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Disney World’s Main Street Bakery

The first bakery to be highlighted in our Disney World Bakery Throwdown is: Magic Kingdom’s Main Street Bakery!

Main Street Bakery

Atmosphere
Main Street Bakery fits right into the turn-of-the-century atmosphere of Main Street USA.

Main Street Bakery Window

With brass, period light fixtures; wrought iron chairs; and walls covered in tile and mirrors, you really will feel as though you’ve stepped back in time when you walk through the doors of the Bakery.

Main Street Bakery Ordering Line

Main Street Bakery Seating

There’s even a collection of dishes and teapots in the seating area:

Main Street Bakery China Cabinet

Main Street Bakery Teapot Collection

Good Eats
One of the most well-known Disney bakeries, Main Street Bakery has been made famous by its French Toast Loaf and Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Homemade Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

But you can find a large assortment of other baked goods and snacks at the Bakery as well!

Treat Options at the Main Street Bakery

Cakes

Cupcakes and Danish

In the center of the Bakery is a circular, refrigerated section with drink choices.

Drinks at Main Street Bakery

The Main Street Bakery is a great place to stop for breakfast on your way into the park, or for a rest as the park is closing — those are definitely my two favorite times to visit! If you’re a fan of the Main Street Bakery, be sure to vote for it in the Bakery Throwdown!

Bakery Throwdown
This is the first post in our Bakery Throwdown; the other four bakeries will be highlighted over the next month. To participate, cast your vote for your favorite bakery on the poll posted below. You can check the results throughout the month over in the right-hand sidebar!

What's Your Favorite Bakery in Walt Disney World?

Boulangerie Patisserie (Epcot) (40%)
Main Street Bakery (Magic Kingdom) (27%)
Kringla Bakeri og Kafe (Epcot) (13%)
Boardwalk Bakery (Boardwalk) (11%)
Starring Rolls Bakery (Disney's Hollywood Studios) (8%)
Other (1%)

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If you have a stand-out favorite bakery, weigh in with your comments via twitter, facebook, or email.

In January, I’ll post the results, along with any reader insights as to what makes those particular bakeries so special. If you have another bakery you like better, vote “other.” (I’d love to hear what the “others” are as well!)

Disney World Bakery Throwdown

By AJ 5 Comments

Bakery items at boulangerie patisserie

We’re going to figure out, once and for all, which is the Best Disney World Bakery! They’re all known for their specialties, so here comes the Disney Food Blog’s Disney World Bakery Throwdown!

Over the next month (December 15 – January 15), I’ll be highlighting 5 bakeries in WDW: Main Street Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery, Starring Rolls, Boulangerie Patisserie, and Kringla Bakeri og Kafe.

Cast your vote for your favorite on the poll posted below. You can check the results throughout the month over in the right-hand sidebar! And if you have a stand-out favorite bakery, weigh in with your comments via twitter, facebook, or email.

What's Your Favorite Bakery in Walt Disney World?

Boulangerie Patisserie (Epcot) (40%)
Main Street Bakery (Magic Kingdom) (27%)
Kringla Bakeri og Kafe (Epcot) (13%)
Boardwalk Bakery (Boardwalk) (11%)
Starring Rolls Bakery (Disney's Hollywood Studios) (8%)
Other (1%)

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I haven’t voted yet, because I just can’t make up my mind. I can’t wait to see what you think!

Dining “To Go” at Disney’s Boardwalk

By AJ 13 Comments

When you think “dining at the Boardwalk,” what comes to mind? Probably restaurants like Flying Fish, Kouzzina, the ESPN Club, and other table-service spots. But what if you’re in a hurry?

There are plenty of dining options on the Boardwalk for those who need to “eat and run!”:

Boardwalk Joe’s
For coffee drinks or pastries, Boardwalk Joe’s is the place to go.

Boardwalk Joe's

This is perfect for grabbing some breakfast before rope drop at Epcot’s International Gateway or getting your latte before a walk over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Boardwalk Joe's Menu

If you’re headed over a bit later, try a premium beer or a cocktail. You can even get some Bailey’s and Coffee — perfect for those chilly days!

Boardwalk Joe's Alochol Options

Boardwalk Joe's Cast Member

Boardwalk Pizza Window
This is the “take-out” Boardwalk dining that most folks think of first. This used to be the Spoodles pizza window, and still remains in the same spot even though Kouzzina has now taken over the restaurant attached.

Boardwalk Pizza Window Menu

Boardwalk Bakery
The Boardwalk Bakery has a wonderful range of fresh-baked goodies available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hang around for a while and you might catch the bakers decorating a wedding cake or putting the finishing touches on a batch of brownies or cookies.

Boardwalk Bakery

Boardwalk Bakery Breakfast Menu

Boardwalk Bakery Lunch and Dinner Menu

Boardwalk To Go Kiosk
This hot spot is rather new on the Boardwalk, but it’s another place to get a chili cheese dog, so it’s definitely on my radar! They also have my favorite snack — cheese fries. Heaven.

Boardwalk To Go Kiosk

Boardwalk To Go Menu

So where there used to be a dirth of quick-service food options on the Boardwalk, there are now a wealth of spots to grab a bite. And, don’t forget — if all you want is a bunch of candy or ice cream, Seashore Sweets is available to you as well!

Disney Food Post Weekly Round-Up: December 13, 2009

By AJ 5 Comments

I wanted to start this week by recapping some great news about Disneyland! A new cupcake kiosk has opened in Downtown Disney and will be selling the sweet treats through January 9th!

Also, I wanted to share a couple of fun links from blogs with whom I had the opportunity to collaborate:

Resourceful Mommy recently posted an interview with the Disney Food Blog where I had the chance to give some thoughts on Dining in Disney World.

Touring Plans posted this week a guest blog from DFB about Avoiding Crowds and Saving Time and Money While Dining in Disney World. Be sure to check it out!

And here are some more recent Disney food posts from around the web!

Mommy Musings shares some some photos of the gorgeous Grand Floridian Gingerbread House.

futureprobe sings the praises of the dining options (and the smells!) in Epcot’s The Land.

Daveland has some great photos of Disneyland’s Blue Bayou Restaurant, including some delicious dessert pics!

The Disney Blog shares news about Disney World holiday dining experiences.

All Ears Net offers a review of Todd English’s bluezoo restaurant in Disney World.

The Disney Chick shares her experience making Cape May Cafe’s chocolate cookie mousse.

The Daily Disney at the Orlando Sentinel shares the recipe for Chicken Asiago Pasta from the All-Star Resorts.

Disney Every Day takes us for a photo tour through the renovated Disney World McDonald’s.

Main Street Gazette visits Epcot’s Tangierine Cafe in the Morocco pavilion.

KatisKupcakes made up some adorable Hundred Acre Wood Cupcakes!

DisneyShawn takes a look at Rosie’s All-American Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The Cupcake Store at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney

By AJ 16 Comments

Check out these great photos from the new Cupcake Store kiosk in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney! The kiosk will be around until January 9th, and flavors include: vanilla bean with butter-cream frosting; chocolate with chocolate butter-cream frosting; red velvet with cream-cheese frosting; yellow cake with butter-cream frosting and sprinkles, and chocolate or vanilla cake with coconut icing. Cupcakes are $4.95 a piece.

Thanks to Misti Song and her family for the photos!

The Cupcake Store Kiosk

Cupcake Packaging

Cupcake Display

Holiday Decorated Cupcake

Chocolate and Chocolate

Snowman Decoration

Thanks again to Misti and her family!

Disneyland Cupcakes and Star Wars Beer

By AJ 1 Comment

I happened upon a couple of pieces of news today that I just had to share (I’m breaking my “no Saturday post” rule all too often these days):

new-glarus-imperial-stout-trooper

1. New England Imperial Stout Trooper Beer hits the shelves the week before Christmas in 750ml bottles. Distributed in CT, MA, RI, NY, and FL, this Star Wars tribute beer ranks an “average of 4.31 on Beer Advocate [and] appears to be very close to breaking the top 100, should that average hold up on this next batch.” Perhaps that piece of news isn’t 100% “Disney,” but you can see the connection…right?

Cupcake Packaging

2. Disneyland has a new Cupcake Cart, which will be offering cupcakes to hungry Downtown Disney visitors through January 9th! According to the OC Register,

Cupcakes sell for $4.95 each. The flavors: vanilla bean with butter-cream frosting; chocolate with chocolate butter-cream frosting; red velvet with cream-cheese frosting; yellow cake with butter-cream frosting and sprinkles, and chocolate or vanilla cake with coconut icing.

The kiosk opened last Friday night and sold about 240 cupcakes in the first five hours, said owner Carol Streeter. The Mission Viejo-based bakery plans to open a retail location there in January.

For more cupcake photos — see our Cupcake Store blog post!

Disney Food Post Round-Up, December 6, 2009

By AJ 2 Comments

Eat here

The holiday season at Disney Parks is upon us, and that means we get some deee-licious photos coming our way of the holiday treats available! Thanks again to Erin Foster for the fantastic chocolate Mickey waffle and holiday Dole Whip photos! And be sure to check out the info about the candy canes in Disneyland — you need a ticket to get one this year!

In other Disney food news, read up about the latest Disney holiday treats special on the Food Network, a great merch discount you can get just for eating counter service in Disney World, and the newest Tables in Wonderland holiday dinner event (ressies are first come, first served!).

**Stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog next week for a photo blog of the famous Gingerbread displays in the resort hotels of Disney World (I can’t wait), along with some great info about how those displays are made!**

____________________________________________________________________
Here we go to this week’s Disney Food Post Weekly Round-Up!

Speaking of candy canes, Dis Unplugged has an awesome post with pics of Guy Fieri at Disneyland — making the holiday special I just watched last night!

Heather McPherson at the Orlando Sentinel shows us how Disney bakers make holiday cookies at Disney World.

George at Imaginerding.com sent along a cool post about re-creating recipes from literature — including Alice in Wonderland’s “eat me” cookies! This one’s from a couple of weeks ago, but it’s a really fun read if you’re a bookworm like me.

Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Guide shares the bad news that the Bocuse d’Or US Finals will be leaving Disney World and heading to New York City.

Disney Geek Dad has posted his take on Disney dining. Take a look and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Cooking With Mickey makes Bread Pudding from 1900 Park Fare via video!

DisneyFotoBlog has some stunning shots of Disney World gingerbread houses

Watch Me Eat reviews the Celebration Tavern in Celebration, FL, but we’ve also got to share his Christmas 2008 post from Celebration while we’re here!

MousePlanet has the third and final Best of WDW 2009 post, including some great WDW dining polls. We’ll be doing polls throughout the year, and I can’t wait to see if the percentages match!

Speaking of polls, be sure to cast your vote in our first poll, Best WDW Steakhouse, in the right-hand sidebar of this blog! Thanks for reading!

Get Discounts on Disney Merch…By Eating! (And Other News)

By AJ 4 Comments

A few good notices that couldn’t wait until the round-up tomorrow:

Discounts on Disney Stuff When You Eat Counter Service
Hooray! I knew eating burgers and fries would come in handy someday! If you’re headed to Disney World in the next two weeks, your counter service dining receipt might include a coupon for 20% off purchases at stores in the theme parks and Downtown Disney between the hours of 9AM and 12PM! Check out specs on the offer over at DIS.

Guy Fieri and the Food Network Talk Holiday Food at Disneyland
We mentioned it in our Disneyland Candy Canes post, because Guy has a segment on the candy canes in his Disneyland Holiday Foods Special. There’s a lot more to see, however! Set your DVR for Saturday at 9PM. If you miss it, you can catch the special again on Dec. 11th, at 8PM.

Tables In Wonderland Holiday Harvest Dinner
If you’re a Tables in Wonderland member, you can take part in a private Holiday Dinner, followed by the Candlelight Processional and Illuminations. Join other members at the Norway Lounge for a delicious menu of spicy seared tilapia, a medly of winter greens with cranberry vinaigrette, prosciutto and sage wrapped pork tenderloin, and olive oil bruised yukon gold potatoes followed by chocolate ganache brulee or asian apple crumble. Yum!

The event is limited to 80 guests and costs $98 per person. If you’re interested and a Tables in Wonderland Member, email [email protected] with your daytime phone number, home address, and the people in your party — you’ll be notified on a first come, first served basis.

holidaydinner

Stay tuned tomorrow for our regularly scheduled round-up of Disney Food links from around the web! Also, be sure to vote in our “Best Steakhouse” poll in the right-hand sidebar 😀

A Chocolate Mickey Waffle and Holiday Dole Whip?! It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…

By AJ 13 Comments

Extra, extra! Read all about it! The holidays bring even more fun changes to the Walt Disney World resort dining experience!

Who ever thought they’d see a chocolate Mickey waffle?! Well, here it is! This was found by Erin Foster and family at the Crystal Palace buffet!
choc mickey waffle

And when you order your Dole Whip at Aloha Isle this holiday season, get ready for a shock! It’ll be green if you order pineapple, and green and pink if you order a swirl!
holiday dole whip

Stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for more edible Holiday treats, including a round-up of the Gingerbread Resort decor, as the season rolls on!

Thanks again to Erin Foster and family for the great photos! (I feel like I was right there on vacation with them…how about you?)

Disney World Fudge: A Primer

By AJ 34 Comments

DHS vanilla

Fudge is synonymous with the holidays for me. My Dad has perfected his fudge recipe over the years, and when the smells of bubbling chocolate, butter, and sugar start wafting from the kitchen, I know I’m truly home for the holidays.

So when Erin Foster, Disney Moms Panelist and Disney Fudge connoisseur, recently requested that we do a fudge post on the Disney Food Blog, I knew the beginning of the holiday season would be perfect timing!

Thanks to Erin and her family for sampling the newest holiday flavors in Disney World over the past week, and for providing many of the fudge photos below!

Disney Fudge Basics
There’s nothing like staring at the rows and rows of fudge in Disney World candy stores and trying to decide on a purchase. In fact, I’ll never forget buying a sampler tin of Disney fudge at the Main Street Confectionery during my first trip to Disney World as a grown-up. I became a Disney Foodie right then and there!

Disney Fudge Displays

Disney Fudge Display

That daunting array of flavors is going to greet you no matter where you buy Disney fudge, so be prepared! Disney makes most of their fudge right there in the World; in fact, if you hang around at the Magic Kingdom Confectionery for long enough, you’ll surely see them putting together a few pans.

Weighing the Cinnamon for Pumpkin Fudge

Pans of Candy Cane Fudge Cooling

By the way, if you can’t decide on a flavor, consider purchasing a few squares at the beginning of your trip, then heading back to the store to purchase more of what you liked best at the end of the trip.

NOTE: You can use your Disney Dining Plan snack credits to buy fudge, so this is the perfect way to use up those leftover snack credits!

Snag a Square for a Snack Credit

And speaking of basics, “fudge lady” Erin Foster posted a few of her own fudge-related insights in a recent Moms Panel answer:

* There are sometimes discounts for purchases of large quantities of fudge.

* The mint flavors must be wrapped separately because the intense (and intensely delicious) aroma transfers to the other flavors.

* If you want to bring fudge home, try purchasing it on your last day at WDW for maximum freshness.

* Tightly wrapped, the WDW fudge lasts for about a week — not that I’ve ever had a chance to test that out 🙂

Sampler Box of Disney Fudge

Ask About Discounts on Fudge

Disney Fudge for the Holidays
In addition to other flavors, Disney creates flavors for holidays and special promotions, such as Reese’s Pieces and Pumpkin for Halloween, and Peppermint and Eggnog for Christmas.

Reese's Pieces Fudge for Halloween

Disney's Candy Cane Fudge for the Christmas Season

No matter when you go to the World, you’re likely to find a special flavor for that time of year or for the Disney promo happening at the time.

Where to Find Disney Fudge
You can find different flavors of Disney fudge throughout the parks and resorts. Some of the most common spots with the widest selection are: the Main Street Confectionery at Magic Kingdom, the Scary Apothecary candy shop at Hollywood Studios, Bayview Gifts at the Contemporary Resort, and Goofy’s Candy Company at Downtown Disney.

Standard Flavors

Scary Apothecary Fudge Counter

Goofy's Candy Company Fudge Counter

Contemporary Resort Fudge Counter

And while you can usually count on most candy counters to carry the standard flavors, you never know what you’ll find! According to an email from Erin (and her kids, who are star fudge reporters),

We encountered fudge today at both Goofy’s Candy Co. at Downtown Disney and at
the gift shop at the Contemporary. The selection at each place was quite different, and also different from the selection at the Confectionery. We found today the following flavors that they didn’t have at the MK: vanilla raspberry, creamsicle, chocolate pecan, espresso, maple nut, maple pecan (looked totally different), chocolate caramel, Snickers, turtle cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, and vanilla caramel.

I guess the moral of the story is, if you’re looking for specific flavors, you have to shop around.

Good to know!

Disney Fudge Recipes
I know how many of you love sampling Disney recipes, so I scouted around the internet for a few Disney fudge recipes (or recipes inspired by Disney fudge). Be sure to let me know how these turn out if you sample them!:

Cooks.com Disney World Vanilla Fudge

Cookie Madness Disney World S’mores Fudge (GREAT Disney s’mores fudge photo here!)

AllEarsNet Food and Wine Festival Canadian Maple Walnut Fudge

How About You?
Do you have a fun fudge story or recipe from Disney? Let us know via twitter, facebook, or email.

Thanks again, Erin and family!

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