ghidorah97
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2002
- Messages
- 227
After 11 fantastic days (10/24 - 11/4), we've (we being me, Brad, and my lovely wife, Lisa) returned home extremely relaxed and with very full bellys.
We spent a great deal of time at the World Showcase tasting foods at the various booths, as well as one Reserve Dinner, two Signature Dinners and one Party of the Senses. I will detail all of our dining experiences over the next couple of days, with complete menus for each of the special F&W dinners (I'm hoping to get it all posted by this weekend, but I'm going crazy trying to catch up at work!). At any rate, on to Day 1:
We finally arrive at POR at 5:30, quick change into more comfy duds and catch a DisBus to the Contemporary for our 7:00 PS at California Grill. We're a bit early so we saddle up to the bar and order a water for Lisa and a Pine Ridge Merlot for me. Our bartender (Laura, if I remember correctly) was extremely friendly but VERY busy (the restaurant was simply packed). After a 5 minute wait, our table is ready...
Bill is our server, and he highly recommends the sushi. No need to twist our arms when it comes to sushi, so we split a Yoshie's Deluxe Sushi Platter. The platter arrives with:
2 - California Roll
2 - Sweet Shrimp Roll (includes mango, pineapple, cucumber & shrimp)
2 - Tuna Roll
and 1 each of tuna, yellowfin, salmon, octopus, shrimp and one other fish I forgot to note
All were delicious, good quality sushi. The Sweet Shrimp roll was unique for us and we simply loved it (not too sweet -- a great combination of flavors). Next come our appetizers:
For Lisa - Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli in Sundried tomato broth with Shiitake mushrooms and basil
For Me - Beet Salad w/clotted goat cheese, dried cherry cumin vinaigrette & honey pine nuts
Bill informed us that the Goat Cheese Ravioli was the one appetizer people kept coming back for. We both thought it was very good but agreed that the Beet Salad put it to shame. The Salad used golden beets (milder in flavor than regular beets) and just the right amount of pine nuts. Delicious! We'd come back for that one any day.
Dinner time:
For Lisa - Center cut Beef Filet with Yukon mashed potatoes, buttered chard and tamarind barbecue
For Me - Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli with brown-butter sage vinaigrette and pepito pesto
My entree had a great deal of flavor, and the pumpkin filling (when eaten alone) was wonderful. The vinaigrette, however, was a bit too powerful for the milder tasting pumpkin. I wouldn't call this disappointing, but not spectacular. Lisa's meal, however, was nothing short of superb. Wow! Great filet, even better barbecue sauce. Yum! Did I mention it was good?
Dessert time:
By this time we were both pretty full (being relatively small people), but I'm a big dessert fan so...
For Lisa - Warm Valhrona Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with banana rum ice cream
For Me - Warm Heirloom Apple Tart with caramel ice cream & myers rum caramel sauce
Dessert was the most disappointing course for Lisa...she didn't enjoy her bread pudding and ended up eating most of my tart. I enjoyed both, but didn't find them as spectacular as the rest of the meal. A decent finish, but nothing grand.
Our grade for CG - 9 out of 10
Our total bill (not including gratuity) - $126.51
We left here stuffed, happy and really looking forward to our return trip to CG for the Signature Dinner on the last day of our trip...but that will have to wait for another day. Hope you enjoy this report and the others to come.
We spent a great deal of time at the World Showcase tasting foods at the various booths, as well as one Reserve Dinner, two Signature Dinners and one Party of the Senses. I will detail all of our dining experiences over the next couple of days, with complete menus for each of the special F&W dinners (I'm hoping to get it all posted by this weekend, but I'm going crazy trying to catch up at work!). At any rate, on to Day 1:
We finally arrive at POR at 5:30, quick change into more comfy duds and catch a DisBus to the Contemporary for our 7:00 PS at California Grill. We're a bit early so we saddle up to the bar and order a water for Lisa and a Pine Ridge Merlot for me. Our bartender (Laura, if I remember correctly) was extremely friendly but VERY busy (the restaurant was simply packed). After a 5 minute wait, our table is ready...
Bill is our server, and he highly recommends the sushi. No need to twist our arms when it comes to sushi, so we split a Yoshie's Deluxe Sushi Platter. The platter arrives with:
2 - California Roll
2 - Sweet Shrimp Roll (includes mango, pineapple, cucumber & shrimp)
2 - Tuna Roll
and 1 each of tuna, yellowfin, salmon, octopus, shrimp and one other fish I forgot to note
All were delicious, good quality sushi. The Sweet Shrimp roll was unique for us and we simply loved it (not too sweet -- a great combination of flavors). Next come our appetizers:
For Lisa - Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli in Sundried tomato broth with Shiitake mushrooms and basil
For Me - Beet Salad w/clotted goat cheese, dried cherry cumin vinaigrette & honey pine nuts
Bill informed us that the Goat Cheese Ravioli was the one appetizer people kept coming back for. We both thought it was very good but agreed that the Beet Salad put it to shame. The Salad used golden beets (milder in flavor than regular beets) and just the right amount of pine nuts. Delicious! We'd come back for that one any day.
Dinner time:
For Lisa - Center cut Beef Filet with Yukon mashed potatoes, buttered chard and tamarind barbecue
For Me - Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli with brown-butter sage vinaigrette and pepito pesto
My entree had a great deal of flavor, and the pumpkin filling (when eaten alone) was wonderful. The vinaigrette, however, was a bit too powerful for the milder tasting pumpkin. I wouldn't call this disappointing, but not spectacular. Lisa's meal, however, was nothing short of superb. Wow! Great filet, even better barbecue sauce. Yum! Did I mention it was good?
Dessert time:
By this time we were both pretty full (being relatively small people), but I'm a big dessert fan so...
For Lisa - Warm Valhrona Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with banana rum ice cream
For Me - Warm Heirloom Apple Tart with caramel ice cream & myers rum caramel sauce
Dessert was the most disappointing course for Lisa...she didn't enjoy her bread pudding and ended up eating most of my tart. I enjoyed both, but didn't find them as spectacular as the rest of the meal. A decent finish, but nothing grand.
Our grade for CG - 9 out of 10
Our total bill (not including gratuity) - $126.51
We left here stuffed, happy and really looking forward to our return trip to CG for the Signature Dinner on the last day of our trip...but that will have to wait for another day. Hope you enjoy this report and the others to come.
