Friday, November 12, 2010

best vegan disney news EVER!

I *just* read this amazing news... so totally cool that I just had to drop everything and immediately blog about it.

Okay, so I had already heard that McDonald's at Downtown Disney had closed its doors. This, in itself, was good news. (Sorry... totally not a fan of the golden arches here.) I had also heard that it was being replaced with a Mexican-type counter service place called Pollo Campero. It was supposed to focus on "delicious and nutritious". It certainly sounded promising, but not knowing their menu or ingredients yet, I was only mildly curious. But what I didn't know is...

that in addition to Pollo Campero, they also put in a Babycakes New York Vegan Bakery. Yes, you read that right. There is now a VEGAN bakery in Downtown Disney! How cool is that?!! I just took a gander at their website. If they sell half the stuff that's listed there, I'll be in heaven (at least until I get home on get back on that scale). Muffins, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, crumb cake, cinnamon rolls...

Seriously, check it out. Here's the link to the article mentioning the change: Inside the Magic, covering Disney news, theme park events and beyond (thanks Inside the Magic!). And here's a link to the website for this bakery: Babycakes NYC.

(I have to go now. The itinerary for my upcoming trip needs a little work... like a whole lot more trips to Downtown Disney!)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

new buns...

In anticipation of my next trip to the World, I e-mailed SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com, and asked a few questions. I'm still awaiting some restaurant-specific info (and suspect that I won't really have more on that until I get back from my trip), but I did learn something new.

I asked about the veggie burgers. During my last trip (December 2009), the standard counter-service vegetarian burger was a very veggie-type Gardenburger, on a non-vegan bun. By request (which means, speaking with a manager), you could order this veggie burger on a "gluten-free" vegan roll. These burgers are sadly not as tasty, in my humble opinion, as the Boca burgers they used to serve, but with enough toppings, they are edible. However, the gluten-free rolls are rather dry, tasteless and crumbly. Again, better than nothing, but not the best bun for holding together a veggie burger with enough toppings to drown out the flavor.

While it sounds as if the veggie burgers remain the same (I was just told it's still a Gardenburger burger), there is a new vegan bun option. The letter I received says "We also carry a new Angus Burger brand Multigrain Bun which is vegan friendly". I will have to report back after I've actually tried this new bun, but I'm very excited about the possibility of improvement!

Look for some major blog updates from me near the end of the year. Once again, I plan to attempt to photograph everything I eat, and take notes. Sadly, my pocketbook won't allow me to try everything, but hopefully I'll have some new tasty finds to share.

And if you've actually tried this new bun, I'd love to hear about it! Thanks, and Happy Disney Veggie Dining! ºoº