Gastronomical Adventures at the Grand (Feb 8-12, 2015) About This Page:

[shazza]

This report will cover our recent trip to WDW, where we spent four nights in the Villas at Grand Floridian. The content will be heavily slanted towards food, because that seems to be what we spent the most time doing - eating! The cast of characters for this trip includes DH (Lou), me (Sharon), and our friends Kathy & Steve. Kathy and Steve joined us on our second day.


We arrived at VGF on Sunday afternoon and check-in was easy, as we were met by a CM at the front door, taken to some comfortable seats where check-in was completed on her iPad. Note there is no valet parking at VGF (unless you want to park at the main resort). This wasn't an issue for us, but I mention it in case anyone has mobility concerns.


We only had a short time to check out our Villa - more to come about the room, as we had a 6pm reservation at Victoria & Albert's. It is a relatively short walk from the Villas to the Main Building of the Resort, and the sun was just starting to go down:

We were welcomed into Victoria & Albert's and taken to the Queen Victoria Room. We were seated at a table next to the fire place. There was one other couple dining, another couple arrived about 15 minutes later, and the fourth table in the QV Room remained empty. We were presented with our personalized menus (they had our name on them). We had opted to go with the chef's selections for the evening when contacted a few days ahead of time. We both also chose the wine pairing, although I requested just small pours of each - this worked fine, as they gave Lou a bit extra.

Our ten course meal started with an amuse bouche comprising a small portion of Maine Lobster salad, topped with caviar. I am not a fan of caviar, but this was fine - not fishy at all, slightly salty, and the lobster salad was tasty.

Maine Lobster “Jar” with Siberian Osetra Caviar






Next came a couple of small slices of Bison - again, not something I would go out of my way to order, but it was very tasty.

Colorado Bison with Black Radish Slaw and Kumquats






A look across the room, as we wait for the next course:






This course came in a covered dome dish, and was smoking (I wasn't quick enough to get a decent photo). It was lamb, with a curry sauce and a nice smoky flavor:

Hot “Smoked” Niman Ranch Lamb with Fuji Apple and Curry Dressing

Next came some tiny scallops, served in a shell sitting on top of a bed of salt with fennel seeds. (Note - for better descriptions of some of these dishes, you should check out the review by Her Dotness, as they had several of the same dishes at the Chef's Table - and she does a much better job describing the food than I will).

Fennel Crusted Nantucket Scallops in a Salt Bowl






After the scallops, I took a break while Lou sampled the Turbot. This was offered as an additional course. He said it was the best of all the courses he had during the meal, so I'm glad he tried it:






This is one of three breads we were served during the evening. All were quite good. This one came with a truffle butter:






Now it was time to veer a little into weird territory (for me), as we were served a dish which was a ravioli containing a fresh egg yolk, with some bacon bits on top and a corn foam. I am not an egg fan, but this was actually very tasty. It just seemed a bit out of place for me at this point in the meal, but I am not a foodie, so what do I know?

Poached Chicken Egg with Corn Foam






Then we were treated to a dish containing veal cooked three ways:





I was starting to get full, but still found room to try the main course - Australian Beef, served with a small piece of short rib as well.

Australian Kobe-Style Beef with Potato Turnip Gratin





Lou added the Japanese Kobe Beef to his entree:





We still have three courses to go! Next came the cheese sampling:











We were also treated to the coffee making show, as our coffee brewed at the table:






And now, we were down to the final two courses; First comes the Pear Quark Mousse for Dessert No. 1:






Followed by (because we needed another dessert!), "Peruvian Chocolate Timbale with Roasted White Chocolate Gelato."






We were not quite done with dinner, as we were forced to pick some chocolates from the special candy tray:





Our servers were John and Dan, and they took excellent care of us throughout the evening. As we were preparing to leave, I chose to accept the rose offered by John:






Our check arrived in it's very own velvet lined box. This is a clue that dining here is not something we will do more than once every 5 years or so. Even though it is an expensive evening, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were glad we tried the Queen Victoria Room. In the future, I would be quite happy in the regular dining area, as I find 10+ courses to be just too much (not so much in quantity, as the servings are small, but more in terms of just overwhelming to the senses).

Victoria & Albert's lived up to our expectations. All of the courses were interesting, and we tried some items we wouldn't normally order. Everything was very good. The only item that underwhelmed was the beef in the main course. Neither the Australian nor the Japanese beef were "out of this world" good to us, but they were certainly good so no complaints. The service and ambience were excellent, and not pretentious. It was a nice evening all the way around.

Fireworks burst overhead as we walked back to our Fantasy Suite, oops - I mean our Villa.

Next UP: What's this - it's Raining???

[oldmom]

looks wonderful!

[Cam22]

Love your pictures of VGF late in the day, especially the one with the monorail. I also wish my food photos would turn out as well as yours. Very delicious looking dishes at V&A's and I did recognize some of those from Dot's TR.

[Her Dotness]

How very kind of you to mention my review so favorably. I'm honored by your praise.

I very much agree that two desserts were rather much. I'd have done nicely with just the chocolate timbale and white chocolate gelato which was more visually appealing to me.

Glad to learn you thought your meal enjoyable. Dining there really is an experience on more levels than just the fabulous food, isn't it?

[MayraLR]

What a wonderful meal at Victoria & Albert's!

[Jambo]

Wonderful photos! So glad you enjoyed your experience. Can't wait to hear about the villas.

[mcneal]

Sound like a wonderful evening - love the fireworks! I am afraid I will never dine at V&A - I do not care for any kind of meat or seafood so it would be a waste for me. I would love to watch my DH enjoy it though.

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by mcneal

I am afraid I will never dine at V&A - I do not care for any kind of meat or seafood so it would be a waste for me. I would love to watch my DH enjoy it though.

There's no reason for you to pass on dining there because you don't eat meat or seafood. I'd bet the V&A's chefs do a spectacular array of vegetarian dishes. In fact, I've actually considered declaring myself a vegetarian sometime to see what they'd produce. Not seriously, though, as fantastic as the lamb and seafood dishes are!

Truly, unless you simply don't wish to spend the money for veggie fare for yourself, I sincerely recommend your reconsidering dining there sometime. I think you'd be very pleasantly surprised indeed.

[lauriep]

What a sumptuous start, Sharon! Looks like a fabulous experience.

[chezp]

Thank goodness I've just eaten breakfast, otherwise I know I'd have been salivating over all those wonderful food photos!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

I love your TRs so I am glad to be reading another one! That meal looks amazing!

[pamcarey]

What an amazing looking meal! A few things would be out of my comfort zone, but maybe I would try them in a tasting meal like that.

[mcneal]

I may just try it. It does look like such a wonderful experience.

[OhToodles!]

What an amazing way to start start trip. Gorgeous photos as usual.

[JKnott17]

That was an amazing start to your trip! Everything looked delicious, though I think I would have been overwhelmed with all of those courses too. Someday I will eat there!