REVIEW: Universal Orlando Mardi Gras Is HERE! See Treats You’ve GOT To Try, and One You Should AVOID

It is time to bring the spirit of New Orleans to Orlando!

From February 1st to March 30th, Universal Orlando will be hosting Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval. During this limited-time offering, there will be no shortage of entertainment, merchandise, and, of course, food. We got a chance to try some of the new food items, and we’re here to tell you our thoughts!

There are tons of themed food offerings, and if you want to try them, you’ll have to plan your trip to Universal ASAP, as Mardi Gras is only around for a limited time. During our visit hosted by Universal, we tried a few fun items; let’s get into our review!

We started off our dining experience with the Red Beans & Rice, but we have to admit…we were REALLY disappointed. The red beans were very hard, and the rice was extremely bland. We took one bite and immediately regretted it, so we suggest passing on this one. It’s available at the Taste of the Quarter food booth for $7.49, and comes with vegan sausage with stewed beans and white rice, and is garnished with scallions.

Now, it’s time for our next savory option, which was the Spicy Szechuan Chicken Bites. These are crispy pieces of chicken with white rice, sesame seeds, and Szechuan chili crunch, available for $11.99 at the China booth. WHEW! They weren’t kidding when they said spicy! This isn’t “Disney spicy,” there’s true spice here. Not only do you get it on the first bite, but it really lingers, too. The chicken was nice and tender while also boasting a perfectly crispy coating, but that heat really stood out to us.

We also got to try the Potato Dosa from the new India Booth for $7.99. This is Griddled dosa filled with curried potatoes, onions, black mustard seeds, served with a coconut chutney. While this was okay, the wrap wasn’t very tight around the inside, so the contents were more just falling out. The spicy potatoes were okay, but they weren’t anything out of this world.

For a drink, we got to try the Pimm’s Cup which you can find at French Quarter Sips. This is made with Pimm’s® No 1 Cup and Seagram’s® ginger ale garnished with fresh cut orange, strawberry, lemon and cucumbers and comes in a 20 oz. Souvenir Cup for $16.50 (Refill for $13.50) or a 12 oz. Single Serve  for $13.50. This was essentially a spiced up ginger beer, there wasn’t much else to it, but if you’re a fan of ginger beer, then give it a try.

Now, there are PLENTY of other foods to try that you won’t want to miss out on, such as:

• Hot Maple Lacquered Salmon — Canada booth, $14.99 | Griddled salmon fillet with a maple lacquer and an ancient grain mixed salad

• Baked Cajun Mac & Cheese — Bites of the Bayou booth, $10.99 | Creamy spicy cavatappi pasta with andouille sausage, holy trinity and a cajun cream sauce, garnished with scallions

• Leberkäse — Germany booth, $10.99 | German-style meatloaf served on a pretzel bun with mustard and sauerkraut

• Pinchos de Lechon — Puerto Rico booth, $10.99 | Char-grilled pork shoulder skewer with guava bbq sauce and pan sobao

• Beignets — Taste of the Quarter booth, $7.49| Sweet fried pastry with powdered sugar

• Mini King Cakes — Taste of the Quarter booth, $7.49 | Traditional cake with cinnamon swirl icing, Mardi Gras sprinkles and a Mardi Gras baby

If you want to try these limited-time foods for yourself, make sure to head to Universal before Mardi Gras ends on March 30th. To stay up to date on all the latest theme park news, make sure to continue to follow along with AllEars!

Your GUIDE To the Universal Orlando Mardi Gras Celebration!

Will you be checking our Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando? If so, what’s on your must-try list?

Disclosure: We were invited by Universal Orlando to attend Mardi Gras. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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