Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, VA Food & Wine Review w/ pics...

Busch Gardens VA Food & Wine Review w/ pics...





We actually went to the very first Food & wine at Busch Gardens  Williamsburg quite a few years ago & were very impressed then & am still impressed now. You definitely get a lot more food/alcohol for your money over the Epcot version of this festival but there are not as many booths as Epcot's. 

My husband purchased the 15 items ( food or alcohol)for $60. We saved SO much money by doing this. Just as a warning some things aren't covered like cocktails & certain items but it clearly states it on the menu before you get in line.

I couldn't find all of the Busch Gardens Food & Wine booths/offering typed up anywhere on the internet so I went ahead & typed this up for everyone. I will post the menus at the very end of this article. :)

My husband tried several of the wine tastings but I will post those pictures & reviews in a different article. ;)

Here is the map for the festival. I'm going to talk about each item that we had in order that we had them.



This was our first stop and we had the Tuna poke, Blue Hawaiian in a pineapple, & Evolution Craft Brewing Co. Pine 'Hop'Le IPA 

Unfortunately my husband scarfed down the poke & beer before I could take a picture of it but he said it was excellent. 




It was 96-100 degrees the day that we went to Busch Gardens & I was impressed how they got the frozen cocktails all day to stay in a frozen consistency. Epcot definitely had issues when we went last year with frozen drinks being melted already & it wasn't even as hot as it was the day as BG was.  So far BG wins this round. 



We shared the banana hazelnut crepe here & my husband had the Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne. 

We were fighting over this & I think it was my favorite sweet treat of the day. I saw them making these fresh over a crepe maker while cutting fresh bananas. These are AMAZING! The Epcot crepes are NOT good so BG wins this round again! 









The next booth we went to was the French Quarter. There is a really nice view of the Griffin roller coaster & nice faux marble tables in the back of the ice cream shop in that area where we ate ours & chilled out for awhile. 

My husband had to make a phone call so I didn't get a picture of his Bold Rock Pear Cider. I got to try his cider & it was excellent. We shared the beignets which were so light & airy. Instead of just topped with powdered sugar they gave us a rum caramel sauce which was excellent! 

My hurricane tasted nothing like a one. It had more of an orangey flavor but it was still really good! You get SO much of a cocktail with this that my husband had to help me.  The plastic cup was good quality too! 

The beignets here are better than the ones I had at the French Quarter hotel at WDW! 






I didn't want anything here but my husband chose to have the Malbec wine with the Churrasco. I tried one bite but thought the steak was way overcooked. My husband didn't find that at all & LOVED that chimichurri sauce. I'm not a fan of that sauce in general so you can listen to my husband on this one. ;)  He said the wine was good as well. 







I kept hearing that the Virginia booth was the best one at the Festival so I HAD TO try it. :) We wanted to try everything here but opted to share the She-crab soup & bacon & cheddar hush puppies. They ran out of all the beer except the Wild Wolf Blonde Hunny so that is what he had to drink. 

Yes, we ate soup when it was 100 degrees outside & it was worth it! We were fighting over it! The hush puppies were overly crispy & I didn't taste cheddar or bacon in them. They were ehhhh. Art Smith's hush puppies put theirs to shame. ;) 









I heard that the dumplings here were great so my husband & I each got our own dumplings. These are the real deal & they steamed them fresh & the sauce was heavenly! It was sweet w/ a little heat. I'm a super picky eater & loved these! My husband had the sake along with it & thought everything was great. 


Getting our dumplings out fresh! :)






This was one of my most favorite booths & I was most excited for. This location had no tables by it so we had to walk down further to a bench to enjoy. We shared the beef bulgogi & korean BBQ pork ribs. I loved both a lot. I got mad at my husband because I only got ONE bite of them beef bulgogi & he ate the rest?! It was sweet with slight heat. The BBQ ribs were a little bit more spicy but SOOOO good! 

The pork was easy to eat with a fork & was falling off the bone. They were really juicy & not dry which I was worried about.



BBQ Ribs

Beef 



My husband was a little disappointed with the Brauhaus because it was local Virginia beer & not Germany beers like he was hoping for. 

We shared a pretzel which was not on the food & wine menu. We both hate capers so skipped out on the F&W menu items. He chose to try the Join the Dark Side Porters, Stouts, & Bocks. 





He had no complaints with his beer & the pretzel was very good but be warned they serve them HOT!!!!!! It was a very nice chill bar with leather couches & nice tables. You can find the Brauhaus in the back of the Das Festhaus restaurant. 

The last thing we did was get the 40 cent beers which were in the same area as the Brauhaus but down the hall from it. They marked your hands with  a sharpie pen so they know you are only getting two 40 cent Rolling Rock beers 7 oz. cups for the day. 






If you want to complete the whole Food & Wine festival 

here I would suggest aiming for 2-3 days. There are 17 booths & then a Scotch tasting, Tequila tasting & 5 different wine tastings. 




VIRGINIA

She Crab Soup- Crab bisque finished with sherry, Old Bay, crostini & Chesapeake Blue crab salad  ( We shared this) 

Smithfield Ham Tasting- Red Eye country ham, applewood carved ham & ham pate served with honey biscuit , apple butter, honey mustard & whole grain mustard

Bacon Cheddar Hushpuppies- Cornmeal fritters served w/ honey butter (We shared this) 

Pecan Bacon & Chocolate Bars- Sweet Pecan caramel bars topped with smoked bacon & chocolate drizzle 

Beer 

VA Beer Co. Elbow Patches ( Marsh had ) 

Wild Wolf Bewing Co. Blonde Hunny 

Hardwood VIPA

Burskey RVA Cider


WINE

Barboursville Vineyards

VA Pinot Grigio
Virginia Merlot 

COCKTAILS 

Apple Pie Moonshine 

Non alcoholic- Strawberry lemonade 


Scotch Tasting- 

Talisker Storm
Highland Park 12 YR
Macallan 12 YR 



American Southwest 


Ghost Pepper Guacamole - Spicy Hot guac with tajin seasoned tri color tortilia chips 

Fish taco- chile spiced tiliapia w/ red cabbage slaw, pico de gallo & cilantro lime sauce 

Sonoran Spice pork taco- spice rubbed pork carnita w/ jicama chayote slaw in soft flour tortilla 

Chocolate Lava Cake- Fudge brownie cake with molten ancho- spiced chocolate filling 

Beer

O' Connor Brewing Co.El Guapo Agave IPA 

Bell's Lager of the Lakes

Port City Optimal Wit 

COCKTAIL

Margarita 

non alcohol- Horchata 


IRELAND

Bangers w/ Colcannon- Irish sausage with mashed potatoes, cabbage & Guiness brown sugar gravy 

Irish Cheese Sampling- Sage Bandon Vale Farmhouse cheese & Dubliner cheese w/ apple raisin chutney & cream crackers 

Guiness Mousse- Dark chocolate & Guiness mousse with whiskey infused whipped cream 

BEER

Magners Irish Cider

Traditional Brewing Co. Red Willie Irish Red 

O'Connor Brewing Co. Dry Irish Stout (ODIS) 

Argentinian Wine Tasting - get free glass  (MARSH HAD) 


Pulenta Estate Pinot Gris XIV Agrelo

Tillia Torrontes

Punto Final Cabernet Sauvignon

Catena Zapata Malbec 


HAWAII


Spam Slider- fried spam w/ siracha mayo & grilled pineapple served w/ pineapple coconut coleslaw 

Hawaiian mac & cheese- Ham & pineapple mac & cheese with macadamia nut crust 

Huli Huli Chicken- Sweet pineapple & soy BBQ chicken with orange & purple sweet potato salad 

Tuna Poke- Soy & sesame sushi tuna in wonton flower with wasabi aioli & wakame seaweed salad (MARSH HAD ) 

Haupia- Sweet coconut mousse w/Kona coffee ganache 


BEER

Kona Big Golden Ale 

Evolution Craft Brewing Co. Pone'Hop'Le IPA  (MARSH HAD) 

Golden Road Brewing Mango Cart 

COCKTAIL

Blue Hawaiian in souvenir cup or pineapple (KATE HAD) 

non-alcoholic- hisbiscus lemonade 


CREPES & COFFEE

Banana Nutella Crepe- hazlenut crepe- hazlenut chocolate spread & bananas in traditional crepe (We SHARED) 

Chocolate strawberry crepe- Hazlenut choc spread w/ strawberries in a chocolate crepe 

strawberry cheesecake crepe- cheesecake batter with strawberries & graham crackers in chocolate crepe 

WINE

Bieler pere et fils rose

Moet & chandon Imperial brut champagne (MARSH HAD)


French wine tasting ( 4 choices) ( MARSH did this)

Charles Bove Vouvray
Francois Montand Demi Sec Ice 
Joseph Drouhin Beaujoiais Villages
Domaine Le Saint Andre Rose
La Closeire Des Lys Pinot Noir
Chateau de Parenchere Bordeaux Superieur 

French Quarter 

Shrimp etoufee- creole spiced shrimp stew over cajun rice

Muffaletta- sliced mortadella,salami,ham & provolone w/olive spread on sesame bread w/ cajun coleslaw 

Bananas Foster Cheesecake- vanilla & pecan crusted cheesecake w/ orange rum caramel sauce & sliced banana

Beignets- fried donut squares topped with powdered sugar (WE SHARED) 

BEER

sweetwater blue 

founders brewing co all day IPA 

Traveler beer co curious traveler 

Bold rock pear cider (MARSH HAD) 

COCKTAIL

frozen Hurricane (KATE HAD)


CUBA


Cuban sandwich- Roasted pork w/ ham, dill pickle & yellow mustard pressed in Cuban bread

Ropa vieja- shredded beef in criollo sauce served over black beans & rice 

tostones- fried green plantains served w/ mojo mayo

flan- custard 

cocktail

cube libre - rum lime juice coke 

non alcohol- batido de trigo - puffed wheat milkshake 


BRAZIL

Churrasco- grilled beef w/ chimichurri sauce ( MARSH had) 

Abacxi grilled pineapple w/ coconut caramel sauce 

Linguica- brazilian sausage served w/ grilled portabellas & peppers 

wine 

dona paula los cardos chardonnay 

trapiche broquel malbec (MARSH HAD) 

cocktail

caipirinha-razil's national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça,

non alcoholic- brazilian lemonade 

Niagra region wine tasting 

heinz eifel eiswein

Inniskillin Ice Wine 

Rockbridge V d'Or dessert wine 

Ravines Chardonnay 



GERMAN Wine TASTING 

Heinz Eifel Riesling Auslese

Villa Wolf Gewurztraminer

Villa wolf pinot noir 

Heinz Eifel Dornfelder Shine Sweet Red 


Caribbean


Jamaican Jerk Chicken- jerk marinated chicken drumsticks w/ guava BBQ & grilled pineapple salsa

gamba fritters- caribbean fried shrimp dumplings with pickapeppa dip 

mojo shrimp- citrus & garlic marinated shrimp on heart of palm, black beans & corn relish with lime cilantro vinagrette 

pineapple upsidedown cake - w/ sweet pineapple rum sauce 

BEER 

Heavy seas Tropicannon
Virginia Beer Co free verse 
Landshark Lager 
Coelacanth Brewing Passionfruit gose 

frozen cocktail- Caribbean sunset 

non alcolic- giner limeade 

TEQUILA TASTING 

Don julio Blanco

Herradura Reposado
patron extra anejo 



BRAUHAUS (Marsh disappointed)

Schnitzelwitch- pork schnitzel slider w/ lemon caper sauce 

german meatballs- traditional meatballs w/ lemon & caper sauce 

BEER FLIGHTS 

Hop Heads- IPA & Pale Ales 

Join the Dark Side Porters, Stouts, & Bocks (MARSH had) 

Not Beer- Ciders & Lemonades

Cloudy Daze- Unfiltered Wheat/ Belgian style 


Rolling rock 40 cent 7oz pours were also down hall from here only 2 per person for the whole day allowed. 


ISLAND FREEZE

BEER:

Larry's lemonade- also available frozen 

New Belgium Tartastic
McKenzie's Black cherry HARD cider ( also  avail frozen) 
Alewerks weekend lager 

Frozen cocktails

pina colada
bahama mama
strawberry daquari
shark bite
bellini
aquamarine 



INDIA

Tandoori chicken- spiced yogurt marinated chicken w/ caramom ginger rice & cucumber raita 

samosas- savory pastry filled with curried potatoes & peas served w/ mango chutney 

lamb kofta- spiced ground lamb on a stick with cilantro lime yogurt sauce 

non alcoholic- masala chai iced tea 

ITALY 

Tiramisu- italian parfait w/ sweetened marscarpone cheese, layered w/ espresso- soaked lady fingers 

panna cotta- vanilla cream pudding served w/ strawberries 

mini canoli trio-  traditional, strawberry cheesecake & choc hazlenut mini canollis w/ choc dipped shells 

pizelle cookies- fresh pressed italian cookies filled with sweet mascarpone cheese 

biscotti- almond or chocolate cookie 

WINE 

Ruffino Moscato d'asti
roscato rosso dolce 

COCKTAILS

Limoncello
sambucca
grapa
amaretto 

Italian wine tasting 

G.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso 
Annalisa Moscato
Zenato Pinot Grigio
Chianti Classico
Bera Brachetto 

SPAIN

Chorizo Empanada- spicy pork sausage pastry pocket w/ cilantro lime cream 

gazpacho con ceviche- chilled tomato cucumber soup with citrus oyster mushroom salsa 

tapas-  paprika roasted marcona almonds, marinated olive medley & manchego cheese with membrillo-quince paste


Venera con jamon- scallop wrapped in cured ham with saffron rice & romesco sauce 

COCKTAILS 

beso del sol REd Sangria 

beso del sol white sangria 


JAPAN


lettuce wrap- vegetables & tofu wrapped in tender butter lettuce with toasted almonds & sweet chili dipping sauce 

Mushi-Gyoza-  Japanese style steamed chicken dumplings with citrus ponzu sauce ( Marsh & Kate got their own each) 

CA roll- sushi filled w/ crab surimi, avocado & cucyumber served w/ pickled ginger & wasabi

soba noodle bowl- dashi broth with pickled veggies, green onions, edamame, egg & shitake mushrooms

matcha ice cream- green tea ice cream w/ sweet soy glaze service w/ sesame cookie 


WINE 

Takara Plum Wine 

Takara sake (MARSH had) 

Non alcoholic- bubble tea or kombucha by coke 


SOUTH KOREA

Beef Bulgogi- grilled korean style marinated beef skewer ( shared) 

kimchi sampler- cabbage,cucumber & daikon radish varities 

Korean BBQ ribs- spicy chili BBQ glazed ribs served over Gochujang slaw (KATE) 

COCKTAIL

Korean Soju 

Non alcoholic- Barley Tea 



MEDITERRANEAN

Lam burger slider- seasoned ground lamb on pita bread with feta cheese spread, cucumber, tomato & olive 

Falfafel- chickpea fritter with sesame dipping sauce 

Spankopita- spinach & feta in crispy filo dough w/ spicy lemon sauce 

Dolmades- rice & herb stffed grape leaves w/ tzatki sauce 

Baklava- sweet pastry w/ nuts & honey btween thin crispy filo pastry layers 

WINE 

Alta Mora Etna Bianco

Alla Mora Etna Rosso 

COCKTAIL

Ouzo

Non alcoholic- iced cafe au lait

Please feel free to send me any questions that you may have. Thank you!  yohoyohobloggerslifeforme@gmail.com

*Links might fee affiliated

Facebook Group:

Follow me on Twitter at:
Or on Instagram at: 
Or on Tumblr at:
Find me on itunes, stitcher & GooglePlay Podcasts: Mousellaneous 

1 comment:

Facebook

Kate Smith likes

Yohoyohobloggerslifeforme.blogspot.comYohoyohobloggerslifeforme.blogspot.com
Create your Like Badge