From September until November, Epcot hosts a festival dedicated to the discovery of food from around the world. There are small plates offered with entrees averaging $4.25 per plate and desserts averaging $3.25 per plate. Alcoholic beverages vary in price but are present at almost every booth.
Located around the park are various outlets for exploring everything from delicious beef buns in China to lava cakes in Ireland. For the more adventurous, snails can be found in France and mussels in Belgium. And, of course, for the discriminating chocoholic, choices abound. There is a frozen Nesquik in the dessert booth (chocolate or strawberry flavored) and a chocolate milk creme brûlée in France (to go with those snails, of course).
While I was not able to try everything that Food and Wine had to offer, I did enjoy the dishes I tasted.
One of the first available booths is the Caribbean, which has an absolutely incredible drumstick. While the sign may indicate an average chicken drumstick, what you are presented with after ordering more resembles a dinosaur bone. By the time you're finished with it, however, you'll wish it was ten times bigger still.
My favorite booth was hard to choose, but my choice has to be China. One of the must-try things of the entire festival is the Mongolian beef bun in the China booth. A delicious blend of savory and slightly sweet, the meat is stir fried in a savory blend of vegetables and broth then doused in a creamy sauce. The bun itself is very doughy and complements the heaviness of the cream sauce in the beef perfectly.
There was also a new edition to the festival this year, a booth dedicated to Florida cuisine. The shrimp ceviche found at this booth is steeped in a spicy tomato broth might make you run to the nearest water fountain, but you'll still want to drink the stuff by the gallon. The shrimp is cold and slightly sweet, which offsets some of the spiciness and adds a subtle undercurrent of flavor. The one downside for me was the accouterment, a potato like side used to soak up the sauce. With the broth it is delicious, but without it, the dough is a bit bland. However, eaten all together the ceviche is delicious and a great representation of florida cuisine.
Finally, a trip to Food and Wine would not be complete without an amazing dessert. This is completely accomplished by visiting the Ireland booth. You will find an innocent looking chocolate lava cake smothered with a Bailey's chocolate ganache. While it may look like an innocent tiny chocolate cake, the inside is filled with chocolate gooeyness. The Bailey's ganache cuts the heaviness of the cake and adds a bit of a cake while still being family friendly. Overall, the cake has to be one of the highlights of the entire festival.
