Solo In LA, The Food Report - Complete - Final Thoughts

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by Disney Planning

Can’t believe it’s coming to the end. I really liked the look of the breaded chicken, but then I am more of a plain eater!

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The food in California is very much influenced by the Mexican and Asian communities so it can be very spicy. Of course there is always European style fine dining but generally the day to day food of Sol Cal people is very tasty good quality food which is spicier / hotter than UK / Irish day to day food.

People eat a lot of salads, fresh fruit and sandwiches / wraps, as well as chicken and fish. The variety of food is really good in the Sol Cal region.

[Bad Pink Tink]

Day 12 Thursday 3 February - Downtown Disney

Today was my last day in Anaheim. Checkout time at Tropicana Hotel was 11am and I had booked Midwilshuttle for pick up at 2pm so I had a few hours in the morning at Downtown Disney.

Breakfast this morning was my usual coffee from the Cove Cafe at Tropicana Hotel. I got a small caramel latte which cost $4.58. As I was later getting my coffee this morning, the parfait had sold out so I just got a peach Yoplait yoghurt which cost $3.50 ( I know , expensive, but I needed to eat something)

After packing and checking out and leaving my bags at the hotel luggage store, I went over to Downtown Disney.

Lunch was at Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen Express. This is the take away part of the restaurant which was very busy on my arrival night. But now, lunch time on Thursday there was no queue.

I got the Gumbo Ya Ya - Bowl which is a rich Roux-based Soup with Chicken and Andouille Sausage, served with White Rice. It cost $9.99
and
The Original New Orleans Beignets - Small - 4
French-style Donuts dusted with Powdered Sugar which cost $9.49

The Gumbo was really good, a spicy but tasty chicken stew.
The beignets were really good. On a previous visit I had the Mickey Beignets from French Market in New Orleans Square in Disneyland. Most people say the ones from Ralph Brennans are better but I couldnt tell any difference other than the shape. They are freshly made warm light doughnuts covered in icing sugar.

The last things I bought at Downtown Disney were some snacks from Marcelines Confectionary Shop to take home.

Goofys Candy - Character Gummies $6.49
Strawberry Cake Pop $5.49
Apple Pie Apple $12.49
Strawberry Chocolate Rice Krispie $6.49

By the time I got to Embassy Suites by Hilton Los Angeles International Airport North in the afternoon I didn't really feel like having much food. I had some left over Beignets, fruit and crisps.

I went to bed early as I had to get up early the next morning for my flight home.

[Disney Planning]

Beignets for your last meal, can’t go wrong ! Have a good flight home 😊

[Bad Pink Tink]

Day 13 Friday 4 February - Travel Home Day

I was up early this morning as my flight was at 9am and I wanted to give myself plenty of time to check in and get through security.

I was up too early for the hotel breakfast so I just had my coffee in the room. Again like on my arrival day, I used the room coffee maker to make hot water and used one of the Kenco Duo coffee pots.

Check in at the airport and security were easy and I didnt have any big delays, so I was through a lot faster than I expected. That was fine, it gave me a chance to relax with a proper breakfast.

Things have changed slightly from the last time I was at this terminal. The main food area is now contactless. You scan a QR code, order and pay online and then pick up your food from a pick up area.

I ordered Avocado Toast and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich which cost $23.53. The cheese sandwich I ket for the flight as my first flight LAX to JFK was a domestic flight and no free food.

I went up to the upper level / airline lounge level to eat my food, as it was much quieter than the main concourse level.

After my food I went to Starbucks and got a tall caramel latte which cost $6.46

The first flight , LAX to JFK they came around with biscuit and nuts snacks and I just got an orange juice.

At JFK I had about 3 hours between flights, so plenty of time to get some food.

This time I went to Buffalo Wild Wings and got small boneless with honey BBQ sauce, which came with a side of ranch dressing. It cost $19.48

The chicken was really nice, the sauce was a spicy but sweet sauce, very tasty, kinda similar to Tangy BBQ Sauce from Hard Rock Cafe.

The JFK to Dublin flight was shorter than the previous transatlantic so the food service was less.

The came around first with the snacks and biscuits and drinks and then about 2 hours into the flight, the main main.

The choice was vegetarian pasta or chicken marsala. I chose the chicken marsala. It came with a tomato and cucumber salad and a chocolate chip cookie.

The chicken was plain chicken with mash, veg and a sauce. A proper chicken marsala in a restaurant has a creamy mushroom and wine sauce, which was not what I got, but i did not mind, it was a chicken dinner.

About an hour before landing they came through with drinks and breakfast. There was no choice for breakfast, it was an egg and cheese muffin. I just got orange juice.

Sorry about the weird lighting, the main cabin lights were still dimmed when they served breakfast. The muffin was really dry and I didn't eat much of it.

Once the flight landed, I just got a taxi straight home.

So there it is, my LA food report complete. I will write one final post, my overall thoughts about food on this trip.

[Bad Pink Tink]

Final Thoughts

The one big thing I noticed with food compared to pre Covid times was the huge uptake in mobile ordering and the use of QR codes, not just in Disneyland but in hotels and airports.

If you don't have Wifi or data on your phone, you will find food options very limited.

The food on the transatlantic from Dublin to JFK was much better quality than the food from JFK to Dublin.

After over two years in Ireland, I didnt realize how much I had missed the variety and different types of food available in LA / California.

OMG, the availability of outdoor dining, and going to restaurants in general, I didnt realize I had missed it so much. The last time I was at a restaurant was in pre Covid times, I'm not comfortable with indoor dining.

Also the availability of filtered water taps. I knew about the ones in Disney and used them before, but the ones in the hotels and airports surprised me. I hardly bought any bottles of water on this trip compared to previous trips.

I think the one big disappointment was the corn dog, its such an iconic Disneyland snack that I expected it to be nicer.

I think the biggest change overall is the opening times of restaurants and food options. Its really important now to research before you go, both on the websites, social media and YouTube. Many places only open at weekends or evenings and may have limited menus. You can't just go to a traditional tourist area and just assume food places will be open. The LA hospitality industry is adapting to the lack of tourists which means that they are changing to a more local trade. Places are now getting busy after work / school / college and very quiet during lunchtime.

You may now also need to book reservations in advance online instead of assuming that you will get a walk up table like you used to before. Restaurants are using their online reservation systems to manage staff levels as there is a huge staff shortage in the hospitality industry.

Overall, food wise everything was a success, and I didnt have any major disappointments or bad food experiences

[Disney Planning]

I’ve really enjoyed your report but was surprised by the difference in the restaurant availability in LA compared to Florida.
Thank you for sharing your trip 😊

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by Disney Planning

I’ve really enjoyed your report but was surprised by the difference in the restaurant availability in LA compared to Florida.
Thank you for sharing your trip 😊

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You are welcome, make sure to follow my main trip report
Solo In LA & Disneyland, No Car, An Emotional Return to see what I got up to in LA and Disneyland

Its the lack of tourists and staff shortages. Orlando is more of a tourist destination, always has been, whereas in LA there was a lot of business travel, and conventions as well as international tourists. LA had a big tourist market from Japan and China, and they are not travelling internationally at the moment. Also alot of "Hollywood" TV, film and music industry is not back to pre pandemic levels so all the hotels and restaurants which would benefit from that industry are not doing so well either.

[Goldia]

Thank you for sharing all your food choices with us it's been fun to read along on your adventure out West!

[theCMG]

thanks for the report BPT, I really enjoyed it and will look it up when one day we hopefully make it to the West Coast!

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by theCMG

thanks for the report BPT, I really enjoyed it and will look it up when one day we hopefully make it to the West Coast!

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Thanks, while its nice to have an expensive meal, going on holiday especially to California does not have to be all fine dining and high end food. There is huge variety for even the budget conscious