Food obsession-good or bad?

[zurgandfriend]

I have mostly seen scrapple in the the Penn-Dutch county of PA. As to the food obsession, I like to dine well on any vacation. To me dining is part of the vacation, (I don't have to cook).

 

[Lilofan]

Scrapple is breakfast meat popular (or infamous, depending on who you ask) in SE Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern NJ. More or less, it's a loaf of pressings of the very last scraps of left-over pig flesh, corn meal and some seasonings. It's prepared by slicing and pan frying. Roughly similar to some 'breakfast puddings" you sometimes find in the British Isles, and various meat and grain mixtures from Germany , the Netherlands and Flanders.

I grew up in the Philadelphia area and I love it, especially with some maple syrup. But scrapple seems to be one of those foods, like marmite in Britain, that nobody who didn't grow up with it can tolerate.

Scrapple isn't available in most of the US (along with another regional favorite, Lebanon bologna), so it's one of those regional foods that Pennsylvania ex-pats tend to miss once we move away.

The Philly Special, shot of Jim Beam and a glass of PBR sounds good with some scrapple in the morning to start the day.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

You might be able to find scrapple in grocery stores in the NYC area. When I lived near Niagara Falls for a few years, it would show up in my local store every now and again. Completely unavailable and unknown where I currently live in northern New England, however.

Otherwise, most non-chain diners within the greater Philadephia tri-state region will usually offer it as an optional side item with breakfast.

I'm born and raised in Niagara County and I have never heard of it lol.

 

[mdcpr]

I'm born and raised in Niagara County and I have never heard of it lol.

Right? And I live in NYC and I have never seen it.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Right? And I live in NYC and I have never seen it.

I'm an upstate (Finger Lakes) New Yorker near Amish/Mennonite country -- I've seen scrapple in several of the local Mennonite grocery stores and farm markets, and when I attended college in rural Pennsylvania, many of my classmates were familiar with it. It's sort of like an American version of haggis -- a breakfast dish made from less-desirable animal "scraps," seasoned with spices, and mixed with a grain -- wheat and/or cornmeal mush in the case of scrapple, and oats in the case of haggis. Both are tasty and very rich, so not something you'd want to eat often! Since vacation time is my "diet cheat" time, if I saw either on a Disney menu, I'd be tempted.

 

[mdcpr]

I'm an upstate (Finger Lakes) New Yorker near Amish/Mennonite country -- I've seen scrapple in several of the local Mennonite grocery stores and farm markets, and when I attended college in rural Pennsylvania, many of my classmates were familiar with it. It's sort of like an American version of haggis -- a breakfast dish made from less-desirable animal "scraps," seasoned with spices, and mixed with a grain -- wheat and/or cornmeal mush in the case of scrapple, and oats in the case of haggis. Both are tasty and very rich, so not something you'd want to eat often! Since vacation time is my "diet cheat" time, if I saw either on a Disney menu, I'd be tempted.

I've actually had haggis, with Yak milk. I'm a little bit of an adventurous eater.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I'm born and raised in Niagara County and I have never heard of it lol.

Topps in Lewiston would sometimes carry scrapple when I lived there, although it wasn't always available. You probably wouldn't even notice it unless you specifically looked.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I'm an upstate (Finger Lakes) New Yorker near Amish/Mennonite country -- I've seen scrapple in several of the local Mennonite grocery stores and farm markets, and when I attended college in rural Pennsylvania, many of my classmates were familiar with it. It's sort of like an American version of haggis -- a breakfast dish made from less-desirable animal "scraps," seasoned with spices, and mixed with a grain -- wheat and/or cornmeal mush in the case of scrapple, and oats in the case of haggis. Both are tasty and very rich, so not something you'd want to eat often! Since vacation time is my "diet cheat" time, if I saw either on a Disney menu, I'd be tempted.

I would think a place called "Cape May Cafe" would be the obvious place to serve scrapple, along with perhaps Taylor pork rolls... but looking on the website, Disney confusingly describes this as "New England-inspired". Hmm. I guess from the perspective of Florida, everything north of the Outer Banks is essentially New England.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

We usually have one ADR/day, especially at Epcot. It's part of the experience; the cuisine itself, the location, setting/ambiance... Others are favorites (e.g. Rose & Crown, Yak & Yeti, Biergarten, etc.) and simply must be ticked off the list!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I'm an upstate (Finger Lakes) New Yorker near Amish/Mennonite country -- I've seen scrapple in several of the local Mennonite grocery stores and farm markets, and when I attended college in rural Pennsylvania, many of my classmates were familiar with it. It's sort of like an American version of haggis -- a breakfast dish made from less-desirable animal "scraps," seasoned with spices, and mixed with a grain -- wheat and/or cornmeal mush in the case of scrapple, and oats in the case of haggis. Both are tasty and very rich, so not something you'd want to eat often! Since vacation time is my "diet cheat" time, if I saw either on a Disney menu, I'd be tempted.

Its crazy how close some of us are.
In the summer we drive to Lake Canandaigua to go to the beach.
Its about a 2 hour drive from where I live. My parents started going there in the 70's.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Its crazy how close some of us are.
In the summer we drive to Lake Canandaigua to go to the beach.
Its about a 2 hour drive from where I live. My parents started going there in the 70's.

LOL - we live 20 minutes from Canandaigua Lake. As they say, "it's a small world after all!"

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Topps in Lewiston would sometimes carry scrapple when I lived there, although it wasn't always available. You probably wouldn't even notice it unless you specifically looked.

We own a house in Lewiston.
We don't usually end up going to Tops there through.

 

[Hcalvert]

Some of us are pretty much lifelong dieters -- except when we're on vacation! -- so the food we eat while traveling seems particularly precious and important. Plus, dining time is valuable "down time" in an otherwise hectic Disney day, so we want it to be in the most enjoyable possible setting.

I confess to being one of those who obsesses over picking the right restaurants (both individually, and in combination with one another) when we travel, whether it's to WDW or anywhere else. I try to pick restaurants (and not to pick restaurants, but to leave time slots for spontaneous or counter-service meals) that will offer just the thing we want, at a particular time of day, at a convenient location, during a given part of our trip, and that won't be repetitive of something we've already had. Even though I know my vacation planning can't be perfect, I at least try.

That being said, I have no delusions that Disney food is worth obsessing over. It's certainly no better (and in most cases is worse) than what we can find in our local restaurants at home. Instead, we, like you, try to choose restaurants that will offer unique "experiences," and which offer a decent value (in Disney terms), which generally means avoiding signatures, character meals and buffets unless it's something really special. Nobody in my family eats that much anyway, diet or no!

You're right about the connection between dieting and Disney food. When my family vacation at Disney, we eat things that we would not at home as both my husband and I are dieting (I've lost 55 pounds and my husband 105 pounds). For instance, we don't usually eat at restaurants at all nor have dessert or alcoholic drinks at home, so it is a treat for us while we are there.

 

[Lilofan]

Food obsession on the Disney cruise is a whole different ballgame. Gluttony to extreme excess. I can eat my share but I saw guests on the cruise take it to the next level.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Food obsession on the Disney cruise is a whole different ballgame. Gluttony to extreme excess. I can eat my share but I saw guests on the cruise take it to the next level.

Unrelated question, but how is the food on Disney cruises? Do they take the same safe "guaranteed not to offend" approach as the parks, or do they get a little more creative, like some of their industry competitors?

 

[Lilofan]

Unrelated question, but how is the food on Disney cruises? Do they take the same safe "guaranteed not to offend" approach as the parks, or do they get a little more creative, like some of their industry competitors?

Very good either Buffett or a la carte. American and international fare. But I'm a novice at cruising so it's all good to me. International fare is good. During the day poolside, fast food, ice cream, fresh fruit all around if full three meals a day is not enough for you.

 

[SAV]

For us the Food is not a big deal at all. We eat because we have to. Normally do QS for all but 1 meal(at DHS because the QS at DHS is not good). The cost of those sit down meals is just not something we want to spend our money on. Normally we go in the hot summer, so stuffing ourselves and then have to go back out in the heat is not something we want to do.

 

[networkpro]

I would think a place called "Cape May Cafe" would be the obvious place to serve scrapple, along with perhaps Taylor pork rolls... but looking on the website, Disney confusingly describes this as "New England-inspired". Hmm. I guess from the perspective of Florida, everything north of the Outer Banks is essentially New England.

That and the hordes of retirement communities that are filled with snowbirds.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Walt made Disney to be unlike all other parks. He wanted to reach all the human senses and knew that a variety of tasty options that delivered pleasurable experiences to his guests would add to their time spent at Disney. From the very beginning food has played an integral part in enjoying the parks. Its an important piece of our visits, allowing us a variety of options not found in our home area. We enjoy trying different restaurants and menu items that please us. Yes, the food quality can differ from place to place and even trip to trip, but we havent been disappointed enough to say across the board Disney food is bad. We read a variety of reviews and go into each ADR decision with an idea of which spot will better please us and has value for what we purchase. We do try some new things and also go with old favorites. Part of the fun of our planning is finding new and exciting snacks and menu items. Deciding where to dine is just as important to us as deciding which park to go to on which day. If you get it wrong it can affect your enjoyment for that day.

 

[correcaminos]

For me I can get better food and a good diverse selection at home. So given prices and options (and dumbing down of flavors) we opt not to make food our priority. I'm not saying it's awful, just not worth the upcharge mostly. Also really since losing 85+ pounds, food has become less important to me as a whole - if I let it become important then I get myself in trouble.