Disney California Adventure, Anaheim, CA

Hey there, folks!  A few days late and a few bucks brusque (considering we spent it devouring tasty food throughout the park), here is our recap of this year's Nutrient & Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure!  Yes, the most gastronomical time of the year at the Disneyland Resort is dorsum.  This year'due south Food & Wine Festival started earlier this calendar month and runs through Thursday, April 12.  That's half dozen weeks of foodie and boozy goodness, plus gourmet presentations and some fun entertainment.

Banners are all over the Resort, advertising this year's Food & WIne Festival.

Banners are all over the Resort, advertising this year'due south Food & WIne Festival.

Since its render 2 years ago, Food & Wine at California Adventure has settled into a familiar design that's even used for some of the park's other seasonal and cultural overlays.  The park has get a bit of an "EPCOT West," and information technology's appropriate that Food & Wine leads this direction, since it originated from EPCOT.

This fourth dimension of the year always sees a renewed energy at the parks.  The coming of leap brings fresh foliage and new life, and the Food & Vino Festival has reflected this in some of the cute planting used to decorate the various booths used for the special offerings and attractions.

The planters placed throughout the park reflect plantlife, herbs, and flowers native to the state.

The planters placed throughout the park reverberate plantlife, herbs, and flowers native to the land.

What is this, some kind of lemon pepper?

What is this, some kind of lemon pepper?

The flowers are nice too.

The flowers are nice as well.

The event is once over again scattered across areas of Hollywood Land, Pacific Wharf (along the principal path connecting Buena Vista Street to Paradise Pier) and Paradise Pier (soon to be Paradise Park).  There are celebrity chef seminars, cooking demonstrations, plenty of nutrient booths sampling modern takes on Californian cuisine, and alive entertainment.

A park map showing the extent of this year's Food & Wine Festival.

A park map showing the extent of this twelvemonth'southward Food & Wine Festival.

Lets encounter what's going on this yr!

AP Goodies & Festival Merchandise

As with whatsoever seasonal result, in that location is a wide pick of trade catered to Almanac Passholders.  Guests tin detect these located in the back of Hollywood Land, next to the Monsters, Inc. allure as well as in the Festival Marketplace along the Parade Corridor.  Glasses, mugs, shirts, hats, books, kitchen furnishings and more are all available.  There's an AP Photo Op past Stage 17, next to the old MuppetVision Theater too, for those interested.

The Sip and Savor Pass is also back this year for Almanac Passholders.  For $45, this provides tastings to (eight) food and non-alcoholic potable options, offering a savings over buying items one past i.  That is, of form, assuming you do the math.  Basically, the laissez passer is worth using for nutrient and drink items $v.75 or over, but non worth it for anything $5.50 and nether.  Almost desserts and beverages fall under the later category.  Most of the savory foods fall under the erstwhile.  The Sip and Bask Pass does not accept to be used all in one visit.  Passholders tin come up back and use the remainder of their tabs on a future visit--as long as it is earlier the festival ends.

There's plenty of full general Nutrient & Wine merchandise too.  Most of this is located forth a couple of booths on the Parade Corridor.  In addition, several independent 3rd political party vendors have set shop along the Festival Marketplace to sell their wares.  You tin can detect specialty candles, gourmet chili sauces, and herbal torso care products, for case.

Presentations

The festival also has a variety of culinary and dining exhibitions.  There are the celebrity chef experiences at the Hyperion Theater, which are already sold out for the year and typically run out well in advance of the bodily consequence.  But the park also offers cooking demonstrations, vino and beer lectures, fifty-fifty children'due south chef activities on a outset-come-first serve ground.  Some of them are also an upcharge, so check the DCA Food & Vino Festival page for more data.

The Food

Of course, the highlight of the Food & Wine Festival are all the specialty food items on display.  There are 13 booths located beyond Hollywood Land, Pacific Wharf, and Paradise Pier, plus a seasonal menu at Paradise Garden Grill.  The booths feature tapas sized items that are more than geared toward snacking (though, believe me, if you endeavour to indulge in all the booths in ane sitting, y'all'll still be very, very full--and your wallet very, very empty!).

Here are the menus for all of the food stands this year, plus the Garden Grill.  You tin can see that the prices remain fairly consistent with the by couple of years.  You're getting the theme park upcharge (information technology's hard to justify $8 for i slider, for example), just every bit I mentioned earlier, Annual Passholders tin can mitigate this by using the Sip 'northward' Savour Laissez passer.

We sampled a plethora of food items final Sunday for your nutrient porn viewing pleasance.  This yr features a lot of returning favorites, plus new items likewise.  The nutrient stands themselves are about half new in name, with many familiar themes coming from California-centric ingredients like cheese, avocados, garlic, and artichoke.  Food items and descriptions follow beneath, but our overall favorites included:

  • White Cheddar Lager Soup (CHOUP!! ...ish) @ California Craft Brews

  • Jalapeño Popper Mac 'northward' Cheese @ Peppers Cali-Ente

  • Avocado and Pepper Jack Petite Guacamole Burger @ Avocado Fourth dimension

  • Citrus-brined Pork Roast @ Citrus Grove

  • Fried Artichoke Carbonara @ I <3 Artichokes

  • Grilled Harris Ranch Beef Tenderloin Slider @ Cluck-a-Putter-Moo

  • Sweet Corn Nuggets @ Off the Cob

  • Black Garlic and Soy-braised Pork Belly Banh Mi @ Garlic Kissed

  • Chicken Teriyaki Slider @ 50.A. Style

  • Korean BBQ Beef Brusque Rib Tacos @ L.A. Style

Nosotros didn't get a risk to really try them, but the Strawberry and Coconut Rice "Frushi" @ Strawberry Patch and the Compressed Asian Cucumbers @ Swallow Your Greens were also supposedly highly regarded by guests we asked.

Besides dorsum is the Festival Beer Garden, located in the Boardwalk area next to Goofy'due south Sky Schoolhouse.  There are local and not-so-local craft beers for sale there.  These will be more exotic to people who are used to domestic beers.  For beer connoisseurs, you lot probably won't find anything you haven't heard of before.  Just nevertheless, information technology's nice to have expanded selections for booze!

Entertainment

One of my favorite aspects of the Food & Wine Festival (and other cultural events, like the Lunar New year's day Celebration and the Festival of Holidays) is how much entertainment there is for guests throughout the twenty-four hour period.  At stages located in Paradise Park and in the Paradise Garden Bandstand, guests can run across a variety of dissimilar musical performances multiple times a day, with styles ranging from jazz and swing to reggae and pop covers.  The schedule varies daily, so check at the park.  Here is just a small smattering of the performers available!

Jammin' Chefs

This is actually a role of official park entertainment.  The percussion-based prove features a group of "chefs" banging and rattling pots and pans to an energetic beat.  They're joined past Scrap 'due north' Dale, who make anything better, and they perform several times a twenty-four hours in front end of the obelisk at Paradise Pier, just across from the Little Mermaid ride.

Jammn' Chefs create a partying percussion of pots and pans adjacent to Paradise Park.

Jammn' Chefs create a partying percussion of pots and pans next to Paradise Park.

Phat Cat Swinger

Popular swing performers Phat Cat Swinger are dorsum at DCA.  These guys seems to regularly garner a oversupply, and their fun, upbeat melodies reinforce the festival atmosphere if the Food & Wine issue.  PCS can exist found at the Paradise Park stage, right forepart and eye.

Phat Cat Swinger does a variety of big band songs and even swinging Disney covers.

Phat True cat Swinger does a variety of large band songs and even swinging Disney covers.

They lend a cheerful buzz to Paradise Park.

They lend a cheerful fizz to Paradise Park.

Five Got Rhythm

Located in the Paradise Garden Bandstand, this snazzy quintet melds a diverseness of jazz rhythms and styles for a relaxing only head bobbing experience.

Five Got Rhythm perform at the Paradise Gardens Bandstand.

Five Got Rhythm perform at the Paradise Gardens Bandstand.

Tina Saldana Ring

One of the artists whose schedule stretches into dark, Tina Saldana and her band bring a medley of popular song covers from the past several decades.  From a disco medley to their iterations of song from big hit artists today, these 4 musicians bring a great attitude and beat to the Paradise Gardens Bandstand!

Tina Saldana lights up the night with her powerful vocals.

Tina Saldana lights upward the dark with her powerful vocals.

Her band provides a jukebox of hits across the past several decades.

Her band provides a jukebox of hits across the by several decades.

That wraps it up from this twelvemonth'southward Food & Wine Festival.  There's plenty of feel, and partaking in the activities can be something that lasts just an hour or two or all solar day, depending on what you want to do.  It's a great event, with a petty bit of everything, and a fantastic celebration of California potables and delectables!  Bank check it out before it ends on April 12!

Albert Lam

Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.