French Fry Diary 632: Cabanas - TCM Cruise Day Three

We had a surprise this morning. Either someone complained, the staff was needed elsewhere, or they decided we didn't have Ebola and we're capable of serving ourselves - but today we were allowed to serve ourselves.

The waitstaff kept trying to hand us wet wipes for after we used spoons and tongs like perpetual motion machines, but still.

The great self-service buffet ban was over!

The potatoes were awesome, and this morning I was able to get some bacon done the way I liked it - and more than two pieces(!). The mood on this morning was considerably better. And not just for me, for everyone at Cabanas.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #176

These steak frites are from the Lucky Bones Backwater Grille in Cape May over the Thanksgiving weekend. This might have been my GAR! Podcast partner Ray's Thanksgiving dinner, but they saved this for Saturday night. Some folks are living the life, eh?

French Fry Diary 631: Sweet Potatoes Vs. Yams

Last week I posted some really cool pics from my friend Robin Renee of her Homemade Vegan Sweet Potato Pies. A conversation via text later indicated that Robin didn't think they were technically sweet potatoes, but yams instead. This got me thinking about what the real difference between sweet potatoes and yams actually was… and therein I discovered quite the conspiracy.

It would seem that what we think of in America as yams are really just sweet potatoes, just another variety of them. We've been calling them the wrong name for years. It's just like those French taking credit for fries from the Belgians, we've been giving yummy sweet potatoes the name yams when they are not yams at all. You can read about what's really what in the world of yams and sweet potatoes here.

And while we're sort of on the subject of Robin Renee and the holidays, you might want to check out these two YouTube videos, "Hare Krishna Christmas" and "The Yule Song." Enjoy!

Random Tater Pics of the Day #174 and 175

Homemade Vegan Sweet Potato Pies, a special pair of random holiday tater pics from my good friend and French Fry Diary contributor Robin Renee. Mmmmm...

Give Thanks, and Take Your Pick

If you're still wondering what you'll be making tomorrow for Thanksgiving beyond the turkey and the cranberry sauce, I might have something for you.

Click here for thirty-five amazing mashed potatoes recipes from the nice folks at The Cooking Channel. Enjoy!

French Fry Diary 630: Room Service - TCM Cruise Day Two

Room service on board the Disney Cruise is almost a tradition at this point. So after a late night seeing The Sea Hawk on the big screen (yeah, still on the TCM Classic Cruise on board the Disney Magic), both The Bride and I had the munchies, so we figured what better time to get room service, especially with the new limited hours of the restaurants and the no-go anti-self-service policy Disney had initiated on the cruise so far. If we wanted food or drinks, it was room service or we were out of luck.

I was hoping for steak fries but got natural cuts. That's okay, they were soft, hot, and good. While I had my usual room service fare of a hot dog, The Bride got her macaroni and cheese. The food came quickly, even by Disney Cruise standards, along with a fancy variety of condiments. We were pleased with out late night treat.

French Fry Diary 629: Carioca's - TCM Cruise Day Two

Another of the renovations of the 're-imagined' Disney Magic is the replacement of Parrot Cay, always one of my favorite restaurants on board with Carioca's. It has roughly the same flavor, only now with an animated mascot. 

By name, Jose Carioca was one of the original Three Caballeros, with Donald Duck and Panchito, from the film of the same name, Saludos Amigos, and other features and shorts. Jose is unfortunately one of those characters forgotten to the mists of time, but thankfully, and hopefully on his way to a comeback. I'll miss Parrot Cay, but still this isn't bad.

There has been really only slight remodeling and repainting. They have added lots of Chinese lanterns a la Tangled hanging from the ceiling, but really not much else. The restaurant still a tropical flavor, all it's really had is a name change,

some new lighting, and a brisk rebranding.

On the surface however, one thing that hasn't changed much is the menu. This may as well have been Parrot Cay. I got the Roasted Honey BBQ Chicken Breast, and it was very good, and the sauce was also very good. If there was any crushed sweet potato, as advertized, on the plate, I couldn't find it, or rather, taste it. I probably should have gotten a side order of fries like I did the previous night if I wanted to appease my tater jones.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #173

This four foot tall Mr. Potato Head is in the Toy Story section of Disney's Oceaneer Club, the Disney Magic day care center. It also houses the non-potato-related Avengers Academy. But back on topic, just think how many French fries you could make out of this guy!

French Fry Diary 628: Cabanas - TCM Cruise Day Two

For apparent health reasons (we are in the middle of a worldwide ebola scare, and cruise ships are well known for spreading germs like wildfire, so I do get it, but still…), Disney is attempting to kill the all-you-can-eat buffet concept with guilt. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you may no longer serve yourself. *

If say, a huge percentage of the reason you choose Cabanas is for the breakfast potatoes, you can only get a small serving of them. And if you ask nicely for more please, they will give you a proper non-verbal shaming before finally, after an appropriate pause, giving you another small serving.

Another negative to having a server in front of each station to give you your food at the 'all-you-can-eat' buffet is bacon. A serving of bacon is two small strips, period. Try, just try asking for more. And there is no longer any such thing as crispy bacon and not so crispy bacon. If you wanted one of the other previously, you could just pick them out and put them on your plate. Now, The Bride who likes crispy bacon and I who like it not so crispy, got the same bacon, despite our instructions. You have zero control on what you get to eat at a buffet.

The same goes for the wonderful breakfast potatoes on board. These are great chunked broiled, spiced, and marinated small red potatoes that are a number one reason to go to Cabanas for breakfast. Suppose you want them soft one day and crispy the next, the server will just plop a small spoonful on your plate willy-nilly, crispy or soft. The image you see is three servings by the way.

What I did get was very good, but you should never have to leave an all-you-can-eat buffet hungry, right? I did. And don't even get me started on asking for those tiny paper cartons of milk, especially if you want one for cereal and one or two to drink. Talk about a server stink-face! Perhaps it's not just health reasons, maybe Disney is running out of food…

* The situation did resolve itself, check here.

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.