Connect with us

General

Monstrous makeover: How Pixar artists made Mike & Sulley look more youthful in “Monsters University”

Published

on

So how exactly do you make an eyeball look like it’s 18 years old?


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

That was the challenge that Ricky Nierva faced on “Monsters
University
.” As the art
director / production designer of Pixar’s first-ever prequel, Nierva (working closely
with this project’s character art director Jason Deamer) had to figure out how
to properly reverse-age Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan. Turn these two
Monsters, Inc.
” stars into believable college students.

So how do you get started on a design assignment like this?
To Deamer’s way of thinking, research was the way to go. Which is why — before
Ricky & Jason got started reimaging Mike & Sulley — they asked
everyone who was working on the “Monsters
University” production team to
bring in their senior class portraits.

“So we gathered together all of these high school
pictures. And after we all had a good laugh at everyone’s weird hairstyles
& interesting fashion choices, we then took a close look at the differences
between the 18 year-old version of a person and what they eventually came to
look like as an adult,” Deamer explained. “Because while some of the
changes are obvious — people put on weight, their hairlines recede — a lot of
the other changes were actually pretty subtle.”


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

The other challenge which Nierva & Deamer faced with
this project was that — in the 12 years since Pixar had last visited the
Monster world — this animation studio had completely upgraded & overhauled
the tools which it uses to make these movies.

“The technology we have at our disposal now is so
advanced, so sophisticated that Jason & I didn’t want the way that the college-aged
Mike & Sulley looked & moved to be all that different from the way that
these characters had looked & moved back in ‘Monsters, Inc.,” Ricky said.
“So it then became this delicate balancing act. Trying to take advantage
of what we could do now with Pixar’s new animation tools while — at the same time
— preserving the essence of these ‘Monsters, Inc.’ characters. Making sure
that the college-aged version of Mike & Sulley still maintained their
original flavor.”

So keeping this delicate balancing act in mind, how did Nierva
& Deamer go about giving Mike & Sulley more youthful appearances?
Reimagining these middle-aged “Monsters, Inc.” characters as 18
year-olds?


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

“Where did we start? Well, your typical college student
is a lot more svelte than your average adult. So to make Mike & Sulley look
more age appropriate, we carved a lot of weight out of their mid-sections,”
Ricky said. “Then — to give the sense that Mike & Sulley still had
some growing up to do —  we thinned up their
arms & legs while keeping their hands & feet adult-sized. With the
thinking being that — just like puppies — Mike & Sulley would eventually
have to grow into their paws.”

Then to get across the idea that these were far younger versions of Mike
Wazowski & James P. Sullivan than audiences had previously seen in
“Monsters, Inc.,” Nierva & Deamer made these characters a much
more vibrant green & blue. They also removed a number of skin blemishes
& age spots and reduced the size of the bags under Mike & Sulley’s eyes.
Thereby giving Wazowski  & Sullivan
fresher, much more youthful-looking faces. 

“We then took their horns and shortened them. Figuring
that — as a monster — your horns would grow over the course of your
lifespan,” Jason continued. “With the end result being that we hoped —
once the audience looked at these versions of Mike & Sulley and then absorbed
all of these little subtle changes that we’d made —  they’d then buy into the idea that these were college-aged
versions of the character that they’d previously known from ‘Monsters, Inc.’


John Lasseter with some of the “Monsters University” toys that will soon be
appearing on store shelves everywhere. Copyright Disney Pixar.
All rights reserved

But when Nierva & Deamer showed their first pass at college-aged versions
of Wazowski & Sullivan to John Lasseter, Pixar’s grand poobah wasn’t
entirely enthused.

“Don’t get me wrong. John was still very supportive of
our work. He told us that we’d come up with some great looking versions of Mike
& Sulley. His problem was — in spite of all the design decisions that we’d
made, the numerous physical changes that we’d made to these ‘Monsters, Inc.’
characters — there was still nothing about these versions of Mike & Sulley
which specifically told the audience that they were now 18 years of age,”
Ricky said. “We then realized that we were going to have to be a little
more obvious about the ‘Monsters University’
versions of these characters. Hit the audience over the head a little bit more if
we were actually going to get across the idea that the college-aged versions of
Mike & Sulley were different from the ones that people had previously met
in ‘Monsters, Inc.”

When it came to Mike Wazowski, the easiest way to illustrate that he was just
18 years-old was to give him a retainer & a baseball cap to wear. Whereas
creating a believable college-aged version of Sulley would prove to be a much
hairier challenge.


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

“Given that Sulley — at least when we first meet him
— is kind of gliding through college, not paying all that much attention to
his studies, we wanted his physical appearance to reinforce that idea. So since
some college students will just roll out of bed and then head off to class
without first running a comb through their hair … Well, we wanted Sulley to
kind of have a head-to-toe bed head look,” Jason laughed. “We also
added a tuft of hair to the top of Sulley’s head, almost a mohawk, to suggest a
youthful rebellious streak.”

And when it came time to come up with a more youthful appearance for the college-aged
version of Randall Boggs, Nierva & Deamer actually went the other way. They
gave “Monsters, Inc.” ‘s villain a pair of glasses and slightly
improved his posture. Visually reinforcing the idea that the 18 year-old
Randall is the type of guy who really wants to make good at school, who
seriously wants to fit in.

“Of course, what’s great about giving Randall glasses
is that — once he takes them off — he immediately goes from being this
wide-eyed innocent to looking just like that squinty-eyed villain that we all know
from ‘Monsters, Inc.,’ ” Rick said. “So this is one of those moments that
we could actually use character design as a way to foreshadow some story
elements.”


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

And speaking of innocents, one of Nierva & Deamer’s favorite parts of
working on “Monsters University”
was getting the chance to create all of the other students that Mike &
Sulley would interact with while they’re at college.  Take — for example — Scott
“Squishy” Squibbles, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member (Who — here’s
a neat bit of trivia for all you animation fans — is being voiced by Ricky
& Jason’s fellow Pixarian, Peter Sohn. Who’s currently co-directing with
Bob Peterson this animation studio’s next feature-length project, “The
Good Dinosaur
.” Which is due to hit theaters in May of 2014. Anyway … ).

“There’s always that guy at college who’s still trying
to figure himself out. In this movie, that’s Scott. He’s already a sophomore at
Monsters University
but his major is undeclared. So while we were designing Scott, we tried to use
this character’s very shape and coloration to suggest how moldable &
undefined he still is,” Jason said. “When we were searching for
inspiration on Squishy, we actually looked at a lot of Gummi candy that was
colorless & squishy. But in the end — because Scott has to look child-like
because he’s not really an adult yet. More importantly, because Squishy had to
be lovable — we settled on mochi balls. They’re soft and super-appealing. Plus
they have this nice, powdered surface. We so wanted Scott to look like this
kind of Japanese rice cake that we actually sent multiple pictures of mochi
balls to Pixar’s shading department and then told them that we wanted Scott to
be shaded just like that.”


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

So of the 400+ characters that Nierva & Deamer designed for “Monsters
University,” are there are any
that didn’t make it into the finished version of this film that Ricky &
Jason wished had actually made the final cut? These two had a quick answer for
that question.

“Mike’s parents. In several earlier versions of ‘Monsters
University,’ Mr. & Mrs.
Wazowski played a very big part in this story. So we came up with some great
designs for these characters,” Ricky said. “But as we made our way
through the production process and then kept refining & refocusing this film’s
story, it became obvious that ‘Monsters
University’ was more about Mike and
his journey. And the more we cluttered Mike’s storyline with characters that —
while they might be fun — didn’t really move his story forward … Well, his
story suffered. Which is why — in order to give Mike as much screen time as
possible in order to properly tell his story — we wound up cutting Mr. and
Mrs. Wazowski.”

“Mind you, Mike’s parents are still in the movie,” Jason enthused.
“You just have to know where to look in order to find them.”

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fb1IzsOAHs&feature=youtu.be]

It was at this point that my time to interview  Nierva & Deamer ran out. Which was kind of
ironic. Given that — at this very moment — Ricky & Jason sounded just
like Mr. and Mrs. Wazowski. Two proud parents who couldn’t wait to hear what
the world had to say about “Monsters
University
” once their baby
graduated (i.e. completed production) and headed out into the world.

Jim Hill is an entertainment writer who has specialized in covering The Walt Disney Company for nearly 40 years now. Over that time, he has interviewed hundreds of animators, actors, and Imagineers -- many of whom have shared behind-the-scenes stories with Mr. Hill about how the Mouse House really works. In addition to the 4000+ articles Jim has written for the Web, he also co-hosts a trio of popular podcasts: “Disney Dish with Len Testa,” “Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor” and “Marvel US Disney with Aaron Adams.” Mr. Hill makes his home in Southern New Hampshire with his lovely wife Nancy and two obnoxious cats, Ginger & Betty.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

General

Jens Dahlmann of LongHorn Steakhouse has lots of great tips when it comes to grilling

Published

on

Listen to the Article

Sure, for some folks, the Fourth of July is all about fireworks. But for the 75% of all Americans who own a grill or a smoker, the Fourth is our Nation’s No. 1 holiday when it comes to grilling. Which is why 3 out of 4 of those folks will spend some time outside today working over a fire.

But here’s the thing: Though 14 million Americans can cook a steak with confidence because they actually grill something every week, the rest of us – because we use our grill or smoker so infrequently … Well, let’s just say that we have no chops when it comes to dealing with chops (pork, veal or otherwise).

So what’s a backyard chef supposed to in a situation like this when there’s so much at steak … er … stake? Turn to someone who really knows their way around a grill for advice. People like Jens Dahlmann, the Vice President and Corporate Executive Chef for Darden Restaurant’s LongHorn Steakhouse brand.

Given that Jens’ father & grandfather were chefs, this is a guy who literally grew up in a kitchen. In his teens & twenties, Dahlmann worked in hotels & restaurants all over Switzerland & Germany. Once he was classically trained in the culinary arts, Jens then  jumped ship. Well, started working on cruise ships, I mean.

Anyway … While working on Cunard’s Sea Goddess, Dahlmann met Sirio Maccioni, the founder of Le Cirque 2000. Sirio was so impressed with Jens’ skills in the kitchen that he offered him the opportunity to become sous-chef at this New York landmark. After four years of working in Manhattan, Dahlmann then headed south to become executive chef at Palm Beach’s prestigious Café L’Europe.

Jens Dahlmann back during his Disney World days

And once Jens began wowing foodies in Florida, it wasn’t all that long ’til the Mouse came a-calling. Mickey wanted Dahlmann to shake things up in the kitchen over at WDW’s Flying Fish Café. And he did such a good job with that Disney’s Boardwalk eatery the next thing Jens knew, he was then being asked to work his magic with the menu at the Contemporary Resort’s California Grill.

From there, Dahlmann had a relatively meteoric rise at the Mouse House. Once he became Epcot’s Food & Beverage general manager, it was only a matter of time before he wound up as the executive chef in charge of this theme park’s annual International Food & Wine Festival. Which – under Jens’ guidance – experienced some truly explosive growth.

“When I took on Food & Wine, that festival was only 35 days long and had gross revenues of just $5.5 million. When I left Disney in 2016, Food & Wine was now over 50 days long and that festival had gross revenues of $22 million,” Dahlmann admitted during a recent sit-down. “I honestly loved those 13 years I spent at Disney. When I was working there, I learned so much because I was really cooking for America.”

And it was exactly that sort of experience & expertise that Darden wanted to tap into when they lured Jens away from Mickey last year to become LongHorn Steakhouse’s new Vice President and Corporate Executive Chef. But today … Well, Dahlmann is offering tips to those of us who are thinking about cooking steak tips for the Fourth.

Photo by Jim Hill

“When you’re planning on grilling this holiday, if you’re looking for a successful result, the obvious place to start is with the quality of the meat you plan on cooking for your friends & family. If you want the best results here, don’t be cheap when you go shopping. Spend the money necessary for a fresh filet or a New York strip. Better yet a Ribeye, a nice thick one with good marbling. Because when you look at the marbling on a steak, that’s where all the flavor happens,” Jens explained. “That said, you always have to remember that — the higher you go with the quality of your meat — the less time you’re going to want that piece of meat to spend on the grill.”

And speaking of cooking … Before you even get started here, Jens suggests that you first take the time to check over all of your grilling equipment. Making sure that the grill itself is first scraped clean & then properly oiled before you then turn up the heat.

“If you’re working with a dirty grill, when you go to turn your meat, it may wind up sticking to the grill. Or maybe those spices that you’ve just so carefully coated your steak with will wind up sticking to the grill, rather than your meat,” Dahlmann continued. “Which is why it’s always worth it to spend a few minutes prior to firing up your grill properly cleaning & oiling it.”

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of heat … Again, before you officially get started grilling here, Jens says that it’s crucial to check your temperature gauges. Make sure that your char grill is set at 550 (so that it can then properly handle the thicker cuts of meat) and your flattop is set at 425 (so it can properly sear thinner pieces of meat).

Okay. Once you’ve bought the right cuts of quality meat, properly cleaned & oiled your grill, and then made sure that everything’s set at the right temperature (“If you can only stand to hold your hand directly over the grill for two or three seconds, that’s the right amount of heat,” Dahlmann said), it’s now time to season your steaks.

“Don’t be afraid to be bold here. You can’t be shy when it comes to seasoning your meat. You want to give it a nice coating. Largely because — if you’re using a char grill — a lot of that seasoning is just going to fall off anyway,” Jens stated. “It’s up to you to decide what sort of seasoning you want to use here. Even just some salt & pepper will enhance a steak’s flavor.”

Then – according to Dahlmann – comes the really tough part. Which is placing your meat on the grill and then fighting the urge to flip it too early or too often.

“The biggest mistake that a lot of amateur cooks make is that they flip the steak too many times. The real key to a well-cooked piece of meat is just let it be, “Jens insisted. “Of course, if you’re serving different cuts of meat at your Fourth of July feast, you always want to put your biggest thickest steak on the grill first. If you’re also cooking a New York Strip, you want to put that one on a few minutes later. But after that, just let the grill do its job and flip your meat a total of three or four times, once every three minutes or so.”

Of course, the last thing you want to do is overcook a quality piece of meat. Which is why Dahlmann suggests that – when it comes to grilling steaks – if you’re going to err, err on the side of undercooking.

“You can always put a piece of meat back on the grill if it’s slightly undercooked. When you over-cook something, all you can do then is start over with a brand-new piece of meat,” Jens said. “Just be sure that you’re using the correct cut of meat for the cooking result you’re aiming for. If someone wants a rare or medium rare steak, you should go with a thicker cut of steak. If one of your guests wants their steak cooked medium or well, it’s best to start with a thinner cut of meat.”

Photo by Jim Hill

As you can see, the folks at Longhorn take grilling steaks seriously. How seriously? Just last week at Darden Corporate Headquarters in Orlando, seven of these brand’s top grill masters (who – after weeks of regional competitions – had been culled from the 491 restaurants that make up this chain) competed for a $10,000 prize in the Company’s second annual Steak Master Series. And Dahlmann was one of the people who stood in Darden’s test kitchens, watching like a hawk as each of the contestants struggled to prepare six different dishes in just 20 minutes according to Longhorn Steakhouse’s exacting standards.

“I love that Darden does this. Recognizing the best of the best who work this restaurant,” Jens concluded. “We have a lot of people here who are incredibly knowledgeable & passionate when it comes to grilling.”

Speaking of which … If today’s story doesn’t include the exact piece of info that you need to properly grill that T-bone, just whip out your iPhone & text GRILL to 55702. Or – better yet – visit  ExpertGriller.com prior to firing up your grill or smoker later today. 

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Continue Reading

General

Brattleboro’s Strolling of the Heifers is a sincere if somewhat surreal way to spend a summer’s day in Vermont

Published

on

Listen to the Article

Some people travel halfway ‘around the planet so that they can then experience the excitement of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. If you’re more of a Slow Living enthusiast (as I am), then perhaps you should amble to Brattleboro, VT. Where – over the first weekend in June – you can then join a herd of cow enthusiasts at the annual Strolling of the Heifers.

Now in its 16th year, this three-day long event typically gets underway on Friday night in June with a combination block party / gallery walk. But then – come Saturday morning – Main Street in Brattleboro is lined with thousands of bovine fans.

Photo by Jim Hill

They’ve staked out primo viewing spots and set up camp chairs hours ahead of time. Just so these folks can then have a front row seat as this year’s crop of calves (which all come from local farms & 4-H clubs) are paraded through the streets.

Photo by Jim Hill

Viewed from curbside, Strolling of the Heifers is kind of this weird melding of a sincere small town celebration and Pasadena’s Doo Dah Parade. Meaning that – for every entry that actually acknowledged this year’s theme (i.e. “Dance to the Moosic”) — …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there was something completely random, like this parade’s synchronized shopping cart unit.

Photo by Jim Hill

And for every piece of authentic Americana (EX: That collection of antique John Deere tractors that came chugging through the city) …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there was something silly. Like – say – a woman dressed as a Holstein pushing a baby stroller through the streets. And riding in that stroller was a pig dressed in a tutu.

Photo by Jim Hill

And given that this event was being staged in the Green Mountain State & all … Well, does it really surprise you to learn that — among the groups that marched in this year’s Strolling of the Heifers – was a group of eco-friendly folks who, with their  chants of “We’re Number One !,” tried to persuade people along the parade route not to flush the toilet after they pee. Because – as it turns out – urine can be turned into fertilizer.

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of fertilizer … At the tail end of the parade, there was a group of dedicated volunteers who were dealing with what came out of the tail end of all those cows.

Photo by Jim Hill

This year’s Strolling of the Heifers concluded at the Brattleboro town common. Where event attendees could then get a closer look at some of the featured units in this year’s parade…

Photo by Jim Hill

… or perhaps even pet a few of the participants.

Photo by Jim Hill

But as for the 90+ calves who took part in the 2017 edition of Strolling of the Heifers, once they reached the town common, it was now time for a nosh or a nap.

Photo by Jim Hill

Elsewhere on the common, keeping with this year’s “Dance to the Moosic” theme, various musical groups performed in & around the gazebo throughout the afternoon.

Photo by Jim Hill

While just across the way – keeping with Brattleboro’s tradition of showcasing the various artisans who live & work in the local community – some pretty funky pieces were on display at the Slow Living Exposition.

Photo by Jim Hill

All in all, attending Strolling of the Heifers is a somewhat surreal but still very pleasant way to spend a summer’s day in Vermont. And that’s no bull.

Photo by Jim Hill

Well, that could be a bull. To be honest, what with the wig & all, it’s kind of hard to tell. 

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Sunday, June 4, 2017

Continue Reading

General

Looking to make an authentic Irish meal for Saint Patrick’s Day? If so, then chef Kevin Dundon says not to cook corned beef & cabbage

Published

on

Listen to the Article

Let’s at least start on a positive note: Celebrated chef, author & TV personality Kevin Dundon – the man that Tourism Ireland has repeatedly chosen as the Face of Irish Food – loves a lot of what happens in the United States on March 17th.

“I mean, look at what they do in Chicago on Saint Patrick’s Day. They toss all of this vegetable-based dye into the Chicago River and then paint it green for a day. That’s terrific,” Kevin said.

But then when it comes to what many Americans eat & drink on St. Paddy’s Day (i.e., a big plate of corned beef and cabbage. Which is then washed down with a mug of green beer) … Well, that’s where Dundon has to draw the line.

Irish celebrity chef Kevin Dundon displays a traditional Irish loin of bacon with Colcannon potatoes and a Dunbrody Kiss chocolate dessert. Photo by Tom Burton. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

“Green beer? No real Irishman would be caught dead drinking that stuff,” Kevin insists. “And as for eating corned beef & cabbage … That’s not actually authentic Irish fare either. Bacon and cabbage? Sure. But corned beef & cabbage was something that the Irish only began eating after they’d come to the States to escape the Famine. And even then these Irish-Americans only began serving corned beef & cabbage to their friends & family because they had to make do with the ingredients that were available to them at that time.”

And thus begins the strange tale of how corned beef & cabbage came to be associated with the North American celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. Because – according to Dundon – beef just wasn’t all that big a part of the Irish diet back in the 19th century.

To explain: Back in the Old Country, cattle – while they were obviously highly prized for the milk & cheese that they produced – were also beasts of burden. Meaning that they were often used for ploughing the fields or for hauling heavy loads. Which is why – back then — these animals were rarely slaughtered when they were still young & healthy. If anything, land owners liked to put a herd of cattle on display out in one of their pastures because that was then a sign to their neighbors that this farm was prosperous.

“Whereas pork … Well, everybody raised pigs back then. Which is why pork was a staple of the Irish diet rather than beef,” Dundon continued.

So if that’s what people actually ate back in the Old Country, how then did corned beef & cabbage come to be so strongly associated with Saint Patrick’s Day in the States.? That largely had to do with where the Irish wound up living after they arrived in the New World.

“When the Irish first arrived in America following the Great Famine, a lot of them wound up living in the inner city right alongside the Germans & the Jews, who were also recent immigrants to the States. And while that farm-fresh pork that the Irish loved wasn’t readily available, there was brisket. Which the Irish could then cure by first covering this piece of meat with corn kernel-sized pieces of rock salt – that’s how it came to be called corned beef. Because of the sizes of the pieces of rock salt that were used in the curing process – and then placing all that in a pot of water with other spices to soak for a few days.”

And as for the cabbage portion of corned beef & cabbage … Well, according to Kevin, in addition to buying their meat from the kosher delis in their neighborhood, the Irish would also frequent the stores that the German community shopped in. Where – thanks to their love of sauerkraut (i.e., pickled cabbage) – there was always a ready supply of cabbage to be had.

“So when you get right down to it, it was the American melting pot that led to corned beef & cabbage being found in the Irish-American cooking pot,” Dundon continued. “Since they couldn’t find or didn’t have easy access to the exact same ingredients that they had back in Ireland, Irish-Americans made do with what they could find in the immediate vicinity. And what they made was admittedly tasty. But it’s not actually authentic Irish fare.”

Mind you, what Kevin serves at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs (which – FYI – Orlando Magazine voted as the area’s best restaurant back in 2014) is nothing if not authentic. Dundon and his team at this acclaimed gastropub pride themselves on making traditional Irish fare and then contemporized it.

Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

“Take – for example – what we serve here instead of corned beef & cabbage. Again, because it was pork – rather than beef – that was the true staple of the Irish diet back then, what we offer instead is a loin of bacon that has been glazed with Irish Mist. That then comes with colcannon potatoes. Which is this traditional Irish dish that’s made up of mashed potato that have had some cabbage & bacon mixed through it,” Kevin enthused. “This heavenly ham – that’s what we actually call this traditional Irish dish at Raglan Road, Kevin’s Heavenly Ham – also includes some savory cabbage with a parsley cream sauce as well as a raisin cider jus. It’s simple food. But because of the basic ingredients – and that’s the real secret of Irish cuisine. That our ingredients are so strong – the flavors just pop off the plate.”

Which brings us to the real challenge that Dundon and the Raglan Road team face every day. Making sure that they actually have all of the ingredients necessary to make this traditional-yet-contemporized Irish fare to those folks who frequent this Walt Disney World favorite.

“Take – for example – the fish we serve here. We only used cold water fish. Salmon, mussels and haddock that have been hauled out of the Atlantic, the ocean that America and Ireland share,” Kevin stated. “Not that there’s anything wrong with warm water fish. It’s just that … Well, it doesn’t have the same structure. It’s a softer fish, which doesn’t really fit the parameters of Irish cuisine. And if you’re going to serve authentic food, you have to be this dedicated when it comes to sourcing your ingredients.

Copyright Mitchell Beazley. All rights reserved

And if you’re thinking of perhaps trying to serve an authentic Irish meal this year, rather than once again serving corned beef & cabbage at your Saint Patrick’s Day Feast … Well, back in September of last year, Mitchell Beazley published “The Raglan Road Cookbook: Inside America’s Favorite Irish Pub.” This 296-page hardcover not only includes the recipe for Kevin’s Heavenly Ham but also it tells the tale of how this now-world-renown restaurant wound up being built in Orlando.

On the other hand, if you happen to have to the luck of the Irish and are actually down at The Walt Disney World Resort right now, it’s worth noting that Raglan Road is right in the middle of its Mighty St. Patrick’s Day Festival. This four day-long event – which includes Irish bands and professional dancers – stretches through Sunday night. And in addition to all that authentic Irish fare that Dundon and his team are cooking up, you also sample the fine selection of beers & cocktails that this establishment’s four distinct antique bars (each of which are more than 130 years old and were imported directly from Ireland) will be serving. Just – As ucht Dé (That’s “For God’s Sake” in Gaelic) – don’t make the mistake of asking the bartender there for a mug of green beer.

“Why would anyone willingly drink something like that?,” Dundon laughed. “I mean, just imagine what their washroom will look like the morning after.”

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Friday, March 17, 2017

Continue Reading

Trending