Downtown Disney and Anaheim GardenWalk offer lots of dining options, including Catal Restaurant, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, La Brea Bakery, Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, Rainforest Café, and Tortilla Jo's. Read more about them in Chapter 14.

Each of the Disney hotels offers a restaurant or two, and inside-the-theme-park favorites include Blue Bayou and California Adventure's Golden Vine, which are described in Chapters 8 and 11.

For some down-home, old-fashioned vittles, there's Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant at Knott's California Marketplace, and you can get a helping of entertainment with your meal at Joey and Maria's Comedy Wedding, Medieval Times, or the Pirates' Dinner Adventure dinner shows.

If you're looking for a nice, quiet dinner after a hectic day at the park, try the place many locals go for a special or romantic occasion: Anaheim White House, (887 S. Anaheim Blvd., (714) 772-1381, www.anaheimwhitehouse.com) serving Northern Italian recipes in a beautifully converted 1909 house. Another local favorite, Mr. Stox (1105 E. Katella Ave., (714) 634-2994, www.mrstox.com) serves dishes such as Maryland crab cakes, osso buco, prime rib, and salmon in a pretty dining room.

For a livelier atmosphere, the chefs at Benihana Anaheim (2100 E. Ball Road, (714) 774-4940, www.benihana.com) put on a show while cooking your food tableside. J. T. Schmid's Restaurant and Brewery (2610 E. Katella Ave., (714) 634-9200, www.jtschmids.com) serves gourmet microbrewed beers, steaks, pasta, pizza, and salads.

The California Country Café (1221 E. Katella Ave., (714) 978-8088) and Original Pancake House (1418 E. Lincoln Ave., (714) 535-9815, www.originalpancakehouse.com) get high marks among locals for their family-friendly fare.