Yes, It IS About the Food OR Two Foodies Do WDW From Table To Table--TR About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures from the Afternoon Tea!

[Her Dotness]

Sad to say, Be Our Guest lunch wasn’t as much fun or as good as last year’s for me on several levels with fewer complaints for DH His Drewness.

First, I’ve gotta admit that I felt unabashedly smug last fall as we trotted up the left side of the bridge to the restaurant’s entrance, getting envious and occasionally puzzled-looking stares (“How do they rate? Must be some VIP’s”) from the poor suckers waiting in line along the right side under the hot sun. That satisfaction vanished with the implementation of FastPass-only, the approach being deserted except for a few gawkers scattered near the check-in kiosk at the gate. Okay, my innate snobbery reveled in that looooong walk last year, not so this year. Definitely a Cinderella-at-midnight feeling.

The CM who met us inside the restaurant read off our pre-order and confirmed that we had ordered one souvenir goblet. I wondered why I wasn’t asked which drink I wanted in it, because we had seen nowhere on the pre-order screen to indicate which drink you wanted. Seems to me it would have been obvious for the CM confirming our order to ask if I wanted the goblet minus drink, because the goblet comes with a choice of two special drinks. Maybe her tablet screen didn’t show that no drink had been chosen? Anyway, as a result of my not having my wits about me enough to ask about ordering the drink, the outcome was that the CM delivering food handed me an empty goblet. Oh, well…by that point, I was so annoyed by all the prior glitches encountered that I didn’t care much.

The iced tea was good enough, and I’d had qualms anyway about how those specialty drinks were described--all-natural fruit punch sweetened with organic cane juice and wildberry extract topped with lemon-lime foam or all-natural lemonade sweetened with organic cane juice and topped with wildberry foam. The punch was an immediate reject upon reading the AllEars description--far too contradictory a combo for my tastes. The lemonade seemed possible but still odd. Who needs lemonade with something called “wildberry foam” atop it? Nope, I don’t want my drink foamy unless it’s a cappuccino, thank you very much.



Notice the blue light illuminating the goblet’s surroundings, not that you're likely to overlook it. More about that later, and you'll see it again reflected off our dessert plates.

As I mentioned in the capsule review posted previously, we were at first thrilled that there were empty tables in the West Room, unlike last year, and then immediately dismayed when we saw that there were easily a half dozen or more with not only no one moving to clear them but two CM’s busily chitchatting, ignoring what was going on in the room.

I remarked to Drew, “Do we have to tackle a CM to get a table cleaned? Looks like it. Let’s try the other rooms.”

Being capital “H” hungry by that point, we exited the West Room, crossing the Ballroom where there was not one but three CM’s directing traffic through the room and to the drink station. Did guests really need that many doing this with uncleared tables in various spots in this room as well and no one hustling to clean them? Didn’t seem like it, I thought.

We’re not big on extremely noisy restaurants, and as we anticipated, the FP-only system had rendered BOG jampacked. It was so loud in every room that we just about had to shout to hear each other speak over lunch after we finally found an unoccupied table in the Rose Gallery, which I call the Music Box Room. The noise level alone might discourage us from returning unless somewhere else becomes The Must-Have and BOG a once-was. It was--pardon the obvious reference--simply beastly loud in the place. The same was the case, we subsequently discovered at dinner later in the week. Just too blinkin’ loud to have a decent conversation while eating, a must for an enjoyable dining experience for us.

Drew said his chuck roast sandwich was very good, but the meat in mine was sinewy in spots, so chewy that it was unpredictably challenging to bite into. I didn’t care for the crumbly gluten-free bread used for mine and now suspect that the nice roll I got last year wasn’t gluten-free because Drew’s sub roll appeared identical to the one I’d had. There are much better g-f breads elsewhere at Disney, but BOG appeared not to have gotten any as the bread fell apart in my hands almost before I could get a decent bite.



Far worse were my French fries which proved so salty I had to scrape my fingernails along each side to make them edible. Apparently whoever made them forgot they’d already salted them copiously as they were virtually encrusted with salt. Abominable!

On the other hand, Drew said that his sandwich and fries were as tasty as they’d been when I had that same thing last year. His fries were lightly salted and just fine when I tried one.



The desserts, however, almost made up for it all as both were very good indeed, mine once again the gluten-free raspberry-lemon curd cream puff with a yummy lemon curd, although not as delicately flavored or smooth as the one with our scones at Afternoon Tea. I bet BOG uses Dickinson’s lemon curd as this tasted much like that brand, a very good one nevertheless.



Drew’s dessert was a chocolate cream puff. He thought it comparable in quality to the grey-stuff-topped Master’s Cupcake which he raved about last year and still talks about occasionally.



All-in-all, not dreadful but somewhat disappointing compared with how delicious and enjoyable an experience last year‘s lunch at BOG was.

I must admit, the goblet is pretty cool although drinking water out of it is somewhat disconcerting when the stem flashes alternately RED/BLUE and colors the water startlingly. I’m not brave enough to try drinking anything else in it with the stem lit. Just too scary to contemplate.

[SuperDave]

Sorry to hear your experience at BOG wasn't as good as last time! Perhaps, there are things Disney needs to work on with this place. Especially, organization and coordinating everything so things run much more smoothly too. The noise level is a bit much here as well as I noticed it in my visit for dinner earlier this year.

[lauriep]

It sounds like they need better training and better management supervision to handle the crowds at BOG-- at the very least. Noise levels at restaurants bother me so much that I've left on occasion-- even if I've had an ADR. I expect the restaurants at WDW to be somewhat noisier than restaurants elsewhere, but when you look at the design of the rooms it doesn't look like they've made any attempt to control the echoing loudness with sound-muffling techniques and materials.

[Her Dotness]

Heartily agreed with you both on the distressing loudness, predictably so. Agreed as well on the supervision and training. We went there a bit warily, wondering if BOG management had adjusted as yet to the mobs FP-only would bring. Apparently not.

I, too, have no idea whatsoever why Disney doesn't seem to do much if any noise-reduction in dining area designs. Probably a case of < huge shrug > "Why lay out more bucks. They'll come anyway."

We didn't enjoy Narcoosee's last year for that reason as well as our table being situated in such a way that it was too dark to read the menu without employing our iPhone flashlights. Equally ridiculous.

I think I'll let Drew choose in future where to eat my birthday dinner as my choices appear cursed, last year Narcoosee's where we also thought we might have to send up flares to get our server to return to take our order. He took an unconscionably long time; we almost walked out--that bad. Then, this year, the much-vaunted Artist Point had shockingly bad management and staff behavior, a tale of woe to be told shortly.

NEXT: Hollywood Brown Derby--as Drew puts it, again just "meh" food.

[chezp]

Thank goodness I'd just gotten a snack before reading this...

Great review of the afternoon tea! Shame Be Our Guest didn't live up to previous experiences.

[Her Dotness]

Something we rarely do, curiously--we went for brunch today in Midtown St. Looey...(Well, it definitely IS about food, too. )

If you are ever in this beautiful and historic city, absolutely make a reservation at Nathalie's. The restaurant is located in what once was a posh home and retains century-old architectural details such as an elaborately carved banister along with the widest crown molding I've ever seen. Contemporary painted walls, one room in royal purple, added a charming touch along with fine quality paintings and photographs scattered about.

The mismatched silver creamer and sugar bowl appeared quite old if not antiques, an all-around elegant but comfy atmosphere enhanced by superb food-- grass-fed, free-range meats and other locavore foods.

They. Have. Beignets. Authentic ones, made to order, which took a good while but were absolutely worth it and then some. As I joked to our server, "No wonder you insisted upon getting the beignets going before the rest of our order. They're flown in from the French Quarter, right?" Sure tasted like it!

A sheer delight! Go there.

[SuperDave]

That's strange that you should mention Narcoosees and the lighting there! I've always found it easy to see menus, but than again, I think it's been three occasions, when I've ate there....I don't think it was dark yet! I think all of the times I've dined there have been mid April to early May, when there is much more sunlight!

[chezp]

Sounds like a wonderful place for brunch!

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry BOG didn't live up to your last experience!

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

That's strange that you should mention Narcoosees and the lighting there! I've always found it easy to see menus, but than again, I think it's been three occasions, when I've ate there....I don't think it was dark yet! I think all of the times I've dined there have been mid April to early May, when there is much more sunlight!

Yep, it was pitch dark when we were there, Dave. I don't recall the exact time, just after 6:00, I believe, as it was dinner on our first full day, and we wanted an early ADR, figuring we'd be ready for bed sooner than later.

If our server hadn't vanished, we'd have asked if the dimmer governing our area might be adjusted a bit. Yes, it was romantically dark, but the skimpy little candle shed so little light that the iPhones proved a godsend. (Thank you, Steve Jobs! RIP)

[Her Dotness]

Hollywood Brown Derby dinner was memorable largely for the screeching child mentioned earlier, somewhat offset by the marvelous service of CM Angela. She was friendly, conversational without being too chatty, informative and kept such a close eye on our progress and possible needs that I scarcely noticed a lack before it was remedied. Terrific service. I really must email Disney commending her.

As for the food, too many contradictory or outright warring flavors, something we noticed at lunch there a year ago. Really, it’s too bad as the atmosphere does a nice job of evoking the original Brown Derby. However, we still don’t feel HBD merits two credits.

Honestly, Drew’s appetizer and dessert were most likely the high points of the meal.

He chose the cheese selection appetizer.



The cheeses, r. to l. (sorry, but the photo transferred upside down), were goat gouda with honeycomb, drunken goat with edible flower topping (those brownish bits), blue cheese with apple-mustard marmalade and Forelle pear slices. Never heard of Forelle pears, but they were tasty. The thinly sliced white bread accompanying it all (not shown) was far too salty, Drew said. However we both liked the apple-mustard marmalade despite thinking it went better with the gouda than with the blue cheese. The honeycomb with the blue was excellent, on the other hand.

Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t think the plating was visually enticing. Unlike the Afternoon Tea cheese platter where the wave of candied walnuts caused one’s eye to flow from one cheese to the next, this plate came across as three different elements plunked down with nothing much uniting them visually unless the “v” of the drunken goat cheese was intended to do that.

My appetizer was really not very good in a number of ways. An appetizer should stimulate the palate rather than overwhelm it, but this one was both too large a portion and had contradictory elements that battled each other to a loss.



It was a slice of pork belly paired with a scallop which gave me pause when I saw the menu description as both of these are so richly flavored that I wondered how they could marry successfully. They didn’t and should have divorced.

The pinkish-red sauce at the top was a raspberry gastrique which was good with the pork belly but did nothing at all for the scallop. At the bottom was a port wine reduction which just didn’t go well with anything on the plate. That’s a rich sauce too akin to the richness of the pork belly and one that overwhelmed the scallop. I don’t even remember what the creamy yellow stuff at the upper right was, but the dark green leaf below the pork belly was a sautéed Swiss chard that was overcooked and bitter.

Drew’s entrée was osso buco topped with far too many fried wonton strips.



The osso buco, he said, was great, deeply flavorful and well-cooked. A dish that would have been better with about a fourth of the crunchy stuff. That’s another quibble I have with so many chefs--their apparent fascination with putting crunchy bits atop an otherwise fine dish. Okay, SOME textural contrast can be pleasant, but in this case, the dish didn’t need any help, I didn’t think, when Drew gave me a bite. Definitely not that much help, anyway.



In looking at the photo of my entrée, I realized that I don’t remember much of it but for those thin slices atop the dish that proved to be very leathery mushrooms. I do recall wondering why such thin mushroom slices were so difficult to cut even though they had a nice earthy flavor. The veal was well cooked, and the polenta beneath was flavorful, but I have no idea what that reddish sauce may have been. The veal really wasn’t enhanced by the other elements, I remember that much, which was too bad as I’m fond of veal.

to be continued...

[Her Dotness]

We both liked the idea of a trio of mini-desserts after so much rich food as well as being able to choose any combination we wished. Unfortunately, the concept was far better than the execution of one of my desserts.

Drew really enjoyed his trio--two warm blueberry cobblers with crème fraiche and orange blossom honey, a single double-vanilla bean crème brulee. All three were very good, he said, although he preferred the cobbler to the crème brulee. Since he’s not a big fan of vanilla, I wasn’t surprised that it failed to impress as much. The blueberries were sweet and fresh-tasting, he mentioned.



My dessert choices were a very mixed bag.



The brownish one in the middle was an almond flan with a white chocolate whip atop it, usually accompanied by an almond cookie which was left off since I ordered gluten-free. Great almond flavor and creamy texture. I should have quit while I was ahead.

The other two were a delicious caramel custard ruined by that vivid orange stuff, a passionfruit glace. The glace had all the flavor appeal of cough syrup, dreadful to the point that I gave up after a bite or two. The white and dark chocolate striped curl stuck in each might have done well with the custard. As it was, a disaster.

Hollywood Brown Derby tries hard to merit its signature status but fails on the most important level in our view--the food--with too many discordant elements poorly chosen and sometimes poorly prepared. HBD should definitely be a 1-cr restaurant. If it were, its many failures might be tolerable.

[SheLovesAriel]

Just reading about your BOG lunch. Maybe the charm is in the first experience of that place? We were so excited to just get in I think many of your quibbles were beneath our notice in our excitement. Reflecting, I suppose it was noisy, but we were a party of seven and we secured a table in the Music box room in the near left corner as you enter the room - a large round table. Our conversation seemed fine. I ended up with my back to the room but that's okay, we did some quick photos and wandering after eating.

I am pretty sure there was a screeching child at every meal we attended on our trip. I took special notice because of the topic being mentioned on this forum by you or someone else before we arrived. Akershus was particularly annoying. But there was always one, and always right nearby our table. It became a bit of a joke. Hey, its Disney right?

Our food arrived as expected in a timely manner - we did not pre-order. I think everyone in our party enjoyed their selections. My daughter and I shared the Ham and Cheese and a bowl of the potato soup which we both loved. The sandwich was fine. I do not recall the fries if there were any.

But the point you made about feeling VIP upon entering... I have to say the magic is still there. As we were checking in the CM was telling other people that the stand by line was full up for the day and no one was going to get in without a FP. This was at about 11:40 AM. So we did get a little ego boost from that.

Did not notice dirty tables, did not notice lack of service or chatting CMs, but then my back was to the room the whole time. I just wonder if we went back a second or third or fourth time would we start to notice things not quite as they should be? Maybe it is an experience best left to the fawning first timers...

[chezp]

No it wasn't just you with that cheese appetiser - it wasn't very well presented, that was my first thought when I saw the photo of it. It's a shame that the Hollywood Brown Derby doesn't seem to quite manage signature status, as we've found that in the past. We're going back for lunch on our next trip, so it'll be interesting to see what we make of it then.