derryX Disney Dines: Crossroads at the House of Blues (Downtown Disney)

Cassie picked out this dinner stop. We had a fairly packed day visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom and then The Magic Kingdom, so, after a quick cleanup and change at our resort, we headed into Downtown Disney for a later dinner. It was raining, and this restaurant was a decent walk from the bus stop, but walking around there was still fun nonetheless.

The one thing I didn’t know is that Crossroads at the House of Blues has a menu that’s designed by Food Network celebrity chef, Aaron Sanchez. I hadn’t forgotten that this restaurant was within a theme park complex, so I had no expectations.

The Disney Deluxe Dining plan gave us the customary starter-entree-dessert. The starter I chose was the Voodoo Shrimp (Sautéed jumbo shrimp, simmered in an amber beer reduction on top of Jalapeño cornbread).

Aside from one fairly major technical snafu, this dish hit all of the right notes. Sweet, heat, acidity, salt. It was bursting with flavor. However, the shrimp were cooked to the point of rubber. To accent the heat, I tried all of the different Cholula hot sauces that were at the table. I had no idea they even made chili garlic sauce!

For dinner, I went simple, ordering the Ribeye (Adobo seasoned twelve ounce steak accompanied with salsa-verde. Served with fries). Medium rare, of course.

The temperature of the steak was perfect, and it had a good crust, which baffled me because there was no salt added to the adobo rub. It was really unfortunate to have such a nicely cooked steak with no seasoning.

Dessert was a redeeming experience. I had the Bourbon Bread Pudding (Cooked with bananas and white chocolate, finished with a bourbon caramel sauce topped with fresh whipped cream).

I actually loved the massive cube of bread pudding served to me. The caramel sauce was sweet but had a good depth of flavor from the bourbon and some fresh vanilla. It was served warm, and was very comforting after the walk in the cool rain.

Overall, it was a far from stellar meal, but it was still enjoyable, as the ambiance is a lot of fun for someone of my age and interests.

During the meal, I left the table to use the mens’ room. While I was there, I could hear music playing through the wall. At the House of Blues that evening, the Black Crowes were playing, which explains the massive group of people waiting to get in when we arrived. It’s not my music, but it’s still pretty cool that they were there.