Summer Nights Tasting Card Guide 2023
Balancing the Chaos
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School is out and we are so happy summer is finally here! We kicked off the end of another school year with a family celebration at Knott’s Berry Farm. They just kicked off Knott’s Summer Nights, where the evenings come alive. The party kicks off at 5:30 pm with delicious food, live entertainment, back yard games and of course, the beloved rides. There is so much to see and do, as Season Passholders, we’re able to enjoy all the fun throughout the entire summer.
When we arrived at Knott’s after my daughter’s 8th grade promotion ceremony, we were quite hungry. We stopped at one of the numerous food booths scattered around Calico Park. The best way to experience summer foods is with a Knott’s Summer Nights Tasting card for $55 that includes a total of 6 tastings. They are available for purchase at the following locations: Calico Mine Stage Podium, Chow House, Sutter's Complex, Ghost Town Bakery, Grizzly Creek Lodge, Charleston Circle Coffee, Wilderness Broiler, or Papas Mexicanas. I didn’t realize we could have saved time and purchased the tasting cards ahead of time because they are also available for purchase online at Knott’s.com.
Each Knott’s Summer Tasting Cards gave us 6 tastings of our choice of these food items below:
Food:
- Andouille Sausage, Red Beans, and Rice*
- Beef Nachos with Avocado Crema
- BLTA Chicken Salad Lettuce Wrap*
- Blue Cheese and Bacon Cheeseburger Slider with a Pickle Mayo*
- Chicken, Pesto, and Sundried Tomato Flatbread
- Chicken Spring Roll with a Peanut Sauce*
- Chicken Tinga Hard Shell Taco with Cotija Cheese
- Chimichurri Hot Link Sausage *
- Grilled Zucchini & Hummus Wrap*
- Corn, Potato, and Zucchini Chowder*
- Elote Preparado or Loco Catracho or Loco Salvadoreño
- Esquites with a Lime Mayo Crema*
- Fried Green Tomatoes, Arugula, Corn Salad, and Chipotle Ranch*
- Lemon Butter and Garlic Shrimp Fries
- Mediterranean Salad
- Mexican Pineapple Pork Sandwich
- Mini Donuts with a Strawberry Lemon Sugar in a Cone
- Orzo and Spinach Salad with Salmon
- Portobello Mushroom Slider
- Potato and Chorizo Tacos
- Summer Pasta and Steak Salad
- Summer Spaghetti Garden Salad
Tasting cards in hand, we were each craving something different. I was in the mood for tacos, so we headed to the newly imagined Fiesta Village first. I stopped at the taco booth in Mission Row for, what is now my favorite tasting card item, the potato and chorizo tacos. This dish comes with two flower tortillas stuffed with a mixture of potato and chorizo, topped with cilantro and onions. You can purchase the taco plate for $12, or use one of six tastings on the card.
My daughter was craving elote, so just beyond the taco booth was the elote booth. There she had the option of elote preparado, elote loco catracho or elote loco salvadoreno. She decided on elote preparado which was corn on the cob with butter, mayo and tajin which is her favorite.
My husband wanted a burger, so he settled on the blue cheese and bacon cheeseburger slider at the Grillin Booth in Calico Park. He really enjoyed the pile of blue cheese on the freshly grilled burger on a brioche bun.
The Summer Tasting Cards also has the options of these cocktails and beverages:
Cocktails:
- Just the Haze – Non-alcoholic Beer
- Piña Colada
- Michelada
- Sparkling Pineapple Mojito
- Spicy Jalapeno Margarita
- Strawberry Moscow Mule
- Summer Nights Ale
- Twisted Lemon with Whiskey
- Watermelon Wheat Beer
Beverages:
- Cranberry Sprite™ Shirley Temple
- Cucumber, Black Cherry, Mango, and Ginger Mint Agua Fresca
- Cucumber Lemonade
- Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit Sandwich with Pickles and Garlic Aioli
- Peach Lemonade
My son, was craving chinese food, so he opted for Panda Express with our All Season Dining plan. However once he finished dinner, he demolished a Mini Fruity Pebbles™ Funnel Cake.
Some of the other Knott’s Summer Nights dessert options include:
- Apple Pie Cookie
- Assorted Ice Cream Cone
- Beignets with a Lemon Powdered Sugar
- Blueberry Celebration Cake
- Boysenberry Dippin’ Dots
- Burger Cupcake
- Fondue Cheese Bites
- Mini Fruity Pebbles™ Funnel Cake
- Mom’s Chocolate Cake
- Oreo™ Churro
- Piña Colada Trifle
- Piñata Cookie
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Raspberry Snow Cone
- Sea Salt and Caramel Stuffed Churro
- S’mores Bar
- Strawberry Cream Kettle Corn
- Strawberry Crunch Cone
* Select evenings only
One thing to note, a few of these items are also available as part of dining plan options, so make the most of both the All Season Dining and Summer Tasting Cards by visiting the menu boards at each location. Additionally, locations are listed on the tasting card.
Thankfully, we only used a few of our tasting card tabs and have a few left over for another visit. Next time, I’m looking forward to trying the Chicken Spring Roll with a Peanut Sauce and the Fondue Cheese Bites while my husbands wants a crack at the Chimichurri Hot Link Sausage. Thank goodness we still have time as the Knott’s Summer Nights goes through September 4th.