- Joined
- Aug 7, 2000
This was a trip where I went against everything I stand for. 
I left home with not 1 PS. 
Despite no PSs, I ate very well and was able to get in at the places I wanted, when I wanted. I also tried a few new places which is another crazy thing for me. 
To top it off, this was a solo trip, so for some meals it was just me or I was with different people at different times.
ESPN- After checking in at the Swan, a friend and I took a walk to the BW hoping to grab lunch at Spoodles. It was then we realized they arent open for lunch. We walked a little further down the BW to ESPN and were able to sit at the bar. It was about 2:00pm and the bar area was fairly empty. From what I could see the restaurant wasnt too crowded either. We ordered a plate of nachos and a Rueben Sandwich that came with fries. The sandwich was good, but not great Im told. The nachos at ESPN are usually some of my favorites and they did not disappoint. They came loaded with cheese and seasoned beef. Theres also pico de gallo and sour cream on them. This is all topped with Jalepenos. In the past I have gotten the sour cream and pico de gallo on the side and now I remembered why. It all sort of melted together. So, once again I loved the nachos, but will remember to get the extras on the side next time. As always, I enjoyed it here. Its a nice place to stop for a quick bite.
PALIO- This is a nice Italian restaurant located in the Swan. I had wanted to try it for a while now and finally got my chance. We called that afternoon and had no trouble making a PS for 7:00. In fact when we arrived a little early, there seemed to be plenty of empty tables.
The waitress was very friendly and talkative to us. She served us our drinks and brought out bread to start...OMG! There were 2 different kinds, foccacia and, I believe the waitress called the other one country style. It was more of a plain bread. There was a long piece of each, sliced into about 6 pieces. These surrounded a huge roasted garlic cut open and a bowl of oil for dipping. If you like garlic, this is heaven.
We then split a Caesar Salad and a cheese pizza. The pizza was delicious, but I was getting worried I would have no room left for my meal. The Caesar salad threw me for a loop though. I dont like fish and it sort of grosses me out. When they brought out the salad (split into 2 plates, as was the pizza) there was an anchovy on it.
Being like I am, that was all I needed and the whole salad tasted fishy to me. I was able to get down a few bites, but wouldnt order that again. However my friend who doesnt have fish issues liked it.
Then came the entrees. I had a Veal Marsala dish. It came covered in mushrooms (easy to push aside, which I did) and with gnocchi to the side. The veal was very good and the sauce had a great flavor to it. The gnocchi was good too. I was very happy with this meal. My friend had a tortellini dish with lobster in a cream based sauce. He thought it was very good, and noted there was a lot of lobster in it.
We were obviously too full for dessert so we stopped there. We really enjoyed this meal a lot. I was glad I got to try it and I would probably go back again sometime.
GARDEN GROVE- This was another new restaurant for me. Its a sit down restaurant in the Swan, however since I was alone for lunch this day, I just got take out. The hostess who took my order was very helpful. I wasnt sure if I could do take out there, but she said no problem. The fried ravioli appetizer looked very good so I ordered that. The hostess warned me that it was very small and only about 4 raviolis, but I figured that was ok.
It didnt take too long to get the food and I took it out to the tables by the pool bar to enjoy the Florida sunshine. When I opened the box, I realized the hostess wasnt kidding, LOL! There were actually 5 raviolis, but they were very small ones. I realize this is an appetizer, so it was probably the perfect size for that, but I could have eaten probably 2 orders. And I did feel $8.00 was a bit much for it too. But the good news is they were absolutely delicious. They were lightly toasted and covered with a tasty marinara sauce, a little pesto & some cheese shavings. Im a big pasta fan, so these were really my speed. Very yummy!
BOMA (Breakfast)- This was another meal I have heard great reviews about and I really wanted to try. Luckily I had some time to kill before heading to the airport so this was my perfect opportunity to venture over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a leisurely breakfast. We arrived at about 10:30 am and put our name in. We were handed a beeper and barely walked away from the podium before it went off. We thought it was a mistake, but were taken right to a table. We got lucky because the restaurant did seem pretty full.
Our waiter promptly visited us, took our drink order and told us to help ourselves to the food. He also pointed out that there are different sections and not just 1 line for the buffet.
All I can say is the reviews I had heard were all right. There was a great variety at this buffet and almost everything was very good. Im almost embarrassed to mention everything I tried, but over the course of a few trips to the buffet I sampled quite a bit. Things that stood out as very good were the banana bread(moist & flavorful), chocolate chip muffin, potatoes (they had a bit of a kick to them), pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage(these were a bit tough to cut, but very tasty). The breakfast pizza was just ok (I prefer Chef Mickeys) as was the French toast with raisins. I wouldnt say those were bad, just not my favorite things. I think the only bad thing we can say about this meal was the omlettes took forever. I was already on my second plate of food by the time my friend made it back from getting his omlette, LOL! But, he thought the omlette was worth it. There were also some more exotic breakfast foods, but I didnt try those.
We left here very full. I did not eat again until about 8:00pm and I wasnt the least bit hungry all day. So if it isnt obvious, I really enjoyed this meal too. I will definitely try to make it back to Boma again.
I left home with not 1 PS. Despite no PSs, I ate very well and was able to get in at the places I wanted, when I wanted. I also tried a few new places which is another crazy thing for me. To top it off, this was a solo trip, so for some meals it was just me or I was with different people at different times. ESPN- After checking in at the Swan, a friend and I took a walk to the BW hoping to grab lunch at Spoodles. It was then we realized they arent open for lunch. We walked a little further down the BW to ESPN and were able to sit at the bar. It was about 2:00pm and the bar area was fairly empty. From what I could see the restaurant wasnt too crowded either. We ordered a plate of nachos and a Rueben Sandwich that came with fries. The sandwich was good, but not great Im told. The nachos at ESPN are usually some of my favorites and they did not disappoint. They came loaded with cheese and seasoned beef. Theres also pico de gallo and sour cream on them. This is all topped with Jalepenos. In the past I have gotten the sour cream and pico de gallo on the side and now I remembered why. It all sort of melted together. So, once again I loved the nachos, but will remember to get the extras on the side next time. As always, I enjoyed it here. Its a nice place to stop for a quick bite.
PALIO- This is a nice Italian restaurant located in the Swan. I had wanted to try it for a while now and finally got my chance. We called that afternoon and had no trouble making a PS for 7:00. In fact when we arrived a little early, there seemed to be plenty of empty tables.
The waitress was very friendly and talkative to us. She served us our drinks and brought out bread to start...OMG! There were 2 different kinds, foccacia and, I believe the waitress called the other one country style. It was more of a plain bread. There was a long piece of each, sliced into about 6 pieces. These surrounded a huge roasted garlic cut open and a bowl of oil for dipping. If you like garlic, this is heaven.
We then split a Caesar Salad and a cheese pizza. The pizza was delicious, but I was getting worried I would have no room left for my meal. The Caesar salad threw me for a loop though. I dont like fish and it sort of grosses me out. When they brought out the salad (split into 2 plates, as was the pizza) there was an anchovy on it.
Being like I am, that was all I needed and the whole salad tasted fishy to me. I was able to get down a few bites, but wouldnt order that again. However my friend who doesnt have fish issues liked it. Then came the entrees. I had a Veal Marsala dish. It came covered in mushrooms (easy to push aside, which I did) and with gnocchi to the side. The veal was very good and the sauce had a great flavor to it. The gnocchi was good too. I was very happy with this meal. My friend had a tortellini dish with lobster in a cream based sauce. He thought it was very good, and noted there was a lot of lobster in it.
We were obviously too full for dessert so we stopped there. We really enjoyed this meal a lot. I was glad I got to try it and I would probably go back again sometime.
GARDEN GROVE- This was another new restaurant for me. Its a sit down restaurant in the Swan, however since I was alone for lunch this day, I just got take out. The hostess who took my order was very helpful. I wasnt sure if I could do take out there, but she said no problem. The fried ravioli appetizer looked very good so I ordered that. The hostess warned me that it was very small and only about 4 raviolis, but I figured that was ok.
It didnt take too long to get the food and I took it out to the tables by the pool bar to enjoy the Florida sunshine. When I opened the box, I realized the hostess wasnt kidding, LOL! There were actually 5 raviolis, but they were very small ones. I realize this is an appetizer, so it was probably the perfect size for that, but I could have eaten probably 2 orders. And I did feel $8.00 was a bit much for it too. But the good news is they were absolutely delicious. They were lightly toasted and covered with a tasty marinara sauce, a little pesto & some cheese shavings. Im a big pasta fan, so these were really my speed. Very yummy!
BOMA (Breakfast)- This was another meal I have heard great reviews about and I really wanted to try. Luckily I had some time to kill before heading to the airport so this was my perfect opportunity to venture over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a leisurely breakfast. We arrived at about 10:30 am and put our name in. We were handed a beeper and barely walked away from the podium before it went off. We thought it was a mistake, but were taken right to a table. We got lucky because the restaurant did seem pretty full.
Our waiter promptly visited us, took our drink order and told us to help ourselves to the food. He also pointed out that there are different sections and not just 1 line for the buffet.
All I can say is the reviews I had heard were all right. There was a great variety at this buffet and almost everything was very good. Im almost embarrassed to mention everything I tried, but over the course of a few trips to the buffet I sampled quite a bit. Things that stood out as very good were the banana bread(moist & flavorful), chocolate chip muffin, potatoes (they had a bit of a kick to them), pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage(these were a bit tough to cut, but very tasty). The breakfast pizza was just ok (I prefer Chef Mickeys) as was the French toast with raisins. I wouldnt say those were bad, just not my favorite things. I think the only bad thing we can say about this meal was the omlettes took forever. I was already on my second plate of food by the time my friend made it back from getting his omlette, LOL! But, he thought the omlette was worth it. There were also some more exotic breakfast foods, but I didnt try those.
We left here very full. I did not eat again until about 8:00pm and I wasnt the least bit hungry all day. So if it isnt obvious, I really enjoyed this meal too. I will definitely try to make it back to Boma again.
