On Sunday September 21 Amara and myself headed out to Epcot for what would turn into one of our best trips ever. We arrived early in the morning around 7:30 a.m. The roads were empty and I did not account for it being Sunday. When the park opened up at 9:00 a.m. we headed around Futureworld to ride some rides before meeting up with other foodies from the Facebook group Disney Foodies. Around 10:30 a.m. we headed over to World Showcase to await our meetup. We grabbed our passports and began to read through them. Amara thought it would be a good idea to highlight dishes she wanted to try. I reminded her we would not be trying everything in one day, but it's good to have an idea of what you want ahead of time.
11:00 a.m. rolled around and the other foodies were adding up quick for our meet and greet. I sent Amara over to grab a Fresh Watermelon Juice from Terra while the group got ready to head to our first stop.
I did not care too much for the drink. It really tasted like someone juiced a watermelon. Now I love a good juicy watermelon, but this took everything about a watermelon I enjoy away in my opinion. I'd rather suck on a Capri-Sun compared to this. However Amara enjoyed it very much. So if you plan on going to Food & WIne and you have a kid who is picky, this may be a good choice for them and it's healthy!
We headed over to the Odyssey Building which houses the Craft Beers marketplace this year at Food & Wine. I ordered a Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Punkin Ale and an order of the Muffuletta Pinwheels with House-made Pickles. They also offered me some snack mix to go with my beer.
I forgot to take a photo of my beer, I know, bad foodie. I am pretty new to the world of craft beer and it wasn't until the 2012 Food & Wine Fest that I gave craft beers a try. I don't mind spending a small upcharge at Disney for a beer I can get at Publix so I can try it before buying a whole bottle and wasting it. I really enjoyed the Punkin Ale. It was probably one of more favorite craft beers I have had. It had a smooth and light refreshing taste to it. I will probably end up hunting this one down in the craft beers section of my local Publix. The pinwheels were a real disappointment to me. While they weren't bad tasting, there just wasn't anything about them that made me say "Wow, that's good!" Muffuletta generally has an overpowering olive flavor to it and these did not. I was expecting that nice chewy olive goodness with maybe the crisp of celery, but it just tasted like a deli pinwheel bought from a gas station. The snack mix, well, it was snack mix. Paired well with the beer as expected. Nothing special about it, but this is the first time I've seen them offer it up with the beer for free.
We then made our way out of the building on headed to our left which brought us into the Mexico region where there were about 4 booths in the area. We chose to go to Australia and grab a Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies. The lamb chop is always a top favorite of mine and this was on Amara's to try list.
If you were to ask Amara what her favorite thing was all day she tried and sampled, she would quickly tell you it was the lamb chop. It was greasy and nutty and just oh so perfect. They gave us a nice helping of the mint pesto too which I scraped from the bowl as to not waste any. Yes, it's THAT good! The group then headed into La Cava to get margaritas and a.c. Amara had wimpered about wanting a margarita, but being too young. I let Amara taste and sip my alcoholic drinks when she would like to try them. I don't see anything wrong with it and by the time she is old enough or her friends are peer pressuring her into drinking, it won't be that big of a deal to her. But back to the margaritas. One of the foodies that was there, who is just one of the most sweetest ladys you could ever meet bought her a virgin lime margarita.
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| This is a photo taken on her phone. I did not think to get a photo of my own of her. |
After some refreshing drinks we made our way a little further through World Showcase. The next booth we stopped at was Farm Fresh which holds one of the most talked about dishes of the event so far. The Nueske's Pepper Bacon Hash with Sweet Corn, Potatoes, Hollandaise and Pickled Jalapenos. This is a dish I'm not allowed to get without my husband being there and what torture it was seeing everyone around me with it in their hands and sounds of joy they were making from the sheer taste of this goodness! This dish shall be mine very soon!
Up next we had a number of folks who wanted the Kimchi Dog with Spicy Mustard Sauce from South Korea. Another dish that stood out to me last year that I was ready to try again.
The spiciness of the hot dog is just a perfect blend of flavor. I would love to be able to purchase these dogs over an Oscar Mayer pack anyday. I would also like to try it with other interesting toppings as well. Like instead of mustard, maybe Sriracha. The kimchi was very yummy. I'm big on pretty much anything pickled though. Another foodie got the Roasted Pork Lettuce Wrap with Kimchi Slaw (not pictured) and Amara tried that and really enjoyed it. It was a nice blend of pork, spicy, and pickled vegetables and she even enjoyed the spicy after taste left in her mouth.
We continued our walking and ended up in Germany. Some went to Singapore, some went to the Brewer's Collection, and we went to the Germany marketplace so Amara could get her Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll.
It normally comes with a dollop of yellow mustard on the side, but she opted out of it. This, in my opinion, is a nice value and a good one for a picky kid to enjoy. I don't know any kid who wouldn't eat this! To me it's comfort food. Put this on your list, get it, enjoy it, and share a smile.
We then came into the American Pavilion and we all agreed it was time for more a.c. and frer soda. We all went up into the Chase Lounge that is a nice getaway for Chase card members. TVs, video games, charging stations, and free Coke products from the Coke Freestyle machines. We all grabbed wristbands for the special fireworks viewing area enjoyed a little downtime and relaxation.
When we finished in the Chase Lounge we continued our journey clockwise and stopped in between Japan and Morocco. I didn't get anything at this stop, but we did wait on everyone. Amara and Carol (the young lay who bought her a margarita earlier) went inside the big store in Japan to pick a pearl. This is something we had never done with Amara and really had no plan to. Carol offered and I've learned my lesson on saying no to her. So I smile and nodded and said that would be fine. As the foodies were finishing up and ready to move on I went inside the store just in time to catch Amara and Carol getting their pearls.
We caught up the foodies just in time for Brazil. We purchased the Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Cilantro and Cocada - Brazilian Coconut Candy. One of the foodies was such a fan of the Pao de Queijo - Brazilian Cheese Bread he purchased an order for us which was really kind of him to do and I wish I had the chance to repay him at another booth.
The crispy pork belly was a huge hit in my book last year. Last year it was served with small cubes of avocado on it. I'm not a fan of avocado, but I had really liked it in this dish. Sadly it does not come with avocado on it this year, but it was still really delicious. I purchased the coconut candy for my daughter. My sweet tooth is horrible and I'm not a big fan of overly sugary stuff like this. She seemed to enjoy it very much. I'm glad the cheese bread came two to the plate. Perfect sharing portions. One for Amara and one for myself. These were heavenly. A perfect crisp bread crust with ooey and gooey melted cheese throughout the middle of it. It had a nice sharp flavor to it and the cheese just stretched as you pulled it apart.
We were reaching the far end of World Showcase near France and the UK pavilions. We stopped over between the UK and Canada for a rest and enjoyed some Off Kilter. They will be gone soon as Epcot is replacing a lot of their acts in World Showcase. I have honestly never stopped to watch them and I am sad I haven't. I've always heard them in passing and enjoyed what I heard, but never have I just sat and listened to them. After this we all kind of went separate ways for fastpasses and other things. Carol stuck with us while we decided to go ride Captain EO and do some other exploring. We went to Mouse Gears and got Amara her Cheshire Cat tail for the Halloween party on this upcoming Sunday. We also swung by Club Cool so Amara could have her first taste of Beverly.
After we finished a little roaming the sun was starting to set for the day and we had decided to head back to Canada, as I had promised Amara some Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup.
Another must have on any foodie list. This is such a comforting nice dish to have. I don't recommend it in 90+ degree weather which is why we waited for the sun to go down. Carol went and got a dessert trio from the Desserts and Champagne marketplace. As we finished our soup I could smell the Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey calling for me. So I made a rash, impulse decision to go ahead and grab this from Greece.
I'm not a fan of honey by itself at all. Goes back to that too sugary and too sweet for me thing I mentioned above. It was a wonderful a dish. Nice, warm, melted cheese. The pistachios gave it a nice texture while the honey added a nice sweet flavor to the tangy cheese.
It was now time to make our way over to the Italy pavilion for the fireworks show. We made a pit stop in Norway and picked up some School Bread and ended out fantastic day with a beautiful display of Illuminations.
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