WHO DAT Dining Review w/Pics, ESPN,Jiko,Yachtsman,CRT,PSB,FF, Cajun Brkfst, Complete!

[shovan]

Here's what is coming up on my review and where to find each!

ESPN CLUB - Page 1

JIKO - Pages 1, 2 and 3

YACHTSMAN STEAKHOUSE - Page 3

CINDERELLA'S ROYAL TABLE LUNCH - Pages 4 and 5

PRINCESS STORYBOOK BREAKFAST IN AKERSHUS - Pages 5

FLYING FISH - Pages 6, 7 and 8

HIDDEN MICKEY CAJUN BREAKFAST - Page 8



ESPN Club-Saints vs Bears Playoff Game
The first thing you need to understand is this is a group of dedicated WHO DAT Fans. With our boys only one game away from the SuperBowl, our #1 priority was getting in to the ESPN Club for the game. We've called ahead and were told we need to be there when the ESPN Club opens at 11:00 a.m..

We arrive at the Beach Club at 10:45, so I go to check in, DH rolls over to ESPN Club to grab a table. Brother in Law & Sister in Law handle Bell Services unloading of the cars. I have a short wait for check in & big surprise our room is ready! For DVC owner's you know this is a quite a surprise. Of course, this would be the only time I'm not thrilled by this, I just want to check-in & get to the ESPN Club! DH calls & says ESPN hasn't yet open, but he's in line with a very large crowd. Bell Services has us waiting to take our bags to the room & I'm freaking out! Then DH calls & says he has a table on the restaurant side of the club & everything is great! He says there are tons of Saint's Fan in the restaurant, and the bar is full of Bear's fans. DH tells me to calm down, he has the table, take our time.
After getting our bags up to the room, we head over to The ESPN Club.

Wow, this is so exciting! They have the radio show going on & everyone is cheering on their teams! Our Saints could be going to the SuperBowl!!!!

I was so worried about my 4yo old niece having to sit through a day in a sports bar. I really stressed about this for weeks. Well with all the cheering, shouting going on, she thought it was the greatest thing! She was shouting WHO DAT & having a good ole time. She yells to me, "Nana, I really like this restaurant in Disney World!"
We order Nachos, a pitcher of beer & a glass of milk! We were disappointed in the offerings of draft beer, expected to have more choices at a bar.

Nachos are good, beer is good and we're having a great WHO DAT time!!!! We decide to start on wings! DH asks the server "If the wings are New Orleans HOT or just hot?" So we decide to get one order of hot wing & one order of Flame. Let me tell you, they do know HOT! DH & SIL loved the flame, but BIL & I couldn't eat them. Besides, by this time the game was already giving us heartburn!!!

We had plans to order sandwiches, but our stomachs weren't digesting the wings very well. This was more due to the game & not the wings. There was more beer though! SIL had a margarita that was pretty awful. She had another drink with a cutesy sports name that she liked. My niece really enjoyed her celery sticks, mac & cheese and the ice cream. Her stomach wasn't bothered with the way the game was going!!!

Towards the end of the game, being in a Sports Bar with the other teams fans wasn't quite so fun. So, when the game ended we cleared out of there really quick. We headed over to EPCOT World Showcase. Luckily, we had extra Magic Hours that night. Watching Illuminations & being in my favorite place in the DW (World Showcase) helped get us through our big game disappointment.

I would rate ESPN Club as a 4 WHO DATS for food, 3 WHO DATS for liquor choices, 5 WHO DATS for watching a big game, only 2 WHO DATS-for watching a big game you really care about!

Here's a pic of my little WHO DAT fan & her Mom watching Illuminations

Coming next Jiko

 

[lucas]

shovan, welcome back and thanks for posting. I was wondered how you made out after the big game.

Can't wait to read more of your report.

 

[TigerKat]

Sheryl - love the "Who Dat" title of your reviews! Great job on the ESPN review. Can't wait for more!!

 

[Sinderelli]

Love the title! So clever!

I admit, I'm still in a Saints induced depression- Were you depressed after the game or did you shake it off and enjoy yourself?

 

[oybolshoi]

Bring on the Jiko!!

 

[lulu71]

I love it - keep them coming!!!!

 

[LouDisney]

I love the title too!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[disneediva]

Lovin it, keep it coming.

 

[shovan]

Thanks y'all! There really isn't a better place to be than WDW to get over deep depression!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I would rate ESPN Club as a 4 WHO DATS for food, 3 WHO DATS for liquor choices, 5 WHO DATS for watching a big game, only 2 WHO DATS-for watching a big game you really care about.


Coming next Jiko

Shovan I loved your review of the ESPN Club. We didn't eat there on our last trip but did walk over to the gift shop while we were waiting for our table at Big River Brewing. My DS bought a football and of course some smashed pennies.

I absoultely love your Who Dat point system!

 

[shovan]

Jiko

This is our evening for just DH & myself. BIL, SIL and our niece are doing the Pirate & Princess Party. So I spent a lot of time trying to choose the right restaurant for this evening. I was hoping for a "nice" dining experience, quiet and maybe a little romantic.

We arrived at Animal Kingdom about 15 minutes early for our 6:15 ADR. We decide to head for the Savannah View for a look before checking in at Jiko. We step out of the elevator on our way to the Savannah View and there is a huge crowd at the Jiko desk. We decide we'd better check in first, as we'll probably have a long wait. While waiting in the line, someone in the crowd tells us they are all with one very large party. So I make my way around about 20 or so people to get up to the desk. I give them our name & they tell us it will be about a 10 minute wait,. They give me on of those little buzzer things. As soon as we make our way out through the large group waiting & out the door to the Savannah view our buzzer goes off. Well okay that's fine too, we'll look around after dinner.

We are seated by a hostess with a beautiful African accent that tells us some background about the restaurant. Jiko is very pretty. The colors are really soothing & the view outside of the window is very nice.

Sorry I wish I had better photography skills. My pics at Jilko are not very good. But this stills gives y'all an idea of the atmosphere.

 

[FloraFauna]

Shovan, I loved reading your reviews. Jiko looks absolutely beautiful!

 

[shovan]

Jko continued...

Immediately upon being seated we are asked if we'd like water, bottled, sparkling etc. The lovely lady that seated us comes back with warm towels to "refresh" ourselves. Nice start to the meal. The table spacing at Jiko is very generous. So, even though it is one very large airy dining room, it somehow also feels very intimate.

Within just a few minutes our server was at our table. He asked if we'd like a cocktail and we tell him we'd prefer to just have wine with our meal. Well, this guy was so knowledgeable about the South African wines my DH checked his tag to see if he was the Sommelier. We love wine but explained that we were ignorant concerning South African wines. He recommend several different wines and that we order by the glass so that we could try several. Good idea. He also went over the menu very thoroughly and gave us the time we needed to make decisions.

For starters, I chose the Marinated Ahi Tuna and DH picked the Taste of Africa. Our server recommended two different wines that would hold up to the strong flavors in the Taste of Africa & with the Marinated Tuna. DH had a glass of Porcupine Ridge Shiraz to pair with the Taste of Africa. I chose the Paul Cluver Pinot Noir to go with the Tuna.
They delivered our appetizers.

The Marinated Ahi Tuna was beautiful with the edible colorful flowers & heirloom beans surrounding the tuna. Almost to pretty to eat, but I forced myself to try it! It was really delicious! The different African spices used in this dish, made this tuna really amazing. A really nice change from the usual Japanese style tuna I've had.

Taste of Africa & Tikka Marinated Tuna

The Taste of Africa had three different types of bread, lentil pappadam, wheat lavosh & Naan bread. The three sauces were Tikka Masala, Kalamata Olive Hummus & a green sauce, our server called a mixed herb pesto. My DH went nuts over the Tikka Masala sauce! It was really good but I was enjoying the tuna so much, I didn't eat too much of the breads. The olive hummus was also very good. The pesto was a bit salty but went very well with the pappadam bread.

Our Server, I think his name was Sean, was excellent at explaining the dishes as he brought them to the table.

 

[oybolshoi]

That tuna looks fabulous!

 

[Blondie]

More please!

 

[TigerKat]

And you said you weren't a pro at this! This is fabulous Sheryl. The way you keep us in suspense is so baddddddd........

 

[S.Poppins]

That tuna looks wonderful!!! Jiko is on my list for the next trip.

 

[shovan]

Thanks all! That tuna was so good!

Tigerkat, thanks for the compliments! You may not be so impressed with my upcoming blurry photos! I'm new to this food photojournalism!!! I'm not trying to be suspensful, I'm just sloowwwww!!!!

 

[shovan]

more of Jiko:

For our entrees I picked the Maize Crusted Sturgeon. I had read the old menu & was hoping for the Halibut. I was not disappointed with the Sturgeon.

The maize crust was crunchy & nicely seasoned. The sturgeon was mild, moist and delicious. It was placed on top of crunchy green beans, roasted peppers & cherry tomatoes. The creamy tomato sauce had a nice spice to it and was surprisingly good with the fish. The thin strips of sweet potato on top were very crunchy & sweet. The mix of flavors in this dish went together so well. The different textures really made it something special.

I had intended to have a different wine with the fish. But our server had poured very generous glassfuls. With all the flavors going on with the fish, the pinot noir was quite good.

Maize Crusted Sturgeon

 

[TigerKat]

I'm not trying to be suspensful, I'm just sloowwwww!!!!