It’s the most wonderful time of the year…especially over at EPCOT!

The 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays has officially kicked off and we hope you’re HUNGRY. There are tons of menu items this year, new and old, and the famous Cookie Stroll is back to give everyone a sugar rush. You know the deal here at DFB — we’re covering every booth at the festival! That includes the returning L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen, so let’s see what the booth has to offer this year!

Menu

Over at the L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen, there are plenty of items to choose from. Most of the items here are returning including the iconic Potato Latkes, but the Rugalach is new to the fest this year! You can find this booth between the Morocco and France pavilions.

That’s the menu, but now we can dive in!

Eats

First up, we grabbed the Pastrami on Rye with house-made pickles and deli mustard for $5.75. This one is a heavy hitter as it has been a DFB favorite for years and made several Best of the Fest lists…did this year’s version hold up? We think this super hearty sandwich is such a great deal for the price.

The tangy mustard and pickle paired with the pastrami is still a winner. BUT the bread was a little dry this year. Still, it’s a hearty dish that we’d definitely get again!

Potato Latkes are a staple of this booth, so we had to grab the Smoked Salmon Potato Latkes for $6. Originally introduced in 2019, the flavors have worked well here from year to year. So we have to admit that we LOVE salmon, so this is a hit with us again. You get a good portion of smoked salmon, as well as the dill-heavy sour cream on top.

We also loved how the onion flavor mixed with the tanginess and saltiness of the capers. The latke itself was good — – it wasn’t overcooked and made a great base for the toppings. This one is probably for more adventurous eaters, but it’s already one of our fave things we’ve had so far at this year’s festival.

If you’re a plant-based eater or you want something simpler, grab the Potato Latkes on their own for $4.50! Texture is a big thing with these and in the past, we enjoyed the crunchy outside with the doughy inside. This is also a good option if you don’t like salmon.

The potatoes are soft, but the latkes still hold their shape with no problem and are a beautiful golden brown. This also had that sour cream and dill flavor we loved on the smoked salmon potato latkes. You can’t beat this as a snack, especially as it’s under $5!

We mentioned above that there is one new item this year — the Rugalach for $4.25. This dessert is a pastry filled with raspberry jam, walnuts, and cinnamon. As the only new treat at this DFB-favorite booth, is it worthy? Well, this dessert reminded our reporter of her mom’s cinnamon rolls made with leftover pie crusts, except it’s possible we liked these even MORE! Sorry, Mom! These are chewy and sweet, with loads of cinnamon flavor.

The crumbly, flaky pie crust texture on the outside just makes it that much better. We DO wish we’d had more walnuts in ours, but the filling actually gave us more of a raisin vibe for some reason — we know that might be controversial for some, but we didn’t mind.

The Cookie Stroll is a big hit each year at the Festival of the Holidays, and the plant-based Black and White Cookie is a part of that! For $3, you can snag a Cookie Stroll stamp on your festival passport AND a delicious treat. Honestly, we pretty much thought this cookie looked boring. BUT it surprised us, especially after we took a bite and TOTALLY thought we were eating a vanilla mini scone from Starbucks — it’s VERY similar.

The cookie is soft and chewy, but there’s a hint of dryness like a scone or shortbread might have. The vanilla bean flavor comes through strongly and the two icings are a lot of fun. The white tasted like a powdered sugar icing, while the black was a rich, smooth chocolate (almost like a ganache). Also, $3 for a cookie this size? We’ll take it!

Now that we’ve had all of that to eat, we’re parched! It’s time for drinks.

Drinks

In terms of drinks at this booth, you can buy the Frozen New York Whiskey Sour featuring Manifest Whiskey and Manischewitz Blackberry Wine for $12.50. We gave this a try last year when it debuted and we really liked it! This reminds us of a Moonshine Sour from the American Adventure pavilion. It’s like biting into a blackberry — it’s sweet, but then you get a sourness at the end. This is a dry drink, but we don’t think it’s SUPER dry.

The other drink available here is the Brooklyn Brewery Winter IPA for $5.75 for 6oz. and $9.75 for 12 oz. So now that we’ve wrapped that booth, is it worth your precious park time?

OVERALL

L’Chaim rarely disappoints it, and this year is no different. Although we did find the sandwich a little drier than in years past, everything else here is a winner. We will NEVER not order the potato latkes, and the Smoked Salmon on the latkes is even better. Of course, you can’t go wrong with a good cookie to top it all off, as well as a nice boozy drink. We’d say this booth offers good value, too, considering what you get for the price.

That’s it for L’Chaim, but we’re trying EVERY booth at the festival!

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Festival of the Holidays!

We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest if you’re trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

• Learn about the Candlelight Processional and Dining Packages
• Check out ALL of the 2023 Festival of the Holidays booth Menus
• See what eats you’ll need to try to get a PRIZE at the Festival!

And don’t forget to pick up our 2023 DFB Guide to the Holidays at Disney World! See more details about the book below.

What items from the L’Chaim booth would you most want to try? Tell us in the comments!