California Grill
We left MK as it closed to regular guests for the start of
MNSSHP and decided to take the walking path to the Contemporary. We arrived at the resort in short order, but I feel like I must have missed something obvious, because there were no signs that I saw indicating where to go for the different restaurants. Luckily, the CMs at bell services had no one else to help and were happy to point us to the second floor for the check-in desk. I had known we needed to check in on a lower floor and then they would send us up to the top-floor restaurant in a dedicated elevator, but I had failed to find out where exactly we needed to be naively thinking it would be clear on arrival. Even with the confusion, I still had time for a quick change out of my park clothes before our ADR time.
We were given a pager and sent up immediately with no indication of how long a wait to expect for our table. We were unfamiliar with the restaurant having never been there before, the lounge area was fairly crowded by this point in evening, and I prefer to wait and order drinks once we have a table, so we just picked a spot to stand and chat, waiting for the pager to go off. Happily, that didn't take long and we were seated at a table with a nice view (as so many are there). We were one table away from the windows, but still had lovely views from the comfort of our seats. It was neat to see the Electrical Water Pageant as it made its way around the lagoon.
Quick note on the bread basket: There are two very different types of bread. We received two pieces of each type and both of us grabbed different ones. I was eating a fairly standard crusty roll when my sister asked me what I thought the herb in the bread was; this was a bit confusing for a minute. Turns out she was having the lavender foccacia which I preferred to the standard sourdough once I tried it.
I started off with a
Monte Ray cocktail - Mount Gay Rum, Pineapple Juice, and Licor 43 with a splash of Sweet-and-Sour. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of fruity rum drinks. This was my first experience with Licor 43 which seems like a fantastic choice for mixed drinks as it adds to the fruit flavor without diluting the alcohol. It was a strong cocktail and lasted me for most of the meal.
We started our meal by sharing the
Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Flatbread - Marinated Tomatoes, House Bacon, Chiffonade Romaine, Lemon Mayonnaise. There was plenty to share between two people and it would have been a fine choice to order as an entree for one person. The tomatoes were the absolute star of the dish, but all the components were nicely done. This was simple, high-quality ingredients put together expertly. An excellent choice.
Going in, I planned on ordering the Crab and Beef Oscar Roll; however, it was not on the menu the night we went. I remember some sort of vegetarian tofu option being listed instead, but the online menu still shows the Oscar Roll. I didn't ask about it and just switched my order to the
Pork Belly Nigiri - House-cured Pork, Bacon and Yuzu Rice, Spicy Teriyaki. The teriyaki sauce was very good, but it was sweet not spicy; it reminded me a lot of the Tokyo Joe's version if you happen to be familiar with that CO chain, which means I really liked it as I have my folks bring me a jar of their sauce cross-country whenever they drive out to visit. I'd guess they justify the "spicy" label by putting a tiny dab of wasabi on each of the 5 pieces of rice rolled in seaweed and topped with generous slices of smoky pork belly. Despite the dish being a bit different from what I expected, my only complaint was that it was a little messy to eat and I managed alright. It was definitely filling enough for an entree.
My sister had the
House-made Potato Gnocchi with Seasonal Vegetables, Petite Artichokes, Chanterelles, Fava Beans, and Sweet Corn Nectar. She really enjoyed this and was happy our waiter brought a spoon so she could actually get all the broth. At this point in the meal, we agreed that this would almost definitely be our best meal of the trip. Spoiler alert: It was! As it should have been as the only Signature meal on the docket for this trip.
We couldn't resist dessert. My sister had the
Warm Homemade Fritters - Banana-stuffed, Cinnamon-dusted Fritters complemented with a Trio of Dipping Sauces. She declared them the best fritters she'd ever had, but I don't have anything else to add as I was too occupied with my
Chocolate Pudding Cake - Luscious Chocolate Cake with Nutella Filling, Meringue Kisses, and Chantilly Cream. This description pulled from their online menu fails to include one of the best parts: a few made-from-scratch mini-marshmallows! And it's about as "cake"y as a cheesecake, definitely more of a dense pudding covered with ganache. There was not one speck of anything on the plate that wasn't amazingly delicious.
We made our way to an observation deck to enjoy the sights for the 15 minutes or so that were left until HalloWishes. The audio for the show was clear and the view was fine. We paid less than the price of MNSSHP tickets for an excellent dinner plus a show; that was a win in my book.
I've seen a lot of comments about California Grill not being as good as it was before its refurbishment over two years ago and I can't really speak to that, but this experience was on par with both of my superb visits to Artist Point and our server was great.
From the crunchy pearls on top to the chocolate cake on the bottom, I loved it! 
Which really surprised me, because I usually am not a chocolate cake fan and I expected to mostly eat the Gray Stuff and leave some of the cake. But no, I ate every bit that I could get onto my fork. It was so light, airy, and delicious...I don't even want to think about how many I would eat if they were on a buffet. Now, full disclosure: I have been known to eat straight Cool Whip before and I love Oreos (but only Double Stuf+, it's all about the cream filling), so if other people's description of the Gray Stuff as Cool Whip and Oreos doesn't sound good to you, please don't let my ringing endorsement compel you to try it, because that's a fairly accurate description.
I'm glad anyone's enjoying it! I'm mostly doing the reviews to relive some of the memories and cope with the Disney withdrawal as I dive back into my hectic real life. 
