La Befana, the Christmas witch
Animal Kingdom Lodge Christmas Tree
Sledding in Mearn
Shopping at Twinings
Mary Blair Gingerbread at Contemporary Resort
Neil Patrick Harris at Candlelight Processional
Julenissen at Norway in Epcot
Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian
Holidays at Epcot Japan – Duruma Doll
Wilderness Lodge Christmas Tree
Father Christmas, UK Epcot
Grand Floridian Christmas Tree
Arguably one of the most charming, wonderful places to relax in all of Walt Disney World is the United Kingdom pavilion in EPCOT. The Tudor facades, gardens, tea shop, and regular appearances of Mary Poppins and Alice make it a place to linger long. Add to that an authentic-feeling drinking establishment with water views and good beer, and you may never want to leave.
Rose & Crown Pub, UK Pavilion EPCOT
The pub at the Rose & Crown is dark and cozy, with outstanding British beers on tap. On any given day you’ll be sure to hear British accents ordering pints, and on occasion the entire pub will break into a jolly sing-a-long of “Hey Jude.” It’s a fantastic place to be, warranting 4 Mice. (4 Mice = I’d be here every day if it were in my neighborhood.) And as a close friend reminded me today, it’s the last stop for many on their “drinking around the World” tour, so can be a bit rowdy. On his last trip (with his pre-teen and teenage sons) he came across a couple of inebriated young ladies getting amorous at the bar. World Showcase became instantly more educational, but not in the way he intended. You’ve been warned.
Black and Tan
The restaurant is similarly atmospheric, usually a little less crowded, and definitely more kid-friendly. Here’s a quick peek at the dining room. (Look, there is malt vinegar already on the tables – you don’t even have to ask!)
Rose & Crown Dining Room
So how’s the food? It’s pretty good. Not great, but it goes down well with a pint. That is, it’s mostly heavy, greasy, and salty. (In a good way.) One of my favorite items on the menu is the Scotch egg, which I may have mentioned once or twice on this blog. There are very few foods that go better with beer than a Scotch egg, and this is a fine example.
Scotch Eggs
A couple of other stick-to-your-ribs options are the bangers and mash, and shepherd’s pie. I’m not a fan of shepherd’s pie, but Mr. MouseChow enjoyed it. My bangers and mash were yummy. (Yes, I had sausage as an appetizer and main. It’s called vacation.)
Shepherd’s Pie
Bangers and Mash
And what meal in a pub would be complete without fish and chips? Sadly, these are only mediocre. The cod is fine, and the batter usually crunchy and redolent of beer. (Usually – but not always.) The chips are perfectly good, just not great.
Fish and Chips
I’ve heard that there is a sticky toffee pudding for dessert that’s yummy, but haven’t had the chance to try it. If you have, let me know what you thought in the comments!
So I would give the Rose & Crown dining room 3 Mice. Decent for food within a theme park. If you’re looking for good pub food, get yourself over to Raglan Road at Downtown Disney. It’s awesome.
Oh, and if you’re not into sitting inside on a beautiful day, and you just want a pint and some fish and chips, you can head to the window at the right of the pub.
Yorkshire County Fish Shop
The view is fantastic. (Especially if you can get it for Illuminations.)
Seating for Yorkshire Fish Shop
It’s that time of year again…the time when my fridge contains two dozen hard-boiled white eggs. (OK, they’re dyed, but they started out white, which means they are not the extra-yummy eggs from our local farm.) And let’s face it, there are only so many egg-salad sandwiches a girl can eat.
What to do….what to do….HEY! I KNOW! Make Scotch eggs like at the Rose and Crown in EPCOT!
Scotch egg, Rose & Crown
So after the Easter festivities tomorrow, I’m going to give it a try. Here’s the recipe I plan to use, from Bon Appetit. Note that the eggs are soft boiled, so that they don’t overcook. If you haven’t yet boiled all of your eggs, set 4 aside for the recipe.
And here’s the mustard sauce recipe I’m planning to use, from SeriousEats.com.
I’ll post pictures of my handiwork when done. So who’s in?
Epilogue (2 days after Easter, 2012)
I did it – I made Scotch eggs. Here’s what I found:
1. Unless you’re very practiced, you will need more sausage than the recipe calls for above. It’s not easy to wrap in a thin layer (which means they will need a slightly longer cooking time, also.)
2. Sausage is sticky. Wet your hands as you work.
3. Next time I won’t use breakfast sausage, but will instead buy ground pork and spice it myself. I didn’t like the sage flavor – way too breakfast-y. I think it would be better with 5-spice powder or garam masala.
And yet, the verdict from my family was “supercalifragilisticexpialdelicious.”
MouseChow's Scotch Eggs attempt
So you’re strolling through the World Showcase in EPCOT, possibly sipping some adult beverages along the way. Which snacks are worth your calories and taste buds as you tour the World? I’ll count down my 5 favorites, though I’m sure I’m forgetting something…
5. French Fries in the American Pavilion
French Fries at American Pavilion - EPCOT
I know, fries may seem a little boring. But I’m very picky about fries, and these are pretty darned good, especially when you’re walking from the direction of Germany with a beer in your hand. They’re hot, crispy, salty, and good dipped in honey mustard. Also good with frozen Coke, which can be had at the American Pavilion. (Like how I got an extra snack in there?)
4. Chocolate/caramel-dipped strawberry from Karamell-Kuche in the German Pavilion
Chocolate Caramel Strawberry at Karamell-Kuche Germany - EPCOT
This needs no explanation. Werther’s caramel, milk chocolate, big ripe strawberry.
3. Kaki-Gori with cream, Japan Pavilion
Kaki-Gori, Japan Pavilion, EPCOT
This is one of the most refreshing, delicious things you can eat on a hot Florida day. If you’re from Louisiana or Mississippi, you may recognize this – it’s the closest I’ve had to a snowball outside of Louisiana. The ice is shaved very fine and soft, with delicious, high-quality fruit syrup, with or without cream. Oddly, this is the orange flavor. It’s very red. And very good.
2. School Bread, Kringla Bakeri og Cafe in the Norway Pavilion
School Bread, Kringla Bakeri og Cafe, Norway in EPCOT
Ahhhh….school bread. It has a cult-like following, and with good reason. So what is it? Imagine a raised yeast doughnut with no hole, filled with vanilla pastry cream, and topped with icing and toasted coconut. Perfection in its simplicity.
And MouseChow’s favorite World Showcase snack is…..{drumroll please}…
1. Scotch egg at Rose and Crown Pub, UK Pavilion
Scotch egg, Rose and Crown Pub, UK Pavilion - EPCOT
Wow, my arteries are hardening just thinking about this scrumminess. The Scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, and deep fried. It’s served with fried bread, mustard sauce, and a small green lightly-dressed salad. The sausage is very nicely spiced, and it’s all a bit salty, greasy, and exactly perfect with a pint of Bass ale.
It sure was hard to narrow this list down to 5! I can think of several I left out that could easily have made it, and I’m sure you can too. So what did I miss? Feel free to discuss while I sit here in the corner with my Scotch egg.
EPCOT’s World Showcase is magical at any time of the year, but during the holidays it is completely mind-blowing. (Part 1 – Resorts, is here.)
First, there are the storytellers.
In Italy, La Befana flies through the air on her broomstick and visits children on the eve of the Epiphany and leaves children gifts, just in case they are in fact the Gesu Bambino. The storyteller we saw was riveting.
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| La Befana, Italy Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Daruma doll vendor, Japan Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Miyuki, Japan Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Sigrid, Norway Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Julenissen, Norway Pavilion, EPCOT |
Yet another jolly rotund fellow with a white beard is Father Christmas in the United Kingdom. Truth be told, he was a little long-winded. Plus, he wouldn’t stand still so that I could get a non-blurry picture. It is entirely possible that even surrounded by magic and wonderment, I started to get a little tired and grumpy toward the end of the night.
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| Father Christmas, United Kingdom Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Neil Patrick Harris, Candlelight Processional, EPCOT |
OK, honestly, my kid was whiny and bored. It was cold, and she was tired, and listening to an hour of the Christmas story and choral music was a little too much like being forced to go to church while at EPCOT. But I LOVED it.
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| More NPH |
Seriously, this was a great time. I was singing French carols for a week.
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| Candlelight Processional, EPCOT |
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| Winter on the Rhine, German Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Twinings Tea Shop, United Kingdom Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| The Stave Church, Norway Pavilion, EPCOT |
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| Christmas Tree, EPCOT 2011 |
MouseChow 