We Smelled It ... It Had To Be Eaten! Christmas Eve Food Porn posts #1170 & #1171!!

[PNO4TE]

Final verdict?

Actually it's a split decision. Jason thought that CA Grill was as good on this evening as it had been on past visits. I thought it was good, but not nearly as good as previous experiences. Undoubtedly some of it had to do with our food choices as mine were definitely not as good as Jay's were. But I also thought our sevice was a little distant. To be fair, I probably set the tone by asking too many questions about the missing foie gras but I wasn't rude about it and I certainly didn't blame the waiter for someone else's decision.

The truth is that I think CA Grill has become a little boring and there are other signature restaurants that we both like more, such as Jiko, Citricos, and Flying Fish. I would never tell anyone not to dine here because the food is quite good, but I think that Jay and I need a break from CA Grill so that we can come back and be delighted by it again.

Thanks for another great review, Brenda. Bob and I agree with you (sorry, Jason!). We found the service to be mediocre and the menu to be lackluster this time too. I have to say that Bob went into our meal with a 5-year old chip on his shoulder from the last time we dined there, but they did nothing to remove that chip at all. As for me, I would choose Jiko or Citricos in a heartbeat over CA Grill. Hands down.

 

[luvpooh]

Thanks Brenda, now I see what you were talking about when you said that it wasn't anything special at CA Grill last time. The lamb did look good and so did the cheese plate though. I think we decided on Jiko for my b'day dinner, BTW.

PS - I had foie gras last night!!!

 

[njprincess]

Great job Brenda! Unfortunately, I'm always hungry after your reviews

I had heard that the California Grill was slipping lately, but it still sounds interesting. b/t/w the La Crema Pinot Noir is just about my favorite wine right now. I ordered it for the first time on the advice of a friend of mine who lives in Sonoma (thank goodness he was buying, since it was $14/glass and I had more than one!) and now I get it whenever I can!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Thank you so much for making me feel not as bad for cancelling our Cali Grill last month. We loved FF and Jiko so much I would have been bummed if Cali Grill spoiled the momentum.

We are heck bent on trying Citricos, Narcoossee's and maybe Cali Grill on our next trip. Maybe we will have to do all signature places in Oct??

 

[MRYPPNS]

Count me in as someone who isn't that impressed with the fireworks from the Cali Grill. Give me the Wine Room any day!

 

[oybolshoi]

I agree w/ your assessment of Cali Grill; I just wasn't feeling the cali love this trip; first of all, we got forgotten at the bar (not that I minded that much, kind of reminded me of DH and I's first date, but still...almost 2 hours after being sent upstairs, just not ok... and then they kept insisting that we had checked in at the wrong time? Hello, checked in downstairs, they said a few minutes, 20 tops... now I'm an idiot and don't know the time? Anyway, the bartender was great! The highlight of our evening. The cheese selection was good, although the portion size a little small, def. too small for DH and I to each have even one small bite of each. And I made the tragic error of ordering (gasp) that awful mushroom "lasagne/ravioli/uncooked pasta nightmare thingy"... I'd almost put the traumatic culinary experience behind me as a momentary lapse, but now I see that the time has come to broaden my horizons- (I have to admit, I was feeling like, I missed V&A's (just too much $$ this trip) and Jiko (husband wanted Cali) for This????
Anyway, off to the fridge; got the leftovers from the cheeseboard from our dinner party tonight calling my name, and it's my sacred duty to answer the call!!

Hi Nicole! Sorry to hear about your bad experience at CA Grill. I think their check-in process is a little chaotic and I can see (unfortunately) where things like what you described happen. We definitely want a trip to Jiko next time instead of CA Grill.

Great thread!

Thanks so much - I hope you enjoy the reviews and all the in-between!

Think again dear Bendy...

BTW... are we missing BOTH legs this year???

The leg / legs move in and out of pictures at will this year!

Thanks for another great installment Brenda - sorry you haven't been feeling too well and sorry the CG didn't live up to its previous performance. Hope that you start feeling better soon

Hi Joh! Thanks for reading and thanks for the kind words. I hope to start feeling better soon ... very soon.

Thanks for another great review, Brenda. Bob and I agree with you (sorry, Jason!). We found the service to be mediocre and the menu to be lackluster this time too. I have to say that Bob went into our meal with a 5-year old chip on his shoulder from the last time we dined there, but they did nothing to remove that chip at all. As for me, I would choose Jiko or Citricos in a heartbeat over CA Grill. Hands down.

Hi Elin! It's interesting and kind of sad to hear so many people talking about less than stellar experiences at CA Grill lately. Our dinner wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it just didn't live up to my expectations based on past dinners. And I'd choose Jiko and Citricos over CA Grill, too! Yummy!

Thanks Brenda, now I see what you were talking about when you said that it wasn't anything special at CA Grill last time. The lamb did look good and so did the cheese plate though. I think we decided on Jiko for my b'day dinner, BTW.

PS - I had foie gras last night!!!

Hiya! Jay really enjoyed the lamb and I did like the cheese plate very much and the sushi was very tasty, so there were bright spots in the evening.

Jiko is a great place to celebrate your birthday - I'm sure you'll have a lovely time there!

And yum yum yum on the foie gras. I have no idea now when Jay and I will have a chance to have it again. There aren't any restaurants in St. Louis that I'm aware of that serve it and we don't have any foodie trips planned for next year until October and that's WDW. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to eat more cheese!

Great job Brenda! Unfortunately, I'm always hungry after your reviews

I had heard that the California Grill was slipping lately, but it still sounds interesting. b/t/w the La Crema Pinot Noir is just about my favorite wine right now. I ordered it for the first time on the advice of a friend of mine who lives in Sonoma (thank goodness he was buying, since it was $14/glass and I had more than one!) and now I get it whenever I can!

Hi Kathy! Thanks for stopping by to take a read. If you've never been to CA Grill I'd suggest that you try it some time because it still is good and they do have a nice menu selection. As for the wine, Jay was really happy with that selection ... he loves a good red wine and that one was spot on!

Thank you so much for making me feel not as bad for cancelling our Cali Grill last month. We loved FF and Jiko so much I would have been bummed if Cali Grill spoiled the momentum.

We are heck bent on trying Citricos, Narcoossee's and maybe Cali Grill on our next trip. Maybe we will have to do all signature places in Oct??

Hi Nicki! I think you need to try CA Grill at least once - in all honesty I can't tell people not to dine there because it was still good and we could have caught them on a bad night, ya know what I mean?

As for your alternate list, having tried all three I'd rank them in this order: Citricos, CA Grill, and Narcoossee's. We loved Citricos - it was the last meal of the trip and it was a great end to our vacation.

Count me in as someone who isn't that impressed with the fireworks from the Cali Grill. Give me the Wine Room any day!

And here I thought we were the only ones! Thanks for reading!

 

[allshookup]

Brenda, I loved reading about your dinner at CG! You have such a way of making the reader feel like that sat & witnessed the whole dining scene with you!

Anyway, we took friends to CG for the first time this trip & thankfully it lived up to all the hype we gave them beforehand. They thought the shrimp tempura sushi, pizza, ravioli, filet mignon & pork tenderloin were excellent. Of course none of us were anticipating ordering foie gras. I had foie gras on my plate once, but I stuck my fork in it & it wiggled so I was afraid to touch my lips to it. That just shows you how unrefined we are!

I am also a fireworks geek! I never tire of seeing them, and we try to catch Wishes & Illuminations a couple of times each trip. I oooh & aaaah like a little kid (not out loud....those people drive me crazy) everytime I watch. So we DO time our dinner around the fireworks, but if I didn't love the food at CG, I would just go to the park to catch them. We just love the whole experience at CG, and so far they haven't disappointed us. I hope it stays that way!

 

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, I loved reading about your dinner at CG! You have such a way of making the reader feel like that sat & witnessed the whole dining scene with you!

Thanks so much - that's what I'm trying to do so hooray for success!

Anyway, we took friends to CG for the first time this trip & thankfully it lived up to all the hype we gave them beforehand. They thought the shrimp tempura sushi, pizza, ravioli, filet mignon & pork tenderloin were excellent. Of course none of us were anticipating ordering foie gras. I had foie gras on my plate once, but I stuck my fork in it & it wiggled so I was afraid to touch my lips to it. That just shows you how unrefined we are!

Well I'm glad your dinner with your friends lived up to the billing. Like I said earlier, we could have just caught them on a bad night, but I really do think that Jay and I just need to let some time pass before we try CA Grill again. There are too many other restaurants to stuff our faces at, so we'll give them a try on our next visit.

Eeek! Wriggling foie gras? I wouldn't eat it either!

I am also a fireworks geek! I never tire of seeing them, and we try to catch Wishes & Illuminations a couple of times each trip. I oooh & aaaah like a little kid (not out loud....those people drive me crazy) everytime I watch. So we DO time our dinner around the fireworks, but if I didn't love the food at CG, I would just go to the park to catch them. We just love the whole experience at CG, and so far they haven't disappointed us. I hope it stays that way!

Jay and I actually both like the fireworks shows quite a bit, but we don't like them from CA Grill. From that vantage point it's really easy to see the location behind the park where the fireworks are being launched and it just ruins the effect for us. We prefer watching from ground level - that way it feels like we're surrounded by pretty explosions in the sky.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Thanks for the review, sorry Cali Grill wasn't quite as good this time. We've had the somana goats cheese ravioli before and the sauce in your picture does look much thinner, than when DH had it.

And we were at Universals Halloween Horror Nights on the 9th, the heavens opened around 7pm and we got soaked to the bone in about 10 minutes!! My poor shoes took a day to dry out. We still had tons of fun though.

 

[DisneyMom5]

I think I might like that kind of sushi. The only ones I have had, I haven't liked the flavor of what I assume was the vinegar in it, AND, I didn't like the texture of the seaweed wrap.

Sorry your dinner was blah.

I have a countdown ticker!
Nothing is set in stone,
and we have some debt to pay off (hoping that the new Pres.'s proposed "stimulus package" includes a big fat check for ME!),
but if that all works out, we're going back in Sept.
What can I say, we're addicted to free dining. Sigh.
Darn you MOUSE! Show me how the finer half eats and then through me back to the masses, never to be satisfied with 10 days of chicken strips again!

 

[KristinAnne]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your meal so much. The pictures look good! lol
Hope you're feeling better soon!

 

[travelmel]

so BORING, eh? Hmmm... you have left me pondering.

I was so excited about your review of the cheese plate the first time that (and I say this with all honesty) I was so interested in that stupid cheese plate that when you would review OTHER cheese plates and act like you liked them I would say in my head, "YEa but not as much as the CA Grill cheese plate"

Ohhh the humanity!

A fun review but I feel crushed for the CA Grill. LOL

It happens.

I agree about (what sounds like as I can only hear and have never seen) the homogonation (SP FOR CRAP) of the rest (and alcohol it sounds like!). I hate that idea.

 

[disgrits]

I'm sorry CG wasn't up to par. And sorry you didn't get the foie gras.....

I love that Jay likes anything he eats. This is the kind of man for whom I like to cook!

 

[Tatania]

Jay and I rolled our eyes at each other and then my mouth opened and I heard myself saying, "Well, that's just stupid. I can't believe that your executive chefs, especially someone like Scott Hunnel over at Victoria and Albert's, would allow themselves to be dictated to in that fashion."

He shrugged; after all what else could he say? And then he suggested that we try the Little Bunny Foo Foo appetizer that had been created to replace their Over-Stuffed Duck Liver appetizer.

Now, I'm not going to hold you guys hostage while I spend pages ranting about our inability to order foie gras at WDW any longer, but I am going to say this: I respect everyone's right to eat or not eat whatever they choose as long as it doesn't impinge on my right to do the same. To single out the foie gras industry for animal cruelty while overlooking the mistreatment and indignity suffered by animals in the industrialized food industry as a whole is hypocritical in the extreme. Disney's restuarant menus were already suffering from a noticeable homogenization trend before this most recent incident and I think this move serves as notice that it's just going to continue. Jay and I were extremely disappointed and while we're in the minority, I'm sure we weren't the only patrons to feel this way.

I am someone who is very much for domestic meat animals being treated as humanely as possible before they are killed for our tables. Meat has been part of the human diet for millions of years so I'm not against that at all - I just feel that animals, which have been domesticated for our use, deserve to be treated as humanely as possible.

The controvery over foi gras is, of course, the method called 'la gavage' - the practice of placing a metal tube down the neck of the geese and force feeding them grains. This is done twice a day. The large amounts of food fatten the gooses liver and turns it into an oversized, pale "diseased" organ which is no longer like a real liver. Personally, I can live without it, just like I live without veal, frogs legs, snake, and a few other things BUT if one likes fois gras there are alternative products made without cruelty. Apparantly, a Spanish company has developed an alternative product. Called 'Ganso Iberico', this type of fois gras does not involve 'la gavage', but rather utilises the natural feeding cycle of the geese. Here, the birds are tricked into being fattened up for their annual winter migration to Africa and then slaughtered. This means that the liver is still very large, but they have not been force fed to achieve it.

I guess Disney decided the easiest way to deal with the controvery was to ban the product (as some European countries have done) but perhaps if they are told about the ethical production of fois gras they may put it back on the menu.

 

[allshookup]

Thanks so much - that's what I'm trying to do so hooray for success!



Well I'm glad your dinner with your friends lived up to the billing. Like I said earlier, we could have just caught them on a bad night, but I really do think that Jay and I just need to let some time pass before we try CA Grill again. There are too many other restaurants to stuff our faces at, so we'll give them a try on our next visit.

Eeek! Wriggling foie gras? I wouldn't eat it either!


Oh you mean it's not suppose to wriggle? Ha that explains it! Bad fois gras? That's really gross!

Jay and I actually both like the fireworks shows quite a bit, but we don't like them from CA Grill. From that vantage point it's really easy to see the location behind the park where the fireworks are being launched and it just ruins the effect for us. We prefer watching from ground level - that way it feels like we're surrounded by pretty explosions in the sky.

Ah that makes perfect sense!

I forgot to mention....we were one of those schmucks at MNSSHP that night in the pouring rain. We sat at the shooting range & watched DS shoot for about an hour & then we sucked it up & donned our ponchos & trudged along. Luckily it stopped in time for Hallowishes & it was completely dry out by the second Boo to You Parade.

Okay I'll be quiet now. I think you were better off when I just read & kept my mouth shut!

 

[oybolshoi]

Thanks for the review, sorry Cali Grill wasn't quite as good this time. We've had the somana goats cheese ravioli before and the sauce in your picture does look much thinner, than when DH had it.

And we were at Universals Halloween Horror Nights on the 9th, the heavens opened around 7pm and we got soaked to the bone in about 10 minutes!! My poor shoes took a day to dry out. We still had tons of fun though.

Thanks for coming over to take a read. And the good news is that this really was the least pleasing meal of our entire trip, so that's pretty darn good!

You went to HHN? We haven't been to that in about three years but it is so much fun ... I want to do it again some day. I'm glad you still had fun even with all the rain that night.

I think I might like that kind of sushi. The only ones I have had, I haven't liked the flavor of what I assume was the vinegar in it, AND, I didn't like the texture of the seaweed wrap.

Sorry your dinner was blah.

I have a countdown ticker!
Nothing is set in stone,
and we have some debt to pay off (hoping that the new Pres.'s proposed "stimulus package" includes a big fat check for ME!),
but if that all works out, we're going back in Sept.
What can I say, we're addicted to free dining. Sigh.
Darn you MOUSE! Show me how the finer half eats and then through me back to the masses, never to be satisfied with 10 days of chicken strips again!

Hiya Sarah! Nigiri sushi is very simple - that's why I like it so much. I have problems with the rolls because of the seaweed ... it bothers my stomach so I try to avoid it whenever possible, especially on vacation.

A new ticker!!! Woo hoo for you! Just wish you were going in October instead of September, but that's me being selfish.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your meal so much. The pictures look good! lol
Hope you're feeling better soon!

Thanks for reading - glad you enjoyed the pics. And thanks for the kind words ... my leg seems to be doing better today but it's faked me out before so I'm playing the wait and see game. Tomorrow will be the real test since I'll be back at my desk.

so BORING, eh? Hmmm... you have left me pondering.

I was so excited about your review of the cheese plate the first time that (and I say this with all honesty) I was so interested in that stupid cheese plate that when you would review OTHER cheese plates and act like you liked them I would say in my head, "YEa but not as much as the CA Grill cheese plate"

Ohhh the humanity!

A fun review but I feel crushed for the CA Grill. LOL

It happens.

I agree about (what sounds like as I can only hear and have never seen) the homogonation (SP FOR CRAP) of the rest (and alcohol it sounds like!). I hate that idea.

I was actually a little disappointed in the cheese plate. I mean, I liked it and thought the selections were pretty tasty, but the serving sizes seemed a little skimpy for an $18 cheese board. I've seen pictures of past CA Grill cheese plates that were just to die for and this one, well, I guess it just fit right into the theme of the evening: good, not great.

The real story is that this was the only cheese plate we ordered on the entire trip!

Glad you liked the review and I'm sure CA Grill will not suffer from my partial thumbs down.

I'm sorry CG wasn't up to par. And sorry you didn't get the foie gras.....

I love that Jay likes anything he eats. This is the kind of man for whom I like to cook!

Hiya Sistah! Thanks for reading. It wasn't the end of the world that we didn't get the foie gras but we sure were looking forward to trying it at CA Grill. If you'd like to cook for Jay he'd love anything Cajun you choose to make!

I am someone who is very much for domestic meat animals being treated as humanely as possible before they are killed for our tables. Meat has been part of the human diet for millions of years so I'm not against that at all - I just feel that animals, which have been domesticated for our use, deserve to be treated as humanely as possible.

The controvery over foi gras is, of course, the method called 'la gavage' - the practice of placing a metal tube down the neck of the geese and force feeding them grains. This is done twice a day. The large amounts of food fatten the gooses liver and turns it into an oversized, pale "diseased" organ which is no longer like a real liver. Personally, I can live without it, just like I live without veal, frogs legs, snake, and a few other things BUT if one likes fois gras there are alternative products made without cruelty. Apparantly, a Spanish company has developed an alternative product. Called 'Ganso Iberico', this type of fois gras does not involve 'la gavage', but rather utilises the natural feeding cycle of the geese. Here, the birds are tricked into being fattened up for their annual winter migration to Africa and then slaughtered. This means that the liver is still very large, but they have not been force fed to achieve it.

I guess Disney decided the easiest way to deal with the controvery was to ban the product (as some European countries have done) but perhaps if they are told about the ethical production of fois gras they may put it back on the menu.

Thanks for your post. I totally agree with you about humane animal treatment and I appreciate the information you provided. I've made the argument before that there are humane producers of foie gras but no one ever believes me. My guess would be that Disney doesn't want to pay for the humanely treated product and found it easier to just ban it. I do find it interesting that they did so very quietly with no fanfare.

Ah well, it's not really that big of a deal in the overall scheme of things but it was something we looked forward to once or twice while on vacation. Especially since we can't get it here at home.

I gotta tell you ... my mom would be rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter right now if she read this. When I was younger I wouldn't even eat things like crab and now I'm b----ing about not being able to find foie gras.

Ah that makes perfect sense!

I forgot to mention....we were one of those schmucks at MNSSHP that night in the pouring rain. We sat at the shooting range & watched DS shoot for about an hour & then we sucked it up & donned our ponchos & trudged along. Luckily it stopped in time for Hallowishes & it was completely dry out by the second Boo to You Parade.

Okay I'll be quiet now. I think you were better off when I just read & kept my mouth shut!

Sorry to hear you guys were among the crowds that got soaked at MNSSHP that night. We really did feel bad for everyone. We've been at the party when it's been freezing cold but I'll take that over rain any day. I'm glad the weather cleared in time for the fireworks.

And don't worry ... you can post whatever you want. I'm pretty easy that way.

 

[sunny04]

Did they give you vouchers for another party or did you all just have to suck it up in the rain?

Actually, last year's MNSSHP we attended was much more of a washout than this one, rain-wise. This year, nothing got cancelled just delayed, last year, a lot was cancelled. They didn't offer us vouchers either time.

But considering we had security dealing with my family that night...I doubt they would have offered us a free time to come back anyway.

 

[EnnEss]

AHahha, I just have to say OP, I love the theme of your post.

I only clicked it because the title, I was thinking, a Simpsons reference to one of the greatest endings of the show ever? Probably not, just a coincidence. Then I click, and bam, "foodarinos"! Thats no coincidence, I love it.

 

[Timon]

Love love love this B! Too bad me and Nancy weren't there, we would have LOVED to watch those stormy fireworks under an umbrella, right Nanc?

Sorry that your dining experience wasn't as good as the last time, it sucks when that happens!

 

[Tink rules]

Hey Brenda.. if you're gonna get soaked watching fireworks... I suggest the Poly...

& I hear that Narcoosees is back to being tops of the "lets have a view of the Magic Kingdom" restaurants... Gotta get me some more mussles!!!