Delicious and Different Breakfast at the Ale & Compass

 by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 19, 2024

 

Are you a breakfast person? For a longtime, I wasn’t. But now, I tend to swing back and forth depending on my schedule. 

 

Recently, the idea of getting up early and heading over to Walt Disney World for a nice breakfast to start the day – yes, this is one of those benefits of leaving New York to live not far from Mickey’s Place – has held appeal. And since I can work mobile, then opening the laptop somewhere at a resort or in a theme park only adds to the positives.

So, it was breakfast at the Ale & Compass restaurant at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

 

I appreciated the varied menu, and was tempted by the buffet. But I was looking for something different, and settled on trying the Breakfast Flatbread ($14.00). This definitely wasn’t in my normal breakfast wheelhouse. A sunny-side up egg rested in a nest of apple-wood smoked bacon, ham, provolone and arugula, all sitting on flatbread.

This made for a nice-sized breakfast. The flatbread was thin and soft, but with a touch of crunch as well. The sunny-side egg worked well with the other flavors and textures, with the bacon shining through along with sweetness in the dressing.

 

This Breakfast Flatbread serves as a great start to the day, and it requires full engagement with knife, fork and hands.

 

My recommendation: Say “yes” to this different and delicious breakfast. Enjoy!

 

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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?

 

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.

 

Never miss any new book by Ray Keating by joining the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship with Ray Keating at

https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship.

 

Various books by Ray Keating…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 19 books in the series now.

 

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

 

• Order The Weekly Economist III: Another 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist, The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist, and The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• 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.

Ale & Compass: Good Seafood and a Top-Five Burger

 by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 15, 2022

 

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort offers a wonderful ambience. Oddly, though, the atmosphere at the Yacht Club’s Ale & Compass Restaurant doesn’t make the cut. Fortunately, the food does.

During a recent lunch, one diner’s appetizer selection was the Parker House rolls ($14.00), a row of five fluffy dinner rolls brushed with butter and served with a trio of delicious ramekins filled with sweet and smoky bacon jam, pub cheese, and citrus butter.  (One already was snagged off the plate by the time we took the photo!) This diner could have ordered a double helping of these little beauties and called it a meal.  The bacon jam was especially good, and we reserved a little bit of it to spread on our burger.

 

Also ordered was the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake ($15.00), drizzled with stone ground mustard cream and a brightly flavored lemon emulsion, all served over a bed of succotash and greens. While the entrée was called a “lump crab cake,” there were actually two cakes on our plate, and they were crispy on the outside, and densely packed with tender crab meat on the inside.

The third diner chose the Lobster and Corn Chowder ($12.00), with herbs and house-made oyster cracker. The chowder was smooth and creamy, combined with just the right amount of spice. Of course, the key is the lobster, and this chowder passed with flying colors, as it was nicely populated by ample-sized pieces of lobster meat.

 

Two of our diners requested the Bacon and Vermont Cheddar Burger ($20.00), served up with caramelized onion on a Parker House bun with applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and herbed mayonnaise. These burgers make it onto our list of top five burgers at Disney (so far), with plenty of melty Vermont cheddar, and a nice soft bun. A round of applause to the chefs because they nailed it on the correct “doneness” that we’d requested on our burgers.

Our third diner ordered the Blackened Sustainable Fish Tacos ($17.00), a trio of soft flour tortillas plated with chilled cucumber slaw, avocado, and chipotle rémoulade. It was smoky, tangy and flavorful. The fish was tender, flaky and done just right. Plus, the slaw added some crunchiness.

The only complaint, in the end, was a serving problem being experienced on an increasing basis when out for a meal, that is, main plates being brought to the table immediately after the appetizers arrive. While it was not unusual to experience this in recent years at mid-tier chain restaurants, now it’s happening at some Disney restaurants that should be known for customer service. However, compared to the excellent food offerings, this amounts to a minor complaint.

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant 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?

 

Two great ways to pre-order Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel, which is Ray’s sixteenth work of fiction, and the first in the Alliance of Saint Michael series. Signed paperbacks at 

https://raykeatingonline.com/products/cathedral and/or the Kindle edition at 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WYW2Q2V

 

Two great ways to order Ray Keating’s new nonfiction book – The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks at https://raykeatingonline.com/products/weeklyeconomist and/or the Kindle edition at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WKN81RG.

 

Get more out of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It 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. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. 

 

Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13^th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

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

Holiday Oreo Bon Bons Are Back!

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

November 18, 2021

 

Cue the singing Christmas angels!  The Holiday Oreo Bon Bons are back at The Beach Club Marketplace at Disney World’s Beach Club Resort, and The Market at Ale & Compass at the neighboring Yacht Club.

While you may feel like Disney skipped right over Thanksgiving this year, and jumped straight into the reds and greens of the December holidays, we are certainly glad to see these yummy little morsels return.

 

We first tried these sponge cake and cookie creations a number of years ago on the dessert display at the Cape May Café at The Beach Club, off in the far corner of the restaurant, alongside a tray of mini desserts topping off the seafood buffet.  Of course, back then, they were made with a chocolate cake enrobing the outside.  The holiday version has these little gems decked out in red and green cake.

 

If you’ve never tried the Oreo Bon Bons, you might be surprised at the textures.  The Oreo cookie base is softened rather than crunchy, having absorbed some of the moisture of the inside filling, as well as from being chilled.  The filling is a cookies and cream style mousse, along the same flavor profile as “the Grey Stuff” at Be Our Guest, but the Bon Bons are a much lighter and fluffier consistency than the slightly firmer “Grey Stuff.”  

 

Surprisingly, the mousse isn’t as sweet as you would anticipate, but it is much more airy. The outer sponge cake has just a touch of stiffness to it, in order to hold all that delicate goodness in place.  Topping the round red and green cakes is a tiny, fudgy swirl of chocolate frosting, with a few decorative holiday colored sprinkles.

 

The cakes are sold in sets of four ($6.49, plus tax) in the refrigerated cases of the marketplaces, and will be available through the end of the year.  So, if you want to try them, you’d better make it quick. Maybe pick up a box to nibble on while you are visiting the gingerbread carousel at The Beach Club, or the soon to set-up holiday village and miniature train at The Yacht Club. It will make it feel even more festive!

 

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

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For You and a Great Christmas Gift! The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution is here! It 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. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use.