Random Tater Pic of the Day #283

 From the June 2017 Disney Cruise on board the Dream, these are bacon roasted potatoes, with chicken schnitzel, and buttered green beans, from dinner at the Enchanted Garden.

French Fry Diary 748: Cabanas, Disney Dream, June 2017

On the last day of our June 2017 Disney Cruise on the Dream I hit Cabanas for lunch. While it's not always my first choice, we were close and both The Bride and I were hungry. Cabanas, as you can see from this search of the blog, is primarily the best place for breakfast, and not necessarily for lunch… but I was in for a shocking surprise.

Expecting of the favorite fried food the usual fare of Disney natural cuts, as by the last day they are usually out of steak fries, I came upon a glorious oasis in the buffet line… perfect British chips, or perfect French fries, depending on your perception. These were ¾ inch thickness square, and three to four inches long. They had been under a heat lamp for a bit, but still hot and soft like baked potato inside, and crispy on the outside.

These French fries were perfect. I loved them. So if you're on the Disney Cruise, and on the top deck buffet, keep your eyes open, they were fantastic.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #282

This is Cabanas lunch from our June 2017 Disney Cruise on board the Dream. These steak fries were labeled as "steak frites," but were decidedly not that at all, still very very yummy though.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #281

Cabanas roasted red potatoes again, this time from day four of our June 2017 Disney Cruise, this time with red and green peppers added in. Mmmm... breakfast potatoes...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #280

This is from dinner at the Royal Palace on board the Disney Dream on our June 2017 cruise. Chateaubriand Roasted Filet Steak, with crushed new potatoes with shallots, buttered green beans, and red wine jus. Sooo good and delicious. Sometimes the French do know their potatoes...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #279

Cabanas breakfast on day three of our June 2017 Disney Cruise. On this morning, shredded and carmelized onions were added to the mix, tasty.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #278

In my last entry here I talked about how bad cruise fries can be sometimes, but they (potato products) can also be fabulous as well. Here's the soft potato gnocchi appetizer from Palo on board the Disney Dream from our June 2017 cruise. Very tasty. Palo remains the place to beat on board. They even brought me fries last time. Palo just rocks.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #277

Lunch on the first full day of our June 2017 Disney Cruise on the Dream, these are the standard Disney natural cuts from Cabanas.  You can see how tasty they were by how many I actually got.  Not many were eaten afterward either. 

Random Tater Pic of the Day #275

From Cabanas on the first morning of our June 2017 Disney Cruise, those fabulous roasted red breakfast potatoes, that morning with green peppers and onions.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #274

After meeting up with friends Anne-Sophie and her family in Norway at the World Showcase in EPCOT, The Bride and I stopped at Sunshine Seasons in The Land to split a quick breakfast. It had to be quick as we were on our way to the Disney Cruise next.

The Adult Breakfast included, obviously, breakfast potatoes with red and green peppers, eggs, overdone bacon (apparently that's the only way it comes at The Land), sausages, and delicious French toast bread pudding with a spicy kick of cinnamon. Yummy!

French Fry Diary 726: Palo

One of my favorite treats when on board the Disney Cruise Line is going to one of the fancy restaurants. The first time I was stone cold against it because of the dress code, and I am not one to dress up. I hate it. But I did it for The Bride, because I love her so much. Once I had gone to Palo, the fancy Italian restaurant at the top of all four Disney ships, I was sold. The food is luscious and wonderful, a foodie's dream, even one with a catastrophically picky palate. The staff will adapt for you, and make you what you want. The Bride put that to the test on the most recent visit to Palo on the Disney Fantasy during the latest TCM Classic Cruise. But first, the normal stuff.

Another tradition I have when on board the Disney Cruises is I always try something new. Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I do not. For instance, arugula, ick, no really, serious ick. This time, at Palo, I tried something suitable for discussion on this blog, something I'm ashamed to admit I have never ever tried before - gnocchi.

This was potato gnocchi (that might seem like a no-brainer, but they do make gnocchi from other stuff), in tomato sauce, with cherry tomatoes grown on the side of a volcano. Even if I didn't like it, it still sounds cool. It was delicious, and I can't wait to try it again, although I suspect it might not live up to that of Palo.

When it came to the main course, I got the beef tenderloin, but asked that they leave off the spinach. Spinach is even higher on my hate list than new contender arugula. The waitress asked if I would like anything else in place of the spinach. The Bride spoke up jokingly, "French fries." After the waitress made a face, trying hard not to break her friendly smile in this fancy-schmancy restaurant, The Bride added, "It's his usual go-to," which was not untrue. Still I was embarrassed, but hoped there would be no spinach.

When my entrée arrived, also placed on the table was a big plate of beautiful, and out of place, natural cut French fries. I was shocked, as was The Bride, and the waitress only said that it was her job to make us happy. The beef was wonderful, and the fries were even better because they were special. And it was hilarious to watch several members of the wait staff come by just to see what kind of idiot had ordered French fries at Palo.

Dinner was fantastic, as always. They even brought us a plate with dessert to help us celebrate our move to Florida. I can't talk about Palo without mentioning the soufflé to die for. If you go, you must not miss it. And of course, this proves an old axiom about Disney customer service - if you want something, just ask, they will do their best to accommodate, no matter what it is. Just ask.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #249

From our recent Disney Fantasy trip, this is lunch at Cabanas, the top deck buffet on board. Not just some sweet juicy ham, but the two potato stars of the Disney Cruise Line - the roasted red potatoes and the steak fries. Mmmm...

French Fry Diary 686: Potatoes Three Ways

From the late October 2015 Disney Magic cruise talked about on this episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast, this dinner pic is from Carioca's, where I had potatoes three ways.

First, there was the Jack Cheese Twice Baked Potato, then the Roasted Root Vegetables that included carrots, turnips, celery, and sweet potatoes julienne cut into French fry strips, and finally topped off by the steak fries side dish that our servers Brendon and Andrene made sure I had every night. And the Ribeye was good too.

Awesome.

French Fry Diary 684: Steak Fries on the Disney Magic

I have mentioned our waitstaff from our two Disney Cruises this season before. Brendon and Andrene are the best.

At our first dinner at Animator's Palate I ordered French fries of course, and got the terrific steak fries one usually gets on board toward the beginning of the cruise. I mentioned how much I enjoyed them, but my brother-in-law went the extra mile, saying that if I got fries with every meal I'd always be happy.

This triggered what I like to call the Creme Brûlée effect. On a previous cruise, friends Dom and Cindy had raved about the Creme Brûlée dessert and their waitstaff made sure they always had it, even when they came back on a later cruise.

Because of the bro, we had steak fries every night of the cruise and when we returned two weeks later for the TCM Classic Cruise. Yeah, they are that good, and I was in French fry heaven, whether I liked it or not. Who am I kidding? I loved it.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #225

Always a highlight of the Disney Cruise, the breakfast potatoes, made with red potatoes, red and green peppers, and onions. Awesome, always the best.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #224

As a ten-time cruiser on the Disney Cruise Line, I know when and where to get the 'good fries' on board. To this end I have learned where and when to order fries with dinner. Animator's Palate, first night, you are sure to get hot awesome steak fries like these.

Notably on the Disney Magic in mid-October 2015, this was the best Animator's Palate show and meal I'd had in some time. Thumbs up, and props to our servers Brendon from South Africa and Andrene from Jamaica. Great fries, great everything!

French Fry Diary 657: Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen

On our way to Florida for a much-deserved vacation, we arrived at Philadelphia International Airport early, and had enough time for a quick breakfast. Choices are limited, although places one wouldn’t expect to be open for breakfast were. Case in point - Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen.

They actually had a nice selection of breakfast foods, most of them in a sandwich, wrap, or omelet, so I ordered a la carte. I had a choice between plank-like hash browns (like McDonald's, but as with the ones on the Disney Cruise, vastly inferior) and breakfast potato chunks. Because they looked good, I went with the chunks, and bacon, because, well, bacon.

These were heat lamp potatoes in the worst way. When I say 'heat lamp,' I mean like they were under a heat lamp for a while. Yuck. They had red peppers, which was a plus, but were also only warm, looked old, felt dry, tasted stale. They were just not good at all. The image may look good but I assure they were not.

Of course they also gave me a huge serving of bacon, which was perfect and awesome. It's been a long time since I've had bacon this good. That's four stars for the bacon, but none for the potatoes. Also on the good side, they had Orange Crush, which is always great, even for breakfast.

For the record, in its traditional menu, which is only lunch and dinner, they don't seem to have the favorite fried food. Just sayin'.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #179

More breakfast potatoes, these are from Cabanas, roasted redskin breakfast potatoes with crispy onions and peppers - from the TCM Classic Cruise on board the Disney Magic. Mmmmm...

French Fry Diary 635: Lumiere's Breakfast - TCM Cruise Day Five

With no distractions today, we were up bright and early for breakfast at Lumiere's for that terrific grilled ham and even better roasted red breakfast potatoes. What greeted us at the doorway to the restaurant was a bit more than the usual happy 'good morning,' smiles, and wet wipes. There was a woman ahead of us who was angry and bitching to whoever would listen to her.

She was mad about the sun in her yes so they reseated her, then she was mad about the water. Not the water in her water glass, mind you, the water she could see through the windows. It was moving. This bugged her.

Really?? You're on the TCM Classic Cruise, on board the frigging Disney Magic, in the middle of the Caribbean. Are you kidding me? You could be in Afghanistan, get some perspective, you old bag. Rant over. I just couldn't believe it.

I, on the other hand, was very happy. The ham was perfect. And the breakfast potatoes were also perfect, more white potatoes than red. I suppose I could have complained about that, but I'm not that old woman. I don't think she could ever be happy. Still no one beats the old man we experienced at dinner that night. I'll tell you about him tomorrow.

French Fry Diary 634: Lumiere's Breakfast - TCM Cruise Day Four

On this morning the TCM Cruise on board the Disney Cruise docked at Key West. Upon re-entering the United States there was a whole immigration thing that had to be done, so we had to be at a certain place at a certain time with our passports, 8:30AM to be exact. A bit of a hassle and we never had to do it before, but there you go.

To make things even more difficult, I wanted ham for breakfast and The Bride had an excursion at 8:45. Lumiere's, the place for ham, didn't open until 8:00, so we had our "Mission: Impossible" for the morning. We arrived at Luminere's just before they opened, and while waiting, struck up a conversation with a nice couple from southern Florida. So animated was the discussion, the waiters thought we were together and seated us thusly. No problem, new friends were welcome.

With our need for speed, I got right to the point when ordering - a couple pieces of ham and some breakfast potatoes - hoping I got the awesome roasted redskin potatoes and not those hideous McDonald's hash brown planks. The clock started ticking. Our new friends' breakfasts arrived, then The Bride's. I began to think that maybe simple was not the way to go.

Then at 8:24 my breakfast arrived, and wow, was it worth it. Several pieces of ham and a copious serving of breakfast potatoes... only I had just a few minutes to eat it. I happily wolfed down what I could, and what I did have was perfect. I think we will be coming back to Luminere's for breakfast the next day, with more time on our hands.