The 2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

For those of you who don't know, every year, from 18th September through 12th November, the Epcot theme park becomes a foodie's wet dream.

Dozens of booths featuring cuisine from countries around the world open up for business, allowing both professional and amateur gourmets the chance to sample food they otherwise would never be able to experience.

This festival is a place where you can find spicy African flavors shoulder-to-shoulder with classic French haute cuisine, which is itself side-by-side with spicy Argentinian fare, which is sitting next to the lamb-and-mint tidbits from the Middle East.  And its all just steps from each other. This is one of the few food-and-wine festivals that is kid friendly, while simultaneously meeting the expectations of the well-educated food-enthusiast.

The format for this festival are individual country-themed booths, which each booth presenting the best of that nation's cuisine through authentic menus and beverage pairings.  And it is authentic.  Very much so in fact.  The food items are presented as they would be presented in their home nation.  Be prepared for dishes that are not Americanized or diluted or toned down for the sake of the mostly American audience.  With this festival, you're getting the same food that someone living in Holland or Jamaica or France or Portugal would be getting.

This is the real deal, folks.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival Marketplace Booths

At the Festival, there are over twenty-five individual booths set up around the World Showcase, and each offers its regional or national delicacy to sample.  The items offered cost between $4.00 and $7.00 (that's an average... there are a couple of items to be had for as low as $1.50, while other items will cost you upward of $10).

These are the booths that will be selling food items around the World Showcase.  I'm listing them in  the order in which you'll find them, beginning in Showcase Plaza and going clockwise around the World Showcase Lagoon.  That is, as if you were walking to the left once you hit the Plaza.

• Terra:  This is vegetarian cuisine, featuring pseudo-meat dishes.  "Trick'n chick'n" curry with basmati rice; gardein chick'n breast chili Colorado with house-made chips and cashew cheese;  gardein beefless tips; chocolate cake with passion fruit sorbet, and coconut foam.
• Caribbean Islands:  Ropa vieja with cilantro rice; jerk spiced chicken drumstick with mango chutney.
• Australia:  Shrimp on the barbie with pepper berry citrus glaze; grilled lamb chop with mint pesto and potato crunchies; larmington.
• Argentina:  Beef empanada; grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree.
• Mexico:  Crispy shrimp taco with chipotle lime mayonnaise and cabbage, served on a flour tortilla; taco de filete with cascabel pepper sauce and scallions, served on a flour tortilla; natilla de cajeta (caramel custard served with sauce).
• Scandinavia:  The "Taste of Scandinavia" sampler, including cured salmon, herring, and shrimp salad; swedish meatballs with longonberries; rice pudding with berries.
• China:  Mongolian beef with Chiense steamed bun; pork pot stickers; chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce and pickled vegetables; mango tapioca pudding.
• South Korea:  Lettuce wrap with roast pork and kimchi slaw; mung bean pancake with shrimp and kimchi sauce.
• South Africa:  Seared fillet of beef with smashed sweet potato and Braai sauce; spinach and paneer cheese pocket.
• Brewer's Collection:  Affectionately nicknamed the "Beer Tent".  Radeberger pilsner; Altenmunster Oktoberfest; Altenmunster Dunkel; Hovels; Schofferhofer weizen; Shocfferhofer grapefruit; Berliner Kindl Dark; Sion Kolsch.
• Germany:  Schinken nudel (pasta gratin with ham and cheese); roast bratwurst in a pretzel roll; apple strudel with caramel-vanilla sauce.
• Cheese:  Exactly what it says on the label.  Cheese fondue with sourdough bread; the "Trio of Cheeses Sampler", featuring Beecher's Flagship Reserve cheddar, La Bonne Vie goat brie, and Rogue River Creamery's Echo Mountain blue cheese.
• Poland:  Kielbasa and potato pierogie with caramelized onions and sour cream; zapiekanki (toasted mushroom, caramelized onion, and cheese bread with house-made ketchup).
• Italy:  Ravioli di Formaggio all'emiliana (baked cheese ravioli, creamy beef bolognese, parmesan, and mozzarella); Salsiccia e "Papacelli" Napoletani (sweet sausage and red pepper on Ciaibatta bread); cannoli al cioccolato (chocolate covered cannoli filled with ricotta, chocolate, and candied fruit).
• Fife and Drum:  The whiskey tent.  Red stag lemonade and Red Stag honey tea lemonade, both made with Jim Beam.
• Hops and Barley:  Which, despite the name, is not the beer tent.  Lobster claw cuddler chilled with herb mayonnaise; lobster roll; New England-style clam chowder; pumpkin mousse with dried cranberries and orange sauce.  By the by, the Samuel Adams Brewing Company always debuts a new beer they specifically created for the Food and Wine Festival at this booth.  The beer they create is not available anywhere else, and once the festival is over, it's gone because they never repeat a recipe.
• Florida:  Local cuisine from my home state.  White corn arepa with mangalitsa pork rilette and Zellwood sweet corn salad; shrimp ceviche with fire-roasted vegetables, fried plantains, and cilantro.
• Japan:  Spicy hand roll (tuna and salmon with chili pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil topped with Kazan volcano sauce); Karaage hand roll (crispy chicken breast with sushi rice and spicy mayonnaise); California roll (avocado, cucumber, crab, mayonnaise, smelt roe rolled in sushi rice, and seaweed); Sukiyaki beef pan (thinly sliced rib eye with sauteed onions and teriyaki sauce, served on a bun).
• Singapore:  Beef rendang with jasmine rice; seared mahi-mahi with jasmine rice and "singa" sauce.
• Morocco:  Kefta pocket (ground seasoned beef in a pita pocket); Merguez sausage (beef and lamb sausage with grilled peppers and onions; baklava.
• New Zealand:  Seared sea scallop with Kumara red curry puree and apple radish salad; lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney.
• Belgium:  Steamed mussels in Hoegaarden beer broth and baguette; Belgian waffle with berry compote and whipped cream; Guylian Belgian chocolate seashell truffles.
• France:  Escargots Persillade en brioche; Coq au vin sur gratin de macaroni; creme brulee au chocolat au lait.
• Ireland:  Lobster and seafood fisherman's pie; The Kerrygold Cheese Selection (featuring aged Irish cheddar, Dubliner, and Cashel blue, served with apple chutney and brown bread); warm chocolate lava cake with Bailey's ganache.
• Canada:  Canadian cheddar cheese soup; chicken chipotle sausage with sweet corn polenta and "Minus 8" onion jam;  Le Cellier restaurant's wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce (as featured in my review of Le Cellier back in February of 2012).
• Greece:  Greek salad with pita bread; griddled Greek cheese with pistachios and honey; chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce; spanakopita; Greek yogurt cups.
• Desserts and Champagne:  The champagne is mostly Moet & Chandon.  Yogurt panna cotta with orange cake, raspberries, and pomegranate; lemon custard verrine with blueberry compote; dark chocolate mousse with chili and salted caramel.
• Hawaii:  Kaulua pork sliders with sweet and sour pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise; tuna poke with seaweed salad and lotus root chips.
• Craft Beers:  Known as "the other beer tent".  Widmer Rotator IPA; Red Hook pilsner; Blue Moon Seasonal; Leinenkugel Berry Weiss; Florida Beer Company's Devil's Triangle; Abita Purple Haze; Full Sail IPA; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Some Tips and Tricks to Make Your Food and Wine Festival Easier

The one thing you can say about Disney is that they are, as a corporation, masters of organizing large numbers of people and getting them to move together as one friendly (if sometimes tired and overheated) whole.  That said, if you follow the following advise, your Food and Wine experience will be that much better.

The Food and Wine Festival Welcome Center

• While entrance into the festival is free with admission into the Epcot park itself, the food booths, the merchandise, the classes, and the seminars all cost extra.  The good news is the free concerts are just that:  free.  You're going to want to bring a minimum of $100 per person attending the festival, because you'll be tempted to spend money at every corner.  Might as well have the money there to spend than have to make painful choices regarding which food to sample and which food to skip.
• Make sure you grab a festival map and a regular park map once you get into Epcot.  Once you have a map, the first place you need to go is the Festival Welcome Center.  This is located in the gold-domed building next to Mission:  Space.  Most of the demonstrations, classes, and seminars (including most of the wine events) are held in the Festival Welcome Center.  While at the Welcome Center, do the following:
• Make sure you grab a festival passport.  That way, you can plan, track, and stamp your journey through culinary heaven.
• If you're unfamiliar with wine, you might want to consider  look around a bit.  Check out the festival's list of over 300 wine, beer, and spirits.  Ask some questions.  Watch a continuously playing movie called Seasons of the Vine, which is all about the vino.  Spend some time at the Epcot Wine School, or a gourmet food demonstration, or a book signing.  Some of these activities require reservations, so consider signing up for them before you leave home.
• Check last-minute availability of the day's demonstrations.  These are all led by celebrity chefs, big name vintners, and industry experts.
• The Festival is, of course, set up to accept cash, credit card, Disney Dining Plan cards, Keys to the Kingdom room cards with room service privileges, and so on.  That said, most of the gift shops set up in the Festival Welcome Center offer these miniature Disney gift cards that you can purchase and then preload with however high an amount of money you want to have available to you.  Wear the card on a lanyard around your wrist for quick and easy access to money without having to whip our your wallet or your purse while you're simultaneously trying to balance a plate full of food and a glass of wine.
• Remember to pace yourself.  There is a lot of food and drink to be had, and to be brutally honest, you are going to have a hard time getting to it all.  That might seem to be a stupid thing for me to say, given that the Food and Wine Festival is open from 9 am to 9 pm, but here it is in a nutshell:  there is a lot of territory to cover, and while you are busily trying to cover it, so are tens of thousands of other people.  Though the lines at the international booths move at a pretty good clip, if you're there with anyone else (especially if you're there with a large group), it might be better for you to decide ahead of time which booths you're going to hit, and which you're going to pass on.
• The truth is, while it is possible to attend all of the international booths, plus the four or five specialty marketplace (which showcase desserts, champagne, specialty beers, and so on) in a single day, doing so with a group is all but impossible.  If you really don't want to miss something, then what you want to do is take a divide and conquer approach.  If there are four booths spaced close together, and you want to try all of them, send one person to each of the booths simultaneously for a sample of that nation's food and beverages, then meet somewhere central to share the spoils.
• Keep in mind that most of the international booths charge between $4.00 and $6.00 per serving, and what you end up with would make a good tapas order.  Wine and beer selections can run as much, and sometimes much more.
• While you're on your quest to try the food at every booth and drink every type of wine and beer, do yourself the favor of actually enjoying your trip to Epcot.  Take a deep breath and relax.  Stop every once in a while and see the sights.  Go to the occasional Epcot attraction.  Get yourself a reservation for dinner at one of Epcot's many fine eating establishments (especially the ones you've seen me positively review here in the blog) and have an actual meal instead of the couple-of-bites-apiece you've been getting all day.  In short, have fun.

Once again, the Epcot Food and Wine Festival is taking place 28 September 2012 to 12 November 2012.  If you're an annual passholder, a member of Tables in Wonderland, or a Disney Vacation Club member, you can book seminars, demonstrations, and mixology beginning on 10th August 2012.  Booking for these events goes open to the general public on 14th August 2012 at 7am.  If you're interested in booking an event, call 407-WDW-FEST (407-939-3378).

The Brown Derby

Note:  This was originally posted on 15 June 2012.

I apologize to the constant readers, but the trip to the Brown Derby, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, has been cancelled on account of a death of my grandmother.

My grandmother, Vinnie Pearl "Granny" Butler, was a vivacious and inspiring woman.  A chef herself, more than anyone else she was the inspiration that set me on the road to becoming a chef.  She was always encouraging, always, playful, always happy, and always loving.

Granny, in her sombrero.  She loved to have fun.

Granny loved Disney, and was proud and happy I was working for them.  I kept promising to take her with me on one of the restaurant tour expeditions, but her health unfortunately kept her from ever attending.

We did have standing plans to take her to the 2012 Food and Wine Festival.  She was really looking forward to it, and I'd been talking to her about which booths to stop at, how long to stay, what else we wanted to do other than eat, and so on.  Unfortunately, she died last week, and thus these plans are all in ruins.

Something neat about my Granny... she is mentioned on the TV Tropes "Chef of Iron" page, and the mention is pretty much spot on.

I miss her greatly, and always will.  She was one of a kind, and one of the greatest.

Next up:  Tentative plans are for Chef Mickey's (Breakfast Buffet) on 29 July 2012.

The San Angel Inn

Note:  This restaurant was visited on 13 May 2012.  The review was originally written later that afternoon.

This time we're visiting the San Angel Inn, at the Mexico Pavillion in Epcot.

The San Angel Inn

This time out, its just Nathan and myself.  It was a bit overcast when we left the house, and while we drove to Epcot in the rain, it had cleared up as we reached the restaurant.  Once again, this is a restaurant located inside the Epcot park.  As such, you're going to need park admission in addition to the cost of the restaurant.

For those of you who haven't ever been to Epcot, the San Angel Inn is located inside the big Aztec pyramid at the Mexico Pavillion, a part of World Showcase.  Once you're inside Epcot, walk under Spaceship Earth, then continue through Future World to Showcase Plaza.  From Showcase Plaza take the left-hand path.  The first pavillion you reach will be the Mexico pavillion (you can't miss it because of the Aztec pyramid).  Enter the pyramid and head all the way back, through the art exhibit and the marketplace, until you see the sign for the San Angel Inn.

The Mexico pavillion.

And the big Aztec pyramid.  The restaurant is inside.

A closeup of the frieze on the front of the pyramid.

Mexican art exhibit.

Mexican art exhibit.

The marketplace inside the pyramid.  The entrance to the San Angel is way in the back there.

Before I get on with anything else, let me warn you about the one thing I didn't really like about this place:  it's dark.  I don't mean "romantically dim".  I mean dark.  I know that some restaurants keep things shadowy for effect, but this is utterly ridiculous.  Except for the lamps on your table, there is absolutely no light in this place.  None.  It doesn't come off as romantic... it comes off as cave-like and a little creepy.

Now, there are other atmospheric elements, like the crickets chirping, and the Mexican music playing in the background, and the Aztec temple-inside-a-temple, and the volcano, and the boats from the "Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros" (a boat-ride attraction located near the restaurant) going by, but the entire thing is really ruined by the fact that you have a hard time seeing three feet in front of you.

This picture was taken without benefit of any lighting other than the table lamps.  See what I mean about dark?

The pyramid inside a pyramid, and the volcano.  Very atmospheric.

So we checked in at the entrance to the cave and was handed a buzzer.  I'd just enough time to sit down on the handy bench before our buzzer went off and we were escorted to our table.  This table, I have to say, was tiny.  It sat just two people, and was dominated by the centerpiece (consisting of an oil lamp that lit up only the small area around the table and a beautify, flowery plate on each side; this beautiful plate was removed almost as soon as we completed our drink order).

The table arrangement.  It was a really small table.

The beautifully painted plate that would be whisked away as soon as my drink order was finished.

Not only was the table small, but it was in close quarters with about sixty other tables, all the same size, and all arranged shoulder-to-shoulder with one another.  In point of fact, the entire restaurant was crowded.  I'm not talking about the "wide-open spaces packed with people" crowded like with T-Rex.  No, I'm talking about the "let's try to cram as many people into as tiny a space as possible" crowded.  I can understand wanting to gather in as many diners as possible, but when I have to sit with my midsection pressed against the table and still get jostled by another guest in the same precarious position behind me, perhaps it is time to thin out the tables.

Our server, Pedro, refused to allow me to take his picture, more's the pity.  He took quite a long time to make his way to our table.  And unfortunately, after a very pleasant first exchange, in which our drink orders were taken, he seemed to disappear for almost the entirety of the meal, much to the chagrin of our empty drink glasses.  Pedro was done with us, and had wondered off into some other story, not interested in seeing ours to a climax.

Rather, our drinks were taken care of by the beautiful and vivacious Jessica, who also brought us our food once it was ready.  These actions were taken care of quickly, with a maximum efficiency and pleasant attitude (a far cry from the borderline antisocial Pedro, who barely said five words to us while taking our orders).

I'm not sure what the system in place is for servers at the San Angel, but apparently the person who takes your order isn't the person who brings it.  This seems odd to me, but there it is.

Pedro did manage to make an appearance later, though, when it was time to pay the bill.  But I digress.

The beautiful and vivacious Jessica.
Interesting enough, she was not from Mexico, unlike most of the cast members working at the restaurant.  She was actually from Los Angeles.  And was Dominican.  Yes, I asked.

But enough about the darkness and the small tables and the being crowded one on top of each other.  You're wondering about the food.  I know you are.  I can hear you out there muttering, "Just get on with it already!".

A complementary paper funnel filled with house-made tortilla chips and two different types of salsa was delivered to the table along with the drinks.  The chips were chips, and the salsa varied between "Wow, that's spicy.  Tastes good, but spicy! and "Holy hell, what are they trying to do, kill us?" in flavor.  Overall, though, they were okay.

The edible salsa, though, was pretty damned good.  It was spicy without dominating the tomato-cilantro flavors that made it so good.  Now, this was the "Mexican" style salsa, in which all ingredients are pureed together, rather than the "chunky" salsa that is so popular in America right now.  But hey, you're in a Mexican restaurant, do as the Mexicans do.

Complementary house chips and two different kinds of salsa.
The salsa on the left was spicy and had a great flavor.
The salsa on the right could have been used as a paint-remover, and was, at least to me, utterly inedible.

To begin with, Nathan and I started with the Tlacoyos de Chilorio.  This appetizer was composed of a pair of corn cakes topped with black refried beans, pork chilorio (a pork dish made by first boiling the meat in water and fat and then frying it with chiles and spices; it makes a great filling for tacos, burritos and tamales), queso fresco, sour cream, and green tomatillo sauce.  Nathan and I thought it could have been salted a bit more, but the lack of it did not in any way detract from how good these tasty little cakes were.

Tlacoyos de Chilorio

For the main, we both picked the Enchiladas Verdes de Pollo (chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce). The plates arrived very quickly. The enchiladas were accompanied by poblano rice (an orange rice pilaf flavored with smoked poblano peppers), and black refried beans. Everything was delicious, well-cooked, and the flavors blended amazingly well.

Enchiladas Verdes de Pollo
Chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce.

Dessert was Mexican flan.  I've never been sure exactly how Mexican flan is different from flan from other parts of the world.  This flan was okay.  Not fantastic, not amazing, just okay.  It suited the purpose, and cooled our mouths down from the beating it took from the poblanos and the jalapenos and other peppers in the main meal.

Basically, we're talking about a slice of custard cake with caramel sauce.  Ours came garnished with granola spinkles and a strawberry.

Mexican flan.

For the two adults, who ordered basically identical meals, the total bill was $54 and change.  I'd give the San Angel Inn three and a half stars out of five.  Despite the service difficulties and the cave-like darkness, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Mexican food, and to be honest, this is likely the second best dining experience I've had so far at any Disney restaurant, up to and including Le Cellier.

We're going to start changing things up in the future.  We've been doing a lot of Epcot restaurants, and from here on out we're going to try to hit more hotel restaurants, not to mention the restaurants in the other theme parks.

And yes, I've noticed the fact that Nathan and I tend to order the same things when we go our to eat together.  It seems weird to me too.

Next month:  The Brown Derby, at Disney Hollywood Studios.

The Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room

Note:  This restaurant was visited on 29 April 2012.  The review was originally written later that afternoon. 

So we're off again to another Disney restaurant.  This time, its the Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room, at the England Pavillion in Epcot.

The Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room

Once again accompanying me on this trip were my mother, Cheryl Butler, my younger brother, Nathan Butler, and Jared.  To be honest, this visit wasn't precisely part of my original plan.  But since we were going to be in Epcot anyway, Mom and I figured hey, why not, and picked up a couple of lunch reservations.

As with Le Cellier and Teppan Edo, you have to keep in mind that this restaurant is inside the Epcot park.  You're going to need admission into the park as a whole in addition to the cost of the restaurant.

For those of you who haven't ever been to Epcot, the Rose and Crown is located in the England Pavillion, a part of World Showcase.  Once you're inside Epcot, walk under Spaceship Earth, then continue through Future World to Showcase Plaza.  From Showcase Plaza, take the right-hand path and walk to the second pavillion (going past Canada), which is the England pavillion.

The Rose and Crown, under the trees.

The right side of the England Pavilion.

A side street in the England pavillion.

The far side of the England pavillion, including the fish and chips shop.

The Twinnings tea shop.

The Rose and Crown from the front.

Our reservation was for 12:05 pm, but despite arriving right on time and the restaurant being completely and utterly empty, we had a bit of a wait before being seated.  It wasn't that there was a crowd; rather, it was because the opening crew was running late and hadn't apparently finished getting the restaurant ready for business.  This, to me, is an inexcusable irritation.  I mean, its not that big a deal, as we were seated as soon as they could seat us, but there's no excuse for not having your place ready to open its doors when the doors are supposed to be opening.

So like I was saying, we checked in at the reservation kiosk and were handed a buzzer and told that, sorry, despite there literally being no one in the restaurant, we'd have to wait to be seated.  Okay, fine.  It turns out that the Rose and Crown has an exterior terrace that overlooks the World Showcase Lagoon.  It gave us a chance to sit down under the shade of the trees and enjoy the breezes off the lake as we watched the boats go back and forth.  There were also ducks and egrets and ibises to watch, so at least there was some entertainment.

The terrace at the Rose and Crown.

Enjoying the shade.

The view across the World Showcase Lagoon.

The wait for a table took ten minutes.  As we waited, the crowd in the terrace grew until there were about two dozen parties, all waiting for a table.  When the seating began, we were the third or fourth party seated, and ended up right back on the terrace where we started.  The area we were in had a lot of shade and a nice breeze that took away the heat of the rest of the day, and had a really good view of the surrounding park.

Our table.  You can see, even at this angle, that we had a great view of the rest of the park.

Almost as soon as we sat down, our waiter, a young man named Lee, appeared with menus.  He chatted with us while we decided on drinks.  Not to be too snarky about it, but the last person I would trust to make decent iced tea is a British person, so I ordered a soda.  I also ordered something called a Snake Bite, which is a pint of hard cider topped off with Harp Irish lager.  I have to say, this hit the spot on such a hot day.

Lee, our waiter.

When the time came to order our lunch, Nathan and I ended up ordering the cottage pie, while Jared and Mom both ordered fish and chips.

The cottage pie was a variation on the classic shepherd's pie.  Ground beef, diced onions, carrots, and potatoes, all in a sauce made of chicken stop, tomato paste, and the usual herbs and spices, all covered in a shell of cheese-sprinkled baked mashed potatoes that were so tasty all by themselves that the Rose and Crown could have listed just the potatoes as an entree.  The entire thing was filling and tasted good.  It was the perfect thing for lunch.

Unlike the fish and chips Mom ordered back during the T-Rex trip, the fish and chips Mom and Jared had were actually seasoned and cooked to a turn.  The chips were traditionally thick-cut British style french fries, and man were they good (yes, I stole some from both Mom and Jared).  Mom proclaimed the cod to be cooked to a turn, while Jared gave it all a big thumb's up.

The cottage pie.

Mom's fish and chips.  I love the fact that it was served wrapped in newspaper.

Jared's fish and chips.

When the time came to consider dessert, I demurred, as did Nathan and Mom, but Jared decided that he absolutely had to have something called a Knickerbocker glory.  This was a sundae made of a fruit coctail (apple and pear chunks with grapes) topped with vanilla ice cream, and all of that topped with chocolate and strawberry syrup, with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry on top.  Jared emptied it quickly and proclaimed it "delicioso!"

The Knickerbocker Glory.

"Delicioso!"

 

With three adults and one child, drinks, and a dessert, the bill came to just under $75.  I'm giving it three and a half out of five starts, and would recommend it to my friends.

Before we left, I stuck my head inside the taproom, just to get a look at it.  There aren't many real bars on Disney property, but this is one of them.

The taproom.

Next up:  The San Angel Inn, at the Mexico Pavilion, Epcot.

Teppan Edo

Note:  This restaurant was visited on 15 April 2012.  The review was originally written later that afternoon.

This time we're off to Teppan Edo, the hibachi grill restaurant in the Japan Pavillion, at Epcot.

Teppan Edo

My henchmen for this trip were my son Zachary and my niece, Elizabeth.  We left a little early, as this one was inside a theme park and I didn't want to be late. Even with getting there early, we got parked way out in the middle of BFE and had to really hike it to the entrance.  I mean it, we were way the heck out there.

See that vaguely tan blur at the end of the row?  Yeah... that's the halfway point.

As with Le Cellier back in February, you have to keep in mind that this restaurant is inside the Epcot park.  You're going to need admission into the park as a whole in addition to the cost of the restaurant.

For those of you who haven't ever been to Epcot, Teppan Edo is located in the Japan Pavillion, a part of World Showcase.  Once you're inside Epcot, walk under Spaceship Earth, then continue through Future World to Showcase Plaza.  From Showcase Plaza, you have a choice.  You can take the long way by taking the right-hand path.  Walk to the fifth pavillion (going through Canada, England, France, and Morocco), which is the Japan pavillion.  The faster way is to catch the boat across the World Showcase Lagoon.  If you get off the boat at the Morocco pavillion, just walk to your left to the next pavillion (the Japan pavillion).  If you get off the boat at Germany, just walk to your right to the third pavillion (the Japan pavillion).

Either way, look for the Kanji gate on the shore of the lake.

The Kanji gate, the mark of the Japan pavillion.

Once at the Japan pavillion, check in at the reservations kiosk at the base of the stairs.  Once all checked in, you can go upstairs to the upper level of the Mitsukoshi building and walk inside.

The reservations check-in desk, at the foot of the stairs.

 

The stairs in question.  You're destination is inside that door.

Once inside the Mitsukoshi building, we had to check in again at the desk just inside the door.  This desk was being worked by a small handful of very pretty, very tiny Japanese women dressed up as geishas who were all smiles and politeness.  They handed me a buzzer and told me we'd be seated shortly.

The second check-in desk.

The wait for a table was literally measured in microseconds.  No sooner did I turn away from the second check-in than our buzzer went off and we were escorted by another geisha down a short hallway and into a room with four hibachi grills in it.  The grills were, naturally enough, all surrounded by seats.

Zachary (left) and Elizabeth (right) walking down the long, thin hallway to the dining room.

First view of the dining room.

And the view once we were seated.

The restaurant is very modern and clean looking, with a lot of tight angles.  Our grill seated ten people, and in addition to the three of us.  I've already mentioned the hostesses who were dressed as geishas.  The serving staff were likewise dressed up in an unusual looking uniform (sorry... at Disney they're called 'costumes') and were doing their very best to be utterly invisible.  I mean it.  They never spoke to us, and when it came time to remove a plate or refill a glass they did so in utter silence, finished their jobs, and then vanished into the air.  I shocked Kotone, our server, when I took a picture of her.  I think the surprise came less from the picture and more from the fact that I wasn't supposed to notice her.

Kotone, our server.  The red "Earning My Ears" ribbon on her name tag indicates that she's still in training.

Given that this was festival seating, we shared our table and our grill with other parties.  The first group was a wonderfully nice family of five (Mom, Dad, Older Sister, Middle Son, Younger Sister) from New Jersey whose names, for whatever reason, I cannot remember at this point.  With a single exception... the younger daughter (who looked to be about eight) was named Stephanie.  Nevermind.  They were very nice to talk to, and it turns out that their son wants to be a chef when he grows up. I advised him to start working in kitchens *now* to see if he still wants to in five or six years.

Our other table-mate was a nice young girl from Germany named Eineke, who had just started with the Disney international student program, and was seeing the sites before she had to go to work.

From left to right:  Oldest Son, Oldest Daughter, and Dad.  Very friendly people, and good conversationalists.

Everyone got their drinks quickly, and our entree orders were taken.  The three of us split a sushi appetizer that, I am sorry to say, was gone before I thought to take a picture of it (what can I say, by that point we were all very hungry) as well as an order of gyo no negi-maki (beef wrapped green onions, served with hickory smoked sea salt).  For an entree, I chose a steak-and-chicken combo dish, Zach went with the swordfish, and Elizabeth chose the pork.  These meats would be accompanied by various grilled vegetables (onions, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, and so on), as well as some udon noodles and the usual spread of sauces.

Within a couple of minutes our hibachi chef arrived with his ingredients cart.  His name was Tomo, and he introduced himself as having "been born in that bastion of Japanese culture and tradition:  Jacksonville, Florida."  Tomo was a trip  Eloquent, skilled, and funny to beat the band.  While cooking, he did all of the traditional hibachi tricks, like the onion volcano, and the flaming happy face (here expanded to a flaming Mickey Mouse head), and managed to include everyone at the table in the fun.  In addition, he told a joke a minute, most of which were the "so stale they've come back around to being funny again" sort of joke.

Our chef, Tomo.  A true culinary badass.

Spinning the spatula.  That's "Mom" from the friendly family sitting opposite from me.

Setting up the sauces.

For the record, I am a certified grillmaster.  I know the ins and outs of grilling food to the point that I am a true expert at it.  It is, you might want to call it, my artform.  And as such, I know another one when I see him.  And buddy, while watching Tomo work, I was watching a true master.  As with all artists, there is a certain joy you get from watching someone as skilled as you are create masterpieces.  It might not be possible, but if you go to Teppan Edo, try and request Tomo's table.

Building the onion volcano.

On the far side of the grill:  the mushrooms begin grilling.
Center left:  the swordfish steaks.  Center right:  the udon noodles are completed with the zucchini.
Close:  the chicken breasts.
All grilled to perfection.

At the far side of the grill: the mushrooms.
In the middle:  the onions and zucchini.
At the front:  the udon noodles.

At the far side:  the mushrooms being finished.
Center left:  the steak beginning to grill.  Center right:  the swordfish finishing.
At the front:  the chicken breasts near completion.

Finally, all the food was completed and everyone was served.  Tomo thanked everybody for coming to the restaurant, thanked us for our kind attention, answered any questions we might have, cleaned up his grill, packed up, and left us to eat.

Wowsers.

You might have noticed, having read the three previous reviews, that I use words like "amazing" and "fantastic" a lot.  I like those words.  I feel they convey a sense of quality to whatever it is I apply them to.  Unfortunately, here they just sort of fall flat.  I am really having a hard time coming up with adjectives that convey the utter perfection of this meal.  It simply was.  The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender.  The vegetables were cooked to a turn.  The flavors blended together seamlessly, and all was right with the world.

My steak-and-chicken meal.

Zachary's swordfish.  I literally had to rush, and then stop him from eating, in order to get a picture of it.

While I was scrambling to get a picture of Zach's swordfish, Elizabeth was busily cleaning her plate.  I was lucky to get a picture of what little remained of her pork dish.

Finally, we came to the dessert portion of our meal, and we all decided on the green tea flan.  Yes, I know, it sounds weird, and to be honest it looked like something made out of chewed up grass.  But lordy lordy did it taste wonderful

The green tea flan.  Better than it looks.

The table service, as I already noted, was beyond belief.  Kotone, our server, never let a single glass at the table get below 1/4 full before she had a new glass out to us, and empty plates disappeared so quickly it was almost like they were being teleported away.

Lunch for two (Zachary was paying his own way today) with two entrees, drinks, and two appetizers came to $81.80, and I think it was worth every dime.

I'll be going back some time, believe it.  Teppan Edo just landed at the #1 spot for my personal list of the Best Dining Experiences at Disney World.

Five out of five stars.

Guilty Confession Time:  After lunch, we went downstairs to the department store, where I specifically went to the sake tasting bar.  There, I had a sample of a sparkling sake called Hana Fuga.  It was sweet, and delicious, and I'm planning on buying a couple of bottles very soon.

Next up:  The Rose and Crown Pub, at the England Pavillion, Epcot.