Hi All
Well, I've finally gotten my act together. Our dinner at Citricos was the highlight of our trip (along with Artist Point). It was my 28th birthday.
Upon arrival, we checked in and were seated in a nice waiting area that also serves as the V&A waiting area. We were promptly taken to our seats. Along the way I asked if we could have a fireworks view seat and our waitress happily found us a table.
Our server wished me Happy Birthday and then presented us with personalise menus noting the occassion.
Bread and butter with citrus salt (I think) was served - tasty but nothing special, just good quality bread.
For starters, I had the Arancini-Crispy Risotto
Italian Sausage, Quattro Formaggi, and White Truffle Aïoli and Dad had the Gâteau of Crab
Lump Crab, Orange Fennel Cream, and Tomato-Fennel Slaw. Both were heavenly. They were presented beautifully and we both dived right in before remembering to take photos. Sorry.
The Arancini were crispy on the outside and had a great cheesy centre. The truffle aioli was subtle yet very tasty. The crab cake was great. The orange fennel cream was great and we were mopping it up with our bread.
For mains, I had the Berkshire Pork Two Ways (belly and tenderloin) served with swiss chard, apple salad, herb gnocchi and a nice sauce (a reduction of some kind). It was perfection. The pork was tender, the gnocchi light and not doughy and the apple cut through the flavours nicely.
Dad had the Filet Sicilian
Oak-grilled Filet of Beef with Sweet Vidalia Onions and Banana Peppers, Quattro Formaggi Crushed Potatoes, and Veal Glace de Viande. He loved it - the meat was fork-tender.
For dessert, we then ordered the Warm Chocolate Banana Torte with Vanilla Ice Cream and Tropical Fruit Crème Brûlèe which we asked to come first, followed by the Cheese Course Trio
Lemon Ricotta from Central Florida, Idiazabal from Spain, and Fourme dAmbert from Auvergne, France which Dad and I would share. As I mentioned before, I'm used to cheese at the end of the meal rather than as an appetizer.
My torte was very tasty but rich and I couldn't eat it all. It had a cute "happy birthday" chocolate message which was a nice touch. The brulee was divine - perfect.
The cheeses were also great - no compliants and we were very full at that point.
I can't remember the wines or cocktails that we had that night as it was too long ago - apologies.
During dessert Wishes was on. Now I have read a lot of debate about this and here is my first-hand account.
- You can see the fireworks from Citricos
- The view is towards the back of the GF and the lake and not the MK
- The music is not piped into the restaurant like it is a CG
- The lights are dimmed
- Many of the fireworks launch from GF so they are very close and still magical.
After dinner, we walked around World Showcase a couple of times to try to walk some of the food off and watch Illuminations for one last time......
Overall this trip was amazing and really served to change my opinions about the food in the US.
On another note, for those who have read my posts and the story about the "no photo on the segway tour"... after about 4-5 weeks of waiting for the photo, I assumed that the lovely lady who took it for us had lost my e-mail. Out of desperation, I e-mailed Disney to see if they could track her down and pass on my contact details (as due to privacy, I knew that they wouldn't give me her details directly). Low and behold, they did and I got the photo e-mailed a couple of days later and an e-mail from Disney noting they had found her - now that's service!!!
!
I agree, the food is TOO BIG! 
So happy to hear we can take-away the soup in Canada- that will be a VERY good thing, always, to know! 
