Oh the Tragedy! No Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake this time! Updates x 5 9/30

[vettegirl]

That's too bad about the captains Grill breakfast I know you love that place in the past.

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[Roma]

Brenda I feel like I can always count on you to go to Captain's Grille! Now I'm scared you won't go again after this lackluster experience . I abhor tomatoes so there is no way I would ever pick one of those up. Seeing as I cannot handle the usual taste of tomatoes I can only imagine what that tasted like .

I loveeee 50's Prime Time! That fried chicken . Next time I am forcing Mr. Roma to share the sampler though so I can have it all.

Hope you had a great trip with Emmy!

 

[kastoney]

Welcome back!!!! Looking forward to reading about the latest trip. Though with barbs report ending, you are coming back just in time to feed my fix until our trip next month.

While it looks like captains grill was a bust, think we will likely try it next trip. We see staying at BWV and don't usually make ADRs until the same day so it's a good option for us.

50s is always such a fun experience. I'm sure your crowd put on quite the show. I can't believe your pot roast was the kids version. What a steal.

Stomach is not so patiently awaiting more...

 

[Wood Nymph]

We love eating at the Captain's Grille for breakfast when we stay at the YC or BC. We ate there twice in March and we have two ADR's for our very short Sept trip. All I need is a buffet with lots of bacon and fruit to make me happy. I have to eat gluten free and the chef will make gf Mickey waffles or toast for me. The breakfast food options at the YC/BC are very limited for gluten free types like me. And the Captain's Grille has lots of things I can eat. But I have to agree that the round egg things can be tasteless and the grilled tomatoes kind of fall apart. But there is an AP and Disney Visa discount there, so that helps make it worth the trip.

Your visit to 50's PT Cafe looks like it was lots of fun. I noticed that Michael did take off his hat for Cousin Cindy.

 

[KatMark]

I didn't realize you had done an update (or two)...guess since I didn't see a date on your heading, I missed it. Please forgive me.

I am sorry you were disappointed with Captain's Grille. We ate there our last day in December and were not impressed at all (and we ordered off the menu); it didn't help that the service was absolutely awful at 7:30 in the morning!

I know that you enjoy 50's Prime Time. Perhaps we will give it another try a long way down the road. I am not surprised at all about Michael and Hunter causing mischief and having to be reprimanded by their cousin.

I love how Hunter divided the bill.

 

[Linda67]

Oops I fell behind with your reviews
Captain's Grille's a la carte menu certainly appeals but the buffet isn't looking so great, pretty presentation but low on flavor from what you are saying
What a fun meal you all had at 50s

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Captains Grille breakfast menu looks appealing to me. Sorry your breakfast wasn't so good. Hopefully next time will be better.

Sounds like 50's was lots of fun. I love that you can get the kids portion. That sounds perfect for me too since it will leave room for a milkshake.

 

[smidgy]

it didn't list on the menu you showed. how much was the breakfast buffet at Captain's grille?

at prime time do you know they allow you to split a meal? hubby and I do this a lot when we are paying out of pocket. we love the fried chicken, but that is a lot of food for us.

so we split an order of the yumy onion rigns and split one of the huge shakes.
then we split an order of the fried chicken. they even put it on 2 plates for us and let us each have mashed potatos and neither of us had the collard greens!
(of course you still ahve to have the 4 pieces of chicken that comes with it...
he has the breast and leg and I have the wing and thigh.)

 

[amy_in_wonderland]

Hello Brenda... I am much better keeping up with Disney related people/trips/news on fb than the DIS so I just discovered your newest DR. My eldest DD cheered at the Summit (ESPN WWofS) in May so our little mini trip overlapped your trip on a couple of days. I just knew we would spot you at some point on our trip (even you would not have the foggiest idea who I was...lol) but alas, it did not happen . Loving your DR....cannot wait for the next update.

 

[scottny]

Ahhh DVC at AKL? Wait, you already are right? I need to get caught up with your reports it sounds like.

No. We are at SSR. AKL probably next year. Was thinking Poly but we decided AKL is our love.
Never tried CG for breakfast but might next time.
50’s PTC is a fun place. Love that chicken.

 

[bangzoom6877]

it didn't list on the menu you showed. how much was the breakfast buffet at Captain's grille? at prime time do you know they allow you to split a meal? hubby and I do this a lot when we are paying out of pocket. we love the fried chicken, but that is a lot of food for us. so we split an order of the yumy onion rigns and split one of the huge shakes. then we split an order of the fried chicken. they even put it on 2 plates for us and let us each have mashed potatos and neither of us had the collard greens! (of course you still ahve to have the 4 pieces of chicken that comes with it... he has the breast and leg and I have the wing and thigh.)

DS9 and I split the fried chicken meal at 50s Prime Time last month. We had gone there for lunch and both of us wanted the fried chicken, but I knew that 4 pieces would be way too much for me, so we asked if we could split it. It was no problem. We also requested all drumsticks and to sub fries in place of the mashed potatoes. It was no problem. We each had 2 drumsticks, DS had the fries and I had the collard greens. We were stuffed!

 

[emmysmommy]

Reading about breakfast at 5:20am is OK. Reading about pot roast - not so much!

Welcome back! Judging from FB it looks like you had a wonderful time.

You got to meet Marissa! How wonderful! I miss her on the DIS since she isn't around quite as much!

I think I def have to try breakfast at the Captain's Grille. I was considering it as my pre cruise breakfast in October! That french toast looks so YUM!

Hi Mary Ellen! I hear ya. Pot roast right now doesn't sound good not does it look that good from the photo.

Thanks, we did have a great time.

Marissa is missed here. I love her enthusiasm and Piglet love!

Captain's Grille has mostly been good for us so give it a try if you want something low key with a lot of options at the buffet or on the a la carte menu.

Your breakfast update definitely has me missing Captain's Grille! My last breakfast there was probably a year ago, and I'd like to try some of their à la carte specialties (such as the lobster omelet and lemon-ricotta hotcakes). Sorry to hear this wasn't your best meal there.

We've ordered off the menu and been very happy but this time the buffet options that I tried weren't that great. It won't prevent me from coming back and trying it again. Lord knows I cook some things that my family has wished I wouldn't but they do come back to my kitchen/dinner table so I suppose I will Captain's Grille the same.

So happy to see new reviews! I absolutely LOVE your reviews!!

Thank you Dislover! You are very kind.

Hello, that breakfast looks SO yummy! Emme makes such a cute Snow White!

Be still my heart, 50's prime time. Looks like you guys had a great time together! Great job on splitting up the check there too. Hahaha.

Emme made a cute anything! That was the 2nd time we'd met her and Patty so it was good to get together.

50's was a riot - almost literally! Poor Cindy. She did a great job, served us well, and stayed in character which wasn't hard to do with the exasperated cousin role. Hunter gets all the credit with splitting the check. Ha ha!

What a great way to start the day with adorable little Emme for breakfast although too bad the food was not fabulous. Prime time looked like it was a hoot from your pictures and descriptions. Those guys are sure trouble makers but in a fun way lol love you all handing her your cc's or tiw cards funny. great company and a yummy meal so good all around.

The best thing about a not so great meal at WDW is that you'll have another meal not too long after so it usually fades into the background rather quickly. Our bonus for Captain's Grille was having our own adorable entertainment with Emme. Especially since she let me play with her princess pets.

Thanks, 50s was a lot more fun than pictures can convey. It is the type of place that is made for people that love shenanigans. It was a win all around for certain!

Love the updates! Sorry your breakfast at Captain's Grille wasn't the best. I agree the tomato and egg selections look yummy, too bad they didn't live up to their promise. Emme makes an adorable Snow White!

50's Prime Time can be so much fun if you get a server who's really into their role. Your selections look wonderful! I've only ever had the fried chicken at 50's but now I'm very tempted by the pot roast. I love the pot roast at Liberty Tree Tavern and this one looks comparable.

Hmm ... what could you possibly have in mind for your sweet treat at DHS? I predict a Carrot Cake Cookie is in your future ...

Hi Carol! It wasn't the best breakfast but it just goes to show that I don't make perfect choices every time! Ha ha! It could be me and not them, I should look at it that way.

Cindy was definitely into her cousin role. She wasn't bashful with us at all.

The pot roast is better at LTT in my opinion since you get big chunky veggies. There were none for the kid version at 50's. It tasted ok though so it was still a good choice if you want a smaller serving of something. They have a kid portion fried chicken as well that I've ordered a few times that is fantastic. I think I'm ready to go back to the chicken next time.

Your powers of perception are brilliant! Yes... indeed, that is my snack of choice at DHS.

I've always wondered about Captain's Grille for breakfast, since we always stay at BWV and it's so close. The bananas foster french toast looks good. I had some delicious french toast from the 1900 Park Fare breakfast buffet a couple of weeks ago, and I put the bananas foster sauce on it and loved it. I wonder if it's the exact same thing served there.

I love the iceberg wedge at 50s PT. One time I had it there for dinner along with the crab cake and it was fantastic. A couple of weeks ago, I shared the fried chicken with DS9 for lunch. I had asked here in the DIS about special requests and substitutions so that was how I found out they accommodate them. We got all drumsticks, and we subbed the mashed potatoes for fries. DS9 ate the fries, I ate the collard greens (I love them), and we each had 2 drumsticks. We were stuffed.

If you stay around the BW vicinity you should give Captain's Grille a try. For the most part they are very good. I've not tried the French toast at 1900 so I'm not sure if they are same/similar. The bananas foster definitely made the French toast go from ordinary to good.

I'm glad to hear they accommodate special requests at 50's. I think all restaurants are doing this more and more with dietary issues that are more common. Sounds like you had a great meal that met your needs.

just wondering.. why wouldn't you let the server know ahead of time you were going to have separate checks? it is SO much easier for the server, believe me!

Good question and I believe we did... I see Paula's note below.

I believe you! I'm not a fan of making more work for anyone!

We started out by telling all the servers we would be separate checks and were told each time just let us know at the end. This was true for every location except when we went to Shula's.

Yes, that!

That's too bad about the captains Grill breakfast I know you love that place in the past.

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Hi Lori! I do but as much as it was only mediocre I would still return.

Brenda I feel like I can always count on you to go to Captain's Grille! Now I'm scared you won't go again after this lackluster experience. I abhor tomatoes so there is no way I would ever pick one of those up. Seeing as I cannot handle the usual taste of tomatoes I can only imagine what that tasted like.

I loveeee 50's Prime Time! That fried chicken. Next time I am forcing Mr. Roma to share the sampler though so I can have it all.

Hope you had a great trip with Emmy!

Hi Roma! Good to see you here.

As for Captain's Grille, I'd likely skip the round egg dishes next time or even just order a la carte. I believe this is still a good breakfast option so we shall see. I much prefer fresh tomatoes to cooked tomatoes so I should have been cautious with that dish.

I'm still trying to bribe someone to split the sampler with me. Thus far I've had no luck!

Welcome back!!!! Looking forward to reading about the latest trip. Though with barbs report ending, you are coming back just in time to feed my fix until our trip next month.

While it looks like captains grill was a bust, think we will likely try it next trip. We see staying at BWV and don't usually make ADRs until the same day so it's a good option for us.

50s is always such a fun experience. I'm sure your crowd put on quite the show. I can't believe your pot roast was the kids version. What a steal.

Stomach is not so patiently awaiting more...

Thanks! It's good to be back.. and getting caught up! Glad I can fill in the gap until your upcoming trip.

Try Captain's Grille.... It has a lot of choices that should be good. And walk ups are usually accommodated.

We love eating at the Captain's Grille for breakfast when we stay at the YC or BC. We ate there twice in March and we have two ADR's for our very short Sept trip. All I need is a buffet with lots of bacon and fruit to make me happy. I have to eat gluten free and the chef will make gf Mickey waffles or toast for me. The breakfast food options at the YC/BC are very limited for gluten free types like me. And the Captain's Grille has lots of things I can eat. But I have to agree that the round egg things can be tasteless and the grilled tomatoes kind of fall apart. But there is an AP and Disney Visa discount there, so that helps make it worth the trip.

Your visit to 50's PT Cafe looks like it was lots of fun. I noticed that Michael did take off his hat for Cousin Cindy.

Thank you for sharing your Captain's Grille experience Sue. You filled in some blanks that I know will help others looking for a buffet option with some dietary restrictions. Glad you enjoy the GF alternatives there. (And I'm glad that someone else recognizes that the round egg things are not the best chef creation.)

Ha ha! Yes, Michael took off his hat even though the "game" wasn't put on the TV.

I didn't realize you had done an update (or two)...guess since I didn't see a date on your heading, I missed it. Please forgive me.

I am sorry you were disappointed with Captain's Grille. We ate there our last day in December and were not impressed at all (and we ordered off the menu); it didn't help that the service was absolutely awful at 7:30 in the morning!

I know that you enjoy 50's Prime Time. Perhaps we will give it another try a long way down the road. I am not surprised at all about Michael and Hunter causing mischief and having to be reprimanded by their cousin.

I love how Hunter divided the bill.

No worries Kathy! I hope you enjoyed your weekend with the kids in Dubuque.

Yikes! Your Captain's Grille experience sounds like our very first time with non-existent service. That was one of the reasons why it took me a long time to return.

Michael trouble? Who would have thought that?

Oops I fell behind with your reviews
Captain's Grille's a la carte menu certainly appeals but the buffet isn't looking so great, pretty presentation but low on flavor from what you are saying
What a fun meal you all had at 50s.

No worries Linda. I'm glad you are still hanging in there with this one.

Definitely low on flavor for those breakfast buffet options. At least for the egg dishes.

50's PT was perfect for our mischievous group.

Captains Grille breakfast menu looks appealing to me. Sorry your breakfast wasn't so good. Hopefully next time will be better.

Sounds like 50's was lots of fun. I love that you can get the kids portion. That sounds perfect for me too since it will leave room for a milkshake.

Hi Rachel! We've had good breakfasts at Captain's Grille so I think they can do better than the choices that I made. I'm not crossing them off my list so there should be a next time.

YES, lunch was a lot of fun! Ha ha! I love your logic for the kids' portions.

it didn't list on the menu you showed. how much was the breakfast buffet at Captain's grille?

at prime time do you know they allow you to split a meal? hubby and I do this a lot when we are paying out of pocket. we love the fried chicken, but that is a lot of food for us.

so we split an order of the yumy onion rigns and split one of the huge shakes.
then we split an order of the fried chicken. they even put it on 2 plates for us and let us each have mashed potatos and neither of us had the collard greens!
(of course you still ahve to have the 4 pieces of chicken that comes with it...
he has the breast and leg and I have the wing and thigh.)

The buffet at Captain's Grille was $18.99. (I thought it odd that they don't post their price for the buffet either. The Wave doesn't post their buffet price on the menu too. Odd.)

Since I can't get anyone to split anything with me at 50's I usually resort to the kid's menu. I'm trying to get someone to go for the sample but so far no luck with that. I need to dine with your group! You work the split very nicely!

Hello Brenda... I am much better keeping up with Disney related people/trips/news on fb than the DIS so I just discovered your newest DR. My eldest DD cheered at the Summit (ESPN WWofS) in May so our little mini trip overlapped your trip on a couple of days. I just knew we would spot you at some point on our trip (even you would not have the foggiest idea who I was...lol) but alas, it did not happen. Loving your DR....cannot wait for the next update.

Hi Amy! Thanks for reading! Did you and your DD enjoy your trip in May? (Even if we didn't run into each other! )

Next update coming shortly!

No. We are at SSR. AKL probably next year. Was thinking Poly but we decided AKL is our love.
Never tried CG for breakfast but might next time.
50’s PTC is a fun place. Love that chicken.

Hi Scott! Got it. Ahhh AKL is my love to. Can't wait to see the Poly DVC units though.

Be careful of the round egg dishes at CG. And nobody does fried chicken better at WDW than 50's.

 

[emmysmommy]

Snack time at Writer’s Stop

As Mrs. B1228 (Carol) so perceptively noted, yes indeed I made a stop at Writer’s Stop after lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café for a little snack that I make it a point to NEVER miss. Thus far at least. One little Carrot Cake Cookie was calling my name.

In the case:

Other options:

My choice:

Oh so good!

Next Up: Shula's Steakhouse
​

 

[emmysmommy]

Shula’s Steak House Dinner: Saturday May 3, 2014​

This was my 4th time dining at Shula’s Steakhouse but Michael’s first. I was excited to show off this place since the guy loves meat and football so combine them and you’re sure to have a hit. Plus the service has been stellar in the past so I was hoping for a repeat of that experience. The last time I’d dined at Shula’s was with Beth and her hubby Wil in December. Beth happened to be one of the DISers in our dining group this night as well as Barb, Paula and Hunter.

Here's a link for part 1 and and part 2 to Barb's Shula's dinner review. She has some great photos of the restaurant décor and our group as well as a very well written review of this meal.

We met up with Barb to walk the short distance to the Dolphin hotel since we were both staying a BW and joined the rest of our party at the restaurant.
We requested and were seated in John’s section. He'd been our server at Shula's the past three visits and did a great job.

The Don Shula autographed football – which served as a menu in years past – was left at the table. I’ve said before that the temptation to toss that ball around is overwhelming. We wouldn’t dare stoop to that in such a fine dining establishment!

The infamous autographed menu football

Said football in the hands of a Packer fan!

My technique may have had a softer touch

They also provide hard copy menus which need to come with built in reading lights due to the dimness of the restaurant.

Speaking of menus… it was dark so these may not be the best photos:

Our dining adventure began with the meat trolley being rolled out to the table. A few of us congregated at the meat cart to have a closer look. The various cuts of meat were described from the puny 10 ounce Steak Mary Ann to the humongous 48-oz Porterhouse. Seriously, if you can eat a 48-oz Porterhouse you deserve to have your name in lights. They do commemorate the accomplishment by adding your name to their distinguished board. I believe us DISers descended upon the meat cart with our cameras. Between the 3 or 4 of us we have well documented the meat selections.

We were started with the wonderful, fresh, hot sourdough bread basket. Truly great stuff.

Shula’s Bread Service

Most, if not all of us ordered appetizers. I was going to pace myself so I shared the shrimp appetizer with Michael.

Colossal Shrimp Cocktail $18 (pre-split)

The shrimp appetizer came already split which I didn’t expect. Each plate had its own cocktail sauce and lemon wedge wrapped in cheesecloth – a very nice touch. This was an excellent appetizer since I was glad to see that the cocktail sauce had just the right amount of kick from the horseradish. Yum!

For our entrée choices, Michael went with the lamb chops while I went with the off menu selection of the petite filet (8-oz). We also ordered a few sides among the table since the entrée options are served a la carte. We had sautéed spinach, twice baked potato, grilled asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes.

Michael’s entrée choice made him so incredibly happy! After eating this he said that lamb was now his favorite meat. I tried to get a decent photo of his entrée but it was difficult in the low light.

Twin 11-oz Lamb Porterhouse $44

I ordered the same entrée as my previous 3 visits to Shula’s, the petite 8-oz filet, which is turf part of the turf and surf duo. This was perfectly cooked to my preference and simply amazing! The sauce béarnaise is the perfect counterpoint to this cut of steak. This was the first time that I was not able to finish so Michael was my clean up guy and ate almost half.

8-oz Petite Filet $45

Filet with Sides

Of the sides that I sampled, the double baked potato was my favorite, probably more because of the bacon and cheese which makes everything better, right? The grilled asparagus were perfectly done with the right amount of crunch. I’m a big asparagus fan… you’ll notice asparagus on my plate if it is served at a buffet.

Side Dish of Spinach:

Side Dish of Asparagus:

Side Dish of Mashed Potatoes:

The next course of our dining experience, and it was an experience, was dessert. Barb had ordered the chocolate lava cake and the chocolate soufflé to share with the table, both of which both must be pre-ordered since they are baked fresh.

I took a lot of photos and I was impressed with the degree of care that the gal that delivered the chocolate lava cake took to hollow out the middle, let the gooey unbaked batter ooze out and then pour the crème anglaise over the entire thing. I didn’t try any of it since it was way too chocolaty but I can tell you that Michael enjoyed what he tried.

Chocolate Lava Cake

The poking method:

The pouring of the vanilla sauce:

Chocolate Mouse With a generous pouring of vanilla sauce:

We took a few photos of our group, with and without the guys.
When John delivered the bill he announced that dessert was complimentary, it was on him. We had to go through the same exercise with splitting the bill as we did for lunch – indicating who ate what so they could split the bill. I think John was a little less friendly about that issue but I said that we’d make it easy for him and do the work ourselves. We saved $26.40 using TiW.

Although I failed in the clean plate category I really enjoyed this meal! It was the best dinner of the trip in terms of delivering quality, tasty, food with great service. Em and I returned to Shula's last month and had another fabulous dinner.

Post dinner photo ops....

Ladies photo op:

Group photo:

John and Brenda

We said our good-byes to Barb since she was leaving the next morning. I was grateful that Barb decided to celebrate her birthday in WDW and include us in her special celebration. We miss you Barb!

Next Up: Via Napoli lunch​

 

[bangzoom6877]

I always say I'm gonna try the carrot cake cookie but I still haven't. The one time it was convenient for me together over there and stop inside was right after our Fantasmic! Dinner at HBD, so I was way too full from a 3-course dinner to eat anything else. I did end up getting a Hanukkah gift for DS9, the Disney kids' cookbook that he begged me for! He will be so happy in December! Next time I'm definitely gonna make it a point to have a carrot cake cookie though.

I do want to give Captain's Grille a try. We had dinner there in 2010 and while it wasn't bad, it was nothing to write home about so we haven't been back. Their dinner menu does seem better now than it did back then, so I'd like to give it another try for dinner. Breakfast sounds great too, but most mornings we have breakfast in the villa with just a few restaurants thrown in. Kona breakfast is a must on every trip. And we always do a couple of character breakfasts. This time we also tried Kouzzina since it's going away and we had to have breakfast there once, and we really liked it. I'm also curious to see what the new Boardwalk restaurant will offer on their breakfast menu.

Shula's really looks fantastic. We have a Shula's here in NYC and I always wonder about trying it. Maybe that's where we should go for our anniversary in November. Hmm...

 

[KatMark]

Sounds like an absolutely delightful dinner at Shula's. We've not done the one at Disney since we have one 20 minutes from our house and we tend to not want to go somewhere at Disney that we can eat at home. We ate at the one by our house for Mark's 60th and it was spectacular.

I'm glad Michael enjoyed it.

I do have to say that Chocolate Lava cake has me drooling on my keyboard right now.

 

[kastoney]

Wow your meal looks awesome. Your hubby's dish really intrigued me, I've never heard lamb described as a porterhouse. Were they just large chops? Sounds like shulas is having no trouble eclipsing yachtsman these days.

What's up with not splitting checks though? Maybe it's a non disney thing but we are always asked when dining out with friends.

Can't wait to hear about via Napoli, as it is one of our all time favs.

 

[disney meema]

Love all the sides you all ordered and shared and especially the asparagus, yum! Shula really has some great steaks and chops of course but love their sides. What a lovely evening with friends : )

 

[abbyzmama]

OMG I am SOOO hungry now your meal looks fantastic!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I think having a group to share the side dishes is the way to go! Those portions look huge! And I'm with you when it comes to asparagus. I love it steamed with just salt and butter - plenty of butter.