By Mark Baratelli
Wednesday night the restaurant Margaritaville (Twitter | Instagram) located inside Universal Orlando CityWalk invited me to try some items from their new menu.
Let's get this out of the way: the interior is large, loud and totally theme park in nature. At various points during my meal, a volcano exploded, sending margarita down its sides and into a gargantuan glass. A man and a woman on stilts made balloon animals and balloon hats for children. It didn't feel like a Chuck E Cheese, but came dangerously close.
But however cheesy the interior felt, the food is worth a look, at least for a happy hour treat with friends. And I'm betting that if they recently revamped the menu, an interior revamp isn't far away.
Their White Cheddar Cheese Curds (see below) are delicious. I want to go back and taste them again and do a whole post on them. I love me some fried cheese, and these were just ridiculously well-prepared. They came out fresh and hot and crispy. And the cheese was gooey and just something I am not used to. If I wanted to get a quick snack and some drinks with friends, I'd say this was a destination dish worth the $3 parking and hike across the conveyor belt bridge. Awesome.
The Asiago Cheese Dip was thick and had as much lump crabmeat as cheese. So decadent. I am doing the low-carb thing, so I ate this with a fork.
The beach tacos' meat tasted fresh and was plentiful. This would make a great meal on its own.
The one thing I did not understand was the Drunken Shrimp Skillet. I think it may have been served incorrectly. It's a pile of sauteed veggies laying on top of 4 or 5 shrimp. This didn't feel like an appetizer, but more like a single-serve portion of a dish that'd be served family style. It should have been served on skewers perhaps. Why would the shrimp be on the bottom of the dish? Nothing about this dish was good. Take it back!
The Black Grouper was huge and delicious, but dry. Plain old green beans were one of the sides. Same with the New York Strip Steak. Why? This is a restaurant just outside a theme park. Give me magic, Jimmy Buffet!
I would go back for the Asiago Crab Dip and the White Cheddar Cheese Curds and have a happy hour snack. The prices for the dinner entrees, for my budget at least, were a bit steep considering how casual the interior felt.
Full disclosure: My meal and my guest's meals were paid for by Margaritaville.
Wednesday night the restaurant Margaritaville (Twitter | Instagram) located inside Universal Orlando CityWalk invited me to try some items from their new menu.
Let's get this out of the way: the interior is large, loud and totally theme park in nature. At various points during my meal, a volcano exploded, sending margarita down its sides and into a gargantuan glass. A man and a woman on stilts made balloon animals and balloon hats for children. It didn't feel like a Chuck E Cheese, but came dangerously close.
But however cheesy the interior felt, the food is worth a look, at least for a happy hour treat with friends. And I'm betting that if they recently revamped the menu, an interior revamp isn't far away.
Their White Cheddar Cheese Curds (see below) are delicious. I want to go back and taste them again and do a whole post on them. I love me some fried cheese, and these were just ridiculously well-prepared. They came out fresh and hot and crispy. And the cheese was gooey and just something I am not used to. If I wanted to get a quick snack and some drinks with friends, I'd say this was a destination dish worth the $3 parking and hike across the conveyor belt bridge. Awesome.
The Asiago Cheese Dip was thick and had as much lump crabmeat as cheese. So decadent. I am doing the low-carb thing, so I ate this with a fork.
The beach tacos' meat tasted fresh and was plentiful. This would make a great meal on its own.
The one thing I did not understand was the Drunken Shrimp Skillet. I think it may have been served incorrectly. It's a pile of sauteed veggies laying on top of 4 or 5 shrimp. This didn't feel like an appetizer, but more like a single-serve portion of a dish that'd be served family style. It should have been served on skewers perhaps. Why would the shrimp be on the bottom of the dish? Nothing about this dish was good. Take it back!
The Black Grouper was huge and delicious, but dry. Plain old green beans were one of the sides. Same with the New York Strip Steak. Why? This is a restaurant just outside a theme park. Give me magic, Jimmy Buffet!
I would go back for the Asiago Crab Dip and the White Cheddar Cheese Curds and have a happy hour snack. The prices for the dinner entrees, for my budget at least, were a bit steep considering how casual the interior felt.
Full disclosure: My meal and my guest's meals were paid for by Margaritaville.
Beach Tacos (two for $9.99): Carne Asada Steak comes with pico de gallo, cheese and cilantro. Braised Pork Carintas comes with salsa verde, cilantro and queso fresco.
Asiago Crab Dip ($13.29): Lump crabmeat in a sharp asiago cheese cream served with grilled crostini
White Cheddar Cheese Curds ($10.99): Served with Landshark Lager BBQ and marinara
Lava Lava Shrimp ($12.99): Golden fried and drizzled with chili and lime spiked aioli.
Drunken Shrimp Skillet ($13.99): Sauteed with tequila lime butter, roasted garlic, onions and pepers, with a mini baguette for dipping.
Black Grouper ($23.99): An 8oz grilled fillet served with island rice, green beans and choice of mango salsa or cilantro lime butter.
New York Strip Steak ($25.99): A 12oz New York strip steak with green beans and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes loaded with cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, sour cream and green onions.