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Food and Wine Weekends at Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria

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Hilton Bonnet CreekI’ve written before about the wonderful hotel options at the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando. We stayed there back in 2015 for their Race Weekends package, and I’d been there before with my friend Amanda, on a girls weekend getaway, full of fun, food, and sunburn in my case. Back then, I called these hotels the “best kept secret in Walt Disney World,“ and while I think that word has gotten out, there are still many people that don’t even know where these resorts are located. Food and Wine Weekends may just change that.

A great way to get introduced to these beautiful properties is one of the many event weekends they have going on throughout the year. The aforementioned Race Weekends are a great option for runDisney races; they really give you extra fun for your races, with all sorts of great amenities to enjoy. They also have Florida Resident rates, breakfast included packages, and more. Last night we were invited to experience a taste of their Food and Wine Weekends. These weekend menu options extend the “Magical Dining” menus that happen all over Orlando in September, with proceeds going to various charities, and are a perfect complement to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

Food And Wine Weekends Breakdown:

The Food and Wine Weekends offer special tasting menus at 3 of the restaurants throughout the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria. The best part (for me and many of my friends) is that they also offer full vegan menu options at each of these locations.

A couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed the vegan Magical Dining menu at Zeta Asia, and it was truly amazing. I was very happy Amanda made that reservation because I didn’t know it existed and I’m still thinking about the menu items we had (I am officially in love with the vegan Bao Buns and the Bibimbap)!

Vegan Bao Zeta Asia

You can find ALL of the Food and Wine Weekends menu options, including Peacock Alley’s “Bar du Chocolat and Champagne tasting” and the Myth Bar’s “Pop Culture” with house made fresh fruit popsicles, organic ice pops, and “poptails” for the adults, in this guide from Hilton Bonnet Creek.

 

Vegan Options:

Last night, we were treated to the vegan Cauliflower Salad from La Luce, the Vegetable Fricassee from Bull & Bear, and the Impossible Bibimbap from Zeta Asia. These were all wonderful choices, and honestly, I was full after the first option, and absolutely stuffed by the 3rd. I somehow made room for the two vegan desserts we were offered, a dark chocolate and passion fruit dessert from Bull & Bear, and the special request dessert available in the hotels when you request a vegan dessert: fresh fruit sauce over a coconut tart, with fresh berries and whipped non-dairy cream. They were both SO wonderful, it definitely didn’t feel like a thrown-together vegan option, which is often the case with desserts. Check out photos in the gallery below from the evening and some of the hotel properties. Just click to enlarge any photo:

 

We were also treated to a vegan cocktail, since the one they were serving that night had sheep’s milk in it. We were given a modified “Bee’s Knees” with agave instead of honey. It was very floral and lovely. You can order this at Peacock Alley any time! You can watch the bartender create this drink for us, as well as chefs creating the amazing nitrogen-cooled chocolate pictured above, any time on my Food and Wine Weekends Instagram story highlight.

Bee's Knees vegan cocktail Peacock Alley

I hope I’ve tempted you a bit to head over to the Waldorf Astoria Orlando or Hilton Bonnet Creek and experience their Food and Wine Weekends for yourselves. It really is a wonderful experience, and such a nice, relaxing, crowd-and-line-free way to enjoy some culinary delights. I was hosted for our tasting experience, but I truly do love these properties and think they are such a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of the nearby Disney hotels. Did I mention the lazy river? 

Hilton Bonnet Creek lazy river

If you’ve never been, enjoying a Food and Wine Weekends tasting menu is a great way to get over and explore the properties before staying the night (but staying the night is also a great way to end your Food and Wine Weekends evening!).

Have you stayed at either of these properties, or enjoyed their Food and Wine Weekends, or their stellar dining options?

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts or if you plan to check it out. Let me know in the comments below or drop me a line on social media, I’d love to chat about it! Thanks for reading.

Disclosure: As mentioned, I was hosted by Hilton for this tasting event, but my thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own. 

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Food and Wine Weekends Hilton Bonnet Creek Waldorf Astoria
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A Vegetarian And a Tween Visit Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival

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Epcot exit sign
Wise and delicious advice from an Epcot sign

That may sound like the opening to a strange Disney joke, but really, it’s just how a recent visit to Epcot’s 17th annual International Food & Wine Festival went. There are a couple of weeks left in Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival which has been running since September 28 and continues through November 12, 2012.

This year has been chock full of delicious international cuisine as usual, and some new tastes this year too, including the first all-vegan booth, Terra. I recently had a chance to explore some options as a new vegetarian and was surprised at what I could still enjoy.

At Terra, I tried all of the options and found the Trick’n Chick’n Curry with Basmati Rice and Chili Colorado with House-Made Chips and Cashew Cheese to be delicious options, even for my meat-eating friends. I will fully admit to “meatless meat” getting a bad reputation, but the Trick’n Chick’n is so close to the real thing, it made me pause and wonder, “what IS this made from?” It’s that good. The sauce was spicy (which I love) and delicious. The chili is made with “beef-less beef tips” and you really are hard pressed to tell the difference. Great new additions this year.

Trick'n Chick'n
Trick’n Chick’n Curry with Basmati Rice

 

Colorado Vegan Chili
Chili Colorado with Cashew ‘Cheese’

 

Some of my other favorites were found at the Greece booth, one of my standbys. I have always loved Spanakopita and this year was no different. I also enjoyed the Greek Salad with Pita Bread, always yummy. New this season was the Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey. Sounds like an odd combo, but it worked together wonderfully and was a great snack item. I also discovered in Poland a delicious mushroom and cheese on toast dish called Zapiekanki-Toasted Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Cheese Bread with House Made Ketchup. It was really too much for one person, definitely big enough to share.

Griddled Greek Cheese with Honey and Pistachios
Griddled Greek Cheese with Honey and Pistachios

 

Greek Salad and Spanakopita
Greek Salad and Spanakopita

 

Mushroom Cheese Toast
Zapiekanki-Toasted Mushroom, Caramelized Onion and Cheese Bread with House Made Ketchup

 

Speaking of sharing, my daughter ordered the Ravioli di Formaggio All’emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli, Creamy Beef Bolognese, Parmesan, Mozzarella) in Italy and it was a huge portion. Great value and she loved it. Her other favorites were the California Roll in Japan and the Milk Chocolate Créme Brûlée in France, yearly must-haves for her. This year, she tried the Bailey’s Chocolate Lava Cake from Ireland too. That’s perhaps the best part of the Food & Wine Festival, the fun international meal you can make out of stopping for tastes here and there, around the World Showcase promenade.

Ravioli from Italy
Ravioli from Italy

 

California Roll
Sophia displaying the California Roll from Japan

 

Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee
Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee

 

Bailey's Lava Cake
Bailey’s Lava Cake from Ireland

 

In the past, I have been hesitant to bring my kids to an evening at Food & Wine, because it has become a “drinking around the world” event for many people, to the point of excess. However, I recently went, on a Friday night, with 10 Girl Scouts, and we all had a wonderful time. We were insulated in our own little group and were able to avoid any unpleasantry that can arise when large groups of folks are combined with large amounts of alcohol. That’s not to say those groups aren’t there, but you can choose to ignore them and still have a wonderful time.

I haven’t even touched on the wonderful seminars, classes and sessions that take place each year at the Festival. Be sure to check out the Festival Center next to Mission Space and Ellen’s Energy Adventure for more information, and fun Festival merchandise too. The merchandise was especially top-notch this year. Also new this year is the Chase Lounge, inside the Festival Center, where Disney Chase Visa cardholders can relax and have a refreshment in between their Epcot adventures. Right before the Chase Lounge is the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience, where you can try drinking chocolate, a chocoholic’s dream! You can find out SO much more about the Food & Wine Festival seminars, menus and basically everything you need to know at the Disney Food Blog’s Food & Wine pages too.

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