Tokyo Dining - Sushi & Sake or Thank The Gods It Isn't California Roll

Well this was my last day at Epcot and I hadn't planned for a sit down lunch since I was having dinner at Victoria & Alberts at 8:30pm. However it was POURING rain so I decided I would check out Tokyo Dining. I figured they might be able to get me in without a ressie since the rain was keeping people away.  


They sat me right away, gave me a window seat and were sooo polite! I didn't bring Bun with me due to the excessive rain however I had a very good time none the less.  


First let me clarify a few things about sushi. This will save you from looking like a dork in a real sushi bar: 
* California Roll is NOT real sushi! That isn't even real crab in there. It is crab flavored white fish. It was invented to help Americans with their "weird food fear". 
* Wasabi is NOT to be heaped into the bowl of soy sauce and stirred until it is a muddy paste! STOP IT!!!! It is insulting to the sushi Chef. Both the wasabi and soy are to lightly accent the fish. When you do the sludge thing, you are saying you want to taste wasabi and not the FISH. 
* Some pieces of sushi (that come with their own sauce) are NOT to be drug in soy sauce. 
* NEVER stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice. That indicates an offering to the dead. Either use a chop stick rest or place them sideways across the bowl of rice. 
* If you are dipping sushi in soy, pick the piece up with your chop sticks and touch them to the soy "upside down" so the top of the fish touches the sauce and not the rice. If you place it in the soy rice end first, it will tend to fall apart. 
* You will receive a warm washcloth before eating. This is for wiping your hands NOT for taking a BATH!!  


I also must say that I eat many things white people don't eat. I eat organs (like brains and sweetbreads), I eat live things, I eat things that move, I eat things that smell so rank it makes Mickey cry (like Durian). Doesn't mean I would eat Durian again but I try it. One of my favorite sushi offerings is Ama Ebi. They did not have any but they are raw sweet shrimp with the heads deep fried. one sushi chef I know calls the heads "Japanese French Fries". They are WONDERFUL!!!! One Chef also took the brain out after chopping their little heads off and gave it to me with a thin slice of lemon. It was still pulsing. YUMMY!  


Anyway, I ordered some hot sake (for such a cold day) and the following sushi dishes Maguro (Tuna) - they didn't have Toro which is a higher grade of tuna belly, Sake (Salmon), Unagi (Eel) and Ika (squid). They were out of Conch (you know those big shells Hawaiians blow) and Octopus. :sad1


This was very decent sushi. Not as good as the places in San Francisco but it was on par with your average sushi place. Some of the cuts of fish were a little on the thin side but the prices were a little lower than I have seen in sushi bars so I guess it evens out. Sushi can be an addicting and pricy enterprise. I have been known to eat $75 worth of sushi by myself. I also love Uni (Sea Urchin Gonads, which they didn't have) which is pretty pricey. This is a definite return for me even if they have "dumbed down US food" like California Roll and that abomination Philidelphia Roll on the menu. That Philly roll is GROSS! Cooked salmon, cream cheese and rice in a roll. BLECH! Had it at a place in Oakland (a friend ordered it) and I think it was near as bad as Durian and that is bad. Here if you are not a true Japanese sushi person or not an adventurous eater they have tempura, teriyaki and *shudder* California Roll. Have at, more conch for me however, please try one thing for me. Use chopsticks, not a fork. Really it isn't that hard, I learned when I was 8. Just try for me. Promise?

Yak & Yeti - Tibet, the Dali Bunny & an Attack by a Yak

Well today was my day at Animal Kingdom. Initially I had decided to just grab some counter food (something I rarely do) but everything (including the counter by Yak & Yeti that serves things in cute colored Chinese food boxes) looked either greasy, unhealthy or too large a portion. I will be 100% happy with package delivery if they will shlep my left overs back to my room. I know they won't do it but.....

So I decided to try to get in at Yak & Yeti when they opened. I've found that if you check in for a non-ressie time right when they open (11am usually for lunch and 5 or 5:30 for dinner at most places) that you can be seated.

While the place was empty, they were not taking any walk-ins for tables. I am thinking they had lots of ressies for 20-30 minutes later HOWEVER you can eat at the BAR without the ressie as they serve the full menu.

This is the view from the bar.  I decided to start with a drink I heard a great deal about - the Yak Attack. This is a mango daiquiri with more rum and a berry swirl. I decided to have Bun try some.

Who is Bun? Well, Bun is The Softest Bunny In The World and I found him at the gift shop at the Dolphin Resort. He went drinking around the World with me and now he was on Safari (in his protective plastic bag).

That drink was sooo fruity good! In fact, while they do sell them around the corner from the counter food place outside, they aren't as good. Maybe the bar one gives you more of a berry swirl. I compared and these won. YUMMY! Bun agrees.

I decided I would order some food and the bartender suggested the American Kobe Burger but since I was lower carb, I ordered it without the bun, medium rare. It was sooooo good.

It was tender and juicy and full of flavor. I cut pieces, wrapped them in lettuce and ate them with the onions and tomatoes with a little bit of dressing. The nice bartender even brought me more lettuce. The fries were also wonderful. True, I only ate half due to the carbs but they were amazing! I'm so glad McDonald's is out of the park. These are tons better than Mickey D's! Next trip I am coming here again for sure!

Rose & Crown Dinner - Attack of the Killer Squirrel

OK, well this was kind of weird. I need to back up, let's go back in time - whoooooo whoooooo whoooooooooooooooooooooo

OK, 2 months ago I was talking to Beth at Dreams Unlimited and making my table ressies. I know things were late but I had just gotten the word I was going to WDW from my cadre of traveling companions known as "The Singing Marys" but that is another story.

Anyway, I wanted to get right in for lunch at Askershus first thing, like 11 or 11:30 BUT they were full and the only time they had was 1:45pm. I wanted dinner ressies at Rose and Crown but their only time was 5pm. Ummmm, that is only 3 hours after eating a HUGE buffet lunch.

We were going to grab some counter service but that is usually iffy or nasty. Beth said to keep the ressie just in case so we decided to use it.

OK, going back to the present and first person since my traveling companions like to be mysterious to protect their public sector and Disneyland jobs. (They were the ones singing show tunes out to the bus later tonight - OK that is for later..)

So I check in and am seated right away over by the water. I contemplate boggarting the table for the next 4+ hours but figure I will get heaved out by a bouncer by at least 7pm.

I wasn't that hungry but I figured I would get some little bits to tide me over since I was staying for Illuminations. I start with a cup of the potato and leek soup. SOOOOOOOoooo yummy!

I was soooo into eating this that I forgot to take a picture until it was nearly gone. It was lovely in taste and texture. Creamy with that lovely sharp onion leek taste that mellows with the cream.

Now after the soup, movement caught my eye down by my foot. It was a squirrel.  (It says something that I could even FIND THIS EMOTICON) If you know anything about me you know that squirrels are out to get me. They are the evil minions of Satan I tell you! One lobbed a wee lemon at my head once and also tried to run off with a pair of my knickers. So when I looked down and saw the squirrel by my foot I started calling it a minion of Hell and threatening to whack it and make it into a wee hat.

The squirrel, whose name is Brian!!, jumped up on my table, looked it me with his beady black souless eyes, twitched his nose and ran over to the wall using my dining companion as a spring board. 

I realize I probably looked like a crazy person. OK, I looked like a crazy person but you've never had your thong snatched by a rodent OR have a squirrel hang its furry butt over the power line and try to piddle on your cats head! There is a reason why I am crazy.

The server explained that the cheeky little bugger, who they have named Brian, has made this his private playground. They shoo him off but he comes back. They always come back..... Minion of evil..... 

For my entree I decided to get the fish & chips but since I am low carb I told her not to bring any bread to the table and to substitute veggies for the chips. I told them it didn't matter what kind of veggies, I will eat them all.

It was soooo good. I took off half the yummy batter to lower the carbs and calories. The fish was so flaky, the batter was light, the veggies were perfectly seasoned. I just couldn't eat it all so I took it to go. I wish I could have had dessert. Next time this will be a definite return and with an empty stomach so I can have sticky toffee pudding.

Kona Cafe/Poly - Why Eating Here Might Not Have Been A Good Idea

Well, this was Tuesday and my first Epcot day. It was drizzling in the morning which then resolved itself into rain by 11am. My original plan was to do all of Future World, then go to DTD, have lunch at the Earl of Sandwich or Raglan Road and then have dinner at House of Blues with a hang out at Pleasure Island for a bit.

However after walking around all day in a hoodie and getting rained on (umbrellas and plastic ponchos that make you look like bags of produce are for the weak and the sober), I decided to have dinner at Kona Cafe at the Poly. I had heard from this Board that the Tuna Oscar was really good so I decided to try it.

I was also on a quest for Pineapple Bread. I have been dreaming about this since I had breakfast at Ohanas 4 years ago. After wringing out my socks on the monorail, Hey, my shoes & socks were SOAKED, I was an hour early.

I had an adult beverage, looked around, wondered WHY on God's Green Earth anyone would pay tens of thousands of dollars for a giant Imeron red painted dolphin, and made some notes.

I was seated right when the restaurant opened, ordered Kona coffee and here is where things got weird. It seems there is a bit of a pineapple bread grudge match between Kona Cafe and Ohana. When I asked my server about pineapple bread she said they had it. I asked her if it was the same as Ohana because that is what I want. I just loved the soft, sweet, sticky bread with the pineapple on the bottom. She said that theirs was freshly baked and that Ohanas is flat and comes in a box.

OK, so she brings me this HUGE load of bread:

It was fresh baked but looked NOTHING like Ohanas and it is WAY too many carbs for me. I asked her if it has the pineapple on the bottom. She said it has pineapple in it and there is macadamia nut butter.

Ummmm, SHE LIED! This is NOT Pineapple Bread. It is nice, sweet, soft bread. A bit like that Hawaiian bread you can buy at the store but better. The butter was nice but it was NOT what I wanted and NOT what I asked her about and there was NO pineapple in it at all. It was just sweet bread. PERIOD.

My coffee comes. It isn't Kona. I don't drink coffee as a rule but I was cold. It wasn't that Nescafe crap but the check only listed the coffee as $2.50 and that didn't sound like Kona which should have been 3x that amount. Of course I didn't find out about this until after the meal.

So I decided to deal with the MOUND OF CARBS and waited for my Tuna Oscar. Here is how it looked when it was delivered:

Tuna Oscar - served with fried green tomatoes, tempura-fried jumbo lump crab, and wasabi hollandaise $22.99 ($23)

This dish looked amazing. Then I tasted it. ummmm, damn. This Chef is smokin crack!

OK, first the Tuna (seared rare which is perfect) is blackened. NOWHERE on the menu description does it say that. There is just so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start.

First I think what the Chef was going for was a take on a Southern Fav with a "tropical twist". What am I talking about? Does this plate remind you of something? How about cajun catfish with fried green tomatoes and hush puppies?

So working with that concept he blackened the tuna, replaced the hush puppies (deep fried cornmeal balls) with the tempura crab, added asparagus for the whole "Oscar" concept and wasabi to the Hollandaise to give it an Asian flair.

Why is this wrong? Let me show you the plate after I moved things around:

First as far as presentation, the tuna is not sliced. Seared tuna is usually sliced thin after it is cooked. You are presented with two HUNKS of tuna that you have to slice yourself. The slicing actually improves the texture of the fish and hacking at it yourself with your not-so-sharp knife doesn't work.

The red pepper spice on the tuna DOES NOT WORK! It is WAY too spicy and completely detracts from the fish. You can't taste the tuna at all. When I brought this up to the server, she looked at me like I was high and offered to..... take it to the kitchen and WASH IT OFF FOR ME!!!!!!! Let me say that again, WASH IT OFF! WASH MY FISH!!!!! ***??!!!

I told her, no thank you, I would just scrape it off and could she bring me some more sauce and a steak knife since this knife was in no way sharp enough to cut the fish like it should be sliced.

The crab lumps were light, lovely and cooked perfectly. The Green Tomatoes were nice but not the same as they make in Georgia. I did take a doggie box to have leftovers for breakfast (including half of that carb monster bread).

I give this a B-. This will not be a return next trip but I am glad I went. The service was spotty, the food was ill conceived and the server lied to me on numerous occasions, denying me the Pineapple Bread that I sought for so long. Perhaps next time I will go to the podium at Ohana and ask for some to go. Does anyone know if they do that?

Blue Zoo - Dolphin (WDW)

I have heard from Disney friends and foodies that this is an exceptional dining establishment.  Todd English is the celebrity Chef with his name on the door and I have heard wonderful things about his seafood so I decided to try it.

As it is located over at the Dolphin, it is a little bit of a trek to get to.  The Swan & Dolphin Resorts are on the water between Epcot & Disney Studios.  It should be noted they are not owned by The Mouse and as a result do not accept Disney Dining.

I got there right when they opened and was seated right away. The restaurant itself is gorgeous and my server was very fun and professional.

For cocktails I started out with a Cable Car.  This was a recommendation from my server and it was delightful. It is a rum drink with a cinnamon rim and an orange twist.  It is not too sweet, more of a twist on a "grown up drink" rather than a frothy, frozen "girlie drink".

I ordered my Main Dish:

Simply Fish - Our daily selection of finest fresh fish selected from coastal waters around the world, simply grilled on our teppenyaki grill. Served w/ choice of sauce...warm crabmeat, dijon mustard & chives or cucumber vinaigrette or red curry coconut, parsley & lemon. - $32.00 

Sauce supplements: lobster $5.00 or caviar buerre blanc $8.00 

They had a choice of four fish to choose from. I chose the one I had never heard of before - Covina. It is a thick fish, almost cod like in appearance. I ordered the crabmeat/dijon sauce and had them add the chunks of lobster to it for an additional $5. This was the best $5 I spent. The pieces were large and succulent. However, ... Houston, we have a problem.

Fish, unless it is sushi, should flake when it is done and be moist. The edge of my fish was lovely but when I went to break it in the middle the fish would not budge.  I thought "o no he didn't". This is exactly what I said to the server when he came to check on me.

My fish was raw. Not moist, not undercooked, it was 80% raw. This should NOT happen especially at this level of dining establishment and one that prides themselves on fish. The Chef really needed a boot in the junk. The server asked if I wanted another fish. I told him, no I would give the Chef the opportunity to get this right and ordered the covina again.

In the meantime, the Chef sent over this appetizer:

Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops - Served with a braised beef short rib, and silky cauliflower puree. - $14.00

This was amazing. I know the picture is blurry but I was so into eating I near forgot to take the picture. I cut each of the scallops in half. They were on the strip of short rib. The scallops were perfectly cooked as was the beef. It was tender and juicy. The cauliflower was so creamy and paired so well with this mini "surf and turf". This was an amazing dish! A+.

So my fish returns:

The flavor was delicate, the sauce was soooooo yummy. Creamy with lots of crab and lobster, just amazing but... I couldn't cut the fish. It was cooked but there was skin on the bottom and I couldn't cut through it. I though perhaps my knife was not serrated. Nope. I couldn't get through the skin with a buzz saw.

I told the server that the taste was good so I was keeping it as they did offer to replace it. The manager came over, told me the fish was a new menu addition and it must have been "stressed" when it died which is why the skin was so hard to cut. The Chef has pulled it from the menu for the evening. Stressed when it died = impossible to cut skin?  Huh?! Ummm, I've fished. You either catch fish with a line or a net or a cage. They are all equally stressed so unless they tortured this fish for fun, I fail to see how a fish being "stressed when it died" has anything to do with my dinner.

I asked the manager if the Chef cooked it during his prep this afternoon since it was new. He said no. I told him that Todd English would have. Gordon Ramsey would have. If a Chef is working with a new dish and new ingredient, they should cook it first to see how it works.

My entree and the appetizer were on the house so I just paid for my drink and a good tip for my waiter. I would go back here on my next trip in a heartbeat.

Why? The scallop was amazing, the service was stellar and the manager did the correct thing and "made it right". Hopefully this was a learning experience for their Chef when he gets new items. Next time I think I am going to order their Soy Lobster and am looking forward to it.

Tangierine Cafe - Morocco/Epcot

Today I decided to try some counter food in Morocco. I decided to get the lamb platter with an ice tea and baklava. If you are on the dining plan like I was, they don't let you pick your dessert.  You get their pick of baklava and I have to say the lamb scared me. 

Don't get me wrong, I love lamb but there were these big cylindrical things that were turning around and people were cutting slices off them. It reminded me of Soylent Green (points if you saw that movie when it first came out!) only it was in strip form and not cracker form.

I ADORE lamb - this was a spam like lamb product. I'm sure it was lamb or mostly lamb but had the look and pressed consistency of spam so I am now scared but I soldiered on. It came with hummus (the ONLY way i will EVER eat garbanzo beans, usually I just flick them at people), tabuli and cous cous. There was also a light yogurt sauce on the lamb.

All that being said, while I would have liked real, non spam pressed lamb MUCH better, this was not bad. I especially liked all the sides. GRADE: B

Word to the wise, do NOT do what this weenie in front of me did. What did he do, you ask?  He looked at the menu, saw all the "ethnic" food, got in line and ... ordered a HOT DOG! What is WRONG with you?  Why do I care? Because you are in Morocco and if you want nitrate infused beef/pork left over parts go to AMERICA! It's NEXT DOOR! It's like ordering a hot dog in Akershus. Why? It's a waste to eat at a place when you don't like the food.

I'm glad I tried this lamb dish but next time I will try the fish & chips next time for counter service just because the pressed lamb/chicken scared me.

Raglan Road - Downtown Disney

First the restaurant is BEAUTIFUL, just gorgeous. All dark wood and cool hanging light fixtures and a wonderful bar. Now here was the main downside. As lovely as this place is, it was VERY crowded, packed with kids and they were LOUD! This was the ONLY bad kid experience we had this trip. There was one table that gave a BABY metal utensils (KNIVES) to bang together, flail around and I could hardly hear myself think. The "parents" just ignored this. In addition to annoying everyone around them, the baby could have severely injured himself but do the parents care? Nope. Not at all. Maybe they figured that they had so many kids that if they lost one, oh well. Bad parenting really gets me.

Down the Middle - a hearty Irish tomato and vegetable broth $5.50

It was really nice. Light but flavorful. Translucent onions, small bits of veggies, not too overpowering.

Goats Town - Herb-crusted grilled Irish goat's cheese salad served with fruit compote $12.00

This was a really nice salad but the berry compote was a bit sweet.

Beef Stew

The word on this dish is the beef was tender and the gravy was really good. However what was missing with this and with my soup was bread. They don't bring you any and that is a real minus. GRADE: B

Celtic Chique - baby chicken finished with a light apple cider glaze. $15.95

Sorry the picture is blurry but the camera refused to focus. The chicken was good, especially the glaze but the meat wasn't as flavorful as the chicken I make. The potatoes were OK but nothing special, nothing added. Just a nice dish, nothing to make it a standout. GRADE: B

Herb/Leek/Mushroom Risotto

I think that I should have gone with my first impulse and had the Baby Back Ribs in Guinness and honey glaze for an entree even though it is a starter for two but I went against my first impulse. Never do that.  This risotto dish was a total train wreck.  It had some kind of lawn clippings on it and shavings of cheese. It was disappointed. WHY is it that every time I'm at the World, my last meal is bad or not as good as X. The green beans on the side I ate which is a bad sign because I usually hate green beans. It's not that they were amazing but that they were better than my entree The leeks were not properly sautéed and they used too much of the green of the shaft.

Leek Anatomy 101: When cooking with leeks, you want to use the white part on the very bottom by the roots and a bit of the light green section but not too much. As the leek gets greener, it becomes more bitter.

Well this was the problem with my dish. It was too bitter and too overpowered by the leek. I could hardly eat it (even afterwards and that is UNHEARD OF). GRADE: C-

Well due to my lack of food intake while drinking my cider I am getting a little buzzed. I get up to use the ladies room, got really confused by the Gaelic names on the doors and walk into the men’s room. "hmmmmm, a line of drinking fountains - guess I am in the wrong place". Fortunately there were no occupants at the time BUT when I opened the door the urinals were right there directly in front of me so if anyone opened the door to enter the bathroom, people in the hall could see men standing there peeing - just saying.

I will add that the presentation of the fish and chips is awesome. It is in a paper cone and the cone is inserted in a metal spiral thing. At first I thought they were the missing breadsticks. They remove the paper cone and then dump the fish and chips on your plate. They looked good....

OVERALL I would give this place a B. I feel that I didn't make the best food choices and as a result would give it another chance. Maybe if I sat somewhere else or came a little earlier. I will save it for my solo return trip as my next trip is shorter and pretty much booked. We'll see.

Citricos - The Grand Floridian

Off to one of my favorite places, CITRICOS!!! We were seated promptly and our server Danny greeted us, got our drinks and gave us menus.

Now things started to take a bad turn. My fav items were gone. No Fois Gras Ravioli, no Duck Breast and no Rack of Lamb. I asked Danny about the items. He gave a good dance about keeping things fresh and animal rights activists and the price of lamb and stuff. Well I told him to see if Chef Gray could make the Raviolis for me anyway since I knew they had Fois Gras at V&A and they share a kitchen.

Then the bomb hit.. Chef Gray was gone! I can't believe it.  It seems that he is going to Narcooses in two weeks and the Narcooses chef is now at Citricos!!!!!!!

OK, I am thinking - the reason I have not gone to Narcooses before was the total lack of enthusiasm by foodies that I trust and now their Chef is at my Fav place??!!!!!!

God this can't be happening. I went on and on to Danny about how Chef Gray is a God (which he agreed with) and got the distinct feeling that some of the menu changes were due to new chef issues.

We ordered. The Manager came over to try to talk me out of going to Narcooses on my next trip. I told him that I am following Chef Gray. No offense but he turned this place around and I am following the food. He said to give them a try. Ok, here is for trying.

APPETIZERS

Warm Goat Cheese Salad: Arugula, Frisee, Lardons, and Marinated Tomatoes - $9

The presentation makes it a bit difficult to get some cheese in every bite. The filo is crispy and the cheese marries well with the bacon and the grilled tomatoes. GRADE: A-

Gateau of Crab: Jumbo Lump Crab and Orange Fennel Coulis - $12

This is very creamy and altogether a plate of yum. The crab was large, flavorful and the orange sauce was a lovely compliment. GRADE: A

At this point, Chef Anthony came by to try to convert me to his fan club. I am sure he is a nice person. Younger, tall, dark hair, I'm sure he is talented but had the tude of "I know this chick really wants Chef Gray cooking so I'm going to try to be nice but not try that hard." Try away. The winning is in the cooking so get back in the kitchen and cook! Cook like the wind. I am so not being moved. Chef Gray is nice and tells stories and ...damn.

ENTREES:

Grilled Swordfish with Vegetable Pearl Pasta and Red Pepper Coulis - $32

Very nice. Fish is perfectly cooked and the red pepper gives a nice accent to the firm fish. GRADE: A-

Pan Roasted Orange Tilefish with yellow tomato-pepper compote and spinach risotto - $31

Very nice. Fish is perfectly cooked and the red pepper gives a nice accent to the firm fish. GRADE: A-
This was very light and lovely. Fish can be hit or miss for me and this I completely finished. There was one flavor that was missing that would push it over the edge into the "I'm crying it is so good" territory and that is the yardstick that I am using. GRADE: A-

DESSERT:

Citricos Cinderellabration, Bittersweet chocolate mousse tart with orange sauce - $8

This most unfortunately named dessert was very nice and creamy. The Chocolate crown was edible. The tart had chocolate wings with oranges on them. I asked Danny if this presentation was an homage to "Soarin" since its original name at DL is Soarin over California and we grow oranges here and there is an orange grove in the ride and there is orange sauce, etc. Danny thought that was a neat idea but didn't know. WHY didn't he know or someone figure that out? GRADE: A-

Lemon Cheese Cake with raspberry sauce:  $8

This was nice and light . Not really heavy and overpowering in the lemon flavor. GRADE: A-

Danny also brought us a bottle of Evian and 3 paper cups to go (we were heading over to MK to watch Wishes) and I thought that was really nice.

Overall, the food is still very good. It was the best place we ate at this trip with Jiko and Akershus and Artist Point very close behind. However none of these items made me cry. When I return for a shorter trip next year, I will try Narcooses now that Chef Gray is there though would not eliminate this from rotation in the future. Only time will tell if their new Chef will step things up. Currently Citricos has fallen to #2 behind Napa Rose at the Grand Californian for the first time. (I don't include V&A since it is in a category all of its own).

O'hana Character Breakfast - Polynesian

Well after the bland fest in France, the next morning we headed to the Poly for luau Lilo & Stitch Breakfast fun. I have never done a character breakfast and didn't know what to expect.

We were seated pretty promptly though I thought the picture spot was LAME! They give you a ticket for your family to get a picture in front of...... tikis. Yup, tikis.   Whee.  At Akershus, they at least had pictures with Ariel. No character, just tikis. Lame. We passed

Now let me say that I have never been addicted to coffee. I will drink it on occasion but do not turn into a grumpy, sludge monster if I don't get coffee. Guess who needs coffee in our party?  Yup, cousin George.  Let's call him Grumpy.

The server didn't get to our table fast enough. OK she was a little slow and is it just me but I really think most of these servers are the oldest servers in The World. Just an observation.

So we are finally greeted, drink orders taken and then the coffee wait begins. O God, will it never end! PLEASE bring us coffee as I am dying here. Grumpy with no coffee is scary.

The characters were Stitch, Lilo, Pluto and The Mouse himself! As I am writing in my trip report book, Stitch snuck up behind me and scared me. Bad Stitch! I thought that the whole Stitch thing would annoy me but he was really fun to watch and play with. Grumpy didn't play much since he still needed coffee.

Now came the food (sorry, no pictures, we were too busy eating). They bring you a big wok with the regulars - scrambled eggs (good but a little loose/wet if you don’t like that, they may need to cook them more), bacon (very good), sausage (didn't try but heard from they were a little spicy but good), Home fried Potatoes (didn't try but heard they were good), Mickey Waffles (not as warm as I would like but fun), bread basket with biscuits, cinnamon roll and PINEAPPLE BREAD! OH MY GOD! This stuff was sooooooooooooo good. I had them bring more and then I took it with me. I snacked on this all day. It is a soft yeasty roll type bread with crushed pineapple on the bottom. It's really good warm but just as yummy cold. A little sticky but I can deal.

Pluto was very funny and then I got to see the MOUSE! He was wearing his Hawaiian shirt with a lei. I told him that he is my fav and that I love him. He got all embarrassed. I swear I will mud wrestle Minnie for The Mouse. OK, I'm getting a little carried away and weird but it is early in the morning on the west coast. Mickey signed my book and that made my morning. Lilo never came by which was fine with me since I really don't care about her. It’s all about the Mouse.

Grade: Overall Food = B-, Pineapple Bread = A-, Characters = A, Noise Level = B (Actually pretty good table spacing and not a lot of screaming), Kid Activities = B (They had a parade with noise makers)

Victoria & Albert's Chefs Table - Grand Floridian (2007)

I managed to snag ressies for Chef’s Table at Victoria & Albert's!  There is only one table available per night.  I was sooo happy!  Catwoman and I are huge foodies and I knew this would be a special treat.  When you check in, you let them know you are there for Chefs Table.  They send your server to escort you through the dining room and into to the kitchen.  The server then announces that a guest is coming through to alert the staff.

Jack & Sherry were our servers and they are also a married couple.  Once you go through the kitchen, you find there is a dining room “set”.  The dining room is a paneled “room” that exists like a shoe box was set on its side across from the kitchen.  So you have 3 paneled walls, a table, sideboard and one wall is open into the kitchen.  A low wrought iron fence separates you from the kitchen.  You are told that the only rule is that you can not leave the table alone.  You must alert your server to escort you through the kitchen.  So if you are going to the ladies room, they take you through the kitchen and restaurant then wait for you at the podium.  When you return, they return you to your seat.

Here is a view of our table from my chair:

The dome covers the butter, there is salt with a spoon above it and my glass of champagne.  Yes we did have all the wine pairings and we tried but sadly had to leave some wine behind.  That killed me.

This is what you would see if you left the table for the little boys/girls room and returned:

I sat at the chair farthest away, Catwoman at the closest chair.  You can see that we still have 2 wines.  This was at the end of the meal.  I know I polished off the sweet wine (amber colored) before we left.

If you were sitting at the table and then turned to your left, you would see the sideboard.  The exit to the kitchen it to the right of the picture:

Your server has the extra glasses, condiments, etc here.

So we are seated and once the rules are explained by Jack, we are served our amouse bouche.

Top Left: Deviled Quail Egg with Iranian Osetra Caviar – the little dots are crème fraiche with a chive.  The best way to eat this is just to drag it through the crème and eat it.  A quail egg is small and does not taste very different from a chicken egg.  The white is a little firmer and the yolk is a little sharper.

Top Right: Seared Raw Yellow Fin Tuna with Hijiki Salad.  The tuna is sitting on a slab of pink salt.  I cut it in half, made sure it sat full on the salt rock, then drug it through the soy/light Cajun dots and had some of the greens on the fork as well.  Excellent!  The tuna was tender and just melted in your mouth.  The light salt with the slight tang from the sauce was just perfect.

Bottom Left: Lobster Sausage.  A piece of poached lobster with a small amount of binder.  Delicate but flavorful.  You can get this on your fork in one bite.

Bottom Right: Lobster Bisque.  Just sip out of the cup.  So creamy and smooth with full lobster flavor.

These small bites set the stage for things to come.  The wine for the Amuse Bouche was Heidsieck Monopole “Blue Top” Brut Champagne NV (no vintage)

So now we are off to the first course.  Chef Scott brought us his “star” dish.  It was featured on the cover of a food magazine.  He gave me a copy of the magazine.  He was very proud.  He talked to us for a bit about his kitchen and his food.  The kitchen was so spotless you could eat off the floor.

Seared Colorado Buffalo Tenderloin, Braised Fennel, Radishes and Satsuma Tangerine Vinaigrette with Cantina Del Taburno Falanghina, Campania 2005

The buffalo was tender, juicy and not the least bit gamey.  The citrus tang paired with the salt from the meat and the sharpness of the vege was perfect.

Now this next dish was not on the menu.  It was an extra little thing that Chef Scott put together for us.

King Crab Leg with citrus cream sauce, asparagus salad and crab cake with spring greens and lime reduction

Ooo, the crab was soooo sweet and paired with the citrus, the tender (but not mushy) asparagus, the crab cake was near all crab with very little filler and the acid from the lime paired with in marvelously.  The wine (which I didn’t have written down) was light but full bodied.

Now we started talking with Joe.  He was chopping something brown on the board directly across from us.  Then he dumped pounds and pounds of butter into a HUGE kitchenaid mixer that had to stand on the floor instead of the counter due to its size.  Then it hit me.  The brown bits he was adding to the butter was TRUFFLES!  I can’t even wrap my head around home much money those truffles cost.  Catwoman got up to look and the truffle butter looked like chocolate chip cookie batter.  The truffles were that noticeable.

Washington State Salmon with Mustard Greens, Sauce Soubise, and Ramp Pesto with Pere & Fils Christian Moreau Chablis 2004

The salmon was soft with a crunch from a bit of skin and the creamy sauce.  Just wonderful.  Not cooked too much so that it was dry.  We still had lots of room for our next course.

Poulet Rouge (Red Chicken) with Wild Mushroom Ragout and truffled Egg with Toad Hall Pinot Noir Dijon Clones, Carneros 2003

This is a red chicken with a wild mushroom selection on top.  The earthiness of the mushrooms with the full flavor of the red chicken (the flesh is white but the skin is red as are the chickens feathers).  They are from France.  However the BEST bit thus far in this amazing dinner was the egg!  It was like a light egg soufflé but not as puffy and more creamy with truffles inside a cleaned egg shell.  It was AMAZING!

Now at this point, Catwoman calls Racer X who happens to be in Vegas right now eating a truffle and ham pizza over at the Venician.  We know we still had better food. 

At this point I had to take a trip to the Ladies so I was escorted out and I hoped that they didn’t start the next course without me.  After washing hands and pocketing a wee soap it’s back for the next course.

Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin and Pork Belly with Florida Corn and Cherry Jus with Domain Vencent Guradin Santenay 1er Cru “la Maladiere” 2004

The pork was juicy, earthy and sweet with the cherry.  It was hearty but not overpowering.  The selections have all been so stellar there has just not been a bad one in site.

We now start talking to Carrie who has Fois Gras and egg cup prep.  I love fois gras so much but since it is so expensive I’ve been afraid to buy some since I thought I would mess up.  She gives us some tips as she is cutting the block of fois gras on how to cook it, not to overcook it, etc. and is washing out the egg shells for the mousse.  She was soooo helpful and a little chatting with us didn’t slow her down a bit.

Pen Roasted Foie Gras and Fuji Apple Tart with Mostarda de Cremona with Royal Tokaji Azsu 5 Puttonyos Mad Tokaj-Hegyalia 2000

OMYGOD!  I have died and gone to heaven.  For me heaven is filled with oysters and Fois Gras.  I LOVE THIS STUFF!  I can eat it every day.  I’d be as big as a house but I wouldn’t care because in heaven you can eat whatever you want and not gain any weight.  It is so creamy and lovely and rich and the bit of char with the  sweet apple.  I am hard pressed to name this of the truffle egg mousse the best.

Next is the “Missing Man” – I guess we sucked this down so fast that I didn’t get a picture or the picture didn’t turn out or, face it, I was too drunk to think about taking a picture.  My writing is getting big and sloppy at this point.  I do make a remark after another trip to the Ladies that there was a woman in the next stall, doing her business and talking on the cell phone saying something about “it’s so slow”.  Ummm, it’s a leisurely relaxed meal!  Honestly people, on phone etiquette, I really don’t want to listen to you piddle in the background while I am talking to you.  HANG UP YOU COW!.  OK, on to the next dish.  It was:

Japanese “Wagyu” Strip Loin (This is Kobe Beef) and Beef Short Ribs with Cauliflower Puree with Sarget de Gruaud-LaRose, Saint Julian 2003

”Wagyu” is the type of cow used to make Kobe beef.  You can only call it Kobe if it comes from Wagyu cows in Japan using Kobe methods.  If you import cows (which is hard to do) and make your own Kobe you have to call it Wagyu.  Just like Champagne technically is ONLY made from champagne grapes grown in the champagne region of France.  Everything else is Sparkling Wine but we call it champagne anyway.  I have don a lot of reading on Kobe/Wagyu beef and Kobe experts have even liked the flavor of this better.  It is still hella expensive and I will say was just WONDERFUL!  The “crack” when you bit into it with the thin char of fat, the creamy texture, the juicy beef bloody goodness, mmmmm.  BTW – if you like your meat burned, skip this because I doubt any self-respecting chef will ruin a piece of pricey meat for you to cook it into shoe leather.  This was meant to be served medium rare.  If you don’t like that, they will gladly serve you something else.  It’s like people that want to put soda in their 20 year old scotch.  I want to kick them with my pointy Princess shoe but that is another story.

Here is a selection of wine that we still had at the end of the meal.  I know we aren’t there yet but this is still what we had to finish.

Here is the cheese course.  I like cheese but I admit I am more a bland ‘Merican cheese kinda girl.  Jack, Swiss, Brie, basic cheese, nothing that smells like feet.  The cheeses listed were Comte Saint Antoine, Pierre Robert, Fog Lights Stuffed Pear and Flixer. I am also allergic to Blue Cheese so those are omitted from the menu.  I will refer to the internet for descriptions of these cheeses

Comte Saint Antoine – (This is the thick hard looking yellow cheese) Comté is made from the raw milk of red and white Montbeliard cows in the Jura Mountains of France in Franche-Comté. Small, cooperative dairies known as "fruitières” produce the cheese year-round; our Comté Fort Saint Antoine is hand-picked and aged for more than 15 months. Comté is one of the most popular cheeses in France, and it is claimed that there are more than 83 distinct flavors in Comté, including apricot, chocolate, butter, cream, and grilled bread. Our Fort Saint Antoine has a rich, buttery flavor with hints of hazelnuts and pineapple. Comté is a wonderful pair for a wide variety of wine styles

Pierre Robert – (this reminds me of really creamy brie.  No feet here.  Nearest US taste is Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam cheese) Pierre Robert is a decadent triple-crème-style cheese from Seine-et-Marne. When Robert Rouzaire and his friend Pierre began to tire of their Brillat-Savarin, inspiration struck. They began aging the same triple-crème longer in their caves, enabling it to further develop its flavor and become even more meltingly rich in texture. They named their new success Pierre-Robert, for obvious reasons. With a whimsical boulder ("Pierre" means rock) adorning its snow-white rind, Pierre-Robert appeals to anyone craving pure and utter decadence. Buttery, smooth, and mild, this cheese ought to be eaten spread on bread or even graham crackers. Pair this cheese with Champage, Muscat, or a hearty Stout. One piece weighs approximately 1 Pound.

Fog Lights is a local (CA) and earthy, ash covered goat cheese.  The dark circle was a fig that had the cheese inside.

Flixer - (FLICK-ser – this one was so good I ate it like a piggy and it is not in the picture): Flixer is a very rare and delicious cheese is made by only one cheesemaker in Switzerland. It has chestnut and savory flavors that melt into a creamy aftertaste

COFFEE.  I usually don’t drink coffee because (a) I like coffee but it doesn’t like me and (b) I really don’t want the mean coffee monkey on my back, beating me on the head with foot long cocoa beans each morning with renewed vigor.  A slave to a monkey and a bean lest my head ache, my mouth dry up and I get all jittery.  Sounds like withdrawl from crack thank you very much and I will pass. However in this case I have probably downed at least 1 ¼ bottles of wine all on my own so I need some caffine to get me stumbling to the bus awake.  Then there will be a ton of water I need to drink as well.

I was hoping for the cool coffee science experiment type bong that they use in the dining room but here it was just never ending cups and an assortment of sugar.

There were lumps of white sugar, lumps of brown as well as Nutrasweet in the blue and Splenda in the yellow.  No pink sweet and low.  I used Splenda.  Less calories.  LOLOLOLOLOLOL – OK wipe your eyes.  I know, it’s like rolling into Ghirardelli’s, ordering the Earthquake sundae and a diet coke.  I mock those people so feel free to mock away.  The gravy boat in the background was the soufflé sauce.  More on that later.

Miniature Chocolate Pyramid with strawberries and toffee cookie, Hawaiian Kona Coffee Souffle, and Orange Chocolate Napoleon with Cockburns 10 year old Tawny Porto.

Now my tastes have changed since I was little and I am not really a huge chocolate person.  The chocolate pyramid was dusted with cocoa powder.  Crisp on the outside, smooth on the inside.  I liked it but Catwoman polished it off since it was way too much chocolate for me.  The Kona Coffee Souffle was really remarkable.  Souffles are solid on the outside and gooey on the inside.  When served it is split open and a a sauce is poured in.  It is served on the side so you can control the amount.  I don’t recall what the sauce was and I was too bloated or drunk or both to write it down.  Needless to say, it was wonderful and I finished it.  The last was thin sheets of dark chocolate with orange chocolate mousse between the layers with an orange sauce.  I am weird but I really don’t like the chocolate/orange flavor combo.  Maybe it was a medicine flashback to childhood (the reason I can’t eat cherry lifesavers anymore.  They remind me too much of sucrets.)  I ate some.  It was nice but gave most of it to Catwoman.

Just let me say that I went to BevMo today and got a bottle of this port.  I am drinking it now.  It’s still really yummy.

Grand Marnier Souffle with Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream

This was a second dessert that was brought out to Catwoman.  Actually it went to me first but I gave it to her telling them that while I am sure it is amazing I just don’t prefer those particular flavor combos.  Catwoman said is was amazingly lovely and it did come with a chocolate bourbon sauce.

This was my second dessert.  Ummm, I have no idea why the picture is at this angle.  I will blame it on a large amount of alcohol. 

Raspberry Mousse with raspberry sorbet and white chocolate pyramid with mango chutney.  This was more my speed.  Chocolate with raspberry is great and the fact that there is more fruit than chocolate is even better.  The mousse was light, creamy and not overly sweet or cloying.  It was wrapped with a ribbon of chocolate and accompanied by a cookie and the tart sorbet.  I assure you that is not corn on the plate, it is pieces of mango in a sauce next to a wee pyramid of white chocolate (which really isn’t chocolate at all.  White “chocolate” is a confection and has no cocoa in it.), a little edible gold leaf and an edible violet.  Yes I ate the flower and would have eaten it even if I wasn’t drunk.

This meal was pricey.  Really pricey.  I believe near $200 a person without tip pricey.  HOWEVER, it is the best food in the park.  One of the best restaurants in the nation and Catwoman and I have eaten at quite a few including Masa’s, Nobu, Chez Paniesse and The French Laundry to name a few so we know our gourmet food.  This was top drawer.  Chef Scott is on of the culinary Gods of our time.  I saved money separate just for this experience and it was worth every cent.  If you are adventurous, enjoy the best food and wine and want a wonderful, special dining experience – this is it.  There is nothing better.  This is why when I grade other restaurants in the park, I don’t use V&A as a means of comparison in grading.  It would throw the curve.  I always consider it an A+ in its own little Universe, able to compete with the best there is nationwide.