Goods at the Market of Harambe

Satu’li Canteen, Tiffins, Flame Tree Barbecue, Tusker House, and even Nomad Lounge take up a lot of the space when talking about dining at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As well they should, there is a lot of great dishes and culinary risk-taking coming out of all of these restaurants. Sometimes lost in the shuffle, or lost in a deluge due to its outdoor ordering and seating, Harambe Market offers up some wonderful dishes that you should be paying attention to. Let’s sample one or two, or four, today and give you an idea of what you could be missing out on.

Let’s start with a pair of entrees, the Spiced Karubi Ribs and beef and lamb gyro. The ribs feature an African spice rub and barbecue glaze and come paired with green papaya slaw and black-eyed pea salad. The gyro, as you would expect, features thinly sliced gyro meats from a rotating spit, served open-faced on naan and topped with cucumber and tomato salad and tzatziki sauce. It also comes with a side of black-eyed pea salad.

The ribs are definitely one of the specialties of Harambe Market, and that care shows in every bite. Some of the meat will literally fall off of the bone, while you will have to pull some of it off with your teeth, although not with much effort. The spice mixture present in the rub and sauce represent the best of what African spices can do, but the flavor profile may be a bit off putting for picky eaters. The green papaya slaw is cool and crunchy, with fresh flavors that are a bright contrast to the slow cooked ribs. Likewise, the black-eyed pea salad, with corn, peppers, and black-eyed peas, delivers a ton of tasty vegetables in a small package.

Moving over to the beef and lamb gyro, this is a step up option for those guests who don’t want to step out of their sandwich comfort zone. The cucumber and tomato salad, along with the tzatziki sauce are laced with cool and mellow flavors that complement the savory and rich elements coming from the gyro meats. The naan is pillowy and chewy, and makes for a sturdy base that you can either cut into with a fork and knife or pick up like a traditional sandwich. The black-eyed pea salad is, again, a nice accompaniment to the dish and a welcomed change-up from fries or chips.

Since we’re back in Africa, it seems only right to also try the Safari Cake, which is a coconut cake with pineapple-coconut mousse that is then coated in chocolate and served on a bed of toasted coconut. The cake spongey and the coconut flavor is definitely the star here. The mouse is creamy and thick, and you catch a hint of the pineapple, but the flavor is fleeting between the waves of coconut. The chocolate is a nice touch, as is the toasted coconut on the plate that easily sticks to the cake or chocolate covering, and both serve the cake well. The portion size will definitely leave you wanting more.

To wash all of this down, we sampled the Leopard’s Eye, Snow Leopard Vodka blended with kiwi-and-mango flavored Bibo. Bibo is a fruit based beverage from Coca-Cola which here is the kiwi and mango variety. The tropical flavors mask the vodka well and, when paired with its neon green coloring, the Leopard’s Eye feels and tastes more like frozen Ecto Cooler, for those of you familiar with the juice box staple. It’s very sweet and does wonders to combat the heat and humidity of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. My only complaint is that the ingredients used to create slushy beverages can, at times, cause me to get not only an ice cream headache, but full body aches. That’s more of a personal problem than it is a slight against the Leopard’s Eye, but I thought I would issue the warning in case you suffer similar frozen cocktail discomforts.

The stalls of Harambe Market are meticulously crafted, with every detail considered, and so too are the meals and menu items which are offered up from their windows. Disney’s Animal Kingdom has long been the bastion of adventurous eaters and culinary boundary pushing within the four parks of Walt Disney World. Harambe Market offers unique takes on recognizable dishes and pleases the palate on every visit. If you haven’t paid a visit to the open air eatery yet, or it’s been a while since your last visit, I say it’s time you take another bite or two, or four.