sleepydog25
Been here awhile
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Messages
- 8,416
I used to do long-ish TRs, but with the ubiquitous nature of social media anymore, you can find more, better quality information out there with a few clicks. Still, there might be a few interested in this short story of our trip to SoCal.
Intros
Me: Swashbuckling, debonair, and suave (pronounced swah-vay) dad
LOML: Translated, the Love of My Life
Teen: A dearest daughter, indeed. . .sometimes full of sarcasm (from whom she got it, I know not)
Date: 17-22 June
Day 1
I won't bore you too much with the details of getting to Anaheim from the mountains of southwest Virginia, but suffice to say it began butt early on the morning of 17 June, involved a line checking in at RDU via Southwest that stretched to the next state, luggage that somehow made the connection, and two flights totaling nearly 6 hours. We were picked up by a executive car service--a tad expensive but took all the worry out of the equation and made us feel special.
We were staying the first two nights at VGC in a 1BR. We don't own there, and despite being online when the 7-month booking window opened, waitlisting, and RATing, we never were able to piece all five nights together. The room was actually ready when we got there around noon, so that was a bonus. As you might expect the room was superb--what VWL and CCVC ought to be.
Lunch was first on the list to do since we didn't care for the four-course offering on the airplane. Baby greens salad, lobster bisque, filet, molten chocolate cake was simply not good enough when offered by the flight attendant. The choice for our first meal on property was Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, and it was a fine meal.
My entourage. . .
Boudain balls
These were excellent; in fact, one of the better items I had all week. Came
with two dipping sauces: a whole grain mustard aoli and Tabasco pepper jelly.
The actual boudain balls were rich, meaty, and filling thanks to the rice. Similar
to aroncini, they're a bit funkier thanks to the sausage and brown rice. Though
an appetizer, they were an admirable substitute for a lunch entree. The sauces
were zesty and spicy, perfect to pair with them. You may assume we had wine
or some alcoholic beverage with most meals--it's how we roll.
Soup trio
Again, this was an appetizer order, but it's plenty filling for a lunch or
light eater. The three soups (note we made a Hidden Mickey with the photo)
were gumbo ya-ya, chicken etouffee, and jambalaya and each was tasty.
None were too spicy (though we added some on our own), and each was
rich with broth and simmered veggies and rice as appropriate.
The daughter had a burger, medium, and it was cooked perfectly and had plenty
of condiments. As burgers go, it was above average.
Double chocolate bread pudding
The kicker here was dessert which, in this case, had to be ordered 20 minutes
ahead of time--a double chocolate bread pudding souffle with a dollop of ice
cream. Again, one of the best things we had all week: decadent, chock full
of chocolate, drizzled with vanilla and chocolate ganaches, and punctuated
with a quickly melting vanilla ice cream.
All in all, an excellent meal with solid service (nothing spectacular).
Next: Off to the parks!
Intros
Me: Swashbuckling, debonair, and suave (pronounced swah-vay) dad
LOML: Translated, the Love of My Life
Teen: A dearest daughter, indeed. . .sometimes full of sarcasm (from whom she got it, I know not)
Date: 17-22 June
Day 1
I won't bore you too much with the details of getting to Anaheim from the mountains of southwest Virginia, but suffice to say it began butt early on the morning of 17 June, involved a line checking in at RDU via Southwest that stretched to the next state, luggage that somehow made the connection, and two flights totaling nearly 6 hours. We were picked up by a executive car service--a tad expensive but took all the worry out of the equation and made us feel special.
We were staying the first two nights at VGC in a 1BR. We don't own there, and despite being online when the 7-month booking window opened, waitlisting, and RATing, we never were able to piece all five nights together. The room was actually ready when we got there around noon, so that was a bonus. As you might expect the room was superb--what VWL and CCVC ought to be.
Lunch was first on the list to do since we didn't care for the four-course offering on the airplane. Baby greens salad, lobster bisque, filet, molten chocolate cake was simply not good enough when offered by the flight attendant. The choice for our first meal on property was Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, and it was a fine meal.
My entourage. . .
Boudain balls
These were excellent; in fact, one of the better items I had all week. Came
with two dipping sauces: a whole grain mustard aoli and Tabasco pepper jelly.
The actual boudain balls were rich, meaty, and filling thanks to the rice. Similar
to aroncini, they're a bit funkier thanks to the sausage and brown rice. Though
an appetizer, they were an admirable substitute for a lunch entree. The sauces
were zesty and spicy, perfect to pair with them. You may assume we had wine
or some alcoholic beverage with most meals--it's how we roll.
Soup trio
Again, this was an appetizer order, but it's plenty filling for a lunch or
light eater. The three soups (note we made a Hidden Mickey with the photo)
were gumbo ya-ya, chicken etouffee, and jambalaya and each was tasty.
None were too spicy (though we added some on our own), and each was
rich with broth and simmered veggies and rice as appropriate.
The daughter had a burger, medium, and it was cooked perfectly and had plenty
of condiments. As burgers go, it was above average.
Double chocolate bread pudding
The kicker here was dessert which, in this case, had to be ordered 20 minutes
ahead of time--a double chocolate bread pudding souffle with a dollop of ice
cream. Again, one of the best things we had all week: decadent, chock full
of chocolate, drizzled with vanilla and chocolate ganaches, and punctuated
with a quickly melting vanilla ice cream.
All in all, an excellent meal with solid service (nothing spectacular).
Next: Off to the parks!
