EPCOT Food & Wine: Change of Dinner Plans Leads to Mixed Results

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 9, 2023

 

The Magic Kingdom was closing early the other day when we pulled into the ferry dock, not realizing that it was a Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party night, so our plan to eat dinner in the Magic Kingdom was foiled.  Instead, we hopped the monorail over to EPCOT to try out a few more dishes that we’d missed on previous trips to the 2023 Food & Wine Festival.  And for the most part, we were happy with our dining choice, even though that wasn’t the original plan for the night.

 

It was a rare, on-the-less-humid-side evening at EPCOT, and the crowds were pretty low, making for an enjoyable stroll around World Showcase.  But we ended up at the front of the park for our meal, stopping at Coastal Eats and Flavors From Fire for their dishes.

At Coastal Eats, we opted for the Oysters Rockefeller ($7.50), a trio of oysters that was so good that we said that if they offered an entrée of a dozen of those, we’d be set for the night.  It was a lovely mix of spinach and plump oysters, topped with a smidge of parmesan cheese and crispy bread crumbs.  The oysters were a well-chosen size, neither the minced kind you sometimes find in heavily breaded versions, or so large that it made chewing unpleasant.  Honestly, coming from Long Island where seafood is plentiful but pricey, this dish sort of seemed like a bargain in a place that doesn’t offer many bargains for hungry guests. The spices were a nice blend, with just a bit of a smoky taste.

 

Across the sidewalk, at Flavors From Fire, we selected two of their dishes.  We went with tacos and corned beef.  As a plus at this “global marketplace,” you can also see the grilling happening alongside the building.  Grill to plate in just a few moments!  

At this booth, it was a 50/50 split.  I’m not sure what we were actually expecting with the Chimichurri Marinated Skirt Steak Taco ($6.50), but this choice wasn’t it.  Served with avocado and pickled red onions, there was also a sprinkling of grilled corn salsa adding some crunch to the taco.  The Queso Fresco and cilantro-lime cream on the top added a bit of tang to the overall dish, but the soft tortilla was limp, without much flavor.  It was merely a utilitarian vehicle to get the rest of the fillings into your mouth.  As for the steak, it was cold – not sure if it was supposed to be, but since we were literally the last customers of the night, it could be either a culinary choice, or just luck-of-the-draw.  (When you are bumping up against closing, you take your chances sometimes!) 

 

The steak wasn’t steakhouse quality, for sure, but it was also not a bad quality for a food booth - not overly chewy, but still with good seasoning.  While there was some verdant coloring to the dish from the crushed avocado, and there was some cilantro in the lime sauce drizzled over the top, the dish was a lot less “green” than we were expecting from something billed as a “chimichurri” taco.

This was an unusual version of a taco, and it had a lot of flavors going on.  Perhaps if the tortilla itself had been better, we would have rated this plate a bit higher. As it is, though, we’re not sure we would get this one again.

On the other hand, we thoroughly enjoyed the Smoked Corned Beef with House-made Potato Chips ($6.50).  Topped with cheese curds, pickled onions and a beer-cheese fondue, this was a wonderful flavor combination, and one that we will definitely come back for.  In fact, a bigger plate of this combination would make a terrific entrée or appetizer somewhere.  (Hey, Disney culinary team, write that down for the future!)  

 

For festival food, the meat was really decent quality, shredded to make it easier to eat with the obligatory plastic utensils, but it also gave the dish a kind of “nachos” feel to it. Corned beef can be on the salty side, but this preparation wasn’t salty in the least. The kettle chips were delicious, and also maintained their crunchiness, despite having layers of meat and cheese over the top.  We found the cheese sauce a bit surprising, as we were expecting a bolder tone since it was supposed to be a beer cheese combo. Our first thought was that the cheese sauce was a little bland, but we realized that was a good thing, because it provided a more neutral canvas for the corned beef to shine. (And, being Irish, we have a long line of relatives who know that beer and corned beef go well together… so they tell us!)

 

If you want to try any of these dishes for yourself, you still have some time to get there.  These booths are Food & Wine Festival locations that will be available through November 18, 2023.

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

Learning a Few Things with “Living With The Land”

 by Beth Keating

Lifestyle

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 29, 2023

 

It had been a while since I’d ridden Living With The Land in EPCOT.  A gentle boat ride through the EPCOT greenhouses, it is always a learning experience, with a peek behind the scenes at not only how the horticulturists at Disney grow more than 15 tons of food each year for the park’s restaurants like Garden Grill, but also how EPCOT scientists are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop new growing technologies. 

Plus, it is a relaxing time in an otherwise busy park.  It’s also a fun stop during the holidays, when cast members decorate the attraction with colorful lights and festive decorations.

Last weekend, with EPCOT super crowded, and my need to get away from some of the crowds, I headed over to Living With The Land, and noticed something that usually isn’t there.  Studded throughout the sandy pathways were small, easily overlooked signs that informed guests where those particular edible plants and harvests would be showing up during the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. So cool!

 

Among the signs, I spotted one for the celery being grown in the greenhouse, which I’d be eating later in the day at Canada’s Global Marketplace in the form of their “Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup.”  Earlier in the day, we’d apparently already eaten the mustard being grown there, as part of the “Bratwurst on a Pretzel Roll with Mustard” in the Germany Marketplace.

Basil is one of my favorite foods, and I grow lots of it at home, so it was fun to know that the basil in this greenhouse was going to the “Thai Shrimp With Rice Noodles” bowls at the Noodle Exchange.

The cabbage?  Heading to Flavors From Fire to be served on the “Impossible Burger Slider.” Parsley? Served up in the “Croissant Aux Escargots” in France’s Global Marketplace.

  

If you’ve snacked at The Fry Basket near the Creations Shop, you’ve eaten the sweet potatoes grown in the greenhouse!  The tomatoes are shipping out to the Kenya Global Marketplace to be part of the (delicious!) “Kenyan Coffee Barbecued Beef Tenderloin.”

 

The fruits and veggies being grown in the EPCOT greenhouses aren’t just props – they’re real, and you’ve been eating them without knowing it!  The Food & Wine signs I mentioned above are just a few of the many that pointed out where the bounty will be heading.  Just a little extra perk during a relaxing boat ride through the greenhouses! 

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Sampling the New Menus at the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 26, 2023

 

Last weekend (starting September 22, 2023), Disney World added four new food booths to the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, and there were a few intriguing dishes on the new menus. With Saturday being one of the more perfect Florida days in months (low humidity and no rain!), we decided to head to World Showcase to sample our way through dinner.

 

The first of the “Global Marketplaces” that drew our attention was Wine & Wedge, the cheese and wine centric kiosk.  It was a great start to the afternoon!  We opted for the “Assorted Artisanal Cheeses and Accoutrements,” a $7.00 selection in Emile’s Fromage Montage if you are collecting your stamps for the specialty treat at the end of the day.  

 

As cheese lovers, we could have eaten this plate, and then left the park to go home and been happy with our day.  It was a nice mix of four bite-sized cheeses, ranging from mild to more pungent (but not too pungent) bites.  The option came on a flat cardboard “plate” that in the Florida heat could become problematic, because if you aren’t paying close enough attention, your jam and honey trimmings will melt right off the side of the plate.  Just a friendly heads-up, because this plate was worth the wait in line.

  
The Brie wedge was mild and creamy, a little on the soft side in the sun, making it even yummier. The other milder cheeses were perhaps a gouda, a bit smoky in tone, and a crumbly cheddar that was on the blander side.  The last cube, a salty Blue cheese, was a nice contrast to the Brie.  It was a stronger cheese, but not overwhelming in the least.  Several small crostini accompanied the dish, and they were crisp without being stale.  The peanut brittle was waaaay too hard to even bite into, so you should chuck that in the trash can without incurring a need for dental work.  Our last suggestion?  Make good use of that honey comb and jam pooled alongside the cheeses to pair with the squares of cheese.  It gave a completely different taste to each bite.  We’re so happy this booth will be available all the way through the next festival, the Festival of the Holidays, because we will definitely be back for this cheese platter again.

 

The second item we tried at Wine and Wedge was the “Fig and Balsamic Boursin Soufflé with Fig Tapenade ($5.75),” also an Emile’s Fromage Montage item.  This was an unexpected treat, somewhere between a cake and a pudding, not quite as firm as a cake, but not as soft as a pudding, something in the neighborhood of a bread pudding.  We were expecting a garlicky, more savory dish (you know, like Boursin spread!), but the fig component brought a sweeter twist to the soufflé.  We wouldn’t call this a dessert exactly, but it was certainly dessert adjacent.  

 

The new Bubbles & Brine was also on our schedule, where we grabbed the priciest plate of the day, the “Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Prosecco Cocktail Sauce and Grilled Lemon ($14.00).” 

 

It is possible to go really upscale at this booth, though, and order – brace yourself – a $69.00 glass of Dom Pérignon. We did not “drink our way around the world” at this booth.  That $69.00 flute cost more than we were spending on all our other food samples for the day combined!  (If it turns out that you love this very pricy champagne, you can pick up a full 750 mL bottle for as little as $250 at your local wine shop, though some vintages can go for over $400.)  Comparatively, our plate of three large shrimp seemed like quite the bargain, though it was double the cost of any of the other items we tried Saturday. The trio of shrimp were nested together like a little puzzle, and were fresh and crisp, with a classic cocktail sauce.  We didn’t really get a hint of Prosecco in the sauce, but it was tasty nonetheless.  It wasn’t something we needed to go out of our way for, but we’d never turn down a jumbo shrimp!

 

Swirled Showcase was another of the newly opened Global Marketplaces, and this was the home of lots of soft-serve ice cream, with vanilla, apple-cinnamon, and salted caramel flavors.  We tried the “Cream Soda Float with Vanilla Soft-Serve ($6.25).”   If you are really looking for soft serve on a hot day, there are some fun fall flavors here, but with so many great ice cream and gelato locations further back in World Showcase, this booth was just a standard soft serve spot, so you’d be better off heading back toward France or Italy.  The float at Swirled Showcase was only sampler sized, and while it was fine, it was far smaller than we expected for the price.   (See our full review from opening day here.)

 

While the other two Marketplaces we visited on Saturday weren’t new, we tried dishes that were new to us.  

 

Hawaii was serving up “SPAM Sushi with Sushi Rice, Teriyaki-Glazed SPAM, Spicy Mayonnaise, Eel Sauce and Nori ($6.00),” and for dessert, a “Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Toasted Macadamia Nuts ($4.75).”  The cheesecake is also an item on Emile’s Fromage Montage hunt.

  
Hawaii’s cheesecake was the clear winner in the desserts category for the day – a light, pleasantly sweet version of a fluffy cheesecake. The airy delight contrasted with the stronger, tangier passionfruit sauce on the top of the cake, and the crushed Macadamia nuts added a bit of texture to the dessert.

 

The SPAM selection is such an oddity. We’d tried it before and enjoyed it. Thankfully, the same went for this visit. The small slices of SPAM sandwiched between the sushi rice looked just like your traditional sushi order, but with a bit more of a salty flavor.  While we’re not sure we’d eat a big hunk of SPAM on its own – probably a bit too salty without the other accompaniments – it worked in this iteration.  The little rectangles tasted, well, like sushi, with the traditional seaweed wrap holding it all together. The added sauces had a bit of a kick, not overbearing, but complimenting the rice and SPAM without drowning out the other flavors.

 

The longest wait of the day for us was at the Germany pavilion, where we ordered all three of the featured items.  Who doesn’t love a good mac & cheese?  We sampled the “Schinkennudeln,” which at $5.00 for the plate, was not a bad price for a very hefty serving of cheesy goodness.  While the square footage of the rectangle wasn’t especially big, it is a dense offering, making it feel like a more substantial choice.  The Schinkennudeln is the kind of food you’d get at a German Oma’s house.  Instead of the more typical elbow macaroni you’d see with American mac and cheese, this dish was an egg noodle based pasta gratin with dices of ham and a thick cap of cheese over the top.  A touch on the oniony side, this mac and cheese is worth coming back for.  (Obviously, this was also an Emile’s Fromage Montage item!)  

 

We also chose the “Bratwurst on a Pretzel Roll ($6.00)” in Germany, not as exciting of a selection compared to the Schinkennudeln.  It was more akin to the kind of brat you’d get at a ballpark, but longer and thinner than the bratwurst you’d find in a German restaurant. The flavor was good, with an interesting hint of spices, but the brat was cold and both the pretzel roll and the brat were on the dry side. The mustard didn’t really add much to the experience.

 

Dessert at the booth redeemed the long wait in the line, though. The “Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce ($4.50)” was filled with tons of cinnamon-y, juicy apples. The pastry hit the right note, a light crust with just a bit of a chew.  The accompanying vanilla sauce was not overly sweet, but it could have had a bit stronger of a vanilla flavor. 

 

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs until November 18.  You’ll get a few days off, and then the Festival of the Holidays kicks off November 24 and runs through December 30, 2023.  If you enjoy the menus at the four new booths, you can enjoy them again during the Festival of the Holidays, because they will be back!

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

  

EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Offers Months of Interesting Dining

 by Beth Keating and Ray Keating

(Photos by Jonathan Keating)

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 23, 2023

 

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is one of Disney’s longest festivals, with the greatest number of food booths. There are nearly three dozen booths to choose from this year, with some new ones opening on September 22. Multiply that by 3 or 4 dishes per booth, and you have… a lot of food to try! But we’re up to the challenge. 

That being said, it does take more than one visit to get the most out of all these dining opportunities. No matter how much training one might have in eating large amounts of food around the Disney parks and resorts, it’s just too much food to enjoy in one day.  

Because we’re big Muppet fans, we had to head to the Odyssey building first to hit up the Brew-Wing Lab at the Odyssey, home during this festival to the Muppets Lab hosted by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his erstwhile assistant Beaker.  (Thank you, Disney, for giving us more Muppets!)

The combination of Florida heat and humidity, and a long day meant that we opted not to try the Muppets’ “Unnecessarily Spicy, Yet Extremely Tasty Scotch Bonnet Pepper-Curry Wings with Cool Cucumber Yogurt,” as we heard that they are, well, unnecessarily spicy. The expected heat of the wings just didn’t seem ideal with the heat of the day. So, those wings will wait for another day. 

However, we did pick the “Peanut Butter and Jelly Sticky Wings” and the “Garlic-Parmesan Wings.”  The PB&J wings were … well … a bit weird, at first. It was a little disconcerting at first bite, with the overwhelming flavor being that of the warm peanut butter rather than chicken.   There were six nice-sized wings in the order, and the flavor did grow on us after getting past the initially unexpected taste. We eventually decided that the PB&J wings were good… we think.

The Garlic-Parmesan wings, on the other hand, were excellent.  They, too, had a set of six, and struck a just-right balance between the garlic and the parmesan.  They weren’t too garlicky, and the creamy coating brought solid parmesan flavor to the wings.

Again, since it was a blazing hot day in Florida (more than the usual Florida sunshine), we also ordered up a cold drink to go with our wings – and no, we didn’t go for the non-alcoholic pickle milkshake that everyone else seemed to be buzzing about. We’d heard from a few guests that it tasted a bit like a McDonald’s shamrock shake, and since none of the day’s diners were overly fond of that springtime cult favorite, we chose the non-alcoholic “Frozen Fusion” instead.  Made with Twinings Pomegranate and Raspberry Herbal Tea, the drink is also fused with orange ice cream “molecules.”  It was perfect for a 100°plus day.  Strong pomegranate and raspberry flavors were frosty and thick, and the orange “molecules” on top were tasty little surprises.

Since we were already on the left side of the World Showcase after leaving the Odyssey, we headed next to the China Pavilion, always one of our favorites during a festival because we like to grab a bubble tea on our journey.  Today, though, we chose the new “Crispy Duck Bao Bun with Hoisin Sauce.” It was a good combination flavor-wise, but the first bite of duck was a bit chewier than expected.  Perhaps the bun had been too close to the heat lamps. Later bites were not as chewy.  The bao bun itself was nicely “pillow-y,” fluffy and light.  The accompanying sauce was sweet, adding to an overall enjoyable dish.

We had sorted through the Global Marketplace menus at home to try to narrow down our food hunt before we arrived, and were especially looking forward to the Australia booth for some out of the ordinary samples.  Unfortunately, our main reason for coming to this booth, the “Roasted Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies,” was uneven.  We weren’t crazy about the seasoning on the lamb, and the meat wasn’t nearly as tender as it should have been.  On the other hand, the “Sweet-and-Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pepper, Onion, Snap Peas and Sweet Chili Sauce” was delicious.  Definitely both sweet and spicy (as advertised!), and though the shrimp were just average-sized, the dish was a standout.

Next up was the Japan booth, where we again sampled a delightful bun.  The returning  “Teriyaki Chicken Bun” was a sizeable treat, with a pillow-soft steamed bun filled with a sweet chicken and vegetable combination.  Our second choice at this booth was the new offering, the “Fire Taiko Roll,” a sushi roll with spicy tuna in a spicy sauce. And it was indeed spicy, at least by Disney-spice standards, but not unbearably so.  The sushi was fresh, and you could taste the cucumber, pickled Daikon radish and tuna as separate, crisp flavors.  

We had intended to try a few more dishes on this particular evening, but the outdoor heat was so overwhelming that we just weren’t hungry enough to stuff ourselves.  We made a final stop at the Ireland booth for an icy cold and very welcome “Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale.”  The light brew was cool and creamy, and made walking around the park a bit more tolerable.

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs through November 18, 2023, and yes, we’ll be back … numerous times. After all, this is our kind of challenge.

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are their own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right? 

 

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Additional Menus Released for new EPCOT Food & Wine Booths

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 12, 2023

 

The Disney culinary team shared the bulk of the menus for the more than two dozen Global Marketplaces for the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival earlier in the week (see DisneyBiz Journal’s report). But now we also have the menus for the four brand new booths that hadn’t been released yet.  

 

While we still don’t have the exact dates the new booths will open (it will be sometime later in the fall), we do know now what goodies they will be offering.  In addition, the Hawaii and Noodle Exchange booths will also open later in the festival, on August 15.

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs from July 27 through November 18, 2023.

 

Char & Chop  

Food Items:

• Roasted Porchetta with lemon-parsley salsa verde and shaved fennel salad (New) 

• Grilled IMPOSSIBLE Spicy Sausage with herbed polenta, puttanesca sauce, and ricotta (New)  

• Meat Assorti: Trio of shaved meats with baby arugula, pickled mustard seeds, truffle oil, and grilled ciabatta (New) 

Beverages: 

• Krombacher Pilsner (New)

• North Coast Laguna Baja Vienna Lager (New)

• Motorworks Brewing Midnight Espresso Coffee Porter (New)

• GoGi ‘Birdie’ Pinot Noir

• Bloody Mary with Seaside Grown Bloody Mary Mix and Kurvball Barbecue Whiskey 

• Beer Flight 

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

Wine & Wedge:

Food Items:

• Assorted Artisanal Cheeses and Accompaniments (New) (Emile’s Fromage Montage)

• Boursin Fig & Balsamic Soufflé with fig tapenade (New) (Emile’s Fromage Montage)

• Southern Pimento Cheese with bread-and-butter pickled vegetables and grilled bread (New) (Emile’s Fromage Montage)

• Artist Palette of Wine and Cheese: Assorted Artisanal Cheeses and Accoutrements paired with Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Hartley Apple Brandy, and Florida Orange Groves Winery Black and Blue Port (New) 

Beverages: 

• Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese (New) 

• Hartley Apple Brandy (New)

• Florida Orange Groves Winery Black and Blue Port (New)

• Flight

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

Bubbles & Brine:

Food Items:

• Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with prosecco cocktail sauce and grilled lemon (New) 

• Jonah Crab Claw Cocktail with stone-ground mustard sauce (New)

• Caviar with traditional accompaniments, champagne cream, and blini (New)

Beverages: 

• Moët & Chandon Impérial

• Veuve Clicquot Rosé

• Dom Pérignon

 

Swirled Showcase:  

Food Items:

• Mickey-shaped Liquid Nitro Cake 

• Soft-serve in a Waffle Cone in Vanilla, Apple-Cinnamon or Salted Caramel

• Cream Soda Float with vanilla soft-serve 

• Fanta Grape Float with vanilla soft-serve 

Beverages: 

• Frozen Apple Pie (Non-alcoholic)

• Cinnamon Apple Cider (Non-alcoholic)

• 3 Daughters Toasted Coconut Porter

• 3 Daughters Toasted Coconut Porter Float with vanilla soft-serve

• Berry Fizz Fragolino Red Sparkling Wine Float with vanilla soft-serve

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.