The French Market- Disneyland

Now that I have been able to once again join the ranks of Disneyland Passport holders I will be able to make regular trips to the parks again.
While I certainly don't consider myself a restaurant critic (or this to be a restaurant blog) I figured that enough people come to the park from around the world that I at least might be able to help steer them to some of the better options in the park. So from time to time I am going to sneak some Disneyland reviews in.

Prior to today's visit I hadn't been to either Disneyland or California Adventure in five years. One of the places that had always been reliable in the past was The French Market. Like many of the sit down places in the park it's "bufferteria" style- what they really means is think back to high school; Lunch ladies serving from steam trays. And picking desserts and salads off a little line. The food was never outstanding but it was good enough and a decent value for the price. It had a certain cheesy charm to it- it even got practically a whole chapter dedicated to it in a Baby Sitters Club book (BSC #23 "Dawn On The Coast"- damn I am old that I can even make mention to that series)

The menu is changed on a routine basis and normally feature 5 main entree choices, salad and soup (as well as mac & cheese or chicken mickey's for kids). Among today's options were some sort of salmon, skinless roasted chicken, pot roast, veg & four cheese gratin and jambalaya.
We decided to get a few things and share amongst ourselves. Since the menu changes so much I am not going to really go into great details on any of the actual items. What I will tell you that is while the portions are still as generous as they had been the taste and the quality is well... about what one expects from steam table food. If you really like cafeteria food you are sure to love this. Expect to spend over $10 but under $20 per person.

There is one thing that can be found pretty much at any of the food venues in New Orleans square that I love so I do want to mention it:
The Mint Julep. With the exception of the Ultra-exclusive Club 33 Disneyland is an alcohol free park (although it can be purchased at the Disneyland Hotel, pretty much any where in Downtown Disney and throughout the California Adventure park) The mint juleps served here are not the classic cocktail but instead it is a minty limeade type drink. I never make a visit to the park without getting one. They are just really refreshing.


PURCHASED FROM:
Disneyland Park
New Orleans Square

Starbucks Sorbetto- Tangy Tropical Mango

Sorbetto is a new drink that Starbucks is launching in select L.A.area stores.
Lucky me that I just happen to work near such a store!

The Sorbetto is a 10 oz. cold drink that is yogurt based and flavored with various fruits. According to Starbucks the drink was inspired by the drinks found in the cafe's of Italy. While I am full blooded Italian I have never actually been to Italy (sad I know) so may be i am missing something but I can't think of any yogurt based Italian drinks. I even came up dry over at Wikipedia! What the drink does remind me of is an Indian lassi. And I LOOOOOOVE me some lassi's!

The first thing you notice- besides the headscratching ode to Italy is that the drink is, relatively speaking tiny. At a mere 10 oz's for $2.95 I was starting to wonder if maybe I should have stuck with my normal quad-latte (I am hard core). Of course you knew I was not going to let the chance for a review pass so I ponied up.

The drink as it turns out was well worth skipping the coffee for. The yogurt- which is the very trendy Pinkberry is smooth and tart- but not face puckering tart. The mango which is swirled on top is great. It's sweet and they don't overload the drink with it. If your lucky enough to be near one of the stores carrying these drinks try them! They are surprisingly refreshing!

The Hat Chili Cheese Fries

Since it's vacation season and no doubt Southern California is a huge tourist draw I thought I would share with you a few of my local favorites. These are chili fries from The Hat.


The Hat is a local chain that is most famous for it's pastrami- and while these are fighting words in local circles, I personally don't like they're pastrami. But what I LOOOOOVE is the chili fries.

The fries themselves are just standard issue fries but they are piled high and topped with enough chili (no beans) and cheese to feed at least 3 people. I have personally never finsished even half of an order so plan on sharing!
The chili uses good quality ground meat and is just the slightest bit spicy. The cheese is shredded chedder and they will add onions if you ask.

They are huge, they are greasy and they have NO nutrional value what-so ever. But DAMN they are good!