Citricos....a review...the food, the wine, Navan and a cast of thousands

[Mister Disney]

Psst....listen closely....as I will only tell this once.....

I could spin a tale and tell you the reason Mister Disney and Mr. D's K-Man have been off the boards for over a year was because ....

The K-Man remains behind bars as a Pirate?

or that we got lost in the woods, while camping with Goofy?

That we've been checking out the new furniture line at Ethan Allen?

or maybe that we decided to taking racing lessons from the studs at CARS!

or better yet...maybe that Mister Disney and Mr. D's K-Man have been taking cooking lesson in California?

well....that would be untrue....we've just been bad and are here to take our spanking!

and make it up to you on the DIS and also to all of our friends in the Restaurants around the World that have prepared innumerable feasts for us in the past year that have gone unreported.

Will you have us back?

 

[Mister Disney]

Let me start out by telling you, we've never been to Citricos before. Well, once...if you count the time that Mark Hoevenaars walked us through their dining room to show us a secret passage to get to our room at the Red Roof Inn ( a.k.a. The Grand Floridian)

Mark told us that his wife, Cindy took over as Manager at Citricos, so we decided that we should stalk her and check it out.

Sunday....March 16th....
We arrived at the check in counter right outside of our home away from home V&A (of course we HAD to poke our heads in and say hello!)

We were sat almost immediately and Gwen our server for the evening came up and introduced herself and took our cocktail orders and told us about the menu.

We ordered drinks, and told her that we had never been to Citricos and that what we would really like would be for the Chef to pick out the things on the menu that they were most proud of.

Unfazed....Gwen went off and immediately returned with an Amuse Bouche* offering from the Chef

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, topped with a melon puree
The Asparagus was cooked and then chilled...the prosciutto was a prefect compliment of salt to the asparagus and the melon puree, which was not sweet added another level of texture to the offering....overall it was a great way to start off and we we're wondering what was in store for us the rest of the evening...


Lesson for the day....
**An amuse-bouche, also called an amuse-gueule, is a tiny bite-sized morsel served before the hors d'œuvre or first course of a meal. These, often accompanied by a proper complementing wine, are served as an excitement of taste buds to both prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

I can't wait to read more, great to see you posting again on the DIS.

Love reading your reviews and the Amuse Bouche is a great start so "Let the fun begin."

 

[sunny04]

It's great to have you back on the boards! I love reading your dining reviews!

 

[Mister Disney]

When we popped our heads into V&A, Christopher told us that Citricos had just introduced a new menu the previous Thursday. Well, having never been there before we were reading the entire menu, trying to guess what might be coming next….

In the mean time, Cindy Hoevenaars came over and we got to catch up with her, as we had not seen her since the Spring of 2007, when she was Managing Narcoossee's.

Gwen came back with our appetizers…

Foie Gras Ravioli

Hudson Valley Foie Gras Ravioli, Duck Confit, and Consommé
This is a new offering on Citricos Menu, and what an exciting addition it is! As soon as Gwen, brought this over, I requested a glass of Royal Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonoyas 1999, as I prefer this type of wine with Foie Gras as opposed to their recommended offering of a 2006 Garnacha de Fuego Bodegas Ateca.

I'm not normally one for consommé, but must say the broth was a wonderful compliment to the dish. I felt the Fioe Gras Ravioli was perfect, the K-Man on the other hand felt the pasta was a bit more cooked than he prefers. I just thought the entire ravioli was smooth and soft, just like the inside with the Foie Gras. The Duck Confit* was a nice compliment in texture to the ravioli.

Seared Tuna Carpaccio

Spiced and Seared Ahi Tuna topped with a local Tangerine and Blood Orange Salad
The K-Man and I both agreed that this was hands down the best piece of sushi we'd had in a long time (and we have sushi once or twice a month). The citrus flavors from the tangerine and blood orange salad reminded us of ponzu sauce from our favorite Japanese Restaurant in Connecticut, which is called Kumo's.

Overall, I was most pleased with the Ravioli, and the K-Man was very happy with the Ahi Tuna, so we both enjoyed!

Lesson of the Day...
Duck confit (French: confit de canard) is a French dish made with the leg of the duck. Confit is traditionally prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing a piece of meat (generally goose, duck, or pork) and then poaching it in its own fat.
To prepare a confit, the meat is rubbed copiously with salt and garlic, then covered and refrigerated for up to 36 hours. Salt curing the meat acts as a preservative.
Prior to cooking, the salt is brushed off the meat and it is patted dry. The meat is then placed in a cooking dish deep enough to contain the meat and the rendered fat, and placed in an oven at a low temperature.

 

[mlill]

WHERE have you two been all this time?!?!?! We missed you! Of course, I thought of you guys on Easter and wondered if you were dining at V&A. Thanks so much for the Citricos review. The new menu sounds wonderful. I can't wait to try it out this year - we're going to try the Chef's Domain at Citricos during our Christmas trip!!!

Glad to see you back on the DIS!
Take care,
Michelle

 

[Mister Disney]

I thought of you guys on Easter and wondered if you were dining at V&A. Thanks so much for the Citricos review. The new menu sounds wonderful. I can't wait to try it out this year - we're going to try the Chef's Domain at Citricos during our Christmas trip!!!

Cindy Hoevenaars showed us the Chef's Domain at Citricos, it looks like a WONDERFUL place for a private dinner or celebration.
Its just a "little" big for a party of 2, such as the K-Man and myself.

we'll be finishing up the Citricos review today.

and yes...we were at the Chef's Table at V&A again for Easter....3 years running now

It really has become our tradition on Easter....and what a nice tradition it is!

 

[Mister Disney]

While we both felt the Chef would pick the Foie Gras Raviolis and the Ahi Tuna, there was something on the menu that caught our eye, so we requested a third appetizer (of course this is just the beginning of the decadence that caused me to gain 6 pounds in a week)

Kevin and I have a wonderful recipe that we make at home which is a wild mushroom risotto, so we wanted to see how Citricos made crispy risotto, in an effort to steal the idea for home.

Well, were we surprised when Gwen returned to our table.

Arancini

Crispy Risotto with Italian Sausage, Quattro Formaggi, and White Truffle Aioli

translation please....
a fried 4 cheese and sausage risotto ball

As it turns out, this is something that has been on Citricos' Menu for awhile. We didn't expect what was brought to us, for some reason we had in our minds the idea of a "side dish" sort of offering where the risotto was crispy but still sort of in a "ricey" pile (gotta line that scientific talk eh?).

Well, aside from our mindset being wrong this trio of risotto balls were great. The outside of them were nice and crispy while the inside had a perfect consistency. The Italian sausage was chopped up almost like ground beef and mixed into the risotto along with the cheeses. The White Truffle Aioli added just a hint of a bite to the dish, while the balsamic drizzle assisted in the acidity portion.

We're really glad we decided to try the Arancini.

Next up….Salads and cheeses…..

 

[luna99]

omg GREAT pics! I can tell this is going to be an awesome report! subscribing for sure!

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Yeah! Mr Disney reviews!!

Loving your Citrico's review so far - especially as we'll be dining there this August!

Count me in!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I am so glad to see you posting again.

I realized a few months ago that I hadn't read one of your reviews in awhile, and I really do enjoy your reviews, and then I realized you hadn't posted in a long time.

It's so good to know that I have reviews to read from you again.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Bob and Kevin!!! I was JUST thinking about you guys and here you are!!

OK. Now I will go back and read whatever you posted! I was just so HAPPY to see you!!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We had dinner at Citrico's last summer and loved it. Although the night we were there they had some sort of rupture in the sprinkler system which caused a lovely "water wall" effect all down the wall where the grill is. They were unable to grill any entrees, but we had quite a show of "suits" scrambling around with the Reedy Creek FD to stop the water from flowing out into the dining room. We ordered things they could prepare in the pastry kitchen. Ah, good times!

It was my sincere desire to return to Citrico's on my birthday this year, but alas, they are CLOSED on Tuesdays. So we're going on August 7 instead. I am planning to order a spectacular cake from the GF bakery for dessert.

Can't wait to see what other tasty morsels you guys enjoyed so I can add them to my "try this" list!

 

[christinou]

I am so glad you are back, I have always loved your report, are you going to catch up with the missing V&A reports.....

 

[Mister Disney]

We ordered things they could prepare in the pastry kitchen. Ah, good times!

It was my sincere desire to return to Citrico's on my birthday this year, but alas, they are CLOSED on Tuesdays. So we're going on August 7 instead. I am planning to order a spectacular cake from the GF bakery for dessert.

Citricos is now open 7 nights a week. Give a call and make a reservation, I know they are trying to build up business on Mondays and Tuesday (which is when they used to be closed)

Also....Pastries? a dinner of pastries? You are starting to sound like the K-Man and I with our trips to Bistro de Paris for our "Dessert" dinners on "Good Friday"

 

[Mister Disney]

I am so glad you are back, I have always loved your report, are you going to catch up with the missing V&A reports.....

OMG, we should...those V&A reports AND the Yachtsman Steakhouse reports. We had 2 INCREDIBLE experiences in 2007 with BOTH places that just never got reported on. In the Spring for my birthday dinners at both places and then again in the fall for Kevin's birthday dinners. I can't make a promise for making up past due reports, but will promise that we will report on everything from last week!

 

[GothTink]

Excellent review! Gimme more!

 

[poohluvrs]

Subbing to *THE* review by the master of reviews!

have you done Narcoosee's? cant remember w/ the food porn overload

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Citricos is now open 7 nights a week. Give a call and make a reservation, I know they are trying to build up business on Mondays and Tuesday (which is when they used to be closed)

Also....Pastries? a dinner of pastries? You are starting to sound like the K-Man and I with our trips to Bistro de Paris for our "Dessert" dinners on "Good Friday"

They are only open 7 nights until July 5. Unless you know something I don't!

No, no, not a dinner of pastries a la your France experience.
We just ordered chicken and fish that could be prepared in the pastry area without being grilled. Put a bit of a crimp on DH's dinner plans, but he managed!

Our server (Jamie, I think?) was truly wonderful. DS said he wanted to try sushi so he brought out some little tuna (similar to yours) for each of us to try. It was very tasty!

 

[Mister Disney]

Subbing to *THE* review by the master of reviews!

have you done Narcoosee's? cant remember w/ the food porn overload

We dine at Narcoossee's once last year and again this year, we'll be doing a review of Narcoossee later this week, but alas no pictures from that event, and explain that in the review....