My Disneyland dining reviews, with pictures

[Susie63]

Subscribing to this thread! I am going to need more money and more days in the parks over Christmas to try all the yummy food. I can't wait for all of your posts.

 

[figment_jii]

The Parks Blog has posted the holiday food guide!
Foodie Guide to Holidays at the Disneyland Resort

 

[PoohsFan1]

The Parks Blog has posted the holiday food guide!
Foodie Guide to Holidays at the Disneyland Resort

I am so excited to see all the wonderful holiday treats that DLR is offering. I can't wait to try them for real when we are there next month

 

[disneyobsessed808]

Went to the Festival of the Holidays this weekend, and got myself an AP Sip and Savor Pass.

Two things I forgot to take pics of were the braised shortrib and the pineapple/cherry punch. I remember the short rib being pretty good, but was not as tender as I personally would have liked.

I also tried the Adobo pork belly.

I read online that it didn't taste strongly of adobo, but for me, it had a very strong vinegar taste. Not bad, but not my favorite. I did love the rice and the pork rind garnish.

Next up was the Nashville Hot Turkey

I have been wanting to go to Howlin' Rays in Chinatown, LA, but the waits are up to 2 hours, so that's not happening anytime soon. This was actually really good, but spicy for me - though I have a low tolerance. Its a huge dense chunk of fried turkey. The pickles were what really made this great, and provided the right touch to cool down my mouth. I wish there were more pickles though.

I still have 5 more tickets on my Sip and Savor pass, so hopefully more reports will come.

 

[pudinhd]

Two things I forgot to take pics of were the braised shortrib and the pineapple/cherry punch.

How was the pineapple cherry punch? I am very curious!!

 

[disneyobsessed808]

How was the pineapple cherry punch? I am very curious!!

It was too sweet for me. It came with fruit jelly pieces, so that added an interesting texture/taste though.

 

[pudinhd]

It was too sweet for me. It came with fruit jelly pieces, so that added an interesting texture/taste though.

Thanks! Very interesting...

 

[pudinhd]

New restaurant coming to Downtown Disney...

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...disney-district-at-disneyland-resort-in-2018/

 

[figment_jii]

It was too sweet for me. It came with fruit jelly pieces, so that added an interesting texture/taste though.

Were they like the fruit jelly pieces you get at the boba drink shops?

Thanks for the other reviews/photos! I can't wait to try some of these things on my next trip. There are so many interesting sounding dishes!

 

[disneyobsessed808]

Were they like the fruit jelly pieces you get at the boba drink shops?

Thanks for the other reviews/photos! I can't wait to try some of these things on my next trip. There are so many interesting sounding dishes!

I assume so, but I never actually order that when I go to boba places.

 

[jlhinvegas]

Thank you for the reviews! I am debating on whether to get the Sip & Savor pass or not.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Festival of Holidays - Food pics and reviews.

I visited some of the booths at Festival of Holidays yesterday (will probably hit more the next couple days), and here are my photos and reviews of the foods/drinks I tried:

Joy to the Sauce
Beef Short Rib with Smashed Potatoes and Gravy $7.75

My favorite dish so far! Delicious! very rich and hearty gravy. Meat just falls apart wonderfully. Potatoes are also great and creamy!

Seared Salmon Filet with Lemon Caper Sauce $7.50

My second favorite dish. Salmon was well cooked and not dry. Sauce was also very good. Potatoes were also well cooked and not under/over done.

Apple Lemonade with Whipped Cream and Caramel (non-alcoholic) $5.00

Another winner! Very good tart lemonade, but the whipped cream and caramel is a nice sweetness. Can't really taste the apple much though. And they put a lot of ice cubes in, which makes it hard to stir the whipped cream into the lemonade. I will still probably get again.

Chips, Breads & Holiday Spreads
Cranberry Pear Tart with Rosemary-infused Cream $4.50

Another hit! I was worried about this one, but decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised. Cranberries were just on top so I picked them out (don't like them). Cream wasn't overpowered with rosemary. It was very sweet, but I loved that!

Holiday Duets
Macaroni and Cheese with Cornbread Crumbles – $7.25

The mac and cheese was very good, with a subtle smokiness. The portion was very large. And the sauce was creamy but didn't leave a puddle of grease behind. But I didn't feel like the cornbread added anything to it.

Cookie Butter and Jelly Cheesecake – $4.50

Biggest disappointment so far. I could barely eat 1/2 of one of the tarts. Just a weird, chemically flavor. Maybe from the jelly, but I couldn't just pick it off because there was a layer at the bottom of the tart too. Would not recommend!

Warm Chocolate Float with Whipped Cream and Brownie Crumbles – $5.50

This was a mixed bag. Not my favorite, but not horrible. The servers accidentally put the brownies on bottom instead of top, which meant I occasionally got chunks of brownies. I won't get again, but I wouldn't go so far as to not recommend.

So far:
Will definitely repeat:
Short Rib (Joy to the Sauce)

Probably repeat:
Salmon (Joy to the Sauce)
Pear tart (Chips, Dips & Spreads)
Apple Lemonade (Joy to the Sauce)
Mac and Cheese (Duets)

One and done:
Warm Chocolate Float (Duets)

Bad, bad, bad:
Cookie Butter Cheesecake Tart (Duets)

I will update as I try more things!

 

[Susie63]

Festival of Holidays - Food pics and reviews.

I visited some of the booths at Festival of Holidays yesterday (will probably hit more the next couple days), and here are my photos and reviews of the foods/drinks I tried:

Joy to the Sauce
Beef Short Rib with Smashed Potatoes and Gravy $7.75
View attachment 283475
My favorite dish so far! Delicious! very rich and hearty gravy. Meat just falls apart wonderfully. Potatoes are also great and creamy!

Seared Salmon Filet with Lemon Caper Sauce $7.50
View attachment 283476
My second favorite dish. Salmon was well cooked and not dry. Sauce was also very good. Potatoes were also well cooked and not under/over done.

Apple Lemonade with Whipped Cream and Caramel (non-alcoholic) $5.00
View attachment 283477
Another winner! Very good tart lemonade, but the whipped cream and caramel is a nice sweetness. Can't really taste the apple much though. And they put a lot of ice cubes in, which makes it hard to stir the whipped cream into the lemonade. I will still probably get again.

Chips, Breads & Holiday Spreads
Cranberry Pear Tart with Rosemary-infused Cream $4.50
View attachment 283478 View attachment 283479
Another hit! I was worried about this one, but decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised. Cranberries were just on top so I picked them out (don't like them). Cream wasn't overpowered with rosemary. It was very sweet, but I loved that!

Holiday Duets
Macaroni and Cheese with Cornbread Crumbles – $7.25
View attachment 283480
The mac and cheese was very good, with a subtle smokiness. The portion was very large. And the sauce was creamy but didn't leave a puddle of grease behind. But I didn't feel like the cornbread added anything to it.

Cookie Butter and Jelly Cheesecake – $4.50
View attachment 283481
Biggest disappointment so far. I could barely eat 1/2 of one of the tarts. Just a weird, chemically flavor. Maybe from the jelly, but I couldn't just pick it off because there was a layer at the bottom of the tart too. Would not recommend!

Warm Chocolate Float with Whipped Cream and Brownie Crumbles – $5.50
View attachment 283474
This was a mixed bag. Not my favorite, but not horrible. The servers accidentally put the brownies on bottom instead of top, which meant I occasionally got chunks of brownies. I won't get again, but I wouldn't go so far as to not recommend.

So far:
Will definitely repeat:
Short Rib (Joy to the Sauce)

Probably repeat:
Salmon (Joy to the Sauce)
Pear tart (Chips, Dips & Spreads)
Apple Lemonade (Joy to the Sauce)
Mac and Cheese (Duets)

One and done:
Warm Chocolate Float (Duets)

Bad, bad, bad:
Cookie Butter Cheesecake Tart (Duets)

I will update as I try more things!

I appreciate your sacrifice

 

[Lesley Wake]

Festival of Holidays - Food pics and reviews - 2nd round!

I visited some more of the booths at Festival of Holidays today and here are some more reviews:

Grandma’s Recipes
Beef Brisket with Brown Sugar-glazed Carrots – $7.75

This was just ok. The meat was good, but did have huge chunks of fat. The carrots though were very hard; I would have preferred softer. I don’t feel there was any brown sugar glaze at all! And the sauce really ended up being a greasy soup!

Merry Cherry Pineapple Punch with Assorted Jellies – $5.00

I was a bit nervous about this one, but loved it! It mostly had the flavors of pineapple with a bit of fruitiness. The jellies didn’t taste like anything but provided a nice contrasting texture.

Blissfully Braised
Braised Pork Belly Adobo with Garlic Fried Rice – $7.50

I didn’t hate this. The pork that wasn’t fatty was good; I don’t think I tasted the vinegar that a PP mentioned. The rice was very good!

Braised Lamb Cheeks with Mediterranean Cauliflower – $7.75

I’m going to refrain from reviewing this, because I don’t quite know why I ordered it! I think I didn’t realize it was Indian until I got it, and I don’t like Indian food! So I only had a few bites and I wouldn’t know whether it was good or not!

So far:
Will definitely repeat: Short Rib (Joy to the Sauce)

Probably repeat: Salmon (Joy to the Sauce), Pear tart (Chips, Dips & Spreads), Apple Lemonade (Joy to the Sauce), Mac and Cheese (Duets), Pineapple Punch (Grandma’s)

One and done: Warm Chocolate Float (Duets), Brisket (Grandma’s), Adobe Pork Belly (Braised)

Bad, bad, bad: Cookie Butter Cheesecake Tart (Duets)

Reserving judgment: Lamb Cheeks (Braised)

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I had the short rib tonight (Joy to the Sauce). Meat was delicious! Mashed potatoes were ok I guess, I couldn't really taste them... too much sauce. I guess I should have expected that based on the name of the booth lol

 

[disneyobsessed808]

Went back on Saturday night to finish my sip and savor pass.

Chana Masala from the Classic Crocks and Casseroles - This was okay, but not necessarily something I would recommend. It was too soupy and not very complex. The naan was a bit hard too.

Braised Lamb Cheeks from Blissfully Braised - Delicious! This may have been my favorite thing all night. The lamb was tender and flavorful, and was pretty subtly spiced. The cauliflower side was pretty good too, though I would have liked an actual carb better.

Grilled Chicken Sausage from Grandma's Recipes - Meh. The sausage tasted like any you could get from a grocery store, and same with the red beans and rice. Not a lot of flavor going on.

Brisket from Grandma's Recipes - The brisket was really good, but fatty as you can see. The carrots were too hard for my taste.

Reuben Potato Smash from A Twist on Tradition - This was ok, but when I got it, it was cold. Probably would have been better if it would be hot. I really couldn't taste the rye toast crumble, mostly just tasted potato and dressing. I could feel that there was meat in there, but didn't really taste it.

Mac and Cheese from Holiday Duets - My friends said this is a must try, but I don't get it. It's a serviceable mac and cheese but certainly not worth $7.25, there's not enough flavor. I can make a much better mac and cheese at home.

The other thing I had was the Warm Chocolate Float, which I absolutely loved. It tasted like the really sweet cocoa like Swiss Miss style - not necessarily high quality, but still my favorite, with a scoop of ice cream. Honestly, it may have been my favorite from the entire festival.

 

[millie0312]

Went back on Saturday night to finish my sip and savor pass.

Chana Masala from the Classic Crocks and Casseroles - This was okay, but not necessarily something I would recommend. It was too soupy and not very complex. The naan was a bit hard too.

Braised Lamb Cheeks from Blissfully Braised - Delicious! This may have been my favorite thing all night. The lamb was tender and flavorful, and was pretty subtly spiced. The cauliflower side was pretty good too, though I would have liked an actual carb better.

Grilled Chicken Sausage from Grandma's Recipes - Meh. The sausage tasted like any you could get from a grocery store, and same with the red beans and rice. Not a lot of flavor going on.

Brisket from Grandma's Recipes - The brisket was really good, but fatty as you can see. The carrots were too hard for my taste.

Reuben Potato Smash from A Twist on Tradition - This was ok, but when I got it, it was cold. Probably would have been better if it would be hot. I really couldn't taste the rye toast crumble, mostly just tasted potato and dressing. I could feel that there was meat in there, but didn't really taste it.

Mac and Cheese from Holiday Duets - My friends said this is a must try, but I don't get it. It's a serviceable mac and cheese but certainly not worth $7.25, there's not enough flavor. I can make a much better mac and cheese at home.

The other thing I had was the Warm Chocolate Float, which I absolutely loved. It tasted like the really sweet cocoa like Swiss Miss style - not necessarily high quality, but still my favorite, with a scoop of ice cream. Honestly, it may have been my favorite from the entire festival.

Thank you for all these reviews!!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Festival of Holidays-Round 3

Festive Holiday Extras
Baked Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes – $6.50

I thought this was fine. But I preferred the Mac and cheese. I wish they could have done that burnt-bubbly cheese on the Mac and cheese, as that was my favorite part!

Pineapple Kesari with Golden Raisins – $4.35

This took me a while to decide if I did or didn’t like it! After about 2/3, unfortunately I decided I didn’t. The texture was sort of like polenta, and while firm, was still moist (if that makes sense). But the Kesari itself wasn’t very flavorful-I would have preferred a strong pineapple flavor. The actual pineapple chunks next to it and inside it were nice though. I think there was only 1-2 raisins in it (which I was actually looking for to pick out!)

A Twist on Tradition
Chocolate Yule Log with Candied Chestnuts and Clementine Compote – $5.00

I wasn’t a big fan of this, but I think other people may like it. There wasn’t enough cake for me-really just that thicker brown section in the side, the other brown parts were just melted chocolate. The apricot compote went well with it though. And the chestnuts were in the center and easy to eat around (if you haven’t noticed, I’m very picky)...

So far:
Will definitely repeat: Short Rib (Joy to the Sauce)

Probably repeat: Salmon (Joy to the Sauce), Pear tart (Chips, Dips & Spreads), Apple Lemonade (Joy to the Sauce), Mac and Cheese (Duets), Pineapple Punch (Grandma’s)

One and done: Warm Chocolate Float (Duets), Brisket (Grandma’s), Adobe Pork Belly (Braised), Cheesy Potatoes (Extras), Pineapple Kesari (Extras), Yule Log (Twist)

Bad, bad, bad: Cookie Butter Cheesecake Tart (Duets)

Reserving judgment: Lamb Cheeks (Braised

 

[cruisehopeful]

@Lesley Wake , did you find that anything had a significant flavor? I ate at the booths yesterday and it seemed like nothing had a strong enough taste to make it worth eating, but I've been taking allergy pills and wondered if my taste buds were off because of that. I don't eat much meat, so maybe it was because I was just eating meatless dishes.

I did enjoy the Yule Log, but that's mostly because it is fun looking and fun to play with. Stuff like that isn't something I normally eat. I suppose if I were to judge on taste alone, I wouldn't recommend it. I do recommend it for people who want to look at something fun, though.

 

[GatorChris]

Went to the Festival of the Holidays this weekend, and got myself an AP Sip and Savor Pass.

Two things I forgot to take pics of were the braised shortrib and the pineapple/cherry punch. I remember the short rib being pretty good, but was not as tender as I personally would have liked.

I also tried the Adobo pork belly.

I read online that it didn't taste strongly of adobo, but for me, it had a very strong vinegar taste. Not bad, but not my favorite. I did love the rice and the pork rind garnish.

I had this dish and thought it was really good. But I'm a bacon lover, and all Pork Belly is is a glorified thick cut of bacon. I'd would have this dish again for sure.