ducklite
<font color=teal>Take the Poly, it's fabulous!<br>
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2000
We had waited too long and were unable to get a reservation at Emeril's, and so were planning on eating at Santiago's, our local Mexican place. Good food, terrible service, really cheap, so who cares LOL!
At 5:30 DH decided he wanted something a bit nicer, and suggested Citrico's. He didn't need to twist my arm! So he called and was able to get an ADR for that night. I got home from work during a huge storm, and we left to drive to the GF. Waited in a major cluster for valet parking, we're not sure quite what the deal was, but they didn't have enough people working--not even close. Fortunately I had misunderstood DH when he told me the time for our ADR, thinking it was 7:15 rather than 7:50, so had changed for dinner in record time and we had plenty of extra time--we waited close to 15 minutes to valet the car!
We went in figuring we'd check in to Citrico's and either they'd be able to accomodate us early or we'd head to Mizners for a cocktail. We were told it would be a few minutes wait, so we sat in the foyer area. (See my other post about the family waiting there at the same time.
)
We were seated after about five minutes. Our server asked if we'd like bottled water with a couple of choices, or tap. As an FYI, the "tap" water at the GF restaurants is not filtered and "skunky."
We perused the menu which has been undergoing some changes since Chef Anthony took over when Chef Grey left to take over Narcooses from Chef TJ who is now at Boma. There are other changes in the works at Citrico's and I'll elaborate on those in a bit.
A basket of rather bland Foccacia appeared on the table about the same time as our drinks, accompanied by a herb infused olive oil. This is one of the changes in the works, very soon they will begin serving warm breads, they are preapring to install a bread oven.
DH decided on a favorite, Arancini, for his appetizer. The sausage is just spicey enough, and the four cheeses and crispy outer risotto shell make this a very appealing dish. The truffle oil finishes it off perfectly! (He doesn't eat the greens that accompany it.)
I had what is probably my very favorite dish in all of WDW, the Sauteed Shrimp appetizer. The combination of lemon, white wine, and feta cheese with the shrimp creates a perfect combination of texture and flavor. In all honesty, someday I'll go in and order five orders of that for my meal!
I had a glass of chardonay which was unremarkable (might have been a Benzinger, I don't really recall), and DH had a Newcastle. In fact the biggest disappointment for me at Citrico's in general is the "by-the-glass" wine list. Comparing it to the lists at the California Grill and Jiko, the list of available by-the-glass wines at Citrico's pales considerably. I'd be more than happy to pay an extra dollar or two a glass to have much better quality wines available.
We skipped the Intermezzo course to save room for dessert, and jumped to our entree's. DH chose the Oak Fired Pork Tenderloin. It was served on a bed of cannellini beans lightly brasied with a tomato based glaze that had some Applewood bacon mixed in. He liked the dish, although he eyed my entree longingly. The tomato glaze wasn't really what he was expecting, although he said it was good and the dish worked well. He thought it was a bit bland, and the "beans and sauce" underwhelmed the pork, and the bacon wasn't noticable at all in the flavor mix. He thought adding some sort of spice like paprika, rosemary, or a touch of wasabi might have rounded out the flavor.
I chose the Citrico's Filet Sicilian. The wonderfully aged oak-grilled beef was done to a perfect medium rare, and served on a bed of four cheese mashed potatos with roasted Spanish onions laying artistically on top. It had a light veal glace over the top of it--I'm not big on veal and will order it without the glace the next time, although it certainly didn't ruin the dish, and a veal person would have loved it. I had a glass of merlot with this entree, again, unremarkable--I believe it was an old world vintage.
For dessert I originally chose the Cinderellabration, but found that I couldn't have it due to my nut allergies as it containes pralines. So I decided on the tropical fruit creme brulee, and was thrilled with it. The sweet and savory flavor of mango and pineapple melded perfectly with the creamy smoothness of the creamy concoction. It was topped with berries and more mango. The fruit kept it from being overly rich. Just perfect!
DH had the Cinderellabration which he inhaled! The bittersweet chocolate made the mousse tart blend perfectly with orange sauce. It appeared that the crown was semi-sweet chocolate.
DH doesn't drink coffee and I passed as it would have kept me up all night and Friday was a work day, but I'm sure it would have been a perfect accompaniment to the desserts.
All in all an exceptional meal with exceptional service.
Anne
At 5:30 DH decided he wanted something a bit nicer, and suggested Citrico's. He didn't need to twist my arm! So he called and was able to get an ADR for that night. I got home from work during a huge storm, and we left to drive to the GF. Waited in a major cluster for valet parking, we're not sure quite what the deal was, but they didn't have enough people working--not even close. Fortunately I had misunderstood DH when he told me the time for our ADR, thinking it was 7:15 rather than 7:50, so had changed for dinner in record time and we had plenty of extra time--we waited close to 15 minutes to valet the car!
We went in figuring we'd check in to Citrico's and either they'd be able to accomodate us early or we'd head to Mizners for a cocktail. We were told it would be a few minutes wait, so we sat in the foyer area. (See my other post about the family waiting there at the same time.
)We were seated after about five minutes. Our server asked if we'd like bottled water with a couple of choices, or tap. As an FYI, the "tap" water at the GF restaurants is not filtered and "skunky."
We perused the menu which has been undergoing some changes since Chef Anthony took over when Chef Grey left to take over Narcooses from Chef TJ who is now at Boma. There are other changes in the works at Citrico's and I'll elaborate on those in a bit.
A basket of rather bland Foccacia appeared on the table about the same time as our drinks, accompanied by a herb infused olive oil. This is one of the changes in the works, very soon they will begin serving warm breads, they are preapring to install a bread oven.
DH decided on a favorite, Arancini, for his appetizer. The sausage is just spicey enough, and the four cheeses and crispy outer risotto shell make this a very appealing dish. The truffle oil finishes it off perfectly! (He doesn't eat the greens that accompany it.)
I had what is probably my very favorite dish in all of WDW, the Sauteed Shrimp appetizer. The combination of lemon, white wine, and feta cheese with the shrimp creates a perfect combination of texture and flavor. In all honesty, someday I'll go in and order five orders of that for my meal!
I had a glass of chardonay which was unremarkable (might have been a Benzinger, I don't really recall), and DH had a Newcastle. In fact the biggest disappointment for me at Citrico's in general is the "by-the-glass" wine list. Comparing it to the lists at the California Grill and Jiko, the list of available by-the-glass wines at Citrico's pales considerably. I'd be more than happy to pay an extra dollar or two a glass to have much better quality wines available.
We skipped the Intermezzo course to save room for dessert, and jumped to our entree's. DH chose the Oak Fired Pork Tenderloin. It was served on a bed of cannellini beans lightly brasied with a tomato based glaze that had some Applewood bacon mixed in. He liked the dish, although he eyed my entree longingly. The tomato glaze wasn't really what he was expecting, although he said it was good and the dish worked well. He thought it was a bit bland, and the "beans and sauce" underwhelmed the pork, and the bacon wasn't noticable at all in the flavor mix. He thought adding some sort of spice like paprika, rosemary, or a touch of wasabi might have rounded out the flavor.
I chose the Citrico's Filet Sicilian. The wonderfully aged oak-grilled beef was done to a perfect medium rare, and served on a bed of four cheese mashed potatos with roasted Spanish onions laying artistically on top. It had a light veal glace over the top of it--I'm not big on veal and will order it without the glace the next time, although it certainly didn't ruin the dish, and a veal person would have loved it. I had a glass of merlot with this entree, again, unremarkable--I believe it was an old world vintage.
For dessert I originally chose the Cinderellabration, but found that I couldn't have it due to my nut allergies as it containes pralines. So I decided on the tropical fruit creme brulee, and was thrilled with it. The sweet and savory flavor of mango and pineapple melded perfectly with the creamy smoothness of the creamy concoction. It was topped with berries and more mango. The fruit kept it from being overly rich. Just perfect!
DH had the Cinderellabration which he inhaled! The bittersweet chocolate made the mousse tart blend perfectly with orange sauce. It appeared that the crown was semi-sweet chocolate.
DH doesn't drink coffee and I passed as it would have kept me up all night and Friday was a work day, but I'm sure it would have been a perfect accompaniment to the desserts.
All in all an exceptional meal with exceptional service.
Anne
