Parks? What Parks? We're Here for the FOOD!**PICS!** COMPLETE!

[Ms. Heimlich]

I hear ya on the post vacation depression. It's the main reason I do the TRs - helps keep the sadness a little more in check.

Hooray you got Chef Hunnel just like we did! It's really interesting to see how different your amuse bouche was from ours. Of course it's been five months, but still ... it really gives some perspective on just how creative these chefs have to be, doesn't it?

Looking forward to more!

The TR, Food Report is helping. It keeps the vacation "alive" for a while. I Loved meeting Chef Hunnel, but now, I wish I'd have met the wine pairings guy instead. The only "sour" note of our whole experience was the wine pairings.

I am loving your reviews. I especially love reading about the F&W festival as we are a family who loves food but can not get to Disney that time of year as I am a teacher. So, I need to live vicariously through others like yourself until I retire, change careers or hit the lottery and become financially independent! (I'm hoping for the last one.)

I totally understand. I can't really vacation in the summer due to my job, so I miss a lot, too! If you win the lotto, please remember the little people! (like me)

I love duck - not sure I could eat it cold though

Thanks for the update - and keep 'em coming

The duck was good... Just not my favorite of the evening.

More more I need more. everything looks fabulous can't wait for the rest.

More up now... Hopefully more to come today or tomorrow!

Thanks everyone for reading!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Love the descriptions - you make fish sound nice and, believe me, to a non-fish lover such as myself, that is a hard task

Really loving your reviews - you have inspired me to continue with my own

 

[oybolshoi]

You didnt meet Israel Perez while you were at the Chef's Table?

I'm shocked! Someone should have come out to talk to you about your wines as well as your food. Because I had mentioned that I'm not fond of a lot of heavy red wines they switched things up for me while we were there in May and it really worked out nicely.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have a good experience with the wine pairings... that's half the fun.

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

You didnt meet Israel Perez while you were at the Chef's Table?

I'm shocked! Someone should have come out to talk to you about your wines as well as your food. Because I had mentioned that I'm not fond of a lot of heavy red wines they switched things up for me while we were there in May and it really worked out nicely.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have a good experience with the wine pairings... that's half the fun.

I KNOW!!! I was VERY disappointed when we didn't meet him and get to discuss our likes/dislikes. It was such a sour note that Thomas and I have decided if we ever go back, we will NOT do the pairings, but instead get a bottle of wine for dinner. If Mr. Perez is there, I may reconsider, but (as you will continue to read) I/we didn't enjoy the pairings at all (not that they were paired badly,) but they were almost all whites and I like reds.

Chef Hunnel only visited us for 2 or 3 of the courses. The rest were explained to us by Thomas (the assistant chef) or our waitstaff. But I will review that whole thing at the end of the V&A's review.

Thanks for reading, Brenda!

Ms. H (Janis)

 

[rookie2]

subscribing

 

[kabuki]

Love your reviews! Thanks for the great pictures!

 

[engle]

I saw a picture of one of your wine pours....it confirms my previous report that the pours are quite big for a pairing!!!

 

[PrincessTiff]

Excellent reviews and pictures!

 

[jess98ac]

Just found this and am loving it so far!! We are no where near adventurous to eat at V&A's, but I LOVE to read about other people's experiences!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Love the descriptions - you make fish sound nice and, believe me, to a non-fish lover such as myself, that is a hard task

Really loving your reviews - you have inspired me to continue with my own

I really like fish, we try to have it at least once a week at home. The fish course was SOOOO good. It ended up in my top three. But you'll have to wait to see the others that ended up there!

Thanks for reading and since I'm reading your dining review, too, I'm glad to be an inspiration. Keep it up!

subscribing

Welcome!!

Love your reviews! Thanks for the great pictures!

I got funny looks a lot for taking pics of my food, but who cares??? I'm probably never going to see these people again!

I saw a picture of one of your wine pours....it confirms my previous report that the pours are quite big for a pairing!!!

Stay tuned for more info on the wine... They were generous pours.

Excellent reviews and pictures!

Thanks!

Just found this and am loving it so far!! We are no where near adventurous to eat at V&A's, but I LOVE to read about other people's experiences!

DH and I made a pact before the meal began that we would TRY everything with an open mind. The next course REALLY tested that pact!!!

thanks for reading!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Thomas and I got different food and wine during this pairing. I will do my course first, and in a separate post, Thomas' course.

Janis - Course 4 - Ballotine of Poulet Rouge with Chicken Consomme, Scottish Chantrelles, and Black Truffles

Wine Pairing - Pere & Fils Christian Moreau Chablis 2004





Okay, let me start this course's review by saying 2 things. First, why would I pay the kind of money I paid at V&A's to eat chicken and secondly, let you know that I don't like mushrooms. As you can see, most of this dish IS mushrooms.

A ballotine is a piece of meat, fish, or poultry that has been boned, stuffed and then rolled and tied into a bundle. There was one little piece of this chicken (in the center). The chanterelle is a type of mushroom that grown ON THE ground under a piece of hardwood. (These are the big chuncks of mushroom.) Black truffles have long been prized as food and rumored to have aphrodisiacal powers. They grow UNDERGROUND ususally in close association with trees. (The best I could tell, the tiny shaving on top in the middle is the black truffle.)

The wine is from the burgandy region of france and is a white wine...

Okay. To be honest.... I hated this dish. It was bland, chewy, dry, plain, boring, icky and ewww. Maybe much of this review comes from the fact (again) that I don't like mushrooms.

The wine was even worse... I can't believe I am saying this about a french wine, but it was also boring, plain, and tasted a bit watered down. LIke they filled the bottles but ran a little low so topped them off with distilled water. Yuck.

This was also the point in the evening where the wine I had been consuming began to effect me. I am not a heavy drinker - I rarely drink and when I do its 1 or 2 drinks. At this point, I have consumed 4 glasses of wine/champagne, and not much food - in a 1 hour period. I was starting to get a little loopy. This was also the point I needed to visit the ladies room.

When you eat at the Chef's Table, you cannot go to restroom without first being accompanied through the kitchen. I asked our waiter to lead me out and I followed. On slightly wobbly legs and heels I made my way to the restroom and back without incident. Yipee! The next time I had to go... A different story... Stay tuned for THAT embarassing tale...

 

[oybolshoi]

Janis,

I was just talking to Jay about your wine pairing tale, and we both think you should email the restaurant and tell them about this. I'm sure they would want to know because they pride themselves on top notch service and it sounds like they fell short here for some reason. If you don't have their email address let me know - I think we still have a business card floating around here from last year and I can PM you with it.

Looking forward to reading more!

Brenda


PS. Just wondering... did anyone talk to you and your hubby about your likes and dislikes before the meal was prepared and served? Based on your most recent post either someone didn't ask or didn't listen.

I KNOW!!! I was VERY disappointed when we didn't meet him and get to discuss our likes/dislikes. It was such a sour note that Thomas and I have decided if we ever go back, we will NOT do the pairings, but instead get a bottle of wine for dinner. If Mr. Perez is there, I may reconsider, but (as you will continue to read) I/we didn't enjoy the pairings at all (not that they were paired badly,) but they were almost all whites and I like reds.

Chef Hunnel only visited us for 2 or 3 of the courses. The rest were explained to us by Thomas (the assistant chef) or our waitstaff. But I will review that whole thing at the end of the V&A's review.

Thanks for reading, Brenda!

Ms. H (Janis)

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Brenda -

When Chef Hunnel asked if we had any food restrictions, the only thing I mentioned was peaches. They also called a week before our dinner and asked the same thing. I never said anything about mushrooms, because I don't HATE them, I don't mind them in dishes, but I don't like them on their own. Most of the time, I can eat them without an issue, but this dish was 90% mushrooms.

No one ever asked us about wine pairings/preferences/likes/dislikes.

I'm not sure the experience we had warrants a complaint, but it was a learning experience and I will do things differently if we get the chance to dine there again.

Janis,

I was just talking to Jay about your wine pairing tale, and we both think you should email the restaurant and tell them about this. I'm sure they would want to know because they pride themselves on top notch service and it sounds like they fell short here for some reason. If you don't have their email address let me know - I think we still have a business card floating around here from last year and I can PM you with it.

Looking forward to reading more!

Brenda


PS. Just wondering... did anyone talk to you and your hubby about your likes and dislikes before the meal was prepared and served? Based on your most recent post either someone didn't ask or didn't listen.

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Minnesota Elk Tenderloin with Stewed Petite French Lentils and Corn
Wine Pairing - Dr. Zenzen Apollo-Falter Spatburgunder, Rheinhessen 2005





Lean and flavorful, elk meat is lower in fat than beef, pork, chicken, and even some seafoods according to health experts. This cut was very lean and cooked rare.

Thomas says - This dish was excellent. The meat was tender and flavorful - and the sauce complemented the flavor of the meat perfectly. He typically prefers his meat cooked medium-rare and this dish came out full-on RARE. Despite this, he really enjoyed this dish and thought the meat was so tender and delicious that it was not undercooked at all. The lentils were tasty and he liked them - that's saying something because he's not much of a lentil eater.

The wine pairing here for his dish was EXCELLENT. It was a pinot noir and was his favorite wine of the evening. We have looked up this wine to attempt to get locally he enjoyed it so much.

This was the only course that we had different food. I was pretty upset because his wine and food was so much better than mine. I didn't get the oportunity to drink a red wine until the next course.

In retrospect, I think I may have disliked my dish so much because he got this wonderful tenderloin and GREAT pinot noir when I got chicken & mushrooms with a watered down white wine.

Next course soon!!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Napoleon of Veal Tenderloin with tomato-fennel jus and artichokes, Veal Cheek, and Veal Tenderloin
2004 Cesari “Mara” Vino Di Ripasso Valpolicella, 2004





I’m not really a veal eater. I normally wouldn’t order it, but I’m not someone who would suggest a restaurant should never serve it.

This dish was perfectly prepared, tasty, and the meat almost had a buttery consistency.

The napoleon was topped with a peeled baby yellow tomato. The tanginess of the tomato paired impeccably with the meat, artichokes and fennel. The meat was well seasoned and tender and the pastry on top was light, flaky and a distinct contrast to the tenderness of the veal.



The tenderloin and the cheek pieces were to die for. The meat seemed to melt in my mouth – I barely had to chew it. They were so good, I was wishing for 2 or 10 more of them.



There was nothing about this dish that I disliked. The veal was cooked wonderfully, the wine paired flawlessly, and the sauces were so delicious with the meat. Again, I wanted to lick the plate clean.

The wine pairing was good here. YIPEE!!! A red wine for me!!!!


I liked this wine so much better than all the wines I had had so far, but compared to the Dr. Zenzen with Thomas’ elk, it wasn’t as good. I drank it, I finished it, and I was happy to be drinking a red wine with flavor rather than a yicky watered down white!!

After eating this course, I still wouldn’t order veal in a normal restaurant. However, if Chef Hunnel showed up and offered to prepare it for me… I might just change my mind…

 

[wilma-bride]

First, why would I pay the kind of money I paid at V&A's to eat chicken

This really made me laugh - my first thought when I read what was on offer was 'Oh my God, chicken at a restaurant like V&A's - just didn't seem 'special' enough somehow


Great updates - I know what you mean about veal. It's not something I would normally order but a colleague of mine had it once when we were away at a seminar. I tried it and it was delicious. Still not sure I would order it though

 

[D&R love Disney]

I hate mushrooms and that dish would have totally turned me off along with a chablis. I love white wine but I put chablis and zinfandel in the same yuck category.

The veal course looked real interesting.

 

[engle]

I don't understand why you got different courses...did you order it that way...I thought they just brought out the entire menu when you do the Chef's Table....

I can't wait to hear about your restroom incident. I understand how loopy you felt...been there, done that, 12 days til I do it again!!!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

I hate mushrooms and that dish would have totally turned me off along with a chablis. I love white wine but I put chablis and zinfandel in the same yuck category.

The veal course looked real interesting.

I don't hate mushrooms, but I certainly wouldn't put them on my top 10 favorite foods... I was willing to try anything, but this course was

The chablis was icky too... Luckily the veal course made me feel so much better!!!

I don't understand why you got different courses...did you order it that way...I thought they just brought out the entire menu when you do the Chef's Table....

I can't wait to hear about your restroom incident. I understand how loopy you felt...been there, done that, 12 days til I do it again!!!

Not sure - maybe its a male/female thing... Guys - NEED RED MEAT!! URg URg. dunno. We certainly didn't order it that way...

The bathroom story is a doozie. I get embarassed just thinking about it...

 

[oybolshoi]

But you didn't end up in the men's room by mistake, did you?