What do Disneyland Resort chefs like to eat? Forget fancy; sometimes a perfectly built sandwich does the trick. The chefs have shared a few of their favorites from the Disneyland Resort:

Chef Scott Mancino from the kitchen at New Orleans Square votes for the fried green tomato sandwich at Hungry Bear Restaurant in Disneyland park, with a thick slice of cornmeal-crusted fried green tomato with fresh heirloom tomatoes and Havarti cheese topped with mango-jicama slaw and a drizzle of remoulade on a multigrain roll.

“This vegetarian option gives you a crush from the fried tomatoes, the creaminess of the cheese, and a fresh citrus blast from the slaw,” says Chef Scott.

“I’m crazy for the carnitas burger at White Water Snacks,” says Chef Chris Faulkner from Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, where the quick-service restaurant is a favorite hidden gem. The sandwich starts with a toasted wheat bun, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, a flame-broiled Angus burger and melted jack cheese. “Then it’s topped with juicy pork carnitas – and if that wasn’t enough, we finish it with house-made guacamole,” says Chef Chris. “This burger rocks.”

A Disney California Adventure park, Chef Jeremiah Balogh craves the turkey reuben at Fiddle, Fifer & Practical Café, a warm stack of turkey (roasted right there), Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and tangy dressing grilled on rye served with a dill pickle on the side.

“It reminds me of sharing time with my grandparents,” says Chef Jeremiah. “They would take us to the deli for lunch when I was a kid, and I love watching the guests enjoy this version of a reuben made with lean turkey — it’s a knockout.”

Chef Christine Weissmann, executive chef for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks, goes for the grilled albacore tuna on ciabatta at Storytellers Café.

“I love the distinctive flavors,” says Chef Christine. Ciabatta bread is the wrapper, with zesty lemon-caper mayo, fresh arugula, tomato, caramelized onions and pickled ginger topping the rare tuna.

Chef Jason Martin, chef de cuisine at Main Street Restaurants, orders the French Dip at the Lounge at Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel – a toasted French roll piled high with thinly sliced roast beef, caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese, spicy mustard and horseradish cream.

“I love the contrast between the spicy mustard and the sweet onion,” says Chef Jason.

What’s your favorite sandwich at the Disneyland Resort?

Tagged: Dining, DL, DLR

Filed: Disney Dining, Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort

It’s official: March 21 is National French Bread Day, a perfect excuse for us to head to Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie at the France Pavilion at Epcot.

We’ll start with the iconic baguette, baked fresh daily – it’s fun to watch bakers at work in the onstage kitchen. The long, thin loaves have that perfect, golden crust that cracks when you tear off a bite, with a soft, chewy inside. Because baguettes are just wheat flour, water, yeast and salt and take more than 48 hours to make from start to finish, they’re baked fresh every single day, all day long. You can also find that fresh baked bread at the adjacent Chefs de France and Monsieur Paul.

Of course, the French are famous for their sweets too, so after a baguette you might want to sip an espresso or a glass of bubbly and enjoy a divine éclair, tarte or Duo au chocolat. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, check out these delicious photos by Disney photographer Matt Stroshane.

If you’re an early riser, the bakery opens at 9 a.m., ahead of the regular World Showcase opening, and it’s delightful to head there and sit in relative quietness to savor a continental start to the day.

Everything on the menu under $5 counts as a snack on the Disney Dining Plan , and you also can create a quick-service lunch on the Disney Dining Plan with one savory item, one sweet and a soft drink.

Bon appetit!

Tagged: Dining, Epcot, Photography, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Epcot, Walt Disney World Resort

Leave it to the creative pastry chefs at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to come up with adorable, delicious confections for the holidays.

March 8 – March 17: Check out the clever St. Patrick’s Day chocolate cupcake, iced with green-tinted peppermint buttercream and topped with a white chocolate hat (also St. Paddy’s green). Mickey ears are the perfect finish, two round Vanilla wafers dipped in dark chocolate.

March 18 – March 31: Almost too pretty to eat (but not quite) is the pineapple-coconut cupcake for Easter, yellow cake with white buttercream, coconut shavings and colorful confetti, with a pair of adorable, white chocolate bunny ears and pink polka-dot bowtie perched on top.

The holiday cupcakes are $4.99 at ABC Commissary, Pizza Planet, Backlot Express, Studio Catering Co., Starring Rolls, Rosie’s and Fairfax Fare. They are a “snack” on the Disney Dining Plan.

Tagged: DHS, Dining, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort

The popular Taste of Hollywood to Go returns for just 10 days during busy spring break time – making it super-easy to have a quick, delicious meal and reserve seats for Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

From March 24-April 4, there are five boxed meals: hot fried chicken with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sweet corn and carrots and warm apple crisp; a veggie sandwich with avocado, orange and tomato salad, tabbouleh and chocolate cake; California and tuna sushi roll with avocado, orange and tomato salad, ginger-marinated tomatoes and cucumbers and a spicy pecan chocolate cluster; shrimp salad with avocado, orange and tomato salad, ginger-marinated tomatoes and cucumbers and mandarin orange cheesecake; and cold-cut roast beef with creamy horseradish, potato salad, grilled asparagus and chocolate cake.

Kids get a turkey and American cheese wrap with apples and carrots with Ranch dip, strawberry yogurt and a seven-layer cookie bar; or strawberry yogurt, apple wedges, carrot sticks, Goldfish crackers, and a organic apple and cinnamon oatmeal bar.

You can choose which Fantasmic! show you want to attend based on availability, with the number of seats based on the number of meals purchased.

Pick up your “picnic” at Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Call 407-WDW-DINE to make reservations up to 24 hours prior. Meals are $15.99, $5.49 ages 9 and under, and include a 20-ounce soft drink or water. A credit card is required with complete payment upon arrival (24-hour cancellation policy). If you don’t have a reservation, you can check the day you are in the park for availability.

Each meal is one quick-service entitlement on the Disney Dining Plan.

Tagged: DHS, Dining, Gallery, WDW

Filed: Disney Dining, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort

We love the aroma of freshly baked bread, especially the distinctive tang of Boudin sourdough. Guests at Disney California Adventure park get an inside look at how bakers take the ingredients from dough to delicious on The Bakery Tour – Hosted by Boudin Bakery, but these photos offer a peek at the big bakery where 10,000 to 15,000 loaves are baked daily for the Disneyland Resort.

Guests at Pacific Wharf Café are there for the freshly baked bread “bowls” filled with soups and salads. But up one flight of stairs, a bustling bakery is kneading, proofing and baking even more of that delectable sourdough that Boudin is so famous for.

“Our ‘mother dough’ base comes from the original dough that was produced back in 1849 in San Francisco,” says Chef Juan Mendoza. The Boudin family found that the wild yeasts in the San Francisco air imparted a tang to their traditional French bread, creating the unique “San Francisco sourdough.”

“We use about 1.5 million pounds of flour a year,” says Mendoza. “And it’s a combination of ingredients: well-balanced flour, water at the right pH, temperature, moisture, mixing, and fermenting for 16 to 20 hours – plus a touch of passion to make every loaf perfect.”

The Disney bakers don’t just settle for ordinary loaves. They have lots of fun creating special designs that guests love to buy ($7.50 a loaf) and carry home: a snake for Lunar New Year; the face of Mickey Mouse; holiday pumpkins, shamrocks and bunnies – even a Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen from “Cars” are just a handful of their doughy ideas.

Any time you get a taste of the tangy, chewy sourdough at Disneyland Resort, you can bet the loaf came from the Pacific Wharf bakery, says Mendoza. Restaurants in both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland parks, and in all three hotels place orders daily with Mendoza’s team.

Tagged: BtS, DCA, Dining, DLR

Filed: Behind the Scenes, Disney California Adventure Park, Disney Dining, Disneyland Resort

This year’s Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival elevates the “farm to table” trend to new heights, with Festival Farms around each Garden Marketplace to show how the plants grow that are part of the delicious food and beverages served daily at the festival through May 19.

This fun video highlights the synergy between the garden and kitchen teams, and gives a little insight into the connections. We can’t wait for a taste of tomato wine with shrimp and grits, or the Florida watermelon salad with arugula!

Tagged: Epcot, International Flower and Garden Festival, Video, WDW

Filed: Epcot, Special Events, Walt Disney World Resort

Chef Juan Lugo shows us the real deal – this classic rendition of huevos rancheros, served at Carnation Café in Disneyland park. His rendition of this satisfying Mexican breakfast dish is a hearty stack of refried black beans, corn tortillas, cheese, poached eggs, warm ranchero salsa and avocado-black bean pico de gallo.

Chef Lugo shows you how to create the kicky ranchero salsa and put together one of our favorite “brinner” recipes – breakfast for dinner.

Huevos Rancheros
Serves 6

Refried Beans

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans black beans
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1 Serrano pepper

Ranchero Sauce

• 1/2 ounce dried Guajillo chile (about 2 chiles)
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup canned chipotle peppers (about 2-3 peppers)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1 Serrano pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt, to taste

Avocado Black Bean Pico de Gallo

• 1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted and diced
• 1 cup roasted corn kernels
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
• 3/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Poached Eggs

• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 dozen eggs

Fried Tortillas

• 21 4-inch corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil, for frying

To Serve

• 6 tablespoons shredded cheddar-jack cheese
• Fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish

For refried beans:

1. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and Serrano and cook until onions are tender.
2. Add beans along with liquid from can, stirring to combine; cook 5 minutes. Remove and discard Serrano pepper. Mash half of the beans with the back of a spoon or a potato masher; continue to cook until thickened. Season to taste with salt.

For ranchero sauce:

1. Rinse dried chile in running water. Break chile open and discard seeds and stem; use scissors to cut into strips.
2. Combine chile, tomato juice, and vegetable broth in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer until pepper is softened, about 10 minutes. Pour mixture into a blender; add diced tomatoes and chipotle peppers. Puree until smooth.
3. Heat oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat; add onions, Serrano, and dried oregano. Cook until tender; set aside to cool.
4. Stir onion mixture into tomato-pepper purée. Season to taste with salt.

For avocado black bean pico de gallo:
Combine black beans, avocado, corn, tomatoes, onion, lime juice, and cilantro in a large bowl, stirring to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For fried tortillas:

1. Cut 9 tortillas in half.
2. Pour vegetable oil in a large, deep sauté pan to a depth of 1 inch. Place pan over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until oil shimmers.
3. Add tortillas 1 at a time. (Bubbles should immediately form along edges of tortillas.) Cook until golden brown and crisp, pushing tortillas down into oil, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Add more oil to the pan as needed.

For poached eggs:

1. Fill a shallow saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat until water is just simmering. Add vinegar.
2. Working with one egg at a time, crack an egg into a small dish. Carefully slide egg into hot water and use a spoon to nudge whites close to yolk, keeping egg together. Cover pan and turn off the heat; cook until egg whites are cooked, about 4 minutes.
3. Remove cooked eggs with a slotted spoon; place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain away excess water.

To serve:
Spoon about 1/2 cup beans in the center of each serving plate. Top with 2 fried tortillas and sprinkle each with cheese. Top each tortilla with a poached egg, then spoon Ranchero Sauce and Avocado Black Bean Pico de Gallo over top. Garnish with halved fried tortillas and cilantro sprigs.

Tagged: Dining, DL, DLR, Recipe, Video

Filed: Disney Dining, Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort