Olivia's Cafe

So today the family (Mom, Dad, and Nathan) and I went out to eat lunch at Olivia's Café, at Disney's Old Key West Resort.

Olivia's Entrance

As I noted, Olivia's is at Disney's Old Key West Resort, one of the many Disney Vacation Club resorts.  Unlike most other Disney resorts, which is one building with (perhaps) smaller outbuildings, Old Key West is almost like a series of apartment complexes centered around the pool area/registration area.

Old Key West is not on any of the main Disney streets, so while it's easy to get there, its a bit hard to find.  From Downtown Disney, the easiest way to get there is to get onto Buena Vista Drive heading toward the theme parks.  Turn right onto Bonnet Creek Parkway, and then right onto Disney Vacation Club Way (the second stoplight, and the first street you'll be able to turn right onto).  Old Key West is the first resort you'll come to.

Disney's Old Key West Resort



Just past the check-in desk on the left, next to the Conch Flats General Store (a gift shop which shares an entrance with the restaurant, you'll find Olivia's Café.  The place itself has the illusion of being small, but this illusion is mostly caused by the fact that the restaurant has as much outdoor seating (it's Florida, it's summer, and there's a breeze... believe me if you go for lunch during any kind of good weather, you might want to consider eating out on the deck) as it does indoor seating.

The dining room is decorated in what can only be considered "South Florida Kitsch."  There's road signs proclaiming the end of US 1 (the road that runs along the Atlantic Coast from the Mile Marker 0 in Key West, Florida to Mile Marker  2377 in Fort Kent, Maine (on the Canadian border), there's fish of all kinds on the wall.  There's antique plates, antique bottles, a hand-powered coffee grinder, and the neatest antique ceiling fan I've ever seen.

 

It's a very casual, homey, and above all friendly place to eat.  This was the friendliest restaurant we've encountered on Disney property by a fair stretch.

 

We were seated pretty quickly, and our waiter, Jerry, arrived pretty quickly to hand out menus, make suggestions, and take drink orders.  Nathan and I went with the sweet iced tea (it's a southern themed restaurant... of course there was sweet iced tea).  Jerry's suggestions were well-received, though he pushed the booze a bit hard, in my opinion.  It worked though, as Mom and Dad tried a fruit-festooned cocktail called the Turtle Krawl (named after one of our favorite Key West restaurants, Turtle Kraals).

For starters, we decided to split an order of the onion rings and an order of the conch fritters, while Mom added a cup of the conch chowder.

 

The onion rings were tasty and fresh, but the onions were slightly too thin, and all too often you'd end up with a mouthful of batter shell and no onion.  The conch fritters were doughy and delicious, but the real winner was the conch chowder, which was absolutely fantastic.

The onion rings and the fritters were each accompanied by a dipping sauce:  a key lime honey mustard came with both, while remoulade accompanied the fritters and mango ketchup the onion rings.  The remoulade was a bit bland for my taste, and the mango ketchup tasted heavily of cayenne, but the mustard hit the spot and was proclaimed the winner of the condiment competition.

When it came to entrees, Dad, Nathan, and I all chose the same thing:  Olivia's Seafood Pasta.  This was fettucine with rock shrimp, bay scallops, lump crab meat, and chunks of grouper, all sautéed with garlic, olive oil, sun-dried tomato, spinach, and basil.  It wasn't drowning in sauce, as a lot of seafood pasta dishes are when done elsewhere, nor was it over-seasoned (and to tell the truth, Dad and I thought it could have been even more seasoned than it was, though Nathan thought it was fine).  It had a fresh taste that wasn't overpowered by superfluous extras, allowing us to enjoy the fresh taste of the tomato, the spinach, and the seafood.

 

 

The other difference between Olivia's seafood pasta entrée and that found in other restaurants was the sheer amount of seafood to be found in it.  There must have been half a pound of various pieces of seafood in my bowl.  I literally could not move my fork without knocking around a chunk of seafood.

Mom's entrée was the pan-seared sea scallops, which arrived on a bed of polenta over braised asparagus.  Added to this was a prosciutto garnish and a tomato vinaigrette (something that I, Mom, and Nathan all declared "tastes just like ketchup").  The scallops were done to a turn and were tender, delicious, and perfect.  The polenta was creamy without being gummy and was seasoned in a way to give it a distinct flavor all by itself.  I just wish I had a picture of it (sorry about that, constant reader).

 

There were some minor quibbles with the meal.  As mentioned above, I thought the pasta could use just a bit more seasoning.  The remoulade was bland, and the mango ketchup tasted more of cayenne pepper than of mango (and by this I do not mean it was too hot... I mean the biggest component of the taste of the stuff was "peppery", not "burn my mouth").  Jerry, while friendly and polite and nice as could be and a great guy I'd love to have as my waiter was just a bit too pushy with the suggestions, but that's okay.

The food was plentiful and delicious.  I'd say four and a half stars out of five, and would suggest Olivia's to anyone (and have, since arriving home).  I do plan on going back to check out their sandwiches and their key lime pie (we were too stuffed for desert).


Next Up:  The Cape May Café at Disney's Beach Club Resort, by special request of my mother for her birthday.  See you then!

Tour Schedule Update and Policy Change

First the policy change.  It has been pointed out to me that there's no way I can try everything in a single restaurant without going more than once.  So the rule about not repeating a restaurant is being relaxed.

Secondly, there's been some scheduling changes due to Disney completely blocking out the Magic Kingdom from 17 November 2012 all the way to 23 February 2013.  Anyone whose read the schedule I posted a couple of months ago will realize that two of my upcoming trips are in the Magic Kingdom.  Its hard to dine at a Magic Kingdom restaurant when they're not letting you in.  So I've changed the January reservation.

The lady at the Disney Dining Reservations line (407-939-2625) advised I not cancel the reservation at Be Our Guest (specifically, she said, and I quote, "Whatever you do, do not cancel this reservation.  Buy regular tickets if you have to, because otherwise you'll be waiting until October!"), so I didn't.

The following dates are confirmed and reserved:

• 16 December 2012:  Olivia's Cafe, at the Old Key West Resort.
• 13 January 2013:  Cape May Cafe, Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort.
• 17 February 2013:  Be Our Guest, in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.
• 3 March 2013:  Artist Point, at the Wilderness Lodge.
• April 2013:  Captain Jack's, at Downtown Disney.
• May 2013:  Maya Grill, at the Coronado Springs Resort. 

The following dates are planned, but have yet to be set in stone and are absolutely not confirmed:

• June 2013:  The Biergarten, at the Germany Pavillion, Epcot
• July 2013:  Tusker House, at Animal Kingdom.
• August 2013:  Restaurant Marrakesh, at the Morocco Pavillion, Epcot.
• September 2013:  1900 Park Fare (Breakfast), at the Grand Floridian Resort
• October 2013:  The Crystal Palace, in Main Street, at the Magic Kingdom.
• November 2013: Boatwright's Hall, at the Port Orleans Resort.
• December 2013:  Kouzzina by Cat Cora, at Disney's Boardwalk.

As always, please note that these dates are subject to change, and when I get the chance I'll be adding stops on to the tour in between these predetermined stops.

The Liberty Tree Tavern

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, "Jack, at the end of your review of Bongo's, you said the next entry was going to be from the Food and Wine Festival!  Now you're talking about the Liberty Tree Tavern!  What's going on?"

Well, let me tell you.  I had a small accident.  While working at the Pool Bar and Grill at the Grand Floridian Resort, I slipped and literally fell on my tailbone.  As a result, I had two slipped disks and a couple of pinched nerves and I absolutely could not stand up long enough to take walking around Epcot long enough to do the Food and Wine Festival justice.  Or without bursting into tears from the pain.

But here's the funny, ironic, and tear-jerking part:  I also couldn't remain seated long enough to take being pushed around Epcot long enough to do the Food and Wine Festival justice.  Or without bursting into tears from the pain.  Literally, I was only comfortable when laying down.  And by the time I was mobile enough to make the trip, the Food and Wine Festival was over.

I am highly disappointed I missed it.  I mean, seriously disappointed.

But anyway, you're not here to listen to me whine about missing the best food fun event Disney has to offer.  You're here to listen to me talk about the Liberty Tree Tavern.

The Liberty Tree Tavern

The Liberty Tree Tavern is located in Liberty Square, inside the Magic Kingdom Park (which means you're going to need park admission in addition to the cost of the restaurant).  Since I was headed to the Magic Kingdom anyway, I decided to make it a Father-Son Fun Day for Jared and myself.  We got to the park just as it was opening, which is honestly the best time to get there.  After scouting Main Street for trading pins (yes, I trade pins) and Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom cards (yes, Jared is a SoMK fan), we decided to do the park clockwise and headed for Adventureland.

Jared, my partner for the day.

Jared and his sense of fun were driving the day, which meant we hit Aladdin's Magic Carpets, the Jungle Cruise, the Enchanted Tiki Room, and of course Pirates of the Caribbean.  With Adventureland taken care of, we moved on to Frontierland and enjoyed the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Country Bear Jamboree, and Davey Crockett's Shooting Gallery.  We then caught a raft to Tom Sawyer's Island, were I let Jared run himself around to his heart's content.

Seems Jared has a thing for hiding in dark tunnels and leaping out at people when they aren't expecting it.

Jared in front of the Liberty Bell replica, in Liberty Square.

We were on our way to the Haunted Mansion when Jared declared that he was hungry.  A quick check of my clock told me we still had half an hour until our reservation, but I figured what the heck... the park wasn't that busy and maybe they'd let us sit down early.  So we hied ourselves hence to the Liberty Tree Tavern.

The entrance to the Liberty Tree Tavern.

For those of you who've never been to the Magic Kingdom, the Liberty Tree Tavern is in Liberty Square, across from the Liberty Bell replica on one side and the Diamond Horseshoe on the other.  If you have trouble finding it, head toward the River Boat landing and look around a little, or ask a cast member.  Its pretty easy to find.

The Liberty Tree is a charming place done up in late Colonial American kitsch.  Its homey and welcoming, and the food is amazing.  The cuisine is classic American fare, with a bit of a concentration on that New England feel.

The entrance to the Liberty Tree.

A view to the right, from the entrance.  Its not even Thanksgiving, and they already have their Christmas tree up.

A view to the left, from the entrance.

So we walked in to find it only moderately crowded, and by that I mean there was maybe 20 people sitting around the entrance, waiting for a seat.  There was a nice young lady at the check-in desk, and we asked her about getting in early.  Turns out this would not be a problem.

Laura, from Bartonsville, Illinois, at the check-in.  She was amazingly nice.

Laura checked us in, told us it would be a bit because there were several parties ahead of us, and invited us to sit in the rocking chairs that were placed around the foyer.  Sounded good to me, so I sat down and started rocking.  Jared began cataloging his new trading cards, while I just rocked and watched the crowds outside move back and forth.

No sooner had I become comfortable, however, than our names were called by Dean, one of the managers at the Liberty Tree.  Dean greeted us, took us to our table, and assured us that Mo, our waiter, would be along shortly.

Dean, the Manager.  A very nice, understanding man who becomes more important later in the story.

Mo, our waiter.

We didn't have to wait long before Mo did show up.  He took our drink orders and left Jared and me with the menus.  I usually don't bother mentioning the kid's menus at these restaurants, but I wanted to mention the one at Liberty Tree.  In addition to the usual coloring opportunities and word searches and find the match puzzles, the menu featured (in addition to the food, of course) trivia about the founding of our country.  I thought it was very cool.

So Mo came back and we made our orders.  Jared wanted the kid's macaroni and cheese dinner, choosing carrot and celery sticks as his appetizer, and an ice cream sundae for desert.  I started with a bowl of New England clam chowder, and decided on the Pilgrim's Feast.

New England Clam Chowder

The clam chowder was just about perfect.  I should probably let you know I'm a clam chowder snob.  I want it creamy, with big, tasty chunks of potato and huge slabs of sliced clams.  I don't even acknowledge the existence of that tomato-based sludge the people in a particular borough of New York deceptively call "chowder".  Hey, you!  Down in Manhattan!  Yes, you!  Chowders have milk or cream and are thickened with potatoes!  That slop you call chowder is a SOUP, not a CHOWDER!  There are differences!

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yes, the chowder.  It was smooth and creamy and not too thick.  The potatoes were cooked just to par so they held their shape under the weight of the chowder, but weren't so stiff they counted as "crunchy".  And the slivers of clam were the size of a Kennedy half-dollar, I swear on my life.  It was clam chowder heaven.

The Pilgrim's Feast. 

The Pilgrim's Feast is a traditional "Thansgiving" dinner, and this being November, that's why I ordered it.  I've had it before, and loved it, and I ordered it this time anticipating culinary satisfaction.  And for the most part, I got it.  The slices of turkey breast meat were so tender they fell apart if I looked at them sharply.  The green beans were cooked to a turn, perfectly seasoned, and had a fresh taste that I find only rarely.  The herb bread dressing (not visible in the picture above) was tasty and not too dry and fit the rest of the meal like a glove.  The only bad mark on the meal was the gravy.

The gravy, which you can probably tell from the picture above, was pasty and thick and sludge-like.  It was also tepid.  Now, for cold, over-thick gravy, it actually had a pretty decent flavor, which tells me that had it been properly warm, not to mention possessing the proper nape for gravy, it would have been perfect.

Quick diversion:  nape (pronounced "napp-pay") in this context means the thickness of a sauce.  To test the nape of a sauce, you dip a spoon into it quickly (so the spoon picks up just a light coating of sauce).  Then you turn the spoon sideways.  If the gravy only drips off the spoon slowly, its got the right nape.  If it doesn't drip at all, you've got sludge.

The nape of this gravy was spoon-grippingly thick.

Jared's meal, on the other hand, was apparently perfect.

Kid's Macaroni and Cheese with Celery and Carrots Sticks

Jared is a lover of mac and cheese like no one else I can describe.  And he's also one of the most picky eaters I've ever met.  And I'm a chef, so I've met a lot of picky eaters.  Jared took a hesitant bite of his macaroni, smiled, and then proceded to devour the meal with an alacrity that was surprising.  Mo was kind enough to bring him a little dish of ranch dressing for his veggies, which completed his joy.  And then came his ice cream.

Let's just say he loved that too.

So, the round-up.  Mo, our waiter, was quick on his feet with drink refreshment and dirty-dish-clearance, though there were a couple of times when he took a bit longer to get to us than I expected.  The restaurant wasn't too crowded or too noisy.  Everyone was friendly, and the food was almost perfect.

About that almost.  When Dean the Manager walked through the restaurant I stopped him and told him about the gravy.  I'd already finished the rest of the meal (how hard is it to scrape bad gravy off terrific turkey, after all), so I didn't feel that accepting his offer to comp my meal would be fair.  Nor did I accept the offer of a dessert.  But I did appreciate that he came back a few minutes later to tell me the kitchen people were busily making a new batch and apologized for it again.

Anyway, the entire meal was pleasant and the rest of the day (we went from the Liberty Tree Tavern to the Haunted Mansion, and then further into Fantasyland, including the new Storybook Circus section of New Fantasyland, and Tomorrow Land.)  We had a grand day, and called it quits when both of us were sweaty, tired, and full of fun.

As a dad, I suggest spending time with your kids doing what they want to do as much as possible.  Its a great feeling when your son hugs you and says, "Thanks for having fun with me."

Jared said, "You're not in any of the pictures!", grabbed the camera, and took this picture.

Jared, my best buddy and frequent restaurant partner.

Anyway, back to the meal.  The final cost was $32 for both of us.  However, that was with a 30% Holiday Special Discount coupon.  Despite the bad gravy, we both felt like we got our money's worth, and we will be back to eat there again.

So in the end, I'd give it four stars out of five, and I'd recommend the Liberty Tree to everyone.


Next time:  Olivia's Cafe at the Old Key West resort.

Bongo's Cuban Cafe

My mother, my son Jared, and I got to Downtown Disney nearly an hour ahead of our reservation at Bongo's Cuban Cafe, and this was a good thing for two reasons.  First, because the Downtown Disney complex just doesn't have enough handicap-only parking spots, and we ended up having to walk a while just to get to the restaurant.

And second, because once we got to the restaurant, I realized that the video card in my camera had been stolen by my brother Aaron.  Again.  I won't go into it here, but let's just say that this wasn't the first time I found myself without a video card because of my younger brother.  We used up our extra hour tracking down a new one in a shop located at the far end of Downtown Disney, opposite the end at which Bongo's is located.

In any case, you're not here to listen to me whine about inter-sibling problems.  You're here to find out about the restaurants.  So let's get to it.

Bongo's Cuban Cafe

Bongo's Cuban Cafe is yet another independently operated "licensed third-party partner" with the Walt Disney Company.  In this case, the "partners" are "the Queen of Latin Pop", Gloria Estefan, and her husband Emilio, which gives the cafe chain a bit of celebrity cache.  Now, I've been to other celebrity-owned restaurants, and can tell you the quality varies quite a bit.  I was slightly worried going in, because some of these places rest on their celebrity laurels and coast when it comes to quality of food and so on.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As with the other independent restaurants, as Bongo's is operating on Disney property, and you can get reservations through Disney Dining Reservations, we're going to give it honorary "Disney restaurant" status for the purposes of the tour.

Bongo's is located in the middle of Downtown Disney's West Side, next to Wolf Gang Puck's Express West Side (to which we will be returning in a later entry) and across the street from the AMC Theaters Downtown Disney 24.  The easiest way to get there is to park in either Lot J or Lot K and walk into the complex between Splitsville (which is still under construction as I write this) and the AMC theater.

The restaurant is well lit and cheerfully decorated, but the interior struck me as being smaller than it looked from the outside.  The ground floor is dominated by a spiraling staircase leading to an upper floor which (from what I can tell) was not in use during lunch hours.

Jessica, the nice lady at the door.

While we were walking to our table, I made note of the interior of the place.  Given the presence of a gift shop, a fully stocked bar, a bandstand (empty, when we were there) and the already-mentioned staircase, the first-floor dining room was a lot smaller than it seemed to be from the outside.  The place was busy with people (nearly every table I could see had someone sitting at it), and the acoustics of the dining room, combined with the material (white marble as far as the eye could see) made the ambient noise in the room pretty loud.

The first floor dining room, as seen from our table.
Note the staircase on the left, and the bandstand to our immediate front, taking up space that in another restaurant would be filled by tables.

Unlike T-Rex, the background noise was made up of happy families cheerily talking to one another, or singing along with the Cubano music playing in the background, or just laughing and having fun.  Despite the fact that we all had to raise our voices to hear each other, we just didn't mind doing it.  There was a definite sense of "fun" going on in the joint from the moment we walked through the door.

Once seated at our table (also made of white marble, as Jared remarked upon), I took a minute to check out the rest of the room.  There were a lot of windows, and the lighting was almost completely natural, and gave the place the illusion of being a lot larger than it actually was.

Jared and me.  Note the big windows behind us.

Mom, studying the menu.
Again, check out the absolutely fantastic natural lighting.

The real treat, when it came to Bongo's decor, were between the windows.  Covering the walls between each of these magnificent windows were some absolutely fantastic mosaics made with a definite Florida/Caribbean feel to them.

Anyway, our waitress, a young lady named Kayleigh, stopped off, asked us to excuse her, and told us she'd be back in a moment to take our drink orders.  I kept an eye on her, because such things usually make me skeptical.  (Literally, the most common reason for a server to beg off immediately taking drink orders is incompetence, laziness, or both.)  In this case, I spotted quickly that Kayleigh was the only waitress in our section, and that our section included about eight different tables, none of which had less than three people.

Kayleigh, our waitress.
She earned her tips, believe me

Surprisingly, she was back in only a couple of minutes to take drink orders.  I considered a mojito, but decided against.  They don't have pre-sweetened iced tea at Bongo's, which is a mark against them in my book.  Sugar does not dissolve in cold water, so it is impossible to properly sweeten iced tea at your table.  I ended up getting a coke, as did both Mom and Jared.

In addition to the drinks, I also put in an order for the Black Bean Dip appetizer (with fried plantain chips), and Jared, who was ready to eat the table, decided he was ready, knew what he wanted, and put his dinner order in (he selected the Pollo a la Plancha (a grilled chicken breast) with french fries, as well as a cup of the Sopa de Pollo (chicken noodle soup).

By the time Kayleigh came back with the drinks, Mom and I were ready to order entrees.  Mom went with the Bistec de Palomilla (a tenderized steak seasoned with garlic and Mojo and topped with onions and parsley) and I ordered the Picadillo (criolla minced beef with onions, peppers, and olives, topped with a fried egg).  Both entrees came accompanied with white rice; Mom's was also accompanied by black beans and polenta cakes, while mine came with carmelized plantains.

Mom was disappointed that there was no liver and onions on the menu.  Higado a la Italiana (which means "liver Italian style"... and no, I don't know what makes it "Italian style" other than the fact that its served with bell peppers in addition to the onions) is one of the traditional dishes in classic Cuban cuisine, and the fact that its not on the menu was a bit of a let-down for my mother as its one of her favorite dishes. 

As the name reveals, Bongo's Cuban Cafe features Cuban food... or in some cases a good approximation of Americanized Cuban food.  For those unaware, Cuban food stems from classic Spanish cuisine, with a dash of African and Caribbean tossed into the mix.  Unlike a lot of other types of Latin cuisine, there's not a lot of heat here.  Rather than relying on peppers, the cuisine places emphasis on garlic, onions, herbs, and citrus juices (mainly lime juice).  As a result, a person can enjoy dishes that are flavorful and delicious without burning the heck out of their mouths in the process.

The Black Bean Dip Appetizer

The Black Bean Dip was served cold (which surprised me for a moment), but tasted good.  It's made of mashed black beans, with aioli, cilantro, tomotos, and sour cream, accompanied by fried plantain chips.  The beans themselves taste fresh, and the added notes of lime and garlic keep them from being the slightly blah taste that most refried-bean-style dishes tend to be.

The fried plantain chips were an excellent accompaniment, and came as a huge surprise to Jared, who previously had no experience with plantains at all.  He was doubtful about them at first, but after a few bites, he decided that "banana chips" were good eating.  And speaking of Jared, while were were munching on beans and plantain chips, Jared's lunch arrived.

Pollo a la Plancha
A seasoned, sauted chicken breast, with french fries.

Sopa de Pollo
Chicken noodle soup, with a difference.

The chicken breast, in Jared's own words, "had interesting spices on it"; he said that while it tasted different "from any chicken he's ever eaten", he also noted that it was "delicioso".  This is high praise from my son, who is notorious in our family for being the pickiest eater of them all.  The french fries were, also in his own words, "better than those at McDonald's"... the source of his favorite fries.  So apparently he has a new favorite.

The soup itself was a big surprise to me.  It was thicker than the standard chicken noodle soup, and had huge chunks of chicken floating in it.  In addition, it had big cuts of carrot and potato, and seemed more like a stew than a mere soup.  This, too, was declared "delicioso".  I tried a bit of it, and indeed the soup was pretty good.

Bistec de Palomilla
Not pictured:  the Black Bean Cup

Mom's steak, while not a first-class cut of meat, was almost fork-tender.  It had been seasoned with garlic and mojo, and was a perfect medium rare.  As Mom says, "this steak is delicious, that's what it is".  She was less-impressed with the polenta cakes, saying that they were "tough, chewy, and bland", and not to her liking at all.

She used her rice and black beans to make her own congri (Cuban black beans and rice, one of her favorite parts of Cuban cuisine), and was a bit disappointed that congri could not be found on the menu at all.

Picadillo

The picadillo was very tasty, especially once I cut the fried egg into very small pieces and mixed the runny goodness of the yolk in with the rest of the meat.  I swiftly cleaned the egg-and-meat mix out of the bowl and mixed it with the rice for full enjoyment.

My one complaint is that in addition to the beef, the onions and peppers and olives had also been minced... minced so well, in fact, that the cooks could have simply left them out of the mix and I'd have been none the wiser.  Seriously, it tastes good, but it had the consistency of sloppy joe meat, and as far as I am concerned, well-made Picadillo just isn't that... minced.  When I make it at home, in fact, I tend to use beef that's been small diced, not minced, and the veggies are also small diced.  This gives the dish a better mouth-feel in my opinion than finely dicing everything.  Its a minor fault, but a fault it is.

On the other hand, the carmelized plantains were perfect; honestly, they were the best part of my meal.

So... in summary, I can say that we all enjoyed our visit to Bongo's.  There were some small points of irritation (Mom's inability to order liver and onions, and the fact that she had to mix her own congri; Kayleigh being so much in a hurry that we sometimes had to ask three times before she managed to hear us ask for whatever we were asking for, the mouth-feel of the picadillo, and so on) that kept it from being a perfect meal, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The problems were all small, and the food was tasty.  The total bill came to $60 and change, and my part of it (Mom was paying for herself, I was covering Jared and myself) came to just over $37 (with tip, the final bill was $44).

I can and will recommend Bongo's Cuban Cafe to my friends and family wanting to go somewhere that didn't serve the same old stuff.  Let's call it four stars out of five.



Next up:  The 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

Schedule Update

As always, please note that these dates are subject to change, and when I get the chance I'll be adding stops on to the tour in between these predetermined stops.

The following dates are confirmed and reserved:

• 14 October 2012:  Bongo's Cuban Cafe, at Downtown Disney.
• 11 November 2012:  The Liberty Tree Tavern, in Liberty Square, at the Magic Kingdom.
• 16 December 2012:  Olivia's Cafe, at the Old Key West Resort.
• 13 January 2013:  Tony's Town Square Restaurant, in Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom.
• 17 February 2013:  Be Our Guest, in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.
• 9 March 2013:  Artist Point, at the Wilderness Lodge. 

The following dates are planned, but have yet to be set in stone and are absolutely not confirmed:

• April 2013:  Captain Jack's, at Downtown Disney.
• May 2013:  Maya Grill, at the Coronado Springs Resort.
• June 2013:  The Biergarten, at the Germany Pavillion, Epcot
• July 2013:  Tusker House, at Animal Kingdom.
• August 2013:  Restaurant Marrakesh, at the Morocco Pavillion, Epcot.
• September 2013:  1900 Park Fare (Breakfast), at the Grand Floridian Resort
• October 2013:  The Crystal Palace, in Main Street, at the Magic Kingdom.
• November 2013: Boatwright's Hall, at the Port Orleans Resort.
• December 2013:  Kouzzina by Cat Cora, at Disney's Boardwalk.

And that makes a year of planned restaurant stops.  More dates will be added as the opportunity arises.

Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant

And so it was that on a pleasant Friday afternoon, my brother Nathan and I embarked upon a trip to Downtown Disney, there to partake in some Irish hospitality.  This stop on the Walt Disney World Restaurant Tour is Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant.

Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant

Now, like a lot of the restaurants at Downtown Disney, Raglan Road  is technically not a Disney restaurant at all.  It is an independently owned and operated business legally considered a "licensed third-party partner" with the Walt Disney Company.  But as it is operating on Disney property, and you can get reservations through Disney Dining Reservations, we're going to give it honorary "Disney restaurant" status for the purposes of the tour.

Raglan Road is located near the eastern edge of Pleasure Island (the opposite end from where the huge Planet Hollywood globe is located), between the Apricot Lane Boutique on one side and Fuego by Sosa Cigars on the other.  You'll want to park in either Lot F or Lot G and hoof it to the curb.  You'll not be able to miss Raglan Road's sign as you cross the bridge onto Pleasure Island itself.

Like I said, you're not be able to miss the restaurant as you cross the bridge.

The day was nice and sunny and not yet stiflingly hot (that would come later) when we got to the restaurant.  We actually got there two hours ahead of our reservation, but there was absolutely no problem getting a table, as the early lunch hours had only just started.  We were seated by Samantha, who mentioned in passing that the Irish folk band (whose name I did not catch) that would be performing that evening was in the middle of a sound check.  Would we mind that?

No, we wouldn't mind that.  At least, we wouldn't mind that in theory.

Samantha, our seater.

The problem was, Samantha put us right in front of the amplifiers.  I mean, literally, I could reach over my shoulder and touch the speakers from our table without stretching or leaning.  Within seconds, Nathan and I were fed up with the Irish folk band and wanted them to die from some horrible tropical disease... the kind that has no cure and leaves one twisted in great pain.

The bar from our initial table

The main taproom from our initial table.
The gentleman in red continually rubbed his temples as the band did its sound check.  He was, if anything, closer to the speakers than Nathan and I were.

So after a moment's fevered consultation with Samantha, we got moved to another part of the restaurant.  A quieter part, near the end of the bar, in what was known as the Raglan Room.  We had a huge portrait of author/playwright George Bernard Shaw overlooking us as we ate.  Within moments after our move to a new table, a very pleasant young lady named Stephanie came by to drop off some menus and take our drink orders.  While we were waiting for those to come back, I took a moment to take a look around.

The menu.

Stephanie, our waitress.
I tell you, if all servers were like this one...

I've been to Ireland, and seen authentic Irish pubs, and I have to say I'm impressed.  One thing that Raglan Road advertises itself as is authentically Irish (the owners are Irish, the chef is Irish, and even the building, they say, was built in Ireland and moved to the US), as opposed to other so-called Irish pubs in America which say they are Irish, but never seem to pull it off.

This felt authentic, and it certainly looked authentic.  Other than being about three times the size of a real Irish pub, these guys got it right.  The Raglan Room has wooden chairs with armrests, oak panels on the wall with paintings of notable Irish personages everywhere, and a fireplace that made of heavy wood, inlaid tile, and wrought iron.  Nathan even noted that the glass in the partitions had to be close to 50 years old because they just don't make it like that anymore (Nathan is an artist who works in many media... he knows such things).

Stephanie returned to drop off a bread basket filled with a honey soda bread and a plate with olive oil and a Guiness reduction dipping sauce.  The bread, while not warm, was a delightfully chewy, multi-grain bread that had a slight honey taste.  The dipping sauce was different from anything I have had before.  It was sweet, with a light caramel flavor, and I immediately started cataloging half a dozen things I could use that on (I'm thinking of a glaze for a grilled leg of lamb...).  Stephanie helpfully let us know that the reduction was on sale by the bottle in their gift shop

Soda bread, and the Guinness reduction dipping sauce.

Stephanie asked us if we knew what we wanted to order, and we both had to confess that  we hadn't made much progress on that front.  There were a lot of choices, and it all looked so very good.  We decided to each have a bowl of the Soul Soup while we riddled out the rest of the menu and made our final decisions regarding what we were going to eat.

Soul Soup

Soul Soup is a cream-based cheese soup featuring Guiness Stout and Dubliner cheese.  It had an amazing, deep smoky flavor characteristic of Dubliner, plus some sweetness from the Guiness.  This combined well with a hint of cayenne.  To be honest, Nathan and I both could have simply had bowl after bowl of the soup, it was so delicious.

Stephanie let us alone to our thoughts, and eventually we decided:  since we literally could not make up our minds, we'd order two entrees together, and split them both.  In the end, we chose to get two more appetizers, the Dalkey Duo and the Mighty Mussels, and one entree, the Salmon of Knowledge.

The Dalkey Duo

The Dalkey Duo are cocktail sausages that have been battered and deep fried.  They come with a white mustard dipping sauce, but to be honest the remnants of the Soul Soup proved to be a better dip for the sausages than the mustard.  That is not to say the mustard, which was obviously made in house and did not come out of a jar, was bad... its just that the soup was so awesome anything else paled in comparison.

The sausages had a nice flavor, meaty with just a hint of spice kick to them, and they were served already perched on the end of forks.  The presentation of this appetizer just amused the heck out of me, because I had never actually thought of preforking an appetizer in any restaurant I've ever worked in.  It was clever and amusing and the sausages were great, so all in all this is a very successful menu item in my opinion.

The Mighty Mussels

There is literally nothing bad I can say about the Mighty Mussels.  They weren't rubbery (which is a sure sign of overcooking), and came right out of their shells easily.  The mussels themselves were tender and delicious.  The yellow curry sauce had infused the mussels just enough to add to the flavor without being overpowering.  I was a bit surprised to find that there wasn't any heat to the curry at all, but after a while I'd forgotten about that as I was caught up in the joys of shellfish.

Nathan, in particular, pointed out one very important aspect about these mussels:  there was no grit.  We both are fans of well-done mussels, but we have to admit that we have often ordered mussels only to find that they are nearly inedible because of the amount of sand particles left in them.  These mussels had been cleaned carefully before cooking.

One last thing:  the garnish on the mussels was made of parsley and some crustinis.  We didn't even glance at the garnish; rather, we just shoved it to the side to get to the shellfish.  It seems a bit much for the dish, and was unnecessary.

The Salmon of Knowledge.

The Salmon of Knowledge is maple-glazed Alaskan salmon, served with mashed potatoes, some julienned cabbage, mushrooms, and a sweet creme-fraiche sauce.  It was quickly discovered that this piece of fish was so tender that it fell apart at the touch of our forks and chewing was strictly optional.  It was moist and delicious, and the flavor of the salmon matched well with the taste of the sauce and potatoes.

I should mention that the skin was charred.  At first we thought that the skin on the fish had been blackened, as with some Cajun dishes.  But no... it was charred.  Nathan and I honestly thought we found the first little flaw in Raglan Road's food, but after a while we realized that this had been done intentionally so as to protect the meat of the fish from overcooking.  The flesh of the salmon fell away from the skin easily, and we pushed it aside in our quest to get to the rest of the salmony deliciousness.

Once again, it was the garnish choices that came across as badly thought out with this dish as they had with the mussels.  In this case, the garnish was a spray of parsley and a pair of grape tomatoes.  Uncooked grape tomatoes.  Grape tomatoes that were overwarmed by their presence on the hot plate, and thus were inedible and bad-tasting.

Yes, I eat my garnishes... don't you?

After the meal, Nathan and I sat for a moment, contemplating dessert... but we were both too full to even consider them.  Besides, we were heading for the Magic Kingdom, and there were orange swirls to be had.  Instead, we let our meals settle and talked about our dining experience.

The portions were a great value for their reasonable size and we were very pleased that we could get resat so easily when it was discovered how horrible our original table was.  The prices were pretty reasonable (the entire meal came to $65, including tip), given that we ordered a lot of food.  And Stephanie was the kind of server who was always on the ball with drinks, gave helpful hints, and didn't mind just having a quick chat about the place.

Would I recommend Raglan Road?  You better damned believe I will.  And I'm already planning my next trip out there.  This time, I'm taking Mom, who does love her Irish food.

Five stars out of five.  Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant has shoved the San Angel Inn out of the #2 spot on my list of the best Disney restaurants, just behind the Grand Floridian Cafe which still sits at #1.

Next up:  The long-awaited and much advertised trip to Fulton's Crab House, at Downtown Disney.