The Hollywood Brown Derby Dinner Review 6/1/05

[MandaBella]

Restaurant: The Hollywood Brown Derby
Where: Disney-MGM Studios on Hollywood Boulevard
Meal: Dinner
When: Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Menu: http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_bd.htm
Who: DH and I

WooHoo! It’s time for the infamous Hollywood Brown Derby. Sadly, the original restaurant no longer exists. But we still get to have a taste of their signature dishes in MGM. This restaurant has the distinction of being the only WDW restaurant we have eaten at on every WDW trip. Yes, we do enjoy it that much. So much in fact, it’s the primary reason we haven’t gotten around to trying 50’s Prime Time or the Hollywood and Vine Buffet. I think it’s that grapefruit cake – gotta get my fix! I love the atmosphere here. It reminds of – pardon me – of the old Warner Brothers cartoons starring Bugs Bunny and Classic Hollywood during its Golden Age. I love the caricatures, they remind of Sardi’s. I wonder who did the caricatures first: Brown Derby or Sardi’s?

Since we’re somewhat veterans here, we decided to try some new things than the usual standards. We opted to split our entrée and salad. We decided to forgo the wine this time and try some ****tails. (BTW, Emil Bleehole says **** is a male chicken. So, we had male chicken tails. ) I still don’t remember what DH ordered, and neither does he. I did get a White Chocolate Martini. Wow, excellent drink! This may turn me into a martini fan…heh.

Our server informed us of a Chicken Tortilla soup that wasn’t on the menu. After inquiring what was in it (gotta check for fish and pork), it turns out it has chorizo in it. Not all is lost as my DH looks a little sad with that news because, it turns out the soup is not cooked with the chorizo. It is simply a garnish. With a smile returning to DH’s face, we both order a cup of the soup…one with chorizo and one without. It was very good and quite tasty. Tortilla soup is a favorite of DH’s.

On to the Cobb salad! It’s a salad for two with chopped greens, turkey breast, bacon, egg, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, and Cobb dressing. Amazingly as many times we have been here, we have never gotten this dish. Okay, I somewhat lied. My mom ordered this one time, and I did taste it. We normally skip it because of the bacon. Well after learning of the soup, I inquired about the salad options. It turns out you can leave off the bacon and substitute chicken for turkey. So, we did just that! Whoa…it was much better than that taste I had of it years ago. What a filling salad! It’s a good thing we split it, because I almost didn’t have room for the main course after eating my half. So the moral of the story, always ask if something can be left out or not.

We split our entrée next, Coarse Ground Mustard-Crusted Rack of Lamb with potatoes gratin, seasonal vegetables, rosemary garlic fusion, and port wine. Mmmm, just writing the description makes me hungry. Normally, we tend to shy away from lamb at most places...because…well most places pick poor cuts and/or don’t cook it well. Since we have always been pleased with the Brown Derby in the past, we decided they should know how to do lamb. What a pleasant surprise when we received the dish. In my experience, a lot of places that serve rack of lamb have little meat and lot of fat/bone. Not so with this one. It wasn’t huge, but had plenty of meat to split. Very tender and flavorful, and recommended.

Do I have to really tell you all what I ordered for dessert at the Brown Derby? I bet you didn’t know I ordered 2, yes 2 pieces of Grapefruit Cake. We got one to go, and I snacked on it over the next night or two back in our room. We did note the garnish on the cake has changed. In the past, they used peeled, fresh grapefruit wedges. Now, they are using this dehydrated huge grapefruit slice in its place. I preferred the fresh wedges. DH thinks the change is because you can get more garnish with the slices than the wedges out of one grapefruit. I’m not a big fan of grapefruit in general, but the creamy icing makes it all worthwhile. YUMMY! We didn’t stop there, something else caught our eye on the dessert menu. The Happiest Celebration Dessert features an orange chocolate impression with pinot noir reduction. This is basically an orange flavored chocolate ice cream/mousse like dessert with rich chocolate cake in the center garnished with sugar “flames.” Sounds like Lights! Motor! Action! inspired this dessert. Very yummy, and yes we ate the sugar flames. To go with all of this, DH ordered a cappuccino with Bailey’s, Kahlua, and Frangelico.

Here is the Grapefruit Cake:


And here is the HCOE dessert:


Our server again, very pleasant, informative, knowledgeable, and just great! It’s amazing how much an excellent server can add to a meal. I hope we get him the next time at the Brown Derby. CMs are truly wonderful people.

COMING NEXT: Le Cellier

[flutter]

Great report Amanda..will have to try it sometime

[GaRain]

Ok, this place is now on my list to try on our next trip.

Is the castle on the desert place done in chocolate or is it printed - sorry I can't tell. Do you get to keep it if it was imprinted?

[MandaBella]

Is the castle on the desert place done in chocolate or is it printed - sorry I can't tell. Do you get to keep it if it was imprinted?

Hmm, I'm not entirely certain. It is sprayed onto the plate and made of edible stuff...I think. This isn't the only Disney restaurant that uses that. I've seen it on other desserts.


DH tells me it was a Chocolate Powder Spray on.

[crashbunny]

I'll take a Martini

shaken not stirred

The Martini sounded great

as did the rest

thanks for the review Amanda

[DissyLove]

Thanks for the review Mandabella, this is a place on my to-do list, and you make it sound like a must!

How about this for a deal: I'll try brown derby on my next trip, and you try my fav, the 50's PT Cafe on yours?!?!?!

[vixen101485]

Ok MANDA---its all your fault!

You did such a good description I had to pop over to allearsnet.com to get the recipes for the Cobb salad and the Grapefruit cake....Made the Cobb salad tonite...YUM! I forgot to put in the tomatoes but still YUM! Making the cake tomo but I"m cheating a little(I am a lazy baker..LOL) figured out the recipe is pretty much a white cake with the grapefuit juice added so I just bought a box of mix and a container of creamcheese icing(I;ll just add the grapefruit pieces) ---told ya I was lazy...LOL I know it won't be exactly the same but close enuf to get the gist so I'll know whether to spend money on one to go there..

[Jiminy Cricket]

Grrreat review!!! DW and I will have to try the Brown Derby for dinner in October. We usually eat lunch at Prime Time.