Resturant Quality
[Sorry for the length of this post. I know it turned into a resturant review so if it is off thread I expect one of the moderators to move it to the appropriate location.]
My wife and I did what I'm calling the "dinning trip" from Sunday-Wednesday, (9/19-9/22/04), and here's a quick assessment of the food quality and locations.
EPCOT/Resturant Marrakesh: Appetizers, the Chicken Bastilla would have been worth the trip to this resturant alone. Drinks, Casablanca Sunset was very good if you like sweet and fruity (which I do). The Tangier Cofee was plenty strong but had a suprise chocolate ending in the bottom of the cup. Entrees, I had the Chicken Couscous which was OK but the couscous was on the bland side. I have a better receipe that I make where I use chicken stock instead of water and I add dates, raisins and nuts. The wife had the Lemon Chicken but the green olives overpowered any lemond taste it should have had. Dessert, we shared a Crepes Atlas and noticed how well the toasted almonds brought out the flavor of the apples. Verdict: Main dishes need to spice it up. Can you say "BAM!"
Animal Kingdom/Flame Tree Barbecue: This was our only fast-food counter service but I have always had good food and service in the past. Our expectations for pork BBQ are pretty high from living in West Tennessee where it's considered an art form. The wife had the Pork Sandwich Meal which was good but a little on the salty side. I had the 1/2 slab Rib Meal and found the ends of the slab to have been overdone and tough but the middle ribs were tender and moist. Slower and more even cooking is needed here. The corn on the cob was good and the beans had a dark smokey flavor I really liked. For dessert we both had the Key Lime Pie which was very good for a mass produced product. Verdict: Flame Tree needs to watch the seasonings and moderate the cooking time & temperature.
Animal Kingdom/AK Lodge/Boma: I had heard such good reports for Boma it was a prime target for this trip. I now have a new favorite drink, Victoria Falls Mist. It's a mixture of orange, banana, and melon liqueurs with a splash of Sprite. Best soups were a toss up between the seafood gumbo and the Mulligatawny Soup with Mulligatawny taking the edge. Best salad was the Watermelon Rind Salad. The roasted meats were a dissapointment across the board. None of the offerings were worth the dollar value. The dessert buffet's stars were the Payapa Mango Tarts and the nut roll. I found the highly praised Zebra Domes to be an over sell. Not that they weren't good. Just that I'm mystified why people go on and on about them. Verdict: It's an expensive buffet for soup, salad, and dessert. The meats are unremarkable.
Magic Kingdom/Liberty Tree Tavern: Appetizers, Tavern Fried Cheese with marinara sauce - very good with a sauce that was thicker and more flavorfull than most. The New England Clam Chowder was very creamy, served hot, and had plenty of clam. Most yummy! Entrees, My wife had the Pilgrims' Feast - traditional roast turkey with herb bread dressing, mashed potatoes and green beans. Everything you'd expect from an abberviated Thanksgiving dinner - very good. I had the New England Pot Roast - braised beef in a cabernet wine and mushroom sauce served with mashed potatoes and green beans. I'm not normally a pot roast fan but was presuaded by our server who mentioned the meal had been on the menu for the past thirty years. It was excellent. One word about the Sweet Iced Tea. It is prepared in the manner you would expect Southern Sweet Ice Tea to be made. Expect it to be sweet to the point of being syrupy. Not a fault - just the way it is supposed to be prepared. Verdict: Consistently high quality in an unexpected place at 1/2 the cost. :sohappy:
Magic Kingdom/Cinderella's Royal Table Dinner: The wife was still overwellmed from lunch at Liberty Tree so she just had the Crispy Crab and Seafood Spring Roll with sweet chili sauce which she liked very much. I had the Seafood Cioppino of scallops, mussels, fish and crisp soft-shell crab in a white onion and garlic broth. The soft-shell crab is almost impossible to deal with in this fish stew and would have been better replaced with the out of shell crab meat. Other than the presentation it was good but I'd give Bomb's seafood gumbo higher marks. We skipped dessert here as we had other plans for a late dessert after Wishes! Verdict: Good service and food but we didn't give it much of a chance because of the heavy lunch at Liberty Tree.
Contemporary Resort/California Grill: Dessert time! My wife had Fluffy Vanilla Sponge Cake with honey-scented cream, Nectarines and Crunchy Candy Crumble which was very good but the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Molten Center and White Chocolate Ice Cream I had was the star dessert here. Verdict: We will be going back again for a full course meal. (NOTE: We were at the CG two years ago for a full meal with kids but had to satisify them with the flat bread pizzas. They were very good but it was a compromise on my part to what others in the party wanted).
Disney Studios/The Brown Derby Resturant (Dinning with an Imagineer): Introduction: Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Tillamook Smoked Cheaddar and Toasted Chive Oil. This was great, (can I have another bowl please)? For the salad they served the signature Cobb Salad in an individual portion. Did you know they have to follow the receipe exactly on this salad and the Grapefruit Cake in order to license the "Brown Derby" name? Center Stage: I had the Grilled Filet Mignon with Boniato Mash, Crisp Peppered Onions and "Chimichurri" Aioli and Rich Cabernet Reduction. The Grilled Filet Mignon was good but not spectatular. I actually liked the Crisp Peppered Onions, (a.k.a. fried onion rings), better. Most every one else had the Thai Noodle Bowl with Barbecue Breast of Chicken, Sugar Peas, Bok Choy and ake Mushrooms in a Red Curry Broth and commented that it was good. For the Finale Bananas Foster Mascarpone Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce and Bailey's Ganache was serverd. I'd place it second only behind the Valrhona Chocolate Cake at CA.
Synopsis: The weakness most of the WDW resturants have are their main courses. Not that most of them aren't good but for the value for the dollar they are underwellming with the notable exception of the performance of the Liberty Tree Tavern, (CA omitted as it was dessert only).