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| Woob woob woob woob! |
Well, while I don't need TV and beer to function (though it may not hurt things), I have not, however taken any kind of extended vacation yet this year and that has helped bring me to the point where I could "go crazy". A day here or half day there, to keep my hours down below capping just wasn't cutting it these past few months, so I finally took a week off. Part of this much needed week off had me jumping in the car and driving down to L.A. where I hit up both Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. I couldn't go and not look for mac n' cheese while I was down there, and fortunately I did find that both amusement parks had some ready and waiting for me to review.
Knott's Berry Farm, I learned was truly a firsts kind of place, that thanks to the success of the Knott's, the family steered how amusement parks would operate even today based on things they did first as they were just trying to keep people entertained while waiting to order a meal.
In 1927, seven years after the Knott's family settled on 20 acres in Buena Park on Highway 39, Knott's Berry Place got it's first building, which served as a five table tea room and berry stand to sell the farm's wares. In 1932, Walter Knott created the Boysenberry (a hybrid of red raspberry, blackberry and loganberries) and named it after a friend. By 1934, with the Great Depression firmly entrenched across the country, Walt's wife Cordelia reluctantly served to tea room customers her fried chicken, on their wedding china to make ends meat. By 1937, they had greatly expanded the tea room, given it a full kitchen, dining room and parking lot for their customers. That Thanksgiving in 1937, 1,774 dinners were served. Soon, old west buildings were being bought and moved to the property to entertain customers waiting for tables in the restaurant, allowing Walter to create a whole new western town, 'Ghost Town' to occupy the minds (and wallets) of the those restaurant customers. 1947 saw the Knott's Berry Place get renamed, Knott's Berry Farm.
What started as an attraction to keep people busy who came for fried chicken dinners had converted to a full fenced in, admission amusement park in 1968. It's now owned by Cedar Fair, who own amusement parks all across the country, including California's Great America in the SF Bay Area.
Though the park has had some ups and downs over the years, it's still very much alive and kicking. The park has some great roller coasters including the massive wooden GhostRider, the non-inverted loop (you take the loop from the outside!) Xcelerator, the suspended coaster Silver Bullet and the Pony Express, where you ride like you're on a pony!
While the park is a great place to spend a day if you're in L.A., what I think is their best kept secret is still Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The restaurant is outside of the park to the left of the entrance and you can not only get food to go if you so choose, but park for free (with validation from the restaurant) and have some incredibly tasty chicken.
I had decided to make part of my visit to L.A. include Knott's because I hadn't been there in so long and because I knew that I'd need a good dinner after the long drive down. When I peeked at the posted menu before going inside I knew I was in for a treat if the mac n' cheese that I saw on the menu was half as good as their chicken.
The Review
Brand:
Mr.s Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant macaroni and cheese
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| A little difficult to discern, but this was really the only angle I could (safely, while standing in the middle of the road) get a shot of the restaurant's name. |
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| The best restaurants don't need flashy names to attract your attention. Direct and to the point. |
