The trip where everything tastes amazing, ESPECIALLY the F&G booths!-"Best of" Awards

[librarygeek]

Flower and Garden booths - L'Orangerie

Dinner was looming ever closer, so we weren't going to get any food here - but I couldn't resist a slush! I got the La Vie Rose Frozen Slush (Grey goose vodka orange, St. Germain Liquor, White and Red Cranberry Juice):



This was very nice. It was rather tart, which I enjoy occasionally, and it worked well here. I prefer the grand marnier slush they always have in France, but this was good to try something new! I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10.

 

[librarygeek]

Flower and Garden Booths - Pineapple Promenade

We skipped the UK booth since we had dinner at Rose and Crown. Even though dinner was an hour away, my dad insisted on getting a dole whip! He is an absolute ice cream fanatic and definitely had to try a dole whip, which he had never had before.



He and my mom shared it (well, mostly my dad ate it!). My mom gave it a 9 out of 10 and said it was "quite good." My dad didn't give me numerical ratings, but I think this picture should speak for what he thought of it:

 

[librarygeek]

Rose and Crown

This was my mom's one request for the trip, to eat here - she's a big fan of the British pub style foods. I studied abroad in England for a few months so I love visiting the UK pavilion and re-living those memories!

We actually met up with a friend of mine for this meal. Our reservation was at 7, and when we checked in we requested an outside table so we might be able to see Illuminations. I've heard this can kind of be a long shot, and you might wait for an hour to get a good table, and even then it's not guaranteed. Well, about 10 minutes later they called us and led us to a table right on the railing. Literally the perfect spot!

Since we knew that we needed to wait about 2 hours for the fireworks, we planned on a leisurely meal with drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts. To start off, DH got the Welsh Dragon ( Peach Schnapps, Melon liqueur, Creme de menthe, orange juice, and pineapple juice.):



This was super yummy! Sweet but not overly so.

I had the Cider and Black (hard cider with a shot of blackcurrant syrup):



This was incredible! I took a liking to hard cider when I was in England and it's one of my favorite drinks. The blackcurrant syrup added a little more sweetness to it which in my opinion made it even better!

My mom and dad both got a Black and Tan (half bass, half Guiness):


They enjoyed it, and I thought the appearance was pretty neat!

For an appetizer we shared the trio of UK cheeses:



This picture was after a few people had dug in I'm not a huge cheese fan so I didn't eat much and I don't recall what they were. I think DH ate most of it. There was one cheese I liked though. It was a nice appetizer, I think I would give it a 7 out of 10.

I had the fish and chips:



This was good, if nothing terribly special. The fish was nice and flaky but the chips were especially good. They were big, potato-y and crispy. I'd give the dish an 8 out of 10.

DH got the chicken curry ( with Vegetables, Basmati Rice, Raita, and Pappadam):



He enjoyed this and ate up all of it. He rated it a 7.5 out of 10.

My mom and dad both got the pork (with Colcannon Potatoes, Roasted Apples, and Whole-Grain Mustard Jus.):



They both really enjoyed it, and my mom gave it an 8 out of 10. However, she pointed out that there was a lot of pork there, more than she could eat. She ended up giving a big chunk of it to my DH, which he devoured! He was quite hungry that evening

My friend got the cottage pie (Ground Beef, onions, mushrooms, creamy mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese):



Unfortunately, when she dug into it the ground beef definitely looked rather pink:



She didn't feel comfortable eating it. None of us were sure if it was just from the sauce, but she didn't want to risk it. Other than that it looked quite good too. They brought a second one which actually looked even more pink. I suspect it probably would've been okay, but I completely understand her not wanting to eat it - especially since the waiter didn't really know whether or not it should look like that. In the end nothing really appealed to her on the menu so she just got an order of chips, which were quite filling themselves!

Speaking of which, our waiter was fantastic. We told him we wanted to stick around for the fireworks and he said he'd take his time dragging out the meal for us. We really appreciated that, especially since if we ate quickly he could've turned our table around and gotten a second tip. He was also so apologetic when my friend didn't like her food, and was very sweet about the whole thing. He didn't charge us for her order of chips and also didn't charge us for our appetizer. We left him a really good tip beyond the 18% on the Tables in Wonderland. His name was Neil so if you get him, know that you are in very good hands!

For dessert, DH had the cheesecake (which I think it changes, but at the time it was a peach cheesecake):



He gave it a 7.5 out of 10. It was good, but he had some other cheesecakes that were better.

My dad and I both had the Jaffa Tarts (orange cream filled cakes with chocolate ganache, raspberry sauce, and fresh oranges):



Yum! This dessert combines some of my absolute favorite flavors - chocolate, raspberry, and orange. They actually tasted lighter than I expected. Not quite as good as what I had at Mama Melrose the night before, but still an excellent dessert. I'd rate it an 8.5 out of 10!

And then just as we were finishing up our desserts, Illuminations began! We had such a completely incredible view. As DH said, he would give the view a 10 out of 10!



Overall we had a great time at the Rose and Crown. Unfortunately there was the one issue with the cottage pie. But other than that everything was great - the food was very good, our waiter was wonderful, and we had the perfect seats for Illuminations. I'd give Rose and Crown an overall 8 out of 10.

Once again we were able to use Tables in Wonderland here, which saved us a total of $30.48, bringing our total Tables in Wonderland savings on this trip up to $89.56.

 

[wilma-bride]

We've never eaten at the Rose & Crown - mainly because, being from the UK, it's all the same stuff as we can get at home and I would much rather try the other restaurants. However, I can categorically say that the cottage pie should not have looked like that Ground (minced) beef shouldn't be served pink, in my opinion, and definitely not in a cottage or shepherds pie.

Glad you enjoyed it overall though.

 

[klacey1]

We absolutely love Rose and Crown-- your fish and chips look so yummy! And I might just have to get the Welsh Dragon that your DH got when we go in September. Sounds so yummy! I also love the glass it was served it-- was there an option to purchase it??
That ground beef is a bit scary looking! When I cook it, I cook it to death. I love medium rare steaks, but my ground meat must be completely brown!!

 

[librarygeek]

We've never eaten at the Rose & Crown - mainly because, being from the UK, it's all the same stuff as we can get at home and I would much rather try the other restaurants. However, I can categorically say that the cottage pie should not have looked like that Ground (minced) beef shouldn't be served pink, in my opinion, and definitely not in a cottage or shepherds pie.

Glad you enjoyed it overall though.

Glad to get your input on the ground beef - that's what we were all thinking but it was one of those situations where you just weren't sure if it was an overreaction or not! Definitely better to be safe than sorry though. And I agree... if I was in another country I certainly wouldn't be seeking out American food! Though funny enough, my friend from Norway is coming to Disney with me for the first time and he wants to eat at Akershus! He asked if it would be too "cliche" to eat there but I think he wants to see how Americans do Norway

We absolutely love Rose and Crown-- your fish and chips look so yummy! And I might just have to get the Welsh Dragon that your DH got when we go in September. Sounds so yummy! I also love the glass it was served it-- was there an option to purchase it??
That ground beef is a bit scary looking! When I cook it, I cook it to death. I love medium rare steaks, but my ground meat must be completely brown!!

Yes, the glass that DH's drink came in was a souvenir cup - we paid for it, I think it was $10 for the drink in the cup, and around $7 to get the drink without the cup. Although now we can't find that cup anywhere! We may have even left it there, oops...

I don't eat beef very often so I wasn't sure what was typical, but I'm glad everyone else seems to agree that it was too pink!

 

[shalom]

The pancakes were made with onion, and my husband has a huge aversion to onion. I also don't care for it but it usually doesn't bother me if it's in a dish.

You don't like onion?

Just teasing. But we do love onions (and garlic, and chives, and...), so I've made German potato pancakes or variations from lots of different recipes, and they've all called for onion. I'd stay it's pretty standard for that recipe. OTOH, they shouldn't taste strongly of onion, IMHO. I either grate the onion more finely than I do the potatoes, or I cook or freeze the onions first so they're definitely cooked through. German pancakes with a "bright" onion taste, like raw onions, definitely seems wrong to me.

I like my steaks rare, and even like steak tartare, but still wouldn't be thrilled to have seen that red meat in the cottage pie. Ground beef needs to be browned to be safe. I'm glad she didn't take that risk, but chips? I would have gone for an English bulldog.

 

[librarygeek]

The Three Broomsticks

So for Thursday we headed to Islands of Adventure, since my family is big Harry Potter fans! I'd been numerous times before (I've been down for Harry Potter conventions), and DH had been once, but obviously my parents had never been.

In the morning we had to try a butterbeer!


Butterbeer is just so incredible. I easily give it a 10 out of 10. The flavor is so good, and I prefer the regular one over the frozen since I like the carbonation. My mom also gave it a 10 out of 10, saying it was unlike anything she had ever tasted before. She also preferred the regular one. And while some people think it's too sweet, I don't think it's overly so. I do like sweet things but this is nothing compared to LeFou's Brew, which was too sweet even for me!

Lunch was at the Three Broomsticks.

My mom got the pasties, with a side salad:


She gave them an 8 out of 10. She said they were good, though they didn't have a strong flavor - she guessed that they were probably supposed to be like that, though. She was also really happy she could get a salad as a side here, instead of the typical fries or apples/grapes offered at the Disney places.

Dad had the fish and chips:


He enjoyed them. They're basically just standard fish and chips (I've had them here before), so if that's what you're looking for you shouldn't be disappointed!

DH had been wanting a turkey leg, and he finally got one here:



He rated it a 7.5 out of 10, but said that eating a turkey leg is really all about the experience - once you've had it once they're pretty much all the same. He still really likes them though.

I got the chicken salad:


I had been in the mood for something lighter, so I was happy they had a salad (even though it's not listed on their main menu outside). I'd give it a 7 out of 10. The chicken was moist and tender, so that was better than I expected. The rest of it was a very standard salad. The roll was pretty hard and dry though.

Overall I'd give the Three Broomsticks an 8 out of 10! Especially compared to a lot of the other quick service places in Islands of Adventure - the ones I've eaten at haven't been very good. So just for the decent food and the different choices besides burgers and chicken this one gets higher marks. Plus, the themeing is great for a Harry Potter fan. And you can't beat the butterbeer!

 

[librarygeek]

You don't like onion?

Just teasing. But we do love onions (and garlic, and chives, and...), so I've made German potato pancakes or variations from lots of different recipes, and they've all called for onion. So I'd stay it's pretty standard for that recipe. OTOH, they shouldn't taste strongly of onion, IMHO. I either grate the onion more finely than I do the potatoes, or I cook or freeze the onions first so they're definitely cooked through. German pancakes with a "bright" onion taste, like raw onions, definitely seems wrong to me.

I like my steaks rare, and even like steak tartare, but still wouldn't be thrilled to have seen that red meat in the cottage pie. Ground beef needs to be browned to be safe. I'm glad she didn't take that risk, but chips? I would have gone for an English bulldog.

The funny thing is that I love garlic! But onions are just a bit too much for me. I don't know much about potato pancakes so I didn't realize the onion is pretty standard!

 

[wilma-bride]

I loved the fish and chips at 3 Broomsticks. We have never tried the regular butterbeer, just the frozen. We are back there in November, perhaps we'll have to give the regular a go - is the taste pretty much the same as the frozen?

 

[librarygeek]

I loved the fish and chips at 3 Broomsticks. We have never tried the regular butterbeer, just the frozen. We are back there in November, perhaps we'll have to give the regular a go - is the taste pretty much the same as the frozen?

I only had one sip of the frozen, but from what I remember it tasted pretty much the same, just a different texture. Plus the regular one is cheaper than the frozen one, so I'm glad I prefer it

 

[klacey1]

Oh yum! All of your food looks delicious! I had been afraid of big crowds at Three Broomsticks, so we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe instead, which was gross. By the time we made it back to IOA after our nasty lunch, TB was empty and I severely regretted skipping it!
I also prefer the carbonated butterbeer-- I like the bubbles and don't like icey/slushy drinks. I don't find it overly sweet, ether.

 

[librarygeek]

Oh yum! All of your food looks delicious! I had been afraid of big crowds at Three Broomsticks, so we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe instead, which was gross. By the time we made it back to IOA after our nasty lunch, TB was empty and I severely regretted skipping it!
I also prefer the carbonated butterbeer-- I like the bubbles and don't like icey/slushy drinks. I don't find it overly sweet, ether.

I've been there even when it crowded, and have to say from my experience they were extremely efficient - so next time I would give it a try even if it looks busy! Definitely better than the Hard Rock

 

[librarygeek]

San Angel Inn

This was my dad's one choice of the restaurants he wanted to go to. He absolutely loves Mexican food. We ate here back when I was 8 (though I probably just had chicken tenders or something!), and they liked it. He preferred the menu here over Hacienda, so that's why we ended up here!

We checked in 15 minutes early before our 7:00 reservation, and got seated around 7:10. It was probably the longest we waited out of any restaurant, so not too bad. We got a good table, right in the middle of the restaurant.



Here they give you tortilla chips instead of bread. These are delicious tortilla chips. We definitely made them disappear!

For dinner my mom was really not hungry at all, and decided not to order anything, though she would try a bite of my dad's food. He got the Camarones a la Diabla (Roasted diabla style shrimp with poblano rice served over yuca puree and cascabel chile sauce):



I think he liked it, though he never gave me ratings or comments (he just says everything is "good" haha). My mom rated it a 6 out of 10 and said it was okay, but she was not that impressed with it. It was also not a big portion at all. Luckily they weren't really planning to share this one too much, but if they were it was nowhere near enough for two people (unlike many of the other Disney dishes). Personally, it didn't really look like it was even enough food for one person.

I convinced DH to split the three course "traditional Mexican dinner" with me, since it sounded great but there was no way I would be able to each three courses by myself. First up was the Tostadas de Tinga (pulled chicken seasoned with roasted tomato and chipotle, served on tostadas with black refried beans, green tomatillo sauce, queso fresco and sour cream):



These were incredible! I wasn't expecting to like much here since I'm not big on Mexican food, but the flavors of this were just delicious. I ate two of these and DH had one. I'd give them a 9 out of 10, while he gave them an 8 out of 10. They were also fairly large for an appetizer. If I came back here I would probably order these as my dinner and along with dessert I would be plenty full!

For our main course we had the Tacos de Pescado (deep fried fish tacos served with chipotle-lime aioli, cabbage, lime and green tomatillo sauce, all served over flour tortillas):



These were the main reason why I wanted the traditional dinner (the fish tacos weren't listed on the menu as available separately), but in the end I ended up liking the appetizer more. This was still good though. DH agrees, saying they were good but not particularly memorable. He gave them a 7.5 out of 10 and I would agree with that.

For dessert we got the Crema Bavaria (creamy bavarian mousse served with mixed berries, cinnamon, orange liquer and vanilla sauce). My parents also got an order of this to split:



It was a very nice, light sort of dessert. I'm usually a chocolate person so it's a bit of a departure from what I might normally order, but I definitely enjoyed it. The fresh fruit with it was really good. I would give it an 8 out of 10. DH gave it a 7.5 out of 10, and my mom gave it a 7 out of 10, saying that it was good but didn't seem very Mexican.

I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about San Angel Inn, so I was a little worried about this one. But we enjoyed it a lot! The food was better than I expected, and the ambiance is quite nice. Overall I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

We used Tables in Wonderland here and saved $23, bringing our total TiW savings for this trip up to $112.56.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

San Angel has been on our "never again" list for several years now but your review may be changing my mind. Those tacos look really good!

 

[librarygeek]

San Angel has been on our "never again" list for several years now but your review may be changing my mind. Those tacos look really good!

Yes, I think most places are definitely worth trying again! We enjoyed all of our food there!

 

[klacey1]

Your dad's shrimp looks yummy, but definitely small! 5 shrimps?! Ridiculous! Your appetizer also looks delicious-- each of the individual components look so fresh!

 

[librarygeek]

Your dad's shrimp looks yummy, but definitely small! 5 shrimps?! Ridiculous! Your appetizer also looks delicious-- each of the individual components look so fresh!

I know! I was so surprised to see such a small serving, especially given how large portions tend to be elsewhere.

 

[librarygeek]

Yak and Yeti

We ate here for lunch on our Animal Kingdom day, since there aren't a ton of choices in AK. Plus, the menu looked really good to me - I love Asian style food! We also had another Landry's card to use here since my birthday was also in August.



They invited us to walk around and take pictures wherever we liked. It's a fun atmosphere.



We were seated upstairs, in a room that had a large party in it - about 12 people all seated together. They were kind of noisy, but they also had a baby with them that was crying loudly. It was pretty bad at first, and I thought about asking for a different table, but luckily the baby fell asleep after about 10 minutes and it wasn't so bad.



For a drink, I got the Yak Attack, as did my mom (Mango Daiquiri, Bacardi Light Rum, and Wildberry Flavors):



It was sweet and very good. I liked it a lot, though I wouldn't say I loved it. In general I tend to prefer liquid drinks over slushies, but I wanted to give this one a go. Certainly enjoyable!

DH got the Bonsai Blast (vodka, banana liqueur, peach schnapps, and blue curacao):


He liked this a lot, and when I tried it I really liked it too. The combination worked very well together, and it was so refreshing! I would probably order this one next time instead, or try something new.

We ordered two appetizers to share between the four of us. First up was the Dim Sum Basket (Pork pot stickets, shrimp siew mai, cha su bao & pork siew mai steamed on a banana leaf and served with soy lime dipping sauce):



Everything in here was very good. We eat at a lot of Asian places and I'd say this wasn't anything outstanding, but it was certainly better than a lot of other places offer. My mom gave it an 8 out of 10, saying that it was worthwhile and a big serving - the menu listed it as serving 2, but she thought that it would be a lot of appetizer for two people.

The other appetizer was the Wok fried green beans (Battered green beans with sweet Thai chili sauce):



These were so, so good! Fried green beans seem to be popping up all over the place now, but these were the best ones I've had. There was plenty of breading, which some places skip on. I've also found that many places make them way too salty, but that wasn't the case here. The dipping sauce was good, though not my favorite. I actually preferred just eating the green beans without it. 9.5 out of 10.

We decided to split entrees again here too, because I'd heard the portions were large. My parents split the Beef and Broccoli (Flank steak, broccoli and a brown sauce):


My mom gave it a 7 out of 10. She said it was fine but nothing spectacular. It was plenty for the two of them, since they had the appetizers too.

DH and I shared the Malaysian Seafood Curry (Mahi Mahi, scallops, little neck clams, mussels, shrimp, zucchini, roma tomatoes, red curry coconut broth, and jasmine rice):


This was also fantastic! The curry tasted fantastic, with just the right amount of spiciness. The seafood added to it, though I could've used more shrimp It came in a bowl with rice and was an absolutely huge portion. Even though we were splitting it we couldn't even finish it between the two of us - I probably only ate 1/3 of it! There's no way I could tackle that on my own. It tasted great though, and I give it a 9 out of 10.

I had seen pictures of those green beans and curry and been dreaming of them, and the Yak and Yeti did not disappoint. Overall we'd give it an 8.5 out of 10. Definitely a place I'll be back to when I'm in the Animal Kingdom!

No tables in Wonderland here, but we did have the Landry's card. It gave us $50 off our final bill (but the card cost $25, so it was a savings of $25). A pretty good deal!

 

[honeybunches]

Great reviews! I never considered Yak & Yeti before but I think my husband might like the beef and broccoli.