Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian Resort

*This dining experience took place in February 2013.

Entrance to Kona

There are some restaurants on property that I go to entirely too much. Kona is probably one of them--mostly because now even the chefs and waistaff recognize me. Well at least they don't know me by name...yet! The chef does know me by allergy though. Hey, what can I say? When you find a good thing, you stick with it!Interestingly enough, I actually am not a big fan of dinner at Kona but I adore breakfast and lunch. Go figure. On this particular visit, I headed to Kona for lunch. When I arrived I was seated by the manager and I mentioned Chef Johnny who has taken care of me almost everytime I've been at Kona in the past 2 years. Turns out Chef Johnny was recently relocated to Ohana. The chefs on property rotate restaurants every 3 years or so, so I knew it was bound to happen. Chef Brandon was the new chef on duty.However, I was pleasantly surprised when Chef Johnny showed up at my table. Evidently the manager had let him know that I mentioned him specifically by name and so he came over. He said he would take care of my order from start to finish, as he was thrilled to see me. (I'm sure he got some brownie points with the manager!). I ordered what I've been getting there lately--the Island Chicken Sandwich. It's a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and curry mango mayonnaise. I ordered it minus the cheese and this time Chef Johnny offered to grill some onions for it--the first time I got them. I always get the curry mango mayonnaise on the side so I can put on the sandwich AND dip the fries in it. I love the curry mango mayo. It's awesome!Chef Johnny said they stopped getting the Udi's buns (oh sad day) and now only have the GNI brand buns. He said they really don't like them at all. Not only are they half the size but they are also extremely difficult to work with. Blech. I agree with him. However, if you put enough curry mango on a dirty shoe it would taste good, and this bun is the same!

Chicken sandwich with curry mango mayo on the side--where's the bun?! It's so small it's hidden.

Grilled onions--these were delicious

Big view of the bounty. Love this sandwich!

As usual, this sandwich was awesome. I will note that the chicken didn't seem to have that slight gingery taste to it anymore. I wonder if they don't marinade it at all now. It was still a nicely grilled piece of chicken breast. The bacon was also thick cut and tasty--not that wimpy bacon. The onions were a nice touch. I wish I would have ordered them before. I really loved the grill flavor. And of course, that curry mango mayo is beyond awesome. It makes the whole sandwich. I literally downed the entire cup between the sandwich and the fries. It's that good.

Meringues

Last up was a new treat: Meringues. Evidently it's new for the menu and safe for me to eat (pretty sure it's just mainly egg whites). Yum! Definitely a nice way to end the meal with something safe, sweet, and different than rice dream or a cookie. And it wasn't extra!Overall, I really love Kona for lunch. I like the variety of foods during this time and the island chicken sandwich? It's the best! I'm sad to see Chef Johnny move over to Kona, but I was glad he was able to help me on this visit.Next time it will be interesting to visit with a new chef!Overall, a good solid 9 out of 10!

Rose & Crown -- Table Service -- Dinner -- World Showcase -- Epcot

*This dining experience took place in February 2013.

View from my seat of the World Showcase Lagoon

It's been a few years since I've been to the Rose & Crown at the UK Pavilion at Epcot. This visit was entirely by accident due to some car troubles & an extended stay at WDW while my car was fixed (or not as it eventually turned out, but that's not a food related story!!). I ended up getting an ADR last minute at Rose & Crown, as it sounded like a much better option than some of the others available in the World Showcase at the time (I was staying at the Boardwalk, so I wanted something semi-close). My last experience there was good, so I thought it the perfect time to check it out again.I was seated outside on the second level before the water, so I had a lovely view of the World Showcase Lagoon. I was seated in a slightly weird location as I was by myself, but overall, it was a pleasant location mostly due to the nice weather and view.

Side view from my table

 When the chef arrived, he seemed very familiar to me. I was pretty sure that he'd assisted me at another restaurant. His name was Chef Brian, and he was very nice. First, he went over the options for appetizers (good thing too, I was starving having not had anything since breakfast and it being 6pm). He said the Mary & the Lads (i.e. shrimp cocktail) was safe with no modifications, as was the Roasted Sea Scallops appetizer. The salad was ok with the removal of the blue cheese. I ended up with the Mary & the Lads, as shrimp cocktail sounded fab.

Mary & the Lads

As far as appetizers go, this one was delicious. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the sauce was not the typical cocktail sauce, but rather a spicy bloody Mary sauce. It was really good and something different. The salad was micro-greens and frisee tossed with a light vinaigrette, very simple. It went really well with the shrimp.In between the entree and the appetizer, I was brought some rolls. They were the GNI brand rolls, but interestingly enough they were in the packaging--a first for me. This gave me a chance to see what "allergens" it supposedly covers. According to the package it's gluten, dairy, soy, egg, corn. My only complaint is that from what I know about the company, they produce these rolls in plants that have nuts and dairy. So, I'm not sure about the cross-contamination standards. If anyone knows, I'd love to find out more about them! Taste-wise, at least they were heated this time so the texture was more appealing.

GNI brand rolls--at least they were heated properly

Allergens listed on the package but no ingredients

For my entree, I had the choice of Fish & Chips (which I had just had a few nights earlier at Raglan Road) and the Chicken Curry. There were several others, but these were the two that appealed to me. I ended up getting the curry figuring that the British pavilion should at least have good curry (when I spent a month in the UK in college I lived on!!); however, I was fairly disappointed. It wasn't the worst curry I've had but it wasn't the best either. Certainly nothing like Sanaa (which I love!!). I should have gone with the Fish & Chips! The sauce was very concentrated, almost like tomato paste and tasted mostly like tomato paste. The curry flavor was not very strong. The vegetables were slightly crunchy--well some of them were crunchy and some not. Very strange. I guess someone's mise en place skills needed some work in the kitchen! The chicken was the best part. It was very very tender and quite flavorful (about the only thing that tasted of curry). I don't think I'd get this one again. The poppadum was great but I'm not sure they could screw up something that probably came in pre-packaged!

Chicken Curry--Not the best

I'd really be curious to try the fish & chips here. I know they used potato & corn starch in the batter. Sounded different and interesting compared to the one at Raglan Road. I opted for no dessert as the only option was sorbet.Overall, I liked the Rose & Crown. I think I just made a poor decision on the entree, but I can imagine the other dishes are quite good. I definitely should have gone with my gut on this one. I'd go back again but just try a different entree.An 8 out of 10.

Boma -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- AKL

*This dining experience took place in February 2013.

Relaxing on the balcony of my room at the AKL before breakfast

It feels like ages since I've been to Boma for breakfast. In truth, it's probably been around 6 months I would guess. It's not often that I go to buffets for breakfast unless it's a special occasion or rare treat. With some friends visiting from out-of-town and me staying at the resort for the weekend, it was a great chance to visit one of my fav buffets on property.

Seating area in Boma

 I hadn't contacted anyone ahead of time, but I was wondering if Chef Chris would be working (as he is who helped out my last visit). He's a bit of a goofball, but he does a nice job at providing allergy friendly service. And sure enough, it was Chef Chris who was there. I kicked myself for not emailing him ahead of time because I could have gotten some allergy friendly Bobotie (a fav of mine), but no worries, there is PLENTY of food to eat there.

Grill station

 As far as changes to the buffet, there really didn't seem to be any, except the missing grilled asparagus. NOOOO! One of my favorite items there. Evidently they aren't serving it on the buffet as it is very expensive right now. However, Chef Chris made me an omelet with asparagus in it which was very nice of him. Omelets need to be prepared in the back by the chefs and he made one with ham and asparagus. In terms of other items made in the back, he also prepared the allergy friendly Mickey waffles and they also now have the Udi's toast (thank goodness!). They also have Earth Balance, so that was a nice treat. You know I love my carbs in the morning :) I also asked about muffins, hoping they'd have a Kinnikinnick muffin for me, but alas they did not. I was given some OMG It's Gluten Free brand chocolate chip cookies to take with me for the road (not my favorite). In general, the omelet was OK. I can see why asparagus isn't being used. It was very woody tasting (and I love asparagus). The omelet itself was also overcooked. The toast was good. The Mickey waffles were just OK. The taste is just fine, but I just wish they could get them a little crunchier :)

Ham & Asparagus omelet & Udi's Toast

Mickey waffles, maple syrup, and Earth Balance

In terms of the buffet itself, here's what I had on the buffet, I was able to get fresh fruit, breakfast meats (I went with bacon), breakfast potatoes, ham (the corned beef is not safe), quinoa, pap (aka grits) and stewed veggies. If you are GF, you can request GF certified oats now, but you have to have it prepared in the back because they don't prepare the special oats unless by request due to cost. Great to know they are now carrying them! (I believe they used Bob's Red Mill brand).

Bacon, ham, pap, & breakfast potatoes

The jungle juice is also a safe option, and no trip to Boma is complete without it! (sorry I forgot to take a pic).Overall, Boma remains a consistently solid breakfast location. The chefs are always willing to help out and to make things in the back. Sure I didn't love every item this trip, but it certainly wouldn't deter me from visiting again. I think they were just really busy, hence the overcooked omelet. Otherwise, everything was fab. If you like breakfast with a unique flare, this is a great place to visit!I'd give this a 8 out of 10 for solid food & service. A must-do for my family!

Ohana -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Polynesian

*This dining experience took place in February 2013 and includes a gluten free & dairy free review as well as a gluten free & yellow food coloring review.

 Ohana means family, and this is a great place to visit with your family & friends which is exactly what I did for my birthday celebration. I hadn't been since May 2012, so it had been quite a while since my last visit so I was excited to head back.

 

Meats are grilled on an open flame! Delicious!

View of the grill area

Upon being seated, we were told (as usual) that the chef would come to the table. One of my friends at the meal is also gluten free and is allergic to yellow food coloring, so this would be a first to see how inclusive the typical offerings I get would be. (See previous reviews for gluten, dairy, and soy free as I have another friend who has been able to eat with me there successfully)First up, I will note that we had a bit of a chaotic meal, in that they usually don't bring anything out until the chef comes, but they did bring out salad & such while we were talking to him. I was so looking forward to the honey lime dressing & salad that Ohana normally has, but I was surprised to see a new salad. Turns out they have a new chef and they are trying out a new menu. Ugggg. Why mess with a good thing?! The new salad was another vinaigrette with greens and diced papaya & mango. The dressing was a papaya mango dressing. I was able to eat this, but to be safe the chef gave my friend a salad with balsamic vinaigrette (and ended up bringing me one too! That's too too much salad for a person with Crohn's, but nice of him to think of me).  I will say, I liked the new salad but I really missed the honey lime. It was good, but the original salad was much better in my opinion. The side salad with the balsamic vinaigrette was so-so. I found it to be an unbalanced dressing (very tangy).

New salad, papaya mango dressing with diced papaya & mango

On a non-allergy related note, I will mention that the other big change to the menu was the removal of the sauces for the appetizers & meats. They used to have 3 sauces and now they only have a peanut sauce (which has changed recipes). The group was a bit bummed to see the lack of sauces. For allergies, we still were able to get the safe Teriyaki & sweet & sour sauces.

Side salad with balsamic vinaigrette

The chef also brought the GNI brand rolls out to us. Blech. These were particularly bad, as they didn't heat them properly and they were very crumbly and dry. Not a big fan of these in general, but these were really not so good. Not even Earth Balance could save them!!

GNI brand rolls. I wish we had a tastier option.

Next up were the chicken wings. Thank goodness these weren't changed!! And also thank goodness my friend could eat these. Hurrah! These were tasty as usual.

Chicken wings with sides of sweet & sour sauce and teriyaki sauce

I will mention that in the midst of all of these we were being brought over the beef (which I don't eat and my friend said was too rare for his taste--and my mom's too!) and shrimp. I really love the shrimp, so I was happy to scarf them down. Only bummer...a few were still a bit raw! Yikes!! Just an excuse to get more thought right?! Somehow I forgot to take a pic of them though. Whoops!Then the chef brought out the safely cooked chicken & pork with rice and veggies. I liked that they grilled the meats in the back--usually they are pan fried--that was a nice touch! The rice was not very good. It was gummy and overcooked. Not quite sticky rice and not like regular rice. Of course, if you put enough sauce on anything it will taste ok. The veggies were also nice. Usually I just get broccoli & carrots, so this was a good change. Overall, I found the main part of the meal to be OK, not quite as good as I have had in the past.

Other than the gummy rice, everything was great on this plate.

I mentioned before that they seemed a little scattered at Ohana that night. I found the waitstaff to be a little overwhelmed and the chef was REALLY hard to get a hold of. My friend wanted more chicken wings, and they misinterpreted it and gave him grilled chicken. I found the meal to just feel a little more frazzled than usual, which is weird because I didn't think they were that busy comparatively.For dessert, we both got a tower of Rice Dream non-dairy ice cream (my poor friend always gets stuck with the non-dairy when he's with me!), Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies, chocolate syrup, and berries. I found this to be much improved over the OMG It's Gluten Free brand items (which I'm not a huge fan of).

View #1 of dessert!

View #2!

Overall, I had mixed feelings about Ohana this trip. I really love this place so much that it's been a staple for my family over the years; however, I was a bit bummed by some of the new changes and the general experience this particular trip. I know change is important in restaurants, but I will definitely miss the honey lime dressing if they choose to replace it permanently. Hopefully, they'll listen to guest feedback to determine what the right choices will be for the menu. In terms of service, I'm sure we hit a bad night so I won't fault them and not visit again because of it, but I do hope the next experience is a little bit more like what I normally experience there. Perhaps with the new menu changes things are a little more chaotic than usual.I'd give this a 7 out of 10 for this trip. Still solid, but could have been a better experience overall.

50's Prime Time Cafe -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Hollywood Studios

*This dining experience took place in January 2013.

Take a trip back in time at 50's Prime Time Cafe

There are a few restaurants at Walt Disney World that tug at my heart-strings. They have nostalgia written all over them, and 50's Prime Time is one of those restaurants. It feels like Walt Disney would just walk in and order the same fried chicken and a few Mouseketeers might join him! It's kitschy and in a good kind of way. The staff also has some great hijinks, but it's not overwhelming that you don't enjoy your meal. On top of that, they have real honest to goodness gluten free & dairy free fried chicken for goodness sakes! And dairy free mashed potatoes...and gravy! Yep, it's a real winner for me. Sure, it's not the kind of culinary food to write home about, but it's good ole' hearty old fashioned comfort food. And that's a good thing, especially when you're GF/DF. It's hard to come by when eating out!I try to head here every few months or so, and this time I brought some friends with me. It's nice to bring friends who've never been before, because I get to share the GF/DF fried chicken love! It's a beautiful thing! :)

Hang out in the living room while you wait for a table

One of my friends who came to dinner is gluten free & can't have yellow food coloring (on a side note, it's pretty amazing how much yellow food coloring is in a lot of processed food! Gross!), so I contacted the restaurant ahead of time and let the chefs know that we were coming, what our allergies/intolerances were, and that we wanted the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. While, I know folks who have gotten the fried chicken as a walk-in, I do highly recommend getting a hold of them (through WDW Special Diets Department) ahead of time, just so your wait is a little shorter. Plus, I like to ask for gravy because the meal is complete with gravy! I will say that on this particular trip, my gluten free only friend was also served the dairy free mashed potatoes, but I think that he liked them! They also gave him the Rice Dream ice cream but more on that later...For my fried chicken, I asked for the greens to accompany the dish (the normal veggie for that dish, even the non-allergy version). I love a good collard green, especially one with bacon in it (bacon can seriously make a dirty shoe taste good!). My friend got the green beans & carrots (which I've had before and are good).

My chicken with the dairy free mashed potatoes, gluten free gravy (yum), and greens

My friend's chicken with the green beans & carrots

I will say that this was not the best version of the fried chicken I've had (maybe because I was too busy chit-chatting and I ate my chicken when it wasn't as hot), but it was still heads & tails above any GF/DF fried chicken I've had before. Yum! I would have liked to see a larger portion of the mashed potatoes, but then they have really good potatoes!For dessert, we both went with the brownie sundae because of the famous in-house made allergy brownie that they have (one of my favs). The chef said that many of the chefs actually prefer it to the regular house-made brownie (yep, it's that good). I think there might have been a slight mishap though because my guest (again who is just gluten free) got the same dairy free ice cream as me (Rice Dream), which neither of us were expecting. Still, he said the Rice Dream was actually not bad at all, so it was cool to know that (my taste buds have totally changed with dairy free, and I love Rice Dream). So, we're still not sure if the regular ice cream has a gluten or yellow food coloring issue or they just made them both GF/DF so as to not mix things up. Either way, I think we were all satisfied with the meal.

GF/DF brownie sundae

Love the 50's decor

If you get the chance to visit 50's Prime Time, I highly recommend it. It's a good ole' standby for me, and where else can you get decent (and safe) fried chicken?!As usual a solid 9 out of 10 for me. An oldy, but a goody!

Captain's Grille -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Yacht Club

*This dining experience took place in January 2013.

Entrance to Captain's Grille at Disney's Yacht Club Resort

I always love trying new restaurants at Walt Disney World. Even though I go to WDW a lot, I still haven't eaten at every restaurant on property, so it's always nice when I get to check out a new location. On this particular trip, I was heading to Hollywood Studios and I wanted to go to someplace close to the park. For someplace different, we decided to head to Captain's Grille, since it was centrally located.When we arrived, we noticed the restaurant was a bit quiet (8:30am), but we liked that. In fact, the quiet, calm location that day made for a nice meal. I like finding quieter locations for those days I'm not wanting a calmer experience (I admit, I have to psych myself up for morning character meals!). In looking at the menu, it seemed we had a variety of choices from a breakfast buffet ($18.99) to a la carte items.

Interior of Captain's Grille

When the chef arrived at the table, he asked more about what I wanted. The only thing he offered to make was the allergy friendly Mickey waffles. He said they use Bob's Red Mill mix, so I asked for those. I also inquired about Udi's toast (which they had) and Earth Balance (they also had). The eggs he would make in the back because the buffet eggs all had dairy in them. I asked about muffins and he said that they could add a breakfast muffin (they make them in house). So, ultimately, I decided on a "buffet" style option in which I had everything made in the back, except the breakfast meats which the chef said were safe on the buffet (and thankfully, located all next to each other) and the fruit.

Fresh fruit

First up was the fruit. I really enjoyed this, as it tasted really fresh. It's strawberry season here in Florida, so it was nice to see these. The pineapple was also really good.

Chocolate, banana & spice muffins

Next up were the muffins. I only asked for 1 muffin, so I was surprised to see 3 come to the table. That's a lot of muffins! Interestingly enough, they were made with Namaste mix (which was the base for the desserts at the 1st Annual Special Diets Dessert Party). The chocolate muffin tasted like chocolate cake (who says you can't have dessert for breakfast?!), the spice muffins was the Namaste spice cake mix (I make it at home, so I recognized it immediately), but the real winner for me was the banana muffin. This was a great breakfast item. Of course, they probably try to keep these very allergy friendly but I would love to have this version with nuts in it.

Next up was the most disappointing part of the meal--the Mickey waffles. Now, I've only had one other experience where the Mickey waffles were really bad, so I was really surprised to have this experience. It wasn't the taste that was bad, but the texture/density. If you're a baker you will relate to this--it was like they were dead-baked. They were extremely dense and dry. I think they used too little liquid and too much pancake mix. Yuck. I shared them with my family and they also agreed--taste was fine, texture was weird. I did eat one, but I couldn't eat the second one--I just found the texture to be very unappealing. Not sure I'd get these again here, not with the muffin option. They did mention that they can also make pancakes, so I wonder if they would be more appealing texture wise than the waffles.

Udi's toast, scrambled eggs, Earth Balance vegan margarine

I also had the plate of eggs with toast & Earth Balance. The eggs weren't anything to write home about. Boring basic scrambled eggs, underseasoned. The toast was really toasted, which was OK by me, but if you have preferences on toast level, you might want to tell the chef.

Breakfast meats

Lastly were the breakfast meats. Ham, turkey sausage and bacon. The turkey sausage was like a smoked sausage/kielbasa. It was nice to see some variety at breakfast--they also had turkey bacon. The bacon was the normal Disney stringy bacon. The ham was not my favorite. It was a sweet slice ham (I prefer a more savory/salty ham) and dry.Overall, I would come back to Captain's Grille, but perhaps only order a la carte and not the buffet. I've had much better buffet experiences that included more variety and better quality food in my opinion. That's not to say this wasn't a decent breakfast, it was. But, it was more mediocre compared to some of my favorite restaurants on property. I would come back again but it wouldn't probably be my first choice of breakfast locations. I'd be curious to give it a try for dinner or lunch sometime.A 7 out of 10 for the experience. Nothing special, but a pleasant atmosphere. Pass on the Mickey waffles.

Wolfgang Puck Cafe -- Table Service -- Lunch/Dinner -- Downtown Disney

*This dining experience took place in December 2012.

Interior Wolfgang Puck Cafe

There are those experiences that remind me just how much I appreciate WDW owned restaurants and chefs. The level of accommodation and willingness to customize dishes make WDW owned restaurants in a class all by themselves and their chefs are rock stars in my opinion. Unfortunately, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, a non-Disney owned restaurant, did not even come close to meeting these expectations I've come to know and love at WDW. It's unfortunate too because I would have thought they would be able to customize and work with me like some of the other DTD restaurants like Raglan Road (a gluten free haven!) or even have some good options like its counterpart Wolfgang Puck Express. Lesson learned--this is not a restaurant for me and I should stick with Raglan Road, Cooke's of Dublin or Babycakes or stear clear of DTD restaurants altogether.I know that some of folks may have had great experiences at this location, and perhaps in the future I'll try it again, but it will be a while. A long while. I think my biggest disappointment was that there were very little options for gluten free/dairy free (gluten free is a little easier but not much).When we arrived, we were actually seated by a manager (it was a slower time of day too) and he said the chef would come out to talk to me. The chef I met wasn't overly enthused. Not one appetizer was deemed safe and almost all of the entrees were out. He said I could have GF pasta, but generally I avoid it at restaurants having been cross contaminated by it more times than I can count (and since it wasn't a Disney owned restaurants, I didn't want to take a chance). I was also concerned because he kept telling me Alfredo sauce was safe for dairy free. Yikes!!! That's like the worse sauce possible for dairy free. No way Jose! Basically, after a lot of talking, the only thing we could agree that would be safe would be salads. Unfortunately, I have to be really careful with salad because of Crohn's disease, so I was not too keen on this. I was half on the fence of just leaving and going somewhere else, but decided to try to order it with extra protein and not eat as many of the greens.So weird thing, the cobb salad dressing was not safe, nor was any other salad dressing according to the chef. He told me I could have oil and vinegar. It always surprises me when chefs can't whip up a salad dressing. Um, guys it's the easiest thing to do in about 5 minutes! But I digress. So we went with the cobb salad with no blue cheese but extra protein and oil and vinegar. Not exactly what I wanted to order and at $15 it was not a very cheap or very filling salad even with the extra protein. Plus, I'd had the cobb salad from Brown Derby this past month and it put this one to shame. Same price, tons of flavor and toppings (I adored the avocado puree) and an actual cobb salad dressing! Plus it was chopped so finely that it was much easier for me to digest (a win for me with a salad). The one from Wolfgang Puck was very chunky and even with extra protein was very minimal in its amount of toppings. It felt like something you would order at a fast food restaurant. Not at all what I expected from this restaurant.

Not the best salad I've ever had

Overall, I would not come back here. I had hopes that because of their location at Disney that they might be more accommodating, but it didn't work out for me on this visit. It was disappointing, but a real lesson learned. I give this a 4 out of 10.

Sanaa -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Animal Kingdom Lodge -- Kidani Village

*This dining experience took place in December 2012.

Entrance to Sanaa -- One of my Fav Restaurants on Property!

This is a brief review of Sanaa. The menu items don't seem to have changed since my last visit in August 2012 and you can tell I really like certain dishes there. I ordered the exact same thing on my previous visit! The great thing about this visit was that I got to check out the holiday decorations at Kidani Village. I love seeing all of the resort specific decor.

Gorgeous holiday decorations

Upon being seated, we were greeted by a chef I've not seen before at Sanaa. He seemed rather nice, but not as excited to be assisting me in the food choices. Luckily, I knew what I wanted so it wasn't too difficult for either of us, though I do wish he had been a bit more enthusiastic.I ordered the bread service appetizer with the gluteny breads served separately to my family and the poppadums (made from lentils) served to me separately. We also ordered some of the safe sauces for me: Coriander Chutney, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus (my hands down fav) and Mango Chutney. I really enjoy these three sauces, the hummus especially. The hummus is actually a favorite of the whole family and often gets scarfed down almost immediately. The coriander chutney has a lovely earthy taste to it, and slightly spicy. The mango chutney is surprisingly sweet and spicy, though not overpowering in its spiciness. Definitely all winners.

Poppadums, Mango Chutney, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus, Coriander Chutney

For my entree I ordered the Durban Chicken & Green Curry Shrimp with the Basmati rice. At my last trip, Chef Trish said that they changed the Durban chicken recipe to make it have more depth of flavor and less intense burning spiciness. I used to order this infrequently because it was actually so spicy for me that I could still feel my mouth burning after the meal!! I will say that this is still a fairly spicy dish, but the spicy burn is less intense and easily quenched by another milder dish or a drink. I always order the green curry shrimp for this reason. The coconut milk easily quells any spiciness from the Durban chicken. Plus, it's just plain delicious!! This is probably my favorite dish at the restaurant. Yum.

Green curry shrimp, basmati rice, and Durban chicken. This is a photo from 8/12; I was so hungry I forgot to take a pic this trip!

Overall, Sanaa is always one of my favorite places to go. It's some of the best Indian food, and just plain terrific in general. I love the restaurant ambiance as well. Where else can you see zebras and giraffes while eating dinner?!Another solid 9 out of 10! Always a favorite and always a delicious meal.

Liberty Tree Tavern -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Magic Kingdom

*This dining experience took place in December 2012.This is a brief, updated review of Liberty Tree Tavern. You can read more detailed reviews from dinner September 2012 or lunch August 2012.

Lobby of Liberty Tree Tavern decorated for the holidays

As many of you know, I often visit Liberty Tree Tavern for the seasonal holiday parties. It's my "go-to" location for dinner before the Halloween & Christmas parties. It's become sort of a tradition, and I've been coming here for almost 10 years! I actually kind of miss the days when it used to be a character meal and the characters got "dressed up" for Halloween!I do still love the Christmas decorations they have in the lobby--especially the trees and the gingerbread village. Too cute!

Holiday trees in Liberty Tree Tavern

For our yearly visit to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, we headed to an early dinner. I must say, this year was quite a bit less busy, so that made for a nice low-key dinner. Nothing seemed to change from the meal offerings, except for the vegetables. The last trip (in September 2012), they offered a really tasty sauteed squash. I really enjoyed this one a lot (so much so that I chose to it this over the steamed green beans and cauliflower) and I was hoping that they would have this one again. Alas, they had changed up the veggie offerings. The chef told me that they had roasted root vegetables and sauteed broccoli rabe. I enjoy both of these, so I was hopeful they would be really good. However, I was met with crunchy roasted veggies and extremely (beyond normal) bitter broccoli rabe. I think it was actually burnt, as the garlic tasted burnt. Not a big hit. Thankfully, there were other meal options available so I didn't go hungry.They served GNI brand rolls, and in the past they were not heated well here and became very crumbly and mealy. This time, they were properly heated (and much more soft) and were ok with the Earth Balance vegan margarine.

GNI brand rolls & Earth Balance

The salad was the traditional tossed salad with the house strawberry vinaigrette. I will say the last few times the dressing has seemed a bit bland and not as strong in terms of the strawberry flavor.

Salad with strawberry vinaigrette

The main entrees with roasted turkey, roasted pork and roast beef are all quite good. I never eat the beef, but I found the turkey and pork to still be quite tasty this visit. The dairy free mashed potatoes were also another staple that I enjoy. And of course, the gravy is gluten free and also very good. In fact, our table asked for only GF gravy because my family prefers it to the "regular" gravy.

Can you tell I like gravy?!

Dessert was the standard raspberry sorbet with fresh fruit. Nothing spectacular, but no complaints either.

Raspberry sorbet

Overall, I find Liberty Tree Tavern to be an OK meal. It's filling, but not the best meal I've had on property. I do feel like the quality is starting to slip a bit, unfortunately, and I do hope that in the future, they will improve the veggie choices (sorry guys but broccoli rabe with turkey dinner?!). I'll still visit here for the holiday parties, but probably won't make any other ADRs until next year's parties.I'd give this a 7 out of 10 for ability to accommodate, but lackluster food.

Chef Mickey's -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Contemporary

*This dining experience took place in December 2012.

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.

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.

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!!).

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.

Items off the buffet

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.

Entrance & Exit to Chef Mickey's!

Raglan Road -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Downtown Disney

*This dining experience took place in December 2012.

View of Raglan Road in Downtown Disney

I've been getting recommendations from blog readers for a while for Raglan Road at Downtown Disney. Everyone has been raving about gluten free/dairy free fish and chips and onion rings. If you're gluten free/dairy free, you know that getting anything fried out in a restaurant is often a tricky situation--especially when cross contamination is concerned. Disney is probably one of the rare exceptions where you can occasionally get french fries, fish and chips, and other deep fried dishes with a lower cross contamination risk.I've had the fish and chips at Cooke's of Dublin, the quick service location next to Raglan Road. Having really enjoyed them, I hoped to check out the dinner at Raglan Road for more offerings. We ended up heading here for a mid-afternoon lunch/dinner. We got there just before 3pm, so we were given the lunch menu but after looking at both menus they don't seem that different. Since Raglan Road is non-Disney owned their allergy procedures are just slightly different (but still very good compared to most restaurants outside of WDW!). Our server asked if anyone had an allergy (I noted it on our reservation, but it didn't translate to the table--they don't print out sheets like Disney owned locations). I told him that I can't have gluten or dairy. He took our drinks and then told me that most of the entrees are easily made gluten free and talked about the gluten free fish and chips and onion rings. He also said he would get the manager.

Raglan Road main dining room

The manager came over and was very helpful. He told me that they can easily work with gluten free and that dairy free would also not be too difficult. He asked what I was interested in, and I told him about the onion rings and fish and chips. He said they use sparkling water and chickpea flour for the mix. I decided that it made sense for the first time to check out those fish and chips--and since other blog readers had raved about the onion rings, I should try those too (turned out a little too much deep fried goodness). He said I was a really easy order but that I should enjoy the meal. (On a side note, I loved his Irish lilt--always nice to see someone who is Irish working at an Irish restaurant!).

GF/DF Onion Rings

First up were the onion rings. Yum! I admit, I don't eat something like this very often and I found these a little greasy. But they tasted divine. I wish they had some sort of dipping sauce, but in general, they were really good. You can see from the picture that they use some sort of greens in it (parsley, I think); it added a nice zip to the batter. The batter was very light and flavorful and the onions were sweet and tender. Very good! At first, I asked the server if these were the GF/DF ones (ok, I'm suspicious when it looks so "normal") and he said yes. My family test tasted them too and they assured me that they were GF/DF batter (evidently my taste buds have changed so much, I have difficulty telling when it tastes really good! lol). I would definitely order these again, but maybe not order the fried entree to balance out the grease.

Bar in Raglan Road

Next up came the entree. Oh yeah!! I could tell the fish and chips used the same batter for the fish. This was good, as I really enjoyed that. The chips looked pretty much like the ones I had at Cooke's of Dublin (and also tasted the same). First up is the fish. It was a large portion! I found the taste to be really good and the fish to be flaky. I did like the batter a lot. The fish was less greasy than the onion rings. The french fries really didn't seem greasy at all to me. They rocked. I loved these--they had the perfect amount of salt too. And then, the best part--the tartar sauce. OMG this was so good. I admit, it was my favorite thing of the meal. I should have asked for a second dish of it (seriously, I was drowning my fries and fish in it). It tasted like it could have been homemade mayonnaise. So good. This was definitely the big winner for me. In fact, if I go there I will ask for it for french fries even if I don't order the fish and chips. Seriously!

Fish, Chips and that amazing tartar sauce!

Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to head back to Raglan Road. I loved the restaurant decor and the food. The service and manager assistance was also very good. I like that it's a good option at Downtown Disney and that they can easily accommodate. And fish & chips and onion rings!? Why that's a big plus for many GF diners. Now, I have heard that Rose & Crown has a fish & chips that they can do too--I need to head there to compare :) The only downside to this meal for me was the greasiness, but that's because I normally don't eat fried foods much. With gallbladder removal, my stomach's a little more sensitive to it, so I think I'd do one or the other next time.I'd give this a solid 8 out of 10! Definitely a DTD must-do!!

Other Bar section of Raglan Road

Olivia's -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Old Key West

*This dining experience took place December 2012.

Entrance to Olivia's at Old Key West Resort

If you've ever been to Old Key West Resort (Disney's original vacation club villas), you're familiar with Olivia's. It's this resort's table service location and a well loved DVC restaurant. Prior to this visit, I had only been one other time, but had had a good experience and was looking forward to visiting again. What I most loved about this restaurant was the quiet relaxed atmosphere. Many restaurants on property are filled with hustle and bustle, and sometimes it's nice to be in a quiet low-key environment. Olivia's definitely reflects the atmosphere and vibe of the Florida Keys.On this trip, I headed there with my family for breakfast. We were headed to Universal Studios that day, but I'd been after eating at Universal on the last several trips, so I wanted to eat at Disney. Old Key West was fairly accessible and easy for us before our trip over to Universal.The first thing you'll notice about this resort is that you almost feel like you're in the Florida Keys. Lots of great island flair. It was also nicely decorated for the Christmas holiday with island inspired wreaths and ornaments.

It's an island inspired Christmas!

We got to the restaurant fairly early because of our travel time over to Universal, so it was pretty quiet in there. We had a nice corner table, so we could really take in the decor.

Dining room at Olivia's--Love the fans!

We were quickly greeted by Chef Brian who started to give me some options. I more or less knew what I wanted, and I asked about the Olivia's Breakfast which is like American at most Disney breakfast locations. It came with eggs, breakfast potatoes, toast and choice of breakfast meat. Chef Brian said their regularly served breakfast potatoes were loaded with dairy but that he could easily make me breakfast potatoes without dairy. He also said that they could do the Udi's toast or bagel. They also had Earth Balance on hand. I also inquired about the allergy friendly pancakes/waffles and he said they could make them. I asked which they use Namaste or Bob's Red Mill and he said that they do have both on hand. This is good to know if you have certain allergies like corn or potato because Namaste is a better at covering more than just gluten and dairy free. I asked if they could do the Bob's Red Mill (my personal taste preference) and he was happy to oblige. So, I ordered a side of Mickey waffles. Yum!

Olivia's Breakfast Platter

First up was the breakfast platter. It was good--nothing really special per se--solid breakfast. The scrambled eggs were slightly overcooked, not the best I've ever had. The ham was also just OK, but I was glad to have it as an option because in a lot of places it's just bacon and sausage. The breakfast potatoes were excellent. They were deep fried and nicely seasoned with salt. The Udi's toast was great as usual, but probably my only slight complaint was that it needed to be toasted more. I love that they had Earth Balance. Anytime I get Earth Balance, I'm so happy!

Mickey Waffles!

The Mickey waffles were pretty good. Not as crispy as Kona or Kouzzina, but good. I always love a good Mickey waffle. These fit the bill quiet nicely.

My breakfast--quite the bounty!

Overall, the breakfast was really pretty good. If you compare it to a lot of non-Disney owned restaurants, it down-right rocks. I'm just always glad when I get to eat breakfast at Disney because I get gluten free/dairy free toast and waffles and even vegan margarine. It's just such a treat.

Photos throughout the restaurant

I would definitely recommend Olivia's to anyone. It's got a great vibe and lovely atmosphere. It's not just for DVC members either--It's just a great all around place to enjoy and relax.A solid 8 out of 10.

Brown Derby -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Hollywood Studios

*This dining experience took place in November 2012. This also includes a gluten/dairy/soy free review in addition to my regular GF/DF reviews.

 Ah the Hollywood Brown Derby. The name harkens back to the golden age of Hollywood when famous movie stars frequented the restaurant of the same name in California. I've long wanted to visit the Brown Derby, but never have mostly because I wasn't always wowed by the menu options. I had heard great things about the Cobb Salad, but since it was an appetizer I didn't think it would be worth the trip. Oh how wrong I was! I met up with a friend to celebrate their birthday. They love the Brown Derby and have been many times, so I was looking forward to the meal after hearing them rave about it.

Menu at the Brown Derby

The first thing I noticed when we arrived was that this restaurant feels more upscale--like California Grill or Jiko. I joked that I felt like I needed to be dressed up, but it was true! I did. Of course, everyone one else was in casual wear, so I didn't feel out of place in jeans and a t-shirt. But, it would be really neat to go here with everyone dressed up to the nines. Tables in Wonderland could totally do an event like that!

Wall of caricatures

Dining room in the Brown Derby

After being seated, we were greeted by the chef who was very friendly and helpful. He was basically happy to help tweak any dish we might want. I was excited about that! For the appetizers he said he could Andouille-crusted prawn but without the grits. Which means he'd have to sub something out. The cobb salad is gluten, dairy, and soy free after removing the blue cheese. My friend who is soy free thought he'd have to do oil and vinegar on the side, but the dressing turned out to be OK for him. For entrees, he said the charred beef filet would be easy to modify (but I don't eat beef) and he said the risotto didn't have dairy in it (which I'll be honest, I didn't believe). The grouper was an easily modified option as was the pork chop. He said the salmon dish would be a nightmare to change (so I think that means no GF soy sauce on hand). Both myself and my dining guest decided to get the cobb salad since it comes as an entree choice. My friend also ordered a side of french fries (because they don't use soybean oil in the fryers--they use canola oil there) and ketchup. The chef said he could make a more interesting dipping sauce if we wanted. He offered to make a truffle mayonnaise. I also asked about dessert options and he said he'd work with the bakery to create something. I said I wanted something chocolate. He first mentioned creme brulee but I had to remind him that it's dairy (though he said the bakery could create some crazy allergy friendly things, I just wasn't comfortable with that).First up, we were brought some rolls with extra virgin olive oil. The rolls were the GNI brand rolls. I will say that they were really warm and soft, as opposed to the dry mess that I've had at a few locations. My guess is that it has to do with the way it's heated (the ones at Liberty Tree Tavern were like sawdust and were the same rolls!). I will say they aren't horrible this way, but not great either. I still prefer the Udis. I hope that in the future they are able to balance out the bread vendor changes. It feels like a guessing game at every restaurant I go to! :)

GNI Brand Rolls

Next up came our salads. Now as someone with Crohn's Disease I have to be very careful with salad. It can really give me a doozy of a stomach-ache. Part of it is that my body has a hard time digesting crunchy veggies. However, I was really excited to see that the lettuce was chopped super fine and that their was an abundance of toppings that balanced out the lettuce. They put the dressing on the side for us and we mixed it in. The salad was amazing! I loved it as did my friend. We were both chowing down. I love the texture of the salad where everything is minced. The flavor was great and the dressing was excellent. This was a new fav for me. I will say too that I actually didn't get much of a stomach-ache at all, which means it's a good salad option for me on those rare occasions when I want a salad. Sooo good! The toppings were excellent too. I adored the avocado mash on it. Of course, I love all things avocado, but this was a great fit to the meal and nicer than just chopped avocado pieces.

Entree Cobb Salad

Next up came the french fries. I definitely got to sample them, even though it was not my order. OMG I loved the truffle mayonnaise!! So good. If you like truffle oil, you would like this. My friend isn't a fan of the truffle oil, so they didn't enjoy it (it has a very earthy taste to it). In fact, they didn't finish all of the fries, so I got to really enjoy the truffle mayonnaise. Later after talking to the chef, it turned out that they made the mayonnaise from scratch. They keep Hellmann's on hand which has soy in it. So, they made it soy free by making a batch themselves. That was a great touch and really lent to the velvety rich texture of the truffle mayo. It was also nice that they took an off the menu creation and really did a nice job to make it right.

French fries and homemade truffle mayonnaise

Next up came dessert. The chef said that the bakery put together a flour-less chocolate cake, strawberry/mango sorbet, and fresh berries with dark chocolate. They also included a gorgeous piece of chocolate tuile that was spray painted with hot pink edible paint. It was gorgeous! I really enjoyed this dessert. Again, they really took the time to make something a little different, rather than just dumping a piece of flour-less chocolate cake on a plate and charging me $9 for it (this particular dessert cost $9). I really appreciate it when restaurants make something a little different because so often we just get something pre-packaged or plain. It was also quite tasty. The flour-less cake was good, dense but delicious. I really enjoyed the flavors of the mixed sorbet. Yum! The raspberries with chocolate on it was a nice touch too (they really listened when I said I would like chocolate) and the chocolate tuile was divine! It looked almost too pretty to eat...almost!

Flourless chocolate cake, strawberry/mango sorbet, fresh berries with chocolate and chocolate tuile

Overall, I was really pleased with this meal. I enjoyed the ambiance at the Brown Derby--it was a gorgeous restaurant that really transported you back to Hollywood in the 1940's. I waited for Lana Turner, Judy Garland, and Clark Gable to come through the doors! The food was excellent and the accommodation for food allergies was very good. I like it when chefs are willing to go above and beyond and make your experience exceptional. This was a good example of that. I would definitely head back again, especially for that cobb salad!A solid 9 out of 10 for on my first trip. A definite must-do again.

A view of the servers and the bar area

Be Our Guest Restaurant -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Magic Kingdom

*This dining experience took place November 2012.

Entrance to Be Our Guest Restaurant

With the official opening of the New Fantasyland Expansion on December 6, 2012, many of us have been waiting patiently for a peek into the new restaurants located there, especially Be Our Guest Restaurant. Located next to Enchanted Tales with Belle, Be Our Guest Restaurant (BOG) transports diners into the French Countryside and to the Beast's castle. ADRs for this restaurant have proved to be difficult and highly coveted. In fact, I originally didn't get any reservations until January 2013! However, special previews have been happening for press, cast members, and select guests during the preview period. As a Tables in Wonderland member (a discount card for dining at Walt Disney World restaurants), I received an email a few weeks ago to get a special preview of the restaurant. I was so excited, but didn't have any high expectations that I would get an ADR due to the difficulty Annual Passholder previews had been for the Fantasyland expansion itself (it was crazy!). However, I was lucky enough to score a reservation at 4pm on November 18. I should note that the restaurant is also open for lunch, but that lunch is a quick service meal--similar to how La Cantina de San Angel and La Hacienda de San Angel in Epcot run.With that in mind, I began busily planning out my meal (or at least what I thought might be my meal!!). The menu for BOG is decidedly French, as one might expect from the French inspired decor. Lots of gratins and sauces. In looking at the menu ahead of time, I had suspected that the Rotisserie Cornish Hen was likely the safest option. And so I patiently waited for our ADRs!

Lunch and dinner menus outside of Be Our Guest

On the day of our reservation, we headed to the new Fantasyland area. We got there about 30 minutes early, so it was a good time to check out the sights and sounds. We tried to check in early, but were not able to do so. At this time (due to high capacity and requests), they ask that you check in at exactly 15 minutes prior to your ADR. In fact, we were not taken in to the restaurant until exactly 4pm when the restaurant opened.

Waterfall by Be Our Guest Restaurant

Waterfall and Mountains

The Beast's castle off in the distance...gorgeous!

While we waited, we were given a pager and told to wait in front of the bridge and that once our pager went off we would be seated inside. During this time, we took a look around and took some pictures.

Our pager

Details on the bridge

Beast gargoyle..

Entrance to the restaurant

Finally, the time came for our pager to go off! We were so excited to head into the restaurant. I had been able to check it out during the Annual Passholder preview but was not prepared for the amazing ambiance in the restaurant. It was truly breathtaking. The dining room is a mammoth ballroom with huge chandeliers (like in Beauty & the Beast) and amazing murals. There is a side room that is dedicated to the Beast (more on that later) as well. The one thing that I will note is that the lighting is not particularly great for taking photographs, so some of my photos may seem a little dark, especially in the Beast's room.

Ballroom

Chandeliers and Mural

View of the ballroom from our seats

We were seated at the very back of the ballroom, next to the large windows with scenes of the French countryside. Wow. This was so amazing. The windows made it feel like we were transported to France. The mountains were in the background with beautiful pine trees and snow. Yes, it was snowing. The way Disney Imagineers designed this was brilliant, and really made the ambiance come to life. It was gorgeous, and we were so excited to be seated there. The table settings were also lovely. The napkins were folded into gorgeous red roses. Beautiful!

Napkins

Our server greeted us, and she could not have been more in character. Disney has done some wonderful training and character background for these servers. Ours was very polite and conscientious--we had lots of refills on our drinks and excellent service. She took our drink order and said she would get the chef. This was exciting to be in a new restaurant and to see what French inspired foods might be available.

View of the countryside--you can almost make out the snow

The chef greeted us by asking what I might like. The first thing I asked about was the appetizer. We had been very hungry (having missed lunch due to a very busy day at the Orlando Premium Outlets) and wanted something to nosh on before our entrees. I had been eying the Assorted Cured Meats and Sausages appetizer. The chef told me that this would be gluten free with the change out of bread but that he needed to see if the pates were dairy free. He said he would include the regular baguette for my guests and include gluten free/dairy free bread for me. I forgot to ask him what the bread was (sorry, I was in awe of the restaurant). We then talked about the entrees. He said that we could do the rotisserie Cornish hen without any modifications--so if you're gluten and dairy free, this is the easiest one for you. He also said he could do the thyme scented pork rack chop (which I later wished I had ordered) and sub out the sides with roasted fingerling potatoes and a roasted vegetable. The steak is also a very good option for gluten and dairy diners. The only modification would be the removal of the garlic herb butter. He indicated that the ratatouille would be OK, but since I didn't want that one, he didn't go into major details with this. The salmon and sauteed shrimp and scallops were the two hardest to accommodate for the special diets. I decided to play it safe the first time and go with the rotisserie Cornish hen.I also asked the chef about the dessert options, knowing that there is a gluten free lemon-raspberry cream puff. This is not safe for dairy allergies (as I expected). The only options they had at this time for gluten and dairy was sorbet and fresh fruit. Since neither really appealed to me, I opted for no dessert.First up came our appetizer. Wow, this was actually my favorite part of the meal. I loved it. The chef said when he brought it out that the only thing he couldn't include was some type of pate/mousse which contained dairy. Everything else was safe. So, we definitely dug right in!

Cured meats and sausages board. Gorgeous presentation!

The board contained a variety of meats and accompaniments. If you look at the picture, I'll start from left to right on the items. The first is the cornichons. I love all things related to pickles. These had a lovely flavor, good crisp and weren't overly salty. These went fast! Next up was the salami. This was nothing to special--good but your basic salami. Next up was the prosciutto. Love! One of my favs. Then you see the two sausages. The one on the top had a slight sweet taste to it. I still can't put my finger on the flavor, but it was quite good (some of the folks at my table did not like it as well). The other sausage was more savory. This was excellent. I might have to stake my claim on all those the next time! Next up were the pickled onions. I admit, I skipped this one, but the rest of my table really enjoyed them. In the front, you see the pate. This was not such a winner for me. I tried it, but not a fan (sorry, liver is an acquired taste that I don't seem to have every acquired!).  Luckily, we had one guest at the table who loved it. The stone ground mustard was fabulous. I was scarfing this down with the meats and bread. And the last cured meat was a type of ham that was very smoked and divine. Another one of my favorites.

Unidentified brand of gluten free/dairy free rolls. They weren't bad!

The rolls I had with this I could not place. They were not Udi's and not GNI brand. I still can't figure it out! I didn't get a chance to query the chef again because it was so busy in there. However, next time I will ask for sure! I'm wondering if it's the frozen dough that I've heard about from other Disney guests who said they are using it for pizza dough and rolls. It really had an interesting combination. I think it must have had a fair amount of tapioca in it because once they cooled down, they got pretty hard. They had a slightly spongy texture and were a cross between an Ener-G roll and Udi's. If anyone knows what brand these are, I'd love to hear about it!Then it was time for the entrees. I will say that Cornish hens are kind of a pain to eat! Little birds equal difficulty cutting and eating. My poor plate was not holding up well while trying to cut it; it kept sliding on the tablecloth. Taste wise, it was OK. I wouldn't say it was the best rotisserie poultry that I've ever had, but it wasn't the worst. It was pretty basic roast hen. The roasted fingerling potatoes were also nothing to write home about. Just basic, but good. Same with the roasted asparagus. I will say I like the grilled asparagus at Boma much better, but I also love asparagus, so I didn't dislike it. It also came with a pan jus, which was quite good and added some needed moisture to the plate. The portions I think are fairly good. Between the appetizer and entree, I was very full. The other diners at my table had dessert and they were stuffed. I will say that one guest had the thyme scented pork chop and they raved about it. I wish I would have ordered that instead. I've included a picture of it, so you can see what it looks like (but note that the sides are NOT safe).

Rotisserie Cornish hen, asparagus, roasted potatoes and pan jus

Thyme scented pork chop is safe--other items on this entree are not deemed gluten/dairy free (at least the mac & cheese)

Lastly, we came up to the dessert portion. I was slightly bummed they didn't have a more creative dairy free option, but no worries. I was pretty full. I did however take a picture of the gluten free cream puff. Note that it was in the same cart as the rest of the desserts. Not sure how I feel about a gluten free dessert in with the rest of the others. Seems like a higher chance of cross contamination in my opinion. Still, it looked delicious.

Dessert cart. Gluten free cream puff is on the left side.

Close-up of the gluten free cream puff

Overall, I thought BOG had a really good variety of options for gluten and dairy free. I wouldn't say I was overly wowed by my entree, but I thought it was a solid meal. I loved the appetizer. I think this will be a terrific option for anyone wanting table service without eating at a buffet or a very costly 2 credit meal in the Magic Kingdom. I'm looking forward to going back and trying out some of the other items on the menu and seeing how the restaurant evolves in the future.I would give it a solid 8 out of 10 at this time for good service, food allergy accommodation and general ambiance.If you get seated in the main dining room, don't forget to check out the Beast's room, located on the side. It's fairly dark and perhaps slightly scary for children but a real visual treat if you get the chance to see it. Here are some pictures from it: 

Fireplace with a torn painting of the Beast before his transformation

Unfortunately the flash warped the image, but this is the rose. The animation on this was incredible.

Ladies restroom at BOG

Whispering Canyon Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Wilderness Lodge

*This dining experience took place in November 2012.

Wilderness Lodge

Howdy! I just got back from a rootin' tootin' good time at Whispering Canyon Cafe. For those who have never been, it's a table service restaurant located in the Wilderness Lodge resort. It's known for its "antics" -- just make sure you ask for ketchup and you'll see what I mean! One of my favorite chefs on property, Chef Williere moved here a few years ago from 50's Prime Time and I've been so happy to see him over here (of course I still miss him at 50's!). In fact, it's been great because I've been able to eat a lots of the same items as my family. And the gluten free/dairy free (allergy friendly) corn bread is to die for! Get the dinner skillet with it, and you'll see what I mean.This was my first time ordering a la carte, as we always get the skillets. Chef Will was there that day and he helped me navigate the menu. I will say that a lot of the menu options are gluten free, which is great. I like that this restaurant has a lot of allergy friendly options. He also told me that despite the removal of the skillet for lunch, you can still get it along with many of the old options like the vegetarian quinoa cake. Being that it was early, we opted not to go for the skillet (a good choice because I was very full by the end of the meal).I ordered the appetizer of Western Chips with Buffalo Chili, Cheese Dip, and Fresh Salsa. The only thing I couldn't have was the cheese dip, so that was placed on the side. What we got was a really large portion of chips and dips. The buffalo chili was pretty good--almost had a sweet taste to it. Very hearty and went will with the chips. I imagine with the cheese dip it was great (the other guests had it with both and liked it a lot). Then there was the salsa. This was a big hit at the table. Chef Will had given us an extra portion I think of the salsa, which was great. It didn't taste like the traditional salsas to me--had again a sweet taste to it. I think we managed to scarf all of that down!

Western Chips with Buffalo Chili and Fresh Salsa

For my lunch, I ordered the Slow-smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich with Cowboy-style Baked Beans, Sweet Ancho-Barbecue Sauce, and Western Slaw. I asked if they had the Udi's buns and Chef Will said they had the sliced bread. This made me happy because that meant if I came for breakfast I could get the toast. I'm always looking for what locations serve Udi's.The sandwich was really good. I loved the smoked pork.  It had a great smoke flavor and the BBQ sauce was delicious (though admittedly I could have asked for a small dish of it on the side--was great to dip fries in). The beans are also quite good. I used the bean sauce to dip my fries--what can I say, I like a good dipping sauce! The slaw was good but a little spicy. For me, especially with the Crohn's and the fact that I ate salsa that day, I opted to forgo the slaw more than just a taste. Fine because others at the table ate it. I also got regular fries as my side dish.

Slow-smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich with Cowboy-style Baked Beans, Sweet Ancho-Barbecue Sauce, and Western Slaw.

Overall, I was really pleased with my meal. The choices were great, and the food as always was really good. I was surprised how busy it was there for lunch. Means it's a great lunch option, especially if you're staying in the lodge. It was great seeing Chef Williere again and getting a great meal. Next time, I'm going to make a plan to eat dinner there because as much as I liked the a la carte options, I really missed the skillet and the cornbread!!!A solid 9 out of 10, for a great meal.

Don't forget to ask for ketchup!!!

Plaza Restaurant -- Table Service -- Lunch/Dinner -- Magic Kingdom

*This dining experience took place in November 2012.

 Nestled between the Main Street Bakery and Tomorrowland is the Plaza Restaurant. It's connected to the ice cream parlor, and I must admit, that I often have overlooked this restaurant. It didn't seem like anything very special. And on top of that, it's primarily sandwiches. In the past, there weren't great options for gluten free/dairy free bread so I tended to avoid sandwich type places. Now that some different options for bread are available, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Plus, I'd heard some good reviews from some of the blog readers that involved great luck with dairy free ice cream...can you say banana split?! 

We arrived at the Plaza a little early for our ADR, and I admit, we waited a bit. When we were seated inside, I understood why. It's pretty small. In fact, it almost reminds me of a slightly larger Beaches n' Cream. The first thing that struck me was that they brought me a binder along with my menu. Weird. That doesn't usually happen at a table service--I found the Plaza to be an interesting hybrid of QS and TS. Quick Service locations always bring the allergy binder to go over ingredients, so in one way it was a good thing. I also took some pics of some of the sheets.

Ingredient binder

I was hoping (based on some recommendations) that I'd get to see Chef (aka Cousin) Ken because I'd heard that he was really good. But, I was greeted by Chef Constance, who was very nice. Unfortunately, her niceness didn't necessarily translate into good allergy service. I went over the sheet with her and she said she had gluten free/dairy free bread which I thought she said was Udi's (since that was what was listed in the sheets of the binder). I was back and forth between the turkey club and the tuna salad sandwich. Because I sometimes have issues with crunchy vegetables because of my Crohn's disease, I was very torn with the tuna salad. Chef Constance let me sample it, and I decided against it because of the onions. So, we went with the turkey club. I also asked about the fries. I knew from others that they probably did not have a dedicated fryer, but Chef Constance kept insisting they did. Um, didn't feel very comfortable about that one...more on that later.I was pretty excited about this, until it came out. It looked like a multi-grain toast--not at all like Udi's. Then I looked at the other sandwiches at the table, and I knew immediately it was so not gluten free. I asked the server about it and said that I needed to talk to the chef and she insisted that it was safe. I was adamant that it was not. She finally went and got the chef and I told her this did not appear to be gluten free bread and she said immediately it was not. "Whoops sorry about that" she said. Um, whoops?! Good thing I'm pretty diligent about food because if I weren't a regular diner at Disney I might have thought it was ok at first. She said she would go fix it right away. Unfortunately, I was not very confident in this whole experience at this point. She did bring back another sandwich, and it was on a hot dog type bun. It did not look at all like Udi's and it was very thin. On top of that, it appeared to have been placed on the flat-top and griddled (which worried me for 2 reasons 1) cross contamination and 2) dairy). Chef Constance said she uses the flat-top (still wasn't clear on cross contamination), but that she uses canola oil. She said she has to do that because otherwise the buns are very dry and don't heat up well (and become gummy). She also insisted the type of bun was Umi, which I couldn't seriously find any information on. I asked her if she meant Udi's but she said no. She said they were sent this bun instead of the Udi's because it has no egg in it. It sort of reminded me of the old Ener-G rolls, but with a different texture. On top of that, I thought based on the taste that they were the GNI brand bread which have been floating about at Disney (still don't know the actual locations). They tasted very similar to the rolls that I had at Liberty Tree Tavern and looked similar too. I looked at GNI's website and they looked very similar to the hot dog buns on their site (which is NOT egg free; it has egg whites in it). Hmm... If anyone knows anything more about these buns, I'd love to hear about it! I saw that in the binder they listed GNI brand hamburger buns as being egg free. Hmmm...I think this definitely needs some further investigation!

Turkey club on a gluten free/dairy free bread with fries.

Taste wise, the sandwich was ok. Nothing great. It was a basic turkey club sandwich (although it was missing the ham that the menu described)--I did like the griddled bread, but still felt a little uncomfortable about the cross contamination. I also felt very uncomfortable about the fries. I tried a few, but they were really greasy. My family tried them, and they said they tasted different than their fries, but I didn't want to take a chance. Plus, the sandwich was large enough that I was pretty full. I also got dessert too.After lunch, I ordered the ice cream sundae (I was too full for a banana split--which is huge!!). I asked for vanilla and chocolate Tofutti with chocolate syrup, nuts, and cherries. Unfortunately, Chef Constance seemed to be really forgetful in my ordering. She brought me chocolate only and no nuts. I wasn't about to quibble over it, and enjoyed the sundae minus my requests. It was really quite a large portion, and delicious! Gotta love a sundae!

Chocolate Tofutti with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and cherry on to

Overall, I didn't dislike the food at the Plaza, but I wasn't wowed with the service or the allergy accommodation. Next time, I'd try to contact them ahead of time to make sure that Chef Ken is there because it sounds like he is awesome! Chef Constance didn't really set my mind at ease, and while she tried, she didn't do a very good job at accommodating in a safe manner (in my opinion).I'd give it a 6 out of 10 for this particular visit, but might give it another chance in the future.Here are some pics from the binder:

Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian Resort

*This dining experience took place in October 2012.

Menu Changes at Kona

Just a quick review of Kona Cafe. My original plans for the day was to try Plaza Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom since we were there for the new Fantasyland "dress rehearsal" preview. However, I didn't make an ADR and found them to be quite busy. They said they had a 45 minute wait, so we chose to find someplace else and ended up at Kona (one of my favorites for lunch).Upon looking at the menu, I could see that Kona has had some recent menu changes. One of them includes a Kona surf & turf burger with brie, fried shrimp & black garlic aioli. Sounds interesting. I was happy to see that my favorite Kona Island sandwich was still on the menu (I would be so sad if they got rid of that curry mango mayonnaise!!), so I decided to get that. I ordered it with no cheese and no fried onions on a Udi's bun and the curry mango mayo on the side (yes, I shamelessly could eat this out of the dish, plus it's great for dipping fries in). I also ordered plain french fries over the sweet potato fries.Overall, I was very pleased with my sandwich, as per usual. I have ordered it in the past without bacon, but ordered the bacon this time which was excellent. Very nicely grilled sandwich and I love the Udi's buns. I added curry mango mayo to the sandwich and still had quite a bit to dip my fries in. Yum!

Kona Island Chicken Sandwich--one of my favorites on property!

I'll be curious to check out some of the new menu offerings in the future, but for now this is always a great and flavorful standy for me.A solid 9 out of 10!

Liberty Tree Tavern -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Magic Kingdom

*This dining experience took place in September 2012.

I was just recently at Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch, and here we are just a month later for dinner. Liberty Tree is my go-to place for all of the holiday parties. I always get ADRs to eat here and then it's off to party! This year was no different for the Halloween Party. Of course, I was curious to see if there were any new changes to the rolls, as had heard there were some switches from Udi's rolls (which oddly are the only Udi's product that I'm not that excited about) to GNI brand rolls. I wanted to see if that had taken place. Plus, it's been a while since I've had the full dinner there.Upon arrival, I was greeted by the chef who gave me the rundown. Essentially, nothing had changed. I could have all of the meats (though I don't eat beef), steamed vegetables, dairy free mashed potatoes, the salad without modifications, GF/DF rolls, Earth Balance vegan margarine and raspberry sorbet with fruit for dessert. Pretty standard, and I've eaten here enough that I knew the drill.Up first was the salad and rolls. I was a bit underwhelmed by the salad, which I usually like a lot. I love the strawberry vinaigrette, but this time it wasn't that great. It seemed like the salad was overly dressed and the dressing was under-seasoned. 

Not the best version of this salad--usually one of my favs!

Then the chef came out and dropped off the rolls, before I could even ask him what they were, he had high-tailed it out of there. Um, guess they were busy! I knew right away they weren't Udi's. They looked totally different, and had been heated up too. The texture seemed a little weird just by touching them. Upon adding the Earth Balance to it, I took a taste. I must say, the taste wasn't terrible (sort of a sweet, brown rice flavored roll), but the texture was just plain weird. It was an odd mix of spongy (almost Ener-G like texture), but totally crumbly. Weird. I gave my mom a bite because she tends to really like GF/DF breads, but she really really did not like this. I didn't think it was quite as bad as she did, but she hated the texture. Overall, it was OK, but not great. And the rolls sort of turned to hockey pucks as soon as they cooled down. Interesting. I haven't encountered these rolls anywhere else, so I'll be curious to see where they pop up and what others think. If it is GNI brand there is some cross contamination issues that are potential, but I didn't hear any reports of this from the chefs. So, probably something to consider.

New rolls on property probably GNI Brand

Then it was on to the main meal. As usual, nothing spectacular, but it was good. I liked the turkey and this year, they seemed to have changed the pork loin for the better. Last year, it had a cinnamonny sweet flavor, and a fruit compote. Not my favorite. This year, it was sage rubbed and much more appealing to me. The mashed potatoes were also very good this time. The steamed green beans were pretty boring, but the winner of this meal was the sauteed zucchini and squash. Wow, this was really good. I ate like half of our table's plate (this was safe for everyone). Very very good. Thank you for adding this one LTT! The gravy was a good batch that night--sometimes it's not as seasoned as it could be. Good enough in fact, that my family had to eat that instead of the "regular" gravy. We went through 2 gravy boats!

Thanksgiving dinner on a plate

Sauteed zucchini and squash--my favorite of the meal!

Dairy free mashed potatoes

One of these gravy boats is not like the other! The one filled to the brim is the "regular" gravy and the two empty ones are the GF gravy! Can you tell which one our table preferred?

Raspberry sorbet with fresh fruit

For dessert, I had the sorbet (they don't have another GF/DF option). Overall, I found it to be pretty good. I like the sorbets they have on property, and quite frankly after a big meal, this is a nice dessert option.Overall, I like LTT, but I'm glad I only go here a few times out of the year. I wish they could make a GF/DF dressing/stuffing, that I think would be a nice addition to this Thanksgiving-like meal. And bring the ham you guys! I miss it!!A 8 out of 10.

The Wave -- Breakfast -- Contemporary Resort -- Table Service

*This dining experience took place in September 2012.

View of Bay Lake in the morning...

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.

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!

Kouzzina -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Boardwalk

*This dining experience took place in September 2012.

Kouzzina dining room

Ah, Kouzzina. One of my all time favs. You've probably read a lot of my reviews on this restaurant. I'm a big fan of their breakfast. I visited this time to grab some Mickey waffles and Udi's toast. I had also heard recently that there had been some bread vendor changes adding in GNI brand products and I wanted to find out if this was a complete replacement or only partial (I'm still not clear on that one). So, I figured one of my standby restaurants with some of my standby chefs would be a good place to start!Chef Sergio, who helped me on my last visit, was on hand today. I kind of miss Chef George. It's been May since I last saw him, and he was really good. I wonder if he's doing more dinner service now? In any event, Chef Sergio said we could do the Udi's toast and Earth Balance vegan margarine. I also ordered a side of Mickey waffles. This turned out to be a bummer, but more on that later. I also got eggs over easy (I like to dip the egg yolk in the bread--yum! And rarely get to do this in restaurants) and plain potatoes with no peppers and onions.

Eggs over-easy, bacon, and plain potatoes

First up, the eggs were quite good, but I find that lately they are using a little more extra virgin olive oil than I personally would like. The potatoes were awesome today. Sometimes they are so-so, depending on who's cooking them and how they cook them. These were deep fried with sea salt. Yum! The bacon is also always a winner here. No stringy bacon at Kouzzina!

Udi's GF/DF toast

Then the toast. I am soooo happy they have this here now. This is the second time I've had it, and I was very excited for it. Add Earth Balance to it, and it's divine. Chef Sergio said that as far as he knows that Udi's toast is a current addition that he didn't see being changed and that the GNI brand is being used there for the rolls (replacing the Udi's rolls, which sorry Udi's rolls were not real great--weird because I like all of their other products!). Good to know, and I need to follow up on this at other restaurants.

Not-so-yummy Mickey waffles...

Now on to the disappointing part of the meal. I ordered Mickey waffles and I was really looking forward to them because Kouzzina has some rocking waffles. My mom also ordered "regular" Mickey waffles and when they came I thought they were hers. Um not a good sign. I tasted one bite and knew immediately something was wrong. They looked different, they tasted different. My mom said they were clearly GF/DF after she ate them, but that they didn't taste the same. I tried a second bite and I just couldn't even eat them. They tasted really bland and bitter. Not so good. Now, maybe someone else might not think they are that bad, but for me they were yucky. I have been so spoiled by the amazing Mickey waffles made with Bob's Red Mill mix. I told the server that I just didn't want to eat them and asked to speak with the chef. This has to be pretty bad for me, because I've only ever sent something back at Disney once and that was at a terrible meal at Jiko (a selective experience I think).Chef Sergio came out and we talked about the waffles. He said he didn't know if the mix was a permanent change or a replacement for the Bob's Red Mill temporarily. It was Namaste mix, and I was pretty shocked about this because Disney's Catering used Namaste in all of the items and none of them tasted like this. Plus I use some of their mixes at home! I think it was not knowing how to use it the mix. I was pretty perplexed after this and wanted to know if this was a company wide change. Yikes! Yes, it's GF/DF but not so good on the taste (at least in this version).I headed to the Polynesian later and talked to Chef Johnny at Kona and he assured me that no this was a temporary change for Kouzzina and that the Bob's Red Mill is still there and not going anywhere. Phew! A sign of relief!!Overall, the meal at Kouzzina was still great. Just disappointing about the waffles. Still a solid 8 out of 10! In the future though, I'll be asking restaurants what mix they are using before I get the waffles! Good to know!