Insanity Vol 4. - Brief sanity break in the middle of chaos - California Grill

[Dis_Yoda]

Via Napoli​

Lunch on Saturday, I checked in at noon for Via Napoli. I was sat in the back corner of the restaurant.

During the F&W Festival this year, at the Beer Tasting, the arancini we were given for the first course was enjoyable enough. As I was on the dining plan, I figured it would be the best choice for my appetizer.

They were alright. Not as good as what I remembered from October. I only ate one of them as I knew I had pizza and dessert coming.

For my entree, I went with a basic pepperoni pizza.

As all their pizza I have had, it was very enjoyable.

For dessert, I went with the tiramisu.

Overall, this was a decent meal. My waiter was charming and on top of things.

It was starting to rain & looking at the weather it was going to be a very wet & nasty afternoon. I headed back to the room to drop off most of my stuff & headed to AMC to catch Mirror Mirror @ the Fork & Dine. I was able to have cocktails while I watched it so worked for me! I didn't have any of the food as I was still full from lunch & knew I would be having dinner somewhere undecided sometime that night.

 

[Linda67]

Just caught up with your wonderful reviews
I love the pizza at Via Napoli

 

[vettegirl]

Wow that pizza looks so good!

 

[jacksmom]

Great reviews!

 

[vinotinto]

Great reviews (as usual)! A few comments:

1) Agree with pp about the Narcossee prices. A year and a half ago, the whole crispy snapper was something like $35 (I know cause I ordered it - it was delish). It's now $49. That's way more than inflation. And $49 for snapper is crazy. I love, love, love whole snapper, but that really is out of whack.

2) I'm not usually a big steak or filet or beef eater (I'll have it once during a 7 or 8 night stay), but the one from Narcoossee looks great. Love the little mushrooms. The dessert looks amazing too. I wish I could fit Narcoosee in our next trip, but we can't, so it will have to wait.

3) Is it me or is the Le Cellier dinner menu less 'daring' than when it first opened? It seems that when they first opened they had multiple very interesting dishes. Now it seems it's more of the usual Disney stuff: a chicken dish, a salmon dish, a short-rib dish, a steak dish, etc.

4) Kona - we also had lunch and our experience was very similar. Desserts were good, but the rest of the meal was of similar quality to 'insert-your-local-Pacific-restaurant-here.' I can't even remember what we ordered for apps (must have been quite forgettable). We thought about dinner here for our upcoming trip (on our MK day) and quickly decided against it, even though it would have been a convenient option.

All right, I'm looking forward to hearing where you ate on Sunday.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Thank you for taking the time to post your pictures and review. I enjoyed reading them!

Glad you are enjoying them!

Just caught up with your wonderful reviews
I love the pizza at Via Napoli

I love Via Napoli - I really wish we had somewhere around where I lived that had decent pizza as everything is pretty much chains.

Wow that pizza looks so good!

It was great!

Great reviews!

Thanks for reading.

Great reviews (as usual)! A few comments:

1) Agree with pp about the Narcossee prices. A year and a half ago, the whole crispy snapper was something like $35 (I know cause I ordered it - it was delish). It's now $49. That's way more than inflation. And $49 for snapper is crazy. I love, love, love whole snapper, but that really is out of whack.

2) I'm not usually a big steak or filet or beef eater (I'll have it once during a 7 or 8 night stay), but the one from Narcoossee looks great. Love the little mushrooms. The dessert looks amazing too. I wish I could fit Narcoosee in our next trip, but we can't, so it will have to wait.

3) Is it me or is the Le Cellier dinner menu less 'daring' than when it first opened? It seems that when they first opened they had multiple very interesting dishes. Now it seems it's more of the usual Disney stuff: a chicken dish, a salmon dish, a short-rib dish, a steak dish, etc.

4) Kona - we also had lunch and our experience was very similar. Desserts were good, but the rest of the meal was of similar quality to 'insert-your-local-Pacific-restaurant-here.' I can't even remember what we ordered for apps (must have been quite forgettable). We thought about dinner here for our upcoming trip (on our MK day) and quickly decided against it, even though it would have been a convenient option.

All right, I'm looking forward to hearing where you ate on Sunday.

1. The prices are insane nowadays. Spending almost $50 on a filet that isn't anywhere near what I would get at Morton's or the Palm just doesn't sit right with me. But its Disney and thats why they get away with it.

2. The steak was really good. I tended to over eat on steak during this part of the trip as I had a lot of pasta and chicken when I was in PA and I knew I would be eating a lot of bar type food with my coworkers at the convention.

3. It is less daring. Most of the menus tend to have different versions of the same type of meals it seems.

4. I tend to keep it into rotation just because of the desserts. Luckily because of the Sushi Bar - I've been able to just go for desserts a lot easier than in the past.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Jiko​

I originally had no plans for dinner on Saturday. I had originally planned on walking around Downtown Disney after the movies and getting something to eat somewhere around there; however, it was raining and walking around in the rain was not something that I felt like doing. I returned to the hotel, read some more of the Hunger Games trilogy, and debated on what I wanted to eat. Finally around 7:00pm, I decided to try to get into Jiko and if that didn't work, figure something else out.

I was able to get into Jiko quickly as I showed up. I had about a 20 minute wait in the bar while I waited to walk in. I enjoyed a glass of wine - Posthouse Virgins. I fully admit I ordered it because of the name. It was a dense blend that I knew would work for whatever I decided to order that evening whether it was spicy or meaty.

I was sat in the middle of the restaurant & quickly was greeted by my waiter.

I always love their bread with the tamarind butter.

Of the options for appetizers, I went with the Crispy Beef "Bobotie" Roll

I always have enjoyed these. There is a little kick to the meat but its quickly cooled with the sauce and slaw that accompanies the dish.

For my entree, I decided against a beef dish as I had beef with my appetizer.

I had the Grilled Wild Shrimp Curry.

I really love the spices on this dish! However, it was entirely too much. Luckily I knew I would have a hotel at my next location and was able to package it togo & it was great at the Rosen Centre the next day while I waited for my co-workers to show up.

For dessert,
One Last Cup - Tanzanian Chocolate and Kenya Coffee Mousse with cinnamon mascarpone, nutty chocolates and "hot chocolate"

The mousse was great! Eating it with the mascarpone complimented the coffee in the mousse really well. I didn't really like the "hot chocolate" as it just seemed as a bit too much to have with the mousse.

 

[vettegirl]

Wow the shrimp curry dish looks soooo good! I think I need to plan a solo trip just to go there and try that dish

 

[mefordis]

I love your reviews! Thank you!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Wow the shrimp curry dish looks soooo good! I think I need to plan a solo trip just to go there and try that dish

It was really good! I hadn't had it in a long time so I'm glad I finally went back to it again.

I love your reviews! Thank you!

Glad you are reading along

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Captain's Grille​

Sunday morning I had arranged to meet up with some friends of mine for breakfast at Captain's Grille. I wasn't sure when my co-workers would be arriving for the conference so I wanted to keep most of my afternoon unplanned and figured breakfast would be the perfect time to see them.

We checked in around 9am & after a short wait, we were brought to a table towards the back of the restaurant.

They have a choice of a buffet or ordering off the menu. I debated a tiny bit but my decision was made as soon as I read this on the menu:

Dark Chocolate Waffles - Dried Cherry Compote, Espresso-Mascarpone Cream, Chocolate Shavings & a choice of Bacon or Sausage $10.99

along with a Cafe Latte.

It was almost like a dessert for breakfast! The waffles were rich but fluffy. The cream worked really well for them. I wasn't a huge fan of the compote but it did break up the sweetness of the dish. The bacon was well, Disney Bacon.

This was my first time enjoying Captain's Grille (I had went to the Yacht Club Galley years ago when I was still a child) but it was a great breakfast especially for a 'last' day at the parks.


After this meal, I used the rest of my snack credits on gummy snacks to bring home to my husband.

I thought about going back to the parks, but to be honest, I was just worn and knew I had a lot more going on for the rest of the week at the conference. I headed towards my hotel for the conference, where I checked in and read for the afternoon until my co-workers got there.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Yum! I really like Captain's Grille breakfast, but we normally stick to the buffet since it offers a nice variety. That looks absolutely delicious.

Really enjoyed reading your reviews!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

glad to see a Captains grille breakfast review - we have booked to go during our trip in october :

 

[MickeyNicki]

Todd is going to be all over those pancakes in Oct! When we stayed at OKW years ago he had the chocolate mango french toast and was in hog heaven

 

[vettegirl]

Wow those pancakes look like they are the bomb

 

[chinarider]

those look so amazing. not sure how we are going to squeeze in breakfast ressies but...... I'm not finding a menu with that plate of deliciousness on it?? Do you know if that is a permanent item on the menu?

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

those look so amazing. not sure how we are going to squeeze in breakfast ressies but...... I'm not finding a menu with that plate of deliciousness on it?? Do you know if that is a permanent item on the menu?

I'm not the OP, but here's the updated Captain's Grille breakfast menu. There's plenty of exciting new goodies on it, such as the dark chocolate waffles shown above, an updated poached eggs dish, citrus-scented french toast, oatmeal brûlée, and lemon-ricotta hotcakes. The rest of the menu is also great, including some classic choices as well as a lobster omelet. And the buffet is also really good.

Captain's Grille is a great place for breakfast - it has good food and a relaxing atmosphere.

 

[chinarider]

thank you

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Yum! I really like Captain's Grille breakfast, but we normally stick to the buffet since it offers a nice variety. That looks absolutely delicious.

Really enjoyed reading your reviews!

Glad you are reading along. The buffet did seem to have a nice variety. One of my dining partners got it & really enjoyed it too.

glad to see a Captains grille breakfast review - we have booked to go during our trip in october :

You will definitely enjoy it in October! I know I haven't seen a ton of reviews of the place either.

Todd is going to be all over those pancakes in Oct! When we stayed at OKW years ago he had the chocolate mango french toast and was in hog heaven

I can see Todd being all over them! Chocolate Mango French Toast sounds so good as I love Mango and Chocolate. Hopefully more of the breakfast menus get a bit more creative with dishes like that.

Wow those pancakes look like they are the bomb

They were awesome. Very rich but hey, its Disney & a vacation!

those look so amazing. not sure how we are going to squeeze in breakfast ressies but...... I'm not finding a menu with that plate of deliciousness on it?? Do you know if that is a permanent item on the menu?

The menus are always subject to change, but I think its been on their menu for a few months now. Hopefully more people are enjoying it so it will stay on for a good bit.

 

[gardengirl628]

Wow! Captain's Grill looks fabulous. We had dinner there last February and enjoyed it. I just booked breakfast for our trip in October. Thank you for sharing! Those waffles look a-mazing!!!!