Monday, July 28, 2014
Back to Reality!
Sorry for the long hiatus--I've been recovering from my Disney World trip and enjoying the last of my vacation! Now I'm back on the island after my summer adventures, and will be back to posting regularly. Stay tuned for Sunday suppers, stress fracture updates, and plenty more exciting stuff!
Friday, July 11, 2014
Disney World Day 4
Check out my instagram for food pictures!
Today was Animal Kingdom, probably my favorite of the four parks, especially food-wise. A variety of circumstances led to us not eating lunch until 2, so I went with a light snack so that I’d still be hungry at dinner time. We decided to get lunch from the Gardens Kiosk, which has vegan and gluten-free snacks. I got hummus and veggies, rice chips, and most excitingly a Babycakes vegan donut! I definitely recommend the kiosk if you’re looking for a quick bite and don’t want to think too hard about what you can get. Also, if it doesn’t get patronized they might get rid of it, and that would be terrible!
For dinner, we went to one of my favorite restaurants in the parks--Boma, at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma is a buffet with food from various African cuisines. The great thing about Boma is that if you notify them that you have people with special diets, the chef comes out to walk you around the buffet and let you know what you can eat. We had not only my vegan self, but my niece who is allergic to a large number of fruits and to latex. I have to give a shout-out to Chef Brian, who squired us around the buffet tables and gave us the lowdown on all the food. He also hooked us both up with desserts that fit into our diets, and my fellow vegans know how difficult it can be to get a vegan dessert at a normal restaurant! The other great thing about Boma is that there are usually a bunch of vegan options. I ate way too much, but it’s just so exciting to have more than one or two choices!
Overall grades:
Gardens Kiosk: A+; it’s not a place to get a meal, really, but if you’re looking for a quick, guaranteed vegan snack, the Gardens Kiosk can’t be beat.
Boma: A+; lots of choices, conscientious staff, and totally delicious food, Boma is the complete package. Definitely on my list of must-visits when I’m at Disney World!
Today was Animal Kingdom, probably my favorite of the four parks, especially food-wise. A variety of circumstances led to us not eating lunch until 2, so I went with a light snack so that I’d still be hungry at dinner time. We decided to get lunch from the Gardens Kiosk, which has vegan and gluten-free snacks. I got hummus and veggies, rice chips, and most excitingly a Babycakes vegan donut! I definitely recommend the kiosk if you’re looking for a quick bite and don’t want to think too hard about what you can get. Also, if it doesn’t get patronized they might get rid of it, and that would be terrible!
For dinner, we went to one of my favorite restaurants in the parks--Boma, at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma is a buffet with food from various African cuisines. The great thing about Boma is that if you notify them that you have people with special diets, the chef comes out to walk you around the buffet and let you know what you can eat. We had not only my vegan self, but my niece who is allergic to a large number of fruits and to latex. I have to give a shout-out to Chef Brian, who squired us around the buffet tables and gave us the lowdown on all the food. He also hooked us both up with desserts that fit into our diets, and my fellow vegans know how difficult it can be to get a vegan dessert at a normal restaurant! The other great thing about Boma is that there are usually a bunch of vegan options. I ate way too much, but it’s just so exciting to have more than one or two choices!
Overall grades:
Gardens Kiosk: A+; it’s not a place to get a meal, really, but if you’re looking for a quick, guaranteed vegan snack, the Gardens Kiosk can’t be beat.
Boma: A+; lots of choices, conscientious staff, and totally delicious food, Boma is the complete package. Definitely on my list of must-visits when I’m at Disney World!
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Disney World, Days 2 & 3
Yesterday was Magic Kingdom day, which meant 15 hours in the park and no time for a blog post, so I’m combining two days!
Yesterday we had lunch at Be Our Guest, which was super exciting because I had wanted to go there for dinner but couldn’t get a reservation. The restaurant is inside the Beast’s castle in New Fantasyland, and it’s very cool inside. I had a quinoa salad, and it was absolutely delicious. The fact that it was quinoa also made it filling enough to hold me until dinner, but still light enough not to make me lethargic after eating.
For dinner yesterday we went to the Liberty Tree Tavern. Their lunch menu, at least in the past, has been pretty vegan friendly--they have a very good veggie burger. Unfortunately their dinner is a family style set menu, which meant I ended up eating garden salad for dinner. So, a bit disappointing, especially given the price. The omnivores enjoyed it, though.
Today was Epcot day, and our pace was a lot slower than yesterday. We went to Tangierine Cafe in Morocco for lunch, and it was excellent. I had the vegetarian platter (minus the falafel, which has egg in it). It was very tasty, and also very big--depending how big an eater you are, 2 people could probably split it and both have plenty to eat. And, it allowed me to catch up on my hummus intake! I haven’t had any hummus all week, and I was starting to go through withdrawals.
Dinner today was at Via Napoli in Italy. We chose them because I had heard a rumor they had vegan cheese. That turned out not to be true (they used to but there wasn’t enough demand so they don’t anymore), however I just got a pizza with no cheese and it was still very good. I did not ask about any of their pastas, so I don’t know if those have egg in them or not. They were very conscientious about talking to me about my dietary restrictions, though, so still potentially worth a visit if you or your dining companions want to eat in Italy.
Overall grades:
Be Our Guest: B+; the only reason they don’t get a higher score is because there’s only one vegan option on the menu. Still, that option is very good, I don’t expect much more than that from a quick service restaurant, the portions were quite large, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is great. Highly recommend for lunch!
Liberty Tree Tavern: D; I feel a bit bad giving anyone such a low grade and I might still recommend Liberty Tree for vegans at lunchtime, but when it comes to dinner it’s a definite pass.
Tangierine Cafe: B+; like Be Our Guest, the only reason they don’t score higher is that there’s only one vegan option. Again, though, even just one option is pretty good for a quick service place, and the food was fantastic. I would definitely go back, and highly recommend it for a quick lunch at Epcot.
Via Napoli: C; again, limited options lower the grade. On the plus side, they asked about dietary restrictions when we checked in and then sent a manager out to talk to us and answer questions, and the food was quite good. It wasn’t quite good enough to make me definitely want to go back, but I wouldn’t discourage people from going there, either.
Yesterday we had lunch at Be Our Guest, which was super exciting because I had wanted to go there for dinner but couldn’t get a reservation. The restaurant is inside the Beast’s castle in New Fantasyland, and it’s very cool inside. I had a quinoa salad, and it was absolutely delicious. The fact that it was quinoa also made it filling enough to hold me until dinner, but still light enough not to make me lethargic after eating.
For dinner yesterday we went to the Liberty Tree Tavern. Their lunch menu, at least in the past, has been pretty vegan friendly--they have a very good veggie burger. Unfortunately their dinner is a family style set menu, which meant I ended up eating garden salad for dinner. So, a bit disappointing, especially given the price. The omnivores enjoyed it, though.
Today was Epcot day, and our pace was a lot slower than yesterday. We went to Tangierine Cafe in Morocco for lunch, and it was excellent. I had the vegetarian platter (minus the falafel, which has egg in it). It was very tasty, and also very big--depending how big an eater you are, 2 people could probably split it and both have plenty to eat. And, it allowed me to catch up on my hummus intake! I haven’t had any hummus all week, and I was starting to go through withdrawals.
Dinner today was at Via Napoli in Italy. We chose them because I had heard a rumor they had vegan cheese. That turned out not to be true (they used to but there wasn’t enough demand so they don’t anymore), however I just got a pizza with no cheese and it was still very good. I did not ask about any of their pastas, so I don’t know if those have egg in them or not. They were very conscientious about talking to me about my dietary restrictions, though, so still potentially worth a visit if you or your dining companions want to eat in Italy.
Overall grades:
Be Our Guest: B+; the only reason they don’t get a higher score is because there’s only one vegan option on the menu. Still, that option is very good, I don’t expect much more than that from a quick service restaurant, the portions were quite large, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is great. Highly recommend for lunch!
Liberty Tree Tavern: D; I feel a bit bad giving anyone such a low grade and I might still recommend Liberty Tree for vegans at lunchtime, but when it comes to dinner it’s a definite pass.
Tangierine Cafe: B+; like Be Our Guest, the only reason they don’t score higher is that there’s only one vegan option. Again, though, even just one option is pretty good for a quick service place, and the food was fantastic. I would definitely go back, and highly recommend it for a quick lunch at Epcot.
Via Napoli: C; again, limited options lower the grade. On the plus side, they asked about dietary restrictions when we checked in and then sent a manager out to talk to us and answer questions, and the food was quite good. It wasn’t quite good enough to make me definitely want to go back, but I wouldn’t discourage people from going there, either.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Disney World Day 1
We got in today, so we only had dinner in the parks, not lunch. We had dinner at Sanaa, at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was fantastic! If you let them know when you arrive that you're vegan, they have a separate vegan menu, which made life so much easier. All of the staff was super accommodating and helpful.
I got lentil dahl and vegetables and chickpeas with goan curry. The lentil dahl is on the left, in the middle is basmati rice, and the vegetables and chickpeas are on the right.
The portions were a lot bigger than they look in that picture--I forgot until I was halfway through eating that I wanted to take a picture (oops!). The food was excellent, and it was a good pairing. The dahl had a nice kick to it, which contrasted well with the slightly sweet curry.
For dessert, I got to have chocolate tofutti ice cream. I was not expecting such a big portion, but hey, I'm on vacation!
Overall Grade: A+ The food was delicious, the service was quick and friendly, and the chef and server were extremely accommodating of both my needs and the needs of my niece, who has a number of food allergies. Having a separate vegan menu also made things much easier for ordering. I would highly recommend Sanaa to anyone looking for good vegan food at Disney World.
I got lentil dahl and vegetables and chickpeas with goan curry. The lentil dahl is on the left, in the middle is basmati rice, and the vegetables and chickpeas are on the right.
The portions were a lot bigger than they look in that picture--I forgot until I was halfway through eating that I wanted to take a picture (oops!). The food was excellent, and it was a good pairing. The dahl had a nice kick to it, which contrasted well with the slightly sweet curry.
For dessert, I got to have chocolate tofutti ice cream. I was not expecting such a big portion, but hey, I'm on vacation!
Overall Grade: A+ The food was delicious, the service was quick and friendly, and the chef and server were extremely accommodating of both my needs and the needs of my niece, who has a number of food allergies. Having a separate vegan menu also made things much easier for ordering. I would highly recommend Sanaa to anyone looking for good vegan food at Disney World.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
The island vegan is going to Disneyworld!
No Sunday Supper today as I'm traveling, but stay tuned this week for reviews of various restaurants at Disneyworld! And check my Instagram (hiltheimpaler) for food pictures!
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