French Fry Diary 627: Animator's Palate - TCM Cruise Day One

We were on the Disney Magic, but it was a chartered cruise, the TCM Classic Cruise, so many of the Disney aspects have been toned down. Such was the case with our first dinner of the cruise at Animator's Palate. We still got a bit of a show, animations on the walls, but nothing so spectacular as the Crush interactive show, or the animation show on the bigger boats, or the regular AP show on the Magic either. I'm not complaining, just saying.

While the Disney Magic has been renovated and overhauled, there are a few things that have stayed the same. One of those is the menu. Several times (click here and here) I have ordered the same dish and each time it has not turned out to be what I wanted or liked. Sometimes I have liked it, and some times… well… However, enough time passes between cruises that I forget that I don't like that. Such is the case with the Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup with Bacon Bits and Chives.

It's a trap, to quote Admiral Ackbar. It always looks good, and I always order it. And I usually am not so thrilled with it. This time, it was not good. It's a good thing I ordered a side of fries with dinner. Along with those great baked steak fries the Disney Cruise is famous for, I got the Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin, with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind-Barbecue Reduction. The entrée was just terrific, with the potatoes having just enough heat.

Dinner was very good, except for the soup. We made new friends with our table mates and had a pleasant time. I just have to remember no soup when we return to the Disney Cruise next year.

French Fry Diary 530: Animator's Palate, Disney Fantasy 2013

We've talked about what happens in this Disney Cruise restaurant before, from the changing colors to the interactive characters. They lowlighted it a bit for our first meal there on this week long cruise. There was no big color changing dealie, but Crush the Turtle still made fun of me for being bald (the bastard). I have heard rumors that our return visit will feature some sort of new show. We'll just have to wait and see.

For tonight's meal, I had three different kinds of potato treats. As an appetizer, I got the bacon cheddar potato soup, which was thick and hot. It was good, but I didn't really taste all that much cheddar in it, and the bacon was just some crumble on top. Hot soup is always good however, and for me, not a soup person, that's really saying a lot.

It should be noted that these are all things I tried on my last cruise. With my ginger teriyaki dusted Angus sirloin, I got wasabi mashed potatoes and a side order of fries. The wasabi mashed potatoes were very hot, burn my mouth hot, make my eyes water hot. This was not the wasabi I love from Oh Yoko!.

The fries, while good, were not the ones I was expecting or wanted. The last few times at Animator's Palate I got the most delicious and hot steak fries with my meal. What I got tonight was the same old natural cut fries available from the snack counters upstairs and throughout the parks. The same old same old. Where were my steak fries from last time?

Food wise, this cruise was not turning out to be as wonderful as previous ones. I really hope that this is not a trend. Either way, we are still having a fabulous time. 

Julia Child's Vichyssoise

August 15th is Julia Child's birthday and to celebrate, Foodista.com is spotlighting their favorite classics by the great chef. One that is right up our alley here is vichyssoise, made with the wonderful potato. The recipe can be found here. Check it out, try it out, and enjoy. Julia would want it that way.