A Visit to Epcot with Megan, Patrick, and Avery - Pt1 - 2022/01/19

Patrick, Megan, and Avery are visiting! Let's go visit the Disney Parks!
Epcot!

If we're going to be spending the day walking around, we'd better make sure to start with a good breakfast. Apples, yogurt, and chicken strips will have to do. Everyone likes regular food better than breakfast food. 

To start our day, why not try a few different sodas from all around the world! Club Cool it is! It's not often you get a chance to try beverages from 8 different countries from around the world. 

The kids must have told Avery about the Beverly soda ahead of time. She refused to try even a sip. 

As expected, Megan enjoyed the banana flavor of Bon Bon Anglais. Patrick was split between the Bon Bon Anglais and the Watamelon. 

And if we're going to have Club Cool, there's always something else we've got to get. We lucked out and they happened to be popping it fresh! Look at how yellow and buttery that is! Our favorite!

Yep, that's a pretty good tradition. 

And I think Avery liked being able to try all those different soda flavors. 

Before they got here, Theresa and I grabbed an event guide that listed all the different foods at all the different booths for the International Festival of the Arts. Megan put a checkmark by each of the items that looked good, and by the time she was done with it, the book was filled with checkmarks. 

It's lunchtime so let's start eating! Before we start, understand that this is a special festival at Disney World. So not only are you paying special festival prices, you're also paying Disney prices. Nothing here is going to be a good "value". Everything is supposed to be an "experience". 

The first booth we stopped at is El Artista Hambriento (The Hungry Artist) near the Mexico pavilion. 

Here we are trying the Huarache Verde ($7.50), a cilantro huarache with cochinita pibil, fresh pineapple, and picked onion. I only know what a few of those words mean. When I saw the Disney photo of the item, I still didn't know what that green thing on the bottom was. 

Ah, turns out huarache is smashed masa with beans on top. It's green from cilantro. Everyone got a little bite from it. As a taco, it was fine. It was just okay, but I never have to buy one again. Megan gave it a 5 out of 10. 

Since we're nearby, let's go check out the Gran Fiesta Tour in the giant pyramid. 

It's cute. No thrills, which is fine for Avery. Ian doesn't think it should be changed out for Coco. He likes this one just the way it is. 

The kids want to spend some of that money they got from Gram and Pop Pop, so they want to get some Dole Whip. Their favorite place here is at the Refreshment Outpost. It has Pineapple Dole Whip along with a Raspberry Dole Whip, swirled together! I still think it's wrong that they advertise this as coming in a waffle cone and then serve it in these little cups. I've ordered it twice now from here, both times specifying the waffle one, and neither time did they have it. 

The kids still like how it tastes though. 

It wouldn't be a Disney Dole Whip without having a "void of disappointment". 

Our next stop around the world is at the Pastoral Palate, near the Germany pavilion. There's two things we want to try while we're here. 

The first is the Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib ($8.25) with Parsnip Purée, Broccolini, Baby Tomatoes, and Aged Balsamic.  

The second is the Wild Boar Cassoulet ($9.00) with Duck Confit, Ham Hock, and Wild Boar Sausage. It's weird to me that there's a random radish on the plate as well. 

How is the Wild Boar? Ian liked it. 

Avery not so much. Patrick and I tried it. It had an interesting spice to it. We gave it a 4.5 out of 10. 

But the Red Wine-braised short ribs. Those were phenomenal! The meat was so tender and flavorful! The parsnip puree was tasty too. It was so good that I hopped back in line to get another one. And Theresa is going to find a recipe so that we can try to recreate it at home. It was great! 9.5 out of 10. 

Like my new Hercules shirt? Got it on eBay. It's brand new and hasn't been washed yet. I have a feeling that it's going to be going to Theresa soon. It's already a little tight. D'oh. 

Let's head to Italy! There at the L'Arte di Mangiare (The Art of Eating), the ravioli looks like it could be delicious. Ravioli alla Boscaiola ($13.00) has Sweet Sausage Ravioli, Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Creamy Parmesan Sauce.  

Your eyes do not deceive you. That's 5 raviolis for $13. It better be good. 

Thankfully it was pretty good. Ian loved them and wanted to get a 2nd order of them. Eh, not this time buddy. But we'll look to expand our menu at home to include something like it. 

Alli and Theresa are fans of the big mushrooms too. 

One of the rules of food is that you shouldn't plate it if it's not edible, right? 

Each of us tore off a petal from the flower, got some of the creamy parmesan sauce on it, and had a bite. It was a little spicy. 

Both Pat and Megan, and Theresa and I loved our trips to Italy. Let's go explore the Pavilion. 

It's not super detailed, but we like the fountain. 

And they had artwork set up as part of the festival that you could be a part of. Here you can recreate The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. After the girls took their turn, it was suggested that I should get over there too. I think we nailed it.  

On to our next food stand. Vibrante & Vívido: Encanto Cocina is inspired by the new Disney film Encanto and Columbian cuisine. 

We're getting an Empanada! Yum!

The House-made Chorizo and Potato Empanada ($6.50) has Turmeric Aioli and Ammatto Aioli. Theresa and I thought it was a little spicy, but very tasty. There was some good flavor in this overgrown Hot Pocket. 

We're starting to get full, so let's start to wrap things up. Megan stood in a long line at the L'Art de la Cuisine Francaise (The Art of French Cuisine). It's 1:30pm and very popular. 

Megan started with a Frozen French Martini ($15.00) with Grey Goose, Vodka, Chambord Liqueur, Pineapple Orange, and Grape Juice with Lemon-Lime Foam. 

She thought it was delicious and said it tasted like candy. 

Alli - Can we have some? 

Eh, no. Sorry.

Ian - Why can't we have some? 

It's an adult drink guys. Kids aren't allowed to have any. 

I was excited to try the Croissant à la Truffe Noire d'Hiver ($8.00), a Black Winter Truffle Croissant served Warm. 

Inside, there was a lot of this goop. I guess it's like a truffle gravy or something. I love truffles and thought this was very tasty. Ian asked for a bite, and I reluctantly gave him one. I was surprised when he asked for another one! 

Last up is the Crème de Brie en Petit Pain ($8.50) which is Warm Creamy Brie in a House-made Bread Bowl. Melted cheese and bread? We had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately we were a little let down by it. I think someone mentioned White Velveeta. D'oh. 

Now that we're all full on food, it's time to go explore the rides! We'll continue that in Part 2!