Poland - Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies
I first tried the kielbasa and pierogies many, many years ago. I'm a fan of both items, but I wasn't overly impressed in years past so I've been skipping it in favor of trying other items. The $5.00 price has also kept me away.
Since reading that this is the 2nd most popular dish (after Canada's cheese soup), I decided that I should give it another try. The fact that it is popular, may also be the reason it is one of the more expensive items at the Festival. It costs as much as the seared beef filet from South Africa. Go figure. 3 small slices of kielbasa, 1 potato pierogi drizzled with a squirt of sour cream and caramelized onions. While everything was tasty enough, it was just OK and I had wished that I saved my $5 to try something different.
The Polish sausage was a bit fatty. The potato dumpling was rubbery and not much different than what you can pick up in a grocery store freezer case. I gave most of my caramelized onions to my husband.
Brazil - Seared Mahi-Mahi
If you read this blog, you know that I'm a picky eater and that I definitely do not eat seafood. My husband is mildly interested in seafood and had never tried mahi-mahi. After looking at it on several restaurant menus, he decided that $4.50 at the Epcot Food & Wine was the perfect opportunity to try mahi-mahi.
The dish came with steamed rice, hearts of palm and a coconut-lime sauce. His review was that the fish was mild and had a nice texture. He didn't think the fish itself had much flavor, but that it would easily take on the flavors used in preparation. Overall, he decided he would probably stick to salmon when ordering out, but might give mahi-mahi a try if it was prepared with interesting flavors.