FOOD:

03-19-2006

 

Earl of Sandwich


One of the more reasonable places to eat at Downtown Disney, with surprisingly healthy choices like fresh mozzarella salads. Must try: Earl Grey lemonade.
Downtown Disney

 

Waffle House

The epitome of "down south" cooking, this is a good breakfast joint to go to if you have very little money and just want a quick hot meal. The food itself is nothing to rave about, it can be rather greasy ,but being so cheaply priced you can't complain.Must try: grits, if just for the pure novelty of eating them in the south!

Near Downtown Disney

 

Perkins

A Step up from the Waffle House, this is a slightly less cheap but more satisfying and healthier place. The serving sizes were formidable and the atmosphere was pleasant. There was significantly less grease than waffle house! A bit like a mixture of Friendly's and Bickfords. Must try: any of their breakfast scrambles, with an unlimited pot of coffee.

Near Downtown Disney

 

Ghirardelli's


Just as close to chocolate perfection as you can get, and worth every penny. This downtown place is almost always packed and well worth the wait! Must try: Ghirardelli's iced mochas (a staple for us!), and hot fudge sundae with their homemade pure dark chocolate. To DIE for!
Downtown Disney

 

Pop Century

Eating at the resort is convenient but almost always costly and with very little variety. Surprisingly though, Pop Century had a decent amount of choices for us vegetarians. Their grilled vegetable flatbread sandwiches were quite good, their veggie burgers decent. Their ice cream sundaes (which we, naughty naughts that we are, had almost nightly!) were a decent value and hard to do wrong. Breakfast was rather sparse and disappointing, as well as the busiest time of day to go eat there. Our advice: avoid the pricey main meals and stick to snacks at pop century. Must try: grilled vegetable flat breads, 11.00 mugs which allowed you to have unlimited tea, coffee, soda, etc... your entire stay. They even had frozen coke which was great on a hot day.

Pop Century

 

India Palace


In the heart of the other side of town, amidst a mecca of fried food and all you can eat buffets, India Palace stands meekly in between a tanning salon and a kosher deli. You'd almost miss it if you blinked. But it is well worth the visit. For 6.95, you can have an unlimited buffet of healthy, homemade Indian foods. This restaurant is family owned and each family member shares in the responsibility of preparing the various dishes—MUCH time and preparation is put into each, and it surely shows! It is a far better choice than the "all you can eat fried seafood buffets" and the like across town. And at a comparable price. The service is very warm and friendly and you are left feeling satisfied in more ways than one. The unfortunate thing for this restaurant is location—its meager location makes it easy for tourists to miss—and it is a shame that the more familiar places close by—such as Burger King, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut and the like-are often chosen instead. This is a diamond in the rough kind of place to eat, and we went several times. Must try: homemade rice pudding, aloo mattar paneer and fresh naan.
Near Downtown Disney

 

Moroccan Cafe


A step into another time and place at Epcot. As always , eating at the attractions will always be a bit more pricey. But, being a Moroccan restaurant they had a wonderful vegetarian platter that had a variety of goodies such as humus, flatbread, lentils and olives. Overall it is a satisfying and healthy place to eat. The drink menu is very reasonable! Must try: moroccan vegetarian platter, Tangerine Dreams drink (with tangerine and orange juice and a little bit of Apricot brandy in it!)
Epcot

 

Norwegian Cafe


A good place to go when it gets chillier at Epcot before the fireworks begin at night (and if there is an annoying parade going on!). They have assorted " Norwegian" baked goods and a very strong norwegian coffee (coffee with a few liquors in it). At times, the liquors added to the coffee have been a bit too strong, but for the most part it is a nice way to end the day on a chilly night!
Epcot

 

Cosmic Ray's

A decent place when you're craving All-American food. Their veggie burgers were impressive.

Magic Kingdom

 

Electric Umbrella

The "Cosmic Ray" equivalent at Epcot. No longer carry veggie burgers but a veggie chili instead, which is good but not really a trade-off if a burger is what you're craving.

Epcot

 

Hotties

By far the best donuts ever made! This ain' t your regular Dunkin Donuts style. Hotties serves them up with style, with flavors like peanut butter cup and hershey's kiss. Not for the calorie conscious, but well worth the indulgence! Must try: Boston Creme.

Near Downtown Disney

 

Beach Bar


Chris and I happened across this bar at downtown Disney and thought we would try their "beach bucket" specials. Little did we know that the drinks were actually served in a child's BEACH BUCKET! They were a bit overpriced at almost 10 dollars a piece, appeared to have very little alcohol in them watered down by juices (which was probably a good thing due to the size of the drinks, but was not impressive flavor-wise). Overall not a good deal or a memorable cocktail.
Downtown Disney

 

Coronado Springs Bar

A great atmosphere that makes you feel you are in Spain! The waiter was extremely friendly and the martinis we had there were excellent. Must try: Sour Apple Martini.

Coronado Springs