This week finds us stuck in the middle. This Sunday serves as a mid-week of Advent in the Christian sub-culture. For Orlando area theme park fans, we find ourselves in the middle weeks of the holiday season. The holiday season looks inescapable for some of us visiting Orlando right now. Thus, for this week’s “Top Three Things” article, I will avoid traditional holiday offerings at Universal Orlando. If you missed a few weeks ago, Universal Orlando does have some excellent holiday food offerings this year. Still, I will depend on “made-up” food holidays.

For example, December 11^th has been declared National “Have a Bagel” Day. As someone who wonders if man can live by bagel alone, I endorse this food holiday. If you find yourself at Universal Orlando wanting an upscale bagel entrée, you should visit the TODAY Café. They offer a “Smoked Salmon Lox Bagel” for $13.99. In a theme park version of a New York deli staple, these features smoked, dill cream cheese and red onions. An everything-style bagel forms the base. This also comes with some fruit.

Though I see a dispute on the specific type of cupcake, December 15^th makes a great National Cupcake Day. Like most theme park resorts, cupcakes make typical tasty treats arriving for every celebration. My preferred place to get a cupcake at Universal Orlando would be Snookers and Snookers Sweet Candy Cookers in the Seuss Landing area of Islands of Adventure. Guests should expect cupcakes of many designs here, especially Seuss imagery.

On December 16^th, we encountered National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. Before writing this, I learned that it was an actual thing. Predictably, we have only one logical choice for this day—another trip to Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen. The chocolate-covered options run plentiful here. Looking through my photo files from Toothsome, I decided on one alternative. On this day, I suggest the “Coffee and Chocolate Stout Chicken Wings” for $14.95. I cheated a bit by adding coffee, but these are flash fried with a chocolate stout glaze.

As you read this, I will complete another trip to Universal Orlando. I suspect I will try, in a professional sense, some delicious food items and make an eater out of myself. That should lead to some good suggestions for the “Top Three Things” in the upcoming weeks. As always, eat like you mean it!