Where is the good counter service food in California Adventure?

[Planogirl]

I already have a lunch planned at Avalon Cove but need somewhere to grab a quick bite that evening. We could go over to Downtown Disney and maybe get something there? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I do LOVE planning the food. Heehee!!!

 

[disneydawn6]

They have good breadbowls with soups and salads at the Boudin's Sourdough bread factory tours and mexican food by the Mission tortilla factory tours... Also a chinise counter service by them but I have not tried it. Make sure you get your free tortilla and sourdough bread at the factory tours...

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

We liked the taste pilot's grill, right next to Soarin. They had really good hamburgers with a huge topping bar. They also had good curly fries & onion rings. The portions are huge.

We also ate at Naples (I think that's what its called) in DD. Also very good, Italian food. It was a bit on the expensive side but the portions were big, we shared of their personal sized pizzas, I got salad and DH got soup.

 

[tinagirl]

They are right about Taste Pilots -
Kids especially like it, because the french fries, (well, more like potato patties, I guess) are shaped like little happy faces. I like to get the kids' popcorn chicken meal, if I'm not that hungry, because it really is alot of food for a kid. They also have good burgers, and BBQ ribs.

I really prefer Hollywood & Dine more than any, but it is refurbing now. Check to see if it is open when you go. It has 4 counter service places (Sandwiches/Burgers/Chinese/Italian) so it is like a food court. Everyone can find something that they like there, and the inside is air conditioned, and looks like a Soundstage. I love to go to the chinese part and get "Happy Chicken"...It is much better than the Fortune Cookery in the Wharf area, and the prices are comprable to panda express (non disney), but the quality is much better. The happy chicken is served in a white wine & garlic sauce, simmered down so that the alcohol is burned off. The flavor is addicting...I've even called & asked numerous times for the recipe, but they don't have it...I'll just have to wait until it reopens to get it. Now don't get me wrong, there are alot of good Asian places around Anaheim, but the Happy Chicken is just something special, and I haven't found something even close to it anywhere else.

On the pier, Chicken Strips & Dips is good, (especially the honey mustard sauce) but it isn't quite as good of a value as some other places. - Which is why I don't eat at the Cocina (Mexican) on the wharf. To me, the food isn't really worth $7 - $9, but that may just be because here in L.A. you could stop at nearly any restaurant and get good Mexican for that price.

As a last tidbit, I've recently seen folks at the upstairs bar of Avalon. I don't know if it was just a private party or if they are reopening it. Back when it was wolfgang pucks, they had some good small entrees, and tasty appetizers, for reasonable prices...don't know what they'll have now.

Instead of Downtown Disney, I would reccomend that if you want to wait until the parks close, you go to Whitewater in The Grand Californian Hotel. It is a little place, where you can get cold sandwiches, or hot dogs, or burgers, and there is both indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating is right across from the park/hotel boundary, so you can see the GRR bear, and people walking from it. I personally like to go and get the Chicken sandwich, which is huge & served with Fries and some fruit, and homemade guacamole and california Chiles. It's really a tremendous value for your money in my opinion.
Hope this helps
~Tina

 

[roymccoy]

I whole-heartedly agree about the "happy chicken"!
The taste is addicting. They give you three items and I usually get three happy chicken! I can tell you where to get it, though. Disney must have had a spy or two at the 1999 Fast Food Awards. A new chain called "Pik-up-Stix" won the competition for it's chicken dish. It is basically happy chicken. Look in your area for a Pik-up Stix and you can feed your happy chicken hankering without making the drive to Anaheim!

Roy

 

[Planogirl]

I was hoping that tinagirl would post. I thank everyone for all of the very useful info. The "happy chicken" sounds particularly intriguing as does Naples since it's name keeps popping up. Taste Pilot is a definite at some point

Is the Grand Californian's Whitewater open real late? Or maybe 24 hours?

I've never even heard of the bread factory tours so I definitely need to do some more reading!

 

[tinagirl]

Whitewater in the Grand Californian is typically open later than the parks, but you can ask information when you get into DCA or DL, as they have a notebook with hours for every restaurant int he resort to confirm for your day.

Also, the bread/tortilla tours are located in the wharf.
The Mission Tortilla tour isn't all that interesting to me, you start by watching a filmed diorama, then walk into the factory, to see how tortillas are made. There are typically 2 recipes at the end, that you can take home and try. They will also give you a tortilla sample.
The Boudin Bread Tour is a ton more fun. Hosted by Rosie O' Donnell & Collin Macherie (sp?) from Who's Line Is It Anyway.
You get a bread sample as you walk in, so you can nibble as you watch the movie, and also seeing how sourdough bread is made.

Hope this helps
~Tina