We love Gramercy Tavern. A friend and I have lunch in the Tavern so often we've taken to calling in "The Cafeteria" jokingly, of course! I might add, we love to get the cookie plate -- and the absolute best ones are the peanut butter cookies with the chocolate disk. Yum!
Congratulations on having such a great position in a wonderful NY restaurant that has become an institution.
As for desserts at WDW, that is a tough one. I have to agree, unfortunately, with the posters who note that the days of in-house pastry chefs doing creative things are pretty much gone.
The Brown Derby used to have a wonderful grapefruit cake that we simply couldn't resist. It was based on the original sold at the restaurant years ago. If you asked, they'd bring you the recipe printed on a Derby-shaped card. Lots of fun. The last time we had it, however, we were totally disappointed. It tasted completely mass produced and we were told it's now sourced from a third party vendor and kept frozen until served. Yuck! Yuck! and more Yuck!
Also, there used to be an amazing tiramisu served in a plastic cup at the Italy pavilion at Epcot. But, it's no longer available. I guess when Disney evicted Alfredo's of Roma, the amazing tiramisu recipe went with the restaurant. Dh and I used to laugh that the best tiramisu on property came in a plastic cup!
Beyond that, the desserts have become pretty much run of the mill.
There are still a few oases in the dessert desert, however:
Artist Point has a lovely berry cobbler that we love.
California Grill seems to have, if not terribly original desserts, ones that are a real pleasure and are often beautifully plated. CG also has what we think is one of the best cheese courses at WDW.
Jiko often has some rather interesting desserts with unique twists.
Wolfgang Puck Express at DownTown Disney serves what I consider to be the best creme brulee on WDW property. It comes in a tin foil dish and, unfortunately, isn't straight from the flame that melts the sugar. Even with those drawbacks, it's still the best -- and I've tried all the creme brulee's on property at one time or another.
Beyond that, there is a great in-house pastry chef at Victoria and Albert's who does some lovely desserts, although I think they could use a bit more creativity and a dessert menu change now and then. They've been serving the Tanzanian chocolate pyramid for at least 7 years now. Having said that, the Kona Chocolate Souffle served with Godiva Chocolate Sauce never disappoints. Same with the Grand Marnier souffle.
Given your background, you really should consider having a meal at V&A (even the Chef's Table if you can get it).
V&A is really the only restaurant at WDW that is in the same league as GT, though we think CG and Jiko are excellent, too. We haven't tried BlueZoo, but hear it is very good. We also really enjoyed Bice at the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal.
Hope you enjoy your vacation!