tweetylori
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2004
Eating Our Way Thru Orlando: The Reviews
Cast: Me: The Planner 44
DH: 43
DS 15
DSS 13 Stepsons first trip to Orlando
Ratings: 1 never again, no way Jose!
2 have had worse, but not much
3 good
4 very good
5 awesome!
DAY 1: Long Drive, topped off with dinner at Rainforest Café
Thank God I had purchased a membership or it wouldve been a 280 min. wait! (Downtown Disney, Saturday night, primetime). Instead, our wait was about 45 min.
Shared appetizer (free with membership): BigBluCrabDip (wouldve been $8.99) yummy!
DS & I decided to share two dishes Rasta Pasta & Burger w/Fries. The Burger really hit the spot. Couldnt eat must of the pasta. We got full too fast. Ive had this pasta in the past and I remember it being better. Maybe I was in more of a burger mood than I realized. We took the rest of the pasta back to the suite and stuck it in the fridge, but unfortunately never ate it. I hate wasting food oh well.
DH & DSS shared Planet E Pasta and a Burger w/chips. They ate every bit.
All around a good dining experience. We had a coupon for $10 off, which I got for joining the club. The bill before discounts was $82.41 after discounts it was $67.67, and that included 2 glasses of wine and three soft drinks. Soft drinks are a bit pricey here, imo $2.49 a piece, but the way my guys down em, they got our moneys worth!
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 4
Value (food, vs.price) 4
Membership Card 5 (so glad I got it!)
DAY 2: Breakfast at the hotel (Springhill Suites at the Marriott Village) Very decent continental breakfast that includes any and every kind of carb youd ever care to eat. Plus one extra each day. Today was egg & cheese English Muffin Sandwich day. Decent, and well worth the price (free with room-rate).
Snack/lunch: Finnegans Bar & Grill at Universal Studios
None of us were overly hungry yet, but we really needed a break from the heat, so we stopped in to get hydrated and cooled off. Ordered four soft drinks. We shared 10-wings and an onion webb. (Fried shredded onions and potatoes) all was quite tasty, we drank our body-weight in soft drinks, and the total
Cost was $23.33 (before tip)
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 4 (we sat at the bar)
Value 5 for getting us hydrated and cooled off much smarter than buying a drink and snacks in the park and eating outside!
Hard Rock Café: early dinner Used our All Access Pass for immediate seating. DH & I shared a Roast Beef sandwich and a Jerk Chicken Sandwich. The Roast Beef turned out to be the real winner. It was huge and very good! Made the chicken sandwich look wimpy. Both kids got burgers & fries. They said they were very good.
Pulled out my AAA card for a 10% discount total w/3 soft drinks & 2 glasses Chardonnay $62.95 including tip.
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 3
Value 4
Hard Rock Cafés are consistently good and a pretty good value, imo.
DAY 3: No hotel breakfast for us. We slept in. Woke up starving. Went to Chevys on the way to Disney Quest. It was a rainy Monday.
Ahhhh Mexican, the breakfast of champions! We dont have a Chevys at home, so this was a nice treat for four starving breakfast-missing travelers.
It didnt take us long to polish off a ton of chips and delicious salsa with our predictable drinks of choice (Diet Coke for DH & DSS, Sprite for DS, and Chardonnay and water w/lemon for me hey, Im on vacation!)
DSS & I had combo plates with 3 items plus beans and rice. DH had the Saucy Rito (think HUGE burrito), and DS had a Tostada salad. Everything was very very good. And the total before tip was
$48.42.
Ratings: Food 4
Service 4
Value 5
After a day of trying to avoid rude adults at DisneyQuest, we had a late dinner at Wolfgang Pucks. The Mexican food had stuck to our ribs for a long time, and we still werent up for huge quantities just good, tasty food. Okay, Okay we went there for the crème brulee trio a MUST for me every Orlando trip.
We started with our usual drinks and shared the Spinach w/5 cheese dip. Wonderful! Also, they brought us some nice bread and butter. Very good as well. We then shared two pizzas. One was a pepperoni one, but not an ordinary pepperoni pizza a Wolfgang pepperoni pizza In other words, small and thin but tasty! The other pizza was a sausage w/broccoli rabe and olives. We asked for the olives on the side, because DS wont eat them, but they mustve misunderstood, cause they brought us extra olives on the side, but still had chopped ones on the pizza. The pizzas were good, but now that places like Calif.Pizza Kitchen exist, theyre certainly not as special as they wouldve been before. And much more expensive. Our goal was to not get too full for dessert, and that was not a problem. We ordered the crème brulee trio vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch. Also a piece of carrot cake. All were very good. Nothing huge, but tasty.
The bill was $78.44 before tip and that included three glasses of wine which was almost $18 just for them.
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 3
Value 3
DAY 4: We did get up for the free breakfast, but stuck with carbs instead of the daily special item, which turned out to be hard-boiled eggs okayyyy, to each his own. Ill pass, unless theyre deviled, maybe, but these were plain.
Breakfast held us off until our 1:00 PS at Kona Café. Yup this was our Magic Kingdom day, and just like Universal, I wanted us to have a nice break in the middle of the day to get cooled off and hydrated. Having read menus at AllEars, this seemed like a great place for a middle-of-the-day break. Was I ever right!
We started with our usual drinks. DS & I ordered the Asian Noodle Bowl. DH had the BBQ Pork Sandwich, and DSS the Big Kahuna Burger. I thought the Noodle Bowl was okay. Not much to it besides noodles and broth. I expected more meat & veggies for $12.99, and the only flavor was the hot sauce they brought that was VERY hot. Added more heat than flavor. I was pretty much coveting DSSs juicy big burger and DHs Asian slaw that came with his sandwich.
Service had been spotty up to this point also, when a new waitress appeared and asked us if we wanted to go see the desserts. Okay! Going to see the desserts, led to us ordering 4 of them, with the intention of sharing. I had to try the Koko Puffs, DH the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart, DS the White Chocolate Cheesecake, and DSS the Kiddie Kone. (which does not mean kiddie-small). Chef Michael mustve gotten a kick out of us, cause he sent us a fifth dessert on the house! This was one he said he had just created that was a chocolate piece of heaven, that oozed chocolate when you dug into it. The kiddie kone looked awesome if you like that kind of thing. I was impressed by the Mickey sprinkles, and the blue cotton candy at its base. Im also not a big cheesecake fan, but my sons looked great. It was a mound of cheesecake, decorated with half white chocolate frosting and half dark chocolate. The big winners were the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart, and the free dessert. My Koko Puffs were great too, but those others were incredible. We literally had a dessert orgy! YUM!
Ratings: Food Food 3 ½
Desserts 5
Service Waitress 1 2
Waitress 2 4
Value: 4 I would not hesitate to go back, but would order something besides the Asian Noodle Bowl for an entrée.
Dinner: We ended up so full and so busy for the rest of our Magic Kingdom day, that we waited until we left for a late dinner at Uno Chicago Grill. We each got an individual deep dish pizza, plus we had 3 soft drinks and 2 glasses of wine total was $52.55 before tip. Pizzas were good they took awhile, but thats what happens when you order deep dish. I could only eat a couple pieces of mine. Took the rest back to the hotel fridge. Hubby ate them our last day for breakfast.
Ratings: Food 3
Service 3
Value 3
DAY 5: Breakfast was a light one at the hotel. I believe this was Sausage Biscuit Day. Do-able.
This day we went to downtown Orlando to take my Grandmother out to lunch. She lives in a retirement home on Church Street. We walked from there over to the Lake Eola Yacht Club. We were seated right away, and ordered drinks. (the usuals, coffee for Grandma) they brought rolls. DS & I each ordered a shrimp/lobster pasta dish that was loaded with butter & garlic. DH had a mushroom ravioli dish with a creamy gorgonzola-type sauce. DSS had a burger, I do believe (his usual), and Grandma had the Fish & Chips. All entrees were in the $10-$15 range. I cant find my receipt now. I had bought an Orlando Entertainment Book before we went and used the coupon for one free lunch. thus saving $10. The food was excellent, and plentiful. Grandmas came with three large pieces of fish. She ate two, bought brought the other home for another meal. (Grandma doesnt waste food, ever!)
Ratings: Food 4 ½
Service 3 ½
Value 4 (great quality for the price! Plus the coupon didnt hurt!)
Adventurers Club: We went there for drinks later. They dont serve food. Drinks are quite expensive. My DH had to try their famous drink, I had a glass of wine and 2 soft drinks for the kids was $16. But the kids then decided to try one of the non-alcoholic strawberry drinks, thus bringing the next round to $26.
However, lots of fun was to be had, and we left before we had to pay a fee to get in.
We then went back to the hotel, and walked over to Bahama Breeze where we had our usual drinks. I had a Caeser salad, DS had the Jerk Shrimp, and DH & DSS shared the Cuban Bread and Chicken Quesadilla.
Total was $41.56 before tip.
Food 3
Service 3
Value 3
DAY 6 Back to the Parks this time Epcot! Since we were up early, we each grabbed some breakfast at the hotel. It was Cheese and Egg Sandwich day again, I do believe. Their best extra imo. I convinced the guys when we got to Epcot that we should make a PS for lunch, to cool off and get hydrated. Before we left for Orlando, we had decided to go eat in Mexico, but since we had had Chevys a couple days before, we decided to try something else. So we made a 1:00 ps for Chefs de France. This would be our first time there.
We arrived about 10 min. early, but were seated promptly. The waiter immediately came over to try and sell us on one of their wine cocktails that come mixed with blackberry liquer. Unfortunately, I couldnt understand what he was saying. I probably wouldve loved to try one, but until I read the menu, I didnt comprehend what he said, so I just ordered a regular glass of wine. The guys ordered their usual soft drinks. 3 of us, me, DH and DS decided on the French Menu for lunch, especially after the waiter said my DS could have lobster bisque instead of the French onion soup. (he hates onions). DSS ordered the soup of the day (potato-leek) and the Chicken crepe. Rolls were brought out first, then huge bowls of soup. My DH and I had the wonderful French-onion. Probably the best Ive ever had! But I had to try DSs lobster bisque, and boy was that awesome! When I go back one day, Ill be torn between the two! DSS liked his soup. It was pureed and he didnt seem disturbed by its green color. The rest of our lunch came out very quickly. Ham & Cheese sandwiches with greens & vinaigrette for the three of us. No ordinary sandwiches here! Very rich! Very cheesy! And not 2 pieces, but 3 a piece! DSSs crepe was HUGE, and chock full of chicken and mushrooms, in a béarnaise-type sauce. He liked it and managed to polish off the whole thing. I did what I could with my sandwiches, but I knew crème brulee was right around the corner, so I couldnt finish them. The four of us then proceeded to polish off 3 large vanilla crème brulees. Made the Wolfgang Puck ones from the other night look itsy bitsy. In hindsight, we shouldve probably split two of the French Menu lunches among 3 of us, instead of each having our own. The French lunch, by the way, is $14.95 for the three courses soup, sandwich w/salad and crème brulee. The total bill that included 2 glasses of wine and 3 soft drinks was $85.79 plus tip. I would not hesitate to go back to this restaurant! And a great value for the quality and quantity!
Food 5
Service 5
Value 5
Once again, we managed to get cooled off and well-hydrated so that we could hit Epcot for the rest of the day! After watching Illuminations, we left the park for a late dinner.
Steak N Shake DH & I shared a Frisco Melt Platter w/Chili & Fries (chili on the side)
The boys each got Double CheeseBurgers and fries. One child tried the Mint chocolate Chip shake, another had strawberry. Diet Coke for DH, and a tea for me. (they dont have wine there, thus cramping my vacation-style a bit). The Frisco Melt was actually smaller than I expected. I couldve eaten a whole one after all, but probably best that I didnt. The chili was so-so, I wouldnt order that there again. Kids loved their burgers, fries and shakes. They were very happy at this restaurant selection.
The total was $26.29 before tip.
Food: 3
Service: 3
Value: 3
DAY 7 We slept in a little, not too late to miss a bite of breakfast, then it was off to SeaWorld. Hot Hot SeaWorld. Miserably-hot SeaWorld. Lunch was a stop at Spice Mill. It is served cafeteria style. Three of us ordered the steak & cheese sandwiches, with onions and peppers (minus the onions and peppers for DS) DH got the Habanero Chicken Sandwich. DS also got a side Caeser salad. We had to wait at the end of the line for them to finish cooking up the steak for the sandwiches. They turned out to be well worth the wait. The whole premise of this place is that theyre not afraid of using tasty spices! The steak was lean and perfectly cooked. The cheese sauce on them was delicious, not your usual fake-cheese stuff that goes on nachos. The peppers were a variety and good. DH liked his sandwich also. DS did not like his salad, cause they had added citrus to the dressing. His loss was my gain, as I thought it was delicious and very fresh tasting. My only complaint with eating here was no free drink refills. My guys can put down the soft drinks and I think this helped lead to a calling-it quits early day. They didnt get their usual middle-of-the-day hydration in the Florida heat.
Total for four sandwiches, three soft drinks, a tea and a side salad was $46.70.
Food 4
Service there is none (thus no tip either)
Value 3
We ended up leaving SeaWorld early due to the heat and our fatigue. After resting at the hotel for awhile, we decided to venture out to Joes Crab Shack. A risky adventure on a busy Friday night at prime-time, but hey we had our Rainforest membership and I was not afraid to use it! I flashed that baby and it reduced a two-hour waiting time to about 10 min. Yipee!! We ordered our usual round of drinks. The place was very very crowded. Waiter had to be reminded to get my wine. DS ordered the clam chowder and a lobster & shrimp salad. I ordered a combo special they had with Dungeness Crab (bbq-style for me, please!) and Fried Shrimp, with a twice-baked tater. DH had the fried shrimp platter that had several different types of shrimp. DSS who had sworn he doesnt like seafood was finally convinced to try some. He orderd the Hawaiian chicken w/Coconut Shrimp. My dinner was absolutely wonderful! From the crab, to the shrimp to the tater it was sooooo yummy! DSS ended up liking his fathers regular fried shrimp better than his coconut shrimp, so now he likes shrimp!! He said the chicken was good also. All three guys had double-scoop dishes of ice cream for dessert (where DO they put it???) The only disappointment was DSs lobster and shrimp salad. He expected a salad/salad, and instead it was a mayonnaisy-type pasta salad. He doesnt care for mayo, so that was disappointing. We were supposed to get 10% off with the Rainforest membership, but they said they couldnt do that because we had all ordered special promotion meals, so they took off DSs clam chowder instead. Okay. Anything is fine were full and happy here!
The total, which included 3 soft drinks and 3 glasses of wine, was $85.89 before tip (but after the $4.49 clam chowder came off the bill).
Food 5
Service 3 ½
Value 4
A great last meal, before we had to hit the road the next day!
Cast: Me: The Planner 44
DH: 43
DS 15
DSS 13 Stepsons first trip to Orlando
Ratings: 1 never again, no way Jose!
2 have had worse, but not much
3 good
4 very good
5 awesome!
DAY 1: Long Drive, topped off with dinner at Rainforest Café
Thank God I had purchased a membership or it wouldve been a 280 min. wait! (Downtown Disney, Saturday night, primetime). Instead, our wait was about 45 min.
Shared appetizer (free with membership): BigBluCrabDip (wouldve been $8.99) yummy!
DS & I decided to share two dishes Rasta Pasta & Burger w/Fries. The Burger really hit the spot. Couldnt eat must of the pasta. We got full too fast. Ive had this pasta in the past and I remember it being better. Maybe I was in more of a burger mood than I realized. We took the rest of the pasta back to the suite and stuck it in the fridge, but unfortunately never ate it. I hate wasting food oh well.
DH & DSS shared Planet E Pasta and a Burger w/chips. They ate every bit.
All around a good dining experience. We had a coupon for $10 off, which I got for joining the club. The bill before discounts was $82.41 after discounts it was $67.67, and that included 2 glasses of wine and three soft drinks. Soft drinks are a bit pricey here, imo $2.49 a piece, but the way my guys down em, they got our moneys worth!
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 4
Value (food, vs.price) 4
Membership Card 5 (so glad I got it!)
DAY 2: Breakfast at the hotel (Springhill Suites at the Marriott Village) Very decent continental breakfast that includes any and every kind of carb youd ever care to eat. Plus one extra each day. Today was egg & cheese English Muffin Sandwich day. Decent, and well worth the price (free with room-rate).
Snack/lunch: Finnegans Bar & Grill at Universal Studios
None of us were overly hungry yet, but we really needed a break from the heat, so we stopped in to get hydrated and cooled off. Ordered four soft drinks. We shared 10-wings and an onion webb. (Fried shredded onions and potatoes) all was quite tasty, we drank our body-weight in soft drinks, and the total
Cost was $23.33 (before tip)
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 4 (we sat at the bar)
Value 5 for getting us hydrated and cooled off much smarter than buying a drink and snacks in the park and eating outside!
Hard Rock Café: early dinner Used our All Access Pass for immediate seating. DH & I shared a Roast Beef sandwich and a Jerk Chicken Sandwich. The Roast Beef turned out to be the real winner. It was huge and very good! Made the chicken sandwich look wimpy. Both kids got burgers & fries. They said they were very good.
Pulled out my AAA card for a 10% discount total w/3 soft drinks & 2 glasses Chardonnay $62.95 including tip.
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 3
Value 4
Hard Rock Cafés are consistently good and a pretty good value, imo.
DAY 3: No hotel breakfast for us. We slept in. Woke up starving. Went to Chevys on the way to Disney Quest. It was a rainy Monday.
Ahhhh Mexican, the breakfast of champions! We dont have a Chevys at home, so this was a nice treat for four starving breakfast-missing travelers.
It didnt take us long to polish off a ton of chips and delicious salsa with our predictable drinks of choice (Diet Coke for DH & DSS, Sprite for DS, and Chardonnay and water w/lemon for me hey, Im on vacation!)
DSS & I had combo plates with 3 items plus beans and rice. DH had the Saucy Rito (think HUGE burrito), and DS had a Tostada salad. Everything was very very good. And the total before tip was
$48.42.
Ratings: Food 4
Service 4
Value 5
After a day of trying to avoid rude adults at DisneyQuest, we had a late dinner at Wolfgang Pucks. The Mexican food had stuck to our ribs for a long time, and we still werent up for huge quantities just good, tasty food. Okay, Okay we went there for the crème brulee trio a MUST for me every Orlando trip.
We started with our usual drinks and shared the Spinach w/5 cheese dip. Wonderful! Also, they brought us some nice bread and butter. Very good as well. We then shared two pizzas. One was a pepperoni one, but not an ordinary pepperoni pizza a Wolfgang pepperoni pizza In other words, small and thin but tasty! The other pizza was a sausage w/broccoli rabe and olives. We asked for the olives on the side, because DS wont eat them, but they mustve misunderstood, cause they brought us extra olives on the side, but still had chopped ones on the pizza. The pizzas were good, but now that places like Calif.Pizza Kitchen exist, theyre certainly not as special as they wouldve been before. And much more expensive. Our goal was to not get too full for dessert, and that was not a problem. We ordered the crème brulee trio vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch. Also a piece of carrot cake. All were very good. Nothing huge, but tasty.
The bill was $78.44 before tip and that included three glasses of wine which was almost $18 just for them.
Ratings: Food 3 ½
Service 3
Value 3
DAY 4: We did get up for the free breakfast, but stuck with carbs instead of the daily special item, which turned out to be hard-boiled eggs okayyyy, to each his own. Ill pass, unless theyre deviled, maybe, but these were plain.
Breakfast held us off until our 1:00 PS at Kona Café. Yup this was our Magic Kingdom day, and just like Universal, I wanted us to have a nice break in the middle of the day to get cooled off and hydrated. Having read menus at AllEars, this seemed like a great place for a middle-of-the-day break. Was I ever right!
We started with our usual drinks. DS & I ordered the Asian Noodle Bowl. DH had the BBQ Pork Sandwich, and DSS the Big Kahuna Burger. I thought the Noodle Bowl was okay. Not much to it besides noodles and broth. I expected more meat & veggies for $12.99, and the only flavor was the hot sauce they brought that was VERY hot. Added more heat than flavor. I was pretty much coveting DSSs juicy big burger and DHs Asian slaw that came with his sandwich.
Service had been spotty up to this point also, when a new waitress appeared and asked us if we wanted to go see the desserts. Okay! Going to see the desserts, led to us ordering 4 of them, with the intention of sharing. I had to try the Koko Puffs, DH the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart, DS the White Chocolate Cheesecake, and DSS the Kiddie Kone. (which does not mean kiddie-small). Chef Michael mustve gotten a kick out of us, cause he sent us a fifth dessert on the house! This was one he said he had just created that was a chocolate piece of heaven, that oozed chocolate when you dug into it. The kiddie kone looked awesome if you like that kind of thing. I was impressed by the Mickey sprinkles, and the blue cotton candy at its base. Im also not a big cheesecake fan, but my sons looked great. It was a mound of cheesecake, decorated with half white chocolate frosting and half dark chocolate. The big winners were the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart, and the free dessert. My Koko Puffs were great too, but those others were incredible. We literally had a dessert orgy! YUM!
Ratings: Food Food 3 ½
Desserts 5
Service Waitress 1 2
Waitress 2 4
Value: 4 I would not hesitate to go back, but would order something besides the Asian Noodle Bowl for an entrée.
Dinner: We ended up so full and so busy for the rest of our Magic Kingdom day, that we waited until we left for a late dinner at Uno Chicago Grill. We each got an individual deep dish pizza, plus we had 3 soft drinks and 2 glasses of wine total was $52.55 before tip. Pizzas were good they took awhile, but thats what happens when you order deep dish. I could only eat a couple pieces of mine. Took the rest back to the hotel fridge. Hubby ate them our last day for breakfast.
Ratings: Food 3
Service 3
Value 3
DAY 5: Breakfast was a light one at the hotel. I believe this was Sausage Biscuit Day. Do-able.
This day we went to downtown Orlando to take my Grandmother out to lunch. She lives in a retirement home on Church Street. We walked from there over to the Lake Eola Yacht Club. We were seated right away, and ordered drinks. (the usuals, coffee for Grandma) they brought rolls. DS & I each ordered a shrimp/lobster pasta dish that was loaded with butter & garlic. DH had a mushroom ravioli dish with a creamy gorgonzola-type sauce. DSS had a burger, I do believe (his usual), and Grandma had the Fish & Chips. All entrees were in the $10-$15 range. I cant find my receipt now. I had bought an Orlando Entertainment Book before we went and used the coupon for one free lunch. thus saving $10. The food was excellent, and plentiful. Grandmas came with three large pieces of fish. She ate two, bought brought the other home for another meal. (Grandma doesnt waste food, ever!)
Ratings: Food 4 ½
Service 3 ½
Value 4 (great quality for the price! Plus the coupon didnt hurt!)
Adventurers Club: We went there for drinks later. They dont serve food. Drinks are quite expensive. My DH had to try their famous drink, I had a glass of wine and 2 soft drinks for the kids was $16. But the kids then decided to try one of the non-alcoholic strawberry drinks, thus bringing the next round to $26.
However, lots of fun was to be had, and we left before we had to pay a fee to get in.
We then went back to the hotel, and walked over to Bahama Breeze where we had our usual drinks. I had a Caeser salad, DS had the Jerk Shrimp, and DH & DSS shared the Cuban Bread and Chicken Quesadilla.
Total was $41.56 before tip.
Food 3
Service 3
Value 3
DAY 6 Back to the Parks this time Epcot! Since we were up early, we each grabbed some breakfast at the hotel. It was Cheese and Egg Sandwich day again, I do believe. Their best extra imo. I convinced the guys when we got to Epcot that we should make a PS for lunch, to cool off and get hydrated. Before we left for Orlando, we had decided to go eat in Mexico, but since we had had Chevys a couple days before, we decided to try something else. So we made a 1:00 ps for Chefs de France. This would be our first time there.
We arrived about 10 min. early, but were seated promptly. The waiter immediately came over to try and sell us on one of their wine cocktails that come mixed with blackberry liquer. Unfortunately, I couldnt understand what he was saying. I probably wouldve loved to try one, but until I read the menu, I didnt comprehend what he said, so I just ordered a regular glass of wine. The guys ordered their usual soft drinks. 3 of us, me, DH and DS decided on the French Menu for lunch, especially after the waiter said my DS could have lobster bisque instead of the French onion soup. (he hates onions). DSS ordered the soup of the day (potato-leek) and the Chicken crepe. Rolls were brought out first, then huge bowls of soup. My DH and I had the wonderful French-onion. Probably the best Ive ever had! But I had to try DSs lobster bisque, and boy was that awesome! When I go back one day, Ill be torn between the two! DSS liked his soup. It was pureed and he didnt seem disturbed by its green color. The rest of our lunch came out very quickly. Ham & Cheese sandwiches with greens & vinaigrette for the three of us. No ordinary sandwiches here! Very rich! Very cheesy! And not 2 pieces, but 3 a piece! DSSs crepe was HUGE, and chock full of chicken and mushrooms, in a béarnaise-type sauce. He liked it and managed to polish off the whole thing. I did what I could with my sandwiches, but I knew crème brulee was right around the corner, so I couldnt finish them. The four of us then proceeded to polish off 3 large vanilla crème brulees. Made the Wolfgang Puck ones from the other night look itsy bitsy. In hindsight, we shouldve probably split two of the French Menu lunches among 3 of us, instead of each having our own. The French lunch, by the way, is $14.95 for the three courses soup, sandwich w/salad and crème brulee. The total bill that included 2 glasses of wine and 3 soft drinks was $85.79 plus tip. I would not hesitate to go back to this restaurant! And a great value for the quality and quantity!
Food 5
Service 5
Value 5
Once again, we managed to get cooled off and well-hydrated so that we could hit Epcot for the rest of the day! After watching Illuminations, we left the park for a late dinner.
Steak N Shake DH & I shared a Frisco Melt Platter w/Chili & Fries (chili on the side)
The boys each got Double CheeseBurgers and fries. One child tried the Mint chocolate Chip shake, another had strawberry. Diet Coke for DH, and a tea for me. (they dont have wine there, thus cramping my vacation-style a bit). The Frisco Melt was actually smaller than I expected. I couldve eaten a whole one after all, but probably best that I didnt. The chili was so-so, I wouldnt order that there again. Kids loved their burgers, fries and shakes. They were very happy at this restaurant selection.
The total was $26.29 before tip.
Food: 3
Service: 3
Value: 3
DAY 7 We slept in a little, not too late to miss a bite of breakfast, then it was off to SeaWorld. Hot Hot SeaWorld. Miserably-hot SeaWorld. Lunch was a stop at Spice Mill. It is served cafeteria style. Three of us ordered the steak & cheese sandwiches, with onions and peppers (minus the onions and peppers for DS) DH got the Habanero Chicken Sandwich. DS also got a side Caeser salad. We had to wait at the end of the line for them to finish cooking up the steak for the sandwiches. They turned out to be well worth the wait. The whole premise of this place is that theyre not afraid of using tasty spices! The steak was lean and perfectly cooked. The cheese sauce on them was delicious, not your usual fake-cheese stuff that goes on nachos. The peppers were a variety and good. DH liked his sandwich also. DS did not like his salad, cause they had added citrus to the dressing. His loss was my gain, as I thought it was delicious and very fresh tasting. My only complaint with eating here was no free drink refills. My guys can put down the soft drinks and I think this helped lead to a calling-it quits early day. They didnt get their usual middle-of-the-day hydration in the Florida heat.
Total for four sandwiches, three soft drinks, a tea and a side salad was $46.70.
Food 4
Service there is none (thus no tip either)
Value 3
We ended up leaving SeaWorld early due to the heat and our fatigue. After resting at the hotel for awhile, we decided to venture out to Joes Crab Shack. A risky adventure on a busy Friday night at prime-time, but hey we had our Rainforest membership and I was not afraid to use it! I flashed that baby and it reduced a two-hour waiting time to about 10 min. Yipee!! We ordered our usual round of drinks. The place was very very crowded. Waiter had to be reminded to get my wine. DS ordered the clam chowder and a lobster & shrimp salad. I ordered a combo special they had with Dungeness Crab (bbq-style for me, please!) and Fried Shrimp, with a twice-baked tater. DH had the fried shrimp platter that had several different types of shrimp. DSS who had sworn he doesnt like seafood was finally convinced to try some. He orderd the Hawaiian chicken w/Coconut Shrimp. My dinner was absolutely wonderful! From the crab, to the shrimp to the tater it was sooooo yummy! DSS ended up liking his fathers regular fried shrimp better than his coconut shrimp, so now he likes shrimp!! He said the chicken was good also. All three guys had double-scoop dishes of ice cream for dessert (where DO they put it???) The only disappointment was DSs lobster and shrimp salad. He expected a salad/salad, and instead it was a mayonnaisy-type pasta salad. He doesnt care for mayo, so that was disappointing. We were supposed to get 10% off with the Rainforest membership, but they said they couldnt do that because we had all ordered special promotion meals, so they took off DSs clam chowder instead. Okay. Anything is fine were full and happy here!
The total, which included 3 soft drinks and 3 glasses of wine, was $85.89 before tip (but after the $4.49 clam chowder came off the bill).
Food 5
Service 3 ½
Value 4
A great last meal, before we had to hit the road the next day!
Chefs de France sounds amazing!
I think it'll be worth it for me to join.
