On Halloween night I met up with my friends Paula & Hunter and Rachel for a late dinner at California Grill. Once seated we quickly looked over the menu…
…placed our orders and then went outside to the observation deck to watch HalloWishes!
We then returned to our table and the food began arriving at a rapid pace, but first was a bottle of wine ordered by Paula and Hunter for us all to share…
This is a favorite of theirs and though I generally don’t care for zinfandels I found this one to be quite drinkable. 
By the way, the wine was chosen from their extensive wine list. Here is just one page of their list…
Now I don’t normally take photos of the wine menu but the wine menus that I normally see do not include wines priced at $6875 a bottle!!!
But then we turned the page to see this…
So what does a $7000 bottle of merlot taste like? 
The answer, I will never know. 
But enough with the “wining”, let’s get on with the dining.
We decided to each order a few appetizers rather than having entrees. Paula & Hunter ordered a flatbread for us to share…
Chicken Sausage Flatbread with Midnight Moon Goat Cheese, Sage Pistou, Maple Gastrique and Pumpkin Seed Florentine
Although not included in the description, I believe those are pieces of apple. And as for the taste, this was very good. All four of us really enjoyed it.
Paula and Hunter then shared four other appetizers, starting with one that was not on the menu…
Pork Belly Nigiri
This was something that they had enjoyed previously at California Grill, so they were sad that it was no longer on the menu. But when they asked about it, the sushi chef was willing to make it for them since they had the pork belly on hand for the pork entree on their menu. Paula and Hunter said this was again delicious!
Another appetizer that they shared was this…
Heirloom Tomatoes, Burrata Cheese, Pumpkin Seed Oil, Balsamic, and Tiny Basil
Paula said, “This was wonderful. Nice and refreshing.”
They also ordered this from the Soup, Salads and Appetizers section of the menu…
Creamy Potato-Gruyere Bisque with Harissa Oil
This came with a Multi-Grain Maine “Lobster Roll” Crostini, which Paula had served on a separate plate due to Hunter’s seafood allergies…
Paula said this was also good.
Their last shared dish was from the Hot Appetizer section. I somehow missed taking a photo of this, but luckily Hunter took one.
Artisan Tacos with Braised Pork, House-made Cilantro-Corn Tortillas, Chipotle Crema, and Pico de Gallo
Hunter said, “Unique take on the tacos but really good.”
Next up are Rachel’s two appetizer choices, starting with this sushi roll…
Spicy Kazan Roll with Crab, Shrimp, Scallops, Tuna, and Fireball Sauce
Rachel said, “This was amazing as usual. Best sushi in all of Disney.”
She wasn’t as enthused about her second appetizer choice though…
Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with Tomato-Fennel Broth, Crispy Mushrooms, Tiny Basil, Arbequina Organic Olive Oil
Rachel said, “This wasn’t as good as everyone says.” When I tried it a few years ago, I felt the same way about this signature dish that has been on the menu here forever.
And that just leaves my two appetizers, the first of which was this salad…
Heirloom Apple Salad with Baby Lettuces, Karst Cheddar, Dried Cranberries, Hazelnut, Late Harvest Riesling Vinaigrette
This was good. I especially liked the sweetness of the vinaigrette and cranberries with the tart apples.
And then I also had the Artisan Tacos but with fish instead of pork…
I wasn’t crazy about the cilantro tortillas but otherwise these were pretty good.
Although we did take a look at the menu…
…it was getting pretty late so we decided against ordering dessert. So that completed another dinner at California Grill. While it wasn’t perfect, it was pretty darn good. And I loved being able to watch HalloWishes!
Taste of Disney 