Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2014

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival took place this year over the span of 53 days in September through November, with Wine & Dine happening on the final weekend of the Festival. The Food & Wine Festival lets festival goers sample dishes and drinks from a multitude of countries from around the globe. Most dishes seemed to average at about $4 each and drinks anywhere from around $3 for a tasting glass to under $10 for a beer flight. 

We spent the morning after the half marathon hiding under the covers and finally rolled in to Epcot in time for lunch. Luckily, it was only a 10 minute walk from the Yacht Club directly to the International Gateway entrance to Epcot. 

Our first stop was France.

I picked up the boeuf bourguignon (braised short ribs in cabernet with mashed potatoes) - $5.75

Next stop: Brazil

Here, we shared the Brazilian cheese bread (Pao de Queijo) - $3.25

While I headed to the Morocco booth, my sister and BIL waited in line at Belgium. We reconvened to share a few things. 

We split the Beer Flight from Belgium, which featured Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Leffe Blonde and Stella Artois Cidre - $9.25

From Morocco, we had the Spicy Shrimp Roll with cilantro and mint sauce - $5.00

Our final stop on this leg of tasting around the world was Ireland. 

We had what turned out to be two of my favorite dishes. First was the lobster and seafood fisherman's pie - $6.25

And the warm chocolate pudding with Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur custard - $3.50 

We took a break from the eating to ride Soarin' and meet some characters. Here are me and Mickey Mouse! 

Then it was promptly back to more food! I started at Greece for their Tzatziki martini featuring Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka and BOLS Natural Yoghurt Liquer - $7.75. It was a little watered down for my taste. 

We also visited Puerto Rico to share the Ensalada de carrucho (Caribbean conch salad with onion, tomato and cilantro) - $4.25. 

Also from Puerto Rico were tostones (fried green plantains) with mayo ketchup - $3.50 

We hit up the Refreshment Port for a croissant doughnut - $4.69 and a Dole Whip - $3.99. Despite growing up near Disneyland, I am embarrassed to admit that this was my first Dole Whip. It was tasty but not as tasty as the doughnut. That thing was addictive. We actually went back at the end of the night and ordered three doughnuts to take home for breakfast the next morning. Yum!

Our second leg of eating ended with some disappointing dishes. From Scotland was the overcooked seared sea scallop with spinach-cheddar gratin and crispy bacon - $4.50

And from Canada was the Canadian cheddar cheese soup - $4.25. I read so much about this dish that I was really excited to taste it, but unfortunately, it looked and had the consistency of white gravy. 

Another break from eating was in order. We rode Mission: Space and spent some time in the Festival Center, where there was a Ghirardelli Chocolate booth that was showcasing Disney character scenes made entirely of chocolate!

Chocolate Toy Story scene

They were also selling food-themed artwork. Honestly, I think Remy and Emil should be the Food & Wine mascots instead of Mickey!

As our night wound down, we still had a few eats to cross off our list. As we entered World Showcase, we made a stop at the Craft Beers pavilion to try their house-made country pate with pickled carrots and farmhouse bread - $3.75.

I made a non-Food-and-Wine-Festival-related request to stop at the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway. 

They ran out of Schoolbread so I tried the Lefse (potato flatbread rolled with sweet cinnamon butter) instead. 

Nope, still not done eating yet! We stopped by South Korea and picked up one tasty dish and one disappointing dish. The tasty one was the roasted pork lettuce wrap with kimchi slaw - $3.75

Not so tasty was the Kimchi dog with spicy mustard sauce - $4.00. So not worth it!

At this time of night and from the World Showcase, we were afforded a gorgeous view of Spaceship Earth! 

We still weren't quite done for the night, so we stopped by the Brewers' Collection for a beer flight consisting of: Radeberger Pilsner, BraufactuM Colonia, BraufactuM Palor and Schofferhofer Grapefruit - $9.25

While we enjoyed our beers, we shared the Kielbasa and potato pierogi with caramelized onions and sour cream from Poland. 

Then it was off to the Chase Lounge located on the third floor of the American Adventure Pavilion. Access to the Lounge is an exclusive benefit for Disney Visa cardholders, my sister is one. The Lounge is a beautiful space to relax. There was complimentary drinks, charging stations, lots of seating and even video games. Perfect place to rest our feet for a little while. 

Our final stop for the night was back to France, where we visited L'Artisan des Glaces for a chocolate macaron ice sandwich. Yum!  

The night ended back at the Yacht Club, where we enjoyed the fireworks from our balcony.

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival was the perfect way to spend the day after our wet and wild Wine & Dine Half Marathon! If you ever get a chance to attend, you will be sure to have plenty of eats and drinks to choose from.