Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove There is a link I stumbled upon yesterday (name escapes me) but it has glowing reviews of Napa Rose. When I'm rich, I'll eat there. But anyway, somebody raved about champagne that tasted of roses. Let's get that for ophellia's opening. Seems fitting...roses for the director, both of the floral and virtual champagne variety. xoxo
Originally Posted By smedley Sounds good I do actually have champagne in the wine rack, and a bottle of iron horse that you can only get from Disney (it was a bash gift from the wonderful kennesaw tom )
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Iron Horse! Iron Horse! Okay, that might've been the post....there was a couple eating dinner there, and the boss or whatever of Iron Horse was at the next table with his wife and the rest of their party and they offered some of their bottle WHICH THEY BROUGHT TO NAPA ROSE and that, I *think* was the rose-tasting stuff....I'm gonna hafta check this out next Monday at w**k. (Check my search history
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Well, heck yeah. All I know is this: KT obviously has impeccable taste, and you are a lucky, loved girl. xoxo
Originally Posted By smedley It came with 2 mickey champagne flutes, I was *seriously* spoilt!!!! And then some, you should see the amazing hand framed disney stamps he sent too (hand framed by a professional framer) it's so awesome...
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Okay, I had to bite the bullet, so I wouldn't obsess: here is the Iron Horse thing (and I didn't see the rose reference in my quick glance of it just now...check it out, though) and it comes from yelp.com: (oh, it's kinda toward the end of the review) "Deirdre S. Oakland, CA 3/21/2009 I've been to Napa Rose many times. Here is one trip that is typical of our outings: We were a little early so we took a seat in the lounge. As I was perusing the menu I saw "Diligently Selected Cheeses". This wording struck me as hilarious. I wanted to know how diligently were the cheeses selected? I believe we ordered cocktails but I am not so sure since I was so obsessed with the cheese issue. We were seated quickly and I was anxious to see if Chef Andrew could knock Chef Gray (from Citricos and now Narcooses) off his pedestal. We both ordered the chefs tasting menu. We each ordered 1 glass each of the Italian Rose Regale champagne, which has a subtle sweetness, and a taste of roses. It is lovely and I thought it would pair well with our selections. It started with an Amuse Bouche of Cauliflower tartar, with raw ahi tuna and meyer lemon. It was AMAZING! A definite A+. K___ and I both dried tears of joy. If this is the shape of things to come Chef Gray was goin' down. The Appetizer was 2 sections of Split King Crab leg on a bed of greens with pink grapefruit drizzle and a tempura avocado slice. I gave this a B+. I thought the execution was confused, the tempura avocado was just a strange pairing and since crab and avocados have a slight sweetness but are also bland so they need a little kick. There was no kick forthcoming. My friend K___ gave it an A- as the avocado didn't bother her as much. Next was a mushroom and frisee salad with Shitake, Portobello and Chanterelle mushrooms tossed with a 20 yr old port balsamic and a leek puree. I love mushrooms! This dish was another mess. I couldn't even finish it and usually when eating at places of this caliber, there is no food left in evidence. I gave it a B+. There was just something missing, another level. It was just a bit bland. Dear God in heaven, I am getting flashbacks to Bistro de Paris with their beautiful but bland food. Next was a filet on a bed of pureed mash with winter root veggies. This was a lovely dish. A solid A. The steak was cooked exactly right - Medium Rare - and all the flavors worked well together. For dessert there was a small cake with blue cheese ice cream and some syrup. I'm sorry I couldn't be more specific. I am allergic to blue cheese so they were going to substitute vanilla. The problem was our server didn't bring our plates and since the color of both ice creams looked the same I needed the server to make sure it wasn't blue cheese which caused it to get a little melty in the time it took to round up my server. I hate melty ice cream. They replaced it. It was good. Not crying tears of joy but good. K____ said that the blue cheese ice cream really made it so it might be more of an A for people that can eat blue cheese. A solid A-. Now at one point during our dinner a large party was seated next to us. It appeared to be a celebration dinner. The older gentleman had a bottle of Fairy Tale Curvee from Iron Horse. I have heard soooooo much about this on the WDW Food Boards we did look on the wine list but it wasn't there. They must have brought their own. We go back to our Vintners Tasting Menu and as we are finishing our entrees and Silverado wine (the Disney vineyard), the older gentleman leans over and asks us if we would like some champagne. Wow, not wanting to look like pigs, we sort of looked demure. His wife jumped in with "Of course they do". I said "That is very nice of you. That would be lovely." The waiter brought us two glasses that he proceeded to fill. I told him that I heard all kinds of wonderful things about this wine from the DIS Board. He said he liked hearing that because HE MAKES IT!!!! Yup, we were talking to Mr. David Munksgard, winemaker for Iron Horse!! I found out that this wine is only available in select Disney places (Grand Floridian, Wedding Pavilion, Cruise Line) so we were so lucky to get a glass and it was soooooooooo good. In a previous trip I had them bring out a dish that had blue cheese on it even though it was listed that I was allergic and though I HATE to waste food, they had to remake the whole thing due to possible cross contamination with the rest of the plate. My last trip was solo for my birthday and I ate at the counter where I could watch the kitchen and the chef in action. No blandness was evident. I only had to send me venison back due to it being overcooked by one of the Jr. Chefs. It is very lean and cooks quickly so you have to watch it. Chef Andrew re-cooked it for me himself and it was stellar. Things can be a little off if he isn't in the kitchen but it is still a stellar experience and most people wouldn't notice the things I do. I would honestly give this a 4.5"
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Hey! Wow! Duh! The rose reference is right there at the beginning! (I'll be able to sleep tonight.) And "wow" about KT's flutes and stamps...man. Wow. What an angel, huh?
Originally Posted By smedley <Fairy Tale Cuvee from Iron Horse> That's exactly what I have, I feel even more spoilt now LOL!
Originally Posted By smedley Most definitely sweety We were always saving it for a special occasion, even more so now I know even more about it I will let you know how good it is when we drink it ;D
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove What could me more special than the Int'l Meet(s). I'm just sayin'. Nah, I know, it's for a special night/anniversary for just the two of you. Well, darlin', it's back to the real world for me...gonna check e-mail and it's back to w**k. Have a great weekend, if I don't see you again.
Originally Posted By smedley Thanks sweetie, you too, don't work too hard!!! And yes I am thinking for our 10th wedding anniversary
Originally Posted By ophellia oh,oh,oh, the Genie says I have 2 more wishes...I wish all my buddies a Safe Memorial Day....and I wish I win the Oregon Lottery!!! Rose champagne sounds heavenly, a must for the opening, yes! Smeds, of course no Memorial Day there...is there a U.K. Memorial type day???
Originally Posted By smedley No memorial day here, but it is a 3 day weekend anyway, well for the normal working types, of course I have to go in on nights Monday regardless
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove Well, I'm inspired by Autopia Deb at the moment, so I shall update you on my activities, a la Facebook: I can guarantee you that I shall be vaccumming at various and sundry times today and tomorrow (both at home and abroad); I, too, will be w**king on Memorial Day, although the term w**k will be used rather broadly that day as I plan to bring in a multitude of dvds and have at it (not bad for double time and a half) and.....let's see.....I need to switch loads in the laundry room and then shower and get ready for the day and then I'll be tramping around the greater Phoenix area for the rest of the day, winning bread with DH so we can have one blessed day off tomorrow. *sigh* Break out the rose-flavored Diet Dr Pepper! Have a great rest of the day! I am off! xoxo
Originally Posted By smedley Wow you were busy yesterday! Don't forget to fit a little time into that Monday schedule to chat with me! ;D I am sitting round in my jammies trying to build up the energy to get a shower. But you know, it's Sunday, I don't have plans, so what's the rush when I can hang round here and catch up on what people have been doing?? LOL
Originally Posted By disneylandfan8 Hello, dear Smedley. I'm enjoying some toast and tea, catching up on LP before I start my cleaning spree (hey, did that all rhyme??). I'm hosting bunko this Thursday and want the house in good shape!
Originally Posted By smedley Sounds good I spent the day sitting in the garden in the glorious sunshine reading a book
