Universal Studios Hollywood embraces the season with new food offerings
As the temperature cools in Southern California, Universal Studios Hollywood embraces the changing of the seasons with the rollout of new food offerings. These seasonal Fall items can be found throughout the park and are heavy on the savory with some sweet options available as well.
By Carly Caramanna
It is finally soup season and these play the leading role on the menu of new offerings. Soup options include a vegan butternut squash soup, and a line-up of bread bowl options including turkey chowder and clam chowder. For a play on the traditional Thanksgiving feast, the standard theme park turkey leg has been given a seasonal upgrade with a cranberry glaze. There is also a pesto pasta salad and baguette hot dog. Sweet options include hot chocolate cake in a jar and a pumpkin spice cake in a jar.
Piggy-backing off the popular Little Cocina food tent during Halloween Horror Nights, options at Cocina Mexicana include a cheese tamale with red and green sauce, chicken tortilla soup, horchata churro bites, and beef birria tacos with red sauce.
On a particularly chilly day, I ventured to Universal Studios Hollywood to sample some of these new offerings. The bread bowls were of interest to me, so I decided to try the Turkey Chowder first. I ordered this from City Snack Shop for $12.99, but the bowls are also available at French Street Bistro, Jurassic Café, and Hollywood & Dine.
The generous portion of soup was filled with large chunks of tender turkey and housed in a hearty sourdough bread bowl. This was a sure-fire winner and a reasonably priced, inspired lunch option in the park.
Next up, I tried what is advertised as the baguette dog from City Snack Shop. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you can choose between a house-made pretzel bun or a baguette roll. Upon checking out both options on display, the baguette looked more like a standard hoagie roll, so I went with the pretzel bun, both priced at $10.49. The park’s standard Nathan hot dog — a thin, snappy-style hot dog — was stuffed inside a wonderfully soft and fresh pretzel bun. Theme park pretzels have less than a stellar reputation, so I was pleased to say this was pretty incredible and I wish it was offered year-round.
After having several standout experiences with the sweet options at Halloween Horror Nights, I was excited to next try the hot chocolate cake in a jar. I picked this up for $6.99 from French Street Bistro. This layered dessert was another winner and absolutely delicious with the perfect balance of moist chocolate cake, hot chocolate-flavored mousse, and marshmallows. It’s served in a little jar that comes with a screw-top lid, making for a portable snack.
On my eating journey, I noticed that the ‘Hooray for Everything Bagel’ pretzel that debuted as part of Dufftoberfest in October has stuck around and is now available at a few different locations. Upon ordering, a standard or jumbo pretzel is dipped in a vat of butter between being doused in ‘everything but the bagel’ seasoning.
What do you think of these flavorful fall offerings at Universal Studios Hollywood? Is there one you’re most excited to try? Let us know in the comments below.
