It has been awhile since I have posted, the holidays got the best of me... but that doesn't mean I haven't been visiting Disneyland (and eating!).
I am going to post a few pics of items I ate at the Disneyland Resort over the past few months and I am going to try to be better about keep it up-to-date.
October 23, 2009... I told you I have to go back a ways :)
I decided to have lunch at one of my favorite sitdown spots in Disneyland, Cafe Orleans. I love sitting outside and watching the world go by. Also, I always have received excellent service. I tend to judge good service in a restaurant based on how many times I get my Diet Coke refilled and let's just say I almost float away when I leave this restaurant!
I really wanted the Pommes Frites (French fries covered in garlic and parmesan cheese) even though I was eating alone and I wouldn't be able to finish them... they are soooooo good.
And because I felt odd just eating fries for lunch, I also ordered a cup of the New Orleans Gumbo.
This was very good as well. Thick and hearty, with a little bit of a kick to it. A winner.
Being right before Halloween, I also took a few shots of the cute holiday food items.
I think there was some sort of chocolate mousse inside the Mickey mug, but I did not purchase it. Looking at how cute that mug is, now I wish I had! There are Nutty Caramel Apple Cupcakes on the left.
November 6, 2009:
This was a decidedly non-gourmet day in the park. In a rush to find get something for lunch, I popped into Redd Rockett's Pizza Port. In the past I have purchased the spaghetti with ginormous meatballs or a pizza slice, but they have changed over to mini meatballs... and they didn't look good to me. I ordered something different and got the Chicken Fusilli in a cream sauce. Pardon the bad picture taken with my cell phone:
The flavor was alright... cheesy and a nice garlic taste, but the texture was a little goopy for me. It filled me up, it fact it was way too much food for one person, but I wasn't really satisfied.
November 13, 2009
This week I was in the mood to try the Plaza Inn for lunch. I had taken my nephew to the Minnie & Friends character breakfast a few times (which is GREAT), but hadn't tried lunch or dinner here in quite a while. I couldn't resist the fried chicken platter and am so glad I ordered it.
The chicken was delicously crispy and a huge portion. Easily splitable. The biscuit and mashed potatoes were also good, but the green beans were a little soggy. Oh well, who wants to eat grean beans when you have all that chicken? Another good thing about this restaurant is that it feels like a table service restaurant... nice decor and they clear your trays for you...but it is cafeteria style. They also allow you to refill your soda at the soda fountains, which I consider a "table service" benefit.
At the end of the day I also bought a really, really cute caramel apple at the Candy Palace on Main Streeet.
This is my snowman caramel apple :)
It was covered in caramel and then white chocolate. With candy Mickey ears, chocolate chip eyes, candy nose, m&m buttons and a sour candy strip for the scarf. It was also beautifully dusted with some sparkle-y sugar. Almost too pretty to cut... almost...
Awww.... he was delicious!
It was blissfully uncrowded this day and on a whim I approached the podium at the Blue Bayou to see if they were taking walk-ups. They were! I hadn't been to this restaurant in a while because it is on the pricey side, even for Disney, and the last time I went I wasn't impressed. But, I was in the mood to give it another shot.
The interior of this restaurant is dark and romantic with the lanterns strung across the room. It is really nice to get a table next to the "water" (the Pirates of the Caribbean ride), however, I didn't ask for... or get one of these prized tables. When I first arrived, there was a guitarist performing, which was lovely, but he stopped playing soon after I sat down and he didn't come back (he is up on the balcony in this photo).
Here is the menu...
Originally, I had wanted to order the crab cakes, but I asked the waiter if the restaurant just ordered frozen crab cakes... and... they do. This was disappointing because for $31.00 (for lunch!), I think that they should be making fresh crab cakes. Moving on... I have had the monte cristo sandwich both here and at Cafe Orleans before, so it wasn't a bold move, but I figured I couldn't go wrong with that choice.
They started me out with some delicious bread. I knew I was going to be too full for my entree, but I couldn't resist.
And the cutest butter (Hidden Mickey!)...
Each meal includes a cup of gumbo or salad, and I chose the gumbo. It was very good.
Then my monte cristo sandwich arrive, with a side of scalloped potatoes and some side vegetables.
This monte cristo was nicely crispy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. I recently had the monte cristo at Cafe Orleans, and this one was much better. The Cafe Orleans version was more doughy. The potatoes were decadent... buttery and cheesy. And the veggies weren't bad either. Good thing that is is so dark inside the restaurant... If you can't see the food, it doesn't have any calories, right?
Overall, it was a good experience.
December 9, 2009:
For this trip, I arrived in the evening because I wanted to watch (and videotape) the Holiday fireworks show. I walked throught the gates of Disneyland just as the Holiday parade was starting on Main Street, so I had to make my way through the crowds to get to the Plaza Inn for dinner. Everyone was watching the parade, so it was uncrowded inside the restaurant.
I had just gotten engaged this week, and I know that I am going to want to lose weight for our wedding in 2010. I don't know why I think I can "diet" at Disneyland (not that they don't have any healthy options... they do.. I just don't have the willpower), but this night I was looking for a salad. The Plaza Inn has a cobb salad on the menu which looked pretty healthy until the girl mixing the salad put a ton of salad dressing on it. Oh well.
The salad was freshly mixed when I ordered it and came with a soft, yummy breadstick. It was a delicious meal... not as diet-friendly as I had been hoping for, but very good.
December 18, 2009:
On this visit I decided that I just wanted snacks instead of full meals. I had just seen a holiday special on the Food Network with Guy Fieri in Disneyland and his son had a peppermint ice cream in a waffle cone that looked fantastic. THAT was what I was in the mood for.
Okay. On that delicious note, I am going to end this looooong blog post. I will pick up my eating adventures in my next post :)
