Drince88's Life Lessons and Pet Peeves

Yes, I can go a bit overboard at times!

My sister and I just got back from a WDW trip where we sampled most all of the food, and some of the drink from the Festival Food Booths. As we're going along, we use the 'patented' "Check-Plus-Minus-Dollar Sign" rating system. Check, Plus, and Minus are pretty standard use, and Dollar Sign is for things that we think are an especially good value.

So, what did we think? Here are the ratings, by booth! (Oh, and if anyone knows how to do tables in here, send me a PM - I think that would have been a better way to present this info!)

Plus ---- Montreal ---- Cheddar Cheese Soup $3.25
Plus ---- Montreal ---- Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Corn and Arugula $4.25
Check Plus ---- Montreal ---- Maple Custard with Almond Crumble $2.50
Check (plus on the salad) ---- Boston ---- Boston Crab Cake with corn and barley salad $4.00
Check Minus ---- Boston ---- New England Lobster Roll $7.00
Check ---- San Francisco ---- Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese $2.75
Plus ---- San Francisco ---- Seared Beef Medallion with Cheese Polenta $3.75
Plus $ ---- San Francisco ---- California Strawberry Shortcake $2.75
Check Plus ---- New Orleans ---- Cajun Crawfish Etoufee $4.00
Check Plus ---- New Orleans ---- Seafood Gumbo (shrimp, crab and catfish stew) $3.75
Plus ---- New Orleans ---- Praline Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce $2.75
Check ---- Buenos Aires ---- Pastel de Choclo (Beef and Corn Casserole) $3.75
Plus ---- Buenos Aires ---- Grilled Beef with Chimichurri sauce $4.25
Check Plus ---- Santiago ---- Camaron con Pebre (shrimp with cilantro sauce) $4.00
Check Plus ---- Santiago ---- Spicy Beef Empanada $3.75
Check ---- Santiago ---- Dulce de Leche (caramelized milk pudding with toasted almonds) $2.25
Plus ---- Mexico City ---- Chilaquiles (baked tortillas with chicken and cheese) $4.00
Check ---- Mexico City ---- Quesadilla con Chorizo (spicy sausage and cheese tortilla) $3.75
Check Plus ---- Mexico City ---- Capirotada (Mexican bread pudding with white chocolate) $3.50
Check ---- Lyon ---- Quiche au Fromage de Chevre et poireaux $4.00
Check Minus ---- Lyon ---- Creme Brulee Chocolat au Lait (milk chocolate creme brulee) $3.75
Check Minus ---- Munich ---- Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout $3.25
Check Plus ---- Munich ---- Regensburger Sausage with sauerkraut in a pretzel roll $3.75
Check Plus ---- Munich ---- Apple Strudel $2.75
Check plus ---- Athens ---- Greek Salad $2.75
Check ---- Athens ---- Spanakopita (savory spinach and cheese pastry) $3.50
Check ---- Athens ---- Melomakarona (honey spice cookie with walnuts) $2.25
Check ---- Cork ---- Potato Leek Soup with a Dubliner Cheese Crisp $2.75
Check minus ---- Cork ---- Boxty with bacon chips and Kerrygold garlic and fresh herb butter $2.75
Check $ ---- Cork ---- Irish Cheese Selection with Apple Chutney and Brown Bread $3.25
Plus Plus ---- Cork ---- Frozen Irish Coffee $7.50
Check plus ---- Bologna ---- Cream Puff with Mascarpone and Gianduja Chocolate $3.50
Check (needed more garlic) ---- Barcelona ---- Chilled Tomato and Garlic Soup $2.50
Minus ---- Barcelona ---- Seared Tuna Loin with Roasted Red Peppers $4.00
Check Minus ---- Vienna ---- Beef Goulash with a bacon dumpling $3.50
Plus ---- Vienna ---- Tafelspitz (boiled beef brisket with red potatoes) $3.75
Check ---- Vienna ---- Buchteln (apricot jam roll with vanilla sauce) $2.50
Check Plus ---- Krakow ---- Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup $2.75
Check Plus ---- Krakow ---- Kielbasa with Potato Pierogies $4.50
Plus ---- Krakow ---- Chopin Vodka Raspberry Cocktail $8.25
Minus ---- Istanbul ---- Meze (eggplant puree, cucumber, tomato salad, pita bread) $3.00
Plus Plus ---- Istanbul ---- Manti with Yogurt Sauce $3.50
Plus ---- Istanbul ---- Pistachio Baklava $2.75
Check ---- San Juan ---- Mofungo (green plantain mash with pork cracklings and shrimp salsa) $3.75
Check ---- San Juan ---- Pastelon de Amarillo (beef and yellow plantain casserole) $2.75
Check ---- San Juan ---- Brazo Gitano (gypsy's arm guava roll with shredded coconut) $3.00
Plus ---- San Juan ---- Frozen Pina Colada $6.50
Plus ---- San Juan ---- Frozen Mojito $6.50
Check ---- Marrakesh ---- Kefta (grilled beef and hummus in a pita pocket) $3.95
Minus ---- Marrakesh ---- Brewat Spicy Chicken Pastry $2.95
Plus ---- Marrakesh ---- Walnut and Honey Baklava $2.50
Plus Plus ---- Marrakesh ---- Iced Mint Tea $2.00
Check Plus ---- Cape Town ---- Durban Spiced Chicken with coconut milk-infused root vegetables $3.75
Check Plus ---- Cape Town ---- Bobotie with Mango Chutney $3.00
Check ---- Cape Town ---- Spice Cake with a chocolate sauce $2.25
Check ---- New Delhi ---- Samosa with Tamarind Sauce (spicy pea and potato pastry) $3.25
Plus ---- New Delhi ---- Shrimp in a red cury sauce over rice $4.00
Check ---- New Delhi ---- Mango Mousse $1.75
Check plus ---- Tokyo ---- California Sushi Roll $3.00
Check plus ---- Tokyo ---- Spicy Tuna Roll $3.50
Check Minus ---- Tokyo ---- Seaweed Salad with Shrimp and Orange $3.75
Minus (we may have had a BAD piece) ---- Shanghai, China: ---- Chicken Sha Cha $3.50
Check Plus ---- Shanghai ---- Pork Pot Stickers $3.50
Plus Plus ---- Shanghai ---- Mango Gingerita $7.50
Check ---- Wellington ---- Kiwi Meringue Tartlet $2.50
Plus Plus ---- Melbourne ---- Pepperberry Prawns on the barbie with sweet potato hash $4.75
Plus ---- Melbourne ---- Chilled Barramundi Fish with a fennel slaw $3.50
Plus ---- Melbourne ---- Grilled Lamb Chop with caramelized onion jam and pea shoots $5.00
Plus ---- Melbourne ---- Wattleseed Mousse (coffee-infused lady fingers with filling) $2.75
Check ---- The Mouse Catch ---- Asiago Pressato, Italy
Check ---- The Mouse Catch ---- Manchego, Spain


A couple of specific notes: NOt sure if there was enough alcohol in the Mango gingerita from China to justify the price, but it was REALLY gingery. NOT recommended if you're not a big ginger fan.

The Vodka cocktail from Poland was probably too small for the price (but it was good).

The two San Juan, Puerto Rico drinks were good, but there were sometimes issues with the QC on the machines, and some versions we saw come out were a little runnier then they should have been.

If there had been a chef in the France booth, we would have had them check the cooler temp, which is part of why the Creme brulee didn't get a higher score. Also, I think we got a BAD piece of chicken in China. As in potentially spoiled bad. We probably should have said something on that one.

We also did the Food & Wine Pairing in Italy, which was WAY more food than I've gotten in the past at similar events. Additionally the Greek Feast was a lot of fun, though I'm not sure the full value was there for that meal. I'll include full reviews of those in my trip report.