easyWDW

Right Side Utility Bar
  • Home
  • Forums/Questions
  • Crowd Calendars
    • Month-by-Month Overview
    • January 2017
    • February 2017
    • March 2017
    • April 2017
    • May 2016
    • June 2016
    • July 2016
    • August 2016
    • September 2016
    • October 2016
    • December 2015
  • Animal Kingdom
    • Attractions
    • Quick Service
    • Restaurants
    • Theme Park Touring
    • Wait Times
  • Epcot
    • Attractions
    • Food and Wine Festival
    • Quick Service
    • Restaurants
    • Theme Park Touring
    • Wait Times
  • Hollywood Studios
    • Attractions
    • Quick Service
    • Restaurants
    • Theme Park Touring
    • Wait Times
  • Magic Kingdom
    • Attractions
    • Quick Service
    • Restaurants
    • Theme Park Touring
    • Wait Times
  • Resorts
    • Deluxe
    • Moderate
    • Value
    • Villas
You are here: Home / Blog / Review: L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen at Epcot Festival of the Holidays 2018

Review: L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen at Epcot Festival of the Holidays 2018

November 20, 2018 ~ 3 minutes read5 Comments

We continue from Le Marche de Noel in France.

L’Chaim is an all-new Holiday Kitchen that situates itself between France and Morocco for this year’s Festival of the Holidays at Epcot.

Much to my wallet’s chagrin and the joy that is writing all-new “reviews,” we have eight items to consider.

As pictured.

Pastrami on Rye with House-made Pickles and Deli Mustard — $4.75

This was the best of the bunch in my estimation with plenty of meaty, smokey cured beef layered on top of each other and placed in between the slightly-sour, crusty rye bread with a generous slathering of spicy brown mustard. The thick slice of pickle on top brings the appropriate amount of vinegar with a little bit of a sweet quality. Very good overall.

Taste: 9/10

Value: 8/10

Potato Knish with Herb Sour Cream — $4.25

This is probably a lot more serious than it looks on the plate – the Knish is surprisingly heavy and stuffed with dense potato inside of the baked dough. I would have liked a lot more onion mixed in with the potato to liven up the flavor profile – it was rather bland inside with just the Herb Sour Cream adding much in the way of flavor and there wasn’t nearly enough of it to go around. You’ll want to get after this one quickly as the exterior becomes a lot less crispy and far more mushy with every artistic picture that you take. It’s very filling, though, and a lot of calories for just-north of four bucks.

Taste: 5/10

Value: 6/10

Chicken and Matzo Ball Soup — $4.25

Growing up, I can’t remember anybody putting chicken in with our Matzo Ball Soup, but perhaps it’s more of a Chanukah thing than a Passover thing. Exactly one large, plump ball is served alongside some shredded chicken, a little bit of carrot, onion, and herbs. The soup is warm and comforting and the Matzo Ball is appropriately spiced, but it might be a little disappointing for anybody looking for what grandma used to make. It’s possible that you could say that about most Festival offerings, though. It ends up being pretty good.

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10

Black and White Cookie — $2

This is another two-dollar cookie that’s perhaps the worst of the bunch with a surprisingly flavorless sugar cookie base covered in bland icing that isn’t as vanilla or chocolate as the colors might insinuate. For two bucks and for the sake of completing the “Cookie Stroll,” you might consider adding one to an order and it’s possible that the cookie will improve as the Festival matures. But I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way for this one.

Taste: 3/10

Value: ?/10

Egg Cream: Milk, Chocolate Syrupm and Seltzer — $3.50

When served, there’s quite a bit of foam on top that has since settled given the 5,000 tilted photos that one must take of each Festival item. The flavor and mouthfeel of this is a bit odd – the seltzer adds carbonation and thins out all of the cream, but it also seems to water down the flavor of the chocolate syrup and what you’re left with is basically a glass that’s half chocolate milk and half seltzer water. You could give it a whirl, but I don’t think you’re missing anything by putting your money towards something a little more interesting.

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager — $4.50

Brooklyn Lager is a pretty amber color, crisp and carbonated with a nice mix of malts and hops. It’s just fine, but it’s pricey at six ounces for $4.50. Total Wine would sell you a 6-pack for the cost of two 6-ounce pours.

Blue Cosmo Cocktail — $9.25

It doesn’t say what this is and frankly, I don’t want to know other than to avoid these ingredients for the rest of my natural life. It tasted like mouthwash mixed with Gatorade with the essence of Crest toothpaste sprinkled over the top. No human should consume a drink this bright.

Overall, L’Chaim’s offerings aren’t quite as strong as the Yukon or France Holiday Kitchens that came before it. The Pastrami Sandwich is a real winner and it’s probably worth adding a Matzo Ball Soup to the mix. Ask for extra Herb Cream Sauce if you go with the knish – it’s very dry without it. The drinks can safely be skipped.

Sapphire in Morocco is up next.

Last modified: November 27, 2018 Filed Under: Blog

Comments

  1. Barbara says

    November 20, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    Coming from an area where chocolate egg creams are popular, I feel the need to say that if not prepared properly, the egg cream will taste exactly as you described. This is my recipe – fill a third of a glass with milk. Add chocolate syrup. Stir. Drizzle seltzer water into mixture while vigorously stirring the entire time with a long handled iced tea spoon. This version of the NJ chocolate egg cream never fails to get rave reviews. Talking about reviews, I loved yours of that weird Blue Cosmo. It looks exactly as you described it tasted.

    Reply
  2. Ezra says

    November 20, 2018 at 8:51 pm

    Thanks for the great reviews! Actually, chicken in matzo ball soup is quite traditional, but it’s definitely not a Chanukah food. Chanukah foods are traditionally fried in oil, such as potato pancakes and fried doughnuts. Also, it would have been nice if this had been a kosher booth, since my family is kosher. But I may give the knish a try, despite your lukewarm review.

    Reply
  3. Bobby says

    November 20, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    My mother has always had chicken in her matzo ball soup. No idea if it’s traditional or not because I really have only eaten her soup at home and never really had it anywhere else.

    Reply
  4. Miriam says

    November 21, 2018 at 1:28 pm

    Where are the latkes???!!!

    Reply
  5. Tracey says

    November 21, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    Loving these reviews, eagerly awaiting the other booths. Planning to head over to Epcot on Friday!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Did you know I'm the co-author of the highest rated Disney World guidebook of all time (of all time)? Click the book above to check it out on Amazon

  Cheat Sheets   Crowd Calendars   Live Wait Times   Dining   Attractions
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Forums

Recent Posts

  • Closing Down the Holidays at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
  • A Quick Holiday Jaunt to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
  • A Quick Holiday Goodbye to Epcot with Updated Construction
  • Walt Disney World Christmas Crowds About What You Would Expect Given Capacity Constraints
  • Walt Disney World Starts Filling Every Row on Attractions Among the Heaviest Christmas Crowds of the Year

Copyright © 2021 easyWDW.com. All Rights Reserved. Site by Turkmandu. easyWDW.com is not affiliated with, authorized or endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with, The Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, Inc., or any of their affiliates. As to Disney artwork/properties: © Disney. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to Disney Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiary, affiliated and related companies, as the case may be. For official Disney information, visit http://www.disneyworld.com

View Privacy Policy here: https://www.easywdw.com/easy/about/privacy-policy/
  • Home
  • Site Map