#a lot of the decisions about whether to give away free art on FR were made from a vantage point of

[zif-dragons]

Just to be clear, I would prefer for my art to not be reposted/used outside of flight rising and tumblr (for example on toyhouse) - or at least link back to this tumblr blog everywhere it’s used.

I also strongly prefer for my credit to remain the only visible watermark/credit on the pictures!

[anachef]

First Look and Review! Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney District!

We’re at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes, the newest eatery in the Disneyland Resort!

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

Located in the Downtown Disney District (you’ll find it directly downstairs from the recently opened Ballast Point Brewery & Kitchen), the incredibly popular New York City-based restaurant has brought its signature burgers, CrazyShakes, and more to its first California location!

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

We are so excited to be here! And, in fact, so are lots of other people…

Line Forming at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

… and we’re happy to bring you right on in with us!

Atmosphere

If you’re looking for a little taste of the Big Apple when you’re in Downtown Disney, look no further than Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

The use of black which sets the tone is not overwhelming with the balance of light woods and contrasts in the street art stylings on the walls.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

And you’ll find pops of color in some of the art which brightens things up even more.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

When reading the menu (we’ll look through it in the next section), we noticed a note where Black Tap describes itself as “upscale but not fussed up,” which is a good description of the hip vibe.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

Now, we’re not digging in quite yet, but let’s talk CrazyShakes for just a minute. (Okay, we really can’t do that without at least giving a little sneak peek…)

CrazyShakes

Black Tap Craft owns the bragging rights as being the original home for over-the-top milkshakes. Those insane topped-with-everything shakes you’ll find at spots like Beaches & Cream and Planet Hollywood Observatory in Disney World?

Yeah, you’re looking at the inspiration for all of them right here at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes! So before we start sipping our own, there are some features that are unique to the Downtown Disney Black Tap location, and two of them are in regards to CrazyShakes. First is the walk-up window outside entirely dedicated to to-go CrazyShakes!

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes

And back inside, there is also a bar where guests can see CrazyShakes as they are made.

CrazyShakes Bar

CrazyShakes Bar

The Downtown Disney location also has its own service-style in comparison to Black Tap Craft’s other locations… and, in fact, in comparison to most restaurants around Disneyland Resort. Called “enhanced fast-casual,” guests place their order at the counter, and then seat themselves.

Orders are delivered to the table. Now here’s where the unique feature comes in… let’s say you’d like, say, another CrazyShake, or an order of Fried Mozz.

Fried Mozz

Well, then, you can stay in your seat from this point and a Black Tap team member can help you out while you remain seated.

Of course, you have to decide what you’d like to order first…

Eats

Black Tap is known for their burgers and shakes, but there’s much more to the menu. (Click the image below to enlarge.)

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes Food Menu

Outside, we received a printed menu with item descriptions to help make some decisions while waiting in line. But if you walk right in, you’ll see the menu over the ordering counters as well.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes Menu

Taking a closer look, starter snacks include classics like Fried Mozz, but also Crispy Brussels Sprouts among the offerings. And the Wings flavors include Spicy Korean BBQ and Mexican Hot Sauce.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes Menu

And, of course, those Craft Burgers make up a big part of the menu, including a Vegan Burger and Turkey Burger along with The Greg Norman 1/2 pound Wagyu beef burger. Though the emphasis is, as expected, on the burgers you’ll find a couple of Chicken Sandwiches, too. You may also want to know that vegan and gluten-free buns are available as well, for an additional $2.00.

Fun add-ons for your burger include a fried egg, bacon, caramelized onions, and any house sauce (you’ll see those listed in the next pic), to name a few.

Next up are Craft Burger Salads! These include a Black Tap Burger Salad. Fries & Onion Rings add to the offerings.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes Menu

And check out The Diz Kid (mini prime burger meal) under the Kids’ Menu!

The drink menu is where you’ll see Black Tap’s famous CrazyShakes highlighted among the offerings! Other beverage options include Craft Beer on Tap with 21st Amendment Blood Orange and Golden Road Pineapple Cart among the selections. Housemade Iced Tea, Lemonade, and Cocktails are available, too.

Black Tap Craft Drink Menu

Let’s take a closer look at the CrazyShakes by way of the printed menu. You’ll notice that the top three — Cotton Candy, The Cake Shake, and Sweet ‘N Salty — are available only for guests dining in.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes Shake Menu

But no matter whether you dine in or pick up your shake outside, you’ll be able to order from the Classic Shakes (including Peanut Butter, Caramel, and Nutella among the choices) and five CrazyShakes including the Bam Bam (Fruity Pebbles) Shake, The Brooklyn Blackout, and the Downtown Disney-exclusive Strawberry Shortcake.

And if all that doesn’t make you ready to dig in…

LET’S EAT!

… then I don’t know what will!

DIG IN!

Starting with a couple from the Snacks list, we tried the Fried Pickles and the Fried Mozz. The Fried Pickles are served with the house buttermilk-dill sauce.

Fried Pickles

These are so fun for sharing. But even better, they’re seriously tasty! That thick golden batter ups the ante on these, and the buttermilk-dill is the perfect balance to the pucker from the pickle.

And, really, can you ever go wrong with Fried Mozz? While these are pretty much the regular awesome, crunchy, gooey things you’d expect when ordering some fried mozzarella, there are two interesting touches to point out.

Fried Mozz

First, that sauce is a smoky chipotle tomato sauce (as opposed to your regular marinara), adding some great, unique flavor. And second… you gotta love how they topped fried cheese sticks with EVEN MORE CHEESE. Nice!

But if you’re at Black Tap, you’ve clearly got to go for some burgers. And thanks to the vegan and turkey options (along with those gluten free and vegan bun options), there’s something to meet just about any burger craving.

The Texan Burger starts out like all the other beef burgers: with the “prime burger patty” of 7 ounces of 100% Black Angus USDA certified beef, and served with fries, lettuce, tomato, and a pickle on a potato roll. It’s topped with bacon, aged cheddar, and a huge onion ring, with BBQ sauce and mayo to finish.

The Texan Burger

All the beef burgers are cooked to medium (unless otherwise requested). Overall, regarding our four burgers, we thought a couple of them were a little overdone. But just by a touch and it didn’t take away too much from the flavor.

Plus the toppings are terrific, as is the case with The Pizza Burger, which is topped with marinara, fried mozzarella, and parmesan.

The Pizza Burger

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again… don’t knock a fried mozzarella-topped burger ’til you try it, folks. It totally works!

The Mexico City is another burger topped with a huge onion ring. But heat seekers will definitely be interested in hearing about the other toppings on this one.

The Mexico City

You’re looking at pepper jack cheese and pickled jalapenos (look at the size of those slices!) with chipotle mayo for a finishing touch. This has a nice amount of kick to it for those who crave some spice!

There’s more to the Crispy Chicken Sandwich than the name implies.

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

The truly crispy chicken is topped with a tangy buttermilk coleslaw, cilantro, lime, and spicy mayo with Korean BBQ served on the side. Altogether, it’s a really flavorful sandwich that’s not just an afterthought in comparison to the burgers.

I’ve gotta say, though… we were all surprised by, of all things, The Turkey Burger! It’s topped with Swiss cheese, smashed avocado and truffle mayo.

Turkey Burger

Compared with the other burgers which lean towards over-the-top, you wouldn’t think this would be a standout. But it really was! This thing was packed with flavor thanks to some terrific seasoning, and the whole table was impressed.

We were less impressed, unfortunately, with the side of Teriyaki Broccoli. Seasoned with garlic, ginger, sesame, and scallion, it sounds pretty promising, right? I mean, it got ME to order broccoli, so that’s saying something.

Teriyaki Broccoli

But the broccoli itself was kind of limp and the teriyaki sauce was more sour than flavorful. I wouldn’t get it again.

Speaking of sauce, though, I’d highly recommend grabbing a couple of the house sauces to dip your fries or some huge, yummy onion rings. (Note that you do receive your choice of a sauce if you order a batch of onion rings or a batch of fries, but it’s fun to have a couple for the extra buck.)

Onion Ring Mickey… or is it just me seeing that?

Choices include Texas BBQ, Special Sauce, and Korean BBQ.

Housemade Sauces

Others include chipotle mayo, buttermilk-dill, and salsa verde.

Housemade Sauces

My favorite was the chipotle mayo, but my tablemates liked others the best, which is why it’s nice to have a few for the family or your friends to suit various tastes.

No matter what you order, you can’t leave without trying a CrazyShake!

CrazyShakes

Umm… or three

.

CrazyShakes

Let’s start with The Cake Shake (which, you should know, is served at a limited quantity per day. It’s the only one noted as such on the menu.

The Cake Shake

A cake batter shake (seriously, yuuuuummmmm) has a vanilla frosted rim with oodles of rainbow sprinkles. It’s topped with an entire slice of funfetti cake, whipped cream, and MORE sprinkles. And a cherry on top, of course!

The Bam Bam Shake is a Fruity Pebbles Shake.

Bam Bam Shake

This time, the vanilla frosted rim is covered in fruity pebbles, which also top that GIGANTIC pile of whipped cream. So much whipped cream, in fact, that’s it’s hard to see that there’s also a rice krispy treat, a strawberry Pop-Tart, and some Laffy Taffy in there, too, for good measure! Oh, AND a cherry on top!

The Cookie Shake has a vanilla cookie base.

Cookie Shake

And it is NO JOKE. The vanilla frosted rim is coated in cookie crumbles, and it’s topped with a “cookiewich,” crumbled cookies, chocolate chip, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce.

And what I say for one of these, I say for all… the CrazyShakes are the real deal. Not only are they the original, but they’re simply better and higher quality than the other over-the-top shakes I’ve tried (and I’ve had a few!). The baked goods topping the shakes were all super fresh and tasty in their own right. Then the shakes themselves offered their own really interesting flavors. Plus they were super creamy, not too icy at all. It is nice to know that — as Instagram-worthy as they are — the CrazyShakes aren’t just for show. They’re legit. So, grab a straw — AND a fork

— and drink up!

That said, if CrazyShakes strike you as a little much after a burger and everything else, since the actual shakes themselves are so good, you can just go with one of the Classic Shakes.

Peanut Butter Shake

May I recommend the Peanut Butter? Because, WOW!

Overall

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes has truly delivered at the new Downtown Disney District location! To put it simply, it’s really good food making it a spot that’s well worth a visit. Plus, it’s fun! Though one of the first pictures in this post did have a line (and there was actually a longer one during my time there for the first day), it had definitely died down and was not crowded at all by the time we left. So don’t let fear of a line keep you from stopping by and enjoying some New York City eats at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes on your next trip to Disneyland Resort!

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Are you hoping to visit Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes? Please let us know with a comment!

Related posts:

See the CrazyShakes To-Go Menu With A First Look at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes in the Downtown Disney District!

Opening Soon! Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney District

Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook Tour Will Stop in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney District

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