This lists the ten finest dishes and desserts on the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, which is Walt Disney World’s spring & summer time particular occasion working by means of July 5, 2023. Here we cowl the very best dishes on the Outdoor Kitchens, with one thing for everybody–marvelous meats, candy treats, and preeminent plant-based merchandise.
Such a listing is necessary, because the Outdoor Kitchen dishes and desserts are of various high quality: good, dangerous, and ugly. The optimistic information is that the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival meals is overwhelmingly good. This a lot may clear in case you’ve already browsed the Booth Menus for the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.
Even earlier than the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival began, we remarked that this was one of many best-looking lineups we’ve seen for any EPCOT occasion in years. That was obvious given what number of standouts from final 12 months had been returning, together with the extent of inventiveness of newcomers and the varieties of dishes added. (There are sure meals these EPCOT occasions do properly and others which might be constantly dangerous. Thankfully, the culinary crews leaned into their strengths for brand new objects.) As it turned out, we had been right!
With that in thoughts, we’re going to go about meals critiques for the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival just a little otherwise. First off, I’m beginning with this complete ‘best of’ record somewhat than particular person Outdoor Kitchen critiques. That’s merely a matter of practicality. There have been a number of occasions once I’ve began the sales space critiques and misplaced steam midway by means of, not ending the rest. (As easy as they might appear, sales space critiques are extremely tedious and time-consuming. One of my least-favorite posts to put in writing.)
This record can also be extra sensible on your planning functions. Rather than looking out by means of a dozen totally different posts, every part you should know is true right here. You ought to be capable to plan everything of your 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival ‘culinary crawl’ in about 10 minutes. Perhaps longer in case you learn each phrase, or considerably shorter in case you simply have a look at the images–my favourite approach to learn!
To that finish, we’re streamlining this record from a planning perspective and embracing a relative rarity right here: brevity. (Well, minus the introduction, which over-explains and provides caveats, per custom!) This record simply may’ve been a prime 20 or perhaps even 25 if I wished to pull issues out, however as a substitute, I’m breaking it down in two halves–finest objects and finest cubicles.
The cause for that’s comparatively easy: there are 5 Outdoor Kitchens that stand aside from the pack, and needs to be prioritized. At every of those cubicles, you need to order most (or all) of the menu. The precise 5 perfect dishes can all be discovered at these Outdoor Kitchens; the primary half of the record catches the stragglers.
By distinction, there are different Outdoor Kitchens that may be bypassed completely. That is, except you want overpriced, microwaved cafeteria meals. In which case, make haste to the Italy sales space!
Our ultimate caveat is that our tastes might differ from yours. Obviously, that goes with out saying. However, it’s most likely value laying out our preferences and dislikes, so you’ll be able to alter your expectations accordingly or disregard our opinions completely. While we’re suckers for ‘elevated comfort food,’ we’re additionally large followers of ingenious and envelope-pushing dishes with nuanced and surprising flavors. We’d somewhat eat objects that problem our style buds than ones which might be stereotypical theme park fare.
Similarly, we aren’t followers of overly-sugary objects the place the prevailing taste is “artificial color.” For this cause, most of the desserts and a lot of the drinks don’t make the minimize for us. illustrative instance is the Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade, which is nearly universally beloved by Walt Disney World followers and definitely one of many 5 hottest drinks on the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival. I hate it.
Again, to every their very own. I acknowledge that I’m within the excessive minority on this one; in case you like that kind of drink, you’ll most likely love the Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade. That’s exactly why I’m sharing that–so you recognize entering into tips on how to use this record and to what diploma you need to weigh the opinions right here or take them with a grain of salt.
With all of that rambling out of the way in which, let’s begin with the best-of record for the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival…
Top 5 Dishes of the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival
Boneless IMPOSSIBLE Korean Short Rib (Trowel & Trellis) – I used to be flying solo for the cubicles this 12 months, so Sarah doesn’t get a vote on the very best cubicles. If she did, I’m sure that Trowel & Trellis would’ve made the minimize. Honestly, it’s my #6 or #7, which isn’t too dangerous in any respect contemplating the power of the general lineup and my plantless preferences.
Although I wasn’t fairly as wild in regards to the IMPOSSIBLE Lumpia that everybody appears to like, this Korean Short Rib dish is the place its at. Some may even name it impossibly good. Consisting of cilantro-lime rice, Danmuji slaw, kimchee mayonnaise, and simulated quick rib, there’s sufficient occurring right here that it’s powerful to let you know’re consuming “meat” and never meat. I actually like this–it’s ingenious, flavorful, and filling. Exactly what we’re in search of from EPCOT competition dishes.
Spicy Chicken Gumbo (Magnolia Terrace – American Adventure) – The Spicy Chicken Gumbo is a really totally different dish to the one above, however related thought. There’s loads of hen and sausage on this massive, filling dish that’s virtually entree-sized.
It packs a strong punch and is a good mixture of wealthy flavors and textures. It’s additionally spicy by real-world requirements, which suggests it’s very spicy by Walt Disney World requirements. The solely different draw back is that it’s one other scorching and heavy dish. That was wonderful by me as I attempted it on an overcast and 60-degree day at EPCOT. If that doesn’t trouble you, or the climate is cool throughout your go to, we extremely advocate this. Again, this degree of ambition is what EPCOT competition meals needs to be all about!
Bananas Foster Bread Pudding (Magnolia Terrace – American Adventure) – I’ve gotta admit to some bias right here. Bananas Foster Bread Pudding is like Calamari for me. Before you name my judgment into query as a result of these two dishes are nothing alike, let me clarify. Both of those dishes are inherently wonderful, and may solely be so dangerous. The worst Bananas Foster Bread Pudding I’ve ever had would rating an 8/10 on my dessert scale. (Also sorta like fireworks over Cinderella Castle.)
I’d peg this dessert at round 9/10. If I’m making an attempt objectivity, it’s nowhere close to nearly as good because the Cheesecake at Honey Bee-stro (a true 10/10!), nevertheless it’s wonderful. The bread pudding itself is thick and dense, however smooth and melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious. Then there’s the bananas foster, which provides nearly overwhelming sweetness with a little bit of spice. It’s removed from the Happily Ever After model of this dish, however it’s higher than the Disney Enchantment incarnation. And that’s adequate for me!
Croissant au Fromage de Chèvre, Herbes et Ail Rôtie (Fleur de Lys – France) – This is a croissant with goat cheese, herbs, and roasted garlic. From the surface, it’s not a lot to take a look at–a reasonably unassuming merchandise.
The inside tells the true story, with the tangy and earthy taste of the goat cheese is contrasted properly by the buttery crust, with the herbs offering additional depth. This is incredible, far and away the very best merchandise on the France sales space for the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival. I do know loads of Walt Disney World followers love the Beignet Caramélisé, however we’ve but to have a optimistic expertise with that. It’s actually only a low cost doughnut, however with a flowery title and look. (Sorry not sorry.)
Seared Scallops (Northern Bloom – Canada) – These scallops are topped with brown butter French dressing and apple-wood smoked bacon, and accompanied by a beneficiant portion of with french inexperienced beans together with a number of butter potatoes. This dish follows one of many time-honored EPCOT Festival Castellano Commandments: “leave the shrimp, take the salmon and scallops.”
The scallops are perfectly-prepared, with a lightweight exterior crunch that offers away to a young and flavorful inside. If that alone weren’t sufficient, the acidic French dressing mixes completely with the candy and smoky bacon to supply the proper candy and tangy taste. This is a perpetual favourite of the competition, and is the standout merchandise on the #6 or #7 total sales space. (The Beef Tenderloin Tips are additionally extremely really useful if that kind of dish ‘speaks to you.’ More of a simple “meat and potatoes” kind of dish, which is ideal for some individuals!)
Top 5 Booths on the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival
BRUNCHCOT – Previously the EPCOT Sunshine Griddle, which we dubbed the very best new sales space at any competition in 5 years and the very best total Outdoor Kitchen. Returning with a brand new and improved title, BRUNCHCOT is (as soon as once more!) the must-do Outdoor Kitchen of the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, with a stacked menu from prime to backside.
That shouldn’t come as an enormous shock, because the core menu is 80% equivalent to final 12 months. If you solely need a number of snacks from the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, the very best and best strategy is just ordering every part on the menu right here. That’s it. You’re performed. That’s not what we’d advocate doing as there are wonderful objects elsewhere, however the level is that you could’t go fallacious with something at BRUNCHCOT.
The large change for 2023 is the addition of the Lox Benedict on Everything Focaccia (above), which replaces the Corned Beef Brisket Hash. Both dishes function poached eggs, however are in any other case very totally different…and equally wonderful. I’d say that the Lox Benedict is a web optimistic, because it makes the complete menu (which you need to completely order) extra well-rounded and never fairly as heavy. After all, that is brunch and never breakfast. That’s proper, the very best sales space at any EPCOT competition acquired even higher for 2023!
Honey Bee-stro – This was as soon as our favourite sales space on the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, being changed by BRUNCHCOT not as a result of Honey Bee-stro has fallen, however as a result of (frankly) BRUNCHCOT simply goes more durable and has extra to supply. Here, the brand new dish is Chicken and Waffles (above), which is one way or the other a step-up from final 12 months’s Sweet Corn Spoon Bread. In a means, that is just like that, however with hen added…so it is sensible that that is higher!
We’d as soon as once more give the flatbread an endorsement with reservations; I’ve tried this twice in 2023 and warmth lamp and toppings protection points made my two taste-testing classes vastly totally different. With all of that mentioned, the Honey Bee-stro Outdoor Kitchen on the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is a must-stop for the Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake (at all times the #1 dessert on the occasion) and the Chicken & Waffles. Whether you gamble on the flatbread is as much as you; the highest two dishes are sufficient to raise this sales space into the highest 5.
Florida Fresh – To the person in entrance of me in line at Florida Fresh who dared to ask the query all of us ought to’ve been asking, I salute you on your revolutionary pondering and imaginative and prescient. Thanks to him, I ordered the Grilled Street Corn with each toppings…and it was wonderful. (YMMV on this one, however even in case you get a single topping, it’s nonetheless incredible.)
Along with that staple of the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, we’re big followers of the Watermelon Salad. It’s a kind of dishes that’s merely, however deceptively good and distinctive. Then there’s the brand new Blackened Fish Slider, which ranks as considered one of my prime 5 dishes on the 2023 occasion. This is significantly incredible, and the fish might be served by itself, with out being “masked” by the opposite elements. I’m extra tepid on the Florida Strawberry Shortcake, however I’m most likely not the very best decide of that–I feel Strawberry Shortcake, as a broad class of desserts, is overrated. (It’s typically too dry, as was the case right here.)
EPCOT Farmers Feast – Perhaps it’s unhelpful to be recommending this sales space just one week earlier than the “Early Bloom” menu ends and the Springtime menu (adopted by the Summer Solstice menu) debuts. That can be true if we didn’t have in depth previous expertise with the EPCOT Farmers Feast menu and had been moderately assured that this sales space will bat (at the very least) .750 all through the season.
Last 12 months, nothing topped the primary menu and that’ll most likely be true once more this 12 months. However, we’re very a lot trying ahead to the brand new swordfish dish and Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée. These cubicles sometimes do fish properly, however that’s not at all times the case with dessert. Everything else on all the menus–present and future–is just about assured to be good. You may (and will!) make a meal of those first 4 cubicles, rounding up your objects and consuming them indoors at our final, comparatively centralized location…
Citrus Blossom – To declare the ultimate spot on our greatest sales space record, Citrus Blossom edges out the aforementioned Trowel & Trellis and Northern Bloom in Canada (sorry, France!) by a really slender margin. The Canadian delicacies will get a slight edge, however the full bundle at Citrus Blossom is healthier.
That’s as a result of this sales space is actually Orange Bird Eats and is positioned contained in the (air-conditioned) Odyssey pavilion for the primary time on the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival. That makes an enormous distinction, and Citrus Blossom is thus significantly interesting on scorching days or after you’ve already performed a lap of World Showcase.
As for the Citrus Blossom delicacies, I completely beloved the Citrus Baked Brie. This will get every part proper, from texture to a wide range of flavors (and jogs my memory of a similarly-great griddled cheese dish on the Greece sales space throughout Food & Wine). I additionally beloved the Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp, which rating severe factors from a ‘quantity over quality’ perspective (they style good, however are nothing particular so far as tempura goes). The dessert is ok, however formulaic in case you’re conversant in festivals at EPCOT.
Hopefully this ‘best of’ record helps you propose your day at EPCOT between now and July 5, 2023. If I’ve the time, vitality, and inclination, I’ll additionally work on updating the standalone Outdoor Kitchen critiques with new meals images and critiques, however no guarantees that I’ll end that process. For every part else you should know in regards to the occasion, learn our Ultimate Guide to the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival Guide earlier than you go to get an thought of what to do, technique for the competition, and way more.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you may have any favorites from the 2023 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival? If you’ve tried any of the dishes on this record, what’d you consider them? Did we snub any of your prime picks? Think I’m means off on the Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade? Agree or disagree with our selections? Any questions we can assist you reply? Hearing suggestions about your experiences is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!