Welcome to an Outdoor Kitchen review for the 2018 International Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot. This review will focus on Northern Bloom outdoor kitchen. Northern Bloom is located outside of the Canada pavilion
Northern Bloom
Food
- Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon (GF) $6.50
- Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables $6.75
- Griddled Maple Pound Cake with Warm Peach Compote and Sweet Corn Gelato $4.50
Beverages
- Maple Popcorn Shake with Crown Royal Maple Whisky $11.75
- Maple Popcorn Shake (non-alcoholic) $4.50
- Unibroue Maudite Amber Ale, Chambly, Québec $5.00
- Unibroue À Tout Le Monde Saison, Chambly, Québec $5.00
- Unibroue Éphémère White Ale, Chambly, Québec $5.00
- Beer Flight $11.00
Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon (GF) – $6.50
Disney has scallops down to an art, which is surprising because they can be very temperamental (the scallops, not Disney). These were wonderfully cooked to be very smooth and buttery with just a slight bit of crunch from the bacon exterior. The green beans were cooked well and were complimented by the vinaigrette. Our only complaint would be the portion size seemed small but this could be first day jitters.
Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables – $6.75
Two beef tenderloin tips served on a bed of whipped potatoes and adorned with carrots. Overall the whipped potatoes and vegetables were perfectly done, however the beef was overcooked and chewy. There’s a lot of potential for this item with the accompaniments as well as the savory sauce, but it really depends on the cut of beef you get.
Griddled Maple Pound Cake with Warm Peach Compote and Sweet Corn Gelato – $4.50
EVERYTHING TASTES LIKE KETTLE CORN. This isn’t a bad thing. A huge mixture of textures that really played off each other, even if the flavor profile weren’t exaggerated for each items. It’s such a unique item for the booth that we think it’s worth a second look.
Maple Popcorn Shake with Crown Royal Maple Whisky – $11.75
A very thick and creamy shake that contains a healthy pour of Crown Royal Maple Whisky. We watched the Cast Member pour half the shake into a glass, add the whisky, mix it up, and proceed to finish filling the glass with the shake. It’s the little difference of the pre-stir that helps make this shake stand out among the other alcoholic beverages of the festival. It’s topped with a few piece of maple popcorn that don’t go soggy in the shake. While the price tag is a big high, we feel it’s validated because of the boozey quality of the beverage and maple flavor profile of the creamy shake. Recommended.
Beer Flight – Unibroue Maudite Amber Ale, Unibroue À Tout Le Monde Saison, Unibroue Éphémère White Ale – $11.00
A beer flight for beer lovers. With Canada’s beer cart recently removing their specialty draft beer offerings, it’s nice to have these Canadian brews available. The Saison is commonly referred to as ‘The Megadeth Beer‘ and is the official beer of the heavy metal band Megadeth. It’s one of the best beers available at the festival, maybe even Epcot. It has a strong floral and grassy scent that hits you first and is followed by a smooth beer with hints of apple and pear. The white ale plays with granny smith apples in both scent and flavor profile, while the Amber Ale bounces around dark fruit and notes of malt and cherry. This is the most expensive beer and flight of the festival, but you’re paying for quality. Absolutely recommended.
I preferred these scallops over the higher priced dish at the Flying Fish. The Northern Bloom would make a fantastic year round restaurant!