Natazu
04-29-2007, 02:12 AM
There were several meals we chose not to review individually but want to share some of the experience/information for one reason or another. Any questions or comments are welcome.
California Grill*****:
NEW ITEM ALERT: the newest seasonal flatbread is Barbecue Pulled Pork with Tillamook Cheddar, and Cabbage-Fennel Slaw – thumbs up to Chef Jens’ new creation but it still doesn’t top the Triple Cheese or the currently out of season Heirloom Tomato flatbreads.
ITEM CHANGE: the current incarnation of the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake has strawberry sauce and an awesome strawberry ice cream.
ITME CHANGE: The au gratin style potatoes (still available at Vero Beach) have been replaced with an above average skin-on bacon-smashed potatoes. The old ones were better, though.
Still the gem in Disney’s dining crown (V&A aside), California Grill didn’t disappoint. Excellent service, food, & value. The place was packed and they still stayed on top of things. Great management. We liked it so much, went back two days later with Brian and Jennifer for another great meal and conversation with a wonderful view of Wishes
Citricos****: The Gateau of Crab is still one of the best appetizers at WDW (behind CGs Sonoma Ravioli). We still consider Citricos an excellent restaurant but it’s the little things that keep it from cresting the hill to the neighborhood in which California Grill and Narcoossee’s reside. The server was good but seemed way too busy, which made us feel a little rushed. I think he was having a hard time keeping up. In fact, so was the restaurant, both logistically and from a culinary standpoint. We waited a long time for our entrées and then mine was cold. OK, everyone’s entitled to an off night. Of course, our server took the plate away and it was replaced in about seven minutes. The manager who brought the new entrée set it on the table from behind me and said nothing but “here you go, sir” and disappeared. We never got a “sorry” or even an oops from anyone. The rest of the food was wonderful; so was mine once it was served warm. We’ll definitely go back, but Citricos stays on the “every other trip” list while CG is on the “twice a trip” list.
Grand Floridian Café****: Thumbs up to the lunch menu. The fish of the day (tilapia today) is a great light lunch before an MK afternoon. Rachel loves the Tuna Salad Sandwich and Soup Combo. And what can be better than chocolate fondue after lunch to give you some calories to walk off.
Marrakesh****:
Found out that you cannot get a table right by the stage if you are not a party of three or more. All the tables by the stage are for four people or more and the staff will not seat a party of two at one of them no matter what.
Outside of that, we love Marrakesh. The food was juicy, flavorful, tender, and plentiful. The server was quick, friendly, and backed-up well by the rest of the staff. Think of this place as one of the best 1TS restaurants at Disney but make an ADR because as time goes by, more people are trying Epcot’s Moroccan food. They have been sold out all week.
Garden Grill***:
On the spur of the moment, we decided to have lunch at GG. We walked up at 11:35 with no ADR and were seated within 15 minutes while Soarin’ had a 90 minute wait. I love this place. Great character interaction, tender flank steak, moist turkey, killer vegetables. The current dessert, Very Berry Puff Pastry, doesn’t do it for me. It’s kind of boring; the custard in the pastry is good though.
Cape May Café***: Dining in a deluxe resort is great. You pull up to the hotel, toss your keys to the valet, say hi to the greeter, and in about 60 seconds, you’re at the restaurant podium. Sadly, at Beach Club, that’s where the deluxe dining experience ends. Cape May is about all there is for real TS dining at Beach Club and it’s about what you’d expect from an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is better than most buffets; I’ll give it that. The only thing I didn’t like was the sausage, but for the money, I’d rather go to ‘Ohana or Boma. Note that Rachel and I don’t eat mussels or clams. From what I understand, if you like mussels or clams, the ones at Cape May can’t be beat.
So for AYCE shellfish, Cape May is definitely worth the money. The tables are spaced nicely so you don’t feel like you’re seated with the folks at the next table like at Marrakesh.
Earl of Sandwich:
PIN ALERT, the EoS trading pins are LE 500 and are on sale for 40% off along with all the other EoS merchandise. I bought a t-shirt for $9.96 – forgot I was at Disney for a minute.
The general manager (who had to ring in the discount) said they’re blowing out all the merchandise to make room for some more tables. Then he did something pretty darn nice. There were like 60 people in line to order/get food so we were going to wait for lunch. As though he sensed this, the manager instructed the merchandise cashier to take our order and then went into the kitchen and assembled it himself. He returned with our tasty lunch in about two minutes with a “thank you for being a frequent diner”. We’re here way too much.
A few days later on our way out of town, we went back to EoS to get sandwiches togo with our seven remaining CS credits (3 Hawaiian, a 1762, a ham and swiss, a chicken caesar wrap, and a Full Montagu. We got a couple of cupcakes, cookies, 3 brownies, and seven fountain drink cups. I noticed a family about the size of the Brady Bunch and gave them five of our drinks. They were very appreciative.
Cooke’s of Dublin:
We tried the sausages this time along with the scallops. Both were very good. Service was fast and like EoS, they offer free fountain drink refills. The Doh-Bars were good and we’re told that a Milky Way™ version may be on the horizon.
Tangierine Café:
We got a couple of meals around 8:30pm. It took about 35 minutes to get through the pre-Illuminations CS line. I guess that isn’t bad since the line was all the way out the door. The Shawarma Combo Platter was very filling and tasty even though the chicken was a little dry. The hummus and the couscous were delicious.
The new Meatball Platter is okay but not a very good value for $10.95. You get five meatballs and a plate full of yellow rice. The meatball sauce was good, kind of tangy. The meatballs were very dense and flavorful and not over spiced. The plate is full of food but all in all, it’s just a few meatballs and some rice for $11.
Lotus Blossom Café:
Lunch here is great. All the entrées are wonderful and there are some new things that look good. I just can’t remember what they are, sorry. Rachel loves the Orange Chicken and the egg rolls are awesome. My only gripe is that the pot stickers and the egg rolls are not on the dining plan in any form. Wait, one more gripe… the desserts. Ginger ice cream – who came up with that? The same guy that came up with Red Bean ice cream, that’s who.
Tusker House:
ITEM ALERT: The desserts are being packaged differently now. Don’t worry; they are the same desserts. They just look different. They’re in the round plastic containers now like at other parks but they aren’
TOP TIP: If you want to save time in line at Tusker, go to the farthest open register from the door. The last three stations don’t have menus above them and they are darker (no natural lighting) so people are less apt to get in line there.
The chicken sandwiches and fries were awesome as always. Go Fatty Fried Foods!
California Grill*****:
NEW ITEM ALERT: the newest seasonal flatbread is Barbecue Pulled Pork with Tillamook Cheddar, and Cabbage-Fennel Slaw – thumbs up to Chef Jens’ new creation but it still doesn’t top the Triple Cheese or the currently out of season Heirloom Tomato flatbreads.
ITEM CHANGE: the current incarnation of the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake has strawberry sauce and an awesome strawberry ice cream.
ITME CHANGE: The au gratin style potatoes (still available at Vero Beach) have been replaced with an above average skin-on bacon-smashed potatoes. The old ones were better, though.
Still the gem in Disney’s dining crown (V&A aside), California Grill didn’t disappoint. Excellent service, food, & value. The place was packed and they still stayed on top of things. Great management. We liked it so much, went back two days later with Brian and Jennifer for another great meal and conversation with a wonderful view of Wishes
Citricos****: The Gateau of Crab is still one of the best appetizers at WDW (behind CGs Sonoma Ravioli). We still consider Citricos an excellent restaurant but it’s the little things that keep it from cresting the hill to the neighborhood in which California Grill and Narcoossee’s reside. The server was good but seemed way too busy, which made us feel a little rushed. I think he was having a hard time keeping up. In fact, so was the restaurant, both logistically and from a culinary standpoint. We waited a long time for our entrées and then mine was cold. OK, everyone’s entitled to an off night. Of course, our server took the plate away and it was replaced in about seven minutes. The manager who brought the new entrée set it on the table from behind me and said nothing but “here you go, sir” and disappeared. We never got a “sorry” or even an oops from anyone. The rest of the food was wonderful; so was mine once it was served warm. We’ll definitely go back, but Citricos stays on the “every other trip” list while CG is on the “twice a trip” list.
Grand Floridian Café****: Thumbs up to the lunch menu. The fish of the day (tilapia today) is a great light lunch before an MK afternoon. Rachel loves the Tuna Salad Sandwich and Soup Combo. And what can be better than chocolate fondue after lunch to give you some calories to walk off.
Marrakesh****:
Found out that you cannot get a table right by the stage if you are not a party of three or more. All the tables by the stage are for four people or more and the staff will not seat a party of two at one of them no matter what.
Outside of that, we love Marrakesh. The food was juicy, flavorful, tender, and plentiful. The server was quick, friendly, and backed-up well by the rest of the staff. Think of this place as one of the best 1TS restaurants at Disney but make an ADR because as time goes by, more people are trying Epcot’s Moroccan food. They have been sold out all week.
Garden Grill***:
On the spur of the moment, we decided to have lunch at GG. We walked up at 11:35 with no ADR and were seated within 15 minutes while Soarin’ had a 90 minute wait. I love this place. Great character interaction, tender flank steak, moist turkey, killer vegetables. The current dessert, Very Berry Puff Pastry, doesn’t do it for me. It’s kind of boring; the custard in the pastry is good though.
Cape May Café***: Dining in a deluxe resort is great. You pull up to the hotel, toss your keys to the valet, say hi to the greeter, and in about 60 seconds, you’re at the restaurant podium. Sadly, at Beach Club, that’s where the deluxe dining experience ends. Cape May is about all there is for real TS dining at Beach Club and it’s about what you’d expect from an all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is better than most buffets; I’ll give it that. The only thing I didn’t like was the sausage, but for the money, I’d rather go to ‘Ohana or Boma. Note that Rachel and I don’t eat mussels or clams. From what I understand, if you like mussels or clams, the ones at Cape May can’t be beat.
So for AYCE shellfish, Cape May is definitely worth the money. The tables are spaced nicely so you don’t feel like you’re seated with the folks at the next table like at Marrakesh.
Earl of Sandwich:
PIN ALERT, the EoS trading pins are LE 500 and are on sale for 40% off along with all the other EoS merchandise. I bought a t-shirt for $9.96 – forgot I was at Disney for a minute.
The general manager (who had to ring in the discount) said they’re blowing out all the merchandise to make room for some more tables. Then he did something pretty darn nice. There were like 60 people in line to order/get food so we were going to wait for lunch. As though he sensed this, the manager instructed the merchandise cashier to take our order and then went into the kitchen and assembled it himself. He returned with our tasty lunch in about two minutes with a “thank you for being a frequent diner”. We’re here way too much.
A few days later on our way out of town, we went back to EoS to get sandwiches togo with our seven remaining CS credits (3 Hawaiian, a 1762, a ham and swiss, a chicken caesar wrap, and a Full Montagu. We got a couple of cupcakes, cookies, 3 brownies, and seven fountain drink cups. I noticed a family about the size of the Brady Bunch and gave them five of our drinks. They were very appreciative.
Cooke’s of Dublin:
We tried the sausages this time along with the scallops. Both were very good. Service was fast and like EoS, they offer free fountain drink refills. The Doh-Bars were good and we’re told that a Milky Way™ version may be on the horizon.
Tangierine Café:
We got a couple of meals around 8:30pm. It took about 35 minutes to get through the pre-Illuminations CS line. I guess that isn’t bad since the line was all the way out the door. The Shawarma Combo Platter was very filling and tasty even though the chicken was a little dry. The hummus and the couscous were delicious.
The new Meatball Platter is okay but not a very good value for $10.95. You get five meatballs and a plate full of yellow rice. The meatball sauce was good, kind of tangy. The meatballs were very dense and flavorful and not over spiced. The plate is full of food but all in all, it’s just a few meatballs and some rice for $11.
Lotus Blossom Café:
Lunch here is great. All the entrées are wonderful and there are some new things that look good. I just can’t remember what they are, sorry. Rachel loves the Orange Chicken and the egg rolls are awesome. My only gripe is that the pot stickers and the egg rolls are not on the dining plan in any form. Wait, one more gripe… the desserts. Ginger ice cream – who came up with that? The same guy that came up with Red Bean ice cream, that’s who.
Tusker House:
ITEM ALERT: The desserts are being packaged differently now. Don’t worry; they are the same desserts. They just look different. They’re in the round plastic containers now like at other parks but they aren’
TOP TIP: If you want to save time in line at Tusker, go to the farthest open register from the door. The last three stations don’t have menus above them and they are darker (no natural lighting) so people are less apt to get in line there.
The chicken sandwiches and fries were awesome as always. Go Fatty Fried Foods!