Sherman's Food Adventures: Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe

Promises.  We are taught at an early age that when we make a promise, it is imperative that we keep it.  I guess that doesn't apply to politicians or used car salespeople...  So when Costanza promised his oldest son that we'd visit The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney, he had to keep it despite all the warning signs - such as high prices, mediocre food and indoor thunderstorms.  I tried to convince him to make up an excuse or something, but that would be breaking a promise wouldn't it?  But, but...  anything for good food right?  Negative.  Off we went to The Rainforest Cafe for lunch on our first day at Disneyland...

We shared the Spinach & Artichoke Dip as an appie.  It was pretty standard consisting of a cream cheese and mayo concoction with spinach and artichoke.  I found it slightly thick, but all the better to dip the tortilla chips into.  Nothing particularly exciting though.  For myself, I went for the Taste of the Islands consisting of Caribbean Coconut Shrimp, Blackened Tilapia topped with
a mango salsa and Dynamite Scallops and Shrimp. I found the coconut shrimp to be decent with a crunchy coating.  However, we were not convinced that the cumin tamarind dip was a good compliment (as it was too tart).  I thought the tilapia to be prepared properly being flaky and moist.  The mango salsa could've used more acidity for impact though.  I was not a huge fan of the scallops and shrimp as the "sauce" was a watery salty mess.  The seafood was okay though except for the rubbery scallops.


I added the Creamy Clam Chowder as a starter for my main (which was $1.00 less than ordering it individually).  It wasn't particularly creamy, yet the broth was thick enough without being watery.  Although the clams were large and tender, there was no seafood flavor present.  This was partially due to the abundance of salt (which made the soup almost inedible) that masked everything else.  Viv had the Blue Mountain Chicken Sandwich which was acceptable in a general sense.  The peppers were particularly impactful with plenty of tang and sweetness.  The chicken itself was a bit dry though.  There was nothing terrible about the sandwich, but hardly anything to get excited about either.

Costanza had the Rainforest Burger with a thick beef patty topped with a fried onion ring, lettuce, tomato, pickles and
cheese on a toasted bun. Although it was decently moist and meaty, it wasn't particularly flavorful.  Despite the toppings, there was little impact.  Furthermore, the fries were pretty generic and weren't particularly crispy either.  Their second item was the China Chicken Salad. It was basically a green salad with a sweet dressing and lots of overcooked chicken.  It wasn't really all that appetizing as the dressing didn't really flavor all of the ingredients properly.  It was pretty much watery and bland.  Worst of all, the chicken was terrible being chewy and tough.


Of course we cannot forget about the kiddies as this visit was essentially for them.  Trust me, it certainly wasn't for me!  I think my palate regressed with this visit...  I digress.  So my son went for something incredibly exciting in the Rainforest Rascals (mini-cheeseburgers) with fries.  Well, at the very least, the burgers were decent in size and not too dry.  But the same couldn't be said for my daughter's order of Grilled Chicken with apple slices.  The 2 pathetic pieces of meat couldn't be any chewier.  Man, they killed the chicken once, but they really finished it off in their kitchen.  She didn't even attempt to eat any of it.  In fact, none of us could eat it.  To top it all off, there was not flavor to speak of.  At the very least, the Mac n' Cheese was not half bad as it was a big portion of soft (but not mushy) noodles in a mildly cheesy sauce. Now back to that promise...  I think in this case, Costanza should've taught his son a lesson in what a white lie is all about...

The Good:
- Kid-friendly
- Lots of choice
- Decent portion sizes

The Bad:
- Food just ain't good
- Expensive
- They focus on the gimmicks more than the food

Rainforest Cafe on Urbanspoon

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