Honey they shrunk Cooke's menu & other observations from a Nov. 17 trip update 1/9 The End

Day 3 11/12 MK and Lunch at Crew's Cup.

We got up early and headed down to the foodcourt for our breakfast. Our foodcourt plan is DH fills up the mugs & gets a table while I go get the food. Today was the usual, waffle, cereal, OJ and now ham as the breakfast meat.Great thing about POFQ is how compact it is so heading back to the room to drop off the mugs etc. isn't a big deal.
Today we were off to the Magic Kingdom .
We got into the park before 8:30 & got a lot done in the morning. It was a MVMCP night that and it was the next to last day at F & W so that may have helped keep the crowd down . Here are a few pictures from our morning.20171112_090300.jpg 20171112_095504.jpg
After we did our thing in MK it was lunch time . We decided to take the bus to YC since according to MDE YSH was serving the lunch menu from the Capt. Grille while it was being remade to Ale & Compass .
Surprise surprise MDE was wrong. YSH wasn't open for lunch but Crew's Cup next door was serving . Here is the menu20171112_125135.jpg
This worked so we decided to split the Lobster Roll and French Dip20171112_121734.jpg 20171112_121721.jpg We got the mustard horseradish on the side as DH didn't want it but I did. The beef was tender with little fat. It was served on a roll with sone onion flavor. The lobster roll had a generous amount of lobster, with only a little celery & mayo mixed in .We did discard the bizzare lettuce leaf. The lobster was very good and not at all chewy. The split top roll was nicely toasted with a slight butter flavor. The two guys working the lounge were very attentive . They gave us a bowl of trail mix while we were waiting for our lunch. Word of warning there are some spicy items in that mix . As for beverages today's beer was a Yeungling. Looking back to keep with the New England theme I should ordered a Sam Adams . We had only been here before to have a pre dinner drink before going to YSH but will now keep it as a possibility for lunch. After we finished we taxied back to POFQ for today's pool time.
 
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Day 3 11/13 Polite Pig Dinner

After chilling by the pool we headed to DS for dinner. And tonite we decided to try a new restaurant Polite Pig. I had been following reviews and the change of the menu on the DIS and other sites since they opened. About a month before leaving I saw a report on a WDW food Facebook group showing the updated menu and more importantly a picture of the ribs. This looks like a go DH said after I showed him the pictures.
We order the ribs , a full rack of baby backs with their rub , it comes with with cole slaw, cornbread and 1 side. Since we weren't sure if we about the size of the cold slaw and side we also ordered a salad. For our side we went with the Mac & cheese 20171112_180624.jpgAgain the beer of choice was a Yeungling, you can take the girl out of the Delaware Valley but ... For those you not familiar with the Delaware Valley it refers to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas in PA, NJ and DE.
The ribs we got were outstanding with a good amount of meat which was tender with just a bit of sauce over the dry rub. The mac and cheese had a nice cheese sauce that wasn't a soupy blob ( pet peeve ) & the shells were tender.The cole slaw was shredded not diced and had a vinegar flavor with just a bit of mayo. I liked it very much There were stations to get extra sauce including vinegar which I like to drizzle on my ribs.The salad was a huge but dry salad dressing wise ( & we aren't people that like a lot of dressing). IMO it was a salad built for the add-ons, pork , chicken , etc. If we had it to do over we just would have ordered a extra side or 2.
After we finished we went to the Marketplace to go to a few shops. Now it was time for dessert &
we got an ice cream from Ghiradelli's to share, Cookies n Cream with Hot Milk Chocolate Fudge Sauce.
We then got the boat back . Scat Cat's has performers Saturday to Tuesday. Recently it has been 2 members from Off Kilter , Jason & Billy. We sat for first set before heading back to the room.
Up next the Disney's Park of Construction aka DHS.
 
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Hi Nancy! So glad to see you are doing a dining report! Enjoying everything so far. Can't wait for more!
 
11/13 Lunch at Mama Melrose

For breakfast today we decided sugar was in order and got beignets. Never having been to New Orleans I can't comment if these are authentic but I do enjoy them. DH ate his plain but I got the rasberry sauce for dipping. Major accomplishment we were able to eat them without getting
covered in powdered sugar.
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Trying to keep a little bit of healthy eating I got a yogurt parfait. Vanilla yogurt with granola & blueberries. It was ok. POFQ used to have a create your own which was way better but it went away in the renovations:sad2: .
We were then off to the DHS.
20171113_123822.jpg I am a more of a Star Trek than a Star Wars person but looking forward to seeing what this will look like once they are done.
We didn't go into the new pub but the area was well done. Nice to have spot to relax, snack & get a beverage. Looks like they gave it some thought and didn't slap it together.
Lunch today was Mama Melrose. We have had so-so dinner experiences here but lunch has always been good.
We started with the Caesar salad along with the rolls with olive oil dip.
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DH was happy he loves theses rolls. The salad was the normal Caesar ,lettuce was fresh and the was a good amount of shredded Parmesan cheese.
DH was pleased the Pomegranate Lemonade is on the menu . He really likes it.
Somewhere on the table is my beer.
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The main course was the Carne d'Italia flatbread pizza. It has sausage, pepperoni and pancetta with a spicy marinara. They are now in the appeitzer section of the menu and have shrunk in size. They used to be the size of a Wolfgang Puck Express pizza. That at least allowed us to eat another roll. ;)
That being said it was very good. It was crisp, the spicy marinara had a bite but didn't overwhelm the taste. There was an equal amount of the meats. The sausage was medium in flavor and the pepperoni was thicker then the usual you get on a pizza.
Since the pie was on the smaller side this called for dessert
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Cannolis :thumbsup2. Nice crunchy shells who's ends were dipped in chocolate. The filling was nice and light.
A comment about the service. We had a wonderful waitress Joanne who we think we had a few years ago. She didn't rush us through the meal ( big pet peeve of mine at WDW), brought the salad out first ( last year waiter brought it out with the pizza despite my saying we wanted it to start) & was great at checking to see if we needed anything. She ranks as tied for #2 on this trip ( other # 2 & # 1 still to come).
Afterwards we went to some shops and headed back for :beach: pool time.
 
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Hi Nancy! So glad to see you are doing a dining report! Enjoying everything so far. Can't wait for more!
Kari glad to have you join the trip! Hope you are enjoying the snowy day here in the Mid-Atlantic .
 
How did you know we enjoyed a snow day yesterday :-)

Love your beignet yesterday. Having been to New Orleans and POFQ I can attest they are pretty dang good!

Shrunken in size or not, your pizza does look mighty good.
 
Day 4 11/13 Homecomin' Dinner

Tonight we went to another new restaurant Art Smith's Homecomin'
We weren't in mood for starters so we straight to the entrees20171113_182748.jpg 20171113_182805.jpg
DH got the Shrimp n Grits . Shrimp in a tomato gravy with Tasso Ham. There were about 6 large shrimp with chunks of ham. The grits were creamy but did not have as much liquid as the grits at Boatwright's.The shrimp was very good and we preferred the tomato gravy over the creamy gravy in Boatwright's version. No idea which is the more authentic but we would order this again. We agreed that the larger shrimp were better than the smaller one from Boatwright's ( yes it was his entree but I did get in some bites).
My entree was the Fried Chicken with Donuts & Mashed Potatoes. I loved the batter on the chicken. . The thigh pice was tender and moist. Parts of the breast were a little dry, but neither was greasy. Enjoyed it more than the chicken at 50s PTC.. It came with a maple syrup to drizzle but the donuts by themselves were sweet enough for me.
The only disappointment were the mash potatoes. I liked the flavor and texture but they were lukewarm. The beverage tonight was Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, One of my favorites . If you are ever near Santa Rosa checkout their location off the 101.
The Moonshine looked good but we had an early A.M. so wine it was.
With donuts and the canolies at lunch we passed on dessert tonite.
After some shopping it was off to POFQ. It was a beautiful night so we got drinks at Mardi Grog and relaxed.
 
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How did you know we enjoyed a snow day yesterday :-)

Love your beignet yesterday. Having been to New Orleans and POFQ I can attest they are pretty dang good!

Shrunken in size or not, your pizza does look mighty good.
I think I read something about snow in a WCC review.;)
The Mama Melrose pizza was really good. Our best experience at this restaurant
 
20171130_205943.jpg Day 5 11/14 Breakfast with Pooh & WPE Lunch

Today was our one non foodcourt breakfast, The Crystal Palace. This has been our one ADR on every trip . Sadly I was a bad foodblogger and didn't get any food photos. Our ADR was at 8:30am but we got in about 20 minutes early.
I got a made to order omelet ( ham, swiss cheese peppers& onions). There was the usual bacon & sausage but I got the smoked sausage with onions which very good. In addition to the cheese potato casserole dish there was a roasted potato with onion with some garlic dish that was wonderful. And of course the breakfast pizza. Usually I try the frittata but for someone from the Philly suburbs ( parents spent their teens & early 20s in South Philadelphia & DH who grew in the city) , a cheesesteak fritta is a no-no.
There was the usual breakfast breads, smoked salmon , pancakes , waffles ( along with strawberry sauce if you didn't want syrup). The fruit selection was very fresh this visit. I had the strawberries and pineapple with some yogurt. I dislike bananas so no breakfast lasagne for me.

We had a great waitress, Isa who keep our juice and ice tea filled.
After we did CP it was off to do some MK
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We had another day of low crowds in the morning. This was another day with MVMCP . 20171114_093930.jpg
After we got done in the MK it was lunch time so we headed back to POFQ and boated to DS. ( miss the all day DS bus they had it back on our 1st few trips).
Since we had Yatchman's tonight we didn't want a big lunch so WPE it was . We split a Margharita Pizza20171114_113316.jpg
Actually it is more like a cheese pizza with some crushed tomatoes but it was good . Which is all that matters.
Afterwards is was back to POFQ to chill before dinner
 
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Glad to hear you all enjoyed Homecomin'. I had the same entree as you on our trip and enjoyed it very much. The shrimp and grits sound good too, though I don't think I've ever seen them made with a tomato based sauce. I make them every once in a while, but do the classic version with bacon, garlic, and lemon.

We haven't done CP in several years. I recall the food being good, but the two times we ate here we had to wait forever to be seated. I'm sure we'll be back at some point as Jason loves a good breakfast.

Can't wait to hear how Yacthsman was for you all.
 
Glad to hear you all enjoyed Homecomin'. I had the same entree as you on our trip and enjoyed it very much. The shrimp and grits sound good too, though I don't think I've ever seen them made with a tomato based sauce. I make them every once in a while, but do the classic version with bacon, garlic, and lemon.

We haven't done CP in several years. I recall the food being good, but the two times we ate here we had to wait forever to be seated. I'm sure we'll be back at some point as Jason loves a good breakfast.

Can't wait to hear how Yacthsman was for you all.
We liked Homecomin' so much that a later in the trip a review will include a lunch visit. We ate at another restaurant on a vacation ( forget where) & DH had a choice of traditional or a tomato/barbecue version. He went with the traditional that time. He did like the Homecomin' version as much as the traditional we have had elsewhere.
I always try to get the earliest ADR I can for CP ( 1st one I make) Usually I can get it in the 1st hour. Then I try checking in 20 plus minutes early so our wait isn't bad. DH has always gotten up early for work so doing it for Disney is ok.
Yatchman's will be up in the next day or so. Recovering from hosting a family Christmas party yesterday.
 
11/14 Day 5 Yatchman's Steakhouse part 1

After chilling by the pool after lunch we got ready for the big dinner of the trip Yatchman's Steakhouse. We caught a taxi to head over to YC. We had sometime before the meal and walked around to see the changes at YC ( the Ale &Compass lounge and restaurant were not done but we checked out the new QS).
YC/BC (or Broadwalk if it didn't have the Clown thing at the pool) are the Deluxe resorts we may someday book .
We stopped by the Ale & Compass for a pre dinner beer ( sorry just another Yeungling)
We checked in to YSH and were seated about 5 minutes later. We have had great servers here. The best was Oscar who we had 5 & 3 years ago and 2nd was Susan who we had the last 2 years. As we were seated we saw both working the restaurant with other servers. DH said hope we get one of them. We got Oscar :cheer2:.
To start I got a glass of Chardonnay, forget which one & of course they brought out the bread.
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I love the onion rolls and the salted butter. DH ate the regular ones ( he thinks they were sourdough) I should have tried part of one but the pull of the onion is too strong.
For our starters we had the Lobster Bisque & Caesar Salad
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We each had some of both. The bisque had a few pieces of lobster ( not all do) & a great taste with a hint of lemon. I like that the Caesar is parts of the heart rather than chopped up. Too bad you can't ordered it grilled. There is piece of some sort of ham in there .Fortunately DH doesn't care for it , so all mine !
We really enjoy the pace of the meal here, don't feel like we are being rushed or waiting forever.
Coming up next the mains and do we get dessert.
 
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Day 5 YSH Dinner part 2

Now time for the main course. I got the 6oz. Filet and subistuted the Potato Gratin in place of the Mashed Potato.
I am not a fan usually of sauces with my steaks but I do enjoy the one Yatchman's uses on their filet. The steak was cooked to order and was very tender. The potatoes cheese was nicely melted without being stringy.
DH got the Prime Rib and instead of the Sweet Potato Casserole got Mashed Potatoes. It comes with Horseradish Sauce and Fried Onions. It also was cooked perfectly.
I got a few bites of DH's entree and the only thing I would change is get regular horseradish ( if they have it) rather than the sauce. He doesn't eat either so the sauce isn't a negative for him.

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For a second glass of wine I got the MacMurray Pinot Noir. A "Disney Family" since Fred MacMurray stared in a bunch of Disney movies. To me he will always be the Dad on My Three Sons. To show my age I remember when the 1st son married and left ( Mike I think) then next season Ernie was adopted.
It is actually a pretty good wine and one I get when doing a red at WDW if it is onthe restaurant wine list. I have also bought it at home.
Now it was dessert time. The one dessert I have a hard time saying no to is Creme Brule and Yatchman's does a really good one .
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It had a good caramelized crust on top which still had some warmth as did the top layer of custard. It was just a very good light dessert to top off the meal. I ate the berries and gave DH the chocolate thing on top. He is not a big dessert person except for ice cream, chocolate chip cookies and brownies.
A word about Oscar, simply he is great . He just seems to read every table's needs & what sort of dining experience it wants.
After we finished it was taxi back to POFQ, a stop at Scat Cats for a beer and some music.
With the Christmas in a few days here are some photos taken a day later after POFQ had decorated 20171116_142826.jpg 20171116_193708.jpg

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.
 
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Yachtsman looks great, I just added it for our upcoming trip, thanks!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. It has been a regular ADR on our last 7 trips. I really appreciate their being so great at swapping out the side for one that comes with another steak. It's always an interesting mix of people, those coming from the parks, couples , families and business people & convention goers
 
Enjoying your reviews. We have YSH booked for our February trip. It’s good to know about switching out the sides.
 
Enjoying your reviews. We have YSH booked for our February trip. It’s good to know about switching out the sides.
Thanks for following. The swapping the potato side is great. Hope your meal is a great as ours have been.
 
Looks like you all had another oustanding meal at Yachtsman. I remember scoffing at the costs the first time we went and now I can't imagine a Disney trip without it. That filet is a thing of beauty. I'll have to remember to see if we can get Oscar on a future visit. We love Yachtsman, but our service has never been great
 

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