We just got back. I've been gone to every Epcot festival since 2011 or so. And I have to say, this festival is top 5 in terms of the quality of the food. We had 18 items today, and 16 of the 18 were good or better, with most being very good. Only two items were busts.
You'll find my rankings below, followed by photos of the items.
Great
- House Made Chorizo and Potato Empanada (Vibrante & Vivido) - 10.0 - One of the best empanadas I've ever had. Absolutely loaded with chorizo and potatoes, and the aiolis kept it from being at all dry.
- Opera Cake (Pastoral Palate) - 9.0 - Just as good as last year. My wife's favorite item at the festival. Very sweet and smooth textured.
- Passion Fruit Mousse (Vibrante & Vivido) - 9.0 - Loved everything about this. It was sweet, fruity, cold, and smooth.
Very Good
- Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib (Pastoral Palate) - 8.5 - Same as last year. Extremely tender meat, and delicious vegetables.
- General Tso's Chicken Shumai (The Painted Panda) - 8.5 - Not quite as good as the previous Spicy Beef Shumai, but still very good. I love the sweet cucumbers.
- Pistachio Cake (The Artist's Table) - 8.5 - Exactly the same as previous years. Basically three different small desserts, all of which are good.
- Huarache Verde (El Artista Hambriento) - 8.0 - The huarache was much better (and softer) than previous years. The pork was tender and juicy.
- Deconstructed French Onion Soup (The Deconstructed Dish) - 8.0 - Everything went together well. I could eat a full order of the onion bread pudding by itself.
- Deconstructed Key Lime Pie (The Deconstructed Dish) - 8.0 - Beautiful and tasty. I did probably enjoy the strawberry cheesecake from previous years even more.
- Spicy Ajiaco Soup (Vibrante & Vivido) - 8.0 - Could have been hotter. Otherwise, very good with lots of chicken and potatoes. Kind of spicy.
- Vanilla Donut (The Donut Box) - 8.0 - Way better than I expected based on the boring name. The vanilla glaze was delicous, and all of the strawberry stuff was very good.
- Coconut and Passion Fruit Smoothie (Vibrante & Vivido) - 8.0 - Very sweet, but very delicious. Almost tasted like a pina colada.
- Pan-Seared Scallops (The Artist's Table) - 8.0 - I've always that the Epcot festival scallops were overrated, but these were good. We got two large scallops, whereas in previous years we usually got one decent sized one, or two tiny ones.
Good
- Wild Boar Cassoulet (Pastoral Palate) - 7.5 - The boar sausage was definitely the worst part of this dish. It was very bland. Everything else was very good.
- Blood Orange-Braised Beet Carpaccio (Gourmet Landscapes) - 7.5 - I wouldn't have ordered this if it hadn't been on the Colorful Cuisine Walk. I'm glad it was, because I liked it much more than I thought I would. The mustard aioli went very well with the beets.
- Carne Asada (El Artista Hambriento) - 7.5 - Nothing especially notable about this. Just solid Carne Asada .
Mediocre
- Roasted Bone Marrow (Gourmet Landscapes) - 4.0 - Ours didn't even have enough to fill one piece of bread. It also had a strange fruity taste.
Bad
- Swilled Dog Sangria Hard Cider (Tangierine Cafe) - 1.0 - Bitter and not sweet at all. Tasted kind of like rubbing alcohol.
Now the pictures!
House Made Chorizo and Potato Empanada
Opera Cake
Passion Fruit Mousse
Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib
General Tso's Chicken Shumai
Pistachio Cake
Huarache Verde
Deconstructed French Onion Soup
Deconstructed Key Lime Pie
Spicy Ajiaco Soup
Coconut and Passion Fruit Smoothie
Pan-Seared Scallops
Blood Orange-Braised Beet Carpaccio
Carne Asada
Roasted Bone Marrow
Swilled Dog Sangria Hard Cider
We also finished the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine. The reward was a cookie and a berry smoothie.