irunnoft
I'm What Willis Was Talkin' 'Bout!!!!
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 703
The second night we dined at the California Grill was just as amazing as our first. For starters, my wife tried the Corn Chowder. It was an amazingly rich soup that had a cream drizzled on it and bacon and corn hushpuppies (2 of them) in it. It really was very good. I had the Maine Lobster risotto. This was the perfect size portion for an appetizer. It was probably about half a cup of some delicious risotto that contained chunks (not large chunks, but still chunks nonetheless) of tender lobster and it was finished with a lobster oil. Again, neither of these apps appear on the current menus online, but both were outstanding.
For an entree, my wife ordered a salmon that was prepared in a Mediterranean style. It had kalamata olives, blistered grape tomatoes as well as artichoke hearts and olive oil. She said it was wonderful. I'm not a huge salmon fan so I refused a bite when offered. I was also still full from my substandard shaved prime rib sandwich at Le Cellier earlier at lunch, so I was trying to save room for the food I'd ordered!
I ordered another dish the CG is famous for - the filet with the barbecue sauce. It was served atop a dollop of delicious cheesy mashed potatoes and next to three spears of PERFECTLY cooked asparagus. This asparagus, unlike the ones I left on the plate at Le Cellier, was delicious. They were cooked perfectly and had a hint of buttery flavor to them. They were wonderful. If I wasn't already so full, I'd have swiped the three asparagus stalks from my son's plate. He ordered the child's filet which really was the same meal I was getting. He had a slightly smaller filet, no barbecue sauce on it, served on a bed of heavenly mashed potatoes and with asparagus.
This is, by far, the best filet I've eaten anywhere. I like my steaks cooked medium rare and that is exactly what I got. The outer portion of the meat had a crust from where it had been grilled at such a high heat very quickly. That just sealed in the juices in the meat and it was not only moist, but also buttery tender. The potatoes were also just phenomenal! Again, the asparagus was also divine, so all in all, this was the best meal of the trip so far. My son's filet was so tender (he orders his medium) that he cut it with his butter knife. He did this more out of necessity because he was never brought a steak knife, but, as it turns out, he didn't need it!
We didn't order dessert, but we didn't miss it. We didn't miss it because we were celebrating our anniversary and we were given a HUGE piece of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce drizzled on the plate. The cake was large enough to feed all three of us! It was EXCELLENT! I always wondered what the quality of the "free cake" would be like - now I know. It's truly delicious. The cake was a moist, dark chocolate with a light chocolate icing. The icing, unlike the Chocolate Whiskey Cake at Le Cellier, was smooth, creamy and rich. The cake was moist and delicious. Couple the chocolate with the raspberry and it was amazing. The cake was so good that I would consider ordering it as a separate dessert choice.
All in all, the California Grill continues to be the pinnacle of excellence in both food and service. Both times that we dined there, we had excellent servers. They were both extremely professional. They never let our drinks run out. They checked on us several times, but weren't intrusive. They weren't overly chatty, but they made sure that they answered any questions we had about the menu.
For an entree, my wife ordered a salmon that was prepared in a Mediterranean style. It had kalamata olives, blistered grape tomatoes as well as artichoke hearts and olive oil. She said it was wonderful. I'm not a huge salmon fan so I refused a bite when offered. I was also still full from my substandard shaved prime rib sandwich at Le Cellier earlier at lunch, so I was trying to save room for the food I'd ordered!
I ordered another dish the CG is famous for - the filet with the barbecue sauce. It was served atop a dollop of delicious cheesy mashed potatoes and next to three spears of PERFECTLY cooked asparagus. This asparagus, unlike the ones I left on the plate at Le Cellier, was delicious. They were cooked perfectly and had a hint of buttery flavor to them. They were wonderful. If I wasn't already so full, I'd have swiped the three asparagus stalks from my son's plate. He ordered the child's filet which really was the same meal I was getting. He had a slightly smaller filet, no barbecue sauce on it, served on a bed of heavenly mashed potatoes and with asparagus.
This is, by far, the best filet I've eaten anywhere. I like my steaks cooked medium rare and that is exactly what I got. The outer portion of the meat had a crust from where it had been grilled at such a high heat very quickly. That just sealed in the juices in the meat and it was not only moist, but also buttery tender. The potatoes were also just phenomenal! Again, the asparagus was also divine, so all in all, this was the best meal of the trip so far. My son's filet was so tender (he orders his medium) that he cut it with his butter knife. He did this more out of necessity because he was never brought a steak knife, but, as it turns out, he didn't need it!
We didn't order dessert, but we didn't miss it. We didn't miss it because we were celebrating our anniversary and we were given a HUGE piece of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce drizzled on the plate. The cake was large enough to feed all three of us! It was EXCELLENT! I always wondered what the quality of the "free cake" would be like - now I know. It's truly delicious. The cake was a moist, dark chocolate with a light chocolate icing. The icing, unlike the Chocolate Whiskey Cake at Le Cellier, was smooth, creamy and rich. The cake was moist and delicious. Couple the chocolate with the raspberry and it was amazing. The cake was so good that I would consider ordering it as a separate dessert choice.
All in all, the California Grill continues to be the pinnacle of excellence in both food and service. Both times that we dined there, we had excellent servers. They were both extremely professional. They never let our drinks run out. They checked on us several times, but weren't intrusive. They weren't overly chatty, but they made sure that they answered any questions we had about the menu.
