We're bringing DoleWhip back...again! COMPLETE: Sanaa and Yachtsman!

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I'm loving your reviews - the ups (buffalo at AP), the downs (the service at Narccoossee's), and everything in-between. I think your reviews show that any good restaurant at any given time will have some winning dishes and some less winning dishes. I love that you guys can eat (2 apps, 2 sushis, 2 entrees *and* 3 desserts for 2 people at CG, you guys rock!).

I'm so jealous that you get to go so frequently to WDW. We're about 7 hours away and my DH is not too fond of the drive...

Glad that you're enjoying the reviews. I have to say, at California Grill, pacing made it easier to enjoy that meal. We knew we'd be having a lot of food, so we asked for a few breaks - in fact, there were 45 minutes between finishing our salad and receiving the entrees. The meal took almost 4 hours. It sounds like a lot, but it goes by quickly when you're savoring a good meal (well, the components of it that were good ).

And if we were a 7 hour drive away from WDW, I honestly think we would go much less often. In fact, I'd rather take a 15-hour flight somewhere far away than drive somewhere that's only 6 hours away. I guess if I had to do it for Disney, I might learn to deal with it.

I like the food at Narccoosees, but what I went this past Nov by myself the waitress was really rude to me. Maybe because I was dining solo, but geez.

Sorry that the service at Narcoossee's was unpleasant for you as well. I wouldn't be shocked if it happened at a 1-credit restaurant, but for the prices that signatures charge the service should never be awful. And dining solo should never be a reason for servers to treat someone worse, but I swear at Flying Fish in July it felt like my server was neglecting me because I was a party of one. I guess it depends on the individual, and not every server belongs in the hospitality industry

Wow, that waiter should not be working at a Disney restaurant, much less a signature! Sorry to hear he ruined what would have otherwise been a good meal.

I went to Narcoossee's once and was very underwhelmed. It wasn't bad...but nothing seemed up to signature level for me. Your review has just re-confirmed that I'm not missing all that much. Of course, nothing on the menu really sounded all that appealing to me either.

I understand what you mean about the Narcoossee's menu. I think they have a few dishes that match the caliber of other signatures (the heirloom tomato salad was no worse than Flying Fish's similar dish), but overall the menu is quite simple. Simple can be wonderful if the ingredients are fresh, high quality, and cooked properly. But it seems like that's not always the case at Narcoossee's, given the common complaints about their lobster. This trip, in comparison to Narcoossee's, I can say every restaurant had better service, Citricos's food was more upscale, Artist Point was more memorable, Yachtsman made us feel truly special, and we finally saw Flying Fish as a better seafood restaurant. At California Grill, the food was worse but the service was better than Narcoossee's; both of these places are off our list for a while.

I guess this was a lesson that both food and service are important elements in a meal - both can make a dining experience memorably good or bad. I can't say we were unhappy with any of our food, but the experience overall didn't match our expectations for a signature restaurant.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

While Narcoossee's was disappointing, it didn't ruin our evening by any means. We made it back to Wilderness Lodge in time to check out the desserts in the lounge.

The cobbler of the night was apple. My mom had some and liked it - she said it was sweet and gooey. I didn't feel like dessert.

I thought this critter in the lounge was so adorable

Back in our room, we enjoyed the water pageant from our balcony.

Then I wandered around the 7th floor just because I felt like exploring. One of my coolest discoveries: there are some large windows on both sides of the floor. Some of the windows looked northwest towards the Seven Seas Lagoon, and although there are trees in the way...

You can clearly see the iconic lights of Contemporary Resort.

And at 10 PM, Wishes was perfectly visible from Wilderness Lodge!

Soon after that, we were both slightly hungry. The lounge had already closed, and we felt like something with protein, so I went down to Roaring Fork and we split a chicken sandwich:

The chicken was perfectly cooked, moist on the inside but not soft on the outside. The multigrain bun held up well and didn't fall apart, even after I added a bunch of condiments to my part (pickles, mustard, onion, even some A1 steak sauce). Also, it was nice of the staff to let us get grapes as our side item instead of fries.

So overall, it was a magical ending to the evening. Wilderness Lodge contributed a lot to the "magic" of our trip. The overall feel of the resort is just wonderful - parts of it are energetic and family-friendly (Whispering Canyon, the pool, etc.), while other parts are relaxing and tranquil (Artist Point, the woods, the lovely walk to the dock, etc.). A wonderful vibe all around. I don't know when we'll be staying there again, but I am positive that it'll happen eventually.

 

[Linda67]

I've just caught up with your reviews after a busy few days

Wonderful reviews and pictures as always

I seem to be seeing lots of great reviews for Raglan Road lately, they certainly seem to be on top of their game

Our experience of Narcoossees was very different to yours; we had a wonderful server but the food was just average

I didn't think it was anywhere near the standard of Yachtsman or Jiko and wouldn't be in a rush to go back

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I've just caught up with your reviews after a busy few days

Wonderful reviews and pictures as always

I seem to be seeing lots of great reviews for Raglan Road lately, they certainly seem to be on top of their game

Our experience of Narcoossees was very different to yours; we had a wonderful server but the food was just average

I didn't think it was anywhere near the standard of Yachtsman or Jiko and wouldn't be in a rush to go back

Something seems awfully wrong with Narcoossee's. For most people, the food doesn't compare to the other resort signatures. For us, the food was actually good but the service left us with no desire to return. It makes me wonder how Narcoosee's manages to be one of the hardest signatures to book (not as difficult as Le Cellier or California Grill, but from my experiences harder than the other signatures).

You can't win 'em all, but I can easily say the rest of the dinners (Citricos, AP again, Yachtsman, and Flying Fish) were above Narcoossee's in every way.

 

[goofy4prez]

I'm sorry to hear about the rude service you had at Narcoossee's. Like you, I also feel no matter how good the food may be, if the service is not up to par it's all for naught. I love Narcoossee's but this does raise a caution flag for me. With you being what I believe to be one of the most unbiased people on the DIS when it comes to dining opinions, I have to take this review and your experience to heart.

 

[NHDisneyKid]

It's hard to not enjoy lobster if it's cooked right and isn't rubbery. I certainly wouldn't pay $58 for my plate of food, but it's definitely one of the best values on the dining plan.

And I live close enough to New England to know what Narcoossee's lacks - we're right on the border of New York and Connecticut (near Greenwich). I have cousins who live in Connecticut, and their house is right next to the Long Island Sound. We've had lobster bakes at the beach next to their house with better food than Narcoossee's. Better and friendlier service, too. Seriously, we've been going to Narcoossee's for over 12 years, and we felt like pariahs thanks to the staff. Not anymore - their food isn't good enough to pay high prices (or 2 credits) and be treated like dirt.

I know the area well, went to Fairfield University, right off the Sound Glad you get to enjoy real New England lobster bakes where the company and service is probably far more enjoyable than your unfortunate Narcoossee's experience!

 

[bigdave10000]

We had our worst service experience at Narcoossee's in Sept 2009. Haven't been back and not planning on going back. I think the reason it is so popular is because of the perceived great "value" you get by ordering lobster on the DDP.

We use the TIW card and would never order the two lobster menu items. If there was no DDP Narcoossee's would have a huge drop in reservations and the lobster sales would take a nose dive.

 

[Glenn]

I cant see why your wait person was disappointed with a 20% tip. If I had service like that I think I would have left much less for what sounded like sub par service. Only when they get hit in the pocket will their attitude change and thats only a maybe.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I think Yachtsman is a great choice. Very solid food and great service. It's one of the noisier signatures, but we usually have an early ADR so it's not a big deal. I'm sure you'll be able to fit in Narcoossee's eventually (hopefully the reviews will be better by then), but as of now I wouldn't recommend the experience overall - Citricos offers a better signature meal on the monorail line, and Flying Fish seems gets more raves if you ever decide you feel like seafood.

It's hard to say anything for certain. Any good restaurant can have highs and lows - perhaps if we'd gone to Narcoossee's the following night (or been placed with a different server), the whole experience would've been perfect. But given the consistency of Narcoossee's negative reviews, I shouldn't assume that either. You're so right - we might've been lucky to have tasty food in the first place.

Flying Fish was a miss for us in 2009 but I think that was more because we were cold, tired & crabby. And our service person wasn't the best either. We all actually really enjoyed the snapper. We are branching out a bit with seafood so I do want to try it again but just couldn't fit it in this trip.

We love, love, LOVED Citricos! It was 1A to Artist Point's 1 last trip. But again, just can't fit it in next trip. I am slowly learning that you just can't do it all no matter how hard you try! So we will be eating at the Yachtman, Cali Grille, Jiko, Artist Point, Brown Derby and Le Cellier for signatures. Not too bad.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I'm sorry to hear about the rude service you had at Narcoossee's. Like you, I also feel no matter how good the food may be, if the service is not up to par it's all for naught. I love Narcoossee's but this does raise a caution flag for me. With you being what I believe to be one of the most unbiased people on the DIS when it comes to dining opinions, I have to take this review and your experience to heart.

I felt really bad writing this, since before this meal I've been mostly positive about Narcoossee's. But the restaurant industry is a volatile one, and over the past few years I've realized that the signature restaurants are quite inconsistent in many ways; the chefs change, menus change, servers change, etc. Glad you appreciate my attempt to remove personal bias (even though it might not always work ).

I know the area well, went to Fairfield University, right off the Sound Glad you get to enjoy real New England lobster bakes where the company and service is probably far more enjoyable than your unfortunate Narcoossee's experience!

My cousins actually live in Fairfield! It's a lovely area with some great food and quiet beaches. It's also home to one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants (Osianna). It's not as upscale and elegant as Citricos, but the food is still great.

We had our worst service experience at Narcoossee's in Sept 2009. Haven't been back and not planning on going back. I think the reason it is so popular is because of the perceived great "value" you get by ordering lobster on the DDP.

We use the TIW card and would never order the two lobster menu items. If there was no DDP Narcoossee's would have a huge drop in reservations and the lobster sales would take a nose dive.

Sorry to hear that you also had a bad experience at Narcoossee's. Aside from the value of lobster on the DDP, there's one other factor that I think strongly contributes to the place's popularity: the pretty views of the lagoon and Wishes.

I cant see why your wait person was disappointed with a 20% tip. If I had service like that I think I would have left much less for what sounded like sub par service. Only when they get hit in the pocket will their attitude change and thats only a maybe.

In retrospect, I wish we'd given a tip that more accurately reflected the service. I also wish a manager had been around when we wanted to discuss what happened that night. Things just didn't work out at Narcoossee's. I just hope other people don't have issues with the same server.

Flying Fish was a miss for us in 2009 but I think that was more because we were cold, tired & crabby. And our service person wasn't the best either. We all actually really enjoyed the snapper. We are branching out a bit with seafood so I do want to try it again but just couldn't fit it in this trip.

We love, love, LOVED Citricos! It was 1A to Artist Point's 1 last trip. But again, just can't fit it in next trip. I am slowly learning that you just can't do it all no matter how hard you try! So we will be eating at the Yachtman, Cali Grille, Jiko, Artist Point, Brown Derby and Le Cellier for signatures. Not too bad.

Sorry to hear Flying Fish wasn't great when you tried it. We had quite a few meals there that just never wowed us overall, but this trip the meal was much better. Hopefully you can fit it in eventually, especially if you're starting to like more seafood.

You're right - there's just no way to fit in all the good dining options at WDW. Citricos was also one of the best meals of our past trip, and yet it's not on the roster for our upcoming late-August trip (we're excited to try Bluezoo for the first time). But I think you have a solid selection. Looking forward to hearing more opinions on Le Cellier's signature dinner. We enjoyed it, but seemingly nobody else did.

 

[dsnyrn]

Loving your reviews!! Thanks for taking the time.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Loving your reviews!! Thanks for taking the time.

Thanks so much for reading! I had to take a brief break because I was away for the weekend, but it's time to get reviewing again.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I really love Hollywood Studios. It has my 2 favorite rides in WDW (Rock n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror), my favorite themed area (Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards), and my favorite theme park restaurant: Brown Derby. I really like the feeling of being in 1930's/40's Hollywood and the old Hollywood glam decor, and Brown Derby is a great place to experience some of that.

The entrance to DHS:

Insert annual promotion here:

Gotta love rope drop:

Eh, I'm not a big fan of the hat. I think the area had a more authentic feel when you could actually see the Chinese Theater. But on the bright side, it's sparkly!

I really like this billboard on Hollywood Boulevard:

The perfect ride to do just before lunch:

Finally, lunch time!

In the restaurant lobby, I liked this pic of one of the original Brown Derby locations:

Here's the menu:

Even before sitting down, I knew I wanted to order some items that are true staples on the Brown Derby menu, so here it goes:

Here are the rolls with butter and sea salt. While they're your basic sourdough rolls, I think these are better than the new sourdough rolls at Le Cellier - softer on the inside, and usually served warm.

My appetizer was the cremini mushroom chèvre tortelloni with tomato-fennel sauce and shaved parmigiano-reggiano. I really liked this dish. The sauce tasted hearty and thick, almost like a vegetable stew with a twist from the fennel. The chèvre and mushroom didn’t overpower each other, and there was a wonderful salty touch from the parmesan.

I ordered the Cobb salad as my entrée – tomato, egg, bacon, turkey, chive, and avocado (I ordered it without the cheese and with the dressing on the side). I declined my server’s offer to toss everything together, since I wanted to be able to control what was in each bite. The salad was crisp, cold, and very enjoyable overall. The one component I didn’t love was the avocado, since the pieces were wet; I guess I wouldn’t have noticed if the salad had been tossed. Still, this is one of my favorite lunches in Disney World, with enough protein to feel quite satisfying.

The vinaigrette was very tasty, but I didn’t need much of it.

To round out my Brown Derby lunch, I chose a dessert that I haven’t had in a few years, the grapefruit cake: yellow cake layers with fresh grapefruit-cream cheese icing. I love this dessert. It’s exactly like the description implies – the yellow cake is soft and moist, the cream cheese frosting adds a tanginess, and the grapefruit flavor is fruity and sour. It’s simple but delicious, and IMO a great signature dessert – light, flavorful, beautifully presented, and it almost creates the illusion of being healthy. Warning: I wouldn’t recommend this dish if you dislike grapefruit.

So as usual, Brown Derby was a great lunch for me. I would be happy to order any of those courses again (although there are some other dishes that I also really like - the tuna tartare is another great appetizer). Service was very good, especially compared to the previous meal at Narcoossee's. Brown Derby's food might not be at the level of my favorite resort signatures (Artist Point, Citricos, etc), but it was still a very good meal overall, especially compared to California Grill and Narcoossee's.

 

[Linda67]

Thanks for the HBD review

I am certainly going to be ordering the Grapefruit Cake in October

 

[cbg1027]

I ordered the exact same 3 items last time I was at The Brown Derby!

And I agree with your assessment on all of them. I loved that Grapefruit Cake so much I came home and made one myself using the recipe cards they give out! Mine wasn't quite as good as theirs, but it was pretty close.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

We LOVE Brown Derby! It's a must-do for us almost every trip. This past trip I had the grapefruit cake for the first time and LOVED it. I have so much more respect for grapefruit now. I had the Loch Duart Salmon as my entree and it was delish!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Thanks for the HBD review

I am certainly going to be ordering the Grapefruit Cake in October

Can't wait to see what you think of the grapefruit cake!

I ordered the exact same 3 items last time I was at The Brown Derby!

And I agree with your assessment on all of them. I loved that Grapefruit Cake so much I came home and made one myself using the recipe cards they give out! Mine wasn't quite as good as theirs, but it was pretty close.

Wow, we must both have really good taste. And how impressive that you actually made the grapefruit cake at home! I've only made a few Disney recipes at home (and they're all incredibly simple, such as 1900 Park Fare's strawberry soup).

We LOVE Brown Derby! It's a must-do for us almost every trip. This past trip I had the grapefruit cake for the first time and LOVED it. I have so much more respect for grapefruit now. I had the Loch Duart Salmon as my entree and it was delish!

Gotta love that grapefruit cake! And I had the salmon there in May - it was served with Indian accompaniments and I thought it was a solid dish. The current dish sounds even better though!

 

[disney_princess_85]

I'm really enjoying your reviews.

 

[Shleedogg]

I love your reviews, can't wait for more! Is it sad that the first thing I do when I sit down w/ my breakfast in the morning is check for new dining reviews?

 

[janabananas]

Wow!! That salad and cake look scrumptious!!! I have read that you can get the grapefruit cake elsewhere in HS besides Brown Derby. Does anyone know if this is still true and where to go to get it? Starring Rolls maybe?