¡Viva Navidad!

¡Viva Navidad! @ Disney's California Adventure 1600 S Disneyland Dr Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 781-4565 Official Site

From now through January 6, 2014, Disney California Adventure Park is holding a ¡Viva Navidad! celebration in its Paradise Pier area. I knew they were going to have a few Mexican food items but when I went earlier today I was surprised at how much they had. I was able to get some pozole and chocoflan earlier today and am going to try to make it back to try some more. If I do then I'll post some more photos. Some of the items are at Paradise Garden Grill and some are at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta and there's also a dessert cart that seems to be on the outer perimeter of the whole Paradise Pier area. UPDATE: ¡Viva Navidad! has been renewed for the 2014-15 holiday season.

Here's a video that was just posted at the Disney Parks Blog:



Again, the food is a good bit more authentic than you would expect at Disneyland. The fact that they call their tacos "street style" seems to indicate they know tacos are not called "street tacos" in Mexico, while acknowledging that people here think they are called "street tacos." And the prices are not like those at Tacos el Chavito but are comparable to prices at many other places in the county. It's hard to not appreciate the fact that they are using masa harina in their hot chocolate and that they have pineapple dessert tamales.

If you were a fan of when DCA did their Food & Wine Festival you might want to make sure you stop by in the next few days as they will be doing some culinary demonstrations then. Here's a clip from their Disney Parks Blog about it:

As part of Limited Time Magic, you can stop by Paradise Gardens from November 14 – 17, 2013 to enjoy some savory treats, including Champurrudo and Pineapple Sweet Tamales—each prepared by Disneyland Resort chefs during exciting culinary demonstrations!

Paradise Garden Grill

Entrees

Torta al Pastor

Fresh-made Telera Bread with Chorizo Beans, Marinated Pork, Shredded Lettuce, Sliced Avocado and Crema drizzle with Tortilla Chips and Salsa $10.99

Sopes de Barbacoa

Two Lightly Fried Sopes with Chorizo Beans, Barbacoa, Shredded Cabbage, Cotija Cheese and Crema drizzle with a side of Achiote Rice and Tortilla Chips and Salsa $10.99

Street Style Tacos

Three Street-Style Tacos (Barbacoa or Al Pastor) on soft Corn Tortillas garnished with Cilantro and Onion with a side of Achiote Rice and Tortilla Chips and Salsa $10.99

Mahi Veracruzano

Sustainable fish topped with Salsa Veracruz with Achiote Rice, Nopales and Jicama Salad and a side of tortillas $12.99 (This item didn't seem to make it back for 2014.)

Ceviche

Seems to have been re-imagineered for 2014

Chicken Mole

Roasted Chicken topped with Chocolate-infused smoked Chili Sauce with Achiote Rice, Nopales and Jicama Salad and a side of Tortillas $12.99

Desserts

Buñuelos

Two Golden Fried Flour Tortillas dusted with Cinnamon Sugar served with a side of Cajeta $4.29

Sweet Pineapple and Golden Raisin Tamales

A pair of Traditionally made Sweet Tamales with Pineapple and Golden Raisins $4.29

Champurrado

Traditional Christmas Time Mexican hot chocolate is a combination of chocolate, milk and masa harina $2.79

---

• Buñuelos with Cajeta
• Chips and Salsa
• Cajunzihos - "Trio of Mini Peanut Kisses"
• Abuelita Hot Cocoa

UPDATE: Also see here and here for more reports on ¡Viva Navidad! at the Disney Parks blog.

Panchito

Of course, one of the best parts of this whole celebration is that it features The Three Caballeros, including the Mexican rooster Panchito aka Panchito Pistoles aka Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González III, who can be seen on this blog from time to time and who serves as the @ocmexfood Twitter avatar. If you don't know him, get to know him:

Disneyland Nachos

We have so much information on Mexican food at Disneyland that we can't even fit it all into one entry. Follow these links to learn more:

Disneyland Park

• Rancho del Zocalo

Disney's California Adventure

• Cocina Cucamonga
• Rita's Baja Blenders
• Food & Wine Festival 2009
• Food & Wine Festival 2010

Downtown Disney

• Tortilla Jo's
• Rainforest Cafe
• Crossroads at House of Blues

Resort-wide (including hotels)

• Churro Carts
• Chimichanga Carts and Stands
• Storyteller's Cafe
• Disneyland Nachos

When I first started this blog I had the goal in mind of reviewing every single Mexican restaurant in Orange County. As time went on that goal seemed harder and harder to attain. While I'm still working at it I have also set some smaller goals. One of them is to try all the Mexican food at the Disneyland Resort. At first I thought that just meant eating at the three Mexican restaurants on the property, but then I found out it would entail more than that since Mexican food can be found at Disneyland that is not available in just the three three Mexican restaurants there.

Then I got the idea of having the goal of trying all the different nachos at the resort. This seems to be an attainable goal, so here are pictures of different nachos you can get while visiting Walt's world:

White Water Snacks

This spot is an adjunct of the Grand California Hotel that rests between Downtown Disney and Disney's California Adventure. It is primarily for hotel guests but anyone can go to it. I believe you can have your nachos topped with chicken or beef.

Tortilla Jo's Taqueria

While nachos are not a super authentic Mexican food item Tortilla Jo's Taqueria is a much more authentic Mexican place overall than you would expect to find at Disneyland. I mean, they even have Jarritos and aguas frescas, and they make your tacos for you right in front of you. Or burritos, if that floats your boat. Here I got some carnitas nachos that beat out the other nachos shown here.

ElecTRONica Truck

This truck may not even be around anymore but if you see it you can get regular cheese nachos with jalapeños or chicken nachos with the works. I just had to show it here because a TRON truck with nachos? Yeah, that's a unique concept. I think the jalapeños were supposed to be reminiscent of the glowing discs seen in the TRON movies.

Avalon Cove Bar

If you can find this bar behind King Triton's restaurant at California Adventure then you can order up some lobster nachos. Of the bunch, these nachos are most definitely meant to be shared as finger foods with probably 3-4 people, not as an entree for one. And don't be concerned that you'll be eating Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. Sebastian was a crab, not a lobster, despite looking like a lobster/crab hybrid.

ESPN Zone

Okay, ESPN Zone also has nachos and I think they used to call them nachos but now they call them Zone Queso Chips (or Queso Zone Chips?).

---

Are there any nachos available anywhere at Disneyland that I'm missing? If so, please leave a comment and let me know.

Click any photo above to be taken to the complete flickr album.

Disneys California Food and Wine Festival 2010

Time for Disneys California Food and Wine Festival again. From now until May 31st Disney's California Adventure theme park will be holding its popular Food and Wine Festival. Highlights include appearances from celebrity chefs such as Guy Fieri:

Each restaurant in the park will also feature a special item throughout the run of the festival such as the chile relleno at Cocina Cucamonga:

Here's some video footage from The Orange County Register:

Cocina Cucamonga - Review #2

Cocina Cucamonga @ Disney's California Adventure 1600 S Disneyland Dr Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 781-4565 Listing at Yelp Official Site

Enter starting address: Address City, State and/or Zip

Trying to be the master of a particular subject I started this blog so I could be the authority on Mexican restaurants in Orange County. Having been to about 200 of them so far there's still many more to get to and I often get e-mails from people asking, "How could you possibly have not been to such-and-such restaurant yet?" Well, sometime before now and Doomsday (2012?) I may make it to all the Mexican restaurants in the county but any time mealtime comes up for me and I decide I can make it out for a Mexican meal I have literally over 350 choices to choose from, so . . . my goal will be met, it's just not going to happen all at once. Fortunately, other bloggers help to fill in some of the gaps so be sure to check out the other blogs I link to here.

I can however be the guru of a smaller subject so I have found it more readily in my grasp to be on top of all Mexican food at the Disneyland Resort (click here for our extensive coverage). Cocina Cucamonga in Disney's California Adventure is the first one I covered and that was three years ago and now it has just reopened in a new spot with a revised and expanded menu.

New items include Fire-Grilled Citrus Chicken, Carne Asada, Chicken Tamales (which were tested during the recent Wine and Food Festival), Soft Tacos Monterey, and a Fajitas Ensalada.

Click here for better pictures of the menu.

While I admire the fact that they upgraded the menu a minor downside to it is that it is now too much like Rancho del Zocalo in Disneyland proper, when, prior to the upgrade, each of the three Mexican restaurants at the Disneyland resort were very unique. Perhaps a menu revision at Rancho del Zocalo will rectify that.

On one of my visits friends tried out the tacos and burrito:

Soft Tacos Monterey

Burrito Sonora

My chicken tamale turned out pretty moist and meaty while the carne asada it came with appeared at first to be shriveled up and burnt (a little exaggeration here) but turned out itself to be moist and tender with a robust, marinated, cracked pepper taste to it. Beans and rice on all the dishes are very standard. Tortillas come freshly made form the nearby Mission Tortilla Factory.

Carne Asada and Chicken Tamale

Fire-Grilled Citrus Chicken

If you get the citrus chicken make sure they give you the tortillas that are supposed to come with it. Yes, they forgot to give me mine, and, yes, it was probably a fluke, but do check your order before you walk off with it.

Hacienda Chicken Caesar Salad

The caesar salad was light and refreshing, great for a summer day, and surprising that they would put something on it as "authentic" as pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds) and radishes.

For dessert they have bags of tortilla chips with cinnamon and sugar on them and usually a special dessert as well. The menu board instructs you to ask your "cast member" what the special dessert selection is. The one time I got dessert I was told they had chocolate or pineapple empanadas. I had had the pineapple empanada before at their prior location so I went for the chocolate one this time. It empanada was rather dry and I only about half of it and was not tempted to go any further. I think at a place like Disneyland that if something is not specifically listed on the menu then patrons are much less likely to order it, let alone even ask about it. (UPDATE: The Fall 2009 annual passholders magazine Backstage Pass mentions that sometimes there are also Dulce de Leche Empanadas.)

Also, on my first visit, when I went up to the pickup window I looked at the soda fountain and saw that they had Mello Yello (the Coca-Cola company's answer to Mountain Dew) even though it's not listed on the menu board. On my next visit back I ordered a Mello Yello but the cast member taking my order said they don't have it. I said, "Well, I saw it on your soda fountain the last time I was here." He said, "Yeah, I know, they put the stickers on there for some reason and got all us cast members excited . . . but we don't have it." Sounds like an entry for the FAIL Blog.

For upgrading and improving overall, but with still some improvements to be made, Cocina Cucamonga gets a 3¾ Panchito rating:

---

We have covered all the Mexican food and restaurants that can be found at the Disneyland Resort. To read about them click here or anywhere on Panchito's message:

Storyteller's Cafe

Storyteller's Cafe 1600 S Disneyland Dr Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 778-6600 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing at Yelp Official Site

Enter starting address: Address City, State and/or Zip

After having covered all the specifically Mexican restaurants at the Disneyland Resort (click here and just keep scrolling down to read the complete coverage) I am now searching out restaurants there that are not Mexican but have Mexican items on their menus. The Storyteller's Cafe is part of the Grand Californian Hotel and can be accessed from Downtown Disney as well as from Disney's California Adventure. According to its official site, "The story-telling tradition is saluted [at Storyteller's Cafe] in beautiful period murals depicting tall tales set in early California. The food harkens [sic] back to a simpler time with hearty home-style favorites dominating the menu." The cafe is almost hidden in this large hotel but is right by the pool area and a couple other restaurants. Ask around or follow the signs if you are having trouble finding it. Make reservations or expect a wait since a lot of people seem to like this place.

The only Mexican item I could find on their menu was a quesadilla but it was one of the best quesadillas I've ever had. Cooked to a perfect crisp on the outside (longtime readers of this blog may know I don't like when quesadillas are greasy on the outside) so that it's easy and clean to pick up and eat, with seasoned and shredded chicken breast, melted cheese inside (might've been Jack cheese), and strips of mild Anaheim (yes, Anaheim) peppers inside. The salsa it came with was average but the guacamole was above average, being a chunky, flavorful blend of avocados, onions, tomatoes, and spices. The quesadilla itself is $8.59 and well worth it and I am looking forward to trying one again. It proved that a quesadilla doesn't need to be drippy and greasy to be packed with a full, robust flavor. Just wish it was more easily accessible.

UPDATE (May 11, 2009):

Went back today and got the quesadilla but also got the carne asada entree for lunch:

Disney's California Food & Wine Festival

I knew Disney's California Food & Wine Festival was coming up soon. They have one every year. But when the website for it went up this year I went to it to see if there would be any facet to it with a Mexican bent but I couldn't find anything. Then yesterday a neighbor of mine who is a cast member at Disneyland left a cast member reference guide for the festival on my doorstep. I rifled through it quickly expecting to confirm that there would be no Mexican food featured this time. But I found out that on Monday, April 27, at 11:00am there is going to be a Mexican cooking demonstration on the Chef's Showcase Stage at Sunshine Plaza. How fortuitous that I was already planning on being at Disneyland that day with a group so expect some pictures, or even try to make it there yourself.

---

Okay, so I went earlier today and watched the demonstration. Chef Francisco Origel from the Napa Rose restaurant at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel demonstrated how to make halibut ceviche.

The Festival continues through June 7 and I have found out there will be more Mexican cooking demonstrations.

---

During the Food & Wine Festival the Cocina Cucamonga restaurant at Disney's California Adventure is featuring two special items, Chicken Tamales and a Dulce de Leche Empanada with Tropical Fruit:

UPDATE (May 11, 2009):

Went back today for the Tortilla Jo's cooking demonstration. Chef Torr Kelso showed how to make huitlacoche flan:

Remaining Mexican-related cooking demos are:

• May 20 @ 11am (Tex-Mex)
• May 24 @ 2:30pm (Celebrate Mexico)
• June 5 @ 12:30pm (Celebrate Mexico)