Hedo Turkoglu’s Pre Game Meal: A Slice of Mozzarella Cheese Pizza
GO MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEAT LA
Thank God, that was a close one -_-
According to Sports Illustrated, its from Pizza Hut, mozzarella cheese pizza
Ireland is a land most of us know only from commercials for Irish Springs bar soap, Lucky Charms cereal, and St Patrick’s Day “celebrations”. But of particular interest to this blog, is that the beginning history of the Irish in America is intricately linked to food.
Potatoes had been introduced into Ireland from the Americas in the second half of the 16th century, initially as a garden crop and eventually came to be the main food crop of the poor.
The Great Irish Famine of 1845 to 1849, caused by potato blight, later left nearly 1,000,000 people dead and led over 2,000,000 Irish to immigrate out of the country and a lot of whom immigrated to America.
Today at Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub and Eatery, the food and beer (they had previously won Best Beer Selection by citysearch) are quintessentially Irish-American cuisine, characterized by its use of potatoes in addition to carrots, beef and lamb.
The wood-framed walls of Fiddler’s Green are the color of melted milk chocolate, a dark brown blending to black. Dim lights scattered throughout the restaurant, revealing the dark-wooded booths and chairs and creating the perfect mood for a night of drinking fun.
I imagined myself in some quaint old-world pub off a brick-laid sidestreet easily found in Ireland.
On this night, I visited Fiddler’s Green with a group of friends, most of whom were unfamiliar with Irish cuisine, including myself.
The first appetizer, ordered by my good friend Sarah, was the Boxty Potato Cakes with Smoked salmon ($7.95), a traditional Irish potato pancake cooked on a griddle.
I scooped into my mouth the creamy, baked, mashed potato-y champ and saucy, meaty ground sirloin. The Shepherd’s Pie delighted my tongue with its soft yet slightly crisp textures.
At this point my eyes wandered across the intimate, dimly lit room; the Florida summer sun began to set down on the gold-lettered, dark green exterior of Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub and Eatery. The crowd begins to get rowdy and a band begins to set up to perform on the small corner stage. Beer and whiskey flowed freely here.
Looking outside Fiddler’s Green, the ever-present sight and sound of cars and engines driving by on the facing Fairbanks Ave in Winter Park reminded me that I was still here in Orlando and not a pub tucked behind the rolling hills of Ireland.
Tasty Chomps RATING!!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!
Go for the atmosphere, drinks, and go with friends. The food is great with a drink and is definitely pub fare.
Fiddler’s Green Irish Pub & Eatery
(407) 645-2050
544 W Fairbanks Ave
Winter Park, FL 32789
www.fiddlersgreenorlando.com
Note: Fiddler’s Green also serves a special Irish breakfast on Sundays for $7.95
Boston’s Fish House: A Taste of New England – Winter Park
New England: one of the earliest settlements of America, dotted with seaside ports and harbors, home of Maine lobster, New England clam chowder, and other great American seafood fare.
This past weekend, after reading reviews for Boston’s Fish House on urbanspoon.com and also having a personal affinity towards seafood (something I partly owe to my Vietnamese descent), I decided to call up my brothers and met up for lunch at this Orlando area fried-seafood institution. Good food always calls for good company.
Boston’s Fish House has been operating in Central Florida for over 20 years now and after all these years, even on this rainy Saturday afternoon, you can see regular customers pouring in despite the rain outside.
Inside, a small statue of the iconic bearded-New Englander fisherman (resembling Ernest Hemingway?) greets customers as they arrive. The decor is an old fashioned New-England motif: old fashioned hardwood finish bordering the walls, various sports memorabilia of New England teams (plus one small banner at the entrance for the Orlando Magic), old-fashioned paintings of various seaside scenes from New England, and a huge mural towards the back of a New England dock. The place has a certain relaxed and feeling of home to it.
Here at Boston’s Fish House, you order and pay first at the cashier stall before sitting. No free loaders indeed.
There is a hustle and bustle to the kitchen; behind the revolving kitchen doors, waiters keep coming with more and more mountainous trays of fried and broiled seafood offerings. They hope to quell the restaurant patrons’ beckoning appetites.
I decided to share a meal with an old friend who I had known since middle school, Mike Cho. We were neighbors growing up, once sharing a wall in an old duplex during our childhood. We began by ordering an appetizer: the fried calamari rings ($6.50) accompanied perfectly by a rich, sweet and tangy marinara sauce. The portions were large and the calamari was good, despite being a tad uninspired for my tastes.
For the entrees, I ordered the Seafood Dinner Platter ($21.95) which came with fried sea scallops, cod fish, coconut maine shrimp, clams and onion rings with a side of potato salad and coleslaw. The platter was a formidable feat to finish. I particularly enjoyed the fried onion rings which were surprisingly light compared to my past experiences with the side at other places, a welcome change. I also enjoyed the delicious coconut maine shrimp which came with a sweet pineapple dipping sauce, and the lusciously plump sea scallops. The cod fish and clams were just okay. The accompanying cole slaw was fresh and tasty but I did not care much for their potato salad.
Mike ordered the 9oz Fried Oyster Dinner ($16.70) with a side of broccoli and french fries. I enjoyed the fried oyster as it came hot and fresh out of the kitchen with their special breading. It should be noted that their seafood is flown in fresh daily and they close between 3:25pm to 4:00pm to filter out their old oil and replace it with new cooking oil. That is dedication right there.
Other recommendations include the New England classic: Lobster Roll ($22.95), but due to budgetary constraints we decided not to order it this time although it is highly recommended by guests here.
TASTY CHOMPS RATING!!!
4 out of 5 FRIED SEAFOOD TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
Boston’s Fish House
6860 Aloma Ave
Winter Park, FL 32792
http://www.bostonsfishhouse.com/
The decor inside China Garden is a deep brownish red wood motif with glass tables and matching booths, standard Chinese decorations. On this occasion, I visited China Garden with an old friend. She chooses the Pi Pa Tofu, a vegetarian tofu dish made with eggs and turnip slivers on a bed of broccoli with a sweet sauce to flavor. The pi pa tofu has a complex texture, slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and was delicious.
Pi Pa To fu
Overall, I was impressed by my visit to China Garden this evening. I wouldn’t mind coming here to get a bite to eat with a friend or when visiting A Comic Shop or Reign Streetwear boutique in the same plaza. Other recommendations include the sizzling Hong Kong pepper steak or the salt and pepper trio, a salty and peppery fried mix of shrimp, squid, and scallop. I enjoy China Garden also because of their community minded philosophy and their generosity to students (10% off for students with ID)
Tasty Chomps RATING!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
China Garden
407-671-2120
118 S Semoran Blvd
Winter Park, FL 32792
http://www.chinagardenwp.com/
Bikkuri Sushi is an old favorite of mine from the college days where cheap eats was the way to go. I appreciated Bikkuri for its fresh and decent tasting sushi for a affordable price, thus making it all a great value for those poor students who want to stretch their dollar.
Bikkuri Sushi, just west of Bumby Avenue on Colonial Drive, used to be just a place where you can go to satisfy that sushi fix quick and easy. Before it opened its upstairs dining / lounge / weekend party room, it was only the first floor that made up Bikkuri.
Today the first floor is only for take out orders or for those who really really? want to eat there. It is a lot more bare bones with a few tables and chairs and also, I noticed, a bit of a mess of newspapers and random stuff on the shelves, probably from neglect from having its more popular, bigger, and newer sister upstairs get all the attention.
The upstairs room of Bikkuri Sushi (and Noodle House) is elegant and charming; huge windows allow the guests to peer below onto the marvelous traffic that is Colonial Drive on those wispy summer afternoons. They have more menu options upstairs as well including sukiyaki, a meal with rice and meat of your choice cooked in a special soup, ramen noodles, golden curry, okonomiyaki, and don buris.
There is also a sake lounge as mentioned previously where they host dj’s and music on the weekends and you can also use for parties or events (see flyer here and lounge photos) which though intriguing, I have yet to try that option out so far.
On this occassion, I decide to get some quick take out and order downstairs. I order the dynamite tuna roll/spicy ($5.25) and a half tuna half salmon don ($9.99). The dynamite roll was made with sushi rice, seaweed, cucumbers, spicy tuna, and topped with orange masago. Simple yet refreshing and delicious.
The tuna/salmon don is also a delectable item, with chunks of savory diced salmon and tuna, sushi rice and sesame seeds topped with avocado slices. Mixed in with some soy sauce and wasabi, the tuna/salmon don is like a burst of sushi flavors and textures like a sushi roll undone in your mouth.
Overall the sushi may not be the best quality but it is still a great place to get some sushi for the price.
TASTY CHOMPS RATING!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY sushi CHOMPS!!!!
Spinach pie ($9.99)
I had been here before for lunch, trying the Athen’s Cafe Shepherd’s Pie and although not really impressed, was very satisfied with the simple meal made with mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, and ground beef/lamb? not sure.
I came by again to hopefully try something new here and give it another try.
Upon entering the eatery, I was greeted by the waitresses and my order was taken: one Athens Rotisserie Chicken Pita and a spinach pie. It was rotisserie chicken with lettuce and tzatziki sauce, the perennial greek sour cream-like sauce of the gods. Zatziki is a greek sauce made of strained yoghurt (usually sheep’s-milk or goat’s-milk in Greece and Turkey) with cucumbers, garlic, salt, usually olive oil, pepper, dill, sometimes lemon juice and parsley, or mint added.
I thought the chicken was dry and a bit bland, not very flavorful and the tzatziki sauce to me was a bit sour. The pasta salad that it came with tasted a bit old and stale, but the dressing was good on the pasta. Spinach pie ($9.99) was not worth the price in value as it was good but definitely not 10 dollars for a small pie good. I enjoyed the spinach pie better though as it had a flaky pastry crust and filled with spinach and cheeses.
Tasty Chomps Rating!
2.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS ! !
Athens Rotisserie Chicken Pita
Spinach pie ($9.99)
Athens Cafe
5965 Red Bug Lake Rd
Winter Springs FL 32708
http://www.mfculinary.com/
President Barack Obama was greeted with cheers last week when he stopped by Capitol Hill burger joint Five Guys.
The president was joined by NBC anchor Brian Williams and a crew that was filming a behind-the-scenes “Inside The White House” special.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Five Guys burger: its US Presidential approved
80lbs of Crawfish from New Orleans, Louisiana
Since my partner is gone for the next few weeks, I will be out on my own to explore and conquer the culinary offerings in Central Florida. Luckily I got a call from one of my bros, Lap, to come over for a old fashioned southern crawfish boil at his place. It’s dinner with the boys.
I picked up some lemon and butter and a 2.0 liter pepsi to share. Little did I know I would probably have needed more than a 2.0 liter bottle for refreshment.
Lap had previously ordered 80 lbs of crawfish from Louisiana, where 98% of the crawfish harvested in the United States come from, for about $1.75 a pound and they had just arrived by air the day before. Louisiana produces 90 percent of the crawfish in the world and consumes 70 percent locally. Crawfish “season” typically runs from March through about June. This is when you will get your best crawfish.
At the house, they had been experimenting with various spices throughout the day using Zatarain’s Crawfish/Shrimp/and Crab boil in a bag which contained mustard seed, coriander, dill seed, and other cajun spices to flavor the crawfish as they cooked.
My bro Cuong, who was one of the few who had experience in this kind of thing, also added habenero peppers to the boil to bring out a super spicy kick to the crawfish.
There were also kilbasa sausage, potatoes, and corn cob that were added to the mix. Crawfish juices and habenero spices engulfed my mouth as I take crunchy bites out of the crawfish.
It was a delicious feast.
Watermelon to cool the tongue.
Mr Bones Barbeque – Anna Maria Island, FL
While on beautiful Anna Maria Island for our weekend getaway, we had the opportunity to dine at a few of the local establishments, one of places being Mr Bones BBQ for dinner.
Outside the restaurant, a sign with “Mr Bones”, a dancing jovial skeleton in a chef’s hat, beckons us in. Not going to lie it was a bit creepy at first glance, not knowing what the inside may look like, perhaps a dark coffin?
Thankfully it wasn’t; the interior decor is voodoo-inspired, with decorated masks from the pacific rim and skulls hanging on the tiki straw-covered walls.
A sign above the doorway reads “No salt, pepper, ketchup, etc in dining room. Don’t even ask. Our food is expertly made by New Orleans trained chefs. No improvement is needed”
I wondered how true that would be, but luckily it was for the most part.
We began with the crawfish gumbo to share ($5.99) a rich stew made with rice, crawfish, okra, and other veggies cajun style. The gumbo was hearty and was a great start to the meal.
For our entrees, we each order a 1/2 order of Baby Back Ribs ($10.99) with one side. I got the original Mr Bone’s BBQ sauce flavor and my partner ordered the honey glazed ribs sauce, with creamy cole slaw as our side. Other side options included potato salad, candied yams, or BBQ baked beans. The ribs were sweet, succulent and flavorful, not too tangy as some bbq ribs can be some times and served with slices of toasted garlic bread.
Indian specialities from chicken tikka marsala to their famed biryhani rice, a hot curried rice sweetened with raisins, almonds and coconuts served with a side of cucumber yogurt raita can also be found on the menu and are local favorites.
For the dessert, we got the homemade bread pudding ($5.99) which was okay, but not the best tasting dessert ever. The bites were soft but chewy with a slightly bitter taste of chocholate, pecan and nutmeg.
Service was friendly and cheerful, not bad at all.
Overall, Mr Bones did not disappoint although it may at times need some improvement.
Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
Mr Bones BBQ
3007 Gulf Dr, Holmes Beach, Anna Maria Island, FL 34217-2149
Phone: (941) 778-6614
Website: http://www.mrbonesbbq.com/
Nine Unhealthiest Foods You Can Order
CSPI’s List of Most Unhealthy Restaurant Foods May Clog Your Arteries Just to Read It
Top Nine Unhealthiest Foods to Order
Chili’s: Big Mouth Bites
1,580 calories and 28 grams of saturated fat. The burgers also pack 2,930 milligrams of sodium.
By comparison, for a 2,000-calorie diet, the USDA recommends that an individual eat no more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day.
The Cheesecake Factory: Fried Macaroni and Cheese
1,570 calories and 1,860 mg of sodium, 69 grams of saturated fat
Red Lobster: Ultimate Fondue
1,490 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat and 3,580 mg of sodium.
Chili’s: Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs
490 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat, plus an extra 2,050 mg of sodium
Uno Chicago Grill: Mega-Sized Deep Dish Sundae
2,800 calories and 72 grams of saturated fat
The Cheesecake Factory: Chicken and Biscuits
2,500 calories
Applebee’s: Quesadilla Burger with fries
calorie count tops out at 1,820, with 46 grams of saturated fat and 4,410 mg of sodium
The Cheesecake Factory: Philly Style Flat Iron Steak with cheese sauce and fries
2,320, saturated fat goes up to 47 grams, and sodium hits 5,340 mg
——
These foods are stacked full of calories, sodium, and fat ! yikes watch out diners when you are eating out.
Summer is here. It’s been sunny and hot in central Florida so I decided to go out for something to cool me down. I decided to visit Rita’s Ice Custard Happiness, tucked inside a Winter Springs plaza on the corner of Tuscawilla Road and Red Bug Lake Road.
Rita’s is more famously known for its Italian ice, or water ice as some call it. This time I decided to go for some of the traditional soft-serve frozen vanilla custard on a waffle cone with rainbow colored sprinkles. I felt like a kid again; its been a while since I’ve had any type of ice cream cone with sprinkles on top.
The custard was light and sweet, but not as sweet as ice cream, which is perfect for my taste. The servers were a few young teenagers probably from the neighborhood who served with a smile and were quick to ask if I wanted any samples.
The decor was white everything and a smatter of color from the Rita signs.
TASTY CHOMPS RATING!!!
3.5 OUT OF 5 TASTY CHOMPS !!!
Whole Foods Market: Chilean Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce, Chinese Spinach, Asparagus and molten lava chocolate cake for dessert
My partner is leaving for south florida for a few days so as a good bye dinner she made me something delicious using ingredients from Whole Foods Market. As you may know Whole Foods is one of the few places you can buy really fresh seafood and this Chilean sea bass came for around 10 dollars for 6 ounces, not too bad. The asparagus and spinach were also bought from Whole Foods. The ingredients were all fresh tasting and the end result was delicious. Bravo to the chef! 😛
the spinach was sauteed in a chicken broth and garlic sauce
the chilean sea bass dinner with brown rice made with love
Dessert was a molten lava cake made from a recipe from foodnetwork.com, topped with toasted coconut flakes, macademia nuts, raspberries, and served with a side of Blue Bell’s vanilla ice cream. bon apetit!
Although it can be a bit expensive to buy from Whole Foods Market, this dinner was made affordable with the cost of about $15 per plate total. The market is located in Winter Park on Aloma Ave right before Lakemont.
Whole Foods Market
(407) 673-8788
1989 Aloma Ave
Winter Park, FL 32792
Harrington House Beachfront Bed & Breakfast Inn
This past weekend, I decided to surprise my partner with a little weekend romantic getaway to Anna Maria Island located just south of St Petersburg and north of Bradenton facing the Gulf of Mexico. We had always wanted to go to a bed and breakfast and I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out. I had heard of this place first from one of my co-workers who had recently been a guest at the place and had a great time. I decided to take up her recommendation and visit Harrington House Beachfront Bed and Breakfast and enjoy the warm Florida sun by the beachside.
It took about 2.5 hours to get to the island after getting a little lost (thanks googlemaps!), but when we arrived we could immediately feel the island’s laid-back relaxed small-town spirit that is quintessential of “Old Florida”. The island had narrow, curvy streets scattered with quaint shops and rustic seaside cottages and restaurants. One could really get a sense of getting away from it all and becoming used to living here on the beach side with its southern comforts and casual tranquility.
Checking into the inn, I discover that there are free kayaks and bicycles that we could use to explore the island, I definitely wanted to try the kayaking out later on. The staff were welcoming and warm, suggesting places to eat and things to do during our stay. The owners are a couple who treat the place like home living out their motto “come as a guest, leave as a friend”
The main living room had large comfy couches, book shelves of magazines and menus of places to eat at, the walls adorned with clippings of articles featuring the inn and a photo of the owners on their wedding day.
There is an intimate charm about the Harrington House Bed and Breakfast, the gas-lit fireplaces in the room, huge king sized bed, double-headed showers, a small flashlight for night time excursions onto the beach for a moonlit stroll, are all fine details that they thought about for our stay here.The view at our room was marvelous, the grand and expansive Gulf of Mexico literally footsteps away. The white powdery sands and beautiful ocean view took my breath away. The room is also equipped with TV and cable and thankfully I was able to watch the Magic defeat the Cavs later that evening to advance to the NBA finals against the Lakers. GO MAGIC!
The weather was perfect this past weekend, sunny and warm with a touch of clouds, a drastic change from the past week of downpours. We laid out on the beach to watch a spectaular sun set, kissing the horizon as it descended and tucking itself to sleep beneath the ocean’s waves.
We return to the main house for breakfast the next morning– beautifully presented and featuring a variety of fresh fruit and juices, homemade toast made from a sweet oatmeal, eggs Benedict with country sausage and gravy, slices of muffin, plus fresh coffee and tea. It was a heartfelt breakfast from a heartwarming inn.
I would love to live here forever, a sleepy village where time had forgot, living in a time when life was much simpler.
Voted Best Bed and Breakfast on Anna Maria Island from bedandbreakfast.com for 2008-2009
TASTY CHOMPS!! RATING!!
4.5 out of 5 TASTY ROMANTIC CHOMPS!!!!!
Harrington House Beachfront Bed and Breakfast
5626 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, Anna Maria Island, FL 34217-1666
Phone (888) 828-5566 • (941) 778-5444
http://www.harringtonhouse.com/
BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse: Millenia Mall
BJ’s located right outside of Millenia Mall on Conroy Rd reminds me of a upgraded mixture of Pizzeria Uno’s and Cheesecake Factory. They have a great menu of pastas, sandwiches, burgers, salads, specially brewed beer,
I ordered the BJ’s favorite mini pizza, a Chicago style deep dish pan pizza with sausage, tomatoes, pepperoni, green peppers, black olives, and more. The mouthwatering pizza was savory and satisfying, each bite more succulent and rich than the last.
For dessert, we order BJ’s Pizzookie, a fresh out of the oven-baked, rich and delicious cookie topped with 2 scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and served in a deep dish. We choose the oreo flavor and it was great, the oreo bits delightfully flavored the cookie and the cool ice cream went well with the warm baked cookie. Our friend chose half white chocolate macademia nut and half oreo pizzookie to diversify his tastings.
There are also great deals at lunch for pizzas and sandwiches for around 6 to 8 dollars, definitely a great value for the food offered.
Honey Mustard Fried Chicken Salad $9.95
BJ’s Oreo Pizookie
Oreo and White Chocolate Macademia Nut Pizookie!
TASTY CHOMPS!! RATING!!
4 out of 5 TASTY VALUE CHOMPS!!!!!
BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse
4151 Conroy Rd Orlando, FL 32839 – (407) 352-0225
www.bjsbrewhouse.com
I tried Whataburger once last time before they bit the dust (they close all central florida locations including Orlando this May 31st). I never liked it and it reconfirmed my distaste for the burger.
I ordered the Whataburger and I did like the slightly sweet buns but the hamburger meat itself was flavorless and chewy and all in all bad quality. I see why they are shutting down. Farewell Whataburger!
what a not too appetizing burger =
———————–
Orlando Sentinel report –
Texas-based Whataburger Restaurants will shut down its Central Florida locations May 31.
“It just became a situation where they were no longer a financially sound investment for us,” spokeswoman Pam Cox said. “Sales were low and costs were high.”
The company is shutting down 14 Florida Whataburger locations. It is also shutting down three restaurants in Phoenix and one in Sherman, Texas.
Whataburger Restaurants has about 700 restaurants around the country. The chain had been in the Central Florida market since 2005. It has two locations in Orlando and one in Winter Park.
TASTY CHOMPS!! RATING!!
2 out of 5 NOT SO TASTY CHOMPS!!
Whataburger
7727 University Blvd, Winter Park –
www.whataburger.com
Ming’s Bistro in Mills-50 district
Dim sum is a time honored tradition of Chinese culture, beginning when rural farmers, exhausted after working hard in the fields, would go to teahouses for a relaxing afternoon of tea.
Every weekend hundreds of families pack into their cars and drive to one of these eateries to have a brief respite from the past work week and to drink some tea and eat these small delicious and often steamed dishes that make up the pantheon of dim sum gods.
In Orlando, there are a handful of restaurants that serve dim sum and even fewer who do it well. Ming’s Bistro located in the Mills-50 district on the northeast corner of Mills Ave and Colonial off of Woodward Street behind the 7-Eleven, is one of these few who fall in the latter category.
The dishes are often fresh and steaming, full of flavors and textures that entice the palate and make your tastebuds dance. From the familiar such as the shrimp dumplings (a dumpling made of translucent wheat skin and stuffed with shrimp steamed to perfection) to the more exotic such as chicken feet and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf.
The dim sum here is served on the traditional push carts with each plate representing a predetermined price which the push cart ladies would mark down on your ticket as you go. I always preferred the non-traditional way of ordering from a list because then you are assured that the dim sum is straight from the kitchen steamers and not sitting on a cart for the past two hours.
Siu mai (pork dumplings), shark fin dumplings, steamed and baked roast pork buns, turnip pudding cakes, shrimp rice paste (shrimp wrapped in a giant rice noodle and served with a sweet soy sauce), fried shrimp balls, fried taro dumplings stuffed with pork, and more were all consumed by our crew this day.
And all was well in the world.
Ming’s Bistro continues to be a delight for those dim sum cravings (they serve it through out the day). There are also other authentic dishes on the menu that you can order for dinner or lunch portions.
Graze and the Sanctuary Diner, upscale sister restaurants owned by the SK Restaurant Group, have closed in Thornton Park near downtown Orlando.
“Both are simply victims of these tough economic times,” said Steve Kodsi, president of Historic Creations Design/Development Group and founder of the SK Restaurant Group. “I still believe in the South Eola District and I think exciting times are yet to come for this area.”
Celebrated local chef Jephanie Foster was hired in 2008 to oversee Graze but eventually became managing director for Fifi’s as well and orchestrated Fifi’s transformation into the eclectic Sanctuary Diner in February.
from orlando sentinel’s cooking gal: the dish
——————-
another one bites the dust…
another casualty of the Great Recession? or a victim of their own misgivings? Is it possible that it is due to service or the quality of the restaurant? a lot of central florida citizens are wondering the same question and some agree with the latter. I had not the opportunity to visit but would have loved to check it out for myself.
Its interesting to note that Sanctuary Diner had just been revamped from the previous dining establishment Fifi’s Patisserie.
Review from Orlando Weekly: “Sink the Pink”
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf
THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, by Jennifer 8. Lee. (Twelve, $13.) An American-born Chinese (and a New York Times reporter), Lee investigates the Chinese restaurant business — the origin of fortune cookies (Japan), the beginning of door-to-door delivery in New York, the relationship of General Tso to the dish that bears his name. She also looks at the difficult lives of Chinese restaurant workers.
About: Readers will take an unexpected and entertaining journey—through culinary, social and cultural history—in this delightful first book on the origins of the customary after-Chinese-dinner treat by New York Times reporter Lee. When a large number of Powerball winners in a 2005 drawing revealed that mass-printed paper fortunes were to blame, the author went in search of the backstory. She tracked the winners down to Chinese restaurants all over America, and the paper slips the fortunes are written on back to a Brooklyn company. This travel-like narrative serves as the spine of her cultural history—not a book on Chinese cuisine, but the Chinese food of take-out-and-delivery—and permits her to frequently but safely wander off into various tangents related to the cookie. There are satisfying mini-histories on the relationship between Jews and Chinese food and a biography of the real General Tso, but Lee also pries open factoids and tidbits of American culture that eventually touch on large social and cultural subjects such as identity, immigration and nutrition. Copious research backs her many lively anecdotes, and being American-born Chinese yet willing to scrutinize herself as much as her objectives, she wins the reader over. From Publishers Weekly.
Oh, it was me
At first glance it appears that it is a chinese take out place, but after a closer look, it is fully a sit down restaurant with newly decorated furnishings. Nice, I thought to myself, maybe it’ll be worth the try.
And it was. The general tso’s chicken was fresh and hot out of the kitchen and had a tender, sweet and spicy flavor. The pork fried rice was steaming and flavorful. The egg roll however could have used some better quality ingredients as it was my least favorite. All in all this place was a nice stop on the way home for a quick chinese fast food fix.
TASTY CHOMPS!! RATING!!
3.5 out of 5 TASTY CHINESE CHOMPS!!!!!
THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, by Jennifer 8. Lee. (Twelve, $13.) An American-born Chinese (and a New York Times reporter), Lee investigates the Chinese restaurant business — the origin of fortune cookies (Japan), the beginning of door-to-door delivery in New York, the relationship of General Tso to the dish that bears his name. She also looks at the difficult lives of Chinese restaurant workers.
Buy it here:
TASTY CHOMP’S RATING!
3.5 TASTY CHOMPS OUT OF 5
As any resident of Orlando, I have been watching the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs between the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I am glad that the Magic are doing well this season as it has been a LONG time and with the new upcoming performing arts center, I can’t wait to see next year’s games. I have one thing to say though: Lebron James is a beast and probably haunts many people’s nightmares. Dwight Howard is a beast as well and his beastly shoulders are an inspiration for my work out.
Although it is a chain, one of my favorite delivery chomps is Pizza Hut’s Supreme Pan Pizza. The pizza is baked with a thick pan crust and is pretty delicious especially with all of its toppings. This time we added pineapples to our pizza order and it went really well together with the zesty tartness of the pizza’s tomato sauce.
Another thing I love about pizza from pizza hut is that it is really good as a left over, either cold straight from the fridge, or simply placed in the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes to bake. It comes out crispy and hot and tasty like new.
Also, according to espn.com, Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic eats mozzarella cheese pizza from Pizza Hut before each game! WHATT
Tasty Chomps rating:
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!
I went to meet up with fellow alumni and bros at Fort De Soto Beach in St Petersburg Florida for a Memorial Day weekend barbeque. Ft Desoto Beach was actually named the top most beautiful beach in the US by TripAdvisor. I had a great time with the bros and had some great food which consisted over 80 lbs of ribs and chicken meat and more. The weather was great, sunny and slightly cloudy, despite having rained all week here in central Florida. It was good to see some sun again. We played a round of football and I got a little bruised up.
Watermelon chomps!
Chicken wings and ribs on the grill, marinated by my bro Jere Ngo
Vietnamese Goi Salad with beef
Assorted tasty cooked barbeque
“Ragu” A Vietnamese soup dish eaten with french baguetttes and made with ribs
Bros eating and having a good time
Grand little Chris Chen going in to join the elite eating group “Kobayashi” of which I had declined to join on this day. I did not feel like puking today. Notice the look on his face as he tries to finish his last piece.
Fable, the half chow chow half labrador doggie
9 members of the UF alpha class saluting with their corn
Bonefish Grill on Sand Lake Rd in Dr Phillips Area
On the way to watch the newly revamped Star Trek film at the Festival Bay mall’s Cinemark movie theatre, we stop by the Dr Phillips area on “Restaurant Row” to dine in for dinner. My partner and I had heard of Bonefish Grill before (not to be confused with Fish Bones down the street or Moon Fish across the street), and wanted to try their seafood offerings. We were in for a pleasant surprise.
Upon entering, there was lounge music playing in the background, alternating between bossa nova to other city sounds, definitely giving the place a urban-modern feel. The tan colored walls and dim lighting gave the restaurant a sophisticated atmosphere and yet at the same time still very relaxed and down to earth.
We begin our order with an appetizer: crabcakes (2 for $9.90). The crab cakes are crispy on the outside and filled with jumbo lump crab on the inside. Hardly any of the cheap “cake” breading that is often found in lower end crabcakes, and definitely more delicious lumps of white crab meat than anything. My partner remarked that this is the probably the best crabcake she has had so far in Orlando. The crabcakes came with a zingy tartar/mayo sauce.
We also get a cup of corn chowder with lump crab soup ($2.70 with entree) that was acceptable although not the best corn chowder ever, it was fresh and the lump crab meat was generous. It was a tad bit bland and may have needed some seasoning.
For our dessert, we ordered the incredibly rich chocolate brownie ($5.50) that was made without flour and served with a side of vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce, topped with macadamia nuts and whipped cream. The dessert was as big as my head and tasted amazing. It was the best dessert I have had in a long time.
For the prices, everything at Bonefish Grill was reasonable and the portions more than made up for cost. Service at Bonefish Grill was good, the waitress was attentive and caring with a slight sense of humor. The dishes all arrived promptly to our table and we were able to catch our movie at Festival Bay on time. Star Trek proved to be a great revamping and had all the fun summer blockbuster features from explosions and exciting action sequences to high tech graphics. That “mall” needs a good revamping though, not sure why it sucks so much but they need to get their act together especially in this recession.
Tasty Chomps RATING!
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS !!!!.
Bonefish Grill
7830 W Sand Lake Rd, Orlando
Village Tavern of Orlando at Millenia Mall is closed
(reblogged from Heather McPherson of the Orlando Sentinel)
-__- I was about to review this place too sigh.
Orlando – Village Tavern at Millenia Mall – CLOSED
4158 Conroy Rd Orlando, FL 32839 – (407) 581-1740
Their website has no mention of the Orlando location
http://www.villagetavern.com/
It just opened in early 2008. sigh.
—————————–
We came here to Village Tavern the other day to celebrate my partner’s sister’s graduation from her masters program at the UCF Rosen School of Hospitality. She chose Orlando’s Village Tavern at Millenia Mall on Conroy Road to celebrate and I was happy for this decision because I had previously enjoyed a delicious dinner here before with their lamb shanks and prime ribs.
The restaurant can be most accurately described as a upper middle end dining restaurant with prices that are quite reasonable. The decor is elegant and modern American with light browns and warm hues. Towards the back of the restaurant there is a great curtain that divides the room to a smaller private section and towards the center is a giant fireplace.
We start the meal off with the small plate sampler($14.95), a sampling of their popular appetizers: Calamari, Spring Rolls, Crabcake & Toasted Bruschetta accompanied by four sauces. The calamari was tender and tasty and served with a thai chili sauce. The spring rolls were a mix of chicken, Napa cabbage, garlic, soy and ginger. The bruschetta came with marinated tomatoes with capers, black pepper, basil pesto and shaved Reggiano Parmesan cheese. The crabcake was made of lump crab meat, house made tartar sauce, mixed greens, tossed in Miso dressing. The appetizers were all to our liking and were a great way to begin the meal.
A few of the dinners began with salad and I particularly enjoyed mine because of their unique Miso flavor dressing.
TASTY CHOMPS!!!! rating!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!
Village Tavern at Millenia Mall Closed 🙁
A man (imagine one of those guys from Sopranos) stands behind the counter, behind the glass cases displaying the specials of the day, resplendent pizza pies and strombolis, sicilian style grandma pizza slices and more. He asks in a Long Island accent, “what would you like to order today?”
Despite his looks, he was more considerate and especially attentive to our orders than what may at first appeared.
Something about the place reminded me of being transported back to the time when the first Italian immigrants came to America and brought with them the old world pizza and began transforming it into a distinctly American icon. The place is Pizzeria Valdiano at Winter Park Village, right next to the Winter Park Regal Movie Theatre.
I thought to myself that this place, this finally would be the place where I could come again and again for a slice of pizza pie heaven, after being disappointed for years with pizzas that were overly greasy, whose crust tasted as though they were made with cardboard scrapings, and tomato sauces straight from a can.
But I had no idea at the time.
I tend to prefer the Chicago deep dish style pizza and for a moment contemplated going for the Sicilian, a deep focacia style version, but after reviewing a menu that boasts over 30 Specialty Pies, I finally differed to the traditional pizza pizza, regular New York style.
I ordered the Pizza Valdiano ($3.25) and the pizza maker simply and quickly whisked the pizza into the hot baking oven and within a minute the pizza was ready. It looked so simple and easy and yet the tastes that were to come were completely infinitely times more complex.
Sausage, pepperoni, meatballs and green peppers, mushrooms and onions laid on the exquisitely melted mozzarella. An exact amount of oil was used, not too much that it would overly grease the pizza, but just enough to dance with the dough making it a perfect balance for the crust.
The crust was particularly crispy yet fluffy at the same time making it incredibly delicious. The smell of the pizza was absolutely intoxicating.
The pizza here was something special.
In addition to the pizza, I ordered the pasta of the day ($7.95): “Tortellini Primavera” (primavera means spring in Italian)
The legend has it that the tortellini came into conception after a man looked upon a beauty’s keyhole in an inn, and all he saw was the woman’s navel (she turned out to be Venus, the Goddess of Love). The man rushed to the kitchen in ecstasy and created the tortellini in its image. Kind of creepy, I know, but it still made for a great pasta design?
The tortellini was filled with mozzarella and served in a light creamy alfredo sauce ripe with plum tomatoes, red and green and orange peppers, red onions, minced garlic, fresh sliced mushrooms and chopped spinach topped with parmesan grated and two garlic rolls brushed with olive oil on the side. A satisfying meal for the palate and the heart.
On my way out the man asked how things were.
I told him truthfully,
“absolutely delicious”.
TASTY CHOMPS RATING:
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS ! ! ! ! .
(food taste outweighs all else)
Note: Pizzeria Valdiano’s is a 6 time winner of Orlando Sentinel’s Foodie award for Best Pizza 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Pizzeria Valdiano
510 N Orlando Ave # 103,
Winter Park, FL
(407) 628-5333
pizzeriavaldiano.com
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I think I will do my own Best of Orlando restaurant list soon 😀
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