Welcome to a food studio review for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, taking place in the park Friday-Monday from January 13th through February 20th, 2017. This review will cover “POP Eats!” kiosk, which is located at the front of World Showcase, just off to the right side towards the Canada pavilion.
POP Eats!
Food:
- Shrimp Ceviche with Lime Mint Foam (GF) – $6.00
- Sous Vide Venison with Butternut Squash Purée, Pomegranate Reduction, Pickled Turnip and Juniper Berry Powder (GF) – $7.50
- Almond Frangipane Cake layered with Raspberry Jam and Chocolate (V) – $4.25
- Pop’t Art: Modern-design Sugar Cookie with Chocolate Hazelnut Filling (V) – $4.00
- Goofy White Chocolate Puzzle on an Artist Palette – $6.50
Beverages:
- Cloudem Silver Sparkling Wine – $9.00, In a Souvenir Glass – $16.50
- Popping Bubbles Cocktail – $9.50
- Dasani Bottled Water – $3.00
This is the only booth that has the festival’s souvenir cup, available only with the sparkling wine.
Sous Vide Venison with Butternut Squash Purée, Pomegranate Reduction, Pickled Turnip and Juniper Berry Powder (GF) – $7.50
The vision was cooked well and tasted great, but some in our group felt there was too much salt on this dish. I thought that the butternut squash puree went nicely with it. If you like venison, this is a solid option, but it is nothing out of this world.
Shrimp Ceviche with Lime Mint Foam (GF) – $6.00
While a little on the strange side, the shrimp ceviche with lime mint foam was pretty good. The foam flavor doesn’t overpower anything in the dish and the shrimp tasted fresh. Not the best shrimp dish I’ve ever had, but not the worst either.
Almond Frangipane Cake layered with Raspberry Jam and Chocolate (V) – $4.25
This dessert is brilliant in its simplicity. The chocolate icing, exquisitely moist cake, and raspberry jam mix for one of the best festival treats I have ever had. I know it probably sounds dumb to enjoy a fairly regular cake item at an event with rarer dining delicacies, but it was just made so perfectly. I will be ordering this over and over for the next few weeks.
Pop’t Art: Modern-design Sugar Cookie with Chocolate Hazelnut Filling (V) – $4.00
This item is the same as the one we reviewed from the one offered at The Painter’s Palate, which we already reviewed, but with a different decorative icing on it.
It looks like a Pop Tart, but it’s a sugar cookie… I’m sure kids will like this, but this dessert just confuses me. It wasn’t bad, I’m just not sure why it exists. It even has a filling like a Pop Tart (chocolate hazelnut flavored) but again, it has the flavor of a sugar cookie filled with icing.
Goofy White Chocolate Puzzle on an Artist Palette – $6.50
This is essentially the same as the Figment version which we reviewed already, but this version has Goofy featured on the white chocolate puzzle.
Perhaps the most fun item of the festival is this white chocolate Figment puzzle. Not only do you get to put the Puzzle together, but you can than create your own edible art with it. This should be something that any child will just have a blast making (and eating). Plus, how adorable is it?
The chocolate was of a good quality too, so you’ll be happy to know that it tastes as good as it looks.
This time, we were given a paint brush to decorate the chocolate, but the sprinkles and candy were simply thrown underneath instead of in little containers like the “paint”.
Popping Bubbles Cocktail – $9.50
The Popping Bubbles cocktail is a dry sparkling wine with flavored “bubbles” dropped into it. That’s it. The wine itself wasn’t sweet, but whenever you get a sip with the “bubbles” in it, it makes the wine taste just way too sweet. This was just OK, but if you like a sweet wine, you will probably enjoy this.