There’s so many good options at the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival when it comes to food, but which is worth your time, money, and calories? We’re reviewing all the food at this festival for 2021. Here’s part 2 of our ultimate taste test, conducted by Chrissy and her team. You can read part 1 here.
La Isla Fresca
Note: This booth overall gets a “Skip! Skip! Skip!” rating from our team.
- Lamb Curry with Sweet Plantains and Rice – $6.25. The sauce had a strong curry flavor and the lamb was well cooked, but the dish was nothing special and not worth the double loop line to get to the register.
- Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut-Lime Sauce – $7.00. The shrimp was barely cooked, as in seconds after it was technically done, they popped it on the plate. The flavor was okayish but this is full AVOID for our team.
- Mousse Cup: Layers of Passion Fruit Cake, Coconut Mousse, and a Tropical Fruit Glaze with Fresh Pineapple – $4.50. This was fine. It’s pretty and tropical like the name says, but it’s forgettable and not worth the $4.50.
Fleur de Lys
- Tarte aux Oignons Caramélisés et Chèvre: Goat Cheese Tart with Caramelized Onions on a Flaky Pastry Crust – $5.50. This is one of those dishes that you taste and think you can actually make yourself! Sweet onion flavor, and even though it’s not enormous, it’s substantial enough to share. This is the dish you smell when you get within 20 feet of the kitchen. It’s almost better than the cookie smell they pump out on Main Street because you can walk right up to the kitchen and order the source of the smell!
- Canard Confit à l’Orange aux Gnocchi à la Parisienne: Braised Duck Confit à l’Orange with Parisian Gnocchi – $6.50. The duck was delightful and the gnocchi had a great flavor, but was overcooked. The sauce on the duck was just what you think you’d get from a French food festival – rich and delicious!
- Macaron au Chocolate en Sucette: Large Chocolate Macaron Lollipop – $5.95. This is one of my favorites from the whole festival! $5.95 is a steal for something this fun. This is a great one for the Instagram folks, it’s not too sweet, and the dark chocolate isn’t too strong so it’s wonderful for kids. Lots of love for this one!
- Beignet Caramélisé, Fourré Crème Vanille, Glacé au Caramel Fleur de Sel: Caramelized Beignet Filled with Vanilla Cream and Glazed with Caramel Fleur de Sel – $5.25. She isn’t pretty, but she sure is delicious. Enormous, fluffy, sweet, heavenly goodness. This one alone is worth the wait in line and the $5.25.
Festival Favorites / World Showplace
- Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions, Feta, and Balsamic Reduction – $4.25. As someone who loves anything pickled, this was my jam! Sweet watermelon, salty and deep balsamic dressing, slightly pickled onions. I will for sure go back for this.
- Beef Brisket Burnt Ends and Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Garlic Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue, and House-Made Pickle – $7.50.We want less bun, more burnt ends! The bread was good, but not necessary. The presentation is just so awesome – the pickle is a tiny bit sweet and wonderful. No one flavor was overwhelming but it all worked – We especially loved the fondue!
- Fried Green Tomatoes with Blue Crab-Fennel Salad, Remoulade, and Smoked Paprika Oil – $6.25. The tomatoes were perfect and tender and the breading was crunchy and wonderful but the crab-fennel salad was odd. Fennel is one of those things, like cilantro, that everyone has strong feelings about. This isn’t my flavor profile, but I can say the tomatoes were good!
- Key Lime Tart with Toasted Meringue – $4.75. This is at the booth because it’s a favorite! It looks just the same as in years past and is just as good!
Farmers Feast – World Showplace
Note: The festival menu for this booth with rotate throughout the season.
- Spring Onion Soup with Crispy Shallots and Micro Chive – $4.75. Meh – this one was totally forgettable. It’s just soup in a bowl with a little bit of garnish and it wasn’t good enough to remember.
- Duck Confit with Carrot Purée, Roasted Root Vegetables, Rainbow Chard, and Duck Jus – $7.25. This was fine but the duck in France is way better! Walk over the bridge to France instead of getting this one. Although the duck wasn’t special, the veggies sure were! I loved them – salty and perfectly done.
- Off the “Beet”en Path: Profiteroles with Red Beet Mousse, Golden Beet Pastry Cream, Whipped Goat Cheese Cream, and Candied Walnuts – $5.50. This was my honorable mention for the festival! I love profiteroles and was for sure expecting to hate this because I do not generally love beets, but this was just amazing. Gold medal to the chef that managed to pull this off! It tasted like a regular profiterole but different and special. The whipped goat cheese cream and the golden beet pastry cream were so very wonderful! This would be one of those dishes that I would buy for visiting families or friends that I was taking to the festival. This is the reason you go to food festivals – to try special things you have never had or even thought of!
Northern Bloom / Canada
Note: No shocker but this was a big hit with our picky eaters! The best part is there were no price changes from last year!
- Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Applewood-Smoked Bacon – $7.00. The scallops were cooked beautifully and the brown butter vinaigrette was yummy – just like always. Not a huge portion but worth the $7.00.
- Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, and Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables – $6.75. We could have easily ordered and eaten five of these. Just get an extra one when you order because you’ll need it. There is a reason the line in Canada is always steady. Also, this dish has been the same price since 2018!
- Griddled Maple Pound Cake with Warm Peach Compote and Sweet Corn Gelato – $4.75. Another one that I won’t ever just get one of. Simple and delicious just like always.
- Maple Popcorn Shake – $4.50. Why do they have this? Even the teenager in our group thought it was gross. Too thick and too sweet. Not nearly cold enough. Skip!
Stay tuned for the next in the series of food reviews from the 2021 EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival!
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