Tag Archives: Disney Dining

Disney Dining – Try This Not That

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RM-Yak-&-Yeti-Restaurant-ExteriorDisclaimer:  I’m the least picky eater I know.  I like nearly all foods.  I shy away from fried foods as they tend not to agree with me (although I think they taste great), I’m not eating tuna-noodle-casserole or black licorice – not really a problem since I can’t think of a single person I know who would happen to accidentally serve those to me should I be a guest in their home.  I suppose, actually, under those circumstances, I’d give the consumption of my personal culinary kryptonite my best try so as not to be considered rude.  My mom taught me better than  that.  And back to the point of this post.

Disney Dining – Try This Not That

Let’s assume for the purposes of today’s sharing-of-Disney-advice that we’re all adults.  I’m talking to you as a grownup, not to those of you trying to please little ones with park food, okay?

  1. Try the Roasted Pork Shank (NOT the Turkey Leg) – What they have in common:  fatty, roasted, savory meaty goodness.  What the Pork Shank has over the Turkey Leg is that it’s texture is better, its seasoning is more delicious, and Gaston’s Tavern (Magic Kingdom, Fantasyland) is far superior in atmosphere than anyplace offering the Turkey Leg.  You’ll still feel like Medieval royalty, don’t fret.RM-Gaston's-Pork-Shank-and-Lefou's-Brew
  2. Try the Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel (NOT the plain Mickey Pretzel) – Oh, stop it!  Mickey is cute and iconic and delicious, I’ll give you that.  The Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel is just SO much better (and unique versus what I can get in my local mall’s food court).  If you like a little spice in your snack, this one’s for you.RM-Jalapeno-Cheese-Pretzel
  3. Try Italy or France for Ice Cream (NOT the ubiquitous ice cream cart) – I’m not saying you should go an entire Disney vacay without a Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar or your beloved Dole Whip.  I’m just saying, give the “Gelati” gelato stand in Epcot World Showcase’s Italy Pavilion a try (our favorite: Espresso Gelato “Affogato”).  Or the L’Artisan de Glaces shop in France – YUM!  The beauty of these more exotic frozen treat options is that they have something for everyone.  You will not be disappointed.RM-Epcot-Italy-Gelato-Affogato
  4. Try Yachtsman Steakhouse (NOT Le Cellier) – Both are beef-lovers’ hot spots in the Epcot area.  Yachtsman’s is a short walk from Epcot via the International Gateway (a.k.a. the backdoor) at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.  Le Cellier is in Epcot’s Canada Pavilion.  The problem with Le Cellier is that it’s overcrowded and overrated (our opinion, which is heartbreaking since in the early years, this was a must-do for us).  For the price, Yachtsman’s menu, atmosphere, and service are superior.  Both restaurants are considered “Signature Dining” locations – so if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, they’ll cost you TWO Table Service credits.RM-Yachtsman-Filet
  5. Try Il Mulino (at The Swan) (NOT any other Italian restaurant on Disney property).  We loved everything about this place and can’t wait to go back.  It’s not Disney-owned, but IS easy to get to – and worth the effort and the price.  You can read my full review here, but let me just say – if you’re looking for a casual, grown-up evening out without pressure to eat quickly and leave and you want delicious food, great service, and a complimentary swig of limoncello to top off  your meal…this is the place for you.RM-Il-Mulino-Interior

What are your best suggestions for an eat-this-not-that Disney food or restaurant?  Would you choose Kona Café over ‘Ohana?  Sanaa over Jiko or Yak-n-Yeti?  School Bread over a Croissant Doughnut?  Tell me!  I’m 92 days away from needing to know!

Disney Cruise Line – What’s the Food Like?

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DCL-DessertI watch what I eat very closely and eat healthy food most of the time.  On vacation?  Not so much.  I love vacation food and look forward to it as something special to be experienced on our Disney vacations.  Especially on our Disney cruises!  It’s completely different than planning those Disney World advance dining reservations 180 days pre-vacation.  The cruise line’s rotational dining, among other things, will ensure I visit different restaurants with a wide variety of menu choices.  The only reservations we worry about are at Disney Cruise Line’s adults-only dining options.  If I’d never sailed on Disney Cruise Line, feeling the way I do about my vacation food, I’d be wondering…

Disney Cruise Line – What’s the Food Like?DCL-Bread

1.  You won’t go hungry.  There are opportunities to eat morning, noon, and night.  Picky?  Don’t worry – Disney’s used to that and will pull out all the stops to make sure you never walk away unsatisfied.  Whether you’re craving something sweet or savory, light or totally loaded with decadent sauces (and calories), you’ll find it on a Disney ship!DCL-Entree4 DCL-Entree5 DCL-Fish-Entree

2.  Gluttony isn’t expensive.  Only a couple of food items are not included in your cruise fare:  Snacks for movies & shows, certain similar snacks on the room service menu, and adults-only dining.  Alcohol and specialty coffees are not included either, but soft drinks are.  When you order soft drinks with dinner or help yourself to them at the beverage station on deck, there’s no extra charge for that.DCL-Scallop-Appetizer DCL-Entree3 DCL-Entree2

3.  Bottomless pits are welcome.  I vacation with one, I know this to be true.  Joseph is 20 now, but still has that ridiculous teenage appetite.  He’s about 5-foot-ten and weighs maybe 145 lbs. (maybe).  Nearly evening of our cruise he ordered an appetizer, TWO different entrees, and dessert – and cleaned every plate!  Our servers April and Andres never batted an eye….just kept the food coming.  OH, to have that kind of metabolism!DCL-Entree DCL-Dessert3 DCL-Dessert2

4.  The options are unbelievable!  Fast food?  Yep – pizza and snacks, and soft-serve ice cream.  Breakfast buffet?  You betcha (and it’s awesome!)  Room service?  Sure!  Loads of choices – two of our favorites include the “All Hands on Deck” cheese platter (makes a great afternoon/happy hour snack) and breakfast foods of all sorts.  Bring me coffee – I don’t feel like going out.  What else is fantastic?  Pub grub!!!  O’Gill’s Pub in the grown-up nightlife area of the ship puts out a spread in the evening that will certainly satisfy your late-night cravings!  Even little churros are there to really make you feel Disney-ish.DCL-O'Gills-Pub-Grub-Sweets DCL-O'Gills-Pub-Grub2 DCL-O'Gills-Pub-Grub

5.  Upcharge for adults-only dining…Worth it!!!  On the Disney Magic and Wonder (the only two ships we’ve sailed on, so far), Palo is the place to be for an excellent Italian dinner or seriously unbelievable brunch.  We book at least one meal at Palo on every trip.  I LOVE talking about Palo and plan to be back soon with another review!  (My fave Palo dessert is here.)DCL-Palo-Menu-CoverIf you’ve sailed on Disney Cruise Line, what’s your favorite menu item or restaurant?  What tips on Disney Dining would you offer?

Disney World Restaurant Review: Narcoossee’s

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It’s finally the weekend!  And you know what that means…Saturday’s With Nick!  I love when Nick does reviews of restaurants I’ve reviewed so I can compare our experiences.  I also love when Nick reviews a Walt Disney World restaurant I’ve not yet tried, or in the case of today’s installment, tried so long ago (25 1/2 years to be exact) that I cannot recall much of anything about our meal – other than we enjoyed it, the service was good, and we ate something with alligator in it.  We are going to give Narcoossee’s another try and have an ADR (advance dining reservation) booked for late December.  I’ll be curious to see if things are as good as we remember and if our experience is similar to Nick and Barbie’s.  I’ll tell you this – If scallops are still on the menu, I’m going to order them!

Disney World Restaurant Review:  Narcoossee’s

by: Nick

Since becoming a blogger, I travel differently, keeping an eye out for interesting topics to write about.
Blogging also influences dining choices at restaurants. I usually try to choose different items than Barbie, so I have at least 2 menu selections to review.  This doesn’t always work out. When we visited the Yak and Yeti Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on our trip in October of last year, we both ordered the Chicken Lo Mein. But at least I had other photos from previous trips to write about.
What I’m getting to is this, the review of Narcoossee’s is going to be slim in the food review portion, because we both ordered the exact same thing, and as this was our first visit, there’s nothing else to fall back on.  Also, I apologize for how dark the photos are, the lighting in the evening at Narcoossee’s is pretty intimate.

Narcoossee’s is located on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon, at the end of the Grand Floridian transportation boat dock.

We gave our names at the podium, and were handed a pager. We decided to have a look at the menu, so headed for the bar area.

On the way, we passed the open kitchen and the wonderful staff. Be sure to say hello!

 
I was impressed with the beer menu, not overwhelming but a nice selection.
 

We asked the bartender for a food suggestion, and he said his favorite was the scallops.

As I perused the beer list, our pager went off. As we were being brought to our table, Barbie spotted a man wearing a vest covered in Disney pins. She approached him, and they spoke at length. He came over to introduce himself and his wife. They were locals, and they also suggested the scallops, as well as the calamari.

If you time it right, and have a table facing Cinderella Castle, you can see Wishes at the Magic Kingdom. I made our advanced dining reservation at 180 days out for 8:00 pm, thinking the fireworks would be at either 8:00 or 9:00 pm. They were at 10:00 pm that evening, and while I could have changed our ADR, we both agreed that was rather late for dinner.

The menu is somewhat limited.

As our bread was being set on the table, we asked our server for an entree suggestion, and weren’t really surprised when she said the scallops.

The bread was very crunchy with a soft center, almost a sourdough. I love butter with salt, and this was course, better yet!

We shared the  Crispy Rhoade Island Calamari with pepperoncini-olive relish and tomato coulis appetizer.

I thought it was very light and crispy yet tender, not chewy. The relish was just the right kick, and the tomato coulis was the perfect acidic addition. Barbie thought they were the best Calamari she’d ever had! With a salad, this could easily be an economical choice for an entrée.

For dinner, we both ordered the Pan-seared Georges Bank Day Boat Scallops with Trofie pasta with Sultana raisins, Marcona almonds, young string beans and herb creme with wild mushrooms, lemon-thyme-mustard au jus and arugula.

We both agreed these were the best scallops we’d ever had. They were perfectly prepared, and as good as they were, the pasta and mushrooms in the lemon-thyme-mustard au jus was even better. Shhhh, if you listen carefully, you can hear my stomach growling now as I write this!

We would have loved dessert, but were too full!

There is no doubt we will return to Narcoossee’s in the future, and we will try to choose different food selections, but it won’t be easy!

Be sure to follow Nick and Barbie on all their adventures (so you won’t miss a thing)!  You can find Disney Musings on your favorite social media sites:  Disney Musings Blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, On Instagram, On Pinterest.

 

 

 

Disney Cruise Food – Palo’s Chocolate Soufflé

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In my non-vacationing life, I rarely eat dessert.  When I’m on a Disney cruise, though, I tend to order dessert with dinner.  It’s expected.  In fact, on the occasional evening I’ve attempted to pass on dessert, our server seemed genuinely saddened by this and vowed to find something to tempt me.  I’ve ordered plain vanilla ice cream or a Mickey Premium ice cream bar from the children’s menu just to feel less guilty about my lack of a sweet tooth.Chocolate Souffle Presentation

When we dine in Palo, our favorite adults-only restaurant on the high seas, it’s a completely different story.  Palo serves THE Chocolate Soufflé – a delicious work of confectionary art that makes me inordinately happy!  Made-to-order, if you want this particular dessert, it’s best to let your server know early in the meal so the 20-ish minute cooking time can be taken into account (while you’re enjoying Palo’s amazing Italian dishes).Chocolate Souffle

Hot, straight from the oven, the Chocolate Soufflé is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and two small pitchers of sauce, one chocolate, one vanilla.  You get to choose how you’d like to combine the separate components to make the perfect blend of hot, cold, chocolate, vanilla, crispy, gooey fabulousness that is this dessert!Chocolate Souffle Closeup

After I pause for a moment to admire the beauty of my dessert, I take that spoonful of ice cream and smoosh it right into the center of the soufflé.  That blend of hot and cold is SO perfect, but won’t last forever so I immediately drizzle a little bit of both the chocolate and vanilla sauces right into the cavern I’ve made with the ice cream spoon and start eating.  Oh, boy, this is just the best dessert!  The crust on the outside, the gooey filling, the delicate powdered sugar topping – the blend of textures and subtle flavors really defies description, but trust me when I say it’s one of my most favorite treats in the world.  If you find yourself dining at Palo, save room for dessert and order the Chocolate Soufflé – you won’t be sorry.

Have you taken a Disney Cruise?  What was your favorite sweet treat?

Want to try Palo’s Chocolate Soufflé at home?  Here’s the recipe!