Down the Street from Disney: Anaheim’s Local Food Corner

For someone on the lookout for the quirky, unique flavor of places you visit, Anaheim’s resort district can seem like a sea of corporate giants. However, if you look closely, you can find local goodness. In fact, there’s one scrappy strip mall with 5 restaurants that aren’t part of national chains.

The Anaheim Resort Centre is on the northeast corner of Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue – walking distance from Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center. But this is not where you go to meet Disney princesses. These are unfancy, pay-at-the-counter type places for late-night takeout or quick pre-theme park or -convention meals.

Since I couldn’t find enough information before our trip to include this corner in my Anaheim food post, I did some research while I was in town. Menus were acquired, employees were chatted with, tacos were consumed – all so that next time you’re in the neighborhood, you’ll know your options.

Working your way from Katella Avenue north (right to left if you were facing the front of the building), here are the 5 local restaurants:

1. California Pizza Place (menu) – Not to be confused with the far-reaching California Pizza Kitchen, this narrow dining room with walls crammed with retro paraphernalia is the one and only location of California Pizza Place. You can grab a slice at lunch, pancakes in the morning, or call for delivery.

*2. Tanor Mediterranean Grill (menu) – Recently opened Mediterranean/Persian food with shawarma meat spinning and skewers of meat grilled to order. As I was looking over the menu, they handed me a sample of chicken shawarma. It was insanely good. I got it on a wrap, which was fine, but masked the chicken’s awesomeness a bit. Next time, I’d get the chicken straight up with a side of their delicious saffron rice and maybe some quinoa tabouleh. (I’ve never seen quinoa in tabouleh before, but it probably makes it gluten free.)

3. Star Burger (menu) – The menu includes an interesting fusion of burgers, kimchi, and bulkogi (Korean-style grilled beef). The person I spoke to when I stopped by and when I called had limited English. You should be fine ordering straight off the menu, but it might be tricky if you have special requests or questions.

*4. Alertos Mexican Food – This is a family-owned taqueria with five Southern California locations. We split a burrito and a pile of their mini tacos. Our favorites were pastor and pollo asado. Those definitely beat out the (much pricier) food truck tacos I’d had the day before.

5. Panda Kitchen (menu) – Their menu offers the typical playlist of American Chinese food standards. You can call ahead to pick up your order or dine in. There’s lots of seating, but they didn’t want me to take photos.

Besides the 5 independent restaurants above, the Anaheim Resort Centre is home to a Subway, liquor store**, souvenirs and sunglass shop. There’s lots of free parking, which is also rare in the area.

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*We ate at Alertos and Tanor. Both were delicious. I can’t vouch for the other restaurants.

**By the way, isn’t the land of family vacations and overpriced hotel mini bars the perfect location for a liquor store? You can even buy postcards along with your booze for an analog version of a drunk dial. What would that be called? A lush letter? Pissed post? Sloshed snail mail?

April 14, 2015July 24, 2016

Where to eat in the Anaheim Resort District?

Disneyland may be its own world, but it’s at the center of the Anaheim Resort District, a swirling galaxy of hotels, restaurants, and shops. Which means that, even outside of the Park’s hedge-ringed atmosphere, there are a multitude of places to get something to eat.

Whether you’re attending an event at the Anaheim Convention Center (like Star Wars Celebration this weekend) or finishing up a day at the theme parks, I’ve gathered some suggestions to help you navigate nearby options and locate local flavor.

1. Downtown Disney and Disney Hotels

(or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mouse)

While I’m always on the lookout for quirky independent eateries, there’s nothing wrong with embracing la vita Disney when you’re in Mickey’s backyard. Here are some noteworthy Disney Resort restaurants with no Park admission required.

In Disney Hotels:

Tangaroa Terrace (Disneyland Hotel) – a favorite of Sarah Woloski of the Skywalking through Neverland podcast.
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Disneyland Hotel) – recommended by Genevieve Eldred for drinks. (Genevieve previously shared some great cosplay tips.)
Napa Rose Lounge (Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa) – looks like a nice place to pop in for seasonal small plates. For the full dinner menu, make reservations for the main Napa Rose dining room.

In Downtown Disney:

House of Blues – Last time I was in Anaheim, we headed over here after a day of Disneyland with a bunch of relatives. It has an entire 2-level music hall inside. More pertinent to that particular moment, however, they serve alcohol.
Earl of Sandwich – Sarah’s pick for a quick bite.
Catal Restaurant – frequently recommended as one of the best restaurants in Downtown Disney.

Find character dining, menus, accessibility, hours, etc. on Disneyland Resort’s site.

2. Non-Disney Hotel Restaurants

The whole area is practically solid hotels and most (if not all) of them have a restaurant. Or two. Or their own food court.

Pizza Press at Carousel Inn & Suites – Paul Barrie of the Window to the Magic podcast recommended this place, which has a build-your-own-pizza concept that sounds similar to Fired Pie here in Phoenix.
Chambers Bar & Bistro at Hotel Indigo Anaheim features a “casual gourmet menu” with sandwiches, local produce, and seasonal desserts. (Full disclosure: Hotel Indigo will be putting us up but didn’t ask for this mention. The menu looks good, though, right?)
Anaheim Marriott on southwest side of Convention Center has a bar/restaurant called nFuse, a Starbucks, and a Pizza Hut.
Hilton Anaheim on west side of Convention Center:
- Just Grillin’ Express – Burgers, salads, and fries (spicy or not) made from ingredients delivered daily. The main (and I believe only other) location is about 30 miles north in Alhambra.
- Submarina – a Southern California based sub sandwich chain
- Baja Fresh Express
- Sbarro

3. Food trucks

During Star Wars Celebration, at least 15 chef-owned food trucks local to Southern California will be on the Convention Center’s Grand Plaza. They’ll be open until 9pm Thursday through Saturday and until 5:30p on Sunday. Here’s a sampling:

4. Anaheim Convention Center

While concessions are run by food service giant Aramark, the Convention Center takes its sourcing so seriously that it purchased its own herd of free-range, grass-fed cattle raised through Hearst Ranch and Jack Ranch. The result is local, hormone-free, antibiotic-free beef, certified by the Humane Farm Animal Care and Food Alliance.

Food and beverage may vary by event, but here’s what will be on offer during Star Wars Celebration (admission required):

Hearst Ranch Grill – All-beef hamburgers from the Convention Center’s herd (see above), salmon burgers, veggie burgers, and chicken burgers.

Lobby – ecoGrounds / Java City featuring Rain Forest Allianced Certified, USDA Organic, Fair Trade coffee and espresso drinks, along with all-natural fruit smoothies.

Hall A Food Court

In-house sausages and gourmet hot dogs
Fresh-baked pizzas and stromboli
Hearst Ranch prime rib sandwiches
Made-to-order sandwiches
“Grab-n-Go” stand: salads, sandwiches, fruit cups, yogurt parfaits, whole fruit, beverages, wraps, pastries, hot pretzels, churros, chips

Hall B

Moe’s Southwest Grill – burritos and taco salads.
Hearst Ranch Grill
“Grab-n-Go” stand – salads, sandwiches, fruit cups, yogurt parfaits, whole fruit, beverages, wraps, pastries, hot pretzels, churros, chips.

Exhibit Hall Courtyards

Gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches
Street taco stand – beef, chicken and pork tacos and burritos
Hearst Ranch barbecue stand

Portable stands throughout Halls

Soft serve ice cream stands
Urban Wok with flavorful rice bowls
Candy store – house-made giant cookies, chocolate, caramel-dipped apples and other sweet treats
Bars with local craft beers on tap

– More info –

Disneyland Restaurants Guide (Disney Food Blog)
Disneyland Resort Beer List (Beers and Ears)
Anaheim Garden Walk

Where do you like to eat in Anaheim?

March 20, 2015July 14, 2020

Amenity anxiety

I was surprised to see the phone light blinking when I got back to my room. Thinking I had a message, I pushed the button for the front desk and wondered who would’ve tried to reach me at the Hilton in San Jose instead of on my cell.

Finding the answer required what seemed like an inordinate amount of keyboard clicking on the other end of the line – like maybe employees have to type out the text of Hamlet before accessing guest information.

“Ah. You have an amenity. Would you like us to send it up to you?”

It was my turn for a long pause.

To me, “amenities” are offerings, like wifi or a fitness room. No one was sending me the fitness room. And the wifi was already there.

“I didn’t, um, order anything. What is it?”

“I’m not sure. It just says ‘amenity.’ We can send it up to your room if you’d like.” he reiterated.

Since I had no idea what would be showing up at my door, I decided it would be safer to stop by the front desk later on and sort it out there.

He politely said, “Of course,” but I got the feeling he was thinking, “you’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

When I stopped by the front desk later, the clerk still acted like the fact I hadn’t requested anything was irrelevant to the fact that something was waiting for me. He retyped Hamlet to find my information again.

Staring into the glowing monitor, he could see there was a DND on my room, which means I had unintentionally set something on my door to “Do Not Disturb.” He also could see that the DND was the reason the amenity wasn’t delivered to my room earlier. But he still couldn’t see what the mysterious amenity was. He wrote something down on a sheet of paper and sent a younger guy off to retrieve it, while I waited in suspense.

My amenity came in 2 perfect little red boxes. Each contained a neatly packed cupcake that said “Lentils” on top with a little maple leaf symbol. So someone sent me cupcakes? Possibly made out of lentils? And maple leaves? There was no note and not even an ingredient list. I mulled this over as I rode the elevator back up to my room.

I also contemplated the fact that if someone wanted me dead, they could probably just send me poisoned cupcakes, and it’d be all over.

Finally, I remembered that BlogHer Conference sponsors sometimes send swag to attendees’ rooms. I checked the sponsor list and found Canadian Lentils. Bingo.

No one poisons sponsored cupcakes. Especially not Canadian ones.

Back in my room, I enjoyed an Amenity Cupcake. I still don’t know what was in it. But it was delicious and definitely not poisoned.

I found the DND switch on my door and turned it off. If any other amenities were sent my way, I was ready.

March 12, 2015December 4, 2018

The Farm at South Mountain

Have you been to The Farm at South Mountain? It has 3 restaurants, a big grassy field with pecan trees and picnic tables, a handful of shops, a crepe truck on the weekends, and, yes, a small organic farm. It’s a delightful place to spend the day. Phillip and I like to get breakfast from Morning Glory Cafe, or a picnic basket or cup of coffee from The Farm Kitchen, and then wander around.

The Botanica shop has unique garden and gifty things. On Saturdays, they set up a table in front of their chalk art wall and sell various local foodstuffs, like salsa and honey.

Maya’s Farm has an organic produce stand and its own CSA. Last time we were there, they were demonstrating simple ways to use more vegetables with samples of this amazing salad and sauteed breakfast radishes.

About 20 years ago (yikes), my family briefly lived at the base of South Mountain. On the way to school, we would drive down Baseline Road past all these beautiful fields of greens and flowers with little roadside stores selling local produce, sweets, nuts, and flowers. There are still a few left, but most have been replaced by stuccoed condos and strip malls.

The Farm is a way to preserve some of that open space, to keep the land viable and beautiful, to nourish the community in a way that asphalt and stucco simply can’t.

February 27, 2015May 23, 2023

3 Phoenix Spots for Excellent Coffee Roasted On-site

We’re not Seattle, obviously. But Phoenix does have its hardcore coffee devotees. We also have an increasing number of independent shops run by people who care about where their coffee comes from, the way it’s brewed, and who even roast the beans themselves to make sure they meet their standards.

1. The original Cartel Coffee Lab is what my friend Anne affectionately refers to as “the hipster epicenter of Tempe.” That may be true, but hipsters usually know where to find good coffee. Roaster Paul Haworth II has started the Coffee Bureau site to help people make better coffee and is currently in Central America visiting farms and sourcing beans. Cartel has expanded to also serve beer at its Tempe location, as well as opening several other locations in Arizona, including in Tucson and Sky Harbor Airport (Terminal 4, past security checkpoint C).

2. Echo Coffee came to be after founder Steve Belt heard a talk at Ignite Phoenix and decided to make a career change. These roots may have something to do with the strong community vibe of the place. There are different areas within the shop for conversation or work and large windows filling the space with natural light. Steve only hires people passionate about coffee, but they also tend to be really friendly and great about answering questions without the pretentiousness you get from a lot of baristas who take coffee (too) seriously.

3. Newly-opened Peixoto Coffee in downtown Chandler imports their coffee directly from a 100+ year old family farm in Brazil. They tell me the family name is pronounced “pay-sho-to”. Even though it’s been open under a month, it feels established, like it’s been there a long time. There’s a salvaged-wood counter, coffee bag cushions, and chalkboard-painted tables with coffee puns on them like “Espresso Your SELF” [sic]. I didnt see food on their online menu, so I was surprised to see they also offer empanadas and really good Brazilian cheese biscuits.