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justagrrl
10-18-2002, 06:35 AM
I noted in Al's Dig, that the Cafe Orleans served "uncooked" bacon. I'm curious if this was literally bacon that had never seen the frying pan (or fryer or whatever) or if it was simply not cooked "enough".

Not that it makes much difference in the tastiness, or lack there of... but it would make a dramatic difference in the um...level of intelligence there.

I just don't get how anyone could put a piece (or pieces) of uncooked bacon on something and serve it. How does something like that happen? (I don't mean literally.)

Cooie
10-18-2002, 07:22 AM
In the entire time I've been going to the parks, I've never eaten at Cafe Orleans. There was just something about it I didn't like. Looks like my instincts were right.

Though I can't really comment on the bacon in question, I do agree that the food in Disneyland is touch and go. I remember ordering a spinach and arugala salad at the French Market last year and getting a healthy helping of popcorn shrimp on top, and then giving it a shot again this year to find the "topping" had been reduced to three shrimp. When I asked for a little more, the woman serving me actually got mad. It was all very strange. I don't remember either the food or the service ever being this dismal.

hbquikcomjamesl
10-18-2002, 09:04 AM
Can you say, "trichinosis hazard"?

Could it be that somebody in the kitchen is so idiotic as not to realize the difference between, say, a hot-smoked salmon, and a cold-smoked slab of bacon? That cold-smoking doesn't cook the meat at all?

Forget the vermin scandal at the hotel. "Bacon tartare" (or bacon sashimi, or whatever you want to call it) is (as the Food Network's Alton Brown might put it) "bad eats."

blusilva
10-18-2002, 09:28 AM
I can tell Al never reads Mousepad, cuz I've been complaining about and warning people away from Cafe Orleans for about a year now!

I wouldn't put a piece of raw bacon past them, considering the time the cashier dumped change in my chowder bowl and didn't even offer me a new one and the time we found hairs (not just one, but several) in one of their po-boy sandwiches.

Just two of a number of bad incidents there that made my group swear off Cafe Orleans for good.

tabacco
10-18-2002, 09:32 AM
See, it's all gone bad since Kevin left ;)

Seriously, though, one time at Paramount's Great America I got a chicken strip that was entirely raw, except for the breading (like they'd dipped it in the oil for maybe 5 seconds). Since then I've been really wary of theme park food.

Kevin Yee
10-18-2002, 09:57 AM
It may be a training problem. Cafe isn't open all the time anymore, so new hires never really get the exposure they need via day in and day out practice with this restaurant, these food items... and problems like this can occur.

Morale is - and has been - really low at Cafe Orleans for a while now. Merging with the French Market didn't do it a world of good, but the primary culprit is this part-time mentality.

Corith
10-18-2002, 10:22 AM
I can remember the days when it was a joy to eat at the park, and the Cafe especially. It used to serve hot French dip subs, and real sarsaparilla.

cstephens
10-18-2002, 11:48 AM
Cafe Orleans used to be one of my favorite places to eat in the park - absolutely loved the Cajun Chicken Caesar Salad. Since they've taken it away (and my husband says that whenever I have a Chicken Caesar Salad anywhere now, I always compare it to Cafe Orleans', and none of them measure up) and changed the menu to have stuff that has no appeal to me whatsoever, we never eat there. *sigh* Yet another restaurant that I used to go to all the time that I never go to now.

TP2000
10-18-2002, 12:54 PM
I am upset that Al gave away what I consider to be "my" secret to eating at Disneyland. Now that everyone knows how great Mimi's Cafe across Harbor is, I'll have to wait even longer for a table! Oh well.

But seriously, if you are up for a 5 minute walk, head over to Mimi's. It has great food, and wonderfully gracious service. And you will spend about 3 or 5 dollars less per person on a meal than you would eating a 3 course dinner at Plaza Inn or Red Rockets or French Market or Rancho Del Zocalo. How does Mimi's do such a good job? Or perhaps the better question should be, how does Disneyland do such a poor job?

Once Downtown Disney opened, I stopped eating inside Disneyland for the most part. If I want something spendy and elegant, I head to Ralph Brennans or Catal. And if I want something less expensive but still wonderful, I head to Mimi's or the Catal Uva Bar.

hbquikcomjamesl
10-18-2002, 01:16 PM
MIMI'S?!?

Based on the only times I've ever eaten in a Mimi's, I think I'll take my chances with the uncooked bacon.

Ghoulish Delight
10-18-2002, 01:21 PM
Originally posted by TP2000
How does Mimi's do such a good job? Or perhaps the better question should be, how does Disneyland do such a poor job?
Not to defend raw bacon, but Dineyland and Cafe Orleans have a much higher traffic rate than Mimi's. That being said, that's what was always impressive about Dland food. Despite the intense pressure of the environment, they were able to provide top notch quality all the time. It seems that is no longer the case. Yes, it is much harder for them to maintain such a high standard. But that extra effort is what used to keep people coming back for more Disney.

justagrrl
10-18-2002, 02:04 PM
Originally posted by hbquikcomjamesl
MIMI'S?!?

Based on the only times I've ever eaten in a Mimi's, I think I'll take my chances with the uncooked bacon.

THat's too bad. It's one of my favorite places to go...not necessarily that particular one however. We go to the one down Euclid near the 91 (we live locally.) My dh calls it a girly restaraunt though so I rarely get to go but it's always been tasty.

pot roast sandwich...mmmmm....

Blanche
10-18-2002, 03:56 PM
For a truly bad meal, order the fried chicken at the Plaza Inn. Last weekend, for $9.99, we got a dry chicken breast, undercooked leg and thigh, (canned?) green beans, and very salty mashed potatoes and gravy. It was pretty bad. The undercooked chicken was rubbery and unchewable. When I went back and told them, they gave me another dry breast as a replacement, but that hardly made up for a terrible meal. The biscuit was the only edible part of the meal. On a positive note, our dining companions had the pot roast which they said was very good.

stevemo
10-18-2002, 04:34 PM
As others have noted food quality, selection, and service have been on the decline for years. This has been a result of those bottom-line focused cost cutting measures, just like the lack of maintenance. What with all the ODV carts it would seem that TDA would like to get rid of all the dining options if they could. Think of how many plushies and princess costumes that they could fit inside the Blue Bayou.

Cooie
10-18-2002, 04:53 PM
Originally posted by stevemo
Think of how many plushies and princess costumes that they could fit inside the Blue Bayou.

Dear God, no.

Another thing I've noticed, and perhaps the rest of you have as well, is how hard it is to get food after about 9pm. I remember one night a few months ago my husband and I were running around the park all day and had forgotten to have dinner, so just after 9 we went to Hungry Bear, which was closed, Cafe Orleans and French Market, which were closed, Bengal Grill was closed... heck, even the popcorn and churro carts in front of Haunted were closed. The one place that was still offering something meal-like was Coke Corner, and the line for hot dogs stretched almost all the way out to the hub, and only one guy was working cash.

But a bit more on subject, we tend to eat at the Blue Bayou for lunch whenever we're there (much less spendy than doing dinner), and the quality of both food and service is always great. We do trade off and do Rancho periodically, which I've always found to be satisfying.

tabacco
10-18-2002, 10:36 PM
Warning about Mimi's: Avoid their muffins at all costs! You'll never be able to think about muffins again without drooling, and this will undoubtedly cause severe harm to your social life, especially if you participate in any sort of breakfast group.

AVOID THE MUFFINS!!!



mmmmmmmmm....

Sophie832
10-19-2002, 02:52 AM
I don't recall ever having eaten at Cafe Orleans, and I think my reason has always been that it just doesn't look inviting. The French Market just seems more open to me. Also, Cafe Orleans closes earlier, doesn't it?

This brings up the comment about food after 9pm. A really good point, there. Every single source of food above Main Street is closed late at night. The only ODV's open are the churro cart et al down by the flagpole, and sometimes there are a couple at the top of Main Street. Coke Corner does get crowded, and that should tell the suits something. It's one thing to have the restaurants close at 9 when the park closes at 10, but not when the park closes at 11 or midnight! I've heard and seen a lot of disappointment when people walk up to ODV carts in Frontierland or New Orleans Square and find they've just closed. Then they get even more upset when the CMs tell them to try Main Street!

As for lower food quality throughout the park, I can really only comment on the French Market, since I eat there more than other restaurants inside Disneyland. We all know that they switched to self-serve drinks this past year, which I consider representative of staff cuts. I've been there when that drink machine isn't working properly, has ice piled up below the dispenser, and is pretty messy. There was just something classier about getting served my drink, not to mention the horror of self-serve mint julep (with no mint leaf in it). Also, they used to have this great seafood salad there, but that's been gone for a while, too. Man, I miss that salad. So far, we still get our AP discount there, but who's to say that after Cafe Orleans, French Market isn't next? One more thing...the other night we were over there about 30 minutes before closing, and they were out of most of the desserts. They had chocolate cake and pudding, but none of the really unique Halloween-themed desserts. I was just wondering why this happened? It wasn't like we got there with 5 minutes to go, and they were cleaning up. Did they start out with only a certain amount of desserts? Why is that? I'm sure there is some kind of explanation, but geez. This is not to say I am unhappy with the French Market...so far none of the food has been disappointing, and the service has been pleasant.

I find myself eating more and more outside the park. Gauchograd99 and I frequent Downtown Disney and the hotel restaurants. The only restaurants I've been to in DCA are Soap Opera Bistro (dead), and the burger place by Soarin', neither of which ever had spectacular food. There is a Mimi's close to me and close to Gauchograd99, but I don't go there as often as I like. They have a great food selection, so I can understand why the walk across Harbor is no hardship. Disneyland really needs to do a serious review of their restaurant status.

Btw, is anyone really gonna read this whole, long post?

cstephens
10-19-2002, 10:01 AM
Originally posted by Sophie832
So far, we still get our AP discount there, but who's to say that after Cafe Orleans, French Market isn't next?

They're no longer giving the AP discount at River Belle.

And yes, I read the whole, long post. :)

LibraryGirl
10-19-2002, 12:28 PM
Originally posted by tabacco
Warning about Mimi's: Avoid their muffins at all costs! You'll never be able to think about muffins again without drooling, and this will undoubtedly cause severe harm to your social life, especially if you participate in any sort of breakfast group.

AVOID THE MUFFINS!!!



mmmmmmmmm....

Great... now you have me thinking about Carrot Muffins.... at work!

mmmmmmmmmmmm ;)

slaakker
10-19-2002, 12:30 PM
Since we are talking about eating, can someone provide me with information about the picnic area? I didn't even know there was one until I read about it in these threads.

We are planning a December trip and the cash is tight this year. What am I allowed to bring and where do I store it? Can I bring a large cooler? Where exactly is the picnic area? How do I get there?

Thanks.

MammaSilva
10-19-2002, 12:45 PM
Slacker, the picnic area is to the "left" of the entrance to Disneyland....over near the locker area. As for the cooler....I would just get one of the smaller ones to put the days lunch in so it will fit in the larger lockers outside the park or go back to the hotel and "picnic" in the room while taking a short break.....you can't just take a large cooler to the picnic area then drop it off .. go to the park and come back for lunch, no place to secure one of the larger coolers :(

mousey_girl
10-19-2002, 03:06 PM
Originally posted by Sophie832
This brings up the comment about food after 9pm. A really good point, there. Every single source of food above Main Street is closed late at night. The only ODV's open are the churro cart et al down by the flagpole, and sometimes there are a couple at the top of Main Street. Coke Corner does get crowded, and that should tell the suits something. It's one thing to have the restaurants close at 9 when the park closes at 10, but not when the park closes at 11 or midnight! I've heard and seen a lot of disappointment when people walk up to ODV carts in Frontierland or New Orleans Square and find they've just closed. Then they get even more upset when the CMs tell them to try Main Street!

The biggest problem with the ODV carts being the only food sources in the "lands" is that they quite often run out of food by 9-9:30. The last time we made the mistake of being there on a Saturday night ALL of the ODV carts were out of EVERYTHING. The poor CM's were staying with their carts, but had to keep telling people they were empty.

ahecht
10-19-2002, 08:46 PM
Still, the best meal I've had on DLR property was at Naples. Everything I've had there was wonderful, and reasonably priced for that type of restaurant. Their steak panini is wonderful.

hawaiimouse
10-20-2002, 04:08 AM
Originally posted by LibraryGirl
Great... now you have me thinking about Carrot Muffins.... at work!

mmmmmmmmmmmm ;)

Ahhhh! The carrot muffins :D :D

When I was there staying at Hojo's in May, had dinner three times at Mimi's and took those muffins back to the room for a great breakfast!! Everytime we've been there for the past two years, almost all our meals outside the park were there. Always get the artichoke dips there..yum! Plus the help was the most helpful and friendliest around. :D Highly recommend it!

tabacco
10-20-2002, 08:10 AM
Originally posted by slaakker
We are planning a December trip and the cash is tight this year. What am I allowed to bring and where do I store it? Can I bring a large cooler? Where exactly is the picnic area? How do I get there?

The picnic area is between the Guest Services office and the M&F Tram area, near the Indy building. It's surrounded by a hedge wall, which is probably why you never saw it before. If you've got a very large cooler that won't fit into the lockers there, you can store it at the kennel most of the time.