Time To Dine At California Adventure

We Have Visited Disneyland Since Opening Day 1955

We Came To Dine At Carthay Circle Restaurant With The Grahams And Duda's

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
A blueberry mojito suddenly arrived in my hands as we passed by the UVA Bar at Catal courtesy of Renee'

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
... perhaps a little artistic touch????

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
A walk back in time.... The Pan-Pacific entrance in 1940...

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Recreated by Disney in 2012....

Inside The Park We Spent Time On The New "Main Street Los Angeles"

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
From a sketch to reality... Only Disney can do it!! Amazing

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's Walking down memory lane

Did You Know? - Buena Vista Street is a themed "land" at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort. Though named for the real-life Burbank thoroughfare that the Walt Disney Studios sits on, the central plaza represents Los Angeles in the 1920s, when Walt Disney first arrived there. One of the main features is a small-scale replica of the Hyperion Bridge, which was being constructed when Disney stayed in Atwater Village. The replica functions as a working bridge for the park's monorail system.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
It is indeed a street

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Paul remembers these red cars

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The recreation is super...


Just like in the old photo albums

Did You Know? - The Red Car Trolley, a recreation of Pacific Electric's iconic Red Car electric trolleys, akin to the ones featured in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, transports guests through this area, from the park's entry to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Hollywood Land.

Take Us To The Carthay Circle... Please


The Carthay Theater circa 1921

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The fountain is right in the center of the circle

Time For Lunch

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
A short walk to the Cathay Circle Restaurant

Did You Know? - Carthay is bordered by the Miracle Mile District on the north, Picfair Village on the south, Beverly Hills on the northwest, and the Fairfax District on the northeast. The district is roughly bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the north, La Cienega Boulevard on the west, Pico Boulevard on the south, and Fairfax Avenue on the east. Principal thoroughfares of the district include San Vicente, Olympic, and Crescent Heights Boulevards.

Carthay comprises three neighborhoods: Carthay Circle, which lies to the north of Olympic Boulevard; South Carthay, south of Olympic and west of Crescent Heights Boulevard; and Carthay Square, south of Olympic and east of Crescent Heights.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Did You Know? - In June 2012, a fanciful larger-scale replica of the theater building was opened in the Buena Vista Street section of Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Although this replica is larger than the Orlando version, it is still slightly smaller than the 1926 original, and has a modified exterior footprint and interior floor plan.

While there is no actual theatre inside, the building houses the "Carthay Circle Lounge" on the first floor, and both the "Carthay Circle Restaurant" and the members-only "Club 1901" on the second floor. This structure is located on a circular plaza known as Carthay Circle, giving the impression that the theater is named for its location on a circular plaza.

Also, the original's signature circular floor plan is absent from the replica building, and the circular parapet is squared off from the outside. These facts help to cement the confusion about the original meaning of the names "Carthay", "Carthay Circle" and "Carthay Circle Theater."

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
We are here....

Did You Know? - In 1922, J. Harvey McCarthy developed the area as an upscale residential district along the San Vicente Boulevard line of the Pacific Electric Railway, bounded by Wilshire Blvd. on the north, Fairfax Avenue on the east, Olympic Blvd. on the south and Schumacher Drive on the west. McCarthy originally named the district Carthay Center (Carthay being a derivative of the developer's last name).

The areas to the south of Olympic Boulevard remained undeveloped until 1933, when developer Spyros George Ponty built several hundred homes in two districts later named "South Carthay" and "Carthay Square."

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
We are welcomed by a doorman who happened to like Kenny Rodgers (inside joke)

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The lobby was beautiful... Even a place to have a cocktail while you wait to ascend the stairway to the restaurant

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Magnificent furniture

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Downstairs bar area

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Check in with escorts

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The staircase and hallways have many pictures celebrating Disney

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Walt and Shirley

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The main dining area is surrounded by many smaller rooms

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
JR and Karen

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
JR and Karen in Black and White

Starters
Designed to Share

Signature Fire Cracker Duck Wings - with Soy, Lime, and Sriracha Chili Sauce. $12

Crispy Gorditas - topped with Portobello Mushrooms, Poblano Chile, Queso Fresco and Pepitas. $11

Grape Leaves stuffed with Chenel Goat Cheese - served with Roasted Garlic and Kalamata Olive-Red Pepper Vinaigrette. $13

Halibut Ceviche - Avocado, Tomatillo-Cilantro Essence and Crisp Plantain Chips. $15

Ginger Pork Satay - Green Papaya Slaw and Mango Raita. $16

Summer's Seasonal Soup - California Grilled Corn and Tomato Broth with Smoked Chicken. $10

Carthay House Biscuits - Stuffed with White Cheddar, Bacon, and Jalapeno, Served with Apricot Honey Butter. $8

Garden Salads

Simple Green Salad - Warm Brie and Apricot Conserve. $11

Heirloom Tomato Salad - with Wild Arugula, Parmesan Dressing, and Lemon Olive Oil Sorbet. $12

Summer Watermelon Salad - Cucumber, Gypsy Peppers, Lime Mascarpone, and Honey Sherry Vinaigrette. $12

Strawberry-Lemon Roasted Organic Chicken Salad - Jicama, Haricot Verts, Upland Cress, and Buttermilk-Lemon Vinaigrette. $18

Noodles

Udon Noodle Bowl - with Red Thai Curry Broth, Shrimp and Mussels, Shiitake Mushrooms, Bok Choy, Mint, Cashews, and fresh Coriander. $19

Cavatelli Pasta with Tuscan-style Braised Lamb - Sun-dried Tomatoes, Spinach, and Grana Padana Cheese in a Rich Lamb Jus. $20

Pappardelle Pasta with House-made Chicken Meatballs - Tear Drop Tomatoes, fresh Basil, and Yellow Tomato Essence. $18

Fins and Shells Sustainable Seafood

Sauteed Northern Halibut - Relish of Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Caperberry, and Orange. $37

Jamaican Jerked King Fish - Tropical Salsa of Pineapple, Mango, Black Beans, and Lime. $32

Bacon-wrapped Shrimp - on Summer Roasted Corn, Grilled Zucchini, and Basil Salsa. $26

Meats

Grilled Quail - stuffed with Prosciutto Wrapped Peaches, Peach Salsa, Haricot Verts, and Roasted Almond Vinaigrette. $29

Santa Maria Braised Pork Pot Roast - Sour Cream Smashed Potatoes, Cipollini Onions, and Bing Cherry-Orange Vinaigrette. $31

Grilled Rib-eye - Sauteed Mushrooms and Gremolata of Red Flame Grapes, Blue Cheese, Red Onion, and Parsley. $41

Colorado Rack of Lamb - Fried Zucchini Blossom, Fennel Puree, and Summer Succotash. $38

8 oz. Angus Burger - Tillamook Cheddar Cheese, Black Pepper Bacon and Grilled Onions served with French Fries and House-made Pickles. $22

Summer Dessert Menu

Fried Banana Split Monte Cristo Sundae - Raspberry and Chocolate Fudge Ice Creams, Toffee Nuts and Warm Caramel Rum Bananas. $15

"Peaches in All Their Glory" - Peach and White Chocolate Mousse Cannolis with fresh Grilled Peaches and Peach Sorbet. $12

Toasted Lemon Pound Cake - fresh Marinated Blueberries, Lemon Curd Cream, and Tahitian Vanilla Chantilly. $12

Simple Scoop of Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream - with Chocolate Cookie Croutons and Warm Milk Chocolate. $12

Seasonal Country Pie - with Whipped Brown Sugar Sour Cream. $12

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Memories of Disneyland

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The smaller rooms were very quiet

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The gentlemen's facilities were really upscale....

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Let's Walk Off Lunch....

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The parade was just coming by as we left

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Bugs??

Did You Know? - A Bug's Life grossed approximately $33,258,052 on its opening weekend, ranking #1 for that weekend. It managed to retain its #1 spot for two weeks. The film eventually made $162.7 million in its United States theatrical run, covering its estimated production costs of $45 million. The film made $200,600,000 in foreign countries. The film made a worldwide gross of $363.3 million, surpassing the competition from DreamWorks Animation's Antz.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The floats were super and music as always quite coordinated

The Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Buzz Lightyear is on his way

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Tow Mater

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
A restored Kan-O-Tex Service Station in the former mining town Galena on U.S. Route 66 in Kansas. "Tater", a 1951 International Harvester boom truck used to hoist equipment from mine shafts, is the basis for Cars character "Tow Mater".

Did You Know? - Sir Tow Mater, known to all as simply Mater, is the secondary protagonist in the 2006 animated Pixar film Cars and the main protagonist in its sequel. He is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, and was inspired by a 1951 International Harvester tow truck but bears more of a resemblance to a 1957 two-ton International Harvester Truck.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Almost At Carland...

We Have Arrived At Carsland!

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Carefully checkout the signs....

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The wind chimes were cute.... Old mufflers

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
JR and Karen follow Bob

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Love the bright colors

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Looks like it is decorated for Christmas.... Really hides the air conditioner intake

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Sarge was a jeep

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Did You Know? - Sarge (voiced by Paul Dooley) is a Willys Jeep. A veteran with a military green paint job and a slightly stylized Sergeant Major (E-9) insignia on his sides, he appears to be a World War II era Willys MB. His license plate reads "41WW2", which indicates the date the Willys MB entered the service of the U.S. Army (1941 World War II).

He runs a surplus store, named "Sarge's Surplus Hut", next door to Fillmore and acts as part of Lightning's pit crew, gassing him up during the race. Near the end of the film, he operates a boot camp to train SUVs and 4x4s (some of whom had never been off-road) in rugged and dirt terrain.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Sarge's place... an old Quonset Hut

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
In the days of old...

Did You Know? - In 1941 the United States Navy needed an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labor. The George A. Fuller construction company was selected to manufacture them. The first was produced within 60 days of contract award.

The original design was a 16 ft × 36 ft (5 m × 11 m) structure framed with steel members with an 8 ft (2.4 m) radius. The sides were corrugated steel sheets. The two ends were covered with plywood, which had doors and windows. The interior was insulated and had pressed wood lining and a wood floor. The building could be placed on concrete, on pilings, or directly on the ground with a wood floor.

As the original design used low grade (non-strategic) steel, a more rust-resistant version was called for. The all-spruce 'Pacific Hut' was created for use in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

The most common design created a standard size of 20 ft × 48 ft (6 m × 15 m) with 10 ft (3 m) radius, allowing 720 square feet (67 m²) of usable floor space, with optional four-foot (1.2 m) overhangs at each end for protection of entrances from the weather. Other sizes were developed, including 20 ft × 40 ft (6 m × 12 m) and 40 ft × 100 ft (12 m × 30 m) warehouse models.

The flexible interior space was open, allowing for use as barracks, latrines, offices, medical and dental offices, isolation wards, housing, and bakeries. Extant Quonset hut adapted for commercial use, Westland, Michigan.

Between 150,000 and 170,000 Quonset huts were manufactured during World War II. After the war, the US military sold the surplus Quonset huts to the public.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Sue is hiding behind the speed limit sign...

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The store fronts are amazing depictions of the movie

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Checkout the top of the gas station.... Spark plugs.... Below are the pistons

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The gas pumps sure looked real

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Attention to detail

The Tee Pee Motel Brings Back Memories

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The flowers in the yard are tail lights from old Cadillacs

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
100% refrigeration ???

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Did You Know? - The concept of air conditioning is known to have been applied in ancient Egypt where reeds hung in windows had water trickling down, evaporation cooled the air though made it more humid. In Ancient Rome, water from aqueducts was circulated through the walls of certain houses to cool them down.

Other techniques in medieval Persia involved the use of cisterns and wind towers to cool buildings during the hot season. Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1911 by Willis Haviland Carrier.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Remember the old TeePee Motels?

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Cabins imitating the Indian teepee for tourists along highway south of Bardstown, Kentucky. July 1940

Did You Know? - The Wigwam Motels, also known as the "Wigwam Villages", is a motel chain in the United States in which the rooms are built in the form of teepees, hence the name "wigwam". It originally had seven different locations: two locations in Kentucky, a location in Alabama, another location in Florida, one in Arizona, one in Louisiana, and another one in California. They are very distinctive historic landmarks.

Two of the three surviving motels are located on historic U.S. Route 66, in Holbrook, Arizona and on the city boundary between Rialto and San Bernardino, California. Wigwam Motel #2, in Cave City, Kentucky was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1988 under the official designation of Wigwam Village #2. Wigwam Village #6 was listed on May 2, 2002.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The Cadillac Mountains were just fantastic

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Always something new to see

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Each part of the mountain has meanings...

Did You Know? - The landscape in the distance behind Radiator Springs is made up of rock formations intentionally reminiscent of Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. The road map shown in the montage history of the town calls the area "Cadillac Range." Some of the mountain peaks in the Cadillac Range, shown during the movie, resemble the quarter panels of late-50's Cadillacs, with their distinctive tailfins.

The setting for the fictional town of Radiator Springs is situated between Gallup, New Mexico and Kingman, Arizona. A landmark, called Radiator Cap, overlooks the town, and has two white letters ("R" and "S") written upon it. The style and relative positioning of these letters on the landmark closely resemble the "RS" badge used on the first-generation "Rally Sport" Camaros.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Nearby "Ornament Valley" (a reference to Monument Valley ) is made of rock formations that project from the valley walls or rise from the valley floor and resemble the front ends of late 1930s to early 1940s American automobiles.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The cars are in a race and they really move

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The town hall is at the end of the street

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
JR, Karen and Robin study the buildings

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
It was a beautiful and warn day...

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Old photos reveal all....

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The movie versus real life.... Hard to tell the difference

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Luigi's leaning tire tower... Say that twice

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Lean to the left... Lean to the right....

The General Store

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Great pumps.... Just like the 1940's when we drove to Arkansas during the summer
Remember these??

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The Mother Road

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Carburetor County???

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Beware... It's Tow Mater

Time To Split Up And Meet Again At Catal At 5:00

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The trolley goes down Hollywood Blvd.

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
The red cars were all over Los Angeles

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Pencils and paper always work

Did You Know? - The Pacific Electric Railway (reporting mark PE), also known as the Red Car system, was a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail, and buses. The largest electric railway in the world at its greatest extent, around 1925, the system interconnected cities in Los Angeles County and Orange County, as well as in San Bernardino County and Riverside County.

The service was organized around two nexuses located in the city centers of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, which were each connected in 1914 by the 1200-volt San Bernardino Line.

The system shared some dual gauge track with the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge Los Angeles Railway, "Yellow Car" or "Lay" system. These were on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles (directly in front of the busy 6th and Main terminal), on 4th Street and along Hawthorne Boulevard south of downtown LA toward the cities of Hawthorne, Gardena, and Torrance.


Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Remember the shops with changing rooms upstairs

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Something is fishy here

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
"Throw me a fish Bob!!"

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Nick rode the water ride

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
...and came back sopping wet

Lunch at Carthay with the Grahams and Duda's
Then we soard over California

Did You Know? - The attraction, which lasts about four minutes and 51 seconds, takes 87 guests at a time on a simulated hang glider tour of California, flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Redwood Creek in Humboldt County, Napa Valley, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park (including Yosemite Falls and Half Dome), the PGA West golf course in La Quinta (credited in the queue video presentation as Palm Springs), Camarillo, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu, Los Angeles, and Disneyland itself during the Christmas season. The last few scenes transition from daytime to dusk and then to night, culminating in Disneyland's Holiday fireworks surrounding the riders in the nighttime sky.