~ Totally Undeserving of the James Beard Award

~ Completely Undeserving of the James Beard Award ~

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Remain seated please; Permaneced sentados por favor

This post is a bit of a departure for me, as I am not blogging specifically about anything I have cooked, but rather a combination of two subjects I like…one is still cooking and the other is Disneyland.  And please see the quiz to the right -->

Growing up in So Cal, my family often visited Uncle Walt’s little backyard playground many times a year. Sometimes my brothers and I were fooled by our parents...”get in the car, were going to drive aimlessly around for hours on end looking at houses”. At least that’s what I heard, I am not sure if that is what they said. But on rare occasions…because if they did it too many times we wouldn’t get tricked…they would say those words, we pile in the Ford LTD and off we go. What seemed like weeks of driving non-stop, we would get near the Magic Kingdom, maybe my brothers weren’t fooled as easily as I...someone would blurt out: “I see the Matterhorn!”  Those many visits combined with a few trips with my high school marching and jazz band to play and march inside the park and my stint in the summer of 1980 as a dishwasher at the now (and sadly) defunct Tahitian Terrace make it an extra special place.
Nice Prices!

I am sure there are people who could care less about food at Disneyland, some who eat their way though the park and some are in between. I am the latter. For me there are a few places that are in my mind, unique experiences or opportunities. My big bro and sis would probably vote for Club 33 as their most memorable spot, but you have to know some who knows someone to get in, but here are a bunch of pictures in case you were wondering whats inside.

Right off the bat, it would have to be the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square as my hands down winner for most memorable spot to grab some grub at the park. The cool atmosphere…out of the heat in a sit down restaurant being waited on. Monte Cristo.  Those two words bring salvation, salivation and a salutation to the chef. Crunchy, cheesy…just don’t eat too many unless you are a quart low on oil. They are also offered across the “street” from the Blue Bayou at Café Orleans, a bit cheaper at $17 versus $25 at B.B. but you won’t get the atmosphere. Someone has to pay for the fire-fly’s wages! A monte cristo is pain to make, I have tried a couple of times but here’s the recipe.

Next on my list would have to be a churro. Basically a long donut rolled in cinnamon and sugar. You can find them other places, even Costco but why take the fun out of someplace special?

A lot of people are crazy for the Dole pineapple whip served up at the Tiki Juice Bar, next door to the Enchanted Tiki Room entrance (left side of the picture under the Adventureland sign), to be honest I have never had one but a lot of people sure like them.

Another spot I like is the Bengal Barbecue also in Adventureland. They sell a few items at this grab and go place, most notably a few skewers, cheap and different.
















What I don't recommend and luckily you won't be able to do this anymore, is to drink an entire serving of Welch's grape juice and immediately ride the Tea Cups with your high school buddies, spinning somewhere around 12,000 RPM, but the Fantasyland juice stand closed in 1981, however you can still flirt with danger with some other treat and the Tea Cups!

Who hasn’t made Mickey Mouse pancakes? Who has had them at Disneyland? On road trip a few years back we went to Disneyland for 3 days and were able to slow down and enjoy many things it’s hard to do in a one-day-er. We got up, got to the park and went straight to…no, not Indy…no not Big Thunder, but to the River Belle Terrace in Frontierland for pancakes!...looking out over the Rivers of America as the Mark Twain chugs by.

Many times we would grab lunch at the Hungry Bear in Critter Country. Nothing special about the menu, just typical burgers and chicken, but the reason we like it is it's next to the river, it's quite-er, out of the way at the end of the road so to speak and we have always been able to find a table. 



Well, those are my top choices!...and remember to...





2 comments:

  1. If you're going to repost one of my photos, you could at least leave the photo credit on there.

    ReplyDelete