Epcot Food and Wine Festival 2015

We just got back from a great day at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. We only had one day to spend at Disney with my family so we crammed a lot in. After an early morning at Magic Kingdom and some pool time, we got to Epcot around 4, ready to eat! I loved the decorations this year, however I was confused by the odd taste bud themed characters. We quickly pasted through future world because we were only spending time in the countries today.

The cranberry bog is always a nice touch! I was glad to see it back this year. We unfortunately did not get to try The Chew booths and went straight to Wine and Cheese for a delicious sampler plate.

I loved everything on this sampler. The cheese were all sharp and delicious, and I liked their sweet accompaniments. The apple ice wine was delicious as usual, and I was glad I was not paying a full $6 for the tiny glass of it like I did last year. The white was also a bit sweet which I liked and the red was not too dry. This was the perfect start.

After our appetizer, we stopped for a more filling treat. We got the Macaroni and Cheese from the Farm Fresh booth and it was everything I expected and more. Very tasty, and spicy, which I prefer with mac and cheese. We got a cider flight to go with it, which may have been my favorite flight of the festival. I had a hard time choosing the best cider, but I might have to go with the pear. Raspberry, elderberry and pumpkin were all amazing too and distinct but not overpowering flavors.

While some of our party went the wait in line at Craft Beer, I grabbed a quick bit of mussels in New Zealand and Andrew got the venison. We were both pleased, but neither were a big stand out. I wish the portion had been larger for the mussels, as it was only three bites. Although I did continue to eat some of the bread crumbs after!

Craft beer is where my family started to go crazy. We each got our own flight. Andrew and I shared 1 and 2 so we ended up trying 8 brews. I had had a few of these before, including the Island Ale and the Blond Ale. I found the blueberry vanilla to be delicious and was surprised to find myself enjoying the darker Express Porter and Shipyard Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout. We also got the snack mix, and it was well worth it for a dollar to go along with the drinks!

So many flights! This one had a long line, so go early if you do not want to have to wait!

 

After this, my documenting of the food, took a sharp decline. We got both Berbere-style beef tenderloin tips with onions, jalapeños, tomato and pap and the buttered chicken with micro cilantro and naan bread. Both were delicious, but the beef was definitely better. it is super spicy and different from any average American treat. The chicken definitely toned down the African flavors, though I do love Naan Bread. After that, I had a Bratwurst on a pretzel roll and a Riesling flight in Germany and both were amazing! Not super exotic, but some of the tastiest food and drinks there.

We started slowing down after that. Andrew got another Beer flight at Hops and Barley. I had a few sips and enjoyed all of them, as well as the grass-fed beef slider with pimento cheese! that was a big hit with our group. I had been in the Chase lounge getting some free non-alcoholic beverages. It was very convenient if you have a chase card! After that, there was some Casa beer in Morocco that was decent, the amazing crispy pork belly in Brazil, and some Lobster Fisherman’s pie in Ireland. We all got a final beverage in the UK, and I opted for this odd lemonade while everyone else stuck with a classic beer. Turns out it was Crabbie’s cloudy lemonade which is actually beer! I finished with my favorite cheddar cheese soup and Andrew with his filet mignon with truffle mushrooms.  Then we watching illuminations and it was as perfect as it always is!