Vegetarian Isn’t an Afterthought on Disney Cruise Line Menus

So exciting to be back on the Disney Magic – we took a three-night family girls’ cruise with four generations: my mom, three sisters, my daughter and her sweet almost-2-year-old daughter. We’re all foodies, so mealtime was lots of fun as we swapped plates and compared notes on favorite dishes.

One of our nicest surprises was the choice of vegetarian in all the restaurants. Our first evening at Animator’s Palate, I ordered the potato, celeriac and onion gratin with buttered collard greens, a warm, delicious stack of veggies with cream and a touch of nutmeg, and the fresh greens beneath. (Plentiful vegetarian choices included a tomato tart with goat cheese, butternut squash soup, a salad of roasted red peppers, zucchini and red onions and black bean chipotle cakes.) We tried the snapper and grilled sirloin too, both delicious.

Of course, the food at Animator’s Palate almost (almost) takes a back seat to the restaurant’s fantastic new “Drawn to Magic” show, the next generation of the original, starring both new and iconic Disney characters in a colorful, emotional finale with an appearance by Sorcerer Mickey. It was pure magic for every generation as we watched the stories from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” to the new hit, “Frozen.” Magical!

Night No. 2 was Cariocas, the new Brazilian-inspired restaurant named after the parrot José Carioca in “The Three Caballeros” animated film. For a starter, the favorite vegetarian dish was the Cuban Salad with watercress, avocado, pineapple, toasted Cuban bread and a vinegar dressing. Our vegetarian main course was small corn tortillas with refried beans, green tomatillo chile and a shredded white cabbage slaw made with white wine vinegar. Pile it all on the warm tortillas for a real treat. Other vegetarian options include yellow, blue and white potatoes with cucumber and olive-tomato salsa with a spicy cream sauce; tomato soup with a hint of jalapeño; Havana-style black bean soup with olive oil, and fried plaintain and malanga pancakes with crème fraiche.

Of course, meat lovers also enjoy the menu here, with a garlic-rubbed slab of prime rib and a skewer with Brazilian sausage, lamb, beef tenderloin and shrimp. We all voted the prime rib as the winner.

Our final night we opted for Palo, where I tried the new wine pairing which I’ll share in an upcoming post.

Vegetarian Isn’t an Afterthought on Disney Cruise Line Menus by Pam Brandon: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog