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Your Guide to Vegan Options at the Food and Wine Festival 2022 in Disney California Adventure!

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This year’s Food and Wine Festival in California Adventure is March 4 – April 26, 2022! So excited that it’s back!!

I went for the soft opening and official opening days on March 3-4 and below is what I found! I will keep adding details as I get more information.

In general, they are not prepared to modify items at the Food and Wine Festival, because much of it is prepared in offsite kitchens and only partially assembled in the booths. Some minor modifications might be possible, but I think it’s best to stick to the items that are designed to be vegan – those will also be the best bang for your buck!

For beers and wines, they don’t say what the brands/breweries/wineries are for the most part online, but they will have them listed on the menu boards. Beers are almost always vegan, and wines are often vegan. Once you know the brand, you can look them up on Barnivore if you are so inclined. But many brands aren’t listed, or the information there is quite old, so it is hard to know. This is the sort of thing that borders on “possible and practicable” in daily life, so I encourage you to draw the line wherever you feel comfortable.

The festival is a part of DCA, it exists throughout the park, and there is no separate ticket to buy. It’s just part of your day at DCA.

The Sip & Savor Pass is an optional way to pay for small food items and non-alcoholic drinks. I never get one, but a lot of people like them. There are 8 tabs on each pass, and they cost $52 with Magic Key discount; $57 regular. So that comes out to $6.50 or $7.13 per tab. You’ll need to calculate whether the items you want would make it worth it, and whether you will be getting enough items to use them all up. Personally, I like to just buy my items individually, but if you are sharing with someone, you may find it worth it to get the Sip & Savor Pass.

Here is the video that accompanies this guide! It has my more thorough reviews/taste tests of each of the food items:

Table of Contents / Jump to a Section

Paradise Garden Grill

Paradise Garden Grill is a restaurant at Disneyland that has a seasonal menu that changes along with the festivals, so for this year’s Food and Wine Festival, they have a new vegan item.

The Impossible Gyro has the plant-based menu icon, so it’s all vegan! It has seasoned plant-based meat (Impossible I believe), served in pita bread with dairy-free tzatziki, seasoned tomatoes, cucumber, and onions.

It is a full sized meal, not a tasting portion like you would get at the festival booths.

It was very filling and tasty! The tzatziki is super flavorful, lots of herbs. It was a touch saltier than I expected, so if you are sensitive to salt, you might find it quite salty.

Overall it is delicious! Can’t wait to get it again!!

Paradise Garden Grill Beer Garden

  • A variety of beers

Lucky Fortune Cookery

I asked about Mushroom Bao (Hoisin-glazed mushrooms, Asian slaw, and jalapeño in a steamed bao), and I was told that the bao bun contains dairy, so it cannot be made vegan. Also, on the tasting passport, it is listed as vegetarian, not plant-based.

Avocado Time

Another exciting new one!

  • Petite Avocado Impossible Burger with dairy-free pepper jack
    • This item is not new per se, but it has always had dairy cheese and a non-vegan bun before. But now it’s being made vegan!
    • The menu board doesn’t have the plant-based menu icon, but they have it on the tasting passport booklet, where you can see the icon, and it is also under the “plant-based” section of the booklet, so it’s vegan without modifications.

It’s a small, slider-sized burger with a well-seasoned impossible patty, vegan pepper jack cheese (maybe daiya or follow your heart?), and a high quality guacamole! Really fun and satisfying!

I asked about the frozen guacamole at this booth and was told it contains dairy. I don’t know whether it’s the topping or the whole thing itself, but I would suggest to avoid it.

Beverages:

  • Ruby Grapefruit Sparkling Beverage: Grapefruit juice, raspberry syrup, agave nectar, and Topo Chico mineral water (non-alcoholic)

Many thanks to @hannahhhmcdowell for the photo below!!

LA Style

  • I asked about the Gyro-inspired Flatbread featuring Impossible Ground Beef with chipotle hummus, tzatziki and spiced crispy chickpeas, and this is what I found out:
    • The tzatziki is dairy based, and it’s a major component of the dish
    • I asked the cast member whether the flatbread contains dairy/eggs/honey, and she called into the kitchen to ask a chef, but they didn’t have any packaging and weren’t able to give me information one way or the other.
    • The hummus and chickpeas are probably fine, but I think there are just too many variables in this dish to recommend it. It’s just intended this to be a vegetarian dish, not a vegan one, so I would suggest to avoid it.

Beverages:

  • Mezcaleros Ancho Sandia Margarita: Mezcal, ancho chile liqueur, watermelon, mango, lime, and agave nectar
  • Sake-Melon ’75: Sake, ginger liqueur, prosecco, rock melon syrup, and lemongrass-citron purée

D-Lish

Beverages:

  • Central California Cooler: Peach, apples, orange, and lemon juice (non-alcoholic)

Hannah on instagram shared her photo below and review of this drink! She said that it is very sweet and a little thick from the puree. It is garnished with a dried apple chip.

  • Chocolate Marshmallow Cold Brew Cocktail: Irish whiskey, Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co. Mexico Origin Coffee, chocolate syrup, almond milk, and toasted marshmallow
    • Here there are several variables: the chocolate syrup may have dairy, and the marshmallow may have / probably has gelatin. I haven’t had time to ask yet, and since I don’t do alcohol or coffee, I can’t really be getting this myself. If you get it and know more about what’s in it, please let me know!

Uncork California

  • A selection of wines, many of which are probably vegan, and you can look up individual ones on Barnivore if you are so inclined.
  • Mimosas made from champagne, the brand of which is not listed, so I can’t tell you what it would say on Barnivore, but here are the flavors:
    • Green Apple & Lychee Mimosa
    • Passion Fruit & Banana Mimosa
    • Cherry, Yuzu & Ginger Mimosa
    • Tropical Mimosa Flight

California Craft Brews

Beverages:

  • An assortment of beers
  • Boysenberry Lemonade Hard Seltzer
  • Hard Cider (it doesn’t say the brand, in some cases ciders contain honey)

Peppers Cali-Ente

Beverages:

  • Cantarito-style Paloma: Reposado tequila, habanero-pineapple juice, rock melon syrup, lime, and Fresca

I ❤ Artichokes

Beverages:

  • Passion Fruit Rum Cocktail: White rum, Italian bitter apértif, passion fruit, orange, guava, orgeat, and lime

Cluck-A-Doodle-Moo

Yes, I also think that the name of this booth is grotesque. I’m just reporting on the menus, please don’t complain to me about things over which I have no control 😦

Beverages:

  • Blackberry-Lavender Lemonade: Blackberry, pineapple juice, lavender syrup, and lemon juice (non-alcoholic)
  • An assortment of beers

Golden Dreams

Beverages:

  • Pineapple-Tiki Bitter Cocktail: Aged rum, campari, pineapple juice, orgeat, lime juice and tiki bitters

Garlic Kissed

Beverages:

Rosemary Bitter Orange Mule: Vodka, Aperol, orange juice, lime juice, rosemary syrup, and ginger beer

Smokejumper’s Grill

Beverages:

  • Peach-Blueberry Lemonade with blueberry flavor-filled boba (non-alcoholic)
  • Peach-Blueberry Lemonade Cocktail: Vodka and blue curaçao, peach-blueberry lemonade, and blueberry flavor-filled boba

Cocina Cucamonga

I was told today that the horchata here contains cow’s milk dairy (in addition to rice milk).

Pacific Wharf Café

Food Item:

  • Avocado Toast: Smashed Avocado on toasted sourdough bread, fire-roasted cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, cilantro, and balsamic reduction
    • This has potential if it’s possible to omit the cheese.

Pacific Wharf Cappuccino Cart

I was told today that the horchata here contains cow’s milk dairy (in addition to rice milk).

Lamplight Lounge

Beverages:

  • Blue Peach-Basil Cocktail: Gin, elderflower liqueur, peach, basil simple syrup, lemon, blue curaçao, and fresh basil

That’s all I have for now! This is of course only for the special menus associated with the Food and Wine Festival. If you are looking for the complete guides to all of the normal, year-round vegan options throughout Disneyland, DCA, Downtown Disney, and the hotels, those are also here on my website, linked in the menu at the top 🙂

I hope to see you at the festival this year!!

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