During Halloween Horror Nights 2022 in Orlando, several food and beverage tents sit as fixtures in the Gramercy Park area of Universal Studios Florida. As someone currently living in the state of Illinois, I recognized the style of sandwich being served at one of these tents at Halloween Horror Nights. Supposedly, the “horseshoe” style sandwich was first created in Springfield, Illinois. Even though various versions of the creation story exist, few deny the first horseshoe sandwich coming from there. Universal Orlando decided to create a haunted version of this for this year.

The Haunted Horseshow will cost you $12.99. However, this sandwich could easily be a full meal for most people. At my local restaurants that serve versions of a “shoe” or” horseshoe”, being full afterwards regularly occurs. The Haunted Horseshow at Halloween Horror Nights continues the pattern of ample portion size. This open-faced sandwich comes with a full burger patty on garlic Texas Toast. The burger comes covered with jalapeno bacon, spicy candied pork belly, crinkle cut fries, and cheddar cheese sauce. Based on my understanding, a traditional “horseshoe” sandwich should always include fries and cheddar sauce. I supposed the jalapeno bacon makes this haunted.

No matter how haunted this sandwich classifies as, most guests appreciated the flavor and portion size. The burger patty comes prepared well done so be prepared for that. Yet, based on mass production, that level of preparation makes sense. I found the Texas toast brings all the pork, beef, starch, and dairy flavors together nicely. In fairness, this fails to be fine dining. Yes, I would have preferred to eat mine with a knife and fork. This sandwich will not be upscale dining needed a fork and knife for that reason. Still, the utensils will reduce probable mess factor though.

Sure, your nutritionist will not approve of this sandwich for a plethora of reasons. Still, this qualifies as spooky comfort food. I did not find the spice level of the bacon to be too overpowering with this sandwich either. The fries tasted just okay but they are simply there to gather cheese providing a bit of texture.

My main critique of this item revolves around the price point. For just a few dollars more, you could get a table service burger at one of the CityWalk restaurants with a side. Still, this sandwich will fill you up so you can tackle more Halloween Horror Nights excitement without leaving Universal Studios Florida. As always, eat like you mean it!