Once again over Memorial Day weekend, BGWFans braved the crowds and the weather to taste and review everything at Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s annual culinary extravaganza. This year Zachary and I (Nicole) were joined by Renee, Thomas, and Tony.
Despite the forces of nature and a Code Purple at the park, we successfully tried, scored, and discussed all of the food items at this year’s event. We decided against reviewing the new Island (“Icelands?”) Freeze booth, because we didn’t want to have to try all of the frozen cocktails throughout the event.
Like last year, we have opted to split our review into two parts:
- This article scores each dish and provides our thoughts on each booth.
- Our second piece will look more broadly at the trends we identified this year, as well as our individual recommendations.
As in the past, we decided to score desserts against desserts and savory dishes against other savory items. Thus, we have identified both savory and sweet “Best in Booth” winners for each kiosk. A dish will not win Best in Booth by default. So, for example, when there is only one sweet option, it will not be selected for Best in Booth (Sweet), but can compete for Best Dessert overall.
Before proceeding, I’d like to note that one of the few things the entire group agreed on was how improved the event was as a whole. We would strongly recommend that everyone try a few dishes, even if you were disappointed in the past.
So, without further ado, presented in alphabetical order, here is our review of the 2017 Busch Gardens Williamsburg Food & Wine Festival.
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American Southwest
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Asia
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Canada
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Caribbean
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Crêpes & Coffee
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French Quarter
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Germany
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Hawaii
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India
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Ireland
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Italy
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Mediterranean
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Spain
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Virginia
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Zachary and I would like to thank Renee, Thomas, and Tony for their participation and invaluable insights. By bringing a wide array of experiences and preferences to the table their inputs lend credibility to our recommendations and observations.
Next week we plan to publish our thoughts about the event as a whole, as well as the specific recommendations for both savory and sweet dishes from our tasting team. So, be on the lookout; follow BGWFans on
Facebook,
Instagram, and
Twitter; and join the discussion on the
ParkFans Forum.
Food & Wine
Food & Wine 2017