Dining Wars: Drinking's Edge - An August 2018 Dining Report - Updated 2/18: Completed

Thank you. Clearly you had a wee bit of influence :-)
YES!!! I noticed that!

I clerlee got some good spellin' skills :P For you we did play the game on the phone this day and another and Casey loved it, though it was way more involved than I expected it to be.
I wonder if they changed it when they switched it to the app? We will have to try in next time.
 
Go shorty its my birthday, we gonna party like its my birthday, we gonna drink Bacardi like its my birthday, and you know I don't give a !**&@ its not your birthday.


Great picture! That should definitely be your "Share Your Ears" Pic!

Your EPCOT birthday looks like it was a blast!
 


This may be one of the greatest photos ever... especially since you can still see the text on her shirt: this is how I roll :rotfl:
I know right? We also took this one somewhere around the world. Clearly we were on a roll :-)

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The perfect way to celebrate!!
Yep! Exactly how I wanted it.

Love all the pictures! Yachtsman next???
It would be later in the trip but not my "favorite" for dinner!

YES!!! I noticed that!
You are the fun idea Mom I aspire to be :-)

I wonder if they changed it when they switched it to the app? We will have to try in next time.
We never played it pre-phone but i was really surprised at how intricate it was

Great picture! That should definitely be your "Share Your Ears" Pic!

Your EPCOT birthday looks like it was a blast!
I didn't even think about "sharing my ears" since this may be the only photo I've ever taken with them on. I'll have to get on that!

I LOVE your tipsy notes!! What scares me is that I totally understand them! Great review!
Maybe you should come along and be my interpreter :-)
 
Looks like you had a great time celebrating your birthday...Epcot is the perfect place for celebrating!!
 


Looks like you had a great time celebrating your birthday...Epcot is the perfect place for celebrating!!
You got that right!!! We clearly had a great time.

Brilliant birthday celebration!
Loving all the photos. Looks like so much fun. Best “pub” crawl everparty:
There may not have been a pub in sight but we were certainly crawling :P
 
Episode VI: Birthday at the Top

After our adventures around Epcot we chilled at the Boardwalk for a while before making ourselves presentable for dinner.

One of us did a wee bit better on that front than the others.

Because our livers hadn't had enough yet today we started with a lil birthday pre-gaming in J and D’s room. They were gracious enough to bring along my favorite wine from California which is from a winery we’d all visited a few years earlier.



Eventually we Uber’d our way over to my favorite Disney restaurant: California Grill.
We unfortunately were taken to a table all the way in the back and I had a moment of panic when I saw the terrible waiter we’d had at brunch on our last trip, but thankfully we had a wonderful server named Mark who took great care of us.

To start D and I got a bottle of my California Grill staple, the Michel Redde "Les Tuilleres" Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre region.

The sommelier here turned us onto this briny, crisp, and acidic wine a few years ago and it is the perfect accompaniment to seafood.

The boys elected to go with some beer instead.


That’s a Napa Smith IPA for one of them and a Bell's Oberon Ale for the other. No clue whose was whose, but I'm sure they were both 'hoppy' with their choices :P


Mark also brought us some of California Grill’s new bread service. Instead of the lavender focaccia and butter they are now serving sourdough bread with an olive oil and tomato dipping sauce.


This was quite good, but I gotta admit I missed the “good” butter.

RIP butter

We took a couple of pictures while we waited for our appetizers.


Any guesses who she likes better?

After largely successful flatbreads the night before we decided to stick with the theme and share The Farmer “Artisanal Hand Formed Pizza.” So fancy.

This is House-cured Pancetta, Roasted Garlic, Sweet Onion-Olive Agrodolce, Soft-cooked Egg, Arugula, and Aged Pecorino. I am a sucker for an egg on pizza so they had me from the beginning but the creamy yolk combined with the sweet pork and crunchy arugula was a winning combination. The crust was also simultaneously dense and chewy yet crispy and the onions added a terrific sweetness. This was a clear winner and thankfully no smelly feet cheese on this one.

For entrees I’d had my heart set on the Ramp Spaghetti they had on the menu for most of the summer. Sadly that was gone but I went with the Black Grouper with Herb Basmati Rice, Cashew Chutney, Bok Choy, Baby Shiitake, Rock Shrimp, and Kaffir Lime-Coconut Nage.

The grouper itself was moist and flavorful and the lime and coconut sauce was light and creamy with amazing flavor reminiscent for a thai curry. The rock shrimp were a nice touch and I liked the bok choy but in case its not clear from the picture the “greens” to fish ratio was a bit off. And to no ones surprise I got the mushrooms on the side for Casey.


For his entrée Jason went with the Colorado Rack of Lamb with Punjabi Eggplant, Curry-Potato Samosas, Courgettes, Cucumber Yogurt, and Lamb Jus.

As some of you may know the former Chef from Jiko is now at California Grill and the influence in this dish was obvious. Jason loved the messy plating that apparently told him to mix it all up and play with it and the lamb was cooked to medium rare perfection. The yogurt sauce was a great foil to the heavy lamb and the samosas were outstanding. I’m still not sure what a courgette is but I’m thinking it was a nod Jasons “cougar” wife as now that I was my birthday I’m 2 years older than him until December.

For her entrée D went with the Seafood Spaghettini.

This is Key West pink shrimp, Cedar Key clams, mussels, octopus, charred fennel, and lobster broth atop spaghettini (its like spaghetti but tini :-)). She loved all the fresh seafood and lobster broth and the licoricy fennel was a nice contrast.

J went with the Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Mushrooms, Chestnut, Brussels Sprouts, Pear, Lacquered Belly, and Zinfandel Glaze.

Per my exhaustive notes “he really enjoyed this.” What can I say, he’s a man of few words.

To go with their entrees the boys went with their own bottle of wine, a red blend from another California Winery we’d visited a few years ago - Gundlach Bundschu

I love that the CG wine list has wines from places we’ve visited. The nostalgia adds a whole new dimension to already amazing wine.

At this point Happily Ever After was getting read to start so we headed out on the balcony. This was our first time seeing it and I was definitely excited.

Despite hearing it was largely projections that we couldn’t see I thought the actual fireworks were outstanding and we had a tremendous vantage point. The music on the other hand, ugh. The Disney sequences were great, but why with the greatest songbook in history available to you Disney needs to make up “new” music is beyond me. Also anyone else get a Lady Antebellum vibe from the singers? I was totally ready for it to be a quarter after one and I’m a little drunk and I need you now. :P

While outside we decided to take some “fancy” photos, but the wind had other ideas.


We ordered a second bottle of the Gunlach Bundschu (GunBun for the cool kids out there) for dessert and had a few other treats to drink it down with.

First up we have the S'Mores Bomboloni with Banana Jam, House-made Graham Crackers, Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream

The actual “S’mores “ were like delicious little warm doughnuts warm filled with chocolate. The marshmallow ice cream didn’t have a ton of flavor by itself but they were all good together

We also got the Warm Valrohna Chocolate Cake with vanilla bean ice cream, milk chocolate whipped panna cotta, cashew clusters .

This was a little rich for my blood so I just concentrated on drinking my dessert.

This was yet another amazing California Grill experience. Our server was outstanding, the fireworks view not to be outdone, and the food – as always – was perfection. I was a bit disappointed they no longer had the ramp spaghetti I wanted, but that is also what I love about CG. They keep their menu fresh and seasonal, which means its always changing, and variety (and wine) is clearly my spice of life. With our tables in wonderland card we saved $72.25 on what I believe was our highest Disney dining bill ever.

After some more attempts at wind-free pictures...

...we Uber’d back to Boardwalk and toasted my birthday with another wine D and J had brought, this time from my favorite Virginia winery.

And we of course washed it all down with some more tipsy treats.


Up next, Grease: It Does a Tipsy Body Good
 
What an amazing birthday dinner! As you know, I love Cali Grill too and I do miss the original bread service. Back in June, we were given the olive oil, tomato thing too. I thought it was ok. I also appreciate the ever-changing menu and love how everything is fresh and for the most part beautifully plated.
 
Wow what a great Birthday dinner, the flatbread looks so delicious with the egg on it!

Entrees, wine, and dessert all looks amazing for a Birthday!

Glad you had a great spot for the HEA viewing!

Perfect place to be when celebrating a Birthday!
 
Wow! What a fun birthday dinner and total #squadgoals. I love Cali Grill too. I skipped dinner there this last trip as we did brunch but I’m regretting it seeing all this goodness! Thank goodness there is always next time. Making notes on wine recommendations!!
 
Such an amazing dinner! I’m hungry just reading about out!

It looks like you had lots of nice wine which is total perfect tipsy birthday fun! Uber is such a great way to get around!
 
Amazing birthday! I love the pictures round Epcot. Fantastic day.
Your reports make me laught out loud
 
Great dinner to end the perfect birthday!
California Grill is amazing and the view of the fireworks incredible!
That food looks so tasty it's making me hungry:tongue:
Casey is a wee trouper still smiling at the end of such a busy day and looks just gorgeous all dressed up for the evening:goodvibes
Laughed when I saw the title for your next chapter as the cure for any hangover here is a "fry". Basically bacon, sausages, fried potato bread, fried soda and an egg (black pudding for some-fried of course:rotfl:) along with copious amounts of tea! Works a treat too :thumbsup2
 
No clue whose was whose, but I'm sure they were both 'hoppy' with their choices :P
I see what ya did there :laughing:

spaghettini (its like spaghetti but tini :-))
Where would we all be without your impeccable descriptions?! :confused3

The Disney sequences were great, but why with the greatest songbook in history available to you Disney needs to make up “new” music is beyond me.
I couldn't agree more!!!

While outside we decided to take some “fancy” photos, but the wind had other ideas.
These are the epitome of fancy. Think about how models have manufactured wind blowing in their faces - you all were models who just had the real variety of wind ::yes::

What a perfect way to cap off your birthday! I haven't dined at CG but every time I read a dining review of it, I promise myself to fix that someday :thumbsup2
 
I love GunBun wines as well! I’ve never visited their winery, but I would love to someday. I’ve never been to California Grill, but I’m hoping to get a brunch ressie there for our trip in March. Your meal looks fabulous!
 
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This looks delicious! One day we might go back here for dinner. The only two times we've gone have been bad experiences so probably not for a long while. Do love the brunch though :)

As some of you may know the former Chef from Jiko is now at California Grill and the influence in this dish was obvious.
I didn't know this. I absolutely loved our food at Jiko, this makes me want to go back to the California Grill.

Despite hearing it was largely projections that we couldn’t see I thought the actual fireworks were outstanding and we had a tremendous vantage point.
The projections are really amazing and should be viewed at least once, but the fireworks are really good. I've viewed this show mainly from afar and only once in front of the castle.
This looks so good.
 

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