REVIEW: Florida Fresh Debuts One of the Worst Dishes We’ve Ever Had at an EPCOT Booth for the 2023 Flower & Garden Festival

While the Florida Fresh outdoor kitchen has been missing from the festival for the past two years, it makes its return for the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. This booth takes everyday vegetables and proteins and elevates them with citrus ingredients.

florida fresh fg 2023 booth 1

Menu for Florida Fresh at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

FloridaFresh FlowerandGarden MenuBoard2023

Food:

  • 🆕Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with Savory Garlic Spread and Spicy Corn Chips (Plant-Based) – $5.75
  • Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with Savory Garlic Spread and Plant-Based Cotija Cheese (Plant-Based) – $5.75
  • 🆕 Blackened Fish Slider with Roasted Tomatoes, Watercress and Citrus Remoulade on Brioche – $6.75
  • Watermelon Salad with Blueberries, Pickled Red Onions, Balsamic and Feta – $4.75
  • 🆕 Florida Strawberry Shortcake – $4.75

Beverages:

  • Cucumber Watermelon Slushy (non-alcoholic) – $4.75
  • Cucumber Watermelon Slushy with Gin – $12.50

The Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with Savory Garlic Spread and Plant-Based Cotija Cheese previously appeared at Flavor Full Kitchen in 2022. The Watermelon Salad was last seen at Festival Favorites in 2021, while it adds blueberries to its recipe.

Photos of Menu Items from Florida Fresh at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

florida fresh fg 2023 food 1

*NEW* Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with Savory Garlic Spread and Spicy Corn Chips – $5.75

grilled street corn on the cob spicy corn chips 1

The corn isn’t as juicy as just a really good piece of corn.

grilled street corn on the cob spicy corn chips 2

The spicy chips taste like spicy crushed-up Doritos. Weirdly, the chips give off both heat and a salt and vinegar flavor.

grilled street corn on the cob spicy corn chips 3

There’s also a Tabasco-like taste because of the vinegar undertone, as well as a touch of garlic. The spice is honestly overwhelming. It’s too much of one thing overpowering something else.

grilled street corn on the cob spicy corn chips 5

To sum it up, it’s like spicy Doritos crunched up on corn. It’s not bad, but we don’t think we’d get it again

Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with Savory Garlic Spread and Plant-Based Cotija Cheese – $5.75

7627784E A9A1 4B45 A1E5 3D521033630F

The seasoning on this corn on the cob is good, but nothing special. Corn on the cob is usually street food for fairs and flea markets, so it feels like there was a lack of effort/ingenuity in creating this for the booth. At the end of the day this is just… corn. At least it takes a good photo.

*NEW* Blackened Fish Slider – $6.75

with Roasted Tomatoes, Watercress and Citrus Remoulade on Brioche

blackened fish slider 1

We were impressed by this.

blackened fish slider 2

The tomato is phenomenal. It has a great roasted flavor. It might overpower everything a little bit, but it’s really good.

blackened fish slider 5

The fish is well seasoned. The perfect bite would have the tomato, fish, and bread.

blackened fish slider 3

The sauce is good. It tastes like a flavored mayonnaise, reminiscent of a thousand island dressing, and it’s not extremely spicy.

blackened fish slider 4

This is worth a try.

Watermelon Salad – $4.75

with Blueberries, Pickled Red Onions, Balsamic, and Feta

festival-favorites-food-18

This is basically the beet salad from previous years. It’s still good, though we preferred to the beets to the watermelon. The watermelon tastes fresh and is bursting with flavorful juices. This is a healthy and refreshing dish for the hotter months.

*NEW* Florida Strawberry Shortcake – $4.75

florida fresh strawberry shortcake 1

The shortcake proved to be much harder than we thought it would be.

florida fresh strawberry shortcake 2

It’s very crunchy, because it’s far too hard. It tastes like a stale cookie.

florida fresh strawberry shortcake 3

The whipped cream is almost flavorless. It has too much salt; we don’t even feel like we’ve eaten a dessert. Salty but sweet can work, but this is on the opposite end of the spectrum.  It’s stale, hard, and gross.

florida fresh strawberry shortcake 4

This is one of the worst items we’ve had in 16 years of reviewing festivals. We could make this better at home.

Cucumber Watermelon Slushy with Gin – $12.50

IMG 6447

Super light and refreshing, this is the perfect drink for your afternoon at EPCOT. Expect a natural watermelon flavor with a subtle cucumber aftertaste. The gin doesn’t overpower the drink and serves to bring out the flavor of the watermelon.

Location of Florida Fresh at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Florida Fresh is located on World Showcase Plaza, near Disney Traders. You can find it at number 7 on the map below.

2023 FG Booth Map

The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival will be running from March 1 to July 5, 2023.

Florida is one of the world’s largest producers of citrus, which makes sense why these particular dishes would find their home at the Florida Fresh booth. Did you like these dishes, or are you more of a fan of savory and sweet flavors?

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.

The post REVIEW: Florida Fresh Debuts One of the Worst Dishes We’ve Ever Had at an EPCOT Booth for the 2023 Flower & Garden Festival appeared first on WDW News Today.