Fall 2010 Dining Reviews - Updated 3/10

[disneyfav4ever]

I like Cosmic Ray's, I really do. But since giving up red meat, there wasn't exactly a lot for me to choose from here. So I had the vegetable wrap.

It's really just a whole lot of lettuce with some peppers, corn, and black beans mixed in. They're obiously going for something kind of Mexican, but it lacks a lot of flavor, and all I really tasted was the peppers. Which weren't even jalapenos or anything, they were like those sweet cherry peppers, so they didn't really go with the rest of the ingrediants. Plus the ends of the wrap were open instead of folded in, and since everything in the wrap was small, a lot fell out.

It gets an



I had the carrot cake for dessert.

There was a huge thick layer of icing, which was very slimy almost. Like it'd been out in the heat or something. Then the cake under it was just sickingly sweet with all the icing. They used to have a different cake, which was much better.

This one only gets an

 

[Linda67]

Just caught up with your reviews and have really enjoyed them

I don't eat meat either but I do eat fish and I am really keen to try La Hacienda so I am really surpirsed that they have so few non-meat options

Did you happen to ask if they had a seperate vegetarian menu?

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Just caught up with your reviews and have really enjoyed them

I don't eat meat either but I do eat fish and I am really keen to try La Hacienda so I am really surpirsed that they have so few non-meat options

Did you happen to ask if they had a seperate vegetarian menu?

I think since they've opened they've added a vegetarian menu with three or four entrees. However don't eat the rice, which I learned after the fact, it's cooked in chicken broth unless they changed it.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

It was my last day in Disney before heading to Universal, and I was spending the day at MGM. Before this trip I would have been one of the first people to bash the counter service dining at MGM, always having found it mediocre at best. However, I had a few better then mediocre meals here this trip. Nothing to write home about, but certainly edible, and even tasty. Though the desserts, with the exception of the pastries at Starring Rolls Bakery, need work.

I ended up at Pizza Planet for lunch, where I had the cheese pizza meal, which came with a caesar salad.

The pizza wasn't nearly as outstanding as the ones I'd had earlier in the trip, but it was decent. It was hot, fresh, and filled me up at the time, and I really can't ask for more then that.

The salad was fine, the lettuce was fresh, and the croutons weren't soggy, though it could have used a bit more dressing.

Overall the meal gets an;



Though I'm still somewhat cautious of the counter service food at the Studios, I'll no longer be making a point of trying to avoid eating CS there.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I've updated all the links in the first post, so they're current and should all go to the right dining reviews now.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Like I said in my last review, Starring Rolls is really the only counter service place to go to for dessert at the Studios.

I had the napoleon.

This was amazing. Even though I knew the desserts here were good, I still wasn't expecting this to be as good as it was. It was so rich and creamy, and huge, I couldn't really eat more then half of the thing, but it was so good!

It gets an;

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I really didn't feel that well before going to dinner tonight. I wasn't feeling sick or anything, I was just really tired, it had rained a lot, my leg was bothering me, (my knee acts up sometimes, making it almost painful to walk, and it'll last up to days sometimes, but luckily I felt fine the next day,) and I wasn't necessarily hungry.

But it was my last night in Disney, or at least what I was considering my last night, since my last real day in Disney would be all about the Food and Wine Festival, and not about any of the regular attractions, if that makes sense. Plus all my credits would be expiring, and I had two TS credits I did not want to go to waste, and I didn't want to have to pay the $20 cancellation fee.

And I really liked California Grill, plus has an ADR for an hour before Wishes, which I thought was perfect. Sadly, while this meal was good, it was unimpressive, and I preferred some of the non-signature meals I'd had this week. I did get to see Wishes, as I was served my dessert as it was starting, but otherwise I was pretty bored with dinner.

I decided to start with an appetizer, since I've always loved the appetizers here. I had the creamy Maine lobster bisque.

It was fine, definatly not worth the $12 I paid for it. It was topped with fennel, leeks, sun-dried tomatoes, and lime creme fraice. I thought the sun-dried tomatoes were kind of over-powering, and it tasted like it had a little too much sherry in it, giving it an almost bitter taste.

It gets an



For my entree, I had the pan-seared Florida snapper.

It was a nice piece of fish, with a nice crispy, (although somewhat bland,) breading. It was served over a fig risotto and wild forest mushrooms. The risotto was the highlight of the meal, and the mushrooms weren't bad, though mushrooms have never been a favorite of mine, so not bad is probably really good to anyone who actually does like mushrooms. And a pinot noir reduction sauce, which definatly added some much needed flavor to the fish.

It gets an



For dessert I had organic pear tart.

The crust was extremely hard, so hard that I couldn't cut through it with my fork, so I ended up just eating the filling out. The filling was tasty, and I liked the ginger ice cream it was served with, but it was really nothing that special, and the crust was really a mess.

It gets an



Overall, it was a decent meal, but decent doesn't really quite cut it at signature restaurants. Had I not been on the dining plan, it would've been a $60 meal, and that's not including tax, tip, or anything I drank. I really hope it's what I ordered or it was just an off night, but this does move Citricos to my number one choice of signature restaurant.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I have to say the whole area is amazing and straight out of the movies. The ride is fantastic, although very scary, using almost every dark element from the books.

During the two days I spent at Universal I tried two of the drinks, the pumpkin juice, and the frozen butterbeer.

The butterbeer was fantastic. It tasted very much like cream soda, and the topping tasted like marshmallows. Plus the mug makes a nice souviner.

The pumpkin juice was good, but I didn't think it was anything that special. It really just tasted like a very spiced apple cider, which wasn't a bad thing, but I didn't have the desire to have any more.

I meant to try the Three Broomsticks for lunch, but by the time the park officially opened it just became so crowded in the area that I just had to get out of there. I am so glad I stayed onsite that one night if for no other reason then to get into Harry Potter early.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I decided to stop here for lunch on my first day, not really having eaten breakfast, and not having dinner until 8:00 that night, (thinking I would be spending all day in the park when I made that reservation, while in reality I spent quite a bit of time in my room that afternoon.)

Finnegans is at Universal Studios, not Islands of Adventure, which I spent very little time at.

Something I didn't really like about Finnegans is that it has two entrances. I went in one, and the one server was pretty rude about telling me I needed to go back out and go around to the other side where the hostess stand was. And this wasn't some unobvious door I had gone in, this was an open door, with a big menu / we're open sign.

Luckily my actual server was much nicer, and the food was pretty good, so I guess that's all that matters.

The bread was good. It was served with some kind of apple butter, and I loved the four-leaf clover cutting board. It was also really good dunked in the soup I had.

The soup I had was the speciality potato-leek soup.

This was really good. It was perhaps the best soup I had all trip. It was simple, but good. It was kind of chilly this day, soup was all I really wanted.

It gets an;



I like Finnegans. I wouldn't mind going back and trying some more of the food there sometime. I actually think I preferred it to Mythos, where I ate in April.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Tchoup Chop is at Universal's Royal Pacific Resort, which is where I was staying for the night. It's an Emeril's restaurant, and though I'm not the biggest Emeril's fan, the menu here really appealed to me.

I started with a salad;

There was a whole lot of lettuce, and a very skimpy amount of toppings, blackberries, goat cheese, and pecans. I would've really liked more, especially considering that it was a $10 salad. It tasted fine, but was kind of boring.

It gets an;



For my "entree" I had another appetizer, the crab cake.

This was really good! It was topped with a mango salsa, and had a tropical fruit sauce. (Or maybe it was mangoes in the sauce too? I'm not sure, but it was something tropical like that.) Regardless, it was really tasty. The cake itself had a lot of crab and not a lot of filler, and the sauce and salsa paired very nicely with it.

It gets an;



For dessert, I had the trio of creme brulee;

The three flavors were vanilla, coconut, and passion fruit. I really liked the vanilla one, which was a good basic plain creme brulee, and I loved the coconut one. I didn't care for the passion fruit one that much as it has that tart flavor to it that I've never really cared for.

This gets an;



Overall, I really liked my meal. If I return to Universal I may eat there again, however I wouldn't make a special trip off property just to eat there. I find the menu to be similar in theme to Kona, but much more upscale, and Tchoup Chop would rank as a signature restaurant in Disney terms, but there prices are a bit more reasonable.

 

[Linda67]

I think since they've opened they've added a vegetarian menu with three or four entrees. However don't eat the rice, which I learned after the fact, it's cooked in chicken broth unless they changed it.

Thanks for the tip

 

[JessicaFaye508]

mmm i like your food pictures all of those restaurants you went to look so good haha

 

[mullysisters]

I've really enjoyed your review. I like that you left out cost (and the dining plan-not always practical for veggies/others)
I have only visited for three days as a solo but plan to return alone. I was happy to read your reviews as a solo.
You reviewed the food, service and experience without the usual descriptions-"nasty, yucky, disgusting" that are becoming all too common on these boards. They are not helpful!
Thanks for a really good, concise review and great pictures too.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I've really enjoyed your review. I like that you left out cost (and the dining plan-not always practical for veggies/others)
I have only visited for three days as a solo but plan to return alone. I was happy to read your reviews as a solo.
You reviewed the food, service and experience without the usual descriptions-"nasty, yucky, disgusting" that are becoming all too common on these boards. They are not helpful!
Thanks for a really good, concise review and great pictures too.

Thanks. I really don't think the DDP is the greatest deal ever. I think if I ate only vegetarian the whole time, and actually had to pay for the plan, (I was there during free dining,) it wouldn't make sense. Even eating seafood I think I just about break even cost-wise. Though I do enjoy the deluxe plan, since I enjoy having an appetizer and deluxe plan, I might use that plan again next year. This year I'm not doing any dining plan, nor do I have TIW, but I do have like $500 in Disney gift cards, which I plan to use mainly for food, so my meals are basically already paid for in a sense.

And I agree, I don't mind using the term yucky, but I'd like to know why something is yucky. Just telling me it's yucky doesn't really help.

 

[sunshineNJ]

Loved your reviews!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[SarahDreamsInDisney]

ooh what yummy foods! thanks for posting so many great looking photos and honest opinions of your experiences (I agree about the seating for Casey's!)