The day has finally arrived and the EPCOT Festival of the Arts is officially here! And we’re HERE trying out all the amazing food now available at the food studios!

We’re not going to lie — the El Artista Hambriento (The Hungry Artist) Food Studio in Mexico is always one of our favorites, and this year’s menu did NOT disappoint! SO much spice. So much chocolate mousse. So much goodness.

Food

For starters, there’s an ALL NEW menu here this year!

And we started by chowing down on the Chile Relleno, which is Fried Poblano Pepper filled with Flank Steak, Black Beans and Tomatoes drizzled with a Poblano Cream Sauce. You get all this for the price of $7.25! 

This dish is SPICY and we loved it! It’s rare to find a dish loaded with spice at Disney World and this one turned up the heat! Prepare yourself with a cup of water (or a margarita) before diving into this dish. The flank steak and beans were seasoned well and added a rich flavor to the overall taste. The creamy poblano sauce tames the heat a bit and adds balance to the pepper. You can ask for extra sauce if you don’t love the amount of spice!

Then it was on to the Pork Belly Pastor. This is Pastor-marinated Pork Belly atop Boniato Purée with Charred Pineapple and Crispy Cilantro.

While the Chile Relleno piled on the flavor, the Pork Belly Pastor left us wanting more. More flavor, more spice, more anything really. The meat itself was tender and good! It just needed to be leveled up with seasoning or saltiness.

We also think the boniato purée could have been better if a standard potato was used. The sweet potatoes and pineapple chunks added too much sweetness to the dish. Plus, the sauce came across like seasoned ketchup. We might have enjoyed a savory sauce to balance out the sweetness. The dish is $7.50.

It’s time for dessert! And that’s where the Taco de Chocolate comes in. Seriously, you had us at CHOCOLATE TACO. It’s a Chocolate Candy Shell filled with Mexican Chocolate Mousse with a touch of Chile topped with Tropical Fruit.

Whoa. We really like this one. The combination of spice from the chile, the sweet fruit, and the rich flavors from Mexican chocolate mousse were fantastic.  *chef kiss* So good! The spice isn’t overwhelming. It’s just a nice little kick to give the mousse some flavor.

Mix a bite of the fruit with the chocolate together and it’s to die for. YAS. The dessert is $6.

Drinks

But wait, there’s more! Because there new drinks this year too!

But of course, WE ARE HERE FOR THE MARGARITAS. The first we tried was the Diego Pomegranate Margarita. This is made with Ojo de Tigre Mezcal, Pomegranate-Prickly Pear Juice, Blackcurrant Liqueur, and Rose Petal Liqueur with a Hibiscus Salt Rim. Yeah, baby!

There is a lot of fruit and floral flavors in this drink and we loved how it complements the Tigre Mezcal. We enjoyed this marg more than the other two drinks at this kiosk. It’s a smooth cocktail without a strong, apparent taste of booze. The rim is piled high with the hibiscus salt and we were here for it! We liked the super salty rim, but if you prefer, you can ask for the drink without salt. The margarita is $14.25.

But this is an ART festival, so we had to try the Frida Kahlo-inspired Frida Carrot Margarita with Casa Noble Blanco Tequila, Carrot Juice, Ginger Cordial, Lime Juice, and Agave Nectar. This is definitely a unique blend of flavors!

The margarita comes with an artsy lemongrass bubble that’s meant to be an Instagram-worthy decoration. Unfortunately, it was a little windy so we just managed to get a pic before the bubble blew away! Guard your marg against the wind if you want that perfect shot.

This is definitely a drink for people who like the taste of carrots! It’s absolutely the dominant taste in this drink. We happened to like carrots so it tasted great to us. In fact, we wanted more of a carrot taste! It’s also pretty boozy (another rarity at Disney) so be prepared to taste the tequila. The margarita is $14.50.

We ended our adventure with the Mexican Craft Beer, which is a Tulum Artisanal Lager with Citrus notes and made with Mexican Caribbean Seawater. Sounds interesting, right?

Well, it sounded interesting but ended up tasting fairly basic. That’s really not a bad thing though! It’s a smooth Mexican lager that beer-drinkers would enjoy. It’s a good choice for those of you who would rather choose a beverage that isn’t sweet or too adventurous.

There were three big hits for us at El Artista: the Chile Relleno dish, the Taco de Chocolate, and the Diego Pomegranate Margarita. Pair these three items together and you’ve got a great meal! EPCOT’s Mexico always knows how to bring the fiesta to the festival with tons of unique flavors, inspired by that country. So be sure to stop by and sample their delicious foods and drinks for yourself!

2021 EPCOT Festival of the Arts – Booths, Menus, and FOOD PHOTOS

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What’s your favorite Festival of the Arts food? Let us know in the comments!

The post Review! Mexico Brings the HEAT to EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts 🌶️🚨 first appeared on the disney food blog.