I spent Sunday and Monday at F&W this week. I go on the solo trip every year and have fine tuned it so that I can also spend time at the beach. Going on a Sunday and Monday vs. a Friday and Saturday like the past couple years made such a difference. Both days weren't crowded at all. There were short lines and places to sit down. It was great!
I should say I have a very small appetite, can't eat a lot, would rather be hungry than eat what I don't care for, never learned to like spicy food and and highly allergic to shellfish so avoid all seafood. I love to try new things but if I finished servings completely I would be too full for anything else so most everything wasn't finished which is how I tried so many different things. I also only carry a cell phone which doesn't take great pictures so I wasn't able to include pictures here.
I flew in Sunday morning, checked into the French Quarter and headed was at Epcot by 1:30. I stopped at the Argentina booth for an empanada and to Mexico to get a Avocado Marguerita to go with it. The empanada was very large and very good. I don't like avocado but have asked and was told other than the color you wouldn't know there was avocado in it. It was AMAZING! I would never have tried it without reading people rave about it here. Most times I don't agree with what people rave about here but this deserved all the praise. Can't wait to have it again.
Going in order of kiosks, I also tried the Natilla de Cajueta in Mexico which is caramel custard with caramel sauce. This tasted like a brown sugar caramel and was a pretty plain custard in a cup. There was no caramel sauce to be found. I didn't care for it but it wasn't bad, just not to my taste.
In China I tried 4 different things. The Mongolia Beef in a Steamed Bun which was good. The scallion was very difficult to bite into and the bun was bland but otherwise it was good. The potstickers were very good, basic potstickers with sauce. The chicken satay with peanut sauce and pickled peppers was cooked well, the chicken wasn't dry but the sauce was not what I expected. I think others like it but the sauce was strange to me. I also had the happy lychee with vodka which was very good. The vodka poured over the top made me think it would be strong but it was sweet and tasted mostly like lychee juice.
At Brewers Collection I tried the Schfferhofer Grapefruit. It was very good and tasted like grapefruit juice with a slight beer aftertaste.
In Germany I tried the Apple Strudel which is very good with apples, white raisins and caramel sauce. The dough is hard to cut but it's worth the effort. The Schinken Nudel is like an eggy mac and cheese with bits of ham, very good. It wasn't too cheesy yet it was still very rich.
I tried the Zapiekanki in Poland which is toasted mushroom, caramelized onion and cheese bread with a house-made ketchup. When I went to pick it up they asked if I wanted ketchup so I was able to ask for it on the side. I received the last, corner piece in the tray so I think that's why mine wasn't the best. The cheese was no longer melted, instead coagulated on top and didn't cover most of the corner piece. It had a thick layer of mushrooms and the ketchup had a good type of spicy. It was good but I think this could be great if it hadn't been under the heat lamp so long.
At Hops & Barley I had the Pumpkin Mouse which is very, very good and the Angry Orchard Hard Cider which taste like apple juice with a slight malt after taste, very good!
At Florida Local I tried the Corn Arepa and Pork Rillette. I was surprise the corn was cold with a vinegar based dressing, not to my taste but I think very good. I thought the rillette would have more of a flavor to it. It was very good but not what I was expecting based on other reviews. I also tried the white sangria, which was strong, sweet and good and the key limen which I loved and would get over and over again. It was key lime pie in a drink form.
In Japan I tried the Sukiyaki Beef Pan which is getting the best reviews. I am from Philly and to me it was a steak sandwich, on a small hot dog roll with teriyaki sauce squirted on it. This didn't work in so many ways. It was so soggy the but fell apart before it had a chance to get picked up. The bun was also dried out from being in the sun all day and it was just chipped steak with too sweet sauce. I didn't care for it at all.
The Belgium Waffle in Belgium is unbelievable again this year. The waffle is soft and perfect, the berries and whipped cream also amazing. I love this one!
I had the Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Macaroni last year and went for seconds. This year I received 3 chunks of dry dark meat, 1 pearl onion, 1 mushroom with cheeseless pinette pasta and a thin sauce. Maybe, if you never had it before this would be good but to me it was a disappointment. I also had the chocolate creme brulee which was very good with a perfect topping but a slightly too warm custard.
In Ireland I had the Meade Honey Wine which was surprisingly strong.
In Canada I had the filet which was surprisingly small (barely 2 bites), with very salty mushrooms and no sauce (it might have melted away). The next day when they first opened it was the same so maybe it's changed from what I saw in reviews. I've had it at Le Cellier and it was so, so much better. I also had the spicy chicken sausage with corn polenta. I loved this last year and had it more than once but this year it was much spicier. Still good but too spicy for me. I also tried the Ice Wine which is a very tiny pour and very strong.
I have read so much about the Griddle Cheese in Greece so I had to try it. I asked for it hot off the grill so it would be melted and still it wasn't for me. I love honey but that's all I tasted. There was crunch from pistachios but no flavor and the cheese was completely lost in the honey. I didn't care for the combination of flavors.
I saved the best for last or so I thought. I LOVED the desserts last year so I got all three this year. To me the Yogurt Panna Cotta had a good top layer, followed by plain yogurt with a strange orange cake at the bottom, the spicy chocolate mousse was so strange. I knew it was spicy with salted caramel but the 3 flavors together were terrible together. It was too salty, too spicy and the chocolate made it even stranger. The lemon and blueberry dessert was good but the lemon was very, very tart as were the blueberries. I tasted the 3 but it didn't go beyond a taste. I also tried the Nesquik foam which I also really, really didn't care for. It was really strange like the bubbles you get it you shake nesquik too much.
I also finally found the Festival Center which I was surprised to learn was so far away from everything. I tried the drinking chocolate at Giardelli's which was very good. I don't know if I would like the one at DTD better because it is made with milk and chips while this is made with water and cocoa powder. I think DTD would be too rich for me. I also found the Chase Lounge in the corner of Giardelli's. It was very small but a nice touch. It was filled 1st thing in the morning, I can understand how there could easily be a line to get in.
I love this trip every year and although it's a solo trip I met some really great people along the way, especially the guys I met when I was escaping the heat and drinking my marguerita in Mexico. It's really nice to escape and do just what you want for a couple days. I hope some of this is useful to those heading to F&W.
I should say I have a very small appetite, can't eat a lot, would rather be hungry than eat what I don't care for, never learned to like spicy food and and highly allergic to shellfish so avoid all seafood. I love to try new things but if I finished servings completely I would be too full for anything else so most everything wasn't finished which is how I tried so many different things. I also only carry a cell phone which doesn't take great pictures so I wasn't able to include pictures here.
I flew in Sunday morning, checked into the French Quarter and headed was at Epcot by 1:30. I stopped at the Argentina booth for an empanada and to Mexico to get a Avocado Marguerita to go with it. The empanada was very large and very good. I don't like avocado but have asked and was told other than the color you wouldn't know there was avocado in it. It was AMAZING! I would never have tried it without reading people rave about it here. Most times I don't agree with what people rave about here but this deserved all the praise. Can't wait to have it again.
Going in order of kiosks, I also tried the Natilla de Cajueta in Mexico which is caramel custard with caramel sauce. This tasted like a brown sugar caramel and was a pretty plain custard in a cup. There was no caramel sauce to be found. I didn't care for it but it wasn't bad, just not to my taste.
In China I tried 4 different things. The Mongolia Beef in a Steamed Bun which was good. The scallion was very difficult to bite into and the bun was bland but otherwise it was good. The potstickers were very good, basic potstickers with sauce. The chicken satay with peanut sauce and pickled peppers was cooked well, the chicken wasn't dry but the sauce was not what I expected. I think others like it but the sauce was strange to me. I also had the happy lychee with vodka which was very good. The vodka poured over the top made me think it would be strong but it was sweet and tasted mostly like lychee juice.
At Brewers Collection I tried the Schfferhofer Grapefruit. It was very good and tasted like grapefruit juice with a slight beer aftertaste.
In Germany I tried the Apple Strudel which is very good with apples, white raisins and caramel sauce. The dough is hard to cut but it's worth the effort. The Schinken Nudel is like an eggy mac and cheese with bits of ham, very good. It wasn't too cheesy yet it was still very rich.
I tried the Zapiekanki in Poland which is toasted mushroom, caramelized onion and cheese bread with a house-made ketchup. When I went to pick it up they asked if I wanted ketchup so I was able to ask for it on the side. I received the last, corner piece in the tray so I think that's why mine wasn't the best. The cheese was no longer melted, instead coagulated on top and didn't cover most of the corner piece. It had a thick layer of mushrooms and the ketchup had a good type of spicy. It was good but I think this could be great if it hadn't been under the heat lamp so long.
At Hops & Barley I had the Pumpkin Mouse which is very, very good and the Angry Orchard Hard Cider which taste like apple juice with a slight malt after taste, very good!
At Florida Local I tried the Corn Arepa and Pork Rillette. I was surprise the corn was cold with a vinegar based dressing, not to my taste but I think very good. I thought the rillette would have more of a flavor to it. It was very good but not what I was expecting based on other reviews. I also tried the white sangria, which was strong, sweet and good and the key limen which I loved and would get over and over again. It was key lime pie in a drink form.
In Japan I tried the Sukiyaki Beef Pan which is getting the best reviews. I am from Philly and to me it was a steak sandwich, on a small hot dog roll with teriyaki sauce squirted on it. This didn't work in so many ways. It was so soggy the but fell apart before it had a chance to get picked up. The bun was also dried out from being in the sun all day and it was just chipped steak with too sweet sauce. I didn't care for it at all.
The Belgium Waffle in Belgium is unbelievable again this year. The waffle is soft and perfect, the berries and whipped cream also amazing. I love this one!
I had the Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Macaroni last year and went for seconds. This year I received 3 chunks of dry dark meat, 1 pearl onion, 1 mushroom with cheeseless pinette pasta and a thin sauce. Maybe, if you never had it before this would be good but to me it was a disappointment. I also had the chocolate creme brulee which was very good with a perfect topping but a slightly too warm custard.
In Ireland I had the Meade Honey Wine which was surprisingly strong.
In Canada I had the filet which was surprisingly small (barely 2 bites), with very salty mushrooms and no sauce (it might have melted away). The next day when they first opened it was the same so maybe it's changed from what I saw in reviews. I've had it at Le Cellier and it was so, so much better. I also had the spicy chicken sausage with corn polenta. I loved this last year and had it more than once but this year it was much spicier. Still good but too spicy for me. I also tried the Ice Wine which is a very tiny pour and very strong.
I have read so much about the Griddle Cheese in Greece so I had to try it. I asked for it hot off the grill so it would be melted and still it wasn't for me. I love honey but that's all I tasted. There was crunch from pistachios but no flavor and the cheese was completely lost in the honey. I didn't care for the combination of flavors.
I saved the best for last or so I thought. I LOVED the desserts last year so I got all three this year. To me the Yogurt Panna Cotta had a good top layer, followed by plain yogurt with a strange orange cake at the bottom, the spicy chocolate mousse was so strange. I knew it was spicy with salted caramel but the 3 flavors together were terrible together. It was too salty, too spicy and the chocolate made it even stranger. The lemon and blueberry dessert was good but the lemon was very, very tart as were the blueberries. I tasted the 3 but it didn't go beyond a taste. I also tried the Nesquik foam which I also really, really didn't care for. It was really strange like the bubbles you get it you shake nesquik too much.
I also finally found the Festival Center which I was surprised to learn was so far away from everything. I tried the drinking chocolate at Giardelli's which was very good. I don't know if I would like the one at DTD better because it is made with milk and chips while this is made with water and cocoa powder. I think DTD would be too rich for me. I also found the Chase Lounge in the corner of Giardelli's. It was very small but a nice touch. It was filled 1st thing in the morning, I can understand how there could easily be a line to get in.
I love this trip every year and although it's a solo trip I met some really great people along the way, especially the guys I met when I was escaping the heat and drinking my marguerita in Mexico. It's really nice to escape and do just what you want for a couple days. I hope some of this is useful to those heading to F&W.
It is not really gross but not for me!
