Could It Be...Disney Finds A Way To Do Italian?

Disney and Italian food? 

I've never been a fan of Disney's attempts at Italian.

Tony's Town Square in Magic Kingdom: 
To me, the menu seems limited and uninspiring. Is it a cute environment?  Sure.  But why should I pay Disney prices for what is basic Italian that I could get at a chain restaurant?

Tutto Italia has some interesting items, but frankly, I'm not interested in spending $24 for what is essentially a vegetarian pasta.  Oh, and that's the lunch price.

But the new Via Napoli is raising eyebrows all over the place.  Today, the Disney Parks Blog released some details on the menu and to me, it just sounds like a breath of fresh air.

Here's a snippet:
Appetizers: Sicilian eggplant with olives and raisins; salad of lettuce, fagiolini (string beans), fennel and tomatoes; arancini (fried saffron risotto balls) with meat ragù, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce; corn-crusted fried calamari; and minestrone with basil pesto. Or share a plate of arancini, mozzarella, calamari, portobella mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini and carciofi (artichokes).
Main course salads: Manzo (filet of beef) with greens, red onion, gorgonzola, apple and cucumber with a red wine-mustard vinaigrette; chopped salad with lemon chicken, greens, cantaloupe, cucumber, red pepper, green beans, onions, almonds and pasta crisps with honey-citrus vinaigrette; calamari with arugula, carrots and fennel with orange vinaigrette.
Pastas: candele (long, tube-shaped pasta) with sausage ragù; linguine with seafood; malfadine (ribbon pasta) with guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) and pomodoro sauce; lasagna verde.
Piatti alla Parmigiana: (dishes topped with Parmesan and mozzarella gratinée): veal, chicken and eggplant.
Wood-fired pizzas: made with caputo flour imported from Southern Italy, San Marzano tomatoes, handmade mozzarella and water from a local spring just like in Italy’s Campania region – 10-inch, 20-inch or 1/2 meter to share: a dozen choices, from a simple pizza Margherita with tomato, mozzarella and basil to carciofi with artichoke, potato, pecorino cheese, prosciutto and cantaloupe.
Sweets: tiramisù, zeppole di ricotta (ricotta cheese-fried dough, whipped cream and chocolate sauce); apple cake with almond sorbetti; gelatie; and vanilla gelato with almond cookies and amarena cherries.
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Can I just say that I'm highly interested in how cantaloupe tastes on a pizza?  I never in a million years would have tried that!

And the risotto balls just sound divine ~ but I love rice, too.

I'm particularly interested in the chopped salad ~ minus the onions.  Follow me long enough and you'll soon find that onions don't exist is my world.  Ick on all fronts.

Here's the other news:  Via Napoli opens next month!  August 2010!  No firm date yet, but keep following and I'll share as soon as I know. 

I can't wait to try this place...