During my most recent trip to Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, I ordered something besides chicken for my meal. Yes, I know that sounds like an odd decision based on the signature chicken that made Chef Art Smith famous. However, many other menu items here deserve consideration besides the incredible chicken. On this occasion, I opted for Chopped Pork Barbeque Plate.

Now just in case you are unfamiliar with the popularity of this table service restaurant, this place fills up quickly in terms of reservations. In fact, this continues to be the most searched for advance dining reservation at Disney Springs via MouseDining. I feel that highly desired status to be well deserved.

Since I ordered the Chopped Pork Barbecue Plate, my meal came with a side of the Homecomin mac and cheese. Neither of my dining companions ordered anything that included this mac and cheese, so I felt obligated to order some. For the record, I think I got one or two bites of this since they found it to be very tasty. In this case, that worked fine since I have rated this mac and cheese the best at Walt Disney World based on previous experiences. I have a friend that argues for other mac and cheese as better, but not many stay with that position after eating this. If you enjoy mac and cheese, you should give this a try when visiting Homecomin’.

Promotional Photo from Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’

The Chopped Barbecue Pork entrée costs $27. The menu description sounds very ordinary for such a flavorful entrée. The description tells us that chopped pork is dressed with the special HFK barbecue sauce. The menu makes sure we know this barbecue sauce will be sweet and spicy. In fairness, that statement reflects the truth. In addition to Momma’s mac and cheese, this comes with southern style slaw and a cheddar drop biscuit. On a personal note, I always wonder why this slaw needs pickles. However, that might expose my personal bias.

As with most Homecomin’ items, the portion size counts as above average to large. In addition, if the amount of sauce drizzled on the pork does not satisfy you, another container of sauce comes with this entrée. The sauce does go well with the mac and cheese also if you “accidently” spill some on the mac and cheese.

The pork by itself displays excellent preparation. The high quality of pork used shines through with this meal. With the addition of the HFK sauce, the flavor adventure deserves respect. The pork tastes so tender. Yes, this sweet style barbecue earns the spot on the menu. When combined with the biscuit plus mac and cheese, this entrée qualifies as excellent.

On the negative side, the slaw tastes just okay. It feels like an obligatory portion of this meal since slaw and BBQ often go together. Also, service will be incredibly polite and attentive, but your food may come from the kitchen slower than you would expect.

Overall, if my only real criticisms are the slaw and slow Southern hospitality, then this barbecue plate earns high marks. As mentioned before, this place presents a challenge to get a reservation, especially at nights and weekends for their brunch. As I have written before, I have used MouseDining alerts service on numerous occasions to change reservations at this place numerous times. After having this barbecue plate, I have one more reason to visit Homecomin. As always, eat like you mean it!

Recently I found myself dining at Disney Springs. I let me theme park friends decide where to dine that evening. As I was preparing to order an appetizer and entrée in typical food blogger fashion, I saw a notification on twitter from MouseDining. My review of “That Salad With Chicken” from Raglan Road was posted online. Ironically, I saw that post while sitting at that same Raglan Road restaurant. The group I had just picked up at the airport that afternoon planned to go to Raglan Road for at least two months in advance for this evening. Of course, I booked a reservation with the help of MouseDining back then. In typical fashion, plans changed so I think I adjusted this reservation about six times. On every occasion MouseDining helped take the stress away.

Okay, I have waxed poetic about MouseDining enough. I ordered food that night. I selected a new appetizer there, the “Beef in Bed.” As you can tell, Raglan Road likes to create unique names for their food. The “Beef in Bed” costs $18. With a price point like that for an appetizer, I expected something really good or sizeable. The menu description explains the higher price point though. This appetizer includes smoked pulled beef shortrib on buttermilk cheddar bread, roasted corn, smoked onion puree and crispy fried shallots. Raglan Road appears to be basing the price point on beef shortrib meat.

Our server took our orders this night in a timely fashion. In fact, my appetizer arrived very quickly after ordering. In fact, it arrived so soon that many in my group wondered how that could have been done. I guess after visiting Homecomin so often, I expect things to take a longer time before I get my food. So, I felt concerned that this appetizer lacked freshness. Those concerns failed to be valid with the exception of the bread being a bit tough in places. Still, that might not be a valid criticism with this type of appetizer.

However, I did think this appetizer looked small in terms of portion size for $18. This appetizer fails to be truly sharable in my opinion. On a positive note, the pulled beef meat provided a great smoky style flavor. The flavor of the beef stars in this appetizer. If you dislike smoky flavored meat, then this appetizer should be avoided by you. If you enjoy that style of flavor, this deserves consideration.

The overall concept of this dining creation makes total sense. The creativity and design of it should get high marks. The buttermilk cheddar bread brings a nice level of sweetness to balance the rest of this “Beef in Bed.” When you get a taste of the beef with some bread combined with a few of the other components, the experience for your taste buds might earn the high price point.  However, in my experience, that only happens in a few bites. I doubt this concept can be configured to avoid some inferior bites of food. All individual components of this work apart from fried shallots. They seemed to not match the rest of ingredients very well.

On the positive side, this appetizer brings good flavor. Yet, I preferred the “Chicken Donut” and appetizers like at Raglan Road over this one. People with texture issues eating food will not enjoy this one either. My biggest criticisms revolve around portion size and price point. If this distinctive appetizer costs a few dollars less, then it would be easier to encourage people to get this. However, that $18 price point sends a message of either higher quality of larger portion size.

In my opinion, this new item may not last long at Raglan Road. I doubt many people will buy it more than once. Once again, my criticism falls on price point not quality of preparation or actual flavors. If you crave smoky style meat in a unique appetizer, go order this. If not, I would suggest another appetizer at Raglan Road. As always, eat like you mean it!

Attention all pizza lovers! Now streaming on Hulu is a saucy new pizza competition show called “Best in Dough.” The series brings together pizza obsessed competitors from all walks of life to showcase their pizza slinging skills and battle it out for a cash prize. Pizza geniuses of varying occupations, from students to social media stars, will be put to the test with challenges that will have you saying, “Mamma Mia!” And if that’s not enough for you, Wells Adams (“Bachelor in Paradise”) is the host.

With so many palatable pizza places across the Disney Parks, we consulted judges Chef Millie Peartree, baker Bryan Ford, comedian and food influencer Eunji Kim, and even head judge Chef Daniele Uditi of Pizzana to help us determine the not-at-all-definitive Top 5 Pizza Places at Disney Parks.

1. Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria (EPCOT)

It comes as no surprise that the traditional Neapolitan pizza of Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria is on this list. Nestled into the Italy Pavilion at EPCOT, a trip to Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria will transport you across the boot, with Venetian architecture from the North to Sicilian artwork from the South. This pizza is crafted with San Marzano tomatoes and real Caputo flour imported straight from Southern Italy earning the stamp of approval from authentic Italians.

2. Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is dubbed “where Italy meets California in the heart of the Backlot,” and for good reason. The flavors that come out of the kitchen are as warm and inviting as the restaurant itself with its string lights and checkered curtains. The Margherita Flatbread is the perfect antipasto with its melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella, house-made marinara sauce, fresh basil, and, of course, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

3. Pizzafari (Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park)  

The freshly baked pizza at Pizzafari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park has truly stood the test of time. With different toppings to choose from and personal pies, this quick-service stop will have you roaring for more.

4. Alien Pizza Planet (Disneyland Park)

Does pineapple belong on pizza? That’s a question that goes back lightyears. All we know is that the Hawaiian-style Pizza at Alien Pizza Planet in Disneyland has us saying “Ooohh!”

5. Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta (Disney California Adventure park)

There’s nothing better than grabbing a quick slice and then getting on the next attraction. Lucky for us, Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta comes in handy when exploring all there is to do at Disney’s California Adventure park. With many slices to choose from, this quick-service location is a perfect pit stop.

So, after you’ve gotten yourself a slice or two, or five, from the best spots at Disney Parks, be sure to check out “Best in Dough” now streaming on Hulu!

During my most recent trip to the Orlando area, I flew through O’Hare airport in Chicago. From my place of residence, I have the ability to take the train into Chicago for such adventures. Based on the train schedule, I knew I would have about a 2–3-hour time window in the airport to enjoy lunch before flying down to Orlando. Based on that I planned to have lunch at the Rick Bayless Frontera quick service location within O’Hare airport. This location serves tortas. I joked this would be a pre-game meal for reviewing something at Frontera Cocina restaurant in Disney Springs. Well, in fact, it became that as I enjoyed a late lunch at Disney Springs on a weekday afternoon during that trip.

That afternoon, I ordered chips and salsa for an appetizer. If you were expecting chips and salsa to be complimentary, that fails to be true here. Just like at the quick service location in the airport, chips, and salsa cost $5 here. At Frontera Cocina in Disney Springs, you get a basket of chips with smoky chipotle salsa and herby salsa verde. This nice safe appetizer serves it purpose nicely. The chips rank as average, especially for a Rick Bayless restaurant. Still, the salsa offers incredible flavor. The salsa verde provided far more kick that I expected. Yet, I preferred the chipotle salsa with these chips.

For my entrée, I ordered the “Grilled Chicken Chipotle Tacos.” These cost $22. Yet, the Walt Disney World website lists these at $20 as of time of writing. Both major theme park resorts in the Orlando area fail to update online menus very quickly so plan for that. The menu description reads grilled chicken in tangy chipotle sauce, caramelized red onions, black bean refritos with queso fresco, guacamole, and chipotle salsa. As you might imagine at this place, these are not your normal tacos. In fact, you assemble them yourself with the ingredients. With your tacos, you get some well-prepared “street-size” tortillas. Though I would have preferred a more traditional flour tortilla flavor, these tortillas worked well.

All the components of this entrée provided solid flavor. I suspect even if you generally dislike some of the components, you will enjoy them within your tacos. I expected a bit more spice from this style of restaurant but still good flavor overall. If looking to be critical of the flavor, nothing about this entrée ranks as excellent. Still, nothing would qualify as anything lower than above average.

During my experience, I started with four small tortillas. I felt they did not arrive warm enough but that might be personal preference. During my meal, my server asked if I wanted more tortillas without being prompted. The second set of tortillas arrived warmer but still not to the level I prefer.

The portion size of chicken for this price at a table service dining options exceeds expectations. Sure, I would have liked more but realistically a solid portion within an excellent preparation. The chicken offers all expected flavors and is well prepared. With two set of tortillas, I made eight street style size tacos. Yes, those function as small tacos but I easily make eight using all components of this entrée. If during your visit, you get eight tortillas, this dish could be shared between two people easily especially if you got chips and salsa also. In addition, the chips tasted better with the chicken and beans than the tortillas did in my opinion.

I started looking for a reservation here about two weeks in advance. I failed to get one. Yet, honestly, I did not put much effort into the process for this restaurant. I focused on Homecomin and Raglan Road over this location. However, I walked in during a weekday afternoon to a close to empty restaurant easily getting a table. I selected to eat at the bar, but tables were available. I did check back that evening. The place was filled during evening mealtime that night. Thus, if you want a table here in the evening, you might want to set an alert of MouseDining.com

In conclusion, this place offers solid experience. If looking for a more upscale Mexican style meal, this place will not disappoint. The traditional criticism of this place revolves around high price points. At least for this meal, I found value in my selection. My tacos provided enough kick that you knew you were at a Rick Bayless restaurant. Yet, the spice factor would not overwhelm most people with the exception of salsa verde. All in all, this place makes a decent option for dining at Disney Springs. As always, eat like you mean it!