And now the Pans...

     There are many excellent food venues within the Disney complex in Florida.  But there are also some to avoid.  On my first evening there I had dinner reservations at an Irish themed restaurant, Raglan Road, over at Downtown Disney.  Even though I have to admit that I have never had a good meal in an Irish restaurant/pub, I thought that I should at least see what spin Disney put on that cuisine.  They say that first impressions are lasting, and mine was not a positive one.  The place was loud and crowded, two things I do not like when I dine out.  We were shown a small cramped table up against the far wall.  I guess that was due to our request to find a quieter space.  That theory didn't work well.  It took too long in my estimation for the server to arrive at our table to acknowledge our presence. That was probably because she had too many patrons to accommodate.  When I finally did get the menu I decided to order something authentic, like fish and chips.  That proved to be a bad move as well.  The high volume kitchen was using decidedly old oil in which to fry the fish and when it finally arrived at my table it was a sodden and soggy mass of fish mush accompanied by chips (fries to us in America) that were barely lukewarm.  Perhaps the good news was that since the portions were impressively small there was little to leave on the plate after deciding not to waste my time eating them.

     On another evening I was excited to try a different cuisine at a high end maritime restaurant, Narcoosee's.  Upon examining the menu I knew right away that it was high end when I saw the prices listed for the entrees!  Wow!  I didn't expect to be shelling out (no pun intended) $42 for grouper.  And when I saw the size of my portion I was even more dismayed.  Big plate, small meal.  It was barely larger than what I would anticipate for an appetizer.  Oh, the appetizers included shrimp and grits for $18.  And if I wanted "enhancements"with my fish I would have to pony up an additional $9 for mashed potatoes and an incredible $18 for lobster mac & cheese.

     

     It wasn't a large restaurant, seating only about 170 people, and shaped in a semi-circle in two tiers with windows looking out over one of Disney's lakes on the property within the Magic Kingdom.  That should have been a red flag.  Magic Kingdom=kids...lots of kids.  If there was any dinner music playing I wasn't able to hear it over the shouts and cries of all the infants and toddlers all over the place.  When the manager came over to inquire how I was enjoying my dining experience, I replied that it was like eating in Romper Room!



     But the absolute worst culinary misadventure occurred at the French pavilion in EPCOT.  Those wishing to dine a la Parisienne know to make reservations at the chic second floor Monsieur Paul restaurant.  But after climbing the stairs and affirming both our reservation and our dining discount plan we were escorted to a table so very close to another on each side.  So close in fact that I could have counted the grains of salt in the shakers on those tables.  The servers were snooty and condescending when we asked to confirm our Disney dining discount that had been accepted at every other food venue all week long.  They informed us it was not accepted in their restaurant.  It was at that point that I decided I wasn't interested in their Ballotine de poulet (chicken) for $39 or their Pot-au-Feu St. Jacques for $42.  Disillusioned by the pricing and the attitude, I walked out!

     The night wasn't a total loss, however.  Not far away a brand new restaurant was celebrating their opening night.  Trattoria al forno was more than happy to see us and equally glad to honor our "Tables of Wonderland" meal discount.  We had an interesting meal that began with a prosciutto & shaved fingerling potato pizza for two and then a whole roasted fish filleted at the table by our waiter.  No less than 3 managers stopped by the table to insure that we were pleased.  And we were.