My Disneyland dining reviews, with pictures

[Diznygrl]

Dear God, it better be temporary. I absolutely LOVE the Pinocchio theming and decor of the Village Haus, and ESPECIALLY the music!!!!

 

[sophies*mom]

I'm slightly bummed about that, only because my hubby really liked one of their burgers and we were planning on eating there on our upcoming trip, but I think the new theming will be cool otherwise. Hopefully it transitions soon, we will be there on March 19th.

 

[figment_jii]

Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in DTD has announced their Mardi Gras offerings (sorry, the link is from the email so it goes to their marketing/email list site and not their main site).
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact...23021&ca=ac949361-39e8-46b6-b993-6d6ca194b3b6

 

[figment_jii]

Any idea when this will be happening?

The Parks Blog just announced that the Red Rose Tavern will open on Feb 24
‘Beauty and the Beast’-Inspired Red Rose Taverne Opens February 24 at Disneyland Park

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

The Parks Blog just announced that the Red Rose Tavern will open on Feb 24
‘Beauty and the Beast’-Inspired Red Rose Taverne Opens February 24 at Disneyland Park

Woo hoo! That's the last day of our trip...hopefully we can check it out!

 

[figment_jii]

The Parks Blog has posted the menus for the upcoming Food & Wine Festival in DCA (March 10 - April 16, 2017):
Complete Foodie Guide to Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival 2017

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

We got to try out the new menu at the Red Rose Taverne yesterday, although they hadn't yet changed up the decor. I didn't get pictures, but overall everyone in our group was very happy with the food. I loved the chicken sandwich, the poutine flatbread was a huge hit, and the grey stuff was yummy, although some people only liked the grey stuff and didn't like the red velvet cake that was under the grey stuff. I would definitely eat there again to try more of the menu!

 

[figment_jii]

Another Parks Blog posting, this time about Steakhouse 55's new breakfast menu.
New Breakfast Menu Debuts at Steakhouse 55 at Disneyland Hotel

 

[BBH]

February 2017
Treats from Jolly Holiday Bakery

 

[BBH]

February 2017
Café Orleans
Pommes Frites


Fried Green Tomato Sandwich

 

[Astylla]

I had the opportunity to do the Classic afternoon Tea - Valentine's Day theme and it was AMAZING. I do the tea almost everytime I am in town because I love it so much. I've become a regular and several of the servers recognize me now and take the time to say "hello" and welcome me back even if not in their section. This was the first themed tea I had the opportunity to do and it did not dissapoint.

I always do the Premium Tea party that coems with the Fairy Tale and I love that they changed some of the desserts and salad this time!
The strawberry accents and vinagrette was so very good. The edible flowers were very delicate and tasty too.
My favorite tea is Mountain Berry but decided to start with the special featured tea for this menu : Shanghai Rose. This became my NEW favorite and would order it everytime if it was available.
It was very light and fresh with very light floral tones as a finish but not as herbal as you may imagine. It really was a perfectly balanced tea and I finished a pot easily!

 

[figment_jii]

For those that will be in Disneyland in the very near future, the Parks Blog just posted some more information about the specialty food items that will be available to celebrate the PotC's 50th anniversary.
Celebrate 50 Years of Pirates of the Caribbean with New Specialty Food and Beverage Items at Disneyland Park

 

[figment_jii]

Another Parks Blog posting, this one with information about St. Patrick's Day offerings.
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Food, Beverages and Entertainment in Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort

Side note: if you are interested in getting the St. Patrick's Day Mickey Apple, I would not wait until St. Patrick's Day. I was there last year and they ran out of them early in the day. They had them at several locations in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day, but by mid-day they were sold out at the Candy Palace in DL. I didn't get over to DCA until later in the day (by then they were sold out too). Lesson learned, don't wait!

 

[figment_jii]

Slowly, information about Spring (Easter) Time is trickling out...
Celebrate Easter With Springtime Sweets and Eats at Disneyland Resort

 

[cruisehopeful]

Here are a few pics I remembered to take over the weekend.

Chicken Tamale from Flo's V8 Cafe. This was my second time getting a breakfast there and second time I was not impressed. Lots of people seem to love this place. It just seems like very basic fast food to me. The chicken tamale had scrambled eggs and salsa on top.


Chicken Nachos from Whitewater Snacks. I read about these here and decided to give it a try. They are okay. I am a bit of a nachos snob and prefer genuine shredded cheese. This was the gooey the cheese sauce. The flavor was fine.


Five Cheese Ravioli with pest and pine nuts from Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta. This tasted great. It was a bit on the heavy side, between the cheese inside the ravioli and the sauce on top. It also had a somewhat sweet taste to it.


Peanut Butter Sandwich from Pooh's Corner. I had to try this after reading about so much here. It is very good. The peanut butter cream is sandwiched between graham crackers and dipped in chocolate. The taste was familiar, but I never did figure out what it reminded me of. I will get it again.


Steamboat Breakfast at Rancho del Zocalo. This was my daughter's. She said it was fine, but she didn't finish the pancakes. The pancakes looked greasy to me. I believe it had 2 slices of bacon.


Eggs Benedict at Carnation Cafe. This was my best meal over the weekend. I got it without the Canadian bacon. The potatoes were on the salty side. I had the Joffrey's decaf coffee that didn't taste anything like coffee. I did notice many people dining here brought their own Starbucks coffee. I'll remember that next time.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Ravioli looks yummy.

 

[figment_jii]

Figment's Food & Wine Egg-Stravaganza, 2017
Figment and his family headed down to Disneyland to check out the Food & Wine Festival in DCA and the egg-stravaganza egg hunts throughout the resort. Both events were a lot of fun!

Disney's California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
Having missed out on last year's F&W Festival, Figment was eager to check out this year's Festival. He was cautiously optimistic about the festival based on early reports. The festival was in full swing when he got there, with food booths scattered throughout DCA (primarily in Hollywoodland and along the main walkway).

I Heart Artichokes

Fried Artichokes Carbonara with Garlic Aïoli and Smoked Bacon - The artichokes were nice and crispy. Figment couldn't really taste the garlic, but the bacon flavor was very strong.

Grilled and Chilled Artichoke Hearts with Romesco Sauce - The Romesco sauce was really good. The artichokes and sauce were meant to be eaten together because the artichokes were kind of bland by themselves. The sauce was also good with the fried artchoke carbonara.

Creamy Artichoke and Dark Chocolate Cake Pop - This was probably the least successful item Figment tried...it was very sweet, but he couldn't taste the artichoke at all. The texture was really weird; it was almost like eating raw overly soft cookie dough. Figment has had cake pops before, but this didn't really remind him of it (it was more like raw dough, with the same kind of grittiness).

Garlic Kissed
This seemed like one of the more popular booths at the festival and typically had a pretty healthy sized line (especially in the evenings).

Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider with Chimichurri Sauce - The meat was cooked medium/medium-well and very tender. The slider had really good flavor, but was a bit messy to eat (as a slider). The onions were raw (not pickled) and added a slight bite to the dish.

Black Garlic and Soy-braised Pork Belly Bao with Pickled Vegetables - The meat was very tender with a slightly sweet & salty flavor. The ratio of bao to meat was pretty good.

Garlic-Rosemary and Avocado Oil Ice Cream Pop - This was probably the second least sucessful dish that Figment tried. The ice cream was very creamy (almost too creamy - it left a weird coating on the tongue - almost like eating something with too much fat). Figment could taste the garlic, but it was just kind of odd.

Olive Us

Chilled Cioppino Soup with Shrimp, Crab Claw, Grilled Olive Bread, and Olive Oil drizzle - This was Figment's favorite offering at the F&W Festival. The soup base was very yummy (almost like a gazpacho) and the shrimp was huge! The snow crab claw was also good sized and very yummy. Figment liked it so much, he had a second one!

(Bottle cap provided for sizing reference!)

Bacon Twist

Maple-Bacon Whoopie Pie - This wasn't quite what Figment was expecting. The whoopie pie was filled with cream cheese frosting and had apple pie filling int he middle. He wasn't expecting the apple pie filling in the middle. Both the bacon and maple flavors were noticable.

Bloody Mary Cocktail with Candied Caramel Bacon Strip and Blue Cheese-stuffed Olives - Figment occassionally likes to try a Bloody Mary. This was one pretty good, but very spicy!

 

[GatorChris]

On our last trip, we had the misfortune of being at DL when the crowd was a 9/10 when we were prepared for a 5/10. Because of that, there was literally no place to eat, and we didn't plan an ADR. So off to plan B. Even though we'd had "dinner" at Clarabelle's at DCA the night before, we really had no choice but to have ice cream for dinner once again. So we headed for our favorite spot, Gibson Girl, and we were lucky enough to get a table just as some other folks were leaving. I finally switched from my typical double-scoop Cookie's N Cream in a waffle cone to a Chocolate Chip Cookie Hot Fudge Sundae! And it was great! Definitely a highlight of that trip.


We also got to try the Red Rose Tavern late at night on our first day in the park. We went during the second showing of MSEP, so the place was nearly empty. I had the Beastly Burger, which was just alright. It had big beef patty, some yummy roast-like shredded meat, some horseradish sauce, and a ton of grilled onions. While it was good, the coming up part later was .... unpleasant. Add to it the Pommes Frites with lots of garlic and I could clear a path through the crowds all the way back to the hotel.And the worst part of the meal was that they were all out of dessert!!!! That's the main reason I went there. But that was the story of that trip - Disney seemed to be out of everything that week. But here's a pic with Gaston in the background.

 

[figment_jii]

Figment's Food & Wine Egg-Stravaganza, 2017, Continued...

Lemon Grove

Duck Confit on Potato Smash with Meyer Lemon Preserves - This was an interesting dish; individually some of the ocmponense worked, but together they didn't do so well. The duck confit was tender and had okay flavor and the potato smash was a bunch of tater tots (like the ones served at River Belle Terrace). They went together pretty well. The bits of aspargus that had been soaked in the meyer lemon preserve did not work well. They were pretty close to inedible (Figment left most of them in the container).

Meyer Lemon Macaron with Blueberry Marmalade, Meyer Lemon Cream and Blueberry Dust - This macaron was really good. It had a nice amount of lemon flavor, but with a sweet blueberry marmalade center that balanced out the lemon nicely. Figment liked this one so much, he had a second one fo these too!

Cherry Lemonade with Cherry Pearls - This was Figment's favorite drink at the F&W Festival. The lemonade was slightly tart, but the cherry pearls were very sweet. It was fun to the pop the boba!

The Onion Lair

Braised Wagyu Beef on Creamy Polenta with Haricot Vert-Red Onion Salad and Roasted Cipollini Onion featuring Melissa's® Produce - The beef was very tender. The beef was slightly too salty to be eaten alone, but when mixed with the polenta (which was pretty creamy, but kind of bland), the flavor was really good. The haricot verts were still nice and crispy, but with an inconsistent raw onion flavor (some had lots of onion flavor, others did not). The roasted cipollini oinions were good.

Chocolate-Hazelnut and Raspberry Feuillete Tart - This was like a pain au chocolat pastry. The pastry was very flacky and had a nutella-like filling with raspberry jam. It was very good!

LA Style

Chicken Teriyaki Slider with Spicy Dole® Pineapple Jam - The slider had a slight bite (from the jam) and the chicken was surprisingly moist and tender. There was too much bread, but that was easy enough to fix (skip the bread!).

Korean Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with Kimchi Slaw - The tacos weren't spicy and the meat had really good flavor. The kimchi added a nice crunch.

Dole® Pineapple-Strawberry Float with Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberry Pearls - Figment isn't quite sure what to make of this drink/dessert. The juice and ice cream combo was pretty good, as was the juice and pearls/boba. The ice cream and pearls/boba was a little odd.

Paradise Garden Grill
The Paradise Garden Grill also had a new menu for the F&W Festival.

Beer Braised Pork Tacos with Pickled Apple Slaw, Seasoned Black Beans and Queso - The tacos needed some more flavor. The meat was very tender, but surprisingly bland (a bit of salsa would have helped a lot!).

Beer Battered Black Cod with Steak Fries, Sweet Slaw and Spiced Remoulade - The fish was really good. The outside was very crispy and the fish inside was tender and moist. This was one of the best fish & chips dishes that Figment has had at DLR (or WDW). The fries were fine (nothing really special about them). The slaw was sweet, but vinegary (kind of like the on at RBT, but sweeter).

Overall Figment really enjoyed DCA's Food & Wine Festival. Most of the items he tried were good and the prices seemed more reasonable (than the Festival of Holidays). He also had fun getting the Festival Passport stamped at the booths he tried!

Next up...The Red Rose Taverne!

 

[figment_jii]

Figment's Food & Wine Egg-Stravaganza, 2017, Continued...

Red Rose Taverne, Dinner
Figment was eager to check out the new Red Rose Taverne after seeing the new menu. He was also hoping they would have the Red Rose Sipper Cups in stock. As he walked through the Hub, he saw some people carrying clear Disneyland bags with two Rose Sippers each, so he hoped that meant the Taverne had them in stock. He made his way through Fantasyland and saw that the Taverne had quite a line (out the front door, two switchbacks, and then headed towards the pathway that leads to Frontierland (currently closed). He got in line and found that it moved pretty quickly despite being pretty long.

Inside there was a Cast Member handing out menus if guests were interested in reading about the food offerings. There were signs at each station that said the Rose Sippers were $12.99 each and came with "Gaston's Famous Brew" (Red Passion Rose Lemonade). Figment really likes the cup; there is a light in the lid the illuminates the rose. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the drink. It was way to sweet (and Figment likes sweet stuff!). He tried cutting it with water, but it was still way to sweet.

Beast's Burger - 1/3 lb Angus Beef Patty, Slow-cooked Beef, Gruyère Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Lettuce, Tomato, and Horseradish Aïoli on a Toasted Roll, served with Pommes Frites. The Beast's Burger was pretty good (a little messy).

Enchanted Cauli-Flower Sandwich - Grilled Cauliflower Steak, Spicy Lime Aïoli, Tempura-battered Green Beans, Lettuce, and Tomato on a Toasted Roll, served with Pommes Frites. Figment hemmed and hawed about trying the cauli-flower sandwich because he's kind of ambivalent about cauli-flower. The sandwich was okay...the cauli-flower was pretty bland and needed to be eaten with the other stuff on the sandwich. The aioli was spicy, but it gave the sandwich some needed kick. The pomme frites were pretty good (but they're not the same as the ones served at Cafe Orleans). The tempura-green beans were his favorite part of this dish.

Pulled Pork Flatbread - Pulled Pork, Roasted Corn, Sweet Spicy BBQ Sauce, Pickled Onions and Cilantro. The flatbread was really good. The BBQ sauce was more sweet than spicy. Overall the flatbread had a nice a balance of flavor.

Slow-cooked Beef Poutine - Slow-cooked Beef and Gravy over Seasoned Waffle-cut Fries, Pickled Onion and Cheese Curds. This was one of Figment's favorite items at the Red Rose Taverne. The slow-cooked beef was really good and the other toppings were very tasty.

Grey Stuff Gâteau - White Chocolate Mousse and Red Velvet Cake with a Raspberry Center. This was a very pretty dessert, but very sweet. The cake in the middle was a little odd, but the cookie at the bottom gave it a nice crunch. This grey stuff was close to how he remembered the Grey Stuff at BOG in the MK, but it had a stronger flavor (less like straight buttercream).

Lemon Rose Cake - Lemon Mousse with Strawberry-Rose Filling. This was a nice and light dessert. The mousse was good; not to sweet and not to tart. The pearls in the bottom gave it a nice crunch.

Overall, Figment enjoyed the food at Red Rose Taverne. The only drawback was that they seemed to be producing everything as quickly as possible regardless of whether it's been ordered or not, so the food wasn't terrible hot when he got it. It wasn't cold, but it was on the warm/room temperature side. Hopefully this menu will stick around for a while and when the sipper cup craze dies down a bit, maybe they'll be more inclined to make the food when it's ordered.

The interior of the resturant had been redone to feature Beauty & the Beast (both the animated and live-action movie). The resturant was divided into two sides: Echanted objects/Castle (left side when entering from Main Entrance, closest to the BatB store) and Gaston's Tavern (right side). On the Enchanted Object side, there were "stained glass" murals on the wall depicting the story.

Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Lumiere (live action versions) were scattered throughout the room.

There were also characters (animated movie versions) painted on the walls.

Gaston's Tavern side had lots of antlers and a big painting of Gaston (animated movie version). It reminded Figment of a smaller version of Gaston's Tavern from MK.

The Enchanted Rose was above the ordering area.

Overall, they did a good job converting Pinocchio's Village Haus into the Red Rose Taverne.