If you are old enough to remember ancient times, also known as the 1980s, a character on a television show known as Norm grew in popularity. George Wendt, who played the character Norm on the television show Cheers, appeared in every episode. He would enter the fictional Boston bar, and everybody knew his name. Based on my most recent trip to the Orlando area, everybody knows my name at Kona Café. Well, at least for the short term they do. I returned to Kona Café for another review one week after the reopening day. Since I had been to this place for two different meals on reopening day, what would cause me to visit again so soon? I think the staff wondered that also since they may not have known my face that morning, but they recognized my name. The Walt Disney World dining reservation system makes it challenging to sneak in for a dining review.

Well, I considered entitling this review “It Was All Jeremy’s Fault!” but decided against that. A friend of MouseDining, Jeremy Stein of the Main Street Magic Podcast, decided to visit Magic Kingdom that morning. He wanted breakfast nearby before braving the crowds on a Monday after a race weekend. He mentioned Kona Café. After a bit of time, I found a reservation via MouseDining for that morning. On my previous breakfast venture to Kona Café, I ordered the new salmon breakfast entrée. Since during my previous breakfast visit, my group tried all the new breakfast items at Kona Café, I searched for my choice for this morning.

I knew that Jeremy would be ordering the “Plant-based Loco Moco” for breakfast. I decided to try the Macadamia Nut Pancakes this morning. These pancakes distinguish themselves as a tried-and-true menu item at Kona Café. In Disney Parks Blog about restaurants reopening, these pancakes were listed alongside Tonga Toast as an item returning due to popularity.

Jeremy and I were seated. We bantered about the state of theme parks. Our server, Matti, performed her responsibilities very well. Soon after, our food arrived. The initial appearance of my pancakes promised a good start.

These “Macadamia Nut Pancakes” cost $15. They come with a choice of protein. Guests may select between ham, spiced ham, bacon, or sausage. Since this was Kona Café in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the spiced ham made the most sense. In case you miss the coded language, spiced ham is “Spam.” If you visit a Polynesian restaurant, you should get spam to be in the Polynesian spirit. Also, the pancakes feature macadamia nut butter and pineapple sauce.

I received three large pancakes for this entrée. The spam came well prepared also. Sure, many guests will not prefer that meat choice. However, the version served here makes a good side dish for these pancakes. The combination of savory meat and sweet pancakes enhances this entrée. The texture factor with the nuts works better than I expected. This texture factor might throw some guests off, but I enjoyed it. I added very little syrup to these pancakes. The pineapple sauce provides a good amount of sweetness. I appreciated these nontraditional-style pancakes. Dining in a theme park resort bubble can lead to some boring choices. These pancakes make a good choice for breakfast while avoiding standard pancakes. The macadamia nut flavors combined with pineapple fits the Polynesian theme very well. Anyone looking for a sweet breakfast but not brave enough for Tonga Toast will enjoy these pancakes.

Jeremy ordered the “Plant-based Loco Moco.” This vegan dining option modifies a traditional Polynesian dish. Jeremy described the presentation as “like an egg volcano.” This presentation failed to look like any version of Loco Moco I had seen before. This vegan item features plant-based eggs, plant-based sausage gravy, rice, and pico de gallo. This breakfast entrée costs $16.50.

Despite appearances, the flavor of this item worked very well. The “eggs” offer decent flavor as well as the “gravy.” Based on my sampling of this item, even non-vegan diners will appreciate this. Like many vegan items based on non-vegan items, these lack enough cream or gravy compared to a traditional Loco Moco. Those of us that do not dine exclusively vegan often forget how important milk and egg-based products impact our taste buds. Yet as of the time of writing, I have three sources telling me that a non-vegan beef version of this item may be making its way onto this menu.

Both entrées we ordered make solid breakfast options. If looking for a top-of-the-line table service breakfast here, you will be disappointed. Still, if looking for a solid more budget-friendly table service breakfast, Kona Café should be a reservation option for you. Maybe if you love the food here, everybody at Kona Café will know your name too. As always, eat like you mean it!

Based on my predominant vocation for decades, the chance of enjoying a Sunday brunch at any restaurant on Walt Disney World property happened rarely. Thus, for my most recent trip to the Orlando area, I made sure to have reservations for brunch. Walt Disney World offers a larger number of brunch options. In fairness, I have trouble keeping track of all the various brunch options. About half the Disney Springs table service restaurants offer a weekend brunch. Even though the “Gospel Brunch” at the House of Blues Disney Springs location has not returned, guests still find the brunch here enjoyable. The brunch menu runs from 10 am to 2 pm on weekends.

When I mentioned to many of my theme park friends that I was deciding on brunch, they often encouraged me to try the House of Blues. Thus, I decided to do a review for MouseDining.com there.

On this Sunday morning, I had already attended a theme park meeting, attended a Christian worship service, and popped into Universal Orlando to check on the news there before arriving at Disney Springs for the 1:00 pm reservation made via MouseDining.com. I met my dining companions for brunch. The usual awkward check-in process happened again at House of Blues. However, we were eventually seated. Our server performed his duties very well. Of course, one large perk of the brunch menu involves “Bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys” for just $16. I did not order any alcoholic beverages, but my dining companions did. They voiced mixed feelings about the quality of their beverages.

Though one of my dining companions mocked my morning burger selection, I elected to try the House of Blues version of a breakfast burger. They call it the “Morning Smash Burger.” The menu description reads “Two smash patties, aged cheddar, thick-cut bacon, bacon ketchup, bacon aioli, fried egg, brioche bun, (and) honey sriracha sauce.” The morning smash burger comes with a side of fries. This brunch menu item costs $17.

The House of Blues franchise calls its menu a Southern (USA) inspired one. This entrée offers that tradition. Many powerful positive flavors reside within this breakfast-style burger. However, for this review, I will start with the less positive aspects of this brunch entrée.

My experience with burgers and sandwiches here already starts with the buns they use. The size of the bun limits the amount inside the buns. Also, the buns used provide nothing special in terms of texture or flavor. I know it says brioche bun in the menu description. However, the quality of the bun itself would be below average for a brioche bun. This tends to initiate a poor start for the burger or sandwich. In addition, I expected a larger egg portion with this “morning” burger. Yes, I ordered it around 1:30 pm but it is still called a morning burger. As expected, the fries with this burger taste like the standard shoestring fries served all over Walt Disney World property.

Overall, I enjoyed this burger. I understand as you were reading that you were probably wondering if I enjoyed it. For a table service burger at Disney Springs, this offered some decent flavors. The cheddar cheese enhanced many of the other components of this burger. The burger patty itself came well prepared. The bacon brought good texture and flavor. The honey siracha sauce added a subtle amount of enhancement also.

If you visit House of Blues for brunch wanting a traditional-style burger, do not get this. House of Blues’ menu displays some solid traditional burger choices. In fact, a far better smash-style burger may be found at Steakhouse 71 if you want that type of burger. If you want a play on a traditional burger, then this brunch item could be for you. For a breakfast-style burger, this meets that expectation despite the stated weaknesses. As always, eat like you mean it!

Determining the reasons that certain restaurant advance dining reservations continue to be difficult to acquire can be perplexing. Often, the reasons directly relate to the high quality of a dining option. However, this sometimes fails to be true. Some restaurants reside off the beaten path leading to greater availability. Whereas a few restaurants have four times more seating than others. However, a consistently highly desired dining reservation would be Beaches and Cream Soda Shop.

The reason this dining location runs out of advance dining reservations will be obvious if you visit here. The table service dining space would be considered small compared to most dining options. When you combine that with the fact that people are drawn to the ice cream options here, reservations will disappear quickly.

View from the walkway to the Boardwalk area.
Photo by Jon Self

If you are unfamiliar with the Beaches and Cream Soda Shop, this would be located at the Beach Club Resort. The actual dining location can be tricky to find since it is located on the poolside of this resort hotel. If you enter from the main entrance of the hotel lobby, you will need to walk past several other amenities of this resort hotel before then going outdoors to find Beaches and Cream.

The Kitchen Sink dessert

My main objective of this trip to Beaches and Cream involved trying one of their new shakes. Dessert serves as the focus here. During my lunch at Beaches and Cream, I witnessed a few “Kitchen Sink” desserts being delivered. They used a “whole can of whipped cream.” Yes, “a whole can of whipped cream” was enjoyed by many. We chose not to get the infamous “Kitchen Sink” dessert here.

The food blogger’s dilemma for this day revolved around what to have for lunch before dessert. My dining companion for lunch, GooToYou!,  decided we should go with the Reuben Sandwich. Since I had three more dining reviews to do that day, I went with his suggestion to avoid thinking too much. The Reuben Sandwich costs $19.00. This comes with a side of fries. The fries look like steak-style fries so you can avoid the standard Disney fries at this place. The menu description told us to expect corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing with this sandwich. Also, the sandwich uses marbled rye bread.

Photo by Jon Self

So how was this sandwich? Well, I sadly report I enjoyed it more than the dessert later. The bread comes well grilled. Since I enjoy rye bread, this bread set a solid encouraging tone for this sandwich. The corned beef portion size exceeded my expectations. In fairness, my expectation for lunch here would have been low. The dressing balanced well with the bread, cheese, and sauerkraut. The classic style sandwich came with cheese melted creating some yummy creamy goodness.

However, the bread displays an inability to hold up to the purpose of containing the sandwich fillings. Almost immediately, a corner of the bread broke apart. The dressing failed to pair well with the corned beef though. If you got a bite of corned beef without the other components, that weakness appeared.

This sandwich presents something besides a basic burger and fries. That change of pace elevates this option. I would have preferred something besides a fried side item, however.  If you are someone who avoids these types of sandwiches due to the sauerkraut, I found the sauerkraut merely plays a supporting role in this act of sandwich theatre. Based on the limited menu here, this sandwich offers a slight diversion from the norm. I would not race here to order this sandwich again. Yet, if you find yourself here for a meal in advance of a highly anticipated dessert, this sandwich makes a good choice. So, I went to Beaches & Cream and all I got was a decent sandwich and a shake. Not sure Walt Disney World can market a shirt with that on it but it describes my lunch here.

Remember advance dining reservations can disappear quickly here. I set a MouseDining alert for Beaches and Cream. Then, I received several alerts before obtaining the time slot I wanted. My final reservation alert that I used appeared in my email inbox about 10 days before this meal. Good luck to you if your group wants to tackle the meals and desserts here. As always, eat like you mean it!

Several of these new items drew the attention of this food blogger. Since I swing into Homecomin’ often to refill my sipper, I examine the menu regularly.

Some of the new menu items are:

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

JASPER BOARD-This arrives at your table as an assortment of Southern charcuterie. Shaved honey ham, smoked sausage, country ham, pimento cheese, chicken salad, tomato-bacon jam, B&B pickles, candied pecans, crostini, and their house-made crackers for $28. All fans of charcuteries should enjoy this one.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

BRITTON’S CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH-Guests may enjoy Britt­on Smith’s recipe of pulled chicken, celery, grapes, Duke’s Mayo, and savory spices. This comes with lett­uce and tomato on artisan bread for $19

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

SKILLET-FRIED CHICKEN PAILLARD-Art Smith decided to put his own spin on a piccata. The bu­ttermilk-brined chicken is pounded thin, hand-breaded, and skillet-fried. Then, it receives a topping with lemon butt­er, garlic &capers. This comes with roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus for $28.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

CHOPPED BLT SALAD-This consists of double-chopped iceberg le­ttuce with fried green tomato, pecan-smoked bacon, blue cheese crumbles, heirloom tomato, and red onion, tossed in blue cheese icebox dressing and drizzled with balsamic reduction for $18.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

BRUNSWICK STEW- This savory tomato-based broth is slow-cooked with pulled pork, chicken, peas, corn, lima beans, and fresh herbs, Guests receive artisanal toast on the side for $14. The menu description emphasizes this stew function as a commonplace weekend meal item across the South.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

BARBECUE-GLAZED PORK CHOP-Their signature blueberry barbecue sauce perfectly complements this thick-cut, chargrilled pork chop. This comes with their sweet potato mash and Southern green beans for $37.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

In addition to those items, a new side, some beverages, a new dessert, and another appetizer have been added to the menu. Some of these items will only be around for a seasonal run though. Regarding new sides, a “Sweet Potato Mash Skillet” recently appeared on the menu for $9. You can have this as a side with your entrée or order it by itself for $9.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

Dessert fans should prepare for the new “Hot Fudge Bourbon Brownie.” This dessert costs $14. The menu description tells us that we will get a dark chocolate brownie garnished tableside with our warm bourbon chocolate sauce. This sounds like dessert with a little entertainment.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

Though not in the latest social media post by Homecomin’, their menu added a “new” fried pickle appetizer recently. These hand-cut spears are pickled in-house, crispy fried, and served with remoulade. These cost $16.

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

For the alcoholic beverage lover, Homecomin’ added two new drinks. Guests may purchase a “Cranberry Gin Fizz” and/or an “Espresso Martini.”

Promo Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin social media

The style at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ continues to draw diners. Please comment below if you make it to Homecomin’ before me to try these new items. As always, eat like you mean it!

Why do some types of food have so many different variations? I often feel like some chefs make up a recipe as they go. Even though I know that fails to be true, can you think of a time you ordered a certain item at one restaurant and then ordered the same entrée at a similar restaurant, but they tasted nothing alike? For example, when living in SE Asia, I got a chicken stir fry dish at one table service place which tasted okay. Then I ordered it at a nearby table service place with a similar menu description, but it arrived at my table with very different ingredients. During that experience, my friends started calling this the “stir fry effect.” When then we started looking at other food items that vary wildly in preparation style. Back then, we came up with gumbo, tiramisu, shrimp, and grits as good examples of this phenomenon.

Photo courtesy of main Street Magic Podcast

I know there exists more, but this is a review of the Shrimp and Grits at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, so I will stop the list there. However, especially being originally from the southern portion of the USA, I have seen grits prepared in countless ways. In addition, the seemingly standard idea of shrimp and grits looks and tastes very different depending on when and where you order it. Just glancing through restaurant menus in the Orlando area alone, I see about 10 variations of what they call shrimp and grits. Some use chorizo sausages with shrimp. Another used chicken with shrimp. The sauces used with these creations vary widely. Thus, this brings me to the southern USA comfort food recipe of Chef Art Smith.

At his restaurant, the menu description reads “pan-seared shrimp with tomato gravy and Tasso ham served over creamy Bradley’s grits. These will cost you $28. The basic presentation of these looks average. However, when dining one time with someone with a slight allergy to garlic, I got to see a version of this entrée “de-constructed.”

For the record, on that occasion, the manager came out to chat with my friend. The manager did an incredible job of explaining that almost everything in that dish had garlic. As the manager chatted with my friend, he also had a headset on talking with a chef, back in the kitchen, about options. The conclusion was to allow my friend to control the amount of sauce by bringing it on the side. The tomato sauce/gravy holds the largest percentage of garlic. Per usual, Walt Disney World restaurants handle allergy issues with great skill. This experience serves as no exception. Also, from chatting with the chef and our server, it appears a slightly less garlic-filled version of this tomato gravy got created for my friend.

Photo courtesy of MainStMagic.com

Having said all of that, this version of shrimp and grits provides an incredible depth of flavor. The creaminess you would expect from grits at Homecomin’ rings true with this. Even a toned-down version of tomato gravy brought rich flavor to the dish. The ability to control the amount of sauce serves as a bonus in my option. The ham and shrimp taste wonderful. On a side note, you get large pieces of shrimp here unlike some other excellent places in Disney Springs serving shrimp and grits. Yes, I am talking about you Boathouse. The shrimp, in this Chef Art Smith-inspired creation, brings additional flavor adding to all the other goodness contained within this entrée.

Photo Credit: Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’

I think you can tell that I would recommend this entrée. Yes, this is another time I recommended something besides chicken at Homecomin’. This place offers great service (yet, sometimes a bit slow) and a wide variety of quality food. I guess that explains why it remains tough to acquire advance dining reservations. As I have written before, I have used MouseDining several times recently to acquire and adjust reservations here. I have an alert set right now for Homecoming for an upcoming trip. In that case, I have selected a very specific time on a busy weekend. If you see several more reviews from Homecomin’, then you will know I had success. I wish you success with your advance dining reservation at Walt Disney World. As always, eat like you mean it!

Sometimes in life, things do not add up correctly. Logic dictates that the more expensive products will be better. The adage “you get what you pay for” sometimes fails to be true. For example, ever bought a new more expensive cellphone only to find out it could not do the things your old one did? Ever priced the cost to move that heavy expensive piece of furniture or a piano wondering if owning that was worth it? Theme park fans know the pain of this sometimes at $65 character meals. You do not always get what you paid for. More expensive and/or more desired sometimes leads to disappointment. Today’s dining review revolves around that concept.

Promotional Photo from T-Rex Cafe

Writing in partnership with MouseDining, I utilize the data gathered by MouseDining regarding searches for advance dining reservations. In terms of the most searched for advance dining reservations in Disney Springs, as of time of writing, first place belongs to T-Rex Café. I know many factors add into this place having more desirable reservation than Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ and the Boathouse. Yet, no one should ever argue that T-Rex offers better food than those places. Why is this place more desired even though it offers inferior food to almost every other place in Disney Springs?

Well, Disney Springs targets adults. T-Rex Café and Rainforest Café target kids. Many grandparents, for example, want to visit Disney Springs. They tend to appease the grandchildren by going here. Some guests see the big themed exterior and heard about the themed interior as a draw to dine here. However, let us be clear—you do not go to T-Rex Café for the food. The food here costs as much, if not more, than many of the other excellent restaurants within Disney Springs. In fairness, T-Rex café offers food around the level of many table service level chains like Applebee’s and Chili’s. However, T-Rex Café tends to cost more for similar products.

For example, during a recent trip to T-Rex Café, I attempted to find a good “safe” option for adults dining here. I traditionally suggest a burger or one of the pasta dishes. Neither of those classify as great. Yet, they qualify as “safe” here. On this trip, I decided to order a Cobb Salad. Yes, it felt wrong to order this type of salad from anywhere besides Hollywood Brown Derby. Yet, I did. For record, the price of the Cobb Salad at Hollywood Brown Derby went up two dollars on the day I am writing this.

So, what did I think of the Cobb Salad from here? The portion size of this salad deserves praise. For the $22.99 price point (about same price as at Hollywood Brown Derby), I would have wanted more ingredients, but I knew I was at T-Rex Café. The menu description reads “grilled Chicken, tomatoes, black olives, blue cheese crumbles, chopped egg, bacon, (and) balsamic vinaigrette dressing.” The dressing comes on the side with this salad. I found the appearance and construction of this salad different than I expected.

All the ingredients of this salad provided decent flavor with two exceptions. The bacon tasted below normal expectations. In less polite terms, the bacon lacked real flavor. For all my bacon lovers out there, please forgive me for having to tell you that. Also, the dressing, on this evening, failed to add anything positive except a bit of moisture to the salad.

Even though I was surprised by the flavor of some of the ingredients like the cheese and eggs, the overall flavor was just okay. For same price as one at Hollywood Brown Derby, this needs to taste better. Also, for a Cobb style salad, some of the lettuce pieces were far too large. This reduces the dining enjoyment a bit.

If you select T-Rex Café for a meal during your time at Walt Disney World, then you should expect average food. Do plan for loud noises also. The best reason to visit T-Rex Café relates to enjoyment for your kids and grandkids. Having said that, this salad might function as a good option if you find yourself here. As always, eat like you mean it!

Celebrity chefs fail to be a new thing within the Orlando area. The theme park resorts continue to have a fascination with these chefs and their cuisine. Two of the most highly searched for advance dining reservations at Disney Springe relate to famous chefs, Iron Chef Morimoto, and Art Smith. The ups and downs of celebrity chef restaurants can be seen throughout the world. Concepts change and/or get replaced as time goes on. One example revolves around Wolfgang Puck. Back in 2020, A counter service dining location known as Wolfgang Puck Express closed in Disney Springs marketplace area. Of course, many places closed or greatly modified their operations because of the pandemic. However, for Wolfgang Puck fans, the Bar and Grill table service version still exists. By the way, the food has always been far better at the table service version than the former counter service location, especially the pizza.

Promotional Photo from Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill Disney Springs

The conundrum for some Disney Springs visitors connects to how to enjoy Wolfgang Puck cuisine when not desiring a full table service level meal and/or that expense. The counter service location used to aid in that endeavor. I lack a perfect solution. Yet, in doing research on the table service Wolfgang Puck location I learned a few facts that might help. In addition, this site already published a review here of the Heirloom Apple Salad if you would like to read that.

Wolfgang Puck offers a lunch style menu from 11am-3pm Monday through Friday. They also offer a lunchtime menu on the weekends but a far shorter amount of time since they serve a brunch menu then also. For those missing the counter service variety of Wolfgang Puck, the lunch options here will offer far more quality without hurting your vacation budget as much as you would expect. For example, during a weekday lunch time visit here, I ordered an appetizer and entrée. Together they cost $31 plus tax and tip. These could have been shared between two people making a very cost-effective lunch.

On that afternoon, I ordered an appetizer of Roasted Meatballs. For my entrée, I selected the Salmon Burger. Deidre, my server, did a fabulous job of putting up with my food blogger antics and constant queries. For example, I asked her specifically for items exclusively on the lunch menu. This combination serves as the final solution on this afternoon.

The Roasted Meatballs appetizer costs $12. Based on the menu description, they only contain tomato sauce, basil, and ricotta cheese. Obviously, this starter comes with three larger meatballs.

When it arrived, it offered a nice aroma. At first, the large spoon that came with this threw me off. Yet, as I examined this appetizer, the spoon provides perfect assistance to enjoy these meatballs. The basil brings a clear flavor. The tomato sauce tastes okay but the main purpose is to bring other flavors together in this combination. I would have preferred more ricotta but that might have thrown off the balance of appetizer. The meatballs in the sauce arrive on your table very warm. They remain warm for some time. This appetizer could end up being messy with the sauce so be careful. Still, I used the large spoon provided. That reduced the mess factor. Also, this helped with getting the right balance of sauce with each bite of meatball.

After completing that appetizer, I started eating my entree. The Salmon Burger costs $19. This burger comes with avocado, butter lettuce, onions, tomato, and tartare sauce. Once again, this does not appear on the dinner menu.

This burger comes stacked high. The avocados and tomatoes on top of it can fall out as you eat this as a burger. I ate this like a burger until the last four bites. The construction of it holds us nicely for a tall burger. I received a nice portion size of salmon. The tartare sauce adds a solid but understated flavor. My biggest criticism of this burger involved not enough sauce in contact with the salmon. Based on burger construction, the avocado resides closest to the top layer of tartare sauce. I felt the burger tasted better without the layer of avocado blocking tartare sauce on top. Still, the burger offered solid flavor either way. The salmon itself brough good flavor and reasonable texture. In fact, I had two bites of just salmon at the end of my meal which shows the salmon came well prepared.

The burger came with a side of fries. They were shoestring style. I received a large portion, but they were seasoned nicely.

Based on my order, this meal could have been shared between two people for lunch. Feeding two people for $31 before tax and tip for a quality lunch at Disney Springs is no small feat. This lunch menu gives you several ways to accomplish feeding two people with an appetizer and entrée. Do not forget about Wolfgang Puck’s weekend brunch as a fun experience if visiting Disney Springs on a weekend. As always, eat like you mean it!