By Laura Lee

Some people like to drink around the world when they go to Epcot. I like to eat around the world and have spent my fair share of time perusing the snack carts inside the World Showcase. Being a Disney snack obsessed individual, I wanted to check out the Food & Wines Festival at Epcot sponsored by Corkcickle before it ended November 18th. Here are a few of my favorites.

First I grabbed a festival passport which is a handy dandy guide to all the things offered at each of the 6 continents that are represented at this year’s Food & Wine Festival. You’ll also find some scavenger hunts. My personal favorite was Emile’s Fromage Montage, which challenges you to trying 5 different cheese dishes throughout the festival. Once you acquire 5 stamps, you can head to the Simmering Sips booth to redeem your prize, a Strawberry Cheesecake Swirl Dole Whip that came in a cute souvenir cup that you can take home with you.

HAWAII

I had never had SPAM® before so I went in search of the Hawaii booth first so I could give the SPAM® Musubi Sushi a shot. Wrapped in with sushi rice and drizzled the teriyaki-glazed SPAM was drizzled with spicy mayonnaise, Eel Sauce and Nori. While ham in a tin always sounded weird to me, this did not disappoint.

GREECE

Have you ever heard of griddled cheese? Yeah, me neither. I’ll admit, I chose the Greek griddled cheese dish based on the menu photo. The fact that it was drizzled with honey and pistachios gave it some serious street cred. If you like cheese that’s a little bit sweet and savory, this is divine.

FLAVORS FROM FIRE

I almost walked right by the The Flavors From Fire booth over near Test Track but made a pit stop when I spotted the smoked corn beef. While it was the last thing I ate at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, it was also my favorite. Smoked Corned Beef on top of home made potato chips (I mean, they tasted homemade) and drowning in a beer cheese fondue, pickled onions and cheese curds. As I walked with my beautiful platter of smoked corn beef and cheese curds, people kept looking at my food and saying “Now that looks good” and they were right. It was better than good. It. Was. Amazing.

JAPAN

In Japan I decided on the Fire Taiko Roll (pictured) to go with my Sake Passion Cocktail (not pictured because it was delicious and we drank it fast)! This was pretty simple, a simple spicy tuna with a spicy sauce wrapped with cucumber and pickled Daikon radish.

THE NOODLE EXCHANGE

I love shrimp and I love Thai food so the Thai Shrimp with Rice noodles in a coconut Curry broth at The Noodle Exchange was next. It was the curry was just spicy enough it was the perfect tasting portion. You can also find three other ramen dishes at the Noodle Exchange which is located near the Mexico Pavilion.

FRANCE

Of everything inside the World Showcase at Epcot, France has always been one of my favorites. Walking through the International Gateway I headed straight to the France food booth. Not so much for the escargot or the Boeuf Bourguignon (although they were good too) but for the vanilla creme brulee or the “Crème Brûlée Vanille à la Confiture de Fraises.” It was creamy, it was delicious, it was everything I love about creme brulee. It was $5.95 and I may have gotten another on my walk back to my resort at the end of the night.