Naples Ristorante: Downtown Disney

Before I come home at night, I normally call Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and ask her if there is something I can bring home for dinner. Pizza is usually a choice about once a week. Now we have the usual dreck of of Dominoes, Little Caesars, and Papa Johns. And we have a couple of other pizza places that are definitely a step up from those chain establishments. We also have a of couple pizza restaurants that are really a cut above but those are usually reserved for a weekend visit. Anyway, when I think about pizza, my mind will always drift to Naples in Downtown Disney. What better place to enjoy a slice or two than sitting outside on a warm sunny afternoon day or early evening, reflecting on your Disney day, and just generally people watch with all the Downtown Disney activity. For me its really special experience  Naples is my favorite place for pizza by far.

Of course there is a full compliment of pastas, sandwiches, and salads to choose from as well.

And of course there is always this to wash it all down nicely.....

I know I have written a piece in this blog about Naples Ristorante before but seeing some new pictures jogged some old and special memories. It was time to revisit.

Not Every Disney Character is Cute

I was going through some Disneyland photos that I had taken over a year ago but didn't look at until today. You know how everyone thinks of Disney characters as cute, lovable, and memorable. Well, every once in awhile I can come across a character that flat out gives me the creeps. Taken at the World of Disney Downtown Disney Store - this is nightmare material here.

The Earl of Sandwich Opens in Downtown Disney Anaheim

The Disneyland Traveler is a sandwich kind of guy. I like sandwiches a lot. It may stem back to childhood days when my mom would send me off to school with a sandwich in my lunch bag (the brown paper lunch sack, I was never the metal cartoon lunch box type). It was usually the routine stuff - peanut butter and jelly, bologna, tuna, but every once in awhile I would get surprised and get a sandwich made from the previous day's dinner leftovers like pot roast, or pork roast.

Last Friday, the Earl of Sandwich opened in Downtown Disney in the old Compass Books spot across from the ESPN Zone. With a dumb name like Earl of Sandwich, you know this has to be a chain and it is but not really established out here in the west. I guess there is an Earl in Las Vegas. But there is an Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney in Walt Disney World and people swear by the place both with the price (all sandwiches are $6.99) and the quality.

So the Earl of Sandwich is now on the list of must places to go on our next visit to the Disneyland Resort. Goodness knows the Disney parks struggle with making a good sandwich with your best bet probably being the Pacific Wharf Cafe in DCA so the Earl is a welcomed addition. Hopefully it will become a regular stop on all of our visits. 

So far the reports are quite good with the sandwiches. There have have been some comments that the side small side accompaniments aren't worth the money but the sandwiches themselves have been getting very good reviews. The biggest complaint to this point, as one would suspect - long lines.

What would be my worst fear about the Earl of Sandwich? That it ends being something similar to my least favorite sandwich place - Subway. Hopefully not.

Downtown Disney Dining - The Rainforest Cafe

When staying at the Disneyland Resort, dining at the Rainforest Cafe is a popular thing to do - a very popular thing to do if you ever had to wait for a table.  It is easily the most popular restaurant in Downtown Disney.  But the Rainforest Cafe is a chain restaurant with locations across the country and from what I understand, all pretty much themed the same way.

It's the theming that draws people by the droves into the Rainforest, especially if you have children. With animatronic gorillas and simulated thunder and lightning storms starting up every 15 minutes or so, you can't help but be mildly amused and entertained. Unless you have seen this act a dozen times before as Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I have, then the noise and distraction becomes a bit of an irritant while you are trying to enjoy your meal.

Dining outside Disneyland Park what the Rainforest Cafe does offer you is a large and varied menu with all the standards - appetizers, soups & salads, pastas & pizzas, burgers & sandwiches, and an assortment of seafood, chicken, meat entrees.  Also add a large dessert menu and the typical chain restaurant cocktail menu into the mix of choices.  Virtually everyone will find some menu item of interest.  None of these dishes will be particularly memorable but I'm willing to bet most everyone will find them in the pretty good to very good categories.  I have sampled various appetizers, pasta, seafood, and the ribs from their menu and never been disappointed though once you get back home after a trip to the resort, that Rainforest meal probably won't be at the top of your great memories list.  But the restaurant is fine for what it is.  They also offer a breakfast menu but I'm usually in too much of a hurry to get into the park rather than stop for leisurely breakfast.

If you never been to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney - go and check it out (make sure you ask for a second floor table to really see the show).  If you been there a few times, there are better choices for dining in Downtown Disney and the hotels.  Oh, and don't forget to stop by the gift shop on the way out.  Restaurants with gift shops - I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Sometimes A Young Person's Heart Is In The Right Place

Young people, teenagers, etc. wandering in and around Disneyland sometimes get a bad rap. I read a post in a Disney forum a week or so ago that made the contention that teenagers (with Annual Passports) treat the park more like a shopping mall to hang out in rather giving the park the respect it deserves. There is some truth to this as sometimes the rudeness and selfishness of the young can rear its unpleasant head (there are plenty of people way old enough to know better than to behave badly as well to be fair). But every once in awhile you see the sweetness and joy of young people enjoying life. The video (below) has been making its way around YouTube for the last 10 days or so and shows a young man proposing to his long time girlfriend through a flash mob in Downtown Disney. The video is such an enormous hit on YouTube that Disney invited to couple to be into Disneyland for some very special pictures to commemorate their engagement posted an entry into Disney Parks Blog making sure not to miss out on some very nice publicity. It's all very sweet.

Reflecting On Delectable Pillows of Goodness

It's breakfast time. I'm getting hungry. I'm rummaging through piles of Disney photos and I come across this one, the two characters that stand outside Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. And when I think about Ralph Brennan's, fine restaurant as it may be, I think about the delicious beignets they serve from their express dining area. Forget about Disney snacks, these little pillows of fried dough covered in powdered sugar are simply a breakfast (or snack treat anytime) that you will be sure to remember. Served piping hot and in a paper sack, the grease from beignets mixing with the powdered sugar create the perfect bite-size snack treat. Add a cup of good coffee you will be set with a smile on your face and a buzz from the sugar and caffeine.

Disneyland makes beignets over in New Orleans Square (I think they call them fritters at the Royal Street Veranda). Don't even try to compare those with what Ralph Brennan's serves. There isn't any comparison. I was fortunate enough to have had beignets at the legendary New Orleans French Quarter eatery Cafe Du Monde, world famous for their beignets. You know, I don't remember those. I do remember Ralph Brennan's though and I'm getting more hungry just thinking about it.

Downtown Disney Dining - Naples Ristorante

I'm going way out on a limb here but it's a personal opinion - the pizza I have had at Naples Ristorante in Downtown Disney is the best I pizza I have ever had in my life. Now, I have never been to New York to have their legendary pizza and I'm not a fan of the deep dish variety Chicago is famous for serving up, but I have had really pretty good pizza in the San Francisco and the Bay Area through the years.

No, what Naples serves isn't Papa Murphy's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, or Round Table. What they serve takes pizza to a whole new level. It starts with the crust, fresh out of a really roaring hot pizza oven, the crust is nicely blackened, crispy, but with just enough chew to know this is a bread dough and not a cracker. The sauce excellent not tasting anything like typical pizza/marinara/spaghetti sauce you normally get. And the pizza isn't drowned in an acidic sauce, it comes off as flavorful and just right. I believe I saw cans of real Italian San Marzano tomatoes back by where the pizza is made. Add some real mozzarella cheese (not the stuff you pick up at the grocery store), some herbs, and olive oil and your off to a real good foundation.

Mrs. DisneylandTraveler likes the sausage and peppers (below) as her toppings while I, being the more adventurous of the two of us, love the prosciutto and arugula (above). Hers - excellent. Mine - to die for. Please note that the pizzas shown in the pictures are individual servings. You get plenty for your money - an individual pizza will run around seventeen bucks. Maybe add a salad and a glass a wine and you will be good to go. When the weather is nice, the outside tables are preferable.

Naples also has a walk-up section for quick service pizza, sandwiches, salads, and drinks called Napolini. The pizza is still very good, available by the slice at a little under 5 bucks, but you're limited to just cheese or pepperoni as your choices. This also is a go to option for Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and myself outside the park.

Naples Ristorante - if you want great pizza and a nice dining experience. Napolini - if you just want to get a really good slice of pizza and drink when you are in a hurry. You can't go wrong with either. Just wish that statue out in front wasn't so creepy looking.