Taking the Kids: Places made memorable in 2018 by what we ate

There are just a few perfectly prepared dishes -- the night we visited osso bucco with polenta and ratatouille; saltimbocca with beef and local ham, apricot and elderberry risotto; sea bass and a pork cutlet served on braised apricots. We toasted our luck at having been told about this place.

There are mini burgers on house-made brioche buns for kids. The emphasis here is on quality and the local ingredients. The views are stupendous.

"This is our story," says Bruno Kauffmann, looking around the cozy space where diners are enjoying a special night out. "We built our story."

A LOT BETTER THAN KIBBLE! Pumpkin puree, peanut butter, whole wheat flour, eggs and frosting from smoked carrot puree. "There's no sugar in it," the Ambassador Hotel chef promises, as he presents the treat to the just-arrived VIP in Kansas City.

In this case, the VIP is our dog, Trooper, and Chef Lyman explains he is "trying out" a new homemade dog biscuit recipe on which I (heart) dogs is spelled out in the orange icing.

We were in the midst of a cross-country road trip to our new home in Denver and all along the way, from Philadelphia, to Pittsburgh to Indianapolis and Kansas City, Trooper had been feted with freshly made treats.

SNORKELING FOR OUR DINNER. We were in the clear waters teeming with tropical fish about six miles -- a 20-minute boat ride -- from the private island resort Cayo Espanto in Belize where we were staying, and not far from San Pedro, the town and tourist hub on Ambergris Cay, Belize's largest island.

This immense barrier reef (second only to Australia's and, according to the Belizeans, much healthier) stretches for scores of miles along the Caribbean Coast (Belize is south of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, east of Guatemala and north of Honduras).

Using a hook, our guide caught two spiny lobsters hiding under "tribes" made from corrugated tin and logs by fisherman. My husband and the guides caught a baker's dozen of small snapper while we got an onboard lesson in making ceviche from the conch.

When we got back to the dock, the resort chef was waiting with suggestions on how he would prepare our seafood feast -- grilled lobster, snapper blackened and grilled, served in candlelight on our private dock.

WHO KNEW MICKEY MOUSE WAS A FOODIE? Lobster nachos, anyone? The Lamplight Lodge is part of the newly imagined Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure Park and is a bow to all of the Pixar creative minds with memorabilia, a creative menu (presumably what the creative types would want to eat after work) and an array of specialty drinks, including mocktails and cocktails in vibrant colors, some with popping bubbles.

At the new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios, check the "Totchos" at Woody's Lunch Box -- potato barrels coated with chili, cheese, queso and corn chips. I couldn't stop thinking about the BBQ Brisket Melt and the grilled three-cheese sandwich.

Happy eating in 2019.

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