Where is the funnel cake? Updated 4/7/13 Breakfast at Crystal Palace

[scojos]

this brit is in....

[Minnesota!]

Originally Posted by DisneyMomFanatic

We had 8pm ADR's and were on the window side at the fire pits of meat! YUM! Love that smell but I won't give that all away right now. Glad to have you along, welcome!

That's right where we were! Bet we passed each other...we got out of there shortly after 8.

[DisneyMomFanatic]

Originally Posted by Kat in GA

In 3 weeks we will be at AoA on the deluxe for 8 days - and leaving our kiddos at home

So looking forward to reading all your reviews!

What section are you staying in? We loved it all and thought it was very well done. We thoroughly enjoyed that resort. You will be there when LM section is open, will you take some pictures and post them for me? TIA. Glad to have you along for the ride. The deluxe is alot of food, but such good food.

Originally Posted by Emteach

Joining in as well! Looking forward to reading your Dining Report Looks good!
PS - I love your rating system as well!

Thanks for readling along, glad you like the rating system.

Originally Posted by MrsB1228

Looking forward to your reviews and your rating system is very cute. Bring on the food!

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Speaking of bringing on the food, I will be working on the first actual food reviews this weekend and will have the entire first day up by the end of the weekend, and maybe more...stay tuned.

Originally Posted by scojos

this brit is in....

Welcome! The more the merrier.

Originally Posted by Minnesota!

That's right where we were! Bet we passed each other...we got out of there shortly after 8.

Oh, bummer! If I had known, I would have said hi and shared some food. Just kidding about the food part. But I would have said hi for sure!

[Kat in GA]

Originally Posted by DisneyMomFanatic

What section are you staying in? We loved it all and thought it was very well done. We thoroughly enjoyed that resort. You will be there when LM section is open, will you take some pictures and post them for me? TIA. Glad to have you along for the ride. The deluxe is alot of food, but such good food.

We will be in the LM section - and I am sure that I'll do a review with lots of pictures on my website - I'll pm you the link when I do it!

[DisneyMomFanatic]

Originally Posted by Kat in GA

We will be in the LM section - and I am sure that I'll do a review with lots of pictures on my website - I'll pm you the link when I do it!

That would be great, thanks! It was so hot the day we went out and explored the whole resort that we were just too hot and miserable to go too close to the fences to get better pictures.

[nanienamou]

Can't wait to read your reviews!

[DisneyMomFanatic]

Day 1, Arrival day. Food, here we come!

So on our arrival day, we had decided to eat at Yachtsman Steakhouse since we would be arriving early afternoon. But when we found an earlier flight available, we pounced on it! Get to WDW earlier and eat more Disney food, sign me up now! Now, the problem, where to eat? We wanted to try somewhere new and since we weren’t going to a park that day, it had to be at a resort or DTD. DTD and shopping and eating, I am in Disney heaven. So our decision was… Raglan Road. Both the kids said the menu had multiple items they would eat and I already knew what I wanted. So what did we have?

Since we are on the Deluxe plan we started with appetizers. I am having the scallops please. Ok so Josh our server was very efficient and took such good care of us. We were there for 1pm and it was maybe at most 25% full. He walked us through the menu and low and behold my scallops had to be shared. So who wants to share with Mommy? Really, all I wanted to have was scallops and NOONE is willing to share an order with me. So being the martyr , I mean good mom, I sacrificed my want to share another appy with someone and 2 other appies. We had the
Calamari City - Salt 'n' Pepper calamari and mixed tempura vegetables served with a spicy remoulade

This was DS’s choice. These were hot and fresh. The breading was light and not greasy at all. I think the highlight of this dish was the remoulade. I wouldn’t say it was really spicy, but it was flavorful. Our next appetizer was
Mighty Mussels - 1/2 pound of fresh Blue Hill Bay mussels in a coconut infused curry broth.

This was DD’s choice. I found out on this trip just how much my baby girl LOVES mussels. These were smooth and well flavored. Not chewy or mushy. I didn’t get much of the coconut but the curry, we thought tasted more like a mustard flavor. I normally don’t like mustard, but this was subtle and added a lightness to the mussels that I enjoyed. Even my DS tried them and asked for more, that was new! Our third choice was
Kiss Before Shrimp - pan seared shrimp in a garlic and chili lemon butter sauce with sliced baguette.

DH and DS wanted these. We all tried them and they were SPICY but oh so delicious. I couldn’t get enough of these little creatures. They were in this sauce and that is where all the spice was. My DS used the baguette to sop up the sauce. I asked him if it was so hot, why, was he doing that. He said, “I don’t care that it’s hot and spicy, I just can’t get enough!” That is some recommendation from someone who doesn’t like dips or many sauces. Our bread service was a nutty grain bread served with an olive oil with a guiness reduction in it. This was an interesting combination. With the bread it was sweet and hearty. But if you tried the oil by itself with the guiness, it was almost a bitter flavor. The kiddos wanted nothing to do with this but DH and I liked this.


Up next our mains… Do we choose correctly and like what we get or will we be filled with regrets???

I do know one thing, we enjoyed our visitor that was nearby for our entire meal. Dining with the famous.

[jedijill]

Looks great so far!

Jill in CO

[emmysmommy]

Oh no you didn't!!! A cliffhanger! The shrimp gets my vote on a must have - good to know! I told Michael about where you were eating and he remembered passing by while we were in DTD. Just planting the seed for a return visit with him along.

Anyway... you are off to a great start. Sorry no one wanted to share your scallop app.

[DisneyMomFanatic]

Originally Posted by jedijill

Looks great so far!

Jill in CO

Thanks jedijill. Hopefully will be posting the rest tomorrow during Football.

Originally Posted by emmysmommy

Oh no you didn't!!! A cliffhanger! The shrimp gets my vote on a must have - good to know! I told Michael about where you were eating and he remembered passing by while we were in DTD. Just planting the seed for a return visit with him along.

Anyway... you are off to a great start. Sorry no one wanted to share your scallop app.

It wasn't really meant to be a cliff hanger but I am just so afraid to post so much and ramble on. Of the three, I loved the calamari with the remoulade. So yum!!! Hopefully you can get him to go there. Tomorrow I will let you know just how many fish it received from us along with the meals and desserts.

[ShortStuff]

The shrimp looked so great! I'm not a big scallops fan, but theirs must be really good, as I understand that at Cookes of Dublin, the scallops are one of the most popular items!

Looking forward to more yumminess!!

[DonaldDoleWhip]

The appetizers look so good! Interestingly enough, last year you didn't have to have two people order the scallops (since I ordered them as my appetizer on the DxDP last year). That's a disappointing change.

Looking forward to more! Raglan Road is one of my mom's favorites. For now, I could take it or leave it, but maybe your review will convince me that next time I should take it!

[DisneyMomFanatic]

Day 1, part 2 Raglan Road

So after the deliciousness of our appetizers, we were ready for our mains. From the minute I looked at the menu online for Raglan Road, I knew what I was going to have. Would I get it? I had heard some really good reviews about the Keen I for the shepards pie so that is what I went with. I love meat and I love mashed potatoes so I went for it with no other thoughts in my head.
Keen Eye for Shepherd's Pie - We give the traditional Shepherd's Pie (prime beef and lamb) a little makeover with our Contemporary twist to this favorite dish

While I liked this well enough, there was just something off to me. I didn’t sing, have stars go off and the heavens didn’t open up with sunbeams projecting down onto this dish. The potatoes were smooth (I hate lumpy potatoes) but not creamy and the meat was a little dry in places even with all that sauce around it. The only flavor was in the sauce, so if I didn’t put any on my forkful, it was a rather bland mouthful. Would I get it again, probably not. There was nothing overly bad, but nothing that made it a real winner.

My DH decided that he wanted
Kevin's Heavenly Ham - Irish mist glazed loin of bacon with cabbage and a Clonmel apple potato cake

The ham was succulent and juicy, but the bacon was crispier than either of us liked. We were both very surprised that there were only 3 smallish sized leaves of cabbage under the ham and above the potato cake. DH didn’t really try the potatoes as he doesn’t want to fill up with starches, he’s a carnivore. He would get it again if we go back.

Our DS went with a surprise choice (at least as far as I am concerned)
Fish & Chips - our famous beer battered fish & chips with fresh tartar sauce

While my DS loves seafood, he doesn’t normally go for just fish. He must have loved it because I had to act fast to get a taste of it. He gave me one piece that didn’t have any breading and it was very moist and not fishy at all (I HATE a fishy fish ). Then he gave me a piece with the outer shell and it was light and there was no grease to be felt or tasted. It was a very nice size portion and lots of hot, fresh fries. The only thing he didn’t eat was the tartar sauce. I tried it and it was average tartar sauce. I would get this dish and I don’t get fish as a main dish either, normally.

And then there was DD and her choice
Pie in the Sky - chicken and wild mushroom pie served with rocket lettuce salad

I gave her some choices that she might like and this is what she got. I thought it was safe enough for our first meal especially after mussels for an appetizer. Well I have to say that the sun rays that I thought were gonna go over my dish took a detour and went to DD’s dish. The top flaky pie portion was light and flaky and not doughy at all. The inside was creamy, and loaded with tons of “baby meat”. Let me explain “baby meat”, my DD HATES chewy meat. She wants it to melt in your mouth and this chicken did just that. It was piping hot, juicy, perfectly sized pieces and melt in your mouth goodness. There was way more meat than anything else in this bowl and we all agreed that this was the absolute winning dish at the table. Nobody touched the rocket salad.

So with the entrees done and bellies getting full, what would we get for dessert? I knew what I wanted and so I ordered it without hesitation.
Dunbrody Kiss - Chef Dundon's gift to America. Chocolate. Add chocolate. Then add some more.

I am a milk chocolate lover (I don’t like dark chocolate or white chocolate) so bring it on. This lovely dish came out and 3 of us had this. It was small, which I normally would balk at but knowing how much food we would be consuming and this being only the first meal, I was alright with the size. It was smooth and not overly heavy feeling. I asked our wonderful server, Josh, what that was on the bottom and he said it was snickers and frosted flakes. I can do that. I jones for a snickers often in my regular life, so add it to a dessert with more chocolate, go for it and I am ok with frosted flakes. The only problem, I didn’t taste any snickers (and I know what that tastes like) and the flakes were limp and stale tasting. If there were more of the snickers and less stale, that kiss would have gotten me in trouble. As it was, I ate the chocolate and was happier. The kids loved all of it and would get it again.
DH got the
Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding - Like no other pudding you have ever tried. Believe us

Now when he got this, Josh, told him to dump it on the plate and pour the two sauces over top of it. He took that advice and was making some happy noises while piling it in his mouth. I only had to tell him once that the noise was slightly inappropriate. He said he would have this as his meal if he could.

So, what was our impression of Raglan Road?
While I made some bad choices for me, everyone else thought the food was spectacular. I liked enough other food that I tried to say that this is a winner. My DH asked me why we had never eaten here before and I said every time I mentioned it he would answer that he didn’t want to eat Irish food. Has he changed his tune? ABSOLUTELY, he wants to go back on our next trip if we can fit it in. The kids loved it. The service was spot on. Josh took care of us without hovering, which could have been an easy thing to do having so little amount of patrons in the place. He filled our drinks before we had to ask and cleared away plates quickly and explained everything on the menu that we asked about and also explained what we were eligible for on our DxDP. So all in all, Raglan Road gets
5 . I can see past the fact that I went blindly into my meal and ordered based on others reviews. There was so much that was great that I can still give this a 5.

Up next our only signature restaurant of the trip, Yachtsman Steakhouse. Would we like it, love it, or dump it?

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I had the shepherd's pie at Raglan Road and also didn't love it. It was just very heavy and a bit too 'meaty' for me. That said, it looked like there were some wonderful dishes in your meal, and now I'm kind of missing RR.

I hope you liked Yachtsman!

[jedijill]

I loved the Ham and the bread pudding when I ate at RR. I have to go back some of these days.

Great review! Can't wait to hear about Yachtsman.

Jill in CO