Quick and Dirty 2018 Food and Wine Festival Booth Snacks Reviews

pepperandchips

[melinda]
Joined
Mar 16, 2014
So I wanted to post my Food and Wine reviews before the festival ends in case anyone is looking ahead to what they might plan to order from the kiosks. I visited between October 4-8, 2018, so I didn't have all of these dishes in one day, for those of you who are planning for tummy real estate!

All images should open larger if you click. I think. Fingers crossed. :rotfl:





Craft Drafts, Flight one $9.50:

Central 28 Beer Company Waff-Ale, DeBary, FL
Bold City Brewing 1901 Roasted Red Ale, Jacksonville, FL
Florida Beer Company Passport Triple Chocolate Milk Stout, Cape Canaveral, FL

and Shipyard Brewing Company Monkey Fist IPA, Clearwater, FL – $4.50

We really liked the Waff-Ale and the Milk Stout and went back for those later in the weekend. We did not like the Roasted Red Ale (had an unpleasant smokiness that added nothing to the flavor for us) or the IPA. We normally like IPAs but this one was missing something and had an unpleasant aftertaste to tus.



Flavors from Fire - Piggy Wings- Roasted Pork Wings with Korean BBQ Sauce and Sesame Seeds – $4.75. Looks awful, tastes great. Very brown and delicious flavors with a hit of sweetness. This serving (the first of a couple over the weekend) was almost too tender - husband almost lost his because it literally fell off the bone!



Flavors from Fire - Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake with Pickled Vegetable Slaw and Cilantro Aïoli – $6.75. Surprise hit for me, the pancake tastes like it's been reformulated since last year with none of the weird sweetness that was present in the chicken dish. We loved the kick from the cilantro aioli to brighten this up and our steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The fresh veggies added a nice crunch and all the components together made a very fresh and well-rounded bite. I hate corn so I thought the corn cake had too much corn but... I mean... it says corn right in the description so take that nonsense for what you will. :laughing: A repeater!



Flavors from Fire - Chocolate Picante: Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder and Mango – $3.75. We liked this last year and loved it this year. Much spicier throughout with a nice mellow sweetness from the mango sauce to balance things. Great texture with unexpected crunchies inside.



Light Lab - Ciderboys Zen Berry Hard Cider, Stevens Point, WI – $4.50 ... except they were out of this cider so they offered me the Ciderboys Grand Mimosa which tasted like unflitered apple cider to me, go figure. I'd skip it since mainly I had just been excited for the berry variety.





The Cheese Studio - Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon Cream, Caramel and Pecan Crunch – $4.50

My notes say "the best thing ever". We LOOOVED this and fought each other for bites and definitely went back for another. I'm not a huge fan of maple flavoring normally, but this was just that good.



Islands of the Caribbean - Quesito: Puff Pastry with Sweetened Cream Cheese and Guava Sauce – $3.75. This has been one of my favorites in the past but this year the one we were served did not have enough filling and it seemed it had been sitting a while. When you get a hot and fresh quesito, these are amazing. This year's was dry and not very good as a whole, but once again the bites that had enough (any?) cream cheese and guava sauce in them tasted good. It won't prevent me from trying again next year if they're back!



Islands of the Caribbean - Ropa Vieja Empanada with Tomato Aïoli – $5.25

This was one of my favorite dishes! It was a fairly good sized empanada (basically the same size as the cardboard boat) filled with delicious, tender shredded beef. Each empanada we were served was hot and flaky, with succulent pastry and enough spice to make it interesting. Maybe my favorite dish there. Good bang for buck.



France - Croissant aux Escargots: Escargot Croissant with Garlic and Parsley — $5.75. I let my husband eat the snails but the croissant with garlic sauce was delicious!





France - Passion Slush - Vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron, Cranberry and Passion Fruit Juice — $10.75

While mine were never all the way frozen this year, they're nevertheless tasty and cold. Two thumbs up - great for breakfast :rotfl:



Japan - Teriyaki Chicken Bun: Steamed bun filled with Chicken, Vegetables and a Sweet Teriyaki Sauce – $5.50. The menu says kid-approved, but I think this should be "no one-approved" as it was gross. The bun itself had an off-putting chemical flavor and was otherwise totally bland, and the filling had just one note: sweet. :crazy2: We did not enjoy this and it also didn't seem very fresh...

Maybe this is why:


Yuck.



Germany - Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce — $4.00

Another miss for me - the pastry wasn't very fresh and we both agreed this needed a scoop of ice cream. There just wasn't enough flavor here and the pastry was a disappointment.





Germany - Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham, Onions and Cheese — $4.25

Another contender for favorite dish - basically this was onion-y macaroni and cheese and I don't see how that could be a bad thing! :cloud9: I loved it. Very filling and tasty.



Belgium - Beer-braised Beef served with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes — $5.25

Looked like Alpo, tasted pretty good. Boring though.



Belgium - Leffe Blonde Belgian Pale Ale ($4.50, rear) and St. Bernardus Abt 12 ($5.25, front of photo) These were both good. I really enjoyed the Abt 12, but then again I really like Belgian beers and haven't ever seen this one on draft any place else.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, that time in the show when we present TRASH CAN PICS!

:woohoo:



Hawaii - Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Toasted Macadamia Nuts – $4.00. Another favorite, the creamy cheesecake goes so well with the tangy passion fruit sauce. Not as good as the maple boursin cheesecake but we still managed to finish and enjoy every bite!



Thailand - Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef with Steamed Rice – $5.50
Another favorite, this dish did have some nice flavor and was a good sized portion. Mine was a bit skimpy on beef but the sauce was delicious!



Sorry, the snack bandit dug in before I got a photo of the:

Thailand - Seared Shrimp and Scallop Cake with Cold Noodle Salad – $5.25

I had heard this was great so I was let down. The cake was too fishy for my taste and the noodles were refreshing but a bit bland.





China - Xi’an Pancake with Beef — $6.75

this was my husband's favorite dish of the festival and I can't fault him for it. The flavors worked well together and there was a lot of delicious beef inside that scallion pancake! Another Diser had mentioned it was messy, and it was, but worth it!



China - Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles — $6.75

My family loves this so we always grab one but it's pretty much your standard China QS fare, with notably fewer shrimp than I would expect at this price point. Still, it will fill your tummy.



Wine and Dine Studio: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Vinaigrette, Parmesan Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds – $4.50
A few bites of dried out pasta. Your mileage will hopefully vary - I did not enjoy this much but it was a bad serving, probably. No flavor to speak of.




Hawaii - Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour DOLE® Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise – $5.00

A few bites of drippy, flavorful deliciousness. I'm not even a huge fan of pineapple on savory stuff but this continues to be a winner.

We enjoyed another year's worth of noshing around the Festival. I will probably be back with more details on everything else we ate! :wave2:
 
Thanks for the quick, down and dirty report. Really appreciated the commentary specifically...

Looked like Alpo, tasted pretty good. Boring though.

I am headed down for a work thing and only get a couple of days at Disney so I am going to maximize my time and "tummy real estate" based on some of your thoughts!
 
Thanks for posting! My solo trip is coming up and I’m really trying to pare down my list for the booths. Your reviews did not help in that aspect :rotfl:but some of my “must-haves" were confirmed.
 
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I forgot to review another couple of our favorites because I did not get photos (one night we were sitting almost completely in the dark, and one day it was raining pretty heavily at one point so I didn't want to get my camera out - I don't know why I didn't snap phone pictures but oh well)

Ireland:

Roasted Irish Sausage with Colcannon Potatoes and Onion Gravy – $5.50 - this was very hearty and perfect for a rainy day. I thought it was a nice portion size for the price and both the sausages and the gravy had a nice brown flavor. I would get this again, especially if the weather has cooled off.

Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese and Stout Dip with Irish Brown Bread – $4.75 - we loved this, but it had a strong beer flavor so be advised if that's not your jam. We brought in some pita chips in our backpack, which was a godsend because it was storming and blew our brown bread off the plate! :rotfl: I think it would be great to pick up a baguette or croissant from les halles and use for extra dipping purposes! 3 little dinky pieces of bread is not enough!

Warm Chocolate Pudding with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard – $4.25 - really really good and chocolately, rich and tasty. This one always pleases!

Mexico:

I had a sip of my friend's
Mariachi Loco: Margarita with Libelula Tequila Joven, Mango Purée and Chamoy – $9.00

She told me that she didn't like it because it tasted like it had tomato juice or something else savory in it. I didn't remember reading that it was supposed to have anything savory in it, but I agreed with her that it had something weird going on there. I don't know if they made it wrong or what because it definitely looked like it does in online photos (as in, I don't think they just gave her the wrong drink). So beware! She was going to throw it away but I fell on the sword :thumbsup2 (okay, I just looked it up and it must have been the Chimoy, which is "Chimoy, which is a chili-heavy sauce that’s sweetened with a little bit of jam") :confused:


(This was my photo from 2017, it was super dark when we visited the India booth this year)

India:


Warm Indian Bread with Pickled Garlic, Mango Salsa and Coriander Pesto Dips – $4.75. We love the Coriander Pesto and like the pickled garlic. I'm not a big fan of Mango Chutney so we pretty much left that one untouched anyway. There's not enough Naan served with this dish and what we did get was better than bagged but not as good as the fresh versions at Sanaa. However, we didn't make it to Sanaa on this trip so it definitely got me my fix! Yum.

Korma Chicken with Cucumber Tomato Salad, Almonds, Cashews and Warm Naan Bread – $5.25 - our portion this year was a little skimpy but the flavor is amazing, especially eaten with the amazing coriander pesto from the bread dish. I love this portion size to split with another person so I can get curry without having to bolt down a whole entree and I can save room for other things!


(photo from 2016, but dish very similar this year)
Chocolate Studio:

Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel – $5.00 - we weren't as impressed with this item this year as we have been in years past. I think we were spoiled by the very good dark chocolate ice cream available from Ample Hills! It was good and cold when we needed it though!


One other tip in general for the festival was that some members of our party were able to get the normal size (16 oz I think) beer drafts from the America quick service Liberty Inn, rather than the 12 oz smaller pours offered in most places. Also the Joy of Tea cart by China has some of the same items as the China booth, including the BaiJoe Punch which I really like and a couple of better looking snacks and unique drinks, including the very tasty Mango Gingerita. Each time I visited it had NO line!

BaiJoe Punch and Happy Peach, photo nicked from last year's festival photos:

 


One of these years, I will make it there for food & wine...

I’m reading on my phone, so of course it’s being difficult and not letting me quote anything :mad: - but great reviews as always!
 
Yummy great way to spend a lazy rainy Saturday, Thanks for the great reviews. I didn’t get to enjoy F&W this year so I love hearing about it!
 

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