My Disneyland dining reviews, with pictures

[figment_jii]

This week has several "National Food Days" for which Disneyland Resort should have several yummy items that could be used to celebrate the day!

July 6: Fried Chicken Day (it's almost over, but the Plaza Inn has a great offering; any others?)
July 7: Strawberry Sundae Day (Clarabelle's anyone?)
July 9: Sugar Cookie Day (so many choices!)
July 10: Pina Colada Day
July 11: Blueberry Muffin Day (any Mickey shaped muffins? I know WDW used to have one!)
July 12: National Pecan Pie Day
July 13: French Fries Day (lots of these in DLR!)

 

[Sherry E]

This week has several "National Food Days" for which Disneyland Resort should have several yummy items that could be used to celebrate the day!

July 6: Fried Chicken Day (it's almost over, but the Plaza Inn has a great offering; any others?)
July 7: Strawberry Sundae Day (Clarabelle's anyone?)
July 9: Sugar Cookie Day (so many choices!)
July 10: Pina Colada Day
July 11: Blueberry Muffin Day (any Mickey shaped muffins? I know WDW used to have one!)
July 12: National Pecan Pie Day
July 13: French Fries Day (lots of these in DLR!)

Just to give you something to add into the July 8th slot -- according to the National Day Calendar, July 8th is....

National Chocolate with Almonds Day


Sometimes the NDC calendar has exactly what the Food Holidays calendar has, and sometimes it has more or fewer listings than what Food Holidays has, so I am always checking both of them! Here is the link to the NDC calendar at-a-glance - http://nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/

 

[figment_jii]

Today is National Sugar Cookie Day! Disneyland has lots of sugar cookies!

Figment hasn't actually had very many sugar cookies in Disneyland (or Disney World), but he did take a photo of this cookie (not sure if it's really a sugar cookie), but in honor of the starting of planning for Halloween...here is the Mickey bat cookie from last year!

 

[keahgirl8]

I used to love the sugar cookies, but they have change them over the years and they just aren't the same any more.

 

[Sherry E]

The Taste of Farmers Market event I have been talking about now has its full menu up (for the event this coming Tues., 7/15) -- and wow! There are a lot of things I would skip, but there are many more things I would not skip.

Look at this line-up of sampler foods and drinks (all for the bargain price of $35 if you buy in advance) -- scroll to the second page, which says "Welcome to Taste of Farmers Market":

http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1101527824990-704/ToFM+Guide+&+Map.pdf


I wouldn't even know where to begin with all of that food. Even in small sample sizes, chowing down on sliders, sandwiches, pork fried rice, mini-pancakes, cookies, brownie bites, chicken, etc., etc., will add up fast. I see why 4 hours are needed -- you basically have to pace yourself and start at exactly 5 p.m., eating and drinking all the way up to 9 p.m.

Well, I was waiting for the full menu to come out before I made my final decision. I guess I know which way I am leaning now!

Again, I am also posting this info for any lurkers, SoCal residents or other people out there who may happen to be in the L.A. area this coming Tuesday. It looks like a good (and filling) way to spend an evening!

The Farmers Market is right next door to The Grove (which is where the famous American Girl Place is located -- and I know that a lot of Disneyland-visiting parents have had to visit American Girl Place on their longer trips in the past), so it's a fun little hotbed of activity.

 

[kaoden39]

Sherry,

I really wish I was going to be in there area for that! It sounds like a nibblers delight!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry,

I really wish I was going to be in there area for that! It sounds like a nibblers delight!

Michele --

I think that those nibbles will be deceptively filling -- especially the ones that I would go for, like the BBQ pork, the sliders, the pork fried rice, the grilled chicken, the mini-pancakes, the baked goods, the tri tip sandwiches, the pizza, the tacos, etc.! I don't even like Nutella but I am curious to try the crepe!

I wonder if there is anyone who actually hits alllllllllll of the places on that list to sample the free foods and drinks. There must be someone who does, but I would imagine that many people just get too full after a while and give up.


I am actually trying to organize a "birthday food crawl." Every year, as we all know, we can get certain free meals and what not for our birthdays -- for example, Earl of Sandwich gives out a coupon for a free birthday sandwich to everyone who is on their online mailing list.

I usually don't bother with most of the free birthday stuff, other than the Catalina Express boat ride (because that is too good of an offer to pass up) and the EOS sandwich. Some of the free goodies have to be used specifically on one's birthday (for example, my Catalina trip will have to take place on the actual birthday), and others have more leeway and a longer window of time.

So this year I am trying to line up my birthday freebies, and use as many of them as I can before they expire, one by one!

I already have a free El Pollo Loco birthday coupon that needs to be used. I also have a coupon from Corner Bakery for a free mini-Bundt cake.

I am waiting on my coupon from Sprinkles for a free cupcake; my Earl of Sandwich coupon; my Starbucks coupon for a free treat; my free pizza buffet coupon from Shakey's; my free pancakes coupon from IHOP; my free sub coupon from Jersey Mike's; my free meal coupon from Marmalade Café; my free ice cream from Baskin Robbins coupon, etc.

Birthdays are our own individual holidays -- why not celebrate them, right? I've never even gone into Denny's and gotten a free Grand Slam on my birthday -- and that is one of life's most enduring little pleasures! I need to start taking advantage of the goodies that are there for the taking!

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

Just kidding!

Figment is a character from Epcot's Journey Into Imagination ride. He's described in the original "One Little Spark" song by Professor Dreamfinder as:
"Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow
Horns of a steer, but a loveable fellow
From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment
And there viola...you've got a Figment."
You can still hear refrains of the song in the current version of the ride, but not the description.

He's not been in any movies and outside of Epcot, there really isn't much that he's in. There are a few Imagineering books that have featured Figment. So, unless you've been to Epcot, it would be understandable that you've not heard of Figment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figment_(Disney_character)

I was looking through this thread for restaurant ideas and love the figment food pictures. I actually made shirts with phrases from the original song with figment's picture for our last WDW trip. I loved Figment and Dreamfinder as a child. But, even some of the CM's at Epcot didn't know of Dreamfinder or the original song.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh well. So much for my grand plan to do the Taste of Farmers Market event. I got an unexpected FedEx alert that a package was due to be delivered today, requiring my signature. It could show up anytime between now and 8 p.m.

I can't leave the house and "hope" that another neighbor will sign for the package. I have terrible luck with package deliveries in this neighborhood, and have had some items go missing forever, and/or simply not get to me until 2 days after they were delivered. I can't risk it. I have to stay here.

I wish this event at Farmers Market took place: 1) On a weekend day; and 2) For more than one day -- like at least over 2 days! One day only -- a Tuesday, no less, starting at 5 p.m., when many people are just getting out of work -- is crazy. If this had been a 2-day event I could have gone tomorrow instead of trying to go today.

 

[figment_jii]

I was looking through this thread for restaurant ideas and love the figment food pictures. I actually made shirts with phrases from the original song with figment's picture for our last WDW trip. I loved Figment and Dreamfinder as a child. But, even some of the CM's at Epcot didn't know of Dreamfinder or the original song.

I've run into CM that didn't even know who Figment was! I suppose, as big as WDW is, that's bound to happen.

Oh well. So much for my grand plan to do the Taste of Farmers Market event. I got an unexpected FedEx alert that a package was due to be delivered today, requiring my signature. It could show up anytime between now and 8 p.m.

That's a bummer...sorry to hear that you'll miss out. Maybe if you're lucky, the package will show up soon and you can still make it to the event before the after work crowds show up.

 

[lucysmom]

Oh Sherry! I am so sorry that you could not attend the nibbler night at the FM. Let's just assume that it was so horribly crowded that it made waiting in lines for snacks impossible. Sometimes those events sound better than they turn out to be. Here's hoping you get a really fun package in the delivery.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh Sherry! I am so sorry that you could not attend the nibbler night at the FM. Let's just assume that it was so horribly crowded that it made waiting in lines for snacks impossible. Sometimes those events sound better than they turn out to be. Here's hoping you get a really fun package in the delivery.

lucysmom --

Sadly, the package I was expecting wasn't anything fun. It was a replacement part for a scanner doodad that I have. I knew it was coming eventually, but I didn't think it would get here this week! When I got the email alert last night -- and it said that I had to sign for it -- I thought, "Of all the days that thing could arrive, it would have to be a day when I was going to do something else!" I wish that the Taste event was held on more than one evening, but, alas...it was not to be! I really, really wanted to go!

If package deliveries weren't so unpredictable and iffy in my building, I might have been able to arrange for someone else to sign for it....but that's a whole separate story!

Fortunately, I had not bought my ticket to the Taste event yet. Something told me to hold off on getting the ticket -- and when I get those feelings that tell me to hold off on buying tickets, it usually turns out to be for a good reason. It's happened with the MHP before, where I had planned to buy a ticket for a certain MHP night and then I 'got that feeling' and held off. It turned out to be for the best when something else came up.

Mary Jo, however, DID attend the Taste event. So I'm sure she'll be talking about it on a podcast or something.

In any case, at least I have a free boat ride to Catalina coming up next week, and I am in the process of strategically assembling my birthday freebies as they come in, so that I can use them in a logical way. In other words, if I have free food gifts at more than one shop/restaurant in the same location, like Sprinkles and Starbucks at The Grove and Farmers Market, respectively, I can hit each place one by one, then go to another location the next day and hit the next few places (such as Corner Bakery and Which 'Wich). I don't want to be running around, back and forth, in a way that makes no sense. So I have to hit all the birthday freebies systematically!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I'm sorry to hear that you miss the Taste of Farmers Market event Sherry. I can understand with getting packages through the mail and you have to be home for it to get here and sign for it. I have lost packages when I wasn't present and someone else signed it for me. It can be frustrating where you have to wait for the package to arrive when you are planning on doing something that day and find out that the tracking showed it got delivered but it didn't arrived.

That is nice that you were able to get a free boat ride to the Catalina Islands next week.


Here are some pictures from the Blue Bayou.

New Orleans Gumbo


Le Special de Monte Cristo Sandwich

 

[christinaspring]

The Taste of Farmer's Market was amaaaazzing. I will spare the details so as not to bum you out Sherry, but will say to definitely try and make it happen next year! I had such a lovely evening with my mom and DD, and omg the yummies!

I originally heard about it here on this thread, so I wanted to pop in and say thank you.

 

[figment_jii]

I'm sorry to hear your missed the event Sherry. Hopefully next year you'll be able to go!

 

[kylie71]

Brett: The Monte Cristo looks good... I have never been brave enough to try it!! Is it too greasy??

--Lori

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you, figment_jii and Bret! I was sad to have missed it but it couldn't be avoided.

​

The Taste of Farmer's Market was amaaaazzing. I will spare the details so as not to bum you out Sherry, but will say to definitely try and make it happen next year! I had such a lovely evening with my mom and DD, and omg the yummies!

I originally heard about it here on this thread, so I wanted to pop in and say thank you.

You're welcome, christinaspring!

I really appreciate that you reported back about it! I'm so glad that my referral/mention/suggestion about the Taste of FM actually paid off for someone!

When I mentioned the Taste of FM here, I figured people would be thinking, "But this is a Disneyland-only dining thread."

The thing is, this whole section of the board is for California, the West and DLR, and I don't think we have a separate dining thread like this one in the SoCal sub-forum.

Plus, I know that many people visit SoCal for an extended period of time, and are often looking for other things to do on certain days when they are not at Disneyland (especially now that the Hoppers are limited to 5 days!).

Also, a lot of people who visit DLR make the trek up to the American Girl store at The Grove, and having an extra event to go to could make the drive more worthwhile.

And, of course, there are always lurkers out there. So I knew if I mentioned the Taste -- especially because it seemed like such a good value -- someone out there would be interested. I just didn't think that anyone would actually report back!

I saw Mary Jo's pictures from the event and I saw the couple of photos posted on the Farmers Market Facebook page, so I know what I missed and I am bummed out (especially because I live soooooooo close to FM) -- but I still want to hear about it from anyone who went!!!

The last 2 or three years or so I have not been able to make it to the Taste -- which seems crazy because it's literally right up the street. Something in the universe seems to want to prevent me from going!


To anyone following out there -- the Taste of Farmers Market (while only taking place on one single weekday) happens every year in July, usually in this same week of the month.

Next year, if a lot of people are headed to Disneyland for the 60th anniversary week (which would be this same week, but in 2015) and you want another activity to do during your trip, consider driving up to L.A. and adding in the Taste of Farmers Market to your itinerary. The smaller, longtime vendors/restaurants and the newer, more modern establishments take part in the event, so you get a good mix of old and new, and the food and drinks are bountiful! Plus, the price is very reasonable ($35 or $40) for all of the food you get!

 

[BriannaRuth]

So after being on this board for a couple of years, I thought I'd finally take the time to learn to upload pictures. Success! Here are a couple from Carthay Circle from my last trip:

Dessert and after dinner drinks at Carthay Circle. If I remember correctly, the dessert may have been a chocolate banana bread pudding. Drinks are a chocolate martini and a coffee drink of some sort. All were good.



My husband had their specialty Manhattan with the ice sphere in it in the lounge. He said it was great.



Here's the empty drink showing the ice sphere:



One of the bar itself at Carthay:



All in all, we thought the lounge and dessert at Carthay were great. In between was not as good. The food was ok but the service was pretty lousy in the restaurant. It was very slow and the server wasn't familiar with menu items and couldn't make wine recommendations. I felt like I was at this beautiful restaurant with a server from Denny's. I'd go back for drinks and maybe an appetizer in the lounge, though.

 

[figment_jii]

Aren't the ice spheres cool? If you ever get down to the bar, it's interesting to watch them being made. The bartender starts with cylinder of perfectly clear ice. He then puts on the machine and the top slowly falls, "melting" the ice until only a sphere remains.

The Machine:

With an ice cylinder:

The machine has finished and the ice sphere is done:

 

[mvf-m11c]

Brett: The Monte Cristo looks good... I have never been brave enough to try it!! Is it too greasy??

--Lori

The Monte Cristo at BB looks very appetizing and they were good. I only finished half of it since I was full. I always wanted to try the Monte Cristo at BB and compare it to the one at CO. I knew that I wasn't going to finish it since it is just like the one at CO When I compare them both of them at BB and CO, I like the BB where you had three different sauces to choose from which CO had only one. The price at BB is a little bit more than at CO but you do get the NO Gumbo with it which is about the same price if you get it at CO. It wasn't too greasy in my opinion. But it did fill me up so quickly after I finished the second one.