EPCOT Food & Wine Festival - Best Booths

[helloconnie]

For those of you that have been to F&W, what are the best booths this year? If I only had time to go to three or four, which would you recommend?

 

[1lilspark]

I liked brew wing for the muppets theming and the AC
I didn’t brave the pickle milkshake but the frozen fusion paired great with the plant based buffalo wings (pro tip eat it with a spoon like a snow cone vs the paper straw)

 

[RuntheMouse]

Buffalo Brussel Sprouts @ Brew Wing
Moroccan Bread and Pistachio Cake @ Tangierine Cafe
Githeri @ Refreshment Outpost
Corned Beef @ Flavors from Fire

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

IMO, I really enjoyed the good best at the Morocco stand, Flavors of Fire, Greece, and even though it never changes, i do enjoy the little waffles at the Belgium stand

 

[samsteele]

It really depends on your food preference and taste.

I found the Oysters Rockefeller at Coastal Eats to be very good and a good value esp at F&W. I went early at opening and they were great quality and served hot. I spoke with other guests who tried them later in the day and thought they were average at best. Eating oysters at a food festival is a bit risky. My experience (x2) was good right at opening. ps I compared them to the oysters on ice in the display case at the Boathouse at Disney Springs. For price and flavour, Coastal Eats couldn't be beat.

The lamb chop at the Australia booth was excellent. Smaller than in years past but wonderfully tender and flavourful.

 

[jtopp]

Quite a variety of food choices. As DW is a picky eater, we generally scope out the choices by watching the postings on the DIS and youtube. This way, you can see the product and get a review of it before you waste time and money on something you won't enjoy.

 

[Disturbia]

Just saw this video; can’t wait to try some new offerings

 

[msmayor]

Something I posted in another thread - here are all the things we tried over our two days of Epcot visits just recently:

• Shimmering Sips - Mimosa Flight, Emile's Fromage Prize: enjoyed both very much!
• France - Beignet with three-cheese blend: ok, but not as cheesy as we expected
• Greece - Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey: found this very flavorful and enjoyable
• Belgium - Beer-Braised Beef with smoked gouda mashed potatoes: very delicious and good comfort food
• Brazil - Black Beans with Pork Belly, Brazil nut pesto and white rice: only disappointment here was the rice as it was undercooked
• Japan - Beef Wa-Gyu Don: very delicious (better rice too!) and an economical introduction to Wagyu beef
• Flavors of America - Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing: what an indulgence...it was delicious!
• Spain - Sangria Flight: probably the only real disappointment; the red was not to our liking at all, and the two whites were pretty forgettable
• Germany - Schinkennudeln: this was delicious; heavy, so we are glad we split it
• The Alps - Warm Raclette Swiss with Alpine Ham, baby potatoes, cornichons and baguette and a Frozen Rose': we could have eaten a second one...loved this dish a lot. The frozen rose' was delicious
• China - Crispy Duck Bao Bun with Hoisin sauce and the Pan-Fried Chicken Dumplings with house-made sweet and spicy sauce: Ooooooh that duck...ranked in the top three dishes for us. The sauce on the dumplings was good, just the right amount of heat
• Mexico - Braised pork tostada with fried corn, black beans, avocado mouse, queso fresco along with the braised beef short rib taco on corn tortilla with salsa de chile morita, avocado mousse and spring onions, plus a Trouble in Paradise Margarita: both dishes very tasty and we loved the margarita...very refreshing!!
• Hawaii - Kalua Pork Slider and the Passion Fruit Cheesecake plus the sparkling pineapple wine: huge flavor in that slider...a top dish for us and the cheesecake was a delightful surprise. The wine was very good too.
• Wine and Wedge - Boursin Fig and Balsamic Souffle with fig and the assorted artisanal cheeses and accompaniments, plus the Riesling offering: we both enjoy the flavor of fig and these dishes did not disappoint; the cheese variety was very nice and the wine paired well

We didn't go for anything that we felt we could get at home. If we had more time, we'd have tried a lot more.

 

[helloconnie]

Something I posted in another thread - here are all the things we tried over our two days of Epcot visits just recently:

• Shimmering Sips - Mimosa Flight, Emile's Fromage Prize: enjoyed both very much!
• France - Beignet with three-cheese blend: ok, but not as cheesy as we expected
• Greece - Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey: found this very flavorful and enjoyable
• Belgium - Beer-Braised Beef with smoked gouda mashed potatoes: very delicious and good comfort food
• Brazil - Black Beans with Pork Belly, Brazil nut pesto and white rice: only disappointment here was the rice as it was undercooked
• Japan - Beef Wa-Gyu Don: very delicious (better rice too!) and an economical introduction to Wagyu beef
• Flavors of America - Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing: what an indulgence...it was delicious!
• Spain - Sangria Flight: probably the only real disappointment; the red was not to our liking at all, and the two whites were pretty forgettable
• Germany - Schinkennudeln: this was delicious; heavy, so we are glad we split it
• The Alps - Warm Raclette Swiss with Alpine Ham, baby potatoes, cornichons and baguette and a Frozen Rose': we could have eaten a second one...loved this dish a lot. The frozen rose' was delicious
• China - Crispy Duck Bao Bun with Hoisin sauce and the Pan-Fried Chicken Dumplings with house-made sweet and spicy sauce: Ooooooh that duck...ranked in the top three dishes for us. The sauce on the dumplings was good, just the right amount of heat
• Mexico - Braised pork tostada with fried corn, black beans, avocado mouse, queso fresco along with the braised beef short rib taco on corn tortilla with salsa de chile morita, avocado mousse and spring onions, plus a Trouble in Paradise Margarita: both dishes very tasty and we loved the margarita...very refreshing!!
• Hawaii - Kalua Pork Slider and the Passion Fruit Cheesecake plus the sparkling pineapple wine: huge flavor in that slider...a top dish for us and the cheesecake was a delightful surprise. The wine was very good too.
• Wine and Wedge - Boursin Fig and Balsamic Souffle with fig and the assorted artisanal cheeses and accompaniments, plus the Riesling offering: we both enjoy the flavor of fig and these dishes did not disappoint; the cheese variety was very nice and the wine paired well

We didn't go for anything that we felt we could get at home. If we had more time, we'd have tried a lot more.

This was great! Thank you! I am a foodie so love to try everything. Now the difficult part...choosing which to try.

 

[WhoDat09]

Our favorites this year were:
Flavors from Fire
Fry Basket
Greece
Mexico
Brew-wing
Canada
Shimmering Sips

 

[msmayor]

This was great! Thank you! I am a foodie so love to try everything. Now the difficult part...choosing which to try.

I can tell you that both my daughter and I spent a lot of time watching review videos that came out at the start of the festival, and I set up a spreadsheet of each F&W booth along with their festival menu, both foods and beverages. We started out marking ALL the dishes that sounded interesting, then ranked items according to 'must try' or 'nice to try'. It helped us to focus on what we truly didn't want to miss, knowing if we had both the time and weren't full, we could circle back to any of the 'nice to try' and hit those up as well.

I had a great map I found online of the booth locations and printed a copy of that to take with us - was very happy I did that as the Food Guide they hand out had no map at all - just the booth listings and menus. We stayed at Riviera and on the day we arrived, we rode the Skyliner over to Epcot in the afternoon just to pick up a couple of the Food Guides - the gate cast members helped us out with that. We rode back to Riviera and then sat at Bar Riva for cocktails and snacks - pulled out the map I brought from home and game-planned how we would hit all the spots we wanted to over the two park days we had.

Most all of the booths don't open until 11am, so be aware that if you get there earlier that will be time to do other things. We did some shopping (picked up Remy's Scavenger Hunt maps - got the prize right away, but still enjoyed searching for him during our walk around the World Showcase) and rode Remy's Ratatouille Adventure one day, Soarin' another day, before the booths opened.

There are only a few 'nice to try' we didn't get to, but that just gives us a reason to plan to go again.

 

[holden]

The Boursin souffle was my favorite.

 

[Disneytam]

I can tell you that both my daughter and I spent a lot of time watching review videos that came out at the start of the festival, and I set up a spreadsheet of each F&W booth along with their festival menu, both foods and beverages. We started out marking ALL the dishes that sounded interesting, then ranked items according to 'must try' or 'nice to try'. It helped us to focus on what we truly didn't want to miss, knowing if we had both the time and weren't full, we could circle back to any of the 'nice to try' and hit those up as well.

I had a great map I found online of the booth locations and printed a copy of that to take with us - was very happy I did that as the Food Guide they hand out had no map at all - just the booth listings and menus. We stayed at Riviera and on the day we arrived, we rode the Skyliner over to Epcot in the afternoon just to pick up a couple of the Food Guides - the gate cast members helped us out with that. We rode back to Riviera and then sat at Bar Riva for cocktails and snacks - pulled out the map I brought from home and game-planned how we would hit all the spots we wanted to over the two park days we had.

Most all of the booths don't open until 11am, so be aware that if you get there earlier that will be time to do other things. We did some shopping (picked up Remy's Scavenger Hunt maps - got the prize right away, but still enjoyed searching for him during our walk around the World Showcase) and rode Remy's Ratatouille Adventure one day, Soarin' another day, before the booths opened.

There are only a few 'nice to try' we didn't get to, but that just gives us a reason to plan to go again.

So what were some of your favorites?

 

[msmayor]

So what were some of your favorites?

We liked everything we tasted, though next time we'd pass on the beignet from France. It was just OK - not quite what we expected. These are dishes that stood out for us

• Hawaii: Kalua Pork Slider - lots of flavor; the chutney was the perfect amount of sweetness against the sauce
• China: Crispy Duck Bao Bun - I wish I could cook duck like this...it was so tender yet crispy, and the hoisin sauce was very tasty
• The Alps: Warm Raclette Swiss with Alpine Ham, potatoes, cornichons and baguette
• Everything we had at Wine and Wedge: the souffle', the cheese board, the wine. All quite delicious.
• Flavors of America: that carrot cake....they offered extra icing, which we took...it was served warm and so delicious

We also enjoyed the 'prize' treat from Emile's Fromage Montage - not too sweet and very creamy cheesecake.

 

[supersnoop]

I keep track in the Food&Wine app, so I went back and checked my ratings. My top favorites are the Chilaquiles (Flavors of America) and the Smoked Corned Beef (Flavors from Fire).