Dishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dining (Reviews: Apr20-28 w/pics!) Finally DONE

[TigerKat]

Another great installment!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Perhaps its due to the whole Hollywood/Movie Studios vibe filled with actresses and actors who don’t really eat. In that case, they might as well just ditch what pathetic counter services they have and replace them with vendors selling Diet Coke and 8-balls.

OMG!! That was gooooood....

Thanks for the review of Le Cellier. It has been a while since we have been there and now I am remembering how good it is. Maybe I need to call and book???

 

[belle8306]

You are a very talented writer! I am really enjoying your reviews!

 

[gonemousin']

Your reviews are BEYOND fantastic!!

Not that I possess such powers, but I'd like to deem you "Queen of the Food Porn".

Thanks for sharing with us and enabling us "foodies".

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Jiko and Le Cellier - two of my *favorites*! Thanks for the fabulous descriptions and photos!

 

[undertheseas]

I don't know if I should thank you for a WONDERFUL review with fabulous pictures or cry because I want Le Cellier right now! Do you remember how much the ice wine was?

Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I don't know if I should thank you for a WONDERFUL review with fabulous pictures or cry because I want Le Cellier right now! Do you remember how much the ice wine was?

Thanks for the great reviews!

I think it was $15 a glass last time I was there - I am addicted! Also, a bottle of Mission Hill Icewine around me goes for about $50 - $40 on sale. It's a great wine- very sweet, bright, honey and fruit notes with a similar acidity so it's not syrupy sweet so you'd want a drink of water afterwards.

 

[schmoopypoo]

OMG you really need to stop...I think my computer is going to malfunction because of all the saliva on the keyboard You are so great at this! I wish I could have seen that disney channel crew! I am so glad I have a daughter so I have an excuse to watch all those shows (I think I like em more than her ) Anyways, great job on all the food descriptions & pics!

 

[2manypets]

*DROOLS* That was so good, I could taste it! The salad looks like the one I make at home. The bare necessities but that cheese soup. Oh my!!!!

 

[curiouser]

(So you've probably noticed by now that I don't update on weekends. Unfortunately, weekends are spent depleting my wallet (I really don't need more shoes.. or do I?) rather than on the computer!)

Our days at Disney were winding down and our ADR list was empty; leaving us with endless options for feeding our empty bellies. We returned to the Magic Kingdom to enjoy/gorge on lunch at Casey’s. For a few trips I completely snubbed Casey’s, as the idea of eating a hot dog at anywhere other than a back yard barbeque (extra charred, please) seemed incredulous. I’m going to pay money for a who-knows-what-filled, boiled piece of “meat”? Thanks, but no thanks. But then Jeff’s family kept talking about how great they were and the sign DID say “all beef”, so, okay, I’ll try one.

Needless to say, Casey’s dogs are now a must-do. They’re juicy and they “pop” when you bit into them. Sadly, in our hunger, we forgot to take a photo. But you all know what Casey’s dogs look like, right? I take mine with chili and cheese sauce, just so you can get a proper visual.

For dinner we headed to Coronado Springs for Pepper Market. We really enjoy the atmosphere at CSR. It’s quiet and relaxed and really beautiful – especially at dark when the tiny lights on the buildings reflect off the water – and we really like Pepper Market, although I know that’s not a popular opinion on the DIS.

We were seated and then circled the stations to figure out what we were going to eat. I know the nachos and wet burritos are fabulous, but I was swayed by the Chef’s Special at the Mexican Station: a shrimp and lobster quesadilla with Brie and Mexican cheeses. It was served with a side of rice and beans and sounded quite scrumptious. Jeff went with the tried and true Chicken Nachos.

At first bite the quesadilla was delicious. The shrimp was well seasoned; the Mexican cheeses gooey and the Brie added a sophisticated bite to what is generally considered a fairly low-key dish. A few more bites in something seemed off, texturally. I lifted the top layer of my quesadilla to find strange bites of pinkish-gray meat, the color almost resembling raw chicken. Of course seeing this, and remembering having seen a large pan of raw chicken sitting at the Mexican station, my drama-queen stomach went into panic mode and I was no longer hungry for my once yummy quesadilla. I turned to my rice and beans combo that came with the quesadilla to find it not tasting quite like I remembered, either. The rice didn’t seem as fluffy or as well seasoned, and the portion size was about half what it was normally.

Jeff’s Chicken Nachos were just as good as they always are. Gooey cheese, perfectly shredded chicken, all atop a mountain of crispy tortilla chips. Simple as they were, I was feeling some major food envy. Defeated, I left my meal at Pepper Market knowing there was a Mickey Premium Bar in my near future.

 

[slk537]

I love your reviews - you have the food critic voice I wish I had! The photos of your quesadilla look so lovely, but your description made my stomach turn for you. Did you ever find out if it was seafood or raw chicken?

You also have me determined to put Jiko in my future. DH isn't a fan of anything "different" so I've avoided it thus far, but now I think I might just reconsider.

Again - excellent reviews! And I LOVE the title of the thread!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I've always wanted to try Pepper Market, but never made it there. The nachos and quesadillas look great, but I would have felt the same way. Once you question what you're eating, suddenly it doesn't taste so great.

I probably would have brought it back, lest I obsess all night! Do you think it could have been ham? or something like that?

We're all happy that you are here regaling us with your lavish, seductive food descriptions instead of in the hospital with listeria or something from the 'dilla!

Keep it coming!

Oh, and you can start a descriptive shoe thread with pictures if you like, too! Food and shoes rank right up there in my top ten favorite things!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Raw chicken, ugh!

 

[wilma-bride]

Oh no, we're coming to the end of your wonderful reports I would have reacted exactly like you - I hate the thought of not knowing what I'm eating (hence why I don't eat curry or chilli or anything which has 'bits' in)

The nachos look gooooooooooooooooddddddddd though

 

[DiZneEChIcK]

I am positively enamored by your food/trip report.

Your descriptions of the foods you ate are wonderful. I love trip reports with photos, they are the best!!

 

[curiouser]

It was our last full day in a Disney park and that is always sad for both one’s mental health and one’s stomach (however, very good for one’s waistline!!). We arrived at EPCOT for lunch and headed straight for the much revered Tangerine Café; it was the only CS in World Showcase that we had not eaten at, despite wanting to go there several times.

We both ordered the Mediterranean Wraps, mine lamb and Jeff’s chicken. The wraps are served on fluffy, buttery, chewy lavosh-like bread. Both the lamb and chicken were tender and deliciously seasoned with all-spice and nutmeg, which was marvelously off-set by the garlicy creaminess of the Tzatziki sauce. The chicken seemed to offer more of a char-grilled, kabob-type flavor than the lamb, which was more delicate and buttery.

The wraps were served with lentil salad and couscous. The lentil salad was cold. Very cold. Almost still possibly frozen cold. Due to the coldness of the salad the flavors seemed stunted; in fact, it just seemed downright flavorless. I disappointed to not like the salad at all. The usually nuttiness and heartiness I am used to with lentils had disappeared into a spoonful of watery mush.

The couscous, on the other hand, was phenomenal! Fluffy grains coated in a delightful mix of what I am assuming is traditional mixed spice: cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, fenugreek, pepper, cloves and ginger. The cinnamon and nutmeg really came through in the flavors and was a wonderful savory-sweet contrast to the light nut-like flavors offered by couscous. Dotted with chick peas and parsley, this was a winner! I’ll be attempting to recreate it in the kitchen sometime soon – okay, okay, Jeff will be attempting to recreate it sometime soon.

(Didn’t he do good with dinner the other night? Ooooohhhhhhh)

We originally had an ADR for BlueZoo that night, but neither of us felt up to getting dressed up and taking time to travel back and forth, so !gasphorror! we cancelled it (and after reading some of the recent reviews, I am glad we did!). So, my friends, we went to the complete opposite end of the spectrum and headed for Beaches and Cream!!

We checked in at the podium and were given a buzzer and told it would be a 25-minute wait. We took our buzzer and headed over to Martha’s Vineyard, the lounge at Beach Club. I ordered the Tokyo Disneyland special drink (some sort of twist on a Kamakaze) and Jeff ordered the Hong Kong Disneyland special drink (a drink made with green tea liquor). I remember mine being very sweet but strong – but wait, we’re at Disney, the drinks are usually strong. We both really enjoyed Jeff’s. Once the alcohol mixed in it really tasted like an iced green tea! It was quite refreshing!

We had barely sat down with our drinks when our buzzer went off. No one said anything when we took our drinks out of Martha’s Vineyard and into the Beach Club – although I did feel like a bit of a lush!

Beaches and Cream has such a great atmosphere. I think Disney would do well to expand it into some of the arcade space so more people could enjoy it.

We were seated at the counter and enjoyed watching all the goings on of the kitchen. The chef was quick and precise, giving his meals the same care and watchful eye I would expect from a Signature Dining chef. Everything was made-to-order, even our onion rings.

Our burgers were big, juicy and greasy – by no means gourmet, but true diner-style food. The same goes for the onion rings. They were served piping hot, the batter was super crispy and yes, they were greasy. I know greasy is generally regarded as a bad thing, but some times your body just needs a delicious, greasy meal. And personally, I’d rather get that type of meal in a yummy setting like Beaches and Cream as opposed to Burger King.

Since we were at Beaches and Cream it was necessary to order dessert so Kitchen Sink it was!! Just kidding, we ordered the No Way Jose. The NWJ brings back fond memories of our Christmas Beach Club stay where Jeff was insistent on ordering one just for him. Not a DIS reader, he had NO idea what he was getting himself into, but luckily I did talk him into sharing!

The No Way Jose is a gorgeous meant-for-two bowl of vanilla and chocolate ice cream drenched in chocolate and peanut butter sauces and covered in chocolate and peanut butter chips. Add whipped cream and a cherry and voila! A chocolate-peanut butter lovers dream!! Is it just me or should peanut butter sauce be available on everything!?

 

[gonemousin']

Is it just me or should peanut butter sauce be available on everything!?

I would agree to work out every hour of the day if I could just make this dream come true...gotta LOVE peanut butter sauce!!!

(unless you're allergic, in which case I could completely understand not being as in love with it )

 

[slk537]

Love your review of Tangierine Cafe - I have wanted to go there for a long time now, yet it never works out in our schedule. Next time, definitely!!

 

[Colleen27]

I think it was $15 a glass last time I was there - I am addicted! Also, a bottle of Mission Hill Icewine around me goes for about $50 - $40 on sale. It's a great wine- very sweet, bright, honey and fruit notes with a similar acidity so it's not syrupy sweet so you'd want a drink of water afterwards.

You think you're addicted - after discovering the Inniskillin ice wine at F&W '05, we had to haul our butts across the bridge to visit the winery! I love ice wine in general (and have the good fortune to live not-too-far from a fair number of wineries that produce it ), but that remains my favorite.

 

[belle8306]

The No Way Jose looks so yummy! I love PB and chocolate!