For the third year in a row, we’re back for EPCOT’s best festival, the Festival of the Arts! Unlike previous years, this one was more like an ice festival. Temperatures were in the 40’s with real feels in the 30’s, and with rain to boot! That didn’t dampen our spirits… or our appetites though! We had a great time and think you will too.
Like all of EPCOT’s festivals the Festival of the Arts is a celebration of culinary beauty and delights. And we sampled our fair share of gastronomical offerings. Festival booths were the single biggest line item on this years budget. Almost all of the dishes were great, some were exceptional, one was not very good at all. Some were light on value whereas some weren’t to be missed. The Festival of the Arts is so much more than food and drink though. With art installations, Broadway musical renditions, and hands on experiences this is one of EPCOT’s very best. Unfortunately, the exceptionally cold weather and rain made it difficult to appreciate all the festival has to offer. We still had a great time though, read on for the best of what the Festival had to offer.
We primarily experience EPCOT festivals through food and drink. One of our favorite things to do is spend way too much money on small plates from each booth as a never ending meal while we make our way around the World Showcase. The art booths are probably the star of the festival though. Often you’ll find artists posted up in booths doing meet and greets and signing art work from fans. Very cool of them to do that, especially when it’s 40 degrees and rainy!
Our review is going to focus on the food and drink offerings we indulged in over our two days in EPCOT. There were some returning favorites from pervious years and some new dishes thrown in as well. The food quality at this festival is generally superb and this year was no different. We didn’t love everything, but most things were better than average. So lets dive in.
We spent the morning of our first EPCOT day experiencing the attractions in World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature. As we sauntered towards World Showcase our bellies were grumbling and I was ready for lunch, or whatever you would call a meal that starts around Noon and ends when you go to sleep that night. We started at the Craftman’s Courtyard booth located along the walkway between the Imagination Pavilion and World Showcase. I had my eye on the “Beef Wellington-inspired Croissant Supreme with creamed spinach croissant pinwheel, mushroom-gorgonzola ragout, mustard-grilled flank steak, red wine sauce, and pickled mustard seeds” for $8.50. Here’s what it looked like:
This was a fairly substantial serving with four decent sides cuts of Beef over a hearty creamed spinach pinwheel croissant. It was steaming slightly but unfortunately the air quickly cooled the dish so that we struggled to find a truly warm bite. Ultimately, this capped the ceiling for this dish. It really needed to be warm on this cold day. That’s not exactly Disney’s fault, but they probably could have found a way to make sure the dish was hotter when served to guests to give it a fighting chance. That isn’t to say this wasn’t good thought. It was. The parts worked nicely together and the beef was quiet tender even though it wasn’t tenderloin like in a traditional Wellington. I would actually rate this higher than the Wellington served from this booth in previous years. It was a more interested dish. If you’re here on a warmer day I wouldn’t hesitate to order this.
We also tried the Coffee Old Fashioned cocktail as we passed by on Day 2. It’s described as “Coffee Old Fashioned Cocktail: Joffrey’s Coffee Cold Brew, simple syrup, orange bitters, and Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon.” If you like coffee and whiskey you’ll like this drink. Even thought it was chilled the flavors were nice on a cold day. It’s expensive at $11.50, but you’re not going to find a Disney cocktail for much less than $15 these days, so the price isn’t too bad comparatively. If you’re not in love with coffee or whiskey you can save the $12 though.
As we headed to World Showcase proper via Mexico we passed the El Artista Hambriento which translates to The Hungry Artist. It’s located on the right side as you head towards Mexico just before entering that country. I wanted to try the Croqueta, described as “Chipotle chicken and chorizo croquette in chipotle salsa with chipotle aioli, avocado mousse, and truffle oil” for $8. Here’s a photo after I already cut into it:
Taste wise this was quite good. The chipotle wasn’t the artificial smokey chipotle but rather was clearly made from actually chipotle peppers. This made all the difference in the flavor profile. Where this dish fell short was on the value front. It was a relatively small croqueta for $8. I wouldn’t recommend this from a value standpoint but is worth trying if the description appeals to you and you know you’re getting only a couple bites for the price.
We continued around the showcase towards Norway for a Frozen lightning lane return time. Nothing between this booth and Norway really appealed to us at the moment. As usual The Painted Panda booth in China had a long line. The General Tso’s Shumai dish looked good, but also light on value at 3 shumai dumplings for $10.75.
After Frozen we hit up a perennial favorite booth, The Pastoral Palate, located as you enter the German pavilion. Each year they do a delicious short rib dish that we absolutely love. This year’s version was basically the same as last, described as “Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and balsamic glaze” for $8.75. We also got the Cassoulet, a new dish for this year, which “Pork and White Bean Cassoulet with Regensburger Sausage and crispy pork rinds” for $7. Finally, we got a glass of the Marietta Old Vine Rose to wash it down for $6.25. Here’s a photo of everything together:
Yet again, this booth was a clear standout. The short rib dish was the star with the meat melt in your mouth tender and paired perfectly with the parsnip puree and vegetables. This dish also feels healthy, leaving you satisfied but ready to keep touring. at $8.75 this is also a decent value. Highly recaommend.
The cassoulet was another winner, but the sausage has the texture of a hot dog with a snappier casing. This could be a texture issue for some eaters, so bear that in mind. The dish had layers of flavor with a vinegar like sauce adding some nice acidity to the beans. It was served nice and hot, really warming our bellies on a cold day.
Finally, the rose was the perfect beverage to wash it all down. I’m not sure I would have loved it on it’s own but it paired well with the food and was a relative steal at only $6.25 for the serving. Overall, this booth is not to be missed.
At this point our appetites were mildly satisfied but we were a bit cold and wanted somewhere inside to warm up and relax for a spell. We decided to go to the Tutto Gusto wine cellar in the Italy pavilion to see fit they had room at the bar. They did indeed and we quickly cozied up to the bar to enjoy some wine. We opted for 2 different wine flights, the “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “From the Hills of Piemonte”. The former was exclusively red wines and the latter was one white and two reds and both ran $26. I would guess that each glass was roughly a 2.5 ounce pour or so. So basically a glass and a half of wine per flight. You’re definitely paying a premium over ordering by the glass. With tax the two flights ran us around $60 not including tip.
Note that the wines are opposite of the descriptions on the card for the Piemonte flight. The wines were fine and there is probably something for anyone that usually enjoys red wine. My top three were the Chanti Terre di Bacco (also one of the cheapest by the glass options on the menu), the Dolcetto d’Alba, and the Gavi. My least favorite was the Tageto Donna Olimpia.
Though connected to the table service restaurant Tutto Italia, Tutto Gusto used to be kind of operate as its own location. You could ask to be seated at the table or hangout at the bar. The host explained that if you one was interested in a table you needed to check in over at Tutto Italia whereas the bar was walk up “grab and go” drink service. I asked if we could enjoy our beverages at the bar and he confirmed we could. It’s been several years since we visited here and things have changed. I remember posting up at the bar for a couple hours ordering wine and charcuterie plates; now the menu at the bar no longer has food options. I can understand why they made the change. It was common to see a line out into the courtyard of folks waiting for space in the wine cellar. We enjoyed our flights and would do it again, but the charm just wasn’t there as it was in the past. It felt more robotic. A fitting metaphor for a lot of the recent changes around the property really.
Feeling warmer and feeling less of the cold thanks to the glass and a half of wine in 20 minutes, we were ready for another dish or two or three. We stopped at the America pavilion to try two new offerings from The Artist’s Table: “Deviled Egg Trio: Pimento Cheese, Green Goddess, and BLT” and “Chicken “Pot Pie” with smoked cheddar mornay sauce, roasted vegetables, pickled mushrooms, wasabi peas, and sherry-chicken jus served open-faced on flaky pie crust”. The deviled eggs were priced at $6.25 and the Chicken “Pot Pie” at $6.75. Not bad by festival standards.
The eggs ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of our festival food experiences. They weren’t deviled eggs at all but rather hard boiled eggs with toppings. They were fine, but definitely not a deviled egg and paying $6.25 for one and half “Zhuzhed” up hardboiled eggs felt like a rip off. Definitely pass on this one.
The Chicken “Pot Pie” on the other hand was well worth the price. It was a unique take on the traditional comfort food. It was good, not great, but a filling and satisfying dish for just $6.75. We both wished the pie crust was softer though which would have made eating the dish a little easier. The crusts was rigid and needed to be cut like a pizza to eat it without too much hassle or collateral loss of toppings. This one is the savory dish worth a taste from this pavilion.
We continue around the showcase, bypassing the Japan and Moroccan food booths before stopping at Vibrante and Vivido between Morocco and France. I wanted to try two dishes from this menu; “Chorizo and Potato Empanada with turmeric aïoli and annatto aïoli ” for $6.75 and “Spicy Ajiaco Soup with guajillo and árbol chili-spiced chicken, potato, avocado, corn, and crème fraîche ” for $6. The soup and empanada were both served piping hot and I was so happy to eat hot food while it was hot that I neglected to take a photo of either dish. That’s unfortunate because they were both attractive looking and two of the better things we ate at the festival.
The empanada dough was crispy and flaky and the slightly spicy filling was perfect on this cold day. This was in my top 3 flavor wise, but maybe a little expensive at $6.75 for one empanada. Of note is the empanada is one of only 2 savory items that qualify towards the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine. This is a “mini game” within the Festival where you collect stamps in your Festival of the Arts booklet for trying particularly colorful dishes – fitting for an art based festival – and upon collecting 5 such stamps you get a special treat from the Deco Delights food booth. I’ll show you what you win in the next post.
The soup was similarly satisfying on a cold day. It was again slightly spicy but the crème fraîche and avocado offered perfect balance making the soup something that even those that dislike spice should be able to enjoy. The empanada on the other hand should be avoided by anyone that doesn’t tolerate spice well. One negative for the soup is that the corn was served still on the cob. We cut the kernels off the cob but it was a bit of a messy proposition. The corn cob made the presentation a little more interesting but at the expense of making the dish harder to enjoy. I don’t think that trade is worth it, but it didn’t really detract from the dish. At just $6.25 this was a delicious and filling soup.
At this point were were ready for a midday break and made our way back to the front of the park to catch a bus back to the resort. We weren’t done with the festival food booths yet however. The rest of our culinary escapades will be covered in the next installment including our best and worst dishes and the surprise treat for completing the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine.