The International Festival of the Arts is in full swing at EPCOT in Walt Disney World. If you’ll be at EPCOT between January 14 and February 21, you’ll be able to experience the fun! This is the fifth year of this fun-loving fest that celebrates the joy of creativity and artistic expression in the visual arts, the performing arts, and our favorite, the culinary arts.
We’ve scoured the culinary booths to come up with a list of our Top 10 Best Foods to Eat at the Festival of the Arts, and let me tell you, it was no easy task! Nearly everything we tasted was delicious, but some items stood out a little more than others.
Whether you’re new to this Fest or you’ve attended every year, take a look and see how our favorites match up to yours!
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1. Tomato Soup with Bacon, Apple, and Brie Grilled Cheese
“Pop Eats!” booth, $6.25
The offerings at this booth pay homage to pop art, from Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue to Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans paintings. Our favorite of the booth was the nostalgic classic tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich, with a modern twist.
This classic soup and sandwich combo was a delightful bit of comfort food in the midst of extraordinary cuisine, and it was well-received by everyone in our party. While the creamy tomato soup was served in a stylistic, pop art “can”, it tasted as delicious as my own homemade version.
The sandwich was toasted just right, with melted brie drawing the slices of crispy apple and succulent bacon together. As a bacon lover, I would have appreciated more meat on the sandwich, but I still found it absolutely delicious.
Pop Eats! also offered a plain grilled cheese sandwich for vegetarians or anyone wishing to stick to comfort food traditions.
2. Croissant a la Truffle Noir d’Hiver: Black Winter Truffle Croissant
“L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise” booth, $8.00
The festival booths hosted by the France pavilion are known for some of the best foods dishes and drinks, and this occasion was no exception. The offerings here pay homage to French cuisine with artistic twists on traditional favorites.
Visually speaking, this croissant was stunning. The light and dark pattern swirled around the surface so beautifully, it was reminiscent of chocolate. The pasty was the perfect expression of buttery flakiness, served slightly warm, as if it were freshly baked.
The corner of the pastry gave way to a black truffle filling. The smooth, comforting mushroom mixture paired so well with the delicate pastry layers, bringing warmth and satisfaction to the elegance of the pastry. This vegetarian treat was certainly one to remember!
3. Creme de Brie en Petit Pain: Warm, Creamy Brie in a House-Made Bread Bowl
“L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise” booth, $8.50
Yes, it’s another favorite from the French festival booth! Both this item and the croissant were on the festival menu in previous years. I can see exactly why they were brought back! The line is always long for these items, so be sure to plan in waiting time.
Initially, I was taken aback by the size of this dish. I wasn’t expecting a huge soup bowl sized loaf, but I did expect something larger than a small dinner roll. My apprehension was gone as soon as we began to enjoy this treat.
The bread was crusty and crunchy on the outside, pillowy soft inside. Most of the center was carved out to make room for the delicious melted brie. Again, the pairing of the crusty bread with the velvety melted cheese was amazing. The brie was mild and smooth, making for a wonderful palate-pleaser.
To eat it, we cut the “lid” of the bread bowl into pieces and used them to dip into the cheese. When the lid was gone, we cut portions of the bread bowl a bit at a time and used that to scoop the remaining cheese from the doughy vessel. When the cheese was gone, we cut what was left of the bread to enjoy. We weren’t sure if that was what we were supposed to do, but it worked for us!
4. House-Made Chorizo and Potato Empanada
“Vibrante & Vivido: Encanto Cocina” booth, $6.50
The Vibrante & Vivido booth has returned, but this year the food is inspired by the Disney animated film, Encanto. Set in Colombia, Encanto is the delightful story focusing on the only non-magical member of an enchanted family as she copes with feelings of being different. The bright colors and lively music have made this film a much-loved favorite, just as the bold flavors made this empanada one of those dishes that we kept talking about.
The Madrigal family may not talk about Bruno, but we’re pretty sure they’d be talking all about these empanadas! To begin with, they were huge, particularly for the low price. It is definitely a lunch portion, rather than a snack portion, so plan accordingly.
The empanada crust was tightly sealed, crispy on the outside and moist inside. Each one was stuffed…I mean STUFFED with chorizo, potato, tomato, and seasonings that created a delicious medley of hearty comfort in each bite. The turmeric aioli and annatto aioli added even more depth of flavor, and made an amazing food even better!
5. Deconstructed French Onion Soup
“The Deconstructed Dish” booth, $6.50
The art of deconstructing a dish always fascinates me. While my family jokingly calls a fallen-apart taco deconstructed, there truly is an art to recreating foods we all know and love in a new way. This booth gives visitors a look into the intricate and sometimes playful world of molecular gastronomy, where everything is definitely not as it may seem.
This is one of the new items at “The Deconstructed Dish” this year. When I first read about it, I seriously wondered how one could deconstruct a soup, but they managed to do it and I LOVED it.
The Deconstructed Onion Soup consists of a large beef broth ravioli topped with onion textures. It’s served atop onion bread pudding and is garnished with a small onion bulb and Gruyere espuma. The center of the dumpling did indeed provide the broth element of French onion soup, and the onion bread pudding served as the broth-soaked bread that is traditional.
I enjoyed the crunchiness of the crispy onion topping, especially alongside the cooked soft onion that was under the ravioli. Eating this dish was a unique experience. It was the first time I used a fork to eat my soup!
6. Deconstructed Key Lime Pie
“The Deconstructed Dish” booth, $4.75
Yes, we chose a second item at this booth to tell you that you MUST EAT IT! This booth was one of our favorites at this year’s Fest, mostly because everything they offered was exceptionally delicious.
I was so excited to taste this that I forgot all about taking more pictures!
The components of this dish are the graham cracker cake, key lime curd, mousse (colored and formed into a key lime), and meringue. It was garnished with raspberries and some raspberry gelee. While deconstructions sometimes utilize molecular gastronomic techniques that change the physical properties of foods, the elements here are textured as they would be in a slice of pie.
To properly eat a deconstructed dish, it’s best to try to get all the components in one bite. Start with a bit of the graham cracker cake, then add a bit of the yellow key lime curd. A touch of the green key lime mousse comes next, and if you’re a meringue person, a bit of meringue on top of it all. Swish in a dot of raspberry gelee for a hint of sweetness, and you’ve got yourself a reconstructed deconstructed key lime pie!
7. Blood Orange-Braised Beet Carpaccio
“Gourmet Landscapes” booth, $5.50
Nestled in the Canada pavilion area is the newly renamed Gourmet Landscapes booth, featuring artistic takes on Canadian inspired foods using fresh ingredients in innovative ways. Imagine rugged, living-off-the-land foods, reinvented to showcase their beauty. We encountered some surprising delights here!
I admit it. I thought this entry had a typo. I had always heard about BEEF carpaccio, never BEET carpaccio. Not only do I stand corrected, but I stand behind this vegan dish 100%!
Red beets were sliced paper thin and braised to a perfect al dente consistency. They were plated gorgeously with quartered golden beets, pickled clamshell mushrooms, greens, and seeds. A delicious mustard added more flavor, texture, and beauty to this plate. When all elements were gathered onto a crisp crostini, the taste was pure heaven.
I had expected a strong citrusy taste, but the blood orange left the beets with a pleasant, sweet taste and a hint of acidity. Had the blood orange braising not been in the name of the dish, I wouldn’t have guessed that blood oranges were used in creating this dish.
The portion size was also perfect, especially for the price. While this plate wouldn’t be enough for a full lunch, it would definitely make a highly enjoyable side dish or appetizer.
8. Wild Mushroom Risotto
“Gourmet Landscapes” booth, $9.25
I wouldn’t say that Canada is known for its gourmet food the way that Italy or France is, however the food booths and restaurant in the Canada pavilion at Epcot seem to offer delicious choices, year after year. Though we did not try this year’s new Roasted Bone Marrow, it was beautifully presented and we definitely would have tasted it, however we had a vegetarian in our party. The carnivores in our group decided that eating bone marrow straight out of the bone wouldn’t be the best idea (especially since it was her birthday). If you tried it, be sure to leave a comment to let us know how you enjoyed it!
Much to our delight, this risotto was so popular in the past that it was brought back again this year. Risotto can be tricky. If it isn’t done perfectly, the rice can become too sticky or it can be too hard. My hat is off to the Disney chefs who were able to produce this risotto in large quantities for outdoor booth service.
This risotto was creamy without being too sticky, with perfectly cooked rice. The cheesy creaminess, coupled with the zinfandel reduction sauce, had me lingering over every single bite. And the mushrooms! They lent a delightfully woodsy, robust taste to the risotto, and were enhanced when eaten with the Parmesan shaving garnish.
If there is such a thing as gourmet comfort food, this dish would be the definition of it.
9. Beef Wellington
“The Artist’s Table” booth, $8.50
Situated in the American Adventure area near the Art of Disney shop, this busy booth brings artistic flair to classic American cuisine. Hearty, savory cuisine is the focus here, with bold flavors and appetizer-sized portions.
When I saw this offering on the menu, I knew I had to try it. I had never tried beef wellington before, but it’s on my personal Food Bucket List. I just couldn’t pass up the chance to get a small “taster” portion at an affordable price!
I was not disappointed. The beef was cooked to medium and tucked inside a blanket of puff pastry and prosciutto. The meat was tender and flavorful, almost melting in my mouth. The buttery pastry flaked beautifully, yet held up under the juices from the meat and the savory red wine demi-glace. I’m a mushroom lover, so swathing my beef with mushroom duxelle produced the perfect blend of hearty and woodsy flavors.
This dish remained on the menu from previous years, and I truly hope they continue to keep it in future years. I definitely want to experience it again!
10. Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib
“Pastoral Palate” booth, $8.25
Dishes at this booth in the Germany area of World Showcase take their inspiration from traditional Bavarian folk art. Imagine the dishes cooked after a successful old world hunting trip in German forests, and you’ll have a great idea of what to expect from this booth.
If I see short rib on a menu, chances are good that I’ll be ordering it. So when I saw that I could get short rib at the Festival of the Arts, I made sure to schedule a stop in Germany so we could get it.
And oh, am I glad that we did. I am still salivating over the memory of this dish a week after tasting it. The meat was braised in red wine, resulting in the most tender, succulent short rib ever. It fell apart easily when prodded with my plastic fork and melted in my mouth.
The parsnip puree was much lighter than the mashed potatoes that are usually served with short rib, and I found I preferred it in the Florida heat. Scooping up the puree, meat, and a roasted baby tomato, along with a dip in the aged balsamic drizzle created a symphony of flavor in my mouth that I couldn’t get enough of. Again, I am thrilled that this dish was brought back for another year and hope to see it on Fest menus for years to come!
We Want to Hear from You!
It was really hard to narrow my best-loved foods down to just 10, as almost everything I tasted was delicious. But what about you?
Were you able to enjoy the International Festival of the Arts this year? Which dishes stood out in your mind as your favorites? Are there any you wish you had tasted? Let us know in the comments below!
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