Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival Review – Part Two

It’s time for the next EPCOT Food & Wine recap! We realized that if we want to try everything before the festival ends, we need to hit about 10 dishes each time we go. We were technically one short this round because the Watermelon Fanta snuck into the lineup, so apparently we have some catching up to do.

One of my favorite things about this festival is going with a group because everyone shares. You get to try so much more without feeling completely overstuffed by the third booth. This past weekend was also a little cooler out, which made walking around World Showcase eating nonstop even better.

Here’s everything we tried during round two.

Frozen S’mores

Where to find it: Festival Favorites in CommuniCore Hall, World Celebration.

This is a chocolate milkshake with marshmallow syrup topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate shavings, and a graham cracker.

We loved this one! I’m not a huge milkshake person, so I was pleasantly surprised. The chocolate milkshake was rich but still cold and icy, and it wasn’t overly foamy, which I loved. They were generous with the toppings too. This was a hit.

Tostada de Osso Buco

Where to find it: Mexico Marketplace in World Showcase.

It has pork osso buco piled onto a fried corn tortilla with chipotle black beans, salsa verde, queso fresco, and chives.

This one is a keeper. They really piled on the pork this year…there was so much of it on top of the crispy tortilla. If you’re already a fan of this dish, you’re going to love this version.

Chocolate-Pistachio Cookie

Where to find it: Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina in the Morocco Pavilion.

This is a rich chocolate cookie with pistachio filling and crunchy kataifi, giving it that Dubai chocolate-style combination of chocolate, pistachio, and crunch.

I really didn’t think I was going to like this cookie, but I loved it. The chocolate cookie was rich and almost brownie-like, and the chocolate dip on the outside made it even better. They definitely didn’t skimp on the pistachios on top either. I’m not a huge kataifi person, but with all the other chocolate and textures going on, I really liked it here.

Freshly Baked Chocolate Pudding Cake

Where to find it: Hops & Barley in The American Adventure Pavilion.

This is a dense, fudgy chocolate pudding cake topped with Kentucky bourbon caramel.

I wanted to like this one more than I did. It was very dense and chocolatey, but I’m a huge texture person, and this just didn’t do much for me. The bourbon caramel was okay, but I felt like it got a little lost underneath all that chocolate.

Smoked Brisket and Cheddar Melt

Where to find it: Hops & Barley in The American Adventure Pavilion.

The sandwich has chopped smoked brisket, caramelized onions, barbecue sauce, and cheddar sauce on a potato roll.

This one was only okay for me. The menu describes the barbecue sauce as tangy, but it tasted pretty sweet to me, and that was the part I didn’t love. Overall, it landed right in the middle for me.

Baijiu Punch

Where to find it: China Marketplace in World Showcase.

The Baijiu Punch is made with Baijiu spirit, lychee syrup, soda water, and piña colada mix.

This tasted straight-up like lychee. It wasn’t bad at all, but this is definitely one of those drinks where you need to like lychee because that flavor is not hiding.

Dumplings Trio

Where to find it: China Marketplace in World Showcase.

The trio comes with pan-fried chicken, pork, and vegetable dumplings served with a house-made sweet-and-spicy sauce. It’s also one of the reimagined 30th anniversary legacy items this year.

This was fantastic. I could have done without the vegetable dumpling, but the pork was my favorite. I would absolutely get these again.

Adobo Yuca Fries

Where to find it: The Fry Basket in World Discovery.

These are adobo-seasoned yuca fries served with a plant-based garlic-cilantro aïoli.

I’ve had these before, but when I got them this time, the presentation was rough. It actually looked gross. BUT they taste amazing every single year.

Rodizio-Style Grilled Beef Skewer

Where to find it: Flavors from Fire in World Discovery, near Creations Shop.

The grilled beef skewer is served with marble potatoes, charred shallots, roasted baby peppers, and chimichurri.

This one wasn’t for me. The beef was pretty chewy, and the vegetables were still hard, so the texture just didn’t work. Not a fan of this one.

Watermelon Fanta Slushy

Where to find it: Refreshment Station in World Discovery, the spot formerly known as Test Track Cool Wash. This isn’t part of the Food & Wine Festival.

My daughter really wanted the Watermelon Fanta slushy, so this became our unofficial tenth stop. You can choose candy to put on top, and she went with Starburst.

Super sweet, of course, but also really refreshing on the day we were there. And Watermelon Fanta topped with Starburst? Ah, to be a kid.

Round two complete

Overall, this was another really good round of food. The Frozen S’mores, Chocolate-Pistachio Cookie, Dumplings Trio, and grilled beef were some of the ones I’d be happiest to order again.

Now we just need to make up for that missing festival item during round three. Ten actual Food & Wine stops next time. We’ll see how that goes.