![\"Brown](\"http:\/\/www.extrawdwmagic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Brown-Derby-Lounge-First-Tastes-November-2013-1.jpg\")
<\/a>View of patio area, about 4:30 on a Tuesday afternoon in November<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The tables are nicely “attired”, large umbrellas and lights for evening – would have been nice to have a tablecloth, but there’s an umbrella coming through the middle<\/p><\/div>\n
The lounge menu is rather nice, there are six “tapas or small plates” dishes, three desserts, and numerous adult beverages to chose from (Sarah from EatingWDW has a\u00a0review<\/a>\u00a0of her lunch there and she includes copies of the menus).<\/p>\n Of course, we started with cocktails…<\/p>\n Nora’s Cocktail – The Jack Diamond<\/p><\/div>\n The Jack Diamond is Maker’s Mark, Sweet Vermouth, and Bitters ($9.75 a very reasonable price) (it took about 7 minutes to get my drink). Nick ordered a Boulevardier made with Woodford Reserve (it took 25 minutes and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>didn’t appear on the final bill – 1st of all, our server didn’t understand what it was, the outdoor\/lounge bartender had to go inside to get the Campari and the Woodford Reserve) – in the end, it was pretty doggoned good although nick said that the orange peel should have been bruised more (not bad for a first attempt). I thought that his Boulevardier was possibly better than the Jack Diamond. Nick’s Boulevardier – all good in the end<\/p><\/div>\n It’s worth noting, that we’re nearly 30 minutes into this experience and although we know who our server, he hasn’t introduced himself (turns out his badge said “Remy”, we strongly suspect that he was wearing the “default badge” that most restaurants keep in reserve for when servers forget their name badges; he surely didn’t look like a “Remy” \ud83d\ude42 ).<\/p>\n We asked for still bottled water, perhaps the confusion re: the Boulevardier caused the delay in getting the water\u2026 It took 15 minutes to get the water. Nick observed that with the way that tables were being seated and served AND the number of people taking a look at the menu and getting up and walking away – it’s going to be difficult to turn tables very fast and that the servers won’t be getting much money if assigned to the Lounge (the food is cheaper than in the restaurant if it takes the same amount of time, the servers won’t be able to make very much\u2026 tips will be less and total bills will be less).<\/p>\n We had decided on our food before we journeyed over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios\u2026 Nick ordered the Derby Cocktail and I ordered the Prince Edward Island Mussels (of course we shared).<\/p>\n Derby Cocktail – Shrimp & Avocado, Lump Crab, Bloody Mary & Horseradish Sauce<\/p><\/div>\n Our first thought, there wasn’t much there for the cost. The sauce was VERY good, the plating sucked\u2026 can you see the bottom of this dish? That’s ALL that was on the table, thank goodness Nick is very cautious and didn’t tip his whole plate over onto the table when he tried to spear a bit of crab.<\/p>\n Remy suggested that Nick pour the bloody mary sauce into the bowl and dip the seafood into it<\/p><\/div>\n The dish would have been more balanced with about 50% more crab. The crab was tasted nice and was very clean tasting. The salt on the rim was a nice touch, it went really well with the lumps of crab. Surprisingly, the shrimp wasn’t overcooked – thank goodness! The level of horseradish in the bloody mary sauce was very nice for us, you could taste the horseradish without being overwhelmed. Nick said that he would definitely order this again.<\/p>\n Lump crab meat on the rim of a very tippy plating<\/p><\/div>\n So, what about the mussels?<\/p>\n It was a good sized portion for the cost, they weren’t overcooked\u2026 However, I really needed bread and a bowl for the shells in order to enjoy them fully\u2026. Remy brought both of these right away (but a bit sad that I had to ask)…<\/p>\n<\/a>
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