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[Raeven]

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[wdwnut61]

First off love the clips from White Chicks DD and I love that movie
We haven't been to Universal in years but want to go again so I am enjoying your dining reviews. We had brunch at CG in March it was so good.
Can't wait to try Homecoming in November.

 

[fallonkendra]

I don't know if you did mention that I think you might have. Usually when Josh says he has Celiacs people look at him funny until he explains.​

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I was obviously never diagnosed with Celiacs, but Crohn's is kind of similar in some ways. I get the same reaction sometimes - my favourite is when people take a step backwards, as if they might catch my disease.

Yes that too! Like if you don't order every course and wine or something they can be rude. But I'm too nice with my tips even when people don't deserve them I still tip at least 15%.

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I'm of the belief that a tip is earned, not expected so I can be mean with my tips. If the restaurant is busy and I can see our server is busting their butt, I always tip well (even if my service wasn't the greatest), and I'm really generous with my tips if a server does an actual good job.

 

[fallonkendra]

Yum, California Grill brunch is on my must-do list, but I don't know if that will ever happen. We'll be there for 2 Sunday's on our wedding trip, but the first one is New Year's Eve so I assume it won't be offered, and the second Sunday is the day of the marathon (so there's no way we could manage to get there in time since Luke is running and would need to shower and dress nicely afterwards). It just looks so good though!

I would totally be the same and order 2 entrees (and force Luke into ordering different ones so we could try them all!). It's weird that the waiter gave you a hard time about it, you pay enough to be there that you should be allowed to eat whatever you'd like!

 

[sleepydog25]

California Grill Brunch

Now onto the entrees! I knew ahead of time I wanted to order 2, and frankly I think the ability to order more than one entree makes this meal worth the high price tag. However when I said I wanted 2 the waiter didn't sound completely thrilled to bring me 2, and it seemed like he was hoping I'd change my mind by telling me they were both full sized entrees.

I do think the food was delicious and the ability to order multiple entrees means you get your money's worth. ​

Agree with a lot of your review of the brunch (as if it would be a big deal if I didn't ), but as a PSA to your scores of readers, you can ask for 1/2 entree portions, and they'll bring them to you. While some servers may balk a little, ours was completely happy to honor the request.

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[SweetSerenity]

You know I'm on board! Thanks for the review of Chef Art's Homecoming! Those deviled eggs are the reason we want to eat there twice in Sept!

 

[kastoney]

Wow what an amazing experience at CG and loving all your white chicks gifs I've been on the fence about doing this in November, but think you just tipped me over the proverbial edge. The hubby is running the 1/2 marathon on the day we were considering doing this and the prospect of 2 entrees has him droolling!!!

 

[earfulofmagic]

Once the waiter came to take the plates, I informed him I wanted to keep Josh's plate a little longer so I could have some more

He probably backed away in fear as I was eating 3 entrees at this point.

this had me rolling!!! I would've done the same (i.e. eating 3 entrees. no fear here!)

 

[amberpi]

I hope you parse out this burger showdown in a new thread with the champion declared for posterity. This is important information after all

Enjoying the ride along!

 

[Raeven]

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[Sailormoon2]

Jumping over from your TR. All caught up!

 

[chunkymonkey]

To our surprise after we had been sitting for a few minutes we spotted Woody Woodpecker He came over to our table and we took a picture.

Universal rotates it's character dining among Royal Pacific (Islands), Hard Rock (The Kitchen), and Portofino Bay (Trattoria Del Porto) on different nights of the week. My guess is it was The Kitchen's night for character dining. A fact that most people (us included) were not aware of (judging by how surprised and even annoyed other people looked when Woody came up to their tables).

They started the meal by bringing their signature bread service which was corn bread and pretzel bread. This was delicious, and made me glad I didn't order an appetizer. I usually find corn bread a little too sweet for before a meal (kind of like eating cake) but I did like it, and I feel like pretzel bread should have something with it to dip it in, but again it was still very good.

And I clearly failed at taking a picture of it. Disappointing because it looked as good as it tasted. It also had breadcrumbs on top and I got bacon on top as well. This was just really really good. Even better than the mac and cheese at Homecoming which was delicious. After several trips of having bland mac and cheese on the Disney buffets and wondering where there was a better mac and cheese dish I have found 2 in 2 days!

Josh had a creme brulee. He asked for milk with it because he's adorable.

Overall we had a great meal at The Kitchen. We were probably there for 2 hours, and it wasn't very crowded. Our server was nice and attentive, and the characters were a funny surprise. But overall the meal felt intimate and it was nice to just get some time to relax and talk. We had watched a positive review on this restaurant a few months ago so it wasn't a huge surprise the food was good, but I was a little surprised at just how good. This obviously hadn't been my first or even second pick for the night, but I'm glad we ended up there!

Sounds like a yummy dinner! I like it when restaurants are not too crowded at theme parks. It's like a moment of calm in the storn.

He also tried sushi for the first time (I think it was a California roll) since he was inspired by a Jimmy Fallon sketch we had seen the day before where Blake Shelton tried sushi. You'll have to watch the vlog to find out if he liked it or not!

Wow he's never had sushi yet? I have to catch up on your vlog. Seems like sushi is the one thing GF eaters like to eat since it's almost always safe to eat!

My dad loves to make all different kinds of pancakes (we had carrot cake ones the other day!), but when I showed him these he said "why is there bird poop on your pancakes" Very funny, dad.

Ha ha funny!

This was incredible! You would think a chicken cutlet would be boring (which is why all the reviews seemed surprised this was so good) but it was really really good. I devoured one of the cutlets before I even ate more than a bite of the pancakes. However I did think the second cutlet on my plate was more breading than chicken, but since I needed to save room for dessert anyway I figured I should quit while I was ahead.

Yum, looks delicious!

Grilled Hanger Steak
Two Eggs-Any Style, Chimichurri, Marble Potato Hash, Charred Red Onion

I tried some of this too, and it was pretty good. Josh was not a fan of the eggs because he didn't think they were cooked enough, but he absolutely overcooks his eggs until they're disgusting so he doesn't know good scrambled eggs

I like my scrambled eggs nice and soft! You can also request a hard scramble...but why would you?

Overall this meal is totally worth the price, and it's a great experience. We got really good service here (despite the waiter questioning the amount of entrees I could eat), we loved the view, loved being able to come back later to see the fireworks (but that's a story for another time), and I do think the food was delicious and the ability to order multiple entrees means you get your money's worth.

Yummy! Glad you enjoyed Brunch at the Top!

 

[Raeven]

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[Djocks]

Question about CRT.

My girls are 10 and 14. Both have always asked "can we go in there" every time walking past the castle. Just landed a 6pm res on one of our nights. Cringed as I ore paid the amount.

We've never been. Is it worthy of the allure of eating in the castle and the price. All opinions will be helpful.

Thx

 

[Raeven]

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[Raeven]

*Video is unavailable* ​

 

[wdwnut61]

Really enjoyed your CG brunch VLOG. That view is amazing we have it booked again for our November trip.

 

[Raeven]

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[suse66]

I'm another latecomer but am really enjoying reading all about your dining adventures!

This was alright, but I imagine sticky toffee pudding could be much better. It was moist and like bread pudding on the inside. The outside was a little crisp. Not super crispy just not as good as the inside. According to a quick google search a sticky toffee pudding is supposed to contain a "moist sponge cake". So this was pretty close to that description.

I love, love, love sticky toffee pudding but it's hard to get it just right. It should be totally moist and decadent and is ideal served with a whisky caramel sauce.

My choices were creamy mashed potatoes with gravy on the side, momma's mac and cheese, & Bradley's grits. I was disappointed at how fast I got full too because I felt like I barely made a dent in any of these They were all delicious too. The mashed potatoes were just as good as they were the last time. (I wasn't crazy about the gravy). The mac and cheese was very good. And the grits were good too, and had a nice buttery taste.

Now I feel like I need to get to Homecomin' in August just to try that mac'n'cheese! My DH and I are going to pick a resort close to DS our next trip together just so we can try all the amazing new places there!

When we ordered this another puzzling thing happened. The waiter said this dessert was NOT gluten free, but he guessed he could make an exception and make it gluten free Not only have we ordered this two other times without any issue, but it's also a flourless cake.

Oh my! So flourless chocolate cake is not GF???? What on earth? That waiter sounds woefully misinformed.

The winners of this dish were the cheddar cheese, wedge salad, and the deviled eggs. I wasn't sure I'd like the hot sauce aioli, but it was definitely my favorite thing on the plate.

California Grill brunch looks so amazing! The wedge salad looks yummy.

Buttermilk Pancakes, Florida Blueberries, Vanilla Custard, Blueberry Compote, Powdered Sugar, warm Canadian Maple Syrup

I would want two entrees here too! The pancakes look delicious...mmmm blueberries!

Pan-fried Buttermilk Organic Chicken Cutlet

I am in love with that chicken cutlet... sometimes something so simple can be the best!

In the vlog you'll get to see me try each dessert and how I feel about it. My plate had a passionfruit macaron, a rosemary honey truffle, (sorry there's no online menu for these) but I think it was a butter cookie with a possible chocolate center, an almond toffee salted chocolate bark, and a raspberry pastry type thing.

Loving your dessert plate and off to watch the vlog now.

 

[ariane37]

I swore I commented here

Blueberry Pancakes
Buttermilk Pancakes, Florida Blueberries, Vanilla Custard, Blueberry Compote, Powdered Sugar, warm Canadian Maple Syrup

I like pancakes and I do tastes differences sometimes, and other than plain pancakes blueberry ones are my favorite. Yours do look good to me

My dad loves to make all different kinds of pancakes (we had carrot cake ones the other day!)

Now those sound delicious!!!

Pan-fried Buttermilk Organic Chicken Cutlet
Haricot Verts, Toasted Almonds, Frisée, Beurre Noisette

Wow that does sound good and looks even better, and you're right usually a chicken cutlet isn't anything special. Overall brunch at GC really looks like something Steve and I would like. Our one dinner there was just "eh" so neither of us has been anxious to go back but maybe brunch on a future adults trip......

Question about CRT.

My girls are 10 and 14. Both have always asked "can we go in there" every time walking past the castle. Just landed a 6pm res on one of our nights. Cringed as I ore paid the amount.

We've never been. Is it worthy of the allure of eating in the castle and the price. All opinions will be helpful.

Thx

I only have boys so nobody ever asked me to eat in the castle, but I always wanted to. We finally did a couple years ago for breakfast. The food was fine; good, but nothing special for the price tag. I've read less than stellar reviews of the lunch/dinner meals but recently read a really positive review of lunch and the pictures looked yummy! Regardless you're definitely paying for the experience and if your girls are asking, I would take them if it's in budget. I only wish I had girls who asked to eat there!!! I'm glad I got to do it even if I was in my 40's

I started with a watermelon margarita. I don't see this anywhere on the menu online, but it was definitely in the menu book there.

I had that last month at Boma, I thought it was pretty good! Don't remember seeing it on the Territory Lounge menu though.

e also brought some GF bread and sea salt butter free of charge for him. It was kind of him, but Josh really just wanted to watch something on his Kindle while I ate. I thought a lounge would be the type of place where it would be easier for one of us to eat and not the other, so I felt kind of bad for choosing a place where Josh felt so awkward.

Huh, that's too bad. We've had great servers both times we've been so yeah, maybe yours did just feel bad Josh wasn't eating.

The fries were good, probably not the best I've ever had but definitely really good. But the burger on the other hand was amazing. The patty was a pretty good size and it was cooked perfectly. It was incredibly juicy too. It was definitely the ideal burger.

So happy you enjoyed the burger! Now we think the fries are close to the best, but at least you loved the burger