How to eat yourself sick in Disney, a step by step guide (UPDATE: 1/21 RAGLAN ROAD!)

[NHTikiBeckie]

I'm loving this review!

[Destructsean]

Sorry all, got sidetracked with the holidays.

California Grill is coming soon.

Back to reviews!

[Destructsean]

I have been waiting anxiously to write this review. I’m not going to give any back story, I’m just going to hit it.

We checked in at the podium in the Contemporary Resort about 25 minutes early for reservation to the California Grill, and were given a pager (for those of you that aren’t familiar with the check in process here, you go to a desk on the second floor of the Contemporary to check in. Then, someone will take you upstairs to the top floor via an elevator, where you can wait at the bar, or step outside to take in the amazing view of the Castle/Magic Kingdom.) We were told that we were more than welcome to head upstairs to the bar. No sooner than we started to walk towards the elevator, our buzzer went off, and we were greeted by an extremely pleasant girl as our elevator opened, who took us right to our seat.

For the second time on this trip, we were given, what I feel, was the best seat in the house.



Complete with celebratory mickey confetti, in light of our honeymoon (which every single person we interacted with in the restaurant congratulated us on.)



We were greeted by our waiter ( who happened to be from the Poconos, a little more than an hour from our home,) and given a few glasses of water to start. He thoroughly explained the specials and the menu, and left us to ourselves for a few minutes to decide on our course of action.

He returned with some of this:



Sourdough bread with salted butter.

This bread..this butter..I don’t know why, but it does something to me. I could make an entire meal of this stuff, and I almost did. The sea salt adorning the butter gives it just the right amount of saltiness to add to the deliciousness of the soft, fresh sourdough bread. The perfect beginning.

We decided to start with some appetizers, and began with the Lamb Gyro Flat bread.



I’m a huge fan of gyros, and this did not disappoint. The flat bread part was warm and crispy, and the toppings were fresh. The lamb meat was really tender.

Our next appetizer a sort of tradition for us. We both agree that the best sushi we’ve ever had in our entire lives comes from this restaurant, and it comes in the form of the Spicy Kazan Roll.



How can you NOT order this? If you like sushi, get this. If you don’t, get it anyway and allow it to change your mind. This roll is simply out of this world, every time. The kicker is that amazing spicy sauce they have hidden under the presentation. Take a dollop of that, mix in some crunchy tempura topping, and place on top of a piece of the sushi. One bite and you’ll be in heaven. Yoshi, you are a genius.

For an entree, Christina kept with the sushi theme and ordered the Dragon Roll.



Our waiter informed us that she was in luck, due to the fact that tonight’s Dragon Rolls were being prepared with lobster, as opposed to the normal crab. Christina did not complain. She loved this! The bite I had makes me agree. It’s ALMOST as delicious as the Spicy Kazan Roll. Just almost though.

I ordered the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, Crispy Sage.



This dish was out of this world. The pork was cooked perfectly. Juicy and tender throughout. The polenta was sweet and creamy as described, and when coupled with the glaze, each bite was packed full of flavor. Highly recommended.

At this point, we were thoroughly stuffed, and ridiculously happy. In the midst of us discussing how perfect our meal had been, and how we can’t decide if we want dessert or not, our spectacular waiter brought us this:



This was the richest, most decadent chocolate cake we have ever experienced. Totally free of charge in honor of our celebration, this thing kicked us into diabetic comas. What an amazing way to end the meal.

Honestly, I couldn’t be any more pleased with our meal at the California Grill. Every year we come here, and every year it gets better and better. They really know how to treat their customers, and the food is amazing. If you haven’t been, make it a point to go, you won’t be dissapointed.

We finished up the night with an amazing view of wishes, and a quiet evening in our hotel room.

Tomorrow brings another relatively early morning, getting to EPCOT for breakfast at the Sunshine Seasons, and lunch at Le Cellier!

[Tracerr00]

You CG meal sounds amazing!! One of my fondest memories of WDW is a meal there with my 13 year old daughter on our last trip. It looks like we were either at or near the same table that you had and we got some special treats for my daughter's birthday. The food, the service and the atmosphere make it so special. I'm glad you had the same experience!

[TheMaxRebo]

Congratulations on the wedding!

California Grill is my favorite restaurant at WDW and one of my favorite anywhere. It used to be out "date night" place but now that we have kids we bring the kids as well.

and you ordered some of our favorite dishes

really nothing better than filling yourself with great food and going out on the deck to watch wishes

[VillianDiva]

Congratulations!

Beautiful couple and I love reading your reviews. Now I want a Lapu Lapu!

[onelilspark]

Congrats!

Your review begs the question: is there any food out there that nutella does not instantly improve? I think the answer is no.

I'm originally from the Philly area

[budafam]

Another congrats I could not agree MORE with what you said about that sushi. I'll admit it, I never really had "GOOD" sushi before dining there but honestly, I dream of that Spicy Kazan Roll. Your description is dead on (love that spicy stuff inside) and I am now drooling again... great.

[emmysmommy]

Agreed! I think you were seated at the best table in the house! Love the view of the castle from your table. That's a great photo of the two of you.

Cali Grill continues to be one of my favorites... we have never missed an opportunity to dine here and one of the reasons is that they provide such exceptional service and oh my gosh... that pork tenderloin.... so wonderful!!

And just when you thought you couldn't take another bite.. hello! Chocolate cake! Glad to know you had a great dinner!

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I just read your California Grill review, and it's awesome! Gorgeous pictures, entertaining commentary...let me just say I'm not a huge fan of California Grill, but your review is selling me on it. I really miss their sushi now!

Looking forward to the next update.

[alliebelle3]

Just joining in now, and absolutely loving your reviews and humor!

We also just got back for our WDW/Disney Fantasy honeymoon, our trips overlapped a bit! We tried California Grill for the first time (I really don't know what we had been waiting for!) and both agreed it was the best meal of the trip. So amazing.

Looking forward to more!

[Destructsean]

Originally Posted by Tracerr00

You CG meal sounds amazing!! One of my fondest memories of WDW is a meal there with my 13 year old daughter on our last trip. It looks like we were either at or near the same table that you had and we got some special treats for my daughter's birthday. The food, the service and the atmosphere make it so special. I'm glad you had the same experience!

It's such a great place. So easy to make those happy memories there.

Originally Posted by TheMaxRebo

Congratulations on the wedding!

California Grill is my favorite restaurant at WDW and one of my favorite anywhere. It used to be out "date night" place but now that we have kids we bring the kids as well.

and you ordered some of our favorite dishes

really nothing better than filling yourself with great food and going out on the deck to watch wishes

Truth!

Originally Posted by VillianDiva

Congratulations!

Beautiful couple and I love reading your reviews. Now I want a Lapu Lapu!

Thanks! And who DOESN'T want a Lapu Lapu?!

[Destructsean]

Originally Posted by onelilspark

Congrats!

Your review begs the question: is there any food out there that nutella does not instantly improve? I think the answer is no.

I'm originally from the Philly area

Thanks!

I would have to say no as well. And where? We're from the Bucks County area.

Originally Posted by budafam

Another congrats I could not agree MORE with what you said about that sushi. I'll admit it, I never really had "GOOD" sushi before dining there but honestly, I dream of that Spicy Kazan Roll. Your description is dead on (love that spicy stuff inside) and I am now drooling again... great.

Thanks!

It really is to die for. There's a reason we go back year after year.

Originally Posted by emmysmommy

Agreed! I think you were seated at the best table in the house! Love the view of the castle from your table. That's a great photo of the two of you.

Cali Grill continues to be one of my favorites... we have never missed an opportunity to dine here and one of the reasons is that they provide such exceptional service and oh my gosh... that pork tenderloin.... so wonderful!!

And just when you thought you couldn't take another bite.. hello! Chocolate cake! Glad to know you had a great dinner!

Haha, it was exactly like that. Just stuffed to the gills and THEN getting cake. Who could ask for more?

[Destructsean]

Originally Posted by DonaldDoleWhip

I just read your California Grill review, and it's awesome! Gorgeous pictures, entertaining commentary...let me just say I'm not a huge fan of California Grill, but your review is selling me on it. I really miss their sushi now!

Looking forward to the next update.

To each their own! Not everyone is looking for the same thing, but the important part is giving it all a chance. You'll never know what you like if you don't try!

Originally Posted by alliebelle3

Just joining in now, and absolutely loving your reviews and humor!

We also just got back for our WDW/Disney Fantasy honeymoon, our trips overlapped a bit! We tried California Grill for the first time (I really don't know what we had been waiting for!) and both agreed it was the best meal of the trip. So amazing.

Looking forward to more!

I'm glad you're enjoying. Congrats on your wedding!

More coming shortly, I promise.

[Destructsean]

12/06

I wanted to do Test Track.

That’s all I needed to say, and my amazing bride was dedicated to waking up and being at Epcot prior to opening. What a trooper she was turning out to be this trip!

We woke up at the crack of dawn and made our way to Epcot just so that I could try the newly refurbished ride (which, in my opinion, STUNK.)

But this isn’t a trip report, this is a FOOD report! And for breakfast, we made our way over to Sunshine Seasons.

I had heard good things about the breakfast here, so I decided to go with my second variety of Bread Pudding thus far on the trip. I ordered the Blueberry Croissant Bread Pudding with a side of sausage.






The bread pudding, in my opinion, was just OK. That’s a sad thought, isn’t it? Ordering something with high expectations, only to be let down by a dry, unexciting version of bread pudding. What's worse, is this guy LOVES bread pudding. Leave it to Christina though, to save this meal, with the simple suggestion “Put maple syrup on it.”

Is there anything maple syrup can’t fix?! Seriously, after adding some sugary goodness, this breakfast/dessert was out of this world. It didn’t go very far though. I inhaled it. I’m also pretty sure I returned to the counter for a biscuit with jam. No picture of that though.

Christina ordered the Breakfast Panini with a side of hash browns






She very much enjoyed this, as I did the bite I took. The bread was crispy and warm, and the contents of the sandwich (eggs, bacon, ham, cheese) were all pretty tasty. A solid offering, for sure.

After finishing up, we continued our trek around Epcot, with the knowledge that we had a 1pm lunch reservation at Le Cellier. Did that stop us from eating more food between now and then? You better believe it didn’t. The World Showcase just opened up, and I want a snack.

Not just any snack. This is a snack I’ve wanted to try for over a year now.

We made quick work of the walk to Norway, and I finally got to order the famous School Bread.



How to describe this wonderful, toasty, fluffy, creamy, wonderful pastry...

Oh wait, I kinda just did. This thing was perfect, head to toe. I was expecting it to be served warm, but it came cold. No matter, I’m not sure the temperature would have improved on the taste. The coconut was toasted and delicious. The cream on top was sweet and light. The bread itself was fresh and doughy, and inner layer of custard? Out. Of. This. World.

Worth the hype, worth the wait, and I want it again. Right now.

I’m stuffed, but who cares, I want more food.

Let’s go eat lunch at Le Cellier!