Tink Tested: Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie Lunch

Location: France pavilion in Epcot
Meals Served: B, L, D (Though technically, their menu lists all items as "snack")

Type of Cuisine: French Pastries and Sandwiches

Dining Plan: Yes
Full Menu: Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie Menu
Atmosphere: Parisian cafe

Photo Credit: DisneyWorld.com

Fun Stuff: Not really anything special here for kids. It's attached to a gift shop but since it's mostly French souvenirs, I don't think kids would find it particularly exciting. 

Stand out dishes: Fresh French Baguettes, Creme Brulee, Croissant Jambon Fromage, really ANYTHING
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: Bleu Salad  ($9.50) + Duo or Macaron ($5.75) + Strawberry Smoothie or Cappucino ($4.64) = $19.89
Experience: I. Love. Les. Halles. I have been here many, many times and before Les Halles even existed, used to frequent the old Patisserie. There are few better edible things on Earth than French pastry and French bread, so when my mom, K and I got caught in a rain storm while trying to take in some of Food and Wine Festival, it was an easy choice to settle on lunch at Les Halles instead. The tough part would be choosing what to order. Too many delicious options in one place! 
     Though Les Halles does frequently have a VERY long line, we were there early enough that it hadn't built up yet. Most Guests probably don't realize just how many choices there are here for lunch, including soups, salads, quiches and sandwiches. And the nice thing is, you can get a super reasonable meal here, and still have money left over for dessert! You can get a bread bowl filled with potato soup for only about five bucks! Desserts average around $4, so for just about $10, you can have a fantastic meal AND dessert too! 
     Mum picked the Jambon Beurre, (Ham and Cheese with Dijon Mustard Butter, on a Demi Baguette). I asked about egg allergies, so I knew what to get K, and the girl that was helping me got a supervisor. The supervisor told us what he could have and K chose the Pissaladiere, which he thought was pizza. Really it is more of a focaccia bread with tomatoes, black olives and Gruyere Cheese on it. I adore the freshly made baguettes here, so I just got one of those, since I knew K likely wouldn't finish his lunch, and I'd be having some of that. And of course, we HAD to get dessert. My mom doesn't feel like she has been to Disney unless she has had creme brulee from Les Halles, so I knew what her choice would be. K and I went with one of the only two egg free options, chocolate mousse. Not that I had a problem with that. Their chocolate mousse is awesome, and a really good size serving. 

K couldn't wait to get his hands on this one!

     After getting our order, I went over to the seating area to meet Mum, who had gotten a table for us. It can also be extremely hard to get seating here, since the place fills up, and is very small, but we were able to grab a table here this early with no problem. K took two bites of his "peezza" and decided he didn't like it, so I ate it. I thought it was tasty, but I could tell why K didn't like it. Gruyere is a rather sharp taste and the fococcia was on the drier side. It wasn't bad, but I probably wouldn't order it again. My baguette, on the other hand, was as flawless and fresh as ever. Crusty and crunchy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. With some butter it was heavenly. K stole some too. Mum enjoyed her sandwich a lot. The meat and cheese was flavorful and the mustard butter complimented the sandwich nicely. 

     Once K realized there was chocolate mousse sitting on the tray, his eyes were locked in, like he was a lion stalking his prey. When I gave him the ok to dive on in, his eyes lit up and he went for it! I managed to wrestle a couple of bites out of his little paws. I love that their mousse is rich, chocolaty and smooth, yet has a light, airy quality to it. Many people miss the mark with mousse and it ends up like an overly sweetened pudding. Not the case here. And the chocolate crisp balls on top of the cup are yummy too! 

     Mum was not disappointed with her creme brulee. As always, it was insanely creamy and delicious. There's something about cracking the sugar topping with a spoon that is super satisfying. Especially when it's on top of the best creme brulee ever! I've said it in the past, and I'll say it again... The French do something magical to their pastry cream and custards. Heavenly.

     The desserts were incredible and there was plenty of my fabulous baguette to take the rest home to The Hubs. Always good to earn some extra "best wife ever" points!

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (3 yo boy)  K, did you like your lunch?   "I haff dinna. I eat da peezza."   Well, no, not dinner, you had lunch. And yes, you ate what you thought was pizza. Did you like it?   "No like da peezza."   Yeah, I think that cheese was a little too sharp for you. But you loved the chocolate mousse, huh?   "Oooo, I like da choc-a-lit."   You, my friend, have excellent taste.   "I like da tays of it, yeah!"

Will we be back: I will go to Les Halles any day, any time, with anyone. Who wants to go?

Tink Tested: Pinocchio's Village Haus Dinner

Location: Fantasyland in The Magic Kingdom
Meals Served: L, D

Type of Cuisine: Italian quick service

Dining Plan: Yes
Full Menu: Pinocchio's Village Haus Dinner Menu
Atmosphere: Pinocchio story book inspired dining rooms 

Photo Credit: Disneyworld.com

Fun Stuff: One of the rooms has windows that look out over the loading and unloading area of It's A Small World and kids get a kick out of waving to Guests on the boats.  

Stand out dishes: Caprese Flatbread, Chicken Parmesan, Chocolate Gelato
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: Chicken Alfredo or Chicken Parmesan ($11.49) + Chocolate Cake ($4.29) + Iced Coffee ($4.69) = $20.47
Experience: We visited Pinocchio's during our second visit to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I had eaten here once before, but since we are more of a burger-favoring family, when we are in the Magic Kingdom, we typically pick Pecos Bills or Cosmic Rays for a counter service meal. Truly, The Hubs went into Pinocchio's with the intention of grabbing a fountain soda, and we ended up enjoying the air conditioning and seating too much to move on right away. We were hungry, and the kids needed a trick-or-treating break, so we decided to grab a bite. There are 4 different dining areas to choose from, as well as outdoor tables. Since it was not very busy, we could sit anywhere, so we chose the room with the windows that look into Small World. 
     While everyone else sat, I went up and ordered. I asked a Cast Member for the allergy menu and was handed one right away. There were a good number of egg-free options for K and since he looooooves pizza, I knew we would be good to go. The pasta dishes looked good but I was too hot for something so heavy. I decided to get one regular Pepperoni Flatbread for the Hubs, Garlic Pesto Bread Knots to share, and I got each of the kids a kid's meal with a Cheese Flatbread, a side of grapes, an apple juice, and a side of fries. Since the kid's meals always come with two sides and a drink, I figured it made more sense for me to share with the kids than to order a separate meal for myself. With sides and entrees, we should have plenty. My mom chose a Caprese Flatbread. Because of K's allergy, they have to cook the whole order separately, and it takes longer, so we were handed a pager and told it would be about twenty minutes. That seemed like an excessive amount of time to me, but we went ahead and waited. They did let me get our beverages right away, since the kids were thirsty. 
     When I returned to the table, I was greeted by K, jumping up and down like Tigger. Looks like the candy kicked in. Good thing we had almost the whole room to ourselves. Only about 12 minutes later, the pager went off and our food was ready. I guess they tell you 20 minutes to be on the safe side.

     The flatbreads all looked very good, with golden crusts and plenty of cheese on top. The garlic bread smelled fantastic! The portions of fries were huge and the two packs of grapes were chilled and fresh. The kids dug right into their food and ate with gusto. I snagged a piece of the Cheese Flatbread and thought it was pretty good. Nice flavor and a crispy, thin crust. The Hubs was super impressed with his Pepperoni Flatbread and really enjoyed the Garlic Pesto Bread Knots too. Mum loved the balsamic glaze on the Caprese Flatbread. All around the table were smiling, pleasantly surprised faces. Why did we always skip this place? Well, I guess part of that can be blamed on it's location. Being in the heart of Fantasyland, it does get massive crowds, most of which contain toddlers and small children, making it a loud, full place to be during the regular park day. But now that we know how much we enjoyed the food, maybe we'd check it our during the day too. 
     As we were wrapping up, a Cast Member came out from the kitchen area to clean up and she started talking to K. She asked him if he was having fun and what he liked most about the party. His answer, of course, was, "Candy!" She said, "Well, we don't have candy, but we have something better! Hang on." She asked if it was ok to give the kids a surprise, and she ran out back and returned with cups full of blue slush, topped with whipped cream, and with plastic Mickey silly straws for sipping. My kids could not fathom a greater act of Disney magic! They were in heaven. And highly, highly sugared. What a sweet, genuine and magical thing to do! I adore when those moments of incredible happen at Disney. It's the stuff we will remember forever. (Queue Disney's new ad campaign, "Where Unforgettable Happens".) 
      So overall we really enjoyed our meal. We could have done without the Garlic Knots and maybe even one less kids meal, since we ended up having a lot of food leftover, and we weren't going to carry it around the party all night. I'll order more conservatively next time.

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to D (6 yo girl) I know I don't even need to ASK what the best part about this meal was.   "The slush was awesome! I was so, so, SO excited to get it!"   Yes, clearly. Can you tell me about the actual food, though?   "Oh, yeah. The pizza? That was yummy. And the fries, and the grapes, even though I didn't eat all the fries, they were good anyway. I liked them a lot, cuz I like salty things and they were SALTY. Not the grapes, the fries."   I feel like the slush and candy combo is still having effects on you, days later.   "Huh? Slush with candy? I didn't have a slush with candy in it."   I know you didn't. I meant that you had candy and then had a slush too.   "Oooooh, cuz I was like, I didn't have a slush with candy in it."   Ugh, you're talking like a teenager. When did you start talking like a teenager?   "I'm almost a teenager, I think."   NO, no you're NOT. Remember that.   (insert disapproving look from said six year old)

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (3 yo boy)  K, how was that slush at Pinocchio's? Pretty cool, huh?   "Yah, cold sush, Mamma."   Oh, I meant cool, as in awesome.   "Ah-sum. Yah, I liked it."   What about dinner? Did you like that too?   "Yah. I liked it."   What did you have for dinner?   "Sush."   Well I guess that's the only thing that made an impression, huh? That's ok. You have sugar-on-the-brain.   "Shugga on K's HEAD! Haha!"

Will we be back: Sure. Provided it's not insanely busy to get into, I would get a meal here again. 

Tink Tested: Cooke's of Dublin Dinner

Location: Next to Raglan Road in Disney Springs 
Meals Served: L, D

Type of Cuisine: Irish/English quick service

Dining Plan: Yes
Full Menu: Cooke's of Dublin Dinner Menu
Atmosphere: Casual pub/cafe

Fun Stuff: The many outdoor tables allow for great people watching, and you can even catch some live music on most nights. 

Stand out dishes: Fish and Chips, Hog-in-a-Box, Beef and Lamb Pie, Garlic and Parmesan Chips (Fries)

Best Use of Dining Plan Point: Meat Pie, Shrimp or Hog-in-a-Box ($11.95) + Any Dessert ($5.00) + Any Cold Beverage ($3.50) = $20.45

Experience: The night we went to Disney Springs to check in on all of the construction projects and see what was new, we hadn't eaten any dinner, and the gremlins, (K and D), were ravenous, so we picked one of our favorite quick service spots to grab a bite, Cooke's of Dublin. We discovered this place a few years ago, when we were on a vacation and using a dining plan. We were looking for some unique options. You know, something other than the standard burgers and fries. We knew we loved Raglan Road, so we figured Cooke's was a smart choice to try, since it is owned and operated by the same people. Since then, we have been many times, though we hadn't ever taken the kids there. 
     If you have never been, Cooke's of Dublin is a small counter service location, connected to the side of Raglan Road. They specialize in delicious dishes from the United Kingdom, like meat pies and battered fish and chips, but in a quick service format. It's a nice alternative to Raglan Road when you can't get a reservation, or you don't want to pay the prices of a full service dinner. 
     We were there on a Sunday night, and Disney Springs was relatively busy, so the line for Cooke's of Dublin was out the door. Now, that's an easy thing to have happen, since the location is on the small side, but it was still comparatively busy. Seating is a really tough thing here, since there are only a handful of tables inside the cafe, in the air conditioning, and not a whole lot outside either. It was a pretty hot night, so I grabbed an inside table while The Hubs placed our orders. He did run into some difficulty since they do not offer an allergy menu, and the staff seemed confused as to the difference between an egg allergy and a dairy/gluten allergy. They kept telling The Hubs that he was safe to order the chicken fingers for K, because the batter was dairy and gluten free. He would then say, "Yes, but are they EGG free?", and the gentleman behind the counter would say, "Yeah, dairy and gluten free." Huh? After much confusion, we finally got it confirmed that all of their standard batter for breading is not JUST dairy and gluten free, but also egg-free as well. Once that was out of the way, The Hubs took the number they gave him to place on our table, and got our refillable drinks from the fountain. We waited a very long time for our food... almost 30 minutes. They were very busy, so we understood, but keeping the hungry littles from melting down for 30 minutes while we waited wasn't easy. 
     When the food did come to the table, everything looked amazing. K and D would be sharing an order of chicken fingers and chips, which were cut similar to steak fries. The chicken was lean and the breading was not overly greasy. I got a Caesar salad. It looked fresh and fantastic, with a nice surprise of prosciutto crisps on top, but unfortunately, the dressing was flavorless and super oily. In fact, I said to The Hubs, "The only way to describe this salad is 'slick'." It just felt slippery and gross, with no flavor to it. I ended up not eating it. That was fine though, because we also had an order of my favorite: garlic Parmesan skinny chips. These babies are hot, delicious fries, covered in garlic and fresh grated cheese. SO good! I highly recommend you trying them! The Hubs got the "Hog in a Box", which we both found to be a hysterically funny name, but we both have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy. It was a piece of pork shoulder, potatoes, sage and onion stuffing and applesauce, all in a Chinese-takeout-looking box. It was SO delicious! The pork was tender and flavorful, and the sweetness of the applesauce mixed so nicely with the savory stuffing. He was really glad he ordered it. He had planned on ordering his standard Cooke's of Dublin favorite, which is their Battered Burger. Yup. An actual battered and fried burger. He loves it. I find it to be too much grease for me. Because of this visit, though, he has a NEW favorite dish, and will likely order the Hog in a Box again. 

Chicken and Chips

Garlic Parmesan Chips

Caesar Salad

Hog in a Box

Hog in a Bo

   Even though the food took a long time and my salad was disappointing, the fries, the pork, and the chicken fingers all made the visit worthwhile. I find their battered items, like the fish and chicken, to be consistently delicious. Their chips are always flawless. You should, for sure, add it to your "Must Do" list for Disney Springs, just try and avoid weekend nights if you don't want to wait. Enjoy!

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to D (6 yo girl) What did you like at Cooke's of Dublin, D?   I liked the salad. I know you didn't like it, but I did.   Oh, you did? Ok. Well, I am glad you liked it.   Well, I liked it a little. I liked the fries and chicken too. They were good. And I liked that the little boy in the picture was a cook.   Huh? Oh! The pictures hanging in the restaurant were of The Cooke Family. The Cooke's of Dublin. He wasn't a cook, like a chef. Cooke was his last name.   Oh. (Looks down in a disappointed way.)

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  K, did you have good chicken at the restaurant?   Yeah, I do. I sit wif Mamma.   Yes, we did let you sit on the booth instead of in a high chair. That was a mistake Mamma won't be making again soon.   Haha! I sit on the floor and up-down on seat.   Yup, all of that. You were all over the place. It was not cool.   K is us-um, Mamma.   I agree, kid, you ARE awesome. Next time, you will be awesome in a high chair.   Ok.

Will we be back: Yes! One of our favorite places for a quick service meal on Disney property!

Tink Tested: Columbia Harbour House Lunch

Location: Liberty Square in The Magic Kingdom
Meals Served: L, D

Type of Cuisine: American fare with nods to New England

Dining Plan: Yes
Full Menu: Columbia Harbor House Lunch
Atmosphere: Colonial New England meeting house

Fun Stuff: If the Cast notices you wearing a birthday pin when you approach the counter to pick up your food, they will bust out a loud, boisterous birthday song. Every. Time. They. See. A. Birthday. Pin. 

Stand out dishes: Lobster Roll, Battered Fish Plate, Grilled Salmon, Seasonal Cobbler
Best Use of Dining Plan Point: Lobster Roll or Grilled Salmon ($12.49) + Seasonal Cobbler or Chocolate Cake ($4.29) + Iced Coffee ($4.69) = $21.47

Experience: K and I chose Columbia Harbour House mostly because we happened to be standing near it when K demanded lunch the other day, when we were playing in The Kingdom. I know many people who LOVE Columbia Harbour House, but I hadn't eaten there in ages. Almost every time that the fam and I get quick service lunch in The Magic Kingdom, we go to Pecos Bill's. You can't go wrong with burgers really and The Hubs isn't a big seafood fan, but since he wasn't with us, I thought I'd give Columbia Harbour House a try.      
     Located right across from The Haunted Mansion, this location is more tucked away than some of the bigger counter service places like Cosmic Ray's and Pecos Bill's. Themed to look like a colonial meeting house, there are cool replicas of artifacts all over, and it really does feel like you're in colonial times. When you first enter, it may seem like seating is pretty limited, but there are several different rooms to choose from, AND a whole second floor of seating, which meany Guests don't even know is there, so it's usually pretty easy to get a table up there. 
     The menu is heavy on seafood, but there are salads and chicken tenders available for the non-fish eaters in the group. Healthy options are easy to find too, with the Grilled Salmon being a favorite dish of many. They do have an allergy menu on hand, and we found plenty of options for K, including chicken fingers, which is what he chose. I went with the Grilled Salmon. We did run into some trouble, the way I always do when I'm alone with K, since I had to carry the food tray and navigate pushing the stroller to look for a seat. Once we grabbed a table, I realized that all of the condiments, silverware, straws and napkins were at stations, which happened to be nowhere near our table. Luckily a gentleman who was cleaning around the restaurant saw that my struggle was real, and he grabbed straws and napkins for me, while I wrangled K into his highchair. 
     The food was actually great! The salmon was flavorful and not overly spiced or salted. The couscous was light and had bits of chopped onion and red pepper in it. I was given a massive portion of broccoli. K's egg-free chicken fingers were all white meat and tasted great. In fact, he ate two whole chicken fingers, which he almost never does. His portion of fries and grapes that accompanied his chicken were plenty big. In fact, K and I could have easily shared a meal. It felt like such a waste but I just could not finish my couscous and broccoli, and K had tons of fries left over. So, if you have a big appetite, this is the place for you! You'll get plenty of fresh, tasty food. 

     I really enjoyed my meal here and am so glad I tried it again. I think next time I'd try the Battered Fish, because that looked great! I will probably never try the Lobster Roll though, because us New Englanders know that you can't top an actual Boston lobster roll, so why be disappointed? 

Tink's Tots Try It Out: According to K (2 yo boy)  K, did you like Columbia Harbour House for lunch?   Yes, Mamma. I eat da chickin fingis, then I ride da Teacups.   Yes, I know you rode the Teacups for the very first time, huh?   Yeah, I love 'em.   And did you love the chicken fingers too?   Um..... yeah. We go ride Teacups now?   No, not now, Buddy. We are back at home now.   I ride Teacups tamarra?   Yeah, I don't know about riding the Teacups tomorrow. We will see.   Ooooookkkkkkk, Mamma. (He says with a sly grin that says, "I know you can't resist this face.")

Will we be back: I am sure that the next time I am in The Magic Kingdom with my mom and we need to grab lunch, we will come here. She likes seafood a lot, and it's nice to have an option that is different from burgers and fries.