Day 1: Arrival at the Boardwalk
I was extremely lucky to be invited by my best friend to accompany her to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival for a long weekend. Even though I had just gone to WDW just 2 weeks before, I jumped at the chance to return. A girl’s trip centered around eating? Heck yeah.
We arrived at the Boardwalk Inn a little after 10pm on a Friday night, so sadly after the kitchens of the nearby bar lounges had closed. However, it was still early enough that the Boardwalk itself was still open and lively with entertainment. So after we dropped of our bags in our room, we had a leisurely walk around Crescent Lake. But first, a snack from the Screen Door giftshop:
Pistachio S’more
I fully intended to eat only a bit and save the rest in our fridge but I devoured it completely. So began a weekend of delicious gluttony.
Day 2: Epcot Food and Wine Festival
I woke up bright and early and scoped out my breakfast options.
A Shakerato with Hazelnut Syrup
A Chocolate Dipped Cream Puff from Boardwalk Deli
This was deliciously fresh. The choux pastry was still slightly crispy and the cream filling and chocolate dip were of good quality. A solid start.
I spent the next 1/1/2 hours meandering around the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk, trading pins with Cast Members or window browsing at the gift shops. Sigh Still no Beach Club penny.
We arrived in the France Pavilion around 10:30am and browsed the merchandise shops as we waited for the France booth to open. These butter cookies with chocolate dip that resembled berets cracked me up.
The France booth opened a few minutes before official opening time, just as we had hoped (and thus skulked around for). We were probably within the first 5 or so parties on line.
Chilled French Cosmo
Vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka, Grand Marnier Liqueur, and Simply® Cranberry Juice
One of our favorite alcoholic drinks of the trip, as usual. It’s just sweet enough without being overly so and it even retained a halfway slushy texture for a few minutes before melting in the heat.
The entire France festival menu. Also as usual.
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Brioche aux Epices avec une Garniture Mornay de Trois Fromages
Spiced Brioche with a Three-Cheese Mornay Filling
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Trio d’Escargots, Garniture a l’ail et au Persil
Trio of Escargot Bites in Croissant Dough served with a Garlic-Parsley Dip
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Crème Brûlée Pistache, Confiture de Fruits Rouges
Pistachio Crème Brûlée with Berry Compote
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Boeuf Braise vin Rouge et Echalottes, Gâteau de Pomes de Terre
Red Wine-braised Short Ribs with Shallot Confit and Potato Gâteau
We both really liked everything at France. The escargot was the best, with that dip. The short rib was a little overly salty (not overly sweet as DFB had reviewed) but still tasty. The brioche and creme brulee didn’t knock our socks off but they were still good. We then proceeded to go counterclockwise.
Moqueca de Camarão from Brazil
Plancha-seared Shrimp, Bell Peppers, Cilantro, and Tomatoes in a Rich Coconut Milk Broth featuring BEN’S ORIGINAL™ Long Grain White Rice
The moqueca was just ok. I expected a stronger flavor and more sauce. It wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t label it a must get.
Belgian Waffle with Cookie Butter and Whipped Cream topped with Speculoos Cookie Pieces from Belgium
I like cookie butter so this was great for me. It’s pretty small though. Still, I thought it was a more interesting option than the previous waffles with (watery to me) chocolate sauce.
At this point, we decided to get Henna Tattoos in Morocco and relaxed in the AC seated comfort in the nearby Race Against the Sun exhibit as we waited for the ink to set.
Onward to more eating!
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Pollo al Marsala
Roasted Chicken Drumstick, Creamy Potato Gnocchi, Mushrooms, and Marsala Sauce (30th Anniversary Legacy Item)
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Almond Panna Cotta
with Orange Marmalade, Whipped Cream, and Candied Almonds
Wow. Italy had a decent showing! My friend really enjoyed the chicken. I usually prefer white meat but even I thought this chicken was quite good as it was moist and the marsala sauce solid. And we both loved the almond panna cotta. We felt like the panna cotta texture was akin to a Chinese dessert (almond tofu).
Amaretto Bellini
Luxardo Amaretto Liqueur, Peach Purée, and Prosecco
A decent cocktail but I prefer a little more sweetness.
We were a little taken aback by the long lines at the festival booths. We knew it was Saturday and thus more locals come to the parks but we felt that the lines were quite longer than usual as compared to our previous 2 weekend food festival trips. Maybe it was because the Wedge was opening that weekend and brought more people in general? By the time we hit Spain, all the festival booth lines were considerable so we bit the bullet and joined anyway.
Croquetas de Jamón
Saffron Aïoli and Shaved Jamón Serrano
This was a little disappointing considering the rave reviews I had read on-line. My friend thought the interior was too mushy. I didn’t mind the texture or flavor of the croquetas themselves but thought the jamón was tough and not very tasty.
Zwiebelkuchen
German Onion Cake with Caramelized Onions, Bacon, Herbs, and a Savory Custard
This item was found at Sommerfest. My friend was disappointed as it wasn’t the German onion cake she had years ago and loved at another Epcot festival. I thought this was fairly tasty and reminded me of the Trader Joe’s thin flatbreads from the freezer section.
Cinnamon Pretzel Cold Brew
Joffrey’s™ Cold Brew Coffee with Sweet Cream, Caramel, Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Pretzel Pieces
I like cold brews so I enjoyed this. I liked munching on the pretzel pieces while they still retained their crunch.
Throughout the above food treks, we had also stopped by the Italy and Germany shops. In the latter, I discovered that they had went all in on the pickle ornament idea. There were now FOUR kinds one can choose from. Love it!
After browsing the China and Mexico shops (and being stunned by the long Gran Fiesta queue extending all the way to the outer room of the pyramid), we had some more munchies.
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Paleta de Moras
Berry Ice Pop filled with Sweetened Condensed Milk topped with Chili-Lime Seasoning
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Tostada de Osso Buco
Pork Osso Buco atop a Fried Corn Tortilla with Chipotle Black Beans, Salsa Verde, Queso Fresco, and Chives
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Taco de Camaron
Flour Tortilla with Crispy Tempura Shrimp, Shredded Cabbage, and Chipotle Aïoli
We enjoyed all the food from Mexico. We thought the following alcoholic drink was fine but nothing special to go out of your way for.
Fruta de la Pasiόn
Blanco Tequila, Mezcal, Tangy Passion Fruit Purée, and Citrus Juice with a Salty Chili Rim
My friend was disappointed that the Mexican artisan who created the wooden alebrijes was already gone. She had read that this artisan was the last remaining one at WDW and was slated to leave soon. I think it’s sad that Disney no longer houses such artisans. I also miss the Chinese acrobats and cotton candy/sugar art artists that used to be in the China Pavilion.
By this point, we were definitely getting full so after the following tasty treat, we hunted for Magic Shots and tried to ride some attractions until we got hungry again.
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake Baumkuchen
I know I had said after 2 lackluster baumkuchen on previous trips that baumkuchen was not for me. But the descriptions and reviews of this one were soooo good. I couldn’t resist trying it. And I was super glad I did. This baumkuchen was a delicious moist apple cake with a hint of cheesecake flavoring in the center filling. But it definitely pushed me into “Must stop eating” mode. We thus explored SeaBase and then rode Living with the Land. We tried to ride Soarin’ Around America when it had a posted 35 min wait but after the line quit moving after only a few minutes (and we saw on the app that the wait had ballooned up to 70 min), we bailed. Good thing we did as we saw that even the LL line was all the way to the entrance. So we went back to eating. 
From Festival Favorites, we got:
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Frozen Apple Blossom
Apple Cider, Seagram’s® Ginger Ale, Hartley Apple VSOP Brandy, Mini Marshmallows, and Maple Syrup
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Potato Pierogi
with Kielbasa, Caramelized Onions, and Sour Cream
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Bo Ssam Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps
with Bo Ssam Pork Belly, Kimchi Slaw, and Spicy Aïoli
All reasonably tasty but nothing that was amazing.
From Bramblewood Bites:
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Grilled Cider-brined Pork Tenderloin*
with Chili-Apple Butter, Celeriac-Apple Slaw, and Apple Cider Gastrique
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Cast Iron-seared River Trout
with Vanilla-Butternut Squash Purée, Brussels Sprouts Salad, Candied Pecans, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Dried Cranberries, and Maple Dressing
Both were pretty tasty but I preferred the pork. The River Trout tasted like Salmon to me and a bit heavy.
Seoul, South Korea: Bo Ssam Pork Poutine
French Fries, Cheese Curds, Bo Ssam Pork, Gochujang Gravy, Kimchi Pickles, Aïoli, and Sesame
This specialty item from La Poutinerie was disappointing this time around! I loved it when I had it 2 weeks ago with my kids but this time, there were less toppings and sauce. But I already knew not to get the Spiced Apple Slushy (Frozen Ginger Beer blended with Lively Lime and Cozy Spiced Apple Flavors). It was way too strong a ginger taste for me when I tried it so I didn’t recommend it to my friend. But I was sad that what I did recommend (the poutine) didn’t live up to my first experience.
In all, it was a solid first day at Food and Wine.
