Fun news for those of you visiting Disney World this week!

Slow Food Orlando is sponsoring Eat Local Week in The City Beautiful — and it’s happening right now!

While the event showcases eating, drinking, and shopping local throughout the Central Florida Region, there are opportunities to celebrate local growers and producers by dining in some of our favorite Disney Restaurants.

Enjoy menus featuring locally-sourced ingredients all this week, showcasing ingredients from Florida farms, ranches, and fisheries.

And the list of participating Disney restaurants includes some of our tried and true favorites. Choose from The Wave…of American Flavors or California Grill in Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We’ve enjoyed delicious seasonal dishes in both.

A Beautiful View and the Season’s Best Flavors at California Grill

At Disney’s Grand Floridian, dine slow-food style at the beautiful Citricos. Or hop over to Disney’s BoardWalk for dinner at Flying Fish Cafe — hands down, one of my absolute favorite spots! (Read our latest review of Flying Fish here.)

The Flying Fish Cafe is Always an Excellent Choice, Especially for Seafood, Like Their Killer Crabcakes

But we aren’t finished! Yachtsman Steakhouse, known for perfectly prepared steaks and seasonally-inspired sides, will also be participating. Finally, end your Eat Local tour at
Jiko in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. It’s a beautiful restaurant that always offers a nice respite, and the kitchen never ceases to surprise us with the best of seasonal offerings.

Beautiful Surroundings at Jiko

If you choose to venture off of Disney Property, you’ll find that even more fun and tasty adventures await you. While some of the events took place this past weekend, there’s still plenty more to enjoy between now and Saturday, March 14!

Eat Local

In addition to the myriad of participating Disney Restaurants, other area locales are also offering menus featuring locally-sourced ingredients all week. These include Citrus, Crimson Tavern, The Rusty Spoon, Swine & Sons, and Wild Ocean Seafood Market.

Learn Local

Hop on I-4 and travel up to Sanford to attend the Lexicon of Sustainability Pop-Up on March 13 from 6-8PM. You’ll engage in a learning experience about the local food movement, as told by a collection of photo collages that highlight the movement’s leaders nationwide. This is event is free, and will feature Florida made/grown refreshments. Voluntary donations to support Celery Soup, Florida’s Folk Life Play, will be accepted.

Location: Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery, 211 East 1st St., Sanford, Florida

Drink Local

Did you know that Florida is brewing some great beer? The Sunshine State is also home to a number of wineries as well.

Beautiful Cask & Larder Beer

While you’ll find lots of spots around the area to enjoy some of these local treats, you can visit a number of Orlando-area restaurants that double as microbreweries. Check out the following if local craft beer is your passion.

• Hourglass Brewery, 480 South Ronald Reagan Blvd., Longwood
• Cask & Larder, 565 West Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park
• Wop’s Hops, 419 South Sanford Ave., Sanford
• Lakeridge Winery, 19239 US 27 North, Clermont
• Quantum Leap Winery, 1312 Wilfred Dr., Orlando

Shop Local

Finally, if you’d like to check out some of the best that Central Florida has to offer, pop into these producer-run stores and producer-only markets anytime throughout the season:

• Audubon Park Community Market, Mondays from 6-10PM
• Brevard Farmers Market, Thursdays from 3-7PM
• Wild Ocean Seafood Market, Port Canaveral and Titusville
• L&L Farms, Samsula
• Long & Scott Farms, Mt. Dora

What a fun way to enjoy the community surrounding one of our favorite spots!

Field to Feast Inaugural Event at Long & Scott Farms

To learn more and to view menus, visit EatLocalWeek.com or follow them on Facebook for lots of information.

Will you be enjoying any of the events brought to you by Slow Food Orlando during Eat Local Week? Let us know in comments below — and we’ll see you there!