Wednesday, February 03, 2021

More From Frontierland, July 1978

Here are four more vintage slide scans, from our friend, the Mysterious Benefactor. YES, he wears a false nose, but only because of doctor's orders. 

We've seen photos from inside the old Casa de Fritos restaurant before, but here are two more just to wrap up that series. A young lady makes a taco salad that looks pretty substantial. I hope they included a dollop of guacamole and little cup of sour cream. The Mary Blair wall murals are always fun to see.


Th blonde girl got the taco and burrito combo, a good choice. I'm not so sure about milk with Mexican food, but hey, to each her own. Don't forget to grab a bag of Fritos!


Meanwhile, out in the sunshine... A mom and her two sons buy pipin' hot burritos at a converted ox cart. Sometimes you just want a snack to grab 'n go. I think the Frontierland shooting gallery would be to our right.


Mom can keep 4 or 5 lukewarm burritos in her purse for everyone to eat a few hours later when they're on the spinning teacups. 


Thank you, Mysterious Benefactor!

26 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Hmmmmm..... theme park Mexican food. I do like the architectural detail of the scalloped alcove in the second image surrounding the Frito-Lay favorites "display board". (I presume it had a different use in a previous lifetime).

Thanks to the M B and you.

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I think that is a tostada, rather than a taco salad.

I see that they have beef and bean burritos at that cart, but it looks like they also have "sweet apple"(?) I haven't heard of that kind of burrito before, but then I'm not an expert in Mexican food. I have heard of sweet tamales, though.

I love that second shot, because of how much it shows. I think that is the most of the mural we have seen in one shot. I also love that alcove that Nanook pointed out. That lady with the orange neckerchief has been repeatedly splattered with food. I'm assuming she is a chef/cook? I wonder why they hadn't given her a fresh apron to wear. I know at Knott's, they were super chintzy about giving us fresh towels and aprons in the middle of a shift. They said it "cost money" to launder them. I just wonder if Disney was as cheap as Knott's, when it came to things like that.

Thank you for sharing these, M.B. and Major!

MIKE COZART said...

I can remember getting the SWEET APPLE BURRITO from this cart in the late 70’s and early 80’s. It was basically like the mcDonalds Appleturnovers when they were still fried. I think today we’d call them a fruit filled Chimichanga. I grew up in San Diego and I don’t think the world Chimichanga didn’t become widely used amongst the general public till the mid to late 80’s. This series of photos is great : it captures what was typical of a 1978 Disneyland visit , but scenes and views rarely ever captured by a guest’s camera!

DrGoat said...

Well said. I am a fan of the second photo too. There is a lot being said. The alcove, the Mary murals, and that big pile of individual size Frito bags. There's also the gap between the blonde, perky guest and the, what I assume is a Mexican person cooking the food. Body language included.
And absolutely no. Milk with Mexican food just isn't right.
Great photo, Mysterious B. You just don't see these kind of images often. Thanks.
Thanks Major. Big treat.

Anonymous said...

I like the first picture mainly because I'm hungry and that girl knows how to pile a tostada high! I love me a good tostada. Or an average tostada. I'm hungry.
Milk with Mexican food is not a bad idea, and, in fact, is pretty good. It's especially good if you go a bit heavy on the jalapenos and the hot sauce, since the enzymes in the milk kill the chemical reaction that causes the heat sensation. As a kid, I used to sit in front of the TV after school with a jar of whole pickled jalapenos (the only way to eat them) and a tall glass of milk. Crud! Now I'm even more hungry!
I think I would like a sweet apple burrito. A fast food place here has Cheesecake Chimichangas that are really really good.
How come I don't keep food in my office? I'm starving!
Fun pics today!

JC Shannon said...

Salad or tostada, I think she looks like Snow White. Maybe she is moonlighting at the Casa between meet and greets. I agree with Major. There is nothing like a lukewarm burrito in the warm California sun, on a spinning ride. MMMMMM MMM. The kid in the orange tank can't decide if he is wearing his socks up or down. Did Jackson Pollock pick out his shorts? Is he deciding on a purchase, or ogling the beautiful food cart lady? You decide. Thanks to the MB and Major for today's food adventure.

JG said...

Stu, you and this post are making me hungry. Oh when you could gorge on Taco Bell for $2.00.

Thanks Major & MB.

JG

DrGoat said...

Wow Stu. Hardcore. Pickled jalapenos & milk. You tempered your taste buds early in life. Still, I can't do milk with Mexican food. Spicy Chili Rellenos need a Mexican Coke or a beer if you're inclined. I also found that lemonade helps with the burn. I think we're all a little different with what works. But yeah, now I'm hungry. And there's a great place right down in Barrio Hollywood with great Rellenos, carne asada, cabeza or enchiladas. 2.5 hours till lunch hour.

Anonymous said...

I just had a great beef chili relleno at a little mom and pop place last week. I need to go back. Very Very soon!
I concur on the Mexican Coke, or Mexican beer (although I really don't like other beer) The Mexican stuff is just better.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I need a daily reminder of the delicious, salty snacks that Frito-Lay provides for us. Don’t take them for granted.

TokyoMagic! I guess you’re right; as far as I know, the difference is that the tortilla is fried into the shape of a bowl for taco salad. Otherwise, all the same stuff? I noticed the “sweet apple” option, but forgot to mention it. I used to hear ads for sweet Christmas tamales on a local radio station, and always wondered what was in them - maybe it was basically apple pie filing? It’s amazing to me that a place like Knott’s would be so cheap that they wouldn’t give employees clean towels and aprons. Jeez!

Mike Cozart, I have to admit that I do like those apple pies at McDonalds, thought I haven’t had one for a long, long time. They were especially good when they were fried! I’m not sure when I first was aware of the word “chimichanga”, but it was probably in the 80s. Suddenly life was perfect! ;-) It was pretty cool to see these in the group of scans that the Mysterious Benefactor sent to me.

DrGoat, I wonder if those Frito bags are all unique to Disneyland? I have a friend who has a vintage Frito bag that does have the name of the park on it (why was it saved?!). And yes, that poor guy in photo #2 looks like he has had a hard day. My brother worked at a McDonalds for a while, and he would come home with his brown polyester uniform covered in oil. Pretty gross!

Stu29573, if only a knew of a good place to get Mexican food at the moment! Now I’m so hungry for it. I may have to resort to Taco Bell, which I know is a crime, and yet, sometimes a crime is just what is needed. When I was growing up my mom used to buy tons of milk for me and my three siblings… the entire bottom shelf of the fridge was just half gallons of milk from the Navy base. We drank it with everything! Now I pretty much only have it on cereal. I know that milk is supposed to help with the burn of spicy peppers, if you’ve ever seen the show “Hot Ones” on YouTube, you often see guests guzzle milk between successively hotter sauces. Ooo, a cheesecake chimichanga sounds amazing.

Jonathan, we all know about the deleted scene from “Snow White”, where she makes tacos for all of the Dwarfs. It never made it past the pencil test stage, and Walt cut it because he realized it would make all of the viewers too hungry to concentrate on the rest of the movie. But you can watch it on most DVD extras. That kid’s are pretty crazy; and I wouldn’t blame him for admiring the smiling cast member.

JG, yes, it might be time to “run for the border” later tonight! Nachos Bel Grande and a burrito supreme!

DrGoat, I probably could do milk with Mexican food, but choose not to! I’m not a drinker, for the most part, but a nice blended margarita or a cold cerveza is just the thing with enchiladas or whatever. A friend of mine used to like to put lots of lime juice in salsa before having salsa and chips, and it seems like that citric acid made the hot salsa have even more of a kick. As if it got those nerves nice and raw before exposing them to a blast furnace.

Stu29573, there’s a store in Glendale that sells Coke made with cane sugar rather than corn syrup, not sure if it’s from Mexico though. I’ve never bought it! I wonder how different it would taste? While I can go months without any alcohol at all, I do like the occasional Mexican beer, or a nice crisp Asian beer when having sushi.

JC Shannon said...

Major, I just read your post from yesterday. I am now eating Mexican food, wearing my Nudie suit, singing a Gram Parsons tune, and having heart burn all at the same time. Rolaids, anyone?

Anonymous said...

Major, I loved Taco Bell as a kid. We could go there after high school basketball practice and eat till we were full for two bucks. Can't do that today, I'm sure. I can't recall the last time I went to a Taco Bell now.

When I lived in Fresno, I would go to the taqueria and get a burrito, an apple, a raw jalapeno, and a Corona for my lunch. This was in 1980 before Corona was big, and the Spanish-speaking bodega was the only place you could get it. My friends all thought I was crazy. That raw pepper would kill me today. Yogurt is also a short-term cure for the heat.

Coke is made with cane sugar in Mexico. Many stores up here carry it. The flavor is distinctly different from the domestic soda, but if you don't like Coke, as I do not, then there's not much reason to care. But I have friends that want it because they don't want to consume corn syrup sweeteners, which are supposed by some to be worse than plain sugar.

@JC, I am imagining people reading your post who do not know what a Nudie suit is, and laughing about their possible reactions. Thanks for the laughs.

JG

DrGoat said...

JC, Saw FBB in '69 or so here in Tucson. From what little bit of what I remember of those days, it was a great show. I do think they opened for the Grass Roots or Steppenwolf. It's a bit hazy. Tucson was a great place in the 60s, early 70s for good music. Everyone played here for some reason. Had to go to Phoenix to see some of the bigger groups like the Who but even the Stones played here once. The Mick Taylor days.

TokyoMagic! said...

My local Ralph's grocery store carries Mexican Coke, Pepsi, Sprite and Orange Crush. The difference is that they come in glass bottles and they are sweetened with sugar cane, rather than corn syrup, as was already mentioned earlier. I am not a big soda drinker, but I can taste the difference and prefer the Mexican versions. Supposedly, that is the way that the U.S. versions used to be made....with sugar cane, and not corn syrup.

When I was a kid, my favorite items to get at Taco Bell were the Bell Beefer and a cup of Pintos and Cheese.

Unfortunately, the Bell Beefer was discontinued:

https://tacobell.fandom.com/wiki/Bell_Beefer

Major Pepperidge said...

Jonathan, I’m glad you are wearing a Nudie suit. If you are going to do something, do it with style! For all of Gram Parsons’ fame, I think I can name two songs by him, which I know is shameful.

JG, sadly my friends liked to go to Arby’s to eat for cheap. I never cared for it, even though I sure liked the idea of roast beef sandwiches. Which reminds me of a Homer line from The Simpsons: “I’m so hungry I could eat at Arby’s!”. Pretty much says it all. There is a hole-in-the-wall place that my friend and I liked to go to, and my brother always swore he got the worst food there, but my friend and I said it was the BEST food, so who knows what that was about. Gosh, you don’t like ice cream, and you don’t like Coca Cola? Sometimes on a hot day there’s nothing like a Coke with lots of ice. Maybe you are a super healthy eater?

DrGoat, I have the feeling a lot of people who saw the Flying Burrito Brothers don’t remember the shows that vividly. The Grass Roots! Gosh, there’s a blast from the past. I’m surprised you didn’t see the Stones with Gram Parsons in Tucson.

TokyoMagic!, I have no idea how different sucrose tastes compared to fructose or glucose, but from everything I’ve heard, it must be noticeable. I’ve cut way back on my soda consumption, to maybe one or two a week instead of one or two a day, but I usually drink diet sodas (Coke Zero). Gosh, I sure don’t remember the Bell Beefer!

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I ate one of the chimichangas (non-apple variety) off that cart once. I think it's still floating around in my toes somewhere.

JC Shannon said...

Goat, Steppenwolf's drummer Steven Palmer lives in Montana about an hour and a half from me. He is a good friend of my daughter and me. He is quite the character, he signed a pair of drumsticks for me, he used with the Wolf, and I keep em in my office. I am currently building a Stratocaster for him, as a thank you. The Burritos are a favorite of mine, and of course Gram. You are a lucky man to have seen them. Duets with Emmylou Harris and Gram will bring a tear to my eye every time. Now I am going out with the truckers and the kickers and the cowboy angels. In my Nudie suit, of course. Thanks Goat, for the memories.

Anonymous said...

Just had dinner. Two tacos and a combo burritto. Because of this post...

Anonymous said...

One T. Stupid tiny keyboard.

Chuck said...

First encountered the word "chimichanga" in the late '80s. I was a freshman at the Air Force Academy, and we had to memorize the menus for all three meals every day and recite them to any upperclassman who asked.

It was a Saturday, and my flight commander cornered three of us just before lunch and started grilling us on all sorts of required knowledge. Then I get this "Hansen - what's for lunch?" It was an unfamiliar word I'd never heard pronounced before, so what came out was "chachichmachangas." I heard about that for days.

We got to lunch, which was served cafeteria style on the weekends (although as a freshman you still had to sit at attention and not talk while eating), and my first encounter with a "chachichmachanga" was pretty good.

That afternoon, I had to march tours for failing an Inspector General uniform inspection (I was ordered to touch up my shave by the first sergeant five minutes before having to be in formation, nicked myself, and bled on my shirt collar; the senior behind me was absolutely livid that they failed me for that). "Marching tours" was a punishment that consisted of marching back and forth in service dress shouldering a rifle across a part of the Terrazzo between my dorm and the grass infield with a bunch of other reprobates who had committed similarly heinous crimes against humanity. Each "tour" was a set period of time (I think it was 50 minutes), and you never were assigned just one for punishment. The idea was that you were supposed to contemplate while marching whatever it was that you'd done wrong so you'd never do it again, but the reality was you were absolutely bored out of your mind, wishing you were doing almost anything else.

Anyway, it's Indian Summer in Colorado Springs, and the afternoon was pretty warm. About halfway through my third tour, I started feeling queasy. I kept walking slower, and slower, and slower, until I stopped just before the grass infield. I remember a female sophomore from my squadron who was marching next to me stopping and whispering "Hansen - take a knee!"

I bent over and had my second encounter with a "chachichmachanga." It was much less pleasant than the first. But I didn't have to march any more tours that day.

MIKE COZART said...

Years ago on the Travel Channel there was a series that when to locations all over that were origins of popular food and the story behind them .... like the Boston Cream Pie and Parker House rolls etc...and The Chimichanga. The restaurant it came from was in Texas I recall near a military base and one nite several minutes before closing a bunch of military guys came in and asked if there was anyway they could be served -? They were so hungry . So the owner went into the kitchen to see what could be made quickly - she started with quesadillas and then heated oil up to fry up some tortilla chips - then stared to make some burritos.... at some point one of the burritos was accidentally dropped into the hot oil and the owner /cook used a Mexican?? Expletive or a combination of expletives that sounded close to CHIMICHANGA !! I don’t recall the time frame ..... maybe 60’s or 70’s this occurred but the lady who owned the restaurant was still working there when the tv show was made ( 2015??). Anyways she served the fried burrito and the guys LOVED them and people began to asked for the fried burritos so she named them after the word she screamed out when the first one fell into the oil.

I also saw a show that did a chemical lab break down of modern MEXICAN COKE and modern American coke and that it showed the two were virtually identical and then several years ago the cost of sugar became so expensive that (most) of the Mexican Coke bottlers switched to other sweeteners other than sugarcane.

Also on that episode it reveled that the American retailers intentionally have packaging done to Spanish imply Mexican Coke because Americans will pay more money for the “Mexican” Coke .

Dean Finder said...

I'm a fan of "Mexican" Coke as well. The difference in flavor is slight, but corn syrup US Coke is a bit "sharper" in flavor, more like Pepsi. Which I guess makes sense with the whole New Coke debacle in the 1980s to compete better with Pepsi. Though for me the bigger difference is that you get less of a sugar high and crash with the cane sugar Coke. I'm guessing because it takes some time for enzymes in your digestive tract to break sucrose into fructose and glucose, while corn syrup has those 2 sugars already split up.

TokyoMagic! said...

Chuck, Chachi Machanga was also a character on Happy Days! There was even a spin-off series called, Joanie Loves Chachi Machanga ;-)

Major Pepperidge said...

Sorry I missed the later comments, I had “one of those days” yesterday.

Alonzo, it sounds like you ordered the limited-edition chimichangas made of depleted uranium!

Jonathan, I have hardly any legendary rock star friends. You are building a Stratocaster? That’s pretty impressive! Is that what you do for a living? I’m fascinated with guitars as works of art, I don’t even play and I can see why people collect them. I even watch videos of people restoring old guitars.

Stu29573, did you go to Taco Bell, or a real restaurant? I was going to go to TB, but then got lazy and didn’t want to drive over there.

Chuck, I’m amazed that you recall your first chimichanga experience in so much detail, but that’s probably because it didn’t agree with you. Years ago I had a Burger King experience that was “very negative” (no details necessary) and I have still never been back to a BK restaurant. Meanwhile, I want my band to be called “The Chachichmachangas”. It sounds like your superior officer was a real jerk, but… that goes with the territory, from what I’ve heard. Even my Dad, who was a Navy Commander, would tell stories about the unbelievable jerks that some of the Admirals were. Meanwhile, there’s nothing quite like puking in front of everyone to make your day. I hope you learned your lesson about nicking yourself shaving!

Mike Cozart, that definitely sounds like a Travel Channel show. Where did the margarita originate? Who actually made the first Philly cheesesteak? That sort of thing. I could definitely see somebody accidentally dropping a burrito into the fryer, although I could also see somebody just thinking, “What if I deep fried this thing? How bad can it be?”. I’d love to know if “chimichanga” really is some combination of Spanish curse words, maybe we all say something terribly offensive whenever we order them. Wow, what a dirty trick, using high fructose corn syrup and then packaging it as “Mexican Coke”! I mostly just like the classic bottles, especially when the glass was sort of greenish instead of clear.

Dean Finder, someday I’ll have to try the two different versions side by side. The “Coke Challenge”! I wonder if I’ll even be able to tell the difference. I don’t think I ever actually tried New Coke, for all of the publicity. I guess that’s why it flopped, nobody else wanted it either. Interesting thought about how the body processes the sugars differently!

TokyoMagic!, man, there sure were a lot of “Happy Days” spinoffs! Did Chachi Machanga jump anything with a motorcycle?

Anonymous said...

Major, I went to Taco Bueno. I think it's a local Texas fast food place (they started in San Antonio) They are MUCH better than Taco H...er...Bell.

Chuck said...

Stu, I lived for five years in a part of Oklahoma that had been part of Texas before the Supreme Court redefined the course of the Red River in 1896, and we had a Taco Bueno. I much preferred that place to Taco Bell.

An ex-girlfriend's sister's ex-boyfriend (everybody following along?) came to visit from Australia, and he and I ended up hanging around a lot together during his two months in the US. Great guy, but he could not pronounce the "bueno" in "Taco Bueno" no matter how hard he tried. I came out something like "buh-uh-yoo-noh" (and "taco" would come out "tack-oh," all in an Australian accent). It was excruciatingly painful to watch.

We finally took pity on him and introduced him to Taco Mayo.