Friday, October 16 — Sarah and I went back to EPCOT for Food & Wine. Second festival visit of the season, about four hours from 10:45, date-day pace. Goal: more stamps for Emile’s Fromage Montage, try dishes people had tipped us on, and not cram the whole map. We left with eight plates, a finished passport, and a clear winner.
Full ranked notes also live in Top Foods at EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. Fromage deep-dive: Is Emile’s Fromage Montage Worth It?
1. Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle — Festival Favorites
We started lunch with dessert. Correct move. Both of us loved it — one of the best festival desserts we have had this year. Pumpkin cheesecake flavors hit. Informal five-out-of-five energy.
2. Pumpkin-Mascarpone Ravioli — Forest & Field
Fromage stamp stop. Pumpkin, cheese, cranberry. Small portion. Tastier than I expected; Sarah liked it more than I did (her kind of plate). Worth trying if you are chasing stamps or fall flavors.
3. Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Mushrooms — Canada
Biggest miss of the day. Filet had decent flavor but was really chewy — not what you want from a filet, festival booth or not. The mashed potatoes and sautéed mushrooms with sauce were excellent and basically redeemed the plate into middle-of-the-road. One serving, one opinion — still would not put it on a must-try list.
4. Pão de Queijo — Brazil
Two pieces of Brazilian cheese bread. Simple, cheesy, walk-around friendly. Would order again without thinking.
5. Gulf Coast-Style Seafood Roll — Hops & Barley
Lobster and shrimp on a brioche-style bun with butter for dipping. Really good. Strong savory pick for seafood people.
6. Smoked Brisket and Cheddar Melt — Hops & Barley
Best food of the day, no contest. Brisket, onions, barbecue, cheddar — all of it worked. Rich, satisfying, exactly what I wanted. I joked that of course the American booth won for me. If you only get one savory plate from this visit’s list, make it this.
7. Tartiflette — The Alps
Potato gratin with onions and bacon. Pleasant surprise. Flavor was excellent and the portion was huge compared with a lot of festival bites — rare value feel. Hearty-food people should hunt this down.
8. Key Lime DOLE Whip — Shimmering Sips (Fromage Montage reward)
Finished the cheese challenge (stamps from this visit plus our earlier festival day), redeemed at Shimmering Sips. Key Lime DOLE Whip was delicious, nice portion, souvenir cup. Challenge felt worth it. We already started another passport and have two stamps toward round two.
Attraction: Reflections of China
Duck into China for the Circle-Vision film. Full review — Knup 4.0 (2 out of 5). Felt long and a little boring; standing-room-only after a walking day was a drag. Best part was the air conditioning. Cool off yes; prioritize again no.
Knup 8.3 / 10. Excellent Friday date. Mostly strong food, one chewy steak, one AC-attraction, Fromage done, already collecting stamps again. Pass-year luxury: we do not have to finish the festival in one day.
Photos
The day in bullets
- Friday date day with Sarah. In ~10:45 a.m., ~four hours, Food & Wine focused.
- Second festival visit this season — finished Emile’s Fromage Montage across two trips.
- Started with dessert: Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Trifle (Festival Favorites) — excellent.
- Clear winner: Smoked Brisket and Cheddar Melt at Hops & Barley.
- Other hits: Pão de Queijo (Brazil), Gulf Coast seafood roll, Tartiflette (The Alps), Key Lime DOLE Whip reward.
- Miss: Canada filet — chewy steak; mashed potatoes and mushrooms were the save.
- Reflections of China — Knup 4.0 (2/5). Standing-room film felt long; AC was the highlight.
- Already started another Fromage passport with two stamps.