Another 10 Day Dining Review with Pics! Completed!

[DLFan123]

Hello everyone and welcome back!!!

I'm Alyson, and I'm back to write my fourth dining review! My screen name (although dull and uninteresting) is pretty accurate. I'm a huge fan of Disneyland and have visited countless times. My DP is also a fan, and thanks to an awesome friend of ours who encouraged us to take our first Disneyworld trip back in 2011, we are now also huge fans of WDW in Orlando! We currently live in Denver, Colorado, but we get our fix of Disney in between trips by lurking around on the boards.

This dining review will cover all of the good, the bad, and the ugly food we ate while visiting Disneyland Resort last September 2013. Both DP and I are ovo-lacto-pescatarians, which means we eat eggs, dairy and seafood but no other meat. At home, we eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but on vacation, we tend to choose a lot more seafood simply because it gives us many more options than we'd have if we ate a strictly vegetarian diet. We took tons of food pictures, and enjoyed meals at restaurants such as Napa Rose, the French Market, Hungry Bear Restaurant and the Cove Bar. We also ventured into San Diego County and took plenty of pictures of that food also, so this review will cover our week of dining at the DLR as well as the 4 days we spent down south.

While in Anaheim, we did not stay on Disney property. Instead, we stayed at our all-time favorite hotel, the Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza Hotel. I've been staying there since I was just a wee tot, and by this time, it just feels like a trip to Disneyland isn't complete without a visit to the good old Hojo.

This review is late, but as you'll come to find out, we were very busy for the rest of 2013 and most of 2014! I look back so fondly at this trip, because something very special happened during our San Diego leg of the trip, and since then, we pretty much haven't had time to look back!

Arrival Day
Airport Meal-Einstein's
Snack in Hotel
Napa Rose Lounge Part 1
Napa Rose Lounge Part 2
Day 1
Hungry Bear Lunch
Rancho Del Zocalo Dinner
Fantasmic Dessert with Priority Seating
Day 2
Snack in DCA
Lunch at Flo's V8 CaféBoudin Bakery Tour
Dinner at the Cove Bar
Bakery Cart Snack
Day 3
Jolly Holiday Breakfast
Mickey and the Magical Map (plus snack)
Royal Street Veranda Lunch
Jolly Holiday Dinner
Day 4
Newport Beach and Charlie's Chili
Tortilla Jo's in DTD Part 1
Tortilla Jo's Part Dos
Day 5
Dole Pineapple Stand
French Market Lunch
DL Snack
Carnation Café
Day 6
L'Hirondelle (at Mission San Juan Capistrano)
L'Hirondelle Part II
Jay's Gourmet Seafood Part I (Carlsbad)
Jay's Gourmet Seafood Part II
Day 7
Breakfast (Beach Terrace Inn)
Harbor Fish (Carlsbad)
Snack
Day 8
Anthony's Fish Grotto (San Diego)
Cosmo Hotel!
Cosmopolitan Restaurant (San Diego) Part I
Cosmopolitan Restaurant Part II
Day 9
Cosmopolitan Complimentary Breakfast
Snack (Maritime Museum San Diego) and Anthony's Fish Grotto Take Two
Pier Café (Seaport Village and Old Town Candy)
Day 10
Breakfast on the Veranda at the Cosmopolitan Hotel
Cheers!

 

[DLFan123]

Even though it's just airport food, I can never resist getting my vacation started by taking pictures of it! It's become quite a tradition for us that we stop at the Einstein's Bagel in Terminal C at DIA prior to boarding our Disney trip flights, and this trip was no exception.

We had a morning flight, and they were still serving breakfast at Einstein's. I opted for the sandwich I always get, whether it's breakfast time or dinner time:

The egg white bagel thin sandwich with asparagus, mushrooms and swiss

Here is an inside shot:


Even though I normally *love* this sandwich, and it's such a nice, light way to start a vacation, today it just wasn't very good. It didn't have a lot of flavor and it seemed a lot greasier than usual.

DP strayed from her better judgment, and even though she wanted a bagel, she decided to get the southwestern egg wrap instead, minus the meat:

This was wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.

Here is a picture of the inside of the wrap:

To say that she didn't love this would be an understatement.

Overall, she thought it didn't have any flavor, and there was way too much egg in it for her. She said she'd never eat it again. In fact, she said she was probably pretty much done with Einstein's from that point forward (and even to this day, she's held fast to that statement!).

After our boring and unsatisfying airport meal, we were more ready than ever to get to DLR to start our eating journey! Coming up next, a snack at the hotel and a review of the Napa Rose Lounge!

 

[DLFan123]

After grabbing our rental car at John Wayne and heading up to Anaheim, we arrived at the Hojo pretty early for check in. To our delight, a room was ready for us, and within no time, we were pleased to be in it!


We thought it was a nice room.

And we had a nice pool view:

Unfortunately they were working on some landscaping, so a lot of the foliage had been removed. It wasn't a big deal to us, but it definitely didn't look as pretty around the Hojo as we were used to!

After unpacking, we decided to head to the little hotel shop for a snack, and we also made a quick run to Starbucks.


I decided to try Pop Chips, which was a first for me, and they were actually really really good! I always enjoy a nice Calfornia orange, too. Apparently I didn't take a picture of our Starbucks.

We spent the afternoon getting settled, making plans for the next several days, reading the local magazines and enjoying the AC in our room. It was a hot day! We didn't have any dinner plans and had originally thought we might dine somewhere on Harbor Blvd, but after talking it over, we decided to give the Napa Rose Lounge a try, since we'd never been and it was something we really wanted to do on this trip. No time like the present!

Around dinner time, we walked over to downtown Disney and into the Grand Californian. We'd never been inside the resort before, and there was a wedding about to take place. It was all so beautiful and romantic.

As we checked in to the lounge, we verified that we could order the complete menu in the lounge. We were seated at a nice little two-top by the windows.

We started our meal off with this:

I'm pretty sure this drink was called the "Vacation Starter" but I kept forgetting that and calling it "Vacation in a Glass" which is exactly what it was!

This was one of the best (actually *the best*) drinks I have ever had. The only unfortunate thing was that DP and I had decided to split it. Had I known how good it was going to be, there is no way I would have split it with her! They split it into two glasses for us, also, which just made mine seem way too small!
This drink was a delicious grapefruit flavored cocktail with plenty of liquor in it, but I truly don't remember what was in there. It was just the perfect marriage of grapefruit and other tastes!

We also had some nice, cold ice water:

Love the little cocktail napkins!

They brought out a basket of their signature breads:

I wrote down what these were, but I can't seem to find that.

There was some sort of crusty baguette, an onion and herbed roll, and then a crispy parmesan flat bread, like a really yummy cracker. They were all served with herbed butter. The breads, along with the delicious cocktail, had already won us over. We knew we were in for a real treat with our meals!

Coming up next, dinner and dessert!

 

[DawnH]

Great start to your reviews! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your Napa Rose dining along with all other experiences you had @ DL
PS: So happy I was the one to influence (good, bad ) into visiting WDW!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I'm in!! I've never read a DL dining report before, and I'm really looking forward to it. We're all set for our WDW trip next month, but we are also planning to go to Disneyland next July for the 60th anniversary! We're from NYC and have never been to California, so we are doing a while big trip to Southern California to see Los Angeles, Disneyland, the beautiful beaches, and San Diego. We will be moving around of course and end up staying in a few different hotels. The Hojo looks very nice. It's funny, because when I think of Hojo, I think of a cheaper motel style (I'm a complete hotel snob!), not a place that seems so nice! A definite consideration for our trip next July, although I'd prefer to be in a two-room suite that is also walking distance to the parks and DTD.

Can't wait to read more of your dining report!

 

[DLFan123]

I'm in!! I've never read a DL dining report before, and I'm really looking forward to it. We're all set for our WDW trip next month, but we are also planning to go to Disneyland next July for the 60th anniversary! We're from NYC and have never been to California, so we are doing a while big trip to Southern California to see Los Angeles, Disneyland, the beautiful beaches, and San Diego. We will be moving around of course and end up staying in a few different hotels. The Hojo looks very nice. It's funny, because when I think of Hojo, I think of a cheaper motel style (I'm a complete hotel snob!), not a place that seems so nice! A definite consideration for our trip next July, although I'd prefer to be in a two-room suite that is also walking distance to the parks and DTD.

Can't wait to read more of your dining report!

Glad to have you reading! I'm so excited for you that you'll be taking a longer trip to Southern California, because there is so much to see and do. For me, that's all part of a disneyland vacation. Just an FYI, hojo is walking distance to DL and Dtd! It is actually very close! Your comment about hojo is funny, because as a kid, the only hojo I'd ever been to was the Howard Johnson Anaheim plaza hotel. The first time I booked and attempted to stay in a hojo elsewhere, we made it one night and checked out the next morning. this is definitely a unique property! If you can stay on property, do it! But if you can't, I'd definitely choose the hojo over the other walking distance motels/hotels.

I know you will have such a good time no matter where you stay!

 

[DLFan123]

Great start to your reviews! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your Napa Rose dining along with all other experiences you had @ DL
PS: So happy I was the one to influence (good, bad ) into visiting WDW!

It's a good influence dawn! (But an expensive one)

Thanks for reading and I'll post more soon!

 

[princess aleya]

Great so far, looking forward to hearing more about your trip!!

 

[DLFan123]

Great so far, looking forward to hearing more about your trip!!

Welcome! Glad to have you reading along. I'll be posting the continuation of the Napa Rose dinner today!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Glad to have you reading! I'm so excited for you that you'll be taking a longer trip to Southern California, because there is so much to see and do. For me, that's all part of a disneyland vacation. Just an FYI, hojo is walking distance to DL and Dtd! It is actually very close! Your comment about hojo is funny, because as a kid, the only hojo I'd ever been to was the Howard Johnson Anaheim plaza hotel. The first time I booked and attempted to stay in a hojo elsewhere, we made it one night and checked out the next morning. this is definitely a unique property! If you can stay on property, do it! But if you can't, I'd definitely choose the hojo over the other walking distance motels/hotels.

I know you will have such a good time no matter where you stay!

I guess the Hojo anaheim really is unique then!

We can't afford to stay on property, so walking distance is preferred. I was looking into the Desert Palm Suites since we would have a good amount of space in a suite, and full breakfast is included. Do you know anything about that hotel?

 

[DLFan123]

For our dinners, we decided to select small plates, sides or appetizers, so we wouldn't be too full to really enjoy dessert.

DP chose the mushroom risotto starter with morel mushrooms and shaved pecorino romano (I believe it was):


This was so delicious! It was extremely rich and very tasty. I liked it so much, we ended up pretty much sharing it.

I chose the Pan Roasted Diver Scallops On a Sauce of Lobster and Lemon Accented with Vanilla:

OMG was this heavenly. It was truly decadent. The taste of the creamy sauce and notes of vanilla, along with the perfectly cooked scallops was just so incredible. This dish is my ultimate ideal. On top-a homemade "Ruffles"-like potato chip which provided the nicest bit of salt and crunch.

We were so happy we'd decided to share our items and only select appetizers, as both of these dishes were so rich and filling.

Of course we had a bit more of the bread, and then it was time for dessert.

Out of character, I chose this:


A flourless chocolate cake with berry mousse and fresh berries.

Again, this was one of the most lovely, pleasing and decadent dishes I've ever eaten. I loved and savored every bite. It was incredibly rich, but it wasn't too much, like I typically find many chocolate dishes. Sorry for the poor quality of picture; I hadn't realized until now how dark this is.

DP chose this:

I truly don't even remember what this was, but it was something very lemony with a berry type filling. It was divine! It was the perfect dessert to share with my rich chocolate cake, because in comparison, this was light and refreshing.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed every bite we took at the Napa Rose Lounge. It was such an excellent experience overall, from the service, to the food, to the atmosphere. We can't wait to go back, and someday we hope to dine in the actual restaurant, perhaps at the chef's table, and also to try one of their suggested wine pairings. I can only imagine how palette-pleasing that would be, after sampling just a couple of appetizers, one drink and two desserts!

 

[DLFan123]

I guess the Hojo anaheim really is unique then!

We can't afford to stay on property, so walking distance is preferred. I was looking into the Desert Palm Suites since we would have a good amount of space in a suite, and full breakfast is included. Do you know anything about that hotel?

I'm sorry I don't know anything about the Desert Palm Suites, but all the hotels along Harbor Blvd seem to be ok. We are just partial and biased about the Hojo I think. Any one of the good neighbor hotels would be a fine choice I think.

 

[DawnH]

Yum! I love scallops and these look so good!!! Also drooling over the desserts

 

[DLFan123]

We slept well after our lovely meal at Napa Rose Lounge, and the next morning we were up early. We wanted to save time and money, so we ate breakfast in our room.

I had:

A banana and half bagel thin with cream cheese. Pretty boring, but it was good enough to give me some fuel to use at the MK!

Within just a few minutes, this is what we saw:

A bunch of people taking pictures of the partners statue!

After taking in a few rides, we were feeling hungry for a snack.

There's nothing like a crispy, cool pickle when you're immersed in the tropics of Adventureland!


What is it about a Disneyland pickle? So good!

For lunch, we were headed to one of our all-time favorite lunch spots, the Hungry Bear Restaurant.

Nestled in along the banks of the Rivers of America, this spot is just so quaint. It is also nice and shady and cool.

We decided to split our favorite:

Vegetarian fried green tomato sandwich

This is by far one of my favorite vegetarian sandwiches of all time! The tomato is nicely breaded and fried, very crispy and tart. There is some kind of spicy, creamy sauce on there, and a nice blend of veggies.

It was served with French fries, and we also ordered a side of coleslaw:

I was thinking of creamy coleslaw, and that is what I was in the mood for. This was pretty bland, with a vinaigrette type of dressing. It wasn't particularly exciting, and I wouldn't get it again.

It also turned out it was the same mix of veggies as are served on the sandwich. They are really good on the sandwich, but too plain on their own.

For dessert, we had to split this:

The lemon bumblebee cupcake

This is by far the best cupcake I have ever eaten at either DL or WDW. It is the yummiest, creamiest, most decadent, moistest cupcake I have ever had. I love it so much that I think of it all the time! I am a huge fan of lemon! Unless you just hate anything lemon, you have got to try this cupcake!

We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and can't wait to eat here again! Even if you don't make it for a meal at Hungry Bear, at least make the trip to pick up a cupcake. You won't regret it.

 

[DLFan123]

Yum! I love scallops and these look so good!!! Also drooling over the desserts

I love scallops too! Can't wait to try the scallops and shrimp pie at the BOG in MK!

 

[DLFan123]

For dinner, we stopped at another of our must-do destinations, the Rancho del Zocalo. For me, dining in DL is as much about the ambience as it is about the food. I just love the theming of the Rancho del Zocalo, the location in Frontierland right at the base of Thunder Mountain, and the feel of the area as the lights come on at night.



The food is so tasty here, you wouldn't know it is counter service. Everything is served on real plates, too (something I hear is rumored to change, and which greatly disturbs me!!!). The only thing I think they could improve is to serve real chips and salsa, instead of the prepackaged, preserved, Mickey Mouse lime flavored tortilla chips. They just taste packaged and aren't very good at all, so save your $5.00.

Back to our dinner, though:

Again, we decided to split something, knowing that the portions here are large and that one entrée each is always too much for us. This is the cheese enchilada plate. It is three delicious cheese enchiladas, along with rice and beans.

The rice and beans here are so good, and they are vegetarian!

Now I am someone who loves garnishes and toppings on my food, and these used to come with a perfectly portioned small scoop of sour cream and guacamole. They are no longer served this way, and instead you have to purchase a side of these items if you want them.

So we did:

Now you notice there are three scoops of each. It is way too much for just one meal, but would be fine if a family was sharing these toppings.


Our receipt so you can see the cost of the meal

The price of the guacamole wasn't bad for the portion size. However, it was more than I wanted! All I wanted was the tiny little scoop that they used to include with your meal!

Overall we enjoyed our meal, but were sad to find they made changes that included taking away the garnishes. Hearing about more changes to come (paper plates!? please noooo!!!), I am worried that our one of our favorite places may not be just that in the future!

 

[awfullybigadventure]

I'm in! Haven't been to Disneyland since I was a child, but keep thinking I would love to get back there.

 

[DLFan123]

Thankfully we'd had a light dinner, so we were both plenty hungry for some dessert later on. For this night, we'd booked the priority seating for Fantasmic, which is served with a nice dessert sampler plate. It isn't like the Wishes dessert party at WDW, which is the all-you-can-eat dessert buffet. This is just a plate of various desserts, one for each member of your party.

It is served in a nice little themed box:


Here's what's inside:


It includes some nice, fresh grapes, two truffles (one white, one milk), some cheese (this is A LOT of cheese), some crackers, a flourless chocolate cake, New York style cheesecake with Mickey decoration, lemon tart, a coconut macaroon cookie (not to be confused with the Matterhorn macaroons from the main street bakery which are 100 times better!) and a large shortbread cookie filled with raspberry jam (bottom right corner).

Everything is good, although for me, the shortbread cookie is the surprise winner of this box!

Here is an inside shot:

This cookie is so soft, cakey and delicious. The bottom is coated in chocolate which is stained purple and printed with cute, cold stars.

We never can make it through the entire box, and we always end up taking plenty of desserts back to our hotel for later, or for another day. We also save the cheese for snacks, since there is a fridge in all the rooms at the Hojo.

I have heard of families skipping dinner and just eating the cheese and grapes in place of dinner. Then you have more room for the desserts anyway! The dessert is also served with all you can drink non-alcoholic beverages, including mini bottles of water, cans of pop (with cups of ice), hot coffee and cocoa.

This is pretty pricey for the food that you get, but you are paying for the seat. Not only do you not have to wait on the ground for three hours to save your spot, but you are entitled to an actual folding chair, which really saves my back!

(Since we did this, DL has changed the priority viewing for Fantasmic, so I'm not sure what is offered if you choose the dessert selection anymore. But the cost has gone significantly down, which is nice. I'm hoping you can still sit in an actual chair, versus on the hard ground, but I really am not sure.)

We enjoyed our night, feeling like VIPs in this seating section, with our front row view of the entertainment.


Next up, a day at DCA!

 

[DLFan123]

The next morning, we skipped breakfast and made a bee line for radiator springs racers. After waiting in a looong line, we made it onboard the ride. Afterwards, we were quite hungry, and decided to munch on one of our favorite snacks:

Disney popcorn! Always so good, salty and tasty!


We decided to stop at our favorite place to eat in DCA, Flo's V8 Café! The theming and views are great:

It looks like a typical 50s diner, and they play oldies music. The jukebox has cleverly changed the titles to Cars themed names, so be sure to take a look in there!


The view from our cozy booth

Flo's has one of our all-time favorite vegetarian Disney meals:

The veggie tater bake!

It is served with one side and a roll. We chose pasta salad. This was nice and light, with a vinegar based dressing. The roll is always soft, warm and delicious. It has some little chives baked right into it.

Here is the inside of the veggie tater bake:

It is a layer of Boca crumbles on the bottom, which are nicely seasoned with mild peppers, then a layer of mashed potatoes, then a slice of American cheese.

It is so good! I cannot say enough how much we love this!

Because we were sharing and were both pretty hungry, we also ordered a side of mashed potatoes without gravy (because the gravy is not vegetarian):

Kind of a small, underwhelming portion without the gravy. I feel like since we didn't get the gravy, they should have given us a little bit more potatoes, because we paid the same price as if these had included gravy.

Here is the copy of our receipt:


Not bad for a lunch for two! Can't wait to return to eat at Flo's again. It was all around a great experience!

 

[DLFan123]

Do you ever feel like you're the only one reading your own dining review?! It is true I do get a great amount of enjoyment out of writing and rereading my own reviews, but this is crazy. I swear it's just me and the moderators reading this one.

I am fairly sure I'm posting in the right forum, because this is "Disney" Dining Reviews, and this is a Disney Dining Review. I know it takes place in DL, but I don't think it belongs in the DL forum.

Anyway, with pictures like the one coming up, it's no wonder nobody is reading this thread!

I told DP we were taking pictures of ALL of our food, so when we decided to take the bakery tour after lunch, I insisted that my little bite-sized sample of sourdough bread counted. So here it is:


I must say, I thoroughly enjoy taking this tour. I also like that you get to see the bread being baked for all kinds of DL locations, and you get to learn about the special recipe that is used to make it. The tour is going down for refurb soon (if not already) and I heard it's rumored not to reopen. This makes me so sad! For me, this tour is one of those special Disney things that makes the Disney parks what they are.

If you are wondering how my sample was, it was great!