We are on day 2 for this year’s Walt Disney World’s 2018 Food & Wine Festival. Today we continue on around EPCOT and visit Africa, Belgium, Canada, Hops & Barley, Italy, and Spain.  Along with trying out a festival exclusive shake over at Taste Track.

For more information about the Disney Food & Wine Festival visit the Disney Food Blog.

Africa

Africa’s booth is situated between China’s and Germany’s pavilions and right near the Refreshment Outpost.  Africa always has plenty of unique spices to try that many people haven’t been exposed to.  If you want a well-rounded festival experience you should be sure to stop by.

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tips with Onions, Jalapeños, Tomato and Pap
  This dish is full of flavor…  but also is quite spicy!  Especially since Disney tends to shy away from actual spicy foods, so that was refreshing. The spicy stew heat dissipates from your mouth after a  few minutes, but until then look out!  I enjoyed it but was too much for Mrs. Tasel as the heat blocked out most of the flavor in this dish.   
  • $4.50
  • Tasel Rating: 4
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3

• Africain Wine Flight
  Overall a good wine flight, even if the white wine was a bit of a letdown.    
  • $6.50
  • Tasel Rating: 3.25
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3
• Cederberg Chenin Blanc
  Has that “cat pee” profile, which Mrs. Tasel has now identified in the white wine she dislikes.  It was still a pretty standard Chenin Blanc.  But something you could find anywhere.  
  • $6
  • Tasel Rating: 2
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 2
• Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz
  This is a favorite of ours and we’ve had numerous times before.  Very smooth and a little sweet without being sugary. 
  • $5
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4

• Groot Constantia Pinotage
  You can smell the chocolate notes in this before ever tasting it.  Unfortunately, it is a bit chalky, which detracts somewhat.  Has a kick with its peppery notes.
  • $7
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3.5

Belgium

Sadly this trip we didn’t get to do our “standard” Belgium breakfast of a Belgian Waffle for both of us ($4 each – one chocolate, one berry) along with each of us getting our own Chilled Coffee with Godiva Chocolate Liqueur ($10 each).  So this time we just got the savory dishes which were okay.  I’d stick to the tasty breakfast if I had to choose between savory or sweet.  I’d recommend waiting at the France rope drop line to be first in line for breakfast!

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• Beer-braised Beef served with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes
  Not a ton of meat in this stew.  The sauce was a little tart and sour (perhaps from the beer).  And the meat that was there was dry from being cooked too long.  Mashed potatoes were good, and the gravy tasty.  Sadly the meat just brought it down.
  • $5.25
  • Tasel Rating: 3
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 2

• Beer Flight
  Overall a really good showing as would be expected from Belgium beers. A good range of lighter beers for you to try.  
  • $9
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3.75
• Leffe Blonde Belgian Pale Ale
  Very light and refreshing.  Doesn’t have that “beer” taste.  Very easy to drink with hints of orange, clove, and honey.
  • $4.25
  • Tasel Rating: 3.75
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4
• St. Bernardus Witbier
  Good, but perhaps a bit less refreshing than the Pale Ale.  Better to drink as a complement to any dish you’d drink a white wine with.  
  • $4.25
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3.5

• St. Bernardus Abt 12
  Darker, but not a stout beer.  ABT is the ultra strong “abby” style beers. Very good to drink after a big meal. Or to be slowly enjoyed.
  • $5
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3.75

Canada

Canada is always a “must do booth” each year.  Although this booth lacks variety from year to year, it makes up for it with great dishes that are fan favorites.  You can taste the cheddar cheese soup and filet from  “Le Cellier”, along with a range of tasty alcoholic beverages

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• Canadian Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup served with a Pretzel Roll
  Always a favorite.  This year was a bit thicker than normal, almost as a dip rather than a soup.  Flavors were the same though.  Slight has hints of smoke and bacon, along with a background beer taste, without an overpowering cheese flavor.  Pretzel roll is unsalted and very light and fluffy. 
  • $5
  • Tasel Rating: 3.75
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3.5

• Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce
  Each year we get this and the only variance is how rare they cook it.  This time we got a nice medium rare, and it was delicious.  Very flavorful.  Light on the truffle oils so it doesn’t overpower the meat and mushrooms.  In my opinion better than the actual filet you can get in Le Cellier.  Almost like a petite petite filet when done right.
  • $8
  • Tasel Rating: 4.25
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4.5
• Château Des Charmes Vidal Icewine, Niagara-on-the-Lake
  Icewine is very sweet and this is no different.  Very strong apple and honey flavors.  Not something you can drink a lot of, but the small serving you get is perfect.  
  • $10
  • Tasel Rating: 4
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4

Hops & Barley

This booth is nestled on the side of the American Adventure Pavilion.    It tends to concentrate more on the “New England” style flavors.  I was tempted to get the lobster roll as well, but the for the price there didn’t seem to be enough lobster in the roll to warrant trying it.

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• New Brunswick Slider: Slow-braised Beef Brisket “Pot Roast Style” with Horseradish Cream and Crispy Fried Onions on a Potato Roll with Pickled Vegetables on the side
  Very minimal slider.  Wished it had a lot more meat to it.  Occasionally got spicy kicks of the horseradish cream.  Vegetables were strongly pickled.  Sadly not as enjoyable as we were hoping, but still tasty.
  • $5.75
  • Tasel Rating: 3.25
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 2

• Freshly Baked Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing
  Mrs. Tasel couldn’t even wait for us to start recording our notes before diving into this.  The autumn spices smell breaks out when you cut it open.  The icing is quite sweet, which works since the carrot cake itself isn’t.  Reminds me a cinnamon roll with some carrots in it.  Does contain nuts.
  • $4
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4.5
• Beer Flight
  Overall little better than what I’d expect from a beer flight outside the parks but nothing too noticeable other than the Coffee Blond Ale.  My suggestion is to skip the flight and just have that instead.  
  • $9
  • Tasel Rating: 2.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 2.5
• North Coast Bewing Co. Blue Star Wheat, Fort Bragg, CA
  A very standard light beer.  Something we thought you could find anywhere, without any notable flavor profile.  Not a very hoppy beer. 
  • $4.25
  • Tasel Rating: 2
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3
• 3 Daughters Brewing A Wake Coffee Blonde Ale, St. Petersburg, FL
  Very surprising strong coffee flavor in a very light beer.  Usually only see that flavor in dark beers.  It tasted like coffee in beer form.
  • $4.25
  • Tasel Rating: 3
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3.5
• Heavy Seas AmeriCannon APA, Baltimore, MD
  Has a very pleasant smell, but tastes like any standard hoppy light beer.  Definitely had more flavor than the first beer but wasn’t anything really notable.  
  • $4.25
  • Tasel Rating: 2.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 2.5

Italy

This was my favorite booth of the ones we tried this trip.  Which says a lot since Italy used to be one that we’d always skip.  Before, it tended to be a lot of the normal Italian pasta dishes.    However, these two stand out.

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• Fritto Misto: Crispy Shrimp, Zucchini and Sweet Potatoes with a Spicy Sauce
  Delicious!   Everything was perfectly cooked.  The shrimp and zucchini were coated in a very light breading that didn’t weigh it down, but let it be crunchy.  And the sweet potato fries gave the dish and overall sweetness to balance against the zingy sauce.  A must try.
  • $8.00
  • Tasel Rating: 4.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4.5

• Frozen Margarita with Limoncello and Tequila
  The book says frozen, but ours was just on the rocks.  Unsure if this was the norm, but the drink itself was still absolutely delicious.  Light and refreshing with a lemony taste without being sour.
  • $10.00
  • Tasel Rating: 4.25
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4.5

Spain

Spain is back this year, first showing up at the festival in 2010.  We concentrated on the paella, but there is also a Charcuterie in a Cone and seafood salad to enjoy.  The cone is pretty basic but the seafood salad seemed to be a ceviche of sorts.  For a culinary experience, I recommend trying the wines both before and after the paella to get different takes on each of the wines.

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• Spanish-style Paella with Chorizo and Roasted Chicken
  Rice is well cooked and has great flavor.  Sausage and the Spanish chorizo both a little bit of a kick but not too spicy. It’s a great overall dish.  
  • $5.25
  • Tasel Rating: 3.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 4

• Wine Flight
  One of the few wine flights that include both red and white wines.  And all three of the wines pair very well with the Paella, each bringing its own nuance to the dish.
  • $5.50
  • Tasel Rating: 3
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3
• Lagar de Bouza Albariño, Rías Baixas
  Smooth but not tart or dry.  Pear and apple flavor notes.  Brings out some of the heat of the Paella.  
  • $5.00
  • Tasel Rating: 3.25
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3
• Casa Castillo Monastrell, Jumilla
  Semi-dry wine.  A lot of fruit notes on the nose with a little chalky finish.  I recommend drinking this with the Paella as well as the spicy nature of the dish brings out some more flavor in this wine.
  • $5.00
  • Tasel Rating: 3.25
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3
• Espelt Garnacha Old Vines, Catalonia
  A solid wine.  Very dry.  overall very good, but nothing that stood out with it.  Again, made better with the paella, adding some complexity to the wine that isn’t there when drunk on its own.
  • $5.00
  • Tasel Rating: 3
  • Mrs Tasel Rating: 3

Taste Track

Taste track is a small kiosk that is available year round just outside of Test Track.  The menu itself keeps changing (was previously a specialty grilled cheese stand), but for Food & Wine they are serving up croissant Doughnuts, Gelatos, and a milkshake.

Click here for the Full Booth Offerings

• Pancake Milkshake topped with whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and sprinkles.
  I’m not exactly sure what I expected, but a basic vanilla milkshake with tastes of pancake batter mix wasn’t one of them.  The flavor is much strong if drank without the straw.  It was tasty, and definitely would drink another if given to me, but it missed the mark. 
  • $5.00
  • Tasel Rating: 2.5
  • Mrs Tasel Rating:2.5

Check out our other 2018 Food & Wine coverage:

• EPCOT 2018 Food & Wine Festival – Food Coverage Day 1
• EPCOT 2018 Food & Wine Festival – Food Coverage Day 2
• EPCOT 2018 Food & Wine Festival – Food Coverage Day 3
• EPCOT 2018 Food & Wine Festival – Festival Extras
• EPCOT 2018 Food & Wine Festival – Must have items!