REVIEW: Festival Beans, Spice, and All Things Nice at Refreshment Outpost
It’s Thursday, July 27th and you know what that means — the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival has begun!
Our MickeyBloggers are over in EPCOT right now and savoring all the unique experiences this fan-favorite festival has to offer, and we’re absolutely thrilled to have you join along with us. At the moment, we’ve been touring the World Showcase, providing news and reviews from each of the marketplace kitchens dotted around the lagoon.
The next stop on this adventure is the awesome Refreshment Outpost, so let’s go check it out together!
Unlike the other pop-up festival kitchen booths, Refreshment Outpost is actually a permanent location in the EPCOT World Showcase, nestled between the China and Germany pavilions. Decorated with cool, African-inspired pieces, this place is primarily a snack bar, yet serves up some awesome and unique offerings exclusively for the EPCOT festivals. Want to see what they’ve got available for the 2023 Food & Wine Festival? Keep reading!
There’s one food item returning to the menu here for the festival, and it’s sure to get your taste buds tingling…
It’s a Spicy Githeri dish, with white beans, pigeon peas, curried BEN’S ORIGINAL Long Grain & Wild Rice, and a Kachumbari slaw. This is actually a completely plant-based item, too!
Doesn’t it look so colorful and refreshing?
Now, our MickeyBloggers sampled this and told us it was similar to a masala-style dish. They reported that it was very spicy, with lots of great flavor coming particularly from the beans, and plenty of texture from all the different ingredients.
Another great insight our reporters gave us was that this dish was especially filling, making it a fantastic lunchtime option. Particularly if you’re following a vegan or plant-based diet, this is definitely not one to miss!
Food aside, it’s also the beverages available at Refreshment Outpost that have got people talking! Because, for 2023, there are three completely NEW offerings on the menu, each sounding more tantalizing than the next!
We’ve got a Gulf Stream Brewing Co. Cloud Watermelon Hibiscus Lager from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and a North Coast Brewing Co. PranQster Golden Ale from Fort Bragg CA. Both of these are seasonal beer offerings for the festival. Then, there’s also a Ciderboys Mango Tango Hard Cider from Stevens Point, WI coming to the menu as a regular item!
As well as this, there’s also a returning flavor of Dole Whip back at Refreshment Outpost, which is the Watermelon Pineapple Swirl. We didn’t try that one out today, but you can read our review from a previous festival here!
On your next visit to the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, make sure not to miss the Refreshment Outpost kitchen, especially if you’re looking for tasty, African-inspired flavors or delicious unique beers.
And, in the meantime, you can be sure to read all the latest news, reviews, and more from the festival and beyond, right here on MickeyBlog.com. We’re so happy to have you join us!