Steakhouse 71 at Disney's Contemporary Resort

I had lunch at Steakhouse 71 in the Contemporary Resort at Disney.

 I started with French Onion Soup.

I had the Gourmet Grilled Cheese for my entrree. This was toasted brioche filled with gruyere, smoked gouda, pork belly, arugula, and carnalized onion jam. I picked a Caesar salad as my side.

Backlot Express at Hollywood Studios

I ate at Backlot Express at Hollywood Studios. I have distinct memories of eating here as a kid, way back in the MGM Studios days of the park. I remember tuna salad sandwiches on hot dog buns. I'm sure menus have changed and that hasn't been an option for a really long time. On this visit, I had  the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl. The menu describes it as Seasoned Jasmine Rice, Teriyaki Chicken, Yuzu-pickled Edamame, Carrots, Cucumber, and Onions drizzled with House-made Lemon-Tahini-Chipotle Vinaigrette and Sesame Seeds. It was pretty good. Proportion wise, I would have preferred a little more of the toppings to go with the rice, but otherwise everything was tasty.
 

Ginther's Swirls Ice Cream in Orlando, FL

Today is apparently National Ice Cream Day. Hurray for made up food holidays! To celebrate, here's a Dole Whip from Ginther's Swirls located on International Drive near Sea World. Pineapple soft serve ice cream floating on a pool of pineapple juice. It's was just like getting the must overhyped Dole Whips at Disney without dealing with the Disney crowds!

Planet Hollywood Observatory in Disney Springs

This was my first visit to this restaurant since they renovated from regular Planet Hollywood to Planet Hollywood Observatory. When Downtown Disney rebranded themselves as Disney Springs, I guess a giant globe filled with movie props didn't fit into the story of a small town built around a spring water bottling plant that Disney came up with. Instead, the globe was painted grey and it is now an observatory to view stars. In doing so, they ripped out all of the movie props that made the old version of the restaurant interesting and replaced the majority of them with video screens projected on the walls. Guy Fieri was brought in to provide the restaurant's new menu, but celebrity chef fame doesn't do much when the menu ended up as boring as it was. Looking over the menu, very little spoke to me and everything was generic and overpriced.

I ended up ordering the Championship Pulled Pork Sandwich. This had pulled pork, barbecue sauce, coleslaw, pickles, and onion straws. I know I was sort of dissing Planet Hollywood's menu, but this sandwich was okay. The pork was tender, and they kept it interesting by adding more than just meat and sauce on the sandwich. Fries and a pickle were served on the side.

My pulled pork sandwich was good enough, but I don't think I'll be rushing back to the Planet Hollywood Observatory soon. I might as well go to an Applebee's for an equivalent generic chain restaurant menu for half the price...