“Let’s Be Real — Who Likes Boring Grilled Chicken?” Universal Announces 34 UPGRADED New Menu Items

One of our favorite parts of any theme park is probably the food. Yes, the rides and characters might make the best pictures, but we know you’ll be thinking about that one dish you had six years ago that you haven’t forgotten.

Universal Orlando just added a bunch of new menu items, and we’re ready to drive there immediately and go on a food crawl because they sound incredible.

Starting off, at Finnegan’s Bar & Grill, they added three new items, including Beer Battered Onion Rings and Reilly’s Chicken Wings, which are coated with a smooth, sweet, and savory whiskey glaze.

They also added a Red Dragon bacon Cheeseburger with a half-pound all-beef burger, red dragon cheddar cheese, bacon, red onions, and roasted garlic aioli on a four-leaf-clover-branded bun with a fried pickle. Uh, YUM!

Lombard’s Seafood Grille also added three dishes, including Tuna Crudo with a spicy citrus-based emulsion, cured tuna, avocado, onion, giant corn, cilantro, nori, and rice paper.

Check out this Miso Glazed Sea Bass! It features sesame, baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, and snow peas, all in a hearty miso glaze.

This Salmon Beurre Blanc is gorgeous with fresh salmon, arugula, parsnips, bacon, and piquili peppers cooked in a citrus beurre blanc and parsley oil.

Ritcher’s Burger Co. added the Aftershock Burger featuring a fresh angus beef patty smothered in jalapeno bacon jam and topped with fried onion straws, pepperjack, and American cheese, lettuce, and barbecue sauce. The chef who designed it said, “Once you’ve tasted it, it’s got that sweet-spicy flavor that makes you want it more and more every single bite.”

You can also try the Tremor Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which is a fried chicken breast with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos breading and topped with pepperjack cheese, ranch, lettuce, and pickles. The chef also said, “Let’s be real — who likes boring grilled chicken? They want it to be fried, so we did a fried chicken sandwich.”

This Cap’n Crunch Shake looks amazing! It’s a blend of Cap’n Crunch with Crunch Berries milk and topped with even more cereal.

At The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen, three savory chocolate dishes have been added. First, we have the Provence Totchos, which are crispy tator tots with truffled Brie fondue, Calabrian chili honey, fresh crumbled bacon, green onions, and a rim of roasted garlic aioli.

There’s also the Burger Au Poivre, which features a peppercorn-spiced burger patty, gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, arugula, chocolate brandy peppercorn sauce, and roasted garlic aioli, topped with potato sticks on a pretzel bun.

You need to try the Cocoa Coq Au Vin (get it?), too. The airline chicken breast is sous vide in a red wine chocolate demi and served with gruyere mashed potatoes, baby carrots, and grilled cipollini. This dish was super popular for National Chocolate Day.

At Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food, they’ve added the Aguachile Verde, a chilled shrimp dish poached in a sauce with fresh lime juice, chiles, cilantro, cucumbers, red onions, red radishes, and avocado, accompanied by some crispy blue corn toastadas on the side.

The Camarones a la Diablahas, grilled shrimp with a chipotle tomato sauce, topped with a roasted corn summer salad, lime crema, sliced avocado, micro cilantro, and house rice, looks so good. It’s a personal dish to the chef, and she’s thrilled to bring it to the restaurant.

The Pollo a la Poblana also looks incredible, featuring airline chicken and a creamy poblano sauce, accompanied by fingerling potatoes, roasted vegetables, and flour tortillas.

You can’t forget Abuela’s Cheesecake made with Mexican chocolate, goat milk cajeta, and fresh berries with a mint garnish, too.

VIVO Italian Kitchen added Halibut with a roasted corn hash and…

… a Pork Tenderloin with corn risotto that’s topped with a tarragon beurre blanc and rainbow cauliflower.

The new dessert is Semi Freddo, which features strawberry ice cream on a ladyfinger crust, topped with a warm mixed berry compote made with fresh blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. It’s garnished with fried strawberries and pistachios, and is just straight up pretty.

Six new items came to Bigfire, including Bone-In Short Rib in a Carolina barbecue sauce…

…Grilled Barabacue Pork Chop with a smoked honey carrot puree…

…Hot Honey Salmon with a beautiful smoked cauliflower puree…

…Wood Fire Grilled Scallops served on top of popcorn risotto and corn relish…

…Corn Bisque…

…and Seasonal Stone Fruit Salad with fresh stone fruit, a medley of heirloom tomatoes, red watercress, frisee, goat cheese, and candied pistachios, all drizzled in a champagne vinaigrette.

The Cowfish Suhi Burger Bar added the Bacon Donut Fishion with cheddar cheese on a savory beef patty topped with jalapeno, lime slaw, candied bacon, and sweet and spicy mayo on two sugary donut buns.

They also offer the Midnight Munchies, a milkshake featuring vanilla ice cream, cocoa-hazelnut spread, chopped peanut-nougat-caramel milk chocolate bars, candy pieces, potato sticks, vanilla whipped cream, caramel topping, and chocolate popping candy.

Oooo, how about these Cheesecake Lumpia Rolls, which are crispy wontons stuffed with vanilla cheesecake filling and fortune cookie crumbs.

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is in their chicken wings era with Hemisphere Wings, with a tangy garlic buffalo sauce or spicy mango jerk sauce.

The Cuban Meatloaf Sandwich is a take on a Cubano but with chorizo and beef meatloaf.

The Bacon Jam-boree Burger has two caramelized patties topped with American cheese, house-made bacon jam, sliced jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and lava lava sauce between two soft brioche buns.

You can’t forget about Peel & Eat Shrimp, where you can get a pound of seasoned peel-and-eat shrimp with a side of Key lime cocktail and lava lava sauces for dipping.

NBC Sports Grill & Brew added three dishes, including Touchdown Tuna Nachos…

…Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls…

…and “DA” B.L.T., which is their signature house-smoked brisket with sweet and spicy billion-dollar bacon, cowboy candy spread, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and dressed in harissa barbecue sauce in between a pretzel bun.

We told you it was going to be a food crawl! This all sounds so good, and we can’t wait to run to Universal to try it all. Make sure you keep following AllEars for more theme park news.

4 QUIET CHANGES UNIVERSAL ORLANDO WAS HOPING YOU WOULDN’T NOTICE

What’s your favorite restaurant at Universal? Tell us in the comments.

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