Fooding and Wining 2017

Folks, it's back! Another year of delicious food and beverages has arrived at the Food & Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure.  You may recall that this event returned last year after a five year absence (something to do with the whole park being pretty much under construction as part of an expansion project).  Featuring delicious food and delightful desserts and a bevvy of beverages, this culinary event is bigger than ever (at DCA), and here's a bunch of food porn to entice you to check it out for yourselves!

For a complete menu, head over to Disneyland's web site here.  In case it changes next year, Disney Parks Blog also posted a listing of this year's dishes here.  And as a cheap plug, you can get pictures of the full menus and much more over at Westcoaster's update.

The Brie Toast with Fig & Mint can be found at the Nuts About Cheese booth.

So can the Chevre Fromage Blanc Tartine (goat cheese).

At the Uncork California booth, a Mimosa Flight is one of many alcoholic offerings.

One of the most delicious and flavorful dishes is the Fried Artichoke Carbonara, found at I <3 Artichokes.

Also at the I <3 Artichokes booth: Grilled & Chilled Artichoke Hearts with Romesco Sauce.  It has a very fresh taste.

Those with a sweet tooth can also get the Creamy Artichoke & Dark Chocolate Cake Pop from I <3 Artichokes.

The Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider with Garlic Chimichurri Sauce makes it return at the Garlic Kissed Booth this year.

Another huge hit from last year and slightly modified for this year is the Black Garlic & Soy-Braised Pork Belly Bao, also found at Garlic Kissed.  Definitely recommended.

Olive Us' Chilled Cioppino Soup looks great and is definitely fresh, packing a lot of high quality seafood in a little container (the shrimp is quite large and the king crab very fresh), but the Cioppino itself seemed more like basic Gazpacho without much flavor.

The Olive Us booth also offers a Vanilla Bean Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta for dessert.

Moving onto the Bacon Twist booth, here's a Wedge Salad.

There's also the Smoked Bacon Mac & Cheese at the Bacon Twist booth.  Good, but surprisingly, not the best mac 'n' cheese even at this event!

The Bacon Whoopie Pie is also back to round out the Bacon Twist booth lineup.

At the Lemon Grove booth, the Duck Confit is a hearty and richly flavored selection and worth the higher charge.  The Meyer Lemon Ginger Mule Cocktail is a refreshing and tasty mule to accompany!

At Seafood...Sustained, there's a Cream Cheese Deviled Eggs with Smoked Trout dish.

And also a Salmon Tataki dish that looks wonderful.

The Onion Lair offers a Braised Wagyu Beef on Creamy Polenta.  This dish was offered without onions and haricote verte and with a spring pea puree last year.

French Onion Mac & Cheese from The Onion Lair booth... absolutely amazing.  The caramelized red onion was mouth meltingly good, and the white cheddar divine.

At the Off the Cob booth, adventurous eaters might try the Jackfruit Carnita Banh Mi Nachos.

But the best dish at Off the Cob (and another one of the best in the Festival) is the Sweet Corn Nuggets with Beef Chili.

Those wanting something sweet can get a Sweet Corn Custard Tart at Off the Cob.

Sweet & Sourdough offers a Bay Shrimp Louie Salad in mini bread boule.

There' also the White Cheddar Lager Soup, but unfortunately, this doesn't have the bacon and potatoes to qualify it as the legendary "Choup" that I've longed proclaimed my love for.  Too bad!

Finally, heading over to the LA Style booth (which is in Hollywood Land, unlike the previous booths in Pacific Wharf and Paradise Pier), the Chicken Teriyaki Slider is absurdly delicious.

Also at LA Style, these tasty Korean Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with very tender beef.  Do try these!

Annual Passholders can get a $45 "Sip and Savor Pass" which provides 8 tabs usable for 8 food or non-alcoholic beverages from any of the Festival Marketplace food or beverage booths at the Food & Wine Festival.  It makes sense to save these for food items that cost $5.75 or more to get your money's worth.  The most expensive items approach $8, but overall, the prices actually seem to have gone down a bit compared to recent DCA food festival events like the Festival of Holidays.  Maybe the park has found the sweet spot for which guests stop flocking to try unique, seasonal food.

In any case, the Food & Wine Festival is a great event that runs through Sunday, April 16.  Go check it out!  Your taste buds won't regret it!