Medieval Times in Kissimmee, FL

Medieval Times recently introduced a brand new show and this blog was invited to the premiere. Medieval Times is one of oldest dinner shows in Orlando and is also a show that I had heard lots about but had never seen. I was looking forward to the show!

When we arrived, the evening started out in a large hall. This seemed like the preshow area and was honestly a little disappointing. Appetizers were served here and beside a repetitive knighting ceremony for the birthdays/anniversaries/etc, not much happened in here. All the bars and gift shops were open, but more needed to happen (court jester juggling or something?).

Since we had over an hour of waiting for the show to start, I suppose it was a good thing that they had a medieval village set up next to the main Medieval Times castle. This is the only Medieval Times that has a village and it was very cool! The village was filled with all sorts of authentic medieval and renaissance artifacts, everything from armor to torture devices to pottery. Here's a 700 year old manuscript...

Animals were also in the village. Here's a falcon.

Eventually it was time for the main show and dinner to begin. Several rows of seating surrounded the stage, separated into color-coded sections. We sat in the green section, and therefore cheered for the green knight.

Once everyone was seated, the first course of tomato bisque and garlic bread was served. The tomato bisque seemed like typical tomato soup to me, not exceptional but still tasty. The garlic bread was more interesting. It actually reminded me a bit of a garlic naan from an Indian restaurant rather that what I would expect at a dinner show.

While we were eating our bread and slurping our soup, the show began and horses did all sorts of nifty tricks in front of us. Knights soon followed with a fun competition of jousting, sword fighting, and other nifty stuff.

As the show was going on, the next courses were served. The chicken came next. Half chickens were served and we ripped them apart with our hands in a very medieval manner (unless you insist that they bring you silverware). The chicken was flavorful, although it was a little dry.

Soon after the chicken, a rib and herb-basted potatoes were served. The rib was good, but the potatoes were really dry and flavorless.

For dessert, we were served apple turnovers. According to one of the people working in the medieval village, the dessert is the only non-standard item on the menu and is always a surprise as to what will be served. The turnover was good with a flaky crust surrounding some apple jam. 

 Before I knew it, the show was over. I never saw the old show, so I can't compare, but I enjoyed it. Overall, the Medieval Times was like an indoor renaissance festival with air conditioning and better food. Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a good time!

Medieval Times had a great castle-shaped cake made by a company called Cupcake Kisses sitting in the lobby/preshow area for the premier. It almost looked too nice to eat, but to my surprise the cake was cut with a sword and was served after the show.

 This was definitely the most architectural cake I've ever eaten!

I had a good time at Medieval Times. Once the show got started, it was very entertaining. The food was all good (with the exception of the potatoes), and overall was fun night. 

If you've read this far into this blog post, it is your lucky day. I have a goodie bag from Medieval Times to give to one of my lucky readers. It contains two tickets to the show, fancy Medieval Times drinking cups, a Medieval Times hat and rain poncho, and some other extras. It can all be yours, all you have to do is like Watch Me Eat on Facebook and comment on the post mentioning the contest. Do this before August 7, 2012, you will be entered into a random drawing to win the prize. Good luck!

Treasure Tavern in Orlando, FL

A few months ago, I went to the new dinner show called Treasure Tavern connected to Pirate's Dinner Adventure in Orlando.

A mixed green salad topped with blue cheese and kalamata olives was served first.

The main course consisted of prime rib, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. I'm not really a big beef eater, so this is probably one of the few times you will see prime rib on this blog. Since I don't normally eat prime rib, I'm not going pass any sort of judgment on the main course.

For dessert, they served something called an Opera Cake. The slice had alternating layers of chocolate, sponge, and coffee cake, topped with a piece of hard candy.

The dinner show wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Being connected to Pirate's Dinner Adventure, I thought it would be somewhat pirate themed. Instead, it was more of a variety show with comedians, contortionists, magicians, jugglers, and had very little to do with pirates. All of the different acts kept the pace of the show moving, unlike some of the other dinner shows in Orlando that tend to drag on and on with their horrible shows. Entertaining enough and as far as dinner shows go, the food and show both could have been way worse!

Zatarain's House of Blues Gospel Brunch in Orlando, FL

The House of Blues Gospel Brunch takes place every Sunday morning in Downtown Disney. It's something I had never seen in my years of living in Central Florida, but when I was invited to try the new Zatarain's sponsored Jambalaya Bar at the brunch, I figured it was time to give the Gospel Brunch a try!

It was strange seeing the House of Blues filled with large round tables instead of concert goers...

The Zatarain's Jambalaya Station was the first thing that greeted everyone near the entrance of the House of Blues. Here, a chef prepared freshly made jambalaya from whatever ingredients you selected. The Zatarain's sponsored food are offered for a limited time in October and November, so hurry in if you're after the jambalaya.

Several other buffet tables were also set up. There was a salad bar with several different types of salads. The breakfast bar had a nice selection of typical southern breakfast items, including eggs, waffles, biscuits & gravy, grits, meats, and pastries. The lunch bar featured foods like fried catfish, rice & beans, macaroni & cheese, collards, and chicken. Nearby was a carving station providing freshly sliced meats, and the dessert bar can't be forgotten either.



At the far side of the House of Blues, there was also an Omelet station providing custom made omelets.

After checking out the food choices, it was time to eat! I started with with the jambalaya, catfish, and cornbread. In my jambalaya, I choose crawfish, shrimp, andouille sausage, as well as all of the vegetarian toppings. I really enjoyed the jambalaya, especially with good Cajun food being a rare find in Orlando. The cornbread was also really good. It was really moist with great flavor!

I didn't get a chance to try the omelets, but that didn't stop me from snapping a picture of one...

Next came a plate of salad and breakfast items. One of the salads was Caesar and the other was a mixed green salad with crumbled blue cheese. For the breakfast, I tried scrambled eggs, sausage, home fries, cheese grits, and a biscuit. The standouts here were the cheese grits and the biscuit.

A visit to the lunch buffet table came next. I had red beans & rice, collard greens, macaroni & cheese, roasted chicken, and some more of the awesome cornbread. I liked everything here with the exception of the macaroni. It was very dry in my opinion.

Finally, I picked up a plate of bread pudding, key lime pie, apple cobbler, and a brownie for dessert.

After forty-five minutes of eating, the show started. Apostle J.L.Cash came out and did a good show for another forty-five minutes. There were many mentions of Jesus, god, and similar topics. These are not musical themes I normally seek out, but this was expected in a Gospel Brunch. Much of the audience was getting really into the show with lots of dancing and crowd participation, so I suppose the show was a success!

I enjoyed the House of Blues Gospel Brunch. The food was really good and was definitely on par with the nearby breakfast buffets elsewhere on Disney property. Getting the show along with the food was an added bonus!

Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show

I ate at Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show on International Drive in Orlando, Florida for someone's birthday.

The eating experience started out with some appetizers that were served in the lobby while in line to get your tickets. The food was all gone by the time I got to it, thanks to all of those ravenous British tourists. What I saw didn't look all that special anyway. Mostly cubes of cheddar cheese, celery, and something wrapped in a tortilla.

Everyone was escorted into the main theater by a guy dressed up like a detective with a fake British accent. Waiting on the tables was rolls, crackers, and salads. The salads were way too small and the salad dressing (blue cheese?) seemed a bit watered down.

The first portion of the show began after all of the food on the tables was devoured. I found this portion of the show to be a bit too long and tedious, with way too much nonsense leading up to the murder that the rest of the show was based upon. When this portion of the show finally ended, the main course was served. The three choices were prime rib, lasagna, or cornish hens. I went with the hen, and although I don't find it very appetizing to rip the flesh off of a dead chicken's bones before eating it, the hen was actually quite tasty. They served half of the bird with string beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a sweet potato. I really had no complaints for this part of the meal, which was surprisingly good when compared to other Orlando dinner show food.

The show continued after the main course, in a much shorter and less tedious interval this time around. Dessert was then served. I ordered key lime pie. It was disappointing. It tasted like instant key lime flavored pudding that you buy in the supermarket poured into a pie crust. I wouldn't be surprised if that is what the pie actually consisted of. It was pretty bad and I ended up leaving some of the pie. I should have gone with the chocolate cake instead...

The dessert was followed by the conclusion of the show, and that was that. Sleuths was definitely better than some of the other Orlando dinner shows in regards to the show and the food, but there was still some room for improvement. At least it was better than the horrible Capones dinner show or the short lived and even more horrible Fiascos dinner show where nothing happened in the show and the food was delivered from multiple take out locations all over International Drive...