Tink Tested: Crossroads at House of Blues Dinner

Location: Main dining room inside House of Blues Orlando, at Downtown Disney West Side 

Parking/Transportation Situation: General Parking in Orange Garage or parking lot behind Cirque du Soleil. Bus service from all parks and resorts.(If using Disney Transportation, allow 1-1.5 hours transportation time.) See comments on parking situation below.

Meals Served: L, D, Gospel Brunch on Sundays only

Characters/Entertainment: Live music on the outdoor porch and inside, nightly

Type of Cuisine: Southern/Cajun

Type of Menu: A la carte

Pricing/Dining Plan: $/ 1 Table Service Point Per Person
Full Menu: Crossroads at House of Blues Dinner Menu

Atmosphere: Eclectic, funky blues club
Dress Code: Theme park casual

Guests Who Would Enjoy This The Most: Music lovers and fans of foods with a "kick"

Level of Difficulty of Getting a Reservation: Easy

Fun Stuff for Kids: The live music is entertaining, however, it typically starts later in the evening, and with the concert venue attached, this restaurant tends to draw in a mainly adult crowd.
Rating of Appeal to Kid-Diners: Are we done yet???

Stand out dishes: St. Lois Ribs, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Juicy Lucy Burger
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: NY Strip, Jambalaya with Shrimp, or Full Rack of Ribs, with any dessert

Experience: How did I pick this totally random destination for today's Tink Test? Restaurant.com. I bought a certificate on their sight for this location. Because it's an "operating participant" or "third party operator", they are non-Disney and sometimes offer coupons and other deals. When all is said and done, I paid $3 for the certificate on sale and it was good for $50 off when you spend $100. Sounded like a great deal to me, and we figured we could easily spend $100 on the four of us, so we decided to try it out. My husband and I had been to the House of Blues to eat once before, but it was only for appetizers at the bar, so we were looking forward to trying a full meal.
     Because of our weirdo work schedules, we again opted for a late lunch/early dinner and made a reservation just prior to arrival, for 4pm. Now, here is a very important factor to consider when opting to dine at a Downtown Disney restaurant: arrive plenty early, and with plenty of patience. You have probably heard that Downtown Disney is in the process of being transformed into Disney Springs, a more modern, sleek and bustling version of the shopping, dining and entertainment marketplace. When done, it's going to be an amazing destination, with fabulous new places to visit. The latest arrivals include The Boathouse Restaurant, (stay tuned for a review after we dine there for Father's Day!), a vegan bakery, an Italian gelataria, amphicars that drive right into the lagoon, and cool new stores like Chapel Hats and APEX, by Sunglass Hut. Once complete, it will easily add a full day's worth of touring to anyone's Disney vacation schedule, but for the next couple of years, it's kind of a mess. There is no parking available at the old "marketplace" side, as there is a large garage under construction down that way. There is parking available accross the street, by Disnwy Casting and the Hess Station. There's also a lot of roadwork being done, so traffic is miserable! On Friday and Saturday nights, it is not uncommon for I-4 to be totally backed up at the Downtown Disney exits and for all of Buena Vista Drive to be at a standstill. There is a garage at the West Side, called the "Orange Garage". (Side note, coolest garage EVER! I wish all garages in the universe implemented the technology that shows you how many spaces are available on each level, in each row, and even illuminates available spaces with a green light above them. I want to see Disney use this for things like the monorail. Think about it... a sign above each car that tell you how many people are in it, so you know which to walk to, in order to get a seat? GENIUS! Disney, you can pay me later. Or name a monorail after me or something.) There is also a large parking lot back behind Cirque du Soleil and House of Blues. That is where we parked, and had an easy walk into the restaurant. 
     Once inside the rather dark and eclectic venue, we were greeted and sat almost immediately. Our table was right next to the stage, which, luckily for my eardrums, was not in use this early. D declared that it must be there for her to dance. Obviously. We had plenty of time to peruse the menu, as we were not greeted by a server for at least ten minutes. It seemed like eating at this "off time" was throwing the staff off. The one server we saw was rushing around, and seemed frazzled. Ten minutes in, she rushed by our table and sort of snapped, "I'll be right there." Don't mind us. We'll just wait right here. Trust me, honey, I've been in your shoes. I was a server too, (though I do try to block those memories out as best as I can), but I know that when you're oversat and in the weeds, you'll get waaaaay more understanding from your guests with an, "I'm so sorry. Give me one sec and I'm all yours," than you do with a snappy comment, which seemingly places blame on your guests. We were cool, though. We knew she was a little freaked out, and we realized this wasn't a place that had as many kids dining there as other places in Downtown Disney might. The server returned to the table when things calmed down a bit, and asked if we had questions about the menu. We informed her of K's egg allergy and she left to get a chef for us. The chef was very helpful and friendly, and stayed with us until all of our questions were answered.
     We ended up ordering a BBQ Chicken Grilled Flatbread as a starter. It came to the table after about 12 minutes. The crispy, flat dough was covered in a smoky barbecue sauce and held pieces of grilled chicken, gouda and mozzarella cheese, cilantro and red onion. It had a nice flavor, and since it was egg free, K enjoyed digging in too. Before we were done with the flatbread, our entrees came out. The hubby went for the full rack of St. Louis Ribs with mashed potatoes and fries. (He likes carbs with his carbs.) I got the Applewood Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies, and D and K shared a kid's hot dog, fries and veggies. The ribs were tender, with a heavy smoky flavor. A bit on the drier side, but not unreasonably so. The Red Rose Garlic Mashed Potatoes were flavorful, despite being rather runny. The veggies were a delicious blend of peapods, asparagus and carrots in a buttery sauce. I even managed to get the kids to eat a few. I wasn't thrilled with my meatloaf. It was tasty, for sure, the only problem is that it tasted exactly like a spicy Italian sausage and NOT meatloaf. Basically I was eating a mushy, spicy Italian sausage, in loaf form. Not exactly appetizing. I didn't end up eating most of it. The kids liked the hot dog and fries, so there was that. 

     Things got a little weird when D asked me if "the people on the ceiling are dead". Huh? Are you seeing things, child? Ok, I get what she's asking. There are plaster tiles on the ceiling, depicting various Blues "greats", like Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. They do look a little headstone-like, so I saw where she was going. We did get a chance to talk a bit about the great things that many people have done for music, especially people with challenges, differences and setbacks. Yes, friends, we made the House of Blues into a teaching moment. Anyway, she quickly lost interest, and went back to her hot dog. 

     Despite more than half of my meatloaf being left behind, the server did not ask if it was ok, or if I wanted anything else, which seemed about par for the course. Since we knew we had to spend at least $100 in order to use the coupon I had, and we weren't quite there, we had to order dessert, (Ow, ow! Would ya quit it with the arm-twisting?). The hubby and D decided to share a piece of Key Lime Pie, which they were thrilled with. Not overly puckery and just sweet enough. Despite not finishing my meal, I was not in the mood for dessert, so I got my Triple Chocolate Cheesecake to go. It was fair, but no better than what I can get at Publix. The kid's dessert, "fresh baked chocolate chip cookies", may have been fresh baked, but it was yesterday. In a grocery store. Ok, maybe not, but they were not fresh, delicious cookies.
     The good news is that with the Restaurant.com coupon being taken off, it was a reasonably priced meal. We still spent about $75, but that was with tax, tip and eating 3 courses. The bad news is, we were not fans. The service was on the generous side of "fair". And I totally get it... servers have bad days, stuff happens, etc, but other than the friendly seater and the helpful chef, we were disappointed that our experience was not a welcomed one. I think I would have enjoyed the food more, had I ordered the amazing looking fried chicken that I saw pass by me. (Damn it, Tink! Just ORDER the fried chicken next time! This is the second time you passed it up, and second time you regretted it.) 

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to D (6 yo girl) Hi, D. What did you think of House of Blues?    "I liked it. I liked the food. The hot dog and chips."     I don't think you had chips.     "Oh, ok. So the hot dog. Oh, and the ceiling with the things."     You liked that?    "Yeah. I learned about the music."   (I stare blankly.) She WAS listening after all! Squad goals achieved! 

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  K, do you remember House of Blues?     "Yeah."     Did you like it?    "Yeah. (sings) Huss of Boooos, Huss of Boooos."   So I take it you wished they had music?     "Yeah. With a moo-moo hear an a moo-moo there..."    Here a moo, there a moo, kid. I get it. You're saying that all restaurants are the same. They bore you. You've seen one "moo", you've seen 'em all. They really gotta do something to WOW you, right?     "Nooooooooo."   I feel ya, kid.

Will we be back: Glad we tried it, and I'd happily come back for a date night some time and sit on the porch and listen to the live music, but I won't be back to eat again.