Anyone else remember when Food & Wine was just a fall festival? Well for the second year in a row we are starting this festival in the thick of the summer heat here in mid July. This year the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs from July 14th to November 19th, giving you 4 months to enjoy these vegan options. We have some returning favorites and new items this year.

Here is the list for an easy screenshot to remember:

• Shimmering Sips – Guava Mousse
• Earth Eats – Impossible Slider, Impossible Meatball
• Brew-Wing – Crispy Brussels Sprouts
• India – Potato and Pea Samosas
• Refreshment Outpost – Spicy Githeri
• Tangierine Cafe – Fried Falafel Pita
• Fry Basket – Adoba Yuca Fries, Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Fries
• Mac & Eats (opens Aug 15) – Chili-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
• Noodle Exchange (opens Aug 15) – Tofu Pho

SHIMMERING SIPS

First up this year is a new dessert item from Shimmering Sips, which is located near Port of Entry. This option is the Guava Mousse which comes on a shortbread cookie and is topped with a coconut-lime whipped cream. This is the only dessert offered during this years festival for vegans.

I personally loved this dessert. It doesn’t have a heavy guava flavor and is a nice light sweet dessert. Corey didn’t like it as much as I did, so I definitely think this option is going to be a hit or miss for most people. But for me, I will be enjoying this option again!

EARTH EATS

Impossible Foods is sponsoring this booth once again. Earth Eats has moved slightly this year and is located across from the old Starbucks now near Port of Entry. This year we have a returning favorite as well as a new vegan option.

First up is the returning Impossible Slider. Nothing about this has changed, and that is okay! This slider is topped with a slaw and wasabi cream on a sesame bun. Ours was on the dry side, but if you ask for it with extra wasabi cream you should be good to go!

New here is the Impossible Meatballs which features two vegan meatballs on top of polenta with a rustic puttanesca sauce and basil pesto. I did not like this dish at all. The meatballs themselves were good, but the texture of the polenta and the strong flavor of the olives were too much. That was a one and done for me.

BREW-WING

Back again this year at Brew-Wing inside the Odyssey is the Crispy Brussels Sprouts. We were obsessed with these last year and were very much looking forward to them here again.

They weren’t crispy at all when we got them and felt that the portion has gotten smaller. The sprouts themselves were slightly undercooked. The buffalo sauce wasn’t very strong anymore either. But the ranch drizzle and bleu cheese were still nice. Added benefit of this location is that it’s indoor with tons of indoor seating. As with most festivals, sometimes the food hits and other times it misses, so I just hope next time is better.

INDIA

Another new option this year can be found at the India booth near China, the Potato and Pea Samosas. These were our favorite item of the day. You get two big samosas topped with a coriander-lime cream sauce. They had a good heat to them, our only wish was that they were crispier. If you struggle with spicy food, I don’t recommend these for you. But we will absolutely be getting these again!

REFRESHMENT OUTPOST

This is a returning item but a new location. The Spicy Githeri is now found at the Refreshment Outpost, across from the booth it used to be in. This dish features white beans, pigeon peas, quinoa and a Kachumbari slaw.

I don’t know why this dish is ever called spicy because it is not at all. I really did not enjoy this dish this year, I am usually indifferent on it but it was incredibly bland this year with the only redeeming quality being the slaw.

There is also a Watermelon Dole Whip here, but it was not labeled as plant-based. Corey was the one to purchase this dish and did not ask at the time but we will update on our next visit to EPCOT.

TANGIERINE CAFE

Another returning option is at Tangierine Cafe in Morroco. This year the Fried Falafel Pita has made a reappearance. I was not a fan of this last year as the falafel itself was just so weird (almost like a hushpuppy). I will say that they have improved this option, but it is still incredibly dry. This year it comes with diced peppers, lettuce, and tomato inside the whole wheat pita. I would get this one again but ask for extra sauce, so do yourself a favor and get extra tahini!

FRY BASKET

This is a new booth and option this year! The Fry Basket is located near Test Track. There are two vegan options here, the Abodo Yuca Fries and the Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Fries. Unfortunately we didn’t get to try either of these as their fryer was broken by the time we arrived to EPCOT. But I will update this whenever we get over there again to try them.

OPENING AUG 15 – MAC & EATS

This year the Mac & Eats booth is offering a new vegan option. This year the vegan item will be the Chili-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese with sour cream and cheddar cheese. I am very exited to try this next month as I loved the vegan mac from last year! I will update this once we try it.

OPENING AUG 15 – NOODLE EXCHANGE

This will be another returning option, the Tofu Pho. We really enjoyed this last year but it did pack some heat as well as temperature heat which wasn’t ideal for the summer. So I look forward to trying to in August on a potentially cooler day (fingers crossed).

Check out our vlog from opening day here!