Prepare for a story. Buckle up, because you may experience a rollercoaster of emotions like us.
2023 Booth
The 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival has officially started, and there’s SO MUCH to do! There are food booths featuring eats from around the world, new merchandise collections, and Eat to the Beat concerts. Right now, we’re visiting a food booth that was INCREDIBLE back in 2022. Can it live up to our expectations this year?
Menu
Over at the Brazil booth, you’ll find a variety of available eats and drinks, all of which are returning from previous years. Although none of them are new, we’re not disappointed — we LOVED both of the menu items last year.
The Menu
Now that we’ve taken a look at the menu, let’s eat!
Eats
First, we got the Feijoada for $6.25. This is black beans with pork belly, Brazil nut pesto, and Ben’s Original long grain white rice. We have high expectations for this one because last year, it was PACKED with flavor and very well-seasoned.
Feijoada: Black Beans with Pork Belly, Brazil Nut Pesto and BEN’S ORIGINAL™ Long Grain White Rice
Don’t get us wrong, we love pork belly, but this was not great. When we think of good pork belly, we think of tender, flavorful meat that melts in your mouth. Instead, ours was dry and tough to eat. We tried this snack on day one of the festival, to be fair, so maybe the quality will improve over time.
YUM!
We loved the Brazil nut pesto on top, though! It was zesty and bright and added some much-needed flavor. The black beans were just okay, but they were VERY salty — we picked up on a savory bacon flavor in the beans. The long grain white rice was fine (it’s rice, not much to get excited over), but it was herby and had a nice texture. Ultimately, though, it just couldn’t save this dish.
Feijoada: Black Beans with Pork Belly, Brazil Nut Pesto and BEN’S ORIGINAL™ Long Grain White Rice
Considering how much we enjoyed our meal last year, we were a little let down this time around. Maybe the beloved Brazilian Cheese Bread can redeem this booth!
We’re heading to Brazil for more EATS! 🇧🇷
Feijoada: Black Beans with Pork Belly, Brazil Nut Pesto and BEN’S ORIGINAL™ Long Grain White Rice
Pão de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread (part of Emile’s Fromage Montage 🧀) pic.twitter.com/uv9VK1l2vT
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 27, 2023
Pão de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread
Do yourself a favor and eat this IMMEDIATELY after ordering it. We know, we know, it’s Florida, and it’s hot, so you may not want to eat something warm while you’re busy cooking under the sun, but this just isn’t the same when the cheese thickens.
Are you drooling like we are?! 🤤 The Pão de Queijo from the Brazil booth is so pleasing to watch as it’s pulled apart 🧀 pic.twitter.com/HhGijiYNcQ
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 27, 2023
Here’s a short story in two parts:
Act I — We ordered the Pão de Queijo. We were excited! It’s cheese bread, yum! Time to take some photos.
Act II — Our bread is cold. The cheese has thickened and won’t pull apart to give us that satisfying gooey inside. We take a bite. It is basic. We are sad. End scene.
In all seriousness, if we had tried this when the bread was warm and the cheese was melty, we feel confident our review would sound more positive. The bread itself was soft, and we enjoyed the texture of it, even though the cheese had hardened a bit. We saw lots of people nearby who seemed to be enjoying their bread, so when it’s warm, it’s likely much more satisfying. You live and you learn, right?
Cheese Bread
Now let’s talk about the drinks available at this booth.
Drinks
Both of the drinks are returning this year. You can get the Frozen Caipirinha with Cachaça for $12.
Frozen Caipirinha featuring LeBlon Cachaça | 2013
The Xingu Brazilian Black Lager is also available for $5.50.
OVERALL
Considering the glowing review we gave this booth last year, we can’t say we were as impressed this year. If you like the secret menu item cheese bread served at Skipper Canteen in Magic Kingdom, you’ll probably enjoy the Pão de Queijo served here. Just don’t make the same mistake as us; eat that bread while it’s still warm! And who knows, maybe Disney will pull it together and restore the Feijoada to its former glory. But for now, this booth isn’t going to top our best-of-the-fest list.
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What items from this booth would you most want to try? Tell us in the comments!
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And yhe cheese bread you got, was probably the last ones from the pan they’d been nursing. Which also is not acceptable.
This was my first time at Epcot during the International Food festival and I was so excited to try everything. Having lived for 4 months in Brazil I was super excited to see a booth with some traditional dishes. The Caipirinha was good, very refreshing and perfect for a hot August day. The Pão de Queijo though made me want to cry….in disgust! Pão de Queijo is supposed to be fluffy, and bread like that make your mouth water and tummy happy. What I received made me want to vomit. It was like they put the roll in the oven for a minute and then instantly served it. It tasted like raw, warmed dough. Such a waste of money! I didn’t have the patience (in 100 degree weather) to stand in line to complain and get a refund or new order. Just be cautious if anyone orders this – it’s not supposed to taste or look like its raw.