We are in the middle of summer here in Disney World, and that means that a lot of fun summer happenings are happening all over the resort.
Cool Kid Summer has kicked off in the parks, bringing some new character meet and greets, activities, entertainment, and more. In Disney Springs, one of Disney World’s celebrity chef-owned restaurants, Frontera Cocina, is having a special summer event, too, called Viva La Noche on the Patio.
This summer on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 6-10:30 PM until September 4th, you can experience Viva La Noche, which roughly translates into “Live the night”, at Frontera Cocina. You’ll be able to indulge in some delicious food, live entertainment, and an exclusive margarita tree. We recently visited Frontera Cocina to check it out!
If you’ve never visited Frontera Cocina, this is an authentic Mexican restaurant owned by Chef Rick Bayless, who just happens to be a seven-time James Beard Award winner. The restaurant itself has a casual vibe with a lot of natural light and color.
There are also plenty of places to sit, including seating at the bar, as well as tables and chairs inside the restaurant. Outdoor seating is also available.
Viva La Noche on the Patio features live entertainment.
We started by ordering some food. The Carnitas Tacos ($28) are made with Gunthorp Farms slow-cooked pork shoulder with garlic and lime, black bean refritos with fresco cheese, guacamole, pickled red onions, and salsa verde.These are served as three flour tortillas, with the carnitas served separately, so you can make them yourself. You also get a dollop of refried beans with cheese, salsa verde, and guacamole.
The carnitas meat is beautifully cooked. It has a nice sizzle to it (it’s hot when you get it), and the grease and juices in it make it so tender and juicy. When you add on the sauces and everything else, the flavor just pops. If we could change one thing about this, we would have liked corn tortillas, but we think flour tortillas are the preferred tortilla for many in Florida.
We also got the Chorizo & Avocado Tlayuda ($27). So this is a 14-inch gigantic corn masa tostada imported from Oaxaca, Poblano rajas, cotjia cheese, chihuahua cheese, and avocado-tomatillo salsa, brushed with black beans. It’s giving Mexican pizza vibes, but way better. We were given some scissors to cut them!
This has so much flavor and a lot of spice, although it’s a low heat. The salsa is also nice and fresh, along with the rest of the ingredients. This is something we would order again.
Then there’s the Margarita Tree ($43), which is exclusive to this specific event. You get three margaritas: La Cava Avocado, Agave Maria, and Malumita.
We’ll start with the La Cava Avocado, and yes, this is the same margarita you can get at La Cava del Tequila in EPCOT. It’s made with Flecha Azul blanco tequila, melon-orange liqueur, fresh avocado, and lime juice, hibiscus salt rim. It’s served frozen. The flavors are fresh, and it has a nice creaminess. You don’t even have to like avocados to appreciate them.
The Agave Maria is made with Tromba blanco tequila, clarified lemon juice, and black ant salt rim. It’s served with a freeze-dried orange slice. Although it’s made with lemon juice, it’s not sour, but just a little tart. It’s a nice, light drink that’s almost too easy to drink.
The Malumita is made with Contraluz reposado cristalino mezcal, pineapple, Ancho Reyes chile Poblano liqueur, ginger, Italicus, and tortilla ash rim. This one has a super fruity flavor thanks to the pineapple, but the other flavors complement that fruitiness.
Overall, these drinks generally cost at least $20 each, so getting three for $43 is a pretty good deal. Just remember it’s only available on select evenings.
Check back with AllEars again soon for more…