Ok you guys...its on, the LIVE Nicki and Todd..Summer edition!

[ChelleinNC]

Ok, mama bear (i.e., Chelle) is busy on her cruise, but I am here and ready to stand in!
-DD, Blondie, oh amazing one (I have many titles)

 

[bucci818]

I'm so glad today was better then last night! Can't wait to read about Cali Grill. That is on my must do list!

 

[relcx4]

I seriously think I just gained 5 pounds from looking at all those pastry photos. OH MY GOD! Awesome pics. Sorry about the RR experience...I am now rethinking our reservation for next month.

 

[paras4ri]

I am thinking of trying to convince Todd to cancel SAI for something else in Epcot...you know, try and make him think that it is his idea or something. I would rather try Morocco or go back to Beirgarten but DH had SAI in mind since we both enjoyed lunch there in Oct.

I'm still reading your pre-trip posts but I had to comment on this quote. I do that with my DH all the time - he has no idea how many things we do that were't originally his idea! Our upcoming trip is a great example of the technique!

I love your reviews and can't wait to share this trip with you!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Wow, you are on a roll (no pun intended lol)! Look at all the stuff inside those sammies - yum! Oh, pardon me while I drool over the chocolate butterfinger cupcakes and the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes! Is it just me or do the display case windows need some cleaning?

Thanks so much, Nicki, this is fantastic!

They looked fantastic, wish I was hungry at the time I would have bought one!

Yum - yum - yum. Oh, and thanks for posting the pics at Starring Rolls. I'm planning a breakfast there one morning. I'll tell you now that my kids and I will be on a major sugar high. What was that Butterfinger cupcake about? 6" high? HOLY CROW!

It looks wonderful doesnt it!

Hey! Ron is MY favourite server!
As I told you before, Nicki, he really looks after his guests, so if he is working today, definitely ask to be seated at one of his tables!!
And tell him that the Austrians who send him chocolate sent you too!!

Just a reminder, Walter is a really good backup!!!
Have fun tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!! I so hope you get to catch the fireworks from the walkway outside the CG!

We just got in, wait until I tell you all about it! Ron and Walter were busy so we did not get them but we had a great server!

yummm I am so hungry now! I definitely have to hit up Starring Rolls next trip, the cupcakes look great!

I need to get back over there and have one!

Nicki, where did you get the Mickey Gingerbread cookie? Was it in the candy store? I need exact directions

DS5 saw your photo and said "you gotta get me one of those Mom!!!"

This child can eat gingerbread year round!!

Do you know if they have them in the Writer's Shop. I plan on making a pit stop there for the carrot cake cookie!

Enjoy Cali Grill!

Your son is just like me, never met a gingerbread I didnt want to eat! It was at the Villan's store right next to Starring Rolls...it is so super moist and wonderful! They did not have them at Writers Stop but they did have the carrot cake cookies.

This is some great live reporting! I appreciate it when you take pictures of the menus as well as the food, drinks, and resort. Keep it coming!!! Have fun!

Glad to be of service...we are having a blast!

Hey Nik - So glad y'all are enjoying POFQ! I guess because we're from NOLA it just didn't work for us, TOO much like home, laid back & easy. Not to mention the light fixture that fell on my head.

If y'all are in the mood for calamari again, I know you're planning on having it at Tony's, FF is excellent, very light batter which we like.

I can understand that...I guess that is why I dont like CBR because we live in a very tropical area! We love calamari so we may order it at FF too!

Great review - can't wait to hear about Cali Grill.

We arrive at POFQ on Monday - how excited am I Don't uppose you've een any birthday cakes in the foodcourt - am having serious trouble speaking to someone at the resort in F&B who will take my order?! Think may need to 'buy one from the fridge'!

Nope no birthday cakes, they do have cookies and such though. You will love it here! We leave Sunday for the Swan, wish we could stay here but the price is double that of the Swan....its a no brainer for us.

Sounds like today was a much better day than last night...good to hear. Anxious for CG review...I plan to be up and waiting.

Your wish is my command, Cali Grill coming right up...it is pouring here so we decided to come back to the room for some rest.

I think I'm staying up for the same reason tonight.

No need to stay up too late...stupid rain!

I cannot believe the pictures of the food at RR! How awful. We went there on a whim May 15th and loved it!! The bread pudding you had looks nothing like what I was served for dessert! Yours looks like a dried bread mountain range or something! We also had an amazing waiter who explained to me that I should hollow out a hole in the middle of the bread pudding with my spoon, pour both the custard sauce and butterscotch sauce in the hole, and wait a few minutes before eating it. It was amazing. Our waiter was really attentive and kept checking back to make sure everything was good. I'm so sorry you had bad service.

I wish our server stuck around to explain that...it was a mess...the sauces were spilling all over the place and it wasnt soaking into the bread at all!

OMG....I so wish I could be at WDW right this second. Looks like the weather's great and the food looks soo good. DH loves his biscuits and gravy too. At every family gathering (my family and his) he has to eat last!! If he went 1st, there'd be nothing left, he and Mickey must share that bottomless pit stomach. I just don't see where it all goes

Think I'll wait up to read about Cali Grill, too. With my non WDW popcorn....I have a bucket, so I can pretend I'm at WDW..

DH is still talking about that gravy...he plans on getting it tomorrow morning too!

Hey Nikki,

Do not worry about Nine Dragons, my family has ate there many times and it is always on our list for the next visit. The food is always so fresh. You have to try the cheesecake egg rolls. They are to die for.

Those cupcakes looks yummy at Starring Rolls, will def. have to get the butterfinger one!

Have a wonderful dinner.

Ooh cheesecake egg rolls...they sound great! I figure we love PF Changs and Pei Wei's so we should be fine at Nine Dragons.

Ok..it is 630pm everyone--- how do you think Nicki is doing??? what did she order??? the suspense is killing me!!
Jill

Its coming right up...slow loading all the pictures I took!

Ok, mama bear (i.e., Chelle) is busy on her cruise, but I am here and ready to stand in!
-DD, Blondie, oh amazing one (I have many titles)

Hey Mis Amazing One...how is the cruise??? Better there than in water logged WDW!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I'm so glad today was better then last night! Can't wait to read about Cali Grill. That is on my must do list!

Me too...you have got to go to CG...oh jeez I will dream about that place tonight!

I seriously think I just gained 5 pounds from looking at all those pastry photos. OH MY GOD! Awesome pics. Sorry about the RR experience...I am now rethinking our reservation for next month.

Me too! They look wonderful and I wish I bought one so I could give you a review!

I'm still reading your pre-trip posts but I had to comment on this quote. I do that with my DH all the time - he has no idea how many things we do that were't originally his idea! Our upcoming trip is a great example of the technique!

I love your reviews and can't wait to share this trip with you!

Thanks so much for reading them, I love to share! Sometimes hubbykins is so gullible!

 

[MickeyNicki]

hear ye hear ye....flatbreads are officially back at cali grill!!!

 

[MinnieMom5]

My First post. I have been lurking for a while but couldn't resist anymore. Following along and enjoying this totally! Keep it coming. Thank you!

 

[MinnieNurse]

Yummo, I am so hungry now I had to send DH to the store to get stuff for hot fudge sundaes.

Can you make ADR's at Fulton's through Disney or do you have to call Fulton's? I am thinking I will cancel Raglan Road and change to Fulton's.

 

[mmmears]

Great review! I just caught up on your new photos, and I have to say Thank you for posting your review and photos from Raglan Road. I just made lunch ADRs there last week for July, and now I have time to reconsider our options! We've never been there before, and the menu looked good -- but yuck! Salty stew and creepy meatballs -- no thank you!

I'm looking forward to your CG review, and I really hope that your other dining experiences will make up for the first one...

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

That RR food looked like some of the worst I've seen. It can only get better from there.

That passionfruit drink looked awesome and so did the Starring Rolls food. I will have to try it next trip since I can not find good CS at DHS.

Can't wait to hear about the flatbreads!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We are back early tonight because of the dumb rain...we wanted to stay out late but it is just miserable outside so we are back in the room and relaxing, digesting from tonights dinner at California Grill.

We left our room and went to the bus stop at 4:45...within minutes the bus for MK pulled up, we are the only ones on it...the driver said "so where are you going to dinner because you are too dressy for MK!" I told him Cali Grill and he said get the pork....funny because the doorman at POFQ main lobby said the same thing.

The thunder and lightening was going but no rain yet. We checked in at the 2nd floor podium, requested a window seat. We were brought up to the 15th floor, lots of people in the lounge area and at 5:35 we were all seated. We had a fantastic window seat with a view of the GF, the monorail line, the Castle and such...except it was getting ready to storm big time.

And then our view turned into this:

 

[Shleedogg]

The menu looks great for Cali Grill! Thank you for posting it! ...I think I know one of our ADRs for our Nov trip. Can't wait to read the food review!

It's so funny how this board (mainly you and Pooh's Honey Pot) have completely changed the way I vacation at WDW. DH and I used to eat burgers and chicken fingers all week long, solely cs locations. Occasionally we'd throw in Sci-Fi, but that wasn't venturing too far out of our comfort zone. There is just this whole amazing world of food out there that I never knew about. I'm so excited to start planning our ADRs for our Nov trip!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We also had a view of the kitchen and the bar.

Our server was Erika and she was wonderful...great service at Cali Grill...we felt spoiled!

DH started with a sparkling wine, I have no idea why he likes sparkling the best but this one was very dry and too bitter for me but he enjoyed it. Roederer Sparkling Brut, Anderson Valley

Thanks to TinkerBelle_325 for recommending Conundrum...I had a glass of that and it was wonderful!

Out came the bread and butter, the butter is room temp with rock salt on top...very creamy rich wonderful REAL butter! The bread was a warm mild sourdough and we loved it...I could have had 2 baskets of that stuff....DH said sure beats Soda Bread huh!

The starters were a huge problem for us, did I want to try sushi (Todd said UH NO THANK) and did I want a flatbread (Todd said he wasnt FEELING the flatbreads) and would the risotto be too filling...well my beloved ordered a .... wait for it... FREAKIN CAESAR SALAD...dude what the heck? We are at Cali Freakin Grill and you order a salad? He looked at me and said "Did you just meet me?" So the boy ordered his lame salad ... except it was excellent. I practically begged to try it and it was awesome, so much flavor, so fresh...it was wonderful.

Now I had a tough choice to make because I wanted sushi, flatbread, the lobster risotto and the shrimp salad but I decided on the lobster risotto with midnight moon goat cheese, lobster oil and meyer lemon beurre blanc. This was great but you get maybe 3 tablespoons of food....DH said it tasted rich, I thought it was very good, not too rich, not too salty and there was a lot of lobster pieces in it. I had to resist the urge to get more bread and sop up all the wonderful sauce...hey I am Italian, we eat with a fork in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other!

So I knew I was going to order the Grilled Pork Tenderloins with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms and Zinfandel Glaze. The pork is cooked medium and is literally melt in your mouth tender, the polenta was super creamy and had a wonderful tangy rich taste...went perfect with the pork. The zinfandel glaze was amazing, it was the best sauce I have ever had with pork. DH had the mushrooms and he said they were great. DH loved my pork...but wasnt keen on the medium part so he ate the edges and I ate the wonderful middle. This was a huge amount of food, 3 huge portions of pork!

DH had the Oak Fired Filet of Beef with Cheesy Idaho Potato Mash, Buttered Asparagus and Teriyaki BBQ Sauce. I told him to order it medium, the boy prefers his steak gray but on this single occassion he actually listened to me...first time for everything I guess! The filet came out med-rare, my favorite but he shocked me by eating some of it! The potatoes were great, the asparagus was wonderful but the teriyaki bbq sauce ruined the filet...it was just too smokey tangy for the filet but DH said it reminded him of the BBQ Maple Filet from Le Cellier..he was happy BUT he said the pork was clearly the winner of the best entree award. Next time we would order it without the sauce

Dessert anyone? Of course and this time I made DH get a different dessert than me so we could try more things! Again he listened! He had coffee, I stuck to water.

I ordered the Black Walnut and Chevre Cheesecake, it was so light, so flavorful, the berries were fresh and delish, the raspberry coollie was tart and sweet and the perfect twist to the cheesecake...I think I had 2 bites and Todd's fork made it to my plate and I lost custody of my dessert.....he ate cookie and said it was like a nut brittle and he ate my chocolate stick and said it was a great chocolate...not waxy at all....wish I could experience it!

DH ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Ice Cream. It is served warm and the ooey gooey thick chocolate spills out all over the plate. It was fantastic. The strawberry ice cream was very mild, not too sweet and it was pretty creamy. The cake itself was great, I am not a chocolate fiend like DH is but I enjoyed it alot, I guess I had to since he commandeered my choice of dessert....just kidding you guys, nuttin but love for the boy!

Total with the TIW card was $159...a little much but oh goodness so worth it! DH said to put it on the list for Oct but he was quick to remind me that Jiko filet was still on the top so we have to make sure to go back there too. We had a very relaxing, wonderful fun dinner...but the rain killed the rest of our evening..now DH is snoring away, I am typing away and wondering if I should spike his food with NO DOZE so I can experince WDW! Oh well it is only day one and I know he is just dead tired...I will not complain anymore

For all of you that told me Cali Grill was awesome, a huge THANK YOU! You were all so right!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Here is the menu outside of the Contempo Cafe

 

[KatMark]

We also had a view of the kitchen and the bar.

Our server was Erika and she was wonderful...great service at Cali Grill...we felt spoiled!

DH started with a sparkling wine, I have no idea why he likes sparkling the best but this one was very dry and too bitter for me but he enjoyed it. Roederer Sparkling Brut, Anderson Valley

Thanks to TinkerBelle_325 for recommending Conundrum...I had a glass of that and it was wonderful!

Out came the bread and butter, the butter is room temp with rock salt on top...very creamy rich wonderful REAL butter! The bread was a warm mild sourdough and we loved it...I could have had 2 baskets of that stuff....DH said sure beats Soda Bread huh!

The starters were a huge problem for us, did I want to try sushi (Todd said UH NO THANK) and did I want a flatbread (Todd said he wasnt FEELING the flatbreads) and would the risotto be too filling...well my beloved ordered a .... wait for it... FREAKIN CAESAR SALAD...dude what the heck? We are at Cali Freakin Grill and you order a salad? He looked at me and said "Did you just meet me?" So the boy ordered his lame salad ... except it was excellent. I practically begged to try it and it was awesome, so much flavor, so fresh...it was wonderful.

Now I had a tough choice to make because I wanted sushi, flatbread, the lobster risotto and the shrimp salad but I decided on the lobster risotto with midnight moon goat cheese, lobster oil and meyer lemon beurre blanc. This was great but you get maybe 3 tablespoons of food....DH said it tasted rich, I thought it was very good, not too rich, not too salty and there was a lot of lobster pieces in it. I had to resist the urge to get more bread and sop up all the wonderful sauce...hey I am Italian, we eat with a fork in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other!

So I knew I was going to order the Grilled Pork Tenderloins with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms and Zinfandel Glaze. The pork is cooked medium and is literally melt in your mouth tender, the polenta was super creamy and had a wonderful tangy rich taste...went perfect with the pork. The zinfandel glaze was amazing, it was the best sauce I have ever had with pork. DH had the mushrooms and he said they were great. DH loved my pork...but wasnt keen on the medium part so he ate the edges and I ate the wonderful middle. This was a huge amount of food, 3 huge portions of pork!

DH had the Oak Fired Filet of Beef with Cheesy Idaho Potato Mash, Buttered Asparagus and Teriyaki BBQ Sauce. I told him to order it medium, the boy prefers his steak gray but on this single occassion he actually listened to me...first time for everything I guess! The filet came out med-rare, my favorite but he shocked me by eating some of it! The potatoes were great, the asparagus was wonderful but the teriyaki bbq sauce ruined the filet...it was just too smokey tangy for the filet but DH said it reminded him of the BBQ Maple Filet from Le Cellier..he was happy BUT he said the pork was clearly the winner of the best entree award. Next time we would order it without the sauce

Dessert anyone? Of course and this time I made DH get a different dessert than me so we could try more things! Again he listened! He had coffee, I stuck to water.

I ordered the Black Walnut and Chevre Cheesecake, it was so light, so flavorful, the berries were fresh and delish, the raspberry coollie was tart and sweet and the perfect twist to the cheesecake...I think I had 2 bites and Todd's fork made it to my plate and I lost custody of my dessert.....he ate cookie and said it was like a nut brittle and he ate my chocolate stick and said it was a great chocolate...not waxy at all....wish I could experience it!

DH ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Ice Cream. It is served warm and the ooey gooey thick chocolate spills out all over the plate. It was fantastic. The strawberry ice cream was very mild, not too sweet and it was pretty creamy. The cake itself was great, I am not a chocolate fiend like DH is but I enjoyed it alot, I guess I had to since he commandeered my choice of dessert....just kidding you guys, nuttin but love for the boy!

Total with the TIW card was $159...a little much but oh goodness so worth it! DH said to put it on the list for Oct but he was quick to remind me that Jiko filet was still on the top so we have to make sure to go back there too. We had a very relaxing, wonderful fun dinner...but the rain killed the rest of our evening..now DH is snoring away, I am typing away and wondering if I should spike his food with NO DOZE so I can experince WDW! Oh well it is only day one and I know he is just dead tired...I will not complain anymore

For all of you that told me Cali Grill was awesome, a huge THANK YOU! You were all so right!

Okay...I am now drooling. I didn't eat dinner tonight because DH is umpping two baseball games (trying to make money for those meals in Marco Island) and I hate eating alone. We don't normally do signature restaurants when at Disney but, AS USUAL, your review has changed my mind. That pork looks absolutely perfect--and pork is my favorite! Guess this will be on the top of the list for 2010!

I hope you have a day tomorrow without rain!

 

[MickeyNicki]

My First post. I have been lurking for a while but couldn't resist anymore. Following along and enjoying this totally! Keep it coming. Thank you!

I tempted you out of hiding huh? Glad you are in for the long haul!

Yummo, I am so hungry now I had to send DH to the store to get stuff for hot fudge sundaes.

Can you make ADR's at Fulton's through Disney or do you have to call Fulton's? I am thinking I will cancel Raglan Road and change to Fulton's.

Ooh that sounds yummy! You can make ressies through Disney..that is a great call on your part, we love Fultons and wish we went there instead of RR

Great review! I just caught up on your new photos, and I have to say Thank you for posting your review and photos from Raglan Road. I just made lunch ADRs there last week for July, and now I have time to reconsider our options! We've never been there before, and the menu looked good -- but yuck! Salty stew and creepy meatballs -- no thank you!

I'm looking forward to your CG review, and I really hope that your other dining experiences will make up for the first one...

I would def change, it was ick! Cali Grill was awesome, you should go there instead

That RR food looked like some of the worst I've seen. It can only get better from there.

That passionfruit drink looked awesome and so did the Starring Rolls food. I will have to try it next trip since I can not find good CS at DHS.

Can't wait to hear about the flatbreads!

It was some of the worst I have ever tasted! The passionfruit drink was awesome, so refreshing and light.

The menu looks great for Cali Grill! Thank you for posting it! ...I think I know one of our ADRs for our Nov trip. Can't wait to read the food review!

It's so funny how this board (mainly you and Pooh's Honey Pot) have completely changed the way I vacation at WDW. DH and I used to eat burgers and chicken fingers all week long, solely cs locations. Occasionally we'd throw in Sci-Fi, but that wasn't venturing too far out of our comfort zone. There is just this whole amazing world of food out there that I never knew about. I'm so excited to start planning our ADRs for our Nov trip!

You know what is funny? At dinner tonight DH says "Do you remember the days before you studied on the DIS? We used to eat burgers and chicken nuggets on the fly, rush for a table, rush in line...I like this way of dining so much better!" I have to agree with him, it is much better the TS route!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm so glad you enjoyed dinner! That risotto looks wonderful. I think the next time I eat at CA Grill I'm going to have to try the pork.

 

[cnorth]

I have to admit, I had butterflies in my tummy waiting for your review of cali grill! I am so glad you loved it. Sorry about the rain!

 

[mmmears]

Oh my gosh! Your CG food looks great! We're not seafood eaters and all the reviews have so much seafood on them that I just passed this place over... Now I have some rethinking to do! We haven't had dinner there in 10 years, but now I want to give it a try again!

If only I could change my RR lunch to a CG lunch -- that would be so easy!

Glad you had a wonderful meal -- the storm rolling in looked really neat until your final photo where you can't see out the window...

Please keep your wonderful reviews coming, and thank you again for taking the time & effort to post them (and all the great photos of the food and the menus!)