DAY 1

The first booth that we came upon as we walked through the Port of Entry of World Showcase was the…

PINEAPPLE PROMENADE

The first item that we tried from this booth was their Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade (pictured in the front) for $4.75. This was icy cold and refreshing. There was no alcohol in this one but it was very tasty, especially if you like SweeTarts. Our ratings for the Desert Violet Lemonade ranged from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2, so an overall average of 4. A good start!

The drink pictured in the back left was Florida Orange Groves Winery Sparkling Pineapple Wine for $12.00. This was a bit disappointing. The consensus was that it was “drinkable” but nothing special and everyone gave it an “okay” rating of 3, except for one who rated it only 2 1/2. In our opinion, this was not worth the $12.00 price.

The last item we tried from this booth was their Dole Whip topped with Somrus Mango Cream Liqueur for $12.50. The reviews for this were mostly positive with everyone rating it either 3 1/2 or 4. My only criticism was that all of the tasty mango cream liqueur was found at the bottom of the glass.

Our next booth was Canada’s…

NORTHERN BLOOM

The Beef Tenderloin Tips with Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes, and Garden Vegetables (aka Carrots) for $7.25 was the WINNER OF THE DAY. The sauce was absolutely delicious! I started by purchasing two of these for our group of 7 but everyone liked it so much that I had to go back and purchase a third. It was well worth another $7.25. Our one and only minor criticism of this dish was that the carrots were undercooked, but then again no one really cared about the carrots. Haha! Our ratings for the Beef Tenderloin Tips were all 4 1/2 or 5 so it was probably one of the most popular shared items of the trip.

Thinking it would also be super popular with our group, I got two of the Chocolate Maple Whisky Cakes for $4.50 each. However, the reviews for the cake ranged from 2 1/2 to 4 (given by only one person) so overall I would give it just an okay rating of 3. Eaten on its own it might have fared better with us but when compared to the Beef dish it fell short.

The last item we tried from the Canada booth was another fruit-flavored sparkling wine, Florida Orange Groves Sparkling Blackberry Wine for $12.00. This was from the same St. Petersburg winery as the Pineapple Wine that we tried from the Pineapple Promenade booth. Our group agreed that the Blackberry Wine was the better choice of the two, giving it ratings of either 3 1/2 or 4.

The last booth that we visited on our first day at Epcot was the one located by the American pavilion…

MAGNOLIA TERRACE

We tried their Spicy Chicken Gumbo with Andouille Sausage and Long Grain & Wild Rice for $6.25. This was tasty, had some spice but not too much. It was also a fairly generous portion for $6.25. Everyone rated this either 3 1/2 or 4. While we have all had better gumbo, for being mass-produced and served from a booth, this was surprisingly good.

The other thing we had from this booth was their Bayou Cocktail with Spiced Rum, Coconut Rum, Fruit Punch, and Orange Juice for $12.50. This was very sweet and tasted mostly like fruit juice. While Jake gave this a rating of 4 1/2, the rest of us thought it was just okay and gave it a 3.

So after having eaten a fairly large (All You Care to Enjoy) breakfast at Garden Grill that morning, our group of 7 ate only four entree dishes, three desserts, two glasses of wine and one cocktail from just three booths for our lunch. Though I had budgeted much more for this Festival lunch, I ended up only paying $90.75 or about $13 per person. It was probably the least expensive meal of our trip.

And that completed our first day at the Festival booths. We returned to Epcot for a second day later in our trip so there will be more Festival food and drink reviews coming so stay tuned.

DAY 2

The first booth that 4 of our group tried on our second day at the Festival was the one hosted by the National Honey Board…

THE HONEY BEE-STRO

From this booth we had both of the food offerings plus one of their beverages…

Chicken and Waffles: Crispy Chicken and a Honey Sweet Cornbread Waffle with Whipped Honey Butter and Spicy Honey – $6.75

This was very good. Loved the spicy honey which replaced the maple syrup that usually accompanies chicken and waffles. We all agreed that this deserved a rating of 4 1/2.

Honey-glazed Cauliflower with Honey-roasted Carrot Puree, Wild Rice Pilaf, Spring Vegetables, Honey-blistered Grapes, and Sunflower Brittle – $5.00

This was a surprise hit with our group. We weren’t expecting this vegetable dish to taste so good but again the honey made this delicious. Our group gave this a rating of 4 1/2.

Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze with Blueberry Vodka and Streusel – $13.00

This was another winner for our group, so again we gave it a rating of 4 1/2.

By the way, they also served this drink without alcohol for $5.00.

A couple of the others of our group stopped at the booth in Mexico…

JARDIN DE FIESTAS

Sope de Chilorio: Guajillo Pepper-braised Pork on Fried Corn Shells with Black Beans, Shredded Cabbage, Creme Mexicana, Queso Fresco, and Chives – $8.50

Emily said this was okay. She didn’t really care for the shredded cabbage topping. Minus the cabbage she would give this a rating of 3 1/2.

After a stop at the Mexico pavilion for some margaritas from La Cava del Tequila, our next booth was China’s…

LOTUS HOUSE

With two more of our group rejoining us we now had 6 people sampling the food so we got two each of two of this booth’s three food offerings…

Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer with Creamy Peanut Sauce – $6.75

We were on a pretty good roll here, as the chicken skewers were quite tasty. Loved the peanut sauce! Our group gave the chicken skewers a rating of 4.

House-made Cheesy Crab Wontons – $8.25

These were good but I bet they would have been even better if I had thought to ask for a side of the peanut sauce (served with the chicken skewers) for them. Without the peanut sauce, the wontons were given a rating of 4 by our group.

We completed our food booth snacking in Germany at…

BAUERNMARKT: FARMER’S MARKET

The beverage that we got here was Apfelschaumwein: Apple Sparkling Wine and Apple Liqueur for $10.50. If you’ve ever had (and liked) Sidral Mundet, a Mexican apple-flavored carbonated soft drink made by Coca-Cola, I think you would like this. As Emily said, “This is yummy!” She gave this a rating of 4 1/2 and the rest of our group agreed.

Potato Pancakes with House-made Apple Sauce – $5.25

This was definitely the weakest link of the three foods we tried here. It’s probably not something that we would get again. Our group gave it an okay rating of 3.

The other item in the above photo was their Toasted Pretzel Bread topped with Black Forest Ham and Melted Cheese for $6.00. We had a difference of opinion on this one. While Emily gave it a rating of 5, as she thought it was delicious (and worth cheating on her gluten-free diet), I wasn’t nearly as impressed. I thought it was just okay and just slightly better than the pancakes but still gave it only a 3. The rest of our group fell somewhere in between so overall we will give the pretzel sandwich a rating of 4.

Warm Cheese Strudel with Mixed Berries – $4.75

We all agreed that this was quite good and gave the strudel a rating of 4.