Disney Dining

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Turf Club 3 Blogger Dining Review!

24 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

Back in October, there was a perfect storm of Disney fans, bloggers and social media mavens swooping in to the place Where Dreams Come True, our beloved Walt Disney World. This little rendez-vous among the many came to be known as Epic October. There was a Walt Disney World Moms Panel Reunion, meet-ups, live podcasts, the first annual Disney Food Blog Foodie Fest and – when all was said and done and the proverbial dust had settled, three blogging friends sat down to enjoy a leisurely lunch at an off-the-beaten path spot where none of them had ever dined – The Turf Club at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. These three bloggers were myself, AJ Wolfe from The Disney Food Blog and Amanda Tinney from Disney Every Day. We decided in-between the great conversation and reconnecting, that we would each take one course and write it up on our respective blogs – a trifecta of reviews if you will. I have the honor of reviewing the main course entrees, so here we go!

As a little preface, I think we all agreed that the Turf Club is a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the Parks. We had a lovely table outside on the covered veranda area, overlooking the Sassagoula River. In addition, because it is out of the way – a little hard to get to if you aren’t a Saratoga Springs guest (but not impossible) – and it isn’t shall we say known for its fare, the seclusion is paired with absence of crowds. The result is a quiet, serene, relaxing meal, which is hard to accomplish in most resort dining locations. So for this reason alone, I would definitely head back with my husband to enjoy a quiet meal if we were unable to secure a reservation at a favorite spot.

Turf Club Patio — View from our Turf Club table

Now on to the entrees!

Get TANGLED With a Rapunzel Pasta Trick for Your Little Princess!

5 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 5 Comments

I was flipping through the November issue of Parents magazine, and this little article in the “Time for Fun | Play With Your Food” section caught my eye! I Thought I’d share it for all those with little ones who are as excited as we grown-ups about Disney’s upcoming animated feature Tangled! I’m sure even the little prince’s out there would love this fun twist on pasta.

Here’s what Parents magazine says to do:

“Boil a handful of angel-hair (capellini) pasta plus a few green bow ties (farfalle), and toss in butter or olive oil. Place angel hair on a plate as shown, and decorate with a bow tie. “

I’m going to try this out with my princess and two princes, I hope you will too!

Don’t forget Disney’s Tangled opens in theatres on November 24 – when Rapunzel will let her hair down with her best friend Pascal the chameleon, Flynn Rider and Max the horse!

All images ©Parents Magazine and Disney.

How Do You Pronounce Karamell-Küche? Simple: Delicious!

26 October 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

Or scrumptious, or heavenly…any of those adjectives will work. All joking aside, if you really want to know how to pronounce küche, just click to listen. And now you know. Ok, housekeeping aside, lets get to the good stuff! Pictures of yummy caramel creations!

While I can in no way compete with the amazing coverage of all things food-related at Disney from AJ at the Disney Food Blog, I also could not resist taking pictures to share while inside Epcot’s newest siren of sugar, Karamell-Küche. Located within the Germany pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase. If you are a fan of caramel, you will quite simply, have reached nirvana when you step inside. And it’s not just caramel hard candies that the shop’s sponsor, Werther’s is most known for here in the states. There are caramel dipped apples covered in chocolate, caramel and chocolate fudge, caramel-filled cookies, caramels rolled with marshmallow, caramel-infused cupcakes. It’s everywhere.

As if that weren’t enough, the good folks at Karamell-Küche have seen fit to give us another gift – caramel coated popcorn which words alone cannot describe, you simply must try it. It is the perfect mix of buttery caramel crunchy perfection. Sadly the day I walked in they had just started to make a new batch so I don’t have any fun pictures of them mixing up the popcorn, (darn, guess I’ll have to go back!) but when you queue up to place your order, you walk by the huge copper bowls where they are mixing the heavenly concoction. There’s that word again – heavenly! It truly is. At only $2.95 for a small bag or $5.95 for a large one, it’s also the best new snack value in Epcot, in my opinion!

What follows are some of the items available that day. I urge you to take the time to wait in line and experience these wonders for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Downtown Disney Restaurants Pollo Campero and Fresh A-Peel Construction Photos

25 October 2010 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

Over the weekend we met up with friends who have just relocated to central Florida and walked around Downtown Disney. I hadn’t seen the construction progress on Pollo Campero – the new Latin chicken restaurant opening soon – since McDonald’s closed down, so I thought I’d share what looks like a really cool design. Love the colors and the stonework!

EDIT: Thanks to Keith from MouseMisers for clearing up the “Fresh A-Peel” signs that I thought were part of Pollo Campero. We now know that Fresh A-Peel is a new fresh concept named (featuring fresh salads, sandwiches, fruits and healthy snacks) plus vegetarian, gluten-free, sugar-free, low-sodium or organic offerings.

Halloween Decor and Treats at Downtown Disney Marketplace and West Side

19 October 2010 by Suzannah Otis 3 Comments

Last week we spent some time at Downtown Disney Marketplace and West Side, both of which are brimming with Halloween and Autumn decorations. There are some great photo opportunities at both ends of Downtown Disney so get your cameras ready.

Also now through Halloween night, Happy Haunting is taking place in shops and restaurants throughout Downtown Disney. How cool must it be to go Trick-or-Treating at Downtown Disney?! If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by and enjoy!

¡Bienvenidos a la Familia! La Hacienda de San Angel Opens in Epcot

16 September 2010 by Suzannah Otis 6 Comments

Last night local media and cast members were treated to a special opening preview of Epcot’s newest dining spots – La Hacienda de San Angel and La Cantina de San Angel. Completely new in design and construction, the two restaurants will replace the former counter service-only Cantina de San Angel. The new space will now accommodate both counter service during the day, using the outdoor tables as well as the air-conditioned comfort within La Hacienda, until 2:30pm, when La Hacienda will prepare for its dinner-only table service dining. Extending out onto World Showcase lagoon, the new construction is simply beautiful and fits right into the existing architecture and theme of the Mexico pavilion. While I will be sharing a more in-depth review after we’ve gone back and dined there as regular guests, I thought I’d share some of the highlights from last night and what you can expect from these two new choices.

Via Napoli Revisited! More Than Just Pizza

25 August 2010 by Suzannah Otis 8 Comments

The new kid on the block, Via Napoli has been getting quite a reception. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to who’s been at Disney World has wanted to try it and loved it when they did. The pizza is a much needed high quality and consistently-good option for World Showcase and Epcot. What about the rest of the menu, though? What’s worth trying? I’ve now been to Via Napoli three times in total since its opening and it is quickly becoming a favorite. As with any restaurant, however, quality is sometimes dependent on the day of the week, and other conditions that you just cannot predict.

My second visit was with my husband. First, we ordered some drinks – the Lemon Drop for me and the Sangria for him. Mine was very strong and very good. The sangria was just as good as at the preview. We then ordered the Calamari Fritti appetizer, since it’s always a family favorite and was so delicious at the preview. The first thing we noticed is this is definitely not an appetizer for two people to share. It was huge! The calamari were cooked perfectly, but there was a little less salt than at the preview, which is part of what made them so good then I think. Still, they were great and we weren’t disappointed at all.

In Napoli Where Pizza is King…Epcot Welcomes Via Napoli to the Family

6 August 2010 by Suzannah Otis 9 Comments

Ok, so Dean Martin said love was king, but he never tried the pizza at Via Napoli now did he? I was among those lucky enough to get a taste yesterday at the Via Napoli grand opening celebration and I can’t wait to return. Of course there has been a lot of buzz about Via Napoli online since it was first announced it would join the World Showcase family of restaurants. Fears swirled that adding a new element to an existing country pavilion would disrupt the look and flow of our beloved Italy, while others felt an expansion was necessary and eagerly awaited its arrival. Me? Well, I am used to Boston pizza, where Dominoes is a 4-letter word and places like Bertucci’s once took the pizza chain restaurant up to date and into the land of the brick oven. Knowing there would now finally be a place to get authentic Neapolitan pizza in Epcot, I was a fan before I even got there.

Now I know, everyone just wants to know how good the pizza is, but please indulge me as I discuss what makes Via Napoli such a satisfying experience…First of all, look at the picture above – how beautiful is that? So authentic-looking and inviting, isn’t it? Before we venture inside, lets take a look at the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Epcot Vice President Dan Cockerell, Patina Group CEO Nick Valenti, legendary chef and Patina Group and founder Joachim Splichal and of course, Mickey and Minnie, in their finest Italian couture!

Interview With Celebrity Chef Kevin Dundon of Raglan Road plus Giveaway!

10 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 22 Comments

Those of you regular readers here at ZannaLand know that I’m not exactly the pinnacle of proper journalistic procedure and format. I did not come to this blog by way of a former career in the media, any official training, or degrees to back me up (unless you want to count writing for the high school newspaper and those two semesters of public relations in college). This is, I’m sure, more than evident in the casual way that I share my thoughts and views here with you. I do this to connect with readers and hopefully speak to them on the same level. So it is in that same vein that I share the following pre-amble to the amazing interview I’m about to post —

If you’ve met me in real life, you also know that shy and socially awkward are probably the first two impressions that come to mind. There’s a reason I write! However, after several meetings or perhaps an adult beverage, I do mellow out and relax. That said, hanging around my fellow bloggers and media mavens, I finally get that concept of: “What’s the worse they can say? No? Then you move on!“

So it was channeling one of those very bloggers that gave me the confidence to approach Chef Dundon after meeting him at the Raglan Road Signature Dinner and ask for an interview. As soon as I had the thought, the confidence was there and I knew I could do it. Even if he blew me off and said he was too busy, or was polite and said yes but later blew me off, I was going to DO it. So I did. And guess what? (not hard to guess reading the title of this post!) He said “That would be wonderful!” I spent the rest of the night on cloud 9, if for no other reason than I had made that next step in my new life as a purveyor of fine social media. (Like that title? I just made it up.)

Anyway, now you know the story behind the story and it is with great pleasure and honor that I present the following interview to you, my readers, and hope you enjoy it. Here’s a little more about Kevin Dundon’s background:

Kevin Dundon is the Chef/Proprietor of Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Restaurant, located in Ireland’s sunny South East. Dunbrody was established in 1997 by Kevin and his wife Catherine and has very quickly become a must-see for all foodies. It is now considered to be one of Ireland’s Premier Hotels & Restaurant. Kevin’s runs a cookery school at the hotel as well which already recognised as one of the most respected in the country. (source: KevinDundon.com)

In addition Kevin is the Chef/Patron of Raglan Road which has two locations, Downtown Disney in Orlando and Kansas City, MO. Given that Chef Dundon has cooked for none other than Her Majesty, The Queen and Bono, I think it goes without saying that Raglan Road will not disappoint. He is also author of two cookbooks: Full on Irish: Creative Contemporary Cooking and Great Family Food. Is there another in the works? Read on…

Take the Raglan Road to Wonderland – Celebrity Chef Dining Experience

4 June 2010 by Suzannah Otis 7 Comments

You may remember my review of my last Tables in Wonderland experience at The Wave in Disney’s Contemporary Resort. It was so spectacular, I had to take my husband to the next event. Lucky for us both, it happened to be at Raglan Road Pub at Downtown Disney at $115 per person, which included the entire meal and wine service as well as a signed cookbook from Chef Kevin Dundon, who would also be on hand cooking. Just looking at the menu got both of us excited since we just love Raglan Road in general. Let me recap the evening for you – with pictures of course!

I was curious as to how we’d be seated for the night, since I knew Raglan Road did not have a closed-off area and the event was for 63 people. For those who’ve not yet been, throughout the restaurant you will find antique furnishings, grand fixtures, marble adornments, leaded glass, and ornate detailing. The entire pub was built in Ireland then shipped to Orlando. As we arrived, the Irish band was just taking the stage.

Raglan Road stage — Raglan Road is pleasing to the eye and ear from the moment you step inside.

We were taken to the Raglan Room to the left of the stage and bar. This oak-paneled room was built using original woods from an old Georgian mansion in Dublin. It was nicely intimate while still enjoying the ambiance of the rest of the venue.When we were seated, we found some nice items waiting for us.