By now, you know that I love a good list. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be good. If I’m flipping through a magazine in a doctor’s waiting room, I’m immediately drawn to the “Top10 Left-Handed Bowlers from Wisconsin.” I’ll even spend 15-minutes with the “Five Reasons Lindsey Lohan Deserves a Sixth Chance.” OK, that one was a bit of a stretch—I’d only give that five minutes; but I do love a good list.
Every now and then, as I’m contemplating ideas for a MousePlanet column, I’ll revert to my love of lists. For this column, I’ve decided to combine two of my favorite things: 1) lists, and 2) eating. Trust me when I say that those two items are not necessarily in priority order.
I know a lot of you folks have your favorite Walt Disney World restaurants. I learned about them with your response to the poll I took last year (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). However, what about a favorite food? Is there an item or two (or twenty) that you have to have on each trip? Something you will go out of your for? Something so mouthwatering you begin salivating as soon as you book the resort or make airplane reservations?
When I thought about this, in the context of a Top 10 list, I doubted I could list ten items for a “Favorite Things to Eat at Disney World.” Do I have ten food items I would list as “must haves?” I forged ahead anyway, mostly to see how many I could catalog. As you probably guessed, my list soon topped 20 and I was now faced with an editing task.
To appreciate my taste in Disney food, you need to understand Rule #1 from Russo’s Rules of Food at Walt Disney World:
Calories do not exist at Walt Disney World. I don’t care how much you eat, or what you eat, you will walk it off.
Before I get into the list, let me offer up a couple of Honorable Mention candidates. These items are not on the Top 10 but that’s not because they lost a taste test—it’s because they’re no longer available.
- Chocolate Truffles – The only time I had this particular item was at the France kiosk at the 2002 International Food and Wine Festival. Allow me to quote from that Trip Report:
“We finally stopped at France where we sampled the Chocolate truffles. These are $1 and taste like heaven in a ball. OK, we are chocolate lovers and we’re biased but these things get 4 stars, 10 aprons, 5 spatulas, and a couple of Veg-o-matics thrown in.”
That’s very high praise from me (the Veg-o-matics—I give stars, aprons and spatulas all the time.) I’ve found chocolate truffles since, even some at Disney World and even some at subsequent Food and Wine Festivals, but none has come close to equaling those we found that day.
- Beaver Tails – Do you remember Trapper Bob’s Beaver Tails? They were available from a kiosk near the Canada pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. I know there are a few of you that never tried one because the thought of eating a beaver’s tail was somehow repulsive—and think of all those poor tail-less beavers trying unsuccessfully to build dams. You should have sucked it up because they weren’t really a meat product—just a piece of cooked whole-wheat pastry, shaped like a beaver’s tail. It wasn’t real beaver, but boy— they were good. You had a choice of toppings that included chocolate hazelnut and sugar, maple and chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream, apples and cinnamon, or cinnamon and sugar. Alas, they stopped selling these little slices of paradise around January 2005.
OK, the “also rans” are out of the way so let’s get on to the real list—my Top 10 Things to Eat at Disney World, listed here for your reading pleasure but again, listed in alphabetical order by height (that’s a joke, they’re in no particular order):
1. A Sundae from Ghirardelli’s – Here’s Rule #2 from Russo’s Rules of Food at Walt Disney World:
At least once during each trip you may substitute ice cream for a meal—any meal (although I’ve yet to try breakfast.)
You’re liking my rules, aren’t you?
There are a number of very acceptable places to do this; Beaches and Cream, Seashore Sweets, and the Plaza Ice Cream Shoppe come to mind. In my opinion, the best of the best is the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop at Downtown Disney’s marketplace. Any sundae will do, but a personal favorite is the World Famous Hot Fudge Sundae: two scoops of vanilla ice cream overflowing with fresh homemade hot fudge, whipped cream, chopped almonds, and a cherry.
My second choice would be the The Haight AshBerry – Very Berry Sundae: strawberry cheesecake ice cream smothered in sliced strawberries under a layer of vanilla ice cream with blueberry topping, whipped cream, chocolate-covered blueberries and a chocolate dipped waffle roll.
I think I just gained three pounds writing that. I need a lap around World Showcase Lagoon… quick.
