Review: Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival Part 3

Today, I continue my culinary review around the World Showcase Lagoon for this year’s Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. I already visited Future World in Part 1 and Showcase Plaza in Part 2 of this review. For Part 3, I will cover the first half of the World Showcase, starting at the Mexico location, making my way clockwise, and ending for a rest at the Eat to the Beat Concert Series. Let’s begin, shall we?

 

Mexico

Here at Mexico we enjoyed the Rib Eye Taco and Adam had a Spicy Apple Margarita. Of note that this booth was one of only two locations featuring a fully Gluten-Free menu, the other being Brazil.

 

China

I was sad to see no Scandinavian booths around Norway, but then we got to China and it made up for the disappointment. We ended up having three of the dishes (Bejing Roasted Duck Bao Bun, Spicy Chicken Bao Bun, and Chicken Pot Stickers), which were all quite tasty. However, of note was that the chicken bao bun had no garnishes with the strip of chicken. Seemed a bit lackluster in comparison to the two others. Adam and Kaila also had two of the drinks (Ritzy Lychee and the BaiJoe Punch… both not pictured) and enjoyed them.

 

India

Here in India, I got for the group the Korma Chicken and the Mango Lassi (non-alcoholic). This was the start of the “too spicy for Travis and Kaila” section of the Festival, but Adam seemed to enjoy the chicken. I personally enjoyed the mango drink, but if I remember correctly, I was the only one.

 

Refreshment Cool Post

This permanent location had a Spicy Hot Dog with kimchi. Yes, it was way too hot for me (Kaila skipped it entirely). I believe it might have even got the best of Adam. It had a slow but intense burn. Too, too hot.

 

Africa

Here, Adam got the Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tops and I got the Spinach and Paneer Cheese Pocket. Not sure why I thought it would not be spicy. I took a big ole’ bite and started regretting it immediately. It was probably a fun scene to watch play out to an outsider, however.

 

Brewer’s Collection

Since I don’t drink a lot, I picked up the Lebkuchenherz gingerbread heart.

 

Germany

This was another standout location for us. We devoured the Schinkennudeln and the Roast Bratwurst. So good. A must stop for those of you coming here.

 

Spain

I personally love paella, so getting the Traditional Spanish Paella was a must for me, and it was pretty good. However, the Sweet Olive Oil Cake was amazing, and for the price you got a massive slice of cake!

 

Italy

I am a sucker for calamari, so the Crispy Calamari was an immediate buy for me. Kaila got the Absolut Penne (not pictured). Both were delicious. I actually had a friend and her family walking around with us at that point in our tour, and her daughter tried some calamari for the first time… and ended up finishing up the dish because she loved it so.

 

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company

The last location, or locations, to look at in Part 3 includes the Joffrey’s stands throughout Epcot. Each of the four featured stands has for the Festival a specialty drink. Out of the four of them, the one that I ended up trying was the Frozen Strawberry-Lemon Sunset over at The American Adventure. It was quite tasty, and probably would be a dangerous drink for me because I could not taste the vodka in it. I probably would get it again given the chance.

 

Eat to the Beat

Before we continue on to Part 4 and finishing our culinary journey, I wanted to highlight the Eat to the Beat Concert Series, which is held daily throughout the Festival. Held in the America Gardens Theatre at the American Adventure Pavilion. Multiple acts perform throughout the festival, mainly former chart toppers and such who are hanging on to their former glory. That’s not to say that they aren’t entertaining, but don’t expect the current big names to be there on the stage.

During my adventures at the Festival this year, I got the hear Starship sing “We Built This City” while I was walkling by and enjoying some sushi from Japan… and then Sister Hazel a few days later as I snacked upon the fried calamari from Italy. However, it was in the middle of the trip where we got to enjoy one of the sets for the Plain White T’s. Famous for their song “Hey There Delilah”, they had a pretty good crowd gathered for their second set of the day. They were entertaining and guests seated in the open amphitheater enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately, by the time they finished this set, a thunderstorm started rolling through, so we ended up taking cover in the Japan Pavilion for about an hour or so. Still, it was a lot of fun, and

 

This concludes Part 3 of my Food & Wine Festival review. Stay tuned for the final Part 4 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.