I have been promising myself — and you guys! — that I’d get back to Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express for a while now. And today is the day!
Sign at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Express
Located adjacent to the main Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen table service restaurant in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney District, this counter service spot serves up some great, quick options.
We showed you the icy Sno-Balls last year, and now it’s time to share the most prized (in my opinion) option on the menu!
Atmosphere
The Express location of Ralph Brennan’s offers the same New Orleans vintage vibe as the table service restaurant, but with no indoor seating. This is strictly and “order it to-go” kinda place, though there are several tables outside.
One cool feature, though: see that area behind the glass? It’s actually an “on stage” area where employees are making beignets!
Inside Jazz Kitchen Express
After you taste a beignet from here, you’re pretty much guaranteed to want to duplicate the magic at home (or at least try). For the adventurous, Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix is sold here as well.
Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix For Sale
Once your order is ready, you’ll collect it at the Pick Up Window. I love this little gator guy — and the fact that he has his beads on!
Pick Up Window
Time to take a look at all that yum that’s available at this great little spot.
Eats
If you’re looking for a quick bite before you head into Disneyland, Jazz Kitchen Express has you covered.
There is a good variety of breakfast options available. For lunch or dinner, you can choose from sandwiches, soups, and salads. And with plenty of your Cajun favorites on the menu, like jambalaya and red beans and rice, you’ll get a great taste of the Big Easy if that’s what you’re craving.
Menu -- Click to Enlarge
But I’m not gonna lie to you. We were totally here for the sweets! 🙂 It smells like beignets in there!
Beignets and Dessert Menu -- Click to Enlarge
And I love that you get to watch the magic-in-making close up. Through the glass, learn from the experienced cast members as they roll the dough for these tasty treats…
Making Treats from Scratch: Rolling the Beignets
…then the dough is cut into perfect portions!
Cut Beignets Ready for Frying
And into the fryer the dough rectangles go, puffing up into beautiful pillows of soft, deep-fried goodness!
Frying the Beignets
The hot beignets are immediately placed into a white paper bag with a heaping helping of powdered sugar, and are ready for you to enjoy.
Bag of Beignets!
No, seriously — it’s like a box of powdered sugar in there. And it’s completely fabulous. The smell alone is heavenly, and you cannot wait to dig in.
Inside the Beignet Bag -- All That Sugar...
And finally, at the risk of burning your fingers — SO worth it — you pull the hot pastries out and chow down. A word of warning, though — be careful not to inhale, choke on powdered sugar, and cough it all over your friend. 🙂
The Reveal: Beignets -- Up Close
The taste? Totally rad.
Overall
I’m pretty sure at this point that you’ve figured out that these beignets are where it’s at. Delicious, fresh, hot, and soft, they are the next best thing to hopping a plane and heading for NOLA. If you can’t get there, but you find yourself anywhere near Disneyland, I heartily recommend that you stop by for a beignet. Or twelve.
What are your favorite Disneyland snacks? We’re headed to Anaheim soon and can’t wait to seek out your suggestions. Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts!
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Love the Jazz Kitchen beignets. No vacation to Disneyland is complete with a visit. Gotta eat them fresh out of the bag though. Even hour old beignets lose their charm.
Last June was my first (and only!) experience with the beignets at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen Express, and I’ve dreamt about them since I’ve left! The powdered sugar was a total mess and the cholesterol seemed high, but we managed to finish them in no time. We ordered a side of raspberry sauce to dip them in, and it was divine. Seems like we saw that option on the menu board, but I looked at your above photo and did not see it. Bakers get up at the crack of dawn to make fresh bakery, but RBJKE has them beat. It doesn’t get any fresher or tastier than here!
Just as an fyi….Publix sells the Café Du Monde mix for around $4. I made some with this mix and they are good, but it is so much nicer for someone else to do the work. Then I get to just eat them. Drat, now I am craving them!
I just LOVE beignets and living just over an hour from New Orleans I’ve eaten them my whole life. The Cafe Du Monde mix is really easy to fix. Here is a good hint though. To make them really bubble up on the inside, as ANY good beignet is hollow in the middle so you can fill it somewhat with powdered sugar, add about 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to the mix. That works wonders!!!
It’s been a long while since I’ve had the ones at Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, but my wife and I (who are both from Louisiana, and I’m from New Orleans) didn’t find them to be that great. A lot of it may have had to do with them being in a paper bag and the steam from the beignets being trapped made them kinda gross.
They ended up being okay, but definitely not as good as we were hoping they would be.
Also, the gumbo at Blue Bayou tasted like chili, but that’s a story for another day.
Whenever I have the beignets they serve at WDW’s Port Orleans, I wait for a rainy day. Then I have an excuse for wearing one of those Disney rain parkas. I need it to keep the powdered sugar off my clothes.
Thank you Rhonda! I have made the mix but was disappointed with the lack of a bubble. Now I just have to try again over the weekend using your tip.
That bread pudding on the menu is also catching my eye… has anyone ever tried it?? I’m wondering if it’s as delicious as it sounds!
Anyone else remember the beignets they used to serve at the Jazz Club at Pleasure Island? I miss that place!
You can’t have it without chicory coffee. Why wasn’t that part of the review?
I ADORE BEIGNETS!!!! FYI- you can also buy the Cafe Du Monde mix at any World Market, along with their equally awesome chicory coffee!! I make these quite often. ;D My family has regular Disney- movie dinner nights, and just the other day we watched “‘Princess and the Frog’ with some of my homeade jambalaya and beignets! So good, and fun for the kiddos! I love Cafe du Monde soo much we took a trip to the French Quarter just to visit the 24 hour beignet stand!!!! 😉