"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

[Sweet Melissa]

How closely do you follow this old adage when it comes to dining, particularly in Walt Disney World? Do you stick to the house specialties or go for whatever strikes your fancy? I definitely tend to order fish at seafood restaurants, steak at steakhouses and so forth. Sometimes I think this serves me well. For instance, I think it's a great benefit to order the more ethnic dishes at places like Jiko and Sanaa rather than sticking to the tamer "mainstream" meals.

Thoughts? Do you tend to pick the house signatures, or have you been pleasantly surprised by dishes that were outside a restaurant's main concentration?

 

[Figgy1]

How closely do you follow this old adage when it comes to dining, particularly in Walt Disney World? Do you stick to the house specialties or go for whatever strikes your fancy? I definitely tend to order fish at seafood restaurants, steak at steakhouses and so forth. Sometimes I think this serves me well. For instance, I think it's a great benefit to order the more ethnic dishes at places like Jiko and Sanaa rather than sticking to the tamer "mainstream" meals.

Thoughts? Do you tend to pick the house signatures, or have you been pleasantly surprised by dishes that were outside a restaurant's main concentration?

I eat really healthy so I don't go off course except for a few adult beverages, My dh and my sons will usually go with a speacialty type item!

 

[real mad hatter]

Big fan of trying different food cultures.It drives me mad as a hatter when people go into,say a Cantonese restaurant and end up ordering " Chicken Maryland " Whits all that about. I once took in in laws out to an Italian restaurant for their anniversary. Oh my god..My mother in law ordered Sunday roast beef with Yorkshire puddings,and my father in law had battered fish & chips..I ordered Saltimbocca and my DW had Osso Bucco . They looked at our meals and said." Do you really like that stuff?" If we were seated next to a window,I would have flung them out.

 

[cowanfamily]

I always go off the reservation. I can eat "normal" food any day of the year!

 

[littleroo]

I always order the house specialty. I love watching grown adults eating chicken fingers at a Chinese restaurant. My thought are, and I am not trying to offend anyone, why don't you just stay home!

 

[docdebbi]

agree with littleroo. i always order what that restaurant is noted for. The fish and chips at Rose and Crown, seafood at flying fish, enchiladas at La Hacienda, cheddar soup at Le Cellier......it is their signature dish for a reason. and isn't that the reason you are there?

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

How closely do you follow this old adage when it comes to dining, particularly in Walt Disney World? Do you stick to the house specialties or go for whatever strikes your fancy? I definitely tend to order fish at seafood restaurants, steak at steakhouses and so forth. Sometimes I think this serves me well. For instance, I think it's a great benefit to order the more ethnic dishes at places like Jiko and Sanaa rather than sticking to the tamer "mainstream" meals.

Thoughts? Do you tend to pick the house signatures, or have you been pleasantly surprised by dishes that were outside a restaurant's main concentration?

Im with you Melissa, however, I dont eat beef much, and if I do a burger for lunch, chances are I will opt for a chicken or pork selection for dinner.

 

[olinecoach61]

I usually go with what a restaurant is known for. I want to spoil myself while I'm in the world! If I had sipped the pizza at via Napoli I would regretted it!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It's one thing to walk into a steakhouse and order pork because you are not in a steak mood...it's another thing to walk into a place like Sanaa and order a cheeseburger off the kiddie menu b/c you're afraid of food. I do find that if it's more common things like seafood or steak- I might stray if I'm suddenly not in the mood for any of that...afterall, any steakhouse worth its salt should be able to make wonderful pork and chicken, just like any decent seafood place would be an embarrassment without being able to make the turf side of the surf and turf as well as good pasta to compliment a variety of seafood (and non-seafood) options. Still...I see no point in going to more ethnic/exotic places and not trying what they specialize in.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Im with you Melissa, however, I dont eat beef much, and if I do a burger for lunch, chances are I will opt for a chicken or pork selection for dinner.

I love red meat but don't eat a lot of it either. We definitely are mindful of that when we make our reservations, though. We've learned not to stack multiple heavy meals on the same day. Or if we're going somewhere indulgent for dinner, we'll keep that in mind when it's time to grab lunch.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

agree with littleroo. i always order what that restaurant is noted for. The fish and chips at Rose and Crown, seafood at flying fish, enchiladas at La Hacienda, cheddar soup at Le Cellier......it is their signature dish for a reason. and isn't that the reason you are there?

Holy cow, Hacienda has enchiladas? How did I miss that?! They're my fav.

But back to the point of this thread. I may not always order The One signature dish, but I do stick to the restaurant's wheelhouse. I've been to Flying Fish a number of times and never had the potato-wrapped red snapper, but always have some kind of seafood. If I found myself in Le Cellier on a hot summer day (not sure why that would happen, but we're being hypothetical, right?), I would definitely skip the soup.

I do tend to go for the dishes that are seasonal, fresh, or items of the day. I've never had that aforementioned Flying Fish snapper because I know there's always next time. So if some daily special piques my interest, I'll go for that instead.

 

[Pooh Lover]

My DH is definitely more adventurous than myself when it comes to restaurants but I enjoy all types of cuisine and look forward to something other than boiled chicken and steamed vegetables. Having seen my mother literally order off the children's menus, search the WDW buffets for macaroni and cheese and make faces at a restaurant's menu like a small child, I've learned that some people are never going to change and I'm just glad she is my father's problem, not mine when it comes to dining out. If I were to take them out for their anniversary, the best dinner I could give them would be a trip to our local MCL cafeteria. To each his own.

 

[mickey&me]

I always ask my server for some recommendations and choose from among them. I much prefer ordering "house specialties"; they give the restaurant the opportunity to blow me away with what they're known for.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

I love red meat but don't eat a lot of it either. We definitely are mindful of that when we make our reservations, though. We've learned not to stack multiple heavy meals on the same day. Or if we're going somewhere indulgent for dinner, we'll keep that in mind when it's time to grab lunch.

See, thats me to a T.... I eat beef so infrequently, I dont miss it, but love it when I do have it LOL. I eat very healthy all year but that goes by the wayside during vacation, but I figure, what fried foods I do eat (funnel cake, etc) I walk it off LOL

 

[Sweet Melissa]

See, thats me to a T.... I eat beef so infrequently, I dont miss it, but love it when I do have it LOL. I eat very healthy all year but that goes by the wayside during vacation, but I figure, what fried foods I do eat (funnel cake, etc) I walk it off LOL

I don't really do the fried foods like funnel cakes. I don't think I even had French fries on our most recent vacation. In the last couple years, we've been much more conscious of making healthy choices at home and it really has changed the way we dine out. I tend to drink my extra calories in Disney World. All the Cokes, the slush drinks, the cocktails, that's what I have to walk off. We all have our vices, don't we?

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

I don't really do the fried foods like funnel cakes. I don't think I even had French fries on our most recent vacation. In the last couple years, we've been much more conscious of making healthy choices at home and it really has changed the way we dine out. I tend to drink my extra calories in Disney World. All the Cokes, the slush drinks, the cocktails, that's what I have to walk off. We all have our vices, don't we?

Hmmm funny I just realized, I didnt have any french fries last October but did have a few bites of hubby's funnel cake! LOL During food and wine I try to sample as much as I can (truth be told I take a bite and hand it off to DH .... and he doesnt gain an ounce... I HATE that!!) And the slushies... Melissa you just made my mouth water!! LOL

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Yeah, we share everything during F&W too. We would never cover enough ground if we didn't!

 

[zurgandfriend]

I usually go with the theme of the restaurant, e.g. Italian I'll order something Italian etc, however my local Italian restaurant also serves a great steak so a lot of times I'll order that with a side of pasta.

 

[real mad hatter]

See, thats me to a T.... I eat beef so infrequently, I dont miss it, but love it when I do have it LOL. I eat very healthy all year but that goes by the wayside during vacation, but I figure, what fried foods I do eat (funnel cake, etc) I walk it off LOL

There you go.I love that quote." Eat beef infrequently so I don't miss it,but love it when I do have it." God that sounds so much like my S.. Life. LOL Glad my other half doesn't go on here.

 

[Doom Buggy]

I may not always go with the house specialty but I do like new favors and try to get something different when I go out.