Restaurant Reviews - 9-02
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JDForbes · 10-25-2002, 02:48 PM

This is a report on the 12 restaurants we ate at on our trip last month: Artist Point, Jiko, California Grill, Boma, Kona, Tony's, Donald's Breakfastosaurus, Coral Reef, Cape May Cafe, Sci-Fi, Rose & Crown, and Fountainview.
This is my wife’s and my little obsession. After we take a trip, while driving on the way home, we analyze all our meals (and lodging if we stayed multiple places) in minute detail and see how they stack up. We actually have a lot of fun with it. I don’t know if anyone else will :-). However, I’ve seen a lot of similar type behavior from you other Disneyphiles, too [wink], so maybe it can serve some useful purpose!
We rate each of the restaurants on a scale from 1-10 in each of the following areas: atmosphere, service, appetizer/salad, entree, dessert, lounge, and drinks. We then average our two ratings to get a composite number for each category. Usually the numbers are identical or fairly close together. We usually share a lot of every offering, so we each comment on each dish. We then average the total for all categories to get a composite total for that restaurant, and then we see how they stack up against each other. I have tried in vain to get the chart to transfer to the box on the boards here, even hand-typing it, but it always comes out unreadable, so I'm just going to bag it. I'll give the composite total for each restaurant. I will review about 3-4 per posting so things won't be any longer than necessary. Please let me know if this is horribly boring to read!

Artist Point (9.32): Our top honors! This meal and evening was virtually flawless from start to finish. We began in the Territory Lounge, a fabulous room with a mural of the travels of Lewis and Clark on the ceiling. Our server was top-notch Disney, very friendly, knowledgeable about the wines, and extremely fast when I mentioned we needed the check to get to our PS. The recommended wine was wonderful, although I can’t remember which it was. From there we made our way down the hall to AP, which was wonderfully serene. Scott was our server, who earned our only 10 point value for service of the week. I can’t think of one way he could’ve made things better unless he had comp’d the check. He was a perfect mix of attentiveness, good timing, information and playfulness. We started with the Rabbit Sausage appetizer and the Field Greens with Goat Cheese Salad. The rabbit won our hearts (and stomachs) for best appetizer of the week. The salad was also excellent. For our entrees we chose the Maple Whiskey Glazed Cedar Roasted Salmon, their signature dish, and the Grilled Buffalo Sirloin. Wow. They were both just marvelous. We eat salmon a LOT, and have had it prepared a zillion different ways. This was the best. Complementing all of this was a wonderful bottle of wine recommended by Scott. Yeeeesh, I should’ve written down the wine details. Oh, well, next time. We finished off with the Berry Cobbler, which was as divine as everyone has stated. After all this, the final magic came when Scott presented us with a bag, inside which was our own piece of cedar plank to take home for cooking salmon! He also gave us explicit instructions about the preparation and cooking. We haven’t used it yet, but will be soon. This was early in our week but proved to be the winner. Can’t wait to get back!

Jiko (8.92): This turned out to be a wonderful surprise! We knew Jiko had good reviews from most folks, but we still didn’t know quite what to expect. We are fairly adventurous with food, but there are still certain ethnic tastes that one or the other of us just doesn’t go for, and we didn’t know if African might one of them. We again began by checking out the lounge, Victoria Falls, which is magnificently placed in between floors, up winding stairs, looking down on Boma. We got some very tasty African wines and went out to a porch area to sit in rockers and watch the animals. Man, what a hard life! We were the only ones on the viewing deck the whole 30 minutes we were there.
When we walked into Jiko, we were amazed. I especially was really captivated by the decor. The ceiling is covered with hanging large bird sculptures, kanus, mythical birds of promise. They must’ve promised a fabulous evening because that’s what they delivered! The architecture in Jiko, as with most of AKL, has an emphasis on roundedness, which I love. There’s hardly a straight line anywhere. Our server was very good, very attentive. We decided to get the African sampler appetizer, which had three of the main appetizers on it, including the Duck Firecracker Rolls and Spicy Beef Rolls. It was delicious, although I liked it slightly more than Harriet. For our second course we had the signature Brentwood Corn Soup and the Marinated Ahi Tuna. I’m not a corn fan, but I still thought it was outstanding and the tuna was just perfect. Our entrees were the Oak Grilled Beef Tenderloin and the Steamed Golden Bass. Both were very well prepared and tasty. For dessert I got a chocolate smorgasbord that is truly the finest chocolate dessert I’ve ever had. I can’t remember the name of it, but I HIGHLY recommend it. It was three totally different things all on the same plate, each with its own refined chocolate flavor.

Tony’s (8.38): Tony’s was an unexpected joy. We arrived after a very pleasant morning devouring Fantasyland in two hours (see Trip Report). We had made an 11:40 PS, and crowds were still fairly sparse which added a lot to the calm ambience of the restaurant. I had read, mostly notably in the PassPorter (thanks, once again, Jennifer and Dave), that it was considered by some to be the best sit-down at MK. We haven’t done all the sit-downs, but it’s going to be hard to beat Tony’s. It has now taken over character meal duties from the Crystal Palace, so the lunch menu has changed to a price fixe format where you order an appetizer, entree, dessert and drink. To begin, Harriet and my mom both ordered the bruschetta, and I got the salad. My salad was terrific, but the bruschetta won hands down. It was a perfectly mixed combo of fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, light balsamic dressing, and fresh basil on Italian bread. We all pronounced it absolutely divine, and could’ve easily eaten an entire plate-full for an entree. For the main course Harriet and mom ordered the Grilled Chicken Caesar and I got the Penne Pasta with Grilled Veggies I won this round. The Caesars were excellent, but the pasta dish was expertly done. I’ve ordered this dish frequently at various restaurants, and even at good locations it is often prepared way too bland. This serving was very well seasoned, and everyone agreed it was the best of the bunch. We were stuffed by this point, but dessert was included, so who were we to turn that down? The two offerings were tiramisu and cheesecake. We had some of both. The tiramisu was very good, but the cheesecake was as good as I have ever tasted. It was very moist with that unbeatable NY-style flavor. It got finished off, regardless of available room. Andrew and Noah were pleased as punch with their pizzas, one of their favorite dishes (and for Andrew one of the few things on his menu). Kudos to the kitchen for not serving it piping hot so that we end up blowing on it for ten minutes before the kids can touch it. Just another way in which Disney provides that special kid-friendly attention to detail. Add to that the exciting attention from Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore, complete with autographs and hugs, and the boys had a wonderful meal, too. With the need for mass production and the distraction of a character meal, Tony’s could easily get away with lesser quality fare, which they refuse to do. They give each of these “regular” dishes extra preparation attention, earning them very high marks for a middle-tier restaurant, and making a trip back to this end of Main Street well worth it.
More reviews to follow -

TINKN · 10-25-2002, 04:27 PM

Enjoying your critiques and can't wait for more. Not boring at all. Very interesting in fact.

vickeymouse · 10-25-2002, 04:31 PM

Ditto - Especially interested in the Coral Reef and Sci-Fi. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

mattjs · 10-25-2002, 04:32 PM

Wow! I'd forgotten how great Artist Point is but that brought me right back to it! That Cedar Plank Salmon followed up by the Berry Cobbler (arguably the best dessert in the history of desserts) is about as good as it gets. Teritorry Lounge really is a great before or after dinner spot too.

Great reviews.

BostonTeaParty · 10-25-2002, 04:56 PM

Am enjoying the restaurant reports immensely. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews. They are very helpful in our dining decision process for our next visit. Thanks! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

AliciaG · 10-25-2002, 05:25 PM

Thanks for sharing these dining reports. I can't wait for the next installment! I think the way you guys talk about and grade your meals and accomodations afterwards, just lets you enjoy your trip longer. Now that I'm starving...what's for dinner? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

disney queen · 10-25-2002, 05:45 PM

agree about artist point and jiko. would like to what you thought of california grill and rose and crown. thanks! [img]graemlins/dizzy.gif[/img]

JDForbes · 10-25-2002, 08:40 PM

Thanks for all your supportive comments! The reviews of the rest of the restaurants on our list will be forthcoming!

Nala · 10-25-2002, 11:03 PM

Love your reviews! Can't wait to hear about Boma & Donald's, as we have PS there in Feburary!

WildForWD · 10-25-2002, 11:29 PM

Great reviews David!!

Our meals at Artist Point have always been top rate!!
Did you find the hidden Mickeys in the Territory Lounge?

Glad you enjoyed Jikos, this is TOP of my list for our next trip!!

Looking forward to the next reviews!!
Tim

jakenjess · 10-26-2002, 07:29 AM

We've been debating whether to do lunch at Tony's, and I think you just talked me into it! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] DS 7 and DD 5 love Lady and the Tramp, and having the Pooh characters makes it extra special! Glad you enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the rest of your reviews. Thanks! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

ariel1 · 10-26-2002, 08:52 AM

this is great! my husband and i also rate the restaurants and debate favorites. we would love to be disney food critics when we grow up. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] keep it coming!