Festival of Holidays is once again upon us, and after checking out the soft opening last week, I noticed several items on the menu are repeats from years past. It should also be noted that there are fewer booths set up this year, with only eight joining the marketplace (I think last year there were thirteen). There are a couple of new items I definitely want to eat (and drink), but there are also a few returning favorites I think are worth a try. These are some items I have sampled before that are definitely worth eating again!
Halloween Time is back at the Disneyland Resort, which means only one thing: Time to eat. Like a lot. This year, Disney released these handy dandy foodie guides so you can check off the different items you try as you go. I really appreciate this as I have been making my own for the past few years and now I don’t have to! So thanks Disney! This year is bringing us lots of new goodies to try, plus some old standbys because it wouldn’t be Halloween without them. Let’s take a look back at some of those old favorites, and chat about what I’m most excited to try this year.
So it took two tries, but Matt and I were finally able to check out the new Ballast Point Brewery in Downtown Disney earlier this week. We popped in last week, but the place was so packed you couldn’t even get to the bar. For our lunch this week, we made a reservation, and though it was not as crowded as last week, the place is still hopping, so if you want to actually eat there, I suggest booking a time for a guaranteed seat.
Now, a couple of things I will say right off the bat. I was a server for seven years, and during that period I worked an opening of a new restaurant, so I know how hard it is and how tricky it can be figuring out a new system. So I understand that there a few kinks to work out. We experienced quite a few kinks during our lunch, but the best thing I can say is that they were mostly handled well by the staff. But to start, it took twenty minutes from the time we checked in for our reservation until we were sat at our table, and I don’t know how much longer it would have been if I hadn’t checked back in with the hostess at the twenty minute mark. There seemed to be a lot of confusion when it came to checking people in and getting them to their tables. But after the long wait we were taken to a great table with a view overlooking Downtown Disney.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas, but Festival of Holidays at California Adventure! Time to eat (and drink) my weight in tasty goodies. As I mentioned back in my Christmas treats to eat post, this year for Festival of Holidays, I’m not making a checklist, but rather trying new things depending on my mood for the day. So far this has worked out really well, as I have really enjoyed everything I’ve sampled so far. (It also doesn’t hurt that Matt scored some cast member coupons for the booths-yummies are great, free yummies are even better.) These are some of the delectable bites I have tried so far!
Less than a week remains of the 2018 Food and Wine Festival, and yesterday Brianna and I made our final foray into the depths that is all things food and wine. We also recorded our podcast throughout the day while in the parks, so make sure you check out Drink Talk Fangirl for that totes random episode. We did come to the final conclusion that the food this year was rather unimpressive. The drinks were good, as were the desserts, but the actual food items were either repeats from previous years, or they were just okay. I’m hoping the food offerings at the upcoming Pixar Fest are going to be more enticing. I detailed many of my food and drink samplings in the Part One post, and here are some subsequent items I’ve tried, and of course, my thoughts on all of them.
Because I love all things garlic, I had to sample the Bloody Mary and the Garlic Mac and Cheese for myself (my sister tried the mac in my previous post, but I didn’t actually get to try it for myself until recently). The Bloody Mary was fine. It tasted like a Bloody Mary, but I wouldn’t say it held many hints of garlic. I enjoyed it because I like Bloody Marys, not because this was a particularly stellar one. The mac and cheese was just okay. The garlic crumble itself was tasty, but the mac and cheese on its own was bland.
I also tried the Salt and Beer Vinegar Parmesan Crusted Wings from the Cluck a Doodle Moo booth. Just the name alone was enough to entice me as I literally love all the things. Salt and beer and vinegar and cheese? Hells to the yes. However, I found the wings to be seriously lacking in flavor, and they did not live up to the name at all. These wings were underwhelming, and I was really bummed about it.
Yesterday I tried the Brie Toast with Fig and Mint from the Nuts About Cheese booth, which is a repeat from last year’s festival. This is one I would try making at home because it was tasty and would make a good appetizer for a dinner party. I mean, I would eat brie on anything so I’m not super hard to please in that category, but I love the combo of the brie with the fig jam. Yums.
Also at Nuts About Cheese is the famous mimosa flight. Again, I’ll drink any kind of mimosa any time, anywhere, so not super picky here. The flavors this year were pineapple, strawberry, and raspberry, and while all of them were quite tasty, they were also a little boring. I thought the flavors last year and at Festival of Holidays were more exciting. I did love the pineapple one, and will definitely be making something similar on my own soon.
Finally, I tried the Bourbon Chocolate Whoopie Pie at the I Heart Artichokes booth. It was delicious, but unremarkable.
I’m not sure if it was the lack of stellar new offerings, or the awesomeness of the recent Festival of Holidays, but something about this year’s Food and Wine Festival left me lacking. Also, I should mention that the night after I had the garlic mac and the wings, I had some serious food poisoning. I can’t say for sure it was from the festival food, but it definitely left me hesitant to sample all the goodies in the future. Overall, kind of a meh year when it comes to Food and Wine. I’m hoping next year they will shake things up and give us lots of new stuff to try.
March 2nd marked the beginning of the 2018 Food and Wine Festival at California Adventure, and it is one of my favorite times of year at the park. I was a little eh when I saw the food offerings for this year, not because they didn’t sound good, but because there weren’t a ton of new items on the menu. However, there are lots of delicious sounding new cocktails on the menu, and I am all about that. And there’s enough new food for me to hit up just about every booth. I haven’t checked everything off my list yet, but I have made some good headway. Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
At the Citrus Grove booth, I tried the Meyer Lemon Macaron. I’m pretty sure this was offered last year, but I didn’t get a chance to try it. The lemon flavor was super tasty, but this is a reeeaaaallly sweet treat. Like you should probably split it with at least two other people because if you ate the whole thing yourself you’d probably go into some kind of sugar coma. Very yummy, but proceed with caution.
Also at the Citrus Grove booth, this is the Crispy Orange Chicken and Rice. I really liked this dish, but it is super salty. I loooooove salt. I salt everything. And it still made me cringe a little. So if you are not a salt fan, this is probably not the one for you. But the flavor of the sauce is good, and the crispy chicken was good. Also, this one was a good portion size, always a bonus.
My sister tried the Mac and Cheese at Garlic Kissed and said it was okay. I am a mac and cheese fan so I always gravitate to the different variations they offer at Food and Wine, and most of the time I am disappointed. They just seem to lack a lot of flavor. But I will probably try this one for myself, just to make sure. You know, for research purposes.
This past week on my second trip to Food and Wine, I hit up the Strawberry Patch booth first. This Watsonville Strawberry Pie was legitimately my breakfast. Pie for breakfast is always a good idea. This was a great mini pie, and I would eat it again and again.
Also at the Strawberry Patch booth is the Strawberry Frose, which is basically a strawberry rose in frozen form. And yes, it is as delicious as it sounds. I could take down about ten of these. And then I would be drunk.
I’m kind of sad the presentation for the Meyer Lemon Ginger Mule isn’t a little prettier because it was so tasty. Like, you could at least throw a lemon wedge or a sugar rim on there. This drink, available at Citrus Grove, was absolutely delicious and I will be making my own version at home over the summer. Yummy.
At the Peppers Cali-Ente booth, I gravitated to the Lime Margarita. I love a spicy marg, and this one was actually better than I thought it would be. Just enough kick, but not too spicy. A lot of ice in that cup though. I see you, Disney. We also tried the Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese, which I really liked. The mac and cheese itself is just fine, but when you get a good combo bite with the bacon and jalapenos, it’s a great combo.
I still have quite a few items on my list to try, most importantly, the mimosa flight. Brianna and I will be hitting the parks during her Spring Break so we’ll be getting our drink on then.
Have you been to Food and Wine yet? What are the can’t miss items on your list?
Festival of Holidays is back at California Adventure, and last week Brianna and I ate our way through a whole bunch of it. We will be discussing the Festival in detail on next week’s podcast, but for now, here are some of my preliminary thoughts.
In general, the Festival is much more appealing to me personally than last year’s. There are more food choices that aren’t quite as adventurous as last year, and the drink options seem to be much better (read stronger, and real alcohol) than the previous Festival. I actually bought the AP Sip and Savor pass this year because I am planning on trying way more items than I did last year. Here’s what I’ve had so far:
This is the pomegranate margarita. I actually bought this at Bayside Brews, but they also have a version at one of the Festival booths. It was yummy, and strong, and didn’t taste like a pre-made margarita, so win.
We sampled both offerings the Winter Sliderland booth. This is the turkey with cranberry sauce and stuffing, and it tasted like Thanksgiving on a bun. I am not a huge fan of Thanksgiving turkey, but it was so moist and flavorful. This was Brianna’s fave.
I preferred the ham slider with pineapple relish. This was available last year and I loved it then and I love it now. The ham is so yummy, and the combo of the ham with pineapple is delish.
This might be my favorite new offering this year, the pomegranate mule. It was ah-mazing. Seriously, such a yummy cocktail, and it tasted strong, so bonus. The rosemary is the perfect addition.
We of course tried the mac and cheese from the Holiday Duets booth, and it was just okay. It was a little bland and needed some salt for sure. It would have been vastly improved with a kick of spice like jalapeno, or just something a little more flavorful. But I do think this is a bigger portion than last year so that’s good.
The mac and cheese, pomegranate mule, and these adorable cookies are all at the Holiday Duets booth. I mainly got these cookies because they are so stinking cute, but they also tasted yummy!
And we obviously had to try the mimosa flight from the Making Spirits Bright booth. They were all delicious, but my favorite was the white cranberry. I would drink that all day ery day.
I still have quite a few items to try before the Festival ends. Have you checked out the Festival yet? What should I try next?
