Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville

Wasting away again in Margaritaville.

Actually, it was my first time eating at the tropical themed restaurant, complete with servers on stilts handing out leis and a big stuffed parrot next to the hostess stand. I had heard great things about Jimmy's, a chain with several high-volume tourist locations, and was not disappointed in my experience.

Our waitress knew right away to get us a gluten free menu, one of the most kitschy that I've ever seen. Their effort to amuse me with theme incorporation did not go unappreciated.

I also noticed that their regular menu had this notation:

Very cool.

Let me start by saying that their gluten free menu is HUGE. Very extensive. It's also awesome that such a "get in-get out", high-volume chain would take the time to have a dedicated GF fryer.

They also serve Redbridge! One of the few restaurants to actually have this GF inclusionary staple on their roster.

For dinner, I went with the Caribbean jerk chicken, recommended by the server. The sauce was delicious. The chicken itself wasn't anything special; ditto for the rice.

My mom's dinner, however, was tremendous. She chose the guava barbecue ribs, a full slab of perfectly cooked baby back ribs slathered in that nommy sauce. Her dinner came with fries, an unexpected treat in a restaurant where you'd expect cross contamination to run deep.

This place was a fun last night's dinner in Orlando! Cute for kids and appreciable by adults. The same soundtrack played about 10 times throughout our meal, but because the namesake song is just so darn catchy, you won't go crazy. The servers, on the other hand...

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm searching for my lost shaker of salt.

Universal Studio's Fast Dining

The next day, we went to the usual Universal Studios, featuring (slightly outdated) film-based attractions like ET, Revenge of the Mummy, and Men in Black. The Back to the Future ride used to be here, but was replaced by the Simpson's Ride, a shoddy substitute if you ask me.

They still had Doc's car for photos! Here's me with the flying Delorean:

1.21 gigawatts!

The "Blues Brothers" performing a Christmas show. Gettin the band back together.

We only had a short time for lunch, so I had to get something quick. We ate at the "World Expo Restaurant", a food court style eatery. I didn't expect to find much, but the manager was extremely helpful and interested in giving me a great experience. She went and checked labels, asked the cooks, and made sure that my meal was gluten free.

I had roast chicken, fries cooked in a dedicated fryer, and corn on the cob. Quick, sufficient, and seriously GF.

Good to know that Universal has options that range from sit-down to on the go. We ate quickly, as we had to catch a scenic boat tour around a quaint little shorefront called Amity Island.

JAWS!

Universal Studio's Mythos Restaurant

We took a break from Disney madness to catch up on the Universal Studios' madness a few miles away. We chose Islands of Adventure for our first day, the park filled more with roller coasters and excitement rides, as well as the (then-future) Harry Potter World, Marvel Comic World, and Jurassic Park World.

Instead of trying to find something fast to eat, my family chose to dine at Mythos, the full-service restaurant in "The Lost Continent". It's actually rated the World's #1 Theme Park restaurant, a surprising fact considering that Disney is usually thought to be the white glove.

The restaurant is actually located inside that big rock. I guess that's Zeus' face carved outside? We sat in that little gazebo-esque structure on the left. There were great views of park from that height, and a lovely sunset on the man-made lake in the center of the attractions. The inside of the restaurant is also beautiful, seemingly carved out of the stone, with intricate rock and water formations and light patterns made by all of the hidden windows.

When we were seated, we informed our server of the gluten situation, and were immediately greeted by the chef, who went through the entire menu with us and detailed our choices.

To start, we had cream of mushroom soup, made with a gluten free full-cream base. Honestly, it was a little thin, and the chunks of mushroom left something to be desired, but it was warm and filling.

For a main course, guess what is actually gluten free? Pad thai! It was a big portion of sticky rice noodles in peanut sauce, with my favorite Asian vegetable, bean sprouts, and thick shrimp.

It was surprising to find this dish as gluten free, because usually rice noodles served in restaurants aren't completely rice based.

Other GF options included salmon, chicken, and risotto. There weren't a ton of choices, but certainly enough to satisfy.

Enjoy Mythos at Universal. Stop over here after you inevitably spend the day at Hogwarts, then go grab a butterbeer in Hogsmeade for dessert.

my brother and I on the Hulk coaster. our 6th trip!