Sunday Brunch
Plunder me Brunch on the
Day of the Sun
May 15, 2011
Avast ye, scallywags!
Hoist anchor, swab the poop decks, it be
Pirate Week for From Screen to Theme's Disney
Days of the Week. The crew be
setting sail towards the prem-ear of the
greatest new adventure 'Pirates
of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' and
this first day at sea starts with 'Sunday
Brunch.'
Now that that scurvy pirate is
out of the way, we'll be docking the ship at 'El
Pirata y
el
Perico,' known today as 'Tortuga Tavern,'
but more commonly known as 'The Adventureland restaurant you know is
there because you've never been in it.'
In the magical world of Disney, die-hard
Disney fans come to know of the random places
most everyday guests have no idea about, because
it is only the repeat visitor who tends to
notice things that are always there, but at the
same time are not. On the
attractions side, it was the Timekeeper of
Tomorrowland. Over on
the dining side, it was Lumiere's Kitchen (read
all about this place by scrolling down the
March
20th post); yes, I speak of those
marked with WDW's black spot: Seasonal opening!
During my last visit to
Walt Disney World in May 2010, I had the
great fortune of stepping through the threshold
of this wondrous eatery for the first time-ever.
That trip was my 11th trip to
the World and not once had 'El Pirata y el
Perico' ever been open during my previous trips,
which oddly enough had all taken place during
the busy season. My group
chose to eat lunch at
Pecos Bill's in
Frontierland and we decided we should
probably stake out a table before grabbing our
nom-noms. My friend Alex (of
Hidden Mickey Mondays fame) and I walked
towards the main dining area, discovering the
mess of wooden tables full to capacity; next we
checked out the quaint little night time caf'
area, only to find it was also full, so we kept
going around, finding the side tables full'then
up a ramp'wait a minute'why haven't we been
stopped by a wall, a closed door, a
cast member-before we knew it, we were in
Adventureland in an unknown dining area with
outdoor and indoor seating.
Alex and I were as puzzled as a pirate missing
his parrot because lo and behold, we were in the
much fabled 'El Pirata y el Perico'!
Alex points excitedly to
the sign of the restaurant that had nary been
filled with a soul!
We were quite stoked to find the
place was finally opened and we concluded that
the park must really be crowded if they opened
this place up. It was, after
all, the opening week for
Star Wars Weekend, and logic would
indicate that the guests who filled their
weekends up at Hollywood Studios were now
continuing their vacation at the
Magic Kingdom.
Throughout the day, we joked about random spots
we found that would probably open up if it were
more crowded than today (e.g. there's a
completely random bar and counter in
Liberty Square while waiting in line at
Tiana's Garden Glen).
'El Pirata y el Perico' started
out as a
counter service snack stand selling hot
dogs and snacks, though the menu evolved to
better match its Mexican influenced title by
later offering some 'Mexican'
food (well, the Americanized version)
such as beef empanadas with
black beans and rice, tacos,
taco salad, chips and salsa, and churros.
This year, the often closed for
the season restaurant changed names and added a
few more pirate touches to tie in with the movie
franchise. Now called
'Tortuga Tavern' (after the pillaged town you
see in the attraction and where
Captain Jack and
Will Turner gather their crew), the menu
was simplified, offering Beef Tacos, Burritos,
Taco Salad, and Vegetarian Tacos.
As we had seen with the evolving
Lancer's Inn to the Friar's Nook, 'El Pirata y
el Perico' is another Magic Kingdom eatery to be
given the royal makeover to change with the
times. While Friar's Nook
pays tribute to a lesser known Disney animated
feature, 'Tortuga Tavern' takes its change due
to the popularity with the latest Disney movie
franchise, with its latest installment
premiering this week. With an
event like that coming up, you can be most
certain that the pirates will not be closing
their tavern doors for the season.
I be pillaging from these
spider's webs:
http://www.parkeology.com/2011/02/spanish-word-for-pirate.html
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?Restaurant.ID=144
http://www.wdwmagic.com/Dining/Tortuga-Tavern/News/07Feb2011-%22El-Pirata-Y-el-Perico-Restaurante%22-name-changed-to-%22Tortuga-Tavern%22.htm
Return to Sunday
Brunch