The theme park for foodies

Hiya, hipsters!  The weather is almost cooling down here in Florida, the pumpkin mania is in full swing, and I am enjoying what you northerners call "Autumn".  I think I mentioned in my last post about how busy I get in October.  If I didn't, then I'm mentioning it now.  With so many things going on, it's hard to decide what to do.  But there are a few definites on the list.  One of those definites got done a couple of weeks ago.

The Epcot Food and Wine festival is an annual event held at Epcot center, celebrating food and wines (and beer) from around the world.  That's the brochure version.  For locals, it's a time to eat lots of good food, get a nice buzz on, and see a band from the 80's or 90's that you forgot had so many songs you know.  I have promised myself that I would go every year, but I never made it over until this year.  And now I know what I was missing and it makes me a little sad.

I visited the festival with my mom and dad, Aunt Di and Uncle Jeff, aka "the old folks".  I love spending time with them, and they are all foodies in their own right.  We went the opening weekend, so there were pretty large crowds, and it was still September, so it was hot.  Really hot.  Low 90's and lots of people.  As a theme park veteran, it was the kind of time that I don't usually go to the parks.  But I went anyways.  And the food and booze helped.  A lot.

We started out the eating and drinking portion of the day at the festival center.  Held in the old wonders of the the body pavillion, it was a marketplace with a small snack bar, wine shop, stages for the seminars, and the chocolate room.  Anytime there is a polite young lady handing out Ghiradelli chocolate as you go in, you know it's going to be good.  And I knew what I wanted in this room.  Drinking chocolate.

For those of you that have never had drinking chocolate, I am so, so sorry.  It is like a chocolate dance party in your mouth.  Think about a delicious chocolate bar melted down and poured in a cup.  That's pretty much it.  Apparently it's a big thing in Europe, and I got hooked on it a few years ago, but it is hard to find in the States.  It's so decadent that it only comes in an espresso size cup.  This made me very happy, right off the bat.

After wandering around the festival center for a while, we headed off to hit the marketplace.  Made up of a bunch of booths, interspersed between the countries of the world showcase, the marketplace is exactly what it sounds like.  The first country I hit was Argentina.

I admit, I did a little research before I went, and I had a good idea of the dishes that I wanted to try.  In Argentina it was a beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree.  I love chimichurri, so I was excited to try this dish, but the real surprise was the boniato puree.  Boniato is a tropical sweet potato, but I didn't think it was as sweet as a traditional sweet potato.  It was creamy and mild and super tasty.  So now I have a few boniato in my fridge, ready to be cooked up.  Yay for new ingredients.  I was so excited about this one that I forgot to take a picture.  Sorry.  My uncle had the beef empanada, which was tasty as well.

After a stop at Mexico to grab a margarita, we headed around.  My next stop was South Africa for a spinach and paneer cheese pocket.  Paneer is basically a soft, mild farmer's cheese.  It is used a lot in Indian cooking and I expected a bit of those flavors in this dish.  I was not disappointed.  My dad and I loved it.  The rest of the crew, not so much.  A bit of curry spice to the spinach and a flaky pastry to compliment.  The trick with a lot of the food at the festival is that you eat with your fingers.  This one got a little messy after we started tearing into it.  I also discovered another good trick to the festival.  Go with a larger group.  One or two people are going to spend a lot more money and get full faster than four or five.  We were able to share a couple bites of a lot more dishes.

At this point, we found a shady high top table to stand at and take a break.  While we were noshing on the cheese pocket, my dad disappeared and returned with cheese.  The artisan cheese selection was yummy!  I am a big fan of cheese.  Like, soccer hoodlum big.  And I come by it honestly.  Mom and Dad are too.  The most interesting thing in this selection was the Beecher's Flagship Reseve Cheddar.  It was a mild cheddar that had the look of a parmesan.  Pretty fancy.  Of course, all these snacks can make one pretty thirsty.  With the margaritas long gone, I was ready to imbibe a bit more.  And just our luck, we were camped right across from the Brewer's Collection tent.  Woot Woot.

While doing my research for this event, I, being a beer geek, had to check out the selections.  Many of the beers offered were old hat to me, but a few got me going.  One was a nice German Dunkel.  I love dark beer with lots of flavor and this one made the cut.  Lots of big, malty flavors and a nice touch of bitterness.  I got to keep this one to myself (another good reason to drink dark beer).  The other beer I was interested in was the Schofferhofer Grapefruit.  I had heard that this was the only place in North America to get this beer, so I had to have it.  Sweet and light, it was perfectly refreshing for a hot day like this day.  My aunt, the non-beer-drinker, loved it, and I was happy I got an extra big glass to share.

A few more stops, at Poland for a lager style beer called Tyskie, and Italy for a tasty cheese (are you seeing a theme?)  ravioli and then we had to call it quits.  Too much heat, too many people, and too much food and beverage.  But I got a great start to my trip around the world.  I got a few stamps in my passport, and got to try a couple things that I knew I wanted.  I plan to get back again, to hit the other half of the festival, but if I don't make it, I'm not too worried.  I had a great time with people that I love doing something that I love, so it was a successful day no matter what.

Next time, a visit to the Florida Aquarium, and maybe more beer?  Until then, stay hip!