The Food and Wine Festival is back in full swing at
California Adventure Food and Wine Festival Coverage
New this year is the Earth Eats booth. Located in the Hollywood Backlot section of Hollywood Land. There are two vegetarian dishes available as well as a seasonal cocktail. We were there this weekend to try it all and let you know if it’s worth those precious Sip and Savor tabs!
Impossible Chicken Parm Bites – $8.50
The Impossible Chicken Parm Bites are drenched with tomato sauce and melty mozzarella. Topped with salty shredded parmesan cheese. It’s a creative take on this classic dish, elevating the Impossible chicken nuggets to a main course.
We were surprised by how closely the texture of the nuggs replicates the real thing. They are moist and tender with a crispy breading. The marinara is a simple sauce with minimal seasoning, adding a mild tang offset by the creamy richness of the mozzarella.
Shredded parmesan cheese is like the sprinkles on top. Providing a sharp umami flavor. This dish is vegetarian NOT PLANT BASED. While it contains Impossible meat replacement both cheeses are authentic.
It’s 5 out of 5 stars for the Impossible Chicken Parm Bites. Highliy recommend giving these a try if you like Chicken Parm, are interested in experiencing new meat alternatives, or have picky eaters/chicken nugget lovers in your group.
Impossible Beef Stroganoff – $9
Next up is the Impossible Beef Stroganoff consisting of egg noodles, Impossible beef tips, mushrooms, and a gravy-like sauce. Despite high expectations, we weren’t too crazy about this.
Interestingly, it seemed to be the sauce and/or possibly the mushrooms that stuck out in all the wrong ways here. The Impossible beef tips were great, though the texture is more similar to shredded beef than chopped steak. Though that could be due to how it this dish is prepared.
Noods are well cooked with a hearty chew and taste pretty good on their own. But something tastes just a bit off in this dish, a touch too acidic for the richness on the plate.
Again, this is not plant based but vegetarian. It does contain at least dairy (in the form of sour cream) in addition to the egg noodles.
We gave this dish 2 out of 5 star. It wasn’t what we expected and struggled to finish the small portion. You may like this dish if you are a big fan of Stroganoff in general. But I couldn’t recommend it to someone curious about alternative meats, because the dish overall was not great and could give you a bad impression for the wrong reason.
Watermelon Cucumber Mojito – $17
The real hero at the Earth Eats booth is the Watermelon Cucumber Mojito. Made with white rum watermelon liqueur, mojito and cucumber syrups, watermelon purée, and lime juice. And topped with a Tajin sprinkled watermelon spear.
On paper this sounds like it could be overwhelmingly sweet, but it was actually perfection. The balance of sweet, tart, and crisp with a kick of spice is perfect. This is the drink I want to sip on while lounging by a pool this summer.
It tastes light, but there’s a healthy portion of booze in this one that can creep up on you. This was 5 out of 5 stars for me and I really hope
Earth Eats Overall Thoughts
The Earth Eats booth is a great addition to the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. I love that they continue to innovate and include dishes available within a variety of dietary restrictions. Earth Eats gets 4 out of 5 stars and is an absolute must-stop booth for the festival.
