Epcot's International Festival of the Arts is officially in full swing and we went on opening day, sampled at least one item from practically every booth, and now we're ready to tell you all about it!

 

1. Paintbrush Churros (Taste Track)

What is it?: cinnamon sugar churros dipped in colorful white chocolate

Our review: So simple, yet so delicious! Comes with four smaller churros (basically two regular sized ones) that are served freshly dipped in colorful white chocolate!

 

2. Lobster Bacon Macaroni & Cheese (Taste Track)

What is it?:lobster bacon macaroni & cheese served in a warm bread cone

Our review: The lobster available at both Disneyland and WDW can be very hit or miss, but I am extremely excited to announce that this was definitely a hit! The warm bread cone is identical to the ones over at Cozy Cone Motel in Disney's California Adventure, so you know this has to be good.

 

3. Gallery Bites: A Trio of Hors d'Oeuvres (The Painter's Palate)

What is it?: chilled shrimp with cucumber cream cheese on a crostini; traditional deviled egg with candied bacon; and crispy truffled risotto ball with truffle aïoli

Our review: The cucumber cream cheese and shrimp crostini was my favorite of the three, but everything was still pretty as a whole.

 

4. Trio of Savory Croissant Doughnuts (The Painter's Palate)

What is it?: whipped Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs cheese with fresh herbs; chicken salad with shaved fennel and fresh herbs; and spicy tuna with wasabi and seaweed salad

Our review: I'm never all that crazy about these croissant doughnuts because I don't think that they're prepared all that well or taste too great, but this year's were pretty decent.

 

5. Smoked Salmon and Cream Gâteau (The Painter's Palate)

What is it?: smoked salmon and cream gâteau with egg yolk cream, paddlefish caviar, and micro-herbs

Our review: This is definitely a dish for the foodies! I love smoked salmon, so I thought this was delicious, especially paired with the cream and caviar!

 

6. Sous Vide Poulet Rouge Chicken Roulade (Pop Eats)

What is it?: sous vide poulet rouge chicken roulade with apples and safe served with warm brie fondue, blueberry and beet gel, and garnished with apple and beet chips

Our review: This chicken roulade was one of my absolute favorite dishes of the festival. It's not even remotely dry thanks to the sous vide cooking method and is packed with such incredible flavor!

 

7. Pop-Artsicle (The Deconstructed Dish)

What is it?: red, white, and blue frozen slushy

Our review: A reimagined classic! Each layer is a different flavor and it definitely cooled us down during the warmer parts of the day.

 

8. Deconstructed Reuben (The Deconstructed Dish)

What is it?: deconstructed reuben with shredded corned beef, thousand island dressing, pickled red cabbage, and rye curl

Our review: To be honest, I am not the biggest corned beef or pastrami fan, but I will say that this was still very good and was plated beautifully.

 

9. Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake (The Deconstructed Dish)

What is it?: whipped New York style cheesecake with fresh Florida strawberries and sugar cookies with micro-basil

Our review: Easily the best sweet treat of the day!

 

10. Deconstructed BLT (The Deconstructed Dish)

What is it?: deconstructed BLT with crispy pork belly, tomato jam, and soft poached egg

Our review: Everything on this plate was served so incredibly fresh and I loved everything about it! The soft poached egg dripped perfectly and all of the flavors combined together were heaven.

 

11. Sushi Donut (Takumi Table)

What is it?: donut-shaped sushi featuring salmon, tuna, shrimp, avocado, and masago accented with citrus-soy gelée and wasabi on the side

Our review: Having spent many years working at sushi restaurants, I don't think I'll ever been too impressed by Disney sushi, but this definitely was a very unique option at Festival of the Arts!

 

12. Dragon and Phoenix (The Painted Panda)

What is it?: spicy sautéed shrimp with spinach noodles

Our review: Quite the underdog of the festival! I really did not expect to love the Dragon and Phoenix as much as I did, but the flavors were amazing.

 

13. Shrimp Ceviche (Pop Eats)

What is it?: shrimp ceviche with lime mint foam

Our review: Super refreshing and light!

 

14. Charcuterie Palette (The Masterpiece Kitchen)

What is it?: charcuterie palette with artisan cured meats and cheeses featuring Nueske's applewood smoked beef

Our review: This palette included some of the most unique cheeses that I've had on a charcuterie board (one was even infused with wine), but overall it was just decent. I really loved how each cheese & meat was paired well with other accompaniments that balanced them out nicely.

 

15. Lobster Chips (Refreshment Port)

What is it?: house-made chips, lobster, lobster bisque cheese sauce, pickled jalapeños, and citrus cream

Our review: I only tried a bit of these chips, but I wasn't crazy about them and definitely would choose the Lobster Bacon Macaroni & Cheese instead.

 

16. Moelleux Aux Chocolats Valrhona (L'Art du Cuisine Francaise)

What is it?: molten chocolate cake with Pure Origin Valrhona chocolates

Our review: I had my doubts about the molten chocolate cake from France, but was pleasantly surprised at the outcome! The chocolate in the center of the cake melts perfectly when you cut into it and it's so warm!

 

17. Crème de Brie en Petit Pain (L'Art du Cuisine Francaise)

What is it?: warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl

Our review: I wasn't sure if I would really like this bread bowl either, but I ended up not being able to stop eating it once I started because I enjoyed it so much!

 

18. Mediterranean Flatbread (Mosaic Canteen)

What is it?: Mediterranean flatbread with zaatar, olive oil artichoke, olives, mozzarella, and feta cheese

Our review: The Mediterranean Flatbread is one of the biggest bangs for your buck at the festival. You get two very generous slices of flatbread all for $8 and they're delicious.

 

19. Pan-Seared Scallop (The Artist's Table)

What is it?: pan-seared scallop with chorizo, roasted red pepper coulis, and a parmesan crisp

Our review: This was one of the few things that I did not end up sampling for myself, but Joe did since it's gluten free and he really enjoyed it!

 

20. Beef Wellington (The Artist's Table)

What is it?: beef wellington with mushroom bordelaise, fennel cream, and roasted baby vegetables

Our review: Out of all of the things that I tried, this had to be my least favorite. I honestly just didn't really love the idea of the meat being cooking inside of the puff pastry.

 

21. Crystal Mooncake (The Painted Panda)

What is it?: crystal mooncake with fruit filling and garnished with toasted coconut

Our review: This was another one of the most interesting things that I tried at the festival this year! The mooncake was so soft and almost had the texture of mochi, which I really loved.

--

To wrap it up, we tried a whole lot of food from Festival of the Arts, but I know there's definitely still some amazing foods that we have yet to try! Let us know if there's anything that you really loved from the festival that we should sample!