Our Favorite Food This Week: Pizza Location: Pizza al Taglio – Epcot – Italy Price: $ 6.75 (cheese) or $7.75 (pepperoni)
Welcome to Favorite Food Friday where we share our favorite foods. Wow 2019 already – where does the time go :). This week’s Favorite Food Friday takes us to Pizza al Taglio for a huge slice of their famous pizza. If you can’t get a reservation at Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria or you are just looking for that quick bite while you are circling Epcot’s World Showcase then this is the perfect spot. The pizza has a thick airy crust and was covered in a healthy amount of toppings. The overall size of the slice justifies the cost and won’t leave you hungry. They offer 3 styles of pizza at the window including the two pictured above and also a Pizza San Gennaro slice with sausage, pepper, onion, and tomatoes. They also offer a small selection of wine, beer, and soda. Definitely worth stopping in for a bite.
Welcome to Favorite Food Friday where we share our favorite foods. This week we headed to Storybook Treats at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. As cold air sweeps across the country, let’s check out something even colder – the Tinker Bell Ice Cream Cone. Start off with a standard cone, but make it green. Add a halo of green cotton candy. Some white chocolate wings and lime flavored ice cream. Then sprinkle it all with edible pixie dust. I give you the Tinker Bell Ice Cream Cone! Overall a refreshing treat, but you really have to love sour lime. I mean really love it. I’m more a sweet treat guy, so the sourness was fun at first but didn’t satisfy my sweet tooth. If you are a sour lime fan, be our guest and give it a try!
As you walk into Frontera Cocina, the scent of fresh flavors greets you, and you can’t help but be excited for the experience ahead. The unique thing about Frontera Cocina is that they have a special menu that changes every 3 to 4 months, so there is always something new to try. Currently, celebrity Chef Rick Bayless is introducing authentic Mexican flavors with his new Oaxaca (wuh-HAH-kuh) inspired menu.
The meal started on an interesting note when Chef Bayless introduced us to one of the favorite snacks of the area. Nope, not a Mickey Bar or even a Mickey Pretzel… grasshoppers. Yes, you read that correctly…grasshoppers. Before you turn your nose up at the idea, people living in Oaxaca have been snacking on fried grasshoppers forever, and they’re actually pretty nutritious. So we dove right in, trying the guacamole topped with fried grasshoppers. I have to say I have never had grasshopper guacamole, but it wasn’t bad. The grasshoppers had the flavor of a sunflower seed, adding flavor and texture to the guacamole. If you’re bold enough to try this authentic experience, give it a shot!
The rest of the meal might not have been quite as adventurous, but it was absolutely delicious. Chef Bayless did what he does best…offered a unique menu full of fresh flavors and only the best ingredients. I sampled the Harvest Salad, Beef Short Ribs, Oaxacan Mole Chicken, and the Grilled Swordfish. All of them were amazing, but if I had to pick favorites, it would be the Short Ribs and the Swordfish.
The short ribs are slow roasted for 12 hours making the meat so tender, it falls apart on your fork and melts in your mouth. The ribs are served with roasted peanut mole, Cotija mashed potatoes, sautéed Swiss chard, crispy onions and toasted peanuts. Just talking about this makes me want to head back to experience this dish again.
The swordfish was another favorite. It is grilled to perfection, with a slightly crisp outside and a flaky moist center. Its complemented by plantain rice, roasted tomatillo serrano aioli, and sautéed Swiss chard. Seafood lovers can’t go wrong with this dish.
Frontera Cocina not only introduces you to the food of Oaxaca, but also to some drinks in a limited-time menu. If you enjoy drinks of the adult persuasion try the Mexcalita (pictured in the upper right corner at the top of the page). As I sampled this drink, I was told the story behind one of the ingredients: the banhez mezcal. Banhez Mezcal is the product of Oaxaca farming families working together to produce this handmade, organic, 100% agave mezcal. It’s has an amazing light, fresh taste and was my favorite of the night.
We finished the meal with a couple amazing desserts. For those of you wanting to stay within the Oaxaca inspired dishes, you will love the Bunuelitos. Buñuelos are large fried sweet dough, served sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It can be found in Oaxaca during the holiday season. Frontera Cocina puts a little bit of a spin on this tradition by adding cajeta-carmel mousse, red wine drizzle with raw sugar and Mexican cinnamon, dark chocolate shavings, mezcal-infused cranberries and roasted almonds. Oh so good! They also offer a fall favorite pumpkin cream tart.
The experience at Frontera Cocina is second to none and it’s always a favorite stop. The staff takes their time to explain everything on the menu, as well as information about the culture. I can’t complement Frontera Cocina and this new Oaxaca inspired menu enough. You have to experience it! The restaurant continues to be one of our favorites in Disney Springs and I look forward to returning again. The full limited menu is available below. Enjoy!
In “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” video-game bad guy Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) leave the comforts of Litwak’s arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the internet where they rely on the citizens of the internet—the Netizens—to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube,” and Shank (voice of Gal Gadot), a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces—so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he’s ever had. Directed by Rich Moore (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph”) and Phil Johnston (co-writer “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia,” writer, “Cedar Rapids”), and produced by Clark Spencer (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Bolt,” “Lilo & Stitch”), “Ralph Breaks the Internet” hits theaters on Nov. 21, 2018.
Our Favorite Food This Week: Garden Grill Location: Epcot Price: $48 ($29 Child) for Dinner
Welcome to this week’s Favorite Food Friday where we share our favorite foods with our friends. Maybe you just aren’t into sampling all the fun food at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, maybe you just want that down home Thanksgiving style dinner, well Garden Grill has you covered. The meal starts with warm rolls and a garden salad full of veggies grown right inside the land pavilion. The main course is then served with Sliced Turkey Breast, Slow-braised Pot Roast, Carved Pork with Apple Chutney, steamed veggies, stuffing, mac and cheese, french fries, and mashed potatoes. It’s served family style and it’s all you can eat, so if you don’t fill up on the first round, just ask for more. Dessert consists of a berry short cake with vanilla ice cream, and it too is all you can eat. You definitely won’t leave here hungry. The restaurant is located in the land pavilion and it is a rotating restaurant with views of a couple scenes of the Living with the Land attraction. While eating you will have some visitors including the man himself, Mickey Mouse, his pal Pluto and also Chip and Dale. Overall, the food is above par and it’s an easy way to see characters without having to stand in line.
