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What is Your Most-Missed Extinct Disney Food?

We’ve been talking a lot about new restaurants and new menu items these past few weeks, but for many Disney food fans the long-lost favorites really stick in their memories.

I decided that we need to pay tribute to some of these famous dishes and want to find out: What are your most-missed extinct Disney dishes? I’ll start the ball rolling with a few of my own!

Fried Boursin Cheese at 50’s Prime Time Cafe

UPDATE –> This one is back!! Woo!!

This is, no doubt, my most missed dish in a Disney restaurant. While it’s meant to be shared, you know I ordered one all for myself when I visited 50’s Prime Time Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Fried Boursin Cheese at 50\’s Prime Time Cafe

This is basically herb cheese spread that’s fried and served with fruit and bread crisps. Pretty standard, eh? But that warm, creamy cheese coupled with the sweet fresh fruit was the perfect starter!

Maui Scalloped Potatoes at ‘Ohana

There have been several appetizer changes at ‘Ohana in the past several years, but the most devastating has to be the switch from scalloped potatoes to noodles. (You can read the whole, sad story here…in fact, please do, because I’m uncharacteristically funny in that blog post and it will change your whole perception of me, I promise.)

RIP Scalloped Potatoes (photo courtesy Brett Young)

Meyer Lemon Curd Dessert at Jiko

You know I love Lemon Curd, so to have an entire dessert based around the stuff at Jiko in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge was quite a find. And when they added [Read more…]

Review: Epcot’s Garden Grill Restaurant

By AJ 41 Comments

Learn About:Garden Grill Restaurant

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Based on a previous guest review of this restaurant, I couldn’t wait to go try it out!

Now, to be fair, it’s not as though I’d never been to the Garden Grill Restaurant before… Well, that’s not entirely true. Before this visit, I hadn’t been to the current incarnation of the restaurant. In fact, back in the 80’s, I went to The Land Grille Room, which was what the restaurant was called before its renovation into the Garden Grill Restaurant. (Check out my friend Andy’s creation of a recipe from The Land Grille Room here!

Born as the Good Turn Restaurant and then morphed into The Land Grille Room, this restaurant has had many personalities (my memories include dark red booths and full-blown sculptures of Mickey Mouse made out of butter). Today, it’s a family-style character dinner featuring Chip, Dale, Mickey, and Pluto!

Garden Grill

Atmosphere

Perhaps the most impressive attribute boasted by Garden Grill is that it’s a rotating restaurant. That’s right — you go around in circles while you’re eating!

But don’t worry; this isn’t as though you’re having dinner on the Teacups. The restaurant rotates s-l-o-w-l-y during your meal, allowing views of the different scenes from the Living With the Land ride taking place below the restaurant.

There are two seating styles in the restaurant, and…listen up — it makes a BIG difference where you sit. I know I’m picky about seating, but in this case, I strongly suggest that you request a semi-circular booth on the lower level of the restaurant.

Seating

This isn’t just for comfort’s sake (though the cushioned booths ARE more comfortable than the hard chairs at the tables). The booths give you an unobstructed view of the scenes you’re passing by from the ride below, and the high backs also [Read more…]

Dessert Menu Changes at Sanaa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

By Kim LaPaglia 11 Comments

Learn About:Sanaa

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney World Restaurants

Sanaa, the table-service restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Kidani Village, features an African- and Indian-inspired menu, delicious food, and gorgeous savanna (read: Zebra! Giraffe!) views.

While many of us don’t need any further enticement to return to Sanaa, there’s a new dessert on the menu that looks delicious!

Check out the Banana Kulfi Sundae with warm chocolate sauce, strawberries, and spiced cashews for $5.49. Looks amazing, right? I hope I get to try it soon.

Sanaa Dessert

Dessert at Sanaa

Also note that the Chai Cream is no longer available as a single-serving option; however it remains part of the Dessert trio, which includes [Read more…]

Disney Fantasy Rotational Dining Details

By AJ 5 Comments

Kids Mac and Cheese at Animator\’s Palate

Disney Cruise Line has mastered the art of unique dining! Every passenger is offered the opportunity to dine at three different main restaurants. Rotational dining allows each guest to experience the menus and surroundings of the amazing dining rooms aboard the Disney Fantasy!

Whether you book main or late seating, your family will rotate to each of the main restaurants at least once during your voyage. Best of all, your servers rotate with you! Be sure to check out our sneak peek at the Disney Fantasy Menus!

Once aboard the Disney Fantasy, you’ll receive your dining schedule indicating the time and place for your evening meals. Plus there’s always the option to order room service, or dine at one of the adults-only venues (check out exclusive Disney Fantasy cocktails here!).

[Read more…]

Guest Review: Downtown Disney’s AMC “Fork and Screen” Theater

By AJ 20 Comments

Let’s welcome back Bill Iadonisi with another fun Disney Food review! This time he covers the “Fork and Screen” experience in Downtown Disney’s AMC Theatre!

When the film “The Jazz Singer” premiered on October 6, 1927, it ushered in the beginning of the “talkies” and the demise of the silent movie era. It was stated that this was the most revolutionary and evolutionary advancement for the film industry. The movie-going public would never view films the same way again. But although this technology did change the way films were made, the movie going experience has changed very little since.

Outdoor Seating

That was until the concept of combining the proverbial “dinner and a movie” was brought into being. The “Fork and Screen” theaters were born, and the way we go out to see a movie has been revolutionized.

Atmosphere

The Fork and screen made its debut here in downtown Disney on May 16, 2011. When I first heard about this, I was a bit skeptical. After all, I thought “where in a movie theater could you possibly eat and be comfortable?” There was no room to put the food, and you would [Read more…]

Menu Changes: Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse Lunch Menu

By Kim LaPaglia 29 Comments

Learn About:Le Cellier Steakhouse

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada pavilion has changed up their lunch and dinner menus yet again. We’ve got the lunch menu for you here, but I’ve got a full review coming up for dinner very soon!

In fall of 2011, we reviewed the eats during the last menu change.

Let’s take a look at the most recent alterations! No worries — many fan favorites remain, like the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, Mushroom Filet, and Maple Creme Brulee!

Le Cellier Dining Room

Menu Items No Longer Offered [Read more…]

Menu Changes: Epcot’s Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room

By AJ 30 Comments

Learn About:Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

In our last review of Rose & Crown in Disney World’s Epcot, we took a look at some menu changes. And, with the new Spring season, it’s happened again! But this time it’s a bit more drastic.

There are several favorites that have been removed from the menu with this go-around! Potato Leek Soup? Gone. Sunday Dinner? Gone. Bangers and Mash? Gone (from the dinner menu).

But lots of new things have been added! The Ploughman’s Lunch and Cottage Pie are back on the menu after absences, and there are several new desserts to sample!

Dinner Menu

Here’s the October 2011 Rose & Crown menu that we reviewed. The new dinner menu launched this week has taken some serious turns… [Read more…]

National Noodle Month Special: Mushroom Ravioli Appetizer!

By AJ 5 Comments

Learn About:Portobello Restaurant

Disney Springs
Disney World Restaurants

I had a great meal at Portobello Trattoria in Disney World’s Downtown Disney yesterday, and heard about a yummy new app that will be available for the “next seven days” in celebration of national noodle month: Mushroom Ravioli in a Parmesan Cream Sauce.

I even snagged a dish to try so that I could review it for the blog! (I promise I don’t usually order three appetizers — just an FYI for when you see the review of this lunch in a few weeks!)

Portobello

The fresh ravioli will be an appetizer portion (which was four large raviolis), and is stuffed with chunks of Portobello, Cremini, and Shiitake mushrooms. The whole thing is covered in an uber-rich, thick Parmesan cream sauce and topped with fried mushrooms!

Mushroom Appetizer

The ravioli tastes fresh and light, and the chunks of mushroom are [Read more…]

Review: D23’s “Off the Map” Event with Dinner at Club 33

By Heather 34 Comments

When I heard about D23’s Off the Map event, I made sure to be home when tickets went on sale. A visit to the Disneyland Dream Suite, touring Walt’s Apartment, a ride on the Lilly Belle, and a super surprise dinner at one of the resort’s most unique restaurants (hmmmm, wonder where that could be)? Sign. Me. Up.

I sat down at my computer at about 9:50am, tickets would be available starting at 10:00am. I literally sat and refreshed for 10 minutes straight. Yes, I’m that nerdy. It paid off, because at exactly 10:01 (according to my computer’s clock) I had two tickets in my shopping cart and was checking out, credit card in hand. By the time I finished checking out, the event had sold out. I was surprised that they went so fast, but I then realized that it must be a very small and obviously sought after event.

NOTE: This review is long and has lots of pictures of awesome things. There’s a whole meal and a snack in the write-up (of course, this is the Disney Food Blog), but we couldn’t help including pics of the rest of the tour as well! I hope you enjoy!

Checking In

We checked in at 9:00am on a Tuesday morning and were put into groups. We soon met with our uber fabulous D23 guide, Jeffrey (you may know him as the Disney Geek)!

Guess Who???

This is where we learned that there were only 72 tickets sold for the event and that it sold out in 30 seconds. Wow, so lucky to have scored two! The crowd was very mixed, the age range spanned from teen to senior and some people traveled from across the country to be here. We had 11 people in our group; most were southern California Disneyland locals, others were from Las Vegas, and there was one all the way from Georgia (Hi Andy!).

Off the Map Check In

Our group was scheduled to go to Walt’s Apartment at 10:30, so we had a bit of time to kill. Disneyland had just opened at 10:00, so it was fun to watch the park “wake up” as the horse drawn carriages emerged, characters came running from backstage, and the Disneyland Band marched right in front of us. We met our apartment tour guide outside of the Disneyland Fire Department promptly at 10:30.

Disneyland Fire Department

Touring Walt’s Apartment in Disneyland

After given some history of Walt’s Apartment, we walked backstage and headed up the stairs (holding the handrail like we were asked) and entered the Victorian style apartment. Immediately I noticed the musty smell and got goosebumps knowing that I was in a room that Walt Disney spent many a night in, entertaining friends, playing with his grandchildren, and looking out the window [Read more…]

Risotto Around the World

By AJ 17 Comments

Ah…time to talk about one of my very favorite side dishes EVER!!! Risotto is often overlooked, but the creamy savory goodness that is risotto could easily take center stage in a dish (and does in some of these highlighted below)! Disney chefs have mastered the art of making this slow-cooked yumminess — rice patiently mixed with flavorful broth — and whether it’s mixed with meat, fish, or vegetables, risotto doubles as as a sophisticated recipe and mouth-watering, comfort food.

I was looking through our Disney Food Blog Flickr group and saw so many gorgeous photos of risotto that I simply had to do a post about this dark horse side dish. (Of course, I’ve added a few of my own photos as well…;-D.)

Let’s take a tour around the world…

Butternut Squash Risotto from Artist Point

This butternut squash risotto topped with pork belly is easily in my “top 5” risottos in Disney World. Offered at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge, the hint of sweet from the squash and tartness courtesy of the cranberry drizzle create amazing (and memorable!) flavors. Sigh. I miss it.

butternut squash risotto

Dungeness Crab Risotto with Blood Orange Sauce and Pea Shoots; from Artist Point

This ample portion of risotto is mixed handsomely with crab creating a decadent appetizer. (Looks amazing!!!) Dishes at Artist Point tend to change seasonally, yet Dungeness crab seems to be used in many dishes — like these crab cakes we highlighted earlier this week!
(Photographer: Roger Weeks)

Dungeness Crab Risotto

Mushroom “Risotto” (in reality this is white corn, but I love that they made a “risotto” out of it), served along side Seared Bison with, Turnips, Chestnuts, and Pinot Noir Juniper Emulsion; from California Grill

This striking presentation from the California Grill has a slight [Read more…]

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What is Your Most-Missed Extinct Disney Food?