Another day, another business trip another Dining Review from Italy! FINISHED!

[Alby]

Hello everyone! For those who haven’t read my first DR, let me introduce myself : I am an Italian 30-something who travels fairly often to the US for business reasons, and sometimes manages to sneak in a few days in Disneyworld between less pixie-dust-filled tasks.

Actually, this has been happening fairly consistently in the last few years, and last year I decided to write my first Dining Review (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2967987) as a thank you for all the reviews here on the DIS that have helped me greatly to plan in the past. I loved writing it, and here I am with the next!

My perspective is a bit different, me coming from Italy and dining alone at all meals.
I have a husband and kids and can’t wait to bring them to WDW, but this won’t happen before my youngest is old enough (in my husband’s view), that is in 2017 . In the meanwhile, solo dining it is!

As a consequence, I prefer having a large breakfast in nearly empty restaurants very early in the morning, when servers and characters have time for a solo diner, CS + snacks during the day, and only the occasional TS lunch or dinner (and this makes me sad, because I love signatures, but I really don’t like nice dining alone).

I am going to WDW at the end of April, staying at the Poly (I finally persuaded myself to try something different from my beloved Beach Club).
As this is kind of a last minute trip (well, I had 40 days notice), I found it a bit more difficult than usual to get exactly the ADRs I wanted, but I am fairly satisfied: only Crystal Palace and Ohana breakfasts still elude me.

This will be my first time enjoying Epcot booths! I have always wanted to go to the Food and Wine Festival, but it is improbable that I’ll ever go to the US in September/ October… and here come the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Marketplaces! I am really interested in the Floridian and Smokehouse BBQ booths (of course, I am a tourist and prefer local cuisine)… we’ll see how it goes!

 

[Alby]

Here is the planned lineup!

Breakfasts
Cape May – it is a tradition for me to have my first breakfast here
Fresh Mediterranean Market
Kona Cafe
Chef Mickey's – a first!
Kouzzina
Tusker House – a first!
I always have breakfast at restaurant opening, in or near the park I will visit that day, which ensures fresh food and minimizes transfer time!

TS Lunches/ Dinners
Yachtsman Stakehouse – a favorite of mine!
HDDR– a first!
House of Blues
Sanaa

CS
Boulangerie Patisserie
Captain Cook's– a first!
Pizza Planet
Columbia Harbor House

As for booths and snacks… we’ll see… (I have actually planned them all but, as usual, I am sure I have planned too much!)

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Looking forward to your upcoming review. I really enjoyed your last one. Good luck with getting 'Ohana & CP. Persistence often pays off so keep checking! (And the Smokehouse BBQ booth was delicious!)

 

[happy2012]

Nice line up! I have been wanting to try Fresh @ breakfast but the characters meals always win out. The menu looks really good so I wanna try it!!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Love your yummy line-up. Especially the breakfasts!

 

[Alby]

Looking forward to your upcoming review. I really enjoyed your last one. Good luck with getting 'Ohana & CP. Persistence often pays off so keep checking! (And the Smokehouse BBQ booth was delicious!)

Thanks a lot!
I think getting 'Ohana and CP with 3 weeks' notice is close to impossible (especially considering that I'll take CP at 8 am and nothing else! )
But I will check again...

 

[Alby]

Nice line up! I have been wanting to try Fresh @ breakfast but the characters meals always win out. The menu looks really good so I wanna try it!!

I'll let you know how it is! I don't know if they still have those "interesting" multi - vegetable smoothies...

Love your yummy line-up. Especially the breakfasts!

Thanks and welcome!

 

[Alby]

I am back from 6 wonderful days of Disney dining… have I kept all my planned ADRs? Have I managed to try all the snacks and Flower and Garden booths I wanted?

Well, here is the actual (as opposed to planned) line up!

Saturday, 4/27
B: Virgin Atlantic lounge in London Gatwick
L: airline food
D: airline food

Sunday, 4/28
B: Cape May Café
L: US booth, Florida booth
D: Les Halles Bakery

Monday, 4/29
B: Fresh Mediterranean Market
L: Pizza Planet
Snack: Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel
D: Yachtsman Steakhouse

Tuesday, 4/30
B: Kona Café
L: Columbia Harbor House
D: HDDR

Wednesday, 5/1
B: Cafe Mickey
D: House of Blues

Thursday, 5/2
B: Kouzzina
L: Germany booth
Snacks: Sunshine Seasons brownie and pecan sticky bun
D: Poly private dining

Friday, 5/3
B: Tusker House
L: Sanaa

Bonus tracks:

1. Snacking around the World!
As I don’t drink, I had planned to buy a snack in each country for my own version of Drinking around the world.
Unfortunately, in the first countries I visited (Mexico and Norway) I didn’t found any snack I felt like trying, so I gave up the idea of a complete 11 – country tour, but I bought snacks in Germany, Japan, UK and Canada (besides lunch in France, Germany and USA).

2. Edible souvenirs for my kids

So how did it go?
I didn’t manage to try several Epcot booths that looked interesting (Mexico and the pineapple one) nor many snacks, but on the other hand I kept all my planned TS reservations!

And now let’s see if it was worth it! The reviews are coming…

 

[Alby]

Saturday, 4/27

I have flown with Virgin Atlantic this time, as I was already in London and it was more convenient than Lufthansa or British Airways. For anyone coming from the UK, I‘ll tell you that I was very satisfied with my choice, despite a 90 - minute delay on my return trip.

The trip is fairly long and I am never hungry after a transcontinental flight; on Saturday I have therefore only airline food and no Disney food to show you. I promise I’ll make up for it! 

I had the complimentary breakfast in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse: grapefruit juice



delicious Eggs Royale (eggs Benedict with salmon)



and a bowl of Greek yogurt, which was definitely too thick for me.




Lunch during the flight was very good (while dinner, on the return flight, was close to horrible. But that wasn’t vacation anymore and I won’t review it here): I had a very tasty and refreshing mint and pea soup, besides bread and butter





baked chicken with mac and cheese that I didn’t like but, to be fair, it was well prepared, just not to my taste



and sticky toffee pudding, which is my absolute favorite UK dessert. It was chocolatey (which, as a purist, I disapprove of ) and slightly spicy, but it was wonderful and I enjoyed it thoroughly.



To end this airline food review with a bang, here comes the afternoon tea, which wasn’t maybe on par with the Grand Floridian Tea, but was very tasty nevertheless.
I had apple juice (to avoid caffeine on my first jet lag day and facilitate sleep… not that it worked), sandwiches and a delicious scone with clotted cream (I love it!) and strawberry preserve.



And soon enough it was time for landing!

 

[Alby]

Here come my first real Disney dining reviews!



It is a tradition for me to start my vacation with a Cape May Café breakfast, both because the Beach Club is my favorite resort, and because Epcot is usually the first park I visit. As I have already explained, I always try to have breakfast in or near the park where I spend the morning.

I usually start with a savory plate, and this time I had – clockwise from top – four cheese frittata (a bit bland despite the ingredients, but good), scrambled eggs with cheese and chorizo (really good), sausage (the usual sausage you can find on every buffet), breakfast potatoes (good, although I still mourn the more onion-y recipe from a few years ago) and corn and sausage spoon bread, which was absolutely delicious.



I also had some orange juice (no fancy blended juices here)



and a second plate with French toast (unfortunately not thoroughly cooked and disgusting), cheddar cheese grits (delicious), apple and spinach with vinaigrette (incredible! It was the best and most unexpected item on the buffet), watermelon (ripe) and Mickey waffle with banana foster sauce (very good).



I was really satisfied with my breakfast, as it was less bland and far better than in previous years. The atmosphere was still very quiet, at least at 7.30 am: Minnie, Goofy and Donald went around, but it was all very subdued.
Service, from Katrina, was very good and friendly.

I’d rate this breakfast a 4 out of 5:

My winner item: the apple and spinach salad!

 

[bluejasmine]

Great start looking fwd to more!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & BWI Sept 8-15, 2013

 

[WildGinger]

Great reviews! Cape May looks good, especially the bananas foster waffle

 

[IowaTater]

Everything looks delicious so far! I'm actually a bit jealous of your airline food. The couple of times I've flown, the meals have just been "eh".

Can't wait to see the rest of your reviews, as you're going to a lot of the same places we are in October.

 

[Alby]

Great start looking fwd to more!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & BWI Sept 8-15, 2013

Great reviews! Cape May looks good, especially the bananas foster waffle

thank you and welcome!

Everything looks delicious so far! I'm actually a bit jealous of your airline food. The couple of times I've flown, the meals have just been "eh".

Can't wait to see the rest of your reviews, as you're going to a lot of the same places we are in October.

The airline food was unexpectedly good!
But there's something better to come...

 

[Alby]

I spent the day in Epcot and first of all I wanted to try the Flower and Garden Marketplaces.
My overall impression is that they are underrated: the food is good and the CMs are really kind, but there’s never anybody buying.

First of all I tried the BBQ booth, and I had the beef brisket with jalapeno corn bread and collard greens.
It was the first and also the worst item I had: the brisket managed to be fat and dry at the same time, and the cornbread was very dry (the jalapeno taste was perfectly balanced, though). The greens were not bad and were the only thing I finished.



Unhappy with my lunch, on the way out I stopped at the Florida booth and had the feta, watermelon, arugula and onions salad. It was absolutely delicious and very refreshing on a hot day.



I bought my dinner as a takeout from Les Halles bakery: a ham and cheese croissant that I brought back to my room. I soon found out that this wasn’t such a clever idea, though: by the time I reached the Polynesian, the croissant was cold and soggy.
I had already tried takeout from Boulangerie Patisserie in the past, but I was staying at the Beach Club then, and it made a huge difference!
Anyway, the croissant wasn’t bad, but it can be sooo much better if warm!

 

[Alby]

Monday, 4/29

On Monday, I had breakfast at Fresh at the Dolphin. I had never been there because I don’t feel like exiting the Disney bubble while I am there, but I needed something in the Boardwalk area before going to DHS, and I decided to try it.



Strangely enough, I didn’t feel like trying the smoothies which are something like the signature dish here.
My first plate contained – clockwise from top – bacon, Spanish eggs (with bacon), grits, breakfast potatoes and sausage. Everything was good but nothing stood out, with the possible exception of the potatoes, which were very good.



I also had coffee, orange juice and watermelon (good).



For my second plate I made use of the griddle, where you can have French toast, pancakes or waffles made while you wait. I had 2 Mickey pancakes, which were very good, but I am no pancake gourmet and I didn’t find them so different from the usual buffet pancakes.



I was happy to try Fresh; I found it very relaxing and I think I would like to visit it again, to try the smoothies and the fresh waffles. But it was nothing really special, food was banal and service was indifferent.

I’d rate this breakfast a 3 out of 5: 
My winner item: the breakfast potatoes.

 

[Alby]

Today I visited DHS, and I had lunch at Pizza Planet, because strangely enough I like Disney pizza.

I had a pepperoni pizza and a small Caesar salad, which were good. The pizza dough was a bit hard, and this time around I preferred the salad.
I like Pizza Planet, and it is very easy to find a seat there (upstairs at least) but next time, whenever it will be, I think I’ll try something else.



In the afternoon, I had a snack that I had long planned to try: the jalapeno cheese pretzel.
I expected to love it, but I didn’t: the cheese inside was too thick, creamy and heavy… I couldn’t eat more than a few bites.
But I am happy to have satisfied my curiosity!



Dinner today was at Yachtsman Steakhouse, a restaurant I love because I find it so elegant and relaxing at the same time.
First of all, I had the best service of the trip here, by Oscar, who was very courteous and prompt, without being oppressive.



As a start, Oscar brought the bread service: sour dough and pull apart onion rolls, butter with sea salt and garlic spread. Everything was very good; the onion roll was different from the previous versions I have tried: this was less onion – y and more like a muffin than a pull apart roll.



I had long studied the menu online and tried to decide between 2 appetizers (the lobster bisque and the scallops) but I couldn’t, so I finally had them both.

Here is the lobster bisque, accompanied by a cracker with lobster meat rather than the lobster spread I had last year. It was fantastic.
I have already said, and say again, that this is one of the best soups I have tried in my life.



Afterwards, I had the Day Boat Scallops with cauliflower puree, pancetta and lemon verbena gastrique.
They were good, but not great. They were a bit soft, I prefer them more seared on the outside.

I was nevertheless very happy I could try them, because on my previous visits they were never on the menu.



My entrée was the fillet, cooked medium, with Cabernet wine sauce on the side and potato gratin (I substituted the mashed potatoes).
The fillet was small, but perfectly cooked, and the gratin was wonderful. I would like to try some of the other potatoes here, the sweet potato beignets for example, but I love the gratin and can’t bring myself to order a different side dish.

I was too full for dessert, as it often happens, and I had a nice walk on the Boardwalk instead.
It was cut short by the first drops of rain, which announced 4 days of very wet weather!

As usual, I loved my experience at Yachtsman Steakhouse and I would be happy to eat there again.

I rate this restaurant a 5 out of 5: 
(the scallops are a matter of taste)

 

[Alby]

Tuesday, 4/30

On Tuesday I had breakfast at Kona Café, a favorite of mine. As I have already tried most of the menu, I went back to the first item I have had here: the Big Kahuna.

As most of you know, it includes breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage (all good), ham (I don’t like it… I find it has a strong smoky flavor), French toast (very good! Better than in the past), eggs (I had them scrambled) and pancakes with pineapple sauce (I asked to hold the macadamia nut butter – they were delicious, I love the pineapple sauce).

As it was raining heavily and quite cold (at least at 7.30 am), I also had a very good hot chocolate.

Kona is always good and very quiet, but I preferred the buffets on this trip. I think next time I will try something different.

I’d rate this breakfast a 3 out of 5:
My winner item: the pineapple sauce.

 

[wilma-bride]

I wish I had a job that meant I got to visit WDW on a regular basis

What is in the potato gratin at Yachtsman? Are there onions in it? Cheese?

It looks delicous anyway - got to admit that the scallops looked a bit soggy (if seafood can be soggy) - definitely not brown enough on the outside.

Am looking forward to reading more of your reviews.

 

[Finkerfell]

Love your reviews! Great pics!!