out and about: disney california adventure food & wine festival '24

It’s time once again, for the annual trek to disney for the california adventure food and wine festival.

If you remember, last year was my first trip specifically for the festival (I mean, don’t kid yourself, it’s not like we didn’t ride, rides, or have some fun of the non-kid variety).

We went up a day early, and enjoyed the parks, tried some different spots, and even found some new drinks. But by far the best part was our festival planning sesh. We looked up different reviews, consulted our review from last year, and drafted a specific game plan for what we most wanted to do.

As it’s early days still… feel free to taste along with us, or use our opinions to formulate your own game plan.

hollywood lounge:

mule flight: whiskey mule, kiwi tequila mule and prickly pear vodka mule

Hollywood backlot is always a fav. Year ‘round. Festival not withstanding.

Us adults love grabbing a drink while the kiddos hit up the animators academy; or we sneak in to monsters via the buddy pass.

They also notably have flights. Which are a great way to try their drinks, without commiting.

And in this case, dealing with kiwi and vodka allergies… there was one for each of us, and one for us to split.

I was the sole taster of the kiwi mule- which, considering it was the tequila mule, would be my jam anyway. Tequila being my hard alcohol of choice. Definitely need to stir this one, and it’s very ginger forward - which, you want, in a mule. It was almost more ginger forward than kiwi - which, as someone who’s not a huge sweet drink fan, worked in my favor.

I didn’t try the prickly pear, since it was the vodka mule, and I can’t do vodka… but the feed back was that it was super fruit forward, most definitely prickly pear with a “purple” after taste.

The bourbon mule was a seriously classic mule, hint of ginger, and a unwarranted, but totally worth it sprig of mint.

earth eats:

impossible beef stroganoff: egg noodles tossed in a mushroom cream sauce with impossible™ beef and sour cream

So, I’m always weary of trying impossible products. Not ‘cause i have an issue with eating meatless - not gonna be a lifestyle decision, but i love my veggies. But after reading several positive reviews, this was a definite must try dish.

Right out of the gate, this dish was cold. Which is always going to be hit or miss, in these kids of food festivals. They prep a certain number of plates, so they are always at the ready, and no one has to wait. I’ve come to accept that, and have moved along. It’s all about the flavor profiles.

In this case, the sour cream was on the top, as were the scallions. It wasn’t so much a stroganoff, as it was a deconstructed stroganoff. I was more of a fan of this one, but we both agreed that the mushrooms were the star… and, in fact, if they wanted it to be vegetarian, they didn’t need the impossible meat… just do all mushrooms.

watermelon cucumber mojito: white rum, watermelon liqueur, mojito & cucumber syrups, watermelon purée and lime juice, topped with topo chico®, and garnished with a watermelon spear with tajín® twist

So this drink reminded me of thecollins at grand californan craftsman grill; you know… the one i loved so much i’ve made a home version for y’all..

In this case, there was a little heat at the back. The watermelon spear with tajin was yummy, even for those of us less excited about tajin. The watermelon spear made it more sangria like, especially when dunking the spear in the drink… which totally added more flavor thanks to the spices. Honestly, while the drink was excellent, the spear was the best part.

la style:

carnitas - style pork belly: with esquites corn mac salad featuring tajín® habanero

So, just to state the obvious… it’s obvious at this point that tajin is a sponsor of the festival… which is better for some of us than others.

Last year, there was a similar dish at the same booth. It was a glazed bbq pork belly with furikake-togarashi mac salad… the mac salad was mayo forward, and we loved it for that.

So here, we have the same to flavor combos, but in a very different presentation.

Right off the bat, the mac, was a cold mac salad. Definitely spice, and smokey… but not overpowering.

The pork belly could have been more tender, but the fatty parts wasn’t too fatty… and it all worked together really well.

Clearly the combo is worth trying, even with a different flavor profile.. as it’s been 2 out of 2 years for us.

golden dreams:

peach cobbler cocktail: moonshine, peach & amaretto liqueur, peach nectar, condensed milk, vanilla & cinnamon syrups and lemon juice, garnished with frozen peaches

Who remembers the passion fruit rum cocktail fiasco of last year. You know… the drink we couldn’t drink because it was… to put it nicely… horrible?

Yea, so this drink, was that. And more.

We saw several people sending it back, or refusing to drink it.

It was way too cream forward… even though I could see that that was supposed to be the play on melted ice cream, from a peach cobbler. It tasted like canned peaches, not fresh… and the spice, which is where the “crust” comes in? was totally lackluster, not subtle, but not good. This is definitely a skip.

nuts about cheese:

bbq pulled pork mac and cheese: with crispy dill pickle onions

We found the mac and cheese to be super traditional, almost velvetaesq… it reminded me so much of when kraft mac and cheese, added the creamy version, instead of the powdered cheese? Definitely a processed feel- but also disturbingly nostalgic.

There were crispy elements, but we didn’t taste the pickle in them.

The pork itself, was tender, the bbq sauce was on the sweeter side, and the fat was perfectly rendered… which I would imagine is hard to do in this type of situation… but they did it. And did it well.

uncork california:

springtime bouquet mimosa flight: chrysanthemum mimosa: prosecco, rock melon & chrysanthemum syrups and lemonade; hibiscus rose mimosa: prosecco, hibiscus tea and rose syrup; apricot lavender mimosa: prosecco, apricot purée and lavender syrup

So, if you’ve followed along for any period of time.. you know a mimosa is my jam… and a flight to try mimosas? Yes please.

Although, I have to admit, I’m so not a floral person, so I was slightly hesitant to try…. but yeah, glad we did. Definitely not too floral.

The chrysanthemum basically tasted like lemonade with a kick. Which is not a bad thing.

The hibiscus wasn’t too floral at all, it reminded me of a cranberry/raspberry mimosa we have at a local pub around here. (Shout out public house).

The apricot lavender was most definitely apricot. In fact, so much so that it reminded me of the coffee cake I make for thanksgiving/christmas every year… total hint of almond, which makes sense, since almond extract is actually made from apricot pits….

scharffenberger cellers, brut excellence

Y’all know me. I’m a bubbles girl through and through. I have wanted to try this particular wine for a while. And man… I am so glad we did. Super dry. Slight hint of sweet at the end… but really a great sparkling.

smokejumpers grill:

pastrami fries: crinkle-cut fries topped with cheese sauce, pastrami, sjg sauce and pickles

Yeah, so not one of the festival booths… but one of the festival specials located inside of smoke jumpers. Might have been one of my favorites of the whole day.

Kinda tasted like a big mac on steriods… even without intentionally trying to do so.

Fries were cripsy, but soft inside. Pastrami was more sweet and almost tasted like a smokey bacon.

The sauce was a ketchup forward thousand island. The cheese was reminiscent of the velveta mixture we found at nuts and cheese.

d*lish:

carbonara garlic mac & cheese: featuring nueske’s® applewood smoked peppered bacon

We tried this dish last year at the garlic kissed booth. While we enjoyed it last year, we mused that the bacon was extra peppery, and smoke flavor forward. None of those issue distracted us from the dish however.

This year, the dish was highly improved. While there was heat from the peppered bacon and chili flakes, it was not over powering, it was a good heat. The bacon was also smokey - but unlike last year it didn’t feel like liquid smoke was added, it felt authentic.

This was our favorite mac. The cheese didn’t taste like boxed cheese. It tasted like a mild white cheese, authentically grated and added. The shredded parm, bread crumbs and parsley were the perfect compliment. And rounded out the dish perfectly.

I’m hoping it will be on next years food list as well. I’ll definitely go for a third go ‘round.

olive oil cake: glazed with lemon curd and topped with vanilla bean chantilly, finished with fresh candied lemons, strawberry crunch and lemon-lime gelée

To start with. The gelee was completely superfluous.

The cake itself was super dense. The lemon flavor was good, but it really felt more like a sara lee poundcake with some lemon flavored glaze.

I’m still not sure what the strawberry crisps were all about.

This is definitely a dish that can be skipped without any worry.

garlic kissed:

grilled top sirloin: with roasted garlic-gruyère smashed potatoes and black garlic chimichurri

Let me start by saying this dish was so much better than it looks. And it looks nothing like the pictures online that advertise it.

I am happy to say that tastes nothing like it looks.

The meat was not sliced sirloin it was in chunks.

There was a little off-taste to the potatoes, but I think it’s the abundance of red wine vinegar in the chimichurri, that bleed into the potatoes.
The peppers added good heat, and a sweetness that balanced out the vin.

This was a perfect bite, especially if you got all components together. That was the real star of the dish.

guava-lychee mule: vodka, guava nectar, ginger & lychee syrups and lemon juice, topped with guava cider and garnished with a lemon wheel

It was super refreshing, super guava forward, not too ginger heavy… which worked really well here.

It was not, however, as pretty as the picture in the booklet.

peppers cali-ente:

chile relleno empanada: with arbol pepper salsa, oaxaca and cotija cheeses

All the chili relleno vibes here. And loved how crispy the empanada was. The sauce was spicy… and you really didn’t need as much as put on it… but the cheese did cut the heat.

All in all, I’d do this one again. And I’m not even a huge empanada fan.

shrimp papas locas: cheddar-bacon potatoes with jalapeño cheese sauce and chipotle shrimp

Total mixed review here. The shrimp was super fishy and quite rubbery. Pretty much inedible. We left it alone.

The potatoes could have been a little more crispy, but could have totally stood alone with the bacon, and what we surmised to be nacho cheese sauce. It could have be a great vegetarian dish.

Definitely didn’t need the shrimp at all.

california craft brews:

cheese burger bao: thousand island dressing with grilled onions, pickle and tomato relish

We had really high hopes for this one. Prolly because one of our favorite double date night spots is at a tiki speakeasy where they have a pig mac - which is a play on a big mac, with pork, in a bao, with all the special everything…

This was not that. (but do not fear, my knock-off version is coming soon)

The bun was cold, which made the meat less exciting. We had already tried the pastrami fries- and found them to be more cheeseburger/big mac flavored than the bao.

It was just okay. But again, I don’t know if that’s just because we’ve tasted similar and loved it, and had high expectations for the same flavor bomb.

Totally could skip this and go straight to the pastrami fries, for the same expected flavor profile. Which I totally recommend.

cluck a doodle moo:

cheese pizza-flavored wings: with ranch dip

So last year, we loved the smoked honey-habanero chicken wings - if you remember, so much so, that I created my own version, based on our astute observation that they tasted just like they were breaded with mesquite bbq potato chips.

Needless to say, we were excited to try the new wing iteration. And we weren’t disappointed. Wings were crisp, and the chicken fully cooked (on all but one drumette) which, is my gold standard for wings.

In terms of seasoning.. it was definitely a pizza flavor, but not overwhelmingly so. Just subtly done.

While I’m not running home to recreate these, I don’t think they were bad, and can attribute the under cooked drumette to the sheer size of it.

Last years were definitely superior, but I’m so down to keep tasting the yearly wing iteration.

Also, if you like wings - i’d totally recommend. Especially if you are a fan of the season forward and not messy wing.

bbq brisket slider: with smoked white cheddar and dill pickles on salt & pepper brioche

So last year, the sandwich was a bbq beef brisket slider featuring fiscalini farmstead smoked cheddar with dill pickles on salt and pepper brioche. Minus the cheese, pretty much the same flavor profile…

Except for not. We loved last years flavor profile, especially the crispy onions that weren’t included in the description but made the dish. However we lamented the oversized bun, that took away from the bite as a whole.

This year… the whole thing seemed simply elevated. The bun was so much more in proper proportion to the meat.

Overall, it tasted so much better than it looked. We thought it would be dry. It was not. Felt more like pastrami, v/s brisket. Definitely needed the pickles, could have used more, to balance out the flavors.

Better than last year, and excited to see what another year does, if they keep it around.

All in all, our second go ‘round at the food and wine festival was a win. I think we had an even better idea of what we wanted to try; what we could avoid, and how to read between the lines on the initial reviews coming out of the park.

All this to say… I think next year, is going to blow it all out of the park.

And while we didn’t try everything… I think we have a decent handle on some of the must tries and must avoids.

Hopefully, our missteps and wins can help guide some of your choices, as you attempt to navigate through the festival.