Yesterday, before explaining my brief absence from the Disney-sphere over the past week, I asked, “Where Have You BEEN, All in WDW?!”.  Well, I can definitely tell you where we were on September 29, 2013.

To conclude our Epcot 2013 Food & Wine Festival opening weekend visit on a great note, we took a friend up on some great advice.  Kingdom Magic Vacations’ owner Rick Howard urged us to make an impromptu visit to the “New” California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

Earlier in our weekend of frivolity, as we worked our way through Food & Wine, we got the opportunity to join Rick on his Travel with Rick video-cast dedicated to World Showcase’s Brazil Marketplace. After we sampled that kiosk’s Crispy Pork Belly, Rick quickly pointed out that Brazil had nothing on “New” California Grill’s Pork Belly “Sushi”.

I have said many times before that California Grill holds a special place in our family’s heart. We have spent several lovely evenings – including …

… New Year’s evening in 2011 – enjoying its epic view of Disney’s Magic Kingdom as we dined on delicious cuisine. This visit would be a celebration of sorts as well in that Rick (whose birthday was the very next day) accepted our invitation to join us.

Did I mention that we would be making an impromptu visit? No ADRs for us, I’m afraid. Actually, that was a good thing in that we learned a lesson. Sit at the bar! No ADR needed, and you can still order from the full menu.

Upon arriving, you can’t help but be astounded by their wine collection.

Naturally, we started off with some of that wine.

And, a serving of sushi!  The Dragon Roll, to be exact. We had enjoyed one of these before. It was still outstanding.  In fact, many years ago, California Grill provided us with our very-first-ever serving of sushi.  It was a plate of salmon, hamachi, and tuna sashimi.  It was very good then.  It’s still good now!

When it comes to decor, the restaurant has a much-more open feel than in years past.

Our next course was the “renowned” Pork Belly Nigiri. Featuring a spicy house-cured pork, it was phenomenal. Rick explained that the idea was to eat the piece of pork belly (laying across the top of the roll) first and, then, chase it with the sushi made of a bacon-laced rice.

We followed the nigiri with the Spicy Kazan Roll.  Think crab, shrimp, scallops, tuna, and “Fireball Sauce”. It, too, was worth “the price of admission”.  The sauce is in the middle of the plate surrounded by the pieces of roll.

That brought us to the entree’. What to choose!

For us, we had to follow Rick’s recommendation once again. Mrs. All in WDW and I, both, ordered Pork Two Ways.  Tenderloin, polenta, pork belly. Yum!  It doesn’t look like a big portion, but it was pretty satisfying.

Having already had the pork at earlier visits, Rick ordered the Georges Bank Scallops. He loves his scallops and pronounced these as very good.

We understand that the desserts are amazing, but we were coming off days of being “overdosed” with Food & Wine and had just stuffed ourselves with sushi. There was no room in our bellies for sweets.

You can’t argue with the quality, choice, and taste of the California Grill’s food.  The view and the atmosphere are second-to-none.  And, the bartenders were friendly and attentive … in spite of how busy they were.

As always, we had a great time at California Grill.  Yes, it can be a bit on the pricey side, but, if you want to see Disney dining at its best, head over to the Contemporary Resort.  You won’t be disappointed!  We never are!