Review: Buffalo Mac and Cheese at the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival

Let’s face it: mac and cheese is a DISNEY staple. But Disney’s usual mac and cheese is not friendly for those who prefer plant-based options because, well, CHEESE.

Paradise Garden Grill

Well, we’re at the 2023 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival and we’ve been eating a TON of food there, enjoying some fun entertainment, and more! Let’s head on over to Paradise Garden Grill, though, to check out its plant-based festival options.

Eats

We’re going to start with the Buffalo Mac and Cheese for $13.99, which is topped with Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower, Ranch, and Carrot and Celery Salad. This mac and cheese TOTALLY surprised us! We admit we were skeptical about vegan cheese, but in this dish, it was SO creamy and delicious.

Buffalo Mac and Cheese

We also liked the kick of the cauliflower pieces, although we think they should’ve been cut into smaller bites. The charred crispy bites on those, though, were DELICIOUS. We would definitely order this again.

This mac and cheese, though

We also tried the Impossible Gyro Fries for $12.99. These are Waffle Fries topped with Gyro Spiced Impossible Ground Beef, Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Onions, Tzatziki, and Pita Bread. We didn’t LOVE these fries, but we did possibly let them sit too long before eating them because they got cold.

They did have a nice authentic flavor, but our reporter isn’t a fan of the Impossible ground “meat.” But we still thought these were done well. The cucumbers were crisp, too, and seasoned nicely with some dill. The other veggies were fresh!

Impossible™ Gyro Fries

The Peach-Blueberry Cobbler for $6.49 was tasty, but for some reason, it was SUPER watery, like they used canned peaches that weren’t drained very well. This would’ve been another hit for us, if it hadn’t been so messy and soggy.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Drinks

The Wine Float Cocktail for $16 is made with Tequila, Triple Sec, Agave, and Lime and Orange Juices with a Red Wine Float. This was SO good and very easy to drink (and yes, that could be both a good and bad thing). We found it very fruity and refreshing.

Wine Float Cocktail at Paradise Garden Grill

Yes, we finished this cocktail off!

Overall

Overall, this is where those who want plant-based food during the festival should go! We especially loved the Buffalo Mac and Cheese and although we didn’t LOVE the Impossible ground meat on the gyro, we think others just might love those (especially if eating them while they’re still warm). The pie didn’t wow us, but the flavors were good, and the issue with the wateriness could be down to a case of first-day festival “oopsies.” The cocktail here was one of our favorites of the fest!

That’s it for this booth, but there’s a LOT more where that came from!

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Food & Wine Festival at Disneyland Resort!

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the Festival? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

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