billsfan
Lets Go BUFF-A-LO
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2004
- Messages
- 604
A detailed Dining Report will follow sometime this week. Any Questions about where we ate please let me know and I will answer them in my dining report.
12-10-05
Lunch Gasparilla Grill & Games 4 CS $49.81
Dinner Kona Cafe 4 TS $185.83
Snacks Frontierland Popcorn 2 SC $5.50
12-11-05
Lunch Yorkshire Country Fish Shop 4 CS $45.01
Snacks Various around Epcot 5 SC $11.53
Dinner Teppanyaki CP Dinner Package
12-12-05
Lunch Flame Tree Barbecue 4 CS $53.42
Snacks Dino Ice Cream (AK) 3 SC $8.00
Dinner Chef Mickey's 4 TS $144.12
12-13-05
Breakfast Whispering Canyon Cafe Out Of Pocket
Dinner Spoodles 4 TS $203.18
12-14-05
Lunch 50's Prime Time Cafe 2 TS $69.16
Snacks Various around MGM 5 SC $11.00
Dinner Catalina Eddies 3 CS $42.40
Dinner Rosies All American Cafe 1 CS $11.78
12-15-05
Lunch Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe 5 CS $59.45
Dinner Concourse Steakhouse 4 TS $198.79
Snacks Casey's Corner 2 SC $4.00
12-16-05
Breakfast Gasperilla Grill & Games 5 CS $39.77
Lunch Gasperilla Grill & Games 2 CS $24.41
Lunch Columbia Harbor House Included in KTTKT
Dinner Narcossee's 10 TS $421.31
10-17-05
Breakfast Boma Out Of Pocket
Snacks The Mara 11 SC $23.00
All totals include Tax and Tip.
Tips for Table Service were either 15% or 18%.
Total money spent on dining plan
($35.00 per person * 4 adults * 7 nights) + 6.5% tax = $1043.70
Total value of all food on Dining Plan
TS $1222.39
CS $326.05
SC $63.03
Grand Total $1611.47
Savings of 35%
Befort the reviews here is who I dined with:
Me - I'll eat about anything and I love to try new things.
DFi - Doesn't care for red meat. Is not too adventurous.
My Mom - likes about everything. Cannot eat spicy food.
DFi's Mom - Will try more things than her daughter. Likes all her meat cooked well done.
Sister - Doesn't eat red meat. Will try about anything.
My sister joined us for dinner Saturday night when we arrived and then Lunch Thursday thru Breakfast Saturday when we left.
Saturday
Arrival Day
Lunch at Gasperilla Grill & Games
Me - Italian Meat Sandwich
DFi - Chicken Wrap
My Mom - Shrimp Caeser Salad
DFi's Mom - Beeef & Blue Sandwich
All Items were made to order at the sandwich side of GG&G
The Itilian Meat Sndwich was very good. All of the meats tasted fresh. The bread also was very fresh. It came with a side of coleslaw which had just the right amount of sweetness to it.
DFi did not care too much for the Chicken Wrap. She said the chicken didn't taste like it was all white meat. I tasted it and I think she was right. I thought it tasted good though and ate about half of the wrap. She also got coleslaw.
My mother said the Shrimp Caeser Salad was good. The only thing I noticed (Which is because of my DFi) was that the shrimp were petite shrimp and they were not de-veined. This did not bother my Mom.
DFi's Mom said that the Beef & Blue sandwich was incrediable. It was a warm roast beef sandwich with grilled onions and blue cheese (Not Dressing). She also got coleslaw with this.
Everyone either got Toll House Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches or Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars.
Food B+
Value B+
Dinner at Kona Cafe
Our ADR was for 5:30 PM. We had some problems with bell services at the Grand Floridian and we did not get our bags until 5:30 PM. We arrived to dinner 20 minutes late and did not have any problems being seated right away. When we arrived the resturant was almost empty. By the time we were done with dinner the place had filled up.
Our Servers name was Mauricio and we had great service all night long. He did tell us that we could use a TS credit for my sister even though she wasn't on the plan but we did not because we needed it later in the week. He did put the most expensive items on the dining plan and also put my sister's drink on the plan since my DFi ordered a glass of water. Nobody ordered an non-alcoholic specility drinks here and I forgot to ask if you could on the plan. I also drink alot when I eat and neither my water glass or soda glass were ever empty.
15% gratuity was automatically added into the bill for my sister's entree since 15% was added onto our bill on the dining plan. I added more money to both to bring the tip up to 20% because of the great service.
Me - Sticky Wings / Beef Teriyaki / Passion Fruit Orange Guava Mousse
DFi - Kona Chowder / Shrimp & Scallops / Kiddie Kone
My Mom - Crab Cakes / Asian Prim Rib / Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart
DFi's Mom - Kona Salad / Char Crusted Fillet Mignon / White Chocolate Cheesecake
Sister - Shrimp & Scallops (Paid OOP)(She shared our appetizers and desserts)
Appetizers
Sticky Wings - Were Good. I think I got 8 wing pieces. They tasted smoky and the mustard drizzle was good. I normally don't care for mustard too much but with the wings I liked it. A small pile of greens with dressing came with the wings.
Kona Chowder - DFi said the Chowder was very good. She said it had a very mild taste. She doesn't care for strong tasting food.
Crab Cakes - There were three small crab cakes on the plate along with some greens with dressing. I was given a crab cake and it was incredible. Hardly any bread crumbs in it. They had quite an Asian flare to them. The presentation for this appetizer was great.
Kona Salad - I herd no complaints and my DFi's Mom finished it off so I had to assum it was good.
Entrees
Beef Teriyaki - I ordered it medium rare and it came out cooked to perfection. The pinapple teriyaki sauce was diffrent and it added something to the steak I wasn't expecting. Don't get me wrong, the steak was very good but it might have been better without the teriyaki sauce. The mashed Yukon Gold potatoes were the best thing on my plate. They were home style with small potato chunks in them. The broccoli that came with the entree tasted like it was just lightly steamed. Good but nothing special.
Shrimp & Scallops - I have to assume the shrimp on their plates was incredible because neither my DFi or Sister would offer anyone a taste of it. I did get a taste of the scallops with the wassabi cream sauce and it was good. The sauce was quite spicy but not too spicy to eat. The sticky rice was also good and contained sesame seeds wich gave it a nutty flavor. There was also something that looked like bean sprouts on top of the rice but I don't believe it was. They were crunchy and also tasted like they were pickled.
Aisian Prime Rib - My mother said the prime rib was good. She said it was very tender. She was cutting it with her fork. She also liked the mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.
Char Crusted Filet Mignon - My DFi's Mother ordered the fillet well done (WHAT A CRIME) and it came out medium well. She sent it back and about 5 minutes later it came back and was cooked well done. I asked her how it tasted and she said OK. It looked a bit dry but I think thats what one gets when they order a steak well done. She did say the mushroom sauce was very good. She also greatly enjoyed the mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.
Desserts
All desserts were incredible. There was a counter at the front of the resturant that had all of the desserts they offered displayed. I was able to sample everyone's dessert because everyone was full.
Passion Fruit Orange Guava Mousse - This was very light and refreshing after a heavy dinner of meat and potatoes. This was the Kona Cafe's 50th anniversary dessert.
Kiddie Kone - It was just your average ice cream sunday served in a waffle cone but the presentation was incredible. I think the whole time we were eating dessert the children at the table next to us kept asking their parents if they could get one for dessert.
Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart - If you like chocolate (and I do) this dessert is awesome. It was quite rich though and after a heavy meal it wasn't too refreshing. I think this dessert would have be great after a lighter dinner.
White Chocolate Cheesecake - I usually don't like cheesecake because it is usually too rich for me but this cheesecake was light. It also wasn't too overpowering like cheesecake can be sometimes.
Service A+
Food A
Presentation B+
Atmosphere B- (It did get somewhat loud when the resturant filled up and also the resturant's front is open into the Polynesian's 2nd floor)
Value B
My hands are sore from too much typing. I'll be back.......
Sunday
Breakfast was in our room. We brought food like milk and cereal bars, muffin bars, granola bars, etc. We also had a refridgerator in our room with thing like Propel, Mountian Dew, coffee creamer, etc. in it.
Went to Epcot
Lunch at Yorkshire Country Fish Shop (UK)
We were walking by the UK and it started to sprinkle. We decided to sit underneath the umbrellas at the outside Tables right next to the fish shop to stay dry and to eat lunch.
All - Fish and Chips
Fish and Chips - There were two large pieces of fish and a good portion of fries. The fish was good and it wasn't too greasy. I grew up in Western NY so the best tasting fish in the world to me is Haddock (Very Mild White Fish). I'm not shure what type of fish was served here but I believe it tasted like Cod. It had a very small fishy taste to it but nothing bad.
The only two desserts you could chose from here were a bag of potatoe chips or a small package of shortbread sticks. No one chose the potatoe chips because we all had fries. We all got the shortbread sticks and they were somewhat dry.
Food B
Value C (Lack of Good Desserts)
Dinner at Teppanyaki (CP dinner package that I paid for)
Looking back at my decision to pay for the CP dinner package, I should have used 4 TS credits for this and paid OOP for 4 other meals. The CP dinner package price for Teppanyaki was a bit high for what you got. It would have been a better deal to use TS credits.
Our ADR was for 5:45 PM. We showed up and checked in at 5:35 PM and were seated right at 5:45 PM
Our server was very good and friendly. I'm sorry I can't remember her name. We did not get a receipt here. She was also very efficient. No one's drinks ever got empty and all empty dishes and glasses were removed in a timely manner.
At the start she asked if anyone was on the dining plan or had a CP dinner package booked. She then explained everything we were able to get. I know I have read that some DISers were treated rude here but we were treated with nothing but respect.
Our Chef was fun but it appeared that the table next ot us had a chef that was more skilled. I believe our chef was quite new.
At our table we sat with a couple from Texas and their two young children (5 and 2). They sat the children at the end of the grill because they said it was cooler there. The children behaved beautifully during the whole dinner. You could tell that they were good parents by the way their children acted.
The only drinks available for the CP dinner package were Soda or Milk.
There were only 3 appetizers we could chose from.
Edamame - young soybean pods
Garden Salad - mixed greens with ginger dressing
Misoshiru Soup - soybean soup with tofu and seaweed (It was very good, this is what I had)
There were only 2 things to choose from for dessert.
Ice Cream - Chocolate, Vanilla, Green Tea, Ginger or Orange Sherbet
Chestnut Cake
Me - Misoshiru Soup / Fujiyama (Steak and Shrimp) / Orange Sherbet
DFi - Garden Salad / Seto (Shrimp and Scallops) / Vanilla Ice Cream
My Mom - Garden Salad / Musashi (Steak and Scallops) / Vanilla Ice Cream
DFI's Mom - Garden Salad / Fujiyama (Steak And Shrimp) / Chocolate Ice Cream
Our appetizers arrived about 5 minutes after our server took our order and the chef arrived right after our appetizers were delivered. Also a very small plate of seaweed was brought out to the table for each guest. It only was about two bites but it was good. I don't remember when this was brought out.
When the chef first came out he pulled out all of the ingredients and told us what they all were. He also went around the table to verify everyone's order. When he go to me he smiled and said "Steak Rare?" and then went ahead and was going to give me my steak right off of the platter. I smiled back at him and asked if he could cook it a little bit and he said "OK!'. He then poured two dipping sauces for everyone. One sauce seamed like it was a blend of Soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce and the other sauce had a hint of mustard in it.
The first thing he cooked were some corn, peas and carrots for the kids meals. Next he cut up and cooked up the vegetables (Mushrooms, Zucchini and Onions)and Udon noodles. He did make the onion volcano and then also added sesame seeds to the vegtables while making "sesame street" on the grill with some more sesame seeds. He then moved all of the vegatables to our plates which were warm because they were sitting on the edge of the grill.
He next started cooking the chicken breast that was for the kids meal and put it at the end of "sesame street" and called it Big Bird. The other meats now started to go onto the grill. He cooked the meats so that everyone's meat would be done at the same time. After the chicken he put my DFi's mother's steak on the grill (Well Done). Next he showed off his knife skills with the shrimp and then put the shrimp, scallops and my mothers steak on the grill (Medium). The other couples steak also went onto the grill at this time because they also ordered it medium. Lastely he put my steak on the grill. He kept all meats away from each other so if you didn't like the taste of steak you would not taste it on you shrimp.
After everything was cooked and plated the chef cleaned the grill and said goodbye.
As we were finishing up our meals our server brought out complimentary green tea for everyone.
Desserts came out when everyone in you party was finished with their meals. The couple and their children next to us received their desserts before us because the were done eating before we were.
Everyone in our party finished our meals and I heard no complaints. The meal it self was quite plain but when you added the sauses yourself it gave some great flavor. It was plenty of food and nobody was hungary after dinner. I think the only complaint I would have would be the lack of choice for the appetizers and desserts.
Service A
Food B
Presentation B
Atmosphere B
Value C (I should have used 4 TS credits for this and then the Value grade would have been higher)
Monday
Breakfast was in our room.
Went to Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue
Me - Ribs with Beans & Corn
DFi - Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich
My Mom - Smoked 1/2 Chicken with Beans & Corn
DFi's Mom - Smoked Pork Sandwich with Beans & Corn
The ribs were actually quite tasty. They looked dry when I got them but once I tasted them they were quite moist. They had two diffrent kinds of BBQ sauce available. One sauce was regular and one sauce was spicy. I enjoyed the spiceness of the spicy sauce. The beans were OK. They tasted like they were from a can but they still had a good flavor to them. The corn on the cob was a bit over cooked. It was somewhat mushy.
I did try my mothers chicken and it was very moist and flavoriful. It did taste like it was slow smoked.
My DFi's mother said the pork sandwich was good also.
My DFi did not care for the Turkey Breast Sandwich. She did not like that the turkey breast was not whole slice turkey breast. It was like the pressed turkey roll you get in your deli. I tried it and found that it tasted alright. The roll was kind of dry though. I think my DFi would have enjoyed this sandwich but she was turned off by the fact that it was not whole turkey breast.
Everyone either got the Key Lime Pie or the Chocolate Cake for dessert. I tried them both and for being pre-made desserts they were pretty tasty. Both the pie and the cake were moist and flavorful.
One word of warning though, where we sat we were pestered by ducks the whole time we ate. We could not get them away from our table. I spent most of the time as we were sitting there shooing away the ducks. I noticed the table next to us actually feeding the ducks and I also noticed that the ducks at their table actually started pecking their legs as to get their attention and to get more food. It worked for the ducks because whenever they pecked at their legs, the family fed the ducks. This is why I informed everyone at our table not to feed the ducks.
Food B
Value B
Dinner at Chef Mickey's
Our ADR was for 6:30 PM and we arrived at 6:15 PM and were seated by 6:35 PM. The place was not too busy. There were some empty tables and not too many people waiting. The reason I believe we were seated 20 minutes after we arrived is because I believed I upset the greeter. She told us to go get our picture taken while we waited for our table (like they tell everyone) and I said "No Thank You". The greeter then said that everyone gets their picture taken and once again I said "No Thank You". After the second time I said no she seemed upset and said somewhat in a huff tone "We'll page you when we have a table ready for you, here's your pager." Oh well what can you do?
Our server was Todd J. He was a very good waiter. He was quite funny and very efficient. He was singing Christmas Carols all night long and was making up some lyrics of his own. While we were eating our desserts he asked for my card so he could ring us up so we could leave when we wanted. I thought this was the last time we were to see him but he came back two more times after he returned our check to see if anyone needed anything else. He also took pictures of our whole table with Mickey and Goofy when we asked him to.
An 18% gratuity was added to our bill here. This was the only resturant we went to that added 18%. All other resturants only added a 15% gratuity. I once again left extra to bring our tip up to 20%.
Here is an observation by me that I thought was a bit odd. When we dined here back in July 2004 our server was around mid 40's and male. Our server Todd was also in his mid to late 40's. I then looked around the resturant and it seemed that most of the servers at Chef Mickey's are men in their mid to late 40's. I'm not sure if anyone else has ever noticed this. It seemed a bit odd but thet was just my observation.
The characters that were there are as follows:
Donald Duck - He was in the lobby as we waited for our table. He was dressed in a chef's hat and red and white plaid apron.
Mickey Mouse - He appeared to be in a red French chef's outfit with a medal around his neck.
Minnie Mouse - She wore a red and white poka-dot dress with an apron.
Chip & Dale - Both were dressed in a simple apron with a chef's hat on.
Goofy - Full blown chef garb with a large floppy chef's hat.
We were at dinner for around 1 1/2 hours and all 5 characters came around for pictured at least once. We had Mickey and Dale stop by twice because they were the first two characters we saw.
We were all able to order either smoothies or non-alcholic specialty drinks with the dining plan.
The food is what it is. It's standard buffet food. I got a small salad and then just ate the parmesan mashed potatoes and prime rib and rolls. My DFi mainly ate off of the child's section of the buffet (Macaroni and Cheese, Pizza and Chicken Tenders). My mother and DFi's mother agreed that the prime rib was OK and the mashed potatoes were good. I did not ask if they liked or disliked anything else.
The dessert bar was very good. I do not know if they changed something or not but I don't remember it being that good in July of 2004.
Service A
Food B-
Presentation N/A
Atmosphere A
Value B-
Tuesday
The day of Disney Transportation
Took the Monorail from the GF to the MK. Then took the Boat from the MK to the WL. Next we took a Bus from the WL to DTD. After that we took a bus from DTD to the Beach Club. Then a diffrent Boat from the Beach Club to the Boardwalk. Then our third Bus from the Boardwalk to the MK and finally the Monorail from the MK to the GF.
Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe
We left the GF at 9:00 AM. Our ADR was for 10:00 AM and we arrived at 9:30 and checked in. We were seated at 9:40 AM.
We paid OOP for this meal.
My mother and my DFi's mother did not know anything about this resturant besides the name and what was on the menu. I told my DFi it was a bit like the 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was somewhat quiet when we arrived so it took a while for them to figure out what kind of breakfast we were to have.
Me - Orange Juice / Breakfast Skillet
DFi - Apple Juice / French Toast with Extra Crispy Bacon
My Mom - Coffee / Western Omelet
DFi's Mom - Tomatoe Juice / Breakfast Skillet
Our server's name was Senior Dusty Trails. He was very hard to understand because he had a thick accent. I don't know if this was on purpose or not. He first took our drink orders and when he brought them to the table he didn't give anyone the correct drink. When he left my mother commented that he was not too good of a waiter. He also did not leave any straws at the table and the next time he walked by the table my DFi asked for a straw and he grabbed a handful from his apron and tossed them into the middle of the table. At that point someone asked for ketchup and the place went nuts and that is when everyone at our table figured out what type of breakfast we were having.
I had also asked for water with lemon when he took our drink order. I quickly finished off the small mason jar that he brought out. He then brought out an 8 quart mason jar with water to the table with an extra long straw. When he delivered the 8 quart mason jar he said "I see you liked the pool water I brought to you earlier so I brought you out some more". I then remined him that I liked lemon in my water so he then brought out a whole UNCUT lemon and put it in my water.
When the food came out my DFi's bacon looked like it was cooked with a flame thrower. When my DFi was about to say something about it, Dusty said "You did ask for extra crispy bacon". He then told her to take whatever bacon out of the skillet she wanted becuse I didn't need any.
All of the food was great.
My DFi liked the French Toast and my mother said the Spanish Omlet was very good. Everything in the skillet was great except the scrambled eggs. I think they had been sitting in the kitchen for a while because they were somewhat dry. They were still edible but not as good as fresh scrambled eggs. Me and my DFi's mother finished off the first skillet and another one was brought to the table. As we were getting close to finishing off the second skillet Dusty and a few other servers came over to our table and started chanting "You can do it, You can do it, You can do it, etc". I informed them that this would be our las skillet and all of the servers sighed and one said to Dusty "I thought that you told me they could do it!" and then walked away.
As I stated before, I do drink alot when I eat. I actually finished off the 8 quart mason jar of water and when Dusty noticed this he asked me if I neede another. I told him no and then he came back to the table with a Mickey Mouse sticker with a piece of paper attached to it and he stuck it to my chest. What the piece of paper said was "Fastpass to any Bathroom Valid all day 12-20-05".
Service A
Food A-
Presentation N/A (It was Breakfast)
Atmosphere A
Value A-
Dinner at Spoodles
I had originally made our ADR for Spoodles for 6:30 PM. I wasn't quite sure how long our day would be and I didn't want to show up late for dinner. We arrived at the Boardwalk at 5:00 PM and I checked at Spoodles to see if we could get in earlier. There was no one sitting in the resturant. I think they had just opened. We were seated at 5:05 PM. We were seated at a table in front of the open kitchen. I could see everything going on in the kitchen.
Just to let everyone in advanced that this was everyone's favorite place to eat the whole trip and also where we received our best service.
Our servers name was Tuan. He was Asian and his English was not the best but his service made up for that and then some.
Me - Mediterranean Dips / Portuguese Seafood Stew / Chocolate Apricot Pistachio Cake
DFi - Garlic Shrimp / Fettuccini Alfredo with Scallops / White Chocolate Orange Cake
My Mom - Greek Salad / Portuguese Seafood Stew / Vanilla Bean Creme Brule
DFi's Mom - Garlic Shrimp / Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken / Vanilla Bean Creme Brule
Once again I didn't ask if any non-alcholic drinks were included on the dining plan. We all either got soda or coffee.
Before our appetizers came out, bread was delivered to the table. Along with the bread came a plate of extra virgin olive oil with diced up olives, spices and very small pieces of crispy bacon (I think). The bread and olive oil dip were incredible. We could have eaten more (and Tuan asked if we wanted more) but we didn't want to get too full before our meal.
Appetizers
Mediterranean Dips - All 4 dips were excellent. Each of them came out in their own individual small glass bowl. The 4 bowls with the dips were put into an arched metal holder (Think a rainbow). On the plate that also came out was toasted pita wedges and another small bowl with various olives in it. There were also slivered almonds mixed in with the olives.
The following is how I describe the dips:
Dip #1 - White in color, very mild, it tasted like plain yogurt with chives and garlic.
Dip #2 - Dark reddish and dark brown in color, quite spicy, I cannot explain the flavor but it was awsome.
Dip #3 - White in color, also a bit spicy, I thought it tasted like horseradish and some type of vein cheese(Blue, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, etc).
Dip #4 - Tan in color, very thick but smooth, had a hint of peanut flavor.
I ran out of toasted pit squares because I was sharing with everyone and our waiter brought me out more with no additional charge.
Garlic Shrimp - This dish was plated quite nicely. There were only three shrimp on the plate but they were extra jumbo shrimp (U-12s). Each shrimp was cut completely down the middle to the tail and each half of the shrimp was spread out from the other half. All of the tails were left on the shrimp and the tails were brought together into the center of the plate. There was a lemon garlic sauce drizzled onto the plate. The taste of the shrimp was excellent. The sauce and seasonings were not too strong to overpower the taste of the shrimp and the taste of the shrimp was not at all fishy.
Greek Salad - This dish was also plated quite nicely. All of the tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, olives and feta cheese were formed into a ring mold and then mixed greens were placed on top of the vegatable and cheese mixture after the mold was removed. The red wine vinaigrette was also just right. It was not too overpowering but it wasn't too plain and boring either. It had just the right amount of bite. All of the vegatables tasted very fresh and the feta cheese tasted like it was freshely crumbled.
Entrees
Portuguese Seafood Stew - My mother and I could not stop talking about this the rest of the vacation. We compared all other meals to this one and nothing came close. First off it was not really a stew. I would call it more of a very chunky soup. The soup was like thick seafood broth but with so much seafood and potatoes in it you could eat it with a fork. It was served with a long thin crouton that had cheese toasted onto it. The following seafood was in the stew - clams and muscles in the shell, whole shrimp and whole scallops, cut up calamari and lump crab meat. The potatoes in the stew were sliced fingerling potatoes. My mother and I asked for more bread during dinner so we could use it to soak up the broth left in the bowl after all of the seafood was gone.
Fettuccini Alfredo - Both my DFi and her mother liked the Fettuccini Alfredo. My DFi got hers with scallops and her mother got hers with chicken. There were 6 whole scallops served with my DFi's and it looked like a whole bonless grilled chicken breast cut into strips served with her mothers. My DFi did say that she wished her pasta was cooked a bit more but everyone else at the table believed it was cooked just right (al dente). The sauce was not too thick or to thin and was quite rich and creamy like a good Alfredo sauce should be.
Desserts
All desserts were incredible. I got to try the Creme Brule but I have to take my DFi's word about her dessert because she told us it was just way too good to share.
Chocolate Apricote Pistachio Cake - All of the flavors of this cake blended well together. I have never had cake like this before and I probable never will again. Totaly Awsome.
White Chocolate Orange Cake - The cake was an individual domed cake. It was decorated with candied orange peel and a chocolate triangle with a gold castle on it. This was Spoodles' Happiest Celebration On Earth Dessert.
Vanilla Bean Crem Brule - The Creme Brule was very smooth and you could actually see all of the vanilla bean in it. The sugar topping was toasted just right, dark enough to add a nice bold flavor but not burnt. I only was given two tastes of this because both my mother and DFi's mother also thought this dessert was too good to share. I had to bribe them each with a taste of my cake.
Service A+
Food A+
Presentation A+
Atmosphere A
Value A
Wednesday
Breakfast was in our room
Went to Disney - MGM Studios
Lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe
We only used two TS credits for this. I had asked Tuesday night at Narcoossee's if I could treat my sister to dinner Friday even though she wasn't on the dining plan and the manager at Narcoossee's told me I could use my dining credits however I wanted. He also smiled and said if I wanted to treat everyone in the resturant to dinner with my credits I could do this also. I smiled and told him I would pass on this.
When I made our ADR's I was told the the 50's Prime Time Cafe didn't open untill noon. When I picked up a times guide when we got to Disney Studios it showed thet they opened at 11:00 AM. We went to the 50's at 11:00 AM and checked to see if we could get in earlier and we were seated at 11:10 AM.
Our server was Cousin Christine. She was quite fun. Before we placed our order I informed her that we would be using only two TS credits for lunch and we would be paying cash for everything else. I started to explain what we wanted to use the TS credits for and she said not to worry about it, she would put the most expensive things onto the dining plan. I thanked her for this.
We were able to order non-alcholic specialty drinks on the plan.
Me - Chocolate Shake / Mom's Fried Herb Cheese / Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken / Dad's Brownie Sundae
DFi - Water w/Lemon / Traditional Fish Sandwich / Dad's Brownie Sundae
My Mom - Pink Lemonade / Beer-Battered Onion Rings / Traditional Fish Sandwich
DFi's Mom - Root Beer Float / Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Cousin Christine put the following things on the dining plan:
Drinks - Chocolate Shake & Root Beer Float
Appetizers - Mom's Fried Herb Cheese & Beer-Battered Onion Rings
Entrees - Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken & Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Desserts - 2 Dad's Brownie Sundaes
We paid OOP for:
Drinks - Pink Lemonade
Entrees - 2 Traditional Fish Sandwiches
A 15% gratuity was already added to our bill for the fish sandwiches and lemonade because this is what was added to the dining plan bill. We once again bumped up the tip for both the OOP costs and the dining plan to 20% because of the great service we received.
Appetizers
We all shared both appetizers.
Mom's Fried Herb Cheese - This was quite good. I thought we would of gotten more but we only received one piece of breaded fried cheese. The piece was about the size around of a soda can and was about 1 inch high. Cousin Christine told us it was Boursin cheese. The cheese was quite mild tasting and the herbs mixed in were subtle. The toasted french bread that came with it was a piece of bread sliced thin the long way which was toasted lightly so it was crunchy like a crouton. The only fruit that came with our cheese was three strawberries and a small bunch of grapes (mabye 12).
Beer-Battered Onion Rings - I thought these were better than the cheese. The beer-batter tasted fresh and was quite thick. The onion rings were a little greasy but to me that is the way onion rings should be. We did get quite a bit of onion rings (around a dozen). The horseradish sauce that was served with the onion rings was somewhat mild. It tasted like ketchup, mayonnaise and horseradish mixed together. It was nothing special but it tasted good.
Entrees
Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken - I really enjoyed the chicken. I received 4 pieces of chicken (a breast, a thigh, a leg and a wing). I ate all of the pieces except the breast. I let my DFi and my mom eat that so I could taste their fish sandwiches. The chicken didn't taste greasy at all and the coating was quite crispy but not as crispy as something like KFC extra crispy. All of the chicken I ate was very moist. The mashed potatoes and green beans I received were also good.
Traditional Fish Sandwich - I thought this was just alright. The fish tasted a little dry to me and the roll was a bit too crusty/grainy for me. Give me a soft fresh white bread roll any day over a crusty multi-grain roll. My Dfi and mother said they both really enjoyed the sandwich. The sandwiches came with french fries and a pickle. The french fries were just your standard thick cut fries but they were cooked correctly (crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside) and were not at all greasy. My mother didn't eat her pickle and when Cousin Christine came back with the desserts she informed my mother that if she wanted any dessert she would have to finish her pickle. When my mother told her she didn't like pickles, Cousin Christine told her she didn't either and to just hide her pickle under her napkin and Mom would never know. Cousin Christine said that is what she does.
Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich - My Dfi's mother told me the sandwich was good. It was quite large and probably could have been shared between two people that don't have great appetites. It also came with fries and a pickle.
Desserts
Dad's Brownie Sundae - Just to start off, this was HUGE. Our whole table probably could have split just one but we got two and stuffed ourselves. The sundae consisted of the following:
One large brownie in the center of an oval plate.
Three scoops of vanilla ice cream. One on top of the brownie and one to each side of the brownie.
Chocolate and carmel sauce poured over the ice cream.
A mountian of whipped cream over everything.
M&Ms and Cracker Jacks sprinkled onto the whipped cream.
One cherry on top in the middle of everything to finish it off.
The sundae was really good but it is hard to screw up an ice cream sundae. The other couple in the room with us couldn't believe how big this was and Cousin Christine told them if they were good and ate all of there vegatables they could have one. I put a big dent in one of them and my DFi, her mom and my mom finished off the other one.
My mother was instructed to set the table after our drink orders were taken and when the drinks arrived the table wasn't set yet. Cousin Christine informed my mother to go stand in the corner in the other room and she better do it or she would tell Dad and nobody wanted Dad to come out and lay down the law. My mother then went a stood in the corner and after about one minute Cousin Christine said she could sit back down.
My DFi was given a Little Mermaid bib that she was told to wear when the appetizers came out because she was wearing a white shirt and Cousin Christine said anyone wearing a white shirt at the kitchen table had to wear a bib.
When our entees arrived I was informed I had to finish off all my green beans before I could get dessert (No problem, I love green beans). I was also given a gold star for finishing off everything on my plate (and everything else on everyone's plates). The other thing Cousin Christine informe me was "No Tower For An Hour" after I finished my meal.
Besides these things it was quite calm. It was actually quite dead in the room we were sitting in. There was only one other couple in the room and they had a diffrent server. I believe we were Cousin Christine's only table. At the end of our meal Cousin Christine broke character because we pretty much insisted she did and she sat down with us and told us the ins and outs of Disney-MGM studios for about 10 minutes.
Service A-
Food B+
Presentation B-
Atmosphere A
Value B
Dinner At Catalina Eddie's and Rosie's All American Cafe
First off we ate here because this is where we ended up at 5:45 PM and we didn't want to walk anywhere else because Fantasmic started at 7:00 PM. I do have to admit that everything I read here on the DIS was right. The food here was terrible. It was edible but I will never be eating here again.
Me - Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza / Garden Salad / Chocolate Cake
DFi - Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza / Garden Salad / Apple Pie
My Mom - Vegetarian Cheeseburger w/Fries / Apple Pie
DFi's Mom - Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza / Garden Salad / Chocolate Cake
Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza - The crust was dry, there wasn't enough sauce, cheese or pepperoni and it was over cooked. The cheese did not have any stretch to it because it was almost burnt.
Garden Salad - Lettuce, Tomatoes and an Onion slice. The lettuce tasted old and was not crisp. The tomatoes were too soft and the onion was very strong. This was still better than the pizza.
Vegetarian Cheeseburger - My mother said that this was just OK. She did tell me it tasted like Boca Burger but it was very dry. The fries were cold and not crispy.
Both the Chocolate Cake and the Apple Pie were not too good either. The chocolate cake was dry. The chocolate frosting was OK and it helped the cake a bit but not enough to make it enjoyable. The apple pie was a single serve apple pie that was about 5" in diameter. This was also dry and the apples in the pie didn't taste too good either.
Food D
Value D
In Room Dining from the Grand Floridian
I had ordered a birthday cake for my mother and DFi's mother to be delivered to the room this night. They delivered it while we were at Disney-MGM Studios and also delivered 3 helium filled Birthday Balloons with the cake. I asked them to deliver it around 8:00 PM and I believe they did because when we got back to the room the at 8:40 PM the cake was still cold. They had the cake set up on the coffee table with a table cloth, real plates, metal forks, a carving knife, and cloth napkins. The balloons were set behind the couch.
When I ordered the cake on Sunday morning I informed them I wanted a cake shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. They asked me if I wanted chocolate or vanilla cake and I chose vanilla.
The cake was great. It had a Bavarian cream center to it. The cake was very moist. For Mickey's ears and the top of his head it had a poured chocolate icing and for the rest of his face it had vanilla icing piped onto the cake. On the front of the cake it had a scroll made from white chocolate with "Happy Birthday" in chocolate written onto it. The cake was about 12" in diameter and about 5" high. We had enough cake to eat the rest of the week.
Thursday
Breakfast was in our room
Spent the day at the Magic Kingdom and went to MVMCP this night.
Lunch at Cosmic Ray's
Right before we showed up for lunch a huge group of children on a field trip showed up with food vouchers. The children were in the lines for the chicken and the hamburgers. We all chose the line for the sandwiches. I was able to use 5 CS credits at once even though there were only 4 people on the dining plan.
Me - BBQ Pork Sandwich w/Pasta Salad / Triple Chocolate Cake
DFi - Turkey Bacon Wrap w/Pasta Salad / No Sugar Added Brownie
My Mom - Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/Pasta Salad / Carrot Cake
DFi's Mom - BBQ Pork Sandwich w/Potato Chips / Triple Chocolate Cake
Sister - Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/Pasta Salad / Carrot Cake
BBQ Pork Sandwich - This was just your average shredded pork sandwich. I made it more exciting over at the topping bar by adding cheese sauce and grilled onions to mine.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich - This was just a grilled chicken breast on a roll. Once again it was all in the topping bar as to how wild or mild you made it.
Turkey Bacon Wrap - Once again my DFi didn't care for this. It was once again because it wasn't whole sliced turkey breast. I tried it and found nothing wrong with it.
Pasta Salad - The pasta salad that was included was somewhat bold in flavor. It wasn't a mayonnaise based pasta salad but a vinegar and oil based pasta salad. It had diced onions, peppers and tomatoes in it. It was OK. I believe it was pre-made somewhere else and they just scooped it into the cups. The cups were quite small, maybe only around 5 oz.
Triple Chocolate Cake - This dessert was individually packaged and it was really good. It was what it said, triple chocolate. It had chocolate cake with a chocolate cream center with chocolate icing on it.
Carrot Cake - I ate half of my mothers carrot cake and it was also quite good. Once again it was a pre-packaged individule dessert.
No Sugar Added Brownie - Just two words for you: "NO SUGAR".
Food B
Value B-
Dinner at Concourse Steakhouse
We had an ADR for 5:30 PM. We showed up at 5:20 PM and were seated at 5:35 PM.
Our servers name was Agueda. When I told her we were only using 4 TS credits and we would pay for my sister's meal OOP she did inform us we could use 5 TS credits for dinner if we wanted to. She also let us know we could order any non-alcholic specialty drinks or a smoothie on the meal plan. They also had Evian bottled water that you could get on the dining plan as a beverage. I asked if we could add the skewer of shrimp to our entree on the dining plan and she informed us we couldn't do this but we could get the skewer of shrimp instead of an appetizer.
Me - The Classic Smoothie / Honey Sesame Chicken Wings / 14 oz. Chipolte Glazed Rib Eye / Chocolate Pudding Cake
DFi - Evian Bottled Water / Shellfish Bisque / 7 oz. Filet Mignon / Chocolate Pudding Cake
My Mom - Coffee / Pan Seared Scallops / 14 oz. Chipolte Glazed Rib Eye / Carrot Cake
DFi's Mom - Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri / Skewer of Garlic Butter Roasted Shrimp / 7 oz. Filet Mignon / Creme Brule
Sister - The Classic Smoothie / No Appetizer (She Shared) / Roasted Half Chicken / No Dessert (She Shared)
Even though nobody hated dinner here, everyone thought this was our worst TS meal of the trip. It wasn't terrible but we had excellent service and excellent meals everywhere else we went.
The resturant was also quite boring. It was mainly just tables for one to eat at. There was nothing to look at and everything was either brown or white. This resturant had no themeing to it like other Disney resturants do.
The smoothies were really tasty and DFi's mother said the daiquiri was good. My DFi liked the fact she could get a brand of bottled water that was not Dasini. My mother said the cofee was also good.
Appetizers
Honey Sesame Chicken Wings - I received about 8 wings just like I did at the Kona Cafe. I also received a small pile of greens like I did at the Kona Cafe. The wings were great and were somewhat like the wings from the Kona Cafe but not as smoky and a bit sweeter. I did notice that the wings here were $1.50 more than the ones at the Kona Cafe.
Shellfish Bisque - DFi did not care for this too much. I took a couple of tastes of it and it wasn't bad but it tasted like a creamy tomato soup. I could hardly taste any seafood in it and I also noticed there were no pieces of seafood in it. When I asked my DFi about it she said she ate all 3 pieces of seafood already. My DFi said it didn't even come close to the Kona Chowder at the Kona Cafe. Once again I noticed this was $1.50 more than the Kona Chowder.
Pan Seared Scallops - I was given one of these to try from my mom's plate. This was also good but there was nothing special about it. The flavoring of the scallop was mild. I believe it was too mild because I have no idea what the flavoring was.
Skewer of Garlic Butter Roasted Shrimp - My DFi's mother asked for this to be brought out with the appetizers instead of with her dinner. When the appetizers arrived there was no shrimp. She then remined our server and it was brought about 5 minutes later. I believe there were 6 medium shrimp on the skewer and my DFi's mother said that they were OK but tasted like grilled shrimp dipped in garlic butter. Once again good, but nothing special.
Entrees
14 oz. Chipolte Glazed Rib Eye - The steak was the best thing of the meal. I ordered mine medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. The glaze that was on the steak looked just like BBQ sauce and it was really good. It had a smoky mildly spicy flavor. The steak was also very tender. I really didn't even need the steak knife. My mother also enjoyed the steak. Later that evening her stomach was a little bit upset because of the spicyness of the steak. In my opinion the steak wasn't too spicy but more like the spiciness of a mild chicken wing. The onion rings that came with the steak were also good. Not as thickly coated as the 50's Prime Time Cafe but still very good.
7 oz. Filet Mignon - Both my DFi and her mother ordered their steaks well done and both of their steaks came out medium well. My DFi kept hers but her mother sent hers back to finish being cooked. It came back about 10 minutes later cooked correctly. My DFi didn't finish her steak so I went ahead and tried it. Even though the steak was cooked medium well it was still tender and the gorgonzola butter sauce they put on top of the steak was awsome. I did not try any of her mashed potatoes but since they were gone I figure she like them.
Roasted Half Chicken - My sister also couldn't finish her chicken so I went ahead and tried this also. The chicken was really moist and also very flavorful. The potatoes that came with the chicken were small potatoes that were quartered and pan fried in oil/butter with rosemary.
Desserts
Chocolate Pudding Cake - This cake was OK. It reminded me of the chocolate cake from Cosmic Ray's.
Carrot Cake - This tasted just like the same carrot cake that was served at Chef Mickey's. It was also good but nothing special.
Creme Brule - My DFi's mother said that this was almost as good as the creme brule she ate at Spoodles but not quite. It was served with fresh mixed berries here.
As you can see from most of my comments our overall thoughts of the Concourse Steakhouse was it was OK but nothing special. I would compare it to the steakhouse chain we have in our hometown (I think it is called the Texas Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse ar Texas something). Service was also a bit lacking. We had to ask for refills on our water glasses the whole meal. When we asked, the glasses were refilled but in my opinion a great server doesn't need to be asked for refills, they bring them to you automatically. It also took forever to get our bill after we were done with dinner. It took 13 minutes after we asked for our bill until we finally received it. (I do know the time because we were trying to get to MVMCP after dinner and we wanted to leave to get there.) This is the only place all week long we didn't add any additional tip to the 15% already included. We didn't receive terrible service but we aslo didn't receive great service.
Service B-
Food B-
Presentation C+
Atmosphere C-
Value B-
Friday
Breakfast from Gasperilla Grill & Games
While all of the women were getting ready this morning I walked over to Gasperilla Grill & Games. It looked like this was what everybody else was doing because it was me and aroud 6 other men getting and leaving with multiple breakfastes.
Me - Grand Breakfast Platter / Orange Juice
DFi - Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant / Orange Juice
My Mom - Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant / Coffee
DFi's Mom - Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant / Apple Juice
Sister - Grand Breakfast Platter / Apple Juice
I did ask when I arrived what type of dessert I could get with a CS credit for breakfast and the cast member was nice and told me you could no longer get a dessert when you used a CS credit for breakfast. (I Tried)
Grand Breakfast Platter - This consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown circles and a biscuit. It was actually quite good and it was also filling. You got a lot of food for the price of the platter. This could easly be split between two people who don't eat a lot for breakfast. I didn't finish mine and my sister only ate about half of hers.
Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant - My DFi said the croissant was very fresh and everything tasted like it was freshly made on the sandwich. The sandwich was also large. It looked like it was about 2 to 2 1/2 times larger than a Burger King Croissant sandwich.
Food A
Value A
Me and DFi's Mom went to the Magic Kingdom for the Keys To The Kingdom Tour.
DFi, My Mom and Sister went to the Grand Floridian Spa for the morning.
Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
Lunch was included in the Keys To The Kingdom Tour. We did not have to use any CS credits.
Me - Fried Chicken Strips w/ French Fries
DFi's Mom - Starboard Deck Sandwich
They took our lunch order when we checked in for the tour in the morning. When we arrived at the Columbia Harbor House we were taken upstairs to a roped off area and our meals and drinks were already set up at the tables. This was a nice thing that was done. Everything was still warm so it wasn't sitting around either.
Chicken Strips - The chicken strips were just a standard chicken strip. They reminded me of the new priemum breast stips from McDonalds. The french fries reminded me of the ones from Hardees. They had a topping bar at the Columbia Harbor House but it was not as extensive as the one at Cosmic Ray's. It had BBQ sauce for my chicken strips and ketchup and mayonnaise for my french fries so I was happy.
Starboard Deck Sandwich - DFi's Mom said this sandwich was good. She said it was interesting also. The sandwich consisted of ham and cheese with tomatoes and broccoli slaw. She had ordered her sandwich with the broccoli slaw on the side but when she tasted it she liked it and then proceded to put it onto her sandwich. She received a small bag of regular potato chips with her lunch.
Food B
Value B
Lunch at Gasperilla Grill & Games
There wer only two CS credits left so only two lunches were purchased.
DFi - Chicken Strips w/ Fries / Chocolate Chip Cookie
My Mom -
Sister - Chicken Strips w/ Fries / Tollhouse Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
The three of them split the two lunches.
My sister thought the same thing about the chciken stips as I did because when I asked her how she liked them she said they reminded her of the ones from McDonalds. I was told the fries were just OK.
Food B-
Value B
Dinner at Narcoossee's
Our ADR was for when they first opened at 5:30 PM. My DFi and I went to pick up a rental car from Alamo after I returned from the KTTKT. We didn't get back to the room until 5:00 PM and we still needed to get ready! The rest of our party walked over to Narcoossee's (Right next door since we were in Conch Key at the GF) and checked in. We arrived at the resturant at 5:40 PM and they were already seated. We were seated at the first table on the right as you enter the seating area. I was able to watch the kitchen prepare the food here also.
Narcoossee's actually had root beer! I believe this is the only resturant that actually had root beer to offer. Me, my sister and our mother all got root beer to drink while my DFi and her mother got lemonade.
Our servers name was Debby. She was extremely pleasant and very efficient (at times a bit too efficient). At the beginning of our meal she seemed to be hovering around our table. I believe this was because we were there when they just opened and she did not have any other tables to wait on. Everytime someone emptied something or finished something she was there to remove it from the table instantly. Some people might like this but I did find this a bit annoying. After the resturant became a little buisier it wasn't a problem anymore.
A loaf of fresh baked bread was brought to our table with the drinks. Debby explained to us what kind of bread it was (Like I can remember) and also brought out special butter. The butter had red colored coarse salt crystals in it. There was also something special about the salt but I can't remember what that was either. The bread was warm and very good! It tasted like a multigrain sourdough bread.
While we were eating the bread and waiting for our appetizers a "Gift From the Chef" came out. A sampling of a new dish the chef was working on was delivered to our table. A small ramekin was given to each person at our table. It was about the size of the container that melted butter comes in when one gets seafood. The ramekin contained mashed sweet potatoes at the bottom, a cranberry chutney on top of that and puff pastry on top of the ramekin that sealed it. It was interesting and extremely good. The sweetness of the sweet potato and the bitterness of the cranberry went well together.
Me - Duxbury Muscles / Whole Main Lobster / Narcoossee's Expedition Everest
DFi - Shrimp Cocktail / Surf N Turf / Narcoossee's Expedition Everest
My Mom - Narcoossee's Chowder / Surf N Turf / Tripple Berry Sorbet
DFi's Mom - Shrimp Cocktail / Surf N Turf / Almond Cheesecake
Sister - Roasted Butternut Squash Soup / Pan-Seared Scallops / Almond Cheesecake
Appetizers
Duxbury Muscles - This was the best thing I ate on vacation! It might even be the best thing I have eaten in my whole life. The muscles were great but what was even better was the broth / sauce that the muscles were served in. It was listed that they were served in a white wine, garlic and parmesan cheese sauce. I would really like to know what exactly was in the sauce because it had so much debth I cannot believe that it only contained three ingredients. I asked for more bread while eating the muscles so I could soak up every last drop of the sauce. These were so good I was seriously considering ordering another serving of these after dinner instead of a dessert!
Shrimp Cocktail - I was enjoying my muscles so much I didn't even ask my DFi or her mother how they were. I do remember what the plate looked like when it was dropped off at the table. They were jumbo shrimp that were displayed in the center of the plate with the dipping sauces around the shrimp in puddles. There were two dipping sauces, a regular cocktail sauce and a grainy mustard sauce. They both finished everything on their plate so they must have been good.
Narcoossee's Chowder - My mother enjoyed the soup. She said it reminded her of a mix of both New England clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder but with more seafood in it.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - I was given a taste of this soup and it was also incredible. It was very smooth and the squash flavor was quite pleasant. The presentation of this soup was also a nice added touch. The butternut soup was a yellow/orange color and it had a white cream sauce swirled into it.
Entrees
Whole Main Lobster - This was a lot of lobster meat. It was on the menu as a 2 1/2 pound lobster. The lobster was actually dressed before it was delivered to the table. The tail meat was served fluffed on the shell. The two claws were cracked completely and the meat was left in them. The mid section of the lobster wasn't even served and the head was cleaned out and plated as part of the presentation. The taste of the lobster meat was excellent but it wasn't too warm. I think they dressed it too early and while the rest of the meals were getting ready it became a little cold. The roasted asparagus served with the lobster was cooked to perfection. It was cooked just enough where it didn't have any raw taste left but it was still crisp.
Surf N Turf - This was the only place all week long that actually got the steaks right for My DFi and her mom. My Dfi also said it was very tender for being cooked well done. My mother was actually cutting her steak with her fork. She ordered her's medium. The steaks also had a Bearnaise sauce on them. The lobster tail looked like it came off of a 1 1/2 pound lobster. It was also served fluffed on the shell with drawn butter. My DFi also enjoyed the potatoes that came with the entree. She described them as the best scalloped potatoes she ever had.
Pan-Seared Scallops - These were jumbo scallops. There were six served on the plate around a beet and rice mixture. My sister said the scallops were excellent. She said they were tender and did not have any chewieness to them. She said the sauce that was served with them was quite stong but it was served on the plate between the scallops so she could decide on how much to use. I did try the beet and rice mixture and it wasn't my cup of tea. On the other hand my sister and mother loved it.
Desserts
Narcoossee's Expedition Everest - I had read on the DIS that some people found this dessert dry. Those people were correct. It wasn't as bad as my piece of cake from Disney Studios but it could have been moister. Now the taste of the cake was great and the presentation was one of the best for a dessert. It was a chocolate and hazelnut cake that had a raspberry filling in it and chocolate and raspberry sauces drizzled over it. The cake itself was cut into three triangles and it was stood up on its end to look like a mountian range. It was served with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries.
Berry Sorbet - My mother chose this for dessert because she was full and wanted something light. I was also able to try this and it was good. The texture was awsome. It was smooth but it had just the right amount of crystalness to it (I know it's not a word but I don't know how else to describe it). The flavor was also incredible. I believe it was strawberry, rasperry and blueberry flavored because these are the berries that were served with the sorbet.
Almond Cheesecake - DFi's mother and my sister liked the cheesecake. They both said it was quite rich but at the same time somewhat fluffy. It was crusted with almonds and had a cherry sauce drizzled over the plate.
A 15% grautity was added to our bill (which was $52.01). I left another $8.00 dollars to bring the total tip to $60.01.
Service B+
Food A-
Presentation A-
Atmosphere B+
Value B
Saturday
Today we checked out and went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast. I couldn't work the AKL into our touring plans during the week and we all wanted to see the resort decorated for Christmas and also revisit the resort because we stayed there in 2003. I made an ADR at Boma for breakfast. When we were done with breakfast we just left from the AKL and went to my sister's house in Sanford.
Breakfast at Boma
Our ADR was for 10:00 AM. We arrived at 10:05 AM and were seated at 10:30 AM. Boma was extremely busy this morning. Many people were being turned away because they did not have an ADR.
We paid OOP for this meal because we were all out of TS credits.
While we were waiting for a table I walked over to Mara and used our final 11 SC we had left. I got 2 sodas, 2 lemonades and 7 bags of assorted chips to take to my sister's house. I had no problem using credits even though we had already checked out. The cast member at the checkout guessed what I was doing because she said, "Using up all of your snack credits." I informed her that was correct. She gave me a paper grocery bag with handles for me to put everything in.
The buffet is just as it was in October of 2003. It was great. I love the varity of foods one can get here. I also consider this a great bargain. For $15.99 you get Orange Juice or Frunch Juice and a very extensive buffet to eat off of where all of the food is awsome.
The Frunch Juice is great. It's a blend of orange juice, lemonade, pineapple juice and a couple of other tropical juices I cant remember.
When I informed my mother that this was one place we were going to eat at she hoped it was for breakfast because she loves omelets. They have a station where custom omletes are made with whatever ingredients you like. My mother also got the pressed pot of Kenyan Coffee. This wasn't included in the buffet price but my mother likes coffee and I had read on the DIS that this was the best coffee at WDW. My mother agreed that this was the best coffee she had at WDW.
My sister had never been here before and she also loved the breakfast buffet. She was amazed at all of the diffrent kinds of pastries one could get. All of the pastries I tried were incredible.
There is one dish I greatly enjoyed back in 2003 and was happy to see that they still had it. It is called Bobotie. It is a casserole of sorts with corned beef, eggs, potatoes, onions & cream. I got a scoopp of this on every trip to the buffet. I also enjoyed the Pap. This is a white corn meal porridge. It looks like Cream Of Wheat but has a corn taste to it instead of wheat. The only thing that I somewhat had a problem with was the roasted pork loin. The first time I got two pieces of it and it was very dry. When I went back up to the carving station to get some ham the carver remembered me and asked how I liked the pork loin. I told her it was pretty dry. She then proceeded to tell me to wait right there "sweetie" and she got a fresh pork loin from the rotisserie. This cut of pork was much much better. I thanked her for this.
My DFi did not like the fact that they had french toast with raisins in it. She does not
12-10-05
Lunch Gasparilla Grill & Games 4 CS $49.81
Dinner Kona Cafe 4 TS $185.83
Snacks Frontierland Popcorn 2 SC $5.50
12-11-05
Lunch Yorkshire Country Fish Shop 4 CS $45.01
Snacks Various around Epcot 5 SC $11.53
Dinner Teppanyaki CP Dinner Package
12-12-05
Lunch Flame Tree Barbecue 4 CS $53.42
Snacks Dino Ice Cream (AK) 3 SC $8.00
Dinner Chef Mickey's 4 TS $144.12
12-13-05
Breakfast Whispering Canyon Cafe Out Of Pocket
Dinner Spoodles 4 TS $203.18
12-14-05
Lunch 50's Prime Time Cafe 2 TS $69.16
Snacks Various around MGM 5 SC $11.00
Dinner Catalina Eddies 3 CS $42.40
Dinner Rosies All American Cafe 1 CS $11.78
12-15-05
Lunch Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe 5 CS $59.45
Dinner Concourse Steakhouse 4 TS $198.79
Snacks Casey's Corner 2 SC $4.00
12-16-05
Breakfast Gasperilla Grill & Games 5 CS $39.77
Lunch Gasperilla Grill & Games 2 CS $24.41
Lunch Columbia Harbor House Included in KTTKT
Dinner Narcossee's 10 TS $421.31
10-17-05
Breakfast Boma Out Of Pocket
Snacks The Mara 11 SC $23.00
All totals include Tax and Tip.
Tips for Table Service were either 15% or 18%.
Total money spent on dining plan
($35.00 per person * 4 adults * 7 nights) + 6.5% tax = $1043.70
Total value of all food on Dining Plan
TS $1222.39
CS $326.05
SC $63.03
Grand Total $1611.47
Savings of 35%
Befort the reviews here is who I dined with:
Me - I'll eat about anything and I love to try new things.
DFi - Doesn't care for red meat. Is not too adventurous.
My Mom - likes about everything. Cannot eat spicy food.
DFi's Mom - Will try more things than her daughter. Likes all her meat cooked well done.
Sister - Doesn't eat red meat. Will try about anything.
My sister joined us for dinner Saturday night when we arrived and then Lunch Thursday thru Breakfast Saturday when we left.
Saturday
Arrival Day
Lunch at Gasperilla Grill & Games
Me - Italian Meat Sandwich
DFi - Chicken Wrap
My Mom - Shrimp Caeser Salad
DFi's Mom - Beeef & Blue Sandwich
All Items were made to order at the sandwich side of GG&G
The Itilian Meat Sndwich was very good. All of the meats tasted fresh. The bread also was very fresh. It came with a side of coleslaw which had just the right amount of sweetness to it.
DFi did not care too much for the Chicken Wrap. She said the chicken didn't taste like it was all white meat. I tasted it and I think she was right. I thought it tasted good though and ate about half of the wrap. She also got coleslaw.
My mother said the Shrimp Caeser Salad was good. The only thing I noticed (Which is because of my DFi) was that the shrimp were petite shrimp and they were not de-veined. This did not bother my Mom.
DFi's Mom said that the Beef & Blue sandwich was incrediable. It was a warm roast beef sandwich with grilled onions and blue cheese (Not Dressing). She also got coleslaw with this.
Everyone either got Toll House Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches or Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars.
Food B+
Value B+
Dinner at Kona Cafe
Our ADR was for 5:30 PM. We had some problems with bell services at the Grand Floridian and we did not get our bags until 5:30 PM. We arrived to dinner 20 minutes late and did not have any problems being seated right away. When we arrived the resturant was almost empty. By the time we were done with dinner the place had filled up.
Our Servers name was Mauricio and we had great service all night long. He did tell us that we could use a TS credit for my sister even though she wasn't on the plan but we did not because we needed it later in the week. He did put the most expensive items on the dining plan and also put my sister's drink on the plan since my DFi ordered a glass of water. Nobody ordered an non-alcoholic specility drinks here and I forgot to ask if you could on the plan. I also drink alot when I eat and neither my water glass or soda glass were ever empty.
15% gratuity was automatically added into the bill for my sister's entree since 15% was added onto our bill on the dining plan. I added more money to both to bring the tip up to 20% because of the great service.
Me - Sticky Wings / Beef Teriyaki / Passion Fruit Orange Guava Mousse
DFi - Kona Chowder / Shrimp & Scallops / Kiddie Kone
My Mom - Crab Cakes / Asian Prim Rib / Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart
DFi's Mom - Kona Salad / Char Crusted Fillet Mignon / White Chocolate Cheesecake
Sister - Shrimp & Scallops (Paid OOP)(She shared our appetizers and desserts)
Appetizers
Sticky Wings - Were Good. I think I got 8 wing pieces. They tasted smoky and the mustard drizzle was good. I normally don't care for mustard too much but with the wings I liked it. A small pile of greens with dressing came with the wings.
Kona Chowder - DFi said the Chowder was very good. She said it had a very mild taste. She doesn't care for strong tasting food.
Crab Cakes - There were three small crab cakes on the plate along with some greens with dressing. I was given a crab cake and it was incredible. Hardly any bread crumbs in it. They had quite an Asian flare to them. The presentation for this appetizer was great.
Kona Salad - I herd no complaints and my DFi's Mom finished it off so I had to assum it was good.
Entrees
Beef Teriyaki - I ordered it medium rare and it came out cooked to perfection. The pinapple teriyaki sauce was diffrent and it added something to the steak I wasn't expecting. Don't get me wrong, the steak was very good but it might have been better without the teriyaki sauce. The mashed Yukon Gold potatoes were the best thing on my plate. They were home style with small potato chunks in them. The broccoli that came with the entree tasted like it was just lightly steamed. Good but nothing special.
Shrimp & Scallops - I have to assume the shrimp on their plates was incredible because neither my DFi or Sister would offer anyone a taste of it. I did get a taste of the scallops with the wassabi cream sauce and it was good. The sauce was quite spicy but not too spicy to eat. The sticky rice was also good and contained sesame seeds wich gave it a nutty flavor. There was also something that looked like bean sprouts on top of the rice but I don't believe it was. They were crunchy and also tasted like they were pickled.
Aisian Prime Rib - My mother said the prime rib was good. She said it was very tender. She was cutting it with her fork. She also liked the mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.
Char Crusted Filet Mignon - My DFi's Mother ordered the fillet well done (WHAT A CRIME) and it came out medium well. She sent it back and about 5 minutes later it came back and was cooked well done. I asked her how it tasted and she said OK. It looked a bit dry but I think thats what one gets when they order a steak well done. She did say the mushroom sauce was very good. She also greatly enjoyed the mashed Yukon Gold potatoes.
Desserts
All desserts were incredible. There was a counter at the front of the resturant that had all of the desserts they offered displayed. I was able to sample everyone's dessert because everyone was full.
Passion Fruit Orange Guava Mousse - This was very light and refreshing after a heavy dinner of meat and potatoes. This was the Kona Cafe's 50th anniversary dessert.
Kiddie Kone - It was just your average ice cream sunday served in a waffle cone but the presentation was incredible. I think the whole time we were eating dessert the children at the table next to us kept asking their parents if they could get one for dessert.
Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart - If you like chocolate (and I do) this dessert is awesome. It was quite rich though and after a heavy meal it wasn't too refreshing. I think this dessert would have be great after a lighter dinner.
White Chocolate Cheesecake - I usually don't like cheesecake because it is usually too rich for me but this cheesecake was light. It also wasn't too overpowering like cheesecake can be sometimes.
Service A+
Food A
Presentation B+
Atmosphere B- (It did get somewhat loud when the resturant filled up and also the resturant's front is open into the Polynesian's 2nd floor)
Value B
My hands are sore from too much typing. I'll be back.......
Sunday
Breakfast was in our room. We brought food like milk and cereal bars, muffin bars, granola bars, etc. We also had a refridgerator in our room with thing like Propel, Mountian Dew, coffee creamer, etc. in it.
Went to Epcot
Lunch at Yorkshire Country Fish Shop (UK)
We were walking by the UK and it started to sprinkle. We decided to sit underneath the umbrellas at the outside Tables right next to the fish shop to stay dry and to eat lunch.
All - Fish and Chips
Fish and Chips - There were two large pieces of fish and a good portion of fries. The fish was good and it wasn't too greasy. I grew up in Western NY so the best tasting fish in the world to me is Haddock (Very Mild White Fish). I'm not shure what type of fish was served here but I believe it tasted like Cod. It had a very small fishy taste to it but nothing bad.
The only two desserts you could chose from here were a bag of potatoe chips or a small package of shortbread sticks. No one chose the potatoe chips because we all had fries. We all got the shortbread sticks and they were somewhat dry.
Food B
Value C (Lack of Good Desserts)
Dinner at Teppanyaki (CP dinner package that I paid for)
Looking back at my decision to pay for the CP dinner package, I should have used 4 TS credits for this and paid OOP for 4 other meals. The CP dinner package price for Teppanyaki was a bit high for what you got. It would have been a better deal to use TS credits.
Our ADR was for 5:45 PM. We showed up and checked in at 5:35 PM and were seated right at 5:45 PM
Our server was very good and friendly. I'm sorry I can't remember her name. We did not get a receipt here. She was also very efficient. No one's drinks ever got empty and all empty dishes and glasses were removed in a timely manner.
At the start she asked if anyone was on the dining plan or had a CP dinner package booked. She then explained everything we were able to get. I know I have read that some DISers were treated rude here but we were treated with nothing but respect.
Our Chef was fun but it appeared that the table next ot us had a chef that was more skilled. I believe our chef was quite new.
At our table we sat with a couple from Texas and their two young children (5 and 2). They sat the children at the end of the grill because they said it was cooler there. The children behaved beautifully during the whole dinner. You could tell that they were good parents by the way their children acted.
The only drinks available for the CP dinner package were Soda or Milk.
There were only 3 appetizers we could chose from.
Edamame - young soybean pods
Garden Salad - mixed greens with ginger dressing
Misoshiru Soup - soybean soup with tofu and seaweed (It was very good, this is what I had)
There were only 2 things to choose from for dessert.
Ice Cream - Chocolate, Vanilla, Green Tea, Ginger or Orange Sherbet
Chestnut Cake
Me - Misoshiru Soup / Fujiyama (Steak and Shrimp) / Orange Sherbet
DFi - Garden Salad / Seto (Shrimp and Scallops) / Vanilla Ice Cream
My Mom - Garden Salad / Musashi (Steak and Scallops) / Vanilla Ice Cream
DFI's Mom - Garden Salad / Fujiyama (Steak And Shrimp) / Chocolate Ice Cream
Our appetizers arrived about 5 minutes after our server took our order and the chef arrived right after our appetizers were delivered. Also a very small plate of seaweed was brought out to the table for each guest. It only was about two bites but it was good. I don't remember when this was brought out.
When the chef first came out he pulled out all of the ingredients and told us what they all were. He also went around the table to verify everyone's order. When he go to me he smiled and said "Steak Rare?" and then went ahead and was going to give me my steak right off of the platter. I smiled back at him and asked if he could cook it a little bit and he said "OK!'. He then poured two dipping sauces for everyone. One sauce seamed like it was a blend of Soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce and the other sauce had a hint of mustard in it.
The first thing he cooked were some corn, peas and carrots for the kids meals. Next he cut up and cooked up the vegetables (Mushrooms, Zucchini and Onions)and Udon noodles. He did make the onion volcano and then also added sesame seeds to the vegtables while making "sesame street" on the grill with some more sesame seeds. He then moved all of the vegatables to our plates which were warm because they were sitting on the edge of the grill.
He next started cooking the chicken breast that was for the kids meal and put it at the end of "sesame street" and called it Big Bird. The other meats now started to go onto the grill. He cooked the meats so that everyone's meat would be done at the same time. After the chicken he put my DFi's mother's steak on the grill (Well Done). Next he showed off his knife skills with the shrimp and then put the shrimp, scallops and my mothers steak on the grill (Medium). The other couples steak also went onto the grill at this time because they also ordered it medium. Lastely he put my steak on the grill. He kept all meats away from each other so if you didn't like the taste of steak you would not taste it on you shrimp.
After everything was cooked and plated the chef cleaned the grill and said goodbye.
As we were finishing up our meals our server brought out complimentary green tea for everyone.
Desserts came out when everyone in you party was finished with their meals. The couple and their children next to us received their desserts before us because the were done eating before we were.
Everyone in our party finished our meals and I heard no complaints. The meal it self was quite plain but when you added the sauses yourself it gave some great flavor. It was plenty of food and nobody was hungary after dinner. I think the only complaint I would have would be the lack of choice for the appetizers and desserts.
Service A
Food B
Presentation B
Atmosphere B
Value C (I should have used 4 TS credits for this and then the Value grade would have been higher)
Monday
Breakfast was in our room.
Went to Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue
Me - Ribs with Beans & Corn
DFi - Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich
My Mom - Smoked 1/2 Chicken with Beans & Corn
DFi's Mom - Smoked Pork Sandwich with Beans & Corn
The ribs were actually quite tasty. They looked dry when I got them but once I tasted them they were quite moist. They had two diffrent kinds of BBQ sauce available. One sauce was regular and one sauce was spicy. I enjoyed the spiceness of the spicy sauce. The beans were OK. They tasted like they were from a can but they still had a good flavor to them. The corn on the cob was a bit over cooked. It was somewhat mushy.
I did try my mothers chicken and it was very moist and flavoriful. It did taste like it was slow smoked.
My DFi's mother said the pork sandwich was good also.
My DFi did not care for the Turkey Breast Sandwich. She did not like that the turkey breast was not whole slice turkey breast. It was like the pressed turkey roll you get in your deli. I tried it and found that it tasted alright. The roll was kind of dry though. I think my DFi would have enjoyed this sandwich but she was turned off by the fact that it was not whole turkey breast.
Everyone either got the Key Lime Pie or the Chocolate Cake for dessert. I tried them both and for being pre-made desserts they were pretty tasty. Both the pie and the cake were moist and flavorful.
One word of warning though, where we sat we were pestered by ducks the whole time we ate. We could not get them away from our table. I spent most of the time as we were sitting there shooing away the ducks. I noticed the table next to us actually feeding the ducks and I also noticed that the ducks at their table actually started pecking their legs as to get their attention and to get more food. It worked for the ducks because whenever they pecked at their legs, the family fed the ducks. This is why I informed everyone at our table not to feed the ducks.
Food B
Value B
Dinner at Chef Mickey's
Our ADR was for 6:30 PM and we arrived at 6:15 PM and were seated by 6:35 PM. The place was not too busy. There were some empty tables and not too many people waiting. The reason I believe we were seated 20 minutes after we arrived is because I believed I upset the greeter. She told us to go get our picture taken while we waited for our table (like they tell everyone) and I said "No Thank You". The greeter then said that everyone gets their picture taken and once again I said "No Thank You". After the second time I said no she seemed upset and said somewhat in a huff tone "We'll page you when we have a table ready for you, here's your pager." Oh well what can you do?
Our server was Todd J. He was a very good waiter. He was quite funny and very efficient. He was singing Christmas Carols all night long and was making up some lyrics of his own. While we were eating our desserts he asked for my card so he could ring us up so we could leave when we wanted. I thought this was the last time we were to see him but he came back two more times after he returned our check to see if anyone needed anything else. He also took pictures of our whole table with Mickey and Goofy when we asked him to.
An 18% gratuity was added to our bill here. This was the only resturant we went to that added 18%. All other resturants only added a 15% gratuity. I once again left extra to bring our tip up to 20%.
Here is an observation by me that I thought was a bit odd. When we dined here back in July 2004 our server was around mid 40's and male. Our server Todd was also in his mid to late 40's. I then looked around the resturant and it seemed that most of the servers at Chef Mickey's are men in their mid to late 40's. I'm not sure if anyone else has ever noticed this. It seemed a bit odd but thet was just my observation.
The characters that were there are as follows:
Donald Duck - He was in the lobby as we waited for our table. He was dressed in a chef's hat and red and white plaid apron.
Mickey Mouse - He appeared to be in a red French chef's outfit with a medal around his neck.
Minnie Mouse - She wore a red and white poka-dot dress with an apron.
Chip & Dale - Both were dressed in a simple apron with a chef's hat on.
Goofy - Full blown chef garb with a large floppy chef's hat.
We were at dinner for around 1 1/2 hours and all 5 characters came around for pictured at least once. We had Mickey and Dale stop by twice because they were the first two characters we saw.
We were all able to order either smoothies or non-alcholic specialty drinks with the dining plan.
The food is what it is. It's standard buffet food. I got a small salad and then just ate the parmesan mashed potatoes and prime rib and rolls. My DFi mainly ate off of the child's section of the buffet (Macaroni and Cheese, Pizza and Chicken Tenders). My mother and DFi's mother agreed that the prime rib was OK and the mashed potatoes were good. I did not ask if they liked or disliked anything else.
The dessert bar was very good. I do not know if they changed something or not but I don't remember it being that good in July of 2004.
Service A
Food B-
Presentation N/A
Atmosphere A
Value B-
Tuesday
The day of Disney Transportation
Took the Monorail from the GF to the MK. Then took the Boat from the MK to the WL. Next we took a Bus from the WL to DTD. After that we took a bus from DTD to the Beach Club. Then a diffrent Boat from the Beach Club to the Boardwalk. Then our third Bus from the Boardwalk to the MK and finally the Monorail from the MK to the GF.
Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe
We left the GF at 9:00 AM. Our ADR was for 10:00 AM and we arrived at 9:30 and checked in. We were seated at 9:40 AM.
We paid OOP for this meal.
My mother and my DFi's mother did not know anything about this resturant besides the name and what was on the menu. I told my DFi it was a bit like the 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was somewhat quiet when we arrived so it took a while for them to figure out what kind of breakfast we were to have.
Me - Orange Juice / Breakfast Skillet
DFi - Apple Juice / French Toast with Extra Crispy Bacon
My Mom - Coffee / Western Omelet
DFi's Mom - Tomatoe Juice / Breakfast Skillet
Our server's name was Senior Dusty Trails. He was very hard to understand because he had a thick accent. I don't know if this was on purpose or not. He first took our drink orders and when he brought them to the table he didn't give anyone the correct drink. When he left my mother commented that he was not too good of a waiter. He also did not leave any straws at the table and the next time he walked by the table my DFi asked for a straw and he grabbed a handful from his apron and tossed them into the middle of the table. At that point someone asked for ketchup and the place went nuts and that is when everyone at our table figured out what type of breakfast we were having.
I had also asked for water with lemon when he took our drink order. I quickly finished off the small mason jar that he brought out. He then brought out an 8 quart mason jar with water to the table with an extra long straw. When he delivered the 8 quart mason jar he said "I see you liked the pool water I brought to you earlier so I brought you out some more". I then remined him that I liked lemon in my water so he then brought out a whole UNCUT lemon and put it in my water.
When the food came out my DFi's bacon looked like it was cooked with a flame thrower. When my DFi was about to say something about it, Dusty said "You did ask for extra crispy bacon". He then told her to take whatever bacon out of the skillet she wanted becuse I didn't need any.
All of the food was great.
My DFi liked the French Toast and my mother said the Spanish Omlet was very good. Everything in the skillet was great except the scrambled eggs. I think they had been sitting in the kitchen for a while because they were somewhat dry. They were still edible but not as good as fresh scrambled eggs. Me and my DFi's mother finished off the first skillet and another one was brought to the table. As we were getting close to finishing off the second skillet Dusty and a few other servers came over to our table and started chanting "You can do it, You can do it, You can do it, etc". I informed them that this would be our las skillet and all of the servers sighed and one said to Dusty "I thought that you told me they could do it!" and then walked away.
As I stated before, I do drink alot when I eat. I actually finished off the 8 quart mason jar of water and when Dusty noticed this he asked me if I neede another. I told him no and then he came back to the table with a Mickey Mouse sticker with a piece of paper attached to it and he stuck it to my chest. What the piece of paper said was "Fastpass to any Bathroom Valid all day 12-20-05".
Service A
Food A-
Presentation N/A (It was Breakfast)
Atmosphere A
Value A-
Dinner at Spoodles
I had originally made our ADR for Spoodles for 6:30 PM. I wasn't quite sure how long our day would be and I didn't want to show up late for dinner. We arrived at the Boardwalk at 5:00 PM and I checked at Spoodles to see if we could get in earlier. There was no one sitting in the resturant. I think they had just opened. We were seated at 5:05 PM. We were seated at a table in front of the open kitchen. I could see everything going on in the kitchen.
Just to let everyone in advanced that this was everyone's favorite place to eat the whole trip and also where we received our best service.
Our servers name was Tuan. He was Asian and his English was not the best but his service made up for that and then some.
Me - Mediterranean Dips / Portuguese Seafood Stew / Chocolate Apricot Pistachio Cake
DFi - Garlic Shrimp / Fettuccini Alfredo with Scallops / White Chocolate Orange Cake
My Mom - Greek Salad / Portuguese Seafood Stew / Vanilla Bean Creme Brule
DFi's Mom - Garlic Shrimp / Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken / Vanilla Bean Creme Brule
Once again I didn't ask if any non-alcholic drinks were included on the dining plan. We all either got soda or coffee.
Before our appetizers came out, bread was delivered to the table. Along with the bread came a plate of extra virgin olive oil with diced up olives, spices and very small pieces of crispy bacon (I think). The bread and olive oil dip were incredible. We could have eaten more (and Tuan asked if we wanted more) but we didn't want to get too full before our meal.
Appetizers
Mediterranean Dips - All 4 dips were excellent. Each of them came out in their own individual small glass bowl. The 4 bowls with the dips were put into an arched metal holder (Think a rainbow). On the plate that also came out was toasted pita wedges and another small bowl with various olives in it. There were also slivered almonds mixed in with the olives.
The following is how I describe the dips:
Dip #1 - White in color, very mild, it tasted like plain yogurt with chives and garlic.
Dip #2 - Dark reddish and dark brown in color, quite spicy, I cannot explain the flavor but it was awsome.
Dip #3 - White in color, also a bit spicy, I thought it tasted like horseradish and some type of vein cheese(Blue, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, etc).
Dip #4 - Tan in color, very thick but smooth, had a hint of peanut flavor.
I ran out of toasted pit squares because I was sharing with everyone and our waiter brought me out more with no additional charge.
Garlic Shrimp - This dish was plated quite nicely. There were only three shrimp on the plate but they were extra jumbo shrimp (U-12s). Each shrimp was cut completely down the middle to the tail and each half of the shrimp was spread out from the other half. All of the tails were left on the shrimp and the tails were brought together into the center of the plate. There was a lemon garlic sauce drizzled onto the plate. The taste of the shrimp was excellent. The sauce and seasonings were not too strong to overpower the taste of the shrimp and the taste of the shrimp was not at all fishy.
Greek Salad - This dish was also plated quite nicely. All of the tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, olives and feta cheese were formed into a ring mold and then mixed greens were placed on top of the vegatable and cheese mixture after the mold was removed. The red wine vinaigrette was also just right. It was not too overpowering but it wasn't too plain and boring either. It had just the right amount of bite. All of the vegatables tasted very fresh and the feta cheese tasted like it was freshely crumbled.
Entrees
Portuguese Seafood Stew - My mother and I could not stop talking about this the rest of the vacation. We compared all other meals to this one and nothing came close. First off it was not really a stew. I would call it more of a very chunky soup. The soup was like thick seafood broth but with so much seafood and potatoes in it you could eat it with a fork. It was served with a long thin crouton that had cheese toasted onto it. The following seafood was in the stew - clams and muscles in the shell, whole shrimp and whole scallops, cut up calamari and lump crab meat. The potatoes in the stew were sliced fingerling potatoes. My mother and I asked for more bread during dinner so we could use it to soak up the broth left in the bowl after all of the seafood was gone.
Fettuccini Alfredo - Both my DFi and her mother liked the Fettuccini Alfredo. My DFi got hers with scallops and her mother got hers with chicken. There were 6 whole scallops served with my DFi's and it looked like a whole bonless grilled chicken breast cut into strips served with her mothers. My DFi did say that she wished her pasta was cooked a bit more but everyone else at the table believed it was cooked just right (al dente). The sauce was not too thick or to thin and was quite rich and creamy like a good Alfredo sauce should be.
Desserts
All desserts were incredible. I got to try the Creme Brule but I have to take my DFi's word about her dessert because she told us it was just way too good to share.
Chocolate Apricote Pistachio Cake - All of the flavors of this cake blended well together. I have never had cake like this before and I probable never will again. Totaly Awsome.
White Chocolate Orange Cake - The cake was an individual domed cake. It was decorated with candied orange peel and a chocolate triangle with a gold castle on it. This was Spoodles' Happiest Celebration On Earth Dessert.
Vanilla Bean Crem Brule - The Creme Brule was very smooth and you could actually see all of the vanilla bean in it. The sugar topping was toasted just right, dark enough to add a nice bold flavor but not burnt. I only was given two tastes of this because both my mother and DFi's mother also thought this dessert was too good to share. I had to bribe them each with a taste of my cake.
Service A+
Food A+
Presentation A+
Atmosphere A
Value A
Wednesday
Breakfast was in our room
Went to Disney - MGM Studios
Lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe
We only used two TS credits for this. I had asked Tuesday night at Narcoossee's if I could treat my sister to dinner Friday even though she wasn't on the dining plan and the manager at Narcoossee's told me I could use my dining credits however I wanted. He also smiled and said if I wanted to treat everyone in the resturant to dinner with my credits I could do this also. I smiled and told him I would pass on this.
When I made our ADR's I was told the the 50's Prime Time Cafe didn't open untill noon. When I picked up a times guide when we got to Disney Studios it showed thet they opened at 11:00 AM. We went to the 50's at 11:00 AM and checked to see if we could get in earlier and we were seated at 11:10 AM.
Our server was Cousin Christine. She was quite fun. Before we placed our order I informed her that we would be using only two TS credits for lunch and we would be paying cash for everything else. I started to explain what we wanted to use the TS credits for and she said not to worry about it, she would put the most expensive things onto the dining plan. I thanked her for this.
We were able to order non-alcholic specialty drinks on the plan.
Me - Chocolate Shake / Mom's Fried Herb Cheese / Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken / Dad's Brownie Sundae
DFi - Water w/Lemon / Traditional Fish Sandwich / Dad's Brownie Sundae
My Mom - Pink Lemonade / Beer-Battered Onion Rings / Traditional Fish Sandwich
DFi's Mom - Root Beer Float / Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Cousin Christine put the following things on the dining plan:
Drinks - Chocolate Shake & Root Beer Float
Appetizers - Mom's Fried Herb Cheese & Beer-Battered Onion Rings
Entrees - Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken & Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Desserts - 2 Dad's Brownie Sundaes
We paid OOP for:
Drinks - Pink Lemonade
Entrees - 2 Traditional Fish Sandwiches
A 15% gratuity was already added to our bill for the fish sandwiches and lemonade because this is what was added to the dining plan bill. We once again bumped up the tip for both the OOP costs and the dining plan to 20% because of the great service we received.
Appetizers
We all shared both appetizers.
Mom's Fried Herb Cheese - This was quite good. I thought we would of gotten more but we only received one piece of breaded fried cheese. The piece was about the size around of a soda can and was about 1 inch high. Cousin Christine told us it was Boursin cheese. The cheese was quite mild tasting and the herbs mixed in were subtle. The toasted french bread that came with it was a piece of bread sliced thin the long way which was toasted lightly so it was crunchy like a crouton. The only fruit that came with our cheese was three strawberries and a small bunch of grapes (mabye 12).
Beer-Battered Onion Rings - I thought these were better than the cheese. The beer-batter tasted fresh and was quite thick. The onion rings were a little greasy but to me that is the way onion rings should be. We did get quite a bit of onion rings (around a dozen). The horseradish sauce that was served with the onion rings was somewhat mild. It tasted like ketchup, mayonnaise and horseradish mixed together. It was nothing special but it tasted good.
Entrees
Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken - I really enjoyed the chicken. I received 4 pieces of chicken (a breast, a thigh, a leg and a wing). I ate all of the pieces except the breast. I let my DFi and my mom eat that so I could taste their fish sandwiches. The chicken didn't taste greasy at all and the coating was quite crispy but not as crispy as something like KFC extra crispy. All of the chicken I ate was very moist. The mashed potatoes and green beans I received were also good.
Traditional Fish Sandwich - I thought this was just alright. The fish tasted a little dry to me and the roll was a bit too crusty/grainy for me. Give me a soft fresh white bread roll any day over a crusty multi-grain roll. My Dfi and mother said they both really enjoyed the sandwich. The sandwiches came with french fries and a pickle. The french fries were just your standard thick cut fries but they were cooked correctly (crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside) and were not at all greasy. My mother didn't eat her pickle and when Cousin Christine came back with the desserts she informed my mother that if she wanted any dessert she would have to finish her pickle. When my mother told her she didn't like pickles, Cousin Christine told her she didn't either and to just hide her pickle under her napkin and Mom would never know. Cousin Christine said that is what she does.
Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich - My Dfi's mother told me the sandwich was good. It was quite large and probably could have been shared between two people that don't have great appetites. It also came with fries and a pickle.
Desserts
Dad's Brownie Sundae - Just to start off, this was HUGE. Our whole table probably could have split just one but we got two and stuffed ourselves. The sundae consisted of the following:
One large brownie in the center of an oval plate.
Three scoops of vanilla ice cream. One on top of the brownie and one to each side of the brownie.
Chocolate and carmel sauce poured over the ice cream.
A mountian of whipped cream over everything.
M&Ms and Cracker Jacks sprinkled onto the whipped cream.
One cherry on top in the middle of everything to finish it off.
The sundae was really good but it is hard to screw up an ice cream sundae. The other couple in the room with us couldn't believe how big this was and Cousin Christine told them if they were good and ate all of there vegatables they could have one. I put a big dent in one of them and my DFi, her mom and my mom finished off the other one.
My mother was instructed to set the table after our drink orders were taken and when the drinks arrived the table wasn't set yet. Cousin Christine informed my mother to go stand in the corner in the other room and she better do it or she would tell Dad and nobody wanted Dad to come out and lay down the law. My mother then went a stood in the corner and after about one minute Cousin Christine said she could sit back down.
My DFi was given a Little Mermaid bib that she was told to wear when the appetizers came out because she was wearing a white shirt and Cousin Christine said anyone wearing a white shirt at the kitchen table had to wear a bib.
When our entees arrived I was informed I had to finish off all my green beans before I could get dessert (No problem, I love green beans). I was also given a gold star for finishing off everything on my plate (and everything else on everyone's plates). The other thing Cousin Christine informe me was "No Tower For An Hour" after I finished my meal.
Besides these things it was quite calm. It was actually quite dead in the room we were sitting in. There was only one other couple in the room and they had a diffrent server. I believe we were Cousin Christine's only table. At the end of our meal Cousin Christine broke character because we pretty much insisted she did and she sat down with us and told us the ins and outs of Disney-MGM studios for about 10 minutes.
Service A-
Food B+
Presentation B-
Atmosphere A
Value B
Dinner At Catalina Eddie's and Rosie's All American Cafe
First off we ate here because this is where we ended up at 5:45 PM and we didn't want to walk anywhere else because Fantasmic started at 7:00 PM. I do have to admit that everything I read here on the DIS was right. The food here was terrible. It was edible but I will never be eating here again.
Me - Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza / Garden Salad / Chocolate Cake
DFi - Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza / Garden Salad / Apple Pie
My Mom - Vegetarian Cheeseburger w/Fries / Apple Pie
DFi's Mom - Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza / Garden Salad / Chocolate Cake
Pepperoni & Cheese Pizza - The crust was dry, there wasn't enough sauce, cheese or pepperoni and it was over cooked. The cheese did not have any stretch to it because it was almost burnt.
Garden Salad - Lettuce, Tomatoes and an Onion slice. The lettuce tasted old and was not crisp. The tomatoes were too soft and the onion was very strong. This was still better than the pizza.
Vegetarian Cheeseburger - My mother said that this was just OK. She did tell me it tasted like Boca Burger but it was very dry. The fries were cold and not crispy.
Both the Chocolate Cake and the Apple Pie were not too good either. The chocolate cake was dry. The chocolate frosting was OK and it helped the cake a bit but not enough to make it enjoyable. The apple pie was a single serve apple pie that was about 5" in diameter. This was also dry and the apples in the pie didn't taste too good either.
Food D
Value D
In Room Dining from the Grand Floridian
I had ordered a birthday cake for my mother and DFi's mother to be delivered to the room this night. They delivered it while we were at Disney-MGM Studios and also delivered 3 helium filled Birthday Balloons with the cake. I asked them to deliver it around 8:00 PM and I believe they did because when we got back to the room the at 8:40 PM the cake was still cold. They had the cake set up on the coffee table with a table cloth, real plates, metal forks, a carving knife, and cloth napkins. The balloons were set behind the couch.
When I ordered the cake on Sunday morning I informed them I wanted a cake shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. They asked me if I wanted chocolate or vanilla cake and I chose vanilla.
The cake was great. It had a Bavarian cream center to it. The cake was very moist. For Mickey's ears and the top of his head it had a poured chocolate icing and for the rest of his face it had vanilla icing piped onto the cake. On the front of the cake it had a scroll made from white chocolate with "Happy Birthday" in chocolate written onto it. The cake was about 12" in diameter and about 5" high. We had enough cake to eat the rest of the week.
Thursday
Breakfast was in our room
Spent the day at the Magic Kingdom and went to MVMCP this night.
Lunch at Cosmic Ray's
Right before we showed up for lunch a huge group of children on a field trip showed up with food vouchers. The children were in the lines for the chicken and the hamburgers. We all chose the line for the sandwiches. I was able to use 5 CS credits at once even though there were only 4 people on the dining plan.
Me - BBQ Pork Sandwich w/Pasta Salad / Triple Chocolate Cake
DFi - Turkey Bacon Wrap w/Pasta Salad / No Sugar Added Brownie
My Mom - Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/Pasta Salad / Carrot Cake
DFi's Mom - BBQ Pork Sandwich w/Potato Chips / Triple Chocolate Cake
Sister - Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/Pasta Salad / Carrot Cake
BBQ Pork Sandwich - This was just your average shredded pork sandwich. I made it more exciting over at the topping bar by adding cheese sauce and grilled onions to mine.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich - This was just a grilled chicken breast on a roll. Once again it was all in the topping bar as to how wild or mild you made it.
Turkey Bacon Wrap - Once again my DFi didn't care for this. It was once again because it wasn't whole sliced turkey breast. I tried it and found nothing wrong with it.
Pasta Salad - The pasta salad that was included was somewhat bold in flavor. It wasn't a mayonnaise based pasta salad but a vinegar and oil based pasta salad. It had diced onions, peppers and tomatoes in it. It was OK. I believe it was pre-made somewhere else and they just scooped it into the cups. The cups were quite small, maybe only around 5 oz.
Triple Chocolate Cake - This dessert was individually packaged and it was really good. It was what it said, triple chocolate. It had chocolate cake with a chocolate cream center with chocolate icing on it.
Carrot Cake - I ate half of my mothers carrot cake and it was also quite good. Once again it was a pre-packaged individule dessert.
No Sugar Added Brownie - Just two words for you: "NO SUGAR".
Food B
Value B-
Dinner at Concourse Steakhouse
We had an ADR for 5:30 PM. We showed up at 5:20 PM and were seated at 5:35 PM.
Our servers name was Agueda. When I told her we were only using 4 TS credits and we would pay for my sister's meal OOP she did inform us we could use 5 TS credits for dinner if we wanted to. She also let us know we could order any non-alcholic specialty drinks or a smoothie on the meal plan. They also had Evian bottled water that you could get on the dining plan as a beverage. I asked if we could add the skewer of shrimp to our entree on the dining plan and she informed us we couldn't do this but we could get the skewer of shrimp instead of an appetizer.
Me - The Classic Smoothie / Honey Sesame Chicken Wings / 14 oz. Chipolte Glazed Rib Eye / Chocolate Pudding Cake
DFi - Evian Bottled Water / Shellfish Bisque / 7 oz. Filet Mignon / Chocolate Pudding Cake
My Mom - Coffee / Pan Seared Scallops / 14 oz. Chipolte Glazed Rib Eye / Carrot Cake
DFi's Mom - Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri / Skewer of Garlic Butter Roasted Shrimp / 7 oz. Filet Mignon / Creme Brule
Sister - The Classic Smoothie / No Appetizer (She Shared) / Roasted Half Chicken / No Dessert (She Shared)
Even though nobody hated dinner here, everyone thought this was our worst TS meal of the trip. It wasn't terrible but we had excellent service and excellent meals everywhere else we went.
The resturant was also quite boring. It was mainly just tables for one to eat at. There was nothing to look at and everything was either brown or white. This resturant had no themeing to it like other Disney resturants do.
The smoothies were really tasty and DFi's mother said the daiquiri was good. My DFi liked the fact she could get a brand of bottled water that was not Dasini. My mother said the cofee was also good.
Appetizers
Honey Sesame Chicken Wings - I received about 8 wings just like I did at the Kona Cafe. I also received a small pile of greens like I did at the Kona Cafe. The wings were great and were somewhat like the wings from the Kona Cafe but not as smoky and a bit sweeter. I did notice that the wings here were $1.50 more than the ones at the Kona Cafe.
Shellfish Bisque - DFi did not care for this too much. I took a couple of tastes of it and it wasn't bad but it tasted like a creamy tomato soup. I could hardly taste any seafood in it and I also noticed there were no pieces of seafood in it. When I asked my DFi about it she said she ate all 3 pieces of seafood already. My DFi said it didn't even come close to the Kona Chowder at the Kona Cafe. Once again I noticed this was $1.50 more than the Kona Chowder.
Pan Seared Scallops - I was given one of these to try from my mom's plate. This was also good but there was nothing special about it. The flavoring of the scallop was mild. I believe it was too mild because I have no idea what the flavoring was.
Skewer of Garlic Butter Roasted Shrimp - My DFi's mother asked for this to be brought out with the appetizers instead of with her dinner. When the appetizers arrived there was no shrimp. She then remined our server and it was brought about 5 minutes later. I believe there were 6 medium shrimp on the skewer and my DFi's mother said that they were OK but tasted like grilled shrimp dipped in garlic butter. Once again good, but nothing special.
Entrees
14 oz. Chipolte Glazed Rib Eye - The steak was the best thing of the meal. I ordered mine medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. The glaze that was on the steak looked just like BBQ sauce and it was really good. It had a smoky mildly spicy flavor. The steak was also very tender. I really didn't even need the steak knife. My mother also enjoyed the steak. Later that evening her stomach was a little bit upset because of the spicyness of the steak. In my opinion the steak wasn't too spicy but more like the spiciness of a mild chicken wing. The onion rings that came with the steak were also good. Not as thickly coated as the 50's Prime Time Cafe but still very good.
7 oz. Filet Mignon - Both my DFi and her mother ordered their steaks well done and both of their steaks came out medium well. My DFi kept hers but her mother sent hers back to finish being cooked. It came back about 10 minutes later cooked correctly. My DFi didn't finish her steak so I went ahead and tried it. Even though the steak was cooked medium well it was still tender and the gorgonzola butter sauce they put on top of the steak was awsome. I did not try any of her mashed potatoes but since they were gone I figure she like them.
Roasted Half Chicken - My sister also couldn't finish her chicken so I went ahead and tried this also. The chicken was really moist and also very flavorful. The potatoes that came with the chicken were small potatoes that were quartered and pan fried in oil/butter with rosemary.
Desserts
Chocolate Pudding Cake - This cake was OK. It reminded me of the chocolate cake from Cosmic Ray's.
Carrot Cake - This tasted just like the same carrot cake that was served at Chef Mickey's. It was also good but nothing special.
Creme Brule - My DFi's mother said that this was almost as good as the creme brule she ate at Spoodles but not quite. It was served with fresh mixed berries here.
As you can see from most of my comments our overall thoughts of the Concourse Steakhouse was it was OK but nothing special. I would compare it to the steakhouse chain we have in our hometown (I think it is called the Texas Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse ar Texas something). Service was also a bit lacking. We had to ask for refills on our water glasses the whole meal. When we asked, the glasses were refilled but in my opinion a great server doesn't need to be asked for refills, they bring them to you automatically. It also took forever to get our bill after we were done with dinner. It took 13 minutes after we asked for our bill until we finally received it. (I do know the time because we were trying to get to MVMCP after dinner and we wanted to leave to get there.) This is the only place all week long we didn't add any additional tip to the 15% already included. We didn't receive terrible service but we aslo didn't receive great service.
Service B-
Food B-
Presentation C+
Atmosphere C-
Value B-
Friday
Breakfast from Gasperilla Grill & Games
While all of the women were getting ready this morning I walked over to Gasperilla Grill & Games. It looked like this was what everybody else was doing because it was me and aroud 6 other men getting and leaving with multiple breakfastes.
Me - Grand Breakfast Platter / Orange Juice
DFi - Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant / Orange Juice
My Mom - Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant / Coffee
DFi's Mom - Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant / Apple Juice
Sister - Grand Breakfast Platter / Apple Juice
I did ask when I arrived what type of dessert I could get with a CS credit for breakfast and the cast member was nice and told me you could no longer get a dessert when you used a CS credit for breakfast. (I Tried)
Grand Breakfast Platter - This consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown circles and a biscuit. It was actually quite good and it was also filling. You got a lot of food for the price of the platter. This could easly be split between two people who don't eat a lot for breakfast. I didn't finish mine and my sister only ate about half of hers.
Bacon Egg & Cheese Croissant - My DFi said the croissant was very fresh and everything tasted like it was freshly made on the sandwich. The sandwich was also large. It looked like it was about 2 to 2 1/2 times larger than a Burger King Croissant sandwich.
Food A
Value A
Me and DFi's Mom went to the Magic Kingdom for the Keys To The Kingdom Tour.
DFi, My Mom and Sister went to the Grand Floridian Spa for the morning.
Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
Lunch was included in the Keys To The Kingdom Tour. We did not have to use any CS credits.
Me - Fried Chicken Strips w/ French Fries
DFi's Mom - Starboard Deck Sandwich
They took our lunch order when we checked in for the tour in the morning. When we arrived at the Columbia Harbor House we were taken upstairs to a roped off area and our meals and drinks were already set up at the tables. This was a nice thing that was done. Everything was still warm so it wasn't sitting around either.
Chicken Strips - The chicken strips were just a standard chicken strip. They reminded me of the new priemum breast stips from McDonalds. The french fries reminded me of the ones from Hardees. They had a topping bar at the Columbia Harbor House but it was not as extensive as the one at Cosmic Ray's. It had BBQ sauce for my chicken strips and ketchup and mayonnaise for my french fries so I was happy.
Starboard Deck Sandwich - DFi's Mom said this sandwich was good. She said it was interesting also. The sandwich consisted of ham and cheese with tomatoes and broccoli slaw. She had ordered her sandwich with the broccoli slaw on the side but when she tasted it she liked it and then proceded to put it onto her sandwich. She received a small bag of regular potato chips with her lunch.
Food B
Value B
Lunch at Gasperilla Grill & Games
There wer only two CS credits left so only two lunches were purchased.
DFi - Chicken Strips w/ Fries / Chocolate Chip Cookie
My Mom -
Sister - Chicken Strips w/ Fries / Tollhouse Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
The three of them split the two lunches.
My sister thought the same thing about the chciken stips as I did because when I asked her how she liked them she said they reminded her of the ones from McDonalds. I was told the fries were just OK.
Food B-
Value B
Dinner at Narcoossee's
Our ADR was for when they first opened at 5:30 PM. My DFi and I went to pick up a rental car from Alamo after I returned from the KTTKT. We didn't get back to the room until 5:00 PM and we still needed to get ready! The rest of our party walked over to Narcoossee's (Right next door since we were in Conch Key at the GF) and checked in. We arrived at the resturant at 5:40 PM and they were already seated. We were seated at the first table on the right as you enter the seating area. I was able to watch the kitchen prepare the food here also.
Narcoossee's actually had root beer! I believe this is the only resturant that actually had root beer to offer. Me, my sister and our mother all got root beer to drink while my DFi and her mother got lemonade.
Our servers name was Debby. She was extremely pleasant and very efficient (at times a bit too efficient). At the beginning of our meal she seemed to be hovering around our table. I believe this was because we were there when they just opened and she did not have any other tables to wait on. Everytime someone emptied something or finished something she was there to remove it from the table instantly. Some people might like this but I did find this a bit annoying. After the resturant became a little buisier it wasn't a problem anymore.
A loaf of fresh baked bread was brought to our table with the drinks. Debby explained to us what kind of bread it was (Like I can remember) and also brought out special butter. The butter had red colored coarse salt crystals in it. There was also something special about the salt but I can't remember what that was either. The bread was warm and very good! It tasted like a multigrain sourdough bread.
While we were eating the bread and waiting for our appetizers a "Gift From the Chef" came out. A sampling of a new dish the chef was working on was delivered to our table. A small ramekin was given to each person at our table. It was about the size of the container that melted butter comes in when one gets seafood. The ramekin contained mashed sweet potatoes at the bottom, a cranberry chutney on top of that and puff pastry on top of the ramekin that sealed it. It was interesting and extremely good. The sweetness of the sweet potato and the bitterness of the cranberry went well together.
Me - Duxbury Muscles / Whole Main Lobster / Narcoossee's Expedition Everest
DFi - Shrimp Cocktail / Surf N Turf / Narcoossee's Expedition Everest
My Mom - Narcoossee's Chowder / Surf N Turf / Tripple Berry Sorbet
DFi's Mom - Shrimp Cocktail / Surf N Turf / Almond Cheesecake
Sister - Roasted Butternut Squash Soup / Pan-Seared Scallops / Almond Cheesecake
Appetizers
Duxbury Muscles - This was the best thing I ate on vacation! It might even be the best thing I have eaten in my whole life. The muscles were great but what was even better was the broth / sauce that the muscles were served in. It was listed that they were served in a white wine, garlic and parmesan cheese sauce. I would really like to know what exactly was in the sauce because it had so much debth I cannot believe that it only contained three ingredients. I asked for more bread while eating the muscles so I could soak up every last drop of the sauce. These were so good I was seriously considering ordering another serving of these after dinner instead of a dessert!
Shrimp Cocktail - I was enjoying my muscles so much I didn't even ask my DFi or her mother how they were. I do remember what the plate looked like when it was dropped off at the table. They were jumbo shrimp that were displayed in the center of the plate with the dipping sauces around the shrimp in puddles. There were two dipping sauces, a regular cocktail sauce and a grainy mustard sauce. They both finished everything on their plate so they must have been good.
Narcoossee's Chowder - My mother enjoyed the soup. She said it reminded her of a mix of both New England clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder but with more seafood in it.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - I was given a taste of this soup and it was also incredible. It was very smooth and the squash flavor was quite pleasant. The presentation of this soup was also a nice added touch. The butternut soup was a yellow/orange color and it had a white cream sauce swirled into it.
Entrees
Whole Main Lobster - This was a lot of lobster meat. It was on the menu as a 2 1/2 pound lobster. The lobster was actually dressed before it was delivered to the table. The tail meat was served fluffed on the shell. The two claws were cracked completely and the meat was left in them. The mid section of the lobster wasn't even served and the head was cleaned out and plated as part of the presentation. The taste of the lobster meat was excellent but it wasn't too warm. I think they dressed it too early and while the rest of the meals were getting ready it became a little cold. The roasted asparagus served with the lobster was cooked to perfection. It was cooked just enough where it didn't have any raw taste left but it was still crisp.
Surf N Turf - This was the only place all week long that actually got the steaks right for My DFi and her mom. My Dfi also said it was very tender for being cooked well done. My mother was actually cutting her steak with her fork. She ordered her's medium. The steaks also had a Bearnaise sauce on them. The lobster tail looked like it came off of a 1 1/2 pound lobster. It was also served fluffed on the shell with drawn butter. My DFi also enjoyed the potatoes that came with the entree. She described them as the best scalloped potatoes she ever had.
Pan-Seared Scallops - These were jumbo scallops. There were six served on the plate around a beet and rice mixture. My sister said the scallops were excellent. She said they were tender and did not have any chewieness to them. She said the sauce that was served with them was quite stong but it was served on the plate between the scallops so she could decide on how much to use. I did try the beet and rice mixture and it wasn't my cup of tea. On the other hand my sister and mother loved it.
Desserts
Narcoossee's Expedition Everest - I had read on the DIS that some people found this dessert dry. Those people were correct. It wasn't as bad as my piece of cake from Disney Studios but it could have been moister. Now the taste of the cake was great and the presentation was one of the best for a dessert. It was a chocolate and hazelnut cake that had a raspberry filling in it and chocolate and raspberry sauces drizzled over it. The cake itself was cut into three triangles and it was stood up on its end to look like a mountian range. It was served with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries.
Berry Sorbet - My mother chose this for dessert because she was full and wanted something light. I was also able to try this and it was good. The texture was awsome. It was smooth but it had just the right amount of crystalness to it (I know it's not a word but I don't know how else to describe it). The flavor was also incredible. I believe it was strawberry, rasperry and blueberry flavored because these are the berries that were served with the sorbet.
Almond Cheesecake - DFi's mother and my sister liked the cheesecake. They both said it was quite rich but at the same time somewhat fluffy. It was crusted with almonds and had a cherry sauce drizzled over the plate.
A 15% grautity was added to our bill (which was $52.01). I left another $8.00 dollars to bring the total tip to $60.01.
Service B+
Food A-
Presentation A-
Atmosphere B+
Value B
Saturday
Today we checked out and went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast. I couldn't work the AKL into our touring plans during the week and we all wanted to see the resort decorated for Christmas and also revisit the resort because we stayed there in 2003. I made an ADR at Boma for breakfast. When we were done with breakfast we just left from the AKL and went to my sister's house in Sanford.
Breakfast at Boma
Our ADR was for 10:00 AM. We arrived at 10:05 AM and were seated at 10:30 AM. Boma was extremely busy this morning. Many people were being turned away because they did not have an ADR.
We paid OOP for this meal because we were all out of TS credits.
While we were waiting for a table I walked over to Mara and used our final 11 SC we had left. I got 2 sodas, 2 lemonades and 7 bags of assorted chips to take to my sister's house. I had no problem using credits even though we had already checked out. The cast member at the checkout guessed what I was doing because she said, "Using up all of your snack credits." I informed her that was correct. She gave me a paper grocery bag with handles for me to put everything in.
The buffet is just as it was in October of 2003. It was great. I love the varity of foods one can get here. I also consider this a great bargain. For $15.99 you get Orange Juice or Frunch Juice and a very extensive buffet to eat off of where all of the food is awsome.
The Frunch Juice is great. It's a blend of orange juice, lemonade, pineapple juice and a couple of other tropical juices I cant remember.
When I informed my mother that this was one place we were going to eat at she hoped it was for breakfast because she loves omelets. They have a station where custom omletes are made with whatever ingredients you like. My mother also got the pressed pot of Kenyan Coffee. This wasn't included in the buffet price but my mother likes coffee and I had read on the DIS that this was the best coffee at WDW. My mother agreed that this was the best coffee she had at WDW.
My sister had never been here before and she also loved the breakfast buffet. She was amazed at all of the diffrent kinds of pastries one could get. All of the pastries I tried were incredible.
There is one dish I greatly enjoyed back in 2003 and was happy to see that they still had it. It is called Bobotie. It is a casserole of sorts with corned beef, eggs, potatoes, onions & cream. I got a scoopp of this on every trip to the buffet. I also enjoyed the Pap. This is a white corn meal porridge. It looks like Cream Of Wheat but has a corn taste to it instead of wheat. The only thing that I somewhat had a problem with was the roasted pork loin. The first time I got two pieces of it and it was very dry. When I went back up to the carving station to get some ham the carver remembered me and asked how I liked the pork loin. I told her it was pretty dry. She then proceeded to tell me to wait right there "sweetie" and she got a fresh pork loin from the rotisserie. This cut of pork was much much better. I thanked her for this.
My DFi did not like the fact that they had french toast with raisins in it. She does not
I'm looking forward to the rest. 
