food IS a theme park
The Halloween decorations are up and the 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival is ON! It MUST BE FALL in Walt Disney World!
Halloween Decorations at Magic Kingdom
So please join us for a very pumpkin-spiced edition of What’s New 😉 ! [Read more…]
Happy Spring! At least, it’s Spring in Disney World where temperatures are starting to rise once more with warm days leading into gorgeous nights!
Springtime Treats at Main Street Confectionery
No matter what the thermometer says in your neck of the woods, why not enjoy a bit of spring with us here at the DFB as we travel all over Disney World to find out What’s New!? [Read more…]
Don’t let those winter doldrums get you down – we’re here with the best Disney food news of the week to cheer you up! If you’re looking to add a little extra spring in your step we suggest stopping by our @DisneyFoodBlog Periscope account for some Disney Parks fun! You never know where we might be!
Love this comfort food!
This is the perfect time of year for comfort food – especially for breakfast – and we recently shared a recipe for a great cinnamon roll! Chip’s Sticky Bun Bake from Epcot’s Garden Grill is the perfect way to start your morning (while you read the DFB, of course).
We have a lot to share with you this week, so let’s jump right in…
Calling all artists… who also love cocktails! 🙂
On Saturday, January 23, 2016, from 12:00 – 3:00 pm, Wolfgang Puck Café in Disney Springs is hosting the Orlando branch of Wine & Canvas: a company that offers painting lessons within a party setting at bars and restaurants.
Aspiring painters attending the event at Wolfgang Puck Café will work on a piece entitled “Moon Sail,” and the price per seat to attend is $25.00.
According the to the Wine & Canvas website, upon your arrival “All of your supplies are waiting to create your masterpiece, including an apron to keep your clothes clean. Our talented local artists will instruct the featured artwork step-by-step while you relax, sip and paint along!”
Wolfgang Puck Cafe
By the way, though the company’s tagline is “The Painting Class with Cocktails,” consuming alcohol is by no means a requirement ;). Though guests are welcome to purchase cocktails off the Wolfgang Puck Cafe menu (not included within the admission fee for the event), anyone looking to try their hand at painting can join in, even if your beverage of choice is non-alcoholic. That said, Wine & Canvas is an adults-only event. [Read more…]
Welp, Downtown Disney Orlando has added another awesome food-focused piece of news to the Food Trucks and Disney Springs Restaurants!
Throughout October, eight Downtown Disney restaurants will feature 3-course dinners at bargain prices at the NEW Downtown Disney Foodtopia event!
Three full courses and a non-alcoholic beverage are included! Let’s take a look at some of the menus…
Paradiso 37: Choose from blackened mahi sliders, a hearty beef burrito, or chicken enchiladas paired with a starter and dessert.
Paradiso 37 Chocolate Stack Dessert
Planet Hollywood: Entree options are Celebrity BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, lasagna, or Southwest Salad.
Wolfgang Puck Café: Start with garlic and white bean hummus, a Caesar salad, or butternut squash soup. Entrees include pesto chicken, crispy pork loin, or spaghetti Bolognese. Desserts are key lime pie, carrot cake, or a brownie sundae. See our Wolfgang Puck Cafe dinner review here!
Carrot Cake at Wolfgang Puck!
Splitsville: Choose from eight appetizers and 10 entrées, with a brownie and ice cream for dessert.
Splitsville -- Outside View
Fulton’s Crab House: Shrimp cocktail, steamed clams and mussels, or jumbo lump crab cake to start; a whole Rhode Island lobster, cioppino, or filet mignon for an entrée, and a Tollhouse Cookie sundae, key lime pie, or root beer float for dessert.
Dates and Times:
October 1 – 31; 5:30-7:30PM
Cost:
Prices do not include tax and gratuity.
$30: Bongos Cuban Café, House of Blues, Paradiso 37, Planet Hollywood, Portobello, Splitsville Luxury Lanes, and [Read more…]
Whew, what a week!!
Market House on Main Street in Disneyland will Serve Starbucks Products in 2013
More details surfaced about the Market House Starbucks overhaul in Disneyland! We now know that Market House on Main Street USA will be closing next month. BUT…the awesome 1890’s phone and party line conversation will remain.
I love that piece of Imagineering and am SO glad it will be preserved in the new Starbucks location!
But there’s more news to share…
Let’s review the food news from Disney this past week!
We’ve got additional food news, including restaurant closures, New Beverage Seminars on the Disney Fantasy, Wolfgang Puck Cafe Menu Update, Easter Dinner at Fulton’s Crab House, and LOTS more, on our Disney Food News Pin Board! Head over and check it out!
If you find a fun new food — or other edible awesomeness — in or from Disney, share a photo with us on facebook or twitter so we can add it to our DFB Reader Finds each Sunday!
Today, we bring two totally rad photos that Reader Susan P. sent to us via email!
What happens when ‘Ohana runs out of pineapples? You’ll MAY have the option of enjoying a Lapu Lapu in a cantaloupe!
Lapu Lapu in a Cantaloupe!
On the same trip, Susan also ordered a custom cake…that was AWESOME! “I ordered for my sister to surprise her with a cruise on DCL. I had it delivered to Le Cellier from Yacht and Beach Club Bakery. It was amazing!”
Be sure to check out our Disney World Cake Gallery for more ideas, and read up on our Disney Cake FAQ page how you can order your own!
Disney Fantasy Cake!
Don’t forget to pick up your copy of our critically acclaimed DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining 2013 e-Book!
This must-have guide has over 400 pages of experience-based advice and information as well as hundreds of full-color photos. It’s perfect for long-time Disney World fans AND those headed to the parks for the first time this year!
Don’t get stranded without a plan. Pick up your copy for $4 off using code 2013 TODAY! With a 30-day money-back guarantee, you’ve got nothing to lose. 🙂
Bundle for SAVINGS!
Want even more savings? Bundle three of our time-tested guides into one purchase to get even more great Disney Dining information and photos. With our popular DFB Guide + Snacks Bundle, you’ll get our DFB Guide 2013 Edition along with our DFB Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks AND our DFB Guide to Epcot Snacks for a significant discount!
“Let the Memories Begin!”
Mickey Fix
knows has the 411 on where to find bacon…
Cake Wrecks highlights hilarious cakes gone wrong. Check out the really bad Mickey creation, which I thought was Simba! 😉
Daveland has some awesome pics of Dapper Days at Club 33 in Disneyland.
Main St. Gazette reviews the Guava Twist at Art of Animation Resort!
Passport to Dreams Old & New has a pic of Aunt Polly’s on WDW’s Tom Sawyer Island when it was actually serving!
Sugar Sweet Cakes and Treats shares an awesome Mad Hatter Cake Tutorial — good for an adult or a kid party depending on how you decorate!
All Ears shares eats enjoyed during the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend.
Campaign Asia highlights Hong Kong Disneyland’s Monster Style Cookie Making Class.
Have a great week!! Be sure to find us on Pinterest and Facebook for awesome pics and more! And don’t forget to join the Disney Food Blog Newsletter for the latest deals and info!
Can healthy kids’ menus also be fun and interesting?
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Steve Richard, executive chef of Downtown Disney’s Portobello Trattoria in Walt Disney World. Portobello and its sister restaurants, Fulton’s Crab House and Wolfgang Puck Cafe, have debuted some brand new children’s menus that aim for healthy as well as fun.
Since healthier — and more grown-up — kids’ eats is a growing trend among Disney-area restaurants (for example, check out the kids’ menu at the new Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom), I was interested to hear all the new menus and the impetus behind them.
continues to offer freshly-prepared rustic Italian fare, with an emphasis on slow cooking and local ingredients. And the family-friendly atmosphere provides a cozy-yet-refined alternative where families with children can relax.
Portobello
Though I’ve seen some negative reviews for Portobello, my experiences here have pretty positive. And the new kids’ menu focuses on freshness and whole foods, without sacrificing kid pleasers, like pizza.
It seems that choice really was the driving motivation for the recent updates to the menus at all three restaurants. “We wanted to offer choices,” said Chef Steve. “People are on vacation and they might be inclined to be indulgent. With all the menus, we feel it’s important to offer healthy choices as well.”
Portobello Dining Room Seating
The choices emphasize a balance between indulgence and smarter eating. “We think the best approach is to offer healthy meals for kids as well as something that mimics the adult dining experience,” he explained.
“We are trying to offer things that are indulgent, like the option to have an ice cream sundae made with locally-made gelato at Portobello. But then we also have grilled meats and fresh fruits, as opposed to things we normally see on children’s menus.”
Chef Steve and his team have also included fresher choices for beverages, like 100% juice options and low-fat milk.
Portobello Kids' Menu -- Click to Enlarge
has retained many of their classic dishes, while offering a new flair featuring sustainably and responsibly harvested [Read more…]
Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar
Cheers to the new Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar (cheese) and updated Tutto Italia Ristorante (cheese) in Epcot’s Italy pavilion! We got the chance for a sneak peek at the Grand Opening, and it was (cheese) awesome!
Be sure to check out our photo tours and pics of the new menu items! (Did I mention there’s cheese?)
We’ve got more food news (including Four Special Dining Options on Mother’s Day Sunday May 13 at Disneyland) on our Disney Food News Pin Board, where Disney Food News is updated on a regular basis!
To thank you for following us over on Facebook, we’re throwing our first ever Facebook e-Book Sale this week! 
Starting tomorrow — Monday, May 7th, 2012 — we’ll begin the new e-Book sale on the Disney Food Blog Facebook Page.
Follow us over there for details on the sale AND for a link to our brand new Disney Food Blog Store website!
Walt Disney World for Grown Ups
visits the Tea Caddy in Epcot’s United Kingdom.
Little Lion Baked Goods makes Avengers Cake Pops.
AKLResort.com enjoys poolside dining at the Maji Bar while staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Kidani Village.
Running at Disney shares a post-race meal at Epcot’s Rose & Crown.
Main Street Gazette suggests a child-size breakfast option at Sunshine Seasons.
Mouse on the Mind investigates bread service options at Disney restaurants.
AllEars.net’s Steve Barrett found a food-related Hidden Mickey.
a Mouse and a Dream dines at Disneyland’s Plaza Inn!
Downtown Disney’s Wolfgang Puck Cafe has unveiled some changes to its dinner menu!
For example, everyone’s favorite (and classic Puck dish), the Macadamia Nut Crusted Chicken has been taken off the menu! There are a few more favorites gone as well…
Let’s take a look at the eats that are no longer on the previous menu, then we’ll review what’s new!
Starters
Artichoke and Five Cheese Dip
Artichoke and Five Cheese Dip
Entree Salad
Spinach Salad
Wolfgang’s Favorites (now known as Wolfgang’s Classics)
Macadamia Nut crusted breast of chicken
Macadamia Nut Crusted Breast of Chicken
In addition, the Catch of the Day is no longer an option here.
Pastas
Pennette Chicken Alfredo; Pennette Beef Bolognese; Spicy Tuscan Vegetable Pasta; Ricotta
Each year the James Beard Foundation spotlights the best food and beverage professionals by bestowing the Beard Awards — considered one of the highest culinary honors in North America!
The semifinalists in the 2012 Restaurant and Chef categories have been announced, and we’re thrilled to see two Disney chefs on the list! In addition, several Orlando-area chefs were also named. The finalists will be announced on March 19, 2012, in Las Vegas. And we’ll be cheering on our faves when the winners are announced on May 7th in New York City!
Scott Hunnel, Victoria & Albert’s Restaurant
Congratulations to award-winning chef, Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa! Under Hunnel’s innovative leadership, Victoria and Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort has won many prestigious local, national, and international nods.
This exclusive restaurant has also won nine consecutive AAA Five Diamond Awards and twenty consecutive Mobil Travel Guide Four Star Awards.
Chef Scott Hunnel
James and Julie Petrakis, The Ravenous Pig
The Ravenous Pig is located in Winter Park, FL, very close to Orlando and Walt Disney World. Stop in for “an American gastropub experience” — casual dining with [Read more…]
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