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Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival FIRST LOOK!


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Woo-hoo! We were SO excited to hear that the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival was coming out of hiatus this year. And I’m thrilled to report that it’s AWESOME!

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Yep — the festival, which runs in Disney California Adventure in Disneyland Resort on weekends through May 1, opened for business yesterday. And DFB was there to explore!

Food and Wine Festival Signage

Food and Wine Festival Signage

Yesterday, we mostly explored the brand new food booths that are debuting at the festival for the first time. Those of you familiar with the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in Walt Disney World will know the set-up. Small booths featuring several tapas-sized menu items and selected beverages are set up around the festival. This is the first time that the California festival has done this, so we were super excited to check it out.

Here’s what we sampled and tasted yesterday!

If you want to read more about the rest of the festival and see schedules for the Beverage Seminars and Celebrity Kitchen events, head on over to our main Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival Page!

DCA Food and Wine Festival Food Booth Reviews

Yesterday, we visited several of the booths set up around the festival. No worries, though, we’ll be back soon with reviews of e’erything!!! Let’s take a first look…

Gold Rush Booth

The Gold Rush booth features some of our favorite dishes at the festival so far!

Gold Rush Booth

Gold Rush Booth

Gold Rush Booth Menu

Gold Rush Booth Menu

First up, we sampled the Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli ($5.00). These were yummy, and were a favorite…

Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli

Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli

…until we tried this!!!! The Triple Cheese Mac with Smoked Chicken ($6.000) was off. the. ranch. y’all!!!! Spotlighting fontina, cheddar, and gouda, the cheesiness was spectacular.

Triple Cheese Mac with Smoked Chicken

Triple Cheese Mac with Smoked Chicken

Next up from this booth? Dessert! And this one is going to sound crazy…’cause it was. Apple Bacon Whoopie Pie with Maple Cream Cheese Icing and Bacon Brittle ($3.74), anyone? Um…yeah. That was happening.

Apple bacon Whoopie Pie

Apple bacon Whoopie Pie

We also got the specialty beverage option — the N/A Flower-Field Lemonade ($4.25). This one was pretty, but VERY flowery. Too flowery. And served without ice? Wha?

We heard good things from our readers, but it was a no-go for us.

Flower Field Lemonade

Flower Field Lemonade

By the Bay Booth

We headed on over to the By the Bay Booth for some San Francisco eats next!

By the Bay Booth

By the Bay Booth

By the Bay Booth Menu

By the Bay Booth Menu

I couldn’t wait to tackle that teeny-weeny bread bowl filled with White Cheddar Ale & Bacon Soup ($5.50)! Can you even take this cuteness?? You can sort of see the spoon next to it to get a feel for the size of this thing.

Our only complaint was that they needed to scoop out the boule more to make more room for soup!!!

White Cheddar Ale and Bacon Soup in a Bread Bowl

White Cheddar Ale and Bacon Soup in a Bread Bowl

Next up? The Coconut Tapioca layered with Fresh Mango, Lychee Boba, and Mango Coulis ($4.25). This was refreshing and delicious.

Coconut Tapioca

Coconut Tapioca

The Farm Booth

From the Bay over to the Farm!

The Farm Booth Menu

The Farm Booth Menu

We had to try that Golden Thai Vegetable Curry ($5.75) first. We loved it. Check out that coconut! The serving here was a little small, though.

Golden Thai Vegetable Curry

Golden Thai Vegetable Curry

And because we can’t ever say no to Meyer Lemon anything, we had to check out the Meyer Lemon Macaron ($3.50). This one included Blueberry Marmalade, Meyer Lemon Cream, and Blueberry Dust! Yummo!

Meyer Lemon Macaron

Meyer Lemon Macaron

Inside Lemon Macaron -- blueberry marmalade!

Inside Lemon Macaron — blueberry marmalade!

LAStyle Booth

LA was next!

LA Style Booth Menu

LA Style Booth Menu

We didn’t try this booth yet, but a new friend sampled the Chilled Ahi Poke with Avocado Creme, Wakame Salad, and Sesame Tuille.

Chilled Ahi Poke

Chilled Ahi Poke

Viva Fresca Booth

Over at the Viva Fresca Booth we sampled one of the larger festival menu items.

Viva Fresca Menu

Viva Fresca Menu

The Anaheim Chile & Roasted Cauliflower Burrito with Jack Cheese and Avocado-Lime Crema ($5.50) didn’t strike a cord with us. We loved the avocado crema, but the overall flavors weren’t something we need to get again.

Chile and Cauliflower Burrito

Chile and Cauliflower Burrito

Inside Chile and Cauliflower Burrito

Inside Chile and Cauliflower Burrito

Wine Country Booth

The Wine Country Booth held some promising goodies! We grabbed a shot of the Zinfandel-Braised Wagyu Beef while we were indulging in dessert!

Wagyu Beef

Wagyu Beef

But it was this Blackberry Tart with Rosemary Vanilla Bean Creme Fraiche that caught our eye. This was gorgeous (and delicious)!

Blackberry Tart

Blackberry Tart

Inside Blackberry Tart

Inside Blackberry Tart

We’ll be back with full coverage in just a few days of this amazing festival!! Stay tuned!

In the meantime, there’s one more thing I wanted to share with you about the festival.

Passholder Payment Lanyard

DCA has introduced a Passholder Lanyard ($45). This is similar to the lanyards used for the VIP Premium packages at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Disneyland Annual Passholders can purchase a lanyard and use the six tabs to purchase items at the booths. (Which items you can purchase with tabs is printed on the lanyard.)

Passholder Lanyard

Passholder Lanyard

Passholder Lanyard Back

Passholder Lanyard Back

You can use the lanyard anytime throughout the festival, but once the six tabs are gone, the lanyard can no longer be used for purchasing.

Is this a good deal? Um…no. If you look at the pricing on the menus, there aren’t enough things that are priced high enough to make this come out as a money savings (alcohol is excluded). So, if you get this, look at it as a souvenir instead of a money-saving strategy.

Overall

So far, so good! The festival is a hit as far as we’re concerned. Stay tuned to DFB to see even more coverage!

And if you happen to be in Anaheim next weekend, come on out to the Lifestyle Stage in DCA at 11:30 on April 9th to see Heather and AJ present on their favorite Disneyland eats!

Read more about the rest of the festival and see schedules for the Beverage Seminars and Celebrity Kitchen events on our main Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival Page!

Disney Food Blog Fans, be sure to check out our DFB Disney World Dining Guide e-Books! Find great deals at DFBStore.com! Also, come on over and:


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