Your Guide to Vegan Options at the Food and Wine Festival 2019! (Disney California Adventure)

Welcome to the Food and Wine Festival of 2019 in Disney California Adventure! Here are all the vegan options that I was able to find.

A few notes about the festival before we begin:

The Festival runs from March 1 to April 23, 2019, and takes place at various locations in Disney California Adventure (DCA).
The portion sizes at the Food and Wine Festival are relatively small, with the idea that you try many of them, with the exception of those at Paradise Garden Grill. You can use a Sip and Savor Pass, however, to get a smaller version of the entrees offered at Paradise Garden Grill.
You can order any food item at any booth, and then take the receipt to the counter of the booth that actually serves that item. For example, you could go to the Avocado Time booth, and order a Cauliflower Ceviche (which is actually served at the Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit booth), and then take your receipt over to Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit, give it to the cast members inside the booth, and then they will give you your Cauliflower Ceviche. This means that you can save time by choosing the shortest line, no matter what that particular booth is serving.
I have also made an accompanying Youtube video Guide to the Vegan Options at the Food and Wine Festival, so please check it out here if you prefer that format.
For information on the permanent menu vegan items throughout the parks, please see my other guides: Disneyland, DCA, and Downtown Disney.

Paradise Garden Grill

The Impossible No “Meat” Ball Submarine with Marinara Sauce topped with Soy Cheese and served with Kettle Chips is clearly labeled on the Tasting Passport as vegan!

For me, this is the pièce de résistance of the entire festival. It has the Impossible 2.0 meat, which is also gluten free now. And it is so well prepared here — it is mixed with onions and garlic I think, and then topped with marinara sauce, vegan cheese, and parsley. Really an outstanding dish.

There is also a Large Soft Pretzel with Beer Cheese Dipping Sauce. I checked with the chef that the pretzel itself is vegan, so this is vegan when you order it without the cheese sauce.

Here is the info from Barnivore on the drinks offered at Paradise Garden Grill. Since many of the breweries and wineries throughout the festival are too small or local to be on there yet, they need to be added to the database still. Please consider sending the winery an email to ask if you have the time! Barnivore has a guide on how to email a company to ask if their wine/beer is vegan.

Matanzas Creek, Sauvignon Blanc-Fume Blanc, Sonoma County, Nielson Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County: Not vegan
‘Ōlelo Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles: No entry
Deschutes Brewery, Pacific Wonderland, Lager, Oregon: Vegan
Sudwerk Brewing Co., Märzen, Amber Lager, David: Vegan

Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit

The Cauliflower Ceviche with Chile Corn Crumble and Tortilla Strips is clearly labeled on the Tasting Passport as vegan.

These Strawberry and Lime Fruit Bars were super delicious and refreshing! They don’t look like much, but they are actually a lot more exciting tasting than they look!

They are not labeled as vegan because the sugar in them may have been processed through bone char. (On the first day I went to the festival, a cast member told me they have dairy in them, but that was incorrect — the only reason they aren’t labeled explicitly vegan is because of the sugar.)

For me, it is not practicable or possible (see the Vegan Society’s definition of veganism) to avoid all instances where there may or may not be bone char sugar. Bite Size Vegan made a very informative video about sugar that I can recommend!

Avoiding all instances of sugar that might have been processed through bone char would mean that the vast majority of otherwise vegan food at Disneyland, and all other non-vegan restaurants, would then be off-limits. Every sauce, every salad dressing, every marinade — the only way to find out whether the sugar was processed through bone char or not would be to email the company, which is not practicable when you’re sitting in a non-vegan restaurant trying to order.

I also asked about the Michelada, whether it has fish/clams, and the cast member said that it does indeed contain fish.

The two beers here (Davis Bynum and Chihuahua Cerveza) do not have entries on Barnivore.

Avocado Time

There is an Impossible slider here, but the bun contains dairy unfortunately, according to a chef that I asked. So even without the cheese, this item is not vegan.

There are, however, two vegan beverages here:

Kombucha Mojito Cocktail with Fresh Mint
Suja Organic Pineapple Passionfruit Kombucha (non-alcoholic)

I ❤ Artichokes

The Artichoke Toast with California Olive Tapenade can be veganized! I had them check on the bread (I asked about dairy, eggs, and honey), and they said that it is a vegan French baguette. This toast normally comes with a cream cheese layer under the tapenade, so just ask to omit the cream cheese.

If you’re a fan of things on toast, you will probably like this! I enjoyed it a lot, but it’s not anything spectacular. Definitely worth it if you like olives, mushrooms, and artichokes, though.

The Chihuahua Cerveza is not listed on Barnivore.

Cluck-a-Doodle-Moo

The name of this booth is pretty morbid and grotesque. But there are some vegan drinks here:

Watermelon Lemonade with Watermelon Garnish (non-alcoholic)
Thorn Brewing, Barrio, Baja-style Lager, San Diego: Vegan
Strand Brewing Co., 24th Street, Pale Ale, Torrance: No entry
Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Festiv-Ale, Belgian-style Brown, San Diego (Festival Exclusive): Vegan
Brouwerij West, Dog Ate My Homework, Blackberry Saison, San Pedro: Vegan

Garlic Kissed

I asked about whether the Bloody Mary contains fish/anchovies/oyster etc (which can sometimes show up in bloody mary mix), and the cast member told me that it does not have any fish, so the Bloody Mary here is vegan.

Off the Cob

Vegan drinks here:

Citrus Radler, Lager with Grapefruit and Blood Orange Juices, T.W. Pitchers’ Brewing, San Francisco: Vegan
Peach Tea with Peach Garnish (non-alcoholic)

Golden Dreams

The Yippee! Mickey’s Cotton Candy Soda (non-alcoholic) is vegan when you omit the buttercream and sprinkles.

LA Style

Tiki Cocktail: Aged Rum, Falernum, Bitters, Lime, and Grapefruit Juices. It is garnished with a Luxardo cherry. Barnivore has a company email stating that all Luxardo products are vegan.

Nuts about Cheese

You would think with a name like “Nuts about Cheese,” they would include some actual nut cheese on the menu, for example a nice cashew cheese like Miyokos! But no, it’s just cow’s milk cheese unfortunately. They do, however, have a vegan beer here:

Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Columbia Street, Amber Lager, San Diego, which is listed as vegan on Barnivore.

Uncorked California

Here is the info on the wines at this booth, according to Barnivore.

Twomey Cellers: No entry on Barnivore
Simi: Not vegan
Patz & Hall Chardonnay: Vegan
Erath: Not vegan
Klinker Brick Winery: Vegan
Rowen: No entry
Chandon: Not vegan

Citrus Grove

Two vegan drinks here:

Meyer Lemon Ginger Mule
Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic).

California Craft Brews

Barnivore info on the beers offered here:

Hangar 24 Orange Wheat: Vegan
Left Coast Pink Bikini Raspberry Wheat: Vegan
Karl Strauss Columbia Street Amber Lager: Vegan
Smog City Sabre-Toothed Squirrel Amber Ale: Vegan
Lost Winds Tropiclemente Tropical Ale IPA: No entry
Towne Park Blacksmith Black IPA: No entry
Asylum Rorschach Brown Ale: No entry

Berry Patch

Here they have a vanilla almond milk that is of course vegan!

I asked if the Frushi would be vegan if the yogurt sauce is omitted, and the cast member called into the kitchen/prep area to ask about that. She reported to me that there is also dairy in the coconut rice (condensed milk), so it’s not possible to veganize the Frushi.

Peppers Cali-ente

No vegan food here, but there is a Jalapeño-Lime Margarita.

Festival Beer Garden (near Paradise Garden Grill)

Info on Barnivore:

2 Towns Outcider Hard Apple Cider: No entry
Ommegang Hennepin Saison: Vegan
Modern Times Booming Rollers IPA: Vegan
Karl Strauss Baltic Porter: No entry
The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Los Dudes Cerveza, Mexican-style Lager, Los Angeles: No entry
Lost Coast Brewery, Watermelon Wheat, Eureka: Vegan
Towns Ciderhouse, Outcider, Unfiltered Hard Apple Cider, Oregon: No entry
Brewery Ommegang, Hennepin, Farmhouse Saison, New York: Vegan
Divine Science Brewing, Third Contact, Gluten-friendly IPA, Anaheim (GF): No entry
Bear Republic Brewing Co., Apex, Double IPA, Cloverdale: Vegan
Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Baltic Porter, San Diego: No entry
Twisted Horn Mead, Blue Cloak, Mead, Vista: No entry, but I would assume it is not vegan because Mead typically contains honey
Founders Brewing Co., Backwoods, Bourbon Barrel-aged Scotch Ale, Michigan: Vegan

Saucy Lips

This company makes really delicious sauces that are all vegan! I’ve tried them all over the years that they have been at the Food and Wine and Festival of Holidays, but my current favorite is the Pineapple Thai. Please see my Youtube video guide to the Food and Wine Festival for more thorough descriptions of each of these from a Saucy Lips employee.

Rinse

Rinse has been vending at Food and Wine and Festival of Holidays for a few years as well, so I’ve had the opportunity to try out many of their products so far! They can also be ordered on their website. They make soaps, essential oils, moisturizers, shower bombs, etc.

Most of their products are vegan; a few contain beeswax. Please see my Youtube video guide to the Food and Wine Festival for more thorough descriptions of each of the products by a Rinse Employee. The vegan products are all marked on the labels as vegan!