The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (75 page)

Great news: 
The
Jolly Holiday Bakery Café
, which opened at the
Plaza Pavillion
in January 2012 when the
Blue Ribbon
closed, has warm, high-quality service on par with their delicious food and drinks. 
Did You Know?
  What did
Disneyland
do with the extra space when the
Blue Ribbon Bakery
closed?  They used the space to create indoor dining for the adjacent
Carnation Café
. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  There’s not as long a line as there used to be.  They have the best cocoa ever.  I don’t care for their brownies.

Carnation Café

[
FastView:
 
Table service, early 1900’s ambiance, and hearty cuisine ranging from burgers to fried chicken and meatloaf.  Breakfast is a winner.  Try the PB&J soda.
]

This pretty little café is technically on
West Center Street
, sandwiched between the
Emporium
and
Fortuosity Shop
to the south, and the
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
to the north.  Because of the limited number of tables you’ll often see a line of Guests waiting to be seated, but it’s worth the wait–and since the
Blue Ribbon Bakery
closed in January 2012, and this popular café expanded into that space, there’s more seating now, making it more convenient for Guests to dine here.

And f
or even faster seating, you can plan ahead and call (714) 781-DINE to be placed on the
Priority Seating
list.  This is not necessarily a reservation, but guarantees faster (priority) seating than Guests who didn’t plan in advance will receive.  You can also email
[email protected]
.

The
Carnation Café
is popular because of its charm and its food.  At this table-service restaurant, one of the few in the park, Guests breakfast, lunch, or dine at spotless tables under red-and-white striped umbrellas, waited on by friendly Cast Members.  Guests relax and watch the
Main Street
hustle and bustle flow by.  Guests can also dine inside now, in turn-of-the-20
th
-century splendor.  The cuisine is classic American, and for a
Disneyland
table-service venue, the prices are moderate.  (Expect prices to rise slightly in 2014).

Start your breakfast with a
Specialty Coffee
, ranging from about $3.19 to $4.50 each, or a
Cinnamon-Spiced Hot Coca
for $3.  Not terribly hungry?  Order
Bacon
,
Fruit
, or
Chicken-Apple Sausage Links
a la carte
for about $3 each.

Want a heartier meal to break your fast?  The
Carnation Café
has some of the most interesting breakfasts at the resort.  Try the
Apple-Granola Pancakes
($10.50), griddlecakes dressed with cinnamon apples and granola, accompanied by bacon or sausage. Other café specialties include
Huevos Rancheros
($10), and
Steel-Cut Oatmeal Cakes
($9).

The
Fruit Parfaits
($6) or
Spinach and Tomato Egg White Frittatas
($11) are musts for the health conscious.

Guests also
enjoy the
Ham and Cheese Omelet
($10), classic
Mickey Mouse Waffles
($10.50) with bacon or sausage, or
Oscar’s Choice:  All-American Breakfast
($10), a hearty way to begin your day in the park, with two eggs, biscuit, breakfast potatoes, and bacon or sausage.

Children aged
3 – 9 chow down on
the All-American Breakfast
(scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and fresh fruit), the
Whole Grain
Mickey Waffles
or
Whole-Grain Silver Dollar Pancakes
(also served with turkey bacon and fruit), or a
Seasonal Fruit Plate
(with muffin and yogurt) for $7.50 per plate.  Lowfat-milk, juice, or water is included.  (Why are children’s meals pricier here than at most park restaurants?  Because this is a sit-down establishment with table service, not a snack stand, counter restaurant, or “buffeteria”.)

For lunch and dinner starters
, you can order the
Baked Potato Soup
or the parmesan-crusted
Fried Pickles
for about $6 each, the
House Salad
for $5.50, or
Walt’s Chili
(
Walt
adored chili!) for $7.

Salad entrées inclue
Romaine Salad with Shrimp
or
Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken
, priced at $15 each.

Burgers are now the specialties here:  the
Chef’s Vegan Burger
($12),
Green Chile Cheeseburger
($15), or
Main Street Cheeseburger
($12).  Special touches make these burgers a cut above the pack, like the fried egg on the
Green Chile Cheeseburger
, or the Tillamook Cheddar and special sauce on the
Main Street Cheeseburger
, which is served on toasted brioche.  Not a burger fan?  Try the
Turkey Sandwich
($11) on a pretzel roll.

A
few of the lunch and dinner choices still hark back to the meat-and-potatoes American main streets of the late 19
th
and early 20
th
centuries.  If you were to dine in the world of “Meet Me in St. Louis” or stop at a nice diner in 1920’s
Kansas City
, for example, this is the type of fare you’d find.  It’s the food that mothers would’ve put on the family table.  Naturally, these dishes have been dubbed
Walt’s Favorites
.  There’s
Chicken-Fried Chicken
with mashed potatoes and gravy for $14.50.  There’s a
Homemade Meatloaf
for $12.50:  Meatloaf with ketchup glaze, mashed potatoes, and savory mushroom gravy.

Rounding out the entrées is
the
Fresh Catch of the Day
for $15.  For the increasing number of Guests interested in living in ecologically sound ways on this planet, all of the fishes served are “sustainable fish”.

Children
aged 3 through 9 have their own special lunch and dinner menu. 
Mickey Check
meals meet
Disney’s Nutrition Guidelines
.  The kids’
Seasonal Fruit Plate
, like the one served for breakfast, includes muffin and yogurt for $7.50.  The
PB&J Mickey Painter’s Palette
has returned; now priced at $8, this meal lets children construct their own PB&J with sugar-free jam, with veggies and raisins on the side.  These meals come with low-fat milk or water.

Other children’s entrées are
Chicken-Fried Chicken
(with mashed potatoes veggies, and fruit),
Hamburger
(with veggie and fruit), and
Mac & Cheese
(with veggie and fruit) for about $8.50 each, and include a choice of juice, milk, or water.

Beverages
are interesting at
Carnation Café
.  In addition to typical juices, milks, sodas, coffees, teas, and waters, and the speciality coffees and cinnamon-spiked cocoa, you can order
All-Natural Lemonade
with citrus foam ($4.50),
Cherry
,
Chocolate
or
Vanilla Malts
($5),
Glowing Character Punch
($7), and
Specialty Soft Drinks
like
Chocolate-Cherry Coke
and
PB&J Soda
($3.79).  Desserts are to-die-for, just like your great-grandma or main street ice cream parlor used to whip up.

Given the popularity of this revitalized gem, it’s recommended that you call
Disney Dining
at (714) 781-DINE to reserve your spot.
Did You Know?
  You might be wondering:  Who is the “Oscar” mentioned on the
Carnation Café
menu? 
Oscar Martinez
joined
Disneyland
as kitchen worker on December 29, 1956 and liked it so much he stayed.  His wife became a Cast Member too.  Both remember seeing
Walt
in the early mornings, humbly dressed, walking his park.  According to a June 12, 2005 article by Lisa McKinnon in the Ventura County Star,
Martinez
was too shy ever to speak to
Walt
.  Youthful shyness notwithstanding,
Martinze
holds to the Guest-centric
Disney
way, and warmly greets and interacts with Guests at the
Carnation Café
. 
Martinez
was interviewed for a TV news segment in winter 2011.  In 2013 he still worked at the
Carnation Café
, though rumor has it he’s retiring soon.  A pleasant looking gentleman with a tall chef’s hat,
Martinez
remains the longest-serving Cast Member at
Disneyland
.  If you eat at the
Carnation Café
during your visit, don’t be surprised if a gentleman in a pristine white chef’s coat greets you; it might be
Oscar
!

Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor

[
FastView:
 
Delightfully decadent ice cream treats in an old-fashioned setting.
]

It’s your vacation, so why not throw good nutrition to the winds for a few moments and indulge in ice cream for breakfast at this jewel of an ice cream parlor?  (Just be sure to eat healthy the rest of the day!)

Until its 2012 refurb, t
he
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
was the late Victorian/Edwardian soda fountain that you dreamed about in your childhood imaginings. Its polished brass and sparkling glass, and its marble floors, counters, and tabletops provided the chilly visual and tactile elegance that a perfect ice cream palace should have.

Burgundy
upholstery gave the place a plush Victorian look, as did the black-and-white chessboard floor, which also lent something of a dreamlike,
Alice
-through-the-looking-glass sensation. Period-style sketches on the walls evoked the flavor of the Gibson Girls era.

Well, the Gibson girl sketches are still there, but the rest of the premises were substantially changed during a renovation in early 2012.  Rich woods, intricately carved; a multitude of tiles in creams, pinks, and deep rose hues, more brasswork–it’s all very pretty, but less iconic than the former design.

Who or what were Gibson Girls?  Ideas of ideal femininity promulgated by writer and artist Charles Dana Gibson in the late 19
th
and early 20
th
centuries.  His illustrations sparked new trends in fashion and hairstyles, for better or worse, among models, actresses, and American women in general.

You don’t have to be a Gibson Girl to queue up for
hand-crafted ice-cream cones and sundaes.  Ask for your ice cream to be served in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone.  Even if you don’t recognize the décor, you’ll recognize the
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor
’s classic menu.  Bring your wallet, because prices have risen substantially since the Victorian days.

E
xpect to pay $4 to $5.50 for single or double scoops, depending on whether you order your ice cream in a dish or special dipped waffle cone.  Flavors include
Butter Pecan, Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Cookie Dough
,
Mint Chocolate Chip, Mocha Almond Fudge, Rainbow Sherbet, Strawberry,
and
Vanilla
. For 99 cents each, add topping like sprinkles (“jimmies”) or hot fudge.

Ice Cream Floats
(
Barq’s Root Beer
,
Coca-Cola
, or
Fanta Orange
) will cost you around $5.

Three delicious
sundaes—
Gibson Girl
classics all—round out the selection: 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Hot Fudge Sundae
($6.29),
Firehouse Dalmation Mint Sundae
($6), and
Strawberry Street Car Sundae
($6).

Since ice cream tends to make one thirsty, a limited selection of beverages—sodas or water for $3 each—complete the menu.