There are LOTS of things to do at EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts, and (of course) LOTS of things to EAT!
Festival of the Arts
We’ve made our way around the many festival booths and brought you ALL our reviews, and we’ve shared our best of the fest list so you don’t miss out on some of the tastiest treats the festival has to offer. But, recently we turned things over to YOU in our DFB Best of the Festival of the Arts bracket on our Instagram. And now, the results are in. According to you, the best dish of the ENTIRE festival is…a super simple sandwich?
Okay, okay. Let’s start at the beginning. We started our DFB Best Dish of the Festival of the Arts bracket on our Instagram with a whole bunch of options! In the first round, the Opera Cake won over the Frangipane Cake.
Opera Cake
The Passion Fruit Mousse beat out the Lemon and Blood Orange Tart;Â the Lemon & Raspberry Soft Serve won over the Red Velvet Funnel Cake; and the Trio de Macarons beat out the Bomboloni.
Passion Fruit Mousse with Dragon Fruit Jam
We also saw the Taco de Chocolate win over the Artist Palette Jumbo Cookie, and the Molten Chocolate and Raspberry Cake won over the Mouskoutchou. The Vanilla, Rose Water, and Pistachio Panna Cotta knocked out the Pistachio Cake with Cherry Mousse, and the Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake kicked out the Stone Garden.
Vanilla, Rose Water and Pistachio Panna Cotta
On the more savory side, the Sushi Donut won over the Vegetable Gyoza, the Lobster Poutine beat out the Sichuan Red Hot Mala Shrimp, and the Beef Wellington beat the Red Wine-Braised Beef.
Sushi Donut | Photo from 2019
The Blue Corn Pupusa-stuffed with Cheese won over the Chile Relleno, the Mediterranean Flatbread beat out the Charcuterie, the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup beat out the Deconstructed Ruben, the Creamy Brie Bowl kicked out the Black Winter Truffle Croissant, and Remy’s Ratatouille won over the Coq au Vin.
Remy’s Ratatouille
And on and on it went, with certain dishes prevailing against others in the second, third, and the final round. And after all of that, the winner wasn’t something more elaborate like the Passion Fruit Mousse, or unique like the Lobster Poutine. No, it wasn’t the Mediterranean Flatbread or even Remy’s Ratatouille.
No, the final battle came down to the Molten Chocolate and Raspberry Cake vs.Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. And the winner is…the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup!Â
Festival of the Arts Bracket Final Results
What makes up this grilled cheese? Well, it’s really just a nice, basic sandwich with sharp cheese, slightly greasy bread, and a tomato soup filled with just enough of that tangy flavor.
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese
At $5 this is a relatively inexpensive choice for the best dish considering some of the prices of the other items at the festival. And while the dish won our bracket, some DFB fans were a little…surprised. One reader messaged us to say “All the amazing unique snacks from Fest of Arts….. and a grilled cheese wins??? I truly do not understand.” And, well, we can’t say we aren’t surprised ourselves!
Grilled Cheese
This basic version of the grilled cheese didn’t even make our Best of the Fest List. Its more elaborate cousin, the Tomato Soup with French Onion and Bacon Grilled Cheese, is actually the version of this dish that made our must-get list. But, the French Onion and Bacon version wasn’t even included in our DFB bracket.
Tomato Soup with French Onion and Bacon Grilled Cheese
Nope, it was just the simple grilled cheese that made it all the way through to the #1 spot, beating all kinds of other dishes along the way. It seems you can make things elaborate, extravagant, and ridiculously beautiful, but some fans are just looking for a bit of comfort food. So, what caused this basic dish to prevail? Is it the commemorative can that comes with the tomato soup?
Tomato Soup
Is it the fun of getting some fantastic dipping action?
Eats from the Pop Eats booth! #artfulepcot pic.twitter.com/NKlrCQLc0r
— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 8, 2021
Click here to see our DFB video of the Best of the Fest at EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts!
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I think its just that it’s more universally liked. If everyone filled out their own bracket from start to finish, grilled cheese probably won’t be at the top for everyone. But it will be on everyone’s bracket.
That is funny; u certainly wouldn’t expect such a mundane meal to come out as #1!
Well, while I do love this blog and enjoy quite a few recommendations, I am also a picky eater with simple tastes. As such, a lot of the more elaborate foods and restaurants don’t personally appeal to me that much and eating so much elaborate food can get old fast. So, I think that the reason the grilled cheese won is because of the simplicity and popularity among a lot of different groups. However, that’s just my opinion, and I haven’t had the chance to try it, so take it with a grain of salt
The last couple of Festival of the Arts videos I’ve watched show the soup served in a paper cup instead of the cute pant can. Does anyone know if this is temporary, or it no longer be available? We’re heading to Disney in two weeks and I was looking forward to this booth – no paint can will be very disappointing!
It could be. But, Disney being Disney, they probably charge you an arm and a leg for two pieces of toast and a slice of cheese. Greedy 🤷
We were just there on Jan 17, and my tomato soup did come in a paper cup. The cans were stacked in the window so I was confused as to why I didn’t get one ( I didn’t ask a castmember, so my fault for now). While the soup and sandwich were delicious, I personally think the deconstructed BLT was MUCH better if a sandwich is going to win.
Shannon, I was there 2 weeks ago and was told that the soup cans were only for the bloody mary. So maybe at times they ration them out? Definitely not in my top ten foods at the Festival. My top choices would be the Beef Wellington and Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake. For me, the fun at all these Festivals is trying new foods that I would not ordinarily order. I actually had my first Reuben there.