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Epcot Food and Wine Festival 2013: Brazil

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Booth #2 on our trip around the World Showcase at Epcot Food & Wine fest 2013 is Brazil! The Brazil booth has one of the more limited menus of the festival with only two menu items and three beverages. But make no mistake – it is not to be missed.

Brazil Booth Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Brazil!

The star of this booth was definitely the Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado, and Cilantro. It’s one of those dishes that make you melt with happiness after the first bite. I would have been really happy to make a full meal of this dish. The beans were beautifully cooked, the avocado salsa was fresh, and that pork…oh, yeah.

Crispy Pork Belly Brazil Booth Epcot Food and Wine

You had me at Crispy Pork

The other dish on the menu at the Brazil booth is Seared Scallops with Ragout of Tomatoes, Peppers, and Hearts of Palm. I found the scallops to be slightly over cooked, and the hearts of palm were sort of bland. Overall it was a fine dish, but not all that memorable and nothing I would seek out.

 

Seared Scallops at Brazil Booth Epcot Food and Wine

Meh.

Beverage offerings at the Brazil booth are Xingu Black Beer from Kaiser Brewery, Carnaval Moscato Sparkling White Wine, and a Frozen Caipirinha featuring LeBlon Cachaca. I’m a big fan of caipirinhas, so I couldn’t pass it up.

Frozen Caipirinha Brazil booth Epcot Food and Wine

Not for the faint of heart.

 

It’s pretty much what you might expect. Frozen, slushy cachaca with lime and a little sugar. Not too sweet (which is great) and very refreshing. Also very strong. If you’re starting at Terra and making your way around World Showcase like I did, you may want to pace yourself and share this one with a friend. Or maybe not…

Did you try that crispy pork belly? What did you think? Next up, making our way from Brazil to Argentina.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival 2013: Terra Booth

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Hi Friends!

I’ve finally compiled my photos from this year’s Epcot Food & Wine festival and am ready to share the good, the pretty good, and the not so good. Luckily there is more good than not to share.

We didn’t make it to every single booth this year, but managed to do some serious damage in our 1.5 days in the parks. There are a few things that I regretfully missed (man, I really wanted to go to the Singapore booth!), and a few things we skipped on purpose (Greece, I’m looking at you) but overall had a fantastic time and ate most of what we had hoped to try. (You can see my planning wish list here.)

So I figured the best way to tackle this recap would be to go booth by booth, starting with #1, the vegan Terra booth! Terra was new to Epcot Food & Wine in 2012, and I loved it so much I dreamed about it all year. It was a perfect place to start.

erra Booth at Epcot Food and Wine Fest

Vegan Goodness at Terra

First up, Trick’n Chick’n Curry with Basmati Rice featuring Gardein(tm) Chick’n Breast.

Trick'n Chick'n Curry

Curry goodness

We tend to like anything with the word “curry” and this is no exception. I enjoyed this more this year than last. So much depends on whether the “chick’n” is cooked properly. This one was not overcooked or dry – absolutely delicious, with a tomato-y flavorful curry sauce and very nice rice. Husband and kid really enjoyed it.

And of course, we had to have my favorite dish from last year’s Food & Wine fest, the Chili Colorado with House-made Chips & Cashew Cheese featuring Gardein(tm) Beefless Tips. Yes folks, this is vegan beef, and it is delicious.

Chili Colorado with House Made Chips & Cashew Cheese

Complex, warm spices, great texture, totally satisfying

Once again, this dish did not disappoint. the “beef” is soft and meaty, the onions and peppers are soft and homey, the sauce is somewhat sweet, savory, spicy…everything you would want it to be. The cashew cheese is a tiny bit grainy, but if you think of it as ground cashew sauce then that’s not bothersome. It ads a really nice creaminess to the dish. My 12 year old daughter kept asking to go back for seconds.

And finally, we tried the Chocolate Cake with Coconut Mousse and Passion Fruit Sauce.

Not my favorite - chocolatey, but also vegan-y.

Not my favorite – chocolatey, but also vegan-y.

This was not great. I suppose if you’re vegan and have a hard time finding good desserts, it would be OK. (Though you’re probably better off heading to BabyCakes anyway.) The chocolate part was very dense and sort of brownie-like. I didn’t hate it. And the passionfruit sauce had a nice tang. I really didn’t think the coconut mousse worked. It didn’t have a mousse texture – it was also quite dense, and far too oily. More like cooked-down full-fat coconut milk. My kid liked it, though.

Drinks available were a Napa Smith Organic IPA, a Chardonnay and Red Blend from The Vegan Vine, and Fresh Watermelon Juice. The juice looked really good, and I wish I’d ordered it. They were juicing the watermelon fresh at the stand.

So what about you? Did you take a break from animal products and try the vegan offerings at the Terra booth? Anyone try that watermelon juice? Share in the comments! (And if you send me a pic of that juice I’ll post it here.)

(Late Breaking Watermelon Juice Update)

Thanks to our twitter friend Sarah @eatingwdw for providing a pic of the watermelon juice. She says it’s OK but could use some vodka. She’s also blogging about Epcot Food and Wine – check out her excellent blog!

watermelon juice Brazil booth Epcot Food and Wine

Refreshing and fresh-squeezed. I’d add tequila blanco and some salt.