Good morning, my friends!  Yesterday, we covered your menu of recommendations.  Today, I begin to unveil mine!  How do yours and my “target lists” differ?  Let’s see!

Catch the 2017 WDW Fans’ Epcot International Food & Wine Pre-Festival Top 20!

Frankly, with respect to your Top 20, I go off kilter right off the bat.  It starts with my …

Honorable Mentions

• Korma Chicken with Warm Naan Bread – India
• Marinated Chicken with Peanut Sauce – Thailand
• “Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon – Canada
• Beer-braised Beef with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes – Belgium
• Crispy Pork Belly – Brazil

What?  Canada’s famous filet doesn’t even make the cut?  And, hey!  Aren’t I the local braised beef “nut”?  What happened to Belgium’s dish?  Plus, who can pass by a piece of pork belly?

The facts of the matter are, Brazil’s pork belly is just too darn inconsistent year-after-year.  Meanwhile, Belgium’s braised beef was more or less ‘meh’ in 2016.

Significantly, though, after five or six years of paying big bucks for Canada’s ever-shrinking festival cut, Le Cellier’s filet is sort of “been there – done that”.

Simply said, when it comes to Honorable Mentions, if any of my Top 20 items fall completely flat, my ‘go to’ replacements will be either of India and/or Thailand’s chicken.

20.  Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef – Thailand

Speaking of Thailand, you had me at “red hot spicy”!  Let’s hope that you bring some memorable flavors and not just palate-wasting heat.

19. Spicy Hummus Fries – Morocco

As I reflect on 2016’s festival, I feel that my final ranking greatly under-appreciated this item.

Hot, crispy, and accompanied by a nice little relish, it was a good bite, in actual fact.  I’m really looking forward to giving it another chance this year.

18. Grilled Beef Skewer – Patagonia

Another inconsistent dish, to be truthful.  Hence, its pre-festival standing is at the bottom of my menu.

If Patagonia has a “good year”, however, then I’m sure that this skewer will rise closer to the top.  Its medley of flavors can be phenomenal!

17. Grilled Lamb T-Bone – Australia

Always #1 on Mrs. All in WDW’s list, 2017’s description reveals a different chop (t-bone) of lamb than served in year’s past.

Fortunately, the recipe is basically the same – think pesto and potato crunchies.  She would have been very sad to see this dish disappear.

16. Teriyaki-glazed SPAM® Hash – Hawai’i

Huh?  SPAM?  Not necessarily the healthiest of proteins, I know.  I haven’t had SPAM in what seems like decades, though.  I couldn’t resist, folks!

15. Chilled Scotch Egg wrapped in Sausage – Craft Beers

Another guilty pleasure, I’d have to say.  Will it be as delicious as the portion served by Rose & Crown?  We’ll have to see!

14. Traditional Spanish Paella – Spain

As big fans of jambalaya-type dishes, we’re really looking forward to Spain’s paella.  It had to be a part of our tasting menu.

13. Seared Scallops – Coastal Eats

Now, we’re getting into the “meat” (so to speak) of our Top 20.  In 2016, Wine & Dine Studio’s scallop (spoiler alert: it’ll come later) was one of my favorite items.  Will this version be as good?

12. Seafood Salad – Spain

Think shrimp, scallops, and mussels, folks.  I hope that this salad is loaded with them all!  At the very least, I’d expect it to be a very refreshing bite.

11.  Crispy Chicken with Griddled Cornbread – Farm Fresh

Two words caught my eye – crispy and cornbread.  You ranked this one at #3 on your menu.  I don’t have it quite that high, but Farm Fresh has delivered some great entrees in the past.  I can imagine it rocketing up my chart.

There.  You’ve met the bottom half of the 2017 All in WDW Epcot International Food & Wine Pre-Festival Top 20.  That’s enough for today.  Stop back tomorrow, everyone, and you’ll find out which ten dishes top this year’s list!