Cars Land Review, pt 3: The Eateries of Cars Land

This is a multi-part review of Disney’s California Adventure’s latest addition, related to the PIXAR film, CARS.

( For Part 1, The Theming of Cars Land, click here )

( For Part 2, The Rides of Cars Land, click here )

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When it comes to the different areas of a Disney Theme Park, there are four things that one can usually find: theming, rides, shops, and eateries. In the last part of our Cars Land review, we will take a look behind the three places to find food around Radiator Springs.

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Fillmore’s Taste-In

“What you really need is the sweet taste of my homemade organic fuel” – Fillmore

Fillmore’s geodesic home in Radiator Springs housed several drums of organic fuel that he had made himself. Though Fillmore would often tout the benefits of his fuels, the version of his home in Cars Land takes a different turn altogether.

There are no special juice or motor oil-looking concoctions. Instead, Fillmore’s is home to more organic human foodstuffs, such as water, fruit, and juices. Of course, it also has some less-organic stuff suchas Coca-Cola products, and bagged snacks like Cheet-O’s and Doritos.

During my time in Radiator Springs, I did stop by early one morning for a banana. Keep in mind that even here, healthy food items can be a bit pricey. I ended up walking down Route 66 eating a $3 banana.

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The Cozy Cone Motel

“It’s newly-refurbished” – Sally

The Cozy Cone Motel of Cars Land differs from its movie counterpart, in that it’s cones do not house motel rooms, but a series of food stands. In keeping with the cone theme of the motel, each of the stands offers a different item with a cone-based food (or container). These include:

– Churro bites (in a cone-cup)

– Ice Cream (in a cone)

-Chili Cone Queso (served in a bread-cone)

– Pretzel bites (in a cone-cup)

– Flavored popcorn (in a cone-cup)

Of the 5 choices available, I had to try the Cone Queso, and flavored popcorn.

When it comes to popcorn, two flavors are available to guests: buttered popcorn, and a random flavor. The random flavors include salt and vinegar, dill pickle, bacon and cheddar, sweet & spicy, and nacho cheese. At the time of my visit, the random flavor was dill pickle. I’ve heard there is a ‘flavor rotation,’ but I do not know the frequency of this. As dill was the same flavor during my 3 days in California Adventure, my assumption is they do a weekly rotation.

The dill flavor seemed to be more of a seasoning along with some salt. However, it tasted like they added a bit too much salt, which at times came close to overpowering the dill flavoring.

Each food stall also includes a special Cars-themed drink (non-alcoholic, of course). At the stand where I purchased my popcorn, I tried Doc’s Wild Grape Tonic. The drink is a combination of Sprite and Grape Juice (topped with wild berry foam), but for some reason, it complimented the dill-and-salt flavoring of the popcorn really well.

I also tried a drink called Red’s Apple Freeze, which consisted of frozen apple juice with toasted marshmallow syrup (topped with passion fruit/mango foam). However, I found the drink to be a bit too sweet for my tastes.

Once I’d tried the popcorn, it was onto the Chili Cone Queso. The stand also serves chicken verde in the bread cone, as well as a breakfast cone option for early in the morning.

The queso I had was okay, and provided a much-needed energy boost to get me through lunch. there was a nice bit of spice added to the queso, along with some shredded cheese and Fritos chips. The bread cone was okay, and had a consistency that reminded me of a regular dinner roll.

Also exclusive to the food stands, is a specially-themed souvenir cone-cup. They are offered in both 16oz and 32oz sizes. Needless to say, I had to get a 32oz one!

It’s a fun souvenir, with a rear handle embedded in the cone for easy holding. However, if there’s a nitpick I have, it’s how the cup is sealed. One would assume the top of the cone would be a screw-on top, but it just snaps on and off. This proved to create a ‘sticky’ situation for me, as the Coke I had in my cone seeped out a bit over the course of my time walking-and-sipping. I can only imagine what it must be like for parents who have their kids holding one.

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Flo’s V8 Cafe

“Stop at Flo’s V8 Cafe. Finest fuel on Route 66!” – Flo

In Cars and Cars 2, Flo’s is the main eatery in the little town of Radiator Springs, and in Cars Land, it serves the same purpose, only with humans. We never did get a good look inside of Flo’s in the films, and the interior design is meant to invoke the bygone era of a 1950’s diner. Needless to say, I loved what I saw:

If you’re looking for a meal in Cars Land, Flo’s V8 Cafe is the place to go. The diner has menus for breakfast/lunch/dinner, but I found myself just having dinner there. For my big meal, I chose their pork loin with Coca-Cola BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw, and a garlic chive roll.

Even though I’m from Iowa, I haven’t been a very big fan of pork over the years, but I was intrigued by the Coca-Cola BBQ sauce. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The pork was juicy and not as tough as I was expecting. As well, the Coke added to the sauce gave it an extra tang that I wasn’t expecting.

The mashed potatoes were creamy enough, that I probably could have gone through a second helping. For me, cole slaw can sometimes be hit-or-miss. I usually prefer the kind that is sweet and has a little liquid to it, unlike some that are a bit too ‘dry.’ Flo’s cole slaw hit right in the center, sweet and a little creamy, but not dry.

For a drink, I decided to try their special Cars-themed beverage, Mater’s Tulsa Tea. It consisted of Gold Peak Sweet Green iced tea, topped with tropical fruit foam. One would assume that the foam might act as a good sweetener, but I wasn’t impressed by the drink as I had been with Doc’s Wild Grape Tonic.

Later that evening, I decided to have some dessert at Flo’s. I purchased one of their Pie-O-Rama pies, and a strawberry shake. Much like the Cozy Cone, Flo’s has a souvenir cup for their shakes, that looks like an old-fashioned malt glass. However, I passed when I found out it was plastic and not glass (I’m a stickler for authenticity).

The pie I purchased was their ‘signature apple cheddar’ pie, which consisted of an apple pie with shredded cheddar cheese on top. The pie is encased in an “ugly pie crust.” These are inspired by the pie crust recipe from the Midpoint Cafe on Route 66.

The apples in the pie were good, but I was a little disheartened by the shredded cheddar. It tasted almost like it had been re-heated, and was a bit chewy. I was expecting soft and melted cheese on my pie.

In regards to the strawberry shake, it felt like the proper flavor to have in the vintage-style diner. Atop the shake were several crunchy chocolate and strawberry pearls, known as “road gravel.”

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In the end, Cars Land has a little something for everyone when it comes to food. From snacks and treats, to sit-down meals. During my time there, I was glad that there were not a lot of lines or long waits at Flo’s or The Cozy Cone.

As we take our leave of my 3-part review, let’s take one last look down the main thoroughfare of Radiator Springs, before saying goodbye (for now).