessert, I had the no sugar added sampler. It was a small chocolate mousse, small slice of cheesecake, and fresh berries with panna cotta. I find the sugar free mousses and cheesecakes at WDW restaurants are always pretty good. DF had the crispy and crunchy flight, which must have been satisfactory, because she finished it. Service was adequate. I don’t know if I was just getting tired of eating, or if Kouzzina ruined me for other restaurants, but this place just did not measure up to my expectations, and I would not make a big effort to go back.

Cost: 2 TS credits + tip, OOP $72.96 + tax and tip

 

[Schmoodle]

Tuesday, September 22:
This was our leaving day, but our Magical Express pickup was not until 1:45, so we decided to head over to Epcot to get in a couple more rides and a lunch in the World Showcase. We had a ressie at the Biergarten, but we’d used up all our TS credits, and weren’t that hungry anyway, so we cancelled and settled on the Tangierine Café in Morocco to use up our last CS credits. DF had wanted to eat here on her recent family trip, but her kids weren’t having it, so she was happy to have a chance to try it out. She ordered the Mediterranean sliders platter, and I had the chicken and lamb Schwarma platter. This was awesome - I couldn’t believe how moist and flavorful the grilled chicken breast was. The hummous was yummous, and I loved the tabbouleh. Both were huge plates of food that could be shared for a lighter meal, and DF said her sliders were great. For dessert, we were given a small piece of baklava. It was good, but I found the bottom crust to be tough. I made note that there is a fabulous coffee bar in the restaurant. Good to know for the future! I do enjoy my little afternoon coffee break.

Cost: 2 CS credits, OOP $36.68 + tax

 

[2littlez'sandme]

I'm think I'll try the Wave on my next visit with BFF. It's on the list with Jiko and one other World Showcase eatery (can't remember the name now).

I was also pleasantly surprised with the food at Tangierine Cafe. The platters are filling and very tasty.

Thanks for sharing your food adventures. I hope that when the kids and I go next month, I can share our experiences, as well.

 

[Schmoodle]

It was almost time to go, but we had 3 snack credits left, so we took the boat over to Mexico and headed next door to the Kringla Bakeri Og Cafe in Norway and picked up a school bread and two sweet almond pretzels. I was surprised the pretzels were available for a snack credit – they are very large and the price is $4.29. We split the school bread later at the airport, and it was super yummy! Just the right amount of sweetness, and tons of toasted coconut on top. We took the pretzels home and shared them with the family. I didn’t care for it much, it was very heavy, doughy, and bland.

Cost: 3 snack credits, OOP $10.57

 

[Schmoodle]

I'm think I'll try the Wave on my next visit with BFF. It's on the list with Jiko and one other World Showcase eatery (can't remember the name now).

I was also pleasantly surprised with the food at Tangierine Cafe. The platters are filling and very tasty.

Thanks for sharing your food adventures. I hope that when the kids and I go next month, I can share our experiences, as well.

I hope you will share your reviews too, I will watch for them...
Your trip is really coming up fast! Have a wonderful time! And thanks for reading...

 

[Schmoodle]

Conclusion: Thanks mostly to my research on the DIS, we never had bad food on this trip, although some of it was just okay (Sunshine Seasons). Most of it was very good or fantastic (hello again Kouzzina). And I find it interesting that most of the really good food I found this trip was at Counter Service Restaurants. I enjoyed an old favorite (Prime Time Café), and made some great discoveries that will go on my must-do list for future trips (Kouzzina, Tangierine Café, Starring Rolls, Columbia Harbor House, Flame Tree BBQ, Dino-Bites, and Aloha Isle)

Our total for the food we ate would have been $459.51 including tax but not tips, so a total bargain compared to what we paid on the dining plan ($319.20). Actually, we ate for five days on a four-day plan, and ended up bringing food home. At no point did we need to resort to paying for food out-of-pocket, and the only supplemental food we brought from home was a couple of boxes of granola bars and protein bars, and a few hard-boiled eggs. However there’s no way I would actually have ordered that much food if not on the plan, so did it in fact save me money? I had been home three days before starting to get my appetite back. I can’t imagine how people can use the Deluxe plan, or how they manage on longer trips – I had definitely reached the point where I just wanted to stop eating already. No matter how yummy it is, enough is enough. Also, I’m not sure how well this would have worked out with kids along – mine are all over 10, so I would have paid adult rates for the dining plan. On our week-long family trip last year, I spent $28/day per person, and this included 3 expensive table service meals. On a budget trip, I could easily whittle this down further. This means that the dining plan is not a good value for us as a family, particularly if we have access to a kitchen. If we were staying at a Disney resort, I would be interested to try the Quick-service dining plan with my kids, and this trip confirmed for me that it is possible to find good and varied quick-service meals in all the parks (even DHS). I can understand the appeal of the dining plan, however, particularly to those with large families, and/or staying at Value Resorts. It was good to not worry about cost of meals and know that everything was paid for in advance. However, the flip side of that was that we felt like, since it was paid for, we should eat, whether we were hungry or not!

 

[Schmoodle]

Well, that’s it; I’ve booked a January trip with my two youngest kids. I guess the guilt of going without them was just too much for me and the Pay 4/Get 7 bargain too tempting! We'll be staying at CBR and I am considering adding either the Basic Dining Plan or QSDP, and am confident that we will have plenty to eat. I can’t wait! On my must-try list is Wolfgang Puck Express, which will be new to all of us, and I can’t wait to take them to Columbia Harbor House, Starring Rolls, and Pizza Planet, all of which will be new to them. I hope to also try Captain Cooks and Contempo Café. So look for my next Dining Report in a few months and thanks for reading!

This morning was my 90 days, so I made some TS reservations to cover my bases - I've got Coral Reef, Kouzzina Breakfast, O'Hana Breakfast, Tusker House Breakfast, Chef Mickey's, Les Chefs, Le Cellier, Sci Fi Dine In Theatre, Rose and Crown, and Tony's. All very subject to change, of course! If I decide on the QSDP, I will probably still keep some of the breakfasts anyway.

 

[KatMark]

Thanks for the awesome reviews and the recap. Hope you and your young wons enjoy your stay at the CBR in January and that you'll do another dining report.

 

[Schmoodle]

Thank you, KatMark! I probably will do another dining review, if only because it's very fun to re-live it all, once you are home. I enjoyed reading your reviews/trip report of your latest trip too.

 

[KatMark]

Thank you, KatMark! I probably will do another dining review, if only because it's very fun to re-live it all, once you are home. I enjoyed reading your reviews/trip report of your latest trip too.

Thanks...glad you enjoyed. We hope next year to have a longer trip so we can eat at some of the places you reviewed.

 

[hellotoyou]

Thank you for your review -- I enjoyed reading it! It sounds as though you really had a wonderful time!

 

[Schmoodle]

Thank you and hellobacktoyou!

 

[2littlez'sandme]

Schmoodle, be on the look-out for my pre-trip report as well as my day by day reviews.
Thinking of calling it 'A Holiday with 2littleZ's'...
I'll be on twitter as well...
http://www.twitter.com/2littlezsandme

 

[Schmoodle]

I sure will look for it! I'll try to remember to follow you on twitter as well. Are you getting so excited about your trip?