Via Napoli Soft Opening | the disney food blog

Via Napoli Menu and Soft Opening

Via Napoli

Disney World’s newest restaurant, Via Napoli is scheduled to have a “soft opening” beginning today, August 2, 2010. The restaurant will be open to walk-up customers only through September 10th, 2010. Guests wishing to make reservations for dates after September 10th may do so starting August 6th.

While we’re waiting for full reports on the new restaurant, feel free to check out the full Via Napoli menu here! The menu includes favorites like fresh, wood-fired pizzas with a variety of toppings (I might need to try the Carciofi); appetizers including calamari fritti and arancini; pastas; and desserts, including Zeppole di Catarina, which are ricotta cheese fritters with whipped cream and chocolate sauce!

To see our existing coverage of Via Napoli, click here.

Cupcake Store to Open in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney

By AJ 11 Comments

The OC Register’s Fast Food Maven is reporting some great news! Those cupcakes that were selling like hotcakes from the kiosk in Downtown Disney this past winter are getting their own permanent location!

Celebration Cupcake from The Cupcake Store

While The Cupcake Store‘s main bakery will be in Mission Viejo, CA, they’re also setting up shop in [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: August 1, 2010

By AJ 1 Comment

Via Napoli

Greetings, Disney food lovers! As always, let’s start with the Disney Food News of the week:

Check out this amazing photo of the Via Napoli ovens posted by Disney social media director Thomas Smith last week! They’ve even painted each ovens’ name above their “faces!”
In 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival news, check out this cool photo of the new South Korea booth lettuce wraps! Also, here’s a sneak peek at the 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival pins!

In DFB news, I just finished a Food and Wine Festival project I was working on: To see information, menus, and photos of the individual Epcot Food and Wine Festival World Showcase booths (and even some photos of food items that will be on the menu for 2010!), click on any individual country name on our 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Booth Menus and Photos page. For example, check out pics of what you can order this year in the Brazil booth!

We’re looking forward to reports from Via Napoli this week as well, so stay tuned. And a huge thanks to Amanda Tinney of Disney Every Day for getting the word out about the 2010 WDW Foodie Fest!

And now, on to the round-up!

Main Street Gazette has a fantastic review of Disney World’s Nine Dragons!

DisZine has a great review of Disney World’s ‘Ohana with some gorgeous photos.

TouringPlans writer, Caroline Baggerly, has some great tips for how to navigate the Disney World dining reservations system, even when you don’t already have an ADR!

The Caribbean Beach Resort Fan Site surveyed their readers to find out about the favorite food choices at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort!

Rosie's Victory Garden

StudiosCentral has a great post about the “history” of the Victory Garden in DHS.

The Daily Disney reports that the Egg Rolls have vanished from the Anadapur Local Cafe counter service menu (i.e. the “Yak and Yeti counter service menu”). Can anyone confirm? So sad.

Everything Walt Disney World reports on a question for the ages: can you use kids’ quick service dining credits to purchase adult quick service meals?

Disney Wedding Blog gives us ten food and beverage Disney Wedding facts! Who knew?

Chip and Co reports on a an August 12th wine tasting event in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney.

Disney Parks Blog and Chef Kevin Dundon teach us how to make Irish Soda Bread!

DisUnplugged reviews Disneyland’s Celebration Round-Up.

To round out the week, here’s a great video from the Disney Parks Blog about everyone’s favorite Club Cool choice, Beverly!

And another great vid from Jeff Lange DVD of the outside of Via Napoli!

The Wait is Over! Disney Blog Carnival, 7th Edition!

By AJ Leave a Comment

DisMarks.com Logo

This is DisMarks’ biggest blog carnival EVER! It’s been exciting to watch this grow for the past few months, and it’s getting better every edition. Sit back, relax with a cup of coffee, and spend some time getting to know some new bloggers over on the Seventh Edition of the Disney Blog Carnival!

Topics this week include figuring out Your Disney Theme Park Personality, the legend of Humphrey the Bear at Wilderness Lodge, a look at Nighttime Activities at Animal Kingdom Lodge, thoughts about Golden Oak, and lots more! 🙂

Have more time? Check out the past editions, too! Here are links to the first , second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth carnivals.

Just head over to DisMarks to see dozens of articles about Disney from your favorite new and veteran Disney bloggers 🙂

I think it’s the [Read more…]

First Picture of Epcot’s Via Napoli Ovens

By AJ 6 Comments

Disney social media director, Thomas Smith, treated twitter followers to a special treat when he twitpic’d a photo of the Via Napoli ovens during a test meal last night!

As you know, Via Napoli’s wood-burning ovens in the photo are named after the three active volcanoes in Italy –- Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli!

The restaurant will open to walk-in customers on Monday, and a media opening will be held on August 5th. The restaurant will continue to take walk-in customers only through September 10th. Grand opening festivities will be held on September 10th. Guests can make Via Napoli reservations for September 10th and later starting on August 6th. Call 407-WDW-DINE or check out DisneyWorld.com.

To see all of the Disney Food Blog coverage of Via Napoli, click here!

Disneyland’s Blue Bayou

By AJ 32 Comments

Ye come seekin’ adventure with salty ol’ pirates, eh? Sure you’ve come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open mates, and hold on tight. With both hands, if you please.

Ah, yes. We’re headed to the Blue Bayou. All jazzy New Orleans Square on the outside and dreaded pirates on the inside, these are some of the most coveted tables in Disneyland.

Atmosphere

Coming in from the busy New Orleans Square Royal Street outside (those little winding alleyways make it seriously congested in NOS!), Blue Bayou is like a hushed hive of activity. From the lobby, you can only catch a glimpse of shadows scurrying everywhere underneath the Chinese lanterns of the restaurant. The rest looks like sheer blackness — pitch dark.

From the Lobby Into the Restaurant

After giving your name to the reservations CM (hopefully you made an ADR — Blue Bayou is one of the only Disneyland restaurants for which a reservation is practically a necessity), take some time to peek around the lobby. Take in the incredible detailing of the walls, windows, and ceiling. Every inch of Disneyland is packed with [Read more…]

Guest Review — Theme Park Throw Down: Counter Service

By AJ 37 Comments

After long deliberation, Nick T. of Disney & Beyond has ranked the four Walt Disney World Theme Parks based on his interpretation of the quality of their counter service offerings! Every once in a while we like to stir things up on the Disney Food Blog, so we’d love to hear your opinion on the matter — did Nick get it right, or would you change some things around? Take it away, Nick!

Backlot Express

Just over a month ago, a friend and I, both avid readers of The Disney Food Blog, got into a debate about the best overall counter service options in Walt Disney World’s parks. What started as a fun, simple discussion quickly turned heated, and I started to wonder what the reaction would be if I shared my opinions with the world. Thanks to AJ, now I can. I’d simply like to rank, in my humble opinion, the four Disney World theme parks based on counter service offerings.

For this list, I have taken into account both food and atmosphere. The food part is obvious, but I take atmosphere into account because I feel that is what makes the experience uniquely Disney, and it can actually add to the dining experience. But enough of this chit chat, yak yak, and flim flam. Just refrain from hibernating and enjoy the show. (Some Disney Fudge to whoever is the first to recognize that line.)

ABC Commissary

4. Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Yes, I rank the park formerly known as Disney-MGM Studios as the worst overall in park counter service. Why? Well, to me, both the food selection and the atmosphere of the counter service restaurants in the park are quite [Read more…]

Spotlight on South Korea

By AJ 1 Comment

Disney just released this cool Gene Duncan photo of the Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchee Slaw, which you can find at this year’s brand new South Korea booth during the 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

South Korea Booth Lettuce Wrap

For more photos of the food available at this year’s festival, check out our individual pages dedicated to the International Marketplace booths around the World Showcase! You can see photos of this year’s menu items from Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, and more!

“The Best Thing I Ever Ate in Disney!” Entrees

By AJ 56 Comments

Here’s the next post in our series based on the Food Network’s (very cool) show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. As many of you know, due to some keen suggestions from readers we’re splitting our series up into different sections: breakfast, appetizers & side dishes, snacks & drinks, entrees (lunch & dinner), and desserts.

Today, we’re taking a look at entrees! I’ve done my favorite brand of informal polling (i.e. posted questions on twitter and facebook 😉 ) to find out others’ experiences of the “Best Thing They Ever Ate” in Disney parks and resorts.

The following are the answers received from our readers about their favorite main courses and entrees! If your favorites aren’t here, please add them in the comments section below!

Steaks

It’s no secret that Disney World does steak well. You’ve seen my votes for Five Best Steaks in Disney World, and a lot of these made the list in our poll as well! Here are the top contenders according to our facebook and twitter readers:

Mushroom Filet Mignon with White Truffle Butter Sauce and Micro Chevril.

Le Cellier:

BBQ Filet Mignon: This steak, recently pulled from the menu, was the restaurant’s signature filet served with cream cheese mashed potatoes and doused in barbecue sauce.
Filet Mignon with Mushroom Risotto: The current incarnation of the filet is this version. Situated on a bed of delicious mushroom risotto and covered in a white truffle-herb [Read more…]

RIP Figaro Fries

By AJ 22 Comments

Well, it’s happened. Sold for so many years at Magic Kingdom’s Pinocchio’s Village Haus, topped expertly with cheese, lettuce, ranch dressing, and tomatoes and desired by many, Figaro Fries lived a good life.

Figaro Fries

It was touch-and-go there at the end. Even after they were discontinued from the menu, Figaro Fries held on, coming back again and again for limited times. However, it seems as though this time, our delicious friends are gone for good.

Now, I know we could take this time to mourn, but instead, let’s be thankful for what we still have. (One thing we’ve learned about Disney restaurants is that they’re always changing; as Pocahontas says — you can’t step in the same river twice (that was her, right?).) So let’s take today to celebrate our crispy, salty, oily, and cheesy cravings for french fries by honoring what we’ve got left!

The Newspaper Chip
Thanks to Rose & Crown and the Yorkshire County Fish Shop, we’re still good to go on the chips-served-in-fake-newsprint!

Rose and Crown Newspaper Chips

Yorkshire County Fish Shop Newspaper Chip

The Waffle Fry
Found at T-Rex in Downtown Disney, the waffle fry offers consolation with seasonings and ideal texture. The surface area means [Read more…]