BabaGanoush
Lives above Tusker House
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2007
So my parents came down to Orlando for 5 days and we got the dining plan for all of us during their trip. Our choices were as follows:
CS: Pecos Bill's, Tusker House, Cantina de San Angel, Columbia Harbour House
TS: Liberty Tree Tavern, Boma, Le Cellier, California Grill
Needless to say, we had an amazing amount of food and it was a great time. I think it really added something special to their trip.
Pecos Bill's: My mom and I had the Chicken Wrap while my dad had the double cheeseburger. The Wrap was good but the chicken was a little dry. They have a GREAT fixin bar where you can add grilled onions and mushrooms which my dad really liked. The peanut butter brownie was alright but the peanut butter was a little rich.
Liberty Tree Tavern: GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! We had an awesome time here and the food was excellent. I knew my parents would not really want to hunt down characters so I thought it would be fun if the characters came to them and I could get some pics for them. The characters were awesome (Goofy stole one of our chair's and was ready to dig into dessert). We kept telling them to keep bringin food and they were happy to accomodate. Needless to say, we were stuffed.
Tusker House: I have eaten here a few times and I still think it is one of if not the best counter service rest in all of the parks. My dad and I had the 1/2 rotisserie chicken and my mom had the salmon. Cant speak for my mom but the chicken was VERY good - very moist... juices were just flowing out of it. Also, portion size is great. Finally, my biggest suggestion is to go sit outside if it is not too hot and watch the African performers while you eat. My mom thought it was one of the highlights of the trip. It was like getting a dinner show for the price of a counter service.
Boma: Honestly, I had been building up my visit here for a long time. It was one of the places I had heard great things about. However, it was slightly disappointing. In fact, it was my least favorite of all the places we went to. Things I did like - loved the salmon... should have had more. And I ate too many zebra domes - ended up having a raging headache afterwards. My dad really enjoyed it though... but he loves that kind of stuff.
Le Cellier: Could not get a dinner reservation so we settled on lunch. Honestly may have been a better idea because we scheduled it at the time where we would have proceeded into the WS so it was a natural transition. For appetizers, my mom and I had the Cheddar Cheese Soup while my dad had the tomato slices. The Soup was amazing - would have liked to have a big bowl of it. For the entree, I had the petit filet, my dad had the New York Strip, and my mom had the open face sirloin sandwhich. My filet was very good but i was still kind of hungry after the meal. My dad raved about the New York Strip but the sirloin sandwhich wasnt quite what my mom was expecting. She ended up eating it like a steak because the piece of meat was so big (bigger than my filet - thats what I get for ordering a "petit"). The desserts were the highlight though. Mom had the sherberts which she thought were fantastic. My dad had the chocolate moosse and it was cool. But we all agreed that the best tasting dessert was the double-berry buckle. Just amazing. My favorite dessert I had anywhere.
Cantina de San Angel: Worked as something filling to eat while waiting for Illuminations. Good portion size in comparison to some of the other counter services. Nothing to write home about though.
California Grill: WOW! I saved this for their last night because of the things I had heard and it did not disappoint. This place was amazing. We arrived for our 7:30 reservation (fireworks at 8) and were seated right before the fireworks were goin to start. So we grabbed some glasses of wine and headed out to the deck. Awesome view. Went back to our table and got down to business. Ordered the Barbeque flatbread, the ravioli, and the cheese platter as our appetizers and shared around the table. I liked the idea of the cheese platter and it was fun but didnt really do anything for me. My dad loved it though. I was much more of a fan of the ravioli and wanted to keep it to myself. Both my mom and dad had the Beef filet while I had a ham wrapped piece of bass on a risotto base (my girlfriend came along and had the salmon). My parents are from Oklahoma where steak is huge and they have had plenty of it. So when my dad said "this is the best piece of meat I have ever had" I forced him to let me try it. Fantastic. And it was cooked perfectly medium. Not to be outdone, the Bass was excellent and my girlfriend thought the salmon was better than the salmon served at Narcossee's (she has had it twice at Narcossee's). The desserts were kind of a disappointment and we were all still craving our entree's at the end. I asked my dad if he would pay 35 bucks to have that steak again and he said "every day".
BTW, our server was one of the best servers I have had anywhere. Very attentive (our glasses were almost never more than half empty... yet it never seemed like he was interfering), would chat with us when prompted, and made excellent suggestions.
Columbia Harbour House: My girlfiend and I ate here after my parents left because we had a couple dining credits left. As always, it was good for counter service and I like the fact you can escape upstairs to a relatively quiet area in the park.
Overall, we had a great time with the dining plan and it made me giddy every time I looked at the bill and realized how much we were saving. In conclusion, I would highly recommend Liberty Tree, Le Cellier, and California Grill. I recommend Boma to people who like that sort of thing.
BONUS: Recently ate at Flame Tree Barbeque and it is now tied with Tusker House as my favorite counterservice. LOVED the barbeque and the chicken portion size was amazing. It took me an incredibly long time to finish it up. Oh, and the Onion Rings are pretty good too. Dont be scared by their sweet and spicy BBQ sauce though. I am kind of a wimp with spicy foods but it was hardly anything at all.
CS: Pecos Bill's, Tusker House, Cantina de San Angel, Columbia Harbour House
TS: Liberty Tree Tavern, Boma, Le Cellier, California Grill
Needless to say, we had an amazing amount of food and it was a great time. I think it really added something special to their trip.
Pecos Bill's: My mom and I had the Chicken Wrap while my dad had the double cheeseburger. The Wrap was good but the chicken was a little dry. They have a GREAT fixin bar where you can add grilled onions and mushrooms which my dad really liked. The peanut butter brownie was alright but the peanut butter was a little rich.
Liberty Tree Tavern: GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! We had an awesome time here and the food was excellent. I knew my parents would not really want to hunt down characters so I thought it would be fun if the characters came to them and I could get some pics for them. The characters were awesome (Goofy stole one of our chair's and was ready to dig into dessert). We kept telling them to keep bringin food and they were happy to accomodate. Needless to say, we were stuffed.
Tusker House: I have eaten here a few times and I still think it is one of if not the best counter service rest in all of the parks. My dad and I had the 1/2 rotisserie chicken and my mom had the salmon. Cant speak for my mom but the chicken was VERY good - very moist... juices were just flowing out of it. Also, portion size is great. Finally, my biggest suggestion is to go sit outside if it is not too hot and watch the African performers while you eat. My mom thought it was one of the highlights of the trip. It was like getting a dinner show for the price of a counter service.
Boma: Honestly, I had been building up my visit here for a long time. It was one of the places I had heard great things about. However, it was slightly disappointing. In fact, it was my least favorite of all the places we went to. Things I did like - loved the salmon... should have had more. And I ate too many zebra domes - ended up having a raging headache afterwards. My dad really enjoyed it though... but he loves that kind of stuff.
Le Cellier: Could not get a dinner reservation so we settled on lunch. Honestly may have been a better idea because we scheduled it at the time where we would have proceeded into the WS so it was a natural transition. For appetizers, my mom and I had the Cheddar Cheese Soup while my dad had the tomato slices. The Soup was amazing - would have liked to have a big bowl of it. For the entree, I had the petit filet, my dad had the New York Strip, and my mom had the open face sirloin sandwhich. My filet was very good but i was still kind of hungry after the meal. My dad raved about the New York Strip but the sirloin sandwhich wasnt quite what my mom was expecting. She ended up eating it like a steak because the piece of meat was so big (bigger than my filet - thats what I get for ordering a "petit"). The desserts were the highlight though. Mom had the sherberts which she thought were fantastic. My dad had the chocolate moosse and it was cool. But we all agreed that the best tasting dessert was the double-berry buckle. Just amazing. My favorite dessert I had anywhere.
Cantina de San Angel: Worked as something filling to eat while waiting for Illuminations. Good portion size in comparison to some of the other counter services. Nothing to write home about though.
California Grill: WOW! I saved this for their last night because of the things I had heard and it did not disappoint. This place was amazing. We arrived for our 7:30 reservation (fireworks at 8) and were seated right before the fireworks were goin to start. So we grabbed some glasses of wine and headed out to the deck. Awesome view. Went back to our table and got down to business. Ordered the Barbeque flatbread, the ravioli, and the cheese platter as our appetizers and shared around the table. I liked the idea of the cheese platter and it was fun but didnt really do anything for me. My dad loved it though. I was much more of a fan of the ravioli and wanted to keep it to myself. Both my mom and dad had the Beef filet while I had a ham wrapped piece of bass on a risotto base (my girlfriend came along and had the salmon). My parents are from Oklahoma where steak is huge and they have had plenty of it. So when my dad said "this is the best piece of meat I have ever had" I forced him to let me try it. Fantastic. And it was cooked perfectly medium. Not to be outdone, the Bass was excellent and my girlfriend thought the salmon was better than the salmon served at Narcossee's (she has had it twice at Narcossee's). The desserts were kind of a disappointment and we were all still craving our entree's at the end. I asked my dad if he would pay 35 bucks to have that steak again and he said "every day".
BTW, our server was one of the best servers I have had anywhere. Very attentive (our glasses were almost never more than half empty... yet it never seemed like he was interfering), would chat with us when prompted, and made excellent suggestions.
Columbia Harbour House: My girlfiend and I ate here after my parents left because we had a couple dining credits left. As always, it was good for counter service and I like the fact you can escape upstairs to a relatively quiet area in the park.
Overall, we had a great time with the dining plan and it made me giddy every time I looked at the bill and realized how much we were saving. In conclusion, I would highly recommend Liberty Tree, Le Cellier, and California Grill. I recommend Boma to people who like that sort of thing.
BONUS: Recently ate at Flame Tree Barbeque and it is now tied with Tusker House as my favorite counterservice. LOVED the barbeque and the chicken portion size was amazing. It took me an incredibly long time to finish it up. Oh, and the Onion Rings are pretty good too. Dont be scared by their sweet and spicy BBQ sauce though. I am kind of a wimp with spicy foods but it was hardly anything at all.
It's why I clicked on your review and it did not disappoint! Great reviews! 
