Cocina Cucamonga Gluten-Friendly Lunch
Over on the Pacific Wharf at Disney’s California Adventure are some fantastic eateries that can be easily missed. A personal favorite of mine is Cocina Cucamonga. With a very allergy-friendly menu for a quick-service restaurant, their food is full of flavor that is rarely found. On this occasion, I focused on having a Cocina Cucamonga gluten-friendly lunch featuring two amazing dishes. The menu on the wall in the restaurant makes it hard to decide what to get – everything looks so good.
If you are a fish lover, the Fish Tacos served with citrus cabbage slaw, mango habanero sauce, cilantro-lime rice, and black beans is an excellent choice. While I did not try it, you can see the picture below in the poster that was in the window of the restaurant.
The allergy-friendly menu is two pages, with gluten/wheat, soy, and fish/shellfish on one side, and milk, egg, and peanut/tree nut on the other side. One thing that impresses me about this restaurant is that the three of the proteins – Carne Asada (Cocina marinated steak), Al Pastor (pineapple achiote marinated pork), and Pollo (citrus marinated chicken)– are all free of the top 8 allergens. That makes this an excellent choice for people concerned about food allergies. Mobile orders are possible, but I always recommend ordering from a chef when food allergies are involved.
The first thing I tried for my Cocina Cucamonga gluten-friendly lunch was the Achiote Marinated Half Chicken; a citrus achiote marinated chicken served with black beans topped with queso fresco, cilantro-lime rice, and corn tortillas. The portion is a pretty decent size. The chicken is very rich in flavor, the beans are pretty good, but the rice is a little bit bland by itself. I did expect there to be a bit more flavor, but it is still the best rice I have had at one of their Mexican restaurants. I did not fully understand why it came with tortillas since it did not seem like you would make tacos from it, but it is nice that it is an option.
The other dish I tried for my Cocina Cucamonga gluten-friendly lunch was the Street Style Taco Plate, a choice of one protein on corn tortillas served with the cilantro lime rice and black beans with queso fresco. I was able to get the three tacos with each of the three types of meat they offer, Carne Asada, Al Pastor, and Pollo. After trying tacos from all of the other options around the park, I have to say these are the best tacos. Each one is full of flavor and full of the best meat I have had around the park. Thankfully they double wrapped them since they are pretty well filled. The rice and beans are the same as above but still a nice addition to the dish.
If you are on a paleo or keto diet, the Ensalada con Pollo is a possibility by adjusting some of the ingredients. You can also speak with them about swapping out other proteins.
Cocina Cucamonga has some of the best gluten-friendly food options from a quick-service restaurant at the Disneyland Resort. With dishes full of flavor and many of them being allergy-friendly, this is a restaurant that you cannot pass up, especially if you love tacos like me.