Oh, the food

Since I'm out of school, and don't have the money to go ride coasters every day, food has become a major time-consumption strategy for me. To combat this, I'm actually, like, exercising, in, like, a gym. But that's another post. Today I finally made a successful crusty bread, so I'm pleased with myself. More about what I've been cooking later. Right now I want to talk about a wonderful restaurant experience.

I hadn't planned on blogging about this, but it's been on my mind all month. We went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure at the beginning of June, and stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort, which was great. The breakfast buffet, if a little pricey, rocked, and I ate enough smoked salmon to satisfy me for a while. Inside the Islands of Adventure theme park is an award-winning restaurant, believe it or not. The place is called Mythos. I wasn't sure whether or not it would be worth it to take an hour or so out of the day at the park for a sit-down meal, but the reviews I'd read made up my mind.
The meal began with the best bread I've ever had served to me at a restaurant. Light brown, with seeds galore, an incredible crunch. I thought I was going to eat the whole loaf. For the entree, I had the Mythos Bistro Filet: three medallions of beef topped with truffle butter and spicy, battered, deep fried onion strands. Eric had (get this) the Blueberry and Pistachio Crusted Grilled Pork Chop with a port wine sauce. It came with the best "smokey" mac and cheese ever. Because Eric is low-carb, I asked for options. The server said they'd give us some sort of grilled vegetables, and we both were served perfectly prepared grilled asparagus- which was not on the menu.

I can't tell you how good this food was. I mean, I probably give the food an 8.5 out of 10. The reason I'm raving quite so much is that the place is on a price point comparable with Applebee's or Chili's or any of the big mediocre chains. We both ate this great meal for under $30, if I remember correctly. Of course, being a theme park, you could get a burger and fries and Mythos, too. I'm sure they're really good- but why on earth would you order that when you could have what we did? Other choices include a Chicken a la Oscar with lump crab and Pan Roasted Covina Provencale.

Anyway, if you're in Orlando, check out Mythos. You don't have to actually buy a ticket to the park to eat there. You can get a dining pass for a couple of hours. Make a reservation, then go to Guest Services and tell them. They'll run a credit card for the price of a ticket, then let you into the park. Go have your meal, come back (be sure you're out within half an hour of paying for the meal), and Guest Services will tear up the admission charge. It's a fantastic meal.