It’s back! The Disneyland Food & Wine Festival is Happening NOW until April 23rd. I went for two days to track down all the best food and drink I could get my hands on so if you’re planning on a trip you know what to get.
First things first, the Sip & Savor Pass that they offer is the way to go. If you’re an Annual Passholder it’s only $49 and gets you 8 tickets to be used on any food or non-alcoholic beverages from the participating vendors. There are a total of 14 different festival marketplaces to try and I managed to sample from 10 of them. I did buy quite a few alcoholic beverages and I think we bought one extra sirloin slider at the end because they were just THAT good.
If you’re looking to max out your Sip & Savor pass I recommend saving it to use on higher ticket items above the $6.50 range. Anything cheaper is a waste of your pass. Also as far as sampling strategies go, I suggest starting at the beginning of the Festival Marketplaces near Carthay Circle and working your way around there. I will note that one marketplace is off on it’s lonesome near the Monster’s Inc ride, LA Style. Don’t skip this one! It’s got some gems!
So let’s start there shall we? One of our favorite drinks of the whole festival is at the LA Style Booth. This Tiki Cocktail has Aged Rum, Falernum, Bitters, Lime and Grapefruit Juices with a Mint Sprig and Luxardo Cherry Garnish. Basically a vacation in a cup! It paired wonderfully with the juicy and tender Asian-style Beef Barbacoa Tacos. They had pickled ginger on them instead of onions which I never would have thought to put on a taco before but I loved the flavor!
The LA Style Marketplace is also near another fun part of the Food & Wine Festival, the Chef Kitchen Stage. We managed to capture a fun demonstration by the official Disneyland Food & Wine Festival host herself, Chef Daniella Malfitano. I just loved her energy on stage and even had a chance to chat with her afterwards, she’s such a sweet person. I even snagged her grilling cookbook that I can’t wait to put to good use!
Next, we wandered to the Uncork California Marketplace, where it’s all about the wine and cheese! You know I love a good cheese board so I went with the California Artisan Cheese Selection. It had Fiscalini White Cheddar Handcrafted California Cheese, Dried Apricots, Grapes, Crackers, Nuts and Candied Pineapple. Grab a mimosa flight with it for a treat that will have people asking you what you’re eating and where you got it from. No….seriously….I’m pretty sure 4 different people stopped to ask where I got this from while we were eating it!
The mimosa flight has three different flavors, Hibiscus Mimosa, Tropical Mimosa and Mixed Berry Mimosa. My favorite was the Tropical Mimosa but they were all nice. Jarod was honestly surprised how much alcohol was in them because they don’t look like much but they pack a little punch.
For our next magic trick I’m going to show you a burger from the Avocado Time Marketplace that’s not really a burger...it’s an IMPOSSIBLE Burger! Not sure what is? Well, if you’re vegetarian this is the burger for you! Honestly even if you’re not a vegetarian I think you would love this burger. It tasted more like meat than any vegetarian burger I’ve ever had. Plus all that beautiful guacamole and pepper jack cheese were just the perfect finishing touch. Two thumbs up!
Ok, on to our next marketplace! At Peppers Cali-Ente you can order another item that I received multiple questions about while walking around with it, the Jalapeño-Lime Margarita. It’s not as spicy as it sounds but I loved this drink! Just the right balance of spicy and sweet to make your lips tingle a little. Would happily order these again.
Now this next item is one that I was told I had to order by multiple people so I knew it had to be good. The Pepperoni Pizza Egg Rolls with Marinara and Pesto Sauce. You can find them at the California Craft Brews marketplace. Trust me, all of those people were correct to recommend them. They might not look like much but they are delicious. It makes sense that you would find them at the marketplace with tons of beer options because it’s the perfect beer or bar friendly food!
This next Festival Marketplace was probably one of my favorites. Cluck A Doodle Moo. Yep, you read that correct, Cluck A Doodle Moo is where you will find the savory Harris® Ranch Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider. It’s slathered in a fresh Chimichurri Sauce that’s bound to excite your taste buds. This was the only item we went back for twice, so do yourself a favor and order it when you go!
Another item you have to try from Cluck A Doodle Moo are the Salt and Vinegar Parmesan Chicken Wings. They were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. What more could you want from a chicken wing?
Our next stop is the Garlic Kissed marketplace, where surprisingly the only thing I ordered was a sweet. This Chocolate Crunch Cake was like biting into fluffy, creamy bits of chocolate heaven. Plus it’s adorable! I didn’t order any other sweets but this one is a must try. It does cost $5.50 so I paid cash for it and saved one of my pass tickets for another booth.
The next door neighbor to Garlic Kissed is Off The Cob. Here you can find the Shrimp Boil Tacos. I knew they had to be good because the first time we tried to buy them they had sold out! Thankfully the next time we came back they were available again. These tacos didn’t only have shrimp but they were also packed with corn and andouille sausage. A unique taco combo I’d never had before but definitely enjoyed.
Last but not least we made our way to the far end of the festival which pretty much ends at the Paradise Garden Grill. However they do have a separate Festival Beer Garden close by that we ventured to as well. It’s strictly alcoholic beverages and some pretty fancy ones at that. I tried the Twisted Horn Blue Cloak Mead, from Vista. It tasted like blueberries! Pretty potent too for a sweeter drink. Jarod ordered the Founders Brewing Co., Backwoods, Bourbon Barrel-aged Scotch Ale, from Michigan. I think he thought it would taste more like bourbon but really it tasted more like Guiness. It wasn’t bad, just not the flavor profile he was expecting.
To finish everything off we got what I consider to be the “secret menu item” of the Sip & Savor Pass. The Large Soft Pretzel with Beer Cheese Dipping Sauce. It is not listed on any of the passport information that you can use your tickets on this but you can! This was the perfect item to chow down on next to the Beer Garden. I’m a sucker for pretzels and beer cheese!
Well, are you guys hungry yet? Packing your bags? Ready to drive to Disneyland? I hope this blog is a helpful guide for your next Disneyland foodie adventure! If you miss out on the Food & Wine Festival don’t worry, I have other sections on my blog dedicated to more Disneyland foodie knowledge so be sure to check those out as well!
If you do head out to the festival before it’s over please tag me in your photos on Instagram so I can see what you enjoyed most! See you real soon!
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