Two parents, one tween, and SO much good food!

[Disneyfreak616]

I am loving these reviews!!! Your pics are fantastic! We are going to Cali Grill in July and Kona, Mama Melrose and Yak and Yeti in August. I can't wait!

 

[momtwoboys]

Yes we are! We are going April 14-22nd! We cannot take our older ds out of school anymore we have done the first week of May every year since our Honeymoon in 97' skipped only 98 but have been back ever year I am looking forward to some beautiful weather, and like my younger ds says "the good smells of Disney!"

 

[bleeps]

Sharks Underwater Grill

Shhh, don't tell Mickey, but we usually skip over to SeaWorld for a day! It's an utterly beautiful place and Dean is passionate about animals generally and sea creatures particularly. He was bold enough for their big rides this time (Manta and Kraken). Quick tip if you go: we highly recommend paying for the front-of-the-queue wristbands. You can buy them from the SeaWorld web site -- you get a code that you take to the customer service desk and they give you a wristband. Just as the name says, you go to the front of the line for all the big rides. Time is money on these kinds of vacations, and this made it possible for Dean to ride as often as he wanted to -- good stuff!

SeaWorld offers an all you can eat dining plan for their counter service food, but we had enjoyed a previous meal at this table service place and that's more our style. The full floor-to-ceiling, full wall shark tank is amazing -- it rivals Coral Reef for sure! The way reservations here work is that you go to the restaurant that morning to reserve your table; the hostess stand opens at 10 for this.

Dean ordered the filet mignon without realizing that it came smothered in BBQ sauce and cheese. Once he scraped all that off he enjoyed the meat. (It's not that he doesn't like BBQ sauce or cheese, but he found the whole combo to be overwhelming.)

Ken had the monchong -- a sweet whitefish with a somewhat dense texture. He enjoyed it very much and said the sauce was terrific.

My Sharks Trio was shrimp, scallops, and fish cakes. I was disappointed for a number of reasons. Everything was a bit overcooked -- crazy in a seafood restaurant if you can't get the basics right. Also, last time we'd come I'd had a crab cakes and salad dish that was heavenly and that I'd been thinking of ever since. I was disappointed that they made the menu very much geared toward big, heavy, and expensive meals -- there was no entree salad choice at all. For that matter, there aren't any kind of sandwich options, either; it's a menu of main-meal entrees only, even at lunch.

I forgot to write down what we spent, but it was definitely in the $90 range (and that was just for entrees).

Value: C
Atmosphere: A
Service: B
Food: B-/C+

 

[sassyredhead]

Great reviews and pics! We are trying Yak and Yeti for the first time in May. I am even more excited after reading your review!

 

[janeapplemeadow]

Wow, what a great report and fantastic photos. Thanks for taking the time to do a report. Looking at the photos of the AP cheese plate got me drooling again. I was there 10 days ago and tried it for the first time and fell in love with the honeycomb too. You must be bummed to be shoveling snow, yet again this a.m., I know I am.

 

[bleeps]

Wow, what a great report and fantastic photos. Thanks for taking the time to do a report. Looking at the photos of the AP cheese plate got me drooling again. I was there 10 days ago and tried it for the first time and fell in love with the honeycomb too. You must be bummed to be shoveling snow, yet again this a.m., I know I am.

I am indeed sitting here with my cup of coffee, looking out at the snow falling on top of the mountains of snow we've already got, and wondering when spring will ever get here! Glad you were able to get in and out for your trip -- so many people have had winter travel plans ruined by all these storms!

 

[bleeps]

Brown Derby

This is another place that we've had mixed experiences with, and we've given it a rest recently. But we were headed to the Osborne Lights this evening, and as I said previously we're kinda burned out on Prime Time and Sci-Fi, so we gave this another try.

Good move.

Dean started with the tuna tartar. The presentation was lovely, and the dish was fresh, tasty, light, and just the right portion.

This is the cremini mushroom, chevre (goat cheese) tortelloni with tomato fennel sauce; I'd never had tortelloni before -- it's one giant tortellini. Very, very good -- pasta is cooked beautifully, the flavors really meld and blend nicely.

Ken had the baby greens salad and was quite happy with it.

For his entree, Ken had the sterling silver pork chop topped with smoked gouda cheese and apricot preserves. You know how you have certain food items that, if you see them on a menu, you'll order the dish just to get that thing? Well, Ken loves smoked gouda so he probably would have ordered just about anything it was on top of, but he also loves pork chops and I don't cook them at home (I do not know the secret to succulent pork chops!). He absolutely adored this dish.

Dean went with the black grouper with almonds and a lobster beurre blanc sauce. Sometimes when he orders something like this I get a little worried about whether he'll really like it, but I don't know why I do that -- he really enjoyed this. The grouper was very flaky and tender, and the sauce added a nice level of flavors to it.

I had the lamb shank. Lamb is another thing I don't make at home -- Ken doesn't like the idea of it (it really is a wonder that we eat meat at all!) -- but what a treat to have it served like this! Falling off the bone, juicy, in a rich wine sauce and on top of goat cheese polenta. Polenta for me is one of those things that I'll seriously order *just* about anything that's served on top of it; it is a very fine grain cornmeal mush, basically, dressed up with cheese and a nice alternative to potatoes or pasta.

Ken went with the cobbler, and called this one of the best ever. The pastry was tender and flaky, the fruit was rich and ripe.

Dean and I split a creme brulee. It's definitely a go-to dessert item for us, and this one was very well prepared.

Total cost for food was about $198.

Value: B -- For the one signature restaurant inside a park, I think they are doing pretty well here; it was much better than our last trip several years ago.
Atmosphere: B -- We had a lovely booth (which I vastly prefer over sitting out on the floor), but there was a HUGE table seated right near us with a large family who seemed to believe they were the only ones in the place. Why do people do that? Sure, have fun, enjoy, celebrate -- but remember that you're in public and that other people are trying to enjoy their evenings, too. The big open room does tend to get a little noisy...
Service: A
Food: A+

 

[jrsmom]

Loved your reviews! We are orininally from Ma and now live in Southern NH. Sittting here watching the snow fall as well!

Vickey

 

[bleeps]

Jiko

We love Jiko and it is a must on each trip. It's nice to have an excuse to visit AKL; be sure to allow yourself time to wander around and explore the resort before or after if you do come here for a meal. I'll admit, though, that the addition of Kidani Village threw me off and we accidentally got off the bus there instead of at the lodge (um, it would have been helpful if the bus driver had announced that this was the first of two stops, but maybe it's just me). It's easy enough to make the switch; we just waited at the front door for the little golf cart that runs between the two places.

The atmosphere in Jiko is lovely. It's a large room, but the way they split it up on different levels and the subtle way that it's lit makes it feel very snug and cozy. We've only ever had excellent, excellent service here; this is another great place (if you're a wine drinker) to put your faith in your CM to help you make selections from the extensive menu of African wines.

Dean started with the cheese platter. He appreciated the generous portions of cheese, the nice amount of crisp bread, and the various little items to combine with the cheeses.

Ken went with the Taste of Africa, which brings a wide variety of dips with some excellent breads. The dips range from fairly spicy to very mild, and they are nice because they are distinct flavors -- I don't think you'd try one of these and be reminded of something you had elsewhere (unless you've been to Africa?).

I started with the grilled boar tenderloin served over mealie pap (which to me seemed like a variation on polenta). Ken and Dean really wanted me to share more than the one taste each that I allotted them but this was just too good. I couldn't have been happier with my choice.

For my entree I tried the seared duck breast with a fig and port sauce. It was rich and flavorful, but the duck seemed just slightly tough, especially after the tender boar meat. It was lovely -- don't get me wrong -- and I probably would have been very happy with it IF I hadn't tried a bite of...

...the short rib dish that both Ken and Dean ordered. Wow. We all thought that this was absolutely THE best piece of meat any of us had on the entire trip. Like butter, soft and meltingly tender with a rich, intense sauce and a very nice assortment of well cooked veggies.

I know there's been a big fuss over the removal of the mac and cheese from the filet mignon dish here. We've had and enjoyed that dish on previous trips, but we also really trust what the kitchen does at this place. That dish was certainly very good, but to be honest it wasn't THAT distinctive over what you could get at other restaurants on the WDW property. We were glad that we had an excuse to try other things and could not have been happier that we did.

Hmm. What I wrote down in my notebook was that this was Tanzanian Chocolate, but looking at the allearsnet menu it says "Tarzanian" over there. I'm honestly not sure who is making the mistake, but never mind that and order this -- delicious!! The bottom is a dense chocolate-mousse-like bar, with the crispy chocolate and creme wafer on top. Dean and I shared this and it was plenty rich enough for us both to get just the right amount.

Ken is a cheesecake guy and he really liked this version -- very creamy and not crumbly/cakey the way it can sometimes be, with a delightful blueberry sauce.

Food came to about $180. We did have wine with our meal which I just never wrote details down for, but South Africa is producing some truly amazing wines and I encourage you to try some.

Value: A -- I'm giving this high marks because I think the offerings are so distinctive, which to me makes it a good use of the dining plan credits; I also taste the care and time that goes into the food here.
Atmosphere: A
Service: A+
Food: A+

 

[bleeps]

Sunshine Seasons

I wish the parks had more breakfast options. Don't you? If you're not up for a character meal, you're sort of just left with coffee and pastries. I'd like to see at least a little more to choose from in the mornings.

Uncharacteristically, we got up and headed right out this morning -- no coffee for me (gasp!) or anything. We were doing the sacred Epcot rope drop/Soarin' trip, and our plan was to get breakfast at Sunshine Seasons right there in the Land pavilion.

This worked beautifully. We got there, got Soarin' FPs, walked on and rode it, then went over to have breakfast.

I guess it was my lack of caffeine, but I was a little confused by the menu here. Turns out that the hot breakfast option is one thing -- the breakfast platter, and it comes automatically with this selection. I had tried to order just scrambled eggs, but was told "platter!" and so that's what we all got.

Dean didn't care for the french toast (and that's all HE had really wanted) but this was plenty of food for just under $7. It worked out really well for us; we enjoyed sitting there, watching the people streaming in for Soarin', knowing we'd ridden once and had FPs ready for after breakfast, and this was fine food for what it is. I do really wish the coffee were more drinkable, though (seriously, looking at this photo -- would YOU want to drink that coffee?). Dean had a hot chocolate that was kind of watery, but we just did a short pour from the machine and topped it off with a lot of milk.

After breakfast we had time to ride Living with the Land before using our FPs; it was a terrific start to our day.

Cost would have been $27.

Value: B -- We had plenty of credits to use, but even if you aren't on the plan I think this is a pretty good deal for the money.
Atmosphere: B -- It might not be as pleasant when it's busy, but the place was pretty empty and we were glad we could have the feeling of a calm oasis in the midst of a busy place.
Service: C -- The counter service people were nice enough, but I guess they get pretty tired of people not comprehending the *platter* system....
Food: B

 

[phabric]

I enjoyed reading your reviews with the pictures. We will be going to some of the same restaurants.

 

[bleeps]

Coral Reef

Am I allowed to say, once again, that we love this place and visit once every trip? I know it's another place that gets some mixed reviews, and they've made (and continue to make) a lot of changes to the menu over the years, but we keep coming back and it remains on our must-do list.

There are a few things that keep us coming back.

First, you cannot overestimate the wear and tear on your whole system from all of the sun exposure in Florida. Especially for those of us from northern climates -- being in the sun all day every day is exhausting. It's also hard on your eyes. So stepping in to the dark, cool atmosphere at Coral Reef is utterly refreshing and rejuvenating.

Second, as I said previously, Dean is a huge fish/sea creature fan. The full wall of saltwater tank here is gorgeous, and they did a great job designing the restaurant so all the seats give you good views. We were seated in our favorite area -- the first tables along the first elevated row. We've sat tank-side previously and don't love it that much; it's harder to really see the tank as a whole AND lots of people let their kids squeeze right in with you at your table (!) which isn't that lovely when you're trying to eat.

And finally, the food!

Dean and I shared the appetizer for two: crab cakes, grilled shrimp (hidden behind the soup cup, sorry about that!), BBQ beef tenderloin, and two little cups of lobster soup. I love plates with all kinds of little tastes like this, and it was just the right amount of food. Luckily for me, Dean decided to pass on the soup and so I got to have both cups. If he hadn't wanted to go with this option, I would have been tempted to just go with the soup since it's one of my favorite items on the menu here.

Ken had the crab cakes and was delighted, as always, with the lots-of-crab, barely-any-filler approach that they use here. He loves tropical fruits and so the little stack of fruit salsa was greatly appreciated. He's bummed that they no longer offer their shrimp cocktail, which was his favorite WDW appetizer in the past. (Most places seemed to have dropped it; he usually orders it several times on a trip but we never encountered it this time for some reason.)

Ken went with the lobster raviolis which he's had before and loves; this is an item that goes on and off the menu for some reason (maybe it has to do with the market price of lobster?). If you're a lobster fan then we highly recommend these; the sauce is lovely and light and the ravs are really stuffed nicely with tender lobster meat.

I had the grilled mahi mahi. The dish was good -- not as good as the mahi mahi preparation at Yak 'n' Yeti -- but what broke my heart was the way they changed their preparation here (I was probably so sad that I failed to focus the camera properly -- sorry about that!). On our last trip this had come with a beurre blanc sauce and was served with bok choy and jasmine rice and was probably the meal I most longed for after the trip was over. I really was hoping to have it again and was disappointed in the change. I didn't think the shrimp really did anything for the dish. It was fine, there wasn't anything wrong with it, it just wasn't what I'd been dreaming of.

Dean went with the chicken caesar. He was also nursing a broken heart, having discovered that they took his beloved blackened catfish off the menu. He refused to have fish, in protest, but was happy to see that this was a full chicken breast half (which he prefers over the strips that sometimes come on a caesar).

We drowned any remaining menu-change sorrows in dessert -- chocolate waves all around. Molten center, say no more! But wait, I will say one more thing. Ken and I used to love love love the mango sorbet that they used to serve here. Came with a crisp tuille in the shape of a seahorse (an ultra-thin butter cookie), and was THE most refreshing way to end a meal. I'd like to see more of these kinds of light dessert options return to the WDW menus overall.

Cost would have been about $125.

Value: B
Atmosphere: A++
Service: A
Food: A- (only because we're sad to see so many menu favorites go by the wayside)

 

[bleeps]

Le Cellier

But before we get to dinner, a quick break for some frozen cappucinos from the little snack window place near the UK and Canada. I was feeling very coffee-deprived by this point (remember the grim cuppa from Sunshine Seasons that started the day?) so we all used snack credits for a pick-me-up. These are not the slushy kind of frozen coffee drinks that we love (ala Starbucks Frappucinos); it's basically iced coffee with lots of sugar. But hey, a sunny afternoon at World Showcase -- can't be bad!

(I failed to mention that Dean had fractured the growth plate in his ankle during a school soccer game about 6 weeks before we left on the trip. Fortunately by this point he was out of his cast and just had an ankle brace. We walked a bit less than we normally do at WDW -- 6 or 7 miles a day instead of 10 to 15 -- and went a little slower, but he was absolutely fine which was a huge relief.)

On then, to Le Cellier!

When Ken turned 50 (in 2009), his heart's desire was to be at WDW and to have his 50th birthday dinner at Le Cellier. It's another regular for us, we've never had a bad meal there, and they did a terrific job helping us celebrate that milestone birthday. We were all looking forward to this next visit.

They were pretty busy this evening, and we were seated right near the kitchen door. Now, if THIS had been Ken's birthday dinner I would have politely asked for a different table. But, we were tired and ready to just sit down, and it really worked out just fine. Our CM was training a new CM and they were both so friendly and efficient that it made the table location a non-issue (and I sat in the *worst* seat because I knew it would bother me less than it would bother the two guys). We had a nice chat with the CMs about the Canadian wines and had very generous pours (as a result?); they acknowledged that the table location wasn't great and seemed to appreciate our good humor about it.

Ken and I both started with salads. The dressing on this is super light, which really lets the fresh greens shine through. As much as I love the mussels and the cheddar cheese soup here, at this point I was starting to get weary of all the food and felt that I needed to cut back a bit. Ken was hoping for a tomato stack salad but the season had passed, unfortunately.

Dean went with the duck meatballs. These were outrageously good! Served on little rounds of puff pastry, these were sinfully rich and tender.

Ken and I both had the filet, with mushroom risotto and a white truffle/butter sauce. Risotto is a slowly cooked, creamy rice. They've adjusted this preparation a bit over the years, I believe, but it's always incredible. Steaks were cooked perfectly.

Dean went with the prime rib, which was cooked to order. I'm not usually a prime rib gal and thought that it was a *you get what you get* kind of meat in terms of doneness, but the CM said they'd prepare it any way he'd like! He went medium rare and so it was. He forgot to ask them to hold the horseradish sauce, but then tried it and really liked it.

Dean and I each had maple creme brulee, which for us is a "that's why we come here!" kind of a dish. So, so good!

Ken had the seasonal sorbet, which was a green apple. Very, very nice -- just slightly tart and very refreshing.

Food was about $150. I understand that this is (or is about to be?) a two-credit place on the meal plan but it was a one-credit steal before. We'll still go, even with the two-credit deal.

Value: A
Atmosphere: B
Service: A+
Food: A+

 

[disneyfan61]

Love your reviews so far. We are not too far away from you in NH. Like you we go to Disney every year since 2004.

I agree with you about the Mahi Mahi at Yak & Yeti. We went there last year for the first time & that is what I got. Very good. We have an ADR for our upcoming trip also. Our 2 sons have not tried it there yet. We are also doing Teppan Edo again this trip. We really enjoyed it there last trip.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

loving the reviews, we have Mama melrose and Jiko shortlisted for our next trip and were hooked on Le Cellier last year.

Sure I've read one of your reviews before - your son's eating habits are very similar to my son's - DD is another story altogether.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Really enjoying your reviews. Those duck meatballs look really good!

 

[lblume91]

Loving your reviews so far! Great photos too! We feel the same way about the DDP - it's nice to order whatever tickles our fancy, without worrying about the price. DH is a total tightwad so it lets us all enjoy that freedom. It's also nice to let the kids order what they want, including desserts.

 

[bleeps]

Kouzzina

Thanks for all the lovely comments and encouragement! Amazing how many of us are braving winter in New England. Glad to hear some of you are planning trips and that the reviews and photos are giving you ideas!!

Our family watches a lot of Food Network programming, and so we were intrigued with the idea of trying Cat Cora's restaurant. We had to laugh, though -- when we were seated, the CM asked us rather breathlessly if we knew who Cat Cora was and if we realized that we were about to have the honor of eating in a restaurant owned by one of the top 4 chefs in the world!

Whoa. Hold the phone. She's a TV personality on a show called Iron Chef. She didn't win the *honor* of being on the show; she got her job back when they were hiring people for it (rather than making shows about putting chefs through the ringer for the honor of making it onto the show). I don't believe she currently owns a signature restaurant (where she herself cooks), and I don't believe she's been awarded any Michelin stars.

Not trying to nit pick or anything, but it's a long road from TV personality to one of the top four chefs in the world. Just sayin'.

But in any case the CM was relieved that we knew who Cat was. As we arrived that morning, we observed people working on the preparations to redesign the front and certain areas of the restaurant to bring Cora more to the forefront of the operation; guess too many guests were walking in without realizing the connection or even not knowing/caring who's behind the place.

So on to the food.

Dean had french toast. Now, for a kid who'll eat things like black grouper and sashimi, he is very particular about breakfast foods. He didn't love this; he thought it was a little cold and he pronounced the bread "weird." Ken and I both tried it and thought it was fine. As I think about it, I guess he has in mind, for breakfasts, the versions he's served at home and this just didn't taste like home to him. (I'm not trying to imply that I serve better french toast than an Iron Chef, just that it's what he's used to.)

Ken had the scrambled eggs with spinach, tomato, and feta cheese. He liked it very, very much. He's a big fan of loaded omelettes, and found this similar but without the tough outer "skin" that omelettes can sometimes have. He would very much like to go back again next trip for this dish.

I had the turkey and sweet potato hash, with a poached egg on top. Not as good as the Samoan at the Poly, but still good. I'd wanted to try something that was particular to this place and wasn't disappointed.

It was great having a place within walking distance of the hotel; I just wished it opened earlier than 8 (maybe it does in certain seasons?).

Food total was about $45.

Value: B-
Atmosphere: C Nothing really wrong with it, and I understand that they've done some renovations, but with the huge windows overlooking the Boardwalk all covered in curtains I think they took away the best asset that the room had.
Service: A
Food: B+ (Just can't do THAT much with breakfast foods, right?)

 

[bleeps]

Loving your reviews so far! Great photos too! We feel the same way about the DDP - it's nice to order whatever tickles our fancy, without worrying about the price. DH is a total tightwad so it lets us all enjoy that freedom. It's also nice to let the kids order what they want, including desserts.

Exactly -- there's something just incredibly freeing about looking at a menu and knowing you can have whatever you want, and being able to tell kids the same thing. The rate at which money can get spent on a WDW vacation is overwhelming, and we're at the point where we kind of just can't imagine paying out of pocket for these meals -- we just wouldn't be able to enjoy them as much. Silly, perhaps to some, but true!

 

[bleeps]

The Wave

We picked this for our dinner before our MVMCP night. I was a little stressed at the rate at which people were pouring into the MK at about 4; our ADR was for 5 and we took the bus to MK and then walked over to get the monorail to the Contemporary. I was tempted to blow off the reservation and grab counter service, but Ken and Dean had their hearts set on The Wave.

(Note: we went to the 2nd MVMCP of the season on 11/11 and were surprised by how crowded it was. We do like the special parties, though, and totally loved the ice lights on the castle and the holiday fireworks! Ken and Dean were right to talk me out of throwing our dinner plans to the wind, though -- we were able to do everything we wanted at the party and we probably would have ended up being cranky with a crowded CS meal.)

We were there for dinner service opening and had to wait a few minutes for the table. Not bad at all, it was just interesting to be in with the Contemp crowd, which always includes a lot of business people there for conventions. Aside from the siren call of the restaurants there, we really like the assortment of shops in the Contemp -- somehow they get a better selection of things....

Ken and I started with the avocado and citrus salad. This was probably my favorite salad of the trip!

Dean went with the chicken and wild rice soup, which was served with an adorable little cornbread muffin. He did a good job on it which was a relief to me because I wasn't sure how he'd like the wild rice (something Ken's not a fan of so I don't make it at home).

Ken and Dean both ordered the sea bass, served with edamame (shelled young soy beans -- they look like lima beans) "stew." A big hit with both of them -- sea bass was flaky and well seasoned, and we all love edamame.

I had the oven roasted chicken served with a potato waffle. This was amazing -- chicken was nice a crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside, and I LOVED the potato waffle! It was served with a side of maple syrup and even though the bean and rice mixture doesn't look that great in the picture, it was wonderful (I love beans and rice).

For dessert we shared the American Flavors sampler, which included these six little morsels of goodness.

Food total ran about $123.

Value: B
Atmosphere: C -- I don't know why I was so certain that this would have a primarily blue, underwater feel to it (I dunno, maybe the name?), but it's all deep browns, golds, and earth tones. It just didn't fit, IMHO, with the name, even though I get the point about the wave of flavors thing.
Service: A -- We said up front that we wanted to enjoy but not linger over our meal and the CM did a great job keeping things moving for us.
Food: A -- We'll definitely go back.