Vegan at Disneyland – Hungry Bear Restaurant

I have posted about Disneyland before and will continue to update as I try different vegan options in both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Click here to see all posts about Disneyland.  Eventually, I plan to put together my own comprehensive list.

My sister and I were looking for a new vegan place to try on our recent trip to Disneyland, so we consulted the impressive 23-page Vegan Cowgirl guide to vegan options at Disneyland.  It’s dated 2013, so the information is pretty current.

We went over to the Hungry Bear Restaurant (located near Splash Mountain and the Winnie the Pooh ride) to try the Fried Green Tomato sandwich.

It’s cornmeal crusted fried green tomatoes, layered with heirloom tomatoes and jicama-mango slaw and served on a multigrain roll.  Just make sure to order it without sauce or cheese.  Unfortunately, even though I said the exceptions twice, she didn’t get that I didn’t want cheese, so I had to wait for them to re-make the sandwich.

It was worth the wait, though because this sandwich was tasty!  I loved the fried green tomatoes (never had those before!) and the batter was a little bit salty, which went so well with the rest of the sandwich.  I was worried that without sauce or cheese the sandwich might be dry, but it was actually really moist because of the tomatoes.  It tasted really fresh and was filling without being heavy.  The fries were fine, especially with some barbeque sauce.

Bonus points for being less expensive than the Vegan Gumbo at Royal Street Veranda and the Tofu Rice Bowl at Lucky Fortune Cookery in California Adventure.  There’s also a cute little area to sit and eat, with a view of the Mark Twain riverboat as it goes by.  It’s never all that crowded on this end of the park, whereas finding a place to eat your gumbo can be a nightmare in New Orleans Square.  I will definitely be ordering this one again, particularly on warm days since it’s not too heavy.

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Vegan at Disneyland – River Belle Terrace

I have posted about Disneyland before and will continue to update as I try different vegan options in both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Click here to see all posts about Disneyland.  Eventually, I plan to put together my own comprehensive list.

My sister, Samantha, and I went to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago and decided to try the famous Vegetable Po’Boy at the River Belle Terrace (across from Tarzan’s Treehouse).

Unfortunately, it looks like that was just recently taken off of the menu.  The new vegan item is Becky Thatcher’s Black Bean Cakes, which are served with pineapple relish, cucumber salad, and red pepper coulis.

The black bean cakes were nice and moist.  They didn’t seem to be cooked all the way through, but were warm, kind of like the black bean burgers I made.  The red pepper coulis was delicious and a little spicy.  I’m not really one for pineapple, but it went well with the red pepper coulis and wasn’t overly pineappley.  Definitely don’t let it stop you from ordering the meal unless you’re allergic.  The cucumber salad was refreshing and overall, the flavors balanced really well.  There’s also a small salad bar with assorted salad toppings in the dining area, so we grabbed some pequeno peppers for free.

If other people wanted to eat at the River Belle Terrace, I wouldn’t hesitate to order this dish again, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.  I felt it was a little pricy for what you got.

 

Vegan at Disneyland – Cafe Orleans, post 2

I have posted about Disneyland before and will continue to update as I try different vegan options in both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Click here to see all posts about Disneyland.  Eventually, I plan to put together my own comprehensive list.

On this visit, we ate at Cafe Orleans around sunset, so we could stay and watch Fantasmic after dark.  I wanted to try something different this time, so I ordered La Salade de Maison, described as “Our Cafe Orleans signature house salad, featuring tossed baby greens in a raspberry vinaigrette, topped with cherry tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese and caramelized pecans. C’est bon!”  I asked about the vinaigrette and was told that it was vegan and asked for no cheese.  I was unhappy to see the salad arrive without the pecans, but was told that they weren’t vegan.  With the non-vegan toppings removed, this was a pretty empty salad.  The dressing was tasty, though.

Between the two vegan options at Cafe Orleans – La Salade de Maison (sans cheese and pecans) and N’awlins Vegetable Ragout (without cheese or corn cakes) – I would go with the salad, because it is about a third of the price.  Neither of them make for a great meal in my opinion, they are more of a compromise, which we vegans are used to having to make when dining out.

However, there’s another option, which in my opinion is far superior.  The waitress told us that guests are welcome to get the Royal Street Veranda vegetarian gumbo (just across the way) and bring it over to Cafe Orleans to eat with the rest of your party.  Absolutely worth doing!  See my review of the amazing vegetarian gumbo here.

As a note for those who avoid such things, the waitress nicely came over to tell us that the garlic Pommes Frites are fried in the same oil as the Monte Cristo, which has cheese and meat in it.  I obviously avoid such things when cooking for myself and my husband, but I figure there are thousands of times that this sort of thing may be happening while I eat in restaurants and I’m never told, so this sort of thing doesn’t really bother me.  If you decide to order them, remember to ask for no cheese.

Vegan at Disneyland – California Adventure’s Lucky Fortune Cookery

I have posted about Disneyland before and will continue to update as I try different vegan options in both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Click here to see all posts about Disneyland.  Eventually, I plan to put together my own comprehensive list.

My sister, Sammi, decided to get an Annual Pass and came to Disneyland with us this weekend for her first visit in a long time.

We decided to go to Lucky Fortune Cookery in California Adventure this time, since I hadn’t yet had a chance to try it.  It’s in the Pacific Wharf area along with many other restaurants.

They offer Asian rice bowls, each with steamed rice and seared Asian vegetables.  First you choose your protein, then you choose your sauce.  The fact that they offer both tofu and meat options makes this a good place to go with others that allows everyone to get what they want.

Sammi is vegan too, so we agreed to order difference sauces so we could try both.  She ordered a tofu bowl with Spicy Korean sauce and I got a tofu bowl with Teriyaki sauce.  We realized later that we may have been able to ask them to substitute brown rice, since they offer it in their kid’s meals.

The Spicy Korean sauce was flavorful, but a little too spicy for my taste – and I usually like things spicy!  Sammi really liked it, she has a higher tolerance.

Spicy Korean Tofu Closeup

Spicy Korean Tofu

The Teriyaki sauce was just as flavorful with a little less heat, but still on the spicy side.  It was my preference.  I didn’t think it had quite enough sauce.  Sammi thought hers had enough sauce, but it could have been because it was so spicy that she appreciated a little plain rice in there to cool off her tongue.

Teriyaki Sauce Tofu

Teriyaki Sauce Tofu closeup

Both of them came out piping hot and perfectly cooked.  The used silken tofu, which isn’t my favorite – I like it a little firmer.  We were given pretty good portions, but when compared to gumbo in an edible bread bowl, it seemed a little expensive.  It was originally $10.49, but after a Premium Annual Passport holder discount, it came to only $9.63 including tax.

I would eat here again to break up my habit of ordering Veggie Gumbo from Royal Street Veranda, which remains my favorite.  However, I did prefer this meal over the N’awlins Vegetable Ragout from Cafe Orleans, which is more expensive.

More reviews to come as I try different dishes around the parks!

Vegan at Disneyland – Cafe Orleans, post 1

Eric and I just got Annual Passes to Disneyland again to celebrate his 30th birthday and my college graduation.  I have posted about Disneyland before and will continue to update as I try different vegan options in both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Click here to see all posts about Disneyland.

It seems like it has been a really long time since we had passes.  We’re looking forward to making it a main source of entertainment for the next year.

Now population 650,000,002!

For lunch, of course, we beelined to the Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square for some long awaited Vegan Gumbo.  It didn’t disappoint.  I love that stuff.

For dinner, we decided to eat at an old pre-vegan favorite, Cafe Orleans.  We made reservations for sunset and requested a table outside so we could watch the park go from day to night over a nice meal.  Thanks to the blogs I linked to in a previous post about vegan options at Disneyland, I knew that there was an entree that could easily be made vegan.  I got the N’awlins Vegetable Ragout (no cheese, with the corn cakes on the side for Eric to try) for $15.49.

The vegetable ragout (like a stew) included eggplant, red onions, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, and fresh garlic, with a tomato sauce.  The vegetables were cooked very well and the sauce was delicious, but the dish felt like it was lacking in substance.  Without the corn cakes to mop up some of the sauce, I was simply eating vegetables topped in sauce.  This dish would have been so much better on top of some pasta or accompanied by some sourdough rolls.  As it was, I would grade it a B level meal.

We also ordered the Pommes Frites ($5.99) to share.  They very nicely veganized the traditional French-fried potatoes with garlic and parsley by omitting the Parmesan cheese.  These tasted kind of boring… they were definitely lacking in the garlic department.

As a nice treat, the Cafe Orleans offers a Mickey shaped Beignet (a French pastry, similar to a puffy donut without glaze) for guests celebrating a birthday.  I always loved those pre-vegan days and enjoyed celebrating.

I have to make one more note about the Cafe Orleans and probably all restaurants in Disneyland.  This has never happened to us before, but their water on this visit was nasty.  Eric’s water tasted soapy (probably a soapy glass) and mine had a *cue Psycho music here* brownish ice cube in it.  I’m not saying this is an ongoing problem, but I am saying that I will be ordering drinks without ice from here on out.  Gross.

Stay tuned for more Disneyland reviews.  We’ve already planned visits for the next two weekends!

Vegan at Disneyland – Royal Street Veranda and Links to Comprehensive Guides

This past weekend was my last before the Fall semester begins at my university.  I will be taking 5 courses, totaling 13 units, while working full time, so I doubt my weekends will be free for the next four months.  Eric and I decided to take advantage of our last free weekend and go to Disneyland.  His cousin (who usually works at Space Mountain) graciously offered to sign us in for the day.  Eric was nervous about our dining options because this would be my first vegan day at Disneyland, so we planned ahead.  We packed a lot of vegan snacks (grapes, kettle corn, kettle chips, nuts) and a lunch for each of us (I brought a vegan focaccia pizza thing that I found at Sprouts).  My mom kindly pointed me toward some websites that she found when Googling “vegan Disneyland”.  There are actually quite a few options for vegan diners.

We decided to try the gumbo at Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square (above Pirates of the Caribbean, right next to the stairs that go up to the Dream Suite).  They offer vegetarian gumbo (it is in fact, vegan), steak gumbo, and clam chowder.  The gumbo is hearty, spicy, and comes in a yummy sourdough bread bowl.  I remarked that it is possibly the best meal I have ever had at Disneyland, vegan or omnivore.  The bowls were $9.29, which is not horrible when you consider that it’s Disneyland food.

Much tastier than it looks!

In recent years, Disneyland has improved their healthy options in the park.  There are many snack stands that offer fruit, water, apple chips, and hummus and pretzel packs.

The new look of California Adventure is just adorable. Look at this little snack market!

However, the prices for these items are pretty steep, so I recommend bringing your own.  I have never had a problem bringing food into the park even though they check all bags.  They are just checking for glass and other dangerous items.  We always bring a few big water bottles from Trader Joes instead of paying something like $6 for each bottle of water.

Throughout the hot day, Eric was eyeing the many food stands that offer ice cream.  The power of suggestion combined with the heat made me really crave something cold, so I decided to get a frozen lemonade from a cart and suggested that Eric get his ice cream at another cart.  He, instead, opted for a lemonade as well and we enjoyed our tarty treats at the Bengal Barbeque seating area across from the Indiana Jones ride while we waited for our fast passes to kick in.  The barbeque smelled delicious and I caught a glance of a passing veggie skewer that looked really good.  I may try that on a future visit to the Happiest Place on Earth.

In case you are interested in other options, below are links to a few websites where I found lists of places to find vegan food at both parks.

Mickey and Minnie tumblr

Peas and Thank You

All Ears

Chow Vegan, part 1

Chow Vegan, part 2

The Very New Vegan: Disneyland

The Very New Vegan: California Adventure