Epcot Food & Wine 2014 : A Worldly Experience

Because food events follow us everywhere we go, it was only natural that on our impromptu trip to Disney world we came across the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. I had gone to Epcot as a child, but didn't remember a thing about my experience because I was too young to remember. This was a nice way to freshen the memory in my mind! 

Beautiful View of the bridges...feel like we are in Europe! 

Food & Wine Festival here we come! 

Due to our excitement over this event, and our extreme hunger, we got food from the first country we saw! Luckily, our selection did not disappoint us.

Canada - Seared Raindow Trout with Bacon, Frisee and L8 Harvest, Minus 8 Vinaigrette
& Apple Ice Wine 

There was much debate in selecting the dish from Canada because the woman working the booth raved about the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, which to us sounded WAY too hot and heavy for a hot humid day. I was leaning towards the Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with truffle butter sauce, but my fiancé is allergic to mushrooms, so we couldn't get this dish either. We settled on the Seared Rainbow Trout with bacon & frisee, to compliment both of our tastes and allergies. After the first bite, we were both pleasantly surprised at how full of flavor and delicious this dish was. The addition of bacon to a fish dish was a very glutinous approach because generally fish is considered a lighter entree. The seasoning and sauce on the trout made every bite more and more tasty. We were both very impressed with this dish, especially because fish cooked at a food event can easily be overcooked, and this was definitely cooked just right.
Additionally we paired this tasting with a beverage. I had apple ice wine which was very sweet and a delicacy since ice wine is created during the first frost of the season and is considered rare. I was happy to see ice wine at Epcot, because it reminded me of trips to Canada with my family where we visited vineyards and sampled tons of ice wine.

The Greece Selections

Our next stop, Greece was one of my favorite stands. Every summer in my hometown there is a Greek Festival near my parent's house, which I miss dearly, and wish I could plan my visits around the festival! I was excited for this stand because I could have my authentic Greek food in a festival setting just like that home.

Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios & Honey
 Vegetarian Moussaka
Paired with  Tzatziki Martini featuring Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka and Bols Natural Yogurt Liqueur

I am glad after the hesitation of my fiancé and also our friend, that we ordered the griddled Greek cheese. I knew from my experience in Greektown in Detroit that this type of Greek cheese could not be missed. This was much better than I have previously had because it was melty (not too much, unlike other places, where it hardens up immediately). It was seasoned with pistachios and honey which was also really unique and reminded me of baklava, but on cheese. The sweet and the crunchy mixed with the rich cheesy flavor was to die for!
The vegetarian moussaka was like a potato parmesan with eggplant mixed in. It was delicious! My fiancé had never had moussaka before and he loved it! It was heavy for a hot day, but still very good and hearty.
The martini we paired with this, was "interesting". It was basically a tzatziki martini which neither of us had heard of before so we figured it was worth trying. It was a little too milky for a martini, I think we will both stick to a more clear based martini in the future.

Close Up of the Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios & Honey

Close up of the Vegetarian Moussaka

Next up Puerto Rico!

Puerto Rico

Slow Braised Beef with Puerto Rican Grown Rice
Drink Pairing: San Juan Breeze with a Don Q Limon / Chilled Club Caribe Mango Rum / Gasolina Sangriia Cocktail

We went to the Puerto Rican booth mostly because the drinks sounded phenominal and the music was fun. The only good thing in the end was the drinks! The slow braised beef was tough and overly cooked. It was lacking flavor as well. This was one of those dishes where I would rather eat the rice dipped with the sauce, than the actual  meat.
The drinks, however, were good! Because there were 3 of us, we had a sampling of all 3 drinks being offered. The San Juan Breeze with Don Q Limon was girly, sweet, and reminded me of a lemon  pina colada. It was refreshing and very tropical. The Chilled Club Caribe Mango rum was served as a shot without any mixtures. Much too strong for my taste, but my fiancé loved it! The Gasolina Sangriia cocktail was more of a juicy version of a sangriia and was a little thicker. I wouldn't say this was the best sangria I have ever had, because it was much too juicy and sweet for me, but it was refreshing in the setting.

Food & Wine Festival! 

Australia

Next up Australia!

Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies
Paired with: Nine Stones Shiraz 

Australia was the most talked about booth. Everyone raved about the lamb chop, and we HAD to make sure we tried it. This tasting was definitely worth all the hype! It was a grilled lamb chop topped with mint pesto, and potato crunches (broken chips). It was a very unique way of serving lamb chop, especially because I am a lover of mint jelly on my lamb chops. Adding pesto to the mix was a new twist on a traditional dish. My fiancé doesn't normally like mint jelly on his lamb chops, but this mixture of mint and pesto did just the trick! He loved it! The potato crunchies added the perfect crunch and level of salt to the dish.

China

China!

Mongolian Beef in a Steam Bun with Chili Mayo / Beijing Roasted Duck in a Steamed Bun with Hoisin Sauce
Paired with: Francis Ford Coppola Su Yuen Red 

Because of our love for steamed buns, we had to make sure to try both options for steamed buns at the China booth! Based on the description, and perhaps even the look of both buns, one may expect them not to be extremely different in flavor, and that was definitely not the case! My fiancé and I have different opinions on which was better, but at least we both agree that they were delicious.
The Mongolian beef had chili mayo on it with some vegetable mixed in. Also, there was a splash of Sriracha on it to add to the spicy flavor. The vegetables added a nice textural bite to the bun. This bun was delicious, but very messy due to all the sauces that covered the meat. All in all, a delicious bun!
The Beijing roasted duck bun was more of a sweet bun because of the Hoisin Sauce, which I love! Generally, I tend to favor spicy food, but in this case, the Hoisin sauce won me over. My fiancé felt that this bun needed some Sriracha to make it a good bun, which he added and loved.

Ben in front of the Shinto House

Japan

Next up Japan!

Spicy Hand Roll - Tuna and Salmon with Kazan Volcano Sauce
Paired with: Sake 

All in all, Japan was the most disappointing booth. Before we even arrived at Epcot, we discussed how we weren't going to get food that we can get back in New York, especially sushi, and in the heat of the moment we went for it anyway because it sounded good.
We ordered the spicy hand roll to share, which was covered in so much spicy mayo that we were not able to get any flavor from anything else. It tasted like rice covered in spicy mayo. Pretty disappointing.
However, the sake we drank with this dish made up for it, since I never turn down Sake. :)

Belgium

Next up Belgium..

Potato and Leek Waffle

We hesitated to get food from Belgium because we were all starting to feel full. We decided that if we were going to eat anything, it had to be truly amazing and worth the room in our stomaches. As we were analyzing the menu, many people recommended we try it. So we decided, perhaps that it was worth it.
Unfortunately, the dish we ordered at the Belgium booth did not live up to the hype. We had ordered the potato and leek waffle, which lacked flavor completely, and was like eating the filling of a shepherds pie on top of a waffle. In theory, it sounded adventurous and great, but in practice, not so much. Never again!

Brazil

Brazil...

Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans Tomato & Cilantro / Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Paired with: Frozen Caipirinha featuring LeBlon Cachaca 

At Brazil, we ordered the Crispy pork belly, which didn't even live up to its title. It was not crispy in the least bit, and lacked flavor. It was edible, but was not salty like pork should be, and tasted kind of bland. Normally, pork belly would be able to be eaten without toppings such as beans, tomato, and cilantro, but in this case, it needed those pairings to make it worth the while.
At the register we made an impulse purchase of Brazilian Cheese bread, which was light, fluffy, buttery, and filled with cheese. This was a delicious treat. Definitely something I'd like to have again.
The Caipirinha that we paired with the food was sweet and sour all at once. It was very refreshing. I could see myself drinking one of these on the beach in Rio.

France

France...

Tartlette aux Escargots - Escargot tart with garlic, spinach, bacon, and parmesan
Paired with: Cabernet Sauvignon, bordeaux, Chateau Bonnet 

By the time we stumbled upon France on our way out of Epcot, we were stuffed, but we knew we couldn't pass up on escargot. The escargot was served in a very unique way, which I had never seen before. It was served over top of a crispy flat bread, with the garlic sauce covering every inch. Bacon slices were laid on top of the creation.
This was a genius design, because every time I eat escargot I need bread to dip into the leftover garlic and sauce on the plate. This creation took all the guess work out of eating. All in all, the sauce was tasty with an extreme garlic flavor, however it was a little too salty for our taste.

The Epcot Globe 

Of all the booths we went to, Australia was definitely the winner! In my mind, China, Greece, and France were close runners up.

We enjoyed our experience at the Food & Wine Festival, and hope to be back again next year or many years to come!