The Wave Breakfast Review
The Wave, located at Disney's Contemporary Resort, is one of my favorite hidden gem table service restaurants on Disney property. Both Brandon and I really enjoy it for dinner, and I love it for breakfast. Recently, I had to have a medical procedure as a follow-up to my resection surgery for Crohn's disease. And, afterwards, I knew I wanted food since I hadn't eaten any solid food in nearly two days. My mom and I decided on a last minute breakfast at The Wave was in order.
*This gluten free dining experience took place in April 2019. It includes notes about dairy free options and modifications.
Breakfast at The Wave
The Wave, located at Disney's Contemporary Resort, is one of my favorite hidden gem table service restaurants on Disney property. Both Brandon and I really enjoy it for dinner, and I love it for breakfast. Recently, I had to have a medical procedure as a follow-up to my resection surgery for Crohn's disease. And, afterwards, I knew I wanted food since I hadn't eaten any solid food in nearly two days. My mom and I decided on a last minute breakfast at The Wave was in order.
Atmosphere
Although I wouldn't say that The Wave's atmosphere and theme are the best on property, I do like that the "wave" theme is found throughout the restaurant, starting from the moment you walk in.
The Wave - Entrance / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
The entrance has metal designs that look like waves, and you'll feel like you're heading underwater as you walk into the restaurant's lobby area.
The Wave - Seating Area / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
Inside the wave theme continues -- from the light fixtures to the chairs -- you'll feel the "wave" of American flavors throughout this restaurant.
The Wave - Interior / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
On our visit, the breakfast rush had passed, so we got to enjoy a very low-key meal, which was nice (especially, when I was still tired and loopy for anesthesia).
The Food
Like most table service restaurants at Walt Disney World, The Wave offers an allergy-friendly breakfast menu. They also have a breakfast allergen-guide for their all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet breakfast option. You can also, at any time, ask to speak with a chef.
On this visit, I requested to talk to a chef, specifically because I wanted to know what allergy-friendly Mickey waffle mix they were using. The chef told me that they are currently using a house-made allergy-friendly mix that includes rice flour and sorghum flour. I didn't get the entire list written down because I was still a bit out of it from the procedure, but I will try to get that list on my next visit. The chef did say that Chef Mickey's is also using this mix, as well.
The Wave / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
For breakfast, I decided to get a Custom Omelet with Breakfast Potatoes. This is listed as safe for Gluten/Wheat, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies. You can also make this dairy free by omitting the cheese from the omelet.
I love the custom omelets at The Wave because they are always well-cooked and SO tasty! I loaded my omelet with ham, onion, spinach, and bacon along with some cheddar cheese (since I have reintroduced dairy back into my diet). It was an excellent choice, and I will definitely get it again. The breakfast potatoes were also really good too.
The Wave / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
I was curious about the house-made allergy-friendly Mickey waffle mix, so I asked the chef if I could get a side order. I thought I was getting two waffles, but the chef made me a plate of four. So, needless to say, my mom and I shared this plate. She actually prefers the allergy-friendly Mickey waffles over the regular waffles and was excited to try these out too.
The Wave / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW
The Allergy-Friendly Mickey Waffles are listed as safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies. They were served with a side of 100% pure maple syrup too. I also asked for non-dairy vegan buttery spread and was served Smart Balance (not Earth Balance) on this visit.
Overall, both my mom and I really enjoyed these waffles. They were well cooked with a crisp outside and soft inside. The flavor was also really good too. You could definitely some of the vanilla that they used in the batter (which the chef mentioned). I would definitely order these again. And, my mom agreed that she would too.
Overall
The Wave never disappoints me when it comes to a solid and delicious breakfast. While it may not be anything fancy, the food is always prepared well. And, there are plenty of options for guests with special dietary needs. The chefs are also fantastic at customizing dishes too. If you're looking for a low-key breakfast or brunch option in the resorts, The Wave is a great table service restaurant to visit.
Have you been to The Wave? What did you think of their breakfast options?
The Wave -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in May 2017.
Dinner at The Wave
The Wave, located at Disney's Contemporary Resort, is a table service restaurant located on the main floor of the resort. It's a little tucked away, but that's definitely one reason why it can be a great dining option for guests looking for a last minute reservation or someplace a bit more quiet. We have dined at the Wave twice recently for dinner after I had a really great breakfast experience here. We'd both never been for dinner, so we wanted to check it out. And, we were really glad that we did because the restaurant really surprised us.
Atmosphere
The interior of the Wave always seems to get mixed reviews. I find the theming to be a bit basic, but it does really represent the "wave" theme.
You'll see touches of the wave motif everywhere -- from the menus to the lighting.
The restaurant itself isn't that large, but it can have some really nice cozy seating. I'm not a fan of sitting smack dab in the middle of a restaurant, but I love the side seating they have and booths a lot.
As you can see, the wave theme is subtle but visible in every detail -- even the chairs.
We also got a chance to see one of the side rooms that is used during busier / peak dining times. Our server Jim showed us some of the cool food art in there, as we were mentioning that we liked the food art on the walls in the main room.
The Food
I have to admit that the Wave hasn't always been high on my list of dining options. I've had some really lackluster experiences and some really not so great meals. But, over the last few years, I've found that the options have expanded and that the food quality is really great. This is definitely one reason why we came back to the Wave twice recently (that and 20% off our meal as Disney annual passholders helps too).
The second night we went, it was really busy, so we went to the bar to get drinks. I love the bar area at the Wave, and it's nice that you don't have to make reservations to go there or to even order food. The bar was jammed though when we went on a weekend night.As always, I tend to order my favorite -- a gin and tonic. A word on gluten free and alcohol, according to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease and peer-reviewed scientific research, "in pure spirits, the distillation process makes these beverages safe because the protein is removed. However, flavored spirits may contain malt, and should be avoided." With this in mind, I do drink gin and I feel no adverse reactions.Know that if you don't feel comfortable drinking different kinds of spirits, Disney does carry hard cider and some gluten free alcohol options. I would, however, avoid Omission Beer served at Disney (a gluten-removed beer, which has been the subject of some major studies recently showing that the gluten, in fact, is not removed). Of course, trust your own gut and judgement when consuming alcohol.
After being seated on both of our visits, our servers brought me Udi's Gluten Free Bread and Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread, which I requested (the buttery spread, not the bread). I will say, I was bummed they didn't have Deanna's Gluten Free rolls on hand. The Udi's bread is OK but the first visit, it was not heated and extremely dry and crumbly.
On our first visit, Brandon ordered the Cheese Plate and requested it be made gluten free. Because I've reintroduced dairy back into my diet, I definitely have become a fan of the cheese plates at Disney, and this one was a really good one. It included a blue cheese, a goat cheese, and a cheddar. We'd definitely get this one again. Note, it is not listed on the allergy-friendly dinner menu, but can be made gluten free if you ask.
On our second visit, we ordered the Bacon and Eggs appetizer which is Gluten Free, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Free. It does contain dairy.Holy moly! Was this good!The dish is composed of Maple-lacquered Pork Belly with a Poached Egg and Tillamook Smoked Cheddar Grits. Talk about decadent. The pork belly was super rich and tender, and the grits were so creamy. All in all, this was an outstanding appetizer choice that we both gobbled down quickly.
On our first visit, I ordered the Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Glazed Root Vegetables, Fingerling Potatoes, and Red Wine Reduction. This was listed as Gluten Free, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Free. Overall, I really enjoyed this but found that the potatoes were under-seasoned and the steak was a bit overcooked. Next time, I'd probably request it be cooked to medium to ensure it wasn't too overdone. The steak itself had a great char on it, and the flavors were nice. I would have loved more red wine reduction on this too. It was my favorite part of the dish.
On our second visit, I ordered the Grilled Pork Chop with Sweet Potato Puree, Winter Greens, Pancetta, and Autumn Spiced Fruit Preserves. It is listed as Gluten Free, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Free (it contains dairy in the puree).This was outstanding! I'm so glad I ordered this entree, as it was super flavorful. The pork chop was cooked perfectly to medium and was very moist and tender. The sweet potato puree was really smooth and creamy and mixed really well with the bitter greens, pancetta, and the fruit preserves. All in all, this was a really solid and composed dish and one I'd order again.
Overall
We really loved the Wave on both visits. While there were a few tweaks here and there to the food, we really found the appetizers and most of our entrees to be extremely well prepared and flavorful. To add to it, we had some of the best service we've had at Disney on both occasions. The manager Oliver was excellent and remembered us on our second visit, and we highly recommend both Jim and Alan as servers. We're both still talking about our dinners there, and we will definitely be going back again soon.Have you been to the Wave? What did you enjoy when you dined there?
The Wave -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in January 2017.
Breakfast at the Wave
I recently stopped by the Wave, a table service restaurant located at Disney's Contemporary Resort. I've had sort of hit and miss experiences with the Wave in the past. But, my last visit was amazing, so I decided to grab brunch there again because I was craving their gluten free and dairy free sweet potato pancakes, which I've had on previous visits.The Wave does have an allergy-friendly menu and after being seated I took a look of it, but was also a bit tempted by the breakfast buffet that is also offered. You can order a la carte for breakfast or dine off the buffet, which is around $25 per person. Luckily, with any buffet on Disney property, you can ask a chef at any time for food to be brought directly from the kitchen, instead of off the buffet line to avoid cross-contamination.Chef Laura came out, who helped me on my last visit, and I was so glad to see her! She is beyond fantastic and made me a great breakfast. We talked through some options, and she also confirmed that they can still make the sweet potato pancakes gluten free and dairy free again.Hurrah! After some debate, Chef Laura sold me on the buffet, as she said she'd make me most of my dishes, plus a good portion of the buffet had gluten free options. So while she was making my custom omelet, potatoes, and pancakes, I decided to get some items from the buffet.
Atmosphere
A quick note about the atmosphere. I like the Wave's interior. It's very modern and clean (fitting for the Contemporary Resort). I also love the entrance which always feels like you're going into an airport tunnel. There's a quaint bar area which I love and the main dining area while clean and bright is nice but I wouldn't say anything too remarkable.
Let's face it. It's all about the food!
The Food
There was so much, that it's hard to know where to start. First off, I grabbed a sampling of some of the fruit options, some breakfast meats, and some Tillamook Cheddar Grits (since I'm re-introducing some dairy back into my diet).I really loved the fruit options they had. The first serving I had was Tropical Fruit Cocktail with Coconut Syrup. I absolutely adore tropical fruit and coconut, so this was right up my alley. It was filled with pineapple which is one of my most favorite fruits. This is definitely something I need to recreate at home! They also had grapes and strawberries and Melon Fruit Cocktail -- all of which were pre-portioned in their own containers, which helps reduce cross-contamination too.I also got the Apple and Honey Spiced Hot Quinoa which was near the hot oatmeal (not certified gluten free). You could ask for this from the back, but since neither of them looked like anyone had scooped any recently, I decided to get the quinoa. It was good, but a little too "spicey" for me. I thought the cinnamon was just a little overpowering.
The breakfast meats were nothing special. I did enjoy both the bacon and pork sausage, but the bacon was the same old stringy Disney bacon. Nothing special there.The star of the buffet was the Tillamook Cheddar Grits.Good time of day these were good.I didn't eat much of them because they were clearly loaded with dairy. A few bites though...heaven. They were some of the creamiest dreamiest grits I've ever had. I may have actual dreams about these. So good.If you can have dairy, do yourself a favor and get these.
Chef Laura also made me an omelet with ham, cheddar cheese, and onions. It was super delicious and SUPER cheesy! I'm pretty sure I could eat that Tillamook Cheddar for days. The roasted red potatoes I had were quite good too. The hashbrowns off the buffet were gluten free but also loaded with dairy, and well, if you're limiting your dairy best to go with the cheddar grits? Amiright?!
While I was waiting for my pancakes, I went back to the buffet and tried the Deviled Eggs along with a serving of Strawberries & Grapes. The eggs were good but nothing special. The smoked salmon on the buffet was also gluten free too, but I skipped that on this visit.
The gluten free and dairy free Sweet Potato Pancakes are always well worth any wait. They are so delicious. They taste like fall on a plate, and I love that. Oddly, mine didn't come with toasted pecans, just the plain maple syrup on this visit, but I was so full at that point, I didn't mind.One word about getting gluten free and dairy free sweet potato pancakes. A lot of people ask if you can just get them even though they aren't listed on the allergy friendly menu. The short answer? Usually. On my last several visits, they've been able to make them with no advance notice. But, I've also been told that if you really have your heart set on them that you should contact the restaurants at least 2 weeks in advance to let them know. You can do this by emailing Disney's Special Diets Department at special.diets@disneyworld.com.
Want to recreate these at home? I love that I can easily make these at home using Namaste Pancake & Waffle Mix (which is what they use in the restaurant). You can check out my YouTube cooking series for the recipe!
Overall
I really have enjoyed my most recent visits at the Wave. The food has been outstanding and Chef Laura is a gem. She's definitely quickly become one of my favorite new chefs at Disney. Plus, my server Steven was amazing. We chatted Star Wars all while enjoying a delicious breakfast. Talk about the perfect brunch!I will definitely be going back again soon, and I just may get the buffet again. I do prefer ordering a la carte, but this visit reminded me that the buffet there has some fantastic options.Have you been to the Wave? What did you think of the breakfast offerings there?
The Wave -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in March 2016.
It's been a long time since I've dined at the Wave (almost 3 years!), a table service restaurant at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Not having had the greatest of experiences at the Wave, I often go to other restaurants nearby like Kona Cafe.After reading Gluten Free in Orlando's review this past year and talking to Leah from Our Florida Project on my podcast, I decided to give the Wave another chance.
The Wave is known for their local and sustainable menu, and the current allergy friendly menu that I got definitely reflected a bit of that. There didn't seem to be a lot of gluten free & dairy free choices, so I asked to speak to a chef to discuss options. And boy, am I glad I did.
While waiting for the chef, I enjoyed the theming and decor of the Wave. It's a pretty restaurant, though nothing too fancy. I do like the modern lighting and the "wave" represented in the ceiling & light fixtures.After a short wait, Chef Laura came out to chat with me, and she couldn't have been nicer. I told her I wasn't up for the buffet that morning (The Wave offers a breakfast buffet and a la carte menu), and she asked what I was interested in. I mentioned the sweet potato pancakes, and was so excited when Chef Laura said they could make them gluten free & dairy free!
I ended up ordering the America Breakfast Entree, with hashbrowns instead of the roasted potatoes (which contains peppers, something I wasn't keen on eating that morning), and Chef Laura suggested I sub out pancakes for toast.Done and done.As you can see, I ended up with a ton of food!
The American Breakfast entree itself was really nothing special. I ordered scrambled eggs, which were plain and basic. The bacon, thankfully, is Nueske's bacon, which is my favorite Disney served brand. I hate stringy Disney bacon, which is often found at quick service locations, so I'm always happy when I get good bacon. That being said, the bacon was overcooked for my taste.The hashbrowns were my least favorite thing I ate, as they were a bit bland and seriously underseasoned. I added some salt and pepper to jazz them up.
The sweet potato pancakes normally come with pecan butter, but Chef Laura instead gave me Smart Balance vegan margarine (I personally prefer Earth Balance but am at least glad they had one vegan margarine option) and toasted pecans on the side with pure maple syrup.
As you can see, it was a huge portion!These were some of the best pancakes I've ever had at Disney.Wow. I loved the sweet potato flavor with a hint of cinnamon and other fall spices. Using gluten free pancake mixes (in this case, Bob's Red Mill) can often result in a dry pancake, but these weren't dry at all thanks to the sweet potato puree.The restaurant actually roasts their own sweet potatoes in house for the puree, which is a nice touch.Though I had a ton of food, I literally demolished these pancakes. They were not too sweet and just the right amount of balance of spice. These were a big win for me.Overall, I really loved the pancakes at the Wave and thought Chef Laura was really attentive and willing to talk through options with me. Though I wasn't in love with my American Breakfast entree, it wasn't bad by any means, just nothing special either.With that in mind, I wouldn't hesitate to go back for those pancakes and maybe try something else on my next visit!Have you been to the Wave for breakfast? What did you order?
Contempo Cafe -- Breakfast -- Quick Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in February 2014.Contempo Cafe, located in Disney's Contemporary Resort, offers fast and convenient fare for guests who are in the resort. Set right in the hustle and bustle of the fourth floor, guests dining at Contempo Cafe can enjoy the sights and sounds from Chef Mickey's and watch the monorail whiz by. 
On this particular occasion, I stopped by for a quick breakfast. Having had less than stellar breakfast here before (yuck, horrible allergy Mickey waffles), I decided I just wanted a side of eggs and a side of the famous Disney stringy bacon.It took quite a while for the manager to come by; in fact, they had to page her multiple times. When she arrived, I knew what I wanted and let her know that it was just basic scrambled eggs and bacon. Easy enough. She took care of that while I paid, and in fact, my food was ready before I had even paid - so I guess that makes up for the long wait time beforehand.
Taste-wise, these were nothing to write home about. The eggs were fine, if not a little bland, and the bacon was the same bacon you can get pretty much anywhere at Disney. It certainly wasn't memorable, but it was solid and my stomach thanked me for having something in it. I will say that I'm not a fan of their breakfast potatoes here (the same ones as next door at Chef Mickey's) and their breakfast turkey sausage is really not great either. But, if you're looking for a quick basic breakfast, this place has got you covered.I'd give this experience a 6 out of 10. Nothing of note to report. Just blah and bland.
Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory -- Lunch/Dinner -- Port Orleans French Quarter
*This dining experience took place in January 2014.
Nothing says New Orleans like beignets and Po'Boys. They are simply iconic New Orleans fare, and thankfully, Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory, located at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter can supply these gluten free and dairy free.On this particular visit, I stopped by for lunch after the Family Fun Run 5K during Marathon weekend. I had not eaten lunch or dinner at Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory before, so I was excited to check it out.I got the chance to say see Chef Tony & Chef Raphael, both of whom are so nice and always willing to make guests great special diets meals. They told me that they can make a lot of the quick service options GF/DF which is great (and including pasta which was hugely popular during the race weekend). I decided that I really wanted to try one of the Po'Boys. How could you not at a New Orleans inspired restaurant?! Not all of the Po'Boys can be made GF/DF - any that are fried (like the shrimp) are not going to be safe, but the beef and pork ones are OK. I asked if I could get chicken by chance, and yay, they could make me a chicken Po'Boy. I was very excited to hear that there was no hidden dairy in the remoulade sauce, as there have been a few instances on property where they've added sour cream or other type of dairy. The meal comes with chips or a bean salad. The house made chips are not GF but they have pre-packaged chips (much like you can find throughout Disney property) and the bean salad is GF/DF. I was feeling like chips that day, so I went with those.
Now, if you're familiar with Po'Boys you know that they are traditionally served on a sub (i.e. hoagie, grinder) roll. They currently don't have a safe option at this point at the restaurant but they do carry the Udi's bread. This actually works well, so the only downfall is that these sandwiches are turbo messy. Bring extra napkins (and really this isn't a bad thing!). My was loaded with grilled chicken (nicely seasoned), lettuce, tomato, and of course that remoulade sauce. The remoulade is what makes it uniquely New Orleans, and this version was stellar. I really enjoyed this condiment and man, I think it would be a really good dip for French fries (just saying!). You know me....I gotta have dip for fries! The chips were a nice accompaniment to the sandwich, though I might get the bean salad next time. It sounds intriguing!Overall, I really enjoyed the sandwich and I wouldn't hesitate to get it again. It would also be nice to try out some of the others too. What I most appreciated were the bright fresh flavors and that the sauce was clearly made in-house. Remoulade French fry dip...yep, I'm gonna make this a thing!Of course, I couldn't go to Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory without getting beignets. And having just finished a 5K that day, well, it was a nice treat! (of course I had them pre-race too). And holy moly - as always these were amazing but these were extra piping hot and delicious. I love extra hot deep fried beignets and these totally hit the spot. Seriously, I may have a beignet addiction!
Overall, I really enjoyed the lunch at Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory. I would like to pop by for dinner sometime because they do have some options not available at lunch. I really love that this location is taking the extra steps to make gluten free options that are unique to the location and also something different from just burgers and fries (though, of course, you can get them there as well). And of course, any place that serves GF/DF beignets and Po'Boys is my kind of place!I'd give this a solid 9 out of 10 for this visit for great food and options.Have you been to Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory for lunch or dinner? What were your favorite special diets options?
Guest Review -- A WDW Vacation Free of Gluten -- Day One
BackgroundHi, I’m Jaime. I’m 45 and live just outside of Chicago. Thanksgiving, 2013, found my new husband, Ethan, and I driving to Walt Disney World for our first Gluten-Free trip. I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy in June and, in a huge show of support, Ethan went GF with me. While I’m extremely lucky that my allergy is minor (it was only discovered because I was having a contact allergy to something else), the other benefits of being GF were a surprise to us both: my migraines are gone, my PMS symptoms have almost completely vanished, and both our ragweed allergies have diminished significantly! Plus we both felt this odd sense of being ‘clear’, physically and mentally… it’s a strange sensation to describe.I’m a WDW Vet – this was trip #39. Ethan has spent a total of ONE DAY in a Disney park in his life (I took him to EPCOT over a quick Super Bowl Weekend trip earlier this year), and he had never been to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios. I have a lot to show him!After being diagnosed with the wheat allergy, I scoured the internet for advice. I made ADRs and changed ADRs and read more dining reviews and made more changes. We packed GF snacks and food for the car ride (I made tuna salad sandwiches for dinner – you have to love how GF bread doesn’t get soggy!) I also made one of my (not so) Famous Peanut Butter and Swedish Fish Sandwiches! Don’t judge – it’s like a portable peanut butter & jelly!Day 1: Tuesday, November 26, 2013We arrived in Orlando and headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I wanted to show Ethan around (this is where we’re staying on our next trip) and grab lunch at The Mara Food Court.
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
Ethan and I perused the menu for a few minutes while in line (and came up with a couple of possibilities) and when it was our turn to place our order, I just said “We have a food allergy.” The cast member immediately asked us to hold on one second, she was going to call for a chef. It took a few minutes for him to come out, but he was full of apologies (it wasn’t that long!). He asked what the allergy was and said there was a lot we could do. He mentioned the fries were GF. He asked what we were thinking about and mentioned that they keep Udi’s pizza crusts in back for the flatbreads. We had both decided we didn’t want to go too basic by ordering a burger or chicken nuggets this early in the trip (and we had dinner scheduled in 3.5 hours, so we were going to split this meal).I decided to push it a little and asked if he could do the chicken pita sandwich: chicken breast served on a warm pita with sun-dried tomato hummus, cucumber, tomato, and mixed greens with mint yogurt sauce with choice of Couscous or French Fries.
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
The chef looked up at the menu, tipped his head back and forth while he thought, and announced “Yes, I can do that!”We were given a pager, got our drinks, and headed outside to a table. It took 7 minutes total for the pager to go off! I really thought it would have been longer. I went back for our tray and it was on a separate surface than someone else’s – I shouldn’t have been shocked by the care they took, but I was!The sandwich was delicious (the sauce was a little spicy) and, with the fries, plenty to share!
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
Dinner tonight is at The Wave in the Contemporary Resort.
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
There were many things on the menu that looked good to me: Herb-salt Seasoned Beef Tenderloin - with tomato-green bean salad with Cypress Grover Creamery Lamb Chopper Cheese and citrus-herb butter, Thompson Farms Pork Tenderloin - soy-pineapple honey marinade, pineapple salsa, bonito and cauliflower mash, and the Dry-rubbed Flat Iron Steak - au gratin potato and winter vegetables.The waitress (Diane) took our drink order and said a chef would be right out. About 5 minutes later, she came back and asked if anyone had come out. Um, no.
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
I didn’t think the restaurant was all that busy, but when Chef Tom came out, he appeared rushed and stressed. He apologized for the wait, but was looking around the restaurant as we talked, so the sincerity of it fell kind of flat. He checked what the allergy was and asked if we had anything in mind. I said I had heard good things about the pork and the flat Iron Steak. He said the pork was out because of the sauce, but he could do it plain. So I chose the flat iron steak. Ethan chose the beef tenderloin.Chef Tom called Diane over and gave her our orders within earshot. After he left, she went over them one more time to make sure. I appreciated her care with the order. She left to go get GF rolls for our bread service. I have to admit to being surprised, and I can only attribute that to the fact that neither of us has had more than 2 hours of sleep in the last day and a half. Of course, when the bread service comes, they were out of rolls and we got GF bread.
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
Is that Udi’s? It doesn’t look like it to me, but I’m not good at telling the different breads yet. And the butter was yummy!We were exhausted and famished and finished the bread and butter off very quickly. The entrees took about 10-15 minutes.Ethan’s beef tenderloin:
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
And my flat iron steak:
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| Photo copyright Jaime J. |
Both were cooked perfectly and this would have been an amazing dinner if we weren’t so tired. The au gratin potatoes were fantastic. It turns out I’m not a fan of winter vegetables. We will go back, just not anytime soon.Stay tuned for Day 2 of Jaime's review!!
California Grill -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in November 2013.
Set atop the top floor of the Contemporary Resort, California Grill offers guests not only an amazing view of the Magic Kingdom but also a taste of culinary and seasonal offerings. Long hailed as one of the best places to dine on property, it was with great fanfare that this location went down for a lengthy refurbishment this past year. Having re-opened early this fall, many guests have been flocking to California Grill to see the new decor and taste items from the new menu. I finally was able to dine at this location after much anticipation.If you have read my past blog posts, you'll recall that I had my 30th birthday celebration dinner at California Grill. I adored the sea bass dish that I had, as well as the sushi (which California Grill is renowned for). I also had one of my favorite desserts there--a custom chocolate cake with non-dairy chocolate mousse and raspberry coulis. See that full review HERE. So, it was with great expectations that I went into this meal experience. It also happened to be my brother's 30th birthday meal celebration with friends & family, so it was an extra special night.
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| I love the new Mary Blair inspired decor |
The first thing to know when you head to California Grill is that the main check-in is located on the 2nd floor of the Contemporary Resort. From there, you receive a pager and are taken by a cast member to the top floor of the resort to the restaurant. Once there, you can either spend time in the lounge enjoying a cocktail or wait for your seat to be ready. Our pager happened to go off while we were in the elevator, so we were seated quickly. It was also an early reservation 5:20 and the restaurant was not very busy yet.It was exciting to see the changes made to the restaurant. I like the wide openness of it and the new bright colors. It is said to be Mary Blair inspired (Mary Blair is a prominent Disney artist; you can see her touches all throughout the Contemporary Resort - including the large mural by the monorail - and by her work on rides like "It's a Small World."). Overall, it was a very big redesign. Everything is very streamlined and chic.
We had a large party (9) and were seated against one of the walls with a nice view of Walt Disney property. It's really impressive, especially as it gets darker! One of the new things I noticed was that there were iced containers located next to various groups of tables. This turned out to be where they serving their "house water" and keeping it here to chill. Someone posted that they use super purified water that is filtered 5 times. Our server didn't say, but it came out in big glass bottles that were then poured into our glasses.Speaking of our server, I have to say she was particularly unpleasant. I had been hearing some horror stories about the new California Grill staff and I have to say that unfortunately she lived up to those stories. She kept skipping over certain people at our table for drinks and was very grumpy. She seemed really grumpy after our orders and it only went downhill from there. Now our group was a family based one - we also had two children with us, one was 9 and the other was 11. As far as kids go, these two are extremely well-mannered and well-behaved. They are very polite and never fussed at the meal. They were also very engaging with the server which seemed to be off-putting to her. The kids certainly didn't notice but I was disappointed by her general lack of niceties. (*Note: at the time of day there were a lot of families with kids around in the restaurant).I was given a special diets sushi menu. This is kinda cool! It was nice to see that they gave some options right away for guests interested in sushi. It wasn't the clearest special diets menu I've ever seen but at least it was something. I was surprised then to learn that they didn't have any special dietary menu (some locations do this for ease for the guests & servers).
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| Special diets sushi offerings - see the menu transcribed HERE |
When I started to talk about my special diet with the server her response was "We DO NOT bring the chef out." and that she would be working with me on this. I mentioned that I did not feel comfortable with this given Disney's policy is that chefs or managers consult with guests who have a special diet. This turned into the "We're not a typical Disney restaurant therefore the same rules do not apply" conservation began. Still, I insisted that I talk to a chef. When one came out, he seemed like this is not something they normally do (again, surprise on my end). He basically wouldn't give me any ideas of what to order for any portion of the meal, except dessert (I'll get to that in a minute). He said that they would "just substitute" whatever needed to be substituted. It was really quite strange overall. It was almost edging on the experience I had once at Jiko (which I have hailed as the worst dining experience I've ever had on property...see that HERE). But, I was optimistic. For dessert, the chef said my option was a pomegranate lime sorbet with fresh & seasonal fruits (he suggested pears). He did not take my order but rather told me that I would need to tell the server and they would coordinate. Again, this was feeling very strange given Disney's normal procedures.Meanwhile, the server brought out the GNI brand rolls with extra virgin olive oil. Nothing really special to report on these. These were the same old rolls I get most places. Luckily, they did heat them properly.
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| GNI Brand rolls with extra virgin olive oil |
I decided to order the Bell & Evans Chicken which normally comes with mashed yukon gold potatoes, Braised Lacinato Kale, Caramelized Onion Jus. Mine came out with smashed sweet potatoes and the other accompaniments. It also had some type of mild chicken sausage patty on the bottom (imagine my surprise when I discovered it!). The chicken itself was encrusted with spices (and was skin on) including fresh sage. There was only one bone included in the piece of chicken and the remaining portion was boneless (much easier to cut that way but ensures that flavor).
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| Bell & Evans chicken |
When I first bit into the chicken, I assumed the crust had some type of breading to it and I just wanted to confirm that it was safe. The server again did not want to get the chef and said that it was safe. "Just trust me." Clearly, she doesn't know what it's like to live with a special diet. Once I felt safe eating the dish, I found it to be delicious. It was very flavorful with a rich complexity that you don't often see in many dishes outside of signature dining locations. The chicken itself was perfectly cooked and the seasonings were outstanding. The kale was delicious and well sauteed as were the onions. The mashed sweet potatoes were good and complimented the dish, though I think the yukon golds would have been better. In general, everyone seemed very pleased with their meal choices which ranged from the filet of beef to the pork two ways to sushi and flatbreads. I think the only dish that seemed to be less than well received was the three-meat signature meatball dish. I decided to forgo sushi this time or another appetizer for the dessert, as the sorbet sounded intriguing and even more intriguing with the fruit. The server basically said gluten & dairy free options are fresh fruit or this sorbet only. When it arrived, I was very disappointed that 1) it didn't have any fruit with it as the chef had mentioned and 2) that it was literally just scoops of sorbet (and not pretty scoops either). I was just a wee bit shocked given that many restaurants that are not signature dining locations go out of their way to make visually appealing presentations even just of sorbet.
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| Pomegranate Lime Sorbet |
Just so you can see for comparison how many of the other desserts looked like, here's a non special diets dessert....
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| This is NOT gluten free & dairy free - this is the Sundae Sampler dessert |
Taste-wise, the sorbet was good. It was very limey and I enjoyed it a lot. But, it was also really sweet. It needed some other taste profile to counter-balance the extreme sweetness.
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| Gorgeous view of the Magic Kingdom! |
As far as the meal went, I enjoyed the food that I did eat very much. I thought the entree was really excellent and I almost wish I would have gone for sushi instead of the dessert option. As my brother put it, food was terrific, service was terrible. I'm hoping that this location is working on improving this, as I keep hearing very consistent feedback from others indicating the same disappointments service wise. I'm also still very disappointed by the chef and servers lack of concern and/or communication with me about special diets options. They really made me feel like an after-thought and that I was putting them out at this meal. It's not something that I normally get at Disney, and quite honestly it will likely deter me from heading to California Grill for a while. I can easily head to so many of my favorite places that have just as high quality offerings but better service overall. It's a gorgeous location and terrific for special occasions but if this is their special diets accommodation, I personally would go elsewhere. I'd rate this particular experience the following: food here an 8 (it lost a point for me because of the dessert, but would otherwise have been a 9) and 6 for the lousy service. Have you been to California Grill yet since the location re-opened? How as your experience?
The Wave -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary Resort
*This dining experience took place in September 2013.
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| Entrance to the Wave |
The Wave is located in Disney's Contemporary Resort and it's culinary viewpoint is sustainable and seasonal items. This is one of the locations that I often visit for breakfast when I'm staying at Bay Lake Tower, my home DVC resort. Their breakfast offerings include a variety of gluten free & dairy free products from companies like Udi's and Kinnikinnick.On this particular occasion, we stopped by for breakfast after attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party the evening before. We were all tired and looking forward to a relaxing breakfast close to our hotel room. I've been to the Wave several times previously, and I've usually been moderately satisfied with my choices and service. Unfortunately, this particular experience wasn't as magical as it could have been.One thing to note is that this location serves both a buffet option & an a la carte menu. We chose to go for the menu option rather than the buffet. To me, it hasn't been one of the best breakfast buffets, so I'd rather go for the menu. After our server greeted us, she seemed mildly disappointed we weren't ordering buffet. The chef came in the meantime and also seemed pretty put out that he had to come over. In fact, he barely spoke to me. I'm sure that it's very busy in the kitchen and that it can be stressful. Maybe he was having a bad day. Regardless, he was very curt with me and didn't seem willing to offer much. He really wanted me to get Mickey waffles and I didn't want them because I have had really good pancakes here before. I asked if he could make the banana walnut pancakes I got before and he said he could. I also asked if there was ANY chance he could do the sweet potato pancakes. His response was, "Well if we have sweet potato that hasn't been mixed yet..." and then proceeded to walk away. I got banana walnut pancakes so I assume that meant they didn't have any available or he just didn't want to make them. Yikes!
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| As you can see it was REALLY busy in here... |
Our server was also basically non-existent for our meal. And this rarely happens unless a restaurant is slammed. Now this restaurant is never slammed and quite frankly most of the people were getting the buffet, so I'm not sure what the issue was.
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| Banana walnut pancakes and bacon |
After getting my breakfast, I investigated the pancakes. They were basically Bob's Red Mill pancakes with sliced bananas and walnuts. I liked the version I got the time before because the chef had basically pureed the banana into the batter, so it was like banana bread flavor all throughout the pancake. This was banana flavor here and there. But overall, they were good. The bacon, on the other hand, was another story. I have no clue what they did to this bacon but it was terrible! Even the worst quick service bacon was better than this. It was very stringy, greasy, and just had a weird flavor, like it was slightly off. Honestly, for a place that touts local, sustainable and seasonal, they can't have good bacon!?My family also didn't really love their meal. They thought it was adequate but not really worth the price or effort. We all agreed that we would rather take the monorail next time to another resort to get breakfast. I'd happily head over to Kona for breakfast over this any day! It's just a bummer because honestly, I see a lot of potential in this restaurant, but it's just not at the level it should be. Really disappointing.Overall, I'd give this a 5 out of 10. This experience just wasn't good from start to finish. While the pancakes weren't terrible, just about everything else wasn't very good. I wish I could say better things about the Wave, but it's definitely off my skip list for now.Have you been to the Wave? What was your experience there?
Contempo Cafe -- Breakfast -- Quick Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in September 2013.
The Contemporary to me is classic Disney. It's really an iconic resort and truly gives you a feel of nostalgia. With the monorail whizzing through the resort, it's hard not to love everything about the Contemporary. Their quick service location, Contempo Cafe is right in the center of it all. It's located near the monorail station and directly next to Chef Mickey's. In general, it's a great quick service spot to grab a quick bite for special diets.
On this particular visit, my family and I grabbed breakfast here before heading to the Magic Kingdom. Now you know I'm a big fan of table service breakfast, but I will say that quick service can be really quick and efficient. I adore the Mara for example (see review HERE); it's probably my hands down favorite quick service breakfast spot. Contempo Cafe offers a hearty breakfast, though perhaps not quite as good as others. It's not bad if you're at the Contemporary though.When you order with a special diet here at the Contempo Cafe, you head to the pick-up station, which is rather small. Check with a cast member and explain that you have a dietary need. For me, I usually have a good idea what I want here, but it's always good to check with the cast members. The manager met me and she was fairly new (she just moved from Michigan, my home-state, less than 2 months ago), so she wasn't completely sure of everything and had to check. I told her I wanted the bounty platter because I could get allergy Mickey waffles (my weakness!). The eggs she said are usually dairy free (scrambled eggs that is) and that the potatoes and other items except the biscuit would be OK as well. So I waited and checked out the restaurant. It was quite busy!
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| Dining area--I love the view of the artwork |
I also noticed while waiting that Rapid Fill (the new refillable mug program) was installed and available for purchase, though it didn't look like the machines were actually working like they were supposed to yet (i.e. they were installed and you could use them but they weren't fully functioning). I also noticed that Rapid Fill is only on the soda machines, not coffee and tea.
Finally my food was ready, and I went to pick it up. I noticed right away that there was a nice "hidden" Mickey on my lid. Can you spot it?
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| No so hidden Mickey! |
Most of my breakfast was just fine. I liked the eggs, but they were nothing to write home about. The bacon was also good. The turkey sausage...not my cup of tea. I found it too spicy and really thin and weird tasting. I think I recall not liking this before, but it had been so long I thought maybe they had changed it. The potatoes are the exact same ones next door at Chef Mickey's--a little spicy though! Now the Mickey waffles...uggg...this was a fail. 1) They used straight Namaste which to me doesn't taste as good and 2) they didn't cook them all the way through. They were a gummy, nasty mess. Also, the only syrup they had was the corn syrup based kind and not the real maple syrup. Yuck!! I can handle that if the Mickey waffles are at least good to begin with. But both? No thank you.
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| Next time I will head to the Mara! |
Overall, I feel sort of so-so about this breakfast. Some things were good and others, just mediocre at best. Those Mickey waffles were cold and gummy. Not the way I envision my beloved allergy Mickey waffles! Right now, I think I'd skip this for breakfast unless I was staying at the Contemporary (and even then I might think of other options). I'm giving this a 6 out of 10. Just so-so.
Contempo Cafe -- Quick Service -- Lunch/Dinner -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in December 2012.
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| Contempo Cafe Entrance |
Just a quick review of Contempo Cafe. My family and I popped by here to split a lunch before our early dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. As per usual, I asked for the manager and planned on ordering a plain chicken sandwich. I was hoping to add the yummy remoulade sauce that came with the mahi mahi sandwich (one of my fav sandwiches there) to dip my fries in; however, I was met with bad news. The tartar sauce (as they refer to it) now has sour cream in it. So, sadly, no sauce for me. I ended up ordering just plain chicken sandwich and french fries (we ordered an extra side too to split). Nothing too spectacular.
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| View of Contempo Cafe seating area |
It's been a while since I've had the chicken sandwich here, and I wasn't too keen on the herb marinade. It was just so-so. I actually preferred the chicken the way it used to be a long time ago and I almost wished I had ordered the allergy friendly chicken tenders. Since I was splitting the sandwich, the others in my party ate it with toppings from the toppings bar (I never get items from toppings bar for fear of cross contamination, but rather ask for the items in the back from the manager).
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| Chicken sandwich (plain) on Udi's bread with two sides of fries |
Overall, this was an OK meal. Nothing special for a quick snack, but satisfying enough to stave off any hunger for the day. It's also a very convenient location when staying at the Contemporary, so despite this experience, it's one of my standbys when staying at Bay Lake Towers.I'd give this experience a 7 out of 10.
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| Love the small touches, even in the recycling bins! |
Chef Mickey's -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in December 2012.
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| Entrance to Chef Mickey's! |
Wave your napkins in the air! It's time to celebrate with Chef Mickey and the gang! It's hard to believe it's been over a year and 1/2 since I've been to Chef Mickey's! My family and I decided to visit the morning after our annual Mickey's Very Merry Christmas trip. We always stay at Bay Lake Towers, our home resort in DVC. It makes for a much more relaxing night, not having to worry about a bus. I love that walk back in the evening. And even better...I get to enjoy the Contemporary, one of my fav resorts. It's classic Disney World! I love the monorail whizzing by and the hubub of the resort. It's so much fun to enjoy a meal at Chef Mickey's too. Makes for great atmosphere.
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| Quiet location in the far back of Chef Mickey's. Yep, everyone looks rather tired! |
This trip, we had a very early reservation (considering we were up until 1am!) at 7:30am! I've never actually been to Chef Mickey's that early, so I wondered how "busy" it would be. I've often waited in very long lines to check in. However, on this trip, it was very quite (yep, no one else wants to be up that early either!), and I kind of wished I had worn some PJs! We were quickly ushered in and took our mandatory photo in front of the Chef Mickey's statue and giant plate (your family will be greeted by a Photopass cast member at your table with the photos, which you can purchase for around $30 and includes an 8x10 photo and some wallet photos--at 7:30am, we politely passed on that!). Then we were immediately seated. How's that for early morning service?! The chef was also standing there, and he said he'd be right over.
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| Why, it's Chef Mickey himself signing autographs! |
Once seated, we ordered drinks, and then the Chef came by. He was really great. Of course, I managed to forget his name (I think it was Brian?)--too early! He took me around the buffet and showed me some of the options. There were I would say an OK amount of options. Fresh fruit, smoked salmon, eggs on the buffet did not have dairy, potatoes, breakfast meat, corned beef hash were all ok. The chef was very good though because he said that if I were uncomfortable with any cross contamination, he would make anything I wanted in the back. This I really appreciated because not every buffet offers this willingly. Luckily, since it was so early and a lot of the safe items were located next to each other, I went with a few things on the buffet. Chef also said he could make me allergy friendly Mickey waffles (hurrah!) and that they had Udi's bread for toast, muffins (blueberry Kinnikinnick brand). I asked about Earth Balance, but he said they didn't have any. He did offer Smart Balance, which I declined, but he went back and looked at the ingredients and said he thought they were safe (it's vegan). I tried a little bit of it, but not much. I much prefer the Earth Balance. This tasted less 'buttery' than EB. The Mickey waffles were Bob's Red Mill (my fav!) and pretty good. Not quite as crispy, as I would like, but still tasty. I love Udi's toast, and was so excited to see it there. The Kinnikinnick muffins are good, though I prefer their chocolate chip muffins (what can I say, I like chocolate muffins in the morning!!).
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| Udi's Toast, Bob's Red Mill Mickey waffles, Kinnikinnick blueberry muffin, and Smart Balance |
Now onto the buffet items. I would say the food was OK. The eggs were actually overcooked (you know how eggs get that brown coating on them when they get overcooked, yep, they had it). I added some chopped ham from the toppings, but I would have much preferred an omelet (ohhh Boma omelets are the best!!!). The bacon was the typical stringy bacon you see at most locations at Disney restaurants. The corned beef has was interesting. I wouldn't say bad or good, just OK. Certainly not the kind of hash I'm used too. I also don't normally eat beef, so I got a very small amount of this. This was like having potatoes with slices of pastrami in it. Not the finely ground chopped hash I usually associate with this dish. Definitely an unusual dish. My favorite thing on the buffet were the breakfast potatoes. These were really yummy and nicely seasoned and a little spicy. Nothing overpowering but very good.
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| Items off the buffet |
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| Buffet pods |
Of course, the characters are the big thing at Chef Mickey, and we sure made the round of characters. We got to see all of them: Chef Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy (who I like more than Chef Mickey, sorry Mickey!!!), and Minnie. As bleary eyed as I was that morning, I opted for no pics, but the characters still got a lot of love from my stepdad who had never been to Chef Mickey's before and got to take pics with ALL of the characters! Lucky him!Overall, I like Chef Mickey's for the atmosphere, but for food, it's so-so. I will give the Chefs credit for being flexible and willing to help out. But the food itself was very cafeteria tasting and certainly not up to the caliber I expect for $30 per person (yes, $30 per person--it's price has gone up since last I payed out of pocket!!). I would probably only come back for a special request from friends or family or if I were to score free dining. I'd much rather spend $22 and head to Boma for their breakfast. Still, it's a great place for families to visit, and a fun overall experience even if the food isn't all that great. It's one of those visit every few years or so for me personally.I'd give it a 7 out of 10 for great service and dietary accommodation but lackluster food.
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| Entrance & Exit to Chef Mickey's! |
The Wave -- Breakfast -- Contemporary Resort -- Table Service
*This dining experience took place in September 2012.
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| View of Bay Lake in the morning... |
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| Bay Lake Towers in the morning... |
Ah, the Contemporary Resort. It's one of my favs. And Bay Lake Towers is my DVC home-away-from-home. We often stay here, especially for holiday parties. It's so convenient, and no long waits in line for buses! Plus, it's a stunning hotel with great views and wonderful food options. Case in point...the Wave at the Contemporary side of the resort. Just a hop skip and a jump away from my "home" is the Wave, which offers a lot of great, seasonal choices. The first time I came here, I wasn't overly wowed, but now it's slowly becoming a nice treat for breakfast, especially when I get to get custom pancakes. Yum!On this trip, we were met by Chef Dave, who was very nice and really wanted to help provide something tasty. He seemed pretty swamped that morning, so I will give him credit for keeping up with the craziness. He asked what I wanted, and I said essentially I wanted pancakes (they don't do GF/DF Mickey waffles here, but they do make pancakes), some eggs, potatoes, GF/DF Udi's toast if they had it, and whatever else he wanted to surprise me with (yes, sometimes I live on the edge with breakfast lol). It wasn't too clear if I was getting the buffet price with everything made in the back (he said he didn't feel comfortable with me getting things out there due to cross contamination--very good of him) or a plated price. I did end up with a plated price, which was nice! (a savings on a GF/DF meal, a rarity more often than not, especially outside of Disney).As far as the pancakes, I had recently had a bummer of an experience at Kouzzina in that they didn't have the Bob's Red Mill mix and it didn't taste very good. This time, I asked before I ordered. Luckily, they had Bob's Red Mill on hand! Thank goodness!!! Now we were in business! I asked if he could do the sweet potato pancakes modified, and he went to check if they had sweet potatoes set aside, but alas it was not meant to be yet again. He did offer to make some other kind of pancakes, with fruit in it. I asked if he could make a banana walnut pancake (stood to reason it couldn't taste too terrible), and he said he'd be willing to try. He also said they had Udi's cinnamon raisin toast (a fav of mine) but no plain toast (weird--I think they were just out), Udi's blueberry muffin and Earth Balance vegan margarine.
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| Banana walnut pancakes, potatoes, Udi's cinnamon raisin toast, and Udi's blueberry muffin |
First out came the pancakes, toast, muffin, and potatoes (um, where did they eggs go?). I then asked the chef for some eggs and bacon too (a girl's gotta have her protein with her sweet stuff). Sorry no pics of the additional foods here, but I was too busy scarfing down on the pancakes.First up, the cinnamon raisin toast, as usual, was awesome. I love this stuff. I actually make this at home for a treat with Earth Balance and a little bit of sugar on top (maybe not so healthy, but quite delicious!). The muffin I had never had before. Now, I will say I'm not a huge blueberry fan, but this tasted really good. Not overly blueberry. And the top was amazing--turbinado sugar that had sort of caramelized. Yummy! Then onto the pancakes. OMG these were amazing. Heaven in pancake form. It was like a banana nut muffin morphed into a pancake. Talk about delicious. I will definitely ask for these again, and I'm going to try to duplicate them at home! Soooo good.The eggs were nothing to write home about, just scrambled eggs. And the bacon was the typical bacon you get in the restaurants. Good, but nothing special.Overall, I was really pleased with this meal, especially with the pancakes. Sure, it wasn't the sweet potato pancakes (sometime I will get to try them!) but these were definitely a good substitute. This place is really starting to be a good standby for me. Plus, it's so easy to get to from Bay Lake Towers and much less crazy than Chef Mickey's!On a side note, Chef Dave talked to me about the Udi's and vendor changes. Fear not, the Udi's is here to stay. According to the chef, they are on a permanent contract there. They also still carry the OMG I can't believe it's GF! brand as well, and it looks like the GNI brand is contracted out for rolls (more on that in a Liberty Tree Tavern review). Thank goodness Udi's isn't going anywhere. I love, love, love them, though I do hope they start to carry a brand that can be used for those who can't have egg (like Ener-G), so there is a good balance and variety for folks.A solid 8 out of 10!
Contempo Cafe -- Lunch -- Quick Service -- Contemporary
*This dining experience took place in September 2012. This experience also includes a gluten, dairy, and soy free review.
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| Contempo Cafe located at Disney's Contemporary Resort |
It's been a while since I've been to Contempo Cafe for a meal. I often stay at Bay Lake Towers since it's my home resort in DVC and also because it's really convenient for the seasonal parties that are held in the Magic Kingdom. This time we were going to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, so it made for a natural choice to stay there. I tend to visit Contempo Cafe when I stay there because it's a nice convenient place to stop by for a meal. Plus I get a lot of different choices, which I love.On this trip, I met up with a friend who also has food allergies (his are gluten, dairy, and soy). First up, for my order I was craving some type of hot sandwich. The manager on duty said she could make the Spice Crusted Mahi sandwich gluten & dairy free. Awesome! I love fish sandwiches, so I was great with this. Plus, it sounded like something different, which I was really in the mood for.
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| Spice crusted mahi sandwich with french fries, coleslaw and remoulade on the side. |
I also got fries with this, and I asked for the coleslaw and the spicy mayonnaise (i.e. remoulade) which were supposed to top the sandwich to be on the side. I admit, I tend to order on the side in case I have a reaction, plus if it is a sauce and I have fries I tend to dip them. Hey, what can I say? A girl's gotta have her dipping sauces!The french fries were nothing spectacular, just fries. The sandwich didn't come on a Udi's bun (which was slightly weird), but on Udi's bread. Still, it tasted just fine to me. I personally love the Udi's products. The fish was really good. I love mahi mahi, so I was excited about this with the spices. It was a blackening seasoning on it. Very good. The manager did show me the jar with the ingredients, but unfortunately, I'm blanking on the brand. It was GF/DF though. I admit, I kind of skipped the slaw because my stomach was a little touchy (Crohn's), and I don't often react well to raw veggies. I did dig into the mayonnaise though, and it was delicious. Very good. It was spicy and relishy, and overall very tasty. I put some on the sandwich and I used the remaining portion to dip the fries in. I was a happy girl! Overall, I would not hesitate to order this sandwich again. It was really good and the sauce was divine. I liked that it had some flavor to it and wasn't just a plain Jane grilled fish sandwich. Definitely a new favorite sandwich for me!*Note: As of December 2012, the tartar sauce (remoulade) is now not dairy free. It contains dairy in the form of sour cream.My friend had a little more difficulty with options because of the soy allergy. However, he opted for a chopped salad. He had a variation of the chicken chop salad on the menu, with the addition of bacon. He also got oil and vinegar on the side instead of a regular dressing.
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| Chicken chop salad - modified |
Overall, he said it was really good, and looking at it, it looked pretty tasty. And considering that his salad bowl was empty by the time we were done with lunch, I'd say it was a winner.In general, I'd say Contempo Cafe is a solid place for a meal. It's a good value with lots of options, and I find this more "upscale" than regular fast food. Another solid 8 out of 10. I'm looking forward to heading here to eat in December for the Christmas party!
The Wave -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary
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| Entrance Podium Sign at the Wave |
I've been to the Wave once with food allergies, around the time they first opened. As you'll see in my previous review, the meal was ok, nothing special. One of my friends recently recommended the Wave to me, as they told me they had received gluten free, dairy free, and soy free sweet potato pancakes. For that, I was willing to make another trip to the Wave.
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| Menu from the Wave |
I recently had the opportunity to visit. One of the new additions was the option of the breakfast buffet. This meant you could order off the menu or choose the buffet. The chef kindly took me through the buffet to tell me what was safe and also checked to see if they could make the sweet potato pancakes. The trick with them is that the sweet potato puree may have already been used for the day on the regular non special diets pancake batter. If they have extra (or if you give them enough notice), they will make the sweet potato pancakes for special diets guests. Unfortunately, they were out that day (it was close to 10:30 am, so nearly the end of breakfast), but I was able to get gluten free/dairy free pancakes.The chef then made my eggs in the back and also offered me cinnamon raisin toast and/or blueberry muffins. I chose the cinnamon raisin bread. I haven't had any since going GF/DF over 3 years ago!
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| Buffet pods |
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| Fresh Fruit from the Buffet |
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| Bacon and breakfast potatoes |
Of the few items I could have directly from the buffet were the fresh fruit (which was far away from other gluten/dairy items) and breakfast potatoes and bacon. I found the breakfast potatoes to be quite tasty. They had red peppers in them but were not too spicy. The bacon was the standard WDW bacon. The fruit was actually very fresh and very tasty. I was impressed with that.
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| Scrambled eggs with GF/DF Cinnamon Raisin Toast |
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| GF/DF Pancakes with Earth Balance Vegan Margarine |
The chef brought out scrambled eggs, GF/DF cinnamon raisin toast, and GF/DF pancakes with Earth Balance Vegan Margarine. The eggs were good, but it was the cinnamon raisin toast that wowed me. It was the Udi's brand bread, and it was very, very good. Good enough that I went home and bought some (sorry, I'm shameless when it comes to consuming good bread. If it's good, I'll buy a ton of it!). The GF/DF pancakes were also very good. It was interesting because I found them to taste almost exactly like the Mickey waffles. I think they must use the same mix. I was also excited because they brought me Earth Balance vegan margarine. Great on the pancakes and on the toast!
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| Full View of the Spread |
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| View of the Restaurant |
Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with the Wave. I liked the option to order off the menu or choose the buffet. I found the additional options for GF/DF to be quite nice. I truly enjoyed the cinnamon raisin bread and the pancakes. I'm really hoping to head back here to try to get the sweet potato pancakes soon!I would give it a solid 8 out of 10. Can't wait to check out some of the other offerings from this restaurant.
Chef Mickey's -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary
Wave your napkins in the air, it's Chef Mickey's!!
Ah Chef Mickey's...one of my long time favs, but I actually haven't been since going gluten and dairy free. I was looking forward to the breakfast and seeing what they had to offer. Since my tummy was still bugging me from the Crohn's, I figured I still needed to take it easy. But even stomach issues wouldn't stop me from those Mickey Waffles :)We were greeted by Chef Les, who was very nice. He was very helpful and friendly. He said that they don't use dairy on the eggs at the buffet, so I was able to eat those. I could also have fruit, breakfast potatoes, and the various breakfast meats. Since I wasn't feeling too well, I just asked for some Mickey waffles, which Chef Les was happy to make. They weren't bad, but I have to say, Kona Cafe has the market on the BEST gluten free/dairy free Mickey waffles on property (imo), so these were OK, but a bit chewy. Still, he made sure I had a plentiful amount and nicely decorated plate too!
Ah, Mickey waffles...my favorite!!
Contempo Cafe -- Counter Service -- Breakfast
Adult Bounty Platter with a side of scrambled eggsThe food for the most part was OK. Really nothing special. It was kind of cafeteria style breakfast--kind of bland but edible. The only thing I didn't really like was the turkey sausage which was probably the worst turkey sausage I've ever had. It was really gross and unappetizing. No one who ate that thought it was good, so it wasn't just me!
Overall, nothing special. But definitely lesson learned--make sure you double check about ordering sides of things with a meal--special diets or not. 5 out of 10 for mediocre food.
The Wave -- Contemporary -- Table Service
I've been wanting to try the Wave for a while now since it opened. I loved the whole local seasonal approach and it sends such a great message to sustainability and being aware of how food production works. However, I have heard lots of mixed reviews on the food, service, and ability to handle food allergies. So, I went in with no expectations, figuring breakfast food is fairly easy, especially with food allergies/intolerances. I have to say, the decor of this restaurant is neat. I love the entrance. It really feels like you are "under the sea." Definitely a nice design (reminds me a bit of Coral Reef).
The chef greeted us at the table. He was very nice (he was also from Michigan originally, so we had some fun discussion of Michigan weather!) and discussed the options for me. He was able to make waffles which was great. He also noted that the chicken sausage was GF and had no other filles in it, which was good. So, I decided on the American which is basically eggs, breakfast potatoes, and I got chicken sausage with it (good but spicy!). I also asked if they could make waffles for me on the side (I have a weakness for waffles on vacation--I never make them at home!). Now, it is important to note that they carried Vans Waffles but the chef said they could also make waffles too. I personally like to get the mix waffles because I'm on vacation, and I like the homemade waffles--I can get Van's any day! So, it was nice to know that there were choices.
When the food arrived, I noticed that the waffles looked decidedly like Van's waffles! Uh-oh! The waitress had no idea, and she didn't seem to want to ask the chef, so I just dove in to see if they just use a regular waffle maker (I'm used to the Mickey Waffles!), and lo and behold, they were homemade waffles! Very tasty!
Yummy waffles--don't be fooled by the frozen waffle shape! That's an Ener-G roll in the background!
A good hearty breakfast!
Contempo Cafe -- Counter Service -- Lunch/Dinner
Contempo Cafe -- take 2!
I got to be very familiar with the Contempo Cafe on this trip--we ate lunch/dinner here twice and breakfast here twice. For this meal, I forgot to take the picture of my food before digging in because I was soooo hungry--but I'll post the 3/4 eaten pic :)
I knew that Contempo Cafe was currently serving the allergy friendly chicken tenders, so I wanted to get those. I ordered those with fries and got a French Meadow brownie and soda. Overall, while nothing major or special, it sure was tasty. I love those things! Although, I sure wish they would serve a different kind of barbecue sauce in this food court b/c it's the same kind I encountered at ABC Commissary (I believe it was Heinz?) and it has gluten in it. What happened to the safe bbq sauce, people!? Overall though, it was a good meal (you can tell, since I was scarfing it down), and the chicken tenders still remain one of my standard counter service meals each trip.
Whoops, I got hungry and ate most of my food before taking a picture!
Private Dining -- Bay Lake Tower -- Contemporary
After my fantastic dessert at the California Grill in February on my birthday, I was hoping to have the same dessert made for me this trip. I've been in contact with Brian from the bakery at the Contemporary who said that he could do this. We determined that the desserts would cost $15 a piece and that they would be delivered after 5 p.m. (I arranged this part through the Contemporary's private dining). However, there were a few snags that occurred. To begin with, the private dining person that I spoke with said that they would deliver the dessert in the room and put the desserts in the fridge for us, if we weren't in the room. But when we got back from dinner, we discovered that this hadn't happened. No dessert. So I called private dining, and they stated that they cannot deliver when a person isn't in the room (not true, I've ordered things before, including cakes that were delivered when we weren't there). They brought the desserts up, and the lady who did that informed me that they had to add chocolate b/c the sauce was running. UM, you added chocolate?! What kind of chocolate? I have food allergies! She felt really bad, and said she was pretty sure it was plain dark chocolate shavings, but that she would have to check. So, they left the dessert with me and then called me to let me know that the chocolate was dairy free. Pheww! Sigh of relief. I think what worried me the most was that they did not bother to check to see if there was a food allergy attached, which should have been clearly noted. However, I understand that they just received it from the bakery and were probably not in charge of it. All worked out in the end so that was good. Now to the dessert....it looked like what I ate before, but it was NOT what I ordered before. Totally different. It was one layer of very thin chocolate cake and dairy free chocolate mousse. Before the mousse was so flavorful and chocolatey--this was not so much. It was pretty bland and had a really weird texture. Overall, it was edible, but everyone in the family agreed it was not the same as the last one. I do appreciate the effort, but the dessert seemed very sloppily made and definitely not as much effort put in it as the last one. After this experience, I would probably just order the regular gluten free/dairy free cake instead of having a special dessert made. I'd give it a 4 out of 10, considering the confusion and taste of the dessert.
Dessert view #1
View #2