out and about: disneyland california adventure food and wine festival '25

Another year, another trip out to disney for the annual food and wine festival in california adventure. The thing I love about this festival, is that disney has no problem switching out almost all the food options every single year (unlike a certain other local festival that used to do that, but lately has not… waiting to see what’s on the docket for this year). The other thig I love, is that disney seems to read the blogs and reviews about their food and drinks. Solid choices make returns and changes are made to other dishes that were recomended by participants.

And just incase you don’t think we take this seriously… let me remind you we read reviews, consult our choices and reviews from previous years, and make a play. This is very serious business. Anything we can do to help you make your choices easier… and ours for next year as well.

california craft brews:

The last two years, we’ve loved the wings. In both of their iterations. Last year’s so much, I even created my own iteration. So we were very excited to try this year’s version. And who doesn’t love lemon pepper. Unfortunately we weren’t as excited about this year’s version. It was all lemon, and no pepper. But like previous years, if there is something disney does well, it’s cook chicken wings to perfection. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. And, if you removed some of the skin? The inside was perfect. It was just so lemon heavy. And not the sticky sweet and salty lemon you expect from lemon pepper. Would we eat them again? Perhaps… but just for the perfect cook. Will we try next year’s version? Absolutely. Definitely think they are worth they try though - just to see if we happened to get an overly lemon batch? Because again. Perfect cook.

garlic kissed:

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

This was one of our fav’s from last year, so we were excited to see it on the menu again. Clearly we would recomend getting this one again. Super refreshing, although a little more on the sweet side than I remember.

sirloin gruyere mac & cheese: with black garlic chimichurri and garlic butter crunch

There was a similar version last year… served over mashed potatoes, and without the garlic crunch. While we enjoyed last year’s dish… this year’s blew it out of the water. The beef was ridiculously tender, the blue cheese was not overpowering at all. While the pasta was over cooked, there was a great kick on the back end, the crisp added the perfect crunch, and a great flavor profile when you ate all components together.

It wouldn’t be my first choice to go back to… but would I try it again exactly as it? Absolutely. Definitely work the try.

golden dreams:

musubi fried rice: aulani resort-inspired steamed rice with egg, glazed spiced ham, umami mayo and furikake

So here’s where I have a few technical issues. 1) Musubi is spam. Not glazed ham. And as my co-taster has been to aulani… they don’t make their musubi with glazed ham, so not a nod. 2) Don’t put fried rice in the title, when this isn’t fried rice, but stick rice. Even if you specify in the description… if fried is in the title, it better be fried. This was more like a ham styled poke bowl than a play on musubi. Definitely needed more nori. We found the ham on it’s own to be on the salty side. A composed bite made it less so. Rice was well cooked, and the spicy aioi definitely added a needed touch.

It was a good dish - just needed a totally different, and accurate description so you know what you are getting yourself into.

la style:

western bbq burger bao: with sweet barbecue sauce, nueske's® applewood smoked bacon and crispy onions

Y’all know how much i love a good bao. Not to mention my love for all things western bacon flavored. So this combo was definitely intriging. I loved the flavor profile… it was exactly as promised. My only complaint was that there was just too much bun. But the bbq, the ground beef, the crispy onions… everything was on point. And, out of the two of us? I was the only one who wasn’t as jazzed about the bao ratio.

mini la street dog: with jalapeño mayo, pepper & onion relish and nueske's® applewood smoked bacon

Let’s just get this out of the way. This was my favorite bite of the whole festival. I would 100 percent get it again. And we did. One from each location, both award weiners and the la style booth. Obviously there was a slight difference in how each dog was plated, even at the same booth… but the highlights remained the same.

The dog itself was excellent - no plain ball park dog here. It tasted like really beef, and reminded me of my favorite tetons dogs. The bun was soft and pillowy. There was a kick to the mayo, but not an overly spicy kick. The fresh peppers and onions were like a fresh relish, and added a great touch. The crispy bacon added a crunch, but really wasn’t necesary to the dish.

The funny thing I realized was that if you combine both the la style dishes into one… you have my western bacon hot dog.

mercado de antojos:

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

Yet another repeat from last year. And another favorite we were obsessed with, so much so we went back for seconds. The watermelon and the cucumber create the perfect blend.

It still reminds me of my favorite colins form the grand californian craftsman - the one I made my own.

It’s light, refreshing, and it doesn’t taste artificial. No sugary after taste here - and definitely not too sweet. Would definitely come back for this over and over. In fact this could totally replace the seasonal margarita at bayside, the one that never changes despite the season. Keep this one year round.

birria mac and cheese: with onion-cilantro sauce and tortilla crunch

While the hot dog was my standout? This birri was liz’s favorite. It was the dish she would have again and again if she could.

The birria was tender and flavorful, melt in your mouth, fork tender and falling apart. The mac was unfortunately over cooked pasta (which seems to be a standing trend at food festivals), but the spice was great without crazy heat or overpowering flavor compared to the birria. We liked both the sauce and the tortilla chips, but did think the dish could use a little more of both, since the whole composed bite was fantastic, and you ran out of them way too soon.

peppers cali-ente:

corn chip chili pie featuring impossible beef: seasoned impossible™ beef, spicy cheese sauce, tomatoes, sliced jalapeños and crema

Year after year, we are consistantly impressed with the use of impossible beef, and the dishes within which it is incorporated into. This year was no exception.

We found the jalepeno slices supurflous. The nacho cheese gave quite the kick on its own. But the freshness that the peppers would provide would be most welcome. In a perfect world, I would tone down the nacho spice, and keep the jalepenos. Which as this was the bite that peeked my interest the most, in terms of making an at home version? I will be doing.

Also in the fresh category were the tomatoes. Loved them, would add more. Same with the crema. An additional amount would help break through the heat.

What I need to nail down is what they did with the “beef.” It was almost encased in an enchilada type sauce, which counter balanced with the nacho sauce, and made it feel even more pie like - or lasagna like, with the corn chips taking place of the pasta. Except with the added crunch of the chips. Which is a most impressive feat in and of itself.

pickle whiskey sour cocktail: bourbon, pickle juice, lime juice, sweet & sour, garnished with tajín® chile lime sauce, tajín® and a pickle spear

So chalk this up to recipes lindsay is going to try to make from home.

But here’s what you need to know if you are going to sample it at dca. You must like pickles. You must like tajin. But neither one are overpowering.

Also there’s an added bonus. Pickle juice help prevent and/or counter acts against leg cramps. And, after a long day walking around the parks, this is a fantastic plus. A drink, and a pain reliever.

uncork california:

mickey-shaped macaron made with snickers bar pieces: chocolate mickey-shaped macaron filled with caramel ganache, made with snickers® bar pieces

I mean snickers? And macaron? Kinda sounds like a match made in heaven, no? For me it was too sweet. But for other’s? Sweet is a good thing.

The macaron’s were perfectly made. Crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. I could have just had one plain. The real issue we found was that the incorporation of peanut butter was haphazard at best. There was some in parts of the chocolate filling, there was none in others. And the peanut butter lended the perfect savory note to the whole bite. It was really needed, and in a more uniform way. It totally helped to cut the sweet.

aunt cass cafe:

burrata toast: toasted sourdough, onion jam, burrata, tomatoes, arugula, and balsamic glaze

When my kids were little, their favorite disney treat was going to the boudin bakery (now aunt cass’s cafe) to get sliced loaf of sourdough to go, and to snack on during our visit.

While it’s no longer refered to as boudin, the sourdough is still the star. And that is also the case for this burrata toast.

It was an incredibly generous portion. It would make the perfect breakfast toast. The bread was fresh and tasty. Especially for those of us who love sourdough (hand raised). It was however, a little tough to cut. The burrata was not burrata per se, but actually stracciatella. The inside part of burrata, without the harder outer portion, and, what all the fancy restaurants are serving around here… why do all the extra work?

Loved the fresh arugula. And the tomatoes - would like more.

The onion jam was a great flavor punch, but sweeter than expected. And when coupled with the balsamic glaze… sweet on sweet. I would have the jam, but then just use balsamic vin as a drizzle, making a perfect sweet and sour balance.

paradise grill:

chicken taquito ahogado: served in salsa verde with spanish rice, avocado crema, sour cream, pickled onion, cotija, and cilantro

This was a great taquito. Just know, there are three, if you buy them. One if you use your sip and savor pass.

The pickled onions added great acidity. And the fact that it was served over rice and a salsa verde? Chef’s kiss. The tortilla was crisp, my children would all devour them. And even though I’m not a crazy cotija fan? The use here was fantastic and not overindulged. And the avocado crema and sour cream perfectly added without being overpowering.

As much as I would have liked “more” of things in some dishes, the use of restraint by disney, to not coat food in sauces, and to let ingredients speak for themselves, is impressive. And let’s be frank… it’s why we keep coming back, again and again.