Skip the sausage at Disneyland’s new Village Haus Restaurant

Hold the sausage
I was expecting a German-style sausage, but got instead what tasted to me like a very mild sweet Italian sausage instead. However German and Italian cuisine might blend, an Italian sausage on pretzel bread, topped with sauerkraut, doesn’t qualify.

Italian spices just don’t get along with pickled cabbage. Nor do they sit well with the doughy saltiness of pretzel bread. They need the lighter, crispier crust of a pizza instead. And let’s not talk about adding mustard to the mix, as I’d heartily recommend on a brat-like sausage.

The lesson? Always go with the special. At Disney’s counter-service restaurants, stick with the options presented in a fancy bordered box on the menu board. At the Village Haus, those three options are:

An Angus 1/3 lb. Pastrami Cheeseburger ($10.49)
A “BLT” Flatbread Pizza ($9.49)
An Apple & Cheddar Salad ($7.49)
I’d skipped those because I was looking for something that fit the theme of place a bit better. A pastrami burger is as LA as food gets. A BLT on a pizza is another American combo, to be sure. And I’m not a big fan of Cheddar, especially on a salad.
But Disney’s usually got those options in the boxes for a reason, and it’s not just to steer you toward the higher-prices selections. Those are the items that location focuses on, and presumably does best.

So I’m not ready to judge the Village Haus until a return and give one of those entrees a try. Until then, though, I can recommend that you skip the sausage.

The strudel, however, is well worth a taste. I felt a twinge of disappointment when the lady at the counter brought me my strudel, as I eyed the spectacular Black Forest cupcakes in a cooler behind her. Topped with billowing whipped cream and chocolate shavings, the cupcakes shamed my ordinary-looking strudel.

“The cupcakes are good,” another lady behind the counter said, noticing my expression. “But, honestly, the strudel tastes better.”

I can’t speak of the cupcake, but the strudel lived up the billing, with sweet apple flavor and a vanilla dip that tasted like great vanilla-bean ice cream, reduced to a sauce.