Disney Food Post Round-Up: August 15, 2010

It's Open It's Open!

But first…the news!

The Karamelle Kuche, or Caramel Kitchen, in Epcot’s Germany has a reported opening date!
Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will be expanding dining offerings during the summer and free dining seasons. This is your chance to see what some of those “never-open” counter service spots look like!
The Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts are introducing an annual Food and Wine Classic this year during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival! Check out the details for info on seminars and samplings as well as some great hotel rates.
Touring Plans tipped us off to a potential extension of Disney World Free Dining. Hopefully we’ll find out more soon.

AND… Disney Food Blog and WDW Foodie Fest t-shirts are now available! You can check them out over on www.Zazzle.com/DisneyFoodBlog. Remember, you can purchase any design on any size/style shirt, so feel free to mix and match. While the designs are different, the back of each shirt carries our acronym — DFB for Disney Food Blog — and tagline, “Food is a Theme Park!”

And now — on to the round-up!

Stuff From the Parks has a couple of posts showcasing photos from the Tahitian Terrace a la 1966 — check out Part I and Part II.

Pop Century Site explores unique food items at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

Touring Plans‘ blogger Todd Perlmutter has a great homage to Saratoga Springs’ Turf Club Bar and Grill.

Chefs de France Mac and Cheese

Parkeology remembers the Disney Handwich (and scorns the up-and-coming copycats).

Theme Park Mom allowed yours truly to do a fun guest post on Character Meals in Disneyland! Thanks, Leigh!

Everything WDW has an in-depth review of Chefs de France in Epcot.

Pee Dee Foodie takes a look at the Main Street Confectionery in Walt Disney World.

Main St Gazette has pics of the Via Napoli bathrooms! (Oh, and the pizza, too. 🙂 )

Disney Parks Blog showcases their pastry creations (and pastry chefs!) in a cool video.

Swan and Dolphin Introduce the Food and Wine Classic, October 8-9

By AJ 3 Comments

I’ve got some great news! For those of you considering heading to Orlando to enjoy the 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival, now you’ve got an extra incentive to make your plans! The Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts have just announced their first Annual Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic, which will be taking place on October 8th and 9th, 2010! There are also some incredible hotel deals to go along with it. Here are the specs:

When:

Friday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 9
4:30pm – 5:30pm = Beverage Seminars (Wine Blending, Riesling, Sake, Champagne, Beer, Mixology)
5:30pm – 9:30pm = Tasting Stations Open on Causeway (incredible tastes from the Swan and Dolphin’s famous restaurants)

Location, Location, Location:

For those who haven’t been there, the Swan and Dolphin resorts are located [Read more…]

Disney World Free Dining Extension Into 2011

By AJ 4 Comments

UPDATE: WDW Free Dining 2011 has been announced! Click here for details!

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Len Testa over at the Touring Plans Blog is reporting the possibility of Disney World’s Free Dining promotion being extended into September 2011.

…[the] discount is an extension of free dining, through September 2011. This comes with a considerable number of blackout dates, including Spring Break, Easter and most of Summer 2011.

If the discount comes to pass, it will be announced this Monday, August 16th.

Touring Plans isn’t often wrong about things like this, so I’d set your alarm for “early” on Monday just in case.

Note: According to Mousesavers.com, 2011 Free Dining is already available for guests from the UK.

There are two other potential discounts in the rumor mill; read more about them on Touring Plans.

Dining Planning for Christmas in Disney

By AJ 15 Comments

The holidays in Disney Parks are an incredibly magical time, and because we’re well into the Disney World dining planning window for folks who are headed to Orlando during the holiday season I wanted to add a few resources to the planning sessions!

Where to Eat

Disney holiday menus

will always feature special treats! At the request of several readers, I did a quick poll of our facebook fans and twitter followers to determine the answer to this question, “If you could dine at one Disney World restaurant for your holiday dinner, where would you go?” I was quickly rewarded with some fantastic answers! Here are some of the most popular responses:

Liberty Tree Tavern
This location wins with our readers for Thanksgiving, and it was an overwhelmingly popular choice for Christmas as well. Most readers indicated that the cozy atmosphere at Liberty Tree Tavern and the traditional holiday dinner fare is what would bring them here.

Liberty Tree Tavern Pot Roast

‘Ohana
Mele Kalikimaka! ‘Ohana was tied for first place with Liberty Tree Tavern, so clearly DFB readers share my affinity for the islands! 🙂 After growing up in the snowy tundra of western New York State, Hawai’i sounds pretty good as a Christmas destination right about now! Plus, this location has [Read more…]

News! Germany’s Karamelle-Küche Opening Date Set

By AJ 7 Comments

Dipping Caramel Apples at Disney

According to WDWMagic, the brand new Werther’s caramel shop in Germany, Karamelle-Küche (or Caramel Kitchen) will open September 22, 2010!

You’ll recall, this is the shop that will be replacing the old Glas und Porzellan shop at the entrance to the Germany pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase.

The store will be branded with Werther’s, and will feature a show kitchen where cast members will be creating caramel popcorn and apples, caramel-covered strawberries, and more for guests to see!

The shop will also sell gourmet caramels, cookies, brownies, fudge, and cupcakes. This is the only free-standing shop in the world for Storck, the makers of Werther’s candies, so there will be some one-of-a-kind items there as well.

We’ll see you there!

Magic Kingdom Expands Restaurant Capacity During Free Dining in Disney World

By AJ 5 Comments

As we saw last year, several rarely (if ever) open restaurants will be serving steadily through the weeks when Disney World is offering its free dining promotion. Here are the details:

Tomorrowland Terrace Cafe Will Offer a Table-Service Buffet on Sunday Evenings
From 5:30pm to 9pm on Sundays, beginning August 22nd and running through September, Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland Terrace Cafe will offer a dinner buffet for guests. Pricing currently stands at: Adult: $37.28, Child: $19.17. The menu for the buffet will include beef and pasta dishes, vegetables, fried rice, rolls, and desserts. Booking is available on the DisneyWorld.com site.

Also, the Tomorrowland Terrace “Noodle Station” has changed up its menu to serve American classic fare (burgers and sandwiches, chicken nuggets, salads, etc.) for lunch and will switch to its Asian menu after 4pm.

El Pirata Y el Perico Restaurante Will Be Open for Lunch
This Adventureland location serving quick-service Mexican cuisine will be open for lunch from August 15th through September 4th, 2010.

Diamond Horseshoe Will be Open for Dinner
This Frontierland eatery will extend its hours through dinner time (5-9pm) from August 15th through the 28th, and from September 19th through October 2nd, serving a table-service style turkey dinner akin to what you’ll get at Liberty Tree Tavern next door (via WDWMagic; booking for September/October dates not available on Disney site at time of this writing). Counter-service lunch will still be available at the Diamond Horseshoe from 11am-3pm serving sandwiches and other grab and go items.

Guest Review: Via Napoli

By AJ 11 Comments

I don’t usually do two guest reviews in two days, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to share these gorgeous pics from the brand new Via Napoli restaurant! My good friend Jessica Kramer-Teheran from Monocle on the Mouse was in Disney World this past weekend and shares this report full of pics and video…

Via Napoli in Epcot's Italy Pavilion

The best way to enjoy Via Napoli, from my first impression, is to turn it into a “family style” meal. Depending on the size of your party and the depths of your appetite, order a couple of appetizers, a couple of entrees, and a couple of desserts, then ‘Mangia!’ to your heart’s content. We split every dish, and even my good friend — who’s used to his Grandma’s Italian cooking — was impressed.

The Arancini appetizer seems to be emerging as an early front-runner in popularity & taste. Warm mozzarella cheese binds together fluffy rice & lightly seasoned meat inside a perfectly golden thin shell, commonly referred to as a “rice ball.”

Arancini

Pre-opening I understand that the price tag for pizza was a concern, but I can honestly say that the “individual Margherita Pizza” was worth the $16. It was on par with famous classics like Lombardi’s in NYC, and I wouldn’t make that claim lightly.

Via Napoli Margherita Pizza

We also shared the “pollo parmigiana” which is served on two separate plates; one plate holds the spaghetti torta, served as a disk and stuck together (apologies to my Italian friends if there is a more sophisticated description for this plating style), and one plate holds the actual chicken. The presentation of the pasta portion of the entree seemed [Read more…]

Guest Review: Tony’s Town Square

By AJ 24 Comments

Cody, who writes the fantastic Global Disney Pinvestigation Blog, is back with another guest review! This time, he visited Tony’s Town Square in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Take it away, Cody!Atmosphere

Entering from the Turn-Of-The-Century Main Street USA I wondered how the theme of the restaurant would fit with the theme of the surrounding street. As it turns out, my inquiries were quickly put to rest. The restaurant is themed after the restaurant from the 1955 Disney Animated Movie, the Lady and the Tramp, and after researching a bit I realized that Lady and the Tramp takes place in early 1900s. So of course the theme fits nicely with the surrounding area.

Tony's Front Patio

Welcome to Tony's

Upon arriving, we were early (like normal), and we waited for about one minute in the waiting area, which is a small lounge/living area with a small T.V. (which shows Lady and the Tramp non-stop). The waiting area wasn’t themed to Lady and the Tramp, but it [Read more…]

No Park Tickets? No Reservation? No Problem!

By AJ 19 Comments

The main complaint I hear regarding the re-instated 180-day window for Disney World Advanced Dining Reservations is that it’s impossible to get a seat in a restaurant “on a whim.” I wanted to address that concern and add another challenge: what if you don’t have park tickets, either?

I thought it’d be fun to tackle this situation and suggest a few spots in both Disney World and Disneyland for those who find themselves in this “pickle!”

Beaches and Cream Beef Sandwich Au Jus

Walt Disney World

Nope! I’m not kidding. It doesn’t have to be a hassle to find a good, table-service meal in Disney World — even when you don’t have a reservation or a park ticket! Here are four of my favorite go-to locations at all different price points:

Beaches and Cream $
Welcome back to the 1950’s soda shoppe! Beaches and Cream is located at Disney’s Beach Club Resort and doesn’t even take reservations, so you won’t ever run into the no ADR problem! This spot serves simple, but delicious, [Read more…]

“The Best Thing I Ever Ate at Disney!”: Desserts

By AJ 92 Comments

I am SO excited!! Dessert!!!

Here’s the final 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 finallly taking a look at desserts! 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 desserts! If your favorites aren’t here, please add them in the comments section below!

Yak and Yeti Cream Cheese and Pineapple Fried Won-tons: While I haven’t had the pleasure of trying these myself, you can bet Yak and Yeti is the first place I’m going when I arrive in September! (No kidding…it’s my first ADR…even before Liberty Tree Tavern lunch, and you guys KNOW how we feel about Liberty Tree Tavern lunch!)

Yak and Yeti Fried Cream Cheese Wontons.

Dole Whip: What better dessert [Read more…]

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Disney Food Post Round-Up: August 15, 2010