Emmysdaddy Joins the Damsels to Dine, Even with Princesses: Em started PDR see link

[sushi candy]

Enjoy your time with your son and your family, Brenda. He cuts a handsome figure in uniform!

The Banana Foster French Toast and Eggs Benedict have cut my eye. I need to add WCC to my list of restaurants I need to try,

 

[emmysmommy]

Enjoy your reviews and pics! Take your time we will be here! Many thanks to you handsome son for serving our country! You must be very proud!

Thank you Ro Z! I appreciate your kind comment. And yes, I'm a proud Army mom!

Great review of WCC bkfst

That bananas foster French toast --- MY OH MY!! That looks sooooo heavenly!

Dont even worry about the lack of updates for a few weeks. We all totally understand. Enjoy your time with your son. You must be so proud of him. We are all so grateful to our military and their sacrifices they make for us.

Yes, Debra, the bananas foster french toast was so delicious! Thanks for your support of all of our men/women who serve.

Enjoy the time with your family. Thank him for serving us and his country and thank you and everyone around him who supports and loves and gives him the strength to do what he does. My BIL is in the military and as much as he means to me, I can't imagine being a parent or wife in those same shoes. And once again you have such a beautiful family!

Thanks so very much!! And my thoughts are towards your BIL who serves as well.

What a great picture! Thank you to Chad for serving our country and thank you to you for raising him! Enjoy your family, no worries about the reviews. We will be here whenever you are ready!

WCC looks awesome. Breakfast was the one meal we really enjoyed there. (Not so much the icky skillet at dinner!). We have talked about going back either for breakfast or maybe even lunch but as we know, you just can't fit in everything!

Thanks Vicki! I appreciate your kind words.

I remember the icky skillet.... glad we didn't eat lunch or dinner there. I completely understand not being able to fit in another meal - ugh! Just not enough time to eat everywhere.

Your breakfast at WCC looks wonderful, Brenda! That is one meal that I have never had there. I just might have the opportunity though if we end up staying at WL for part of our March trip...assuming we do go in March, which is still iffy. If we end up staying in the Epcot Resort area the whole time, then I know that there is zero chance of my family getting their butts out of bed and hauling them all the way over to Wilderness Lodge for breakfast. It would never happen...no way, no how!

Regarding your son, I was just thinking about him last weekend when I read on emmebear's thread that her brother was just deployed to Afghanistan on Sunday. He is with the Army Reserve and has already served in Iraq. Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful two weeks with him and your daughter-in-law. My thoughts will be with you on the 15th of December and I will of course be praying for your son's safe return to his family.

Hi Barb! Good luck with your March plans. Even if you didn't make it to WCC if you stay at WL there's Roaring Forks for their Mickey waffle selections!!

And THANK you so very much for thinking of us and your very kind words. I just spoke to my son and I get to see him in about 45 hours. We will likely fly to Texas when he deploys to see him off and drive back with our DIL who is moving to Southern CA.

Brenda, your review of WCC's breakfast sounds very tempting. Without going into details, we had a horrible meal at dinner there and won't go back. We never even considered breakfast, but after your review, I think I might be willing to give it a shot.

Hi Kathy! Wow, sorry about dinner. That's not the first time we've heard that. Sounds like they may need to work on their dinner menu or the quality of the food??

We've been on vacation for the last week and I come back to so many updates, yaya!!
That cupcake from SS, looks amazing! I love pineapple coconut, and the piña colada! Yummy, I was in the Bahamas and spent the last week drinking those all day!
Too bad about The Wave, I've seen some nice lunch options but I don't think the breakfast is for me either. Though the convince at BLT can't be beat!
Ahhhh LeCellier, one of the top meals I am so looking forward too. That mushroom filet! What a nice touch with the champagne!*
I haven't heard much about GFC for dinner but this is the second review I have seen recently and they were both great! My DF would adore that burger, and it really does look delicious. And both salads as well, I love a good salad. Especially ones with bleu cheese crumbles and nuts!
I would have definitely gotten the Banana Fosters french toast at WCC. I agree about the shenanigans so it's nice to have the option of a "calmer" server lol! I laughed too because my DF name is Jeffrey and his brother and cousins all called him Jeffrow! It was really sweet of him to bring Michael that second entree, I love eggs benedict (without the pork for me though!).
Whewww, had a lot of commenting to do.

I would also like to say that is a lovely picture of you and your son. I also thank him for his service and of course hope for his safe and speedy return. Enjoy your time with them*

Welcome back from the Bahamas! Did you go to Nassau, Freeport, other?? I love Nassau (except the Straw Market)

Awww you will love Le Cellier! BTW the GF burger is on the lunch menu as well.

Thank you for your sweet comments, it is appreciated more than you know.

I am such a breakfast person and WCC seems like the perfect place for me! The waffle, french toast, and the eggs benedict all look delicious. I seriously may be making belgian waffles tonight as a result of this.

I love that your waiter brought out Michael another meal... how random and funny!

I'll be thinking of you and your family on December 15. I've had a number of family members serve in Afghanistan, including one that we lost, so I know the sacrifice and the heartache that accompanies those deployments.

We are alike in that we are breakfast lovers! Hope your waffle fix was satisfied!

Yes, it was very nice of Jeffro to hook Michael up with a second entree. Poor guy wasn't hungry enough to eat it all but he made a valiant effort!

You certainly know what we will be going through as we say good-bye to our son. I'm so sorry that you and your family have lost someone....so sad.

Thank you so much for the well wishes!

I just tried WCC for the first time for dinner last year and was pleasantly surprised. That french toast looks heavenly! It's almost like a dessert for breakfast

Yes, dessert for breakfast = Glad that you had a great dinner there. Did you have crazy antics with your server??

Whew, all caught up again! Between being away on our own trip to the World and then returning to a mountain of laundry and a full work schedule I really fell behind in my DR reading, LOL! I'm really enjoying your reviews Brenda, as you visited many of the restaurants we've enjoyed in our travels, as well as some we haven't that I'm determined to put into our rotation. We haven't been to WCC in years but that waffle and bananas foster french toast looked AH-MA-ZING! I think it's past time for a return visit.

I'm looking forward to your LTT review, DH and I had a wonderful experience there on our trip and I hope you did as well!

Welcome back from 2 weeks at WDW!!! Thanks for taking the time to get caught up!

I look forward to reading you LTT review as well! Take care!

You son is so handsome in his uniform! This is such a great picture! Please tell him to be safe. I really appreciate what he is doing for our country.

thanks Sweetspot! You are so very kind!

Enjoy your time with your son and your family, Brenda. He cuts a handsome figure in uniform!

The Banana Foster French Toast and Eggs Benedict have cut my eye. I need to add WCC to my list of restaurants I need to try,

Rosey, thank you very much!

We need you to book another trip because you have such awesome reviews AND photos!! I love how you dive down into the depths of the dish and extract more than what you see or taste on the surface. How you described your creme brulee at Chefs de France, "The crispy layer was very fragile and gave way to a sumptuous creamy layer" ... that was so perfect!! That's just one example that stands out, there are so many!

 

[emmysmommy]

Liberty Tree Tavern - Lunch​

A day at MK is truly not complete without some ooey gooey toffee cake and I was looking forward to that more than anything with this lunch ADR. Honestly, if I only ate that I would be happy…. Or so I thought….. stay tuned.

We had a 1:20 lunch ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern and arrived to check in at about 1:15pm. It was a short wait before we were seated in a new area of the restaurant for us – to the left of the lobby with Hugue as our server. Hugue was a man of few words but he got his job done with efficiency.

With the menu changes resulting in the Tri Corner Sandwich being removed and the fried cheese appetizer no longer including the tasty cheese nuggets I had no particular desire or motivation to eat here other than for the dessert. Since we were not that hungry after our large breakfast, Em decided to split the pot roast with me. I still wanted their French fries so we ordered a side of those to share. I know.. mashed potatoes AND French fries?? Heck, I was on vacation I can do that! Michael ordered the spinach and crab dip appetizer for two. Apparently he wasn’t that hungry either after two breakfast entrees and a pecan sticky bun. We saw the table next to us with the dinner rolls so we asked for a basket of those as well. No problem. (I actually only learned of this on the DisBoards right before this trip – see how useful this place can be?)

Drinks in big mugs:

What to do while you are awaiting the food??
Pose for photos.....

And play with the celebration streamer...

and color on napkins....

The pot roast arrived having already been split, which again was very nice. I liked the pot roast, mashed potatoes and the chunky veggies but I have to be honest and say that is wasn’t to die for… perhaps I wasn’t in the mood to die for anything that day! The fries were just as good as expected.

New England Pot Roast…Our Tavern Keeper’s Favorite; Braised Beef in Cabernet Wine and Mushroom Sauce with Mashed Potatoes and Garden Vegetables: $17.99

Em's:

Side of French Fries: $3.19

Now here’s the thing about the rolls with honey butter…. Something just tasted a bit “off”… it had to be something with the butter but I kept trying to put my finger on it with each bite but it eluded me other than to figure that it was some cheesy taste such as goat cheese that put me off. I know that makes no sense at all so I’ll just move on…..

Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter: free for the asking!

Michael’s crab and spinach dip for two arrived presented in a hollowed out bread bowl. I didn’t pay attention to the menu description so I was a bit surprised that it was not a traditional hot appetizer. It was served with bread cubes (not flatbread as described on the menu unless there is a “flat bread” that is a sourdough variety!) which to me didn’t look like nearly enough for the dip. I’m guessing that you eat the bread bowl as well? I don’t think Michael ate all of the bread so it was mostly a dip lunch!

Crab and Spinach Dip for Two – Blue Crab, Spinach and Cream Cheese served with Warm Flatbread: $10.99

Dessert was definitely in our future so without hesitation I ordered the ooey gooey toffee cake with ice cream on the side so Michael could eat it and Em ordered the chocolate cake. This was our 4th time eating at LTT so I thought I knew what to expect with the ooey gooey toffee cake and this was not it….

Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake – NAKED! $7.49

Uhhh… where’s my chocolate sauce and toffee sprinkles? I felt a little ripped off but not enough so to say anything and return it for a glorious version with all the toppings! I’m definitely taking one of the Diser’s advice next time and ordering it as is, let some of the ice cream melt over it and then scoop off the ice cream. Hmph!

Moving on to Em’s chocolate cake which was a rich decadent slice served with fresh whip cream on the side – oh so delicious!

Martha Washington’s Cake; a slice of rich chocolate cake layered with a “liberating” chocolate icing: $7.99

Modeling the self-control that I did not possess, Michael passed on dessert – even my ice cream.

The bill was $55.34 with $10.73 in TiW savings.

We’ll certainly be back again although this place is losing its luster for me. With the opening of Be Our Guest and so many good counter-service options we may skip this to expand our horizons even if the ooey gooey toffee cake is begging me to come back!

Napkin artwork! (Since I can't put this up on my fridge, I'll just share it here!)

Next Up: California Grill

 

[KatMark]

We've not been to Liberty since either 2007 or 2008.

After seeing your pictures and the fact Mark said he wanted to go back, I guess we will be dining there next August. I'm just sorry your cake wasn't what it should have been.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Time to play catch up here - first of all, enjoy the time with your son! I'll definitely be thinking of you all as December 15th grows closer, and I'll be praying for his safe return.

As for WCC, I've looked at their breakfast menu several times and nothing jumped out at me...but your review definitely changed that. Everything, from the egg white omelet to the bananas foster french toast special to the bonus entree, looks great! The updated menu (as of September) includes a few new dishes...one of which is the banana bread french toast with bananas foster sauce! In no time at all, you just established WCC breakfast as a priority for me.

Sorry LTT wasn't as wonderful as usual. That ooey gooey toffee cake is definitely on my list, but I'll be sure to order it as is.

 

[jmm476]

I've been away from the DIS for a little while so I have catching up to do!

GFC - wow, seems like an amazing dinner and those desserts

WCC - pulled pork on eggs benedict = genious!

LTT - sad to hear about your experience not being the greatest. I've always felt that there's too much going on in MK to do a sit down meal. I haven't had a TS in that park since the name of the restaurant in the castle was King Stefan's.

What a beautiful picture of you and your son. You must be so proud.

 

[Tracerr00]

GFC looks great! I must try it! And would you believe that my sister and I stayed at WL and we did not eat at any of its restaurants?? What was I thinking? I think that Vince and I will end up staying at WL when we go in February (he's never been to WDW and I want to choose a serene, outdoorsy resort in hopes that he would love it and want to return!). I must eat at either AP or WCC while we are there.

As I was reading your LTT review I saw the photo of your Ooey Gooey Naked Cake before I read about it and thought "What on earth happened to that poor cake??" You are a very thoughful (or crazy) guest to not ask for the sauce and sprinkles! But now you know, you can't mess with the OGTC!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Ooey gooey toffee cake looks so funny without all the "stuff" on top

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Me! I am the Diser that plops off the ice cream after it melts a bit. : ). I want to back to LTT only for that lucious ooey gooey goodness!

 

[krhst25]

Ooey gooey toffee cake looks so funny without all the "stuff" on top

I thought the same thing!

 

[Roma]

That Ooey Gooey toffey cake looks so incredibly sad . You are way more accommodating than me... that sucker would have been sent back in a heartbeat! I'm paying for delicious not mediocre thank you!

Pot roast just does not do anything for me so I can't imagine ever ordering it at WDW or anywhere else for that matter. Have you tried the colony salad?

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Getting caught up on the updates!

What a beautiful picture of you and your son - many thanks to him for his service!

 

[deenbrad]

My apologies that this is moving sooooo slowly. As the saying goes... life happens. In this case, my baby boy is coming home from the Army for 2 weeks before he is deployed to Afghanistan on December 15th. I will try to do a few more updates in the next couple of days but I am also going to enjoy the next couple of weeks with my son and his wife. When I hug him good-bye in a couple of weeks it will be with a sorrow that I know is shared by so many other moms that have been down this road before me.

Army Strong: Chad and Mommy

Please stay tuned... I actually do have a review to follow.

So glad you get to spend time with him before he goes! I know you're as proud as you are sad to see him go

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Brenda, I just showed my husband a picture of the bananas foster french toast from WCC. I'm trying to manipulate him into another trip before next summer.

Since I know you love salads, you've got to try the Colony Salad at LTT if you haven't already it. It is so yummy. Your dessert at LTT was just Toffee Cake, no ooey or gooey.

Hope you have a wonderful visit with your son before he is deployed.

 

[AvasMommy526]

Welcome back from the Bahamas! Did you go to Nassau, Freeport, other?? I love Nassau (except the Straw Market)

Awww you will love Le Cellier! BTW the GF burger is on the lunch menu as well.

Thank you for your sweet comments, it is appreciated more than you know.

Thank you! I definitely didn't want to come back but with the weather hitting there, I'm glad we went last week! We stayed on Paradise Island, at a resort right next to Atlantis, just a walk way between the two so we got to enjoy all of it! We went into Nassau for a day and shopped (even braved the straw market, DF did not enjoy this haha) and enjoyed Señor Frogs : It was a wonderful vacation

I'm very disappointed in that Ooey Gooey Toffee cake! Maybe they thought you wanted everything on the side Still not acceptable, they need to make sure it is ooey and gooey for you! I was actually looking forward to trying the sandwich and was disappointed they took it off!

Hope your enjoying your family time

 

[emmysmommy]

We've not been to Liberty since either 2007 or 2008.

After seeing your pictures and the fact Mark said he wanted to go back, I guess we will be dining there next August. I'm just sorry your cake wasn't what it should have been.

Awww you've missed the colonial themed waiters with tights for the last 4 or 5 years! There's been a few changes to the menu for which I'm not a huge fan but I don't like a lot of change so there you go! Yeah, that cake was pretty pathetic.

Time to play catch up here - first of all, enjoy the time with your son! I'll definitely be thinking of you all as December 15th grows closer, and I'll be praying for his safe return.

As for WCC, I've looked at their breakfast menu several times and nothing jumped out at me...but your review definitely changed that. Everything, from the egg white omelet to the bananas foster french toast special to the bonus entree, looks great! The updated menu (as of September) includes a few new dishes...one of which is the banana bread french toast with bananas foster sauce! In no time at all, you just established WCC breakfast as a priority for me.

Sorry LTT wasn't as wonderful as usual. That ooey gooey toffee cake is definitely on my list, but I'll be sure to order it as is.

Thanks so much for sharing the updated menu for WCC - I LOVE that they now have the banana foster french toast on the menu!!! See... you need another trip so you can weigh in on some WCC goodness.

And thanks for the well wishes for my son.

I've been away from the DIS for a little while so I have catching up to do!

GFC - wow, seems like an amazing dinner and those desserts

WCC - pulled pork on eggs benedict = genious!

LTT - sad to hear about your experience not being the greatest. I've always felt that there's too much going on in MK to do a sit down meal. I haven't had a TS in that park since the name of the restaurant in the castle was King Stefan's.

What a beautiful picture of you and your son. You must be so proud.

Hi there! Welcome back and thank for catching up!

I didn't know the castle restaurant was King Stefan's - how cool! Learned something new.

thanks - yes, I'm a proud Army mom.

GFC looks great! I must try it! And would you believe that my sister and I stayed at WL and we did not eat at any of its restaurants?? What was I thinking? I think that Vince and I will end up staying at WL when we go in February (he's never been to WDW and I want to choose a serene, outdoorsy resort in hopes that he would love it and want to return!). I must eat at either AP or WCC while we are there.

As I was reading your LTT review I saw the photo of your Ooey Gooey Naked Cake before I read about it and thought "What on earth happened to that poor cake??" You are a very thoughful (or crazy) guest to not ask for the sauce and sprinkles! But now you know, you can't mess with the OGTC!

Tracy you have to try WCC if you stay at WL in February! It would be the perfect theme for Vince. I like your genius plan.

Believe me, I wanted all the toppings but our server was not always around so it was just easier to eat it the way it was served. Plus, I still think of food in terms of how much running do I need to do to burn those calories - I'm sick! :sick

BTW: Congrats on the princess 1/2 marathon. You are awesome! And NOOOO I can't run 13 miles when 6 kills me!

Ooey gooey toffee cake looks so funny without all the "stuff" on top

It certainly does! I'm not sure how ice cream on the side translates to hold the sauce and toffee sprinkles. I guess they should have renamed my dessert to dry sucky cake since it wasn't ooey gooey toffee cake.

Me! I am the Diser that plops off the ice cream after it melts a bit. : ). I want to back to LTT only for that lucious poet gooey goodness!

You are the one with the brilliant idea that I am DEFINITELY following next time. I don't want to risk having another naked toffee cake. I will keep your suggestion in mind next time!

I thought the same thing!

yep!

That Ooey Gooey toffey cake looks so incredibly sad . You are way more accommodating than me... that sucker would have been sent back in a heartbeat! I'm paying for delicious not mediocre thank you!

Pot roast just does not do anything for me so I can't imagine ever ordering it at WDW or anywhere else for that matter. Have you tried the colony salad?

First of all may I congratulate you on only 12 DAYS UNTIL YOUR TRIP!! And to be at the BC - so beautiful.

Ha! I love your logic and yes, paying full price for a bowl of disappointment wasn't so great! I have not tried the colony salad but I love salad and I love colonies so why not! Actually, doesn't it have turkey and cranberries and other delicious toppings? I may have to try that some time. Are you eating at LTT for your upcoming trip?

Getting caught up on the updates!

What a beautiful picture of you and your son - many thanks to him for his service!

Hi there littlestinkerbelle! Thanks for the compliment!

So glad you get to spend time with him before he goes! I know you're as proud as you are sad to see him go.

Hi Denise! Yes, you get it. The patriot in me is proud, the mother in me is sad.

Brenda, I just showed my husband a picture of the bananas foster french toast from WCC. I'm trying to manipulate him into another trip before next summer.

Since I know you love salads, you've got to try the Colony Salad at LTT if you haven't already it. It is so yummy. Your dessert at LTT was just Toffee Cake, no ooey or gooey.

Hope you have a wonderful visit with your son before he is deployed.

You are now the second person to endorse the Colony Salad. Next time I will try it and give you and Roma all the credit! And yes, no ooey or gooey! Oh and I love your plan to get your DH to return to WDW - speak to his appetite!

Thanks for your well wishes for time spent with my son!

Thank you! I definitely didn't want to come back but with the weather hitting there, I'm glad we went last week! We stayed on Paradise Island, at a resort right next to Atlantis, just a walk way between the two so we got to enjoy all of it! We went into Nassau for a day and shopped (even braved the straw market, DF did not enjoy this haha) and enjoyed Señor Frogs : It was a wonderful vacation

I'm very disappointed in that Ooey Gooey Toffee cake! Maybe they thought you wanted everything on the side Still not acceptable, they need to make sure it is ooey and gooey for you! I was actually looking forward to trying the sandwich and was disappointed they took it off!

Hope your enjoying your family time

Hi there Ava's Mommy!!! Sounds like perfect timing for your vacation before the storms came through. Atlantis is beautiful!

There is now a pulled pork sandwich on the menu that replaced the roast beef. I wasn't hungry enough to try it but it may be a great replacement. I haven't seen anyone order it yet.

Thanks and yes, after a Dismeet today we will spend the next two days with my son and his wife.

 

[emmysmommy]

California Grill

Now for the featured meal of our vacation! Of all of our 36 meals at WDW this trip, this was the best – and I’m not just saying that because I was sampling the wine! We had a 9:15pm ADR which gave us plenty of time between lunch and dinner to allow our tummies to be fully prepared for the delicious food at this Signature restaurant. We arrived at the check in on the 2nd floor of the CR for California Grill and were given a pager and taken up to the 15th floor in their exclusive restaurant elevator.

What to do while waiting for your table? Take photos of course!

We had about a 15 minute wait before we were seated but our dinner timing was perfect to coincide with Wishes. We were seated in the wine room for the second time…last time we had the perfect window table for which we didn’t need to leave our seats to view Wishes. This was nice and intimate and certainly quieter than the main dining room. I was a little nervous that due to the darkness of the room I would have to use the flash on my camera and may disturb the other diners. As it turned out, the parties at both tables adjacent to ours were food photographer types!

Our table had been scattered with Mickey-fetti for our anniversary celebration. Nice!

Mark was our server and although first impressions were that he was very quiet and low key and wouldn’t be able to tolerate my perkiness or chattiness (or as my daughter says, I never outgrew the cheerleader from high school), he ended up being perfectly attentive and even took some time to talk to us about his past experiences with being a server with Disney.

To get started, we placed our drink orders; water with lemon for Em, iced tea with lemon for Michael and I had a glass of red wine.

Merryvale Cabernet; $14​

Since Wishes was to start momentarily we placed our appetizer order but delayed receiving them until after the fireworks show. Being the informed Cali Grill guest that I was I led us to the back viewing terrace which is located near the bathrooms to watch the show. There were only a few other people on this viewing platform. It was the perfect spot to enjoy the fireworks!

A basket of hot, fresh sourdough bread with salted butter was awaiting our return from viewing the fireworks. This bread is always so delicious. I have to be very careful to not eat more than a slice or it starts to be a meal replacement!!

Sourdough Bread Basket with Coarse Salt:

Soon after the fireworks show our appetizer arrived. They consisted of the goat cheese ravioli for Em and the sashimi platter for Michael. I debated getting the summer lobster salad, which now that I have seen a photo of that app wish I had tried it… however; I went with the rather redundant choice of the tomato appetizer for which we had already shared a couple of these thus far in the trip.

Em loved the pungent goat cheese in the ravioli with the sundried tomato & pesto sauce - it was the perfect starter for her.

Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli; Sun Dried Tomatoes, Pesto, Shiitake Mushrooms & Basil: $14

I was so glad that Michael loved his sashimi platter! His eyes literally lit up when he tasted this dish! He asked for some ponzu for his sashimi but they didn’t have any so Mark offered some alternative type of citrus soy sauce which ended up being amazing! (Note: Now that I see that yuzu is a citrus I’m wondering if they just presented Michael with the same marinade that is in the sashimi??)

Yuzu-Marinated Sashimi; Yellowfin Tuna, Salmon, Hamachi, Snapper, & Wasabi Oil: $21

Although I was hesitant to order the tomato salad it really was fantastic…actually one of the better tomato salads of the trip. It had thick vine ripened tomatoes, slices of red onion, creamy queso fresco and buttery avocado garnished with fragrant micro basil. The vinaigrette was a perfect accompaniment to the salad. It was a very light and refreshing salad.

Chef’s Garden Tomato Salad; Queso Fresco, Avocado, Charred Onion Vinaigrette, Original Barrel Minus 8: $15

After the appropriate spacing between the courses we were ready for our entrees. Emily decided to try something new and ordered the veal chop which is served atop something that I can’t quite reconcile to the menu description. She was very glad that she chose this option since it was perfectly cooked and delicious!

Veal Chop; Creamy O’Henry Sweet Potato Hash, Wild Mushrooms, Root Spinach, Chimichurri: $47

Michael ordered the scallops with risotto. The scallops were buttery delicious and atop a wonderful corn risotto. This was Michael’s favorite entrée of the trip – there was no competition for that honor.

Seared Diver Scallops; Southern Sweet Corn Risotto, Spiced Tomato Broth, Micro Popcorn Shoots: $40

As for me, I did not break out of the rut I was in with the beloved pork tenderloin. Once again, I opted for this delicious time tested standard menu item. What I love about this dish is the tangy goat cheese polenta and mushrooms that is paired with the savory Zinfandel glaze – a perfect combo. The other appealing attribute of this dish is the perfectly tender pork medallions. I can’t promise that future dining experiences at California Grill will not have a pork tenderloin in my future; however, after seeing other lovely choices this evening I am better prepared to try something new.
Unfortunately, I was only able to eat not even one medallion of pork and some of the polenta – I just wasn’t hungry. I am proud to say that I finished off the mushrooms though!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin; Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, and Crispy Sage: $47

At this point in the meal we were feeling the effects of the last hour and a half of eating but we didn’t want to stop since there are some awesome dessert selections on the menu. Em decided to order the Valrhona chocolate cake since she mentioned she had not had that before. Hmmm… I distinctly remember that she ordered this during our February trip this year since she was also given a complimentary slice of chocolate cake that we took back to the room. Em insisted that she hadn’t and the exchange that ensued ended up with her throwing down her CRT Wishing Star on the table to resolve this dispute! Apparently she has been carrying around the wishing star in her bag since our breakfast there in February – how cute! She “redeemed” the star and “wished” that I would knock it off!! According to this funny video I wanted to be right more than I wanted to accept the star because Michael had to intervene and remind me that “she turned in the star, let it go!”

May I present my case…. Exhibit A: Valrhona Chocolate Cake (Coffee version) from February 2012:

Em's 2nd Valhrona Chocolate Cake; Bing Cherry Compote and Cherry Ice-Cream: $13

The Key Lime Cheesecake was Michael’s choice for dessert. He was kind enough to share and from the couple of bites that I had I can say that it was very good. It was presented with a Happy Anniversary chocolate banner.

Key Lime Cheesecake; Roasted Meringue, Rum Roasted Pineapple, Sweet Young Coconut, Criollo Chocolate Sauce: $12

Mark presented us with the bill which was $222.91 with $43.20 in TiW savings. (This meal alone saved over ½ of the TiW card cost.)

I took a few photos of the empty restaurant on the way to the elevator. I’m bummed that the next time we will (likely) be in WDW Cali Grill will be undergoing their rehab. It will be exciting to see the enhancements to the restaurant and menu when they re-open last summer 2013.

And just becaue I like this one!

Next Up: Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast

 

[emmysmommy]

Super Exciting Bonus Dining Review coming your way soon!!!

I am having lunch with Linda67 today at Disneyland!!!! I will be sure to share this Dismeet with you and we'll also post on Jabead's LIVE dining thread!

 

[emmysmommy]

See post # 545 for my Dismeet lunch with Linda67 at Disneyland!!

 

[SAT887]

You dinner looks wonderful! The last time we were at Cali grill was in Sept of 04 on our honeymoon. In Dec (35 days!) we have a 9:40 ADR on one of our date nights and Wishes will be at 10. Good to know that it took about 15 min to be seated maybe we will try and show up a little earlier. This and CRT are my to most anticipated ADR's in Dec, and I plan on getting a specialty mini cake for us to share as a surpise... Still debating on what type of meal we will get there - the sushi looks fabulous but last time I did love the pork tenderloin....

I love the wishing star! Can I ask what it is? Even though I have no idea what it is, it's a star, you're in WDW so I love it. It's pretty cute that she has had since Feb and that is a great candid shot of her. Looking forward to more updates when you have the time.