djsamuel 322 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I was wondering about that pineapple hot dog. Looks half decent. 4 Rivers is great. There are also locations in Winter Garden (Colonial Drive) and Orlando, near UCF. John Rivers also provides the food for events at his church (Summit Church, Orlando). We've had some there when attending events with my daughter who attends there. Excellent. I did like the smoker set up at American Adventure though. We may have passed right by each other. We were seated outside the American Adventure for a while eating the bacon maple cupcakes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I was wondering about that pineapple hot dog. Looks half decent. 4 Rivers is great. There are also locations in Winter Garden (Colonial Drive) and Orlando, near UCF. John Rivers also provides the food for events at his church (Summit Church, Orlando). We've had some there when attending events with my daughter who attends there. Excellent. I did like the smoker set up at American Adventure though. We may have passed right by each other. We were seated outside the American Adventure for a while eating the bacon maple cupcakes. Yes, they just opened a 4 Rivers in Tampa, but I haven't made it there yet. I hit the one in Gainesville every time I'm there to visit my daughter. I love that place. Have you been to their fried chicken place? I'm not sure how much cooking is actually going on in that big smoker at the BBQ place this year. Last year, we had to wait a ridiculously long time for our food, and there was a guy there doing his best to keep up with the orders. This year, everything was suspiciously ready really fast. We were making our rounds kind of late in the afternoon- like 4-ish. The first Gin Blossom concert was about to start when we were leaving the America area. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djsamuel 322 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Yes, they just opened a 4 Rivers in Tampa, but I haven't made it there yet. I hit the one in Gainesville every time I'm there to visit my daughter. I love that place. Have you been to their fried chicken place? I'm not sure how much cooking is actually going on in that big smoker at the BBQ place this year. Last year, we had to wait a ridiculously long time for our food, and there was a guy there doing his best to keep up with the orders. This year, everything was suspiciously ready really fast. We were making our rounds kind of late in the afternoon- like 4-ish. The first Gin Blossom concert was about to start when we were leaving the America area. TCD We were in that area at the same time. As we were leaving the American Adventure area, the people were lined up for the concert and they were getting ready to go in. My daughter's best friend is a cook at the chicken place (called the Coop). She likes the food and people I work with that have eaten there say it is terrific. The smoker had people working it and throwing wood in. But you make a good point. I have to wonder how much of the food sold actually was smoked in that smoker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 My daughter's best friend is a cook at the chicken place (called the Coop). She likes the food and people I work with that have eaten there say it is terrific. Yup, that's the place. As far as I know, the only one is in Winter Park. I wanted to take the twins there while they were working at WDW this past fall, but we never found the time. I'll get over there one of these days. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Thanks for the reviews and photos, folks! I shall continue to refine my list accordingly. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 We were at the Flower show Sunday. Daughters got the pork sliders from the BBQ. They said they were ok. Granddaughter and daughter got the shrimp and grits from the Florida Fresh and I got the key lime sparkling wine. Shrimp and grits were good but it was a small potion. Same with the wine, good taste but not worth the $$.We saw the pineapple dog while we were getting our Dole Whips. It was a 1/2 of a hot dog and bun. The Dole Whips with rum were good, but again it wasn't worth the extra $4 for the shot.My granddaughter got the violet frozen lemonade from the Dole Whip stand. It was a small glass, but I tried a sip and it was great.My daughter got a beer from Fl Fresh and it was only a little larger than the flight cups. We say quite a few people walking around with full sized cups of beer, but couldn't figure out where they came from. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 About the booth smoking BBQ... If they really ARE smoking meet, it takes several hours and then large quantities would be available. It's not something that can be cooked quickly, so to me it makes sense that they would have a bunch ready. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 They might be just reheating it in the display smoker.On 4 Rivers, there are quite a few good articles about the founder John Rivers. Very down to earth guy with a good Christian background. That's why he's closed on Sundays. He has a good cookbook out. We saw and talked to him last year at the UCF book fair and got him to autograph our cookbooks. djsamuel 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 About the booth smoking BBQ... If they really ARE smoking meet, it takes several hours and then large quantities would be available. It's not something that can be cooked quickly, so to me it makes sense that they would have a bunch ready. I really think the smoker is a prop this year, and that the cooking is being done offsite in some giant facility next to where they mass produce the Gaston's cinnamon rolls. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Memphis 105 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 More likely by the turkey legs. No wonder those cinnamon rolls SMB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I did some more research for the Fiends this past weekend. This is the Kung pao chicken bun they're selling at the China booth: That is an excellent item. We all took a bite, and everyone loved it. As predicted, we returned to the BBQ place, and I tried the burnt ends hash again. This week's version was markedly different than last weeks, in that it actually contained some burnt ends: This is the exact same item from the weekend before: In addition to the beef being cooked more, this week's version was much lighter on the jalapeños, which was an improvement. I didn't get a photo of the pork slider last week, so I made sure to get one this week. It's a very big sandwich for a slider: On the subject of whether or not any actual cooking is happening at the BBQ booth this year, this rack of entrees was wheeled out of the back to restock the booth: Last year, the waits for food were awful at this booth. This year, they are passing out the food as fast as guests are ordering. It is clearly being prepped backstage and not in the booth. That's not a bad thing. The lines at some of the booths were too long for me. We had to skip the shrimp and grits and a revisit to France because of long lines. TCD BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Memphis 105 Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Wow what a difference in the burnt ends. You should have shown your last weeks picture and got this weeks free. It looks like they just forgot the jalapeños this week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Thanks for the updates, TCD! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PoorGABoy 4 Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 We are heading down this week for a short trip and going to the F&G festival at Epcot either Friday or Saturday. We prefer to go Saturday, but was wondering about the weekend crowds. Is there much difference between Friday and Saturday crowds for this event? Also, Friday is the EMH for Epcot and thought that might make if more crowded also. Opinions welcomed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Kelly's boyfriend is recommending this Saturday over this Friday: http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/03-march-2015-crowd-calendar/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PoorGABoy 4 Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Thank you. I read the report, but wasn't sure how much they took in account the weekend and F&G. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 The Touring Plans Blog has some reviews of some of the Flower & Garden Festival food offerings and a bunch of photos from around the festival.http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/03/21/2015-epcot-flower-garden-food-finds/ They agreed with TCD on the booze pop! The alcoholic ice pop, on the other hand, was a huge hit. They should sell these things year round, in a variety of flavors, but for now I’ll enjoy the peachy iced tea goodness. One interesting tidbit... Some Epcot food news that’s not part of the Flower and Garden Festival: British Cadbury chocolate is still available in the United Kingdom pavilion, despite Hershey’s recent bid to ban their import. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
campingpixi 11 Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Here is a pic of the frushi it was pretty good! BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cortezcapt (Derek) 156 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Well I have made my list of must tries this year.Hmm, Is it bad more than 90% of my list contains alcohol? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 Well I have made my list of must tries this year.Hmm, Is it bad more than 90% of my list contains alcohol? Nope. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 From Doctor Disney - the full menu listing... http://www.doctordisney.com/2015/02/24/full-menus-for-outdoor-kitchens-at-2015-epcot-flower-and-garden-festival/We went to EPCOT this past weekend after going to Hollywood Studios. It wasn't terribly crowded, but HOT! We tried these Botanas Botànico Seafood CevicheWhite Corn Arepa Coconut Tres Leches My daughter had gotten the ghost pepper dusted tilapia and had me try it. Everything was good. I really liked the ceviche. The big highlight was getting to see the Taiko Drummers. We made it to Germany then backtracked to the International gate and left to go check in at our hotel and relax. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted May 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 I tried these last week... Shrimp and grits and FL beer sampler Shrimp and grits were super tasty. Shrimp were good size and nice and firm, not at all mushy, and the grits were nice and creamy. I actually liked all of the beers, which was a surprise. Usually in a sampler you hit a clunker or two. Burnt ends hash and frozen lemonade The hash was really tasty, although the cheese sauce on top was kind of random and really didn't need to be there. The lemonade had a healthy shot of a local whiskey in it and was very good. Ceviche This had shrimp, scallops and grouper in it. Very fresh tasting and not "overcooked" and tough like ceviche can be sometimes. La Vie en Rose slush Continuing in the tradition of delicious slushies in the France paviliion, this was super yummy. It tasted a bit grapefruit-y to me although supposedly it contained red and white cranberry juice. Oh and I have flower pics too - stay tuned... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Everything I tried at F&G was really good. Particularly the shrimp and grits, the duck confit, and the slush in France. It tasted like cranberry juice to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 As promised, my flower pics from a week ago - with thanks to TCD for the tip to ride through on the monorail at least once. :) In no particular order... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 A few more... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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