There is no question that maintaining high standards for 13 covers presents a waiter with some significant challenges. Now if 2 of the party are vegetarians, another is pregnant, three are hatchlings (under the age of 8), and all consider themselves serious foodies (well, maybe only 11 of the 13), the poor soul has his work cut out for him. Abou, our server tonight at the California Grill, nearly overcame the challenges the gods laughingly sent his way. Unfortunately the restaurant’s billing computer betrayed his good intentions and made his job more difficult than it should have been; the kitchen, on the other For those of you who have never had the pleasure of dining at the California Grill, it is one of the few real restaurants within the boundaries of DisneyWorld. It sits atop the Contemporary Hotel (that’s the one where the monorail runs through the building) on the 15th floor. It has a commanding view of the Magic Kingdom and many of its tables offer unparalled views of the fireworks shows which grace Cinderella’s Castle several times each week. It has a virtually captive audience – the number of serious dining establishments in the metro Orlando area can be counted using less than the claws on two forepaws.
The flatbreads (a tomato and mozzarella and a pork and apple) were delicious, and appeared almost as soon as they were requested. Each was sliced into 8 bite-sized pieces; they were prefect little introductions to the meal – and prevented certain hatchlings from noticing it was somewhat beyond their usual feeding times. MiLady ordered a kale and apple salad as a starter. It arrived in a lateral presentation; four small, gracefully shaped mounds of lightly steamed kale with matchsticks of apple and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The taste was almost good enough to make me interested in green leafy things.
The wine list comes in two distinct parts. A nice, but very limited, selection is presented in the same menu folder which houses the carte du jour. Several reds and whites presented thereon are separated by their component varietal grapes (though not by country of origin). The actual wine menu arrived when requested, and contained wines which were more interesting, but significantly more expensive – I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that, but we were undeterred. We ordered a magnum of a Carneros Pinot Noir 2009, and a bottle of a lovely 2010 California reisling. Both were applauded by the drinkers, and were completely in keeping with our expectations for their style and price.
The menu features a relatively small, but well-chosen selection of entrees. MiLady’s request for the bison steak cooked medium to medium well was refused – with a sincere apology and an explanation that the chef believes that cooking bison to that degree would result in a tough, stringy, nearly inedible filet – and he is unwilling to present such a dish to his patrons. BRAVO! The recommendation was that MlLady order the beef, grilled over an oak fire, which could be prepared to her liking. She agreed, the beef was presented cooked to her preference, and the result was a completely delicious meal. Naturally I ordered the bison, medium rare; the filet was presented carved into beautiful slices with charred edges and deeply flavorful. Others around the table ordered other entrees and seemed pleased with their meals. The chicken served the youngest hatchling pleased him – and the unconsumed portion was boxed so that he could enjoy it either as a midnight snack or as breakfast. Our vegetarian friends ordered both of the vegetarian dishes – one a lovely-looking medley of four small plates, the other an attractively plated dish of gnocchi. They seemed pleased, but I’m not a good judge of such things.
Desserts were along the expected lines – a chocolate pudding cake garnered approval, and the lemon cheesecake, made with marscapone, was a delight. The piece de resistance, however, was the live fireworks show from the Magic Kingdom – it was a treat.
The bill was significant – and contained a serious error. While we had ordered and consumed but a single bottle of the riesling, we were charged for two. The error was compounded because the included tip was 18%, and on an imaginary bottle of wine that left me unthrilled. Much to the credit of all, once pointed out the error was corrected immediately, and with no fuss. As compensation for the amount of tip “lost” by correcting the erroneous wine charge , I raised the tip to 20% of the corrected amount and we all went home happy.