food IS a theme park
It’s officially official… The Trolley Car Cafe is your Starbucks stop in Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
Trolley Car Cafe
Trolley Car Cafe sign
Starbucks logo
Set right on the corner of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, the architecture [Read more…]
You’re planning your first trip to Walt Disney World. Or your 50th. Or your 100th. And you reeeeeeeally want to know what NEW dishes you MUST try? Weeeeeeelllllllllll, we’ve got a few suggestions for you!
We’ve got about nine of our favorite you-HAVE-to-EAT-this dishes and snacks featured in our brand new DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining 2015 e-Book, which you can pick up today for $4 off using code 2015 right here!
But I wanted to take a second to share just a few of those must-eat treats here with you as well.
Yep — here at DFB, we always like to kick off each new year with some of our favorite treats spotted during the last few months. But when I sat down to brainstorm this post…well, at first it seemed like 2014 didn’t offer a whole lot of new stuff.
That said, when I started scrolling back through everything we ate this past year, I realized there was a lot to be said for 2014 and its culinary prowess.
There is one really big difference between this year and previous years, however. Most of our crave-worthy dishes are savory this time around! I know! WUT?!??!?!?!?!? Don’t worry, though — I’ve got a few sweeties thrown in.
Here’s the New Food I Want to Stuff My Face with at Disney Parks in 2015!
We thought that Mac and Cheese, that king of comfort foods, was enough. But little did we know what we had been missing, until Disney started putting additional delicious food on top of its cheesy goodness.
We first saw the dawn of Gourmet Mac and Cheese — we’re just gonna call it that if that’s all right with you — a while back. Friar’s Nook introduced the concept, and we were smitten with their Bacon Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese and Blue Cheese Mac right away.
BUT THEN — this happened.
It’s heeeeeere! Yep, Trolley Car Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been holding soft openings for the past few days, with a grand opening rumored for Tuesday!
Trolley Car Cafe sign
The newest Starbucks in Disney World features a Golden Age of Hollywood theme (natch), but this takes a little turn from what you might expect…
Trolley Car Cafe doors
Inside, there aren’t glamorous regency fixtures and photos of starlets. Instead, it’s pretty [Read more…]
Are you pining for the holidays, or are you ecstatic to have moved on from them? Well, either way, we have a fun surprise for you today!
Many of you chimed in when we wrote about the Pecan Maple Bark featured in the Canada Pavilion during Holidays Around the World. Hands down, it was our favorite snack during the holiday season!
Well, the tree may be down and the bows stored away for another year, but we had to share this recipe. It was so good, we can’t wait to make it at home.
Pecan Maple Bark from the Canada Pavilion
Need a handmade gift for someone special? This candy, a cross between a bark and a toffee, would fit the bill perfectly!
Canada Pavilion, Holidays Around the World
Makes a 15″ x 10″ Cookie Sheet
Ingredients:
Maple Brittle
2 cups butter (4 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup maple sugar
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons maple extract
Chocolate and Pecans
12 ounces, about 2 cups, high-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped, or chips, divided
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
Instructions: [Read more…]
Who’s up for a cupcake feast at Animal Kingdom’s Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery?!
A longtime favorite in regards to offering some pretty fantastic bakery eats, Kusafiri is one of those places I just have to stop every time I visit Animal Kingdom. This little shop is home to several bakery favorites (namely, the Cotton Top Tamarin Cupcake and African Spice Cake), and even has a limited breakfast menu that still manages to impress with unique items such as the Warm Colossal Cinnamon Roll and Hot Breakfast Wrap, despite its size.
Alongside the classics, Kusafiri is often a place to find something new, and it didn’t disappoint on a recent visit. To my chagrin, though, I discovered that some of my favorites have undergone a bit of a makeover.
Kusafiri Bakery menu
Let’s start with the good news…
The list of Gourmet Cupcakes has expanded with the Lion Cub Cupcake.
Lion Cub cupcake
I showed this handsome little guy off on my Instagram a while back (‘cuz how could I not — I mean, how cute is little Simba?!), and have been excited to show him to you on the blog ever since. The fondant Simba topping the cupcake (similar to the toppers you’ll find on the Gourmet Cake Cups at Magic Kingdom’s Cheshire Cafe) is surrounded by a mane of frosting. ROAR!!
The flavor? Passionfruit. It comes through in the pudding-like filling tucked in the vanilla cake under the white vanilla frosting.
Inside the Lion Cub cupcake
Lion Cub cupcake filling
The citrus is mellowed by the creaminess of the vanilla, which is a combo I love. Plus, you can’t argue with the added cute factor, so there’s that.
If Simba just can’t wait to be king, he may have already accomplished that here at Kusafiri, especially in light of the changes to [Read more…]
It’s exciting to think that we’re just a little over a month away from the start of the 2015 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival!
We’ve always enjoyed this beautiful special event, but now it’s right up our alley since they added Outdoor Kitchens to World Showcase. Similar to Marketplaces Booths at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, they offer tapas-like dishes and sips of all kinds of interesting beverages. It’s super sweet to sample and stroll as you take in all of the gorgeous gardens!
We’re anxiously awaiting all of the puzzle pieces to fall into place about this year’s menus, but today, we have a couple of new details!
First and foremost, the FOOD! A brand new Outdoor Kitchen will debut in 2015. Botanas Botánico will be located between the France and Morocco Pavilions. This is the area that was occupied by the Brazil Marketplace Booth during the 2014 Epcot Food and Wine Festival, so we’re wondering if this will be a featured gathering spot of sorts.
We’re Wondering if the Puerto Rico Marketplace Booth from the Food and Wine Festival May Do Double Duty as the Botanas Botánico Outdoor Kitchen During Flower and Garden!
From the menu, we’re guessing that the influence will be South American in general, and Venezuelan in particular. At any rate, we can’t wait to see the set up!
Speaking of the menu, we already have a few details. Dishes here will include [Read more…]
UPDATE: Please note that Dole Whip is no longer being served at Sunshine Tree Terrace, and that Sunshine Tree Terrace and Aloha Isle (the original Dole Whip home) have switched locations.
With the addition of Dole Whip to Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival and Epcot Food and Wine Festival, and at Animal Kingdom’s Tamu Tamu Refreshments since last May, we’ve become somewhat accustomed to spotting this Magic Kingdom signature snack in other Disney World parks.
Dole Whip Float
But Aloha Isle — the original home to Dole Whip at Disney World — is no longer your sole source of Pineapple soft-serve at Magic Kingdom (at least for the time being, we should say 😉 ).
Aloha Isle
Dole Whip has arrived at Sunshine Tree Terrace!
Sunshine Tree Terrace
The first appearance of Pineapple soft-serve on the Sunshine Tree menu came along with the rush of Christmas week crowds, so at the time it was unclear if it was a temporary attempt to help alleviate some of the loooooong lines at Aloha Isle for the weeks immediately surrounding the holidays.
But since the lines are loooooong at Aloha Isle any time of year (understandably, because Dole Whip ), it’s good to know that a recent visit to Sunshine Tree Terrace revealed that Dole Whip remains on the menu!
Sunshine Tree Terrace menu (click to enlarge)
Sunshine Tree Terrace is serving up Pineapple and Vanilla soft-serve in cups, cones, or Floats. It does not appear that you can [Read more…]
Having just returned from an amazing trip to the Tokyo Disney Resort, there are a few items there that I just have to share with you! The Pizza Spring Roll being basically at the tip top of my list. Yes, you read that right PIZZA SPRING ROLL!
Pizza Spring Roll
Located in Tokyo Disneyland’s Toon Town is this adorable little food cart that serves two types of Spring Rolls.
We are back to take another look into the tempting pastry cases at Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie in Epcot’s France Pavilion!
You know that we love Les Halles. I never pass up a chance to stop in here for a breakfast pastry. The Frangipane Triangle is my favorite!
At lunch, I often enjoy one of their deliciously authentic sandwiches, like the Jambon Beurre. It never fails to transport me straight back to France!
But you will never guess what I decided to try on this visit…
On my last trip to Walt Disney World I, of course, had to stop by Les Halles. And I finally took the opportunity to try the — I can’t believe I’m going to say this — Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Meringues.
Wait. No. You have no idea how HUGE this thing is from the picture of it in the case. So, being the very helpful AJ I am, I knew I had to get one for you guys! If for no other reason, so you could see it on a plate.
Chocolate Chip Meringue — In the Case
Okay, here we are, out in the light at one of those great little cafe tables, tucked back into the France Pavilion. And now, you can appreciate the enormity of this meringue for yourself.
Chocolate Chip Meringue — Up Close
Still not getting it? That’s a fork on the plate beside it, for scale.
Maybe I was a little bowled over here. But I have never seen a meringue this big in my life!
Chocolate Chip Meringue — The Dipped Side
Now, giant size aside, you know how I feel about meringues. Basically, they’re [Read more…]
Wondering what the latest cupcake at Hollywood Studios is these days? Well, look no further than Counter Service spots such as Starring Rolls, ABC Commissary, Backlot Express, Pizza Planet, Rosie’s All American Cafe, and Studio Catering Co. for the Chocolate Cupcake with Banana Buttercream Icing and Caramel Drizzle!
Chocolate Cupcake with Banana Buttercream Icing at Starring Rolls
You’ll see it by that title in the locations above, but since that’s a suuuuper long name, let’s just call it the Big Hero 6 Cupcake, since the special guest star on this one is a white chocolate Baymax topper!
Big Hero 6 Cupcake
By the way, he is one hearty hero. It’s almost like getting an additional chocolate lollipop with your cupcake, like with the White Chocolate Elephant Cupcake found at Animal Kingdom’s Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery (though not quite so substantial).
Baymax Topper
With a HUGE mound of banana buttercream frosting and [Read more…]
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