Market Street Cafe

The Market Street Cafe is a diner located in the town of Celebration, right outside of Disney. Located across from the lake at downtown Celebration, you get a wonderful view of the water and you can go for a stroll around the town after you've eaten at this friendly restaurant. The staff is accommodating, chatty and friendly and the food is casual but tasty. Our favorite dish is, hands down, the open faced meatloaf sandwich. You are served a tender meatloaf, smothered in delicious gravy, atop a piece of Texas toast all alongside creamy mashed potatoes. Also, for the breakfast lovers, they serve breakfast all day long! Finish it off with a brownie sundae (so big you'll need some help to finish it off) or coconut cream pie. The Market Street Cafe is a wonderful little restaurant with booth or counter seating, serving comfort food at good prices, and set in the picturesque town of Celebration.

Columbia Restaurant in the town of Celebration

The Columbia Restaurant has many locations and the following is about the restaurant located in the town of Celebration. My husband and I have eaten here a few times and I haven't had a bad dish yet. They serve authentic Spanish cuisine from traditional paella to yellow rice and chicken to a burger on Cuban bread and steak and potatoes. I ordered the beef tips "salteado" and it was delicious, cooked with peppers, onions, chorizo (spicy sausage), potatoes, garlic and served with yellow rice.

For dessert my husband ordered the Godiva chocolate cake which was moist and tasty. We have also ordered churros (it came with seven sticks), and comes with three different dipping sauces!

Overall the places is very nice. You can choose to sit outside with a view of the park and pond or sit inside with beautiful tiles and murals. The prices are comparable to that of the nearby Disney restaurants. If you and your family would like a day away from Disney but still have a pretty setting, then stop by the downtown Celebration.

Tusker House Restaurant

The Tusker House Restaurant is located in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Africa's Harambe Village, right after the bridge. It used to be a counter service restaurant that served delicious platters of salmon, rotisserie chicken, salads and sandwiches. Connected to the restaurant is the Kusifiri Bakery window that has a selection of assorted pastries and beverages.

At this time, Tusker House Restaurant has been closed for renovations and will re-open some time in early November as a buffet with a Character breakfast. This is a good change since the Animal Kingdom did not have a table service restaurant within the park, with the exception of the Character Breakfast, known as Donald's Breakfastosaurus. Also, Tusker House has enough room to seat large amounts both inside and outside.

I can't wait for the opening of the new buffet restaurant, although I am a little saddened because Tusker House Restaurant was a hidden jewel that served great food at great prices.

Nine Dragons Restaurant

Located at Epcot's China pavilion, Nine Dragon's serves both lunch and dinner, with separate menus. For the most part you need reservations for all of the sit-down restaurants at Epcot, however, Nine Dragons is usually easy to do a walk-in, the reason being the very fast delivery of your food and the large seating area.

The wait staff are not like many of the other restaurants, they do not stop to chat and tell you about China and what part of the country they are from, they just take your orders and serve your food. The restaurant itself is grand, with windows facing the walkway and lake. There are tall pillars and archways and the tables and chairs are carved and dark.

I have eaten at the Nine Dragons several times (we held our wedding rehearsal lunch here) and the food is always delicious, although a little on the pricey side. One of our favorites is the General Tso's Chicken and another favorite is the Canton Pepper Beef, all served with white rice. I've also had the Sichuan Kung Bao Chicken, which was very, very spicy. Overall I liked the lighter lunches here rather than dinner and it's always good as a backup if another restaurant is booked up.

The Earl of Sandwich

The Earl of Sandwich is located at Downtown Disney Marketplace, across from Once Upon a Toy. They serve, you guessed it, sandwiches as well as freshly made salads, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, tea, coffee, lemonade and fountain drinks.

This used to be a favorite of ours because the prices were so reasonable and the sandwiches were divine. The bread was freshly baked and the quality of the meats for the sandwiches were excellent. However, we've noticed that on a few later trips that the prices did go up and the quality and service went down. The last time we were there I had a roast beef sandwich (The Full Montagu) and the beef was tough, chewy and inedible. My husband had the Scudetto and thought it was just okay. We haven't been back since.

It does get very busy and the line can go, literally, out the door, so plan on eating off of the conventional eating times. The prices are still reasonable compared to most of the Disney establishments but if your family just wants burgers and fries then go do the McDonald's down the path.

Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney Marketplace

There are two Rainforest Cafes located in Disney, one is located at the Animal Kingdom and the other is at Downtown Disney Marketplace. You can catch a glimpse of the rocky facade and blue waterfall of this particular Rainforest Cafe at the corner of the Marketplace.

Inside the restaurant, clusters of vines and low lying branches and leaves house an assortment of creatures from gorillas to elephants and every 30 minutes a thunderstorm starts and the animals move and make noises.

There is a large selection to choose from and the menu does not change for lunch or dinner. Although the ribs are good, the rest of the food is just the same fare you would get at any chain restaurant like Chili's, but a little pricier because of its location.

The Rainforest Cafe is not Disney owned and does not take reservations. They are a first come, first served restaurant so come early for lunch or dinner to miss the wait. A note for parents of young children, I've noticed the few times that we've been there that the simulated thunderstorms and the animals' chest-pounding and hollering can frighten children.

Sherlock's Of Celebration

Right down the street from Disney is the Disney-planned town of Celebration, which is a tourist destination in itself. One establishment that stands out with its red british phone booth outside, is "Sherlock's". Inside, this quaint shop sells tea, coffees, wine and pastries. It also has a small seating patio where live entertainment performs on the weekends. Whenever we pass by we always take note of the display of cakes and other pastries by the window.

For my birthday, we recently decided that it would be nice to purchase two slices of cake. I went in and bought a slice of layered chocolate cake and a coconut cake. Residents and Disney castmembers enjoy a 10% discount.

After dinner we divided the slices and tried them. My husband, whose has a sweet tooth, pronounced them delicious, leaning towards the chocolate cake. I liked them both, preferring the less sweet coconut slice. We ejoyed our cake and would go back again and sample another dessert. They had a tempting looking napoleon when I was there yesterday...

Also for more info on this place, go to the following website:
http://sherlocksgroup.com

House of Blues

The House of Blues is located at Downtown Disney Westside, right across from Disney Quest and adjacent to Cirque Du Soleil. We went a few days ago for a late lunch/early dinner (the menu does not change for lunch/dinner).

My husband and I shared an appetizer of brick oven pizza with mozzarella, marinara and pepperoni and I tried a cup of 'file gumbo', which had shrimp and okra. Both were very good. My gumbo came with a corn muffin as well. For an entree, I ordered a Creole Jambalaya with shrimp, andouille sausages, chicken and rice. It came in what seemed like a never-ending bowl. It had a nice flavor but too spicy for my taste, the kind of spice that blooms long after you've gobbled down the food. My husband went with a po-boy sandwich which looked like a whole loaf of bread stuffed with fried shrimp. He thought it was just 'ok'.

From the outside the restaurant looks like a weathered roadhouse with folk art strewn about on the lawn. The inside is pretty much the same, with folk art placed along the walls, along with the molded faces of singers. They played a mix of blues from Joss Stone to Hendrix. It was a comfortable atmosphere until the dinner crowd came in, mostly parents with babies, but it's Disney, so what do you expect?

Overall, I'm not sure we were impressed enough to go back but it's worth a try if you've never been before.

Boulangerie Patisserie

I can't say enough about how tasty the pastries are here. Maybe the line out the door will convince you. Try the napoleon, fruit bavarois, pralineige or chocolate mousse... don't worry I can't pronounce them either. It's a little hard to find a place to sit and enjoy your pastries or beverage, often there is just one spot left located inside the gift shop seating area. If you prefer eating it outside then have a seat by the fountains, where you may be able to catch the Serveur Amusant show.

Fulton's Crab House

Fulton's Crab House is situated right where Pleasure Island meets Downtown Disney Marketplace and looks like a docked riverboat. My husband and I recently had dinner here for the first time and were seated on the second floor, overlooking the water, what a nice view. I had the stuffed Gulf Shrimp and he had the Fried Platter. We were very disappointed with the food. His platter wasn't worth the expensive price tag. It consisted of three scallops, three shrimps and a meager helping of lobster on a skewer. My shrimp was stuffed with crab meat, corn and chives and came with a side of broccolini. I expected it to be great but the stuffing had a strong, salty flavor and although the shrimp was good, I only had five, and not worth the $30.00 price.

On a more positive note, the lemonade I ordered was one of the best I've had, and my broccolini was fresh and sauteed perfectly. Also the starter bread was warm and you can't go wrong with warm bread. But, if all you can praise is warm bread and lemonade, we suggest you go to another restaurant and just enjoy the exterior of Fulton's.

Asia at Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite theme parks because it is so photogenic. There are many hidden spots that lead to great photo opportunities, such as the wildlife trails. It's a safari to far-off lands without leaving the comforts of home, and without malaria. There are also great quick-service restaurants, like Flame Tree Barbeque and Tusker House.

This photo was taken by Asia's entrance way, and you would have missed it if you didn't hang over the side of the bridge and view it from there, but it was worth it. It really evoked that mysterious, not well-traveled feel.