Restaurant Event: Summer Fest Open House at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen (2014)

Once again I was invited to the Summer Fest Open House at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in downtown Disney in Anaheim to enjoy food, drinks, entertainment and of course to check out their 6 Festive Private Rooms!

The highlight of the evening was that Ralph Brennan himself was there! It was a wonderful opportunity to not only meet the man but to talk with him and of course get a photo!

My friend Kristen and I attended the event and we started the evening with a hurricane! Not only is this one of their speciality drinks but this is also one of the best ones I have ever had. It is blended perfectly and you can hardly taste the alcohol.

There were several excellent appetizers being served including this fantastic buffalo chicken and waffle slider! The perfect combination of sweet and savory! I could have had about ten more of these! Plus, the staff carrying the appetizers were all fantastic and offered a Disney style level of guest service.

A delicious shrimp gazpacho came by next. The delicious tomato base with the fresh shrimp made for a perfect appetizer on a warm summer evening!

Deep fried okra became one of my favorites! Great earthy flavor made this an item I could also eat all evening!

Another favorite was the deep fried artichoke hearts! I love artichoke, so to have it deep fried made it even better!

Out on the balcony area, where 80 seated guests or 100 guests can gather for a reception, there was an impressive assortment of fresh seafood! The largest collection was this wooden canoe of shrimp! It was sweet and buttery! I could eat this shrimp all night long as well!

Next to the shrimp was the mussels! Don't they look delicious? Mussels are another one of my favorites!

And next to the mussels were clams! It was like they made a menu with me in mind as these are another one of my favorites! Look at all the vegetables and bacon with these clams!

This was my first time having a buffalo oyster! The oyster is perfectly meaty and plump. They are crispy on the outside but rich and creamy on the inside. Top that with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing and you have a wonderful appetizer!

Also out on the balcony was this mac and cheese station. I had them combine both the crawfish and the andouille sausage.

Watching the magic happen right before my eyes!

Doesn't that look amazing? What a perfect combination of flavors! The sweetness of the crawfish combined with the saltiness of the sausage made for a fantastic mac and cheese!

In the Wine Room, that seats a party of 18, they had this martini salad bar!

You just told them what ingredients you wanted.

Then they combined it into a martini shaker! Shaken and not stirred and you got an amazing salad with dressing mixed perfectly throughout the entire salad!

There was also a carving station for moist and juicy prime rib. There were various sauces to try with the prime rib and a fantastic Zinfandel au jus!

Here is my martini mixed salad with prime rib with the three olive salad and the Zinfandel au jus! Perfect dinner and perfect presentation!

In the Queen's Room, that seats 50 to 60 people or 80 for a reception with a private balcony, was the dessert room as well. There was cotton candy!

As you can see I am a big fan of cotton candy!

Butter! Lots and lots of butter for the next dessert!

Toss in some alcohol and you get...

Flames! And a New Orleans classic, bananas foster!

Who wants some bananas foster with vanilla bean ice cream? I thought so! This was so amazing! One of the best bananas foster desserts ever!

The Voodoo King and I wish you a fond farewell from Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen!

Thank you to the awesome special events team for the invite once again! Another night of amazing food, friends and entertainment!

So keep the Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Downtown Disney in Anaheim in mind for your next special event:

- 6 amazing rooms for your next special event

- 5 hours of FREE parking with validation plus all day parking packages are also available

- mention SUMMER FEST while booking and receive a complimentary passed appetizer during your event!

Book today by calling (714) 563-7261

Also check out their web site: Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen: Private Events

*Disclaimer: Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen invited me to their Summer Fest Open House but the opinions and photos are strictly my own.*

Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Open House!

Sasaki Time was invited to an Open House at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney to enjoy food, drinks and check out their private dining rooms!

 

This is already one of my favorite themed places in Downtown Disney. I do admit that I stop more often at the Jazz Kitchen Express for their amazing beignets! That is one of my favorite snacks when visiting the parks!

I love these statues! It makes me feel like Mardi Gras is here all year round!

The open house took place upstairs, where they have four different rooms for special events. There is one more room downstairs that can be used for special events as well and that one is the largest as it can hold seating for 120 people or a reception for 200 people plus a stage for entertainment.

The four rooms upstairs can be used for any event you may have from a small private event to a large party!

The Parlor Room featured live jazz this evening! This room can hold between 100-120 seated or 180 for a reception. 

Out on the balcony,where 80 seated guests can be accommodated or 100 for a reception. This evening though they were using it to prepare for us a crawdad broil! I love crawdads!

The crawdads were nice and spicy! They were served with potatoes and corn on the cob! So good!

Next to that they were making a BBQ shrimp. Not sure where the name BBQ shrimp comes from since it is not barbequed nor is there BBQ Sauce but I could eat these buttery, spicy shrimp all day long. I admit I had to go back and getting another helping! They were just as amazing as the crawdads!

Don't those shrimp look mouthwatering?

They were also passing out these fantastic catfish sliders! Catfish is one of my favorite cooked fish so I couldn't pass these up!

There was also this refreshing watermelon gazpacho like item (sorry I couldn't remember the name).

In the Wine Room, which seats 18, they had prime rib and ham.

The prime rib was paired expertly with three different sauces for you to enjoy. Starting from the left, there was an olive pickled relish (amazing), horseradish (it was really creamy and mixed with something but I couldn't tell what it was), and the last one was a fresh tomato salsa (nice and refreshing). My photos of the ham didn't come out so I will skip that one but one of the sauces was a pineapple and mango salsa that was so sweet and paired perfectly with the saltiness of the ham.

They had one of their specialty drinks, the Hurricane for us. This was easily one of the best ones I have ever had but also very dangerous as it was blended perfectly where you could hardly taste the alcohol.

There was also a nice sampling of their red and white wines on hand. The white of course perfect for the seafood dishes and the red perfect for the meat courses.

We ended up dining in the Queen's Room that seats 50-60 people or holds 80 for a reception with a private balcony. This was also the room with the beignet bar! They dished up ice cream and piping hot beignets with your choice of sauces! 

One last look at one of the trays of beignets!

This was a wonderful event filled with great food and drinks. It was a great atmosphere to spend with my friends and to make new ones!

A perfect place to have lunch or dinner or your next special event or wedding!

Thank you to the special events team for the invite!

To learn more about hosting your private event here, check out their website:
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen: Private Events

Valentine's Day Meal Ideas at Disneyland

source: Mouse Planet
http://www.mouseplanet.com/9873/Disneyland_Resort_Update

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, there's still plenty of opportunity to book a romantic dinner at a Disneyland Resort restaurant. Popular locations like Napa Rose and the Blue Bayou are already booked, but other locations still have availability, including Wine Country Trattoria, Ariel's Grotto and several Downtown Disney eateries.

• The Wine Country Trattoria and Cove Bar will also offer a special romance add-on to their normal menu offering. Priced at $25, this special package includes two glasses of Magicale sparkling wine, four chocolate-covered strawberries, and one long-stem rose. No advance reservation is required.
• The House of Blues will offer a prix-fix Valentine's Day menu, with a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert for $80 per couple. Call (714) 520-2334 for reservations.
• Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen offers a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert for $95 per person. Diners can choose to sit downstairs in Flambeaux's and enjoy live entertainment, or dine upstairs on the Jazz balcony with a view of Downtown Disney. Call 714-776-5200 for reservations.
• Catal is the only of the three Patina Group restaurants in Downtown Disney with a special Valentine's Day menu. (Tortilla Jos and Naples will offer their normal menu). Catal will offer a three-course meal for $55 per person. Call (714) 774-4442 for reservations.

In addition to formal sit-down meals, several restaurants will have special treats, desserts or add-on options for the holiday. Look for heart-shaped sourdough bread loaves at Pacific Wharf Cafe, Valentine's-themed cookies and cupcake at resort bakeries, and special desserts at locations like Plaza Inn and Rancho del Zocalo.