Exprmnt626's b-day trip report~ w/ GapToothed... and a celebrity guest!!!

[Exprmnt626]

My best friend and roommate, Adam AKA MCer Gaptoothed headed up to Anaheim for my birthday. In the spirit of adventure, we rode the rails from San Diego to Anaheim. It was very early:




Gaptoothed surprised me by getting a room at the Disneyland Hotel AND a birthday dinner at the Chef's Counter! We checked in and bopped around the parks, after a great breakfast at Storyteller's Cafè. I got my fun card:


We rode Space, Storybook Boats, TSMM, Big Thunder, Screamin', HM, FNSV, BLAB and tons more. My friend was working the Miner 49'er show and we stopped in and said hello:


He made the Miner 49'ers sing Happy Birthday to me and another girl who was walking by. Soon enough, dinnertime rolled around. We eagerly sat down, and Chef Stanton greeted us. He said, 'welcome back', which was odd, since we've eaten there before but when Gaptoothed called they didn't ask if we were repeat diners. We sat, and I heard a really familiar voice directly to my right. I looked for the owner and his head was turned, but Gaptoothed managed to take this:



It was Chef Keegan Gerhard! I asked our sever to confirm my suspicion and he coyly replied that "he didn't know...*winkwink*"!

I introduced myself to Chef Gerhard, and we had pleasant small talk...until all the desserts on the menu (and at least 2 not) showed up in front of him. Being a pastry chef, I'm sure Chef Sutton really wanted to impress...must be nice to be a celeb chef, huh? I ordered the Colorado Rack of lamb, crusted with walnuts and served with parsnip pureè, roasted potato, and baby portobello mushroom:



Gaptoothed ordered the Pork "Osso Bucco",a giant pork shank braised with roasted potato and green garlic sauce:



Prior to that, we were given an amuse-bouche of white grape and almond gazpacho, and 2 orders of the Portobello Mushroom 'Cappuccino'. We shared an order of the Orechiette "Mac and Cheese" with black truffles and garlic:



Both chefs were chatting animatedly with each other, mostly about Iron Chef. Chef Gerhard asked Chef Stanton who he would take as sous chefs if he were to go on the show as a challenger. He didn't answer right then, but it would be amazing to see Chef Stanton on ICA!!!! Not saying it's going to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Before Chef Gerhard left, I overheard him say he was doing a demo the following day at 2:30, so I made a mental note not to miss it. I also asked him for a photo and he obliged:



Our entreès arrived as he was leaving but there was plenty of time for the picture before the food got cold to wash down the food, we got glasses of the '05 Lasseter Vineyards Meritage, which complemented perfectly. It was really distracting to try and split my attention between watching the kitchen work and eating my delicious food. Hell's Kitchen has nothing on this place:





It was really neat to see how a kitchen full of professional cooks can run like a well-oiled machine. The only other time I've ever seen a kitchen run this quietly was at the French Laundry.

Dessert time was at hand, and I ordered something I'd seen delivered to Chef Gerhard...a "S'More", chocolate sauce in a crèpe fried, with peanut butter glacè and warm marshmallow cream underneath:



Gaptoothed got a chocolate...er...thing. The "S'more" was so delicious I can't remember what it was, but here's a picture:



All in all, a great birthday, and we still had one more to go! Coming soon: Wherein your humble narrator takes in a chocolate fantasy, and Chef Gerhard gets a stalker!

[ALIASd]

Brilliant report & The Happiest Birthday on Earth to you!

These are the days that still make the DLR the happiest place on Earth.

Careful with that restraining order...

[chadb14]

Happy B-Day. Nice TR - thanks for sharing

[daragez]

nice share!...thanks!....

[Maverick]

Happy Birthday Great Report....

Move over Dan-Tas-Mic we got another guy with a stitch doll!

[Coheteboy]

LOL, good stuff!

[gRuMpEe]

Great TR!!! The food looks yummy....and it looks like you had a GREAT birthday!

[Experiment 626]

Happy Birthday and Nice screen name!

[Rocker]

Great job on your trip report, and the food looks really good!

[SnorkletsMom]

Great report and happy birthday!

[Legally Brunette]

Great TR!

[royaldisneyfan]

Okay, your photos just made me hungry.

Great TR and Happy Birthday!

[Exprmnt626]

So I went to bed on the 4th, and woke up super late at 10:30! We checked out, stored our bags, and took off for a day in the parks. We spent most of the day poking around at DCA, waiting for the demo with Chef Keegan Gerhard. This chef from Boudin Bakery was in before him, making Chicken mole, one of my favourite Mexican dishes:

check out the look on his face!

We lined up for the demo. Not too many people- yet: I caught Gaptoothed mid-smile, I swear.




Before the demo started, Gaptoothed got inspired:



Chef's demo started with an introduction to chocolate. Did you know that the ideal growing zone for cocoa beans is +/- 18 degrees from the Equator?



Chef Keegan made chocolate ganche, a 1:1 ratio of cream to chocolate. Highly useful for many things, like cupcakes, truffles, fondue, and brownies! He intentionally made the cupcake resemble the Hostess version, although this was MUCH better:



After the demo, it was time for the autograph signing and photo op. The PR lady wouldn't let Chef sign my demo notes, but he signed my program and event ticket. Plus, we posed for another photo:



He is much taller in person than I expected him to be. At the demo, he remembered who we were and he almost made the tent sing happy birthday to me...I asked him not to.

We headed to the Mission Tortilla Factory and got a free tortilla...unfortunately no pack of tortillas for me then did the Beer Walk at the Wharf; very yummy!

I did catch this poor fella mid-yawn:



We had fried chicken at PI, then I bought a new pair of pajamas and a hat for Gaptoothed with my giftcard, plus a neat Stitch pin with him on Mulholland Madness and a rolling duffle bag! Soon after it was time to catch the train home, and unwind from a wonderful 2 days at DLR!



THE END!

--nick--

[Peoplemover Priit]

I'm not super crazy about fancy foods, but those dishes looked very delicious. Especially the pictures of the various desserts, I have a sweet tooth.