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First Look! Epcot’s Kabuki Cafe and Menu

8/8/11 UPDATE:

The menu has been shortened a bit, we hear. It no longer offers many of the savory food items that we see on the original menu below. We look forward to hearing your feedback as this location adjusts.

Thanks, once again, to Andy Jackson who writes the great Eating (and Drinking) Around WDW for sending along photos of this new addition to the Epcot Japan pavilion! The Cafe isn’t open yet, but the construction walls are down and he got a sneak peek!

Epcot's Kabuki Cafe

The Kabuki Cafe will replace the old Kakigori stand, but will offer plenty of new menu items (including kakigori, of course). You can see from the menu below that the stand will offer not only icy, sweet treats, but also sushi, ribs, sake (hot and cold), snacks (Miso Soup and Edamame), soft drinks and Ramune, green tea, and more!

Kabuki Cafe Menu -- click for larger image

I can’t wait to sample some of the new offerings! If you get there first, let us know what we should try! 🙂

Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend Step-by-Step Guide

By Kim LaPaglia 8 Comments

Let us help you gear up for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend being held September 30 – October 1, 2011! Whether you are racing in the 5K or the half marathon, or cheering on a participant, this weekend will also offer time to dine on international foods at the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Be sure to check out our Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend pages for all the info you need!

Calendar of Events

Friday, September 30

Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Expo

Jostens Center at ESPN Wide World of Sports 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

The Expo is a two-day event filled with fun, fitness and food! This is where runners will register for the weekend events, pick up numbers and goody bags, and attend any seminars or events having to do with the races.

Pre-Race: Race waiver forms are ready to be downloaded and printed. Fill out the waiver and bring it with you to the Expo so you can receive your race number. Go ahead and take care of it out now! Pack the waiver with your other race essentials. Download here.

Now is a good time to review your Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, Family 5K, and Disney Kids’ Final Race Instructions. Unable to attend Packet Pick-Up? See Absentee instructions.

Will you wear a costume? Costumes are permitted in the Half Marathon. No face masks and costumes must not “be questionable or offensive” to others.

Transportation: Buses from Host Resorts will leave every 20 minutes. Look for runDisney logo in the front window of bus. Buses will run from one half hour prior to Expo opening until one half hour after Expo closing.

Step 1: Pick up your race packet at the HP Field House, then proceed to the Jostens Center for your t-shirt and goody bag.

Note: Your race packet should contain Half Marathon Bib Number with B-tag attached, Bag Check Sticker, Finish Line Party Guide, Finish Line Party Wristband, $10 Disney Gift Card, Pre-purchased commemorative pin if applicable.

Step 2: Pick up pre-purchased items. You will need to show your ID to pick up your items including commemorative Ears.

Step 3: Purchase any tickets needed for [Read more…]

Guest Review: Private Mother’s Day IllumiNations Dessert Party

By AJ 12 Comments

Welcome to guest author Mark Diehl with an illuminating 😉 review of an Epcot dessert party he created to honor the “mothers” in his life! He also inspired our upcoming WDW Foodie Fest Snack Attack dessert and fireworks event on October 4th — stay tuned as tickets will be going on sale today!

This was the second Mother’s Day we spent in Disney World, so I did some research and finally settled on an event we all could enjoy: a private IllumiNations Dessert Party.

It was not cheap, and while it was successful enough that I would want to do it every year, it was expensive enough that it was probably once in a lifetime for us. I got all of the information from Disney World private dining and once my contact Chris Ware (highly recommended, he was fantastic) sent me the sample dessert menus, I decided I needed to make my own custom dessert menu.

Decisions, Decisions

After bouncing around a number of ideas, I was able to narrow it down to 2, and ended up going with…neither of them.

Party of 6

The first idea was a dessert menu from the countries of Epcot. Each country was to be represented with a dessert item. The following was my menu proposal:

School Bread from Norway, Apple Strudel from Germany, Napoleons from France, Churros from Mexico, Sticky Toffee Pudding from UK, Tiramisu from Italy, Kaki Gori from Japan, Baklava from Morocco, Caramel Ginger Ice Cream from China, Campfire S’mores from Canada, Funnel Cake from USA.

The price for this menu came back at $95 per person. That may not sound bad, but when you consider that this was only for food and did not include the location rental, table set-up fee, or drinks, you can see it adds up [Read more…]

Epcot’s San Angel Unveils New Tastes and Atmosphere

By AJ 23 Comments

Inside Mexico’s pyramid in Epcot, the twilight ambiance never ceases to amaze me. After trying to take in all of the Imagineered details, two indoor culinary choices beckon guests to stay a little longer: La Cava del Tequila and the San Angel Inn.

Now, it’s not a huge secret that San Angel Inn has long been a point of contention among Disney fans — some love it; some hate it. Apparently Disney World and restaurant owners San Angel Inn, LLC, are ready to make a few changes to sway the naysayers. Recently, San Angel has added some casual elegant touches!

The round tables have been replaced with [Read more…]

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares

By AJ 17 Comments

Guest author Carrie Hayward returns to tempt us with chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallow! Carrie writes about private events in Disney parks on her blog, http://disneytravelbabble.com, and is the author of PassPorter’s Disney Weddings & Honeymoons. Thanks, Carrie!

One of my all-time favorite Disney desserts is not available on any restaurant menu or at any snack location. I discovered Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares on a special-event menu when we were planning our wedding at Epcot a few years ago. Although they were once offered for private events at both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, they’ve since disappeared from the menus.

Now the only way to get Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares at Disney is to plan an event and put in a special request for them. Even then, the quality seems to vary—the last time I had them, they were much better at Hollywood Studios than at Epcot.

Elusive Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares in the wild

So, after scouring the Internet for similar recipes and devouring way too many test batches, I think I’ve finally perfected a method for making Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares at home.

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
24 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate
10.5-ounce bag mini marshmallows
12-ounce bag peanut butter chips

Ingredients

Combine butter, peanut butter and chocolate in a double boiler (or, if [Read more…]

Snack Series: Caramel Covered Shortbread in Epcot

By AJ 33 Comments

Over at Epcot’s Karamell-Küche in the Germany pavilion, there are endless treats to try…as we all know.

The caramel smell hits you like a wave when you walk into the shop, and I sincerely suggest you eat before you stop in, because if you’re even the least big hungry, I promise that your eyes will be significantly bigger than your stomach…as mine were a couple of weeks ago!

Stopping in to get a bit of information about how the caramel corn is made (my Dad needed the details as he’s working very hard on duplicating the recipe! Yay!), I, of course, had to check out the display cases. And I saw this.

I know I’ve seen it before, but it never called out to me like it did on this visit. (You know how that is…when food calls out to you…right? No?) Sweet, gooey caramel layered onto a lovely piece of shortbread. Shortbread crumbles on top. Simple, yet pretty freaking [Read more…]

Guest Review: Beers Around the World, Part 1

By AJ 26 Comments

Now’s a good time to grab a mug of your favorite brew as we welcome D.J. Jones with a review of beers found in Epcot’s World Showcase. D.J. is a lifelong Disney fan from Ocala, Florida. You can follow all of his adventures at The World of Deej. We raise our glass in a DFB toast to this first installment of Beers Around the World!

La Rossa at Via Napoli in World Showcase's Italy

Perhaps my favorite thing to do in all of Disney is to take a stroll in Epcot’s World Showcase while enjoying my favorite adult beverage. Most of the time this is beer, and over the years I’ve tried each of the many brews offered throughout the World Showcase.

In preparation for this post, my team of experts conducted painstaking research, so that you may know what beer is available in each of the 11 pavilions. It was a tough job, especially for my liver, but somebody had to do it.

Learn About:La Cava del Tequila

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Mexico

Our adventure begins in the Mexico pavilion, where the research team visited La Cava del Tequila.

While tequila is the main attraction at La Cava, they also feature many of Mexico’s well-known beers. Sol, Bohemia, Tecate, Dos Equis Light, and Dos Equis Amber are all on the menu by the bottle.

I enjoyed a Dos Equis Amber, which features a nice body of flavor, and was ice cold. In fact, it was the [Read more…]

Disney Food for Families: It’s a World of [Better] Candy

By Erin 27 Comments

As we celebrate the USA today, Disney Food for Families columnist Erin Foster is back with some very good news about the candy sold at Epcot’s America pavilion!

America Pavilion in Epcot

Regular Disney Food Blog readers may remember that a few weeks back I wrote about my family’s epic quest to consume candy in each of Epoct World Showcase’s eleven countries.

Several of the countries sold a bonanza of fabulous treats, making it difficult to choose just one. (I’m talking to you Japan, Italy, and France.) But I bemoaned the fact that there was very little candy in the America pavilion, and what was there was a tired replay of the Disney branded candy available in every other merchandise location on property. I suggested that Disney rev up its offerings by including “American nostalgic or regional specialty candies” or sweets from an American candy company like Hershey or Mars.

So imagine my surprise and delight when I took a spin through Epcot recently, walked into the America pavilion and saw this — an entire wall, plus two double-sided, free-standing display racks, of American nostalgic and regional specialty candies and sweets from Hershey and Mars, which according to super-helpful cast member Chris from Orlando, had been installed just the day before my arrival. It’s like they knew I was coming. SCORE!

Cast member Chris gives the Vanna treatment to some of the new candy

I’m not naive enough to really think that my post had anything to do with this magical transformation. I’m sure the pace of change at Disney merchandising runs much more slowly than that. But just for a minute now, I’m going to [Read more…]

Guest Review: Le Cellier…From a Canadian Point-of-View

By AJ 23 Comments

Welcome back James Hummel (@DisneyNorth on Twitter) with a review of Le Cellier. As a Canadian, James offers a unique perspective when reviewing this popular restaurant! He also gives us a glimpse of a proper poutine.

I figured it was high time that a Canadian review one of the most popular restaurants in Walt Disney World. I do want to give a disclaimer first though: these are my opinions only and do not represent all Canadians. And no, I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada (the Canadian readers will get that joke).

The entrance to steak heaven

So, as they say in Quebec, Allons-y!

Atmosphere
You’ve seen the pictures, maybe even the outside of the restaurant and, if you are really lucky like me, seen the inside too (multiple times). Le Cellier is a hidden restaurant in EPCOT. No, not hidden gem… I mean really hidden! If you didn’t know where to look, you would literally walk right by it. I mean, there is no giant doorway for this place. You have to go through the wonderful Victoria Gardens to find, what appears to be, a doorway to an underground bunker. But of course, it is all about the story. Enough talk about the outside, let’s get in from the snow…er…I mean oppressive Florida heat.

The inside of Le Cellier is inspired by the large wine cellars of the grand Chateau style hotels in Quebec City and the Rockies. For me, the restaurant reminds me of [Read more…]

African Inspired Meals in Walt Disney World — Tusker House

By AJ 12 Comments

Jambo! Join me in welcoming Disney guru Mary Jo Collins and Disney World Moms Panelist Bernie Edwards back to the blog! In this article they’ll share with us various locations to enjoy an African Inspired Meal at Walt Disney World. We also get a close-up look at the Tusker House restaurant. Twende! Let’s go!

Theming Outside Animal Kingdom's Tusker House

Visiting the Walt Disney World Resort has become synonymous with the enjoyment of great dining at restaurants both inside and outside the theme parks. For many of us, these meals lend us the opportunity to experience exotic foods from exotic places.

African Food in Disney World
Fortunately for guests of Walt Disney World, African cuisine is showcased in a variety of table service restaurants offering a peek at the food that has been influenced by the marinade of cultures, colonies, trade routes and history of this land. To describe or categorize what African food is in a few words would be impossible.

The cuisine is as varied in Africa as the cuisine of any large continent. The continent’s regions each have significant differences in their own distinctive dishes and preparation techniques. However, in Africa the various cuisines traditionally combine [Read more…]

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First Look! Epcot’s Kabuki Cafe and Menu