Opinion: Orlando fall break trip brings phenomenal sushi experience
This week food blogger and senior at UT, Jessica Carr breaks away from her normal food exploration series about the best cuisine Knoxville has to offer. Instead, she talks about her fall break trip to Orlando where she tried a new sushi place which turned out to be phenomenal.
Photo by Jessica Carr
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Any time that I travel, the number one thing that I am concentrating on is the food. I am known by all of my travel companions as the one that plans the trip around what restaurants I can visit.
I am most definitely not ashamed of this, but at times I do think that it makes me seem a bit bossy. This trip was no exception.
My friends and I decided to take a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. This included visiting the enchanting Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As a muggle, I knew that I couldn’t really afford to eat every meal in the theme park, so I looked at restaurants that were close by. If you’re planning a trip, you can also Check out this site to learn about the airport transport services you can hire from Orlando airport.
Universal has kind of like a boardwalk set-up that they call, “CityWalk.” It includes restaurants, clubs and bars. While I was researching restaurants, I came across a place with an interesting name–Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar.
Well that’s interesting….burgers and sushi–this sounds like a place that a bunch of college students should experience. We found the place pretty easily and decided to eat there on Thursday night after a day filled with butter beer, Jurassic Park boat rides and embarrassing after roller coaster pictures.
I could hear the faint sound of my wallet screaming as I stared at the menu prices. You are on vacation Jessica–that’s what I had to keep reminding myself. Yes, the prices were steep, but after I tasted the food I knew it was well worth it.
I paid $10 for a cocktail and $17 for a sushi roll and I don’t regret a single thing. I chose Doug’s filet roll which contained crab, cream cheese and avocado topped with seared rare filet mignon, spicy mayo and masago (fish eggs). The roll was out of this world. Seriously, the best sushi I’ve eaten in a long time. It had a lot of kick to it, which I’m guessing came from the spicy mayo, but the cream cheese did a good job of balancing out the heat.
Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the experience. The ambiance of the restaurant was modern with some eclectic accents. It made for a great nightlife spot in the heart of Orlando.
Score: 19/20
Ambiance-5
Food-5
Presentation-5
Price-4
It really does pay to do your research before going on a vacation. Look up reviews of restaurants in the surrounding area to get a feel for what the locals like. Don’t just rely on sites like Trip Advisor or Yelp, do some digging and look at amateur food blogs. In my experience, the locals are the one that food bloggers connect with to get details on what’s good and what’s a tourist trap.
All in all, my travel companions didn’t mind my aggressive push to try Cowfish. We all really enjoyed our meals and, once again, they thanked their self-proclaimed food blogger friend for her suggestion.
Stay tuned as I continue this series with more delectable food options from the Scruffy City.
Happy Eating!
Jessica Carr is a senior majoring in journalism and electronic media at UT. She is an independent food blogger. You can check out her blog by clicking here.
Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar is located at 6000 Universal Blvd #700 in Orlando, FL
Photos by Jessica Carr
Edited by Taylor Owens
Food aficionado, Jessica Carr, believes her passion for food first began while learning to cook Asian and southern cuisine with her mom. Now a senior journalism major at the University of Tennessee, Carr combines her love for writing and food by cultivating restaurant reviews through her blog. As newly appointed Editor-in-chief of the Tennessee Journalist, the official news website for UT's School of Journalism, Carr plans to build experience and one day be the editor of a food magazine. When she isn’t writing, she’s most likely in a theater enjoying the latest indie film.
