IMBE's Dining Report 1 (Liberty Tree Tavern, Concourse Steakhouse, Kona Cafe, CA Grill)
IMBE
these in a separate "Dining Report" here, and I'll break that up even further
into days, just so I can get it posted faster.
Day 1 - Liberty Tree Tavern - Lunch
I liked the lunch here last year, so made sure to include it this year too ..
and it's gotten even better imho!! It wasn't too crowded at all, so I'm
thinking it's rather "undiscovered" for lunch. Lunch here is NOT a character
meal - it's alacarte, and excellent!!
I had the Buttermilk Fried Shrimp. NOT your run-of-the-mill fried shrimp here!
It's got a yummy, nicely seasoned batter on it - 6 LARGE shrimp, served on the
best Vt Cheddar Grits, with mixed field greens and a bacon pieces -
OUTSTANDING! Easily one of the BEST dishes I had the entire trip, no kidding!
I liked it so much that I could have had two of them, even though I was full!
LOL
Dave had the burger, which he enjoyed - nice looking burger too, not the usual
dried up variety. Evan had the grilled cheese kid's meal, and Alec had a
crabcake. I didn't taste it, but he liked it a lot, and Dave tasted it and
said for an "out of state" crabcake (I'm from MD and crabcakes are our
specialty! LOL) it was pretty good. The service here is quite nice too, and
it's just an all around very nice respite from a horrendously hot July
afternoon, to go sit in a cool, calm place for a sit down lunch!
Day 1 - Concourse Steakhouse - Dinner
This is the first time in a LONG time I've had dinner here. The past few
trips, it's been lunch, after watersports at the Contemporary.
Well .. I was somewhat disappointed with dinner. First of all, the service
wasn't terrific - not bad, but not great either. The restaurant wasn't packed
by any means, yet it seemed everything was very slow coming. For starters, I
had a Caeser salad that was just "ok". Dave had the French Onion soup, and the
boys had crabcakes. Theirs were all fine to them. For dinner, everyone had
the special of the night - a "Cowboy Ribeye" with Mashed Potatoes. Now the
mashed were great - the parmesan type from Chef Mickey's! LOL The steak wasn't
of a bad quality, it just had virtually NO seasonings on it. Dave & I skipped
dessert, and brought the kids back their Rice Krispie treat & brownie. I don't
think I'll be rushing back for dinner any time soon, and will stick with lunch
here.
Kona Cafe - Lunch
This place was a real winner once again for me! Having tried it last year, and
really liking it, I made it my 'birthday lunch' this time around, and wasn't
sorry!
I had the sticky wings for an appetizer, and ate just about all of them -
that's a 'big deal' for me because I rarely finish ANY dish! LOL But these are
just the right combination of sweet & spicy, made better by the sesame seeds
sprinkled on them. For those who aren't sure of this item, I'M not even a real
big wings eater normally, but I make an exception for the Kona Cafe's!
Dave had their crabcake appetizer, which I tasted, and that was good too ..
though I liked mine better. For my entree, I had the Beef Salad, which is
wonderful and light, despite the flank steak in it. It's marinated in a
teriyaki type sauce, with field greens and a ginger based dressing, tossed with
cheese sticks, and is just yummy! Alec had this also, and Evan had a grilled
cheese, Dave a burger! LOL (are you seeing a theme here to their eating??)
Even though I was STUFFED .. I 'managed' <g> to make room for dessert. When
you first enter the restaurant, and see the BIG chocolate and white chocolate
sculptures .. and we were seated right in front of them practically .. well ..
how could one NOT get dessert? LOL I'm not sure I made the best choice there
though - I had the tangerine creme brulee .. and it wasn't bad, but not what I
thought it would be ~ it needed more carmelizing on top, and the tangerine
flavor wasn't noticable enough for me. Dave actually had the kids dessert,
which was a sundae in an ice cream cone! LOL All in all, a terrific meal, and
if you want a nice, cool, relaxing lunch out of the parks one day, by all means
.. try this place!
California Grill - Dinner
Well, my personal favorite didn't disappoint .. once again!! Despite some
reports I have read here & there, about other's dissatisfaction with, or
dislike of, the Grill, I have never had a bad meal, or bad service here.
I started with the Yoshi's Sushi sampler, which I shared with Alec (the child
has weird food tastes - he adores sushi, but hates gravy of ANY type! LOL go
figure!)
It was fantastic as it has been before!! It's also so nicely presented, you
almost feel bad disturbing it! LOL Dave & Evan skipped the appetizers, as they
were down in the gameroom playing while we ate this part of the meal. For
dinner, I saw several things I wanted .. but just couldn't decide .. so I fell
back on an old favorite - the Pork Tenderloin - always scrumptious, as it was
that night! It's so tender and well prepared, you barely have to use the fork
to cut it, forget a knife! Alec had the Duck, which I had some of also, and
gave him some pork, and that was delicious too - I would definitely order this
on a future visit. Dave had HIS usual - the Filet! and it too lived up to
former high standards. Evan had chicken tenders from the kids menu, and he ate
them all. Even though I ended up getting a birthday cake from the waiter, I'd
ordered a chocolate raspberry souffle, and ate that also! LOL Mmmmmmm!!!!! I
do still like the lemon or lemon/blueberry one a bit better, but I favor fruit
desserts over chocolate. I had several excellent glasses of wine too, mostly
Cabernets .. and that tremendous by the glass wine list is one of my favorite
features of the Grill! <g>
I'll wrap up this part of the report here, and continue on shortly with more.
Judi