Our 1st trip! 12/7-12/12 here's what we ate!

[decbysteph]

Here's a quick list of where we ate:
Tangerine Cafe
Rose and Crown
Pinochio's Village Haus
Ohanas
Flame Tree
Le Cellier
Pizza Planet
1900 Park Fare
CS in China
Boma
Mara

First I want to start by saying that I am so thankful for all the information I was able to get by using these boards for planning our wonderful trip. I would have felt so lost without knowing the stuff I did. So thanks disboards!!!

Okay, so this was our first trip to WDW, actually our first family vacation ever, anywhere! My DS (18 months) stayed at home with family, which I felt guilty at first about, but realized what a great decision I had made when I saw all those moms with screaming kids his age, waiting for tables and such.

So it was me(31), DH(37), and DD(5). DH is very picky when it comes to food out. His mother was a professional gourmet chef for many years, and they are your traditional big Italian eaters! So very rarely does my husband really enjoy eating out, because he always has to say how much better he could have made it at home!
We had the dining plan, and stayed at the BCV for 4 days and AKL for our last night. I will write a complete trip report on the trip report forum, so look into that for more on our trip!! On to the food.....

Arrival day 12/7:

I packed muffins for our morning flights, which my daughter ate while waiting to board! So we ordered 2 breakfast plates on the plane to share amongst the 3 of us. Ham and cheese croissants, fresh fruit and yogurt. We arrrived at the BC around noon and checked in. We then walked over to World Showcase for Lunch.

Tangerine Cafe in Morroco
We loved this counter service!! We decided to split 2 platters between the 3 of us. (You will see us doing this alot! I have lost 100 lbs in the last 10 months, so I just don't eat the amount I used to.)

We ordered a Lamb and Chicken Shawarma Platter:very tasty, it was slices of seasoned lamb (like gyro meat) and chicken, couscous, hummus, tabuleh, and a big hunk of bread. The meat had some of that cucumber type sauce and red onion over it. Delish!!! We loved the lamb and the tabuleh the most! (I know I am spelling everything wrong aren't I?)

Meatball Platter: didn't care for this much, the meatballs were very greasy and the rice was okay. My daughter ate most of the rice, but wouldn't touch the meatballs. I wouldn't get this again.

2 Bottled waters,

and 2 Baklava: these were edible, but not as good as most that I have had.

We did come back here later in the trip and ordered 2 Lamb Shawarma platters with extra Tabuleh. Everything actually tasted better the 2nd time, which was amazing since it was sooo good the 1st time! The 2nd Baklava was very good, and was made with pistaschios instead of walnuts like the 1st.

We sat outside by a fountain, and the whole setting was beautiful!! We rate this a 9 out of ten for CS.

While walking through Japan, my daughter wanted a cherry Kaki Gori in Japan. She really enjoyed it, and my DH said it was pretty good.


[/B][/U]Rose and Crown
What a charming atmosphere! I had requested an outside table for our 6:30 ressie, even though it was very chilly outside. To us it was nice, since when we left home (Wisconsin) that morning the temp was only 5! We did end up with a table inside however, but that was nice too. I ordered a beer, (which I can't remember how it was pronounced so excuse my butchering of spelling here) Benningtons? Very, very good! I'm not a drinker, and if I do drink I usually have a glass of wine. This was so creamy and didn't have an aftertaste. Loved it!

I decided not to order a full meal and just ordered the mushroom appetizer for my dinner. This was huge and fabulous!! Lovely whole mushrooms cooked with a cream sauce in a puff pastry.

DH ordered the cheese plate appy, which we thought was good. We are Wisconsin cheese heads and really appreciate all the different varieties of cheese. We did find that the accompanyments really made the cheese flavors so much better than when tasted on their own. If you don't like strong flavored cheeses like blue cheese, you probably won't like this.

DD ordered the Leek and Potato soup. I wasn't sure if she would like this, but she ended up licking the cup!! I tasted a spoon full and was tempted to steal it from her! Very good!!!

DH had the steak and fish dinner with mashed potatos and green beans. We didn't expect much from this entree, since we have fantastic friday night fish frys at home, and we weren't at a steak house. But this was really good! The steak was ordered medium, and was cooked perfectly! The fish was just as good as what we get at home, the green beans were great, as were the mashed potatos.

DD ordered the Cottage Pie, which came with peas. She ate the melted cheese off the top, and a few bites of the mashed potatos. She didn't care for the meat on the bottom. I thought it was tasty. She ate some of DH steak intead.

DH chose the sticky toffee pudding for dessert and a cup of earl grey tea. He loved this!! It was his favorite dessert of the trip. I wasn't sure what it would be like, and wasn't expecting it to be cake like. It was like a bread pudding in a little bundt cake shape and then a wonderful rich buttery sauce poured over it. Great stuff!!

DD had the kids make your own sundae. She really enjoyed putting the sprinkles and toppings on.

Overall we really enjoyed our meal here. Our waiter was very nice. We would definetly return. I would rate it an 8.

Bakery in France
We decided to hang around world showcase to see illuminations and I wanted a little something sweet. So I ordered a Napolean and an espresso. This was a large square of layered crisp and flakey pastry and creamy vanilla custard. Very hard to eat daintily, but who cares!! It went very good with the espresso. I wish I would have gotten around to coming back here for something else, but that never happened. This gets a 9.

That is it for day 1!
Next up, Pinochio's Village House and Ohana...

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks for the reviews, looking forward to more! I have to say that I am puzzled about Tangierine Cafe. It gets such great reviews but when we tried it the chicken and lamb on the shwarma platters was the texture of beef jerky. It was horrible. Is this the way it's supposed to be or did we hit it on a really bad day?

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent start ~ Looking forward to reading more.

 

[decbysteph]

Thanks for the reviews, looking forward to more! I have to say that I am puzzled about Tangierine Cafe. It gets such great reviews but when we tried it the chicken and lamb on the shwarma platters was the texture of beef jerky. It was horrible. Is this the way it's supposed to be or did we hit it on a really bad day?

Maybe you got it on a bad day. The meat wasn't really "moist", or fall apart tender, but I was expecting it to be like gyro meat, and that is what we recieved. Ours wasn't dry or chewy like beef jerky. I'm sorry you didn't have a better meal there. Our first fisit was around 1:00, and our second visit was at an earlier time of day, around 11:30 and things did seem even fresher and tastier, so maybe it was an "off" time when you visited. ???

 

[decbysteph]

12/8 (Day 2 MK)
We ate breakfast in our room. I had packed cereal and oatmeal and apple juice boxes, so we just bought milk at the marketplace and used the coffee maker in the room for my daily 3 cups!

Pinochio's Village Haus:
We arrived at 11:00 and got a table by the windows looking into Its a Small World. My daughter loved this!

I ordered us 2 Italian sandwiches with fries, 2 bottled waters, and 2 cannoli.
I split the sandwich and fries with DD. We both loved it!! The sandwich had many types of Italian meats, and the lettuce they put on it has a light vinegar dressing on it. (next time I would request a little more of that vineger dressing, so good!) The fries were nice and hot, and I gotta tell you, after being on a low cal diet for the last year, those fries tasted darn good to me!!!

Do you remember me saying that my DH was Italian and very picky about having "good food"? I was really worried this would not be up to his standards. He inhaled that sandwich!! He loved it!! Of course, he could have "made it better at home", but he did say he really enjoyed it!! He did not however approve of the cannoli. It was not "authentic". No ricotta? I liked it though! And my daughter was happy he didn't like it, because that quickly became hers! Which is funny because she doesn't like the cannoli his family makes at home! So this gets an 8. (By the way, I wish I would have tried the Figaro fries....)

Grand Floridian Gasperilla Grill/Games
We came over to the Grand Floridian so my daughter could go to the Wonderland Tea Party. After dropping her off, my DH wanted a snack. So we found the CS area there. It was really chilly this day, so we got 2 coffees and DH got a brownie. That was a really good brownie!! I was surprised how good it was. DH wasn't that impressed.


Ohanas
This was our favorite meal of the trip!!

We arrived at 5:30. I requested a view of the castle. I don't think we waited more than 3 minutes. We recieved a great table with a great view of the castle!! We had a great waiter. I ordered a Lapu Lapu, which came in a pineapple. This was great!! Perhaps a little too good, since I don't normally drink alcohol, and I've lost over 100 lbs, I really felt all warm and fuzzy inside!! My husband just laughed at me all night!! My DD LOVED the coconut races and when the man would go around singing she would get up in front of all the tables and start doing a hula. Now, she has never been taught to hula, but she did a darn good one!! My DH and I were both embarassed and proud of our little entertainer!! People were clapping for her and she would bow and then start all over again! She even got a certificate from the waitstaff for being such a good entertainer, which had signatures from Micky, and other characters on it too! During our meal we watched Wishes, which we had never seen before. That with the music that they had piped in, made me cry like a baby. How beautiful!!! It was a perfect night, perfect atmosphere, oh and perfect food!!

The chips and sauces were okay, but I didn't want to fill up on those.
Shrimp and wings, these were very good, but I was expecting more sauce on the sweet and sour shrimp. I also was expecting some moist towels, but we never got those. Oh well.

The meats (steak, pork, turkey, sausages) were fabulous!!! I was worried my DH would find something wrong with the meats, but he was in awe of the turkey and pork!!! The flavor was soooo good, and they were so moist!! He said he has to find out how they prepared the turkey and pork. The steak was good and my DD liked the sausage, but my favorite was the pork, and DH was surprised that his favorite was the turkey. (since I can only get him to eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and he even grumbles about that sometimes!)

The veggies were okay, just the norm at home. Potatos were good, we aren't really big potato people, so we concentrated more on the meat. Oh, the salad however I really enjoyed! The dressing was really refreshing (honey and lime?).

The dessert? Oh my.... This was my favorite of the trip! Bread pudding with vanilla icecream and banana foster sauce. They gave my DD a bowl of icecream separatly, and we poured the leftover banana foster sauce over it. She inhaled it!! My DH said it was very good, but he like the sticky toffee pudding at the Rose and Crown better. Great, now I'm wishing I had a giant bowl of that Ohana dessert right in front of me!!!

Overall, with the great waiter, great view, my crying over Wishes fireworks, my daughter's hulas, and the fabulous food, we give it a perfect 10!!! If we ever get back to WDW, we will definetly be coming back!!

Up next, day 3 with Flame Tree and Le Cellier.....

 

[dixiedizfan]

Love your reviews ... looking forward to the rest. And isn't the bread pudding at 'Ohana to die for!

 

[lisaj]

This is what I call a dining review. Great information and your little one sounds wonderful.

 

[loralie]

Great reviews...congrats on losing 100 lbs. I have to lose about 85 lbs. If you don't mind me asking...how did you lose all the weight?

Thanks,

Loralie

 

[crazy4dizney]

Love your reviews. Great job. Keep them coming.

 

[BoosGram]

Thanks for posting. You are covering a lot of the places we are planning to visit on our trip with DGD4 next October. I'm really hoping she enjoys Ohana as much as your little one. Waiting for the reviews for Le Cellier and Flame Tree! Oh, and big congrats on the weight loss. I'm hoping to shed a few (!?! a few? ha!) in the next few months, too.

 

[BriarRosie]

I always enjoy seeing how a first time visitor feels about the dining.
Much of the time, they either love it or hate it. So far, it seems you've had
winners.

I also like the lamb at Tangierine Cafe, by the way. I expect it to be
like gyros meat, and it is. Except I found the Tangierine does "gyros" a
little better than I have at home, and we have some really good gyros
here!

 

[labdogs42]

Yeah! Someone else who loves Ohana!! I just can't get enough of the turkey, pork, or dessert there either!!! Next time, I'm asking for a castle view, too. What time should I plan dinner so i can still be there for Wishes? Great reviews, keep 'em coming!

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for the reviews, I'm enjoying them. And congrats on the weight loss!

 

[Disney owl]

thanks for sharing

 

[decbysteph]

Great reviews...congrats on losing 100 lbs. I have to lose about 85 lbs. If you don't mind me asking...how did you lose all the weight?

Thanks,

Loralie

I get this question all the time! I actually just decided one day (after attending a friend's funeral that had died due to over weight caused conditions) that I didn't want my children to repeat this cycle, and I wanted them to have a more healthy and active mom. No surgery, magic pills, or special diets, just smarter choices. I learned to really cut back on my portions and count calories, and decide what food choices were going to be healthier for my body. Excersize was the biggest challenge and ended up being the best thing I have ever done for myself! I hated it at first!! But really learned to love it. I now jog 5 miles 4 times a week! I never would have imagined that I would be jogging! I really beleive in my case that it was a food addiction, and it was all in my mind. I needed to find other ways of comforting, celebrating, or dealing with tiredness and bordom. I still love food, and my husband and I love to cook, but we do alot of "tasting" rather than inhaling large plates of food. I would be happy to help anyone out there that wants some of my tips and some great books and dvds that changed my life!!

 

[Leota]

I am loving your report. I also like "seeing" WDW in all it's facets thru a First Timers Eyes. You also happened on one of my favorite places (Tangereine - I am addicted to the Tabbouleh wrap) and we also really love the Turkey at Ohana. Can't wait to read the rest & Congrats on the Healthier Lifestyle. Doesn't it feel great?!?

 

[decbysteph]

Well I'm home with the flu, so let's see if I can get through with the rest of my reviews!!

Day 3
We went to AK this morning, because it was a cool day and we thought we would see more animals that way. Well, we also saw a lot more people, was it because it was a Saturday??

We stopped at the Bakery in Africa (sorry I can't remember its name), because I heard they had good cinnamon rolls.

We ordered 1 cinnamon roll, 1 caramel roll (or my husband calls them sticky buns), 1 coffee and 1 bottle of water. The baked goods were really wonderful!! The cinnamon roll was flakey and slightly crispy on the outside, but not like a dried out old roll! We couldn't decide which we liked more, the
caramel or cinnamon! I think I leaned more towards the cinnamon. I would definetly recommend getting one with a coffee and sitting outside in the back sidewalk area- very authentic looking area.


Flame Tree

My husband loves ribs, so he was looking forward to this lunch!!
We ordered 2 rib platters and an order of onion rings, a chocolate cake, and a key lime pie. Oh and 2 bottled waters.
The ribs were really great!! My husband really liked the rub they had on, and prefered his without the sauce that I got on the side. I liked them better with the sauce. They were tender and very flavorful. My daughter was happy to eat our corn on the cob and baked beans (I didn't think the corn was too good, but it is December right?) Beans were very good.
The onion rings were great! They were big, freshly made, and had a great batter.
The chocolate cake was really good, nice and moist and great frosting! I couldn't make one better at home!! The key lime pie was also very good, and not a "gross, generic bright green fake key lime" (my husband's words). We walked down by the seating area right by the water. Boy, what a great view of Expedition Everest! With the cool breeze and great temperature (I think it was in the upper 60's/low 70's) it was a perfect setting! So we thought this was a definite 10 CS meal. (We did return on our last day for 1 last rib platter and choc. cake!)

Le Cellier
This was a night out for DH and I. DD stayed at the Kids Club. We arrived at 4:45 for our 4:50 ADR. We were seated right at 4:50, and I was surprised that they were taking people that didn't have ADRs. We were seated at a very tiny table, about the size of 1 TV tray! But we didn't care, we don't ever get a night out without the kids! We could hear every word the table next to us was saying, so that I almost thought I should join in there conversation! Okay the food...
I started with a frozen coffee drink, which was okay, but after a couple sips decided I didn't want to get filled up on a drink. My DH liked it, so I drank it.
I ordered the mussels, which I have never had before. They were cooked in a creamy sauce with potatos, onion and bacon. I felt a little akward scooping the mussels out of the shells, since I thought I would accidently fling one onto my nieghbor! But I would definetly get them again.
DH had the cheese soup. I tasted it, very, very good. He enjoyed it also. I could taste the beer in it, and it tasted like soup that we get frequently in Wisconsin.
We tried the breadsticks, and I have got to tell you, I didn't really care that much for the pretzel ones. My favorite was the sourdough, and DH liked the multigrain. I did dip a pretzel one into the soup, and that was very good. But on their own, I wasn't that impressed.
We both ordered the mushroom filets. We both ordered them medium. I wished I would have tried it Medium rare, but they were perfectly cooked. I really thought it was a good piece of meat, but my DH's best friend has a cattle ranch, so of course it wasn't as good as those steaks! DH said it was okay, but he would have rather had more ribs from Flame Tree! The rissoto was very lovely, but a bit too salty. The fried parsnips on top of the filet were very salty, like those french fried onions. By this time, I was really getting full, so in order to leave some room for dessert, I gave my DH half of my filet. He said mine tasted better than his?!?
For dessert we both ordered the creme brulee sampler. Vanilla on one side and maple on the other. The flavor of both were very sweet and creamy. I think I liked the maple more. But we didn't like the consistency, it was more like pudding. It wasn't as firm as it should have been.
So overall, I was kind of dissapointed. It just wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Nothing was bad, it's just that nothing was fabulous. So we'll give it a 8 from DH and a 8+ from me.

Next up, Toy Story Pizza Planet and 1900 Park Fare dinner with Cindy!

 

[Blaynexox]

Love the reviews! Congrats on your weight loss

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

Dining looks great so far, can't wait to hear more. Sorry to hear you have the flu!!

 

[teslaaunt]

Keep'em coming, this is great, Thank You!!