Best of the Fest - Epcot International Festival of the Arts
There were some amazing food items and drinks to try this year at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, and although most items were tasty, only a few made it to our list of this years Best of the Fest!
We’re going to start with actually the first food studio we tried at this years festival, Pop Eats!
Here I got the Tomato Soup with Pimento Cheese, Bacon, and Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese.
Ok, so this sounds like just a fancy grilled cheese, right? Well, yes, it is a fancy grilled cheese, but it was the BEST grilled cheese I have ever tasted. The ingredients of the grilled cheese balanced perfectly together for the most satisfying savory dish. While the grilled cheese was the star of the show the tomato soup was perfect for dipping the grilled cheese in and had a wonderful mild kick to it as well.
Out next item to make the best of the fest list is the Bombon Margarita “Marshmallow” from Mexico (El Artista Hambriento)!
Now, I’m not a fan of sweet drinks, so a lot of mixed drinks I’m not a huge fan of. This however was fantastic! I was worried with the marshmallows it would be very sweet, but it wasn’t sweet at all. It had a very deep smoky flavor, we joked around that it tasted just like Rome burning smells (if you know, you know), but in a good way!
Next up on our best of the fest list was the Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib from Germany (aka Pastoral Palate).
This was so tender it practically fell apart, I didn’t even need a knife. The flavors of the beef and the accompaniments was just so delicious. This was one of those dishes I took the tiniest bites just to make it last as long as I could, it was that good!
Last, but certainly not least, was the Wild Mushroom Risotto at Canada (Gourmet Landscapes). The risotto was cooked perfectly, it was so creamy and had a very strong mushroom flavor. Now, I love mushrooms, so I loved this, but I can see those who are not fans of mushrooms not loving this one as much.
One dish that I really wanted to make the list, and I think probably would have if I had gotten it earlier in the day, is the Pan-Seared Scallops at Moderne. The flavors of everything on the dish were amazing, except for the scallops. The scallops were just overly fishy, and almost tasted like they had been sitting out for a while. I did try this late in the evening, so I do wonder if I had gotten it earlier in the day it may have been better. I usually love scallops, and every other thing on the plate was delicious, so I may need to try this one again earlier in the day!
