I was attracted to Sazon 436 from its name and its reviews on urbanspoon.com. I mean, seriously a restaurant named after SR 436 aka Semoran Blvd? Sazon 436 also was the winner of Orlando Sentinel’s Foodie Awards for Best Puerto Rican – Reader’s Choice for 2008.
I decided to give it a try for lunch one day, and after driving past it a few times (the sign is rather hard to find from the road), I arrived at Sazon 436.
A elderly lady resembling what a grandma from Puerto Rico might look like greeted me and told me to sit wherever I liked.
The dining room was small: it can altogether hold only about 30 seats, I guess it creates an intimate feeling?
The place settings are simple and elegant with deep red napkin cloths and black tablecloths. Numerous still lifes bring to mind scenes from Puerto Rico. A view from a cabin window, fruits, a portrait of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo all hang around the room giving the place an ambiance of a Latin American art musuem.
After looking through the menu I chose the chicharrones de pollo, a fried chicken pieces appetizer. The tender chicken pieces came out freshly fried and delectable, made with fresh spices and topped off with some red lettuce for garnish.
I also decided to get the lunch special for $6.00 which I was told was churrasco (grilled flank steak) today but when it came out it was actually chuletas (grilled pork chops). The chuletas were a bit dry for my tastes but still very flavorful. The meal also came with a small side of rice and red beans (arroz con frijoles).
Overall, I enjoyed my meal alot but would like to try it out for dinner at night to see how it is. It really was a cut above other Latin American restaurants in the area though in terms of taste so for that I tip my imaginary hat off to you, Sazon 436.
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
Sazon 436 Restaurant
1555 Semoran Blvd., Winter Park, FL 32792
(407) 628-9447
