Trying new places & returning to favorites! *Update 3/13* Final Thoughts

[TanzUnited99]

Loving the reviews so far! I tried La Cantina's but had the Jalapenos and boy were they hot! You made a smart move asking for them to be left off.

That red velvet cupcake sure is delish! My mouth is watering thinking about it now.

Cape May Cafe looks good - may have to try it on a future trip as well as O'hana. Love EoS - what a great CS place!

 

[PixieMama]

Loving the reviews so far! I tried La Cantina's but had the Jalapenos and boy were they hot! You made a smart move asking for them to be left off.

I can't handle jalapeños, LOL! I tried once, but couldn't even get the pepper past my lips... and it seemed like my lips were numb for HOURS afterwards!

 

[lbuzz52]

i'm glad you mentioned the sweet and salty. When i was pregnant with James, i kept telling Chris i wanted chocolate nachos. he thought i was really strange. i don't know why it never clicked to me that a chocolate pretzel is practically the same thing!

 

[Disneybrenda]

Can't wait to read the rest of your reviews.

 

[tybrilinja]

Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to try Rose and Crown. It all looks so good. I'm actually feeling a bit overwhelmed as we have never had the dining plan before so i'm taking notes from your review! So, keep em coming.

 

[PixieMama]

i'm glad you mentioned the sweet and salty. When i was pregnant with James, i kept telling Chris i wanted chocolate nachos. he thought i was really strange. i don't know why it never clicked to me that a chocolate pretzel is practically the same thing!

Oooo, chocolate nachos sound kinda good! Chocolate covered pretzels are great... even better when you dip them in peanut butter!

Can't wait to read the rest of your reviews.

, Disneybrenda! Next review will be up soon!

 

[PixieMama]

Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to try Rose and Crown. It all looks so good. I'm actually feeling a bit overwhelmed as we have never had the dining plan before so i'm taking notes from your review! So, keep em coming.

, Stephanie! Next review will be up shortly... it will be our lunch at Les Chefs de France!

I'd love to know what ADRs you're considering for your trip...

 

[PixieMama]

Lunch at Les Chefs de France was the first meal Mom, Heather, Helen, and I had together. Our ADR was for 1:10, but we checked in at 1:00 and were taken right to our table. None of us had been here before... we all thought the restaurant was beautiful. Within just a minute or so after being seated, our waitress, Miriam, came to take our drink orders (sodas for everyone) and drop off a warm baguette and butter:

It didn't take us long to decide on what we wanted to eat… all four of us ordered the Prix Fixe 3 Course Lunch, but with a few variations.

Helen ordered the lobster bisque, while Mom, Heather, and I ordered the onion soup:

These bowls were HUGE! I could've made a meal out of just the soup and the baguette! The onion soup was superb… Heather and Mom thought so, too. And Helen really liked her bisque.

For their entrees, Heather ordered thé croque monsieur sandwich while Mom and Helen both chose the quiche Lorraine. All of their dishes came with a small green salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Heather likes quiche, too, and while she said her sandwich was very good, she wished she had ordered the quiche. She had tried some of Helen's… they all raved about the quiche! As in, this was the best quiche any of them had ever had! Even later throughout the day, there were several times were one of them would say something about how yummy the quiche was!

I chose the baked macaroni and cheese for my entree:

Holy bowl of baked cheesy goodness, this was delicious! And another HUGE portion… I hope you can tell by the photo how big the bowl was. I only ate about half of it! I was already getting stuffed and still had dessert to go!

While we were eating our entrees, our table had a visit from Remy!

I hadn't told the others that Remy makes appearances during lunch… so this was a little surprise for them all. Remy's "handler", Armand, was a hoot! They even sang "Joyeux Anniversaire" to Mom (click to view):

​

(In case you can't hear or make out what he's saying, Armand is chastising Remy for being early and then too sharp! He wishes Mom a "Happy 21st Birthday", and she asks him to sign her autograph/birthday book. Armand then tells Remy he'll sign for him, and it's ok because "it's not power of attorney"!)


For dessert, Helen chose the creme brûlée and Heather ordered the chocolate mousse cake. Mom and I both had the profiteroles:

When the desserts were brought out, Miriam and a few other waiters sang another round of "Joyeux Anniversaire" to Mom:

We were all pleased with our desserts. The only negative I had about the profiteroles is that the chocolate was bittersweet… I would've liked it better had it been milk chocolate.

Les Chefs was très bonne! Definitely a hit with all four of us. The service was great... our waitress was a total sweetheart. Every dish was délicieux and the portions were plentiful! There are several dishes on the menu that sound yummy… I would love to come back for lunch at Les Chefs sometime to give them a try. And the interaction with Armand and Remy was so fun! I definitely recommend lunch at Les Chefs!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Lol you are bringing back memories with your review of Les Chefs! I totally get what you are saying about the baguette and soup making a main meal - the portions were quite big, weren't they?

Mmm that quiche sounds yummy will have to try it on a future trip. Aaw you guys got to meet Remy - that's the only downside to having a dinner ADR instead. Love the video of the little fella! I agree with your dessert review of the prefitteroles.

 

[mousegear]

All caught up! Yep, I'm too afraid to try Jalapeno Magarita. My favorite is Avocado Magarita, nice and smooth.
I enjoyed reading your Les Chef lunch review. I think it's making into must do restaurant next trip. I really want to try their onion soup and burger.

 

[PixieMama]

(Sorry it's been awhile since my last dining review! But let's continue, shall we?)

Mom, Heather, Helen, and I tried a few more snacks as we continued on with the World Showcase. First stop was at the Kabuki Cafe in Japan, where we all shared a Kaki Gori. We got the "rainbow", which is a combo of strawberry, melon, and tangerine:

This was good. I liked the strawberry smoothie from Lotus Blossom better, but this was still a good way to cool down on a hot day!


We also had to make a visit to Karamell-Küche. Angie, Kat, and I had stopped here during our day at Epcot, but none of us had bought anything. I guess we were still full from our Boulangerie Patisserie goodies! But I had been dreaming about the caramel cupcakes here and I couldn't wait to try one! The choices were vanilla or chocolate cupcake… I went with the chocolate one:

Unfortunately, I was really disappointed with this cupcake. The cake part was good, as was the caramel (I wish there had been more caramel on top… and even inside the cake would've been good!) But the frosting was yucky. It was just lard (or vegetable shortening) and sugar… BLECH! I really wish it had been a buttercream frosting. We all had a bite or two, but I couldn't make myself eat anymore.

On the bright side, we also got the small bag of caramel corn to share:

This was really good! Mom, Heather, Helen, and I scarfed the whole bag down in no time… and wish we'd gotten the bigger bag!

I will definitely visit Karamell-Küche again... just not for the cupcakes!

 

[Kat in GA]

Katie got that cupcake over the summer - she didn't care for it either. I found that most things there were just too sweet for me. Though I did like the bite I had of Madalyn's chocolate/caramel pretzel. Maybe the salt added balance

We haven't gotten a Kaki Gori in a while. I think we are too full by the time we get to Japan - but they are yummy and great for cooling off!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Mmm your pic of the Kaki Gori looks good - we never got to try that snack. Another one to put on the wishlist!

I'm sorry to read that you did not enjoy the KK cupcake - I had a different experience which I will be sharing soon.

 

[jenneth79]

We simply have to go back and try the caramel popcorn! I took your advice on the cupcake, but honestly even the salted caramel covered in dark chocolate wasn't my favorite. The chocolate caramel covered strawberry on the other hand?.....

 

[PixieMama]

(Nothing like stopping a Dining Review right in the middle and not updating for 4 months, huh? Oooops.)

Our lunch ADR for Sci-Fi was at 12:20; we checked in about 5 minutes early. Unfortunately, we waited almost 30 minutes to be seated. I overheard the CM who was working the check-in station tell someone that the first wave of seating for lunch had been done, now they were just waiting for those people to finish. I guess those people weren't in any hurry to finish their lunch, LOL!

Anyway, it was almost 1:00 by the time we were taken to our "car"… Heather and Helen sat in the front row, while Mom and I took the middle. We didn't wait very long before our waitress came to take our drink orders.

Heather and Helen each ordered the bowl of chili for appetizers, while Mom and I shared an order of spinach dip:

Not the best picture, but it was very good!

Heather and Helen again ordered the same, they both went with the burgers and fries. Mom and I also ordered the same, ribs with fries and cucumber salad:

Both Helen and Heather said their burgers were really good. Unfortunately, Mom and I didn't have the same luck with our ribs. They were just okay… the sauce was yummy, and though the meat fell right off the bones, it was actually a bit tough to chew.

Everyone was full from their meals, so none of us ordered dessert.

Overall, everyone enjoyed their meal (though everyone agreed it wasn't as good as our lunch the day before at Les Chefs!)

 

[PixieMama]

While waiting for Helen to go through the audition process for American Idol Experience… Mom, Heather and I did the Great Movie Ride. As we exited the ride we noticed a snack cart right in front of the attraction and decided to stop for a treat. Heather chose the classic Mickey Ice Cream Bar, while Mom and I planned on sharing a soft pretzel. After we paid for our snacks, the Cast Member noticed Mom's birthday button and told her to choose a snack for free! She ended up choosing a churro, so we'd have a variety of snacks to try.

I don't have any photos of our snacks, as they're pretty standard park fare. I will say Mom and Heather didn't care much for the churro… why, I don't know, because I think they are delicious! Quite possibly my favorite snack in all of WDW. I just love their crispy, cinnamon-y yumminess!


Later that evening we also got a few yummies at Writer's Stop. I chose the Carrot Cake Cookie (another snack I was looking forward to trying!):

We saved most of our snacks to eat back at the condo… hopefully you can tell how big this cookie is! It's sitting on a salad plate and almost takes up the whole thing! As for how it tastes… it was pretty good. The cream cheese frosting was vey yummy. The carrot cake part was good, but I've had better.

 

[PixieMama]

Our ADR for Crystal Palace was at 10:20… unfortunately, we were a tad late. Okay, more than just a tad, as we had lunch instead of breakfast!

Our intention was to get to MK by 9:30 or so. But when we arrived at the TTC, the monorail to MK was not running for some reason... which meant EVERYone going to MK had to take the ferry over. We were still waiting to get on the ferry at 10:20... the time we should've been having breakfast! And if that wasn't enough, once we got into the park we were help up on Main Street by the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! block party. It was 11:10 by the time I reached the check-in window at the restaurant. The CM said she wouldn't have any problem getting us in for lunch… the only thing was seating for lunch wouldn't start until 11:30 so we'd have to wait about 20 minutes, if we were okay with that. I told her of course we were!

Our buzzer went off promptly at 11:35 and we walked into the restaurant. As soon as we started making our way to our table, Pooh walked right up to us! He ended up grabbing Heather's hand and walking with her to our table. Since he was there already, Pooh went ahead and signed Mom's autograph book and posed for photos! It wasn't very long before the other characters came to our table:

Our waitress, Linda, was the best. She was very friendly and knowledgeable about the buffet (since none of us had been there for lunch before). I've been to Crystal Palace twice on previous trips, but only for breakfast. So I wasn't sure what the selections would be on the lunch buffet. I was pleased with everything I tried… there wasn't any dish that I did not like. And there were many that I really liked! I started off with a plate from the cold buffet: Cous Cous Salad, Mediterranean Salad, and fresh fruit. I'd never had cous cous before… Heather said she's had it before but it had always been hot.

My next plate included garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry glazed ham, and corn spoonbread. I'm sure there was more on my plate, but those were only the ones I made note of. I also had a bowl of the potato and bacon soup… it was delicious.

From the dessert bar, we all tried several mini-desserts: fruit tart, coffee amaretto tart, strawberry cheesecake, German chocolate cake, chocolate banana tart… and my favorite, the chocolate hazelnut cannoli.

Sorry I don't have any pics of our food… I'm not sure why I didn't take any, seeing as how I had my camera out for pics with the characters. I guess I must've been so hungry since we'd planned on having breakfast, not lunch, that I didn't think to take any photos of the food before I scarfed it down!

We enjoyed our lunch and the interaction with the characters (which, of course, is the best part of any character meal!)

 

[PixieMama]

No pics from our dinner at Pecos Bill's Tall Tale Cafe… but we all enjoyed our meal there!

I hadn't been to Pecos Bill's before, and the main reason we chose that restaurant was because we were in the area when it was time for dinner. I knew they served burgers and taco salad, but wasn't sure about anything else on the menu. It didn't matter, as we all chose the taco salad.

You're served seasoned ground beef in a fried tortilla bowl… and then add whatever you want to your salad at the toppings bar. Shredded lettuce, cheese, jalapeños, salsa, onions… you name it!

As with most food at WDW, the portion of the taco salad was plentiful. We probably could've shared one salad between two people, but since everyone liked different toppings it may not be the best idea to share. The salad was really good, and I would definitely consider eating at Pecos Bill's again.

 

[PixieMama]

The Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party was Mom's birthday surprise for our day at MK! When it was time to go to the event, we made our way over to the restaurant... I pointed to the sign and told Mom, "This is where we're going to watch the Fireworks!" She was so surprised!

We stopped to have a PhotoPass pic taken and then made our way to the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. We waited in line for just a few minutes before being seated at our table, which was right next to the rail. The dessert buffet had a ton of variety! Here's one of my dessert plates:

(clockwise from top: brownie, chocolate covered strawberry (you can just see it peeking out), fruit tart, peanut butter tart, chocolate mousse, Rice Krispie treat (and underneath is a cannoli or two!), mango shooter… in the middle of the plate is a pound cake with whipped frosting)​

The only dessert we didn't like was the mango shooter. It was sour and did not taste good at all! Heather and Helen loved the tiramisu, while the chocolate mousse was my favorite.

In addition to the desserts shown on my plate, there were also chocolate chip cookies, as well as ice cream. Drinks offered were water, tea, milk, lemonade, hot tea, and coffee.

We had our fill of desserts and then settled in to wait for Wishes to start!

Here's a pic I took from our table:

You can see the overhang above, but still it was a pretty great view. A lot of people stayed seated during the fireworks (Mom was one of them) but many people came up to stand at the rail. Even with people standing in front of her, Mom could still see. Here are some pics from the rail viewpoint:

The Dessert Party was a lot of fun! I would definitely do it again, and hope to during our next family vacation to WDW as I know my daughters would love it!

 

[HolidayRose]

Thank you for continuing your reviews; I'm really enjoying them!