Thursday, October 15th - Romper Room, The Alpine Shop, and Our Romantic Dinner for Two Converge Most Unexpectedly at Bistro Paris.
Tonight's dinner was originally scheduled for Citricos. But then, as so often happens, I started re-thinking our ADRs and I came to the conclusion that it was a special kind of stupid for us to waste time traveling to another resort area for dinner when there were so many fabulous eateries all around us. And so, with less than two weeks before Jay and I were scheduled to land in Florida, I dumped the Citricos reservation and replaced it with Bistro Paris. Why spend an hour getting to the Grand Floridian using Disney transportation when we could engage in some bipedalism and find ourselves at Bistro in less than fifteen minutes?
We were both pleased with this last minute dinner bait-and-switch; not only had we seen some recent reviews indicating that the menu had been changed up a bit, but we'd had a fantastic meal at Bistro back in 2007. Jay and I thought then that it was probably second only to Victoria and Albert's in terms of service and quality of food. And don't take this the wrong way, but we liked that very few, if any, small children were in attendance there. We assumed that the combination of Bistro not accepting the
Disney Dining Plan and most children not being overly fond of exotic viands conspired to keep this restaurant a quiet, elegant haven for adults.
Are you basing the anticipated ambience and noise level at a Disnsey restaurant on a dinner experience from two years ago? Gather the tattered remnants of your memory cloak, oh-sheltered-one, and prepare for total disillusionment.
**We interrupt this review to apologize for the dramatic and exaggerated foreshadowing that the author has seen fit to engage in. Some people lack perspective, and being exceedingly nearsighted is not an acceptable excuse. Upon being told by the author to "stuff it" the editorial staff have since done a bunk and are now pounding back ice wine martinis at a disgraceful rate. Sorry, but you're all on your own from this point forward.**
A funny thing happened on our stroll over to Bistro. But I should preface that with this: If I have a single, overriding pet peeve it is groups of people who congregate in the middle of sidewalks ... pathways ... concourses ... walkways ... and prevent the rest of us from sticking to our preferred straight-line walking trajectory.
Need to read a map 'cause you don't know where you are and you've lost the thrill of random discovery?
Not sure where to stop for your next snack and / or drink?
Trying to text, twitter, tweet, chirp, bill, coo, and chew gum all at the same time?
Please get out of the way until you know where you're going and what you're doing and then gently re-merge into the flow of foot traffic. It's the safe and considerate thing to do. Even Smokey the Bear would endorse this public safety message but unfortunately he wandered into a clearly marked logging zone last weekend while reading text messages from the US Forest Service ... ironically warning of logging in the area ... and he was crushed by falling timber. Only you can prevent forest fires and tragic logging deaths indirectly caused by text messaging.
Ahem.
Where was I going with this?
Ah, yes!
Our path leading across the bridge into France from the UK was blocked by a large group of German tourists. How did I know they were German? Aside from their language, they all looked like they were ready to climb every mountain with the family Von Trapp.
OK, you
Sound of Music purists will no doubt remind me that the Von Trapps were from Austria, not Germany, but let's not belabor the point. Just remember that I mentioned a group of appoximately 10 clueless tourists decked out in summertime hiking / mountain climbing gear.
After making our way, finally, to Bistro we checked in and were instructed to have a seat until someone could escort us upstairs. If I have a single quibble with the check-in process at Bistro it's that they share a back hallway with Chefs de France, so it's very noisy and can be rather hectic. There is also not much room in this area and only a handful of chairs upon which to rest your weary self while waiting for your escort.
About ten minutes passed, during which time the apparent leader of the German group showed up to inquire about seating and engaged in a highly entertaining and very confusing dialogue with the French CM at the podium about whether or not they had the Disney Dining Plan - neither one of them was explaining themselves very well to other and I giggled silently thinking that this must have been what it was like during negotiations at Versailles in 1919. Just as the conversation was reaching its conclusion, Jason and I were invited to ascend the sweeping, spiral stairway to the calm dining oasis above.
Quite possibly the coolest stairway in WDW.
I had hoped that we would be seated at a window table but foolishly didn't actually ask for one. You guys aren't going to believe me but I swear that what I'm going to tell you is the bonafide truth. Jason and I were seated at the exact same table we sat at last year for our French Regional Lunch at Bistro which was the exact same table we were seated at when we had our first dinner at Bistro in October 2007. We actually pulled up the tablecloth to see if some kind of commemorative plaque or marker had been affixed to the side of the table indicating that it was the "Jay-n-Bendy" dining trough.
Ask me to describe the interior of the restaurant and all I can say is it's understated and elegant, decorated in red and white and gold. The place setting never fails to charm us - the napkin is always folded into a white tuxedo jacket. The service is attentive without being too over the top and the food is wonderful. The one thing we noticed that seemed a bit strange, especially for a Thursday evening, was that Bistro seemed rather busy. And there was a large family with small children tucked into a corner near the hallway. Jay and I raised a brow at each other but figured that those kids might be the rare pre-schoolers who like pate, snails, and frog legs.
Here, take a quick gander at my place setting:
You don't mind if I wipe my hands all over your jacket, do you?
Jay and I discussed the tasting menu briefly, but decided against it because Bistro was offering fewer courses and fewer choices per course than they had when we'd tried their tasting menu two years prior. We agreed that this dinner was going to be a la carte ... the better to stuff ourselves, my dears!
Shortly after we'd placed our order, our server reappeared with an amuse bouche from the chef. Color us happy - we thought guests only received these when they ordered the tasting menu! On the plate before us sat a lovely ball of lightly breaded risotto and a warm shrimpie with a zig-zag of spicy cocktail sauce. It was a lovely combination and definitely set our mouths a-drooling for the rest of the meal to come.
Oh, happy mouth! Happy, happy mouth!!
Also, before I forget to mention it - Bistro has an employee who wanders the dining room with a basket of fresh bread on her arm. She appears periodically through the course of a meal and offers guests plenty of warm, delightful French bread to gorge on should they so choose.
For his appetizer Jay ordered a bowl of bugs swimming in broth.
Oh wait, I mean he ordered Escargot Cassolette with Parsley Butter. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it until my voice box rots or I wake up dead: I don't eat bugs ...
knowingly. It doesn't matter how high in protein or how low in fat ... bugs are for squashing, not for digesting. Jason, however, thought this dish was terrific ... buttery, chewy, and tasty to the extreme. In fact, his exact words about this were, "This is how snails should be served, not hidden in a pastry shell or a miniature bread bowl."
A heapin' helpin' of buttery, bug-filled broth.
I opted for something a little more safe: Smoked Salmon Pastrami, Arugula, and Mache Salad with Tarragon, Buckwheat Blinis, Horseradish, and Caviar Cream. Check out the presenation with the salmon rosette, and the salmon-wrapped cracker bridge, and that fabulous caviar cream squiggle across the top of the plate! I adored this appetizer - the salmon was a wonderful mix of sweet and salt and very mild in flavor, which is how I prefer my salmon. The caviar cream was light and tasty with a hint of lemon and it really made the salmon sing. It's hard to tell in the picture I've posted, but the buckwheat blini are in the lower left-hand and upper right-hand corner of the plate - they were a disappointment because they'd been overcooked and were dry. After trying one, I decided to ignore them and just focus on the salmon and the cream - this made me very happy indeed.
Now this is my idea of an appetizer!
Before I get to dinner I should fill you in on a few things. First of all, we did order a bottle of wine to enjoy with our meal: Pouilly Fuisse, which is one of our favorite types of white wine. It's a white burgundy - somewhat on the dry side - and we find it light and refreshing and a bit more affordable, especially when dining out, than many other French wines.
Secondly, just as we were finishing up our happy mouth from the chef, who should appear in the dining room and end up seated at a number of tables almost directly across from us but the German mountain climbing team that we'd had to battle on the bridge crossing the fake Seine! We knew a moment of real concern but I must confess that their dining room manners were far superior to those of the three ... yes, three ... different families who brought their pre-school aged children to dinner at Bistro Paris.
Which leads me to my third, and possibly most offensive, point: What were these people thinking?
Bistro doesn't accept the dining plan; Bistro doesn't offer any discounts aside from the TWIT card; Bistro doesn't have a children's menu.
I am not a parent. I will never be a parent. But I can't for the life of me understand why some parents subject small children to a two-hour meal in a semi-formal dining room and expect them to be happy about it. Case in point, the children belonging to the large party near the hallway began chasing each other around their table. Thankfully an adult in the group eventually put a halt to the game and they left soon after, but in a restaurant where the waitstaff wear tuxedos, where meats get carved tableside, and where desserts are often set on fiyah, allowing this kind of behavior strikes me as more than discourteous - it's downright dangerous.
And as for the other two families with children too small to use the bathroom on their own ... let's just say that they may be accustomed to the occasional ear-drum piercing shrieks of their offspring, but the rest of us are not. Gawd forbid I put it in writing, but if you can afford to eat at Bistro you can afford a babysitter for two hours - do yourself and the rest of us a favor and don't bring your toddlers to a dining establishment where the waitstaff are dressed in penguin suits.
I'm going to go one step further while I'm on my soap-box and say this: there is nothing wrong with WDW having one or two establishments that are a haven of tranquility and fine dining for the 18-and-older crowd, especially since the demise of Pleasure Island.
Disney Cruise Line does it and I never hear anyone complain about that (yes, we barren, cranky jerks have sailed on
DCL and loved every moment of it), I see no reason why the Walt Disney Resort can't do the same. They market themselves as the number-one honeymoon / anniversary destination in the world and should think about doing a little more to cater to a significant guest-pool with a lot of disposable income.
I don't expect everyone who reads this to agree with me, and that's perfectly OK. We can disagree - that's what reasonable people do. But if you can't be reasonable and have a sense of humor then you probably shouldn't be reading my crap in the first place.
Anyhoo, what I have since been told is that Bistro is offering parents who do show up with kids under the age of ten the option of ordering for them from the Chefs de France childrens menu. I applaud Bistro's commitment to providing service while warning my friendies who, like Jay and me, always considered Bistro the other WDW restaurant on property where they could feel assured of having a quiet, elegant meal that it is no longer safe to make this assumption. You will still have a wonderful meal with great service but you should be prepared for the possibility that there will be far more families there and that they may be the source of much more noise.
And now, back to dinner! For my entree I ordered the Seared Sea Scallops with Stewed Fennel, Seafood, and Saffron Jus. Not only was this a gorgeous presentation, it tasted amazing. The scallops were melt-in-my-mouth perfect - lightly seared and very tender with just a hint of sweetness.
Beautiful, just beautiful.
Jay chose the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Beef Parmentier, Asparagus, and Peppercorn Sauce. His fillet was cooked just the way he likes it - medium rare. It was tender and slightly spicy thanks to the peppercorn sauce. Of particular note is the Beef Parmentier, which looks like a mashed potato patty. If any of you reading this tried the beef shortribs at the French F&W booth, this was just like that but on a much larger scale. It tasted wonderful - I know because I had to have more than one bite - and it did a great job of soaking up that peppery sauce.
Beef Tenderloin and such ...
Beef Parmentier up close and personal.
Once the plates were cleared we were presented with the after-dinner drink menu and the dessert menu. Ahhhh, let me roll out my vacation stomach and make room for the sweet joy that is French dessert. We'd already downed a bottle of wine, but I wanted something more. Eventually my eye fell upon this item listed at the bottom of Bistro's Disgestifs menu:
Special Coffee.
Yep.
That's what it's called.
And I'm here to tell you that it's the most special and spectacular coffee we've ever ordered - Coffee, Grand Marnier, Baileys, B&B, and Cognac topped with a mound of fresh whipped cream. It was so fabulous looking that two other couples in the dining room came over to ask us what we were drinking so that they could order it as well!
What can I say?
We're boozie trailblazers!
It's special!!
**Hello? Kabuki's Jason ... are you reading this? You. Must. Order. This. Coffee. Next. Month. That is all.**
And now, the real, secret reason that I wanted to have dinner at Bistro ... my dessert!!! I had to order the Warm and Frozen Grand Marnier Souffle - I knew even before we arrived for our reservation that I was going to order this if it was still available. I read a review of this on All Ears and my tastebuds were screaming from that moment forward. The frozen souffle was the lightest, most refreshingly orange flavored treat I've ever eaten ... like an alcoholic creamsicle. And the warm souffle was a dream - light and airy and swimming in booze because rather than serve it with a cream sauce they gave me a pitcher of Grand Mariner to pour over the top! This may have been the best dessert of the entire trip; if not the best, it certainly was one of the top three.
Two desserts for the price of one and more booze!
For his dessert Jason went all traditional and ordered The Crepes Duo - One Suzette and the other a Purse with Warm Apples.
Don't laugh ... that's what was printed on the menu! The presentation was very cool because Jay's dessert was flambe'ed tableside ... we haven't had a dessert on fiyah since enjoying bananas foster in New Orleans way back in 2005. Jay liked both of these but preferred the traditional crepe; the apple-stuffed man purse was a little charred on top and he thought it was just a bit too heavy.
It's flaming!
Two more desserts for the price of one!
Here's a tacky picture of buzzin' Jay & Bendy at their personal table with the check waiting to be signed and the cloth all rumpled and stained. NICE!!!
We are replete to the point of satiety!
Despite the occasional accoustic challenges we faced at dinner, our overall experience at Bistro was amazing. The food was incredible and the service was just what we wanted - helpful and attentive without being overbearing. We will return to dine again at Bistro and until then, give it our highest rating: Culinary Nirvana with Ren & Stimpy!!!
