Louis Lunch - Birthplace of the Hamburger Sandwich

Louis Lunch is one of those famous little restaurants that is always on the Food Network and Travel Channel. It is the birthplace of the Hamburger Sandwich, for real! This was my first time going to the local favorite and I have to say it will NOT be my last.When you open the door, you are hit with the smell of beef cooking slowly.

Established in 1895 in New Haven Connecticut, Louis Lunch doesn't mess around with their burgers. It is the same burger now as it was back then, right down to the grill used to cook it. They can cook up to 27 patties at a time in these sideways flame grills. They are made fresh to order so it can take a little while to prepare but trust me, its worth it.

 Louis Lunch is also extremely particular about how you enjoy their burger, they want to be sure the meat is not tainted by the evils of condiments like ketchup or mustard. So they are forbidden, sorry but you know something that has lasted this long is worth a try without those comforts. Toppings are only cheese, sauteed onions and tomatoes. On the side, your choice of potato chips or potato salad. We went potato salad all the way Baby, it was creamy good and got us pumped for the burgers. Louis Lunch is very small and can only seat maybe 18 people so finding a place to stand or sit is a challenge however we got lucky by coming at an odd time, 3:00pm. We managed to find a seat in one of the little cubicles in the corner while we ate our potato salad and waited for our burger to cook to perfection. Looking around we noticed everywhere there was exposed wood there were layers upon layers of names carved. Apparently Louis Lunch encourages their patrons to leave their mark, so of course we did. 

 Finally our burgers were ready! Served on a small paper plate on white toast, here came our first taste of America's first Hamburger Sandwich! Bite and.... WOW! Tasted like pure charcoal and beef! Good thing I didn't put any condiments on, It would have robed my taste buds of that perfectly grilled American original flavor.

 Oh and here comes the cheese!

Everyone should try this burger at least once in their lifetime. And do yourself a favor, listen to the experts and leave the ketchup packets home.
4 out of 5 forks
http://www.louislunch.com/

Disney World

"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you" - Disney's Pinocchio
At Disney World in Florida anything your heart and tummy desires will come to you! We just returned from an amazing mini (ha Minnie) vacation to the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH! In the short time we were there we enjoyed all the park had to offer from the rides to the atmosphere to the food. We wanted to be sure we didn't overspend on food but still enjoy ourselves, I think we did just that.

Lets start with breakfast, the most important meal of the day, especially when the day consists of staying up and active from 7am- 11pm! The Disney All Star Movie Resort is on the plainer side as far as resorts go but they do not skimp on the food buffet! Check out Matthew's spilling over plate of eggs, hash browns, biscuit bacon and sausage. I wanted to go a little healthier and went with the oatmeal, it was so thick you could probably layer the bricks of Cinderella's castle with it. No that's a power meal!

Then it was off to the parks! What says Disney Park more then Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream on a stick?! Nothin better, a classic and for a good reason. Reasonably priced, cooling and fun!

Then for lunch we had reservations at the Sci Fi Dine-In at Hollywood Studios. At first we thought that the highlight would be watching black and white B movie trailers for "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "Son of the Blob". Or sitting in tables styled after old 50's cars and doing a little passionate necking during the intermission song. We were happily surprised to find that the drive in food was actually really good! The fun really started when the waiter brought us two colorful, fruity drinks with glow in the dark ice cubes, Cool! I ordered an All American Picnic Burger with Cheese and it was gigantic. Not only was it a burger but it was topped with two grilled hot dogs! It also came with a pickle and french fries, oh nostalgia. It was so much food I had to give half of my burger to Matt who managed to finish not just my leftovers but also his whole pastrami on rye sandwich! That's MY Man!

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/sci-fi-dine-in-theater

Later that night we found ourselves wondering the many countries represented at Epcot. We drank beer (or bier) in Germany and hot oily fish and chips in England. WOW! That was so insainly good! If Germany and England knew how well their food and drink got along, there would have been no reason to fight that blasted 2nd World War. Well maybe not, but still, the power of good food can perform magic!

The next day we were on a hunt for the famous Magic Kingdom Turkey Leg! We finally found it in Adventure Land and DANG THAT IS ONE BIG TURKEY LEG!!!! Really juicy and delicious and did I say BIG?! It's BIG!!!

Since I did a hamburger the day before this time I tried a hot dog and again it was HUGE! I couldn't do it, the all American goodness was too much for me. I looked up onto Main Street in The Magic Kingdom, were everything around me resembled small town American in 1912 and just smiled and handed the dog off to Matt. He is such a good foodie helper.

On the last night we took the Monorail over to the Polynesian Resort and stumbled onto the Kona Cafe and Sushi bar. We managed to grab a seat at the bar with out a reservation (sweet!) and had our last meal at Disney. Of course Japanese was on the menu and you know that is a favorite of mine. It was nice to get away from the fried foods and heavy beef meals.

Pot stickers with a ginger glaze sauce. WOW amazing!

 Matthew had a noddle shrimp bowl, very tasty and it smelled great.

 I had the sashimi- tuna, whitefish and salmon. It was so fresh and clean, it really hit the spot!

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/kona-cafe/

Disney was a fulfilling and filling vacation and we can't wait to go back. Even eating on the cheap you can really experience all the diversity and classic food that Disney has to indulge in. I miss it!

4 out of 5 forks!
Have a Magical Day!