As we worked on this week’s Top Three Things article, Walt Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando are making announcements about events starting in 2024. This week’s Top Three Things will focus on food you can have this week and beyond.
BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger at Hard Rock Café – $20.99
One of the safer options for a good burger at the Orlando area theme parks is Hard Rock Café at Universal CityWalk Orlando. This place should not be mistaken for fine dining. However, we have never had a bad burger here. Now, we wish some of them had been better, but that happens. Please remember, we do this for a living, so we have had every item on the menu at Hard Rock café numerous times. Not every trip to a restaurant will be perfect, but the burgers at Hard Rock Café are a safe option.
The Hard Rock Café BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger consists of a steak burger patty seasoned and seared with a signature spice blend. After that, the burger received a topping of house-made barbecue sauce, crispy shoestring onions, Tillamook® cheddar cheese, applewood bacon, leaf lettuce, and some vine-ripened tomato. This combination of flavors provides what you would expect from a table service burger. This might be the best burger on the Hard Rock Café menu. This burger comes with fries.
Rice Bowl with Meatless Chorizo at Thunder Falls Terrace – $16.49
November 1 is World Vegan Day. As a result, our final two suggestions for this week’s Top Three Things involve vegan dining. For the first one, we often order this over the non-vegan rice bowl (except for the cheese, but more about that in a few sentences).
The Rice Bowl with Meatless Chorizo at Thunder Falls Terrace in Universal Islands of Adventure consists of some meatless chorizo with black beans, cilantro rice, and cotija cheese. It also includes fried plantains and salsa. We always enjoy the rice bowls at Thunder Falls. Of course, for this one, you must ask for no cheese to make it vegan. We often express criticism for Universal Orlando creating vegan style menu items with non-vegan cheese. However, this vegan suggestion does not market itself as vegan, so we understand.
For those who wish to celebrate The Day of the Dead on November 1, this might work also. We will be ordering this again soon.
Top Three Things: Southwest Vegan Burger at Beach Break Café at Surfside Inn & Suites
Surfside Inn and Suites, one of the value-level resort hotels at Universal Orlando, provides guests with a food court Beach Break Cafe, offering some unique dining. A vegan option that appears on that menu is the Southwest Vegan Burger. This consists of a black bean burger topped with vegan cheese, guacamole, crisp lettuce, vine-ripe tomatoes, and pickles served on a toasted vegan bun.
In fairness, we have not tried this burger yet. However, the initial reports indicate that the burger is worth your time. It appears to be reasonably new to the menu here. Our friends at Universal Orlando Vegans monitor these things closely. We appreciate all the work Shelby and the gang do to help vegan diners.
We hope you enjoy your week. If you find yourself at Universal Orlando this week or in the future, we hope these suggestions enhance your trip. As always, eat like you mean it!
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