Two Retirees take on seven days of Deluxe Dining (Days 1-7)

[Krmrr]

My Darling Wife (who retired in June) and I warmed up for our Disney experience by going on a Seven night cruise of the Western Caribbean. Dodging IKE and practicing our dining skills.

Day 1.

Woke at 5 A.M. went to the Main Dining room had tomato juice, melon slices, and eggs Benedict. Docked at 6:30. Left ship at 7:15; got to car at 8:00 and headed for Disney's All Star Resort. Arrived at about 9:45 just after a bus from the airport.

They took pity on us and gave us a clean room upon check-in. YEAH!!

At 1 P.M. we decided to go out to the Hard Rock Cafe (using the $15 coupon). I had the philly cheese steak sandwich and DW had the avocado chicken and swiss sandwich. I found the meat to be rather dry as was the bread. The sandwich was ok, but not the best. The fries were very good, the ice tea was strong and service was pretty good. DW said the swiss and avocado was very good, the chicken ok. She skipped the bread and most of her fries.

The bill included two drinks, so we had to get it corrected. Cost $17 + $6 tip.

Our first meal plan dinner was tonight at Boma.

We mainly sampled the food. 1/2 cup of soup, etc.

Here's our ad hoc menu.

Chicken Pepper Pot Soup - Very meaty, somewhat spicy but with a hint of sweetness. Somewhat reminded me of chicken chow mein.

She crab soup - Not too crabby, but very creamy. Had an after-taste of spicyness. Talked with the chef and she said that was the cayenne pepper.

Fried Plantain and corn salad - I loved it at first bite. A tart vinegar, green pepper, red onions and cilandro made this cold salad great. Had a second spoonful.

Braised Pork with BBQ sauce - Pork was very lean and moist. DW loved the sauce. I found it a little bland, but I love spice.

Herb Encrusted Prime Rib (Rare). Very nice, compared very favorably with the prime rib I had on the cruise. DW thought the herbs were just a little too much. Was only about 1/4 inch thick, and 3 1/2 by 2 inches.

Salmon with Boma Mustard Sauce - Salmon was very well cooked, not well done, but done well. DW loved the mustard sauce. Salmon is not my thing but I could have had this as my entree.

Potatoes Africanique - Potato wedges deep fried with a spicy crust. Yum. Not good for me, but I had three of them.

Fufu - Mashed sweet potatoes or yams and apples served hot. Very nice texture and flavor. Not too sweet, just right.

Fresh fruit - the Strawberries and pineapple were excellent.

Pineapple upside down cheesecake - Smooth with lots of pineapple taste would have preferred a graham cracker crust rather than the pastry one, but very good. Wish I could have had more than one.

Banana bread and rum sauce - tonight this was heaven on earth. The rum sauce was perfect, smooth with lots of rum taste and a hint of butter. DW asked if they would have it on the menu for breakfast tomorrow. Our next meal.

Zebra Dome - Previously I had missed the zeal which others had described these little gems, but, tonight I had a GREAT one. The texture was perfect and I could taste the alcohol and cocoa.

All in all an excellent meal. Our waitress was excellent. Every time we left the table, the dirty dishes were removed and our tea refilled. I made a mistake when she said she would bring me the bill, I gave her my KTTK card.
She only put down the cost of the meal. $57.49. There was no place to give her a tip. I waited for her to come back by and she said was uncomfortable with asking for a tip. If I had not given her the card, she would have rang it up and brought back the tip slip and I could have checked what I wanted to give her as a tip. I gave her $11 and now know better.

Monday's report. Boma, Yak and Yeti, Raglan Road. Click below.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=27595796#post27595796

Tuesday's report Crystal Palace, Tony's, California Grill
Click below.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=27622250#post27622250

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent

 

[luvpooh]

great, a live report! looking forward to it!

 

[butiflfeet]

Mmmmmm... Boma sounds so good! Keep the reviews coming!

 

[suzimar57]

bring it on!

i'm in!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Fantastic, looking forward to the rest.

 

[John's Mom]

Great start!

 

[TigerKat]

Can't wait for Yak & Yeti & Raglan Road!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Thank you so much for your Boma dinner report, we are trying dinner there for the first time next month and I am super excited about it....we love love love breakfast at Boma so I hope I can say the same about dinner

 

[Krmrr]

Breakfast at Boma.

Once again, object was to have a good sampling of the menu, not to eat 10,000 KCs.

First of all, I got a serving of Biscuit and Curried Sausage. Nice and spicy with a great curry flavor (DW would not taste). Loved the red and yellow peppers that added sweetness to the curry. Only took a bite or two of the Biscuit, which was okay, but not my favorite part.

Roasted Turkey Breast - a first for me, having turkey breast for breakfast. It was very moist and delish. I had one slice, DW went back for two more.
She also raved about the sausage links, but it may have been because at home and on the cruise we always had turkey sausage (being healthy is such a drag!)

Egg and Cheddar Omelet - Very cheesy. Uses mild cheddar. Just cheese and eggs, but very good. My doctor would scold me, but HEY, I'm on vacation.

DW had the healthy Quinoa porridge with added raisins and a little brown sugar. She claimed to like it; even went back and got a little more. But she can't fool me, it must taste HEALTHY.

While she was eating her porridge, I had the Brioche (a raisin bread - french toast). I prefer my french toast made with slightly stale bread, it works better with the egg batter; but this was very tasty. The center was very soft.

Fresh fruit and melon - As usual at Disney, the fruit and melon was very good and as my grandma would say "The Mushmelon was scrumptious!" Extra points given to those who know what Mushmelon is without having to Google it.

Finally, the pastries.

Banana Nut - my favorite, lots of banana taste; great texture.

Orange Bran - DW said if you have to have bran this is the way to go. There she goes again, trying to get me to eat HEALTHY.

Chocolate Chip - Hey, it's chocolate.

Last but not least, the Sticky Buns - Loads of Pecans, yum. Not quite sticky enough but would not throw them out.


Cost $37.21 INCLUDING a 3% service charge + $6.80 in tip. So $44.01

Lunch - Yak and Yeti

Dim Sum Basket for two - Pork pot stickers, shrimp siu mai, cha su bao, and pork sie mai steamed on a banana leaf, soy lime dipping sauce.

My favorite was the Pork pot stickers and pork sie mai. DW ate ALL 3 of the Shrimp siu mai so she must have hated it. Could not taste the lime in the dipping sauce. The cha su bao had too much breading and too little BBQ pork stuffing, but it tasted fine. All in all, would order again and this time grab a Shrimp siu mai.

Maple Tamarind Chicken - DW said she could not taste the maple except on the leg. Seemed to also have a good amount of ginger. The coconut ginger rice was too spicy for her so I gave her my chicken fried rice. She ate all the stir fried veggies,, except for the bell peppers as usual.

Baby Back Ribs - Came as two one-half racks. The first was overdone and a little dry. The Hoisin sauce was good but could not overcome the dryness. The second rack (when I was just about full) was much, much better. Almost perfectly done, I forced it all down (except for one rib stolen by DW).
The sweet chili slaw as also very good. I enjoyed the bell peppers. Just gave the rice a taste then gave to DW.

Dessert - Oh, my. There's dessert??

Sorbet - Mango, lemon, raspberry. DW wanted lemon, but you get all three. She loved the mango (gave me a knuckle rap with her spoon when I tried to get a taste), ate most of the lemon, and left most of the raspberry for me.

But, I got my revenge. I ordered the Fried Wontons - Skewers of fresh roasted pineapple, cream cheese wontons (6), a scoop of vanilla ice cream, honey vanilla drizzle and strawberries. The Drizzle was GREAT. I loved this dish. Might come back and just order it. A spoon of about a half of a cheese wonton with some sauce and a bit of ice cream - oh, my!!! I ate the fruit with the drizzle-must get my five servings per day- but it was such a chore!

I waddled out of the Yak and Yeti.

Cost was $75.00 plus $15 tip.

Raglan Road.

We waddled into Raglan Road and a miracle happened.

We both wanted the same appetizer and entree.

First came some soda bread (in little muffins 6) with a dipping plate of olive oil and Guinness reduction. Not my kind of food but DW loved it and had 5.
She also said I needed to buy some Guinness so we could make the dipping sauce.

Next came the Crab Salad. This is a mixture of crab and potato salad with an apple cider vinegar. Was very good. I thought it would be too spicy for my wife but she loved it.

The entree was a Mixed Grill. Had a lamb chop, a banger sausage, a steak, blood pudding, a chicken leg, and irish bacon (ham) served over mashed potatoes (DW loved the potatos because they had small lumps of potato in them.) I found everything except the lamb chop to be overcooked. But, I prefer most of my meats served rare. (If a good vet has a 50-50 chance of bringing it back to life, it's ready.)

DW liked everything but the banger (she said it was too spicy).

Desserts:

DW had the Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding. The presentation was cute. A large mug had the bread and two small cups held butter sauce and vanilla sauce. The bread was tasty; but I was not allowed to taste the sauces. More rapped knuckles and warnings of divorce.

Dunbrody Kiss - My chocolate fix for the night. A dark chocolate mousse in a chocolate shell, with drizzled chocolate and two chocolate barks. Also had three raspberries which I felt obliged to eat in order to have some fruit.

Cost was $108 + $21.60 TIP = $129.60.

They used the derrick for the T-Rex construction to get me out of the seat.

Tomorrow:

Crystal Palace for Breakfast
Tony's for lunch
California Grill for our 36th anniver. dinner.

Side note: the Adventure's Club was great. Got called up on stage and got an Adventure's Pin.

 

[Poppinsme]

Great reviews!
Cant wait to eat breakfast and dinner at Boma.

 

[Krmrr]

Crystal Palace for Breakfast

DW said it best: "This is an average American Buffet breakfast--nothing awful, nothing great." Everything (except the fruit) was a grade lower than Boma. The banana bread, the orange spice muffins and even the pancakes just didn't seem as good as Boma.

I had fresh fruit, bacon, scrambled eggs, pancake, and a biscuit with gravy. The country gravy was almost tasteless. The service, on the other hand, was very good. My water glass was refilled in good order and dirty dishes were removed quickly. The Charater interaction was very good, and we enjoyed watching the little kids react to them.

Total cost $48.05

Tony's Town Square

We arrived a little late, but were seated within 10 minutes.

Flavors of Italy Antipasto - We decided to share this olive, deli meat, cheese, artichoke with sundried tomatos, bread with presto and marinara sauce, and roasted garlic. Everything was very good (must take DW's word on the quality of the artichoke (she claimed them, after seeing the pepper on one of the deli meats.) After we finished I asked our waiter, about the missing roasted garlic. He immediately left and then returned with the missing garlic and about a half a loaf of bread and an olive oil and herb dipping sauce.

The roasted garlic was excellent and my wife loved the dipping sauce.

Time for the entrees.

Eggplant Catasta (a stack of 5) - Eggplant, Fresh Mozzarella, and Parmesan with Marinara Sauce. DW loved it; said it was light and tasty. She ate it all.
She offered one slice to me; but, I declined I know this trick to get me to eat healthier.

Sausage and Pepper Calzone was my choice. It was excellent. The pastry was crisp and tasty. At least two types of sausage was in the Calzone, it was loaded with melted mozzarella, could have used a little more pepper; but between the pepper and the cheese--I'll take the cheese. All together it's a great choice for lunch.

For dessert, DW chose the Vanilla cake with lemon custard filling. Very nice, not too heavy. The icing was covered with nuts and was not too sweet. She really liked the icing and ate all of it.

The Pistachio Brulee was my choice. The custard had a slight Pistachio flavor but vanilla was the major theme. It was ok but could not compare with those found in Epcot. What saved dessert was the Pistachios that came in a thin carmelized, nutty pastry cup with some strawberry slices. These candied pistachios were great as was the pastry cup.

All in all this was a much better experience than our last dinner here, Tony's moves up higher on our list of places to go.

Cost including $11.31 tip was $67.86


California Grill.

Here we go: Arrived at 8:25 for our 8:55 ADR. At the checkin desk on the second floor was told they were running about 20 minutes later than the ADR. Was given a "pager" and escort by this French girl up to the 15th floor. I was wearing a jacket/tie and she asked if we were celebrating anything, I told her we were there for our 36th wedding anniver. She excorted us to the lounge area. 3 Minutes later our pager went off and she returned and took us to a table. (Pixie dust?)

Our waiter was Ron, get him if you can. He asked how many years. Dropped off the menus and left. He returned with a hand full of "Micky confetti" which he sprinkled around the table top.

For starters my wife chose the Heirloom tomato soup. She said it was the best tomato soup she every had.

I could not decide between the Crab and Schrimp Cakes and the Spicy Kazam? Sushi Roll. He recommended the Roll and I went with him. It was excellent!! A combination of lobster and crab with a little bit of heat. The roll slices were placed in a circle with a sauce containing lobster in the center.
Best Sushi I have ever had.

Oh, I forgot. After we had given our order, Ron brought out some sourdough bread, olive olive dip and two glasses of champange.

For our main courses, DW had the Wild Mushroom "Lasagna". She said it was very different and good. And no she would not share.

I had the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with Boniato Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Haricot Vert and Teriyaki Barbeque Sauce. Ok, steak, mashed potatoes and green beans. Every thing was ok, the steak was cooked rare and was very tender. But, I just did not like the Teriyaki Sauce. I thought it overwhelmed the flavor of the steak. I ate it but kept wishing the sauce had been placed on the side. (I'm sure Ron would have taken it back, but the fireworks were going off and it's not like it was going to kill me to take it that way.

Dessert.

DW had the Banana Butterscotch Creme Brulee. It came with a mini banana cake on one side of the brulee and a mini chocolate banana cake on the other side. It also had a piece of chocolate bark Wishing us a happy 36th on it. The Brulee was excellent. Had a lot of banana flavor but you could taste the butterscott. She gave me the chocolate banana cake and it was very good.

I had the Cashew Nut Dacquoise Cake with Roasted Stone Fruits, Blackberries, Lychee Cream, and Ginger Caramel Ice Cream.

Very very good. Ice cream - excellent. Fruits included peach, plum and others all great.

All total we spent 2 hours. The meal cost $122 + tip. I left a 30% tip. Would we do it again, YEP, next year.

Tomorrow: Biergarten and Chefs de France.





Cashew Nut Dacquoise Cake with Roasted Stone Fruits, Blackberries, Lychee Cream, and Ginger Caramel Ice Cream

 

[butiflfeet]

With so many reviews of Tony's lately being less than favorable I had almost written it off any future "must-eat" lists but hearing what you had to say about it a lunch there may be a pleasant surprise!

Thanks for doing your reviews! I can't wait to hear what you think about about California Grill.

 

[Krmrr]

Yes, I was very pleased with Tony's for lunch. Maybe they have more time to get things right.

 

[TigerKat]

Your description of the sushi at Cali Grill has me craving it this early in the morning!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Really enjoying your reviews, especcially happy to hear a positive review of Tonys as we're eating there next week.

 

[KatMark]

Loving your reviews--we ate at Crystal Palace and Yak & Yeti (we cancelled our Boma dinner at the last minute) and we did our reviews (under 25th anniversary trip).

 

[suzimar57]

enjoying your reviews - very descriptive!

 

[Krmrr]

We slept in a bit late this morning since our first meal is lunch.

Biergarten was our choice and when they say they open a noon, they mean NOON not 11:58. German Precision.

Our dining partners were a Man from Columbia, SC and his 4 year old son, and a couple from Indiana with their 5 and 4 year of sons. (Seems like there are a lot more small kids at Disney this year.) I talked with the fellow SC person, while DW handled the Indianians. But, enough small talk, let's get to the food.

Cold stuff.

Rote Beete Salat (Pickled Red Beet Salad) I actually started and ended my meal with this. It's GREAT. The beets were sweet and perfectly pickled for my taste. YMMV. I stopped by and got some more on my trip to the hot stuff and the dessert bar. You should have seen the look a little boy gave me when he saw beets and apple Strudel on my plate.

Wurst Platte mit Schinkenwurst, Landjager, und Bologna (Sausage Selection with sliced Ham Bologna, Landjager and Ring Bologna) was ok, even good, but was still basking in the flavor of the pickled beets. The Landjager seemed a little salty to me.

Bayrischer Wurst Salat (Bavarian Sausage Salad) Did not finish this salad. DW liked it a lot and had the rest of mine. It just tasted kind of bland to me.

Tomaten Salat mit Basilikum (Tomato Salad with Fresh Basil) Very good, nice and light. Could really savor the tomato taste.

Kartoffel Salat (Warm German Potato Salad) Was ok, but mine is better. Once again the blandness desired by most American paletes reign supreme. Only the barest hint of vinegar. Did not taste any bacon at all.

Hot stuff.

Schnitzel Wiener Art (Breaded Pork Schnitzel Vienna Style) Had two of these one with the Hunters sauce and one with the apple chutney. I prefered the Hunter's sauce. This had an earthy mushroom flavor and I believe it had a bit of beer in it. It complimented the pork schnitzel very well. There was nothing wrong with the apple chutney, DW liked it, almost seemed like applesauce to me.

Weisswurst mit Senf und Pretzel Brautchen (white veal Sausages with Sweet Mustard and Pretzel Rolls) I asked and got a spicy mustard. The Pretzel rolls were, surprize, salty! After you get past the uncooked look of the sausage--I could tell it was based on veal. The spices were well chosen and it was not too salty. Only God knows how many fat calories were consumed this day.

Mini Regensburger on Sauerkraut only had one of these small sausages. I could have had more but the beets were calling. The sauerkraut was cooked and semi-sweet not salty at all.

Crisp Pork Roast carved to order used the apple chutney on this also. The roast was well cooked. The meat relatively juicy and had lots of flavor.

Desserts

Bavarian Cheese Cake maybe Bavarian means dry in German. Neither I or my wife liked it, the 4 year old boy across from us spit it out and made a face. I should have heeded this sign.

Apple Strudel (Left off the vanilla sauce -- must be healthy, must be healthy)
Actually, it was quite nice. Crisp and flacky crust, sweet and tart apple filling, Just had one, wanted to get to the true dessert the Pickled beet salard, did I tell you I liked it a little bit.

Total cost $52.50 including $8 tip.

Since dinner wasn't till 7, stopped by the Land and picked up a fruit salad and drink for us to share.

BTW, if you don't like the water fountain "water" go to a place that has fountain drinks. Ask for a cup of ice and water and you get the same filtered water that is used for the cokes. A HUGE improvement. All free.

Chefs de France:

Arrived 10 minutes before 7pm ADR, got in at 7:10. Waiter was from Paris and he was really running from table to table. Told him we were on the Dlx DP, he explained our options and left to get our drinks.

Les Tartes des Chefs - Original flatbreads WARNING, WARNING not your small square flat bread. These are 12" round diet buster flatbreads. Think real thin pizza crust with no tomato sauce. The crust was excellent but neither of us could eat it all, after all we had our entrees and dessert yet to come.

a la Flame Alsacienne - with cream fraiche, onion and bacon DW choice. She loved it. Said the onions were exceptionable, the bacon crisp, flavorable and sweet.

Champignons sauvages et quarte fromages - Wild mushrooms and four cheeses My choice. I could only identify one cheese ,Gruyere, and forgot to ask about the others. My mouth was full with this slice of earthly delight . The mushrooms were sooooo good and it was so cheesy, I could eat this instead of any pizza I've ever had.

Roasted breast of duck and leg confit, french green beans and sweet potato, spicy honey sauce was my wife's choice. She was not that impressed. She said the spicy honey sauce was very bland (tasteless). But she ate all of the duck. The green beans were crisp and tasty; and the sweet potato was fine.

Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with pasta, pearl onions and mushrooms was mine. There were two boneless ribs and lots of pasta. The ribs were tender and had absorbed the flavor of the cabernet and the mushrooms and onions overall quite good. Having eaten so much flatbread, I cut back on the pasta saving room for dessert.

Mine: Fruit salad and mango sorbet - First the sorbet, I could eat a pint of this. Hugh mango taste but still light DW said it beat the Yak and Yeti sorbet. Remembering rapped knuckles over trying to get that sorbet was not sure I would be able to finish this in peace. The fruit salad was excellent, identified mango, kiwi, pear, apples, and pineapple cut into small pieces.

DW had the strawberry-rhubarb frazier. A sorbet over a cake with fresh berries on the side. She was so busy with it that she did not notice me finishing off the mango sorbet.

Total cost $120.35 including $19+ tip.

Tomorrow 50s Prime time cafe & Narcoosies.

 

[Krmrr]

50s Prime Time Cafe

Our first time here>

Cousin LIZ told us the rules and took our orders for MOM. My wife got the salad with citrus and olive oil dressing. She really liked the dressing. I had the Onion rings. They were very good and not greasy at all. They came with a horseradish sauce that complemented the rings very well.

I also got a strawberry shake, UMMM.

Fried chicken was DW's choice. She really liked the crust and ate all the chicken. She also liked the mashed potatos, but did not care for the greens.

Chicken pot pie was my choice, but it was really a chicken stew with a giant biscuit on the top of the bowl. Fairly good, but a little too salty for me.

Chocolate Brownie Sunday. Very large and tasty. Lots of whip cream.

Apple cobbler. Came with about a 1/3 inch of oats on top. Very, Very sweet. I really liked it but could only eat about 1/2.

Have to leave room for dinner at NARCOOSSEE'S.

Total cost $78.58 including $12.42 tip.

NARCOOSSEE'S

No one mentioned that this place is out in the Wilderness. Tip if you drive in from a different resort, do not tell them you are going to dinner. I was let in and asked the guard where to park for NARCOOSSEE'S, he said back out the gate and in the parking lot on the left side of the road. This gate is key guard protected but my KTTW card let me in. We then hiked about a quarter mile to the entrance of the hotel. Going to a map of the facility, I saw NARCOOSSEE'S was a separate building down by the boating landing; another hike. Hiking is good for the appetite. Pant Pant Pant.

Upon arrival we checked in and within 2 minutes were headed into the dining room.

We then waited 10 minutes for our waitress.

Gazpacho with Florida Shrimp with chopped egg and snipped chives - was DW's choice. It came in a little bottle that had a big indention to hold ice to keep it cold. You poured it out from the bottle into a little bowl . Cute. She liked it, and would not share. Said it was a little spicy but since it was cold she could handle it.

I chose the Seafood Bisque. This was excellent. It had about a teaspoon of blue crab dropped in the center. The texture was perfect, I felt it could be a tad spicier but that's just me.

Okay, I admit it; we both chose the whole lobster. We're pigs, so feed us.

It was excellent. Sweet and tender. Make's Captain Jacks twin tails look like a pair of shrimp. Unfortunately it came with not one but two bunches of young broccoli and some gratin potatos. I sampled the broccoli, but it was much too healthy. Forturnately, "gratin" in this case means loaded with cheese, I don't know what kind of cheese, but it was gooood cheese. So I managed to eat this combo.

For dessert I had the Almond-crusted Cheesecake with Lambert Cherry Sauce. The presentation was a little strange, the cherry sauce was not on the cheesecake but above it and two dollops of whip cream were placed beside it. The cheesecake itself was very good, not the best I've ever had but in the top 10. The cherry sauce was semi tart and when very well with the cheesecake.

Key Lime Creme Brulee was DW's choice. She said the Brulee part was not so hot, but it did taste like key lime. She said the banana creme brulee from CA Grill was much, much better.

Was it worth two credits? Yes, total cost $197 including $31 tip.

Tomorrow last day:Akerhus, Tutto Italia, Marrakesh.