Help me decide where to eat at USF

mloren

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 3, 2001
Trying to decide where to eat at USF (not IOA).

I'm looking for interesting "atmosphere" for kids.

Need a very simple kid's menu (pizza or hot dogs would be ideal). Need something vegetarian for DH (veggie burger or pizza would be ideal).

I've narrowed it down to ...

(1) Lombard's Landing -- do they have something like a veggie burger? Do they have a kid's menu? Is it "too formal" for kids?

(2) Richter's -- do they have veggie burgers? Do they have a kids menu?

(3) Monster Cafe -- is this one still open?

I'd be interested in opinions on which of these would be the best choice. Kids are 8 and 11.

Thanks!
 
I'm a vegetarian so I can help a little there. I had the veggie burger at Richter's. It was pretty good. They have a great "fixin's" bar though. They also have a great fruit cup to share. I don't remember a kids menu, my 7yr old and I shared the veggie burger, fruit and fries. My son enjoyed his regular hamburger.

My dh had bought a smoked turkey leg over by Central Park. He sat and ate that along with fruit cup. The outside patio by the water was nice (but windy!).

Monster Cafe: The pasta here was pretty horrid. It was drenched in a commercial alfredo sauce and came with a few veggies and a petrified bread stick. Others have said the chicken here is very good and it certainly was priced better than most things in the park. The atmosphere here is pretty cool if you like old monster movies.

You could also consider going to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. We went there at an "off" time and were seated immediately. I had a great portobello sandwhich there. My ds had a hot dog basket. AVOID the kids pizza. It was the worst food we had all week!

Hope this helps.
 
Lomdard's Landing has a veggie burger. It basically has two buns, the veggie "meat," and some fruit. I didn't really like it. Ritcher's has a descent veggie burger. Margritaville's veggie burger (in Citywalk) is pretty good. I had a really good veggie burger at the Hard Rock Cafe. It has a great side of a baked potato!

The best veggie burger I've had so far is in the Compass Rose Restaurant in Fantasy of Flight. The onion roll makes it quite tasty. Too bad it is about 30 minutes south of Universal. :(
 
Last time we were at USF, my family had a great meal at Finnegan's Pub. I don't know if they have any vegetarian meals, but we really enjoyed it. Our kids loved the food. They were 14 (DS), 12 (DD) and 8 (DD) at the time.
 


Originally posted by mloren
I'm looking for interesting "atmosphere" for kids.

If that's the most important thing, then I'd say Monsters Cafe is your best bet, even though the food gets decidedly mixed reviews.

But then, Hard Rock Cafe is very close (especially if you use the often overlooked exit near Nickelodeon Studios).

I'd say Lombard's is too "elegant" and grownup for kids, but that just may be me.
 
NOTE on Monster Cafe:

On my last few visits to USF, Monster Cafe has been closed. That might be just a temporary cut-back due to fewer tourists since 9/11. Has anyone out there seen it open recently?
 


I believe it re-opened christmas week so it will be interesting to see if it is still open 1/5:smooth:
 

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