Tag Archives: Dining

Oct 28 2015

Frontera Fresco To Open In Disney Springs

Chef Rick Bayless

Another new dining option has just been announced for Disney Springs in 2016 – Frontera Fresco. Award winning Chef Rick Bayless is thrilled to share his passion for Mexican cuisine with families visiting the Orlando area. Here are all of the latest details about this upcoming addition courtesy of Disney:

Chef Rick Bayless, a six-time James Beard Foundation winner, is bringing Frontera Fresco, his table-service Mexican restaurant concept, to Disney Springs, the new dining, shopping and entertainment district at Walt Disney World Resort.

Opening in Summer 2016, Frontera Fresco will showcase the gourmet Mexican cuisine that has made Chef Bayless a culinary legend.

“I’m thrilled to bring Frontera Fresco to Disney Springs and share my passion for Mexican cuisine with the families who visit Orlando every year,” Bayless said.

The new restaurant will feature authentic Mexican specialties such as hand-crafted tortas, tacos, salads, fresh-made guacamole and classic Mexican braised meat entrees, all prepared from time-honored recipes with natural, locally sourced ingredients. Frontera Fresco also will serve an extensive selection of margaritas, cocktails and craft beers and wine.

“Working with Chef Bayless to bring this fresh dining concept to the new Disney Springs is a joy for us, and we can’t wait for guests to experience it,” said Richard Debler, president and chief executive officer of Vista Springs.

Philadelphia-based Daroff Design is designing the nearly 6,000-square-foot space, which will seat 200 guests. Vista Springs LLC will be the restaurant operator.

Chef Rick Bayless Biography 

Chef Rick Bayless is probably best known for winning the title of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Masters,” with his authentic Mexican cuisine. His highly rated, national Public Television Series, “Mexico–One Plate at a Time,” is in its 10th season. In 2012, Chef Bayless was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Best Culinary Host.

Chef Bayless has launched several award-winning Chicago restaurants. He founded the casual Frontera Grill in 1987 and received the James Beard Foundation’s highest award, Outstanding Restaurant, in 2007. The 4-star Topolobampo served its first meals in 1989. And the wildly popular, LEED GOLD-certified, fast-casual Xoco launched in 2009, serving wood-oven tortas, steaming caldos, golden churros and bean-to-cup Mexican hot chocolate. Chef Bayless’s quick-service Tortas Frontera restaurants have changed the face of food service at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, while Frontera Fresco restaurants have brought Frontera flavors to several Chicago locations. His award-winning Frontera line of salsas, cooking sauces and non-GMO tortilla chips can be found coast to coast.

Chef Bayless is the author of nine cookbooks, including “Mexico–One Plate at a Time,” which was won the James Beard Foundation Best International Cookbook of the Year award in 2001. His “Fiesta at Rick’s” is a New York Times bestseller. He has won six James Beard Foundation awards, including two for his cookbooks, Midwest Chef of the Year, National Chef of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year and Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.

501 WaysHeading to Disney World soon?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you excited to try Frontera Fresco? Please leave a comment!

Oct 21 2015

Epcot’s 2015 Candlelight Processional Narrators Announced

Candlelight Processional

The Candlelight Processional is one of the most beloved holiday traditions at Walt Disney World, with the joyous retelling of the Christmas story by a celebrity narrator, accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and glorious mass choir. Candlelight performances take place at 5:00pm, 6:45pm and 8:15pm at the America Gardens Theatre in Epcot from November 27 through December 30, 2015. (showtimes on December 6 are 6:45 and 8:15pm only)

Narrators

November 27 – November 29: Gary Sinise

November 30 – December 3: Neil Patrick Harris

December 4 – December 5: Whoopi Goldberg

December 6 – December 8: Joe Morton

December 9 – December 11: Ana Gasteyer

December 12 – December 14: Meredith Vieira

December 15 – December 17: America Ferrera

December 18 – December 20: Chandra Wilson

December 21 – December 23: Daniel Dae Kim

December 24 – December 26: Edward James Olmos

December 27 – December 28: Blair Underwood

December 29 – December 30: Amy Grant

Please note that narrators are subject to change without notice.

Candlelight Dining Packages

Candlelight ProcessionalGuests may purchase Candlelight Dining Packages to reserve a seat at the Candlelight Processional. These packages include a delicious meal and a guaranteed seat for one of the Candlelight Processional performances. There are breakfast, lunch, and dinner packages available. Breakfast costs $38.99 for adults and $22.99 for children, lunch ranges in cost from $37.99 to $60.99 for adults and $12.99 to $24.99 for children, and dinner pricing is $51.99 to $75.99 for adults and $16.99 to $33.99 for children. Each meal includes an appetizer, entrée, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage (or buffet depending on the location selected). Prices do not include tax, gratuity, or the required park admission. Participating restaurants include Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room, Coral Reef Restaurant, Biergarten Restaurant, The Garden Grill Restaurant (serving breakfast, lunch and dinner), Nine Dragons Restaurant, Restaurant Marrakesh, Spice Road Table, San Angel Inn Restaurante, Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria, Les Chefs de France, Tokyo Dining, Teppan Edo, Tutto Italia Ristorante, and La Hacienda de San Angel. Guests may call 407-WDW-DINE for reservations or book online by clicking here. Hurry – Availability is limited!

Heading to Disney World for the holidays?

501 WaysIf you are planning a vacation to Disney World during the holiday season, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Have you attended the Candlelight Processional before? What did you think?
Please leave a comment!

Oct 20 2015

New Menu Now Available At Tortuga Tavern

Tortuga Tavern

Have you heard the news? Recently Tortuga Tavern in Magic Kingdom reopened with a brand new BBQ menu. Here’s a look at what is now being served (prices subject to change):

Entrees

  • Barbecued Pork Sandwich $10.99
  • Barbecued Chicken Sandwich $10.99
  • Barbecued Beef Brisket Sandwich $11.99
  • Roasted Corn and Vegetable Salad $7.99
  • Roasted Corn and Vegetable Salad with Barbecued Beef Brisket $11.99
  • Roasted Corn and Vegetable Salad with Barbecued Chicken $11.99

Desserts

  • Triple Chocolate Cake $4.29
  • Cookies and Cream Gelato $3.99

Kids Meals

  • Smucker’s Uncrustables $5.49
  • Macaroni & Cheese $5.99

501 WaysHeading to Disney World soon?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you excited to try the new Tortuga Tavern menu? Please leave a comment!

Oct 19 2015

Homecoming: Florida Kitchen And Southern Shine To Open In Disney Springs

Homecoming

Another new dining option has just been announced for Disney Springs in 2016 – Homecoming: Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine. Celebrity Chef Art Smith is thrilled to be returning to Florida for this new venture. Here are all of the latest details about this upcoming addition courtesy of Disney:

Celebrity Chef Art Smith is bringing a taste of real Florida to a new restaurant opening in summer 2016 at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort.

Homecoming: Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine will showcase the cuisine of Chef Smith, who was born and reared in the town of Jasper, Florida, on the Florida-Georgia border. After 25 years of preparing award-winning meals for celebrities and heads of state and appearing on television, he is making Florida his home once again.

With farm-to-fork cuisine that showcases the bounty of Florida, and design inspired by turn-of-the century Florida architecture of the late 1800s, Homecoming will feature traditional Southern favorites with sophisticated, chef-inspired creations. The 6,000-square-foot, 200-seat restaurant “is where Florida heritage meets New Southern cuisine,” explains Smith.

“I couldn’t be happier about coming back to Florida and Walt Disney World Resort,” he continues. “To be able to prepare the food I love in the place where I have so many special memories is a dream come true.” Smith is a sixth generation Floridian, and his family still raises cattle, pecans and heirloom vegetables on their ancestral farm.

Smith says he is especially pleased with the restaurant’s Disney Springs connection, as he recalls summertime gatherings at the springs in the Northern part of Florida, casual get-togethers known as “homecomings” when family and friends gathered to share Southern specialties, enjoy homemade desserts and maybe sip a hand-crafted cocktail under the shade of live oak trees.

“Once we heard the story of his passion for Florida and his vision for the restaurant, we knew that it was a perfect match” said George Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “We’re thrilled to welcome Chef Art back to the state and share his spirit of Homecoming with our guests from around the world.”

Chef Art Smith 2Homecoming Cuisine

“The menu is a big part of my ongoing homage to Florida’s bygone era,” explains Smith.  “We will proudly and prominently support the Fresh from Florida campaign and the vast majority of our seafood, produce, poultry and beef will be from local farms, ranches or fisheries.”

The “rustic-chic” restaurant has a glass-walled show kitchen and the Southern Shinebar that celebrates an era where characters might have created some homegrown spirits on their homesteads just beyond the springs.  The bar will feature whimsical cocktails, punches and coolers, including some made with now-legal variations of moonshine.

Smith’s expertise is all over the menu from Southern favorites like homemade pimento cheese, Church Lady deviled eggs, low country shrimp and grits, kale salad with Sweet Grass Dairy cheese and spiced pecans and a grilled Blackstrap pork chop with sawmill gravy. “Each dish has a little Florida twist and makes guests feel like they’re on the back porch with me for every meal,” says Smith.

Desserts will be a specialty, with cakes, pies and delectable sweets made daily and shipped from a bakery in Hamilton County, including the restaurant’s signature Mockingbird Cake. “Southern women, using delicious ingredients and love, are the world’s best bakers,” explains Art.

Chef Art Smith Biography 

Charles Arthur “Art” Smith, age 55, is an American chef who worked for former Florida governors Bob Graham and Jeb Bush and, until 2007, was personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. His expertise is Southern American cooking. While attending Florida State University, he completed culinary internships with The Greenbrier in West Virginia and the Walt Disney World College Program.

A James Beard Award recipient for his New York Times best-seller list cookbook Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family, Smith has also authored Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families; and Back to the Family. His latest cookbook, Art Smith’s Healthy Comfort, has a focus on healthy cooking and healthy living.

Smith has made regular television appearances on programs such as “Iron Chef America,” “The Today Show,” “Nightline,” “Fox News,” “Extra,” “BBQ Pitmasters,” “Dr. Oz,” “Oprah,” “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters.”

Smith founded the non-profit charity Common Threads, which focuses on teaching children about different cultures through food and art. Common Threads has served thousands of healthy meals to children around the world since 2006, and in 2007 he received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the James Beard Foundation.

With Smith moving his family back to Florida, he founded Reunion, a non-profit charity that focuses on community renewal projects as well as teaching Southern tradition from the garden to the kitchen at Chef Art Smith’s Florida Garden and Kitchen School.

Smith is executive chef and co-owner of the highly successful restaurants Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, Southern Art and Bourbon Bar in Atlanta and Art and Soul in Washington, D.C. 

501 WaysHeading to Disney World soon?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you excited to try Homecoming? Please leave a comment!

Oct 13 2015

Coming To Disney Springs In 2016

Disney Springs has made amazing progress in its transformation. We’ve already seen parking garages, pedestrian walkways, restaurants, and shops open, but now Disney has announced even more to come in 2016. Here are all of the latest details courtesy of Disney:

Disney Springs continues to expand and transform as new dining and shopping locations debut at the re-imagined Walt Disney World Resort destination in 2016.

The lively shopping, dining and entertainment district treats guests by day and night to a one-of-a-kind Disney experience amid beautiful open-air promenades, flowing springs and waterfront charm. Disney Springs will include four distinct, outdoor neighborhoods with a diverse mix of retailers – including premium, affordable luxury and fast fashion options. Sophisticated restaurants will provide experiences for families and convention-guests alike.

The new offerings are part of an expansion that – when Disney Springs is fully completed in 2016 — will double the number of shopping, dining and entertainment venues from the current 70 to nearly 150.

New dining locations opening in 2016:

  • STK OrlandoSTK: The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc., known for developing upscale, high-energy restaurants, is opening STK, a modern steakhouse mixed with the ambiance of a sleek lounge and emphasizing a social and fun environment. The vibrant, lively scene will offer guests fine dining, signature cocktails, and a DJ playing eclectic music nightly. It will be one of the largest STK locations in the world, occupying 14,000 square feet in a two-story building, including a main level and the only rooftop-dining venue in Disney Springs. STK is expected to open in The Landing at Disney Springs in 2016.
  • EdisonThe Edison: A lavish “Industrial Gothic”-style restaurant, bar and nighttime destination that will feature exceptional classic American food, artisanal craft cocktails and unparalleled live entertainment. Similar to its sister location on the west coast, The Edison at Disney Springs will be dedicated to a resurgence of old-world style, sophistication and romance. Themed to a 1920s-period electric company, the space will recall an exuberant era of invention and imagination. With 35-foot ceilings and a range of themed areas to explore, The Edison will feature nightly entertainment including contortionists, palm readers, DJs and more.
  • Sprinkles: The world’s first cupcake bakery, as named by Food Network and others, will serve up handcrafted cupcakes, slow churned ice cream and homemade cookies. Their innovative Cupcake ATM will satisfy sweet-toothed epicureans 24/7.
  • Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza: Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza is a modern day “pizza joint” known for its custom-built artisanal pizzas, freshly made salads, blood orange lemonade and s’more pies. The fast-casual restaurant will feature an interactive assembly-line format that allows guests to customize their pizza, choosing from over 40 fresh, artisanal toppings – all for one price. The generously sized, 11-inch pizzas will be “fast-fired” in a blazing hot open-flame oven and ready to enjoy in just 180 seconds.

Planet Hollywood ObservatoryRe-imagined dining coming in 2016:

  • Planet Hollywood: Transforming its flagship venue, Planet Hollywood will become a star-themed Planet Hollywood Observatory to match the look and feel of Disney Springs. As part of the makeover, the venue will add a new outdoor terrace and bar space called Stargazers and feature live entertainment.

New retail locations opening in 2016:

  • Zara: Owned by the Inditex Group, Zara is one of the world’s largest fashion retail groups. The retailer is known for its men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and accessories, and how it expertly interprets current fashion and style trends of the season, delivering original designs to the consumer in a matter of weeks.
  • Tommy Bahama: Iconic island lifestyle brand Tommy Bahama embodies relaxed sophistication. The hallmarks of this casual collection include island-inspired sportswear, denim, and swimwear for men and women in luxuriously soft silks and cottons, richly woven textures and eclectic prints.
  • Lilly Pulitzer: The authentic American resort wear brand, Lilly Pulitzer, is landing in the heart of Disney and will be offering their clothing and accessories, optimistic outlook, and happy prints to those who’ve loved the brand for years and new Lilly Girls out there. 
  • UNIQLO: Leading global retailer UNIQLO designs, manufactures, and sells casual apparel that comes from the company’s Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. The simplest design hides the most thoughtful details in clothing that is constantly being innovated to bring more warmth and lightness, better design and comfort to people’s lives.
  • PandoraPANDORA: Building on its existing relationship with Disney Parks, the popular jewelry brand will offer classic yet modern charm bracelets, along with necklaces, rings and earrings, as well as a line of exclusive Disney-themed jewelry.
  • UGG: The UGG® brand is recognized as a premium lifestyle brand offering men’s, women’s and kid’s footwear as well as loungewear, outerwear, home products, cold weather accessories and handbags.
  • L’Occitane en Provence: L’Occitane en Provence is an international skincare and beauty line celebrating the culture and beauty of Provence, France.
  • Edward Beiner: A leading eyewear designer, purveyor and retailer, Edward Beiner offers today’s aspiring lifestyle-oriented customer the world’s most original, authentic and innovative designer, fashion and high performance eyewear.

501 WaysHeading to Disney World soon?

If you are planning a vacation to Disney World, be sure to check out these valuable resources to help you save time and money:

Are you excited about the new additions? Please leave a comment!