Taste of Disney

October 2015 Trip Review

After checking in at the desk, located in the back of the same building that houses Les Chefs de France, I had barely sat down when they called my name. I was guided up the winding staircase to the dining room upstairs and was seated at a two-top table right next to a window. SCORE! (This trip was starting off well!)

As you can see I was presented with two menus. The first was the Prix Fixe Menu…

And then the regular menu…

The Prix Fixe Menu options had a set price of $89.00 or if using the regular Dining Plan then 2 entitlements (credits) + $30.50 OOP. So with the Dining Plan you are basically paying an extra $30.50 for an appetizer. And of the three available appetizer options of the Prix Fixe Menu, the most expensive (the lobster) was only $29.00. And if not using the Dining Plan, and you ordered the most expensive appetizer (again the lobster), entree (the filet), and dessert (all of which are $13) from the regular menu then you would be spending only $86. So what was I missing? Why would anyone choose to pay more money by ordering from the Prix Fixe Menu? And then I discovered a possible reason. The two entree choices on the Prix Fixe Menu (NY Strip Steak and Lamb Chop) are not available on the regular menu. So if you have your heart set on one of these entrees and willing to pay the extra money for them, then I guess the Prix Fixe is the way to go. As for me, I preferred the options on the regular menu so my three courses cost me a total of $73 (plus tax and gratuity).

So anyway, after placing my order I took a minute to look around at this beautiful restaurant and snapped a few photos from my table…

The pretty chandeliers caught my eye…

 

A girl then came by my table carrying this basket…

They all looked delicious and I was starving, as I hadn’t eaten anything for more than 12 hours other than peanuts on the airplane. But I politely only took one, soliciting the girl’s advice as to which one to choose…

My choice doesn’t appear to be particularly wonderful, however the dark pieces that can be seen in this roll are bacon. NEED I SAY MORE?!?!

Then my first course arrived…

Mixed Greens Salad with Roquefort Cheese, Pear and Caramelized Pecans

Now I never thought I would find a blue (or bleu) cheese that I didn’t like but then I tried this one. Although it certainly wasn’t bad, I didn’t love it as I normally love blue cheese. However the rest of the salad ingredients were good, especially the sweet slices of pear that circled the greens.

While I was still eating my salad, a food runner placed my entree on the table and quickly walked away. I was a little perturbed by this, but not nearly as much as my server. When she saw what had happened she darted to my table and began apologizing profusely. She asked if she could take my entree back to the kitchen to keep it warm for me until I was done with my salad and I agreed. Soon afterwards, I saw her across the room giving the food runner what appeared to be a tongue-lashing.

So anyway, once I’d finished the salad my entree was again brought to the table…this time by my server.

Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Crust and Bordelaise Sauce

The mashed potatoes which accompanied my entree were served in a separate dish/bowl…

The steak was cooked to the medium temperature that I had requested, so the meat was for the most part pink but not red…

I mention this because I would have trouble with all of the other steaks which I ordered for the remainder of this trip. While the very center of this steak was a little less cooked than I like, it was still far better than the steaks which will come later.

The mushroom (and I think maybe potato) crust thing on top was very salty, too salty. Unfortunately though the steak was a little bland tasting on its own and I didn’t care for the bordelaise sauce which came with it. The mashed potatoes were good but not as tasty as those served at Yachtsman Steakhouse. I seem to recall them having a mushroom flavor, which was okay but I probably would have enjoyed them more without it.

While eating my entree, the girl with the bread basket returned to my table. This time I took my nephew’s advice and chose the poppy seed roll…

This was good, but I’d have to say my first roll was better.

After all of this food, I was surprised to still feel hungry enough for dessert but somehow I was. Here are the desserts from which I had to choose…

Just as my dessert choice was delivered to the table, Illuminations began. While my view of the fireworks was not perfect because of some trees plus the reflection from the window, it was an added bonus for this meal that I was not expecting.

So anyway, here are a few of the photos that I took…

After Illuminations I then focused my attention on my dessert…

Warm Chocolate Almond Cake with Raspberry Coulis in the center, Hazelnut Crust, and Hazelnut Ice Cream

Even though I’m not a big fan of hazelnut flavor, I still really enjoyed this.

Oh, and to add to the warm fuzzies that I was feeling, I then witnessed a marriage proposal at a nearby table. The woman was totally taken by surprise and was genuinely gushing with happiness. It was so heart-warming to see. And the restaurant helped to make it extra special by giving them glasses of champagne with which to toast their new engagement plus a special dessert.

By 10:30 I was finished and it was time to tackle the long winding staircase down…

It was amazing though how much easier it was this time than last. Because the last time I dined at Monsieur Paul was last year for the French Regional F & W Lunch, at which I had at least 8 glasses of champagne. So walking down these stairs when they remained “stationary” seemed like a breeze.

And then one last photo was taken before leaving the park, in the beautiful France pavilion area…

Looking at this photo with the replica of the Eiffel Tower in the background reminds me of the terrible tragedy which recently occurred in Paris and all I can say is

Vive la France!