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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Epcot Food & Wine Festival
Hey ladies,
Is anyone going to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival this year? I thought it might be fun to compare notes.
If you've been, what did you try and what did you think of it?
If you're going later, what dishes or drinks are you looking forward to?
Re: Epcot Food & Wine Festival
We went last weekend for just a couple hours, and it was fun.
We had two of our faves from last year, the lobster roll and crawfish etouffee. The etouffee portion was a tad small, but both dishes were really good. We also tried the Sam Adams 14th Anniversary Ale, which was surprisingly light and fruity but nice.
We also tried two new items at Ireland this year, the fisherman's pie and the cheese selection. Both were awesome and very good sized portions. The cheese plate had Dubliner, one of my fave cheeses, so it was pretty much guaranteed to be a home-run.
I'm hoping to have a chance to go back soon (maybe tonight if my husband is feeling better). I'm interested in the rock shrimp ceviche and the new Thai and Indian dishes. I think my hubby has his eye on the lamb slider.
Can't wait to hear your reviews!
I've gone to the Food & Wine Fest every year since moving down 6 years ago.
I think the samples are overpriced, but the fun of the event helps make up for that. One of my yearly favorites is the salmon at the Canada stand. They used have a very good fudge sample there too, but last year they changed it to something else. 
I just got back from the Food and Wine fest. We made it about 2/3 of the way around before getting full. Hubs and I shared plates, which is how we were able to eat so much.
We tried:
the chicken sausage at Canada
the corn and cheese arepa and shrimp ceviche at San Juan
the fisherman pie at Ireland
the lamb slider and seared scallop at New Zealand
the beef stew with bacon dumpling and sachertorte from Austria
the beef tenderloin from South Africa
the sweed dessert balls from India (forgot the name).
We skipped over stuff we've had lots of times before (crabcake, spaetzle, salmon...), and also skipped stuff that we could get at local restaurants. We loved everything we tried. Hopefully we'll be able to go back again before it ends.
Things I wanted to try but was too full: France, Spain, Argentina, and Brazil.
We went opening weekend and had a great time. We tried:
Strawberry shortcake and champagne (Moet White Star)--very good!
Mexico: Pork Taco, Chorizo quesadilla, and pina colada mousse --all excellent!
Austria: paprika beef stew with bacon dumpling--pretty good
France: Cabernet rib meat with mashed potato--good
NOLA: Chicken and andouille gumbo--excellent
Canada: cheddar cheese soup, salmon, and maple candies--all excellent
Puerto Rico: Chicken with rice--very yummy
There's a post in my blog about our visit to Epcot. Here's a collage of most of the food we tried:
Ok, here's what we had today (we shared all dishes):
India: Rava Masala Dosa (It was a potato and lentil crepe): My favorite dish of the day. SO GOOD.
Chile: Rock Shrimp Ceviche: Pretty good. Sorta like salsa fresca with shrimp but more lime-y. Small portion for the price, but good.
China: Chicken Urumqi: Meh. Not worth it, IMO. Typical Chinese chicken
South Africa: Mealie Soup: This was pretty good. It was like Clam Chowder with a kick and added ingredients.
France: Escargot: EXCELLENT. Very good. We also had the chocolate Creme Brulee in France, but I wasn't impressed. It just tasted like chocolate pudding with crusty sugar on top.
Morocco: Kefta Pita: Mmmmm. I really liked it. But DH is Israeli, so this is totally something we would eat.
Ireland: Cheese Plate: I didn't really like it. I liked the cheddar, but the Dubliner and Vernia were very dry, sharp cheeses. Kinda felt like they should be grated and put on something. The Apple Chutney was very good... and this was a huge portion for the price.
New Orleans: Crawfish Stew: Very good... had a great flavor, and the meat was good.
This was my first time going, and I really enjoyed it. We spent about $35 on the above food. Not too bad, really. Have fun if you go
HTH
Great reviews, ladies, thanks! (Oh, and kokomama, your blog just totally made me hungry! LOL)
We went back for a few hours yesterday and got to try some more stuff. I think the stand-out on this visit was France. The escargot, like last year, was awesome, and the short ribs & potatoes was also an excellent find. (Good and very filling).
We also had the grand marnier parfait and the strawberry shortcake, plus champagne at the dessert stand. Both were good, but I think I liked the strawberry shortcake the most. The rose champagne was very, very dry (just as the cast-members described). Not bad but maybe not to everyone's taste.
We also had the tuna sensation at Tokyo (good, but pretty basic, just sushi-grade tuna and avocado with soy sauce) and sake. We had the diver scallop and lamb slider at New Zealand. The slider was good. The scallop itself was good, but I thought the onions it was presented with were a little too harsh for a subtle flavor like scallops.
We also liked the international beer stand (forget what it was called). The Hacker Pschorr Octoberfest was delish, and my husband was excited that they had Grolsch on tap.
I'm looking forward to the weather getting colder so we can try some of the soups. The cheddar soup, the mealie soup and the thai soup all sounded so tempting but I just felt way too hot to enjoy any.
Fun times. The F&W Fest is one of my fave Disney events. :-)
We went yesterday. It was fun. Off the top of my head I can't remember everything we tried. I know my favorite thing..as usual is the cheddar cheese soup in Canada. I also love the pot stickers and the ginger and caramel ice cream in China. Ireland had a really good dessert as well. Maddox liked the canneloni in Italy.
I have been several times in the past and never noticed it before. Perhaps it is because I dont think I had ever been at on a sat night. Anyway, it seemed pretty rowdy last night, alomst like it was a drunken brawl phrat party. I saw girls acting like complete drunk morons and guys falling over. The aroma of sweaty beer kinda took over the smell of good food cooking. Those who know me know I enjoy partying and by no means am I a prude to it. I just don't think Disney is the place to behave like that. IMO it kinda trashed up the Disney reputation.
I must be getting old:-)
Hi Diane!
Ok, I am coming over from Vegas...
I have never been but I really want to go this year. Usually it is over before I even get a chance. When is it running until?
The last weekend is 11/7-8
Yay, welcome to the other side! LOL
You should definitely go--it is so much food if you like food and wine and beer! You have almost a month left, and hopefully, the weather will be getting better soon, too.