Pollo Campero and Fresh-A-Peel Grand Opening

Friday was the grand opening ceremonies of the new Pollo Campero, Fresh-A-Peel, and Babycakes NYC at Downtown Disney Marketplace.

2010 WDW Ambassador Vanessa Rosas was on hand for the opening.

Pollo Campero donated $5,000 to Make A Wish foundation to help a child with a life-threatening illness go to Disney World. Almost 70% of MAW children choose Disney World as their wish.

Now onto the food:

Babycakes NYC had many different flavors of their gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, sugar-free cupcakes available for sampling.

They also had cookies out, which had more flavor than the cupcakes.

I didn’t have the Watermelon Sangria myself, but it was described to me as tasting like someone squished watermelon in their hands and dumped it into a cup.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

I then consumed a freshly made Strawberry Banana smoothie. I’m not normally a smoothie person, but this one was quite good. It was very smooth and did not have chunks of fruit hanging in it.

I was about to leave, but then I ran into Larry Levy, founder of Levy Restaurants and creator of Fresh-A-Peel, along with hits such as Portobello Yacht Club and Fulton’s. He went and got me the foods from Fresh-A-Peel he was most proud of.

From top left, Steak Skirt Wrap, Turkey Burger, Veggie Burger, Turkey Sausage, Nitrate-free Beef Hotdog, Pop Chips.

All of these were excellent and super fresh. The steak skirt wrap had many flavors, of which the strongest was strangely blue cheese. The turkey burger had seasoning and was moist, while for the veggie burger my munching partner was surprised when I told him it was not meat. Both the sausage and the hot dog had a nice pop and were served on a whole grain bun. The hot dog was incredibly juicy and actually had flavor unlike your standard hot dog. The Pop Chips were the most interesting, they are neither baked nor fried, but popped. I had the sour cream and onion variety which tasted very similar to Baked Lays, but much healthier. Levy took great pride in pointing out that although we were very full, we had consumed far less calories than we thought.

I finished it all off with a zero calorie Arnold Palmer. I didn’t even know it was a diet drink until it was pointed out to me. (Although note I am a diet soda drinker so I might just be used to it.)

Overall, Fresh-A-Peel and Pollo Campero should definitely be checked out next time you are at Downtown Disney and want a counter-service meal. It is far superior to the McDonald’s it replaced, and for once in my life, is healthy food that still can involve meat and flavor. As far as value, expect to pay between off-property McDonalds and in-park QSR prices. Most entrees ran around $6.50 not including a drink.