If you’re like me, you don’t live in Florida and flying or driving to Disney during a Food and Wine Festival means you’ve done your research on the dishes you don’t want to miss out on and which ones to skip. That’s why I’ve created a list for my foodie travelers out there to save you time, money and have a solid plan at the Festival.
Keep reading to find out which dishes are worth every calorie and which ones to skip from my weekend trip to Epcot’s 2021 Food and Wine Festival!
After entering through the International Gateway I made my way to the right and stopped at the first booth in the France Pavilion. This was around 11 am and seemed the perfect way to start my foodie experience. I was so hungry too!
The first dish was the Creme Brûlée. I was very disappointed and would not get this dish again. The consistency of Creme brûlée should have your spoon cutting through like luke warm butter. This consistency was like soft yogurt. It should be firm and hold on your spoon. While the crust layer on top was as expected, the rest of this dish fell short. The creamy portion should be tender and creamy. This was nothing like that.
Next up: The warm Beignet filled with three cheeses. I was so hopeful for this dish tasting good from food reviews I’d seen but the beignet was not what you get when in New Orleans French Quarter and to me, the three cheese filling tasted like peppered gravy. It wasn’t cheesy gooey goodness. It was a gravy like dripping hot mess. Both these dishes were a bust and I would not fly back to eat.
The name is way fancier than it sounds and tastes. To me it tasted like warm peppered gravy, not three cheeses. Instead of being cheesy goodness it was a thick gravy like mess. I’d skip this one.
Oh my! I fell in love with this dish at the Greece Booth in World Showcase! After my first booth was a major dud on my foodie trail, not only did this taste amazing, but you can taste it in the air as the aromas from this dish are being pan fried. I tried to savor every scrumptious bite as long as possible and practically licked the plate clean. It took everything in my power to not go back for seconds. The only thing holding me back was the many other items on my list to try. Yes, I would fly back for this. Is it exactly like saganaki from any Greek restaurant I’ve been to, not really but it’s pretty darn close!
This dish is also on the Cheese Formage Crawl which you can read my review here:
Watch my review here: https://youtu.be/8F387K23538
More please! Even on a 90 degree day, this dish was amazing From the Germany Booth in World Showcase. The line gets long for this one so try to have this one before the noon hour. This dish does have a prominent onion taste and consistency. So if you like onions hidden in your dish, this one is not for you. But if your like me, I love onions and this dish hit all the marks for cheesy, oniony, creamy pasta goodness. Yes, I’d fly back for this in a heartbeat.
I’m not a pork rind girl and I’ve never had pimento cheese before so this was an epicuriosity experience I wasn’t too sure about. At the Swanky Sauce Seine booth near Disney Traders is where you can find this dish. While I did enjoy it and didn’t have a comparison for this style of cheese when I ate it, I wasn’t blown away and it’s not really my style so I’d probably not get it again. But, I will say that this could be a great dish to munch on while watching the fireworks.
Since this trip, my sister brought over pimento cheese to my house from a grocery store and in comparison, the one at Disney was far superior. It is full of texture and has a kick to it. Not bad just not my thing.
The best part about the Apple Crumble Tart and Blake’s Hard Cider was not only was this an excellent way to start the day but it was inside the Canadian Theater at the Appleseed Orchard. I slowly savored every bite and drop as I sat in the cool air conditioning. It felt sooooo good. Seriously, savor every moment in here, especially if you go in the dead of summer like I did.
OH. MY. YUMMY GOODNESS! I’m writing this blog about two months after I ate this and I’m still dreaming of this dish. Hands down, best of the fest and a dish I’d eat again and again. It was messy, it was spicy, it has all the tastebud elements of sweet and spicy in a perfectly packaged combination of glazed goodness. I saw reviews on this and knew I had to have it. From the first bite, I fell in love.
Their wings. Not the biggest. Not the freshest, it’s a food festival. But pretty darn tasty! I had the mango habanero wings. Super messy and sticky which is how I like my wings. They do not skimp on sauce here. If I were at the park, I’d get these again. They’re certainly a ’crowd favorite’ type of meal. The blue cheese dressing tasted like a very mild blue cheese bordering on the lines of ranch consistency and taste. I like my blue cheese full of chunks of cheese with that pungent flavor it’s known for.
These corned beef nachos are excellent! But beware of how salty it is. These unique corned beef nachos are a unique combination of corned pork, cheese curds, pickled onions and house made crispy potatoes and beer-cheese fondue. I enjoyed this with a Michigan Saugatuck dark beer from this same booth; Flavors From Fire near Test Track. My mouth is salivating just thinking about my epicurean experience with this. Winner in my book. I enjoyed eating these under a shaded tree before continuing my day and I'd definitely come back for more.
This is a larger sized portion and messy! These sticky ribs are fun to eat if you like to lick the sauce off your fingers and wear a little bit of it on your cheeks. I certainly do! While saucy ribs may not be for some, a tender rib with meat falling off the bones is what most rib lovers like and these fit the bill. The peanuts add a nice crunch and texture to these. While I enjoyed them, the Mexican booth is around the corner from here and I’d probably choose the chorizo nachos over these, even if the line was long. These can be found at the Swanky Saucy Swine booth near Disney Traders.
I say yes to chocolate every day! When you combine one of my favorite sweets; bread pudding with chocolate; I can't pass this up. This is one dish I’ve had from past festivals and it didn’t disappoint this time either. This year the chocolate in bread pudding seemed heavier on chocolate flavor and denser. Still, this is a very flavorful and filling dessert that is also very shareable. They give you a good portion and is a favorite of mine to take some of it back to the room and warm it up with my morning coffee at the resort.
You CANNOT skip the Mexican booth! Year after year their booth puts out amazing dishes that’ll knock your tastebuds out. I literally inhaled this. It was that good. This is a dish you want to eat like a dog because you don’t want to miss one ounce of flavor. It iso good and the Mexico booth always has one of the longest lines. You want to get here before noon and the crowds start to form with hungry tummies. Each dish is worthy of eating from this booth. I’d happily go back for seconds or buy two at a time and eat them one after another. It's that good. I almost did that this time but I had to pace myself and have some sort of restraint to save room for other Epcot eats during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.
I know what you are thinking. I know you think this picture does not look all that appealing. Well, maybe it doesn't but... the warm mushroom tart from the Rotunda Bistro inside the American Adventure is soooo good. All the food reviewers out there are not kidding when they talk about how good this is. When you order it, they pour fresh Creme Fraiche on top. The best part about this mushroom tart is the combination of it being chocked full of mushroom slices and eating inside the air conditioned American Adventure where Voices of Liberty normally perform. Seconds please! While eating this I wanted a second helping on my second bite. Its that good. If you love mushrooms, you’re gonna love this.
Oh my! Beware! If you buy this carrot cake, you will have eyes googling it and receive comments about how good it looks. This yummy carrot cake lives up to it’s looks! It is very rich with a warm icing, and plenty of it freshly drizzled all over it upon ordering. This warm carrot cake is an excellent way to start the day. I started my morning with this freshly baked carrot cake and a coffee. I will warn you that it is very rich and sweet. While I wasn’t able to finish it, because it is a rather large portion, I’d definitely order this again.
This dish could have been way better if the quality of meat were better. But I felt the quality was not there and so I enjoyed everything about this dish but the meat. The rest of what is on this plate which is very good and I almost licked off the plate was sweet potato and corn mealie pap and kachumbari slaw. Back to other reasons I did not like the meat and threw it away, the consistency and flavor tasted like there was lots of tenderizer used on it. These meat skewers also gets several of glances and comments from people like the carrot cake. But don’t be fooled by it’s looks!
This is the corn mealie pap from the beef skewer dish. It is absolutely delicious unless you don't like corn. Now I’d have more of this part of the dish and I did practically scrape every bit off the plate. It was very satisfying to my taste buds while standing in the shade trying to have a reprieve from the summer Florida heat in Disney World.
Hello Indian Booth! I was so glad this booth opened early before it’s October advertised opening date. I love Indian food and the bounty of flavors you find in Indian dishes. And this did not disappoint. While I’m not a big fan of jasmine rice, I was still in love.
while not as good, still a winner in my book. If you don’t like Indian spices, don’t eat at the Indian Booth! Fir me, these flavors sing to my heart. I bought these before the fireworks started, held them in my hands, and carried them to my DVC resort at the Boardwalk before eating. I didn’t even reheat them when I got to the room. I ate them cold and loved every bite of my after fireworks delight.
My favorite of the sweets. Why? Because it is so light and fluffy and decadent. It’s not heavy or overly sweet. I must of spent a half hour savoring every bite of this pistachio cake. Each time I sit down to put pen to paper to try and describe it, I feel the need to fly back for more. It’s that good. Mind you there is cumin and some other light spices I happen to love. I drink chai lattes almost daily so this dish is highly appealing to me. The only part I did not like was the fondant layer on top. I peaked that off and left it to the side.
Those are my worst and best of this year’s 2021 Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Ilove traveling to different parts of the country and tasting foods from different regions. The festival brings it all together in one location where you can experience not only varying cuisines but you get to learn a little bit about different cultures as well