Kimosabe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2012
We went this year for the first time and had a ball. Of course, we were without our kids (much to their chagrin), so that made it easier to hang out and not get in a hurry. Enjoyed the following:
PUERTO RICO - fried plantains were great (maybe because this was the first thing we hit and we were starving, but it was an easy-to-eat snack to get things started)
BRAZIL- I loved the pork belly....my wife wasn't such a fan. We both loved the cheese bread (the only thing we doubled up on the whole weekend).
MEXICO - sweet corn cheesecake was a favorite of the whole weekend. Very unique and tasty. Shrimp taco also beat out the ribeye taco by a mile. Ribeye taco was just diced beef without any particular unique flavor. Shrimp option was lighter and quite good.
CHINA - we went a little nuts here and got the Mongolian beef, duck and the chicken potstickers. Really interested in the beef and duck due to the weird little steamed buns, which was a new thing for us, but very good.
GERMANY - bratwurst in pretzel was good but not particularly memorable. The nudel/gratin was pretty great. Wife thought it was too rich, but left more for me. Very similar in taste to the mac and cheese in Biergarten (which we generally love).
POLAND - winner, winner, chicken dinner! The kielbasa and potato pierogie was easily on our short list of favorites....and the frozen apple pie drink was also a nice addition...think frozen alcoholic applesauce (in a good way).
ITALY - got the ravioli, and it was, well, ravioli. Nothing special....good but not unique enough for me at something like this.
HOPS AND BARLEY - pimento cheese slider was good, as was the lobster alfredo.
FARM FRESH - interesting review here. Had heard about how awesome the pepper bacon hash was, so wanted to try it (although wife questioned me). It was fine but not incredible. If I got it in a restaurant, I would enjoy it, but not the absolute best thing I ate, as I had built it up to be based on other reviews.
JAPAN - teriyaki gyoza bun....meh.
NEW ZEALAND - lamb meatball and venison sausage. Wife is not particularly into exotic meats, so I got to eat both of these and loved every bite of both. Meatball is served in a little bread bowl, which was neat. Sausage is served with cold pickled mushrooms and arugula. Sounds weird, but was really good.
BELGIUM - waffle with braised beef was really good and on the wife's short list of favorites (although meat like that could have been a bit more tender).
FRANCE - one of our favorites. Wife loves the boeuf bourguignon inside Les Chefs de France, and this was basically the same thing but with mashed potatoes instead of pasta. I had the escargot tart and could have eaten several. (Of course, escargot usually just tastes like whatever it's cooked with, so if you like bacon, parmesan, garlic and spinach, you'll like this!) The mushroom gratin was also really good. Wife is not a mushroom fan, but even she liked it. We regrettably skipped the crème brulee, but I wanted a pumpkin macaron ice cream sandwich from the ice cream shop in France and couldn't justify both (in a rare moment of self-control!)
GREECE - I loved the griddled cheese with pistachios and honey. Wife thought it should have been melted more. She also got the tzatziki martini, which was surprisingly refreshing. I love a good gyro and was expecting a thick sludge of tzatziki drink, but it was nothing like that. Much more cucumber coming through than "sauce," and we both liked it quite a bit.
REFRESHMENT PORT - we got a cronut and loved it, but as something you can get anytime, year-round, I might skip it next year and focus on more country-specific food. Also got the liquored-up Dole Whip, which was pretty disappointing, at least for the price.
HAWAII - pork slider was good, although bottom bun was soaked through and pretty soggy. Dude standing near me also said the tuna poke was really good.
SCOTLAND - scallop and smoked salmon were both just OK.
PUERTO RICO - fried plantains were great (maybe because this was the first thing we hit and we were starving, but it was an easy-to-eat snack to get things started)
BRAZIL- I loved the pork belly....my wife wasn't such a fan. We both loved the cheese bread (the only thing we doubled up on the whole weekend).
MEXICO - sweet corn cheesecake was a favorite of the whole weekend. Very unique and tasty. Shrimp taco also beat out the ribeye taco by a mile. Ribeye taco was just diced beef without any particular unique flavor. Shrimp option was lighter and quite good.
CHINA - we went a little nuts here and got the Mongolian beef, duck and the chicken potstickers. Really interested in the beef and duck due to the weird little steamed buns, which was a new thing for us, but very good.
GERMANY - bratwurst in pretzel was good but not particularly memorable. The nudel/gratin was pretty great. Wife thought it was too rich, but left more for me. Very similar in taste to the mac and cheese in Biergarten (which we generally love).
POLAND - winner, winner, chicken dinner! The kielbasa and potato pierogie was easily on our short list of favorites....and the frozen apple pie drink was also a nice addition...think frozen alcoholic applesauce (in a good way).
ITALY - got the ravioli, and it was, well, ravioli. Nothing special....good but not unique enough for me at something like this.
HOPS AND BARLEY - pimento cheese slider was good, as was the lobster alfredo.
FARM FRESH - interesting review here. Had heard about how awesome the pepper bacon hash was, so wanted to try it (although wife questioned me). It was fine but not incredible. If I got it in a restaurant, I would enjoy it, but not the absolute best thing I ate, as I had built it up to be based on other reviews.
JAPAN - teriyaki gyoza bun....meh.
NEW ZEALAND - lamb meatball and venison sausage. Wife is not particularly into exotic meats, so I got to eat both of these and loved every bite of both. Meatball is served in a little bread bowl, which was neat. Sausage is served with cold pickled mushrooms and arugula. Sounds weird, but was really good.
BELGIUM - waffle with braised beef was really good and on the wife's short list of favorites (although meat like that could have been a bit more tender).
FRANCE - one of our favorites. Wife loves the boeuf bourguignon inside Les Chefs de France, and this was basically the same thing but with mashed potatoes instead of pasta. I had the escargot tart and could have eaten several. (Of course, escargot usually just tastes like whatever it's cooked with, so if you like bacon, parmesan, garlic and spinach, you'll like this!) The mushroom gratin was also really good. Wife is not a mushroom fan, but even she liked it. We regrettably skipped the crème brulee, but I wanted a pumpkin macaron ice cream sandwich from the ice cream shop in France and couldn't justify both (in a rare moment of self-control!)
GREECE - I loved the griddled cheese with pistachios and honey. Wife thought it should have been melted more. She also got the tzatziki martini, which was surprisingly refreshing. I love a good gyro and was expecting a thick sludge of tzatziki drink, but it was nothing like that. Much more cucumber coming through than "sauce," and we both liked it quite a bit.
REFRESHMENT PORT - we got a cronut and loved it, but as something you can get anytime, year-round, I might skip it next year and focus on more country-specific food. Also got the liquored-up Dole Whip, which was pretty disappointing, at least for the price.
HAWAII - pork slider was good, although bottom bun was soaked through and pretty soggy. Dude standing near me also said the tuna poke was really good.
SCOTLAND - scallop and smoked salmon were both just OK.
Going to try and complete that this weekend or at least get 3-4 done
I'm also attempting to recreate the Sriracha mayo but it isn't happening so far. 
. I missed it all!! Sigh
I love this thread and will keep living vicariously through all of you, so keep posting, and I'll keep reading
and feeling jealous and a tad sad 
- of course it may just depend on how busy it is the day you go
)thought the park belly was good, but actually got seconds on the Tilapia with coconut curry. Yum!!
