More than once before I went on a recent trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida was I asked by naïve friends, “Why?” When I replied that I was going to check out the restaurants, my inquirers—none of whom had been to Disney in Lake Buena Vista or Disneyland in Anaheim since they had young children or perhaps ever—looked dumbfounded, assuming that all food service at those resorts was geared either to small fry or so tied to a “theme” that a good adult restaurant was impossible to find.
            That myopic view hasn’t been vaguely true for more  than fifty years, and as someone who, at the age of 10, went to Disneyland the year it opened in 1955 and many times to Walt Disney World Resort, which opened in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in 1971, I’ve seen the evolution of food service from being good, wholesome and basic to extraordinarily sophisticated and well worth a trip for anyone who also intends to stay at some grandly conceived resorts, swim, play golf and relax, with or without kids in tow. In fact, few restaurants in the city of Orlando or Miami would compare well with the best at Disney.
            Food service got serious at Disney with the opening of the international pavilions at EPCOT Centre in 1982, by contracting established master restaurateurs like Paul Bocuse, Roger Vergé and Claude Troisgros to open two French restaurants on the property (left), along with other outside professionals to open the Italian Alfredo the Original of Rome, Chinese Nine Dragons and Moroccan Marrakesh.
        In addition, themed restaurants like The Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) and some highly innovative restaurants in the hotels and resorts—like the California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort and Victoria and Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa—were directly aimed at the hundreds of thousands of adults who want more than burgers and pizza after spending $109 to $189 for a one-day pass.
            Since then Disney has opened more than 500 food service units, including Broadway Joe’s Marvelous Margaritas ($15) on the boardwalk. And, because of its enormous clout in the market and the rigors of its health rules, Disney can order the finest, most consistent meat, seafood and provender in the global market. That goes for stocking wine cellars, with a few of the resort hotel restaurants having award-winning wine lists that would rival the best in any U.S. restaurant. EPCOT Centre’s annual International Food Menu is one of the most extensive and popular in the state.
        Food prices are also comparable with upscale restaurants in Florida, although in décor  and sight lines alone, which include a nightly fireworks show, you get a lot more bang for the buck at Disney.
            On my three-day trip, then, I sought to go back to some established restaurants—which are always being refreshed or re-imagined—and some, post-Covid, new ones.
            Of the latter is Topolino’s Terrace in the Riviera Resort, so called after Italians’ name for Mickey Mouse, though there is nothing to remind you of the character in the dining room. The menu focuses on the cuisine of the French and Italian Riviera, overseen by veteran chef Dominique Filoni, whose work I’ve known since he had his own Mediterranean restaurant outside of Philadelphia years ago.
            The spacious dining room’s décor is done largely in browns, taupe and gold colors, with a huge shimmering chandelier, though the lighting needs to be brought up on the bare brown tables to show off the beauty of the food.
            Among the starters  is a house-made creamy burrata (above, left) with black truffle, artichokes, grapes, verjus gel and yeasty, warm focaccia ($12). Impeccably fried fritto misto includes artichokes, clamshell mushrooms and zucchini with an herbed emulsion and a tangy-sweet golden raisins mostarda conserve ($12 ). Outstanding was red kuri squash soup (above, right) I had owing to its out-of-the-ordinary flavors like espresso, annatto and dried fruit granola for texture ($14 ). Luscious, slow-roasted octopus comes out very tender with a soffritto, crispy polenta-like panisse, saffron aïoli, roasted garlic and a touch of mint ($19.)
            Pastas are all delicious and come in ample portions. Plump but light gnocchi was lavished with rich braised lamb shoulder ragù, mushrooms, red wine reduction and sweet carrots ($18). Rigatoni comes with a braised chicken sugo, broccolini, pancetta and wild mushrooms ($34). Lobster is impeccably cooked to retain its moisture and gains sweetness from English peas and rich, creamy sauce américaine with  pickled onions and a tuile colored with squid ink, all atop linguine ($52). 
            Among the main courses the sole meunière  (above) is a bargain at $50, if a bit overelaborated with sea beans, capers, asparagus, English peas, toybox tomatoes and roasted potatoes that detract from the classic simplicity of the dish. A massive veal chop had a slightly smoky flavor, with whipped potatoes, pommes fondant cooked with its juices, baby turnips, and a Sicilian salsa verde ($53), while the pork shank blanquette (above) with parsnips, polenta, apple butter and chimichurri was a dazzlement of gusty flavors ($46). I had some of the best sea scallops in a while at Topolino’s, with butternut squash risotto, root vegetable crackers and cioppino jus ($52).   That most Provencal of all dishes, bouillabaisse ($48) teemed with morsels of red snapper, branzino, clams, shrimps and mussels in a reduction of fennel and a saffron rouille.  
        There is a cheeseboard of international selections served with  honeycomb, figs, mushroom conserve and Marcona almonds ($21), and the desserts are requisite to share, like vanilla and citrus crème brûlée with morello cherry compote, strawberry foam, sugared beignets, and chocolate meringues ($14) and the warm chocolate cake (right) with a caramel center, Chantilly cream and raspberries ($15).
        Like many Disney restaurants, Topolino’s features a Disney character breakfast ($49 for adults, $29 for children).

        Recast from what had been a Mediterranean restaurant, Citricos in the Grand Floridian Resort is now  more eclectic. And, despite its name, the theme here is from the film Mary Poppins Returns, with the backs of dining chairs and server stations done with sprays of cherry blossoms, for Cherry Tree Lane, while the chairs in the lounges are configured like Mary’s corset. Birds perch in the light fixtures, and the floral pattern in the rug is from Mary Poppins’s carpetbag in the original 1964 movie. There is also a painting of Cherry Tree Lane, where the Banks family resides in both films. Inside the private Sommelier Room you can see the real carpetbag and Polly, her iconic umbrella, on display.
        Chef Andres Mendoza works out of a  big, brightly lighted open kitchen to produce a splendid and very balanced menu that begins with appetizers like  rice balls called arancini studded with wild mushrooms,  with a truffle aïoli and Champagne vinaigrette ($16).
        Compressed star fruit, Thai passion fruit nuoc cham and  a blood orange puff tapioca underpinning  full flavored citrus cured hamachi ($21,) while Berkshire pork belly comes with boniato and plantains croquette, salsa Verde and jicama ($18).
      The entrees have a hard-to-choose-among range. Both seafood dishes are very good— Golden tile fish with juniper rice and chorizo-flecked risotto, fresh Key West pink shrimp and a tomato confit ($46),  and a butter-poached Florida mahi-mahi with mashed fingerling potatoes, grilled asparagus, local mushrooms and a beurre blanc tinged with grapefruit ($42).
        On the carnivore side there is guava-slathered barbecued short ribs with creamy cheddar cheese grits, and roasted poblano chile. The only disappointment was an overly lavish plate of rigatoni bolognese with seasonal vegetables, hen of the woods mushrooms, and a bland vegan “egg yolk” ($15). But you should try the side dish of truffled mac & cheese made with house-made gnocchetti, black truffles and a sprinkling of  tarragon ($21).  By the way, wine suggestions (extra) are listed with each main course.
      Pastry Chef Kristine Farmer’s desserts match the other courses, including an orange blossom flan with blood orange jelly, orange-scented shortbread and orange blossom honey ($13); an apple rose served with marzipan, raspberry jam and frozen coconut milk ($13);  and a chocolate torte financier with a dark chocolate ganache, Morello cherry and vanilla mascarpone cream ($14).
        The wine list has fifty-plus selections, heaviest in reds, and mark-ups are somewhat lower than you’ll find elsewhere in Florida’s fine dining restaurants. Surprising, then, that none have vintages listed, which are “subject to change.”
        Just reading the menu descriptions and seeing the photos here of Topolino’s and Citricos gives you a sense of Disney's range when it come to upscale dining. But in the execution there are few to rival them in the South.

                                                                                            917-675-7491
                                                                                                                     
                                                                              By John Mariani

Back in the 1970s a slew of Italian restaurants opened on Manhattan’s East Side that elevated the cuisine and décor well above the Italian-American model of the past. Two of those were Il Monello (1974) and Il Nido (1979), stylish ristoranti opened by Tuscan-born Adi Giovanetti, who introduced a sophisticated service, many dishes never served in New York before and had a wine list of the best Italian wines then coming into the country.
            Il Monello—the name means “little rascal”—then on 76th Street and Second Avenue, closed, re-opened and then was sold to Steve Haxhiaj, who had worked for Giovanetti, but shuttered again in 2008.  (Il Nido closed a few years later; Giovanetti passed away soon after.)
            Now re-opened at a different location by Haxhiaj and chef-partner Jaime Chabla, Il Monello has the same soft luxury of the original, though in a more modern décor.  The lighting is finely modulated, helped by small lamps that throw a glow onto the white tablecloths.
        The front window faces the street, and there is a handsome bar as you enter. There are 120 seats, but the well-separated tables, with comfortable leather chairs, make it appear smaller, more intimate. The sound level in the room is ideal, perhaps because Il Monello draws a crowd that does not shout to be heard nor need to.
            The menu fits on one broadside and is well balanced in categories that begin with salads, and the one to share is the Il Monello of baby arugula, goat’s cheese, shaved pears, seedless grapes, toasted almond flakes and a lemon truffle oil dressing ($14).
            Among the antipasti the stand-out is the eggplant parmigiana ($19), a hefty square whose lavish tomato and mozzarella cheese looks as delectable as a Wayne Thiebaud still life (right). Tender Littleneck clams are gently dressed with moist breadcrumbs and fresh oregano ($18).
            There are six pastas, and I was impressed by the straight-from-the-flame risotto with wild mushrooms, so impeccably textured and suffused with flavor (market price).  Fettuccine al ragù is veal and tomato based and a good winter pasta ($29). The ear-shaped orecchiette (left), which have a special texture, are treated to chunks of sweet sausage and broccoli with plenty of garlic and olive oil ($28).
        The only disappointment was a dish of bucatini cacio e pepe ($26), a dish now found all over New York and one that takes a careful hand to get right. Here there was little taste of coarsely ground black pepper in a dish whose only two ingredients are pecorino and pepper.
            Consummate care does go into the sea bass (below)that is potato crusted and served with a white wine-based caper-lemon sauce with hearts of artichokes ($39). So,too a flavorful Dover sole was perfectly rendered with a tangy lemon and white wine sauce (market price).
            There is chicken scarpariello on the menu ($35), a dish that usually contains sausage, but, instead, you’ll find in the “Il Monello” both white and dark chicken, potatoes, roasted peppers and a white wine sauce ($35). Best of all was a bountiful pollo parmigiana ($34) that takes the basic ingredients of pounded, breaded chicken breast with tomato sauce and mozzarella and plates it as a generous and attractive circle the size of a pizza (below). The ingredients are key to this dish, and more than a match for the far more expensive veal parm at Carbone’s for $72.     
        Haxhiaj also owns the Theater District Tuscany Steakhouse, so his meat and seafood suppliers are of the same high quality, and it shows in the massive bone-in ribeye we enjoyed ($69). There is also a bistecca alla Fiorentina here ($63 per person) under the name “Tuscany porterhouse.” By the way, the French fries ($12) are terrific.
        I do, actually, wish there were more Tuscan dishes on the menu, like pappa al pomodoro and pappardelle con lepre, and perhaps they will be specials sometimes. One dish I’m begging them to bring back from the original Il Monello was Giovanetti’s ravioli malfatti—“badly made ravioli”—which has no pasta wrapping at all, instead consisting of a spinach-ricotta filling cooked on its own and lashed with butter.
        I highly recommend a dessert ($14) or two at Il Monello, all freshly made, perhaps the tiramisù or the cheesecake, and with the fruit platter you get a big dollop of whipped cream for spooning onto the dessert plates. It’s a generous gesture.
        But then, everything at Il Monello is, including the service. No little rascals here, just veteran professionals who aim to please. It’s good to have Il Monello back and very good to come back to.

Open nightly for dinner from 4 p.m.