For food-focused travelers, the most exciting part of theMagic Kingdom’s new Fantasyland additions will be Be Our Guest, a restaurant themed around Beauty and the Beast. Here are some inside details about what to expect.
The restaurant will be an immersive experience. You’ll cross a bridge lined with pots of fire to reach it and, upon entering, be swept up in the movie. Three dining rooms have entirely separate looks, such as the ballroom, which is grand and carpeted, and the West Wing, complete with shredded wallpaper. Statues will look like they’ve been there hundreds of years. About 320 of the 500 seats will be in the ballroom.
Here's the ballroom (photo from Disney).
Lunch will be fast-casual, meaning guests order at a table and have the meal delivered. Tables will be bussed. Dinner will be traditional table service with an a la carte menu.
The food will be French, though of course approachable for Americans (mac and cheese will have a Gallic twist and a fancy name). Scratch cooking will be the rule, so the turkey on your lunchtime baguette will be roasted on the premises, for example. A croque-monsieur sandwich will be offered (melted ham and cheese between two slices of eggy bread). Dinner entrees will include a splendid citrusy salmon.
Starters include refreshing salads such as string beans with caramelized onions, watermelon with radishes (wonderful) and beets with yellow raisins.
Kids foods will incorporate nutrition in sneaky ways. For example, the ketchup will have carrots in the recipe, and the meatloaf will incorporate hidden vegetables.
Twenty wines and a few French and Belgian beers will be offered at dinner — a first for the Magic Kingdom, which has never before offered spirits to its theme park guests. “It never really made sense before,” an executive explained. A signature fruit drink made with pomegranate and apple juices (no added sugar) will be served in a light-up castle-themed cup over ice. Expect to dole out whatever it costs for every kid in your party. It is that cute.
Desserts will be delicious (look at this one) and presented on a rolling cart, yet will be made with little or no refined sugar. The pastry chefs instead use agave syrup, mango and other clever sweeteners. Pastry puffs, quite French, will be on offer, along with cupcakes. “The gray stuff,” as mentioned in a song from the movie like sthis: “Try the gray stuff, it’s delicious,” will be offered as as topping.
Time for a culinary adventure.
Eat well, my friends,
Rona
www.RonaGindin.com