MnDloveDisney
11-17-2003, 11:10 PM
Just back from our trip – we had some great dining experiences. I always like to read about where others ate (I’m mostly a lurker more than a poster), so I thought I’d chime in with some reviews:
Sunday, November 9, 2003
Dinner – Pepper Market at Coronado Springs. While we didn’t mind the premise (you serve yourself and they add a tip on for the waiter who brings your drink), the food was not a highlight. We shared an entrée from the Chinese Wok – Pork with a Peanut Sauce and Barbecue type Chicken, and it was mediocre at best. Total cost: misplaced the receipt, but it was around $30.00, which included a glass of wine and a soft drink.
Monday, November 10, 2003
Breakfast – Kona Café. I was very impressed with this place. The food and service were great. It was very busy (every place was busy – the parks were jammed!), but they sat us in just 10 minutes without a PS. I had the fruit and yogurt with granola and a bagel, and DH had eggs. I also had the coffee – yum. Total cost: Misplaced the receipt but I believe it was around $20.00 plus tip
Dinner – Café D’Antonio in Celebration. If you have a car, and like Italian, you must make a trip to this restaurant. The food and service is comparable to any Italian restaurant I’ve been to in Northern New Jersey where there’s a locally owned restaurant at about every intersection. I had the Penne Pollo which was penne tossed with tomato sauce, fennel and sautéed chicken. If you like fennel (tastes similar to anise), you’d enjoy this dish. My husband had the Lasagna Bolognese, which they baked in their wood fired oven. He raved about it. We both had a glass of wine, and we shared their homemade tartufo. We both agreed this was our favorite meal of the trip. Total cost (included salad for me and coffee): $55.00 plus tip
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Lunch – San Angel Inn at Mexico in Epcot. DH loves the chips and salsa here, so it was a must-do for this trip. He had the Plato Mexicano, which included a quesadilla, enchilada and taco. I had the Sopa Azteca (chicken enchilada soup). Food and service were good. Total cost (includes two soft drinks): $23.33 plus tip
Dinner – Emeril’s Tchoup Chop, Royal Pacific Hotel, Universal. In a word, outstanding. From the food to the service, this place is top notch. Due to some car trouble we experienced during our trip, I had to change our reservation. The earliest they could take us was 9:30pm, but we really wanted to try this place so we took it. We arrived around 9:00pm and they were able to take us right in. The staff is very attentive, the head waiter assigned to us introduced himself (Bryan – ask for him if you go) and the others who would be helping us and they called us by name – nice touch! They folded our napkins when we got up from the table, our water glasses were refilled constantly, and they were helpful but not overbearing. Ok, I know – get to the food! I pasted the descriptions of our entrees from his website:
Grilled Double Cut Pork Chop with Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Tamarind Barbecue Glaze and Five Spiced Green Apple Chutney
Hawaiian Style Dinner Plate including Kiawe Smoked Ribs, Kalua Pork, Teriyaki Grilled Chicken, Chorizo Potato Hash and Baked Macaroni
Both were outstanding. For dessert we had the best Banana Cream Pie I’ve ever tasted. Here’s the description:
Emeril's Banana Cream Pie with Banana Crust, Caramel Sauce, and Chocolate Shavings
Again, this is worth a trip to Universal just to experience the food and service. Another example of the outstanding service – Bryan sent us a postcard today to thanking us for dining at Tchoup Chop and for the kind words we said to the manager about his service. Total cost (including one Mai Tai, one soft drink and two coffees): $77.21 plus tip
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Lunch – Pecos Bill at MK. DH likes a good hamburger and I enjoyed the Kit Carson Chicken Salad the last time we were here, so we stopped for lunch. The place was crowded (as I mentioned before, I couldn’t believe the crowds!), but we ordered quickly and had our lunch. The salad was very fresh. Total cost (including a large soft drink): $15.31
Dinner – Food and Wine Festival, Epcot. While this was one of the main reasons we planned our trip for this time of year, I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. The prices for the samplings were pretty steep for what you got, in my opinion. I don’t mind paying for a good meal (you can see from some of our meal bills!), but $3.00 for a small piece of Sicilian pizza is a bit high. We did have a good time sampling around the world, partaking in some good food and wine, but I lost track of what we spent. Standouts included the Cheddar Cheese Soup at Canada’s stand, the Rice Cream at Scandinavia, the Bunratty Meade Honey Wine and the O’Mara Irish Cream at Ireland, the Tenderloin with Barbecue sauce at Australia, the Sangria at Spain, and the Hummus at Morocco.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Lunch – Backlot Express at Disney/MGM Studios. DH had a hot dog and the carrot sticks instead of fries. I had the turkey and cheese sandwich with arugala and roasted red peppers. I was pretty impressed with this sandwich – it came on a great seven grain-type bread. Total cost (including a large soft drink): $15.31
Dinner – Big River at Boardwalk. I had not read too many good reviews of this place, but we wanted to give the beer a try. They do not take PS, but we walked right in. The outside was packed, but inside there were many tables available, and we sat right at the window. We had their beer sampler, which included the five kinds currently on tap. We both liked the Rocket Red. For dinner, DH had the Half Slab of Ribs, which he said were excellent. I had the special of the day which was a pork chop glazed with a sauce made from the Rocket Red, over garlic mashed potatoes and spinach sautéed in the Rocket Red. It was very good, comparable to the pork chop I had at Emeril’s in taste and quality. I should mention the service here was also great. We skipped dessert because we were headed to Downtown Disney for Ghiradelli’s!! Total cost: $40.36 plus tip
Friday, November 14, 2003
Lunch - Pinocchios at MK. DH had the Turkey Sandwich with chips, and I had the Garden Salad with mixed greens, peaches, walnuts, blue cheese and vinaigrette. It was very good for a fast food salad. Total cost (including a large soft drink): $15.10
Dinner – Alfredo’s in Italy at Epcot. After partaking in a few more wine samples from the Food and Wine Festival, we headed to Alfredo’s. The place was packed, but we waited only 10 minutes after our PS to be seated. I had the house salad and the Risotto dello Chef, which is their daily Risotto special. It was Risotto with lemon and saffron, and was very good. DH had the Lasagnette, which is their version of lasagna. He also enjoyed his. For dessert, we shared their dessert sampler, which included profiteroles, mini canoli, tiramisu, and chocolate cappuccino cake – YUMMY!!!. We both had coffee and a glass of their sangria. Total cost: $49.13 plus tip
Any questions, please ask! And thanks for reading!
Sunday, November 9, 2003
Dinner – Pepper Market at Coronado Springs. While we didn’t mind the premise (you serve yourself and they add a tip on for the waiter who brings your drink), the food was not a highlight. We shared an entrée from the Chinese Wok – Pork with a Peanut Sauce and Barbecue type Chicken, and it was mediocre at best. Total cost: misplaced the receipt, but it was around $30.00, which included a glass of wine and a soft drink.
Monday, November 10, 2003
Breakfast – Kona Café. I was very impressed with this place. The food and service were great. It was very busy (every place was busy – the parks were jammed!), but they sat us in just 10 minutes without a PS. I had the fruit and yogurt with granola and a bagel, and DH had eggs. I also had the coffee – yum. Total cost: Misplaced the receipt but I believe it was around $20.00 plus tip
Dinner – Café D’Antonio in Celebration. If you have a car, and like Italian, you must make a trip to this restaurant. The food and service is comparable to any Italian restaurant I’ve been to in Northern New Jersey where there’s a locally owned restaurant at about every intersection. I had the Penne Pollo which was penne tossed with tomato sauce, fennel and sautéed chicken. If you like fennel (tastes similar to anise), you’d enjoy this dish. My husband had the Lasagna Bolognese, which they baked in their wood fired oven. He raved about it. We both had a glass of wine, and we shared their homemade tartufo. We both agreed this was our favorite meal of the trip. Total cost (included salad for me and coffee): $55.00 plus tip
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Lunch – San Angel Inn at Mexico in Epcot. DH loves the chips and salsa here, so it was a must-do for this trip. He had the Plato Mexicano, which included a quesadilla, enchilada and taco. I had the Sopa Azteca (chicken enchilada soup). Food and service were good. Total cost (includes two soft drinks): $23.33 plus tip
Dinner – Emeril’s Tchoup Chop, Royal Pacific Hotel, Universal. In a word, outstanding. From the food to the service, this place is top notch. Due to some car trouble we experienced during our trip, I had to change our reservation. The earliest they could take us was 9:30pm, but we really wanted to try this place so we took it. We arrived around 9:00pm and they were able to take us right in. The staff is very attentive, the head waiter assigned to us introduced himself (Bryan – ask for him if you go) and the others who would be helping us and they called us by name – nice touch! They folded our napkins when we got up from the table, our water glasses were refilled constantly, and they were helpful but not overbearing. Ok, I know – get to the food! I pasted the descriptions of our entrees from his website:
Grilled Double Cut Pork Chop with Ginger Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Tamarind Barbecue Glaze and Five Spiced Green Apple Chutney
Hawaiian Style Dinner Plate including Kiawe Smoked Ribs, Kalua Pork, Teriyaki Grilled Chicken, Chorizo Potato Hash and Baked Macaroni
Both were outstanding. For dessert we had the best Banana Cream Pie I’ve ever tasted. Here’s the description:
Emeril's Banana Cream Pie with Banana Crust, Caramel Sauce, and Chocolate Shavings
Again, this is worth a trip to Universal just to experience the food and service. Another example of the outstanding service – Bryan sent us a postcard today to thanking us for dining at Tchoup Chop and for the kind words we said to the manager about his service. Total cost (including one Mai Tai, one soft drink and two coffees): $77.21 plus tip
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Lunch – Pecos Bill at MK. DH likes a good hamburger and I enjoyed the Kit Carson Chicken Salad the last time we were here, so we stopped for lunch. The place was crowded (as I mentioned before, I couldn’t believe the crowds!), but we ordered quickly and had our lunch. The salad was very fresh. Total cost (including a large soft drink): $15.31
Dinner – Food and Wine Festival, Epcot. While this was one of the main reasons we planned our trip for this time of year, I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. The prices for the samplings were pretty steep for what you got, in my opinion. I don’t mind paying for a good meal (you can see from some of our meal bills!), but $3.00 for a small piece of Sicilian pizza is a bit high. We did have a good time sampling around the world, partaking in some good food and wine, but I lost track of what we spent. Standouts included the Cheddar Cheese Soup at Canada’s stand, the Rice Cream at Scandinavia, the Bunratty Meade Honey Wine and the O’Mara Irish Cream at Ireland, the Tenderloin with Barbecue sauce at Australia, the Sangria at Spain, and the Hummus at Morocco.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Lunch – Backlot Express at Disney/MGM Studios. DH had a hot dog and the carrot sticks instead of fries. I had the turkey and cheese sandwich with arugala and roasted red peppers. I was pretty impressed with this sandwich – it came on a great seven grain-type bread. Total cost (including a large soft drink): $15.31
Dinner – Big River at Boardwalk. I had not read too many good reviews of this place, but we wanted to give the beer a try. They do not take PS, but we walked right in. The outside was packed, but inside there were many tables available, and we sat right at the window. We had their beer sampler, which included the five kinds currently on tap. We both liked the Rocket Red. For dinner, DH had the Half Slab of Ribs, which he said were excellent. I had the special of the day which was a pork chop glazed with a sauce made from the Rocket Red, over garlic mashed potatoes and spinach sautéed in the Rocket Red. It was very good, comparable to the pork chop I had at Emeril’s in taste and quality. I should mention the service here was also great. We skipped dessert because we were headed to Downtown Disney for Ghiradelli’s!! Total cost: $40.36 plus tip
Friday, November 14, 2003
Lunch - Pinocchios at MK. DH had the Turkey Sandwich with chips, and I had the Garden Salad with mixed greens, peaches, walnuts, blue cheese and vinaigrette. It was very good for a fast food salad. Total cost (including a large soft drink): $15.10
Dinner – Alfredo’s in Italy at Epcot. After partaking in a few more wine samples from the Food and Wine Festival, we headed to Alfredo’s. The place was packed, but we waited only 10 minutes after our PS to be seated. I had the house salad and the Risotto dello Chef, which is their daily Risotto special. It was Risotto with lemon and saffron, and was very good. DH had the Lasagnette, which is their version of lasagna. He also enjoyed his. For dessert, we shared their dessert sampler, which included profiteroles, mini canoli, tiramisu, and chocolate cappuccino cake – YUMMY!!!. We both had coffee and a glass of their sangria. Total cost: $49.13 plus tip
Any questions, please ask! And thanks for reading!