food IS a theme park
Looking for an adventurous dining opportunity? Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen is hosting a special menu event on Thursday, November 17th, at 6:30pm.
Created by Executive Chef Darrin Finkel, the meal is titled “A Modern Twist on New Orleans Classics” and features 6 different courses.
Special Event Menu
Cost is $99 per person (tax & gratuity not included) and reservations must be made. For more information or to reserve your seats, please call the Jazz Kitchen directly at 714.776.5200.
Well, it’s that time of year already. Halloween is barely over and it’s time to start celebrating Christmas! I spotted this display at Marceline’s in Downtown Disney (Disneyland) on Friday, October 21st, before Halloween even hit. I love Christmastime at Disneyland, but please let me at least trick or treat first! (Note: You can likely find these treats in Disney World as well!)
The First Christmas Goodies are Here!
The Christmas goodies are only on one table so far, but my guess is that in just a week or two, the whole place will be bustling with holiday yumminess. I’ll of course do an in-depth report then. In the meantime, enjoy this [Read more…]
The walls have been up around the Plaza Pavilion for a few months now in preparation for the new Jolly Holiday Bakery, featuring a Mary Poppins theme, on Main Street USA in Disneyland.
Make Way for a Jolly Holiday
Both Carnation Cafe and Blue Ribbon Bakery are scheduled to close on [Read more…]
My family has been going to Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland every year since it first debuted at California Adventure six years ago for $15 a ticket.
Sleeping Beauty's Castle Glows Orange at Mickey's Halloween Party
The party has evolved over the past several years including a move over to Disneyland two years ago. It’s become bigger, better and more expensive! An amazing fireworks show, Halloween Screams, has been added, more dance areas have been added and even more trick or treat candy stops have been added. Even Space Mountain gets in on the event, transforming the ride to “Ghost Galaxy.”
Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy: Hold on to your hats!
Special events during Mickey’s Halloween Party include two showings of [Read more…]
Dining in Disneyland columnist Heather Sievers signed up for a fun Halloween Haunted Gingerbread House Making workshop in Downtown Disney Anaheim! Check out the spooooky results and then sign yourself up for this Sunday’s Workshop!
After reading about the event online, I decided to reserve a spot for my family at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen’s Haunted House Building Workshop in Downtown Disney. Building a messy candy house in someone else’s kitchen means no mess in my own kitchen!
(Note: If you are in the Disneyland area, you still have time to register for the October 30th [THIS SUNDAY] Haunted House Workshop. Call Bruno Duarte at 714.776.5200 from 10am-4pm on Friday, October 28th to make your reservation. More about this later!)
When I called for my reservation, I was told two things: bring a box to carry your house home in and bring “extra” candies and decor for your house. I really had no idea what to expect at this event, I just knew that it sounded pretty fun. A friend of mine also signed up for the workshop, so she was in charge of our “extras.” I will say right now that if it wasn’t for her, our houses would be pretty pathetic looking.
Unfortunately, I did not have my listening ears on when I made my phone call to reserve a spot, because in my mind the event started at 11:00. When we walked up to the podium to “check in” we were told it doesn’t start until 12:00, which is clearly visible on the poster in front of the restaurant… Oops. We figured with an hour to kill it would be a good time to head over to Jamba Juice for a smoothie.
Proof of a Noon Start Time
When we came back, we realized how serious people were about their Haunted House building. There were people with foil wrapped cookie sheets, special boxes, and bags and bags of goodies to decorate their houses with. My novice family lined up and marched up the stairs to where the workshop was taking place. This being only the second year of the Haunted House Workshop, there appeared to be an even mix of newbies and return professionals from [Read more…]
Dining in Disneyland columnist Heather Sievers reviews a brand new candy store in Disney California Adventure!
I guess I’m a little late to the fiesta, but I finally made it over to Dulce Aventura at Disney California Adventure. Located in the Pacific Wharf area directly next to Cocina Cucamonga, Dulce Aventura opened this past July.
Dulce Aventura
A cute little counter service treat stop, Dulce Aventura offers a limited but tasty menu. When we stopped to browse the menu, my boys and I were immediately offered samples. Samples? I questioned; Disney rarely gives samples. Of course we wanted samples!
Dulce Aventura Menu Board
We had the option of tasting the Snickerdoodle, a Chocolate Dipped Pretzel, or a piece of the Large Mickey Chocolate Chip cookie. I tried the Snickerdoodle, which was pretty tasty but a bit dry. I definitely prefer the [Read more…]
Dining in Disneyland columnist Heather Sievers reviews a fun Halloween-y evening: dinner at Storyteller’s Cafe followed by the Disneyland Happiest Haunts Tour!
Located inside The Grand Californian Hotel, Storyteller’s Café is usually one of our go-to breakfast/brunch stops. This trip, however, was for dinner. With tickets to the Happiest Haunts Tour in hand, we needed an early, low-key meal. We wanted to take care of business and get out of there so we could get over to California Adventure’s Tower of Terror to start our “haunting.”
Storyteller’s is known for its buffets. They have a breakfast/brunch buffet as well as a dinner buffet. But we opted for the menu/table service action this time around.
Dinner starts off with a bread basket overflowing with freshly baked cornbread muffins and loaves of white bread. And if you’re sitting at our table, there are usually mojitos involved. Our party included 3 adults and 2 children, so there were quite a variety of dishes to examine!
Mojito
The menu options are not aplenty, but as far as I can tell, there isn’t a bad one on the list. As a starter, I had the Charred Nebraska Corn Chowder. This soup is one of my favorites. It’s creamy, sweet and savory, full of chicken, and topped off with bacon. Yum!
Nebraska Corn Chowder
For my entrée, I chose the Margherita Flat Bread with grilled chicken. I do have to say that [Read more…]
Dining in Disneyland columnist Heather Sievers checks out one of Disneyland’s newest additions!
After a few months of being open, my family and I finally made it over to check out the Paradise Garden Grill at California Adventure. I’d actually been hearing pretty good things about the food there, and I’m excited to say that the things I’ve heard are true!
Nestled in between Goofy’s Sky School and Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta, the Paradise Garden Grill is a small counter service restaurant featuring Mediterranean eats. This place seems to be a hidden gem. I’ve never once seen a crowd lined up to order, but the folks I’ve talked to that have eaten there rave about it (except for the baklava, we’ll get to that later).
The outdoor seating at Paradise Garden Grill is shared with Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta, so there are tables aplenty. We’ve never had a problem finding a nice spot to sit in this area, even on a [Read more…]
Dining in Disneyland columnist Heather Sievers has a new crawl for those of you headed to Disneyland soon — all about the pumpkin!!
Not THAT Kind of Pumpkin...
Before I even start, I must apologize for the quality of these photos. I was having a very bad camera day; both my camera battery AND my spare were dead (oops) so I ended up using my phone to take photos. I knew I would not have another chance to work on this “Pumpkin Treats Crawl” before Halloween gets into full swing and I wanted to be sure you could hit the park for all of the pumpkin-y goodness!
Halloween time at Disneyland is most definitely my favorite time of the year. I love the spooky-but-sweet decor that seems to appear overnight. The Haunted Mansion’s transformation into Jack Skellington’s ominous world is always exciting, and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy adds its resident monster, Bob, to the ride as an added bonus. My absolute most favorite thing though? Pumpkin flavored treats.
Familiar Pumpkin Faces Line Disneyland's Main Gate
I’ve always been a pumpkin lover, and if there is something “pumpkin flavored” on any type of menu, I’m always game to give it a whirl. Every year at Disneyland I try and eat my way through their holiday specialties. This year, I’ve decided to compile them and create a “Pumpkin Treats Crawl” for you. Why should I be having all the fun, right?
Our crawl is going to start in Downtown Disney at Jamba Juice. This is actually one of my most favorite stops along our little trip. It gets you right in the mood for pumpkin yumminess.
Jamba Juice in Downtown Disney
Here, you’re going to pick up a Pumpkin Smash Smoothie. Consider this a “warm up” for the next leg of the trip, which takes place on Main Street USA. The Pumpkin Smash is [Read more…]
Dining in Disneyland columnist Heather Sievers shares a photo tour of her Disneyland Star Tours 5K route and brings us along to breakfast at Tangaroa Terrace after the race!
When, several months ago, I signed my family up for the Disneyland “Star Tours” Family Fun Run 5K, I didn’t really think that we’d actually be running. I thought it might be a fast walking, behind the scenes look at Disneyland & California Adventure’s backstage areas. You know, fast enough to burn a few calories, but slow enough to take photos?
An Early Morning Welcome
So, when my husband decided that the four of us were going to kick it into high gear and run, I got a little nervous — nervous that I was going to miss something cool as we jetted (exaggeration) through the course. At least I knew that I was running for rewards: a cool medal and some fun snacks, followed by my first breakfast at Tangaroa Terrace.
Our journey started early at the tram roundabout near the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure. A jedi master stood at the start line and wished us well, sending us off to the tunes of the cheery Cantina Scene [Read more…]
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