irunnoft
I'm What Willis Was Talkin' 'Bout!!!!
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 703
Last December, the one stand out dining experience was the California Grill. I'm thrilled to know that continues to be the case with this restaurant. We have dined there twice on this current trip and are due to dine one more time before we return home.
One consideration, especially for those booking for 'the view,' if you want the amazing MK & Cinderella's Castle view, plan on having a late dinner. With the summer sun, the Grill is awash in the, as of late, intense heat of the setting sun until about 8:00pm or so. To combat the heat and the light of the setting sun, the restaurant has semi-transparent blinds drawn on the westward facing windows. Seating on the Bay Lake side of the restaurant did not have to have the blinds drawn. The last time we dined at the California Grill, it was December and the sun was down by 6:00. I didn't think about that when I was making ADRs for this trip, so all my 6:00 reservations are not coming with that awesome nighttime view of the castle. However, for anyone who wants to see Wishes from atop the observation platforms, they will let you back up to see the fireworks. All you have to do is take your receipt from dining earlier in the night to the check in desk on the second floor. They will let you back up so you can go out to the observation deck to see the fireworks.
Ok, now on to the review.
Night 1 - For starters, my wife ordered the hearts of romaine salad. It's basically the CG version of the Caesar salad. It came with freshly made croutons, sardines and a roasted garlic dressing. She thought it was excellent. I ordered the Spring salad that came with peaches, candied pecans, blue cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. If you love blue cheese, this is the salad for you! The blue cheese wasn't hard and crumbly. It was smooth and rich - very, very creamy. I don't know where they got their peaches, but the flesh of the peaches was white and they were amazingly, naturally sweet. This salad is an excellent mixture of sweet and salty sensations. I loved it.
For entrees, my wife ordered an entree that I don't see on the allears or wdwinfo menus. I really don't know what came with it or how it was prepared. I just know that she said it was simply amazing. I ordered one of the staples the CG is famous for. I ordered the grilled pork tenderloin with goat cheese polenta, button mushrooms and zinfandel glaze. Up until this point, I'd had the pork tenderloin at the Brown Derby and the Wave. The Brown Derby was the winner up until this point. The California Grill's presentation was definitely my favorite. This was simply delicious. This pork was, by far, the most tender of the tenderloins I'd had. By the way, I order mine cooked medium. Anything more than this and you run the risk of it drying out and becoming rubbery in texture. The goat cheese polenta is to die for.
For the dessert, I followed my wife's lead and tried a dessert called a sweet celebration. It was a small cake topped with peaches and a peach syrup along with a type of ricotta (but not cheesy) filling. I can't describe it other than to say it was delicious!
One consideration, especially for those booking for 'the view,' if you want the amazing MK & Cinderella's Castle view, plan on having a late dinner. With the summer sun, the Grill is awash in the, as of late, intense heat of the setting sun until about 8:00pm or so. To combat the heat and the light of the setting sun, the restaurant has semi-transparent blinds drawn on the westward facing windows. Seating on the Bay Lake side of the restaurant did not have to have the blinds drawn. The last time we dined at the California Grill, it was December and the sun was down by 6:00. I didn't think about that when I was making ADRs for this trip, so all my 6:00 reservations are not coming with that awesome nighttime view of the castle. However, for anyone who wants to see Wishes from atop the observation platforms, they will let you back up to see the fireworks. All you have to do is take your receipt from dining earlier in the night to the check in desk on the second floor. They will let you back up so you can go out to the observation deck to see the fireworks.
Ok, now on to the review.
Night 1 - For starters, my wife ordered the hearts of romaine salad. It's basically the CG version of the Caesar salad. It came with freshly made croutons, sardines and a roasted garlic dressing. She thought it was excellent. I ordered the Spring salad that came with peaches, candied pecans, blue cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. If you love blue cheese, this is the salad for you! The blue cheese wasn't hard and crumbly. It was smooth and rich - very, very creamy. I don't know where they got their peaches, but the flesh of the peaches was white and they were amazingly, naturally sweet. This salad is an excellent mixture of sweet and salty sensations. I loved it.
For entrees, my wife ordered an entree that I don't see on the allears or wdwinfo menus. I really don't know what came with it or how it was prepared. I just know that she said it was simply amazing. I ordered one of the staples the CG is famous for. I ordered the grilled pork tenderloin with goat cheese polenta, button mushrooms and zinfandel glaze. Up until this point, I'd had the pork tenderloin at the Brown Derby and the Wave. The Brown Derby was the winner up until this point. The California Grill's presentation was definitely my favorite. This was simply delicious. This pork was, by far, the most tender of the tenderloins I'd had. By the way, I order mine cooked medium. Anything more than this and you run the risk of it drying out and becoming rubbery in texture. The goat cheese polenta is to die for.
For the dessert, I followed my wife's lead and tried a dessert called a sweet celebration. It was a small cake topped with peaches and a peach syrup along with a type of ricotta (but not cheesy) filling. I can't describe it other than to say it was delicious!
