Throw away the scale we're hear to eat!

[heather360]

It's almost been a month and I think I'd better sit down and start my dining review before I forget everything.

For this trip it was myself and DM. We stayed 6 nights at the Poly and we were on the deluxe dining plan. We had tried the regular dining plan in the past but this was the first time with the deluxe.

I'll be posting pictures of most of our meals. I only forgot to take a couple and we seem to have an annoying habit of starting on dessert before taking the picture.

I'll be reviewing the following:

California Grill p.1 #4
Tutto Italia p.1 #8
Yachtsman Steakhouse p. 1 #9
Crystal Palace breakfast
Narcoosee's
Brown Derby
Poly room service
Boma breakfast
Jiko
Boulangerie Patisserie
Flying Fish
Kona Cafe breakfast
various snacks

I've tried to keep a total of how much we would have spent so we'll see how I made out in the end. I'll also finish up with our favorites and what we thought of the deluxe plan. Did we like it enough to do again? You'll have to stayed tuned to see.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in...

 

[MissMichelle]

I'm in! Can't wait to read your reviews

 

[heather360]

I chose the California Grill for our first dinner of the vacation. We had written off this restaurant a while ago. It just seemed so loud and chaotic that the last time we were here it wasn't that great. Prior to this visit I had read a bunch of reviews on the dis and decided it was time to try it again.

One of the things I had read was that the California Grill had a back room called the "wine room" that was much quieter. With that in mind I made a 5:40 reservation and as soon as I checked in I requested the wine room. I was told that there should be no problem in getting that request. As soon as we stepped off of the elevator our buzzer went off and we were escorted to our table.

It was great! We sat at a table looking out at the lake towards the Wilderness Lodge. By this time of night the sun was going down and there really wasn't much of a view but who cares. It was peaceful and relaxing and we had a fabulous server. If you've done the whole California Grill watching fireworks craziness once I highly recommend the wine room for some peace and quiet to enjoy an excellent meal.

On to the food:

I started with the Surf and Turf roll which is described as seared beef, ****ake mushrooms, coriander-spiced tuna, and spiced apple slaw. The beef is on the inside of the roll and the tuna is also seared. This was good not great.

DM had the Crispy Asian Rock Shrimp Salad with Asian Pears, Red Onions, Soy Reduction, and Wasabi Cream

For an entree I had the Veal Chop with Potato Rosti, Chanterelles, Salsify, Pearl Onions, Carrot Puree, and Madeira Jus. It was out of this world. I can not express how good this was the meat was fabulous but the potatoes and jus were just as good. I don't usually eat veal but I did ask our server if the veal was "humanely raised". DM couldn't believe I would ask but I was impressed because the server took this as a serious question and went to go ask the chef. The server came back and said the chef had said "absolutely".

DM had the Pan-seared Florida Snapper with Roasted Fig Risotto, Forest Mushrooms, and Pinot Noir Reduction

For dessert with both got the cheese plate. If you're someone who likes cheese plates you have to order it here. California Grill has the best cheese plate I've ever had and that's saying something.

We both loved this meal and California Grill is now on our must do list. The total for this meal before wine and tip was $ 177.78.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Great start, I love cheese plate.

 

[gardengirl628]

count me in!

 

[mstmp]

Count me in - love your first reviwe

 

[heather360]

We had lunch at Tutto Italia. This was the second time we've been here. We really enjoyed it the first time and it was still very good this time. I do think it's overpriced. I'd have a hard time going here without the dining plan but with it it's great.

We shared an appetizer. It was the Grand Antipasto Misto which serves two. It was a large platter of Italian goodies. There was fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, a blue cheese, marinated peppers, mushrooms, beans, and olives, artichoke hearts and different cold cuts.

For an entree I ordered Orecchiette d'Altamura which is described as orecchiette pasta, slow braised lamb ragu, artichoke, peperoncino, olive and ricotta.

DM had Casareci which is cavatelli pasta, sweet sausage ragu, tomatoes, pecorino romano. I loved this and DM loved my entree so we ended up switching plates. It was so good but neither of us could finish it.

For dessert I knew what I wanted. For two years now I've dreamed about Tutto's zabaglione gelato. If you like rum raisin ice cream you'll like this. It's a very boozy gelato that's incredibly smooth.

Sorry about the image quality and I had already started eating this.

DM had the Copetta Sotto Bosco which is berries, zabalione gelato and chocolate sauce. She really liked this but she said that next time she'd order just the plain dish of zabaglione gelato because it came with more gelato.

This was an excellent meal. We would dine here again if we are on the dining plan but without the plan it's wayyyy expensive. It was $ 110.76 before tax for lunch.

 

[heather360]

This was our first time eating at Yachtsman's and we were really looking forward to it.

I started with the Charcuterie plate. It was an assortment of meats and cheeses. There was venison pate in the upper left, duck sausage in the middle, and steak tartar. There was also a blue cheese and a brie. Also some potato salad. Overall this was only okay. I enjoyed the steak tartar and the potato salad the most.

DM had the Lobster Bisque

For the entree we both had New York Strip with Peppercorn Brandy sauce and white cheddar potato gratin. I asked for the sauce on the side because I don't really like peppercorn sauce but this was delicious. I also really enjoyed the potatoes.

For dessert I had the Banana Napoleon which was white chocolate and banana mousse with phyllo. I love banana desserts and this one was the best I had all week.

DM had the Creme Brulee. It was actually a good size portion but they put a gigantic strawberry on top so it may look like a small portion in the photo.

We enjoyed our dinner here but we were still a bit full from our lunch at Tutto Italia. Because we weren't that hungry I feel that we can't give an accurate review of this restaurant. We do want to try it again to see what we think about it.

I didn't write down how much this dinner was but it was approximately $150.00.