SweetMommy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2009
After reading that review of California Grille, I am 100x more excited about dining there come August!!!!
I can't believe I ate it all 7day DXDP Reviews-COMPLETE 5-2 QSR&Aloha Dinner Show
- Thread starter ChefMickey123
- Start date
amosser
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2008
What a wonderful review.
I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes remembering those 'Wishes' moments from our first trip
On the downside
I feel I must now try to incorporate CG into our upcoming trip for which I already have our ADR's planned 
Oh well back to the drawing board....
I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes remembering those 'Wishes' moments from our first trip
On the downside
I feel I must now try to incorporate CG into our upcoming trip for which I already have our ADR's planned Oh well back to the drawing board....
Pooh&OurHunny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2007
Your back and I'm so happy to read a wonderful update. Thanks for taking the time b/c I truelly have enjoyed your food reviews.
TxRabbit
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2007
I'm so glad you had such a lovely CG dining experience!
Ours was earlier in the evening. We didn't see Wishes while we were there, though we were invited to come back to the same level to enjoy. We ate earlier in the evening, and thus, did actually enjoy a relatively quiet meal that was no less outstanding than yours. How fun to read about sitting at the bar, I have to admit that I contemplated requesting it, because I had read that it can be quite enjoyable to watch the chefs at work.
The sushi was fabulous. So much so that my DS(then 8) discovered how much he loves AHI tuna. We also would return for more, given our next opportunity to the world. After reading your review, we just might have to try to go when we could enjoy Wishes during our meal. When we went, it was just too late for our family to really enjoy it. The meal would have been ruined for the incredible hunger from such a late meal.
Lovin' the reviews...
btw...forgive me for not being able to quote chapter and verse, but I do know that...My God will give you the desires of your heart...I'm sure that you will go that way again...no guarantees on time or frequency...
Ours was earlier in the evening. We didn't see Wishes while we were there, though we were invited to come back to the same level to enjoy. We ate earlier in the evening, and thus, did actually enjoy a relatively quiet meal that was no less outstanding than yours. How fun to read about sitting at the bar, I have to admit that I contemplated requesting it, because I had read that it can be quite enjoyable to watch the chefs at work.
The sushi was fabulous. So much so that my DS(then 8) discovered how much he loves AHI tuna. We also would return for more, given our next opportunity to the world. After reading your review, we just might have to try to go when we could enjoy Wishes during our meal. When we went, it was just too late for our family to really enjoy it. The meal would have been ruined for the incredible hunger from such a late meal.
Lovin' the reviews...
btw...forgive me for not being able to quote chapter and verse, but I do know that...My God will give you the desires of your heart...I'm sure that you will go that way again...no guarantees on time or frequency...
mickeysgirl17
Wish I was at Disney
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2006
Just found this thread and read all the reviews. Great so far. Love the details and the pictures. Can't wait for the next one.
tinkerbell48
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2010
Great so far. I'm in.
PictureJumpr
At Least 'til it Rains
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2007
I just found your reviews, and wow - great stuff! 
I too am a former HRM-type who has changed tracks. I'm still in service/hospitality, no longer in food though. It is interesting to see a perspective from someone with such a background.
I'm the one who gets ridiculed by her companions sometimes for suggesting signature dining in lieu of Princesspalooza or QS burgers. Not that there is anything wrong with those, a time and a place for everything, but it is part of the 'other side' of WDW to indulge in the finer dining. Last trip, I had already booked with DxDDP when a close friend decided she wanted to go - but thought I was absolutely nuts for the dining thing and wanted us to cancel it.
You want in on my room discount (by staying in my discounted room with me), you be prepared to book the dining.
Long story short, she wants to go with me next month and the first thing she asked was, please tell me you are booking California Grill?
Looking forward to reading more of your experiences!
I too am a former HRM-type who has changed tracks. I'm still in service/hospitality, no longer in food though. It is interesting to see a perspective from someone with such a background.
I'm the one who gets ridiculed by her companions sometimes for suggesting signature dining in lieu of Princesspalooza or QS burgers. Not that there is anything wrong with those, a time and a place for everything, but it is part of the 'other side' of WDW to indulge in the finer dining. Last trip, I had already booked with DxDDP when a close friend decided she wanted to go - but thought I was absolutely nuts for the dining thing and wanted us to cancel it.
You want in on my room discount (by staying in my discounted room with me), you be prepared to book the dining. Long story short, she wants to go with me next month and the first thing she asked was, please tell me you are booking California Grill?
Looking forward to reading more of your experiences!
ChefMickey123
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2009
The Hollywood Brown Derby Lunch
The Disney-M-G-M-Hollywood-want-to-compete-with-Universal-but-don’t-like-renewing-licensing-contracts-Studios-Theme-Park.
After a failed attempt at American Idol (I did at least get to sing a second audition) and grabbing my Toy Story Mania Fastpass; I worked up an appetite for lunch by hitting the Muppets 3-D and the Back lot tour. I arrived early for my Hollywood Brown Derby lunch ressie. I would be meeting the grandparents for dinner that night, and they like to eat early, so I arranged the early ADR for lunch. It was too early to be seated, so I had a nice 20 minute nap in the big comfy leather chairs just inside the restaurant near the hostess station. The doors were open, and there was a nice cool breeze blowing through. Very unlike L.A… I was gently awakened by the hostess saying my name, and I was the first one seated. I had my food & drinks picked out already, and I quickly summed up my request to my very experienced and friendly waiter. Before I could butter a dinner roll and blink, my Grey Goose Vodka Martini with Olives-dry and straight up, arrived. It felt good going down. The restaurant is decorated with leather booths and celebrity caricatures. It is a Martini kind of place.
So, for a first course I received the house bean and bacon soup. It was delicious, but was not what I expected to have by way of presentation or eye appeal. The bean soup was actually pureed completely smooth before serving and had some crumbles of bacon stuff floating in the middle. It was actually rather disappointing to look at, yet very delicious and satisfying.
For my next course, I had a rib eye steak with greens. The steak was actually served under the greens. The greens remained relatively crisp while the steak warmed the dish through from underneath. Although it looked quite odd, and I wondered where my steak was when the plate arrived, it was a great dish, and very refreshing to be served a steak with a vegetable. Many steak places have gone totally a la carte to please clientele and shareholders. It was nice to have a well-composed steak plate. I ordered my steak medium-rare,--that is how it should be, and that is how it arrived. There was nothing left.
Onto dessert-- After finishing my glass of Silverado (a Disney person owns this vineyard) I was presented with my options. There was no doubt in my mind-grapefruit cake. People, it is a cake; it is not meant to be a masterpiece of stunning proportions. Many folks on these boards say the cake is dry or tasteless or whatever. The words I would use are subtle and homemade. As people who live in the U.S., we eat a lot of sugar in our diets, either intentionally or in process. We have high tolerance for sugar in desserts. This dessert was pleasantly sweet without being cloying. The dried grapefruit garnish was superfluous and useless because it had not been rendered edible by a candying process (see my comment on sugar intake). A simple grapefruit sauce was served with the cake. If it was dry, I could not tell. Coffee was good as per usual. I would eat this cake again.
I had a very pleasant meal at the Brown Derby. I know this restaurant gets a bad rap a lot. It does not deserve it. As far as service goes, if you treat people well and have some patience you will have a great experience. Don’t go to this restaurant if it is 11:30 am and you have 7 kids with you and absolutely must see the 12:15pm “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” This is a slow, relaxing, air-conditioned, adult dining experience.
Just a quick note-thanks for the great stories and comments people have replied here with. My writing time is limited now that I am back in school full-time, and the more encouragement I get, the more motivated I am to write another one.--Peace.
The Disney-M-G-M-Hollywood-want-to-compete-with-Universal-but-don’t-like-renewing-licensing-contracts-Studios-Theme-Park.After a failed attempt at American Idol (I did at least get to sing a second audition) and grabbing my Toy Story Mania Fastpass; I worked up an appetite for lunch by hitting the Muppets 3-D and the Back lot tour. I arrived early for my Hollywood Brown Derby lunch ressie. I would be meeting the grandparents for dinner that night, and they like to eat early, so I arranged the early ADR for lunch. It was too early to be seated, so I had a nice 20 minute nap in the big comfy leather chairs just inside the restaurant near the hostess station. The doors were open, and there was a nice cool breeze blowing through. Very unlike L.A… I was gently awakened by the hostess saying my name, and I was the first one seated. I had my food & drinks picked out already, and I quickly summed up my request to my very experienced and friendly waiter. Before I could butter a dinner roll and blink, my Grey Goose Vodka Martini with Olives-dry and straight up, arrived. It felt good going down. The restaurant is decorated with leather booths and celebrity caricatures. It is a Martini kind of place.
So, for a first course I received the house bean and bacon soup. It was delicious, but was not what I expected to have by way of presentation or eye appeal. The bean soup was actually pureed completely smooth before serving and had some crumbles of bacon stuff floating in the middle. It was actually rather disappointing to look at, yet very delicious and satisfying.
For my next course, I had a rib eye steak with greens. The steak was actually served under the greens. The greens remained relatively crisp while the steak warmed the dish through from underneath. Although it looked quite odd, and I wondered where my steak was when the plate arrived, it was a great dish, and very refreshing to be served a steak with a vegetable. Many steak places have gone totally a la carte to please clientele and shareholders. It was nice to have a well-composed steak plate. I ordered my steak medium-rare,--that is how it should be, and that is how it arrived. There was nothing left.
Onto dessert-- After finishing my glass of Silverado (a Disney person owns this vineyard) I was presented with my options. There was no doubt in my mind-grapefruit cake. People, it is a cake; it is not meant to be a masterpiece of stunning proportions. Many folks on these boards say the cake is dry or tasteless or whatever. The words I would use are subtle and homemade. As people who live in the U.S., we eat a lot of sugar in our diets, either intentionally or in process. We have high tolerance for sugar in desserts. This dessert was pleasantly sweet without being cloying. The dried grapefruit garnish was superfluous and useless because it had not been rendered edible by a candying process (see my comment on sugar intake). A simple grapefruit sauce was served with the cake. If it was dry, I could not tell. Coffee was good as per usual. I would eat this cake again.
I had a very pleasant meal at the Brown Derby. I know this restaurant gets a bad rap a lot. It does not deserve it. As far as service goes, if you treat people well and have some patience you will have a great experience. Don’t go to this restaurant if it is 11:30 am and you have 7 kids with you and absolutely must see the 12:15pm “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” This is a slow, relaxing, air-conditioned, adult dining experience.
Just a quick note-thanks for the great stories and comments people have replied here with. My writing time is limited now that I am back in school full-time, and the more encouragement I get, the more motivated I am to write another one.--Peace.
podsnel
<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
I am so glad you enjoyed BD, I really have always liked that restaurant and it has been getting a bad rap lately. Happy to hear there are still good meals to be had!
And put me with TigerKat in the catagory of I loves me a good martini!!
I think BD is DEFINITELY a martini kind of a place!
And put me with TigerKat in the catagory of I loves me a good martini!!
I think BD is DEFINITELY a martini kind of a place!
mickeysgirl17
Wish I was at Disney
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2006
Great update!
disneyfav4ever
No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
I just wanted to comment on this. I agree with you completely. Maybe it's because I used to work in the business as well, but I almost always order things as is on the menu. The only time I remember making a change is subbing mashed potatoes for whatever the porterhouse had come with the last time I ate at Yachtsman, but they had been just so good the first time I had eaten there that I had to have them again.
ChefMickey123
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2009
Citricos Dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort
Out of all of my signature dining experiences at the World, this one, while still very good, is my least favorite. Certain things with this meal were just not right. I came in to nearly empty, yet still understaffed restaurant, so I had a drink at the bar-the Citricos version of a Cosmopolitan.
It was good. Nothing to write home about-but it was good. After 10 minutes, I was seated and put across from a table with four very loud, complaining people. Their waiter was trying to be good, but they beat him up so much that he was almost in tears by the time he got to me. I took it easy on him, and he admitted he was having not the best of nights.
I continued with the show, and gave him my order. I had the artisan cheese plate, the trio of pork, lots of yummy homemade bread and butter, and the tiramisu washed down with coffee and a glass of red something or another wine.
I have to say that while my fruit at cheese plate was of the highest quality imaginable, the quantities served were ridiculously small. I would say less than a ½ ounce of each cheese-humbolt fog, local lemon ricotta, and another which I cannot recollect. My fruit included grapes shriveled on the vine, some fig jam, a fig, and a few berries. It also came with 3 very small pieces of toasted bread. At $18 per, I would have been upset, had I not been on the deluxe dining plan, as my money carried a bit more weight. It was delicious, it really was, but the value was lacking.
It was then a seemingly interminable wait for my entrée while the one of the chefs spent a long time hob-knobbing with the next table. I could see my entrée being prepared by the student-chef in the kitchen. He did a good job-not great. The portions were too small for the menu price ($28 should buy a nice hefty chop or its equivalent) I was served three thin, medium cooked pork tenderloin slices, about 3 tablespoons of some of the best polenta I have ever had, and some tender pork belly, sprinkled with coarse salt to make up for the fact that the skin was not crispy. The pork belly had some very mild homemade sauerkraut underneath it. At this point, I was happy to have eaten a lot of bread with my cheese plate.
So dessert did not impress me either-it was beautiful, it looked liked tiramisu, but did taste of it. I know it is Disneyworld, but not a trace of the famed liqueur or its ersatz version was detected in this dessert. Yes folks, I had the AA version of tiramisu.
What resulted was an overly sweet concoction that tasted nothing of the real thingbut at least was pretty. I did not finish it. The somewhat redeeming French Press of coffee that came with the dining plan was the highlight of the evenings meal.
Again folks, the meal was good, but not great, and there seemed to be a sort of lazy or I dont care" attitude about the whole staff.
I would eat here again, but not at the high stakes a birthday, anniversary, or engagement requires.
Out of all of my signature dining experiences at the World, this one, while still very good, is my least favorite. Certain things with this meal were just not right. I came in to nearly empty, yet still understaffed restaurant, so I had a drink at the bar-the Citricos version of a Cosmopolitan.
It was good. Nothing to write home about-but it was good. After 10 minutes, I was seated and put across from a table with four very loud, complaining people. Their waiter was trying to be good, but they beat him up so much that he was almost in tears by the time he got to me. I took it easy on him, and he admitted he was having not the best of nights.
I continued with the show, and gave him my order. I had the artisan cheese plate, the trio of pork, lots of yummy homemade bread and butter, and the tiramisu washed down with coffee and a glass of red something or another wine.
I have to say that while my fruit at cheese plate was of the highest quality imaginable, the quantities served were ridiculously small. I would say less than a ½ ounce of each cheese-humbolt fog, local lemon ricotta, and another which I cannot recollect. My fruit included grapes shriveled on the vine, some fig jam, a fig, and a few berries. It also came with 3 very small pieces of toasted bread. At $18 per, I would have been upset, had I not been on the deluxe dining plan, as my money carried a bit more weight. It was delicious, it really was, but the value was lacking.
It was then a seemingly interminable wait for my entrée while the one of the chefs spent a long time hob-knobbing with the next table. I could see my entrée being prepared by the student-chef in the kitchen. He did a good job-not great. The portions were too small for the menu price ($28 should buy a nice hefty chop or its equivalent) I was served three thin, medium cooked pork tenderloin slices, about 3 tablespoons of some of the best polenta I have ever had, and some tender pork belly, sprinkled with coarse salt to make up for the fact that the skin was not crispy. The pork belly had some very mild homemade sauerkraut underneath it. At this point, I was happy to have eaten a lot of bread with my cheese plate.
So dessert did not impress me either-it was beautiful, it looked liked tiramisu, but did taste of it. I know it is Disneyworld, but not a trace of the famed liqueur or its ersatz version was detected in this dessert. Yes folks, I had the AA version of tiramisu.
What resulted was an overly sweet concoction that tasted nothing of the real thingbut at least was pretty. I did not finish it. The somewhat redeeming French Press of coffee that came with the dining plan was the highlight of the evenings meal.
Again folks, the meal was good, but not great, and there seemed to be a sort of lazy or I dont care" attitude about the whole staff.
I would eat here again, but not at the high stakes a birthday, anniversary, or engagement requires.
auntfrannie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2001
I'm sorry your didn't have a good experience at Citrico's. It's one of my favorite signature restaurants and I've never had bad food or service. I had the tiramisu in October and it was very good. I hope they were just having an off night and that your experience isn't a sign of a downward spiral!!
margareton27
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2007
Citrico's was our least favourite as well when we were there a few years back. We ordered the wine pairing for my DH and the waitress poured his red wine in to the same glass that held his white (after checking to make sure it was empty of course 
)
)Share this page
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Our Dreams Unlimited Travel Agents will assist you in booking the perfect Disney getaway, all at no extra cost to you. Get the most out of your vacation by letting us assist you with dining and park reservations, provide expert advice, answer any questions, and continuously search for discounts to ensure you get the best deal possible.
CLICK HERE
