Review: Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival Part 2

Thanks for joining me for Part 2 of my Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2017 review. You can check out Part 1 of my review here.

For Part 2 of my review, I will enter Showcase Plaza near where The Art of Pairing booths are in Future World and start my way clockwise around the World Showcase Lagoon. This not only follows the Festival Passport location itinerary, but also seems to be the direction that a lot of people were heading during the event.

 

Photopass Remy Magic Shot

 

Before I get into today’s reviews, I wanted to take a moment to highlight something special going on at the Festival. For those Annual Passholders or guests using the Photopass program in the parks, there is a special Magic Shot featuring Remy from Ratatouille. Most of the photographers within Epcot can do this shot, you just have to ask for it. What the photographer will do is have you hold out your hand and act surprised or happy (or whatever) to something invisible in your hand. After the photo is taken, Remy is digitally added to the photo before being put on to your Photopass account. There are numerous Magic Shots these days throughout Walt Disney World, so keep an eye out for a Photopass photographer and always ask “Do you have any Magic Shots?”. Most of the time, they will have at least one.

 

Islands of the Caribbean

 

 

At this location we focused on the dessert which was the Quesito, a puff pastry with sweetened cream cheese and guava sauce. I found it very delicious. My friends also had the frozen Mojito, which was enjoyable.

 

Refreshment Port

 

 

This permanent location in Showcase Plaza carries during the Festival some special items, one of them being my favorite: the DOLE WHIP. Of course, that meant that I had to get one. No regrets.

 

New Zealand

 

 

We actually ate twice of the New Zealand location, the first time having the Mussels and the Venison Loin. The reason we came back to have the Mussels and the Lamb Meatball was because no pictures were taken the first time around, not to mention that we wanted to try the other dish… and have more mussels. All three dishes were very good and I would recommend them for future dining. (The drink is actually the Dragon Berry Refresher from Refreshment Port… silly Kaila.)

 

Australia

 

 

At this location I got the Grilled Lamb T-bone. While the “potato crunchies” were simply ground up potato chips, the dish overall was very good and the temperature cook on the T-bone was perfect.

 

The Almond Orchard

 

 

Unfortunately, not all of the locations could be winners, and this location was a perfect example. At this location we got the Banana Almond Soft Serve Sundae and the Strawberry Smoothie. Both were not good and the sundae lacked a cohesiveness of texture, while the smoothie just lacked flavor. This booth was a let down for sure.

 

Patagonia

 

 

At this location we got both the Beef Empanada and the Grilled Beef Skewer. Both dishes were tasty and I would get them again if I revisited.

 

Hawai’i

 

 

For the dishes here we got the Pork Slider and the SPAM hash. This was one of the last booths we tried overall, and for me it was one of the best. The SPAM was cooked really well with the potatoes, peppers and onions, and the slider was one of the best bites of the Festival hands-down. Also at this location Adam got the Blonde Lager, which he enjoyed. If you come to the Festival, dine here.

 

Farm Fresh

 

 

At this location, I got the Crispy Chicken dish which included cornbread and a red eye gravy. While I feel the piece of chicken could have been bigger in comparison to the cornbread, the dish as a whole was successful. My friends also got the cider flight, which featured three different hard ciders offered here, two from Vermont and one from Florida. I did try them all and while I do not like ciders, they were very tasty.

 

Greece

 

 

I was all on my own for this one, as my friends did not care to partake of my Taste of Greece dish. The highlight for me in this dish with the grilled octopus as well as the feta cheese dip. The stuffed grape leaves were OK but not a stand out part of the dish.

 

Thailand

 

 

Thankfully the dishes we got in Thailand were not as spicy as I feared. The Marinated Chicken Stir-fry and the Seared Shrimp and Scallop Cake were both very good. I especially liked the cold noodle salad that came with the shrimp and scallop cake.

 

This concludes Part 2 of my Food & Wine Festival review. Stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon.

 

If you are following along with our culinary adventure through the Food & Wine Festival and have been there yourself… what do you like most out of what we have tried so far? Least? Let me know below.