The Polite Pig Serves up a Winning Combination of a Fall Harvest Taco & Apple Cider Whiskey Sour During WonderFall Flavors at Disney Springs

Hi everyone!

The Polite Pig invited us out to try their new pairing for WonderFall Flavors at Disney Springs. The Disney Parks Blog says of the new event, Starting September 7, 2018, celebrate your favorite fall flavors with everything from harvest tacos and pumpkin desserts to hard ciders and autumn-inspired cocktails. Just as with the Discover Bourbon (originally the Bourbon Trail) and then the Brews & BBQ event that recently ended, WonderFall Flavors offers a booklet/passport – similar to Epcot’s events – of which 14 restaurants participate and what they offer. Being that it’s 2 items at each restaurant, it will make for a quick review. The Polite Pig is probably the best Disney Springs restaurant for pairings like this in that they have 50 to 60 different bourbons and their own Cask & Larder craft beer. They are also a local company that includes The Ravenous Pig in Winter Park.

The two items included here are:

• Fall Harvest Taco – apple cranberry-glazed smoked pork belly, soft corn tortilla, pumpkin-apple slaw, pepitas, and picked onions
• Apple Cider Whiskey Sour – straight rye whiskey, apple cider, lemon, brown sugar, and cinnamon

When we were invited, I figured it would be more for Jeff than me. I don’t eat a lot of pork and I very rarely drink whiskey based drinks. And yet this is one of my favorite food and alcohol pairings ever in terms of the combination. The drink and taco blended perfectly together, and I liked the autumn aspect.  Here is a close-up on the Apple Cider Whiskey Sour. It was a nice, smooth drink – not too strong tasting for me, balanced nicely with the apple cider.

The Fall Harvest Taco for $6.00 isn’t huge (but not small either), and two made a meal for me. The price is higher than I normally would pay for a taco, but it isn’t an ordinary taco and I expect to order this again before the event ends on November 6th. The pumpkin-apple slaw in particular is delicious and what stands out for me most – that and the crunchiness of what was probably the pepitas.

Here is a look at the taco up close. I also don’t usually eat pickled onions, yet they blended very nicely within the taco. There are several ingredients here that I generally would avoid based on my palate and yet they equaled one very tasty dish. It is fun to discover something new.

The Polite Pig has some construction outside for a new covered roof, but is open and it doesn’t effect the inside at all. Even if you aren’t looking for a pairing, there are many other great items on the menu – I like the Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwich, Half Chicken, and USDA Prime Brisket in particular. And for market sides, the Crispy Brussels Sprouts is what I go for first every time.

Another bonus of the WonderFall Flavors menu items – you can either choose one restaurant and make a meal – for example, two tacos and a drink, or have the taco as a side item to a full meal at The Polite Pig, or you can hit up a few restaurants and create your own WonderFall Flavors trail. There are so many great restaurants at Disney Springs now, it has changed a lot from Downtown Disney with a very limited amount of decent options. The Polite Pig is one great restaurant in our dining rotation and there are so many different food and drink combinations within it – and don’t forget to add a Gideon’s cookie, from another popular local company.

Thank you to The Polite Pig for having us out and I look forward to heading back before WonderFall Flavors ends on November 6th, 2018!