*2013* epcot food & wine festival 9/27-11/11

[Brocktoon]

It is not unusual for some of the beers to run out before the last weekend.

I noticed the craft kiosk was out of Dogfish Namaste on 10/30, and the CM said that was it for the rest of F&W.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I spend a lot by doing both lunch and dinner at the booths

 

[BwoZoo22]

Odd ... I was there both Friday and Saturday and they were serving the Chocolate Stout. I had it on Friday night and a friend that was with us tried it on Saturday night.

To be honest though, you didn't miss much as I found it VERY bitter and not pleasant at all.

That was the replacement chocolate stout. I wasn't much of a fan of that one either. The Rogue River is much smoother with a nice subtle blending of the flavors. I hope it comes back next year.

 

[BwoZoo22]

Unfortunately, our trip has come to an end. But we had a blast, as usual. We found some new likes and old dislikes this year.

The French Regional (Champagne) Lunch was amazing! We will consider doing that again next year. The beverage seminar was very informative, and we found we liked Argentinian Cab; which was a huge surprise. The culinary demo was ok, but we are not that into cooking, so it was only mildly interesting. The food portion was huge though!

The highest scoring foods for us (yes, we keep track) were the South Korean kimchi dog, Argentina beef skewer, Canadian filet mignon, and Moroccon chicken roll. The Scottish salmon was great the first day, but too salty our last day. The Canadian cheddar cheese soup has been declining for several years; we didn't even finish the one bowl we purchased. The filet was very large and cooked exactly how I would have ordered it, yum! And contrary to most everyone, we did not like the pork belly. We found it too salty and fatty. I wanted to like the African Berbere-style beef, but it was too over the top spicy for me. Wow. Perhaps because we were there late one night, and it had been soaking in jalapenos all day. But, wow.

As for the drinks, the Terrazas Malbec and Torontes in Argentina scored well. The grapefruit, Oktoberfest and dunkel at the Brewer's Collection (Flight #1) drew us back several times, the Neige Sparkling Apple Ice Wine was surprisingly refreshing, and the Szarlotka in Poland, Soju slushy in South Korea, and Vegan Red Blend in Terra were really nice finds. The most surprising of all, we found a Greek wine we actually liked, the Siglas Assyrtiko.

And I still do not like Scotch, no matter how aged. I tried, but nope. Not going there again. That and the Singapore Sling I think were the only items that I would have spit out if I had not been in public.

 

[Bellamouse]

I noticed the craft kiosk was out of Dogfish Namaste on 10/30, and the CM said that was it for the rest of F&W.

Yes, we found this too - we were there 4 days last week and kept asking, just in case... But DH was very disappointed. This was a beer he was looking forward to trying as Josh (EasyWDW) recommended it very highly.

 

[RachelTori]

Heading home today.

We had a fabulous time, as always. The (champagne) French Regional lunch we did was wonderful! The Italian Regional lunch, unfortunately, was disappointing.

Lots of great food & beverages at the kiosks!

 

[JustTinking]

Heading home today.

We had a fabulous time, as always. The (champagne) French Regional lunch we did was wonderful! The Italian Regional lunch, unfortunately, was disappointing.

What made the Italian Regional lunch disappointing?

 

[RachelTori]

What made the Italian Regional lunch disappointing?

The food was "OK".
The service was "OK, bordering on rude. Certainly not on a level you would expect from a paid event".
The pours were "extremely stingy".

The one positive thing I can say is that the wines and food paired very well. Problem was, you had to determine that in 1 or 2 sips since that's all that was poured for you.

We (my party of 3) wanted to like it - we were excited to try it! - but it just wasn't worth $75 in our opinion....... hence, "disappointing".

YMMV

 

[VrBchJ]

The food was "OK".
The service was "OK, bordering on rude. Certainly not on a level you would expect from a paid event".
The pours were "extremely stingy".

The one positive thing I can say is that the wines and food paired very well. Problem was, you had to determine that in 1 or 2 sips since that's all that was poured for you.

We (my party of 3) wanted to like it - we were excited to try it! - but it just wasn't worth $75 in our opinion....... hence, "disappointing".

YMMV

My thoughts exactly. And I echo your observations about the French Regional Champagne lunch. It was our favorite event. We loved the food, service and most of all the Champagne!

 

[BwoZoo22]

My thoughts exactly. And I echo your observations about the French Regional Champagne lunch. It was our favorite event. We loved the food, service and most of all the Champagne!

Us too! That was one of our favorite events. Champagne Wayne was entertaining too.

 

[conandrob240]

Have they posted the 2014 dates yet?

 

[dahirsh]

The food was "OK".
The service was "OK, bordering on rude. Certainly not on a level you would expect from a paid event".
The pours were "extremely stingy".

The one positive thing I can say is that the wines and food paired very well. Problem was, you had to determine that in 1 or 2 sips since that's all that was poured for you.

We (my party of 3) wanted to like it - we were excited to try it! - but it just wasn't worth $75 in our opinion....... hence, "disappointing".

YMMV

Sorry to hear that. I've been to two and loved both.

 

[RunnerMomO]

We went to the French Regional lunch today, after staying up late last night running the half marathon. Maybe not the best idea as we were both feeling very drowsy at lunch with the lack of sleep and too much wine! But I want to give kudos to the management. I had stopped by the restaurant two weeks ago to ask they make a note that I don't eat fish to see if they could accommodate me.

Well we arrived at lunch today and I am so glad I did. Of our lunch, we had three courses that were fish! I would have been only left with bread, cheese and dessert. The substituted some really delicious dishes that I think were the envy of the table. I started with a butternut squash soup which was perfect and not too sweet. Then it was a blue cheese,pear and pecan salad (enormous). My main entree was a melt in your mouth beef tenderloin. My husband split it with me as he is not a fan of the salmon. So for a lunch I was quite worried about, it turned out well. The food was very good, but I think in the future, I will stick with meals with a little less wine...I just cant drink 5 glasses of wine! LOL.

 

[RachelTori]

My thoughts exactly. And I echo your observations about the French Regional Champagne lunch. It was our favorite event. We loved the food, service and most of all the Champagne!

Us too! That was one of our favorite events. Champagne Wayne was entertaining too.

With the glowing reviews it has gotten this year, I think the 2014 French Regional luncheon will be very hard to book!

Sorry to hear that. I've been to two and loved both.

The Italian Food & Wine Pairing from several years back is still one of my favorite paid events of all time! I was hoping to love the Italian Regional even more. We still enjoyed the event, but it was the table mates who made it enjoyable!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Party I over. See you next year. Already have my stay booked

 

[BwoZoo22]

Have they posted the 2014 dates yet?

No, but based on this year, I would guess Sept. 26 through Nov. 10.

 

[TDC Nala]

No, but based on this year, I would guess Sept. 26 through Nov. 10.

It could be November 9. Used to end on a Sunday until they started adding Monday in the last couple of years to accommodate the Veterans Day holiday. In 2014, Veterans Day is on Tuesday. Can't see them extending until Tuesday.

Also won't be going back to the Italian Regional. French, yes, but not champagne. I'd do the Via Napoli beer paring though if I could.

 

[PNO4TE]

The Italian Food & Wine Pairing from several years back is still one of my favorite paid events of all time! I was hoping to love the Italian Regional even more. We still enjoyed the event, but it was the table mates who made it enjoyable!

I agree with you 100%. (I was one of her tablemates. )

Our whole family was excited that they were doing an Italian Regional Lunch again and I assumed it would be on par with the pairing from a couple of years ago. Sadly it was not.

Now, in their defense, it is possible that we had one of the two "stingy pour luncheons". Our wine presenter did say that he had done two of these luncheons. We have friends who did another one of the Italian luncheons earlier in the week and she preferred it over the Champagne Frunch that she had also done. I wish they would designate what wines might be showcased, or let us know if it will be wines from smaller vineyards, which was the case in our lunch. If there is not enough wine to allow the consumer to try it with the food being paired, there is no way I would do it again.

I would do the Champagne as well as the Wines of Southern France Frunches again. The Champagne was by far the better of the two, in my opinion. But I am sure there are others who would disagree. My daughter thought the tuna entree served during the Southern version was one of the best dishes she has ever eaten.

As for the Italian Food and Beer Pairing... I cannot wait to do it again next year!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

No, but based on this year, I would guess Sept. 26 through Nov. 10.

I hope so. I booked the first week, not my favorite due to the heat issue, but it's the week prior to my AP expiration so....

Next year may be the first year in FOREVER I don't renew an AP. Just not pleased with the rest of the changes at Disney, but I still love the Food & Wine Festival

 

[BwoZoo22]

I hope so. I booked the first week, not my favorite due to the heat issue, but it's the week prior to my AP expiration so....

Next year may be the first year in FOREVER I don't renew an AP. Just not pleased with the rest of the changes at Disney, but I still love the Food & Wine Festival

It is Disney, things are likely to change by next year!