Here's what we tried and what we loved!
Active Eats
- Loaded Mac and cheese with Nuesk'es pepper bacon, cheddar, and leeks
- This is a cheesy, filling dish. I love the green onions on top. My husband loves a breadcrumb topping.
- Spice-crusted Verlasse Salmon with Uncle Ben's quinoa and ancient grains medley, crushed avocado and sherry vinegar
- This is a good-size portion of salmon. The salmon was cooked perfectly; it has a great crust and is tender on the inside. There is a tangy, vinegary dressing on the gun and ancient grains medley that is light and refreshing. I would have loved more avocado.
Africa
- Kenyan coffee barbecue beef tenderloin with sweet potato and corn mealie pap and kachumbari slaw
- The beef was tender and had great flavor. The sweet potato and corn mealie pap were a good accompaniment.
- Roasted lamb chop with sweet potato puree, bush berry pea salad and pistachio-pomegranate gremolata.
- This was another one of my top pics; the lamb chop from Australia. It was great in 2018. And, I love the lamb chop this year! The lamb chop is tender and juicy. The pistachios are crisp. The pomegranate drizzle was a little tangy and the sweet potato puree was creamy, smooth, and surprisingly sweet.
- Le Cellier wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle-butter sauce
- This was one of my husband's favorites. Tender beef filet mignon with a fragrant truffle-butter sauce and mushrooms. He said it rivals the steaks at Le Cellier and maybe even beats it because of the truffle butter sauce. Sidenote - definitely try Le Cellier; it's one of my favorite table service restaurants.
Cheese Studio
- Black pepper Boursin soufflé with fig marmalade
- This was delightful. Cheesy, soft soufflé paired with sweet and sticky marmalade - so good! Also, you earn a cheese stamp toward a free cheesecake with this dish.
- Maple bourbon cheesecake with maple bourbon cream, caramel and pecan crunch
- This cheesecake was fluffy, and I loved the pecan crunch topping. It had a little too much maple for me, but my husband loved the maple. If you are a fan of maple, this is the dessert for you.
- Liquid nitro chocolate-almond truffle with warm whiskey caramel
- This was a super rich, extremely decadent frozen chocolate mousse. This dessert was refreshingly cool and very filling. If you love chocolate mousse, this is the dessert for you.
Donut Box
- Strawberry smoothie made with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze almond milk
- This reminded us of the strawberry smoothie from Almond Breeze Orchard in 2018. Since that booth did not return, we were glad the smoothie did. We had the smoothie twice in 2018, and this 2019 smoothie did not disappoint. It is cool, fruity and refreshing, and you get a bonus of a donut hole!
- Sweet corn fritter with Fresno and red pepper jelly
- I really enjoyed the taste of the corn fritters with pepper jelly. They reminded me of hush puppies and the holiday appetizers with pepper jelly. The only thing was the red pepper jelly was drizzled on top, so my fritters were a little soggy instead of crispy.
The Donut Box is a new booth this year. It feels like it replaced Taste Track. I like the aesthetics of the booth and the food offerings were tasty. It's a win in my book!
Flavors from Fire
- Steakhouse blended burger with blended beef and mushroom slider, brie cheese fondue, arugula, and truffle and blue cheese potato chip on a brioche bun
- This is what I want all burgers to taste like. I loved the patty made with beef and mushrooms. The potato chip tasted like a potato chip; I didn't get any truffle or blue cheese. I love a brioche bun! And I would have loved a side of the brie cheese fondue; so creamy and delicious!
- Charred chimichurri skirt steak on a smoked corn cake with pickled vegetable slaw and cilantro aioli
- This is another returning bite. We tried it in 2018. It was tender, juicy steak that paired well with the sweet corn cake, pickled slaw, and creamy aioli.
Hops and Barley
- Carrot cake with cream cheese glaze
- This is another returning bite. We tried it in 2018. It was a good, moist dessert with a great combination of autumnal spices. The cream cheese glaze keeps this dessert super moist and makes it decedent.
India
- Warm Indian bread with pickled garlic, mango salsa, and coriander pesto dips.
- This is another returning bite that we tried it in 2018. It was one of my favorites from 2018. I love bread! The flatbread is served warm alongside a trio of dips: a pungent pickled garlic packed with flavor, a sweet and slightly spicy mango salsa, and coriander pesto dip that is fresh and herbaceous.
- If you miss this dish, I highly recommend the bread service at Sanaa at Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge. It has 5 types of flatbread and 9 dips! So delicious!
Islands of the Caribbean
- Quesito: puff pastry with sweetened cream cheese and guava sauce
- This is a delicious dessert. The puff pastry is airy and crisp. The cream cheese is lightly sweetened and pairs well with the sweet and slightly tangy guava sauce. I think this is a dessert that could be recreated at home.
Italy
- Costine di Maiale: balsamic-glazed and oven-roasted pork ribs
- The ribs! They were tender and flavorful. I loved the balsamic glaze. And they were surprisingly lean, which was great.
Mexico
- Capirotada de chocolate: chocolate bread pudding served with chocolate Abuelita creme anglaise
- We are a bread pudding-type family. I love bread pudding, and I love chocolate. The Abuelita chocolate has a little bit of cinnamon in it and reminds me of our time in Texas. I don't normally prefer common with my chocolate, but the cinnamon was faint and super tasty!
Morroco
- Spicy hummus fries with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, tatziki and chipotle sauce.
- These are fried rectangles, aka "fries," of hummus. with a spicy chipotle sauce and refreshing tzatziki and veggies. I really enjoyed this dish. It's crunchy, spicy, but has the veggies and tzatziki sauce to cool everything down. Super tasty!
- Chocolate baklava
- I like chocolate and baklava, but I didn't love this dish. I think I would have enjoyed more chocolate or filling to the phyllo dough. Not bad; just not my favorite.
Refreshment Port
- Duck confit poutine with fig Demi sauce and brie cheese fondue.
- I LOVE this poutine! I love every single ingredient and the combination was terrific. There's a great ratio of toppings to fries. It's a dish where you get different combinations every time you take a bite. It was delicious! Melty brie, slightly sweet and rich fig Demi sauce - yum!
- Beef brisket poutine
- This is one of the menu items for Refreshment Port, not specifically for Food and Wine Festival. This was one of my husband's favorites. This poutine has beef brisket, beer-cheese sauce, poutine gravy, and crispy onions. Super tasty, gooey melty cheese, and crispy onions. How can that be bad?
Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar
- Strawberry soft serve in a waffle cone
- This was a cool, refreshing strawberry soft serve with pink sugar and sprinkles. It was good but not super special. Also, it was so hot that day; the poor soft-serve did not stand a chance for a beauty shot.
- Banana almond soft-serve sundae made with Blue Diamond almond breeze almond milk, fresh berries, and chocolate almond streusel
- This was super tasty but kind of confusing. I think I wanted it to taste like a dessert, but it tastes like the best breakfast parfait! The soft-serve is smooth and creamy, the berries are fresh and bright, and the streusel is crunchy. It was very banana forward. If you need breakfast at Food and Wine Fest, I encourage you to try this dish.
Sommerfest
- Peach frangipane tart
- This tart was delightful. It has a tender, buttery, crumbly crust. It's filled with tender peaches and frangipane. Frangipane is an almond-flavored pastry cream. The taste of the frangipane reminds me of wedding cake because of the almond flavor. So delicious!
Thailand
- Marinated chicken with peanut sauce and stir-fried vegetables
- My husband loved this. Tender chicken and vegetables with a super flavorful sauce.
- Butternut squash ravioli
- Y'all - I've said before, and I'll say it again. This dish is so good! I had it twice in 2018 and was so glad it returned this year. The butternut squash ravioli is perfectly al dente. It was topped with browned butter, Parmesan cheese, pumpkin seeds, and a balsamic vinaigrette. So good! I may try to recreate it at home.
My husband's top 3 bites include: Le Cellier wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce from Canada, balsamic-glazed ribs from Italy, marinated chicken with peanut sauce and stir-fried vegetables from Thailand.
My top 5 bites include: black pepper Boursin soufflé with fig marmalade from the Cheese Studio, balsamic-glazed ribs from Italy, duck confit poutine with fig Demi sauce and brie cheese fondue from Refreshment Port, the peach frangipane tart from Sommerfest, and the butternut squash ravioli from Wine and Dine Studio.
If you have a chance to visit Disney World in the fall, I would highly encourage you to stop by EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival. It's one of my favorite autumnal Disney experiences. Food and Wine Festival is a great way to try new flavors and foods from around the world. The small plates are often based on dishes served at Disney restaurants. So, it's a great, less expensive way to try different foods. I love that you get to try so many different foods, like a progressive dinner.
I want to hear from you! Did you go to EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival? What are your top food picks? What's your favorite booth? Did I miss your favorite?
This year, Food and Wine Festival runs from August 29 through November 23, 2019. So, there's still time to sample all of this year's foods.
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