Thanks for Televising the World Series, Jake; but Who Moved My Cheese???On our first evening at Royal Pacific Jay and I were looking for a good place to cozy up and watch Game 1 of the World Series. Luckily Jake's American Bar was open from late afternoon until midnight and they had a surplus of flat screen televisions with which to mesmerize their guests. Jay and I initially planned to sit at the bar but it was already full, so the hostess gave us a table in the dining room right in front of a television ... it was like having our own private viewing party!
In case you're wondering, Jake's is located on the lower level of the Royal Pacific lobby - the menu features a variety of appetizers and sandwiches as well as a number of tropical themed cocktails. The most impressive drink offering was Mt. Kumuneyewanadrinkya, a 32-ounce beverage with rum, rum, rum, and flaming rum that I just couldn't convince the man to share with me no matter how much I begged. I'm a sucker for booze on fire coupled with a goofy name, but Jay insisted we save the really silly drinking for our upcoming cruise. I ordered a Caribbean Sunshine instead, which was made with Bacardi Orange Rum, Pomegranate Liqueur, Cranberry, and Orange juices. It was good - a well-balanced mix of sweet and sour that proved a nice finish to an evening of delicious and varied drinks.
Caribbean Sunshine
Jay ordered a Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale for two reasons ... one: Kona beer isn't available in Stinktown; and, two: real St. Louis Cardinals fans drink beer while watching their team play in the World Series!
Kona Fire Rock
Since this was our third food stop of the evening we decided to order light (for us), and Jay selected the Pork Sliders with Crunchy Slaw and Mango BBQ Sauce with an order of fries. He really enjoyed this and I thought it was pretty good, too. I really liked the fries which were well cooked and well seasoned.
Pork Sliders
I opted for the Grilled Cheese and Roasted Tomato Soup, one of my very favorite food combinations and oh-so-comforting on a chilly evening in Orlando. The soup was excellent and I had no reason to think otherwise of the mini-sandwedge until I took a bite. Initially I thought I'd bit into a wedge that hadn't been cheesed very well, but closer inspection revealed the horrible, awful truth.
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
SOMEONE STOLE MY CHEESE!!!
This barely qualifies as toast, let alone grilled cheese
Jay and I looked at each other in disbelief. How does the kitchen forget to add cheese to a grilled cheese sandwich? Did the chef realize his mistake at the last minute but hope I wouldn't notice? I could see him in my mind's eye just after plating my food ... "Awww, crap! I forgot the cheese. Meh, send it anyway ... the customer will never know the difference!"
If that was truly the case - and I'm sure it wasn't - then the kitchen chose the wrong guest with which to play Now You Cheese It, Now You Don't.
We waved over our server, who was quite helpful and actually very embarrassed when he saw the inside of my "sandwich." He left the entire plate so that I could continue to enjoy my soup, but went back to the kitchen to inform the chef of our little problem and find me a proper grilled cheese.
He seemed to be gone for quite a long time, but I savored my soup and ate some of Jay's fries, and sipped my drink, and watched the game. We weren't really in any rush but after a while we both noticed that a new sandwich had yet to make an appearance.
"Maybe he forgot, too. At least that would be consistent with the kitchen staff."
"Nah," replied Jay. "They're all back at the grill eating your cheese and laughing."
Before I could respond our server arrived ... without a replacement sandwich.
He looked very uncomfortable and then he said, "The Chef said there was cheese on your sandwich and he's not going to send out another one."
I'm sure the expression on my face must have been priceless. I looked at Jay who looked at me and we both looked at my bread and then back at our server. "This is a joke, right? You can see as plainly as we can that there is no cheese on this bread."
He nodded. "I told him the bread was toasted but plain. He said the cheese evaporated while they were grilling the sandwich."
This time we did laugh.
I handed the platter with the sad, empty bread back to the poor serving guy and said, "Here. Take this back to the kitchen and ask the chef to bring it out to me and explain the invisi-cheese product he used to make this sandwich."
Apparently seeing is believing. Within ten minutes an entirely new grilled cheese sandwich, with cheese, arrived at the table. Sadly, the chef didn't make an appearance which I found a little disappointing. I really did want to hear about this amazing tasteless, evaporating cheese product that he was using.
The good news is that the second sandwich was actually very good; they must use a creamy cheese mixture that makes for an ooey-gooey delight when actually grilled in between two slices of bread. The taste reminded me a bit of boursin, and had a hint of garlic as well.
Finally - some cheese!
Our private television for the night
Jake's Lounge with live music
Despite Cheese-Gate, as we like to refer to it, Jason and I did return to Jake's on the last night of our stay ... again to watch the World Series. This time we were able to snag a couple of seats at the bar and struck up a friendly banter with a guy from Philadelphia who was still smarting from the loss his team suffered against ours in the Division Series earlier in October. We had an enjoyable couple of hours watching the game swing back and forth and the bartender was terrific that night - friendly and pouring with a really generous hand!
Ahhhh, the bar!
Jay stuck with beer for the evening but I decided to try a new drink. This time I opted for a Coral Crush: Malibu Coconut Rum, Peach Schnapps, Amaretto, Cranberry, Pineapple, and Orange Juices. It was good but a little sweeter than I wanted it to be. Luckily it came with a lot of ice, so I drank slowly while letting the ice water it down a bit.
Coral Crush
For game-time snacking we ordered a pizza to share - pepperoni, sausage, and ham. It looked better than it tasted ... it just wasn't very good in my opinion and served to reinforce that the culinary offerings at Jake's are really hit or miss. The drinks, however, are quite good!
Pepperoni, Sausage, Ham & Cheese Pizza
For any of you who might have followed Game 3 between Texas and St. Louis, you will no doubt understand why I felt the need to order some scotch to calm my nerves. By this time the score was 8-6 Cardinals and I could feel my blood pressure reaching dangerous levels. I chose the Balvenie, one our favorite single-malt scotches and look at the size of the pour our lovely bartender gave me! It was more than enough for Jay and me to share for a few innings - and it made heading back to our room to pack for the next leg of our vacation a little more enjoyable.
The Balvenie ... a most generous pour!
Final verdict: Jake's was OK in a pinch or for a quick snack at the bar but it wouldn't be our first or second choice given the other options that Royal Pacific has to offer. We did receive some great service there and really enjoyed the drink selection but the food left something to be desired. However, there is one thing about their food that's certain: we will never forget that invisi-cheese sandwich!
