Getting older sucks sometimes but I always tell myself it is better than the alternative. I can remember being in my 20’s, living life so carefree and uninhibited, eating and drinking whatever I wanted and having no regrets.
If I had a little too much to drink the night before, I would down a cup of coffee or maybe a 5-Hour Energy drink in the morning and I was good to go. Now, if I have more than a glass or two of wine, I am down and out for three days.
I was reminded recently just how sensitive my aging body has become while attending a media preview for Walt Disney World’s International Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. If you have never been, I cannot recommend it enough. It is just as the title of the event suggests: a festival of foods and drinks from around the world, held at Epcot. I had never been before, so I was excited to see what the excitement was all about.
When I got there, we were all greeted with a sampling of some of the new dishes that were premiering at the festival. One such dish was the Unnecessarily Spicy, Yet Extremely Tasty Scotch Bonnet Pepper-Curry Wings. Based on that name and my age, I should have known better than to try it but I am a man who loves chicken wings and I thought, “how bad could it possibly be?” To accompany my tasty treat, I also decided to give what is probably the most talked about item this year a try — the pickle milkshake.
Now, I am not someone who loves pickles. I know people who love taking shots of pickle juice and the thought of that makes my stomach summersault, but I am also not someone who absolutely detests them. If you are that person then I imagine this milkshake is not for you but as a middle of the road pickle guy, I really liked it. There is more of a faint sweet pickle taste but for the most part it is a flavorful, creamy drink. One recommendation if you do decide to try it, remove the dill garnish on top before you start drinking it or you may suck it up through your straw and get a burst of dill in your mouth unexpectedly like I did.
I found a seat with my new favorite pickle-flavored treat and got ready to try the wings, which I was not worried about in the beginning. I am someone who has always liked spicy foods and back in the day even partook in a spicy wing challenge with my mother, way back before “Hot Ones” was a thing. I ate the first wing, noticing how wonderful the curry flavor of the wing was before the spice kicked in. I finished the first wing and started on the second one before the spice started to overpower me. It built up in my mouth and throat and before I knew it I was in panic mode. I was breathing heavy and sweating, and needed it to stop, so I grabbed my pickle milkshake and started drinking, which softened the spice for a moment but not without giving me intense brain freeze.
As the world began closing in around me and I felt like my insides were in a battle of fire and ice, I realized that I am no longer a young person who could be adventurous in my eating habits. The brain freeze subsided first followed by the heat in my mouth, but the remainder of the evening was spent with intense heartburn and an upset stomach. Even with that, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself and cannot recommend the festival enough. And worry not, if you are like me there are plenty of less experimental concoctions to enjoy. I’m not a vegan by any means but the Impossible Buffalo Chicken Tenders with the plant-based blue cheese and the Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Buffalo Sauce were both enough to make me consider giving up eating meat forever, and if a pickle-flavored drink is too far out of your comfort zone, I highly recommend trying the Frozen Fusion, a pomegranate raspberry herbal tea fused with orange ice cream molecules.
In fact, the only thing that truly disappointed me was that I had never gone to the festival before, something I am so happy I have rectified. The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is going on now through Nov. 18, so don’t miss it.
Speaking of things not to miss, in this issue we take a look at the expansion of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law, speaking with students as they prepare to return to school. In arts and entertainment, we speak with birder and author Christian Cooper about his National Geographic show “Extraordinary Birder,” streaming now on Disney+ and his new book, “Better Living Through Birding.”
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