Kouzzina Dinner Review (by guest reviewer Mark L Fendrick)

My friend Mark Fendrick sent this dinner review to add my photos and breakfast review of Kouzzina!  Thank you to Mark.

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It was an extra bonus when we heard that Kouzzina by Cat Cora was soft opening while
we were here in WDW. We got reservations for dinner on the second night of
operation.

We arrived a few minutes early and were seated within a few minutes. Once we were
set, our server came and greeted us and explained a bit about the restaurant. Cat
Cora is the first celebrity chef who Disney has partnered with at any of the
resorts. Disney owns and operates the restaurant and Cat Cora runs the kitchen.
(Unlike Wolfgang Puck who runs the whole restaurant – kitchen and dining room.)

The dishes are all from Cat Cora's cookbooks or her personal family menus. They are
of Greek origin, and the menu even has a glossary to  explain some of the terms used
on the menu. You can find Greek influenced drinks, appetizers, soups and main
courses and side dishes on the menu.

They also make last minute changes to the menu depending on the availability of the
best ingredients. A clam appetizer had the type of clams changed because of what was
available, and a brussel sprout side dish was changed to a broccoli side for the
same reason.

A dark bread (rye?) was put on the table along with butter with a few spices on it.

We started with a spanakopita – which is phylla dough (that very light, flaky
dough), spinach and feta cheese. It was by far the best we had ever had.

For our main course, my daughter and I got the flank steak with smashed potatoes.
The steak, which we had done medium, came perfectly cooked and was very simply
seasoned. The smashed potatoes were just that. New potatoes that were cooked and
then literally simply smashed down. They were very tasty and just a bit crispy on
the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside.

My wife got the Cinnamon Stewed Chicken, which was a half chicken seasoned with
cinnamon and stewed with tomatoes and served over orzo pasta. You need to be aware
that the chicken is on the bone and does indeed still contain bones ? many small ?
so you do need to pay a bit of attention. As with the steaks, this dish was very
good and recommended.

After all this, we didn't have any room for dessert, though the menu had some
wonderful choices. The dessert menu had dessert you drink on the left and desserts
you eat on the right. As you would expect, baklava tops the list, but there were
many other traditional Greek choices, including Cat Cora?s personal cookies ?
something for everyone ? maybe next time.

They are still having some birthing pains (one oven wasn't working properly), but
the CM's in the dining room were very friendly and were as much a part of the
experience as was the food.

Bottom line – look for us to be going back to try some of the rest of the menu!
Can't wait.

Mark L. Fendrick