Anaheim Archives - Foodology

In Anaheim

Exploring Anaheim: Food, Drinks, Shows and Disney

November 24, 2016

Photo Credit: Visit Anaheim

From revitalized neighbourhoods and cultural hubs to a burgeoning brewery and culinary scene, there is more to discover in Anaheim than what meets the eye. A lot of people visit Anaheim to experience the best place on earth – Disneyland and California Adventure Park. I went to Anaheim a few years ago for my Bachelorette party we had a really great time.

Below are a few fun places to go to explore the city and indulge a little.

Anaheim Brewery

Photo Credit: Visit Anaheim

However, as the saying goes “It takes a lot of good beer to make great wine,” Anaheim was once home to a number of historic breweries now the boom is back and is quickly evolving into a world-class brewery destination; with a dozen open now and more to come.

Leading the city’s craft beer movement are Anaheim Brewery, Bottle Logic Brewing, Noble Ale Works, Phantom Ales, Hoparazzi Brewing Co., and Golden Road Brewing.

Since Disney Land doesn’t have a drop of alcohol, drop the kids off somewhere and enjoy a nice cold brew.

Website: http://www.anaheimbrew.com/

Anaheim Packing House

Photo Credit: Anaheim Packing House

Anaheim has revitalized historic buildings for modern uses such as the famous and historic Anaheim Packing House, a stunning contemporary food hall that used to serve as a citrus packing plant for Sunkist.

The two level Packing House features a large central atrium with communal dining surrounded by cafes and kiosks of varying sizes as well as outdoor picnic gardens and a building-length dining porch looking out to the outdoor marketplace, Farmers’ Park.

Some popular merchants inside include:

The Kroft
Pop Bar
Cafecito Organico

Website: http://anaheimpackingdistrict.com/

Anaheim GardenWalk

Photo Credit: Visit California

Anaheim GardenWalk is an outdoor dining, entertainment and shopping destination situated in the heart of the Anaheim Resort District just steps from the Disneyland Resort and Anaheim Convention Center. I came here a few time to eat dinner at some of the more popular American chain restaurants. As a Canadian, we don’t have those chain restaurants available to us unless we go to the states.

Some restaurants:

The Cheesecake Factory
California Pizza Kitchen
P.F. Chang’s
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
McCormick & Schmick’s

Website: http://www.anaheimgardenwalk.com/

Center Street Promenade

Photo Credit: Visit Anaheim

The outdoor cafes, trendy boutiques and Good Food Hall in this hipster hangout in downtown Anaheim will surprise you. Savor Pour Vida Latin Flavor’s chef-driven concept. Dine at the Gypsy Den vegan-friendly eatery. Go literary with the Ink & Bean coffee saloon and workshop. Even the barbershop, Barbeer, serves beer.

Website: http://centerstreetanaheim.com/

Honda Centre

Photo Credit: NHL.com

Honda Center is the premier sports and entertainment venue in Southern California. It is home to the NHL Anaheim Ducks and hosts a variety of family shows, top-billed concerts, popular sports and entertainment events throughout the year.

Check ahead of time if there are going to be any games or concerts playing when you’re in Anaheim.

Website: http://www.hondacenter.com/

Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Photo Credit: Visit Anaheim

Angel Stadium is baseball’s fourth-oldest active Major League Baseball stadium, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium. It has been the home of the Angels since their move from Los Angeles following the 1965 season. The stadium is often referred to by its unofficial nickname The Big A and has hosted the 1967, 1989, and 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Games.

They are open for tours for 75 minutes that include:

A trip down to the field at Angel Stadium
A visit into the Angels Dugout
Walk through the Visitors’ Clubhouse
A close up look at the Mike Scioscia interview room
An exclusive look at the Gene Autry Suite, Broadcasting booth, the Press Conference room, as well as a Dugout Suite

A fun tour for baseball fans no matter which team you cheer for.

Website: http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/

Disneyland

For young and old, big and small – it’s the happiest place on earth. Its fun building memories with your family that last a lifetime as you discover the wonder of this magical, fantastical world. When you enter one of the Lands that comprise Disneyland Park, stories come to life around you, immersing you in tales from some of your favourite Disney films.

My favourite rides:

Indiana Jones Adventure
Jungle Cruise
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain

Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/destinations/disneyland/

California Adventure Park

Discover the Disney stories and characters you love in ways you’ve never imagined. Supercharge your Disney experience in this engaging park where new adventures with familiar faces are constantly unfolding before you. Of the two Disney Parks, this one is my favourite because the rides are more thrilling.

My favourite rides:

California Screamin’
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Mickey’s Fun Wheel

I remember us going back and forth between California Screamin’ and Tower of Terror. Also, make sure you don’t leave without a churro, corn dog and turkey leg.

Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/destinations/disney-california-adventure/

There’s definitely lots to see and do in Anaheim, so check out all these cool places when you book your trip.

For more inspiration, check out Visit Anaheim.

In Anaheim

Disneyland Bachelorette Party on a Budget

August 26, 2015

Before getting married, one of the items on my bucket list was to go to Disneyland. What better time to go than with your besties. We planned to be here for 2 days so we could go to both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Since we were all adults, we knew we didn’t need any additional days since we could get through each park effectively in a day.

When budgeting, the top 3 items that would be most expensive were transportation, tickets, and accommodations. I didn’t want my friends to go broke celebrating my bachelorette. We agreed to try to save wherever we could without being too cheap.

Transportation | Airfare

Being from Vancouver, Canada, we needed to take flights down to California. I prefer direct flight, so I’ll do what it takes to get a good price for them. We could have drove to Bellingham and then taken a cheaper flight, but it’s a hassle.

I like to use Google Flights to track flights to see if the price drops. I’ve had some pretty good luck using it. I would track it a few months in advance of the trip for the flights I wanted. If I’m lucky, I can save 50%.

Transportation | Sign up for Uber and Lyft using Promo Codes

Getting from LAX to Disneyland is going to be an expensive taxi ride and other options would still be pricey or take too long to get to Anaheim.

We took an UberX using a $20 off the first ride coupon that we found online. There’s tons of them around, so make sure you find those codes. From LAX to the hotel, it was just under $40. With the coupon applied, it was $20 in total, which was then split among 4 of us. This is a quicker and cheaper option than taking the Disneyland shuttle.

Uber also has a referral program where you get $20 and your referee gets $20. We kept referring each other, so we could maximize the amount we spent. It’s very useful and we saved over $150.

Lyft also has free credits too, so make sure you utilize it.

Tickets | Free Admission Tickets

Finding cheap tickets as a tourist is a hassle. Only buy tickets from authorized sellers or else you will be SOL when you discover they are fake. There are some online discount sites like Official Ticket Center, Undercover Tourist, and ParkSavers, but you usually have to spend more to save a bit. Some people have said you can get discount tickets at AAA or Costco, but we had no interest in hunting at either of those 2 places down before doing to Disneyland. We were on a tight schedule.

Our group of friends found 2 alternatives to get free entrance to Disneyland, thus saving our group over $500 in admission tickets.

1. Find someone who works for Disney or sister companies

Disney and some of their sister companies give employees free entry for family and friends. Usually, the employee has to be present when bringing you in for free. Luckily, one of my friends knew someone who had a shift during the day we were going, so she brought 3 of us in.

2. Apply for Media Accreditation

Having a food blog definitely has it’s perks.

Qualifying media can request two Park Hopper tickets, good for one day at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Parks, once every 12 months. Just contact their public relations department to apply. You will need to provide them stats from your blog like unique monthly visitors, amount of Facebook./Twitter followers and other engagement metrics.

Accommodations | Indigo Hotel Anaheim

Indigo Hotels in Anaheim was our go-to location for a budget stay close to Disneyland. It is about a 15 minute walk or 6 minute drive to and from Disneyland. It’s an older hotel that recently got renovations done, so it is clean and modern. This came highly recommended from a coworker of mine. It’s a lot cheaper than staying in the Disneyland resort.

With 5 girls, we crammed ourselves in a 2 Queen-sized bed room. It’s supposed to only hold 4 people, but we made a bed with a chair and a bench. Seems weird, but it was still comfortable.

At $113.99 (USD) per night, it was a good price to split amongst 5 people. Check-in is at 3pm and check out is at 11am. It’s close to Anaheim Gardenwalk and a CVS. Easy access to booze since you won’t find alcohol in Disneyland.

Dining | Snack, Snack, Snack

We didn’t end up spending a lot on food while we were inside Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Since we were so preoccupied with taking selfies, lining up for rides, and finding Disney characters that we mostly ate snacks or smaller meals.

You can’t leave without having a corn dog, turkey leg, Dole Whip and churros. All these items were well under $10.

We didn’t find that there were any other sit down restaurants that we wanted to dine at. We kept finding quick and simple meals at the parks. For our larger meals, we decided to eat closer to our hotel later in the evening. You can find the full list here.

Have Fun!

We didn’t dress up all bachelorette-style for this portion of our trip (we saved it for LA), but we had so much fun for 2 days! It’s fun being a kid again. We saw other bachelorette parties here too.

The best time to go would be in the Winter or Fall. Just remember to avoid any major holidays. It’s not fun if the parks capacity is at it’s maximum. We went in early February and the lines were quick and not too crowded.

If you have any money saving tips, please share!

In American

Bubba Gump Shrimp: Happy Hour in Anaheim

March 5, 2015

We spent a whole day in Disneyland and needed a late night snack. Close to our hotel is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant inspired by the movie Forest Gump. If you are a fan of the movie, you gotta visit this place at least once. It’s a good thing I watched Forest Gump a few weeks ago, so I understood all the little references it makes to the movie.

They have happy hour daily from 9:30pm until closing. Also, Monday to Friday from 3:30 to 5:30pm. Select items on their happy hour are $4 – $6. Select drinks are $3 to $6. Great deals!

Since 9:30pm is quite late, the restaurant is pretty empty. Everyone must have been tired from all the Disney Parks madness. We were all tired, but we needed some food.

At your table, you have these license places that have 2 sayings to indicate if you need assistance.

Run, Forest, Run = Everything is A OK
Stop, Forest, Stop = I need some service here

We grabbed a beer to go with the meal. $5 for imported pints. It’s been a few weeks so I forgot what type of beer we ordered.

Bubba’s Far Out Dip ($4) has spinach, roasted red peppers, artichokes and Monterey Jack cheese with homemade Tortilla chips. The dip was really good and creamy. It probably has a lot of fat but we’re on vacation so we eat everything.

Cajun Shrimp ($6) is sautéed in a hot and spicy cajun butter sauce. It is also served with garlic bread. It wasn’t very spicy at all. The quality of the shrimp were ok but not great.

Fried Fish Tacos ($6) is pretty disappointing, its breaded fish with cheese and lettuce with a side of lime. You can just avoid these at all costs unless you order a side of salsa and sour cream.

Shrimper’s Heaven ($21.49) has hand breaded coconut shrimp, chilled shrimp, fried shrimp, and Japanese style tempura shrimp with fries. It also comes with a few sauces – Tangy Asian, Cajun Marmalade, and Zesty Cocktail.

This items is a good way to try all their different shrimp.

Overall, the food is pretty meh. I didn’t care much for it. I don’t think I would come here again.

We Rate Bubba Gump Shrimp:

Address:
321 W Katella Ave Anaheim

Website:
http://www.bubbagump.com/

In American

Disneyland: Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port

February 26, 2015

Finding cheap lunch in Disneyland with ample seating is quite tough especially when you want to stay out of the sun.

During our time in Disneyland, we ate at Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port in Tomorrow Land beside Space Mountain.

The spaceport is fully equipped with earthling food dispensed at 3 stations: Pizza, Pasta and Salads.

Enlist Space Age heroes like the Mars-inara spaghetti with Meteoric Meatballs, Countdown Chicken Fusilli with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic Parmesan cream sauce, and self-contained slices of Mega Pepperoni, Lunar Cheese, Orion Hawaiian and Venus Vegetarian pizza.

Gather galactic greenery with the Planetary Pizza Salad, Celestial Chicken Caesar or the Starfield of Greens with bleu cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries, and replenish your fluids with refillable soft drinks available in souvenir sipper cups.

Pretty funny descriptions of their food. Space themed Italian food.

Tons of seating for small to large groups! It’s air conditioned too.

It’s cafeteria style and you will only find 3 sections – pasta, salad and pizza.

Mars-inara with Meatballs ($9.99) has spaghetti and meatballs with celestial tomato sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Count Down Chicken Cavatappi ($9.99) has cavatappi pasta tossed in a garlic-herb oil topped with seasoned grilled chicken, a parmesan-pesto cream sauce and cheese.

Overall, the food is decent for fast food. You definitely get more value from the pasta than pizza. We got the salad to try to be a bit healthier. Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port is a good place to take kids.

Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disneyland/redd-rocketts-pizza-port/

In American

Original Pancake House: Breakfast in Anaheim

February 25, 2015

When in America, make sure to see if there is an Original Pancake House nearby. Or at least that’s what I do. Ever since visiting one in Chicago, I’ve been thinking about their Dutch Baby and Apple Pancakes ever since then. It is a chain restaurant around America, but it was first started in Portland in 1953.

The seating is nothing fancy, but the staff are very friendly and accommodating. It was our last day in Anaheim and our group of 5 ladies with a suitcase each really stood out. Everyone else seemed to be a local.

Coffee was needed by all of us. There was no denying this.

Dutch Baby is oven baked German pancake. This is one of their signature items and it comes in 2 sizes – small and large. We wanted the large size, but the small size arrived at the table.

Served with whipped butter, lemon and powdered sugar.

Apple Pancake is oven baked with fresh granny smith apples and pure Sinkiang cinnamon glaze. It has a lot of sugar on top. It was decent here. I had a better one in Chicago.

Bacon and eggs is a classic. We needed something savoury to balance out the sweet pancakes.

Hashbrown and eggs is another good item to share with the table. Best eaten with ketchup and hot sauce.

Pancakes were beautiful and served with whipped butter.

Side of Sausages were delicious and an essential part of any breakfast.

Strawberry Waffle has their golden brown waffle lightly dusted with powdered sugar then topped with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

We ordered everything and it was delicious! Original Pancake House was a great time for us ladies. We took an Uber here since we are not familiar with the area at all.

We rate Original Pancake House:

Address:
1418 E Lincoln Ave
Anaheim, CA

Website: http://www.originalpancakehouse.com/

In American

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: American Chinese Food

February 24, 2015

P.F. Chang’s is an American chain restaurant featuring Asian food. As an Asian person, it just seemed weird to dine at an American Asian Restaurant since Vancouver has a lot of Asian Restaurants.

I’ve spent years avoiding this restaurant because I assumed it would just be crappy food court-like food. This time around, I’m glad I came here for dinner since their American Asian food was quite food. It’s a good fusion of both cuisines.

Stella Artois was needed for a long day at the Disney Parks. Beer with Asian food is awesome.

Mongolian Beef has sweet, soy-glazed flank steak wok-seared with scallions and garlic. The beef was tender and full of flavour.

Chang’s Kung Pao has spicy Sichuan chili sauce with peanuts, celery, scallions and red chili peppers. Not too spicy at all.

Rice comes in a small bowl.

Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wrap is their signature appetizer. It has wok-seared chicken, mushrooms, green onions and water chestnuts over crispy rice sticks, with crisp lettuce cups.

You grab a little bit of filling and put it on a leaf of the lettuce. Then you fold it up and eat it.

Pad Thai has bold Thai spices wok-tossed with rice noodles, egg, tofu, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, crispy shallots and cilantro.

Shanghai Waldorf Salad has fresh chopped kale, endive, radicchio, crisp apples, grapes, celery, grape tomatoes and candied walnuts tossed in a light miso-lime vinaigrette. This salad isn’t Asian at all, but it tastes really good.

At the end of the meal, there are fortune cookies. A fun way to end the meal.

Overall, the food was pretty good for American Asian fusion food. A nice surprise!

We Rate P.F. Chang’s China Bistro:

Address:
321 W Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

Website:
http://pfchangs.com/

In American

Smoked Turkey Legs in Disneyland

February 23, 2015

We found ourselves snacking a lot at Disneyland instead of having a set meal during breakfast and lunch. There really wasn’t time for real meals when we only had a few minutes in between rides. We had so much fun that we only stopped to eat when our feet got tired.

One fun thing to eat at Disneyland are their Smoked Turkey Legs. You can find them throughout the park for about $9.99.

It’s massive and quite heavy. It’s about a pound or so. The meat inside was tender and had a strong smokey flavour, so the turkey tasted more like ham. It makes me curious how they prepared these legs. Plus, what happens to the other parts of the turkey.

You can eat it with fork and knife or go animal style and eat it off the bone. I would suggest fork and knife so you can share it with your friends. They might be grossed out if you slobbered all over it. It’s very tempting, but I had to share because the leg is huge.

I tried to take a size comparison with my iPhone, but I needed it to use it to take a picture of the food. So, here is the turkey leg with my head. One thing I couldn’t do was find Gaston and eat this Turkey Leg at the same time. Tracking down those characters are quite hard.

Website: disneyland.disney.go.com

In American

Churros in Disneyland

February 22, 2015

I love Churros! I made it a mission to have a few churros in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. It’s not hard to find them since there are carts everywhere in sight.

They heat them up fresh on the spot and cover them with plenty of sugar and cinnamon.

Churro ($4) is pretty expensive when you know you can get it at Costco for $1. But, since you have no other choice, this will do. It does taste pretty good. The churro is pretty long, so it does make for a great snack.

Just watch out for all the falling sugar, it might get on your clothes if you’re not careful.

Website: disneyland.disney.go.com

In Anaheim

Tiki Juice Bar: Dole Whip in Disneyland

February 21, 2015

Tiki Juice Bar inside Disneyland serves up Pineapple Dole Whip Soft Serve. When you visit Disneyland, you must make a stop here. Since you’re probably at Disneyland all day, it a great refresher and to cool you off from the hot sun.

Pine no more for pineapple—savor a taste of sunshine with the legendary frozen treat known as Dole Whip. This counter outside the Enchanted Tiki Room hosted by Dole® also serves pineapple spears, juice, Dole Whip floats and fruit bowls.

The line up wasn’t to long since we went in February but the staff seem to prepare them ahead of time so the line does move quickly. I’m not sure about the busy months of the year.

Dole Whip Float ($5.19) was what I ordered because I wanted to try their soft serve and their soft serve. A perfect combination and the size was quite big.

Pineapple Dole Whip Soft-serve ($3.79) was large a well. We all got one and the first few spoonfuls were amazing. Since it was so large, it did take some time to finish. Then it just got sweeter and sweeter. In the end we wish we shared instead of getting our own.

Overall, no regrets. It was delicious and very refreshing.

Location: Outside Adventure Land in Disneyland

Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disneyland/tiki-juice-bar/

In Anaheim

Searching for Starbucks at Disney California Adventure Park

February 19, 2015

Finding Starbucks at Disney California Adventure Park is a must because you need to stay caffeinated the whole day in order to finish all the rides and attractions.

Head to the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe on Buena Vista Street and the only Starbucks will be inside. The cafe is a few steps from the entrance, so it’s not hard to miss.

The drink menu is pretty standard, but the prices are a tad higher that regular Starbucks since there are no other alternatives around.

They have baked goods, sandwiches, salads, etc.

Once you have your drink, there’s a lot of tables you can choose from. Since we came around 2pm, there wasn’t a lot of people around. After the day of walking, our feet needed a little break.

One cool aspect are the cups! You will only find the Disney Parks cups here. Cute.

No need to fear a day without coffee! Disneyland also has a Starbucks too but in only one shop.

Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disney-california-adventure/fiddler-fifer-and-practical-cafe/

In Anaheim

Corn Dog Castle in Disney California Adventure Park

February 18, 2015

Disney California Adventure Park was our first stop to really reliving my childhood before I get married. There’s not too many varieties of items to eat in the park, but my girl friends and I found a secret love of corn dogs.

Of all things, it was corn dogs. The first stop was Corn Dog Castle.

We just stumbled upon Corn Dog Castle near Goofy’s Sky School in Paradise Pier.

At this medieval-themed boardwalk stand, the corn dogs rule! Why? Each one is made to order, hand-dipped and deep-fried at your command. Choose from original chicken-beef, hot link or ooey-gooey cheddar. All cometh with apple slices or chips.

The prices are decent, but it’s definitely not the most healthy item in the park, but then again it’s hard to find anything healthy in Disney California Adventure Park.

Original Corn Dog ($7.69) comes with a choice of chips or apple slices. My friends thought it was the best corn dog they have ever had. They had this everyday!

Hot Link Corn Dog ($7.99) comes with a choice of chips or apple slices as well. I chose the chips since apples don’t belong in a vacation. Plus, I haven’t had chips in a while, so I was craving them.

The Hot Link Corn Dog was massive and very spicy. You will even see the chilli flakes inside the sausage. Stick with the original corn dog and you’ll have a good time.

When you are at Disney California Adventure Park, definitely grab a corn dog as a snack!

Website: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disney-california-adventure/corn-dog-castle/

In American

Umami Burger: Burgers in Anaheim

February 17, 2015

Umami Burger is an American chain restaurant specializing in gourmet burgers. As the name suggests, their burgers utilize the umami flavour that is a savoury taste. All their burgers are made fresh in-house.

We came here after walking around Downtown Disney and were famished after the long walk around that area. We then took a short Uber to Umami Burger, which was very painless.

The interior is pretty cool and they have a lot of old looking license plates.

Umami Burger ($11.50) is their original burger which contains parmesan frico, shiitake mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions and their Umami house ketchup.

I got my burger made medium rare and I love the flavour and texture combination. That parmesan crisp really made it wonderful.

Manly Burger ($12) has beer-cheddar, bacon lardons, smoked-salt onion strings, Umami house ketchup and a mustard spread.

Mandu thought the burger was ok, but it was quite pricey since it doesn’t come with anything on the side.

Simple Salad ($4) has market greens with their chef’s seasonal dressing. We shared the salad amongst the table as we knew we had to get enough vegetables while on vacation. Its quite easy to skip out on vegetables when there’s fast food everywhere. The salad was good and had a light vinaigrette dressing.

Overall, Umami Burger was good, but a tad pricey. They do use quality ingredients and the flavours do go well together.

We Rate Umami Burger:

Address:
338 S Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA

Website:
http://www.umamiburger.com/

In American

Cheesecake Factory Anaheim: Lunch near Disneyland

February 16, 2015

The Cheesecake Factory is located in the Anaheim GardenWalk, it is about a 15 minute walk away from Disneyland and California Adventure Park. After taking a 40 minute ride from LAX, we arrive in Anaheim at 2pm and wanted a quick lunch. Since GardenWalk is a few steps away from our hotel, we decided to come here and get some pasta.

Cheesecake Factory is a US Chain restaurant best known for their vast varieties of Cheesecake and huge entree portions.

The restaurant seats a lot of customers.

We gravitated towards their lunch menu since these are smaller versions of their entrees.

Complimentary bread arrives and you have brown and white. It comes with butter on the side. These kept us occupied before the main meal arrived.

Louisiana Chicken Pasta ($12.50) has parmesan crusted chicken served over pasta with mushrooms, peppers and onions in a spicy new orleans sauce. Good portion size and it tasted good according to Mandu.

Pasta with Chicken and Scampi Sauce ($12.50) has chicken breast sautéed with garlic, herbs, tomato and white wine in a scampi cream sauce tossed with spaghettini. Of all the pasta dishes we ordered, this was definitely the best and has loads of chicken.

Fettuccine with chicken and Sundried tomatoes ($12.50) was good but the sundried tomatoes were sweet, which was odd. Other than that, the chicken and the sauce were great.

Overall, the food was decent and filled us up for lunch. The portion for lunch is still quite large, so I can only image how big the dinner sizes are.

We Rate Cheesecake Factory: