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Old 23 Jul 14, 12:11 PM  
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In the footsteps of Lewis & Clark - Day 13 - Part Two

DAY 13 - Part Two “The theatre, the theatre……. and a red rose”


And so the time has arrived to celebrate 25 years together. the actual day is tomorrow 4th July but knowing how busy Disney will be we thought we'd have the meal tonight when things are a little more relaxed. Why is 4th July our anniversary of meeting? Well, we had met prior to that date but we really decided we wanted to become partners at a 4th July party held at a London pub. Go figure! I was dressed as a New York Cop - I think Darrin was dressed as a tourist (not much effort required there) and all I can recall from the hazy proceedings of the party was Dave dressed as the Statue of Liberty complete wth a verdigris face and arms which he had great trouble removing at the end of the evening. I digress.

Tim, Jimmie, myself and Darrin have decided that prior to dinner we'll pop into Disney's California Adventure to watch the neon come on at Radiator Springs in Cars Land. before this I am determined to get one of the Mickey Sink sundaes from Clarbelle's ice cream shop. It comes with 3 scoops of ice cream of your choice and is $11.99 - way cheaper than it is at Walt Disney world!



I forego the nut sprinkles on mine:




The sun descends in the sky and turns into twilight and then the magic happens:







The mountain vista behind the ride area starts to glow a subtle orangey red:



We just have a few minutes so we take a ride on one of the Red Trolleys:






So we are all booked in to dine at the Napa Rose restaurant at the Grand Californian Hotel. What always amuses me is the symbol for the Napa Rose. It's a red rose. Now the hotel complex is based on the premise of American Arts and Crafts movement. There are Frank Lloyd Wright influences along with touches of Radcliffe Whitehead and Lightfoot Price. Ok - I've probably lost you. The point I'm trying to make is the rose is very obviously Charles Rennie Mackintosh whose work I have always admired. Ok the arts movement was born of the Uk but to "steal" a Scottish icon...



Anyhow, the restaurant itself. Its list of awards are endless. It can count Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence and Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) award of excellence. the latter has been awarded twice/ The original sommelier was Michael Jordan who was recruited from the Auberge du Soleil resort in Napa Valley. We were lucky enough to meet Michael some years ago on our first visit here. A lovely guy who certainly knew his wines from a to Z. I recall how we couldn't decide which wine to have with our meal and he brought a flight (3 glasses of samples) of his recommendations for us to try. That is the level of service you get at this flagship restaurant. I googled Michael to see where he is now and whillst it didn't tell me what i wanted to know I discovered he is one of 135 professionals who have earned the title Master Sommelier in
North America.

So we are in for a fabulous evening.

One thing we have never done is have a drink in the bar lounge at the Napa Rose and we have decided to remedy this. We turn up a half hour before our reservation and the four of us actually sit at the bar.



You'll note from the picture above that Jimmie and are drinking iced water. It's a nice touch that it is offered before you even order an alcoholic drink. I will move on to a Long Island Tea (my favourite cocktail) andJimmie will indulge ina Gin & Tonic as will Darrin.



Tim goes with the Napa Rose:



The bartender was Jose who had a great sense of humour:



Time to get on with the meal I think.

Tim starts with sauteed veal sweetbreads (thymus glands and pancreas) with poached rhubarb, cashew nuts and buttermilk dressing. He has never had them before but declares them delicious:



Jimmie opts for "Smiling Tiger salad" - temppura fried lobster, spicy beef, Asian greens and a coconut - lime viaigrette.



Darrin and I both go with the pan roasted Diver Scallopson a sauce of lobster and lemon accnted with vanilla:



Mains:

Darrin and Jimmie have pan roasted sustainable fish with Applewood bacon, pecans, lemon polenta, Toy Box tomatoes and spinach.



Me- Colorado rack of lamb roasted with herb salts, olive oil poached potatoes, Sun Gold tomatoes and a rosemary Cabernet jus:



Tim - cherry lacquered "Maple Leaf Farms" breast of duck, almond gnocchi, Morel mushrooms and Applewood bacon:



Desserts are complimentary and consist of a little chocolate pudding with cherries, vanilla ice cream and the message "Happy Anniversary" iced on the plates for Darrin and myself:



A fabulous meal with great comapny. I ask our server who is called MICKEY - I kid you not - if we might have a souvenir copy of the menu. He goes out the back and returns witha brand new one in a carrier bag! Mickey is Japanese so I try my pigeon Japanese on him and he is really impressed bowing to us and bringing back memories of our Tokyo trip. His name was an Americanisation of his Japanese name Maikeru.

What memories were created tonight. We are both a little tearful as we walk slowly back through the hotel to our room saying goodnight to Tim & Jimmie as they head on out and down the road to their hotel.

Big day tomorrow so best to get some sleep.

Trip report INDEX: http://DIBB.in/9823405

Edited at 08:50 PM.
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Old 23 Jul 14, 04:14 PM  
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It sounds like you had an amazing evening, Happy Anniversary, (a bit late now I know!). Long Islands are my tipple of choice too, more alcohol for your money

Food looks amazing again, especially that lamb! I shall also be going in search of a Mickey Sink when we visit Disney!
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Old 23 Jul 14, 06:14 PM  
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What a fantastic meal, and another lovely evening! Did you go in to the lovely posh restaurant with your Mickey Kitchen Sink?

The whole Disneyland dinning experience looks so different to WDW, i totally need to get my OH on board with the west coast next year i cant wait to try some of these fantastic restaurants.
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Old 23 Jul 14, 06:58 PM  
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Kitchen sink is definately top of my list :-) Sounds like a fab end to your day!

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Old 23 Jul 14, 07:05 PM  
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Lovely day and more yummy food pictures! Pussycat
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Old 23 Jul 14, 09:05 PM  
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Another great day...glad you enjoyed your meal.
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Old 23 Jul 14, 09:11 PM  
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What a lovely sounding day!
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Old 23 Jul 14, 09:23 PM  
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Another great day & that looked like a fantastic meal.
Happy belated anniversary.
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Old 23 Jul 14, 09:34 PM  
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Sounds like a great day and congratulations 🇺🇸👬🇬🇧 Darrin & Geoff Sounds very fitting to be where you were on day 13/14 of your trip.
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Old 23 Jul 14, 10:32 PM  
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Originally Posted by gtyrel10 View Post
What a fantastic meal, and another lovely evening! Did you go in to the lovely posh restaurant with your Mickey Kitchen Sink?
It was given to the check in desk for them to place in the cloakrooom for safe keeping. It's Disney - they're used to it.

And thanks to everbody else for your good wishes. When you notch up 25 years you have to push the boat out!

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