THECULINARYGUIDE

Let us for a moment imagine that we can spend a nice vacation in Carl Barks' Disney duck universe! On arrival, one of our main concerns would be how - and where - to get our culinary needs met. No problem, because Barks' stories have all the answers! In numerous stories we have followed the primary characters into shabby diners, cool soda bars, and fine restaurants, and the visits to such places can now serve as some sort of a culinary guide for the inquisitive traveller.
Below you are presented to a broad collection of eateries and bars in no special order. It would be rather futile to attempt to rate their culinary skills in order for you to choose more easily, because in some of the establishments we are not told what the characters eat. What can be done is to convey the information about the establishments as Barks did it in his panels, whereupon you may be able to decide where to go on your fictitious journey. Have a nice trip!

WDCS148 'Free Turkey Dinner'

The Ritz. Scrooge invites a disguised Donald to the finest dinner in the finest restaurant. Total price: $9.73 - which neither of them seems to be able to pay...

WDCS087 'Quirky Turkey'

Ye Olde Dining Car. After having failed miserably at hunting turkeys for dinner, Donald is forced to pay dearly ($10.00) for 4 plates of turkey.

FC1047 The Odd Order

Gyro orders a rare steak, chopped salad, soup, huckleberry pie, coffee - and a flashlight battery. The fine restaurant, naturally, serves it all...

WDCS263 The Candy Kid

Duckburg is hosting the World's Fair in 1962, and a revolving restaurant atop a space needle has opened. Donald sets up its revolving speed thus closing it down abruptly...

U$42 The Case of the Sticky Money

Scrooge and the Ducks visit a soda shop ('malts, floats, fizzes, sodas, sundaes, splits - no credit!) to have cherry sodas. The establishment carries a lot of graffiti on its walls.

WDCS251 Duck Luck

Wun Fat Cat Café. We can only speculate as for the menu but, obviously, it calls for a toothpick(!) afterwards. A specialty seems to be a small receptacle with a paper thin content (fortune cookies).

U$14 A Square Inch of Land

Scrooge and Donald are having breakfast together in a café. In the Canny Brannies cereal package Scrooge finds an inedible - and calamitous - coupon.

WDCS094 'Beautiful Smugglers'

Snarling Rocks Bay's Hot Dog Stand. Despite the isolated spot the hastily erected beach shop has a steady flow of deliveries and guests.

FC0223 Lost in the Andes

Grand Cafe in Plainawful, Aig Valley. Serves only eggs but in all conceivable variations - scrambled, poached, pickled, boiled, fried...

U$07 'A Different Cup of Tea'

Scrooge visits a beanery, where a cup of coffee costs 10 cents. Scrooge is allowed to bring his own cup...

U$10 'Coffee for a Nickel'

Same beanery, same proprietor. Again, Scrooge is allowed to bring his own cup - which turns out to be a folding cup...

U$12 'Spongy Customer'

Same scenery. Scrooge bets that he can soak up all the coffee from a cup with a doughnut. He has carved it from a sponge...

WDCS144 'Billion Dollar Spree'

Ye Olde Gyp Inn. Scrooge and the Ducks visit the expensive restaurant to eat broiled bosoms of Caledonian chickadees for starters and then everything from soup to nuts...

WDCS144 'Billion Dollar Spree'

Hank's Beanery. After days with posh, culinary intakes Scrooge and the Ducks long for plain and cheap burgers, but wrap them in gold leaves to make them expensive...

FC0159 The Ghost of the Grotto

Tony's Burger Palace. After having eaten only fish for half a century, the former treasure guard has an order: Another of ye hamburgers, scullery knave! They taste mighty good...

WDCS274 Gall of the Wild

Tillamook Burger Nook. Tired of living of the wilds the Ducks order hamburgers, hot dogs, salmon berry pies, milk shakes, and doughnuts...

WDCS108 'The Jumping Frog'

The Gilded Derby. Donald is tired of hot dogs, so the Ducks visit a classy restaurant to have classy food. But frogs' legs are three dollars a serving!

WDCS108 'The Jumping Frog'

Dinty's Diner. Realizing that frogs' legs are out of their financial reach the Ducks visit a diner and order 4 hot dogs - and heavy on the mustard...

U$12 'The Bar Crawler'

Joe's Oasis. Although dying of thirst in the desert Scrooge arduously crawls from the small watering hole to Mike's Cafe, where the sodas are cheaper.

WDCS282 Bubbleweight Champ

The local soda jerkery. Donald inhales uncountable soda pops of his favourite brand, Gurgleup, rendering him totally helpless.

WDCS033 'The Lifeguard'

Minnie Mudhen's Synthetic Hamburgers and Beans. Despite the alluring offer disguised in the name, the little beach shop is empty.

U$46 The Lemonade Fling

The nephews open a highly successful lemonade stand, whereupon tidal waves of people jostle and guzzle the juice courtesy of Donald's marketing abilities. The nephews make a bundle...

WDCS236 'Froggy Farmer'

Buck's Cafe. Donald makes a deal to deliver frogs for Buck's menu. But the frogs are much bigger than expected: With that big hopper in my pantry I can serve frog legs special every day for a month...

U$14 'Heart Attack Pending'

The Ritzmore Café. Scrooge has invited Grandma to dinner(!!!). She chooses the most expensive dish, broiled lobster, at $4.75 a plate! Scrooge, who has only himself to blame, groans away...

Now that you have browsed through some of the multiple eatery choices Duckburg and Calisota has to offer, we can go a bit further and decide which one is the worst and which one is the best in the whole duck universe. So here they are, the two absolute opposites in the spectrum. And it is safe to say that they are both out of this world!!!

U$12 The Golden Fleecing

The ducks travel to faraway, mythical Colchis in ancient Greece, where Scrooge and Donald are treated to a special dinner arrangement triggered by some Larkie sisters competing.

BAD: The two dinner guests are forced to partipate in (and finish) the dinner! - The multiple meals consist of 1. Appetizer: Curried Rhubarb Pulp with Curdled Milkweed Sauce, 2. Main course: Tossed Tumbleweed Salad with Cod Liver Oil Dressing, and Sulphured Sauerbraten with Vinegar Gravy, 3. Dessert: Parsnip Pudding, and 4. Snacks: Birdseed Biscuits, and Toadstool Marmalade.

GOOD: All the meals are free of charge! - This is the only time in Barks' stories that he drew female personnel (although the Larkies look rather repulsive).

U$29 Island in the Sky

The ducks travel to outer space in their own rocketship. During the trip they find food at various asteroids, but on their way back they pause in Big Sky Cafe on Space Wheel Five.

BAD: The diner's food is rather plain and the menu is quite limited (hot dogs, soda pops, and coffee. Period!). - Normal supplementaries such as mustard or straws are extra. - The prices are, to say the least, extremely exorbitant!

GOOD: Much needed gas service (also at exorbitant prices, naturally!). - Perfect panoramic view. - Extremely spacious(!) parking lot. - This establishment rises high above all the others mentioned on this page, and they have indeed got an unlimited number of (Michelin) stars; just look around...