We just returned from Disney on Saturday, and we're still recovering from our weeklong dietary splurges! I think my husband in particular is going to need a new expanded wardrobe after a week of over-indulgence!
Our first night in the parks we decided to relive a dining experience from 13 years ago when my six-year-old son got to join the belly dancer of Restaurant Marrakesh during her performance. At 19, he's a bit more inhibited and remained firmly entrenched in his seat! Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meals--lambshank with couscous for my husband and son and roasted chicken with preserved lemons for me.
Sunday was another chance to relive a dining experience--this time at our favorite restaurant of all, Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian. We were fortunate enough to dine here last year when we stayed at AKL and couldn't resist repeating the experience. The ambience, service, and cuisine of this restaurant are unequalled by anything else in our experience, and we believe we speak with some knowledge in that we have had the privilege of dining in a number of the premiere restaurants across the nation. I'll list what we ate straight from the menu that is lying next to me. With our food my husband Tom and I enjoyed the "Royal Wine Pairing," which matched a specific wine to each course. I list the wines in parentheses after each dish. The amuse bouche, the tiny "taste" of something special that began the meal, was a small piece of seared ahi tuna served on a bed of mache. Next came a "Roasted Chioga Beet Salad with Walnuts, Cucumbers, and Mache" with "Sherry Cucumber Vinaigrette" for Tom and me, and "Smoked Buffalo with Heirloom Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm and Balsamic " for my son Matthew. All three of us moved on to Muscovy Duck Breast with Root Vegetables, Peaches, Foie Gras and Applewood Bacon Vinaigrette (accompanied by Santenay Premiere Cru "La Maladiere," Domaine Vincent Girardin, Burgundy 1999). Our soup course was a rich "Tomato Mascarpone Cream," which was followed by our entrees: "Jamison Farm Lamb with Wild Mushroom Cannelloni and a Truffle Emulsion" (accompanied by Rioja Reserva Muga, Spain 1995) for Tom and me and "Grilled Prime Filet over Cauliflower-Potato Puree and Cabernet Jus" for Matthew. Tom and I ordered the "Taleggio, Passendale and Great Hill Blue with Burgundy Poached Pear" (accompanied by Ferreira Tawny Porto), and Matthew selected the "Terrine of Sorbet with Seasonal Fruits." We concluded with a "Pyramid of Tanzani Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries" for Matthew and me and a "Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle" for Tom (accompanied by Bonnie Doon Vineyard Framboise, Santa Cruz), followed by coffee brewed at the table in a Kona vacuum apparatus. Throughout the meal at VA, each table is served by a two people who introduce themselves as "Victoria" and "Albert." This pair unobtrusively attends to each diner's every whim, doing their best to make everyone feel perfectly at ease without a trace of "snootiness," no matter one's level of dining "expertise." At the conclusion of the meal, each female diner is presented with a long-stem red rose, and the wait staff is glad to oblige as photographers pro tem upon request. On Tuesday evening we made reservations at the California Grill on the 15th floor of the Contemporary in order to have a bird's eye view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks display. Once again we had a very enjoyable meal that included such highlights as goat cheese ravioli, gazpacho, grilled pork tenderloin with polenta and cremini mushrooms, oak-grilled wild salmon with a summer vegetable ragout and basil whipped potatoes, a grilled eggplant bundle with quinoa and ratatouille, and orange crepes with Grand Marnier custard, raspberries, and blackberry coulis. Watching the fireworks from the roof after our meal gave us quite a different perspective. On Wednesday we ate our main meal in the mid-afternoon at Chefs de France--salad, a goat cheese pizza, curried chicken salad stuffed into crepes, and quiche Lorraine. The entire meal was delightful. The next chapter in our culinary tale is the surprising part of the story. We had expressed to one of the concierges at GF our disappointment at being unable to get a reservation for the Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's, at which time she went to work and managed to get one for us on Thursday evening. A second dinner at VA was certainly not in our plans, but we couldn't resist the opportunity and vowed that we'd eat cereal for the rest of the month to make up for the extravagance! So off we headed to the VA kitchen for ringside seats as we watched nine talented chefs maneuver their way around a surprisingly tiny kitchen. Somehow they managed to avoid stepping on one another's toes while working their culinary magic, and we had perhaps the most memorable meal we can remember. I'll list some of the highlights this time instead of going into every course: Iranian Karabarun Golden Osetra Caviar, Crab Cake with Braised Nappa Cabbage (our personal favorite dish of the evening), Lobster and Lentil Salad with White Balsamic Dressing, Quali Breast with Fingerling Potatoes, Baby Artichokes, and Brentwood Corn (a tiny quail egg perched atop this dish!), Black Bean Cream Soup, Alaskan Sable with Italian Couscous, Red Rice, and Sauce Bernaise, a Caramelized Banana Gateau, Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, and a Grand Marnier Souffle. The chef himself came to our table to find out our personal tastes and to explain each course. Needless to say, we all thoroughly enjoyed the evening. After this, of course the rest of our dining experiences were pretty much anticlimactic, although we did have a very pleasant breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe and an unusual Norwegian buffet at Restaurant Ackershus. The one dinner that we choose to forget was at 1900 Park Fare, where the food was mediocre at best and the noise level was a shock to our systems after the peaceful ambience of VA just upstairs! I'm going to submit this reply immediately because my computer has been responding erratically as I've attempted to enter this message and I'm afraid I'll lose the entire thing if I continue! I'd love to hear from some of you about your own dining experiences at WDW, so if you're a fellow foodie, drop me a line!
Krissy
