Visit #2
Went back again tonight. Since we had already scoped things out, we were hoping to enjoy the cooler temperatures with some warmer food (in the past, we thought we hadn’t enjoyed the F&W so much because a lot of the food offerings seem to be “cooler weather foods”). One thing we hadn’t counted on… the wind (haven’t mentioned yet that Nick really really dislikes wind and Nora really dislikes it too).
Entered through the International Gateway at the back of the park and headed over the bridge toward France right away. Nothing was really grabbing me and Nick was just chilly…
Finally, at the booth for Vienna, Germany I found something to try – Paprika Beef Stew & Bacon Dumpling – every bit of the beef, except my last morsel, was very tender and flavorful; nicely spiced, it had a bit of a zing to it, but not enough to put off most people (I guess); the bacon dumpling = eh… I was expecting something more along the lines of a boiled biscuit with bacon or at least some sort of boiled/stewed dough product containing bacon; nope, this was a grilled nugget of bread-type stuff, very bland, could have benefited from some onions or garlic IMO. Nick doesn’t like paprika , so none of this went too him. Me, I probably wouldn’t get this again.
We met a lovely couple at the pool bar last night – he said that Buenos Aires, Argentina had the best food – and he claimed to have tried everything at F&W. So, we walked around World Showcase, looking, smelling, watching a little bit of cooking going on (and I mean that literally*). When we got around to the Buenos Aires booth, decided to be adventurous and order both of their offerings; we were comforted somewhat by the long line here (have I mentioned that the crowds just weren’t? crowds that is).
Buenos Aires, Argentina – Beef Empanada with Tomato Salsa & Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree – both were good. The skewer sampling contained good components, but I felt that they were better separate than all together in one bite. Beef was warm, almost hot, and freshly grilled. The chimichurri was herby & spicy with a hint of some sourness. The boniato puree most closely resembled lumpy mashed potato (yum). The beef empanada was a bigger hit with both of us – nicely spiced, very tasty, and not soggy; the tomato salsa that was paired with it wasn’t your regular Pace Picante Salsa, the tomato flavor really came through with a hint of sour. Don’t think we’d go out of our way to get these at WDW again, but the empanada could be a snack at some point, especially if the weather is chilly.
To finish off our evening, we stopped at the beer stand in the UK pavilion and got 2 Bass Ales. Always yummy. Sat and enjoyed these, decided we were done for the night, and left Epcot to return again.
Nora
* one complaint we have with the Epcot Food & Wine Festival – it’s supposed to be a “festival”… so… why isn’t all the food “street food” or at least the majority? why is so much of it like bad buffet food? it seemed really difficult to find something that wasn’t pre-prepared and just sitting there getting “stale” – not appetizing…
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