A friend of mine posed an interesting scenario.  Where as I typically head down to the parks for Food & Wine for many days, she was going to only be visiting for 1.  As you might have read about planning, to do everything in one day is a foolish game.  Trust me… I’ve tried.

So that being said here’s the question… What to try while in the parks?  Do you do unusual or just plain tasty?I’m going for the tasty, as you never know how you might react to “speciality” foods.  So here’s the goal: Choose 10 Food and 10 Beverages to hit while in the park that day.  What would you choose?  Well here’s mine.Top 10 Food:
First up my must have food items.   All image credits (with a few exceptions) belong to the DisneyFood Blog (as I either don’t have “good” pictures, or in a few cases… any).  They also have a complete list with pictures of all the items if you want to take a look before heading out to the park.

Brazil

Seared Mahi Mahi with steamed Rice, Hearts of Palm, and Coconut-Lime Sauce–$4.50

The Mahi Mahi is quite flavorful and delicious.  Although I prefer my fish on the raw side, the mixture of flavors all balanced well off each other, the fish still light and flaky.  The Coconut Lime saw I’d pour over anything and devour.  The quantity along with the price and flavors, makes this an excellent choice.

Australia

Grilled Lamb Chop with Potato-Goat Cheese Salad and Shiraz Reduction–$5.75

Who can resist food with a built-in handle. The Lamb is juicy, peppery, and the shiraz reduction add a nice sweet tang to the dish.  The potato goat cheese thing was… it was good on its own, but didn’t seem to go quite right with the lamb.

Canada

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup–$3.75

This is something I have time and time again, even if it’s hot out.  It’s made from beer, cheese, and bacon.  All great things.  It’s cheesy without being heavy, but still has a great mouth feel.  An excellent choice for a single day at the Food and Wine Festival.

Germany

Apfel Strudel featuring Werther’s Original Karamell Sauce and Vanilla Sauce–$3.25

This is something I get often, but not at the festival.  This is served over at Biergarten. For those just visiting the Festival for one day, it’s a great treat and even better desert.

France

Coq au Vin sur gratin de macaroni (Red Wine braised Chicken, Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and Macaroni Gratin)–$4.95

This is a classic that seems simple, but for those that have tried to make it, is extremely difficult.  The beef is tender and juicy, the sauce is filling in its own right, and the macaroni adds a nice simple balance to the complex flavors of the rest of the dish.  Very filling and can easily be lunch by itself.

Argentina

Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée–$5.00

Another must have.  The grilled beef is cooked to a nice moist level, and the chimichurri sauce is a very fresh blend of all wonderful herbs to offset the meatiness of the, well… meat.  The puree is pretty bland but a very good offset to the meat.

Poland

Golabki (Pork Stuffed Cabbage)–$2.75

This one is so good, I made it at home.  The cabbage acts as a great wrapper and adds a light flavor to offset the meatiness of the dish.  Beware this is surprisingly filling, but oh so delicious.

Belgium

Steamed Mussels with Roasted Garlic Cream & Baguette–$3.75

This is a great light dish.  The sauce is creamy, the mussels aren’t over cooked, and the entire thing has a great garlicky taste.  The toast adds a nice crunch and balance to all the flavors.  Unless you hate seafood, this is a great dish.

Hawaii

Tuna Poke with Seaweed Salad and Lotus Root Chips–$3.75

This is probably my favorite dish from this year.  Hawaii is a new booth so not something you might have had from previous years.  The tuna is fresh, perhaps not the freshest I’ve had, but still of a very high sushi grade.  The seaweed salad is pretty standard but a good companion to the tuna.  The entire thing is drizzled with a light sesame oil dressing.  The root chip on top can get a bit stale (or soggy, not sure which), so make sure to get there early when they are fresh.  Maybe not the thing for non-sushi people, but great none the less.

Hops & Barley Booth
Pumpkin Mousse with Ocean Spray Craisins and Orange Sauce–$1.50

Scandinavia
Rice Pudding with Driscoll’s Only the Finest Berries–$2.75

These are a two for one selection… depending on your tastes. I prefer the pumpkin mouse over the rice pudding,  but it’s up to you to choose.  The pumpkin mouse is like eating a light pumpkin spice cake. I’m not a fan of rice puddings, but this one is supposedly quite good.  It’s not over spiced, and blends well with the strawberries.  Choose which one you prefer, or at the low price of these items… have both!

Drinks:
What is food, without wine?  Granted at the Food and Wine Festival, wine has a rather broad terminology. Where it once included just wine, now the festival has cocktails, beers, and slushes.  Here are my top ten choices for a single day at the park.

Brazil

LeBlon Frozen Caipirinha–$7.50

The Caipirinha apparently is Brazil’s national cocktail. The drink tastes like a lemon/lime version of a mojito.  It’s  even made the same way (just without the mint).  This version is kept cold and creamy in those slushy machines, so it’s not “icy” tasting.  It melts in your mouth.  It has a fair mount of alcohol in it, but nothing unexpected.

Canada

Neige Sparkling–$5.25

The Canada booth has two versions of this wine.  Both are apple ice wines, with very crisp flavors that reminds me of a Riesling in flavor.  So for those that love sweet wines, these are for you.  Personally I think the sparkling is the better of the two, as the bubbles adds a bit of lightness to the sweet drink.  Very refreshing.  Also of note, this is available in bottles in the Festival Center.

Brewer’s Collection

Rauchweizen Roog Smoked Wheat Bier–6oz $3.25, 12oz $6.25, 22oz $11.75

This is one I found out about… after I was down there. Which makes me sad.   From the name is sounds delicious, as the concept of a smoked beer sounds intriguing.  From the reviews I’ve seen, it’s the best beer that Germany offers at their booth.  If you up for souvenirs with you alcohol, the 22oz size comes in a souvenir mug.  Fairly decent glass too.

Hawaii

Pipeline beer– 6oz $5.00, 12oz $5.00, 22oz $11.50

Two words.  Coffee Beer.  As far as I can tell it’s not brewed from coffee, but infused  with freshly roasted 100% Kona coffee.  Although technically dark, it’s not a dark beer… it’s more like the darkness of the coffee was paired with a light beer.  Although amazing in its right, I’ve been told it goes even more amazing also with the Scandinavia Rice Pudding. Also pictured to the right is the souvenir mug.  Very nice.

Belgium

Godiva Chocolate Iced Coffee–$7.25

Oh so delicious.  It started many of my mornings in EPCOT.  Not too alcoholic, not too milky or even chocolately.  All the tastes balance perfectly.  It almost tastes like a breakfast version of a black russian.  Perfect to be paired with a hot belgium waffle for a quick breakfast.  But then you have other amazing things to fill up with if you’re only spending one day in the park…

South Africa

La Capra Shiraz–$2.75

I’m a sucker for shiraz.  And at the moment I’m into the earthier version, so besides Argentina wine (which is good.. but no shiraz), this is my Number 1 red wine of the festival.  Feel free to try all, but if you are going to have 1 red wine while down on your 1 day, this is the wine to beat. Not to mention, it goes amazing with the Grilled Beef Skewer you can pick up with it.

Craft Beers

2 Beer Flights – $8 each

Taste a large range of beers with this flight.  each flight gives you 3 beers of 6oz each for $8.  2 flights will almost allow you to try all 7 beers.  There’s also another flight over in germany if you want to give that one too.  All depends how much you like beers

France

Sparkling Pomegranate Kir–$6.50
Parisien Cosmo Slush (Ciroc Vodka, Grand Marnier, Cranberry Juice)–$8.50

Two very tasty drinks. The slushy cosmo is a wonderful blend of cranberry and alcohol, and the pomegranate Kir adds a nice palette cleanser as you work around the world.

I missing any “must do’s” for a single day in the park?  Leave your own suggestions below.  And make sure to check out the DisneyFood Blog for complete list of tasty items.  There might be something that jumps out at you.  have your own Top 10 food and beverages to have at the festival?  Leave them below in the comments.