Thursday, September 28, 2006
disney dining - part one: fritters
the first in a series recollecting dining experiences had while on a recent vacation at disneyland. surprises abound.
from the start i'm going to have to admit that this isn't exactly the post i wanted it to be. for one thing, i had photos i wanted to share for most of the items listed but as my cameras (yes, plural) were lost along with everything else inside my carry-on bag from our recent trip (also lost: cell phone, ipod, brand new tilly hat, personal notebook from the last few months including the original dining notes, favorite pair of walking shorts, a book i was reviewing) i am forced to complete this from memory.
shorter sentences from now on.
deciding not to spend a tonne of money on overpriced, mediocre breakfasts at the resort we brought instant oatmeal that we made in ziploc storage containers with hot water from the coffee machine in the hotel room. it was yummy maple and cinnamon and hit the spot just before rushing out. cheap, easy, all we really needed.
but two hours later your in the park and the snack beast attacks. and you've just gotten off "the pirates of the caribbean" and you're sizing up you options. lo, just at the edge of new orleans square facing the water beneath the overhang of the disney gallery is a hole in the wall joint with a few tables offering disnified pots of gumbo in a bread bowl and fritters with a fruit dipping sauce. as we weren't ready for lunch-type food, or gumbo, the fritters seemed the way to go.
just to interject, about 16 years ago i went to disneyland with a bunch of friends from high school. at the time this little hole in the wall wasn't serving gumbo and instead of fritters was offering a similarly fried dough pastry filled fresh with banana creme. on the counter was a large bubble dispenser filled with several gallons of lumpy banana creme attached to a base with a little phallic rod that jutted out in front. when you ordered one of these things they would take a pre-fried dough blob, shove it on the end of the rod, step on a pedal and there'd be a large hydraulic sounding whomp as banana creme was shot inside, doubling the size of the pastry. my friend dave ordered one and regretted it instantly when he bit into it a got a good mouthful of banana creme. "it's warm," he said. "oh, you mean it doesn't just look like semi-solid snot?" i replied. no one took another bite.
disney must have learned something in the intervening years. the fritters we ordered with the size of large plums, fried a light brown and dusted with granulated sugar. the apple dipping sauce was served on the side, though you could hardly drag a finger through it much less a soft dough as it was cold and thickened with who-knows-what. sort of like apple pie filling, only the apples tasted fresh. well, they were at least a bit crisp. perhaps that was the chilling. zuska and the girls didn't really like the apples that much and i was content to scoop it out with my fingers and wedge it into pieces of pastry.
but the surprise was the fritter. a fried egg batter that was dense but not heavy -- i realize that sounds contradictory. my zuska had assumed there was a rich egg creme in the center but it was nothing more than the dough, steamed in the deep frying process, fluffy and thick like an artisan bread. it was sweet enough to not really need the sugar on the outside but i suspect that's partly presentation: a fried dough ball just wouldn't look as appetizing.
served in bags of three for $5.95, one is enough for a snack so share. ¶ Thursday, September 28, 2006
from the start i'm going to have to admit that this isn't exactly the post i wanted it to be. for one thing, i had photos i wanted to share for most of the items listed but as my cameras (yes, plural) were lost along with everything else inside my carry-on bag from our recent trip (also lost: cell phone, ipod, brand new tilly hat, personal notebook from the last few months including the original dining notes, favorite pair of walking shorts, a book i was reviewing) i am forced to complete this from memory.
shorter sentences from now on.
deciding not to spend a tonne of money on overpriced, mediocre breakfasts at the resort we brought instant oatmeal that we made in ziploc storage containers with hot water from the coffee machine in the hotel room. it was yummy maple and cinnamon and hit the spot just before rushing out. cheap, easy, all we really needed.
but two hours later your in the park and the snack beast attacks. and you've just gotten off "the pirates of the caribbean" and you're sizing up you options. lo, just at the edge of new orleans square facing the water beneath the overhang of the disney gallery is a hole in the wall joint with a few tables offering disnified pots of gumbo in a bread bowl and fritters with a fruit dipping sauce. as we weren't ready for lunch-type food, or gumbo, the fritters seemed the way to go.
just to interject, about 16 years ago i went to disneyland with a bunch of friends from high school. at the time this little hole in the wall wasn't serving gumbo and instead of fritters was offering a similarly fried dough pastry filled fresh with banana creme. on the counter was a large bubble dispenser filled with several gallons of lumpy banana creme attached to a base with a little phallic rod that jutted out in front. when you ordered one of these things they would take a pre-fried dough blob, shove it on the end of the rod, step on a pedal and there'd be a large hydraulic sounding whomp as banana creme was shot inside, doubling the size of the pastry. my friend dave ordered one and regretted it instantly when he bit into it a got a good mouthful of banana creme. "it's warm," he said. "oh, you mean it doesn't just look like semi-solid snot?" i replied. no one took another bite.
disney must have learned something in the intervening years. the fritters we ordered with the size of large plums, fried a light brown and dusted with granulated sugar. the apple dipping sauce was served on the side, though you could hardly drag a finger through it much less a soft dough as it was cold and thickened with who-knows-what. sort of like apple pie filling, only the apples tasted fresh. well, they were at least a bit crisp. perhaps that was the chilling. zuska and the girls didn't really like the apples that much and i was content to scoop it out with my fingers and wedge it into pieces of pastry.
but the surprise was the fritter. a fried egg batter that was dense but not heavy -- i realize that sounds contradictory. my zuska had assumed there was a rich egg creme in the center but it was nothing more than the dough, steamed in the deep frying process, fluffy and thick like an artisan bread. it was sweet enough to not really need the sugar on the outside but i suspect that's partly presentation: a fried dough ball just wouldn't look as appetizing.
served in bags of three for $5.95, one is enough for a snack so share. ¶ Thursday, September 28, 2006
