Just so you, my treasured audience, are aware, I'm a one woman operation. It is not possible for one person to get through all this! Seriously, there is a LOT of food here.
Just to give my general thoughts before you even see the food....this is a tremendously good idea. It's essentially a Food & Wine Festival, but all the food is set to different cultural celebrations of the season. Disney, are you listening? MAKE THIS AN ANNUAL EVENT!
It's fantastic, and it separates us from getting (while I enjoyed the Food & Wine coming back to DCA) a stepchild of Epcot's Food & Wine. It's a great way to accommodate food needs for the crowds that come in, it was well spread out through the park, and EVERYTHING we tried was fantastic.
So, just to clarify, I came the first time alone to check things out, and went back a couple of weeks later with my family to try out more. And still, it doesn't seem we made a dent. We plan to return after the new year to see World of Color: Seasons of Light, so perhaps we'll try a little more while we're there, but don't get your hopes up.
Let's dive in!
The attempt to be inclusive really hits the mark, with booths representing many different countries, philosophies, and...ways to celebrate the season. It is mainly organized geographically, but not 100%, so just infer what the booths are called, and you should be ok. They try to be subtle. The "Nosh and Nibbles" booth has more Jewish based food, "Good Fortune's Feast" is Chinese food. You get the picture.
At several intervals, there are maps available with the food listings for every booth, as well as a menu for each individual booth nearby each booth.
From the Heritage Cottage, we have the Braised Beef Short Rib with smashed potatoes and sauerbraten sauce. This was a BEAUTIFUL and nicely prepared piece of meat. This really was kind of a meal in itself, another reason why I didn't make it very far in the tasting. Prices are comparable to the Food & Wine, but portions are slightly larger, it seemed.
From Good Fortune's Feast, we have the Winter Mint Milk Tea. I'm not big on mint tea or iced milk tea (I don't know why, I just can't get with it, though I like the individual parts. Go figure.) but this was a great refreshing treat. Once the Festival is over, it would be nice if this moved over to the Lucky Fortune Cookery on the Pacific Wharf.
Ohh, pretty decorations.
Again, Disney, sell THESE Mickeys! I'd buy them!
This might be my favorite thing at the whole Festival, the Sweet Potato Pie with Pecans from the Southern Home Holidays booth. What a slice of heaven this was! Even the crust was moist and wonderful.
Also, from Southern Home Holidays was the Cranberry Sweet Tea with Berry Foam. Another guest actually approached me to ask where this was, and he was sitting right next to the booth! It's certainly eye-catching, and another nice non-alcoholic refreshment (for those of us driving home!), but what's with the foam? And this isn't the first drink at the Disneyland resort to have the foam. What's up? I'm confused.
Another shot of the Diwali dancers. When I came the second time, I went to the booth opposite the dancers, and the Cast Members IN the booth were following along as a Bollywood dance lesson was going on. If that isn't a sign of what this event does to the spirit of the season, I don't know what is!
Yuletide Yummies had this other standout of the Festival, a Mocha Yule Log with candied chestnuts. Be warned, its decadent nature is better for sharing. But it's SO pretty and so much work obviously went into it. It's a pastry masterpiece!
Again, from Yuletide Yummies was the Mini Turkey Pot Pie with Cranberry Drizzle. Don't let it's small size deceive you, it's a lovely little main dish. Everything in it was tasty! And the cranberry drizzle is a great contrast that really set off a great pick!
My mother ate the Chicken Cilantro Tamale with Roasted Tomatillo salsa verde. Now, we're Mexican, so we come from a tamale making/eating family, and I have great-aunts (who are also great aunts!) who are fantastic cooks, but Mom said this was the best tamale she's ever had. Ever.
(And my mother apologizes to her tías for that statement. But...best tamale ever.)
If I recall, these are the Chorizo Bean Sopes with Cotija cheese and fresh crèma. Again, very good.
Last here is the pomegranate margarita, which we all sampled. A nice tasty treat! 🍹It's rated "Excellente"!
I wish I had more...criticism of the food for you all, but let's face it, Disney really hit a home run here. The food is good, the system works, though it would be nice if they implemented a re-loadable card system like Food & Wine, but perhaps next year.
My recommendation is to go with a group of people you like, gets a BUNCH of stuff and share it around. The portions are big enough if you have a couple of things on your own (an entree, dessert and drink) you will be satisfied with a lovely little meal, but not necessarily full. But one extra thing, and you'll hit your limit. I mean, depending on who you are...I don't know your life!
Next up on the blog will be A Christmas Fantasy, a pictorial spectacular. I hit the parade viewing sweet spot!
Have a good week everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment