Best food in the park?

Yes, Sky Ride Refreshments looks like it will have a much improved menu this year. I'm also excited to try Crystal Rock Cafe. From what I understand, Chef Bucco had a hand in many of the items there, they are not run of the mill food service items.

As far as the cheeseburgers, they really need to do something about those. With the upgraded food available in places now, they will look even weaker in comparison. I don't know if fresh beef causes logistical/storage difficulties or what the reason is that they still use the frozen patties they do. But if Wendy's, Five Guys and soon McDonald's can do it, I'm sure CP can figure it out. Matter of fact, at Progressive Field they sell Rally Burger double cheeseburgers for six bucks. Two .1 lb. fresh beef patties, cheese and a toasted bun with or without special sauce. They cook very fast and taste very good.

Is there a difference between frozen and fresh burger meat? If I take two pieces of crappy meat, freeze one, and then cook the two patties, is there a difference?

Some people claim there is a difference and I don't doubt them, but my buds are not sophisticated enough. I think the bigger issue is the use of soy. From the CP dietary needs FAQ. Locations using soy "Hamburger, Hoagie and Hot dog primarily used throughout in-park foods"

I think there is a taste difference personally. I can always tell at a cook-out if the people are using frozen patties or patties made from fresh ground beef. There's also a texture difference to me as well.

Having a wood fired grill for burgers and chicken sandwiches would also greatly improve the flavor, even if it was just 1 or 2 locations throughout the park.

Is there soy in the meat or are they talking about the bun? If there is soy in the hot dogs, it is totally undetectable. The Johnsonville products definitely do not have soy and they are served on the hoagie buns. The hamburger patties use seasoned beef, I don't know if that is soy or other seasonings but it doesn't taste like soy and beef, it just isn't that good.

Fresh ground beef cooks faster so it retains more moisture and flavor. That is the main difference. All CP would have to do is get 80/20 ground chuck and sprinkle salt and pepper on it before cooking to have a really good burger. The flame broiling machines they currently use would probably still work, the cooking time would just need to be adjusted.

all commercially processed hamburger meat (and most hot dogs) are made by using ground beef and what is in the industry called "slime" which is a finely processed binding ingredient which generally consists of wheat or grain (mostly processed gluten) and oil (almost always soybean oil) with some form of tenderizing enzyme. Most commercial bread has an oil in it (soy being the cheapest, so most prevalent) and fresh meat, the proteins are not broken down as much as frozen, so will most always be more tender and juicier. Melt will be an excellent upgrade, if you've eaten there before it rocks and anything dave's in the park is an obvious plus.

Does anyone know what type of beef (fresh/frozen) Coasters or Johnny Rocket's uses inside the park? I don't remember liking either of those years ago but it's been awhile. I DO like the burgers at Famous Dave's by the Marina and just had a Pinks' one last year. Both were decent. I'm a huge Five Guys fan (they use fresh beef), and there is a location down on Rt. 250 by the park. YES, we could use a GREAT burger inside the park.

The Johnny Rockets website says they use USDA inspected 100% fresh ground beef. So, I would assume the CP location uses that also, I can't see Johnny Rockets allowing that inconsistency with their franchises.

I've always tried to figure out what Coasters uses, the sign says fresh beef, but it is not clear to me if they mean never frozen beef or just a typical restaurant marketing term that means "not old". But, I do like the Coasters burgers better than the midway burgers.

I cannot find the all season dining options on the website. Can anyone tell me where to find it?

Johnny Rockets' burgers are like Steak n Shake's. A lump of never-frozen beef hand crushed on the grill. There's no reason to believe Cedar Point's would be any different. Otherwise it wouldn't be Johnny Rockets.

I'll be interested to see what makes it to Melt's menu and what doesn't. Special sandwiches frequently come and go there, and their regular menu is extensive with columns of choices. I'd at least expect the lasagna, the meatloaf, the fried chicken and the thanksgiving dinner. Oh, and the Korean BBQ.

Found it

MichelleB said:
I cannot find the all season dining options on the website. Can anyone tell me where to find it?

Let's see, you want to explore your dining options. There is a handy menu item "Explore" let's try there, oops not there. Try "Play" so you can play with your food. Then "Drinks and Dining" towards the bottom. Not there yet. Click "More Info" on "Drink and Dining Deals". Not there yet. Now click "Download Guide". There you go that was good for a couple hundred calories. :)

Still no word on Macho Nachos yet. Has anyone heard? If they went away, I'll be very disappointed .

WolfBobs said:

Macho Nachos appear on the menu for Last Chance Saloon, so not removed from the park, just relocated I think.

Thank goodness. Nacho crisis averted.

Today I ate from the Firehouse stand that looks like a fire truck. I got their homemade potato chips and they were amazing!

^ Yeah, I should have joined you. We walked past it about 1:00pm or so and that aroma was soooo tempting.

Checked out Chickes and Pete's as well as Johnny Rockets since they were added to the meal plan. Both were fantastic! It was great to get some variety from the basic burger, pizza, and Panda express, as well as sit down service. Chickes and Pete's cheesesteaks were pretty good and didn't taste like greasy theme park food. Johnny Rockets was amazing; they have many types of things on the plan, so it will never get boring. Also, the legendary perch sandwich is back by gatekeeper. I am glad that Cedar Point got some food upgrades. Now only if we got a festhaus type building...

I had the buffalo chicken tenders with fries from frontier inn today cuz it is on the dining plan and they were AMAZING!! I was even dipping my fries in the buffalo sauce but some I didn't because they were really good by themselves. I am definitely going back there many times this season.

I got also walking taco basket at The Corral today which came with a fruit cup, and I have to say that the fruit cup was better. Hardly any meat and way, way too much cheese sauce. It was only the second day though so maybe it will be better later in the season. Though walking tacos should be easy to make.

Saturday at Johnny Rockets I had the smokehouse single which was probably one of the best burgers I have ever eaten.

At the buffet they finally have the salad dressing in containers with ladles instead of those awkward nasty giant glass containers that you pick up and dressing runs down the sides getting your hands all sticky. Also, not sure if this was a mistake or not but the platinum discount still applied even with dining plan so it was only a $6.40 upcharge instead of $8

I can't wait for the melt to open, and when it does I really hope they have it on dining plan!

Cedar Point GCI said:

Chickes and Pete's cheesesteaks were pretty good and didn't taste like greasy theme park food. Johnny Rockets was amazing; they have many types of things on the plan, so it will never get boring. Also, the legendary perch sandwich is back by gatekeeper.

I had the cheesesteak once last season, it was great, but there wasn't enough variety of things on the meal plan to satisfy my wife and daughter, so I only had it the one time. Same with Johnny Rocket's - I think there was just one or two menu items on the plan last year. We love the atmosphere there, but didn't eat there often. That may change this year with a larger variety available on the plan.

I'd never had the perch sandwich at CP, but LOVE that option at many of the local Sandusky eateries. So that was FIRST on my list to try this season. I was delightfully surprised at the amount of fish they put on it. I was expecting smaller, but was very happy with what I got. I hope that wasn't a newbie foodie mistake!

Also looking forward to trying the Root's sandwiches! How scary is it that I am more excited about the food plan additions than I am about the Cedar Point Shores additions and even RMC-Streak (since that is still likely a full season away).

All in all, I am very happy/excited with the food changes.