We stopped by a couple more times in the last 2 weeks. We had quite a few things we've already had, but we did try a few new things. Things we tried for the first time (in 2021) are in
bold.
Great
- Maple Boursin Cheesecake (Refreshment Port) - 10.0 - This has always been great, and this year is no exception.
- Tuna Poke (Hawai'i) - 9.0 - Really fresh and light, seasoning was delicious. Shrimp chips (prawn crackers) were stale and inedible, but we didn't care.
- La Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon (Canada) - 9.0 - Large, tender filet. Best one I've ever had from the Canada booth.
- Corned Beef Corner Route (Flavors From Fire) - 9.0 - Ours had a comically large amount of beef.
- Apple Crumble Tart (Appleseed Orchard) - 9.0 - Apples were cooked perfectly. Too often apple desserts have crunchy apples.
- Cinnamon Apple Cider (Appleseed Orchard) - 9.0 - Basically Martinelli's Sparkling cider with cinnamon added... which is AWESOME.
- Cowboy Macaroni and Cheese (Mac & Eats) - 9.0 - I don't like Disney Mac & Cheese. I loved this. Lots of pulled pork and brisket. Onion straws added a nice crunch.
- Teriyaki Glazed Spam Hash (Hawai'i) - 9.0 - Just as good as previous years. This serving had much less peppers than usual, which for me is a good thing.
Very Good
- Spicy Hako Sushi (Japan) - 8.5 - Only two pieces, but very tasty and quite spicy.
- Spanish-style Paella (Spain) - 8.5 - The rice is good, not great, but the shrimp and sausage were tasty and plentiful!
- Fisherman's Seafood Pie (Ireland) - 8.5 - I usually have terrible luck with this, but this serving was absolutely loaded with lobster.
- Roasted Porchetta (Swanky Saucy Swine) - 8.0 - Potatoes were very plain, but pork was tender and flavorful.
- Beef/Chicken/Lamb Kabobs (Tangierine Cafe) - 8.0 - All 3 meats were very good. Beef and chicken were cold, but still tasty.
- Chilaquiles con Chorizo (Mexico) - 8.0 - Really flavorful chorizo and salsa verde.
- Hot Beef Sandwich (Hops & Barley) - 8.0 - Loaded with tender beef. Vegetables are pretty spicy.
- La Clasica Reyes Margarita (Mexico) - 8.0 - Nice spicy kick. Best festival margarita in a while.
- Capirotada de Chocolate (Mexico) - 8.0 - Large portion loaded with chocolate. Wife's second favorite item of the festival so far.
- Kenyan Coffee Barbecue Beef Tenderloin (Kenya) - 8.0 - Very hearty portion, very flavorful. Kind of sweet. Meat was a bit dense or this would be even higher.
- Stone-Baked Moroccan Bread (Tangierine Cafe) - 8.0 - Bread was fresh and the three dips were all good.
- Baked Lobster Dip (Lobster Landing) - 8.0 - Compares favorably to something you'd get from Red Lobster or similar.
- Fried Falafel Pita (Tangierine Cafe) - 8.0 - Believe it or not, this was my first time trying falafel. It was very crispy and savory.
- Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup (Canada) - 8.0 - Same as it always is. Too bad the weather is usually to hot to get this.
Good
- The Chimichurri-up Offense (Flavors From Fire) - 7.5 - Steak was very good, and more tender than expected. Everything else on plate was meh.
- Crispy-fried Pepper Shrimp (China) - 7.5 - Not as good as previous years, and only two shrimp!
- Piri Piri Skewered Shrimp (Kenya) - 7.5 - Perfectly cooked, maybe a bit heavy on the paprika.
- Traditional Spicy Vietnamese Beef Pho (Noodle Exchange) - 7.5 - Good flavor, reasonably spicy. Room temperature.
- ZiRan Beef Bao Bun (China) - 7.5 - Kind of a generic flavor, but good. Beef was pretty tender.
- Passion Fruit Cheesecake (Hawai'i) - 7.5 - Good solid cheesecake, but there is nothing really special about it.
- Deconstructed Pavlova (Australia) - 7.5 (was 2.0 the first time) - We tried this again. It was much better than the first time, but the fruit wasn't very sweet. Can't really blame them for that, though.
- La Passion Martini Slushy (France) - 7.5 - Good, but a bit syrupy.
- Wild Mushroom and Truffle Tart (Rotundra Bistro) - 7.5 - Flavor is subtle but nice.
- Pistachio Cake (Tangierine Cafe) - 7.5 - Very basic and light.
- Kalua Pork Slider (Hawai'i) - 7.0 - Very good flavor, but the bread gets way too soggy.
- Griddled Cheese (Greece) - 7.0 - Not as good as the previous version. I think it's a different cheese.
- Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp (Australia) - 7.0 - Decent flavor, but shrimp were kind of mushy.
- Freshly Baked Carrot Cake (Hops & Barley) - 7.0 - I usually love this. But I'm more of a spice cake guy, and this was VERY carroty.
Decent
- Charcuterie (Spain) - 6.5 - Not much vinaigrette, hardly any green olives, the (plentiful) sausage was soft and bland. The single piece of rosciutto was good, and the cheese was decent.
- Tempura Shrimp Sando (Japan) - 6.5 - Ours had barely any crab or green onions. It was literally a tempura shrimp on a Hawaiian type roll. Not bad at all, just underwhelming.
- Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart - 6.0 - Nothing like previous versions. Basically tasted like a typical blueberry muffin. Not a tart at all.
- S'mores Whoopie Pie-lon (Flavors From Fire) - 6.0 - Not bad, but the whole thing was the same texture. The graham cracker was soft and mushy. Basically just tasted like chocolate.
- Schinkennudeln (Germany) - 6.0 - I usually really like this, but this serving was greasy and kind of gummy.
- Soy-Glazed Sticky Ribs (Swanky Saucy Swine) - 6.0 - Sauce had a good flavor, but both ribs had lots of weird little chewy/hard bits that made them hard to eat.
- Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese with Ham (Alps) - 6.0 - This was sitting under a heat lamp, so the cheese was all congealed.
Mediocre
- Crispy Barbecue Pork Rinds (Swanky Saucy Swine) - 5.0 - These were really hard and hurt our teeth. Pimento cheese was decent.
- Schofferhofer Wild Cherry Hefeweisen (Germany) - 5.0 - I'm not really a beer guy, but the grapefruit version is much better.
Bad
- Beignet aux Trois Fromages (France) - 4.0 - The flavor wasn't bad, but it was a big pile of mush. The beignet couldn't hold up to the cheese filling.
- Teriyaki-Sesame Wings (Brew-Wing) - 4.0 - These were really sour.
- Garlic-Parmesan Wings (Brew-Wing) - 3.0 - I ate two. First was meh but not terrible. Second tasted like a used dish rag. Both were really dry.
Here are pics of the new items we tried:
