Minnie mouse krispy cake from Goofy’s candy Co.

Minnie mouse krispy cake from Goofy’s candy Co. located in Downtown Disney.

Double vanilla bean creme brulee, Hollywood Brown Derby

Double vanilla bean creme brulee from the Hollywood Brown Derby located in the Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Empanadas from the Argentina booth

Empanadas from the Argentina booth available during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

2013 EPCOT FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL MAP

Click to enlarge

2013 EPCOT FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL MAP

Ropa vieja from the Caribbean booth

Ropa vieja from the Caribbean booth available during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

Dinner at the Rose & Crown Pub in the UK Pavilion

Dinner at the Rose & Crown Pub in the UK Pavilion of Epcot
-Grilled NY Strip Steak
-Rainbow Trout
-Fish n’ Chips
-Mandy’s Mess
-Sticky Toffee Pudding
-Jaffa Cakes

Kerrygold® Cheese Selection

Kerrygold® Cheese Selection: aged-Irish cheddar, dubliner and cashel blue with apple chutney and brown bread from the Ireland Booth available during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

Shrimp flavored chips from Mitsukoshi

Shrimp flavored chips from Mitsukoshi Department Store located in the Japan pavilion in Epcot.

Roasted beef tenderloin from Cinderella’s Royal Table

Roasted beef tenderloin from Cinderella’s Royal Table located in the Magic Kingdom.

Ravioli di Formaggio All’emiliana from the Italy booth

Ravioli di Formaggio All’emiliana from the Italy booth available during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

Disney's Animal Kingdom's Restaurantosaurus

By: Nick Maglio, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

 
Restaurantosaurus is a quick service restaurant located in the Dinoland USA section of Disney's Animal Kingdom, themed as a “dorm” where paleontology students live and dine, when they aren't digging for fossils nearby. It looks like it was cobbled together with various pieces of other buildings and even an Airstream Trailer.

 

The themeing here is extensive.

The menu is fairly limited, with Hot Dogs, Burgers, Chicken Sandwiches and nuggets. Kid's Picks are Turkey Wraps, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and a Cheeseburger, and come in a plastic pail with a shovel. For dessert there is chocolate mousse and cheesecake in a glass.

 

My wife had the Macaroni and Cheese Hot Dog, creamy Macaroni & Cheese and tasty Bacon Bits top our delicious Hot Dog, served in a fresh Bun with your choice of Apple Slices or French Fries. It was very tasty, but with too much bun.

 

I had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, a grilled Breast of Chicken topped with a Tomato, Garlic, and Basil Relish and Cheddar, served with choice of Apple Slives or French Fries. This was delicious, and I would absolutely get it again.

There is a fixins bar. I am not at all sure what all is in this, as there was a couple of covers over part of the bar when we were there.

Each room is cluttered with items they have managed to dig up, both out of the ground, and, apparently from junk shops and flea markets.

 

You can even eat in the trailer, which apparently is a highly coveted area.

There are clever puns throughout, and even notes and a bulletin board to read, with notes between "students".

 

The restaurant even has it's own soundtrack, with such songs as "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by R.E.M. and "Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was).

This a really great place to get out of the heat, or to head to during a sudden shower, as there is plenty to look at. And the food is pretty good too!

This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.

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Tuna salmon sensation, Teppan Edo

Tuna salmon sensation from Teppan Edo located in the Japan pavilion in Epcot.

Trio of Artisan Cheeses

Trio of Artisan Cheeses: Beecher’s Flagship Reserve Cheddar, La Bonne Vie Goat Brie and Rogue River Creamery Echo Mountain Blue Cheese from the Cheese Booth available during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

Blue Moon seasonal ale, Epcot Food & Wine Festival

Blue Moon seasonal ale from the Craft Beers booth available during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

Cheese plate, Victoria & Albert’s

Cheese plate (Sottocenere al tartufo, parmigiano reggiano, colston bassett stilton, gouda reypenaer XO) from Victoria & Albert’s located in the Grand Floridian.

Nutty Irishman, Citricos

Nutty Irishman (Bailey’s Irish Cream and Frangelico liqueur) from Citricos located in the Grand Floridian.

Beaches and Cream's Kitchen Sink

By: Barbie, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

The Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream

Imagine going into a restaurant and ordering a Kitchen Sink, and you really get the kitchen sink!
Well, at Beaches and Cream at the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Walt Disney World, you do!
Despite the fact that it was freezing cold and January, that's what my husband and I did with our friends, Kandi and John. The lights in the restaurant dimmed, you could hear the crowd hush and people started clapping and ta dah! This is what was delivered to our table!

 Here's a listing of what this amazing dessert includes:
(thank you to disneyparks.com for this thorough breakdown) 

• fudge topping, warmed
• butterscotch topping, warmed
•  peanut butter topping, warmed
• 1 medium banana, sliced in 1/2 –inch slices
• 1 cinnamon spice cupcake, quartered
• 1 angel food cupcake, quartered
• 2 4-oz. scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops chocolate ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops strawberry ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop coffee ice cream
• 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
•  marshmallow crème
•  strawberry topping
•  pineapple topping
• 1 14-oz can dairy whipped topping
• 1 brownie, quartered
• 1 regular-sized (2 ounce) candy bar, quartered
• 4 chocolate cookies (oreos-basically) with cream filling
• 1 tablespoon sliced toasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon dark and white chocolate shavings
• 1 tablespoon chocolate cookies with cream filling, crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped jellied orange slice
• 1 tablespoon milk chocolate chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
• 1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles
• 1/2 cup drained maraschino cherries

Barbie, Kandi, John, Nick

Look at us, we didn't know what we were getting into! We couldn't stop laughing once we saw what this was, and it was ours! The question now, could we finish it off? It's a long list of ingredients, too many to ponder on for any length of time...so did we finish it, and was it any good? Well, the consensus was that it was an fun and awesome dessert, that definitely needs to be shared with good friends; and yes, we absolutely were able to finish it off, and almost wound up licking the sink clean!!

Don't get the wrong idea, we're not done yet in this pic!

Barbie is co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog with her husband, Nick. 

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Lobster and seafood fisherman’s pie from the Ireland Booth

Lobster and seafood fisherman’s pie from the Ireland Booth available during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

Tiramisu, Tony’s Town Square

Tiramisu from Tony’s Town Square Restaurant located in the Magic Kingdom.

Food Trucks at Downtown Disney

I’m delighted to share this delicious tidbit: Food Trucks are coming to Downtown Disney! Even better? They’re rolling in faster than you might expect, with the first truck expected later this fall.

I recently sat down with Chef James Kleinschmidt and Downtown Disney Area Manager for Food & Beverage, Matt Fisher, who have been working closely with our Walt Disney World Food & Beverage partners on the concept. They shared some early details with me and, of course, I wanted to pass along every morsel of information to you! According to the duo, there will be four trucks, each themed to portray the essence of a different Disney Park. Here’s what’s in the works:

• “Enchanted Fare” will serve favorites from Disney Parks around the world; think Croque Monsieur from Magic Kingdom Park, Glass Noodle Salad from Hong Kong Disneyland and (my favorite!) Hand-Dipped Corn Dogs from Disneyland park.
• “The World Showcase of Flavors” is expected to feature items from the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival such as Grass-Fed Beef Sliders, Pierogies with Kielbasa and Lobster Rolls. Yum!
• “Superstar Catering” will shine the spotlight on a wide array of meatball options fit for a Hollywood set; the Lamb Meatball Flatbread with Tzatziki sounds especially credit-worthy.
• “Namaste Café” plans to feature a nice mix of spices with dishes including Butter Chicken, Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs and Tandori Spiced Shrimp. (I hear they’ll all come with Naan Bread, so you can’t go wrong!)

In the coming weeks, we’ll share additional details about the food trucks and hope to have photos of the menu items to whet your appetite. In the meantime, I’d love to know which truck you’re most excited about – I honestly can’t decide!

Chicken nuggets with fries, Leaning Palms, Typhoon Lagoon

Chicken nuggets with fries from Leaning Palms located in Typhoon Lagoon.

Poulet rouge with hedgehog mushrooms & gnocchi from Victoria & Albert’s

Poulet rouge with hedgehog mushrooms & gnocchi from Victoria & Albert’s located in the Grand Floridian.

Soul soup & salad from Raglan Road located in Downtown Disney

Soul soup & salad from Raglan Road located in Downtown Disney.

Be Our Guest For Dinner

By: Nick Maglio, co-writer of the Disney Musings Blog

Before I begin my review, I just want to say, if visiting Walt Disney World, you absolutely MUST go to Be Our Guest. It is not about the food, it is about the experience. You ARE in the Ballroom from Beauty and the Beast. You ARE in the West Wing! You'll see your host, the Beast! It is absolutely beautiful inside and out, the theming is a 10 out of 10.
But...

...our experience was sadly not as magical as we would have hoped.
We arrived for our reservation a bit early, a good idea, as there always seems to be a line.

Advanced Dining Reservations at the 6 month mark are a very highly suggested at this very popular establishment. We tried to add another couple 5 months prior to our visit, and we were unable to!

The wait was only a few minutes, and we were escorted in. I'd seen the exterior on our previous trip in October of 2012, but my jaw dropped the moment we entered the castle. None of my photos even come close to doing it justice.

We were seated in the ballroom by the West Wing, which I had to check out. On a future trip, I will request to be seated here for a different experience.

Our host, Beast, makes several appearances throughout the evening.

Our server was very friendly, but, as we'd discover, very inattentive.
For dinner, my wife and friend Kandi had the Layered Ratatouille,oven-baked zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes and caramelized onions sliced and layered with quinoa, served with a bell pepper sauce  for $15.99, which they both described as excellent. My wife actually said it was like the scene in the Pixar film "Ratatouille", where the critic was brought back to his childhood after trying the dish prepared by the "Little Chef", Remy.

 

Our friend John had the Grilled Strip Steak, with garlic-herb butter and pommes frites, $29.99.

 He ordered it medium well. It came out charred on the outside, but cooked fine on the inside, and he said it was okay. I tried his fries and they were excellent.

 

I ordered the Thyme-scented Pork Rack Chop, with au gratin macaroni, seasonal vegetables and red wine au jus, $21.99.

The macaroni is a grown up mac and cheese, and it was very good, a little on the rich side. The pork chop was fine. The problem primarily being just 2 nights earlier, at the Hollywood Brown Derby, I'd had the world's BEST pork chop, as I've come to call it, and this was destined to not live up to that. 

After one bite, I realized I should have ordered something different.

 

As for the service, if we wanted anything, we had to locate and flag down our server. 

Then, there was the Grey Stuff, and dessert. 

I asked about the Grey Stuff, and we were told that it was only served for special occasions. As a friend pointed out, isn't the fact the we are at Walt Disney World a special enough occasion?! 

Luckily, our server took note that Kandi and John were wearing their Anniversary buttons, and brought us 2 dollops of the Grey Stuff...

... it's good, but not as delicious as the song would have us believe.

The desserts we ordered, however, were a let down.

 My wife had the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake, vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing, which sounds amazing, but was described as bland, all the flavor being on top.

John and I each had the Triple Chocolate Cupcake, chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse filling, and chocolate ganache. Again, this sounds much better than it actually was.

At $3.99 each,  at least they didn't break the bank. 

So, a mixed bag here. Lackluster service, good, not outstanding, food, but arguably the best themed restaurant in the World. 

We will certainly be back, and I will give a different entree and dessert a try, because where else can you get a photo op like this one of my wife and me dancing in Beast's Ballroom?!

  

This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog where Nick is a contributing writer as well as the Disney Musings Blog, which Nick co-writes with his wife, Barbie.

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