FOOD AND WINE - changes

[sheflys]

We have been fans of this event for 8 years. But are finding the prices getting higher and higher and the portions getting smaller and smaller. Plus, many of the old favorites have been replaced with less substantial items.

For anyone who loves lobster...skip paying $6.75 for the Maine lobster roll at the US booth. After living in Maine for over 50 years and eating hundreds, maybe thousands of lobster rolls, this one is WAY OFF THE MARK. Pickles are mixed into the meat and all you can taste is a pickle sandwich...the delicate flavor of the lobster is totally lost. The chef who came up with this combination didn't do his homework.

 

[okeydokey]

I know what you mean. I came up with a tentative list of what we may want to sample, and it's just too much money for not enough substance. I think we'll actually do lunch somewhere instead and just get a dessert or two (or three) to share.

 

[BigBlackDisneyMan]

We have been fans of this event for 8 years. But are finding the prices getting higher and higher and the portions getting smaller and smaller. Plus, many of the old favorites have been replaced with less substantial items.

For anyone who loves lobster...skip paying $6.75 for the Maine lobster roll at the US booth. After living in Maine for over 50 years and eating hundreds, maybe thousands of lobster rolls, this one is WAY OFF THE MARK. Pickles are mixed into the meat and all you can taste is a pickle sandwich...the delicate flavor of the lobster is totally lost. The chef who came up with this combination didn't do his homework.

NO! I was looking forward to trying this. I should have known the guy from Atlanta who was telling me these were so great had no idea. Are they worse than the ones from McDonalds?

 

[thunderbug548]

We noticed some of the stuff wasn't as good this year either. This is from my blog last night.

New Zealand-
Lamb Slider (Roasted Lamb with Mustard Sauce on a toasted roll) The roll wasn't toasted and the mustard sauce had no tang to it, much less flavor. The lamb was very good though.
Kiwi and Custard Roll- dh and the boys liked it. It was much too mushy for me. The flavor was okay though.

Greece-
Greek Salad with Pita Bread- this wasn't as good as last year. Not enough olives in it. Logan(5) liked it though. It didn't have a lot of onions this year though which to me is a huge plus!
Spanakopita (Savory Spinach and Cheese Pastry) this wasn't as good as last year either. Not enough cheese to it.
Karydopita (Walnut and Coffee Cake) it was good- reminded us of carrot cake without the icing

France-
Quiche au Fromage de Chèvre (Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche) This was very tasty. I didn't care for the sun dried tomato on top personally, but dh loved it.
Coupe de Sorbets (Champagne, Framboise and Chocolat Blanc-Champagne, Raspberry and White Chocolate Sorbet ) Yum!! This came in a glass like a trifle- all layered together. You could try each individually or the 3 together. Either way this was good. Even the champagne flavored one was delish!

Oklahoma- Route 66
Pecan Pie- dh loved it. I'm an okay fan of pecan pie in general but it's never my 1st pick. It was good though
Peach Buckle- dh loved this one even more. It was like a pie but the crust seemed to be like a thick shortbread. Needed more peaches IMO.

Turkey-
Meze (Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Eggplant Puree and Turkish Black Olives with Pita Bread)- the salad part was okay and dh ate the olives but we both thought the eggplant puree was nasty!!
Manti- (Spiced Beef Ravioli with Yogurt and Paprika Butter) this would have been better without the meat in it IMO. Not something I'd get again.

India-
Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Paratha Bread- dh enjoyed this but I didn't care for it. Needed salt or something. Bread tasted like stale pita bread.
Samosa with Tamarind Sauce (Spicy Pea and Potato Pastry) I really liked this one. I wish the tamarind sauce had been warmed up though. It was ice cold. Dh enjoyed this as well.
Indian Rice and Coconut Pudding- Everyone liked it. Very creamy, great flavors!

Ireland-
Chilled Potato Leek Soup with an Irish Cheddar Cheese Stick- YUM!! I wasn't sure about cold soup but this was very good!!
Boxty Potato Pancake - with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic and Fresh Herb Butter- Won't get this again. I didn't expect it to be filled with some kind of veggie too. I expected something very different. The potato pancake itself was okay as was the butter.
Irish Cheese Plate and Brown Bread with Apple Chutney and Kerrygold Irish Butter- Dh ate this and liked it. The boys loved the chutney. It was too syrupy sweet for me. The butter was well... butter!

There were a lot of new culinary displays to see as well as new entertainment and crafters. They seem to have stepped it up a bit this year. If you have a chance to go you should! I'm going again on Saturday with a gf this time (no kids! ) and will try more!

 

[CarolA]

I was there yesterday and was actually very impressed. I thought that a lot of the "portions" were bigger then last year. (There is a TON of crab salad on the offering in Peru and I got about five or six shrimp in the Dominican Republic offering) The only change I am disappointed in was the elimiantion of the sour creme on the Piergoles in Poland. All the other repeats I tried (Canada cheese soup, Mexico) seemed to be the same as last year. I understand folks get upset when thier favs disappear, but I think it's good to have new stuff.

The move to the Wonders of Life Pavilion for the tastings means I did not MELT waiting to see if I was going to get into a wine seminar (I was near the cut off in line. Last year I would have bailed, this year I waited and got in)

I feel like this year's festival is a huge step above last years. The Peru and Domincan Rebublic displays have all kinds of cool stuff going on!

(Haven't tried the lobster roll yet. If I do I will post my review, but IMHO it wasn't that good last year. LOL!)

 

[sympatico]

Shelfys, I know what you mean about the lobster rolls. I'm from Nova Scotia and my husband is a lobster fisherman and we have lobster a lot. I hate it when you go somewhere and they mix stuff in with the lobster, even celery or lettuce ( never seen the pickle addition before ) Our idea of a good lobster sandwich or roll is lobster meat and miracle whip or mayo. Who wants to taste pickles or something else when you're eating lobster.
We'll be in Epcot in a couple of weeks so I'll remember to avoid the lobster rolls.

 

[CanadianGuy]

This really belongs on the Dining & Restaurants board.. and as such I'm moving it over there.

Thanks!

Knox

 

[MickeyNicki]

I agree, the last 2 years the F&W is big on price and low on portion...we leave on Thursday for another go at it.

We grew up on lobster rolls in NE and it was alot of meat, a little mayo and seasonings on a split top bun

 

[budbeerlady]

Thanks for the review everyone, I cannot wait to try them (or avoid them)

 

[cdtommie]

Higher prices every year...no surprise when it comes to Disney I guess...It's a shame they don't have the beer tasting at the UK anymore (not that any of the selections in the past were particularly interesting but hey, it was free beer).

Looks like they have expanded their wine choices this year but nothing for the craft beer drinkers and Disney certainly continues to be way behind the craft trend...the same boring selection at the countries this year (and Beck's has taken over the Germany pavilion again - Lowenbrau O'fest was a much better choice).

 

[PatriciaH]

Higher prices every year...no surprise when it comes to Disney I guess...It's a shame they don't have the beer tasting at the UK anymore (not that any of the selections in the past were particularly interesting but hey, it was free beer).

InBev did the "Great Beers of the World" tasting last year but now InBev products are distributed by Bush. They have their products at Sea World.

 

[cdtommie]

It's a shame Disney couldn't have done something on a smaller scale such as incorporate a few brewers into the wine seminars. I just think there is so much corporate money thrown at them by AB that they just don't care...look how many of their bars/restaurants only have Bud and Bud Lite on tap...some choice!

 

[dznymom1]

I was on a mini-F&W trip last week. Overall I didn't think the prices were that much higher than last year and most of what I tried was good. I agree that it is good to have some new things to try year to year, and for the most part I didn't shed any tears about the changes. I wouldn't have minded more chocolate stuff, though! The Lobster Roll, however, was disappointing and I don't recommend spending the money on it. It certainly wasn't like any lobster roll I have ever had in New England, and I have eaten more than my share!

I will be back again next week for my Full Fledged F&W experience and will post more.