Vegetarian Dining Review for 9/10/09-9/17/09 with Pictures!

[Evita227]

Oh right! I forgot that you didn't have Chef TJ!

I asked for a container for my dinner and they went on about the Disney policy. I had never heard of that before..... I understand though, because of the meat. I mean, if you get a doggie bag and then go walk around magic kingdom for 3 hours, things are going to spoil and you know there are people who would still eat it the next day! LOL. I think that's why they made an "exception" for my food - there was nothing to spoil......... My husband felt bad, though, because there was so much left on his plate and we hate to waste food, you know?

 

[itchin2go]

Oh right! I forgot that you didn't have Chef TJ!

I asked for a container for my dinner and they went on about the Disney policy. I had never heard of that before..... I understand though, because of the meat. I mean, if you get a doggie bag and then go walk around magic kingdom for 3 hours, things are going to spoil and you know there are people who would still eat it the next day! LOL. I think that's why they made an "exception" for my food - there was nothing to spoil......... My husband felt bad, though, because there was so much left on his plate and we hate to waste food, you know?

I've gotten lots of to-go containers at WDW. Maybe they don't do it at Kona because it's all you can eat?

Regardless, thanks for these great reviews!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Thank you for your reviews, especially the one of Sanaa, since I am trying that for the first time next trip.

 

[katrocity]

I too am a vegetarian with a husband and boys who are not. We'll be travelling to WDW in December, so I was so, so happy to read your report and can't wait to read more!

How did you find out you could ask for vegetarian options from the chef at Ohana? I'm nervous that so many restaurants don't seem to offer many options.

Anything else you want to suggest for me is greatly appreciated!

What is the cost of Chef Mickey's if you don't use it for as a dining plan credit? We are going to be staying at CR, so we will probably go there with the kids for breakfast.

Best

Kate

 

[CanadianPaco]

This is great! Thx for sharing!!!

 

[NorweJenNY]

I was able to get a picture with the wonderful chef:

I remember him!

He was so nice bringing out a special nut-free birthday dessert for my son!

He's got the same smile and gesture in each picture... you can even see a slight dimple on his cheek!

 

[NOLA_Tink]

Now on to Cosmic Ray's, our worst experience. We wanted to eat at the Terrace Noodle station, but it was closed that day. Cosmic Ray's is located in Tomorrowland and is a CS area. Probably the only great thing about this place is the view of the castle.

There was nothing to order there for vegetarians except a salad or what I ordered, a vegetable wrap. It was a wheat tortilla with a medley of vegetables - corn, beans, lettuce, etc - reminded me of a southwest mix. There was some kind of oily dressing to mix it up, but there wasn't enough to bind it together so it kept falling out of the tortilla. Not to mention that it was only half full to begin with. You can see how half of it is already on the plate after one bite. It did come with yummy home-made potato chips!

My husband ordered a turkey bacon wrap. he said it was ok, but lacking in flavor, and it was only half filled - not enough food. The chips were very yummy, though.

I don't recommend Cosmic Ray's. For the price we paid, we got two tortillas that were dry, no sauces on them, with filling that only filled half the tortilla, and mine fell apart the minute I bit into it. There was no flavor to them. I would have been happier with a Pb &J sandwich! The chips were very yummy though, and we loved the view of the castle.

We had the EXACT same experience! DH ordered the dry turkey bacon wrap & I ordered the dry veggie wrap. Both needed to be seriously doctored to get rid of the dryness. I asked for extra hummus (the creamy stuff in the wrap) & added grilled mushrooms & onions from the condiment bar. I also got some ranch dressing for DH's wrap. They were MUCH better after adding the extra items. Honestly, in my opinion, they should just make them with the extra hummus or by adding dressing. I also really liked their homemade chips- they're especially good with nacho cheese from the condiment bar.

Thanks again for the great reviews!

 

[tink6137130]

Love your review...thanks for sharing

 

[Evita227]

I too am a vegetarian with a husband and boys who are not. We'll be travelling to WDW in December, so I was so, so happy to read your report and can't wait to read more!

How did you find out you could ask for vegetarian options from the chef at Ohana? I'm nervous that so many restaurants don't seem to offer many options.

Anything else you want to suggest for me is greatly appreciated!

What is the cost of Chef Mickey's if you don't use it for as a dining plan credit? We are going to be staying at CR, so we will probably go there with the kids for breakfast.

Best

Kate

I actually found out about talking to the chef from V GAN, another member on this forum. I told the CM when making my ADR's that I was a vegetarian, and they marked that in the computer, so when my ticket was printed at the restaurant, it was stated as "Food allergy" or "Dietary restriction". Unlike V GAN, I had to ask for vegetarian menus and ask to speak to the chef personally. They didn't seem to notice the ticket. V GAN seemed to have better luck with the staff noticing her restricitons.

As for eating in the world, I actually went through all of the menus on DIS Boards of the places I thought I wanted to eat at, and looked for anything that I might order. There are many places that don't have much of a selection. They always offer veggie burgers, even if they aren't on the menu, but I can only take so many of those. I was just fine with eating ONE during my whole trip. Look through the menus to see what you'd be looking at. We both already knew what we wanted before we even walked through the door. THEN, after researching that, I would look up reviews on here for those specific restaurants. It takes time, but it makes your experience all the better.

I highly recommend Sanaa, as there are MANY vegetarian options....

Chef Mickeys for breakfast before tax was $24.99 per person. Have fun on your trip!!

 

[SharonLowe]

Thanks for your reviews and photos. Chef TJ is awesome!!

FYI, rice crispy treats aren't vegetarian - marshmallows are made with glycerin, an animal byproduct.

 

[Evita227]

Wow! I never knew that about marshmallows! I knew about gelatin, but not innocent marshmallows! LOL Thanks for the heads up.

 

[punkin712]

Wow! I never knew that about marshmallows! I knew about gelatin, but not innocent marshmallows! LOL Thanks for the heads up.

I think SharonLowe meant to say that marshmallows contain gelatin (rather than glycerin). I guess it's used to help them keep their shape since marshmallow fluff is gelatin-free and vegetarian friendly.

You'd be surprised how many products contain gelatin - Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal, Frosted Pop-Tarts, many yogurts, etc. Another sneaky ingredient to watch out for is carmine/cochineal which is a crushed female beetle used as a "natural" red dye.

 

[cheryterese]

Thanks for the great reviews!!!

We're a vegetarian family and Ohana and Sanaa are now on the top of our list for our upcoming trip!

 

[BigEeyore]

Thanks for your great veggie reviews! We have both Ohana and Sanaa on our next trip - hoping to meet Chef TJ!
Do you (or anyone else) know what kind of veggie burger they are serving these days? It is different than it used to be and MUCH better! Lots of grains and veggies, not fake meat (which it used to be). Anyone know? If they are available in grocery stores I'd love to buy some!
May I humbly suggest you try Columbia Harbor House for a yummy CS meal in the MK? Their lighthouse sandwich is unbelievable! My non-veggie husband loved it as much as I did. You will never set foot in Cosmic Rays again!

 

[onelilspark]

Thanks for your great veggie reviews! We have both Ohana and Sanaa on our next trip - hoping to meet Chef TJ!
Do you (or anyone else) know what kind of veggie burger they are serving these days? It is different than it used to be and MUCH better! Lots of grains and veggies, not fake meat (which it used to be). Anyone know? If they are available in grocery stores I'd love to buy some!
May I humbly suggest you try Columbia Harbor House for a yummy CS meal in the MK? Their lighthouse sandwich is unbelievable! My non-veggie husband loved it as much as I did. You will never set foot in Cosmic Rays again!

It's Gardenburger's Malibu Burger. It's a food service specific burger, not available in retail. In retail there is a "California Burger" but it's not quite the same (I don't know the difference, just know that they are in fact different.) The Malibu Burger is actually the highest end burger on the GB line, it's made with organic ingredients. (Used to be "organic" until Kellogg's bought GB and verified all the claims. There's probably one item in it that's natural instead of organic, so they won't claim it's organic, Kellogg's is pretty good about that...not all companies are.)

Edit: Oh yeah, it is vegan.

 

[BigEeyore]

Thank you onelilspark! Too bad its not commercially available though.
Nice surprise to have "upgraded" veggie burgers on our last trip! They weren't just the "meal of last resort"!

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Awesome reviews. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Evita227]

Thanks for your great veggie reviews! We have both Ohana and Sanaa on our next trip - hoping to meet Chef TJ!
Do you (or anyone else) know what kind of veggie burger they are serving these days? It is different than it used to be and MUCH better! Lots of grains and veggies, not fake meat (which it used to be). Anyone know? If they are available in grocery stores I'd love to buy some!
May I humbly suggest you try Columbia Harbor House for a yummy CS meal in the MK? Their lighthouse sandwich is unbelievable! My non-veggie husband loved it as much as I did. You will never set foot in Cosmic Rays again!

I will definately try that the next time I go! So many restaurants, so little time....... LOL

 

[Plasticletters]

Sanaa looks incredible! Thanks for the review.

My girlfriend and I had a great experience at Ohana as well
(detailed in our food review - which may be able to help some of you people looking for vegetarian/vegan answers)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2270539

It was interesting to see in your review how Chef TJ handles a vegetarian (as opposed to vegan) meal. Some things were the same, some different. Neat perspective.

 

[Plasticletters]

*** I should also mention that you cannot bring leftovers home! I was given special permission because I had a dietary restriction and special food, but my husband was not allowed to take leftovers home due to Disney policy. I found that odd since V GAN had all these take home containers after her dinner..... they may have changed to policy since then. So that's the current word on the Disney street about that.********

Where you ran into trouble here was the fact that you had the special veggie dishes and your husband was partaking in the normal "all you can eat" dining. It's Disney's policy not to let anyone take home leftovers at "all you can eat" places (Like Boma, Tusker House, Crystal Palace, etc). The policy has not changed. I can see how it could be confusing. V GAN and her boyfriend (and my girlfriend and I) were offered take home containers without question because none of us ate the "all you can eat" meal.