Chef de France Menu Change & Quality

shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
I was just down this weekend and we had dinner at Chef de France. First, they changed the menu two weeks ago, removing the Filet Mignon w/au gratin potatoes which was the whole reason I wanted to eat there. They removed the duck too. They do have Flank steak w/french fries or a $23 hamburger. Who wants flank steak, a terrible cut of meat that is string-like and "French Fries" are they kidding me with this, it's not a kids meal or counter service. I guarantee you this was done because of the free dining plan, because they called it a "seasonal change." I find it ironic that the "season" coincided with the "Free Dining."

Well, I had the pork chop which was overcooked and dry, the sweet potatoes looked like they were from a molded plastic cup which they probably bought frozen and were dry. The chicken dish wasn't good either, the chicken was string-like and seemed like it was old, probably pre-cooked much earlier in the day. The chicken at cosmic rays was better. I can't believe I left a Disney restaurant hungry. Mind you that the restaurant was virtually empty at 6p and when we left was not full at all during what you'd consider the height of the dining hour 7:30p.

They have taken everything French about the place and made it more American and ordinary. While the service was good, the food was terrible and I wouldn't go there again. I have a ressie for my upcoming trip at the end of this month which I will be cancelling. I will be now be dining at the Yachtsman steak house, where the food is excellent and well worth the money.

All I can say is that if they start changing and removing all the good things off the menu's at the restaurants, they are going to force me to rent a car for the time I'm down so I can go off property to the better restaurants, such as Emeril's on Citywalk, Morton's, etc.. I like having a good sit down dinner each night, after all I'm on vacation and that's what it is all about.

cc: Marie & Pam -- Kingdom Konsultants
 
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SirNim

SirNim

Well-Known Member
DOWNGRADE!

I can't believe they removed my favorite item off the menu, be it temporarily or permanently, and lowered overall quality. Though it seems as though they have.

Boo! :fork:
 
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RickEff

RickEff

Active Member
That's very disappointing.

This is one restaurant that I've never been to that I have ADRs for in December. I sure hope they change it back by then. Perhaps I'll write them and find out.
 
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M

majortom1981

Active Member
yeah

I was also down at the world and noticed that at Italy too. All the food was americanizedc and was getting worse. iam italian and always eat italian food real italian food and what I had at italy in epcot was really disappointing. I remember having better food there in 94.

Whats the sense of having the countries in epcot if they will be americanized. Only 2 countries have rides. If you are going to get rid of their food what is left of the other countires?
 
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daverube

daverube

Active Member
Unfortunately, not all restaurants hit the mark 100% of the time. If you're meal was as bad as you say, what did you do?? Did you complain to your server and ask for a re-cook?? I'm not really one to complain too much during a meal out; however, if my meal was THAT bad, I would've said something.

Has anyone else eaten at Chef's de France lately??? We're going in late Oct/early Nov, so I'll report then....but that's a long ways off.

On a similar note, we found that our meal at Alfredo's was edible but not great last August (2005).....in fact, the meal we had at Chef's de France the night before was FAR superior....

dave
 
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brkgnews

brkgnews

Well-Known Member
A ham-freaking-burger? You've GOT to be kidding me. I could maybe see that on the kids menu for "ewww-french food" crowd.

And fries? Jeex, at east they could have called them les pommes frites.
 
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shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
Original Poster
daverube said:
Unfortunately, not all restaurants hit the mark 100% of the time. If you're meal was as bad as you say, what did you do?? Did you complain to your server and ask for a re-cook?? I'm not really one to complain too much during a meal out; however, if my meal was THAT bad, I would've said something.

Has anyone else eaten at Chef's de France lately??? We're going in late Oct/early Nov, so I'll report then....but that's a long ways off.

On a similar note, we found that our meal at Alfredo's was edible but not great last August (2005).....in fact, the meal we had at Chef's de France the night before was FAR superior....

dave
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I ate there only one month ago in July before this trip and the food was fine. I also ate there in May and January and had no problems with the food. I complained at the restaurant, but nobody seemed to care, so I will write a letter/email to Disney indicating my disappointment. At that point I really didn't want a re-cook and there was nothing else on the menu that remotely interested me. The salad and dessert I had were good.

Yes, they still have the onion soup.
 
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Unplugged

Unplugged

Well-Known Member
Is it possible that not only were things downgraded to meet the demand created by the Dining Plan, but also due to the fact that many people have stated restaraunts were packed, so WDW decided to add non-themed foods to menus simply to support the fact that some people are forced into any place they can get into?

Dissapointing either way, but I'll bet WDW will re-think the outcome of this before offering the same package again.

I'm going in 3 weeks (not on a plan) and better get see the traditional tastey menu's I'm used to.:brick:
 
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DisneyRoxMySox

DisneyRoxMySox

Well-Known Member
Unplugged said:
Is it possible that not only were things downgraded to meet the demand created by the Dining Plan, but also due to the fact that many people have stated restaraunts were packed, so WDW decided to add non-themed foods to menus simply to support the fact that some people are forced into any place they can get into?

Dissapointing either way, but I'll bet WDW will re-think the outcome of this before offering the same package again.

I'm going in 3 weeks (not on a plan) and better get see the traditional tastey menu's I'm used to.:brick:
Click to expand...

I think it has everything to do with the dining plan, a lot more food was pushed out.
 
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D

DMDK

New Member
We ate at Chefs on 8/23 and I agree. I was so looking forward to the filet I almost cried when I saw the menu. Flank Steak did not appeal to me at all. I ended up eating the onion soup and creme brulee. Great dinner......
 
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shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
Original Poster
Flank steak is a crummy/cheaper cut of meat. Here's a description of it that I found.

Flank steak is also called London broil. It is a lean, flat, boneless cut from the flank section, just below the loin and sirloin. It has a great flavor, but it also has tough meat fibers. It should be cooked quickly...and definately NOT past medium. In fact, it should be taken off the heat when rare or medium-rare, since it will continue to cook after removal. It should be sliced thin across the grain if you hope to chew it without difficulty. It responds well to marinating and pan-frying/broiling.
 
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BRER STITCH

BRER STITCH

Well-Known Member
shoppingnut said:
Flank steak is a crummy/cheaper cut of meat. Here's a description of it that I found.

Flank steak is also called London broil. It is a lean, flat, boneless cut from the flank section, just below the loin and sirloin. It has a great flavor, but it also has tough meat fibers. It should be cooked quickly...and definately NOT past medium. In fact, it should be taken off the heat when rare or medium-rare, since it will continue to cook after removal. It should be sliced thin across the grain if you hope to chew it without difficulty. It responds well to marinating and pan-frying/broiling.
Click to expand...

Flank Steak is quite often used instead of Skirt Steak for FAJITAS, too. This verifies that it is a cheap cut of meat that, if marinated and cooked properly, can still have alot of flavor. In short, a NY Strip it's NOT!

Frankly, I am surprised they would even bother with a steak at Alfredo's unless they were gonna make Bracciole and serv eit with pasta. :veryconfu

Here's the difference between FLANK and SKIRT STEAK in case anyone was wondering what the cuts were:


The skirt steak is the diaphragm muscle. It is a long, flat piece of meat, with a tendency toward toughness. But it has good flavor. It can be grilled or pan fried quickly with good results. Another traditional method is to stuff it, roll it, and braise it. In many areas of the country (Texas, for example) skirt steak is the only cut to be used when making "real" fajitas.

The flank steak is the traditional cut used for London Broil. It is long, thin, and full of tough connective tissue. It is usually marinated before being broiled or grilled whole. Because it is tough, you usually slice it thinly on a diagonal across the grain to sever the tough fibers and make the flavorful steak chewable.

Not the first cuts you think of when you think "I want a great steak!" :lol:
 
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Lucky

Lucky

Well-Known Member
BRER STITCH said:
Hey SHOPPINGNUT! :wave:

Thanks for the update! Sorry to hear your meal was disappointing.

We all know why the quality is suffering, but some folks around here wont believe you......

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=85876

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...
I'm probably one of the folks you're referring to. If evidence like this keeps accumulating of course I can be convinced. Hopefully as some posters suggest these menu changes are merely "seasonal" and will be reversed when the free dining plan "season" ends.
 
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wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about your experiences there Shopping Nut!!!! That is pretty terrible to hear. I Am not convinced that this is directly connected to the Free Dining thing, but probably more of an attempt to "standardize" the food around WDW to appeal more to the Masses??? Although how a $23 hamburger could appeal to the masses is kind of beyond me. I had read on another well informed site that the lunch menu for Tony's Town Square has been done away with and now the only menu available is the dinner menu, which is quite heavy for a lunch style meal for me anyhow. The diversity of the restaurants in Disney is part of the appeal for me. I like having a different type of meal every night which is how I plan where I Am going to eat. If I wanted the same food over and over again I would book the same restaurants consistently. I have also noticed that one of my favorite restaurants, the 50's Prime Time Cafe in MGM Has narrowed the menu selections as well. Some of the narrowing, I dont understand as some of the ingredients for that particular dish are in stock for other items that HAVE remained on the menu. The other items needed are not particularly costly, perishable or difficult to get so I am a bit at a loss to explain this. I hope disney rethinks its ideas on this one and brings back some of the class, elegance, uniqueness and diversity that makes Disney so amazing as a culinary leader in a world of mediocre theme park food!!! Belle
 
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