Universal Orlando’s chefs built a Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month menu, and every dish on it started with a personal story. There’s a sushi roll made around Dominican plantains, a birria ramen that came out of a family trip to Mexico, and a doughnut engineered to taste like a margarita.
Five dishes are spread across The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, Lombard’s Seafood Grille, Mythos Restaurant, Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food and Voodoo Doughnut. The drink list reaches further, into Universal Studios Florida and Epic Universe. All of it is limited time.
What dishes are on the Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month menu?
Chef Dania Alvarez-King, restaurant chef at The Cowfish, went straight to the ingredient she grew up with in the Dominican Republic. “Where I lived in the Dominican Republic, everyone has a plantain tree in their backyard,” she says. “You just go and cut it from your backyard.” Her Caribbean Crunch Roll pairs crispy shrimp and avocado with sweet and green plantains, then finishes with a crunchy plantain topping.
The Birria Ramen at Lombard’s came from a vacation. Chef assistant Angel Rivera-Chevere was traveling through Mexico with his wife and son when the kid ordered quesabirria as ramen. “Wait a minute, they do it with ramen too?” Angel remembers thinking. Slow-cooked shredded beef now sits in birria consomé with ramen noodles and a cheese quesadilla, plus a green chili sauce.
Sous chef Christopher McNelley spent a year living in Brazil with his wife, and the Shrimp and Grouper Moqueca at Mythos Restaurant is what came of it. The broth is infused with smoked paprika and turmeric, served with coconut Jasmine rice and farofa crocante. “This dish honors my wife and daughter,” he said.
Antojitos finally has a steak, and that’s because guests kept asking. “A lot of people that come to the restaurant always ask for a piece of steak,” says restaurant chef Pedro Espino. The Churrasco Steak Platter comes topped with avocado chimichurri and served with rice, beans and chiles toreados. Espino grew up in Peru helping at his family’s restaurant, and he still pulls from that. “I can adapt what I learned in my country to Mexican cuisine,” he explained.
The Margarita Doughnut at Voodoo Doughnut is a raised yeast shell filled with margarita jelly, topped with tequila icing and sweet Tajín. Chef assistant Lee Santiago Bermudez used tequila extract, citrus, a hint of salt and Tajín to hit the sweet-tart-salty balance without alcohol. It ran for a single day on Cinco de Mayo and is back by popular demand. So yes, the tequila is an extract, and yes, people asked for it anyway.
Where can you get the specialty drinks?
The Cowfish is pouring two, the Togarachi-Passionfruit Margarita with jalapeño, yuzu and lime, and the Canchancara, built on pitorro, lime and honey. Antojitos has the Sangria-rita, which mixes Cuervo blanco tequila, blackberry brandy and merlot.
Chez Alcatraz at Universal Studios Florida has the Ay Guava!, a light rum drink with guava juice, hibiscus syrup and lime.
Over at CelesTiki, the list goes tiki: a traditional Caipirinha with cachaça, sugar and cut lime, and El Macua, a split base of light and overproof dark rums with guava juice and lemon. Guests must be 21 or older with valid ID to buy or drink alcohol.
Shark Take
The food is easy to chase in one trip. The Cowfish and Antojitos both sit in Universal CityWalk, so you can hit them without touching a park. Lombard’s sits inside Universal Studios Florida, and the drinks pull you into two different parks. If you’re only making one stop, make it the doughnut.
Source: Universal Orlando Resort
Discover more from Theme Park Shark
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
