With the demise of the ESPN club in the Boardwalk area of Walt Disney World Resort, guests ponder where they can find a place to watch the game when on property. Though many options exist, the best one currently resides in Disney Springs. The City Works Eatery & Pour House restaurant offers plenty of screens to view whatever game you desire. This sports bar-style table service dining option often goes unnoticed based on its location on the West Side of Disney Springs. During my most recent trip to Orlando, I decided to review some weekend brunches. The Rock and Roll Brunch at City Works earned a visit.
Due to my primary profession, that opportunity eludes me often. With an unexpected change in my work schedule, I found myself available for a weekend in the Orlando area. City Works, like many Disney springs restaurants, offers a weekend brunch menu. Thus, I decided to scope this out and explore the environment of this sports bar.
City Works offers indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating provides a pleasant dining setting. However, these seats will not be able to view the large screens within the restaurant. When I visited this location the following week when my trip received an extension due to Tropical Storm Nicole, I scheduled another visit here seated indoors. Yet, for this brunch dining review, my dining companion, Seth Kubersky of The Unofficial Guides, elected to dine outdoors for brunch. The pleasant outdoor setting increased the quality of the dining experience.
Chimi Hendrix
Photo By Jon Self
The City Works brunch menu is available from 10 am to 3 pm on weekends. A wide variety of options appear on this Rock and Roll Brunch menu. The menu reflects a “Rock N’ Roll” theme with items such as the “Jon Bun Jovi” cinnamon roll and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” French toast. We asked our server, Jenna, for recommendations. She recommended the “Chimi Hendrix”, the French toast, breakfast tacos, and “Mother’s Little Helper”, a “hangover bowl. Being a sucker for any merging of breakfast items and Tex-Mex style food, I went with the Chimi Hendrix.
The Chimi Hendrix costs $19. This chimichanga also comes with a side of cheesy potato casserole. That casserole makes a nice addition to the entrée. However, the flavor of it serves more as a cheesy palate cleanser when enjoying the chimichanga. The “Chimi Hendrix” features scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, green onion, pico de gallo, smoked cheddar, and chipotle salsa Roja. This fried flour tortilla looks and tastes as you would expect. The appearance matched my expectations for this style of entrée. The chipotle sauce provides some kick and real flavor though. Some guests will find this sauce a bit too spicy. The rest of the components simply serve their role in this chimichanga.
Photo by Jon Self
This chimichanga falls in the category of a good brunch meal. Yet, this entrée should also face the criticism of some Americanized Mexican food where it’s just a bunch of stuff thrown on top to mask ingredients. As a fan of Tex-Mex food, I enjoyed this. However, this chimichanga consists of several powerful ingredients carrying the show. Yet besides the chipotle salsa roja, nothing qualified as a high-quality component. This does, however, make a solid breakfast burrito if not looking for Rick Bayless Frontera Cocina-level cuisine.
Seth ordered the “The Clash Smash.” This avocado toast presented several strengths. The eggs came well prepared, and the avocado tasted fresh creating a delicate taste balance. The pickled red onions make sure you know they are there also. Yet, those same onions with their acidity perk up the corn and radishes. Though this could have been better, the major flaw, on this day, relates to the toast. The challah bread offers a reasonable flavor. Yet, this morning, the bread was cold even though toasted. This preparation error hindered the overall quality of this entrée during the Rock and Roll Brunch. “The Clash Smash” costs $17.
Overall, my evaluation of our brunch leads to a very non-specific conclusion. This brunch makes a good option. Yet, nothing that we experienced classifies as a great meal. Still, this is a brunch at a table service sports bar after all. I would gladly visit again. Still, Disney Springs offers so many quality brunches. I suspect I will prioritize the other ones before coming back here again for the Rock and roll Brunch. Well, that is unless I crave a “Jon Bun Jovi.” As always, eat like you mean it!
