The DHS breakfast of champions
We rope-dropped DHS and when getting some iced coffee for the morning, there was only one item we wanted to split for our breakfast -
the Carrot Cake Cookie! (or as they call it now, Carrot Cake Whoopie Pie)
This is the only carrot cake I've EVER liked in my life! Has it changed a bunch over the years, like everything else at WDW? Yes! Is it still delicious? Also yes! This is the kind of breakfast that you can truly only get away with in a theme park, and it hits every time! It's a DHS staple (but I would still give it up to get Starring Rolls back).
Lunch at Mama Melrose
This was a last-minute change for us; we usually eat at either Sci-Fi or Brown Derby at DHS, almost never anywhere else, but the night before DHS had randomly started craving spaghetti and meatballs, so switched over to MM.
I'd eaten at MM only once before, in 2008 on a trip with family, but DHS and I had never been together. And with their recent menu additions it seemed time to finally give it a try.
We ordered two appetizers that in hindsight were a little redundant -
Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Marinara Sauce, Lemon Aïoli
House Garlic Bread
Roasted Garlic Spread, Parmesan, Marinara Sauce
The cheesesticks were piping hot and had a really nice crust and "cheese pull" factor. They were veeeeeeeery salty but DHS loved that. I don't like marinara sauce on its own so I didn't try it, but I did try the lemon aioli which was an interesting choice? The lemon didn't really lighten up the richness of the mayo, it was still heavy on top of heavy so I wasn't a big fan.
While DHS preferred the cheese sticks, I preferred the garlic bread. I think kids would LOVE this stuff. There was very little actual garlic flavor, it was mostly just crusty bread and melty cheese. Kind of bland but in a comforting way, if that makes sense!
For our entrees, despite MM having spaghetti on the menu and despite his supposed craving, DH did NOT order spaghetti!
He chose the
Rigatoni Bolognese
Ground Beef, Italian Sausage, Parmesan
Despite it not being spaghetti, he said it hit the spot! It was a deceptively large portion and pretty simple stuff, but tasty enough for him. He usually finds most red sauces too acidic but said this one was on the sweeter side.
In an absolute lapse of judgment, I ordered the
Margherita Pizza
Fresh Mozzarella, Marinara Sauce, Basil
I am trying to not knock MM for this when it was ME who made the mistake of ordering more bread sauce and cheese for a meal after enjoying...bread sauce and cheese as a starter. But this was not at all enjoyable to me, and it made me feel guilty that since we couldn't really carry the leftovers around in the heat, most of it went into the trash. I could handle one slice and nothing more, and DH could not be convinced to try it. To me, it tasted like a dorm room struggle meal, like a saltine cracker someone squirted ketchup onto, sprinkled with cheese, and microwaved for 30 seconds. Ooof.
Our service at MM was odd, not sure how else to describe it. Whenever our server stopped by she spoke so quickly and so quietly and would run off before we could even ask her to repeat anything, but she WAS on top of our water glasses so I really can't complain! We had no needs that went ignored, it was just...odd.
All in all a pretty mixed meal, and Mama Melrose will probably go back onto the back burner for another 10+ years or so. I am not at all mad we gave it a try though! It was nice to branch out.