Spring is here and that means Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is in full swing! Beautiful flowers, gardens, butterflies, and topiaries. The Flower and Garden Festival makes me happy because it’s so beautiful and colorful you know spring and summer is near.
In this blog post I’m going to talk about my favorite dishes and drinks I enjoyed at this festival. Epcot is definitely stepping their game up because these dishes and drinks keeps getting better and better.
At the New Flavor Full Kitchen hosted by AdventHealth I had the citrus-poached salmon with ancient grain salad, roasted vegetables and citrus greens. The salmon was very good but I wasn’t a huge fan of the vegetables. The presentation of this dish is beautiful. All my gluten free friends would enjoy this dish.
At Honey Bee-sto hosted by National Honey Board I had the honey tandoori chicken flatbread. It came with white cheddar cheese, charred vegetable, clover honey sour cream, and micro citrus greens. I liked this dish but I wasn’t in love with it. I wouldn’t go back for seconds but it wasn’t terrible.
So for the first time ever I tried the Frozen Desert Violet Lemonmade at Pineapple Promenade. This drink lives up to the hype with it being a non-alcoholic drink. For only $4.25 it was the most refreshing drink I‘ve ever tried at a festival. It is sweet and I love the color of it. I really like the flower they put on it to truly give it that flower and garden festival feel.
In The New Arbor at the Gardeners Terrace I got the Cider Flight and each cider was very good. Typically there’s always one that I’m not a fan of but all three tasted so good; I was very happy. The Cider Flight consist of Original Sin Brewery Black Widow Hard Cider from New York, NY. Florida Beer Company Caribé Strawberry Rosé Hard Cider from Cape Canaveral, FL. 3 Daughters Brewing Key Lime Apple Hard Cider from St. Petersburg, FL. All three had something different about them but I would rank them as the Rosé to be my top favorite, then Key Lime in second with the Black Widow as third. They were all very refreshing and highly recommend this Flight if you’re a cider girl like me.
I’m a seafood girl so when I saw there was a lobster tail at The New Citrus Blossom I had to get it. For $8 it was perfectly cooked on how I like it. It is a lobster tail with Meyer Lemon Emulsion and Grilled Lemon. It is very good and I see myself getting this multiple times throughout the festival.
At La Isla Fresca the shrimp skewer was something I would go back for seconds of. It’s $7 comes with 5 grilled shrimp on a stick with coconut lime sauce on top of steamed rice. The portion of this dish was a decent size and the dish as a whole was very good. To pair with it I got the Tropical Freeze with Cruzan Mango Rum in it. It’s a frozen drink that had chunks of mango in it. I didn’t feel a kick from it with the rum but I will say it was a refreshing drink to drink on a hot day at Epcot.
At The New Trowel & Trellis Kitchen hosted by Impossible Foods I tried the Farmhouse Meatball. It’s the perfect snack for $5.50. It’s one meatball with lentil bread, spinach, marinated vegetables, and creamy herb dressing. I felt very healthy eating this meatball for some reason. It just tasted so good.
At Jardin de Fiestas in the Mexico Pavilion I tried the Damiana Flower Margarita and Rosé Sangria. Both drinks were really good and worth the price of $10.50 & $12.50. The margarita is Damiana flower liqueur, blanco tequila, agave nectar, and citrus juices served on the rocks with a black ant salt rim. You can asked for an unsalted rim but I tried it with the salt rim and it gave the drink an extra kick. You taste the tequila but it’s not overpowering. The sangria is Withers Rosé wine, tequila blanco, elderflower and ginger liqueur, pineapple, cactus pear and orange juices. You can taste the Rosé which I loved but again not overpowering. It was sweeter than the margarita and very refreshing when it comes to drinks. I would say they’re both strong but if you want more of a fruiter drink I would go with the sangria then for a drink with a kick then the margarita is your best friend.
At the Lotus House in the China Pavilion I’ve had the house-made crab and cheese wontons, vegetable spring rolls, and Kung Fu Punch. The wontons were very good and they gave you a good portion that is shareable. You get 2 vegetables spring rolls but the rolls were just okay and I’ve had better so I would give this a pass. The Kung Fu Punch is vodka, triple sec, mango syrup, and orange juice. This drink is sweet and strong all at the same time. It literally gives you that punch. You think you’re drinking juice but then realize it has different types of alcohol in it and it’s all refreshing and good.
At Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market in the Germany Pavilion I got the Toasted Pretzel Bread. Typically, I don’t like the food in Germany during the festivals but going through this years list I was eyeing this pretzel bread and it didn’t disappoint. It is a toasted pretzel bread topped with Black Forest ham and melted gruyère cheese. This was another perfect snack. Wasn’t too big but not to small to share. It kinda tasted like a pepperoni roll but it’s not. The cheese was melted perfectly on the bread. I would get this one multiple times too.
At Primavera Kitchen in the Italy Pavilion I had the Tri-colored Cheese Tortellini pasta. It was everything perfect when it comes to Italian dishes. It is pasta with sage butter and chicken veloute. To pair with it I got my favorite Italian Margarita which is limocello and tequila. You can get the tortellini for $9 and the the margarita for $10. The dish is filling while the drink is sweet and refreshing but definitely has a kick to it. The Italy Pavilion is my favorite at Epcot so I knew they wouldn’t disappoint.
At Hanami in the Japan Pavilion I had the “Ichigo Sun” Strawberry Lemonade Cocktail to drink and man oh man it was good. It was a sweet drink and I loved every sip of it. It is Sake with Strawberry Purée and Lemonade. Highly recommend this if you like sweet drinks.
At Taste of Marrakesh in the Morocco Pavilion I had the White Sangria. It was $6. I’ve had great white sangria before and this sangria was not good at all. It tasted like it had too much grapes which made it taste like cough syrup. Maybe I had a bad batch or something but I wouldn’t get this sangria again. Next!
At Florida Fresh I had the Spicy Blackened Shrimp and Cheddar Cheese Grits with brown gravy and local sweet corn relish. I’m very particular when it comes to my grits but this dish was really good. I think what made this dish so tasty was the gravy on top of it. The portion size was good and this dish is shareable if you’re in a shareable mood.
In Fleur de Lys at the France Pavilion I always get a festival slushy drink. For this festival they have La Vie en Rose Frozen Slush which has Grey Goose Vodka L’Orange, St. Germain Liqueur, and white tea cranberry juice. I have nothing bad to say about this drink. I love getting this drink every year and it’s pink to give me spring vibes. Another cold, refreshing drink for those Park days. This is a must when attending the festival this year.
In Northern Bloom at the Canada Pavilion I got the seared scallops and beef tenderloin tips. Both dishes are very good in their own ways. The seared scallops came with French green beans, buttered potatoes, brown butter vinaigrette, and applewood-smoked bacon. I love scallops so I knew this dish was a must. The potatoes and grean beans were paired perfectly with scallops and the vinaigrette tasted real good all over the dish. The beef tenderloin tips came with mushroom bordelaise sauce, and whipped potatoes and garden vegetables. The tips were so tender I wanted more. The Canada always have some great dishes year round at the festivals.
”Let your Dreams Bloom” while you drink and eat around the world this festival season.
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Xoxo
The Pixie Gypsy✨