The Blue Bayou restaurant at Disneyland is sure proud of their food. The cheapest thing on the dinner menu is $30:
Portobello Mushroom and Louisiana Long-Grain Rice
served with a Roasted Corn, Sun-dried Tomato, and Bell Pepper Maque Choux, Seasonal Vegetables, and Balsamic Reduction. Choice of Blue Bayou House Salad or Cup of our Signature New Orleans Gumbo or upgrade to our zesty Shrimp Cocktail
Rice and veg. Thirty simoleons. Their Cajun salmon is $36. I make Cajun salmon at home. About ten bucks for two people. I don’t mind paying a premium for ‘fine dining’; but this restaurant is at Disneyland, an overgrown carnival. I’d hate to see what they charge for their prime rib. Granted, my annual roast lasts a week. But last year the three-rib roast (about five pounds) cost $80 from Costco.
Because at home, you can totally get boats gently drifting by your table on a quiet Louisiana terrace while someone else cooks your food and cleans up after you.
Seriously, yes, it is overpriced. It’s not because they’re “proud of their food,” though. It’s because every table is full from open to close, with people mulling outside hoping to hop on a no-show reservation.
‘Proud of’ is an expression Mrs. L.A. uses to indicate something is overpriced.
Yeah, I get supply-and-demand. But the last time I was there (20 years ago) the food was mediocre. As I said, I don’t mind paying a premium for a good restaurant. The local Black Forest Steak House and Le Chat Noir both have excellent filet mignon. (Black Forest’s is better, but Le Chat Noir has a better atmosphere.) Two of us can eat at those places for $120 with a couple of drinks.
I don’t get the appeal. Sitting around in the middle of an open sewer while boatloads of gawking gawkers watch you shovel over-priced mediocre fare down you throat. Gross!
The atmosphere is fabulous! The illusion is complete. It’s lovely, and comfortable, and it was one of the best dinners I’ve ever had in my life.
I asked the waitress about the cake. She leaned closer and whispered, “Sara Lee.”
I don’t care if it’s an illusion; it tasted better than Sara Lee at home!
Gatopescaco: Sewer? Farthest thing from it: the odor of disinfectant is extremely strong. You have to take that as part of the atmosphere. It may smell funny, but, son, I’ve been in sewers, and I’ve worked with sewers, and that was no sewer.
The lighting is such that diners are gawking at the boats. From the ride, if you’re even looking that way, you get silhouettes.
If you want better food, go next door to the French Market and get a Monte Christo. Best thing I’ve ever eaten. And the garlic pomme frittes are damn good, too.
I had the Monte Cristo sandwich at Blue Bayou when I was ten. Ever since, there has been a gaping void in my life, utterly unfulfilled by any substitute I’ve tried.
If I ever go back to Disneyland, that will be my first item of business, and that sandwich will be worth whatever they charge. (Assuming that they haven’t changed it.)
I am so envious of y’all who’ve been granted entree to Club 33, even if only once. The Dream Suite didn’t have food service at all; we had to go to the French Market for dinner. The concierge did bring us hot cocoa to sip while we watched the Fantasmic! and fireworks shows from the balcony, though.
I had the very pricey Monte Cristo the one time I went. I did not like it. At all.
To be fair, my taste buds are completely messed up, but ham and cheese are typically things I still enjoy. So I don’t know. I don’t feel a strong need to ever go back, but that’s true for Disneyland as a whole.
One of my favorite rides there was Pirates (though less so now that it’s been Deppified), and there was always a beautiful allure at the “fireflies” and the candles at the Blue Bayou that you’d float pass on the way to the Caribbean.
Three decades later, my mom was saying goodbye to California so we had one last trip to Disneyland and I took her there (neither of us had ever gone before). Yes, the food was expensive, but I thought the quality was perfectly fine. But the main selling point was the atmosphere, and the service was very good, too. Not something I’d ever do again, but it was a memorable experience I’m glad I had.