As I have mentioned in my previous blog post, I have been fairly intentional about getting gifts for my mom that are more centered on experiences rather than things. Well, this past Christmas she decided to do the same and made reservations for something I’ve been eyeing for years: dinner at the Chef’s Counter at the Napa Rose.
If you’ve never been to the Napa Rose, it’s easily one of the best restaurants on the Disneyland Resort property and is located in the gorgeous Grand Californian. It focuses on California-style cuisine and changes based on what’s in season. It’s one of the pricier places on property but it’s so worth it. They offer a pretty good variety of appetizers, entrees (which range from $38 to $58), desserts, and drinks, and you can sit in their lounge (which is a good option if you don’t have reservations) or their main restaurant (reservations strongly advised). They also have a four-course prix fixe tasting menu (aka “The Vintner’s Table”) for $100 with an option to have a wine paired with each course for an extra $55… pretty good deal if you think about the price of their regular items!
One of the experiences I had been hearing about for the last couple years was the “Chef’s Counter” experience, where you get to sit at one of the counters that overlooks the kitchen, so you get to watch all the chefs in action. This kind of thing speaks to food and cooking-loving heart but you have to make reservations pretty much as soon as they become available (which, in the case of Disneyland Resort properties, is 60 days in advance). I fully expected it would be a few years until I could experience it, but my awesome mom was able to get us reservations.
How the Chef’s Counter Works
- There are two seating time options: 5:30 pm and 8 pm
- This 6-course tasting menu will run you around around $100 I believe (same as the prix fixe cost… I imagine the reason the prices are comparable but the number of courses is different is because of portion size, but seeing as how I haven’t done the Vintner’s Table option, I am not 100% sure)
- There are 12 seats available in three groups of four that I saw: two sections that are in the main kitchen prep area and one that is in the dessert prep area. It would be cool to do this a couple times and see how the experience is different based on where you sit.
- The chef will come and talk to you about your preferences and design a meal around those preferences (unlike the tasting menu in the main restaurant or the lounge, where the menu is pre-set). Now, they don’t really create items specifically for you, rather, they make a meal based on the options available on the main menu.
- There is an option to add a wine tasting with each course as well for $55. If you select this option, I do recommend using Uber or Lyft, or staying on property if you can swing it, because the pours were pretty generous!
Our Experience
Since we were staying at the Grand Californian that weekend (staying at one of the hotels seemed like a better option than trying to drive home late at night after multiple courses of wine plus they had a special on hotel room costs for Disneyland Annual Passholders), we ended up arriving around 15 minutes before our 8:00 reservations, so they sat us at one of the tables in the lounge, where we got the evening started with some cocktails. Napa Rose has a great selection of wine, but they also have a good variety of cocktails, ranging from traditional drinks like Manhattans and Old Fashioneds to craft cocktails such as the “Summer Kiss” that I ordered, which as Hendricks Gin, comfier (which I had to look up and it’s apparently an orange liqueur), lemon juice, St. Germain, and an absinthe “rinse” (which, again, I had to look up and it’s where the bartender pours absinthe into the glass, coats the inside with the absinthe, and then discards the actual liquid before pouring the mixed cocktail in… it’s supposed to add aroma and flavor to your drink). Not only was it a super pretty drink, it was delicious!
At one point, we did wonder if they had forgotten about us since it was like 10 or 15 minutes after 8 (and despite having a good-sized lunch at Black Tap, that was like 11:30 and we were getting hungry again) and we hadn’t been taken to our table yet so I went over to check and it turns out the 5:30 guests had been taking their time so our seating was delayed a bit. So, we went back to sipping our cocktails until they told us our table (well, counter) was ready. We were seated at the first station, where it looked like they were prepping salads and other cold items directly in front of us and to our left, with some other chef’s working on hot items to our right.
One of the chefs came over to chat and find out if there were any allergies or strong dislikes… I told him I was fine with just about everything, I just requested no salmon for the fish dish (which was a moot point, it wasn’t on the menu) but there was a couple next to us where the guy was allergic to shellfish and the woman didn’t like spicy.
Once he got our preferences, off the chef went to put together our menu for the night. My mom and I both elected to do the wine pairing with our meal, as did the couple seated with us. The cool thing was that all four of us pretty much got different food each course (aside from the meat course and the dessert course where the other lady and I both got the same things), plus the server chose wines for each course based on the food we were getting, so we each got different wines as well! So cool!
As someone who loves cooking shows (and loves cooking), it was super cool to get the chance to observe chef’s in a high-end restaurant in their element and see how a kitchen of that magnitude operates.
Now, rather than analyze each course and say if it was good or not, I’ll describe the food and give the names of the wine we got, because there wasn’t a bad dish or wine in the bunch. It was all spectacular.
Course 1
The first course was our “amuse bouche” (which is a phrase that reminds me of Friends whenever I hear it). I may have lied earlier when I said we each had different items every course, most of us received the same item this course (aside from the gentleman who was allergic to seafood). This course was a rock shrimp with a pea puree. It was super light and refreshing… a great way to start what was surely going to be a heavy meal.
Course 2
Now, I was originally going to label each course but courses two and three threw me off. I wanted to call this one the fish course because we all got seafood this course, but it seemed odd to call the next one “starter” or “appetizer” after already getting two courses… you’ll see what I mean though.
For this one I was given the “market fish of the day” (which that day was pink grouper) with apple parsnip puree, roasted Brussels sprouts, and brown butter. I had never had pink grouper before… it’s a pretty firm fish but still really delicate in flavor. And who doesn’t love a good brown butter sauce? My wine for this course was a Chablis Saint Martin from Domaine Laroche (which is apparently known for their chablis since they are actually IN the Chablis region of France).
My mom was given the pan roasted sustainable fish (monk fish) in a saffron mussel broth with chorizo, grapes, and a crostini.
Course 3
This is the course where you will see why I wanted to label it starters but it felt weird labeling it that halfway through the meal.
For this one, I got the hamachi crudo with avocado, jalapeño, and “dragon” vinaigrette. I don’t remember what the dragon vinaigrette was exactly but it was slightly sweet with some hints of spice. For this one, the wine I got was a Grüner Vetliner from Zocker in the Edna Valley area.
My mom had what they called “Smiling Tiger Salad”, which had a spicy beef, lobster fritters, and a coconut vinaigrette.
Course 4
Next up for me was a pecorino and kale agnolotti with mushrooms on top. Now on this one I don’t really remember what all was in it because I had been taking notes on my phone the last few courses but the server said we could just ask for a list of the items we had at the end of the night so I didn’t take notes on this course. They ended up marking some other pasta dish that was lobster and sweetbread tagliatelle, and the agnolotti wasn’t listed on the menu. The wine for this course was a Pinot Noir from Skywalker Vineyards.
My mom’s fourth course was a pan roasted duck breast with almonds, duck confit, and kumquats. Now unlike me, who loves duck, my mom is not a big fan. Aside from the Peking duck at Chinese restaurants, she’s only liked duck from one place. Until this meal. She actually loved it and ate every bite!
Course 5
This course could, I suppose, be called the meat course. For this oneI had an iron roasted New York strip steak with cheddar whipped potatoes and a steak sauce they made in house. In regards to the wine for this course, I may have had three glasses of wine in front of me at once because the server originally poured one type of wine and then decided to switch, but then couldn’t remember which one was which so he poured a third to figure it out. One was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Faust and a red Bordeaux blend from Condat la Chapelle.
For the fifth course, my mom had a grilled filet mignon served over ropa vieja with pinenuts, sultana, jalapeño, yucca fritters, and tangerine aioli. No picture, my mom apparently enjoyed this one so much she forgot to take a picture! What am I going to do with her???
Course 6
The last course, of course was dessert. For this one I was given what they called the best hot chocolate ever, which was a super rich hot cocoa served with some miniature pasties like a chocolate madeleine and a couple others I can’t remember. This was served with a ruby port from Sandeman. I’m not usually a port fan but this one was good for a few sips and paired well with the chocolate.
My mom had the sticky toffee pudding with a date shake (which I could have honestly had a whole serving of that shake and been fine).
Final Thoughts
If you love good food and are ok with someone else building a menu for you (based on your preferences, of course), I would HIGHLY recommend this experience. If I could swing it multiple times per year in terms of cost, I would go at least twice a year.
The Jungkfood Journal 