Disneyland Dining - Rancho del Zocalo

The flowering bougainvillea that laces over the trellis above the outdoor dining of the Rancho del Zocalo counter service restaurant is one of the most beautiful, stunning sites in Disneyland. Just gorgeous. If you are dining below with meal from Rancho del Zocalo then beauty may be the furthest thing from your mind.

Of all the dining places Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I have frequented in Disneyland over the last couple of years, Rancho del Zocalo has been the most consistently disappointing. Disappointing to the point where we don't even bother to go there anymore. Now Mrs. DLT love Mexican food but what Rancho del Zocalo tries to pass off as true Mexican cuisine well, you'd probably get a better meal from Taco Bell.

At one time Rancho del Zocalo was a hybrid restaurant with one side serving Mexican dishes and the other side serving up Bar-B-Que which was actually pretty good in the days before Big Thunder Bar-B-Que. But even back in those days, the Mexican food was sub-par. Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I have made 3 or 4 visits to Rancho del Zocalo over the last 10 to 12 years and our impression has always been the same - bad food, cheaply made, poorly made, and typically overpriced. We have dined on the carne asada & cheese enchiladas with the beef typically being overcooked (quite common in Disneyland's preparation of beef dishes of any kind), stringy, and tough while the cheese enchiladas were nothing more than supermarket shredded cheese wrapped in a tortilla and served with what tasted like a canned sauce. The chicken soft tacos were better but not by much. The typical rice and beans are served with the plates but these are nothing special in the least.

As mentioned in a post from earlier today, my sister ate at Rancho del Zocalo yesterday and had the chicken fajita tostada salad and said it was way to spicy to the point where she could not eat it and had to throw most of it away. Sad and a waste.

In my journeys about Disneyland through cyberspace, many Disneyland bloggers and forum posters say that if you go to Rancho del Zocalo, try the citrus grilled chicken which seems to get favorable reviews. The French Market in New Orleans Square serves up a version of citrus grilled chicken as well that Mrs. DLT and I have enjoyed and if Rancho's version is as good as that one the maybe it may be worth going back sometime. I said 'maybe'.

Rancho del Zocalo is a beautiful site for a restaurant. Open, airy, spacious, it's quite inviting to give it a try. We have and come to realize that beauty is only skin deep but lousy goes right to the core. Connected to Rancho del Zocalo is a little area known as Zocalo Park where certain times of the year thematic pieces celebrating Mexican heritage are put on display. Very nice, charming in fact, but the food, oh that bad food.

It should be noted that the Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill across the way in Disney California Adventure serves much the same menu as Rancho del Zocalo (with much the same results) with one very notable exception - Cocina Cucamonga serves a chicken tamales plate that is actually quite good. They also server beer over there which can sometimes make up for what the food may lack in quality and taste.

Disneyland Dining - Cafe Orleans

Walt himself enjoying a cup of coffee at the Cafe Orleans - A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Its surprising that when I talk about Disneyland's Cafe Orleans I often get the response "I've heard of it and know where it is but I just haven't bothered to go in there yet". Yes, the Cafe Orleans is the New Orleans Square table service restaurant people kind of conveniently forget about as they make their plans to go to the neighboring Blue Bayou. Often times, when the Blue Bayou is booked up for the day, a trip over to the Cafe Orleans will allow you to get a table in a relatively short amount of time as a walk-up guest (though, as with all Disneyland table service restaurants, its always a good idea to call ahead for dining time).

I've had some people tell me that the didn't even know where the Cafe Orleans was. Really?  While the entrance (which has recently been moved) may be small, unassuming, and a bit out of the way, the restaurant itself  has quite a presence with the dozens of tables and chairs that sit on an outside dining patio with a wonderful view overlooking the Rivers of America from New Orleans Square.  (Oh, that place.....) The Cafe Orleans also has an inside dining section but from a quick view, the larger dining section is what you see outside.

For Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I, it took many trips before we actually made it into the Cafe Orleans.  If we were going to splurge on table service dining in New Orleans Square, it was the Blue Bayou or nothing.  That and the fact, the cajun inspired menu of the Cafe Orleans didn't really match Mrs DLT's sometimes rather bland palette.  Then one day a few years ago, we just decided we wanted to eat lunch at the Blue Bayou.  This was one of those times we didn't call ahead and so we were politely told the restaurant was booked up for the day.  Darn it!  And then we made the choice, let's just go try the Cafe Orleans.  We were seated in about 30 minutes, maybe less.  I waited while Mrs. DLT marched her way through the New Orleans Square shopping establishments.

Old entrance to Cafe Orleans across from the Blue Bayou

Once we were seated, we were greeted with one of Disneyland's best food offerings. We ordered Pommes Frites as our appetizer.  You can call them Pommes Frites if you want but for us Americans, these are garlic fries and for me anyway, they may be the best I ever had which is saying something for Disneyland food.  Served nice and hot, the fries are liberally coated with a delicious mixture of garlic, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and a little olive oil.  They are also served with a cajun dipping sauce but I have always enjoyed them better without the accompanying sauce.  While you are enjoying your fries take a good look at the neighboring tables around you.  At least half of them will have a basket of these fries.  Many Disneylandphiles know a really good thing.

Since Mrs. DLT isn't a fan of spicy foods, she usually opts for the legendary Monte Cristo sandwich.  Cafe Orleans delivers this popular favorite for several dollars cheaper than the neighboring Blue Bayou.  If you never had one, try it here and save a few bucks.  They aren't for everybody mostly because these things are so rich and decadent, I think its kind of hard for one person to eat a whole one.  What is a monte cristo?  Think of it as ham, turkey, and swiss cheese served between two pieces of french toast, then deep fried, covered in powdered sugar, and served with some kind of jelly.  Wow!  Who came up with this concoction?  But it is good in a perverted kind of way and you can see why they are a favorite and have been on Disneyland menus for years and years.  If you eat one, you just kind of have to put the number of calories and fat content out of your mind.  When Mrs. DLT go the monte cristo route invariably, a chunk of it is bagged and taken to go.

The Cafe Orleans Monte Cristo sandwich.  Good luck trying to finish it.

I'm a crepe guy.  What the Cafe Orleans serves that you cannot get any place else in either park are crepe dishes.  I've had both Seafood Crepe and Chicken Gumbo Crepe and have enjoyed them both.  Both are quite filling with the cream sauce on the Seafood Crepe being, to me anyway, the little richer dining experience of the two.  You can't go wrong with either.

Seafood Crepe - Cafe Orleans Disneyland

I haven't tried it yet but I'm told the French Onion Soup is also very good so that is on my list of things to try next time I am at the Cafe Orleans.  French Onion Soup and Pommes Frites, that'll work.  At the top of this post is a picture of Walt Standing in front of a copper coffee pot.  The pot is still in the Cafe Orleans taking a prime spot in the inside dining portion of the restaurant.  Look at this  photo, go to the Cafe Orleans and look at the actual pot.  Make the connection.  You will be glad you did.

Disneyland Dining - The Hungry Bear

Since this blog started a few months back, I have had to rethink my approach to certain topics a couple of different times.  That is what I am doing with the park restaurant reviews.  Over on the DCA side of things I've posted blog entries about Quick Service Dining and Table Service Dining where I compare one eating establishment with another. Well, I've come to see the limitations to that approach especially when it comes to Disneyland where there are just more dining options.  Disneyland has been changing and upgrading their  food offerings for the last couple of years but I have to admit, there are a few dining establishments in Disneyland I haven't been to in several years and in the case of one - the Pizza Port - never been to at all (kind of tucked out of the way I guess).  So with that in mind, I'll take a look at the restaurants individually rather than lump them together.

I'll start with the Hungry Bear Restaurant where we did enjoy a nice lunch on a trip a few months back.  This is one of the dining places in Disneyland that did undergo a brief refurbishment and came back with a new menu.  On trips to Disneyland in prior years our memories of the Hungry Bear have been OK - they served roast beef or turkey sandwiches on croissants which were really pretty good.  They also served up the standard Disney park burger which seemed to always be a poor choice in years past.  I also have a memory of dropping a tray of food on the ground - embarrassing.

On our most recent trip to the Hungry Bear, I tried out their new signature item which is the new fried green tomato sandwich with sweet potato fries (below), while Mrs. DisneylandTraveler went the safe route (again) and had the crispy chicken sandwich.  We decided to split an order of onion rings (can also be seen in the picture below).

I enjoyed the fried green tomato sandwich even though it seemed a bit skimpy on the fried green tomato part and a little heavy on the cole slaw topping. It would have been better if the two fried green tomato slices on the sandwich where a bit bigger and thicker. I do enjoy sweet potato fries, but it seems like after a few of them, the novelty seems to wear off.  I seldom finish all of them.  The Hungry Bear may be the only place in the park where you can get onion rings and while the order consisted of only four rings, they are absolutely huge.  If only the fried green tomatoes on the sandwich were this big.  As for Mrs. DLT, Disneyland chicken sandwiches of almost any kind are a good safe bet.  They are always pretty good even if you can't describe them as memorable.  The Hungry Bear also serves up a signature chili burger on their new menu but since chili is not one of those things I typically order in a restaurant, don't expect any future posts about my views on their chili burger - not happening.

The Hungry Bear has a large two story outdoor eating area and is tucked away up in Critter Country along the Rivers of America.  The setting is special.  Unless you are there during peak dining times, you can enjoy the peace and quiet of a very nice view of the water. There is also plenty of shade if you are looking for somewhere to eat and get out of the sun. The Hungry Bear also has one of the better bathroom facilities in the park, very large, clean, and well attended to.  In all, the Hungry Bear is one of my favorite dining places in Disneyland but it is tucked all the way to the rear of the park and not convenient unless you are heading to Splash Mountain or Winnie the Pooh.  Sometimes just the quietness (usually) of the place makes it worth the hike.