VAtink
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- Joined
- May 5, 2013
Finally had time to go over our notes from the F&W fest the other week and wanted to post a quick review of all the items we tasted!
Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar – Tropical Mimosa: So good, great way to start the day!
Festival Center Wine Shop – Red Flight: Decent reds, although I think our favorite part of this booth was being in the AC!
Flavors from Fire – Smoked Corned Beef: Just eh, far too many chips and hardly any meat. The flavors were good, but there were just sooooo many chips!
Light Lab – RGB flight: Another eh, really liked the Red of the flight, the other two were just ok.
Earth Eats – Steakhouse Blended Burger: We really liked this one! Not our favorite of the Next Eats booths, but still really good!
Active Eats – Spice Crusted Verlasso Salmon: Now this was one of our favorites, it was amazing! Would 100% recommend this one!
Coastal Eats – Seared Scallops: Again, another good pick, but we had this after trying the salmon above, and it just didn’t compare. Still great, just not as great!
The Art of Pairing – Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Frozen Cocktail: Once we realized we needed to mix this, it was really good! Turns out they just poured the vodka on top of the frozen drink so it didn’t mix at all, so the first sip was WOAH VODKA! So I grabbed a spoon and mixed it up and after that it was much better!
The Cheese Studio – Maple Bourbon Cheesecake and Sparkling Blueberry wine: We loved both. The cheesecake was amazing, and a really decent size, two of us struggled to finish it! The wine was really nice especially for an after dinner drink.
The Wine and Dine Studio – Butternut Squash Ravioli and Artist Pallet of Wine and Cheese: The ravioli was fantastic! We really loved the flavors. We get the artist pallet every year, and once again it did not disappoint! Solid booth again this year!
The Almond Orchard – Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Dom Perignon: The dip was really good, but super heavy. Also the chicken was massive chunks which made it awkward to eat as a dip, kinda needed a fork to pick it up. The Dom was ok, crazy expensive, but since I refuse to spend that kind of money on a full bottle, I figured I’d try it here instead!
New Zealand – Lamb Meatball and Frozen Wine Cocktail: The lamb meatball was good again this year, still not a huge fan of the pasty it comes on, but the meat itself is great! The frozen wine cocktail was amazing, especially on such a hot day, we really loved it!
Australia – Grilled Lamb Chop and Chardonnay: The lamb this year was way better than last year and really good! The chardonnay was just an average standard chardonnay, nothing to write home about!
Hawai’i – Teriyaki-glazed Spam Hash: Ok, this may be blasphemy, but I really wasn’t a fan of this one. I don’t understand the rave reviews it gets! It just tasted like salt.
Island of the Caribbean – Ropa Vieja Empanada: This was a surprise standout to us. It was perfectly flaky and the flavors were fantastic! One of our top choices at the fest!
Greece – Taste of Greece and Argyros Atlantis Red Blend: We liked the Taste of Greece a lot more this year than last. Definitely a good choice! The wine was good, but nothing special.
Thailand – Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef: Loved this, it was perfectly spicy and a really good portion!
Mexico – Mariachi Loco: This was pretty good, wasn’t expecting the kick from it, but it was a nice surprise!
China – Chicken Dumplings: These were ok, although my local Chinese place has better so not a must do for us again.
India – Sula Chenin Blanc: This was surprisingly really good, and nice and refreshing!
Africa – Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tips: So good, and probably the dish with the most kick we tried. It was a really big serving for F&W as well!
Brewers Collection – Pomegranate Beer: Ok, I get this every year. I love it. Also love their grapefruit beer.
Germany – Selbach-Oster Riesling: This was ok, kind of wish we tried the flight instead though to compare since this didn’t taste like any Riesling I’ve had before!
Spain – Casa Castillo Monastrell: This was a decent wine, would get this again.
Italy – Mezzi Rigatoni and Villa Sandi Prosecco: My mom loved the rigatoni, I thought it was ok. The prosecco was nice and light!
Hops and Barley – Beer flight: I really liked this beer flight, definitely a must for us!
Japan – Teriyaki Chicken Bun: This was good, but another one I don’t understand the rave reviews. Not bad, but just not something I would put at the top of my list.
Morocco – Hummus Fries: Loved this, another one with a nice kick! Also a really good serving size.
Belgium – Beer Braised Beef and beer flight: The Beef was good, not the best at the fest (hello Canada!), but still really good. The beer flight was ok, although when we went they were out of one of the beers so just doubled up on one, so we didn’t get the full experience.
Brazil – Crispy Pork Belly: This was ok, just average for us.
France – Croissant aux Escargots, Beer-braised beef and La Passion Martini Slush: All of these were fantastic! I fully expected to not like the croissant, but I was shocked at how good it was!
Ireland – Guinness Baileys Shake: Amazing!
Canada – Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon: Every year this has been our favorite beef dish at the fest, and once again it did not disappoint!
Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar – Tropical Mimosa: So good, great way to start the day!
Festival Center Wine Shop – Red Flight: Decent reds, although I think our favorite part of this booth was being in the AC!
Flavors from Fire – Smoked Corned Beef: Just eh, far too many chips and hardly any meat. The flavors were good, but there were just sooooo many chips!
Light Lab – RGB flight: Another eh, really liked the Red of the flight, the other two were just ok.
Earth Eats – Steakhouse Blended Burger: We really liked this one! Not our favorite of the Next Eats booths, but still really good!
Active Eats – Spice Crusted Verlasso Salmon: Now this was one of our favorites, it was amazing! Would 100% recommend this one!
Coastal Eats – Seared Scallops: Again, another good pick, but we had this after trying the salmon above, and it just didn’t compare. Still great, just not as great!
The Art of Pairing – Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Frozen Cocktail: Once we realized we needed to mix this, it was really good! Turns out they just poured the vodka on top of the frozen drink so it didn’t mix at all, so the first sip was WOAH VODKA! So I grabbed a spoon and mixed it up and after that it was much better!
The Cheese Studio – Maple Bourbon Cheesecake and Sparkling Blueberry wine: We loved both. The cheesecake was amazing, and a really decent size, two of us struggled to finish it! The wine was really nice especially for an after dinner drink.
The Wine and Dine Studio – Butternut Squash Ravioli and Artist Pallet of Wine and Cheese: The ravioli was fantastic! We really loved the flavors. We get the artist pallet every year, and once again it did not disappoint! Solid booth again this year!
The Almond Orchard – Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Dom Perignon: The dip was really good, but super heavy. Also the chicken was massive chunks which made it awkward to eat as a dip, kinda needed a fork to pick it up. The Dom was ok, crazy expensive, but since I refuse to spend that kind of money on a full bottle, I figured I’d try it here instead!
New Zealand – Lamb Meatball and Frozen Wine Cocktail: The lamb meatball was good again this year, still not a huge fan of the pasty it comes on, but the meat itself is great! The frozen wine cocktail was amazing, especially on such a hot day, we really loved it!
Australia – Grilled Lamb Chop and Chardonnay: The lamb this year was way better than last year and really good! The chardonnay was just an average standard chardonnay, nothing to write home about!
Hawai’i – Teriyaki-glazed Spam Hash: Ok, this may be blasphemy, but I really wasn’t a fan of this one. I don’t understand the rave reviews it gets! It just tasted like salt.
Island of the Caribbean – Ropa Vieja Empanada: This was a surprise standout to us. It was perfectly flaky and the flavors were fantastic! One of our top choices at the fest!
Greece – Taste of Greece and Argyros Atlantis Red Blend: We liked the Taste of Greece a lot more this year than last. Definitely a good choice! The wine was good, but nothing special.
Thailand – Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef: Loved this, it was perfectly spicy and a really good portion!
Mexico – Mariachi Loco: This was pretty good, wasn’t expecting the kick from it, but it was a nice surprise!
China – Chicken Dumplings: These were ok, although my local Chinese place has better so not a must do for us again.
India – Sula Chenin Blanc: This was surprisingly really good, and nice and refreshing!
Africa – Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tips: So good, and probably the dish with the most kick we tried. It was a really big serving for F&W as well!
Brewers Collection – Pomegranate Beer: Ok, I get this every year. I love it. Also love their grapefruit beer.
Germany – Selbach-Oster Riesling: This was ok, kind of wish we tried the flight instead though to compare since this didn’t taste like any Riesling I’ve had before!
Spain – Casa Castillo Monastrell: This was a decent wine, would get this again.
Italy – Mezzi Rigatoni and Villa Sandi Prosecco: My mom loved the rigatoni, I thought it was ok. The prosecco was nice and light!
Hops and Barley – Beer flight: I really liked this beer flight, definitely a must for us!
Japan – Teriyaki Chicken Bun: This was good, but another one I don’t understand the rave reviews. Not bad, but just not something I would put at the top of my list.
Morocco – Hummus Fries: Loved this, another one with a nice kick! Also a really good serving size.
Belgium – Beer Braised Beef and beer flight: The Beef was good, not the best at the fest (hello Canada!), but still really good. The beer flight was ok, although when we went they were out of one of the beers so just doubled up on one, so we didn’t get the full experience.
Brazil – Crispy Pork Belly: This was ok, just average for us.
France – Croissant aux Escargots, Beer-braised beef and La Passion Martini Slush: All of these were fantastic! I fully expected to not like the croissant, but I was shocked at how good it was!
Ireland – Guinness Baileys Shake: Amazing!
Canada – Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon: Every year this has been our favorite beef dish at the fest, and once again it did not disappoint!
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