Carnation Cafe is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a ...

restaurant located in

Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, USA is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, USA is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20th centu ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the

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. The restaurant opened in 1955 as Carnation Cafe Ice Cream Parlor.

History

Carnation Cafe

Ice Cream Parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are parlor that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard- ...

opened on July 17, 1955. Sponsored by

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

, the focus of the establishment was an

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

counter, where guests ate ice cream on stools. Guests could also eat their ice cream outside on a patio. In 1977, the restaurant expanded into West Center Street, adding more outdoor seating. The Carnation Cafe Ice Cream Parlor closed in January 1997, and in March 1997, it reopened with only outdoor seating as the Carnation Cafe.

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

, the owner of the Carnation brand, pulled out as a sponsor of the restaurant, but allowed Disneyland to keep the name. The former ice cream parlor became Blue Ribbon Bakery, which closed upon the opening of Jolly Holiday Bakery Café. In 2012, the Carnation Cafe took back over the space, providing indoor seating for guests. Oscar Martinez, served as chef of Carnation Cafe from 1967 until 2017. He was the longest employee at Disneyland. His dish "Oscar's Choice," remains on the menu.

Design

The restaurant, housed in a two-story

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

-style building, offers both indoor and outdoor dining. The patio is covered and offers views of Main Street, U.S.A., including views of the parades that pass by. A

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

flower is placed on every table.

Cuisine

Carnation Cafe serves American-style

, including dishes that were favorites of Walt Disney, including Walt's Chili, which was the same recipe he used to enjoy when he was alive. The chili is described by '' Time Out Los Angeles'' "straightforward, meaty, tomato heavy classic that comes topped with cheese, sour cream, and chopped fresh tomatoes." Mickey Waffle

Carnation Cafe offers breakfast, which includes vegan

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

shaped

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened Batter (cooking), batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron ...

s and

pancake A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

s. The waffles were given an

honorable mention An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

as one of the best dishes in Disneyland by ''

Los Angeles Magazine ''Los Angeles,'' formerly known as ''Southern California Prompter'', is a monthly magazine based in Los Angeles, California. It focuses on telling regional news, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion stories from Los Angeles and the br ...

'' in 2017. Appetizers include fried

dill pickle A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling, pickled in ...

spears, dipped in parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs served with

ranch dressing Ranch dressing is a savory, creamy American salad dressing usually made from buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, black pepper, and herbs (commonly chives, parsley and dill), mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise or another oil emulsion. Sour cre ...

. ''

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' ( ...

'' named the fried pickles as one of the top "things to eat" at Disneyland in 2019. Entrees include Chicken-fried Chicken with buttermilk

fried chicken Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...

, mashed potatoes, country gravy and vegetables and Homemade

Meatloaf Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been combined with other ingredients, formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. It is ...

, a blend of pork and beef, served with a

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

glaze, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and vegetables. Carnation Cafe also offers sandwiches. The restaurant offers special

seasonal food Seasonal food refers to the times of the year when the harvest or the flavour of a given type of food is at its peak. This is usually the time when the item is harvested, with some exceptions; an example being sweet potatoes which are best eaten ...

during the holidays. For

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

2019, the menu included a Fried

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Sandwich and a Pork Chop

TV Dinner A frozen meal, also called a TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, or microwave meal, is a meal portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States and Canada usually consists ...

, the latter served in a classic TV dinner tray with seasoned apples, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and a cheddar and chive

scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

with

bread pudding Bread pudding is a popular bread-based United Kingdom, British dessert. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing egg (food), eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is swe ...

Reception

In 2019, '' Time Out Los Angeles'' named chose Walt's Chili as the 27th best food at Disneyland. '' SFGate'' says Carnation Cafe serves "consistently quality food." ''Inside the Magic'' named Carnation Cafe one of the "Most romantic dining spots at Disneyland Resort."

References

External links

*{{official website, https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disneyland/carnation-cafe/ 1955 establishments in California Restaurants at Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. Commercial buildings completed in 1955