Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year: the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival has officially BEGUN! We’re reviewing each and every one of the new and returning food booths so that you know exactly what to try this year.

That’s right, people. The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is officially ON, and we’re trying all the newest snacks! Oh, and in between our meals, we’re doing a little shopping, too. Now, we’re heading to a BELOVED returning festival booth — The Fry Basket — to give you a complete review! Is it worth a try? Let’s find out!

Menu

Outside of the World Showcase near Test Track, The Fry Basket is home to (you guessed it) FRIES! Last year was the inaugural debut of The Fry Basket, and this year, the menu has two returning favorites plus a NEW menu item!

On the menu, Disney is serving Adobo Yuca Fries with Garlic-Cilantro Aïoli, the Fry Flight with Salt and Malt Vinegar Fries, Barbecued Bacon Fries with Smoked Aïoli, and Sweet Potato Casserole Fries, and Pickle Fries. To drink, this spot has a Salty Dog Cocktail and a Stone Brewing Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager from San Diego, CA.

A fan-favorite booth from last year’s festival: THE FRY BASKET 🍟

This booth offers the Adobo Yuca Fries w/ garlic-cilantro aïoli, a Fry Flight (Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar Fries, BBQ Bacon Fries w/ smoked aïoli, & Sweet Potato Casserole Fries), & the NEW Pickle Fries w/ dill ranch! pic.twitter.com/CU70bj0KQ6

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 27, 2023

 

 

 Now that we’ve taken a look at the menu let’s dive into the food! We simply cannot wait a moment longer.

Eats

First up, we grabbed the Adobo Yuca Fries with garlic-cilantro aïoli. You may recognize these bad boys; they’re a returning menu item we quite enjoyed in the past. In fact, they were our favorite thing at the booth! Oh, and did we mention that this is a plant-based snack? It’s available for $5.50.

OK, the Yucca Fries are the BEST thing at this booth. They are seriously SO good; you can’t tell the aïoli is plant-based. In fact, the flavor was quite nice — although it’s a garlic-cilantro aïoli, all you cilantro-haters don’t need to panic. The sauce is pretty light on the cilantro flavor. Oh, and the breading on these fries is heavenly. It is crispy and cooked to perfection, just the right amount of oily, and has a nice potato-y consistency we can really sink our teeth into. The best thing about these fries is how garlicky they are (can you tell we love garlic?). Imagine the best garlic bread you’ve ever had in your life but in a wedge/fry shape. We loved ’em last year, they’re just as fantastic this year. Dare we say this is a best-of-the-fest item? 

We couldn’t go to The Fry Basket and NOT order the Fry Flight! The flight comes with Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Fries, BBQ Bacon Fries with smoked aïoli, and Sweet Potato Casserole Fries with candied pecans, toasted marshmallow cream, and maple bourbon glaze. Last year, the Sweet Potato Fries were our favorite; will they come out on top again this time around? Note that you can also order the individual flavors here by request; if you happen to love one type of fries in the flight or don’t want one of the three flavors, you can ask for the specific fries you’d like.

First up, we had to dive into our old favorites: the Sweet Potato Casserole Fries with candied pecans, toasted marshmallow cream, and maple bourbon glaze. These are easily still the best fries in the flight. They are less like the typical sweet potato fries you can get from your local restaurant and more like a sweet potato pie-type french fry. Point is: they’re SWEET.

Even if you don’t typically love sweet potato fries (like us), you may still enjoy these. Like we said, they’re NOT your average sweet potato fries — not even close. In terms of flavor, picture a bite-sized sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. The marshmallow fluff is fluffy (duh), light, and sweet. No surprises there. The pecans added a nice crunch as well.

Ugh. Here comes the Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Fries to bring us down from our fry high. The Salt and Vinegar Fries are the lamest of the bunch. They’re just so boring! Basically, picture some salty fries with a hint of vinegar.

We normally love super vinegary foods, but these are just not it. If we tried them blind without knowing they were special fries, we’d think there was something slightly wrong with our plain old french fries. You can go without these guys; they’re the least exciting part of the fry flight.

The final snack in the flight is the BBQ Bacon Fries. These ranked smack in the middle; not the best, not the worst. If you’ve ever had a Lay’s BBQ-flavored chip, that’s exactly what these taste like. We don’t know about you, but when we’re shopping in the chip aisle, we don’t normally reach for the barbeque chips, but when we eat them, we enjoy them. That experience describes our thoughts on these fries, too.

These fries have got that smoky chipotle flavor going for them, but it’s not overly smoky, so if you’re afraid of that smoky flavor, do not let it deter you. In fact, we felt like that smoky barbeque flavor elevated the fries and took them a step up from your basic barbeque taste. It’s got a good Lay’s BBQ chip flavor, and we liked these fries.

You can get the Fry Flight for $7.50.

Now, time for the NEW addition to the booth: Pickle Fries with dill ranch! Get them for $5.50.

Here are the NEW Pickle Fries with dill ranch at the Fry Basket! 🍟 Would you try them? pic.twitter.com/WCLfWEhDQN

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 27, 2023

 

 

Now for the NEW menu item this year: the Pickle Fries! As you may have guessed, these are basically just fried pickles disguised under the name of “fries.” They’re super crispy and have a crumbly breadcrumb coating that goes well with the tangy pickles. That sauce was a BIG bonus here; it complemented the fried pickles perfectly. The pickles were perfectly cooked — they came out SUPER blazing hot, so be careful not to burn your mouth!

Admittedly, we heard a lot of people raving about these fries. But really, they’re just fried pickles. If you’ve had fried pickles, you know exactly what these taste like. We’re not breaking any new ground here. That said, they were pretty good, and we enjoyed eating them. It’s fun to get fried pickles at a festival, so if you’re looking for a classic savory snack, give these a try. OK, these fries are making us thirsty, so let’s talk about the drinks!

Drinks

For all you cocktail lovers, The Fry Basket is serving a returning favorite: the Salty Dog Cocktail with Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka with Grapefruit Juice, Ginger, Simple Syrup, and Lime with a Salted Rim. Last year, we enjoyed this drink and thought it was light, sweet, and tart.

This year, there’s also a new Stone Brewing Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager from San Diego, CA.

OVERALL

So, did the booth live up to the hype compared to last year? Survey says YES. Those Yuca fries were our favorites once again. The Fry Flight was exactly how we remembered it: a bit of a mixed bag but a fun addition to the festival. And the real star of the show, the Pickle Fries were a nice addition to the booth that can satisfy that fried pickle craving we all get from time to time.

Overall The Fry Basket is a must-visit booth if you like salty, savory snacks. There’s something for everybody here, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

That’s it for The Fry Basket, but stick around — we’ve got TONS more Food and Wine content coming your way!

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Food & Wine Festival!

If you’ve got a ticket to the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, good news! We’re here to keep you updated on ALL of the latest festival news. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

• Learn about the Eat to the Beat Concert Series and Dining Packages
• Check out ALL of the 2023 Food & Wine Booth Menus
• See what eats you’ll need to try to get a PRIZE at the Festival!

And don’t forget to pick up our 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival e-book! See more details about the book below.

Have you ever tried anything from this booth? Tell us in the comments!