Taste

I had the good fortune to attend the Taste event at Disney's California Adventure on Saturday evening. The event was billed as a food and wine tasting evening, hosted in Studio 17 where the former Who Wants to be a Millionaire--Play It attraction was housed. The only requirements to attend was a Disneyland Annual Pass and a tribute to be paid to The Mouse.

I really didn't know what to expect going in to this event. Would Disney be ultra careful about how much wine they would serve? Would they have oversold the event so there would be shortage of food? Or long waits?

The short answers: more wine than you know what to do with; it was crowded, but not overly; there were short waits toward the beginning of the evening and no wait thirty minutes after we arrived; I never saw any table running low of any dish.

The most important part: Vin! We were given our own wine glasses upon entry, that we later were allowed to keep as a souvenir (and they even gave us a little bag to carry our wine glasses in so we didn't have to look like complete lushes roaming the theme park afterwards). There were nine wineries represented, each pouring three different wines. For the math challenged, that's 27 different wines that you could choose from, and trust me, I did my best to do just that. The wineries were:

Miner Family Vineyards (the rose was very good)
Silverado Vineyards
Baileyana Winery
Flora Springs Winery
Levendi Estates Winery
Buena Vista Winery (very good Chardonnay)
Mirassou Winery (great dessert wine made from Chardonnay)
XYZin
Rosenthal Malibu Estate
Karl Strauss Brewing Co. (for the non-wino's)

There were two surprises for the evening: Music and Chefs.

The musical offering was fantastic. My expectation, and I think even Disney's expectation up until the last minute was to park a live jazz band in the corner of a room. Instead, we were treated to an energetic performance from Barrage. The band is essentially several violin players backed up by a bassist, guitarist and drummer.

I don't know how else to describe them other than to say, go look at their website and watch some of the material they have to offer. What captivated us the most is the personality that each of the performers brought to the stage. There wasn't a lot of singing involved in each song. You might think that a performance group like this might not be all that interesting to see in person, but that's where this group excels.

The second surprise was the Chefs. The shock came as I went to retrieve the first dish of the evening, Portobello Mushroom Cappuccino Bisque from the Napa Rose. There were a few people in front of me to get their dish, and as I waited, I watched the chef behind the table preparing each cup that the dish was to be served in. When I reached the front of the line, the chef behind the table picked up a cup, and handed it to a chef in front of the table who put the finishing touches on the dish and handed it to me. It wasn't until then that I actually looked down and saw his name embroidered on his white jacket: Executive Chef Andrew Sutton.

One thing about me, I could really care less about celebrity. But I think I felt almost instantly what other people feel about meeting one of their favorite celebrities. Struggling for words, I think I got out "I love your restaurant and I've converted as many people that I can that there is fantastic food and wine at Disneyland daily!" He probably hears these types of things over and over, but his appreciation of my compliment seemed truly genuine. When I grow up, I want to be just like him. ;)

I scurried away with my treat with the new found knowledge, that holy crap: all the Chefs are here! All of them! Wow!

It was great interacting with all of the Chefs, or as many as I could before I just was too full and couldn't eat another bite. I even had to forgo dessert (which I am told was a *big* mistake) because I just had to try every dish, and didn't actually make it to every one of them. Here was the menu, and a brief comment if I tried it:

The Vineyard Room--Braised Pork Belly (like buttah)
Blue Bayou--Blackened Atlantic Salmon
House of Blues--Delta Red Beans and Rice
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen--Louisiana Shrimp Remoulade (this was delicious, with just the right amount of spice)
Yamabuki--Sushi Trio
Club 33--Duck Confit Profiterole (my favorite dish of the evening)
Naples Ristorante--Panzanella Salad (yummmm, fresh motzerella)
Napa Rose--Portobello Mushroom Cappuccino Bisque (I really enjoyed this very creative dish)
Café Orleans--Cajun Spiced Shrimp (another tasty shrimp dish, with just the right amount of spice)
Chef Jamie Gwen--Meatball Slider on Mini-Brioche (this was good, if a bit dry, the meat was delicious. Chef Jamie is the on air radio host on various AM stations on the weekend)
Catal--Grilled Chorizo Skewers with Saffron Rouille (very light, but tons of flavor, just a bit of Chorizo so it didn't overpower)
Hook's Pointe--Inland Salad

This clearly will be one of the highlights of my year. The company was wonderful, the conversation sparkling, the wine abundant, the food delicious; who could possibly ask for more?