House of Blues

Due to the amount of time needed to travel to Orlando, eating at a restaurant was out-of-the-question.  Furthermore, connecting flights meant we were left with few choices for quick eats at the airport.  And we didn't even consider ordering anything on the plane.  The choices were as good as a high school cafeteria.  So after doing one of the theme parks at Disneyworld, I was eager to sit down for a real meal.  Not being too creative, we headed to the House of Blues in Downtown Disney,.

I was pretty hungry, so I did the usual "order-2-dishes-for-myself-protocol" starting with the Shrimp & Grits. As suspected, it was not a very large portion (as the server confirmed).  Hence, that would only serve as my appetizer.  Consisting of fried puck of grits and several shrimp in a chipotle garlic cream sauce, it was not exactly what I expected.  I was not a huge fan of the puck as it was dry and stiff.  I would've much preferred to see a more traditional serving of grits.  On the positive side, the shrimp were done right having a nice sweet snap.  As for the sauce, it was really rich being spicy and garlicky.  For my second dish, I had the Pulled Pork Sandwich which was actually pretty good.  There was ample tender pork nestled within a soft and moist brioche bun.  The accompanying BBQ sauce was sweet and vinegary while the side of coleslaw was very good.  I liked how it was julienned thin with a tart dressing.  I substituted sweet potato fries and they were alright.  They could've been more crispy.


Viv had the Jambalaya which was a lot spicier than we had anticipated.  That was a good thing though as too many places advertise spicy and then be the opposite.  There was no absence of chicken and andoiulle sausage mixed in with firm rice.  Each bite got spicier and spicier with cayenne and tabasco.  My son opted for the Mac n' Cheese which was a fairly large portion of big noodles and a creamy sauce.  I would say it was much creamier than cheesy as it was quite mild.  My daughter had the Chicken Strips and Fries which was not as good as it looked.  The chicken was dry and dense, yet the breading was quite good.  It was crisp and flavourful in a KFC kind-of-way.  We liked the crunchy fries. Overall, the meal filled our bellies, but was nothing particularly special (especially with a menu created by Aaron Sanchez).  I guess this is to be expected from this type of restaurant in a touristy area.

The Good:
- No absence of flavour
- If you like Blues...

The Bad:
- Food is a bit rich
- Pricey