Welcome to those of you joining me from Two Moms and a Mouse and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the final stop on our Magical Blogorail.
Spring in Epcot means one thing–the stunning International Flower and Garden Festival that blooms each year from early March through mid-May with gorgeous topiaries, spectacular landscaping, educational programming, and perhaps best of all, delicious food! After a successful debut at last year’s festival, 11 Outdoor Kitchens have popped up throughout the World Showcase featuring a spring-inspired menu of farm-fresh fare and international flavors. I had the opportunity to tour the festival a few weeks ago beneath a bluebird sky and warm sunshine. Throughout the course of a relaxing afternoon I was able to sample several sweet and savory small plates offered this year, all of which are very reasonably priced at about $4 – $7 each. Here are a few delectable highlights!
My feast began in the United Kingdom Pavilion where Buttercup Cottage was serving up a scrumptious sampling of teatime treats. A lovely, fresh salad of greens and tangy stilton, a traditional sausage roll made with buttery, flaky pastry and a pair of tender lemon scones went perfectly with iced English tea sweetened with lemongrass syrup.
It was difficult to resist trying each of the times on the Buttercup Cottage menu which included:
- Freshly Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit with Smoked Salmon Tartare
- Field Greens with Plant City Strawberries, Toasted Almonds, and Farmstead Stilton
- Pork and Apple Sausage Roll with House-Made Piccalilli
- Freshly Baked Lemon Scones with Berry Preserves and Crème FraÎche
Moving along to France I was very tempted as I passed by Fleur de Lys and spotted the delicious La Vie en Rose frozen slush made with Grey Goose Orange Vodka, St. Germain Liquor, and White and Red Cranberry Juice. As it was still fairly early in the day I did not partake in one of these, but they looked wonderful!
The Japan Pavilion is my middle is my middle daughter’s favorite for the fabulous department store and I was on my way there to do some birthday shopping for my girls. As I approached the pavilion I admired the colorful plates of sushi and Frushi–or fruit sushi–in guests’ hands as they left Hanami. The menu at this kiosk included the following and the Frushi seemed to be a favorite among the younger set!
- Frushi – Fresh pineapple, strawberries and melon, rolled with coconut rice, topped with raspberry sauce, sprinkled with toasted coconut and served with whipped cream on the side
- Temaki hand roll – Sliced Panko fried chicken, curry sauce, rice and pickled julienne carrots wrapped with Nori
- Hanami sushi – A flavorful combination of salmon, scallop and beef-topped rice balls served atop a shiso violet sauce (TRYit! Selection)
- Japanese puffed rice cakes with green tea whipped cream and azuki
Shopping finished and appetite primed, I headed toward the mouthwatering, smoky smell of barbecue near the American Adventure. This is the pavilion where guests tend to head for light, sugary funnel cakes and Disney’s infamously enormous turkey legs, but today there was an even stronger draw–The Smokehouse.
I am a huge fan of pulled pork and am known to fire up 6 or 7 pounds of Boston Butt in my crockpot on any given weekend in winter or summer, but true barbecued pork, the kind that smokes over wood coals for hours and hours tended to lovingly with a spicy, vinegar-y mop is out of my league. Luckily there are folks like the chefs at The Smokehouse to make it for me and their Pulled Pig Slider with slaw was outstanding. I’m just sorry I didn’t have room for the Piggylicious Bacon Cupcake afterward. Fortunately I’ll be back once more before the festival ends on May 18th, so I think I know what I’ll be trying then!
Polishing off my pig, I headed onward and spotted this bright spot in my travels where I correctly assumed some local specialties were being featured, including some very nice wines and craft beers from various locales around the Sunshine State.
Stuffed as I was from my snack at The Smokehouse, I didn’t partake in what looked like some delicious, farmers’ market-style fare like this:
The kitchen here was home to an inventive menu highlighting fresh, Florida produce which included:
- Watermelon salad with pickled onions, BW Farm baby arugula, feta cheese and balsamic reduction
- Shrimp and stone ground grits with andouille sausage, sweet corn, tomatoes and cilantro
- Florida kumquat pie
Finally, no blog about food at Disney would be complete without at least one mention of Disney’s quintessential snack item–the Dole Whip–and the kiosks
at the Flower and Garden Festival certainly didn’t disappoint Dole Whip lovers this year! At Pineapple Promenade right at the entrance to the World Showcase, aficionados of the frozen delight were in for a treat where the menu offered several twists on this Disney favorite including:
- Traditional Dole Whip
- Dole Whip with Myer’s Dark Rum
- Dole Whip with Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
- Sweet Potato Cinnamon Waffle with Dole Whip
To add insult to injury after the Piggylicious Bacon Cupcake I’m planning on next weekend, I think that a Dole Whip with a rum floater is going to be vying for my attention as well. Stay tuned!
Many thanks to all of the kind guests who allowed me to inspect and photograph some of their delicious snacks. There was no way that I could have possibly eaten everything that I would have liked to during my afternoon visiting Epcot’s Outdoor Kitchens. I enjoyed meeting and speaking with all of these lovely folks!
Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Orange this month. We will be back on May 22nd with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney news, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ Capturing Magical Memories
2nd Stop ~ I Am a Mommy Nerd
3rd Stop ~ Disney with Babies, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
4th Stop ~ Two Moms and A Mouse
Final Stop ~ In the Mouse House
I just told my husband recently that we need to go try more food from the kiosks before the Flower & Garden Festival ends. The Smokehouse at the American Adventure Pavilion is my fave so far, but that Frushi sure looks good too! And wasn’t that sweet potato waffle good?
Jodi,
I’m headed down again next week for the Traveling Mom writers’ network retreat and was just making some plans for my down time last night. I was thinking about where I wanted to eat in Epcot on Sunday afternoon and then said to myself, “We’ll just tour the Outdoor Kitchens!” There are SO many great choices and so much deliciousness. Florida Fresh is on my list as are margaritas and tacos at the Mexico kiosk. And the piggy cupcake. And the…
What a fabulous post! It’s so great to have you joining the Magical Blogorail this month. I look forward to many more fun posts from you.
Thanks, Heidi! So glad you liked the post. I had a VERY hard time limiting myself to featuring 3 Epcot snacks so I veered off course a bit with this post–there are just so many delicious choices at the festival kiosks!
Gina, what a great post and incredible photos! I’ve not been able to go to the Flower & Garden Festival, but I’m glad that they have introduced food kiosks like they have at the Food & Wine Festival, it just makes your day that much more enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of these — would you say that the barbecue would be your favorite?
Mike, so far yes, the Smokehouse was awesome. But Buttercup Cottage was pretty close. There were also some lovely choices at Fleur de Lys in France (besides those cocktail slushies!) that I’d love to try. It’s just a fantastic experience. Thanks for the photography compliment–I was shooting with my Nikon D50 and it was a gorgeous day for food photos!
I was going to say there’s no way you ate all that. 😉 But next time I go I MUST try some frushi. For sure. And the Dole whip w. rum. And whatever else.
Fun series.
Glad I checked out the posts!
Ha! Yes, didn’t consume all I featured–they would’ve had to roll me out of there
Great post! I love the food booths at Flower and Garden Festival. The fruishi is on my must try list
I love the bbqpork sliders at the Smokehouse. Wish they were a little bigger though.
Though their small size makes it possible to sample a bunch of other festival goodies, right?! Food and Wine has become even higher on my priority list after this–though the park is just so stunning during Flower and Garden in a way that it isn’t during Food and Wine. The bottom line is that there’s just always something wonderful to see and do in Disney World!
Awesome post! Buttercup Cottage was my favorite kitchen. Those lemon scones were amazing! I think you are going to love the Dole Whip with rum.
Dole Whip with a rum floater ???!!! Oh my gosh! Have you had one of those? or is that a new item at EF&GF If you have one …. please please let us know how it is! 😀
It’s a repeat visitor after having debuted last year. And no, haven’t tried it but plan to next weekend. AND one of those lovely cocktails in the France pavilion!
So many choices! That’s the F&W Festival is dangerous for me!
The prices are great though, so while it’s dangerous for one’s waistline, not so much one’s wallet which is a nice treat!
We had a chance to try many of the same things you did and loved them as well. I think out of all of the kiosks,my favorite was China. I really loved the egg rolls and bubble tea. Did you happen to get a chance to stop there?
I saw a bunch of kids with the candied strawberries on skewers there but didn’t have room to post about that. I have SO many more photos and really had to limit myself on this post. I may have to write one more with all the other goodies I saw and sampled!
Thanks for bringing us with you on a tour around Epcot today! It seems like you could go to the festival every single day and not have time to try everything
That is totally the case, Tricia!
I agree Gina- I just adore the addition of the Outdoor Kitchens!! (The topiaries, fairies and butterflies are so much more enchanting with a savory snack or decadent drink in one’s hand.) You chose some of my favorites too: the Fruishi, for sure. I thought the Freshly Baked Lemon Scones with Berry Preserves and Crème FraÎche at the Buttercup Cottage were perfect! I sampled most of what was offered on The Smokehouse menu, but it must have been a slow day; the turkey, brisket and pork were pretty dry. BUT, I got to wash them down with a fine Vermont classic- Magic Hat beer. I bet you’ll be happy, happy with your Dole Whip with Myer’s Dark Rum… Welcome to The Magical Blogorail!!
Thanks, Didi! I loved those scones and you definitely cannot go wrong with Magic Hat
Can’t wait to see you in Philly!
xo
I REALLY need to get to the Food & Wine festival! that all looks amazing. How does the dole whip with rum compare to the regular one? I’m not a big fan of the original, but if you throw in some rum, I may like it!
Believe it or not, Beth, I didn’t get the chance to sample it this past weekend as I’d planned to do. I didn’t love my first Dole Whip, but have had two (one in WDW and one at the original Tiki Birds stand in Disneyland) recently and enjoyed them both. Give them another try!