V&A's

[durangojim]

Congratulations on both a wonderful evening and your marriage! Back in 2001 I proposed to my wife moments before we dined there and had a magical evening. They greeted us then as well, still not sure how they knew. Back then all of the servers either had a name tag that said "Victoria" or "Albert" on them and my wife, then girlfriend was 25 at the time, and thought that THE Victoria and Albert served us (she didn't know the history). I didn't have the heart to tell her or explain the history, until we went back for our 5th Anniversary, and she finally realized it herself. We still laugh about that to this day. It is truly a magical and wonderful place and experience. I'd really like to try the Queen's room sometime. As an aside, if you ever do a Disney Cruise, try Remy's, we find it to be just as wonderful.

 

[Ariel484]

When we made the reservations, they discussed any dietary needs. These were then confirmed with the chef when we arrived and he even discussed my wife's feelings about seafood and she decided to go ahead the try some of it.

Since we were paying for the Chef's Table, the Kobe beef was not any extra. My wife said it would be worth the extra, though!

Great, thanks so much for the info!

 

[Phonedave]

I have heard that you can tell them ahead of time if you have any preferences...my husband and I are planning on eating at Victoria & Albert's on our next trip and are trying to think of a list of stuff we want them to leave off of our menu (i.e. fish, veal, mushrooms...).

I will say, unless you have allergies, at least try some things. V&A can go a bit overboard with their preferences. When my ex wife and I went, she specified "no fish". On one dish they brought out to her, it had 3 or 4 cavair eggs on it. The server had a coronary and brought it back to the kitchen to be remade with no fish. My ex said she would have tried it, and if she didnt like it, just not eaten the caviar. In fact she might have liked it. What she did not want was a big slab of fish for one of her courses. If you say no fish, mushrooms, or veal your meal will be totally devoid of it.

BTW, the Veal cheek and golden beet stack that I had there remains one of the most memorable dishes I have ever had.



-dave

 

[RandomPrincess]

I will say, unless you have allergies, at least try some things. V&A can go a bit overboard with their preferences. When my ex wife and I went, she specified "no fish". On one dish they brought out to her, it had 3 or 4 cavair eggs on it. The server had a coronary and brought it back to the kitchen to be remade with no fish. My ex said she would have tried it, and if she didnt like it, just not eaten the caviar. In fact she might have liked it. What she did not want was a big slab of fish for one of her courses. If you say no fish, mushrooms, or veal your meal will be totally devoid of it.

BTW, the Veal cheek and golden beet stack that I had there remains one of the most memorable dishes I have ever had.



-dave

I agree I'm picky when it comes to cheese (as in don't like most) but I have tried and loved everything they have given me at V&A. My husband and I will both order different things and try each other's. He has ordered things I would have NEVER tried or thought I would like and they were amazing! When a chef really knows what they are doing it makes a huge difference.

 

[Ariel484]

I will say, unless you have allergies, at least try some things. V&A can go a bit overboard with their preferences. When my ex wife and I went, she specified "no fish". On one dish they brought out to her, it had 3 or 4 cavair eggs on it. The server had a coronary and brought it back to the kitchen to be remade with no fish. My ex said she would have tried it, and if she didnt like it, just not eaten the caviar. In fact she might have liked it. What she did not want was a big slab of fish for one of her courses. If you say no fish, mushrooms, or veal your meal will be totally devoid of it.

BTW, the Veal cheek and golden beet stack that I had there remains one of the most memorable dishes I have ever had.



-dave

That's definitely something I have thought about! If I ever am going to like seafood, it's probably going to be the seafood I get at V&A's. Maybe I can spend the next few months trying to get over the mental block I have with those foods I mentioned (we're looking at a January 2014 dinner there...gotta start saving early!).

 

[Phonedave]

That's definitely something I have thought about! If I ever am going to like seafood, it's probably going to be the seafood I get at V&A's. Maybe I can spend the next few months trying to get over the mental block I have with those foods I mentioned (we're looking at a January 2014 dinner there...gotta start saving early!).

Here is the other thing - most courses have 3 choices. Among the courses are a fish course, a red meat course, and a poultry course.

If you say "no fish" when you get your menu, in place of the fish course you will have three choices that have no fish at all. Chances are they will be lighter dishes like poultry, in keeping with the theme, but there will be no fish.

What you may want to ask for instead is somthing like. "in each course, can you make sure there is at least one option with no fish, mushroom, or veal" That way when you get there, if you are feeling adventurous and the dishes sound good, order them. But you still have a "safety net" if you want one.

-dave

 

[Ariel484]

Here is the other thing - most courses have 3 choices. Among the courses are a fish course, a red meat course, and a poultry course.

If you say "no fish" when you get your menu, in place of the fish course you will have three choices that have no fish at all. Chances are they will be lighter dishes like poultry, in keeping with the theme, but there will be no fish.

What you may want to ask for instead is somthing like. "in each course, can you make sure there is at least one option with no fish, mushroom, or veal" That way when you get there, if you are feeling adventurous and the dishes sound good, order them. But you still have a "safety net" if you want one.

-dave

Thanks, that sounds like a great idea! My ADR date isn't until 7/1 so I'm going to make sure I come back to this thread before then.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!!

 

[tampabrad]

I am curious as to how they serve Kobe beef. Kobe, Japan is the only plac true Kobe cattle are raised and it is illegal to import beef from Asia.

 

[Phonedave]

I am curious as to how they serve Kobe beef. Kobe, Japan is the only plac true Kobe cattle are raised and it is illegal to import beef from Asia.

I think they are guilty of what many restaruants are - they sell Kobe "Style" beef. Mainly Wagyu cattle from Texas. However, while you are correct that you USED to not be able to import beef from Japan, that ban has been lifted. In fact over 1,600 kg of "real" Kobe beef was shipped to the USA in November of last year.

http://www.kobe-niku.jp/contents/export/index.php?y=2012

Another pet peeve if mine is Dover Sole. If you are buying "Dover Sole" from the fish store, it is not Dover Sole. it is flounder that they call "Dover Sole" that is caught off of Washington State.

Real Dover Sole is from the UK, and it spoils VERY quickly. If you get real Dover Sole in the US you are paying a huge amount of money for it.

-dave

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I am curious as to how they serve Kobe beef. Kobe, Japan is the only plac true Kobe cattle are raised and it is illegal to import beef from Asia.

by Tampabrad

Oh, dear. I have tried a few "kobe" burgers in the US. The taste and texture is different. And really the ones I had were not life-changing in delicousness. What the heck is it?

Also, anyone know what the difference is between kobe and wagyu? I seem to see wagyu everywhere now on menus and less kobe out there.

Edit: I am suffering from the worst head cold. Totally missed the wagyu from Texas part of the previous post.

 

[tampabrad]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryol...ck-new-rules-allow-some-japanese-beef-in-u-s/

My bad didn't know the ban was lifted. This is an interesting article, as are the links about the fake stuff.

 

[Phonedave]

by Tampabrad

Oh, dear. I have tried a few "kobe" burgers in the US. The taste and texture is different. And really the ones I had were not life-changing in delicousness. What the heck is it?

Also, anyone know what the difference is between kobe and wagyu? I seem to see wagyu everywhere now on menus and less kobe out there.

Edit: I am suffering from the worst head cold. Totally missed the wagyu from Texas part of the previous post.

All Kobe beef is wagyu but not all wagyu is kobe.

Wagyu is a breed of cattle. Kobe beef comes from Wagyu cattle that are raised in Kobe Japan, fed a specific diet, buchered in a specific place, and meet certain fat content requirments.

There are places in the US and elsewhere that have Wagyu cattle and raise them in the Kobe way, butcher them the Kobe way, and meet the Kobe fat content, but unless they are from Kobe, they cannot be legally called Kobe beef. They call them Wagyu or "kobe style"

Just as Champagine has to come from the Champagine region of France, or else it is just "Sparkling Wine" or Parmagina-Reggiano has to come from a specific region of Itlay or Emmentaler cheese has to come from Sweden or else it just becomes "Swiss Cheese"

-dave