Simple Pleasures

Simple Pleasures
Tony Caggiano

With so many amazing fine dining experiences in Walt Disney World it is very easy to overlook some of the more common, less known offerings. While the elegant meals the likes of California Grill, Jiko, Yachtsman Steakhouse, and comparable restaurants may get most of the attention, well deserved as it may be, there are also some incredibly delicious meal items to be found elsewhere, served in less well known restaurants.

One such restaurant is Olivia’s Café at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. As a long time DVC member, I have spent many vacations at this resort. Heck, back when I joined in 1994, it was the ONLY Disney Vacation Club resort that was actually known as Disney’s Vacation Club Resort. Since day one at Old Key West, Olivia’s has been serving delicious food with a Key West flair, but the one item which brings me back time and time again is a southern staple, an item few people would think worthy of note.Olivia’s grits are one of my very favorite food items in all of Walt Disney World. For years my brother and I would sit in the restaurant, eating these delectable grits and wondering just what it was that they did to make them the most delicious grots we have ever tasted. All of this wondering came to an abrupt halt a few years back when we asked the waiter if there was anything special in these grits and he said, “would you like the recipe?”…Would I like the recipe??? Why had I NEVER thought to ask for it??? As it turns out, most restaurants in The World will give you recipes for many of their most popular menu items…you only need to ask.

They took our email address and within a week we had received an email from Brian Rogers, Sous Chef at Olivia’s. He wrote a lovely note, thanking us for frequenting Olivia’s and included on the bottom was the recipe for our beloved grits….and plenty of them.

As a little bonus today, I figured I would throw in the very recipe that led me to this discovery… Olivia’s Delicious Creamy Grits. The recipe is for a typical restaurant sized batch, but so worth doing the math to break it down to a size that suits you. Enjoy!!!

OLIVIA’S CREAMY GRITS

Ingredients:
5 ½ cups Grits
3 qts Water
3 qts Heavy Cream
2 sticks Butter
Salt and Pepper (To Taste)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a heavy bottomed sauce pot.
Bring to a boil and turn down to a low simmer.
Cook very slowly for 45 minutes and stir very often.