Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Kimono's - Awesome Sushi Restaurant

Last night we went to our favorite sushi restaurant at Disney. Kimono's is in the Swan hotel just off the Boardwalk. And worth the small walk. Located on the first floor near the Garden Grove Restaurant and a very nice quaint place.





This restaurant has been our favorite for many years now and I can really attribute that to a waitress there. Her name is Megan and if you go ask for her. The reason she made it so wonderful is that we aren't, or should I say weren't big sushi fans. The first time we went was really experimental. When she came to the table I asked her to circle anything on the menu that was actually cooked and not raw so that we'd know what we were choosing. She did that for us very happily. Our first time there was very tame. We had teryaki beef skewers, tempura shrimp and not much that was adventurous. I'm sure she thought we were pretty silly.

Fast forward about a year and we decided to go back. As we walked in we were greeted by Megan at the door and she said "welcome back". Both my husband and I thought, they must say that to everyone. She can't possibly remember us from that long ago with as many people as they have pass through here. So we sat down and as she handed us the menus to place our orders I asked, "can you circle the ones that are cooked". Her reply was, "I'm already doing it sweetie". I was shocked. She really did remember us. That's amazing. She also said that she wanted to suggest a new dish to us. And would we be willing to try something new. I told her that as long as it was pretty tame, yes we'd be willing to try it. She brought us out this amazing Fried Eggplant Appetizer. I mean lick the bowl amazing.



It has this spicy dipping sauce that I just love. The appetizer is actually chicken and crab wrapped in a thin layer of eggplant and tempura fried. You get six of these nuggets to a meal for $9.00. As you can see we couldn't help ourselves before I could snap a picture an one is already gone from the plate. These are so good we actually ordered a second order last night. :-)

So our first recommendation from Megan was such a success that we were hooked. Our routine since then has been to order the Eggplant appetizer, then two dishes of our choosing and let Megan choose something for us to try. We trust her that much that she knows our limits and what we might really like. Some times she even has the chef make something for us that isn't on the menu. Now those are spectacular.

Interestingly enough when we went last night it was the first time in years that Megan wasn't working. Kimono's doesn't take reservations and each time we've gone she has been there. And we've been there plenty.

But the other waitresses there recognized us as one of Megan's tables and gave us the same awesome treatment as she would have.

One of the other dishes we ordered last night was a previous recommendation by Megan. The Dragon Roll, it comes in 8 slices and is $15.95. In the following photo it's the one in the front. It comes with the big shrimp head and tail for presentation and is beautiful. It has shrimp, tuna and is absolutely wonderful.



The other item on the plate was a new item for us suggested by our new waitress Polly.

It's the Alaskan Roll, It has crab salad (real crab), avocado, and salmon with a thin slice of lemon and some caviar looking topping that was very citrus in flavor and green in color. The lemon and the caviar topping made this a very bright and wonderful dish. We'd absolutely order it again. It comes cut into 8 pieces (some missing in the photo) and if $14.00.

My favorite drink there is the Republic Tea that they have by the bottle, it's wonderful and needs no sugar whatsoever.



Overall I give this restaurant the highest rating that I can. The food is always awesome and the service is like you are family. What could be better than that? So if you are in the Disney area and are hungry. Give Kimono's a try. Even if you have never had Sushi you'll love this restaurant. Tell them you heard about it on our blog and ask for Megan. She'll treat you the same as she treats us I'm sure. If she's not available then any of the other girls will make your visit there one to look forward to each time you can go.

You can view their online menu to see what they currently have.

If you really do love sushi I found a great site for sushi t-shirts and gifts. They have sushi tees for men, women and kids. They have wall art, clocks, mugs and mousepads that make great gifts for any sushi lover. They have baby and infant apparel with the cutest sushi designs. And you can find them all here at Sushi Food tees and gifts.

Oh and I almost forgot, every evening they have Karaoke at 9:00. We haven't been there for it but have heard it's a lot of fun.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Picnic in the Park

Yesterday, July 18, 2009, while at DAK, we decided to try the "Picnic in the Park" dining option for lunch.   We enjoyed the concept and the food.  We went with the sandwiches and wraps option (as opposed to the rotisserie chicken and ham).  Two sandwiches, a side dish, two desserts and two waters made for a nice picnic.  The package even included a canvas(?) bag to take away our lunch (and to keep) and a map of some prime eating spots throughout the park.  Aside from the water not being cold (it was room temperature), the picnic was a deal in my opinion.  $17.99 was the price for the Tier 1 (sandwiches) picnic.  The chicken/ham picnic for two is $20.99.  Picnics for 3, 4, 5, or 6 people are available as well.  

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Our Background...

Maybe we should explain our background and why it qualifies us to write about Disney and Disney Dining. We live in Orlando just about 4 miles from Disney World. So basically it's our neighborhood. And just like you go to your neighborhood restaurants and movies so do we. It just happens to be on Disney Property.

When we go to the movies we go to Downtown Disney, when we go out to eat it's usually to somewhere at Disney. So over the 7+ years that we've lived here we've done a lot.

We have annual passes that get us to any part of the parks so going isn't an issue. Without any limits I'm sure lots of people would do the same thing.

About 5 years ago we decided to treat ourselves. We took two years and went to every one of the Disney restaurants. All 185 of them. Everything from sit down to counter service, from food carts to 5 star Victoria and Albert's. We've done nearly all of them. The only ones we haven't done are ones that have been added in the last year. I think there are two or three and they are on our list.

From that two year time frame we definitely picked our favorites. But as anything chefs change, menus change and prices change. So if we blog about something make sure you try it soon as things might change. Thankfully most of the changes were made a while back when Disney started their Dining Plan so the restaurants are pretty stable in their prices and offerings for the time being.

We wish we had started this blog 5 years ago when we did all of the restaurants but what we'll do is try to do our best now going forward.

We also have a blog about Orlando Restaurants Outside of Disney World if you want to check that out.

Hopefully we'll have something that you find informative and interesting. Bon Appetit.