Day 3: Festival of the Arts! / Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019

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Monorail at Epcot

Let Them Eat Art

Discover colorful fare that paints an exquisite picture of gastronomical perfection—only at the World Showcase in Epcot!

Art critics and gourmands alike can enjoy a feast for the eyes as well as the palate! Explore a world where food imitates art as the epicurean elite converge to create mouthwatering magic that rivals the masters.

From Festival-exclusive “food studios” to workshops with pro kitchen wizards, Guests will savor avant-garde flavors sure to make Picasso proud.

I’ve covered the visual art, so it’s now onto the culinary art!

Before we visited Walt Disney World this year with did a lot of watching of Disney Vloggers on YouTube to see their thoughts on the Festival of the Arts, and was able to glean which food choices to definitely try – and which ones to miss!

I know that food is subjective in many ways, but if lots of people are saying a particular festival dish isn’t very good, then we are likely to skip it in favor of something else.

That said we are also a couple that will try out pretty much everything regardless of what popular opinion is, but with just the one day at the festival we wanted to get the best bang for our buck.

Festival of the Arts Banner

The food offerings at FotA is nowhere near the scale of what it is at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival(F&W) – but there are a variety of booths dotted around the pavilions in World Showcase.

Like all the other festivals, there is a Festival Passport that you can pick up (for free) that tells you all about the festival, but at the moment we can’t find ours – we’ve tidied it away so well we can’t find all of our paraphernalia from that trip!

Included in the passport is a list of the booths and the dishes that you can purchase. You can check them off as you go around trying everything.

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Mosaic Canteen – Morocco Pavilion Epcot World Showcase

The set up is exactly the same as at F&W with the big standees near the booth with a list of all of the food and drink offerings and their price. You then line up to place your order and pay at the till and then go round to the front of the booth to grab your plate of food or glass of drink.

Remember to pick up a cutlery and some napkins which are located nearby.

Our first stop for food was in the Morocco Pavilion…

Mosaic Canteen » Morocco Pavilion

Spiced Beef – with Pine Nuts and Dried Cherries, Hummus and Pita Chips ($8)

This tasted really good! It was a a bit awkward to eat as the glass that the beef was served in was quite tall, so getting your pita chip into in and then down to the bottom to grab some hummus was a bit messy! I’m sure there are better ways of presenting this dish.

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Spiced Beef

Mediterranean Flatbread – with Zaatar, Olive Oil Artichoke, Olives, Mozzarella and Feta Cheese ($8)

Before we go any further I will let you know what Zataar is, because we wondered too!

Za’atar is a blend of dried herbs like oregano, marjoram or thyme, and spices like cumin and coriander, with sesame seeds, salt, and sumac.

This was another good choice – we love foods from this region of the world so often enjoy the offerings from the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot World Showcase.

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Mediterranean Flatbread
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Mediterranean Flatbread

We then headed into the Japan Pavilion (one of my personal favorites at Epcot!).

I love to sit and listen to Matsuriza – the Taiko Drummers that perform at the base of the temple.

However, I have learned, that after 25 years performing the Japan Pavilion, Matsuriza were retired on 20 March 2020 and will no longer be performing. Such sad news, and another thing being culled from the Disney Parks.

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Us at Epcot World Showcase
Purple Potion Ears framing Epcot Spaceship Earth
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Takumi Table – Japan Pavilion Epcot World Showcase

Takumi Table » Japan Pavilion

Sushi Donut – Donut-shaped Sushi featuring Salmon, Tuna, Shrimp, Avocado, and Masago accented with Citrus-soy Gelée and Wasabi on the side ($7.50)

We both love sushi and this was nice, not too dry which we find the sushi at F&W to sometimes be. It also looked ever so pretty!

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Sushi Donut

Taiyaki – Fish-shaped Japanese Sweet Stuffed Pastry with Red Bean Paste and topped with Whipped Cream and Custard ($5.50)

This was another great looking plate! If you have eaten Mochi before that you will be familiar with the flavor of red bean paste that is used in the fillings of those rice balls.

This pastry had that same kind of flavor and it was a nice big portion for us to share. Although, it taste so good I could have had one all to myself!

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Taiyaki
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We actually had a “year off” from visiting Walt Disney World in 2018, so it had been 1 year and 2 months since our previous visit, which for us was the longest we had not visited for since 2013!

Anyway, the reason I say this, is because while it may not seem that long, in Disney terms it is a LONG time!

And one of the trends we noticed were for these huge wagons being pushed around the parks. I was shocked!

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Now, I will highlight that this kind of wagon is no longer permitted, but I’m not sure when they became fashionable to use – they are crazy big and bulky I saw some people with wagons filled with 2 or 3 kids as well as all manner of stuff dangling and hanging from the sides.

In all the years we’ve been I had never seen a single one of these, and I’m glad that Disney phased the trend out swiftly!

Right, back to the food tour!

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Cuisine Classique – Germany Pavilion Epcot World Showcase

Cuisine Classique » Germany Pavilion

This both was in the Germany Pavilion, but rather than serving German food it served “Braised dishes inspired by classic art of the 18th and 19th centuries.”

Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib – with Parsnip Purée, Baby Tomatoes, and Aged Balsamic ($8)

This was a dish that all the vloggers were raving about, and I could see why – it was delicious and we enjoyed it.

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Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib
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El Artista Hambriento – Mexico Pavilion Epcot World Showcase

Our final destination in our culinary arts journey was in the Mexico Pavilion…

El Artista Hambriento » Mexico Pavilion

Sopes de Chilorio – Slow-braised Pork Marinated in Ancho Chili Paste served on Fried Corn Dough with Black Beans, Queso Oaxaca, Crema Mexicana, and Salsa Verde ($6.95)

You cannot go wrong with any of the ingredients in this dish – we really enjoyed this! We love Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine so this was a real winner for us.

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Sopes de Chilorio
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As I mentioned, there are not as many food booths as there are at Food & Wine, and we got to try out pretty much everything we wanted to. There were a few here and there we maybe missed out on, but there is only so much you can eat!

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