Buena Vista Street: Carthay Circle Theatre (Restaurant)

The center point in Buena Vista Street is without a doubt, Carthay Circle Theatre. It is at the end of the street and looks like a church. The top can be seen from almost all over Disney California Adventure.

It is a replica of the original Carthay Circle Theatre where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had its world premiere, complete with blue carpet.

Here in Disney California Adventure, though, it is not a theatre but a lavish restaurant complete with bar and lounge that is ready for the stars.

The second level is the dining area and it is just as magnificent, if not more so, then the first floor.

The place setting. There are two 'C's in the middle of the plate.

The menu cover with a painting of the original theatre.

Ceiling with a mural of Snow White's forest.

The food is fine dining and the prices are around $30+ per person, but it is ridiculously delicious and worth every penny. They have menu items that no other theme parks would even dare to have and it is nothing ever seen at Disneyland before.

To drink, they had several specialty drinks and one of them was the rose petal soda. I like the flavour of rose and it was also intriguing so I ordered that. It came with a sugared rose petal, which is a weakness of mine, and the soda itself was light and floral. This is how I described it to my friend who was with me- and frankly, it was the same way she described it- "It tastes like rose, but it's pretty good".

The flavour of the rose wasn't too over powering it was just enough that you know you are drinking rose but it wasn't like you were drinking perfume or soap.

Even the bread and butter before the meal was elegant. Usually they have bread and butter balls but the butter came out in a slice on a small plate so that you tell that it did actually come from a stick of butter. That made me happy even though I couldn't eat the bread.

My friend and I shared the summer strawberry salad and it was amazing. It had mandarin oranges, chicken, jicama, and strawberries with some mixed greens. The only complaint was that for it being a strawberry salad there weren't that many strawberries, but I didn't mind. The chicken was well cooked and shredded, and there was a basic dressing on it but on the bottom of the plate there was this sauce, I don't know what was in it, but it complimented the chicken perfectly.

For the main course, both of us got the quail because it just sounded amazing and I've always wanted to try quail. The plate had two quails stuffed with bacon wrapped apricot with a side of green beans on top of a puree that tasted like cheesy grits but didn't have the texture so I have no clue what the puree was.

The quail was perfectly cooked and the skin was crispy. The sweetness of the apricot and the salty from the bacon helped bring out the tartness that was in the sauce underneath. And since you get two of them you do get your money's worth.

The side of green beans and puree was addicting and heavenly. The green beans were sautéed and cooked through and then there is that puree that I saved for the end because I wanted the best for last. If I could I would eat bowls of that stuff I would.

Overall, I was extremely happy with my experience at the Carthay Circle Theatre. Where I wish I would be able to go in there and watch Snow White, the food definitely made up for it. I will be returning in the future...when I have the money to do so.

-Charlotte

Carsland: Cozy Cone Motel [2]

I took that photo on June 15th, and yes, it was very crowded.

That night, my friends got Big Red's Apple Freeze from the Conecoction cone (the one selling little pretzel bites) and I got to try some. There is this foam on top that I've heard mixed reviews about, but I liked it and thought it was something different and unique. The rest of the drink is an apple cider slush. Not like the apple slush from the Bug's Land Juice Box, this one tastes like apple cider as opposed to apple juice.

The only problem they had was that it was just too sweet, so that's why I got to finish it off. Between the three of us, we were able to finish it but one person alone would not be able to handle that much sweetness.


The other drink I've had a few times now, is Ramone's 'Pear-of-dice' soda. It comes from the Churro cone that sells chorro bites and a cinnamon chocolate sauce.

Because it's purple, I've had a friend swear it was a berry soda, but from the name and the flavour I'm getting, it's a pear soda that just happens to be purple in colour. My guess is that it is purple because Ramone is purple. It is really good and really unique, it isn't anything you've tasted before, which is one reason I like it so much. The other reason is because it's just so darn tasty. It does taste like pear, but is also light and not too sweet.

 

-Charlotte

Downtown Disney: Haagen-Dazs

Ever been in Downtown Disney and seen that tiny little ice cream shop with the giant ice cream cone on the outside that just looks so delicious? Well, I finally got some. I was with friends Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and we went there every single night. It was only on Sunday when I broke down and got something.

They have these new sundaes called Dazzlers and there are different flavours with things tossed in: Mint, Dulce, Banana Split, Rocky Road, and one other that I can't remember. I almost got the dulce one because the mint one had cookie crumbs in it but I asked if I could get it without the cookies and the nice man said yes then asked if there was something else I wanted in its place. Of course! I got chocolate sprinkles because sprinkles make me happy and that was a very rough weekend for me.

So I had the mint dazzler with chocolate sprinkles- a lot of them- instead of cookie crumbs and it was delicious. Cool and minty, but also with plenty of chocolate and creamy ice cream. I'm not going to lie, that was my dinner that evening. The cost was about $6 so it was cheaper than Ghirardelli too.

-Charlotte

Disneyland Hotel: Tangaroa Terrace

Located at the Disneyland Hotel right by the pool, are Trader Sam's and The Tangaroa Terrace.

You can find the pool by the incredibly fun Monorail Slides:

The building looks like a tropical get-away and it pretty much feels like that on the inside as well.

There isn't really much on the menu, the entirety is made up of salads and burger. When you walk in, there are little touch screen menus to place your order then you move to the cashier to pay.

The two things that I can get there that are gluten and soy free are the two sides: sweet potato fries and a green papaya salad. So that's what I got.

The green papaya salad was wonderful and full of flavour. There was lettuce, tomato, celery, papaya, and yellow bell peppers all tossed in a dressing that wasn't over powering and there was just enough of it to coat and add flavour.

I love sweet potato any thing, especially fries. These ones were okay, they didn't have that much salt on it, and while I don't like too much salt on my sweet potato fries I would like a bit more because it does help draw out the flavour.

Overall, slightly sad that the only things that I can get from Tangaroa Terrace are the sweet potato fries and the green papaya salad but they are both rather tasty.

-Charlotte

Downtown Disney: ESPN Zone

Just a few weekends ago, I found myself spending my entire weekend at Disneyland and Downtown Disney. I'm not going to get into details, just know that I was eating at a bunch of new places in that one weekend alone. The first place was ESPN Zone- you know the giant building across from the movie theatre with the sports players on it and their heads move? Yeah, that's the place.

The outside looks huge, and the inside is a maze of confusion that does not look as big as one initially thinks. When you walk in, there is a bar area to the left and stairs that lead up to the arcade area, then in the back is the dining area and that's where we were. There is a giant screen surround by smaller screens all playing a variety of different sports. For some reason when we sat down, the Olympics weren't on, even though we know that's NBC territory, but still. However, later on they did come on and that's what we watched. We had a party of 6 so we sat a booth and each booth had their own touch screen television so we could watch what we wanted.

The food was generic bar food: sandwiches, steak, burgers, and deep fried things.

I ended up getting the steak salad just because I wanted protein but a salad, so it was the perfect choice. The cost was $17 and it was a large salad so the price was reasonable, just the flavours weren’t. I ended up adding salt and pepper to everything from the salad to the steak as everything was very bland, but it didn't help very much.

Like many other dishes I’ve had while in Downtown Disney, regardless of the restaurant, the food was not terribly impressive. It’s only good quality was that it did fill me up.

-Charlotte

Buena Vista Street: Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe

The brand new entrance to Disney California Adventure is known as Buena Vista Street, designed to look like California in the 1920's when Walt Disney first came to the West Coast with just a suitcase and $40. Part of the expansion that debuted on June 15th, has many shops and great snack and dining locations that is the parks new equivalent of Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A.

Towards the end of the street, you can find a cafe called Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Cafe. Now they do sell Starbucks here, but it is not Starbucks. The cafe is named after the three little pigs from the classic Disney short and not after some giant coffee chain.

The menu has food such as sandwiches and various other cafe snacks. I do not know what is gluten free there yet though. The only time I went was after work on June 15th and my friends and I got drinks. They don't have every drink that a regular Starbucks would have to offer, but they have the basic menu.

They also have really cool Disneyland Parks cups.

Pretty much, if you like Starbucks then you're golden. If not then why not get a Disneyland coffee or hot chocolate. Personally, I wouldn't go all the way to Disneyland to get Starbucks, I would get a specialty drink from Jolly Holiday or the Market House on Main Street, but that's just me.

-Charlotte

Carsland: Flo's V8 Cafe

 Flo's V8 Cafe offers a classic diner menu, as well as ugly pies. Ugly pies are funky shaped pies inspired by pies that John Lasseter found when he took a road trip down Route 66.  For those that do not know, Cars was born from a family trip Lasseter took with his family on Route 66, so many things from the Cozy Cones to the ugly pies, came from this trip.

Flo’s is a very classic 50’s diner and it has that theme with a Cars twist throughout the entire restaurant with seating both indoor and outdoor.

I wasn't hungry when I went in, but I had to get something so I got a shake. I thought it was going to be like the shake from Taste Pilot's Grill, but it was so much better- possibly the best shake I've ever had. It was 'could barely get up the straw' thick, and it wasn't too rich or sweet. They have vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, and they come with 'road gravel' on top, which are basically malt balls, but you can ask for them to come without them, which I did because those have wheat.

I sat down inside in this back room where it was just windows and big 50's diner booths. The view was of Radiator Springs Racers so you could watch the action and enjoy your meal.

It was nice to just sit down and watch. There is even a giant rear view mirror on the wall so that those not facing the windows could watch.

The inside was amazing and if the food is like that milk shake I had, then I for sure will spend more time at Flo's...when it isn't so busy.

-Charlotte