We Smelled It ... It Had To Be Eaten! Christmas Eve Food Porn posts #1170 & #1171!!

[Tink rules]

Hey, Brenda! I'm so glad that you're feeling a little better and were able to crank out another review for us to enjoy! Boma breakfast looked similar to Tusker House, if I remember correctly. I had mealie pap at TH and loved it!! This, from a girl who does not like grits. It was yellow, though, instead of white and already seasoned and salted. Bless you for trying quinoa; I tried it at Crystal Palace and thought I had gotten into the livestock feed by mistake! That's my uneducated palate for ya!

Keep taking care of yourself and I'll be thinking good thoughts for you! I hope wine is still your friend???? (That would just be tragic if it weren't...)

P.S. Have you and Jason been to Charleston, SC? I am looking for a good dinner suggestion for adult only weekend next month (seven years in the making). We have a reservation at the Charleston Grill and need one more, maybe not so fancy. Just wondered if you might have made a foray into the Old South in your food journeys!

Hey...

I have a friend who lives in Charleston and I will email her and see if she can suggest anything else for you!!!

 

[njprincess]

Thanks for the review on the Boma Breakfast Buffet, Brenda! (Wow, note my alliteration!) We are planning to have a post-BOB cruise final breakfast together and this was the place we chose (so far). I am looking forward to the Frunch (as long as it doesn't have strawberries?) since I also like to mix my juices.

b/t/w when we stay at SSR, we usually ask for Congress Park (I think, whichever one is closet to DTD) so that we can walk over to DTD to catch resort buses. By walking to DTD, we also are able to justify a little over indulgence, if we are eating at a resort.

Thanks again for sharing and I am still anxiously awaiting the Saratoga Springs Parking Lot Smackdown!

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hey...

I have a friend who lives in Charleston and I will email her and see if she can suggest anything else for you!!!

Thanks! I started to look at restaurant menus on line last week, and decided I was NOT going to obsess over this little trip like I do about Disney! Too much reading of Tripadvisor can make you crazy...

 

[DisneyMom5]

I hope your feeling MUCH better today!

I love the shout out to the pork trifecta.
To paraphrase something Ben Franklin said "Pork products are a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy!"
[The Simpsons probably already said that, but I haven't heard it personally.]

We used to get a pizza at Pizza Hut that we called the "Pork Lover's Pizza," Bacon, ham and sausage. Mmmm...

Anyhoo...I thought of you while watching Iron Chef the other night. I think it was Bobby Flay that was slicing up a big old fat overstuffed goose liver and serving up some pate. Apparently it's not verboten on the Food Network.

I need to pick your brain in the future, as a group of homeschoolers from here are making a spring field trip to Stinktown, and want some ideas of where a safe and economical place to stay would be, East end.
But they won't be going till Spring, so be thinking in the back of your mind and I will get back to you. LOL Focus on being WELL right now!

Later!

 

[chell]

Thanks! I started to look at restaurant menus on line last week, and decided I was NOT going to obsess over this little trip like I do about Disney! Too much reading of Tripadvisor can make you crazy...

Do you already have your hotel reservations? There is a place I love to stay at in Isle of Palms that has some good rates right now and is right on the beach if you want their info. Have fun!

 

[BriarRosie]

I'm late in picking apart your review. I better remedy that...as well as get my own done, like that will happen.

Author's note: Thank you all so much for your very kind comments and good thoughts. My pain medication has started working so I'm feeling a lot better than I did even two days ago. I have my first physical therapy session tomorrow morning ... I have a feeling I'm gonna need those meds once I'm finished. Let me offer a warm welcome to the new posters and de-lurked lurkers and a warm thanks to everyone for putting up with me. You're all a wonderful bunch of food lovin' DISers.

Kumbaya.

Friday, October 10th - We Might as well Enjoy a Last Meal before the Bottom Falls out of the Stock Market ... Again.

I better remember that. It might be foreshadowing. :

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... Jay and I just aren't big fans of buffets. Seems like most of them are long on quantity and short on quality. If we do hit up a buffet most likely it's for the morning meal - it takes a special kind of stupid to muck up scrambled eggs, snausage, and fruit. I’m not saying that it can't be accomplished, but it requires a real dedication to failure the likes of which hasn’t been seen since we invited Grimace to vacation with us at WDW in 2006.

Not to mention that many buffets come attached with ginormous critters that love to pose for pictures. I tend to avoid those types and stick with any that come critter-free. Usually cheaper that way, too.

Our original dining plans did not include Boma, but after reading so many great reviews and seeing so many drool-worthy pictures (a big thanks to MickeyNicki for finally pushing me over the edge!) I had no choice but to make an ADR; besides, I had a feeling that my lovey would really enjoy a buffet that offered some alternatives to the standard breakfast fare.

Oh sure, make the Boma buffet a selfless act on your part to cater to your DH's whim. Hope you didn't suffer too much. (insert drama queen smilies here)

We actually made it to Boma with about ten minutes to spare - just enough time to check in and visit the bathroom because that's what I did on this trip. I'm thinking of writing a completely separate review just about the complex and varied bathroom options that Disney offers its guests.

I would advise refraining from any picture taking while doing the bathroom reviews, unless you run into Keegan Gerhard.

We were seated at a four-top table in the very back of the restaurant next to a window - it was a nice, peaceful little alcove, well out of the way of foot traffic, and very quiet. We had a really friendly young waiter whose name escapes me, but who would add some new gray hairs to the strands I already had before the meal was finished.

Look Ma! More Foreshadowing!

The first thing we did before scoping out our buffet options was to put in an order for some of that pressed pot Kenyan coffee along with water for me and Frunch for Jay. He likes weird juice combinations and I usually think they're disgusting - I did like the word 'frunch" though.

Frunch is awesome! Seriously good stuff. I think everyone should try it.

There were so many great words on this trip: Mofongo ... Frunch ... Wattleseed ...



Ahem.

No, go ahead. Laugh. There were some funny words at this year's festival.

Frunch, by the way, is a combination of lemonade, pineapple juice, guava juice, orange juice, and papaya juice. Here's a picture ...

Hmmmm, looks like Tang!

Sheesh. Not like Tang. By a long shot. It's actually GOOD.

Deep, dark, caffeinated goodness...

By the time we returned from the buffet our coffee had arrived. It was good, but not quite as good as I thought it would be. I think I like the Kona pressed pot better.

Still loads better than the usual Disney swill, no?

In addition to the standard breakfast buffet items you would expect (fresh fruit, pastries, dried cereal, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, waffles, and an omelet station) there were some interesting new things to consider and, in some cases, eat: bobotie, carved ham, carved corned beef, spicy breakfast 'taters, pap, quinoa, brioche, and some kind of egg-casserole type thingie.

Bendy's breakfast plate...

No surprises on my plate, but I did hit the pork trifecta! Homer Simpson would be so proud ... ham, sausage, bacon ... delectable meats from a magical animal.

Woot! Pork trifecta! If you didn't have a Simpsons reference handy, I would have been disappointed.

Jason's plate o' plenty ...

Lemme see ... what's he got there? There's that egg casserole thingie, bobotie, spicy 'taters, another pork trifecta, and something unidentifiable. He also brought back a bowl of quinoa to which he'd added some cinnamon. Quinoa is a type of high-protein porridge - I tried some and it was actually pretty tasty. It reminded me of oatmeal but was less chunky, oatie, and mealie.

Even though I was pleasantly stuffed after eating all this food, I went back to the buffet for some pap … anything called pap just begs to be eaten – it’s right up there with orphan's choice gruel. I added some brown sugar and raisins to my pap - it reminded me of Cream of Wheat, only creamier and tastier.

Pappy!

I admit that I haven't had the quinoa or the pap. I guess I really need to try it to see if it's less oatie, mealie, and creamier, tastier.

Now, I must make a confession to everyone. In the spirit of continuing to try new stuff, I took a taste of Jay's frunch fully expecting to wrinkle my nose in distate while sticking out my tongue with a definitive "gack!" But it was actually very good - so good that I had to order my own glass in order to prevent myself from sucking down Jay's frunch.

It's true ... I actually liked Frunch!

See? It's good, right? Excuse me while I shout I TOLD YOU SO! Just picture me giving a self-satisfied nod while I say it. Betcha you can hear me and picture me doing just that. Yep.

While we were finishing up the remains of breakfast and trying to decide what to do with our day, we went ahead and gave our room charge and DDE card to our waiter. Imagine our horror when he reappeared a few moments later to tell me that the charge had been declined!

This was particularly horrifying to me because I had contacted our credit card companies before leaving Stinktown to let them know we were going to be taking a vacation and to expect charges from Florida. This isn't part of my normal pre-vacation routine, but considering the turmoil in the financial markets and concern over tightening credit availability I wanted to make sure that we could use our cards as planned - gotta get those rebates and points for the next trip! After being assured by said companies that we had no reason for concern, my blood pressure began a rapid ascent when our waiter informed us of our little problem.

I looked at Jay, whose disbelief must have mirrored my own, and sputtered, "I called them ... those wank..."

Jay reached for his wallet, "We'll just pay with cash and call..."

And then our waiter jumped in, "Gosh, I was just kidding around ... everything is fine. I didn't mean to freak you out; I'm really sorry."

OMG I'd have been so freaked out my head would spin. I'd have wanted to call the card company right there and then to ask what was going on.

Jay and I shared one of those relieved, shaky laughs that usually mean you just wet yourself and are awfully embarrassed about the subsequent mess and odor. Then I spoke to our waiter, "Dude ... never mess around about declined credit charges to a woman who works in finance. I think you just gave me more gray hair to cover up when I get home."

The waiter apologized repeatedly, perhaps having realized that scaring two middle aged dinks in the middle of a nationwide financial crisis was not the best way to ensure a generous tip.

Gee, ya think? LOL! That is a bad joke to make, and I'm sure he never made that joke again!

Final assessment: Boma's breakfast buffet definitely lived up to the hype and we both recommend that anyone reading who enjoys buffet dining give it a try. There is a great mix of traditional, "safe" breakfast items mixed in with more adventurous selections. And that frunch is addictive - I think they put crack in the juice pitcher!

I feel another I TOLD YOU SO! coming on. Ahhh.

Jay paid the bill (for real this time) and we made our way upstairs to look for some coffee beans in the market for a friend of ours back home. As we were headed upstairs the opportunity presented itself for a few pictures...

We discovered at the market that no one has coffee beans ... there were plenty of bags of ground coffee but no beans. We even asked a very nice gentleman working in the marketplace if he knew where we could find some and he was stumped, although he finally suggested Downtown Disney. Sadly, we already knew, just as there is no joy in Mudville that there were no beans in Disney's Hyper-Global-Mega-Shopping-Mart.

What gives with the woeful shortage of coffee beans? Beans are more fresh and they travel better ... who wants grounds when they can have beans? Oh wait, let me guess ... if I write Disney and ask that question they will respond by telling me that the decision was made after serious deliberation and massive guest feedback.

Ah yes. The usual Disney response: "Our guests demanded it." If that were really true, I'd still be able to play Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK), I'd have gone to the Adventurers Club every night during my trip, and I'd have enjoyed some foie gras at two of the restaurants where I ate dinner during that time frame.

And that's the reason that I couldn't bring Kenyan coffee beans home from WDW as a gift for my friend Anila.

Yeah. You really wanted to bring back ground coffee. Disney says you do.

Thanks for reading ... next up: F&W Fest V.2 and another adventure in dining where everything eventually works out OK and Zweihund and her hubby share sushi with Jay and me at Tokyo Dining!

Poison...poison...poison...tasty fish! Woohoo!

 

[whogirl'smom]

Do you already have your hotel reservations? There is a place I love to stay at in Isle of Palms that has some good rates right now and is right on the beach if you want their info. Have fun!

We do--I found a really good holiday package with the Governor's House Inn. It looks really nice online so I'm excited!

 

[cntkg1]

I did have a couple questions while reading your report B.

1) What's BOBotie (notice the creative spelling ) and did you eat it?
2) Why oh why would anyone name a food item "pap"? I was a tad bit scared to see the picture.

I loved the "Frunch" reaction Bendy and if you are ever in a search for expensive out of season fruit make a trip to Wisconsin where we are buying, beige watermelon, yellow strawberries, and brown cherries right now. Yum.

Feel better Bendy. You have a cool nickname to uphold you know.

 

[jenn&nelsonrego]

I'm thinking of writing a completely separate review just about the complex and varied bathroom options that Disney offers its guests.

What a lovely idea!

 

[50 years Too!]

Hi Brenda,

Just wanted to say sorry you've been sick again. No fair!

I'm still enjoying reading your reviews. Been mostly a lurker lately, but I'm here.

Deb

 

[Tink rules]

I did have a couple questions while reading your report B.

1) What's BOBotie (notice the creative spelling ) and did you eat it?
2) Why oh why would anyone name a food item "pap"? I was a tad bit scared to see the picture.

I loved the "Frunch" reaction Bendy and if you are ever in a search for expensive out of season fruit make a trip to Wisconsin where we are buying, beige watermelon, yellow strawberries, and brown cherries right now. Yum.

Feel better Bendy. You have a cool nickname to uphold you know.

Yer forgettin the cardboard tomatoes!!!

 

[MA pigletfan]

mmmmmmmmmm BOMA breakfast. I LOVED Boma..Greg however was rather ambivalent to the whole thing..he is certainly one of those " bring me my food" kind of people as opposed to the Buffet Friendly types....
Can't wait to see the next reviews..mmm sushi...

 

[cntkg1]

Yer forgettin the cardboard tomatoes!!!

Very true!

 

[oybolshoi]

I just had to say that I have been reading your reviews for a couple of years now and you are my absolute favorite author! I have so enjoyed your delicious reviews and hilarious stories. What finally compelled me to comment though was your declined credit card story. That is my absolute worst nightmare!!! Everytime I use my credit card on vacation I always hold my breath fully expecting for some insane reason to be told that it has been denied and then have to spend hours on the phone trying to straighten that out. Also, not to criticize because I know you work full time and have had some health issues but could you please post faster??? It is sooo hard to be patient!

Hi there and thanks so much for reading and posting! I'll try to post faster but knowing me it won't happen. I've been trying to work on the next update for the last four days and I just can't get it to work ... it's a cumbersome, twisted tale.

Hi the culinary tour is for anyone who wants to go. Just remember space is limited. Even if you don't try the food sampling its fun just to learn about Jiko and Boma. You only sample a little at Jiko. And at Boma they go over the buffet with you. I wish I was there right now. Can't wait to read more. By the way no information on job opening on the Galant Lady . My husbands friend is a chef for them. I was wondering if he had made that great looking sushi you guys had that night. I'll try to find out it did look good though.

Thanks for the information - we'll keep that in mind next year!

Thanks for the review on the Boma Breakfast Buffet, Brenda! (Wow, note my alliteration!) We are planning to have a post-BOB cruise final breakfast together and this was the place we chose (so far). I am looking forward to the Frunch (as long as it doesn't have strawberries?) since I also like to mix my juices.

b/t/w when we stay at SSR, we usually ask for Congress Park (I think, whichever one is closet to DTD) so that we can walk over to DTD to catch resort buses. By walking to DTD, we also are able to justify a little over indulgence, if we are eating at a resort.

Thanks again for sharing and I am still anxiously awaiting the Saratoga Springs Parking Lot Smackdown!

Hi Kathy! Boma will be a great place for you guys to enjoy a post-cruise breakfast. And there is nothing of a strawberry nature in Frunch, so you should be good to go.

As for SSR, we did ask for Congress Park but it was full up. We really liked the Grandstand - it was only a 10 minute walk to the boat dock and the big house. We even walked to DTD a couple of times from the Grandstand and it was nice walk - good exercise.

Smackdown, eh? I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed but I'll do my best to make it entertaining.

I hope your feeling MUCH better today!

I love the shout out to the pork trifecta.
To paraphrase something Ben Franklin said "Pork products are a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy!"
[The Simpsons probably already said that, but I haven't heard it personally.]

We used to get a pizza at Pizza Hut that we called the "Pork Lover's Pizza," Bacon, ham and sausage. Mmmm...

Anyhoo...I thought of you while watching Iron Chef the other night. I think it was Bobby Flay that was slicing up a big old fat overstuffed goose liver and serving up some pate. Apparently it's not verboten on the Food Network.

I need to pick your brain in the future, as a group of homeschoolers from here are making a spring field trip to Stinktown, and want some ideas of where a safe and economical place to stay would be, East end.
But they won't be going till Spring, so be thinking in the back of your mind and I will get back to you. LOL Focus on being WELL right now!

Later!

Hiya DisneyMom of many! I really do feel a lot better, thank you! My PT is doing wonders and I was almost able to walk without a limp for the first time in three weeks! Feel free to ask me any time about good places to stay while in Stinktown - always happy to offer some advice. Thanks for reading!

I'm late in picking apart your review. I better remedy that...as well as get my own done, like that will happen.


Not to mention that many buffets come attached with ginormous critters that love to pose for pictures. I tend to avoid those types and stick with any that come critter-free. Usually cheaper that way, too.

Yes, the critter factor does play into the enjoyment of the buffet ... I have noticed that of late.

Oh sure, make the Boma buffet a selfless act on your part to cater to your DH's whim. Hope you didn't suffer too much. (insert drama queen smilies here)

Oh I'm hurt ... after all that I do to please the hubby's adventurous tastebuds and you mock my efforts.

Frunch is awesome! Seriously good stuff. I think everyone should try it.

It was good. It was very good. I need more right now!

No, go ahead. Laugh. There were some funny words at this year's festival.

I think I forgot to include the one from the Austrian booth ... what was that? Something that ended with spitz.

Still loads better than the usual Disney swill, no?

Yes, it was. But I still like the Kona better.

Woot! Pork trifecta! If you didn't have a Simpsons reference handy, I would have been disappointed.

Glad I didn't disappoint ... this time.

I admit that I haven't had the quinoa or the pap. I guess I really need to try it to see if it's less oatie, mealie, and creamier, tastier.

I was surprised that I liked them both but I thought the pap was better. More bland, less chewy.

See? It's good, right? Excuse me while I shout I TOLD YOU SO! Just picture me giving a self-satisfied nod while I say it. Betcha you can hear me and picture me doing just that. Yep.

Yep.

Ah yes. The usual Disney response: "Our guests demanded it." If that were really true, I'd still be able to play Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK), I'd have gone to the Adventurers Club every night during my trip, and I'd have enjoyed some foie gras at two of the restaurants where I ate dinner during that time frame.

Yeah. You really wanted to bring back ground coffee. Disney says you do.

Poison...poison...poison...tasty fish! Woohoo!

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what Disney told me when someone responded to my missing foie gras complaint. They still serve veal ... they still serve sweetbreads (which are neither sweet nor breads) ... they are wankers.

And I don't want ground coffee, so there!

You just told everyone what the title of the next update is ... thanks alot!

I did have a couple questions while reading your report B.

1) What's BOBotie (notice the creative spelling ) and did you eat it?
2) Why oh why would anyone name a food item "pap"? I was a tad bit scared to see the picture.

I loved the "Frunch" reaction Bendy and if you are ever in a search for expensive out of season fruit make a trip to Wisconsin where we are buying, beige watermelon, yellow strawberries, and brown cherries right now. Yum.

Feel better Bendy. You have a cool nickname to uphold you know.

Hiya, Mother Goose! Thanks for reading and in response to your questions, Bobotie is a South African dish that usually is made with spiced mince meat baked with an eggie topping. It's seasoned with curry powder, among other things, which is one reason that I don't like it. Jay loves it though.

And pap, darling, is a porridge made from ground maize or other grains and it's a staple of many South African people. It's yummy for breakfast and it really sticks to your ribs!

Hi Brenda,

Just wanted to say sorry you've been sick again. No fair!

I'm still enjoying reading your reviews. Been mostly a lurker lately, but I'm here.

Deb

Hi Deb! Glad to see you're still reading along. Thanks for the kind words ... I'm definitely on the up-side of the sickies. Now if I can just get this nerve problem worked out I'll be as good as a junk car.

mmmmmmmmmm BOMA breakfast. I LOVED Boma..Greg however was rather ambivalent to the whole thing..he is certainly one of those " bring me my food" kind of people as opposed to the Buffet Friendly types....
Can't wait to see the next reviews..mmm sushi...

Hi Gina! Thanks for reading. I was surprised that I liked Boma as much as I did - it's definitely worth repeating on another trip.

And I will have a Tokyo Dining update this week ... I'm trying to get it done but I haven't made much progress yet.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Mmmm! We love bfast at Boma!!!

Loved the review.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

BTW, LOVE the dress!!!

 

[shovan]

Brenda, Thanks for the Boma review! My SIL & BIL went there on their last trip & raved about it. But their palates aren't as refined as your's , so now I believe her & will have to get myself over there for breakfast!

 

[knewton64]

sounds like you had fun!!

- Kris

 

[oybolshoi]

Mmmm! We love bfast at Boma!!!

Loved the review.

BTW, LOVE the dress!!!

Hi Mel! Thanks for reading and thanks for the compliment! I almost didn't buy that dress because I wasn't sure I could "carry it off." But I love the pattern and the colors so I just waited until Ann Taylor marked it 60% off this summer and channeled the force, "buy it I must."

Brenda, Thanks for the Boma review! My SIL & BIL went there on their last trip & raved about it. But their palates aren't as refined as your's , so now I believe her & will have to get myself over there for breakfast!

Hi Sheryl - thanks for reading! I don't know if I'd say that Jay and I have refined palates ... but wide-ranging (especially in Jay's case) is certainly true. Boma really did live up to the hype - it was a great breakfast buffet and I would definitely suggest that you give it a try when you get a chance.

sounds like you had fun!!

- Kris

Hi Kris! thanks for reading and posting - we did have a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy the rest of our reviews because it's all good times from here on out!

 

[oybolshoi]

Hiya everyone!

I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten my pledge to try to post at least one review per week. I'm working on the next update and should get it posted later today (I've got house chores to take care of while I'm writing).

It was a very busy week at work and I've really been struggling to get this sciatica under control. I thought it was best for me to just unplug for a few days and focus my energy on those real life things that are really important right now.

But to let you know that I've not lost my sense of humor, which for a while there I really thought was a possibility, I would like to share a little story with you.

Yesterday in the mail we received some propaganda from the jewelry store where we purchased my engagement ring and our wedding bands .. as well as a nice pair of diamond studs for yours truly when times were good. This store never sends out mailers ... they don't need to. But they must be feeling the pinch this holiday season ... just like the rest of us. They have lovely custom-made pieces and I love looking at their collections but we rarely purchase from them because we always have more important things to spend our cashola on.

Anyhoo... as I was perusing their sparkly temptations I noticed how the brochure was addressed. Amazingly enough they got our last name correct - no mean feat. They also got Jason's name right but somehow seem to think my name is ...

And I'm not kidding ...


Brandine.



I don't know if it was a joke or if they really have me in their records that way, but we had a great laugh when we saw that.

Hope everyone has a great day and I promise to have the last of October 10th posted later in the day (probably close to this evening knowing me).