A Signature a Day Keeps Reality Away: A Sep '15 Dining Report - Updated 4/11 x2

[Leshaface]

How do you do your repots without taking notes????? I just got down some basics in my phone through out the day, as there is no chance I'd recall months later.

I do jot a few down throughout the trip on my notepad but really, I don't have a terrible memory. Plus I takes lots of pics that don't make the TR that are my 'notes' so it totally helps me!

On our last full Disney day unfortunately our morning was a bit of a disaster. First, Jason wasn't feeling well (I blamed the booze, he blamed a "bug") so Casey and I embarked on our first ever all girls day. We got almost to the monorail before I realized I'd forgotten the magic bands. So back to the room then back to the monorail, only to find the Epcot loop was shut down. We were pointed to a line for a bus that appeared to have a few hundred people in it.

No way, what a freaking morning!

And arrived 25 minutes late. Did I mention it was pouring rain this entire time?

BEACHES AND CREAM!!!

Well that's definitely got to make up for the hectic morning you two had!

Patty Melt.

Oh my goodnes...Only recently, like maybe 4 or 5 months ago, have I made and tried my first patty melt. I HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT FOR YEARS! I think I couldn't get past having a hamburger patty on sliced bread (I remember having to have hamburgers and hot dogs in sliced bread growing up cause my grandparents couldn't afford to get classy buns!) so I wasn't trying to eat like that ever again. But I saw the recipe on a Pioneer Woman episode, picked up some marbled rye, caramelized some onions, melted some tasty cheese and holy moly. We not probably have it twice a month.

While they were quite good, I'm gonna have to continue to give the throwdown crown to Flame Tree.

Wow Flame Tree is still holding down number one spot huh?!

Ha how cute is this!

Up next, another table for 2!

Oh what?! Poor Jason

 

[ariane37]

Awesome Monorail Crawl! But I can't believe with all your trips and your love of......pineapples (ahem), that you'd never had a Lapu Lapu before But yeah, definitely strong. The first time I had one I had two, with dinner at 'Ohana. Afterwards we watched Wishes on the beach and as we were walking around looking for a spot, I swiftly and promptly fell over a lounge chair Steve was hysterical, the boys were a bit younger and were like, "WHY did mom fall? Is she tired?" My purse was open so I was sifting out sand for like 4 days, and I really wanted to just stay on the ground and take a lil' nap but got up since the kids were there.........love the Lapu!

Anyway, that stinks Jason got sick but I'm glad you and Casey enjoyed B&C. I would've loved seeing her smiling face over a Kitchen Sink!

 

[kastoney]

Beaches and Cream! I just booked it for our summer trip for an early lunch! I have never tried it, and I have to say, Casey's hot dog looks good! Bummer about the end of trip bug/booze blues. On our last trip, we had a surprising Daddy is Down Day. Ours led to our last minute CG meal, but even the best silver linings are less fun with a Daddy who is in bed! I say you get to have a redo!

Hope you all enjoy B&C as much as we did. Daddy is Down Days are certainly no fun, especially for the Daddy's. We made the best of it (and shh don't tell Jason had a little bit of fun) but it really wasn't the same without him

Beaches and Cream is on my list for our next trip! It looks delicious and the ice cream with the minnie ears is soooo cute! Glad to hear yall enjoyed it.
Too bad it's the last day:-(

Yeah, boo for last days. We get some time in the following day, but that last full day sure is a sad thing.

Beaches and cream is definitely yummy with delicious ice cream. I'm sure we'll take in lots more in the near future.

Despite all your travel troubles - looks like you had a lovely meal at Beaches & Cream! The mickey ice cream is so cute and I'm glad you enjoyed your main meals! Poor Jason for not feeling well

Yep, we certainly made the most of it and its always good to drown travel troubles in some food old fashioned carbohydrates.

#OnionRingThrowdown

Enough said! Love the rings at B&C!

Yep, 'nut said exactly

Beaches and Cream sounds like the perfect comfort food on a rainy and stressful day. And now I'm craving onion rings.

B&C is always on my list to try but I seem to pass it over in favor of something in the World Showcase. But it looks like a fun place and the ice cream would be a big hit with everyone!

Glad you and Casey had a good girls days with lots of character meets!

Beaches was most definitely the perfect comfort food. And in the rain I actually almost ordered the tomato soup and grilled cheese, but the adjoining 90+ temperatures kept me away from it ; )

I think your crew would really like beaches. I'd certainly never give up my beloved via napoli for it, but its pretty well priced and a good lunch destination too.

Sorry you had a stressful morning but your meal looks good!

I'm in WDW from 26th August to 9th September

Thanks. Woohoo, looks like our trips are gonna align!!!! Where are you staying???? We'll be at the poly. Would love to meet up for a drink or something if possible

Good attempt at the monorail crawl...your notes were too funny! Definitely evidence of a good time. I love the lapu lapu but I think that's only 15% the taste and 85% getting to drink out of a pineapple!

Too bad your husband had to miss out on your Epcot day, but glad you and Casey made the most of it!

Yep, we definitely gave the crawl the good "old" college try (emphasis on old). i had no idea my notes were so bad till I looked at them the other day. Jason and I had a good laugh on that one. And you are most definitely right on the lapu, its most definitely all about the pineapple!

I was laughing at your notes! I would only be able to have a lapu lapu if I had a couple of people to share it with! Love the idea of a monorail crawl but I would need to focus on the food and not the drinks so I could complete it Beaches and Cream is such a great spot! We hit it every trip and I love the onion rings...but they need to be hot!!

Yeah my notes tend to be pretty lacking anyway, but this was the first time I got to see what drunkin' lacking notes amounts too. I definitely should have shared the lapu lapu with someone else. Our intent was definitely to focus on the food (we generally call it an appetizer crawl). Definite lesson learned for next time.

Have our first B&C reservation for this trip. Shame that your DH missed out on it but your DD looks happy My DD is already petitioning the rest of us for a kitchen sink LOL

Hope you all love Beaches as much as we did. And go for the kitchen sink!!!!

 

[kastoney]

I do jot a few down throughout the trip on my notepad but really, I don't have a terrible memory. Plus I takes lots of pics that don't make the TR that are my 'notes' so it totally helps me!

Wow, that is pretty impressive!!!!! I've got a pretty good memory but weeks or months (and brain cells killed by alcohol) later things tend to get blurry.

Oh my goodnes...Only recently, like maybe 4 or 5 months ago, have I made and tried my first patty melt. I HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT FOR YEARS! I think I couldn't get past having a hamburger patty on sliced bread (I remember having to have hamburgers and hot dogs in sliced bread growing up cause my grandparents couldn't afford to get classy buns!) so I wasn't trying to eat like that ever again. But I saw the recipe on a Pioneer Woman episode, picked up some marbled rye, caramelized some onions, melted some tasty cheese and holy moly. We not probably have it twice a month.

Mmm, yeah I love me a patty melt. They used to be my go to as a kid when my grandma took us out for a fancy bob's big boy dinner ; ) Funny we used to have lots of burgers and dogs on bread growing up too and still do in our house today, but of course that is because I'm a crap grocery shopper ; )

Gonna have to check out the pioneer woman recipe as I've never attempted one at home. Though her whole Donna Reed on the range routine drives me crazy yet the food she makes always looks so darn good.

Wow Flame Tree is still holding down number one spot huh?!

Yep firmly 1 with only one more to go

Oh what?! Poor Jason

I know, he kept trying all day but just couldn't make it. I'll put it in the next post but funny he was a good hubby and sent me pictures of the food he was attempting to eat.

Awesome Monorail Crawl! But I can't believe with all your trips and your love of......pineapples (ahem), that you'd never had a Lapu Lapu before But yeah, definitely strong. The first time I had one I had two, with dinner at 'Ohana. Afterwards we watched Wishes on the beach and as we were walking around looking for a spot, I swiftly and promptly fell over a lounge chair Steve was hysterical, the boys were a bit younger and were like, "WHY did mom fall? Is she tired?" My purse was open so I was sifting out sand for like 4 days, and I really wanted to just stay on the ground and take a lil' nap but got up since the kids were there.........love the Lapu!

Anyway, that stinks Jason got sick but I'm glad you and Casey enjoyed B&C. I would've loved seeing her smiling face over a Kitchen Sink!

I'm not sure it was awesome, but our 40 something selves definitely gave it a good try. I'm pretty shocked that I was so late to the lapu lapu party too, especially as much as I love pineapples Though this was our first stay at the poly and all our other visits had been for breakfast. Sadly Kona isn't serving the lapu lapu at 10 am. Now if they start to.....

I can't believe you had 2 lapu lapu's. Totally dying laughing here at the vision of you falling over and the kids having no clue. And then sand for days. Is that the poly version of a lapu lapu on the beach Casey knows we love our "juice" (wine = mama juice, beer = daddy juice) but she's yet to figure out how it can make Mommy really silly

 

[Elevationist]

WHEW! I'm finally caught up again. Too many delicious noms to single out, though. I will say this, though... NOW I'M CRAVING ONION RINGS. Which I can't eat. Not until I'm at Disney in October, anyhow.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I can't recall if I commented before on the monorail crawl. It has become one of my favorite things to do and always includes a Lapu Lapu! I like the nachos at Tambu as well. In fact, I think I prefer Tambu over Trader Sam's. Hope they don't revoke my DIS membership due to that admission. I've only dined at Citricos once and loved it but I don't think I even noticed they had a bar!

So sorry Jason wasn't feeling well and missed Beaches & Cream. One of my favorites, for sure. I can't believe they haven't expanded the space/capacity.

 

[kastoney]

WHEW! I'm finally caught up again. Too many delicious noms to single out, though. I will say this, though... NOW I'M CRAVING ONION RINGS. Which I can't eat. Not until I'm at Disney in October, anyhow.

Well ya better get back w reading cause I'm about to post another one. Trying to get this bad boy finished before our trip.

And why on earth are you craving onion rings? Makes no sense at all Billie ; )

I can't recall if I commented before on the monorail crawl. It has become one of my favorite things to do and always includes a Lapu Lapu! I like the nachos at Tambu as well. In fact, I think I prefer Tambu over Trader Sam's. Hope they don't revoke my DIS membership due to that admission. I've only dined at Citricos once and loved it but I don't think I even noticed they had a bar!

So sorry Jason wasn't feeling well and missed Beaches & Cream. One of my favorites, for sure. I can't believe they haven't expanded the space/capacity.

I think I may be with your on the Tambu vs Trader Joe's too. Like the laid back atmosphere of Tambu, but still need to give trader sams another go just to be sure What are on the nacho's at tambu? Jus wondering if they are similar to captain cooks or not

Had to laugh at not seeing the Citricos bar because you have to walk right passed it to get to the restaurant ; )

 

[kastoney]

A Monorail Named Slushi

Just a quick real-life update that one week from tonight we'll be leaving for Disney World!!!!!! We're staying the first night at the Hyatt at the airport and then onto 8 glorious nights at our beloved Wilderness Lodge. As most of you know the last few months have been rough for us, so we are in real need of some respite. This trip will also be a few firsts for us as my in-laws will be with us for part of the trip, Jason is running in the star wars half marathon, Casey is already plotting her victory in the 200 meter dash ; ), and yes since we'll be a party of 5 I made more than a few ADRs already. With respect to food we're planning on Skippers Canteen, The Wave, and Hoop Dee Doo on the new to us front. So wit that trip looming, gonna do my best to finish this bad boy up before we leave, so let's get to it.

When we'd last left off Casey was in a character type of mood and all I can say is that was the theme of the day.




​

For dinner we had ADR's at our beloved Flying Fish, which goes back and forth with Jiko as my favorite restaurant. Unfortunately Jason never felt well enough to join us, and not wanting to go to the fish in our lovely schwetty park gear, I decided to skip it (and was charged the $30 penalty) and use the handy dandy disney app to find a truly last minute ADR. Open to anything in Ep-A-Cot we ultimately went with Tokyo Dining - which was new to us - and booked it with about 10 minutes notice.

We were seated quickly and had this lovely park view


I did my best to channel my inner Jason in his honor and ordered a Kirin Ichiban (or two or three).


For entree's Casey ordered the Teriyaki Chicken

This is served with Miso Soup, Seasonal Vegetable, Sukiyaki Beef Rice, Two pieces of Krab Roll, and Fruit Cup. And in case you didn't notice comes in the cutest eating vessel ever!!!! She really seemed to enjoy her chicken, though the crab roll was her favorite. So much so that she ate most of mine too. And I may or may not have and a few beers and may or may not have gone to the Japanese store afterwards and may or may not have purchased the monorail plate and may or may not have paid a ridiculous amount of money for it. But I can neither confirm nor deny anything.

I went with the Ginza Combo for my entree.

This is Tempura Shrimp, Scallop with Nigiri, and California Roll Combination served with Sunomono, Noodle Salad, and Sukiyaki Beef Rice. The tempura shrimp and scallops were delicious and exceptionally light and crispy. Their sushi was pretty standard issue, but very fresh and the Sunomono (cucumber salad) had a great vinegar flavor. The noodles had a seafood flavor I wasn't expecting, but were good. The low point was the fried rice which tasted a bit too beef bouillony for my taste. On the good front I really enjoyed the tempura vegetables that accompanied it, which were carrots, zucchini, eggplant, and yes an onion (#HelloOnionRingThrowdown). All were quite good in the light tempura batter, but the onion ring was cut way to thick to even be in the same league as Flame Tree.

Overall I was pleastentaly surprised by Tokyo Dining. First you couldn't beat our views, but the food was done very well and was plentiful. Plus unlike their Teppan Edo neighbors next door, Tokyo Dining does take Tables in Wonderland so we saved $9.89. Here are two happy customers.


After dinner Casey requested one last go on the "shooting lady ride" aka the great movie ride, which thanks to a short boat ride was easy to oblige. We took a commemorative photo of her newly declared favorite ride, as well as one of our Mommy and Casey day.




Up next, we snack our way out of the world


​

 

[kastoney]

He May Be Down, but He Ain't Missing a Meal

I couldn't resist sharing what Jason was doing while Casey and I were off on our own. Being the amazing, dutiful husband that he is, he took pictures of the food he got from Captain Cooks while he recovered.

Lunch was still pretty precarious so he went with the kids meal turkey sandwich


Apparently things were looking up at dinner time as he felt up to a flatbread.


No Flying Fish, but I'm happy to report all stayed in place.​

 

[bbak30]

Wait, you made ADRs? Did I misread something? haha
We love HDDR, it's so fun. The food is just fine, but the show is really what makes it a good experience.
And I want to try The Wave, I swear great minds think alike!

I'm sorry to hear yall have been having some rough times, nothing like a Disney trip to make it better!

 

[goofy4prez]

Great review on Tokyo Dining; I share your same thoughts on Tokyo Dining and really enjoy the place. I'm a big sushi person and eat it at least once a week back home. Is Tokyo Dining the best sushi I have ever had? No; but it sure is pretty decent and the service there is one of the best in any restaurant in WDW. Loved your view as well from your table.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sorry you had to miss your Flying Fish meal but it looks like Tokyo Dining was a great hit! Too cute that you got her one of those plates - does she use it often? I love Tokyo Dining as well! Their tempura shrimp are great!

Glad you are getting prepped for your trip next week! Maybe we'll run into each other

 

[DisneyCoasters]

The views from Tokyo Dining are just stunning! I'm not a huge fan of Japanese food in general since I don't much care for seafood, but I feel like this restaurant might be worth a visit for the ambiance alone. Love the pic of you and Casey in HS...very sweet.

Sounds like my trip is going to overlap with you guys! I'll be doing Universal on the 20th and then heading to WDW on the 21st. (Seems like a lot of us from the boards are headed to the World in the next few weeks!) I'll keep and eye out and say hello if I see you!

 

[momof3princes]

Tokyo Dining looks great! I have seen a couple good reviews of that lately. I may need to add that into the rotation...especially with the monorail kids meal bowl! I want to see this plate that you may have bought
Glad you had a nice mommy and Casey day and that Jason recovered! It stinks to be sick at Disney!

 

[Mainemama]

Love Tokyo Dining! And you ordered my go to! We can get sushi at home, but TD is the only place I have had scallop tempura. Yum! TD is actually my older kids favorite Disney restaurant. Did you get a wee mickey head origami for Casey when you checked in? Wow on your table. We have never gotten a window seat, but have enjoyed sitting near the projected sushi making screen. Good choice on HDDR with your in-laws. So much fun!

 

[suse66]

Great review on Tokyo Dining! Hmmmm, may have to try it next March.... we did Teppan Edo back in 2010 but were not fans. Tokyo dining looks yummy though and the boys have started to appreciate sushi so it could be a winner! Thanks again!

 

[kastoney]

Wait, you made ADRs? Did I misread something? haha
We love HDDR, it's so fun. The food is just fine, but the show is really what makes it a good experience.
And I want to try The Wave, I swear great minds think alike!

I'm sorry to hear yall have been having some rough times, nothing like a Disney trip to make it better!

I know right, ADR's are so unlike me but while last minute works well for our little family of 3 I didn't think it our best option for our party of 5.

Can't wait for hoop dee doo. My mother tells me I did it as a kid, but I have no recollection of that. The price is a bit scary, but I of course plan to get my money worth in drinks

Great review on Tokyo Dining; I share your same thoughts on Tokyo Dining and really enjoy the place. I'm a big sushi person and eat it at least once a week back home. Is Tokyo Dining the best sushi I have ever had? No; but it sure is pretty decent and the service there is one of the best in any restaurant in WDW. Loved your view as well from your table.

Thanks so much. Sounds like we are definitely on the same page. We're once a week slushi fans ourselves (though its generally left over from hubbys work) and Tokyo dining was definitely solid, with the tempura putting it a step ahead. Plus has you said can't beat the view. And still can't believe they put a Mom and her kid at such a prime local.

Sorry you had to miss your Flying Fish meal but it looks like Tokyo Dining was a great hit! Too cute that you got her one of those plates - does she use it often? I love Tokyo Dining as well! Their tempura shrimp are great!

Glad you are getting prepped for your trip next week! Maybe we'll run into each other

I'm still upset we missed Flying Fish. Its so become our go to, that to go what is likely a year and a half without it just seems wrong.

Sadly for as much as I paid, we don't use the monorail plate as much as we should but now that I've written about it that will change as my wallet is feeling down right guilty

I will definitely keep an eye out for you all next week. Hope we can cross paths so I can introduce the hubby to "yoda"

The views from Tokyo Dining are just stunning! I'm not a huge fan of Japanese food in general since I don't much care for seafood, but I feel like this restaurant might be worth a visit for the ambiance alone. Love the pic of you and Casey in HS...very sweet.

Sounds like my trip is going to overlap with you guys! I'll be doing Universal on the 20th and then heading to WDW on the 21st. (Seems like a lot of us from the boards are headed to the World in the next few weeks!) I'll keep and eye out and say hello if I see you!

The views are definitely stunning. I had no idea they were as gorgeous as they are.

Please, please, please keep an eye out for us and I'll do the same. Would love the opportunity to say hello.

Tokyo Dining looks great! I have seen a couple good reviews of that lately. I may need to add that into the rotation...especially with the monorail kids meal bowl! I want to see this plate that you may have bought
Glad you had a nice mommy and Casey day and that Jason recovered! It stinks to be sick at Disney!

Yeah, I've been seeing lots of good Tokyo reviews too. Our visit was on a complete lark, but now that i see what they have to offer I can't way to return (hopefully with Jason in tow).

Plate??? What plate do you speak of???

Love Tokyo Dining! And you ordered my go to! We can get sushi at home, but TD is the only place I have had scallop tempura. Yum! TD is actually my older kids favorite Disney restaurant. Did you get a wee mickey head origami for Casey when you checked in? Wow on your table. We have never gotten a window seat, but have enjoyed sitting near the projected sushi making screen. Good choice on HDDR with your in-laws. So much fun!

Yeah for Tokyo Dining fans. I have no idea why we'd never been there before, or why it wasn't on my radar, but oh so good. Good to know I'm ordering in good company. Didn't realize tempura scallops were in such short order, but they certainly are tasty. And of course we couldn't beat the view.

No mickey origami head for us, but maybe that is because we didn't have a wait???

I'm really looking forward to Hoop Dee Doo and the all you can drink beer/sangria, I mean amazing show

 

[Mainemama]

Yes, the sangria is fantastic. I never bothered to move onto beer. I have been singled out not once, but twice, in a song that referenced "feeling no pain" whilst said jar of sangria was in my hand. Hmm on the no origami. I don't think it had to do with a wait. Both times we have been the hostesses have been folding them and gave them to our kids when we checked in. I will prepare them for possibly no origami for our next visit. It is the little things like that that they remember!

 

[kastoney]

Great review on Tokyo Dining! Hmmmm, may have to try it next March.... we did Teppan Edo back in 2010 but were not fans. Tokyo dining looks yummy though and the boys have started to appreciate sushi so it could be a winner! Thanks again!

Thanks! We enjoy Teppan Edo, but you definitely have to go in with standard issue strip mall expectations. But if your boys are slushi lovers, than Toky Dining may be more your style. In addition to the combo's Casey and I got, you can just order rolls too.

Yes, the sangria is fantastic. I never bothered to move onto beer. I have been singled out not once, but twice, in a song that referenced "feeling no pain" whilst said jar of sangria was in my hand. Hmm on the no origami. I don't think it had to do with a wait. Both times we have been the hostesses have been folding them and gave them to our kids when we checked in. I will prepare them for possibly no origami for our next visit. It is the little things like that that they remember!

I understand the beer is of the bud varietal, which is my least favorite, but I'm a bit too much on most days for my inlaws so I"m a little fearful of what the sangria could do to be. Though it sounds like it could likely garner me some singing attention, which would really be good for no ones ears. So right now I plan to mix and match a bit, if nothing else than to keep up "appearances" with the kin folk

Our check in was pretty fast, so it may have been an anomaly on the origami. We essentially gave them our name, walked up stairs, and were seated at what I now know is a pretty rare window front table.

 

[vettegirl]

Look like Beaches and Cream hit the spot for sure!