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

[Mister Disney]

Braised Boneless Kobe Short Ribs

Creamy Polenta and a blood-orange demi-glace

I asked Kevin's thoughts on the short ribs and I quote

it was wonderful

I suppose I will leave it at that. You'll have to ask him for further info on this dish, as I barely gave him a bite of the ribeye......so I didn't want to eat all of what he had in front of him!

 

[BriarRosie]

I'm certainly glad you were able to tear yourself away from Alton Brown to continue with massive food porn. (I feel that way about Alton, too.) I think you both are two peas in a pod with the Professor von Drake way about you both...but I digress.

And Kevin, I'm glad to see you came here for some spanking and clearance shopping.

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Well, as we pondered the next offerings and what might come forth from Chef Eddie Mandoza, Gwen walks up to the table carrying nothing less than our 2 most favorite culinary offers in the World and I do NOT mean WDW.

Bone-In Ribeye
Wood-Roasted Spainish Onions, fingerling potatoes, Lemon Rosemary Butter and a veal glace.

DOES THIS NOT LOOK LIKE A FLINTSTONE piece of meat?!?!?

I'll leave Kevin to explain my "mis-step" with Gwen on the wine offering to go with this dish.....

BUT....so....after talking WAY too much , I finally cut into this gigantic cut of beef, which is the ONLY steak we serve here at the "Manor"

I was dismayed...it was more than medium...and appeared medium well.

At this point the K-Man is balming my fat mouth for the reason the beef is over cooked.....as meat has a tendacy to continue to cook...after it is taken off the heat.

Well, by a short piece of saving grace....as it turns out, I cut deeper into this piece of Fred Flinstone meat and it is absolutely medium rare in the center. PERFECTO!

At this point, I am concentrating on the meat, and forgetting the potatoes and onions!

next up....the second Main Course!

Well ... as Mister Disney said ... meat tends to keep cooking on the plate ... he neglected to tell you that he talked, and talked and talked to Gwen, so while he's talking the meat continued to cook! Talk, Talk, Talk!


All evening long, Gwen did an excellent job paring wine with our meal. As our friend Mark told us years ago, taste the wine first, but when you taste it with the food, you'll understand that the food brings out all the wonderful flavors of the wine.

Well, somewhere along the line with all the talking and meat cooking on the plate, Mister Disney rejected the wine our Sommelier Gwen had pared with this dish. From the look of shock on her face, I could tell she took it personally. Mister Disney asked for a different paring and Gwen went off to search to a different choice.

While Gwen searched, Mister Disney tasted the meat with the wine what remained from the first pouring. Immediately he said "WOW, this is Wonderful".

He then humbly whispered, "Quick, find Gwen before she opens another bottle. This is perfect."

Of course, who's job is it to find Gwen in the wine cooler?
Thankfully, for Mister Disney's health, I was able to catch her before the cork screw went into the new bottle.

For all the lessons we've had with Israel and Mark, two of the worlds best Sommeliers, you'd think this one would have stuck. JEEZ!

I failed to mention, not only was the wine perfect, but as he continued to eat into the meat, so too did Mister Disney find that the meat was cooked perfectly too!

What else could I do ... but remind Mister Disney that if he didn't behave, he wouldn't get DESSERT!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Yes, those are the exact sort of thing we could NOT order during Night of the Water Wall. It all looks absolutely fabulous!

Is it August yet?

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Braised Boneless Kobe Short Ribs

Creamy Polenta and a blood-orange demi-glace

I asked Kevin's thoughts on the short ribs and I quote



I suppose I will leave it at that. You'll have to ask him for further info on this dish, as I barely gave him a bite of the ribeye......so I didn't want to eat all of what he had in front of him!

Well, you have to understand, Mister Disney has two beef favorites, Rib Eye and Braised Short Ribs. His love for Braised Short Ribs was brought out by Chef Aimee Rivera over at V&A's. You'll notice over the course of this trip, the common denominator ... BRAISED SHORT RIBS!

Kobe Beef v. Regular Beef ... well, since we first had Kobe Beef, I've always said I really couldn't tell the difference. For me, I can't tell that the cows got massages and listened to New Age Music. And as I said to Mister Disney, for the money, I'll take the massages myself and stick to eating regular beef.

I absolutely loved what Chef Eddie did with his short ribs ... melt in your mouth and loaded with succulent flavors. Oh, and the wine? PERFECT!
Heck, after Mister Disney's little "ACT" you don't think I, for one minute, would DARE do anything to jeopardize DESSERT!

 

[kaytieeldr]

The last time we went CAMPING was at the Travelodge back in 2005!



I will NEVER GO CAMPING AGAIN!

Oh? Did you happen to get the campground with the big patch in the bottom of the tub?

 

[BriarRosie]

What else could I do ... but remind Mister Disney that if he didn't behave, he wouldn't get DESSERT!

If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?



It had to be done.

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Oh? Did you happen to get the campground with the big patch in the bottom of the tub?

Not only was the tub loaded with black speckles of mold, but every time Mister Disney moved in the bed, I got a spring through my ribs.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Mm, nope, I "win". My tub had a patch that looked like one of those really big bandaids. In fact, I thought it was - and changed rooms the next day (and then moved out the following day, but that was planned all along, I swear!).

 

[Mister Disney]

Well, it appears I didn't offend Gwen too much with my wine mistake, so she served us dessert. Yet another set of choices from Chef Eddie were brought over for us.

Warm Chocolate Banana Tart

vanilla ice cream and caramelized bananas

One word...RICH!

well...2 words....YUM!

Trio of Sorbets du Jour

Kevin thought this was perfect....vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.
All house made....
I am a breyers ice cream sort of person, so I stuck with the banana tart...we were both happy yet again!

 

[Mister Disney]

Well....this is NOT the end of the story though....

there is another piece of this that I will leave for the K-Man to explain.

Something about Grand Marnier, Navan Vanilla Cognac, involving Christopher Eisenlau from V&A, Cindy Hoevenaars from Citricos and a cast of thousands....


I should be embarassed.....

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Well....this is NOT the end of the story though....

there is another piece of this that I will leave for the K-Man to explain.

Something about Grand Marnier, Navan Vanilla Cognac, involving Christopher Eisenlau from V&A, Cindy Hoevenaars from Citricos and a cast of thousands....


I should be embarassed.....

EMBARASSED?!?!?!?

That would be ME!

 

[ElizabethB]

Glad to see you're back and posting! DH and I were just commenting last night that we haven't seen reviews from Mr Disney and K-Man for a long time. Glad to know you're well and eating up a storm! Thanks for the reviews and pictures. We dined at Citricos recently and loved the food!

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Well....this is NOT the end of the story though....

there is another piece of this that I will leave for the K-Man to explain.

Something about Grand Marnier, Navan Vanilla Cognac, involving Christopher Eisenlau from V&A, Cindy Hoevenaars from Citricos and a cast of thousands....


I should be embarassed.....

To totally understand what happened next ... be have to go back to September, 2007 ... you know ... to one of those unwritten reviews for which I am here to be SPANKED!

SO ... last Fall when we were at WDW for my surprise birthday celebration ... one of the servers at Mizner's told us about this great liquor that was similar to Grand Marnier but tasted like Vanilla. Sitting there sipping on a glass of Grand Marnier, after an evening of total indulgence, we asked to try the vanilla liquor called Navan.

Both of us felt that the Navan by itself was too strong of a flavor. However, sitting in front of us was also a snifter of Grand Marnier, so I suggested we combine the two and create a "creamcicle" taste.

TA DA ... it was Heaven in a Snifter!

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

EMBARASSED?!?!?!?

That would be ME!

Back to March 16, 2008 ....

Having survived the Rib Eye Wine Paring Incident ... Mister Disney told Gwen, again, to chose their two best DESSERTS and bring them out. He also asked to the Grand Marnier Flight.

Out came the DESSERTS ... next came the Flight!

Gwen placed the Flight in front of Mister Disney to which he immediately responded, "I'm really surprised".

I looked up, and there was that look on poor Gwen's face again!

Bravely, she asked what was wrong. At this point, Mister Disney said he was really surprised that Gwen didn't bring the Vanilla Grand Marnier as part of the Flight.

Well, off she went again, to find this Vanilla Grand Marnier. Minutes went by, and she went over to Cindy to ask about it. Moments later, Christopher came over from V&As to try to figure out what this liquor was, because there's NO SUCH THING as Vanilla Grand Marnier.

Needless to say, the ENTIRE GRAND COMPLEX was searched for this mystery liquor!


Once he FINALLY figured out what we were talking about, Christopher, with Gwen in the wings and Cindy off in the distance, told us the liquor for which we were "jonesing" was actually something that Mizner's had last Fall for a special.

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Back to March 16, 2008 ....

Christopher told us that although he didn't have the Navan this visit, he truly hoped to have it for us by our dinner at V&As on Easter.

Needless to say, totally embarassed, we tucked out chins, and only opened our mouths to eat DESSERT!

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

Sheesh! You two are high maintenance, aren't you!

Just kidding! Navan sounds delicious. So, did it appear at your Chef's Table???

Thanks again for another outstanding review! I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

-Michelle

P.S. By the way, this is mlill, the one going to Citricos Chef's Domain - TheDISneyFamily is my new screen name. I changed it in the YEAR that you guys went missing!

 

[Mister Disney]

So, did it appear at your Chef's Table???

-Michelle

Yes, Christopher Eisenlau worked the magic rails and produced a bottle of Navan for Easter Sunday.

Here is a picture of MY version of a creamcicle:

But, Christopher being who he is and this BEING V&A's Chef's table, created a decadent version of my creamcicle....

made with Grand Marnier Centenaire - 100 years**

Lesson of the Day:
Grand Marnier Centenaire - 100 years
A lot of people think that Grand Marnier Centenaire - 100 years is actually 100 years old. It is NOT. It is a special edition of Grand Marnier celebrating the 100th anniversary of the creation of the company by founder Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle. This special cuvee was created in 1927. A smooth and elegant blend of cognacs, primarily Fine Champagne, aged up to 25 years, distilled essence of wild tropical oranges and the "Marnier secret". The liqueur will acquire its full finess and roundness after a minimum ageing of 2 years in oak vats.

Furthermore, there is another version, called
Grand Marnier CentCinquantenaire - 150 years
It is a limited edition of Grand Marnier celebrating the 150th anniversary of the creation of the company by founder Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle. This exceptional cuvee was created in 1977. An opulent and powerful blend of rare cognac reserves, aged up to 50 years, primarily from Grande Champagne, the best growing area, distilled essence of wild tropical oranges and the "Marnier secret". The liqueur will acquire its full intensity and opulence after a minimum ageing of 3 years in oak vats.

We actually have on our home bar a bottle of this for special occasionas such as birthdays, anniversaries, New Years, etc.

It comes in a beautiful painted bottle:

 

[D&R love Disney]

Spankings all around for Mr. Disney and the K-Man for leaving us for so long!

Now that the spankings are over, AWESOME report and I've missed you guys

That ribeye looks to die for, it's my favorite cut of meat too

 

[BriarRosie]

C'mon, it's Disney. You think creamsicle works?

No, it's gotta be a DREAMsicle, of course. (Which is I believe the brand name of the frozen treat, too.) Sounds pretty fabulous. I bet a Chambord version might be worth investigating. So go back and try it for "research purposes".

Ahem. That chocolate banana tart thing looked almost too pretty to eat.
Emphasis on "almost".

And those bottles of liquor almost rival Sam Adams Utopias in terms of prettiest bottles.