No, not a finale. But, a “finale” of sorts in that we’ve, now, fought our way through the masses of people to taste all of the dishes in the All in WDW Pre-Festival Top 25!
You’ve hopefully seen the pictures, but, if you missed any, please stop back at the links below. You get pics … as well as my quick, initial thoughts.
Day 1 Recap: Food & Wine ’13 “Soft” Opening Day!
Day 2 Recap: Food & Wine ’13 “Opening Day”!
As for Day 3, well, I mentioned the rules of “Food & Wine 101” in my “Venison Sausage” post. I’d like to return to those for a brief moment and add a few to them.
Yesterday, I said, “Rule #1 … and this is VERY important … hydrate. Drink lots of water. It is HOT out there – especially when you’re standing in long lines. Rule #2 … everyone’s tastes are different.”
They’re both very true. On Day 1, this year, I neglected Rule #1 without realizing that I had. When we returned to the resort, I drank three bottles of cold water. Only then did I catch my mistake.
Rule #2 is actually my favorite. It’s also the reason I LOVE the Food & Wine festival.
Everyone’s tastes are different. And, I love the conversation that this fact generates. Just keep in mind – there’s no wrong choice or rank order. There are just different choices or rank orders based on personal tastes. For example, Mrs. All in WDW is already busily preparing her Final Top 25. I assure you … it will be much different than mine.
Rule #3: Use sunblock! Last year, I got terribly sunburned on my first day at the “party”. This year, I was smarter, and, now, I’m much happier.
Rule #4: The companion to Rule #3. Seek shade at every opportunity!
Rule #5: If you’re in a party of two or more, one of you stand in line and one of you seek a table. In these crowds, places to eat are hard to find. Mrs. All in WDW and I have a system. She grabs the table, and I grab the “grub”.
Rule #6: When at all possible, combine Rule #4 and Rule #5. Find a shady table!
Rule #7: Share a table! If someone asks to share your table, by all means say ‘yes’. It might be you looking for a place to cut your filet next time!
Rule #8: Unless you’re a crazy blogger looking to snap pictures of everything as soon as the festival opens, DON’T come on opening weekend. The lines are Ca-RAZY long! All of you who have told me that you’re coming next week, I have this to say … GOOD planning!
I’m sure we’ll think of more, but we wanted to pass those along as a start. In the meantime, please enjoy one last photo tour through Epcot’s world of Food & Wine!
Pre-Festival Desserts #24: Orange Dole Whip with Crème de Cacao White (Refreshment Port)
Pre-Festival #25: Fisherman’s Pie (Ireland)
The tasty insides.
Pre-Festival #24: Beef Empanada (Argentina)
More insides!
Pre-Festival #11: Scottish Salmon (Scotland)
Pre-Festival #2: “Le Cellier” Filet Mignon (Canada)
Pre-Festival #12: Seared Trout (Canada)
Pre-Festival #21: Chicken Gyro (Greece)
Pre-Festival (Honorable Mention): Taste of Greece (Greece)
Pre-Festival (Honorable Mention): Venison Sausage (New Zealand)
Pre-Festival #6: Mongolian Beef (China)
Finally, I would like to give a “shout out” to Sal Tracanna of the Team Disney Podcast and thebestmagic.net and his fiance’ Melissa. They just got engaged on this trip but still carved out a little of their vacation to spend a few moments chatting with Mrs. All in WDW and myself. Congratulations, guys!
By the way, do you remember the rating team that rank-ordered our Readers’ Top 25? Melissa was one of our culinary experts, and she told me just how much fun she had sorting all 25 dishes into order. It was easy, eh, Melissa?!
Melissa took this shot of Sal and I. Thanks, Melissa!
