We didn't visit the parks but we ate!

[mama03]

We went to Orlando SeaWorld area from 7-19-09 thru 7-26-09. Had a great time and ate at some places I have not seen reviewed on these boards. So I thought I would do my own porn, err, wait, food porn report. I realized that when you are really hungry people dont like to wait for you to take a pic before they can eat.
1. Dinner at Harbor Lake Grill (hotel restaurant).
2. Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Downtown Disney.
3. Fultons Crab house, Downtown Disney.
4. The Cheese Shop, Winter Haven.
5. House of Blues, Downtown Disney.
6. Oishi sushi, International Drive.
7. Kona Cafe, Polynesian Hotel.

 

[TigerKat]

Can't wait!

 

[natalielongstaff]

Can't wait!

Nor me

 

[wilma-bride]

I'm in - looking forward to it

 

[mama03]

Ahh, I figured out we live 60.4 miles from the first Disney entrance. We of course were not staying on Disney property this trip, but instead at Marriott Harbor Lake (formally known as Horizons). We got settled and where did we head off to, why to eat of course. Harborside Bar and Grill:
http://

We of course had to quench our parched throats from such a long and grueling trip.
Smoothies:
choose your own flavors -Pina Colada and Banana $4.50
http://

The Banana Split- banana blended with strawberry, chocolate syrup. $4.50
http://

The real deal pina colada rum and all. $7.00
http://

Of course these were delicious! I must say the mix is from a company called Oasis and I will have to look for this in stores, it tastes very fresh not overly sweet.

Ranch Chicken wrap, $8.25 (son 3 really liked this one).
http://

Captain's Burger w/provolone and bacon, $9.95 (son #1 ate the whole thing, mmm)
http://

Slider Platter, $9.95 (son #2 liked this too, I personally thought meat was a little dry)
http://

Captain's Burger w/cheddar, $8.95 (Good burger, nothing extra special)
http://

For a poolside restaurant for the resort they really do make good food, we never had a bad meal here all week.

 

[let'sgo]

What a delicious test picture! Can't wait.

 

[mama03]

Okay, in my opening post remember me mentioning the glares of hungry people while I told them to wait for me to take a pic. Well this was one of those times when the wee ones were just too darn hungry to wait and I didnt want to take a pic of half eaten food. The waitress must have been working here awhile, prior to us ordering anything she asked if we were on any dining plan (naming them off)? No. Any food allergies? No. We are however DVC owners, so we got 10% off the bill.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe at DTD.
Started off with the Rainbow roll, $15.00
http://

I must say the menu didn't appeal to us, which surprised me, so we ordered:
Margherita pizza,$12.95
Italian sausage and roasted red pepper pizza, $13.95
asian hoisin bbq ribs, $19.95
spider roll, $16.95
We shared our meals and everything was just okay.
My ribs were good, but for 20 bucks it felt more like an appetizer(portion) not dinner.
I know this was the only place I did not take a photo,but to make up for that here are some pics of the new characters in flight balloon ride at DTD.
http://

http://

I will go back to wolfgang puck express but not to the cafe it just wasnt worth it.

 

[mama03]

Thanks to the DISmoms Gone Wild!!! trip report, they mentioned that Fultons Crab House makes Pop Rock martini's. Well not one to miss some new and exciting drink I headed over to try one. We went to the front of the restaurant which has lots of window seating and a large bar.
Pop rocks martini, $9.95, mmm.
http://

Non-alcoholic Cherry Bomb, $5.50. Lemonade with cherry juice.
http://

This was allot of fun, the bartender was very nice and put the pop rocks in the kids drink too, then handed over the rest of the package for us to play with. The pop rocks were flying all over the place. We looked like monkeys grooming each other by the time we left because we were all picking pop rocks out of our hair and clothes. When we entered the kids all drooled at the display of fish, crab, lobster, etc., so we came back later in the week to dine.

 

[mama03]

As mentioned earlier we came back to eat at Fultons Crab House later in the week. Again, we decided to eat at the area up front, not in the main dining room. We had the place all to ourselves and had great service.
my mom and the kiddos
http://

The crab boursin dip, free
http://

very good and they gave me the recipe

The ultimate crab and lobster experience for 2, $83.90. Shared by me and son #1. Dungeness, snow, and alaskan king crab and a whole lobster.
http://

which came with grilled asparagus and hash brown potatoes
http://

http://

This was really good, the crab and lobster was not overcooked and the asparagus was cooked perfectly.
The Cioppino, $36.00 each. Had by son #2 and son #3
http://

This was fantastic lots of seafood, including huge scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp, lobster, crab and white fish. The broth was really good, I highly recommend this one.

The Troll Salmon, $30.95. Had by my mom.
http://

She really like this dish too. It came with some veggies but no pic.
I would highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner. Yes, a bit pricey but worth it. On a side note to fellow DVC owners we get a 20% discount here and the waiter told me that (at least right now), if you come for lunch you receive a 30% discount and you can order off of the dinner menu, whoo hoo

 

[mama03]

So after shopping and looking around DTD for a little while we stopped at Ghirardelli (yes I had to do a search to figure out the spelling) ice cream shop.
Strawberry cheesecake ice cream in sugar cone, $5.50
http://

The Domingo, $8.50
http://

The Gold rush, $7.95
http://

My mom and I went quickly next door to purchase something for sil and by the time we got back all was gone! I didn't even get one taste DVC member 10% off.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for sharing, love your food review. I'm so glad you like Fulton (we never been there and have been looking for reviews)

 

[flamom]

i'm loving your review and pictures. everything at fulton's looks so good will have to try it next time we're at disney. i haven't eaten there since it was the empress lilly.

 

[mama03]

Prior to going to Orlando I looked up things to do and found that at the Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Fl they had an exhibit of Charles L. Tiffany (yes the glass artist). So we went and I must highly recommend this exhibit to anyone visiting Orlando, the chapel is breathtaking. Well, I had to bring that up because if we had not gone I would never have spied with my little eye Cheese heaven! Just down the street from the museum is The Cheese Shop.
http://

http://

Since we had a full kitchen I knew I could purchase some cheeses and eat them during the week. This is what we decided on:
http://

http://

http://

http://

http://

http://

My mom purchased this salt rock stone serving piece , its really pretty.
http://

Really good pate.
http://

Cheese and pate without wine, come on
http://

Front row left to right:
Cambozola Blue, Cahill's cheddar with whiskey, Humbolt fog
Back row left to right:
Pear and apple white stilton, Cahill's cheddar with Guinness, Purple Haze.
http://

http://

We really enjoyed every cheese but the standouts were Humbolt fog, cheddar with guinness(its just so cool looking), and the fruit stilton. I had to get the purple haze just for the name, but its just a well made goat cheese. During the food and wine festival I will definitely be coming back here for more!

 

[pumba]

your reviews and photos are just fantastic and made me STARVING......thanks for taking the time

 

[mama03]

Hubby was able to make it out one night so we decided on House of Blues at DTD. We have never had a bad meal here and I knew that in the evenings it gets crowded so I did make a reservation (glad we did, it was packed) and we only waited 10 minutes before being seated.
me and my peeps:
http://

We ordered crab and artichoke dip and some spicy chicken wings but....See no pics, why, they never came
Smokehouse blues burger, $12.99, made to order and all was gone.
http://

The Elwood, $10.99, again ate the whole thing.
http://

Cajun meatloaf, $16.99. Son #3 really like this dish. Wants me to learn how to make it, mmm, new recipe quest.
http://

Creole seafood jambalaya, $18.99. Good but not as good as mother's in N.O.
http://

Wild mushroom and chicken pasta, $16.99. Clean plate experience.
http://

I will dine here again, but only for lunches, its just too crowded at night to get great service.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for an update. Love your pictures.

 

[mama03]

So what do you do after dinner? Goofy's candy store silly.

Apple with everything known to man.
http://

Large fudge cookie with cream filling (think softer oreo), yes there is a cookie under all that stuff.
http://

Micky gingerbread cookie.
http://

 

[mama03]

Okay, I have been reading about the infamous Tonga Toast so off we went in search of this never before eaten, by us, breakfast. We also found some hidden mickey's along the way. So off to the Poly and the Kona Cafe.
http://

Tonga Toast, $10.99
http://

Okay as if this wasnt sweet enough they give you strawberry and regular syrup.
http://

The big Kahuna, $11.99
http://

I also had the pressed coffee, no pic. The Tonga toast was goooood, but I must confess I scraped the sugar off the top and sides. As a side note my son found out he does not like cooked bananas. Weird but true.

 

[mama03]

My kids and I love sushi. Yes, my kids eat raw fish! We decided on Oishi sushi on International drive. The restaurant has a very nice decor, check out their website for all kinds of pics,http://www.restaurantoishiorlando.com/home.html
We arrived and the waitress must have thought we were sushi novices, oh my!
we started off with the Unagi sushi (eel) and I checked 2. She explained, like I was a novice, that what I was ordering was eel with rice and I checked 2 so that would be four pieces. I quite nicely let her know that we have had sushi many times and thanked her for her help. I figure alot of people must come in to order sushi for the first time?! The menu looked fantastic and diverse something for everyone and some very interesting rolls. In the back they have a Hibachi area with lots of seating, for those who dont like sushi. Well onto our dinner,
Party Boat, $60.00. It came with 3 salads and 3 miso soups. This was split by 4 of us.
They had what my sons thought was the best ginger dressing ever.
http://

http://

http://

http://

Excellent mix of sashimi, rolls, and sushi. Yes, we ate the whole thing
My fabu sil ordered the most interesting and tasty rolls.
I dont remember the name but it had salmon in it.
http://

"Sex on the Moon" roll
http://

I highly recommend this restaurant. Just my hubby and I will be back during F&W.

 

[mama03]

Well we had a great trip even though we did not do the parks. We kept busy and had some great food. I will finish this report with a birthday cake that we got from Buca Di Beppo. Ahh it was delicious, the outside was white frosting with fresh coconut, inside was three layer cake, Red, green, and white with cream filling. MMM that was good cake!!!

http://

My next report will be for the F&W festival!