Disneyland Carnation Cafe, Vegan Food Found, Secret Disney Food, and too Full to Move

One of the things we love most about Disneyland is that you can got there a hundred times and still not see and do everything. We just splurged and bought season passes, so we decided to head up there yesterday for the evening after hubby was done working. His work schedule and his constant jetlag demand that he is up super early, so we were on Main Street by 3pm and sat down for a meal at the Carnation Cafe for the very first time. 

How did we not even notice this place, before?! We have gotten ice cream at the counter next door, kept walking, and we both just assumed the people eating at the tables outside just to the left were just enjoying their own ice cream and lucky enough to score a seat. NOT so! The Carnation Cafe is a sit-down restaurant with table service that makes really great food, floats, and special desserts right there, in plain view, in the middle of Main Street. Hello there, you little foodie find!

They gave us a buzzer for a 15-30 minute wait and we wandered through the nearby shops and theater with the old timey cartoons until called. We were seated right at the edge of the sidewalk which was perfect for the parade route! What luck for this preggo momma who was already scheming on ways to NOT walk too much, hence the focus of pricey, sit-down, table service restaurants at Disney these days and the upcoming 4 course meal I'm about to detail... 

One of the main reasons I didn't think twice about going into this place was the Chef's Vegan Burger. I'm not 100% vegan but it is my favorite way to eat most of the time. 

Kudos to Disney for embracing vegans and this kind and green way to eat! I had no idea when we bee-lined to the cafe that I would be doing more than eating the fried pickles and floats I had heard about (I know... pickles and ice-cream haha).

 

What we ate:

1st course - Root Beer Float

2nd course - Hubby had the Baked Potato Soup, and we all shared the Fried Pickles

3rd course - Kids Mac and Cheese, Daddy got the Chicken Fried Chicken, Mommy - Vegan Burger with fries

4th course - White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Yes, we managed to start and end with dessert! 

How was it?

Everything was delicious, according to our palates. Not quite mind-blowing, but I would mark this as really good theme park food. Totally worth a try. Make sure to have a malt or float. Don't miss the fried pickles. 

My Vegan Burger was obviously home made (not a processed, frozen patty like you would expect at a theme park) and it was a unique recipe. I found it quite enjoyable and can only assume that the yummy bread was home made as well. Just a warning that the Chipotle mayo was spicy. I find this is a common trend, to make vegan food spicy. Maybe chefs think it isn't tasty enough? 

Good thing I have an iron stomach. Knott's Berry Farm black bean burger is delicious but fiery, too. My mom is a vegan and this would not work for her at all. I forgot to ask if they can do regular vegan mayo. Maybe it is time to start packing our own... People do that, right?! Vegan mayo in packets. I want it now.

The fried pickles were a lot of fun, too, but the sauce is also spicy. They did an exceptional job breading and frying these, so much so that the little dude enjoyed it minus the pickle. Don't worry, just give the pickle to the ravenous pregnant lady next to you to make it disappear!

After all this food, we were REALLY full, but really full when you're really pregnant makes it really hard to walk. Must buy more time. Plus we were seconds away from the parade starting. The waiter offered to "show" us the desserts. I knew this would be an easy sell. He brought a lovely tray of 3 options to our table and I swear, he probably could have just left it there with 3 spoons. Everything looked perfectly delish. 

We all agreed on the White Chocolate Raspberry Cake and went to town just as the parade kicked off to entertain us. It is amazing the room you find in your body to stuff a few mouthfuls of cake, especially with two other competitors going at it and Mickey Mouse on a drum kit rolling by on a float with a marching band. Just keep shoveling, momma, you'll be fiiiine.

Walking was tough after this. Standing in line for a couple rides was a welcome break (it was Friday, a Star Tours anniversary or something that brings out the nerdy fanatic types, and crowded). Thank goodness for season passes. No pressure to go, see, or do anything that wasn't easy and fun for this family and as a MEGA-bonus, we scored a sleeping toddler we could put right to bed when we got home. So here's to another great family day and another Disney restaurant checked off the bucket list.