We just returned from our trip yesterday, and I am going to take a stab at some reviews. This is my first time doing this, but since I have learned so much from the reviews of others on this board, I feel like I owe it to all of you!
Cast of Characters:
Me (Age 41), DH (Age 40) and DS (Age 10)
Sunday, January 18th
We arrived at our resort, BCV, around 2:00. We checked in and our room was ready, so we quickly unpacked and then our minds turned to food.
Spoodles Pizza Window
I really wasn't hungry as I had picked up a wonderful vegetable wrap from the Caribou Coffee stand at the Minneapolis airport, so I ate that around 11:00 a.m., during our flight. DH and DS were starving though, and needed something to tide them over until our evening PS at Flying Fish. DH had a slice of pepperoni pizza and DS had a slice of cheese pizza. They washed it down with a lemonade they shared. They both liked their food here, however they were constantly fighting with the seagulls for it! Cost: $8.74
Flying Fish
We were really looking forward to this restaurant and we had PS for 6:30. We arrived a few minutes before our PS time, and were promptly seated. We had a great table, that sat four and was 1/2 booth along with two chairs. The decor is stunning, and fun to look at. Our waitress was Jodi, and she was really an outstanding server! She knew the menu well, and was patient in answering our questions and in making recommendations. DH decided to order the Chef's Thunder entree, Mahi Mahi with Onion Risotto ($30.00). He also ordered a Caesar salad ($8.00) and a glass of DeLoach White Zinfandel ($7.00). I ordered the Potato Wrapped Grouper with Leeks ($34.00). DS went for the Fish and Chips ($8.00) and a Fruit Punch ($3.25). First of all, the portion sizes here are fairly small, when compared to other WDW restaurants. We did leave full, however! DH loved his entree! I did enjoy my Grouper and the wine reduction, and it was perfectly prepared, however I did not like the leeks on the side. I would have preferred a small amount of leeks in the sauce, but really the leeks were the side dish. DS's fish was good, but he had only 5 pieces (they were tiny, bite-size pieces). For dessert we shared the Napoleon and the Chocolate Souffle. Everyone raves about the souffle, so we had to order it, but honestly we were not that impressed with it. It is very dark chocolate and is served with a vanilla sauce with liqueur of some kind, but the souffle was so overpowering with the bitter chocolate that you could not even taste the sauce accompaniment. The napoleon was wonderful. Cost: $115.29 (without tip). Food Rating: B, Value: C, Atmosphere: A, Service: A.
Monday, January 19th
Fresh:
We had 9:00 PS seating. The walk over to the Dolphin was so peaceful, and it was a beautiful morning. We were seated immediately, and our server told us that a large convention group had just checked out. The place was dead, and a PS was not needed. For those of you who aren't familiar with Fresh, it is an all-you-can-eat affair, with various food stations set up. There is a great review, and photos of this restaurant at www.allearsnet.com . The pancakes of the day were strawberry and DH and DS went for these. In fact, all that DS had for breakfast was one pancake and some apple juice! (That was one expensive pancake!) I had a veggie omelet, made to order. It was a great omelet! I also tried a couple of the fresh juices, one made with wheatgrass and the other made with beets and fruit juices...both were excellent! DH had the omelet of the day, which included bockwurst, and he also had a bowl of raisin bran. There were hot cereals, fresh fruits, carved meats, and a variety of yummy-looking pastries. I have misplaced my receipt, but I think that this cost us about $54.00, with tip. Food Rating: B+, Value: D (this was our own fault because we chose not to eat very much), Atmosphere: A-, Service: A-
We decided to eat our way around Epcot for lunch, and it was a later lunch (around 3:00 pm). DH had a Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and a Becks in Germany ($13.00). I thought the sauerkraut tasted weird...actually it was tasteless compared to what my mom always made at home. DH liked it, but then again he was washing it down with a beer! DS had a cheese pizza and Icee ($8.25) near Test Track and declared it good. I had Orange Chicken with an Egg Roll ($6.59)in China, and it was nothing to write home about. We shared a Funnel Cake with strawberries and powdered sugar ($5.00) in America. Yum...it was the best thing we ate at Epcot that day!
Beaches and Cream
DS was off playing in the arcade (I swear we dropped more money here during the week than we did on food!), and DH and I were a little hungry, but didn't really want a meal. What we wanted was dessert! We stopped in around 7:00, and asked to be seated at the counter. I had a sundae made with chocolate ice cream and marshmallow topping, and DH had a brownie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge conncoction. We got to watch a Kitchen Sink being made, close up. I asked our waitress how many Kitchen Sinks fly out of there each day, and was told that some days it's none, but other days they can make up to 25 of them! Our bill, before tip was $12.76. Neither of us finished our sundaes either!
More reviews to come...
Cast of Characters:
Me (Age 41), DH (Age 40) and DS (Age 10)
Sunday, January 18th
We arrived at our resort, BCV, around 2:00. We checked in and our room was ready, so we quickly unpacked and then our minds turned to food.
Spoodles Pizza Window
I really wasn't hungry as I had picked up a wonderful vegetable wrap from the Caribou Coffee stand at the Minneapolis airport, so I ate that around 11:00 a.m., during our flight. DH and DS were starving though, and needed something to tide them over until our evening PS at Flying Fish. DH had a slice of pepperoni pizza and DS had a slice of cheese pizza. They washed it down with a lemonade they shared. They both liked their food here, however they were constantly fighting with the seagulls for it! Cost: $8.74
Flying Fish
We were really looking forward to this restaurant and we had PS for 6:30. We arrived a few minutes before our PS time, and were promptly seated. We had a great table, that sat four and was 1/2 booth along with two chairs. The decor is stunning, and fun to look at. Our waitress was Jodi, and she was really an outstanding server! She knew the menu well, and was patient in answering our questions and in making recommendations. DH decided to order the Chef's Thunder entree, Mahi Mahi with Onion Risotto ($30.00). He also ordered a Caesar salad ($8.00) and a glass of DeLoach White Zinfandel ($7.00). I ordered the Potato Wrapped Grouper with Leeks ($34.00). DS went for the Fish and Chips ($8.00) and a Fruit Punch ($3.25). First of all, the portion sizes here are fairly small, when compared to other WDW restaurants. We did leave full, however! DH loved his entree! I did enjoy my Grouper and the wine reduction, and it was perfectly prepared, however I did not like the leeks on the side. I would have preferred a small amount of leeks in the sauce, but really the leeks were the side dish. DS's fish was good, but he had only 5 pieces (they were tiny, bite-size pieces). For dessert we shared the Napoleon and the Chocolate Souffle. Everyone raves about the souffle, so we had to order it, but honestly we were not that impressed with it. It is very dark chocolate and is served with a vanilla sauce with liqueur of some kind, but the souffle was so overpowering with the bitter chocolate that you could not even taste the sauce accompaniment. The napoleon was wonderful. Cost: $115.29 (without tip). Food Rating: B, Value: C, Atmosphere: A, Service: A.
Monday, January 19th
Fresh:
We had 9:00 PS seating. The walk over to the Dolphin was so peaceful, and it was a beautiful morning. We were seated immediately, and our server told us that a large convention group had just checked out. The place was dead, and a PS was not needed. For those of you who aren't familiar with Fresh, it is an all-you-can-eat affair, with various food stations set up. There is a great review, and photos of this restaurant at www.allearsnet.com . The pancakes of the day were strawberry and DH and DS went for these. In fact, all that DS had for breakfast was one pancake and some apple juice! (That was one expensive pancake!) I had a veggie omelet, made to order. It was a great omelet! I also tried a couple of the fresh juices, one made with wheatgrass and the other made with beets and fruit juices...both were excellent! DH had the omelet of the day, which included bockwurst, and he also had a bowl of raisin bran. There were hot cereals, fresh fruits, carved meats, and a variety of yummy-looking pastries. I have misplaced my receipt, but I think that this cost us about $54.00, with tip. Food Rating: B+, Value: D (this was our own fault because we chose not to eat very much), Atmosphere: A-, Service: A-
We decided to eat our way around Epcot for lunch, and it was a later lunch (around 3:00 pm). DH had a Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and a Becks in Germany ($13.00). I thought the sauerkraut tasted weird...actually it was tasteless compared to what my mom always made at home. DH liked it, but then again he was washing it down with a beer! DS had a cheese pizza and Icee ($8.25) near Test Track and declared it good. I had Orange Chicken with an Egg Roll ($6.59)in China, and it was nothing to write home about. We shared a Funnel Cake with strawberries and powdered sugar ($5.00) in America. Yum...it was the best thing we ate at Epcot that day!
Beaches and Cream
DS was off playing in the arcade (I swear we dropped more money here during the week than we did on food!), and DH and I were a little hungry, but didn't really want a meal. What we wanted was dessert! We stopped in around 7:00, and asked to be seated at the counter. I had a sundae made with chocolate ice cream and marshmallow topping, and DH had a brownie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge conncoction. We got to watch a Kitchen Sink being made, close up. I asked our waitress how many Kitchen Sinks fly out of there each day, and was told that some days it's none, but other days they can make up to 25 of them! Our bill, before tip was $12.76. Neither of us finished our sundaes either!
More reviews to come...