Testing Out the Beer Flights at Festival of the Arts

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 30, 2024

 

Over the holidays, a visiting relative, who fancies himself a bit of a craft beer fan, was lamenting the fact that “Florida doesn’t have much in the way of microbreweries and craft beers.”

  
We were a little puzzled by this out-of-towner’s statement because we recalled seeing a number of Florida breweries featured at various EPCOT festivals.  Disney has always been very good about connecting with local businesses. Disney Springs even features many local brews in their annual “Flavors of Florida” festival. In fact, the Florida Brewery Data Base lists more than 350 breweries in Florida. Central Florida, where Disney is located, claims 60 craft breweries alone, the third most in the state.

We took the guest’s comments as a bit of a challenge this year when the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Arts rolled around.  We would make it a mission to seek out the local Florida brewers, and see how their offerings measured up.

 
First up was the beer flight at the Deco Delights booth, near Port of Entry.  This is the booth that features that oh-so-sweet Neapolitan Dessert Trio, with a Chocolate Tart, Vanilla Bean Cheesecake and Strawberry Mousse.  (It’s a “Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine” item for good reason.  The colors, and flavors, really pop.)

The beer flight at this booth was also Neapolitan themed, a tribute to chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.  The flight was $10.25, and included one small pour each of the 3 Daughters Brewing Strawberry Blonde Nitro (St. Petersburg, FL); 81Bay Brewing Co.’s Vanilla Porter (Tampa, FL); and for the “chocolate,” the Playalinda Brewing Co.’s “Milk Stout” (Titusville, FL).

We started our investigation with the 81Bay Brewing Co.’s  take on Vanilla Porter, which was very reminiscent of a vanilla Christmas beer we’d tried.  While we liked this “toasty” tasting dark beer, Disney should really bring it back for Festival of the Holidays, because it would be a great selection, conjuring up flavors of a winter ale that we’d enjoyed at Christmastime.

Next was the “chocolate” inspired beer – the Playalinda Brewing Co.’s “Milk Stout.”  To our way of thinking, this was very close to a traditional Guinness on tap, a creamier, smooth dark beer.  We enjoyed this very slightly sweet cup, but we’re not really sure why the Disney cast members thought this would fill the “chocolate” category of the Neapolitan flight.  Earthy maybe, but we were not getting an overwhelming “chocolate” feel.

Last in this flight trio was the “strawberry” – the 3 Daughters Brewing Strawberry Blonde Nitro.  Glad we tried this one last, because it was by far our favorite of the trio, and in fact our favorite of the day. Light with distinct strawberry notes, it was one of the most unique beers we’d try on our visit.  A smooth, golden colored brew, it had a very crisp feel, with just a touch of hoppy-ness. If we’d known ahead of time how much we’d enjoy this one, we might have skipped the flight and ordered up a full-sized version of the Strawberry Blond Nitro.

While one of the beers in this flight reminded us of Guinness, and the other gave us strong seasonal holiday vibes, the Strawberry Blond Nitro stood on its own, and would be especially delightful in the spring and warmer weather - a very refreshing glass.

Rosé Blonde Ale

If you’re looking for a good beer, of course, you’d go to “Germany,” and we were surprised to find two Florida-based breweries on the menu at the Germany pavilion’s Pastoral Palate booth, where we’d expected to only see German brews.  We chose another 81Bay selection at this booth, the Rosé Blonde Ale. While the ale was fine, with definite strawberry notes, it wasn’t one of our favorites of the day. This blond ale was a bit hoppy, and the 6-ounce pour was $5.75. (A 12-ounce pour is also available for $9.75).

A stop at the American pavilion’s booth, The Artist’s Table, later in the evening gave us a peek (or sip, as the case may be) of another local Florida brewery, this time a bit closer to home in Lakeland, Florida.  While waiting for the Disney on Broadway concert, we enjoyed a 6-ounce pour of the Brew Hub Jazzberry Wheat Jam Ale for $5.75.  (A 12-ounce pour would be $9.75). This pour was a light drinking beer with a very distinctive and fruity taste (hint of blueberry, maybe?), and it was one of the better beers of the day.  We’d come back and enjoy this one again on another day, especially if the Florida weather was heating up.

Brew Hub Jazzberry Wheat Jam Ale

So now that we’d tried a few of the offerings from four local breweries, it was time to find out a little more about them.

3 Daughters Brewing is from St. Petersburg, Florida, on the west coast of the state, but they also have a second location in Clearwater Beach.  3 Daughters was founded by a group of friends and family who had known each other for decades, and it’s one of Florida’s largest independent and family-owned breweries. At their locations, you can sample some of the brews they create, particularly at their tasting room in St. Petersburg, but they also have a pretty extensive menu for snacking while you are there. 3 Daughters has a host of events to keep you entertained as well, from trivia nights, yoga, bingo, Valentine’s Day Fun Runs, to live music, festivals and markets on the weekends.  Last year, 3 Daughters Brewing was named “Best Brewery” for  Tampa Magazine’s 2023 Best of the City.  If you can’t make it to St. Petersburg, their brews are also for sale at stores, restaurants and bars throughout Florida.

81Bay Brewing Co. in Tampa, Florida, is also on the west coast, around an hour and a half from Orlando, pending traffic on I-4. It is a growing company as well, but their Taproom is currently closed for renovations. They do offer tastings, and an interesting selection of pizzas to accompany your beers. Check their events page for such fun as bingo and trivia nights, and Art After Dark.

Playalinda Brewing Co., in the downtown historic district in Titusville, Florida, was opened by Donna and Bryan Scott in 2014 as the first microbrewery in northern Brevard County, on Florida’s east coast. They now have two locations (with interesting food menus), including Sunday brunch at their Brix Project location. (You can bring your pooch to their outside garden there, too!). Their events page offers up trivia nights, bike and brews, the Playalinda Run Club, and Paddle & A Pint for those of you who like to spend some time outdoors.  And if you love those Girl Scout cookies, they’ll be hosting a week-long pairing with Girl Scout cookies and craft beers.

Brew Hub in Lakeland, Florida, is a little more than halfway between Disney and the west coast of Florida, and they have expanded four times in recent years.  According to Visit Central Florida, Brew Hub’s 75,000-square-foot facility is a unique business in that, “They offer brewing, packaging and distribution for small craft breweries looking to get their name and products out into in the marketplace.”  Brew Hub has partnered with Disney festivals in the past, and they’ve offered guests a number of their brews over the years.

   
While we tried just five of the 6-ounce pours over the course of the day, we were able to check out the creations of four local Florida breweries, and we enjoyed each of them to varying degrees. Each of the brewers put very different offerings on the table.  There are at least 3 more Florida breweries at the Festival of the Arts’ booths, including Gulf Stream Brewing Company from Ft. Lauderdale; Keel Farms in Plant City (with Lavender Hard Cider); and the Tank Brewing Co. from Miami.  (And don’t forget that the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival is right around the corner, with a whole new set of booths to explore starting February 28!)

We don’t generally take the time to indulge in the beer flights at the festival booths (mainly because the full-sized selections at the restaurants and permanent booths offer better values), but this was a fun way of exploring a whole new aspect of the festivals that we hadn’t thought of before, and to sample some new flavors we might not otherwise have tried.

  
Plus, now we can go back and tell everyone that, yes, indeed, Florida does have a pretty good number of microbreweries!

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast – and by extension Disney Biz Journal – at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

Being a Guest at Beast’s Castle Isn’t What It Used To Be…

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 28, 2024

 

In by-gone days, you had to get up before 6 a.m. and hover at your computer, fingers poised to grab the first dining reservation you could as soon as the reservation line opened in order to be able to have dinner with the Beast at his enchanted castle in Magic Kingdom.  “Be Our Guest” was among the most difficult reservations to lock down. Breakfast and lunch were a little easier, because it was quasi-quick serve (and a whole lot more fun!), but breaking your fast in Belle’s ballroom or Beast’s West Wing study in the morning did not return in the post-COVID era. Lunch now is Table Service and fixed price, rather than its earlier quick-serve iteration.

On a recent trip to Magic Kingdom, we found ourselves staying longer than planned, and decided to eat dinner in the park before heading out.  We opened the My Disney Experience app fully intending to grab whatever leftovers were there, a mere four hours before dinner.  We were even resigned to trying walk-ups, but we didn’t need to go that far.  Five sit-down locations still had seating, albeit a few were nearer to park closing time. Just four hours out from dinner, though, there were half a dozen reservations available for “Be Our Guest.”  (The same was true several days later, when we checked the app again, just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.)

“That’s strange,” we thought. The parks weren’t empty by any means, and even “it’s a small world” had a 30-minute wait time, so it wasn’t a side-effect of lighter crowds.  It turned out that it was, perhaps, a function of declining offerings at the restaurant.

In the before-times, you could actually meet Beast in his library and pose for photos and autographs together.  (It’s true, we have photos in our albums to prove it!). On this recent night, however, we heard the castle staff announce that Beast would walk through and “greet” guests, but wouldn’t stop for individual pictures – more of a walk-by through each room.  Unfortunately, we were still in the room with Beast’s fireplace, awaiting our names to be called for our table, so we didn’t see him, and the visit wasn’t repeated again during our dining stay.  (We were an after-fireworks reservation.) 

The menu at Be Our Guest is a prix-fixe, three-course meal ($70 adults, $41 kids), and you select an appetizer and an entrée from the menu, and also get a pre-arranged tray of desserts chosen by the castle. Soft drinks and coffee are included in the price, but there is also an array of wines and beers available for an additional fee.  In fact, several of the wines are created especially for Be Our Guest, and are the only place they are available.

Be Our Guest is a very different dining experience than most typical theme park eateries.  The menu is more adventurous, leaning toward French cuisine, so make sure your family takes a look at the menu and is willing to broaden their horizons a bit, culinarily speaking, before booking the restaurant.  (The children’s portion of the menu is slightly less adventurous.) Otherwise, it’s a hefty price tag to pay just to see the Beast breeze through the dining room and eat beneath the cherub-painted ceiling of the ballroom.  You’ll actually get a better glimpse of Beast during the afternoon Festival of Fantasy parade, and Belle will be with him, leading the parade.  (Oh, and now that the dining plan is back, this meal is a two-credit meal. Spend wisely.)

Our meal started with a long baguette, sent out to us from Marie, according to our cast member. (“Marie, the baguettes!”  If you know, you know…). It was served warm, and was a delightfully airy French creation, crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside, brought out in brown paper wrapping as if it had just come from the market.  Alongside was a dish of whipped herb butter. It was more than the two of us could easily share. 

There were several new options on the menu since the last time we’d been to Be Our Guest a few years ago, and we decided to try those offerings.  

For our appetizer, we selected the Duck and Pork Terrine, served with house-made pickles.  The terrine was plated as a nicely sized triangle, topped with radishes and greens, with a dollop of plum jam to accompany the terrine.  A handful of toasted baguette slices were also there to serve up your appetizer.  The terrine itself was firmer than expected, and the duck flavoring came through full-bodied, a definite plus for our duck-loving diners.  The plum jam was tart, with a hint of mustard to the flavor, and a bit of graininess from the mustard, giving some added texture to the jam.  On its own, the jam was a strong flavor, but it really added a level to the duck when you layered each of the components on one of the crispy bread slices.  While we sampled each flavor individually first, creating a little layered concoction was definitely the way to go – it was a whole different flavor profile that way, and the unexpected contrast was quite enjoyable. The pickles were just a touch spicy, and added yet another element to each bite of the terrine, which by itself was on the milder side. The plum jam in particular punched the appetizer up a notch.

Other starter selections included French Onion soup, a mixed greens salad, Escargot de Bourgogne (told you this menu was more adventurous!), and a potato-leek soup.

For our main entrées, we tried the two dishes our cast member recommended – it was one hit, and one miss.  The hit was the Grilled Filet Mignon, one of the best filets we’d had in a while.  The miss was the Wine and Beer-braised Beef Short Rib, which we wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Your other options for the prix fixe menu were Dry-aged Duroc Pork Chops, Trout Amandine, Pan-roasted Squash, or Roasted Poulet Rouge Chicken.

The Filet Mignon was perfectly cooked, tender at its medium rare temperature. The accompanying Sauce au Poivre was delectable, and a perfect accompaniment to the meat.  The green beans were correctly prepared al dente, and the mashed potatoes were a hearty blend that soaked up some of the juice from the filet, imbuing the potatoes with yet more flavor.  We would order this plate again without a second thought.

from Pastoral Palate booth

On the other hand, the short ribs were not only forgettable, but very fatty as well.  We actually had much better red wine-braised short ribs at the Germany pavilion’s “Pastoral Palate” booth at the Festival of the Arts.  The meat at the EPCOT booth was fall-apart tender, infused with a delicious gravy as well.  Not so, at Be Our Guest.  At Pastoral Palate, we paid just $8.75 for their perfectly created short ribs, while Be Our Guest cost $70.  Grab an appetizer at a different EPCOT booth, and a dessert at another, and you’ll cut your costs in half and probably have a better meal.  (Okay, I know, you’re paying for the castle atmosphere.  Just pick a different entrée if you go.) 

As for the short ribs at Be Our Guest, they were served with an “onion jam” and topped with a smattering of onion straws for some crunch. The menu called for smoked bacon as part of the rib’s preparation, but that didn’t really come through in the final plate. The mashed potatoes were the same as the ones served with the filet, and they had a chunky “homemade” feel that was quite good.  The seasoned tomatoes gave a bit of color and pop to the dish. Leave this dish in the kitchen with Mrs. Potts, though, even if your friendly cast member recommends it.

For dessert, each diner gets their own small tray of goodies, a dessert trio including a chocolate tart, a dark chocolate truffle, and a lemon jam macaron.  (For those of you eating plant-based, there is an optional dessert, available on request, a vanilla cake with lemon curd, served with fresh berries and strawberry meringue.)

Don’t let the “chocolate tart” name in the trio fool you. It is the “grey stuff” in disguise, and it really is delicious!  While it is not the dished-up, full bowl of grey stuff that we had back when Be Our Guest first opened, it was still our favorite dessert on the tray.  The “tart” portion was a softer, cookie style shell rather than a more pie crust type confectionary. The “grey stuff” was light and fluffy, a sweet cookies-and-cream flavored panna cotta mousse. It’s a little more on the “frosting” end of the spectrum than previous iterations of this dish, but it’s still scrumptious.

    
The lemon jam macaron was a chewy lemon cookie, filled with a raspberry jam.  The cookie portion wasn’t overwhelmingly lemon flavored, just a slight lemon hint on the follow-through. The raspberry, however, was very much present, a berry-licious filling that provided a nice sweet-and-tart contrast in the same bite.

  
The third selection on the plate was the dark chocolate truffle, which reminded us of the old cherry cordials our grandmas used to get at Christmastime.  It was a dark chocolate shell that melted immediately in your mouth, leaving behind a molten center that had a fruity hint of raspberry.  So yummy, and a nice treat to end the meal. 

Our conclusion that evening was that changes to the menu, and a rather steep price point for dinner, is likely the reason it was so easy to grab a last-minute reservation at what used to be one of the hardest to get reservations in Disney World.  While most of the food was good, and the three uniquely themed dining rooms definitely give you the “I’m in the movie” feel, the restaurant has lost something in the transition from the days when you got an electronic rose to help the rolling carts bring your breakfast or quick-serve lunch to your table.  But, since Be Our Guest has undergone multiple menu and presentation changes over the years, hopefully this is just one more stop on its way back to its former glory.  

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast – and by extension Disney Biz Journal – at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

“I’m Going to Disney World” Super Bowl Ad Marks Anniversary

 by Chris Lucas

Guest Column

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 25, 2024

 

On this day, in 1987, the very first “I’m going to Disney World!” ad was created.

 

This iconic advertising campaign is officially called "What's Next?" It was first launched right after Super Bowl XXI, which was played between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on January 25, 1987. The Giants won the game 39-20.

Giants quarterback Phil Simms, the game’s MVP, was asked as he was running off the field following the victory: “Hey, Phil Simms, you just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?”

 

His answer, “I'm gonna go to Disney World!” was said with a big grin. 

 

It seemed like an impromptu response. In reality, the line was scripted for Simms. He was paid $75,000 for it. John Elway, the quarterback of the Broncos, was given the line and the money, too, just in case.

 

The ad, which featured a montage of Phil Simms’ heroics in the game, underscored by “When You Wish Upon a Star” and finishing with fireworks over Cinderella Castle, began airing just a few hours after the Super Bowl.

It was a smash hit. Almost instantly the line “I'm going to Disney World!” became a national catchphrase. It was an indelible part of the pop culture landscape, soon parodied on TV shows and movies and imitated in other advertisements.

 

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner gives credit to his wife, Jane, for the idea. She claims to have come up with it after overhearing a friend who had just completed a difficult task reply, “I'm going to Disneyland!” when asked what they were going to do next.

 

In addition to Super Bowl winners, Disney produced “What's Next?” commercials with champions from other sports, as well as with Santa Claus, college graduates at commencement, and American Idol winners.

 

Disney ran the spots for 17 consecutive Super Bowls until 2005, when they decided to focus their marketing campaign in other directions. The public outcry after the cancellation convinced Disney to return to the spots. 

 

They did a pre-game commercial in 2006 with members of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, who played in Super Bowl XL, practicing how they would say the line if they won. (The real honor eventually went to the Steelers' Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis.)

 

The ads stick mostly to football now, and often feature more than one athlete (they also have them say two lines, “I'm going to Disney World” and “I'm going to Disneyland” for commercials specific to both coasts), but they almost never fail to bring the same lump in the throat they did when first aired, over three decades ago. It’s a tradition that people - even non-football fans - look forward to every year.

 

__________

 

Chris Lucas is the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, from the Man to the Mouse and Beyond.

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast – and by extension Disney Biz Journal – at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

Thumbs Up for Sci-Fi Dine-In’s Pastrami Burger

 by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 24, 2024

 

Recently, I visited Hollywood Studios on my own and managed to grab a last-minute reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant.

I’ve long been a sucker for this place. I love the entire vibe of the convertible-car tables located in a 1950s drive in, with amusing movie and news clips from the period running on the big screen.

 

Over the years, however, the food has been uneven – sometimes boffo and other times disappointing.

 

I asked what the Feature Film Burger was that night, and the waitress’s pitch on a pastrami-topped burger won me over. And I’m glad ordered it.

The burger, which came on a brioche bun, was topped with pepper jack cheese, a mustard sauce and thinly sliced pastrami. This Feature Film Burger was excellent. The bun was soft and the sauce rather tasty. But the key was the balance between the pastrami and the burger. Neither was lost or overpowering. They simply complemented each other neatly, with my tastebuds enjoying the mix in each bite.

 

It was a pleasant evening – enjoying my favorite Walt Disney World park at one of my most-liked restaurants thanks, in part, to a darn good burger.

 

In fact, I’m getting a little hungry writing about this burger right now. I wonder if I can grab a convertible at Sci-Fi right now…?

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

 

The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more.

 

Consider other books by Ray Keating, including…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 18 books in the series now.

 

• Order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle editions and paperbacks via Amazon here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are are at www.raykeatingbooksandmore.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Tune in for Top 10 Reasons to be a Disney Fan

 by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 23, 2024

 

I admit to being a sucker for a fun Top 10 list. I like reading them, listening to them, and creating them.

 

If you also enjoy Top 10 lists, then please tune in to the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keatingpodcast. We’ve kicked off a change in format with ten episodes of talking about my Top 10 reasons for being a Disney fan.

Check it out by clicking on the above graphic, or just clicking here. And let’s hear your Top 10 reasons!

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

 

The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more.

 

Consider other books by Ray Keating, including…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 18 books in the series now.

 

• Order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle editions and paperbacks via Amazon here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are are at www.raykeatingbooksandmore.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Life-Changing Seafood Chowder at Raglan Road

 by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 22, 2024

 

Okay, until I wisely escaped New York nearly three years ago, I was a Long Island guy. And that meant seafood – and I mean good seafood – was a big part of my food life. 

 

Make no mistake, Long Island is home to some of the best New England clam chowder around, not to mention the little known, but still delicious Long Island clam chowder. (I’ve never been a big Manhattan clam chowder fan.)

But on a recent evening, my food life changed – at least as it pertains to chowder.

 

An early evening at Disney Springs meant sitting at an outside table at Raglan Road and enjoying some wonderful Irish music. It was delightful, but the night was about to get even better. Two new items caught my attention on the dinner menu.

 

I tried the “Fish Convention” appetizer. These are house-made fish cakes with tartar sauce, and pickled salad with honey mustard dressing. Growing up on fish cakes (yes, they were big on Fridays in a Catholic family household in the 1970s), I had to give them a try, and though on the small side, these fish cakes were delicious – with taste and texture more about the fish than the cake. Sorry, Mom, but Raglan Road’s fish cakes beat yours, by a wide margin.

 

But then I selected the Creamy Irish seafood chowder as my main course. It came with Guinness and treacle bread, and Kerry gold butter. The bread, by the way, was a bit softer than I expected, and quite tasty.   

But this visit was transformed by the seafood chowder featuring smoked haddock, salmon, cod, and Atlantic shrimp. The broth was a bit thinner than in a New England clam chowder. But I cannot think of previously having a chowder so crammed with flavor and fish, and the hearty pieces of haddock, salmon, cod and shrimp blended together perfectly. Sure, I’ve had delicious chowder before, but the key with this Raglan Road chowder was the sheer amount of fresh, delicious chunks of fish. This wasn’t about potatoes and vegetables accompanied by some fish – this was the ultimate fish chowder.

 

What else can I say to convince you to partake in Raglan Road’s Creamy Irish seafood chowder? Well, you could serve this chowder to me every other day for the rest of my life, and it’s unimaginable that I would ever tire of it. 

 

Raglan Road’s Creamy Irish seafood chowder was, indeed, life changing.

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

 

The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more.

 

Consider other books by Ray Keating, including…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 18 books in the series now.

 

• Order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle editions and paperbacks via Amazon here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are at www.raykeatingbooksandmore.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

An “Echo” of “Daredevil”

 by Jonathan Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 19, 2024

 

Echo ultimately proves to be the perfect name for the most recent Marvel Studios’ television project. Beyond the thematic connections the series makes to this term, the title exists as some sort of (unintended) meta-commentary on the show’s existence within the greater scope of previously released Marvel television. 

I’m sure that I am not the first to note, but Echo feels like just that: an echo of the Marvel series that have come before it. If you had seen any of the marketing in the lead-up for Echo, it was made abundantly clear where the focus of the show was: the pseudo-familial relationship between Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). Also, if you went in having seen the most recent wave of trailers, TV spots, promotional images, and such, you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought that Charlie Cox’s Daredevil/Matt Murdock was going to play a large role within the show. While the latter does make an extended cameo, the focus squarely is on the relationship between Maya and Fisk – both in the episode with Daredevil and across this limited series. 

 

Daredevil, as a show, is second-to-none when it comes to quality for Marvel releases – with D’Onofrio’s Fisk being one of the most nuanced villains Marvel has put on screen both in terms of performance and writing. While there were complaints about how Fisk was treated in Hawkeye, I was pleased to see that Fisk generally remained at the same level of complexity from when I had seen him last in Daredevil season 3. 

 

If you’re reading this review – and likely other reviews – asking why the author is spending so much time talking about a different show, it’s because Echo really does not stand on its own unless viewed in relation to Daredevil. To a certain extent, this makes sense. If we look at the comic books the series is based on, Maya Lopez originally appeared as a Daredevil side character before crossing over into other works such as The New Avengers and Moon Knight. The adaptation of the character from page to screen is generally the same in terms of origin – one just need swap out Maya believing Ronin killed her father for Daredevil. The relationship between Fisk and Maya is also generally the same from the comics: Fisk mentors her from a young age after having her father killed, but all the while lying to her about how her father truly met an untimely demise. I’m touching on all of this because it’s important to understand how intertwined Maya Lopez is with Matt Murdock in the comics. It seems that this is something the filmmakers behind Echo understood. If you were to watch Echo and put it next to the gritty-noir storytelling of the Daredevil series or next to the action-comedy of something like Hawkeye (where the character debuted), the show would be infinitely closer in tone with the former opposed to the latter. 

 

Quite frankly, Echo is treated much more akin to a spin-off of Daredevil than it is of the actual show it is spinning-off from (i.e., Hawkeye). I think even Marvel understands this, as on Disney+ the show is now grouped together with the Defenders Saga – which constitutes all the previous Netflix shows. 

 

All of this lead-up, however, doesn’t answer the question most people ask when reading a review: Is the show any good? 

 

Well, the answer to that depends. Did you like Daredevil? It feels like a horrible sentiment when reviewing a new show to keep talking about one that ended over five years ago, but it really will determine how much enjoyment one gets out of this. If you loved Daredevil – both its characters and the style to which it was brought to the screen – you’ll find plenty to chew on in Echo. In particular, the dynamic between Fisk and Maya makes the show worth watching alone. Beyond this, though, there was a clear visual style that was brought to the various episodes that gave the series additional depth beyond what was on the page. 

 

However, the show never particularly comes close to the quality that Daredevil and even some of the other Defenders shows held. And if you didn’t like any of the Netflix shows or haven’t seen any of them, well, you’ll likely not enjoy this, and/or you just might be completely lost. 

 

The best thing about Echo is that it’s a simple story told well. This will likely have no implications for the Marvel universe going forward. Maya probably won’t show up in the next Avengers film (watch that comment age like milk). But maybe that’s more of what Marvel needs. Just simple stories that are told well.  Not everything about Echo works: some of the side characters fall flat; there are some odd editing decisions likely stemming from requests made by higher-ups at Marvel; and it doesn’t always feel like there is enough material here to support an entire limited series. However, the show certainly falls on the better end of MCU television since the transition from Netflix to Disney+. In a time of multiverse-ending superhero stories, it’s so nice to get back to personal problems between people. 

__________

 

Jonathan Keating is a guest columnist for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast – and by extension Disney Biz Journal – at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!