Review: Extra Cheesy Wisconsin Burger at NBC Sports Grill and Brew

As I have written and spoken about numerous times, burgers inside theme parks rank as poor choices. There are some exceptions. However, guests visiting Universal Orlando can easily walk from the theme park entrance to the CityWalk area for some high-quality burgers. In fact, guests will struggle to find a sub-par burger at CityWalk restaurants.

Sure, occasionally a burger fails to meet the standard. However, at CityWalk this issue functions as an exception far more than standard. Among the many burger options in CityWalk, NBC Sports Grill and Brew prepares some excellent ones.

During a recent visit, I ordered the “Extra Cheesy Wisconsin Burger” at NBC Sports Grill and Brew.

This burger costs $15.95. All beef burgers here feature a half pound of Creekstone Farms Premium Black Angus Beef ™. Also, guests choose between tater tots and fries with all burgers. I generally choose tater tots here. That decision revolves around tater tots being harder to find on property. However, I had pizza tots at Green Eggs and Ham earlier on the same day. On this trip, the fries tasted above average though.

Now, the burger features Wisconsin cheddar, crispy cheese bites (cheese curds- sort of), bibb lettuce, and oven roasted tomato. The bun for this burger was brioche adding to the experience. The general appearance and presentation of this burger meet normal standards. With sports bar theme, guests should not expect super presentation factor.

So how was this meal?

As usual, the burger patty came well-seasoned and well prepared. NBC Sports Grill and Brew tends to cook your burger a bit more than you requested. For example, if you ask for medium well, expect well done. However, even if you notice the difference, you will not be disappointed by the burger flavor. Based on my experience with that and consulting other trusted sources, that preparation issue fails to take away from quality. The cheddar cheese worked very well with the angus beef. The lettuce and tomato provide nice texture and added flavor.

On the negative side, the cheese bites/cheese curds fail to match the other flavors of this burger. I found this disappointing since cheese bites/curds should have shined in a Wisconsin themed burger.

Overall, for a $16 burger (before any discounts) served at a theme park resort, this provides good value. If you like quality beef and a sports bar theme, these burgers should work for you. Also, this restaurant features lots of seats inside and outside. However, if selecting to dine during a busy time, you still might want to get a reservation.

As always, eat like you mean it!