Orlando Weekly releases Best of 2009!

In my hands lay the guide to the greatest places in Orlando including info about the weird, wooded island in the middle of Lake Holden, a place for secrets….

I got my copy today on the way to dinner at Shin Jung Korean restaurant! You can pick up yours …at any store or establishment with the little box with Orlando Weekly on it!

Here is the link to the online edition of
Best of Orlando Food & Drink 2009 http://snipurl.com/n91z6
Best of Orlando Goods & Services 2009 http://snipurl.com/n91ue

Congrats to Reign who won an astounding 5 awards!!! including Best Men’s clothing store!

The food at Aashirwad was excellent and cooked with tender care. However the portions are a bit disappointing from what we paid compared to what we had on the table. We actually had to order a 2nd round of everything just to satiate our palates. The buffet is a much better option, under $10.00 and unlimited naan, chicken, everything. NOM NOM NOM

Tasty Chomps rating!!!
3.5 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!

Chipotle is going to be sponsoring a number of free screenings of the new documentary FOOD, Inc. The filmmakers behind the documentary share the belief that people deserve to eat better food from better sources. The showing in Central Florida is on Thursday July 16th at the Regal Winter Park Stadium at 7:30pm. Seating is first come first served.

http://www.chipotle.com/#/flash/fwi_food-inc

The story of Beard Papa’s begins across the world in Osaka, Japan where in 1999 baker Yuji Hirota began pumping out these unique custard creme pastry puffs. It has since expanded all over the globe from China to Australia to Singapore to now, the United States. Right here in our own backyard at the newly renovated Prime Outlet Mall at the northern end of International Drive lays Beard Papa’s, waiting to offer you their much touted fresh n’ natural creme puffs.

Click here for the funny, Animated Story of the Origin of Bearded Papa, the man in the beard and pipe.

Once inside, you will notice that you are able to order the pastries by first picking the shell: either original, chocolate eclair, or cookie crusts. Then order the filling which can either be vanilla custard, dark chocolate, or a original flavor that changes from time to time. In the past these flavors have been strawberry, mango, coconut, green tea, etc. Call ahead to find out.

The pastry puff shells are two-layered: a crispy outer layer and a soft pastry layer inside.
They also use whipped creme to blend with vanilla bean to make their vanilla custard.

The creme puffs do not contain any preservatives so its best to eat right there or refrigerate immediately at home.

The crispy shell pairs well with the creme-y texture of the vanilla custard.

Mochi in the Display!

After you order your pastry, they sprinkle the puffs with your choice of powdered sugar, which also come in chocolate or green tea flavors.

sprinkle sprinkle

Bon Apetit! – The Cookie Shell Vanilla Custard Pastry puff!!

The Vanilla Custard can’t be contained!

Eclair shell with vanilla custard!

The delightful creamy custard overflows from the pastry with every bite,
a chilly oozing gooeyness on your tongue.

Chomp chomp chomp!!!!!!

Overall, I really enjoyed Beard Papa’s fresh n cremey pastry puffs and assorted mochis. There is a lot of custard inside these puffs and that is fine with me. Maybe wash it down with some tea or milk!

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 tasty chomps!!!

Beard Papa’s
(407) 352-2008
4971 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
www.muginohousa.com

Any recommendations for places to go and eat? nom nom nom…

Last week, the Orlando Weekly ran a cover feature article by Henry Hong from Baltimore on ramen Noodled: Instant ramen isn’t just for broke college students. It’s a great article about the versatility of the supercheapo dish when paired with leftovers and random scraps.

Usually I tend to avoid ramen because I get a headache from all the sodium/msg/etc. but some times you get in the mood for the stuff and you gotta have it :D. Some ways of reducing the amount of sodium is to use only half the amount of the soup base package that they give you.

As you can see below in the nutritional facts, this one bag of ramen has 2080 mg of sodium, 86% of your daily recommended value. @_@

Nutritional Facts of Ramen: what nutrition?

Two packages that come with the noodles: vegetable mix and soup base

The vegetables in this soup are mostly dried seaweed that expand when you add water, and theres a lot of it. Other items included dried carrot, onion, mushroom, and fish-cake, but the majority of the dried vegetable packet was seaweed.

Bam! spices and veggies unwrapped

Bring your water to a boil and add the ramen noodles in. These noodles are actually udon style, thicker and chewier than other noodles, but also a bit bland from what I noticed. The explosively spicy soup base helps the taste a lot tho.

Some people out of necessity use the microwave to cook ramen, but boiling over the stove top give the ramen a much superior taste. Also this gives you a chance to boil the ramen once, rinse the ramen from its original fried oils,and boil it again with the added soup base and veggies, allowing it to be a much healthier dish sans frying oil.

The broth in this ramen is a bit bland tasting even though it is really spicy it is more of a one dimensional flavor, so I like to add a tiny drop of sesame oil (too much and it will overpower the soup) to add more flavor.

On this occasion, I add chopped up pieces of hot dog and a fried egg to the ramen before serving. Some people like to add a egg in while its boiling to create a egg drop soup like texture. I’ll try that next time maybe.

Ramen with egg and hot dog

Nong Shim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Noodle Ramyun

You can buy Nong Shim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Noodle Ramyun and many other ramen at various Asian markets through out Orlando. This package came from the huge jumbo 1st Oriental Market in the Pine Hills / Colonial Dr area. Try it out!

Blarney Cakes ($4.99)

Pound O’ Wings ($7.99)

Shepherd’s Pie ($8.99)

Irish Stew ($8.99)

Corned Beef & Colcannon ($$8.99)

All in all, Paddy Murphy’s was a mixed bag and I am not sure if I will return. They need to fix a few of their dishes before that happens.

Oh Que Bueno! – Colombian restaurant on Semoran Blvd.

Oh Que Bueno! (literally meaning, Oh! How Good!)is located in a predominantly Latin American part of Orlando along Semoran Boulevard just north of Curry Ford Road and south of SR 408. Oh! How Good, definitely lived up to its name on our visit.

Inside Oh Que Bueno, posters of the old city of Medellin, still lifes of guitars, and other Colombian scenes play out on the walls. There are two sections: one for regular dining and another closed off section that includes the bar and is meant for late evening diners. We sit in regular dining.

On this evening, my guests are especially hungry but we undoubtedly picked the best place to quell the beasts of hunger at Oh Que Bueno. We begin with our appetizer: the beef empanadas ($5.00) which are fried meat patties made with shredded beef and potatoes. The golden crispy empanadas were good, though a bit starchy and plain served with the spicy habenero sauce for dipping.

 

The Bandeja Paisa: Destroyer of worlds.

My sister orders the churrasco with papas (grilled flank steak with fries) ($14.95). It is succulent, juicy and flavorful.

Churrasco! my favorite cut.

My partner’s sister and brother Andy share a punta de anca (sirloin steak) ($14.00) : it is huge and tender, though a bit on the bland side as well, accompanied by the sweet fried plantains.

Punta De Anca: Spanish for…Sirloin Steak twice as big as my head

Extrana – the strange one, skirt steak

A seafood soup? forgot what it was…

Pechuga de pollo – grilled chicken breast

All in all Oh ! Que Bueno definitely serves up the meats here in Orlando. In addition to their meat induced comas, they all serve mofongo (mashed fried plaintain dishes), mariscos (seafood), and desserts. Come here hungry and leave satisfied 😀

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!

The summer Florida heat this July 4th can be daunting at times so what better way to cool off than enjoy a nice smooth ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. Out of all the Ice Cream chains out there Cold Stone is my favorite because of their high quality ingredients and sweet and creamy ice cream textures mixed in with their great toppings.

Signature Creations at Cold Stone Creamery

They have a lot of choices to choose from including unique signature creations such as “Cheesecake fantasy”, made with cheesecake ice cream, graham cracker pie crust, blueberries and strawberries. I chose Founder’s Favorite on this occasion which is a sweet cream ice cream with pecans, brownie chunks, fudge and caramel.

Ice Cream Choices at Cold Stone Creamery

Toppings including kit kats, Reese’s peanut butter cups, butterfingers…

Traditional toppings such as roasted almonds, peanuts, pecans…

All ice cream creations are offered in three sizes: “Like It” (5 oz), “Love It” (8 oz), and “Gotta Have It” (12 oz).

By mixing nuts, fruits and candy into the smooth and creamy ice cream on a frozen granite stone (Marble Slab and other places do it too but not as good!), they create these ice creams that explode with tastes and sweet ice cream goodness.

Ice Cream on the frozen granite slab, the Cold Stone

My ice cream: The Founder’s Favorite, really good.

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4.5 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!!

I noticed that there were quite a few Cold stone’s in other areas that have closed recently, no doubt a sign of the economic downturn. Hopefully Cold Stone’s can stick it through and stay around !

Cold Stone Creamery
(407) 599-9800
4954 New Broad St
Orlando, FL 32814
www.coldstonecreamery.com

Via: Lindsay Mannering

here is a condensed version !

1. There’s a 25% chance that the hotdog you’re eating today came from somewhere in Iowa, where 17.6 million market hogs and pigs call home. And over 150 million hot dogs will be eaten today.

2. If you’re eating salad today, more than three-fourths of the nation’s supply of head lettuce comes from the Golden State. Your tomatoes probably came from Florida, your potatoes from Idaho or Washington, and your watermelon from Georgia, which produces over 1 billion pounds of the fruit a year.

3. Beer is the 2nd most popular drink in the world behind tea.

Finally, at the end,

4. Humans up-chuck on average 1.28 times a year, the oldest hurl ever found is 160 million years old

Sangria’s in Oviedo

Sangria’s is hidden in a plaza on the corner of Red Bug Lake Road and Aloma Ave in Oviedo next to the Home Depot. It is a strictly tapas restaurant with a great selection of wines and of course, sangrias which is a wine punch made with red wine and fruits.

Tapas are small appetizer dishes served cold or warm and are meant to encourage conversation among diners rather than focusing on a large meal in front of them.

The tapa tradition began when Castile’s king, Alfonso X of Castile or Alfonso the Wise, recovered from an illness by drinking wine mixed with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns were not allowed to serve wine to customers unless the beverage was accompanied by a small snack or tapas.

Tapas derives from the word tapar or to cover, because original tapas were slices of bread or meat and they were used to cover the glasses of wine to prevent fruit flies from entering the sherry wine. Also the meats tend to be saltier to enduce more drinking and thus more profits for the owners.

At Sangria’s I am greeted by a kind and smiling Spanish woman with dark hair, possibly one of the owners. Sangria’s is small inside, decorated with iconic posters of Spanish flamenco dancers and Spanish bull fighters with a small bar in the back of the room. The rapid beats of the guitar of the flamenco music plays in the soundtrack to Sangria’s.

First, a dish of sliced bread is presented. The bread is fresh and fluffy with a slight taste of sourdough and served with some olive oil and pepper. It was really good bread.

I ordered two dishes. The first is the Pulpo a la Vinagreta ($7.95) which is octopus in vinagrette sauce served cold. The octopus is served on a bed of sweet tomatoes and crisp onion pieces and with a dash of cilantro. Although the octopus was a bit chewy, as is most octopus, the dish was well put together and tasted great.

I also ordered a side of yellow rice ($1.00), and found it to be one of the most flavorful rice I’ve had. It was aromatic and light yet at the same time had a special type of saffron seasoning that made my taste buds salivate.

I also chose the Pinchos de carne y chorizo ($7.95), three skewers of beef and chorizo sausage baked over wine. Pinchos get their name from the toothpick like skewers that they use for it. My pinchos were amazing: the beef chunks were bursting with flavor and were tender to the tongue. The chorizos, though very salty, went well with my drink and were savory to the bite.

In addition to tapas and wine, Sangria’s also serves salads, sandwiches, paella, and desserts on their menu. Overall, I would definitely recommend Sangria’s especially if you go for their happy hour on Monday and Tuesdays after work with a group of friends. Good company, good food, what more can you ask for? 😀

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out of 5 tasty chomps!!!!

Lol whatre they talking about ???

During our trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, in the fictional South Asian “village” of Anandapur the annual summer rains began to pour over Central Florida. 🙁

This led us to find refuge in the halls of the Yak and Yeti restaurant, one of the only sit-in dining restaurants in the whole Animal Kingdom park. To my disappointment, there were no yak or yeti to be found on the menu that day (I am a fan of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel by the way) but there was steak and shrimp as consolation.

I am typically wary of theme-park food: overpriced, tasteless, and usually completely battered and fried. I know that the parks have a virtual monopoly on the food business on premises and that’s how alot of money is made, but hey! its a recession… I guess that five day stay deal with unlimited meals really is a good deal after all (I’m not staying five days though 🙁

When we stepped inside, we were soaking wet and the place was freezing cold… At least we were out of the rain for the moment to dry up and take our seats at the table.

The first thing I noticed about the restaurant was the decor: random artifacts from Asia, statues of various deities from eons past, the cracked yellow walls like something out of British colonial India from A Passage to India. Quaint, I thought.

Tables were scattered through out the restaurant, mostly full with vacationing families.

At our table, our waitress was kind and helpful, always attending to our orders and requests and checking up on our drinks through out the visit.

The menu at Yak and Yeti was a Asian “fusion” which usually means a lot of different dishes but none done really well. I was surprised to find and at the same time afraid to try, the “pho” the national dish of the Vietnamese, a beef rice noodle soup, on the menu. It was also $17.99 here, when you can get a large bowl down in the Mills 50 district for no more than $7.50. I gave a sigh and moved on.

Our first order for appetizers were the steamed and fried pork filled pot stickers ($7.99). The dumpling skin was too tough and had the consistency of light rubber. The pork meat filling was flaky and chewy and definitely tasted like it just came out of the freezer, maybe even just microwaved. The bamboo steamer that the steamed dumplings came with was pretty cool though the banana leaves were a tad tacky as it did nothing to add to their “flavor”.

For our entrees, we decided to split up and share our meals since the prices were pretty ridiculous. I ordered the Shaoxing Steak and Shrimp ($24.99) which came with skirt steak, tempura-battered shrimp, jasmine rice, veggies, and a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The steak was surprisingly good, seared to my order of medium-rare. It reminded me of the latin style churrasco flank skirt steak that I enjoy at latin restaurants but had a hint of a soy sauce marinade. The “tempura” shrimp really wasn’t authentically tempura as it was fried in what looked like a corndog batter. It was enjoyable nonetheless. The veggies were kind of plain and the rice was fluffy and warm (definitely a plus since I’ve known some places to botch even plain rice). Is it worth $24.99 ? Not really, but in theme parks where good eats are rare and hard to find at times, it was definitely a commendable dish on their part. I would say that its my favorite dish I’ve tried so far at Disney.

I noticed that the dipping sauce they like to use is actually a thai sweet chili dipping sauce ( you can buy it at the local asian market.), they used that for everything.

I also got a side order of pork egg rolls ($5.99) and they were also surprisingly good. I don’t understand how so many places mess up such a simple dish but luckily Yak and Yeti did a good job with theirs. I think they used the same meat from the dumplings, but it was a good and meaty bite.

My fellow guests also enjoyed their plates (as seen below).

Pork Egg Rolls

Its my birthday today and I got this free banana dessert from Thai Basil at lunch!

nom nom nom

Any suggestions for places to go for birthday dinners?

I recently decided to head out to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the first time with some family and loved ones. It proved to be a great trip for me, despite the hot Florida sun beaming down on us from above and then the torrential afternoon rains, no fault of the park’s of course. I really liked the place and would love to go back. I would recommend Disney to build a few more crazy rides to try out though 😀

The Tree of Life – I think there are over 100 animals sculpted on this huge tree at the center of Disney’s Animal Kingdom @_@

I decided to trek out to the Ba Le (located off of Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 District of Orlando about 8 blocks north of Colonial Drive) this afternoon to get my fix of their renowned Vietnamese Banh Mi, or Vietnamese baguette sub sandwiches.

Ba Le is actually an independently owned franchise (do not be afraid: they make and bake all their goods on premises) selling its famously good brand of banh mi, those French-influenced Vietnamese sandwiches that had its own journey of sorts across the Pacific Ocean to the shores of America.

The origin of the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich is a reflection of Vietnam’s history in itself; its French baguette bread: the influence of 200 years of French colonialism, its various pork meat cuts: a cousin of Chinese pork slices, and its Vietnamese fish sauce and pickled carrots and daikon and other ingredients all culminating in the conception of the banh mi sandwich. Even Ba Le’s own trademark logo is a tribute to the French influence with an image of the Eiffel Tower in its center.

The French baguette and the Vietnamese style baguette are similar but there are slight differences in taste and texture. I always think the Vietnamese style, crispy and crackly crusted, is a bit lighter than the French baguette found at the local grocery stores.

The fillings of banh mi vary from xiu mai (meatballs) to sunny side up eggs to chicken to grilled pork to almost anything you want to put in a baguette sandwich. Recently in the US, the banh mi continued its evolution with polish kielbasa sausage and other meats put into the mix.

However, the popular way to get it is the banh mi dac biet option (special combo) which puts together a slice of all the most popular cold cut meats into one sandwich.

The meats, as demonstrated by this diagram from a recent New York Times article about the transformation of the ubiquitous banh mi, include: ham, headcheese (a type of ham made with pigs ear for crunch), pork liver pate, and cha lua (fish sauce seasoned pork roll).

There is also a special Vietnamese mayo sauce made of eggs and oil that is spread on the bread that gives it its incredibly addicting taste.There are also hot chilis or jalapeno peppers that are added for that extra kick as well as salt and pepper and vinegar, fish sauce and soy sauce if you like to add it to the mix as well.

Banh mi is like the fast food of choice of the Vietnamese, quick to make they are easy to carry and snack on during long road trips and really cheap (they’re $3.25 each for the dac biet special option and buy 5 get 1 free!).

As I entered Ba Le, two teenaged sisters sit idly by at the counter of Ba Le bakery and restaurant, undoubtedly the daughters of the owners of the establishment, like so many other children of Asian-owned restaurants across the US on weekends. Help out with the family business; it’s your filial duty they say.

In addition to banh mi, Ba Le sells various bakery items including cakes and patechaud (or pateso) a pork-filled meat patty, deli meats to go, baguettes, banh bao (steamed pork buns), Vietnamese dishes such as banh cuon, and even jackfruit (its fruit season in Florida).

I order the banh mi dac biet to go and one of the sisters heads back behind the counter to assemble the sandwich as the other sister takes my payment. The banh mi is soon ready.

My banh mi was delicious: the bread was baked soft and slightly sweet, the meats were all high quality and tasty and the pickled carrots and daikon crunched as I bit into them. Ba Le Bakery and its banh mi are definitely a tasty chomp. Chomp.

Ba Le’s deli display

The Deli counter and the magical cold cuts of banh mi

Fresh baked Vietnamese style French baguettes for sale

Banh bao aka Steamed pork buns

Cha lua or pork rolls, fried or steamed

Jackfruit for sale!

Pateso or Patechaud, the pork filled meat patty

Beef jerky from Ba Le?

Glorious Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich

Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich and the white radish daikon pickled and pickled carrots

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!

There are other Banh Mi shops in orlando as described here:
http://tastychomps.blogspot.com/2009/05/vietnamese-banh-mi-sub-sandwiches.html

El Potro Mexican Restaurant – Oviedo, FL

I enjoy El Potro for its authentic Mexiacan flavors, but especially for its special $7.99 all you can eat lunch buffet that includes tacos, chimicangas, tamales, enchiladas, fajitas, chicken wings, flan, fruit, salad, a sweet churro like dessert. Its a food overload for sure but worth the price! I’d eat here only once in a while though and in moderation because you don’t want to overload your body with 3000 calories for lunch.

man i love lunch buffets <3

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

Pollo Tropical restaurants debut their Grilled Tropical Wings menu items. The wings are available in your choice of five piece ($3.59) or eight piece ($6.59, includes a choice of two regular sides) portions.

To mark the occasion, the restaurant will be giving away samples on Wednesday, July 8 at the Pollo Tropical locations in Central Florida, Tampa, Cape Coral and Naples. Just flap your wings (that’s arms for you nonflyers!) at the cashier will receive a free two-wing sample. Those that don’t flap their wings will be offered a single wing sample.

Pollo Tropicals new Grilled Tropical Wings are dusted with mild Caribbean spices and served with two sauces: Pineapple Rum and Spicy Amazon.

from the
Cooking Gal blog on Orlando Sentinel

I went home a few weekends ago and my parents cooked up some good old fashioned home cooked Chinese food.

My dad made a chicken mushroom dish and also a chinese-style curry chicken which we dip with french bread or eat with rice noodles. My mom made bitter melon soup, a acquired taste for sure. The bitter melon is truly bitter but very nutritious. I like to eat it with eggs some times.

Here is some info about Bitter melon that I picked out from wikipedia:

Bitter melon is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea.Bitter melons stuffed with ground pork are served as a popular summer soup in the South.

Like most bitter-tasting foods, bitter melon stimulates digestion. Bitter melon is traditionally regarded by Asians, as well as Panamanians and Colombians, as useful for preventing and treating malaria.
Laboratory tests suggest that compounds in bitter melon might be effective for treating HIV infection and diabetes.

recipe from holy basil blog

INGREDIENTS: (4 servings as part of a meal)

3 pieces of black (wood ear) mushroom, re-hydrated in warm water, and finely chopped
2/3 lb. ground pork
1 shallot, finely minced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 egg
2 med/large bitter melon, cut into 1 1/2 – 2 inch segments, removing spongy center and seeds
1 quart quality chicken stock
1 Tbl. fish sauce
1 small rock sugar cube or 1 tsp. raw sugar

STEPS:

Thoroughly combine the first 7 ingredients (black mushroom, pork, shallot, garlic, egg, S+P) in a bowl.
Equally divide and stuff the mixture among the bitter melon segments.
Bring chicken stock to a rolling boil and add the stuffed bitter melon.
Add the fish sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil.
Then, turn down the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
At this point, the stuffing should be cooked through, the bitter melon should be tender and its color has changed from jade green to olive green.
Taste the soup and add more fish sauce if necessary. Serve with steamed rice.

Bon appétit!

Tasty Chomps rating !!!
5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!!
(because it was made with tender loving care of my parents)

We woke up one Saturday morning hankering for some good barbeque to chow on so we decided to head out to Oviedo to visit the recently opened Dickey’s Barbeque/BBQ Pit.

Dickey’s Barbeque/BBQ Pit is a national franchise based in Texas, most accurately called a fast-food place that serves barbeque. Chain barbeque places are almost always a disappointment and Dickey’s Barbeque/BBQ Pit would continue that general curve.

The decor here is as bland as some of its food. It’s lit by flourescent long tube lights which gives it a cafeteria like feeling and the ambiance is that of a dining room inside a K-mart.

You order your meal first at the counter, priced by the number of meats or cheaper if you get a sandwich.I ordered the two meats platter: sweet pork ribs and pulled pork with baked bbq beans and waffle fries for my sides. A few of my friends got the beef brisket and pulled pork with macaroni and cheese and waffle fries for their sides. They also serve spicy polish sausage, smoked chicken breast, and smoked turkey breast for meats and baked potato casserole (kind of like mashed potatoes) among others for their sides.

The food came out pretty fast and we began to chow down.

First, the bad:
The pulled pork was disappointingly bland and tasted like it was boiled, needing a lot of sauce to have any flavor at all. The baked beans and macaroni and cheese were both also lacking in flavor and tasted like they came out of a can/box.

They also have a huge pickle jar where you can get free pickles. Also as a consolation to the mediocre meal is a much-welcomed, free soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone on the way out.

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!
3 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!

The rain started to fall across the Central Florida sky as I drove up to the parking lot of Chipotle on University Boulevard near UCF.

I looked around cautiously before approaching the short man standing next to his pickup truck, wondering quietly what did I get myself into this time.

I had met the man once before at a event at Jay Blanchard park; he came up and asked me if I liked dim sum, the Chinese brunch dishes. I said why of course…

He slipped me a piece of paper with his e-mail and said to write him because he sells dim sum . Ok…..

So here I was, after a few email exchanges, in the parking lot of Chipotle, as he takes out a ice cooler and opens it up. Inside are the dim sum pieces, frozen and wrapped in plastic trays.

I picked up the packages and brought them home to try for dinner using the steamer.

After about 15 minutes of steaming, they were ready.

First, I tried the ha gow, shrimp dumplings. The translucent shrimp dumplings were small and bite sized and tasted okay. I would rank it slightly above the frozen dim sum dumplings that you can buy at the asian markets.

Next were the siu mai dumplings. The siu mai tasted of minced shitake mushrooms and mixed pork and were slightly softer than I was accustomed to.

Overall It wasn’t the worst dim sum ever, but definitely not the best I ever had.

The man with the ice cooler of dim sum also had zhong or sticky rice dumpling wrapped in banana leaves as well as custard buns and other dishes. I might be coming back for that another time.