REVIEW: The Great White North Comes to EPCOT with Northern Bloom at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Alicia

REVIEW: The Great White North Comes to EPCOT with Northern Bloom at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

The Great White North has taken a trip south for the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, and we aren’t complaining. Bringing some Candian-inspired dishes like seared scallops and a maple pound cake, it’s like we’re visiting Canada without actually having to leave Florida, or EPCOT for that matter.

Northern Bloom at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

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Menu for Northern Bloom at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Food:

  • Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon (GF) – $7.00
  • 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 featuring Burton’s Maple Syrup – $4.75

Beverages:

*Price per bottle is an average price of the spirit at your local liquor store.

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Offerings from Northern Bloom at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Photos of Menu Items from Northern Bloom at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon – $7.00

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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

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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 featuring Burton’s Maple Syrup – $4.75

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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 Tap 357 Maple Rye Whisky ($31/bottle) – $13.00

A very thick and creamy shake that contains a healthy pour of 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 bit high, we feel it’s validated because of the boozey quality of the beverage and maple flavor profile of the creamy shake. Recommended.

Unibroue Éphérmère Apple Wheat Ale, Chambly, Québec (5.5% ABV) – $5.00

Unibroue describes their Éphérmère Apple Wheat Ale as having a bouquet of “granny smith apples, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon,” with a taste that has a “saline attack with an explosion of apple flavors, and a grainy and tart green apple finish.”

*NEW* 81Bay Brewing Apricot with Maple Syrup, Tampa, FL (5.0% ABV) – $4.50

From correspondence with 81Bay Brewing, their beer, also known as Apricot Maple Blonde Ale, is an “award winning blonde ale aged on apricots with hints of maple syrup.”

*NEW* Collective Arts Brewing Blackberry Fruit Beer, Hamilton, Ontario (4.7% ABV) – $5.00

From correspondence with Collective Arts Brewing, their beer was created for the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. “With a hefty amount of added blackberry puree, this beer starts out slightly tart and fruity, and then settles into a crisp, clean, and refreshing blonde ale.”

Location of Northern Bloom at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Northern Bloom is located on the World Showcase Promenade adjacent to the Canada Pavilion. You can find it at number 20 on the map below.

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You too can visit the Northern Bloom Kitchen from March 4th to June 1st, 2020. Leave us a comment with your favorite dish from this booth!