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?).

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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.

Tortilla Jo's - Review #4

Tortilla Jo's Taqueria @ Downtown Disney 1510 S Disneyland Dr, Bldg. A Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 535-5000 Listing on Yahoo! Local Official Site

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VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: This review (Tortilla Jo's - Review #4) is only of their takeout window. We also have reviews of their sitdown service. CLICK HERE for our complete Tortilla Jo's coverage.

The takeout window at Tortilla Jo's at Downtown Disney has recently undergone a complete remodel and menu overhaul. It is much more authentic than it used to be (although it wasn't entirely inauthentic before), in fact surprisingly more authentic than I ever imagined something on Disney's premises could be. They've got carnitas tacos:

Aguas frescas and Jarritos:

And more:

Burritos are made as you order them, Chipotle-style. Here my veggie burrito is getting made:

Tortilla Jo's Restaurant Week 2008

IMPORTANT NOTE! Google keeps sending people to this page when they search for information on this restaurant, but CLICK HERE for an even better, more informative link.

From February 3 - 8 Tortilla Jo's at Downtown Disney will be participating in a Restaurant Week featuring items not on their regular menu:

Lunch

First course

Baby mixed greens with tomato, crispy tortilla strips and cilantro ranch dressing

Entrée

Tender braised shredded pork, pumpkin seed avocado mayo with crisp iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato and red onion on a traditional Mexican talera roll, served with sweet potato chips and chayote-apple salad

Dessert

Mexican brownie served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce

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Dinner

First course

Mexican chopped salad with honey-lime dressing
Romaine lettuce with avocado, black beans, corn, tomato and queso fresco

Entrée

Grilled Margarita Chicken
Grilled tender chicken breast, marinated with lime, oregano, and 100% Blue Agave Tequila, served with sautéed spinach, black beans, and Salsa Ranchera

Dessert

Coconut flan with Mexican vanilla bean caramel sauce and grated coconut

$22 Lunch; $34 Dinner

Reservations (714) 535-5000

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Here's some pictures from my last visit to Tortilla Jo's a couple days ago when I tried the sampler platter and the churros for the first time:


Click the "tortilla jo's" label to read our extensive Tortilla Jo's coverage:

Tortilla Jo's - Review #3 (Quick Stop)

Tortilla Jo's @ Downtown Disney 1510 S Disneyland Dr, Bldg. A Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 535-5000 Listing on Yahoo! Local Official Site

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Made another quick stop at Downtown Disney recently and made an unplanned visit to Tortilla Jo's for dinner while I was there. It seems like the menu may have been updated since the last time I was there or maybe I was just noticing some items for the first time. One of the items I had my eye on was the Shrimp and Avocado Enchiladas and without even mentioning it that's what my waitress recommended so I went for it. "Three chipotle-marinated shrimp and avocado enchiladas topped with salsa verde, queso fresco, and black bean salsa." Seafood and enchilada fans: make a mental note of these and try them out when you can.

For dessert I got the flan again and, once again, when you order one flan at Tortilla Jo's you actually get two. This time they were held together by a disc of caramelized, solidified sugar with a cherry and some mint leafs. Flan always makes a good way to finish off a meal of spicy Mexican food.

Tortilla Jo's at Downtown Disney earns a four "Panchito" rating:





Use the labels below to read all of our Tortilla Jo's coverage, or our coverage of all the Mexican food at Disneyland:

Tortilla Jo's - Review #2

Tortilla Jo's Taqueria @ Downtown Disney 1510 S Disneyland Dr, Bldg. A Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 535-5000 Listing on Yahoo! Local Official Site

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VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: This review (Tortilla Jo's - Review #2) is only of their takeout window. We also have reviews of their sitdown service. CLICK HERE for our complete Tortilla Jo's coverage.

A lot of the complaints I've seen about Tortilla Jo's at Downtown Disney center on the typically long wait (although I have had good luck a couple times there). If you get there and you find there's going to be a long wait you might want to consider going to the take-out window around the side of the building. It has an abbreviated version of the sit-down restaurant's menu but also has a few items that the sit-down section doesn't have. Case in point: the "Mexicone" I got yesterday served in a crisp corn tortilla shell that has been twisted into an ice cream cone shape. It comes stuffed with beans, rice, onions, cilantro, and cheese, and your choice of meat (or no meat, if you prefer). I chose the shredded pork which tasted a lot like the crispy carnitas from El Farolito Jr. I don't know if you're supposed to walk around enjoying your Mexicone in the heat of the summer day since it's in supposedly transportable form. It might've been my ineptitude but I had to sit down and eat it while it crumbled all over the place. That doesn't mean it didn't taste good.

Surprisingly enough they also sell horchata, tamarindo, and jamaica aguas frescas, but, unfortunately, they are steeply expensive at $3.75 a glass. My guess is that this precludes many visitors from even trying it out and opting instead for a standard soda, which, of course, is still too expensive when you are at Disneyland, but at least cheaper than the aguas frescas.

The takeout window doesn't validate your parking ticket but you can go into the entrance of the sitdown section and show them your takeout receipt and they will validate your Downtown Disney parking ticket.

Since I had seen an ad before that showed that Tortilla Jo's Taqueria sold frozen fresh fruit popsicles I asked during this visit if they had those and the girl at the window said they used to but don't anymore but she wished that they still had them. They do sell flan, churros, and brownies for dessert though.

Tortilla Jo's at Downtown Disney earns a three "Panchito" and half Speedy Gonzales rating (whatever that means):



UPDATE (June 30, 2009): Here's some carnitas tacos I got as a takeout item recently:

Tortilla Jo's - Review #1

Date of Visits: August 12 and October 18, 2006

Tortilla Jo's @ Downtown Disney 1510 S Disneyland Dr, Bldg. A Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 535-5000 Listing on Yahoo! Local (listing contains full menu) Official Site

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IMPORTANT NOTE: We have covered literally every Mexican place there is at Disneyland (including Tortilla Jo's Taqueria and some you don't know about). You can find all that coverage at once by CLICKING HERE. Many people do not find the information they are looking for simply because they do not click that link. Don't be one of those people.

Back in early 2000 I had just graduated from college in Hawaii (it's a hard life, I know) and made a trip to Disneyland. In the lobby of the theater where you can see the audioanimatronic Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address were concept art paintings of a coming nightlife district being built adjacent to Disneyland to be called "Downtown Disney." The paintings made it look like the Sunset Strip, or the Vegas Strip (pick your "Strip"), and the only detail I specifically remember was a Hard Rock Cafe. Well, by the time Downtown Disney opened in January 2001 the Hard Rock Cafe had become the House of Blues and just across the walkway from it was a two-story dance club called Arriba! Arriba!

I'm guessing the public couldn't quite get used to the idea of a hipster night club operating at Disneyland but for one reason or another Arriba! Arriba! eventually went out of business and from its ashes arose a Mexican-themed restaurant: Tortilla Jo's.

It's not as "Disney-fied" as you might think, though. It's certainly less Disney-oriented than the Mexican restaurant in Disneyland proper (review coming sometime in the not too distant future) and the one in Disney's California Adventure. All three Mexican restaurants found in the Disneyland resort are completely separate from each other with their own very distinct identities. In fact, Tortilla Jo's is run by the Patina Group which also runs the high end Mediterranean restaurant Catal and Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, both also at Downtown Disney, all of which are headed by celebrity chef Joachim Splichal.

In addition to their inside seating and their patio seating (which share the same menu) they also have a takeout window ("Tortilla Jo's Taqueria") with a somewhat different menu. I believe they have frozen fruit bars as a dessert item at their takeout window. (UPDATE: See new review on Tortilla Jo's Taqueria.)

On the first visit my friend Chris ordered the flautas appetizer as an entree:

And I ordered the Mango Chicken Torta, a chicken breast sandwich with mango salsa and fried plantain strips on the side:

When you order flan you actually get two little flans:

Chris ordered the chocolate ice cream brownie:

He still had food to take back home so he was given this fancy takeout bag:

On the next visit, two months later, I ordered the chile relleno/chicken and potato combo with sauteed vegetables in place of the beans and they really loaded the plate up with the vegetables:

Chris ordered the carnitas platter (he's the carnitas guy) and reported that it was excellent:

Service was excellent and personalized each time I went. On the second visit my friend was late meeting up with me and one of the waitresses let me use her cell phone to call him (yeah, I'm part of the dying breed of the cell phone-challenged).

On the second visit I ordered the Pastel de Tres Leches, which the waitress on the first visit kept trying to get me to order. When I finally tasted it, I knew why she had been recommending it. This is a baked sponge cake soaking in three types of milk and topped with caramel frosting. It is so rich that it can easily be shared by two people.

For those who like to experiment with making their own food, Tortilla Jo's also offers cooking classes held every quarter. And their chef, Joachim Splichal, is a featured chef in the Hollywood Cookbook, although I'm not sure whether or not any of his recipes in it are for Mexican food.

Tortilla Jo's earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:

Update

"ChubbyPanda" from the Epicurious Wanderer blog has pointed out that Speedy Gonzales is a Warner Bros. character, not a Disney character, and that that might create a conflict of interest. So in the interest of not creating a conflict of interest, and jumping at the chance to utilize one of my favorite Disney characters, I now state that Tortilla Jo's at Downtown Disney earns a four "Panchito" rating:

Contest

Four Speedy Gonzaleses Panchitos go to the first person who can identify what Disney movie Panchito is from, but five Panchitos go to the first person who can give his full name.

UPDATE: Four Panchitos go to Nick who correctly pointed out in the comments that Panchito is a character from the old Disney movie The Three Caballeros.



However, we are still waiting to see if somebody can give Panchito's full name. "Panchito Pistoles" is a nickname. His full proper name begins with "Panchito," has five middle names, and then the last name.

UPDATE (November 26, 2006): "Anonymous" has correctly given Panchito's full name as Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzales, so s/he earns the prize of five Panchitos:



Read more about Panchito at Toonopedia

Read more of our Tortilla Jo's coverage (we have two more reviews and more pictures) or all our Disneyland Mexican food coverage by clicking the appropriate label below: