Deep Fried Pizza? Why Not?

Deep fried pizza? Sounds like the dumbest idea ever, but for some reason, I would really like to try it. Can I convince any restaurant in the Orlando area to give this a try? Maybe have a fried pizza night? I'd be willing to promote it for a slice. Come on! Anyone?

New Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. Store Shelves: Now. Restaurants: Maybe?

I think this is the first Pepsi product I've been excited about in a long time. Can't wait to try Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. Comes out officially May 6th from what I've heard. I wonder if any restaurants will carry it? That would be awesome. No high fructose corn syrup and made with "natural sugar." I suspect it's beet sugar and not real cane sugar, but so what, beats hfcs. Check out this spot:

Eating Orlando Favorites: The Final Chapter

Boy, my series on local favorites has been popular. I know a lot of you haven't agreed with me on every pick and have offered your alternatives. I love that. Everyone has different tastes and different criteria when picking favorites. To come up with mine, I simply think to myself, "Which (fill in the blank) do I enjoy the most?" It's that simple for me. I hope you'll take the time to leave me a list of your favorites in the comments section. If I'm missing a great "whatever," I want to know about it! The last 10 favorites in no particular order:

Favorite Cole Slaw:
The Catfish Place, Apopka

Favorite Restaurant Chain We Should Have, but Don’t:
Sticky Fingers

Favorite Local Chain:
Tijuana Flats

Favorite Place to Get Drunk:
Wally’s, Orlando

Favorite Place to Get Sober:
Denny’s, Wherever

Favorite Place to Eat with the Kids:
Chef Mickey, Contemporary Resort, Walt Disney World

Favorite Conch Fritters:
Sunset Sam's Fish Camp, Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee

Favorite Place to Take a Date:
Season's 52, Altamonte Springs

Favorite Place to Breakup:
Parking Lot, Seasons 52, Altamonte Springs

Favorite Place to Eat and Bowl:
Firkin and Kegler, Waterford Lakes

The Urbanspoon Slot Machine from iPhone Debuts on Eating Orlando. Go Ahead, Give it a Spin:

Viet Garden Review: Boring Place, Adventurous Tastes

The area near Colonial Drive and Mills Avenue in Orlando is known variably as “Little Saigon,” “Little Vietnam,” “Viettown,” and the “Vi-Mi District.” But whatever you call it (officially, Colonialtown), the area is one of the most vibrant and growing, predominantly Vietnamese districts in the United States. There are small grocery stores, medical offices, attorneys, CPAs and other businesses catering to the Vietnamese community. There are some funky Asian gift stores, karaoke bars, anime shops, video stores, boba tea shops, and most importantly of all, Vietnamese restaurants a plenty.

I recently stopped by a Little Saigon institution: Viet Garden on Highway 50. This perennial favorite offers a fusion of Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, with an emphasis on typical Viet soups and Thai noodle bowls.

My guest and I started with the Nam Mon An Choi ($8.95). The Viet Combo for Two featured a spring roll, a garden roll, a beef skewer, shrimp toast and fried wontons. The beef was tender and flavorful but was not served on a skewer. Instead, a mound of beef was served in a small pile in the center of the plate. The wontons had no detectable taste other than “greasy.” The garden roll had a similar “greasy” taste. The spring roll, however, was delicious with large shrimp rolled with vegetables in rice paper. Sometimes spring rolls can be a little rubbery and hard to chew. Not tonight, we both enjoyed our halves of the shrimp rolls. Our favorite item on the dish was the shrimp toast. When I next return to Viet Garden, shrimp toast, Banh Mi Chien Tom ($4.50), will be my appetizer of choice.

My guest, not being a culinary adventurist, chose Bo Zao Bong Cai Xanh ($8.95). Sounds exotic, but it’s just Beef Stir Fried with Broccoli. The beef was marinated in a rich wine sauce and cooked with garlic and butter. The broccoli and carrots were cooked perfectly as well. Broccoli can be served too limp and soggy or too crisp and crunchy. The broccoli in my guest’s dish was perfect. The meal included a side of white rice that was very sticky and had a peculiar, starchy taste.

I, while no Andrew Zimmerman, have a more adventurous palate, and chose Pho Dac Biet ($6.50), Hanoi Noodle Soup. The soup was described on the menu as “rice noodle soup with beef, medium rare steak, brisket, flank, tendon, beef ball and tripe.” Now, I admit, some of the ingredients seemed a little out of the ordinary to me, and I kidded my guest about the beef balls being something other than the beef meatballs I knew them to be. Being a trooper, and wannabe Survivor contestant, I dove right in.

Some of the meat was hard to tell apart from one another, but there was certainly no “medium rare steak” in my bowl. Everything seemed cooked so thoroughly that the meat became tasteless rubber and a chore to chew. The brisket and flank steak were the least rubbery in the bowl and I even enjoyed the bit of tendon I tried. But something came over me when I bit into the beef balls – I might have overdone the acting a bit when explaining the dish to my guest. I must have even fooled my own brain into thinking they were something I shouldn’t be eating. I tried to sample the tripe, but it was stringy, completely white in color, and looked oh so squiggly and “intestiney.” I just couldn’t do it. I was left enjoying the broth, which had a terrific floral bouquet from the lemongrass and cilantro, and the rice noodles. Luckily there were plenty of noodles.

I think I will emulate my guest next time, and order something within my comfort zone. Survivor's not for me. Amazing Race?

For beverages, we enjoyed Tra Thai, or Thai Iced Tea ($2.50). The spicy, milk teas were simply delicious. They’re similar to chai lattes you might enjoy at Starbucks, but so much better here at Viet Garden.

Service was professional, but our server didn’t have much of a personality, visiting our table only to take our order, bring our dishes and present the bill. Not once did he check on us during the meal, or ask for our opinions. With a menu as diverse and extensive as the one at Viet Garden, a more out-going waiter might have been better able to offer advice and answer questions about the dishes.

The interior of the restaurant was spotlessly clean and very spacious, but just as boring as the waiter. Tropical scenes painted on the walls helped tone down the sterile feel of the cold tile floor, glass-topped tables and straight-backed metal chairs just a little bit. If the place ever converts to a Chinese buffet, the new owners won’t need to hire an interior decorator.

Our trip to Viet Garden was pleasant, and we enjoyed the meal. Next time no tripe or beef balls for me, and more shrimp toast and Thai iced tea, please.

3 Survivor: Vietnam Moments out of 5

Viet Garden Website

Beard Papa’s: A Japanese-via-California Fad Comes to Orlando

I love all things Japanese. Especially the things that are just a little bit different from what we’re used to. You know what I’m talking about: their freakish attention to detail, their weird game shows, Hello Kitty, Pikachu, Yoko Ono, and, of course, their bizarre taste in food. When a Beard Papa’s location opened in Orlando, I had to check it out.

Beard Papa’s is a bakery concept from Osaka, Japan that first opened in 1999, and has since spread to more than 300 locations worldwide. The chain has become quite the fad in California, and other parts of the west coast, thanks to the quirky name and lovable image of founder Yuji Hirota’s bearded grandfather in the logo. The location at Prime Outlets (formerly Belz Outlets) in Orlando is the first in the state of Florida.

Beard Papa’s serves a couple of interesting items. Foremost are their Cream Puffs ($5.45), pie crust and choux pastry shells filled with a custard and whipped cream mixture. They are baked in-house several times throughout the day and filled with the custard mixture only when you place your order. In Osaka, locals eat cream puffs for breakfast and snacks much the same way Americans eat bagels or doughnuts. They were okay, but they didn’t taste all that fresh, or all that sweet to me. I wouldn’t rush back to try another, and certainly not for $5.45.

The most interesting things in the shop to me were the ice cream-filled mochi balls ($6.24, 4-pack). Mochi balls are small, round, rice cakes popular throughout Japan. At Beard Papa’s, they were filled with premium ice cream in several flavors. I tried chocolate, dark chocolate strawberry, chocolate/vanilla, and blueberry. Now these were good, but to me, the mocha balls only acted as vessels to hold the delicious, creamy ice cream inside. One caveat: they offer some interesting flavors, but when I visited, they were out of more flavors than they had in stock.

The third items of note at Beard Papa’s that were just a little different from what you might normally order were the Mango and Strawberry Ice Showers ($5.75). These looked really cool, but when I got to thinking about them, I realized that they were really just fancy snow cones with frozen fruit chunks on top. The way they are made presents a problem. You have to eat the fruit chunks first, and then you come to a plain, tasteless shaved ice layer to eat through. Once you get about half way down the ice and syrupy fruit are finally mixed enough to be called a slushy or a snow cone if you will. At the bottom, ice and fruit mixed, they are really good.

Now don’t come expecting funky, attention-to-detail-obsessed Japanese service. No, the staff here was made up entirely of locals, but from the chaos and disorder behind the counter, I can only assume that their trainer spoke only Japanese. I mean the service was a disaster. The crew seemed like they had no idea what they were doing, and no one person seemed to be in charge. They were out of several products, packaging and napkins. They asked me what I had ordered repeatedly as they assembled my order. They served the ice showers with syrup dripping down the sides of the cups and only had paper towel to offer me for cleanup. I could go on, but you get the picture: service was a disaster.

So is it worth a trip to the tourist madness of Prime Outlets to try Beard Papa’s? Not really. The place is quirky, and the name and logo are fun, but you can get cream puffs, ice cream and snow cones anywhere. And honestly, the ineptitude of the service was inexcusable. Don’t bother with this fad; it’ll be over before you know it anyway.

2 Quirky, Japanese Fads out of 5

Beard Papa Website

Downtown Sanford’s Little Burger Shop that Could: Morgan's Burger Bistro Review

“Who has the best burger in Orlando?” It’s one of the most common questions I get on the blog, and I’m always looking for new contenders. Recently, I got word of a new place up in Sanford that just might give the likes of Graffiti Junktion, Hamburger Mary’s, Johhny’s Fillin’ Station and The Tap Room at Dubsdread a run for the money. When I heard it was a restaurant owned by a local chef, and whose entire focus is burgers, I jumped in my car and headed straight there.

Morgan’s Burger Bistro is a gem of a little restaurant in the heart of downtown Sanford. The owner and chef, Mike Morgan, is the former proprietor of Morgan’s Gourmet Café, a restaurant also in downtown Sanford that closed a couple of years ago. The former café’s vacated space has gone through a couple of iterations since then – the most recent being Two Blondes and a Shrimp.

Morgan’s Burger Bistro is a few blocks away, in a small space on Park Avenue, in the same block as The Black Swan and The Alley, both bars. The furnishings are modest but it does have a certain charm that is apparent as soon as you walk through the door. The restaurant is located in an old, historic building, and even though all the walls and ceiling have been painted a simple white, architectural details from days gone by show themselves in the molding and fixtures throughout. Quite a few locally-produced works of art add an artistic touch.

Morgan’s is set up to be “fast-casual.” You know the routine – order at the counter, sit down, wait for the food to be brought to your table. Not quite fast food, not quite a sit-down restaurant. Unfortunately, the counter where one is supposed to order was so cluttered with paperwork and various office supplies it didn’t seem to be a place for customers to see, much less place an order. There is a giant poster-board sign below the counter that screams “Order Here” in giant lettering, but the mess on top screamed to me “Employees Only.”

No matter; once I sat down, I was greeted by the chef’s mother, Jean. She was simply a peach, and kindly took my order at the table. To say she was personable and hospitable would be an understatement. She recited the specials to me, made suggestions, and explained items on the condiment bar to me. She even told me the history of the café and of the dining scene in downtown Sanford. Like a typical mother, she checked on me several times throughout the meal, asking if there was anything at all she could do for me. She was so gracious and endearing. She basically hovered about, tending to my every need, but never was intrusive in the least.

On my first visit, I ordered a ½ pound Black Angus Burger ($6.95) and added bacon ($1) and American cheese ($.50). The burger was delicious, cooked to the perfect medium, and served on a fresh-tasting Kaiser roll. When I cook a burger in the backyard on a charcoal grill, I like it charred on the outside and a nice pink in the middle. I don’t think they read minds at Morgan’s, but my burger was served exactly the way I like it. It even had that familiar grilled, charcoal taste I love from backyard cookouts. The bacon was crisp, and the cheese melted just right. The burger was served with lettuce and tomato and included a trip to the condiment bar featuring several hot sauces, relishes and dressings including bbq mustard, herb mayo and blackberry brandy bbq. There was an obvious "chef's touch" in everything on the menu, including the sauces.

Other burger meat choices were taco-seasoned beef, Thai-seasoned beef, Cajun-seasoned beef, lamb, turkey, crab meat, mahi mahi, oyster, Boca Burger and portabella mushroom.

For my side, included in the price, I chose onion rings. They were cooked perfectly brown, and had stringy onions that pulled out of the breading when you bite into them. Other sides included in the price were fries, sweet potato fries, homemade potato chips, slaw, potato salad and a side salad for $1.50 extra.

On my second visit, I tried the Crab Meat Burger served with Tiger Sauce and Fried Capers ($8.95). Call it a burger or call it a crab cake on a Kaiser roll - either way, it was delicious and filling, if not just a little underdone. I love crab cakes but the usual portions at other places leave me wanting more, not this time.

The fries that accompanied the crab meat burger were browned perfectly, were light, were seasoned nicely and were generously portioned.

Morgan’s Burger Bistro is, to use a cliché, a diamond in the rough. With a little polishing, the little gem could really shine: fix ordering process, turn the A/C down a notch or two, improve presentation (nix paper boats), add some outside seating, and expand the topping bar with items like pickles, cucumbers, onions, etc.

But I do like a lot of things about Morgan’s Burger Bistro, most of all the burgers. They're great, and they have to be considered top five contenders for best burgers in Orlando. If you’re in downtown Sanford, for whatever reason, and want to grab lunch, I recommend you stop by. If you’re craving a great burger, I even recommend you make the drive to Sanford. Tell Jean I said hi.

4 Backyard Burgers out of 5

Website

Note: Morgan’s Burger Bistro has limited hours. Tues.-Wed. 11-3, Thurs.-Sat 11-9, Sun 12-6.

Meat-and-Potato Fans Rejoice: Polonia Polish Restaurant Delivers the Goods

If you’re a meat and potatoes kind of person like me, this restaurant is for you. Polonia Polish Restaurant in Winter Springs has the goods, and the goods are good.

The Polish people are known for being a hearty bunch. The food is much the same. Think sausage, beef, potatoes and cabbage. Poland is located between Germany to the west and various Slavic countries to the east. The food seems to borrow heavily from both cultures.

Polonia is located in an old Captain D’s fast food restaurant on 17-92. The façade of the building is unmistakable, no matter how many coats of paint have been applied since the seafood shop closed. The old booths have been ripped out, but the basic layout of the store is similar, and the old fast food, non-slip tile remains in the dining room. Personal touches about the dining room, however, give the place a decidedly homey feel.

My guest and I started with Pierogis, boiled Polish dumplings stuffed with mashed potatoes and onions. Our three pierogis were topped with caramelized onions and served with sour cream. Cheese and meat were also available as fillings. We enjoyed one a piece, and fought over the third. They reminded me somewhat of Chinese pot stickers filled with mashed potatoes.

I chose to go the super-hearty route, so I ordered the Big Polish Platter. The platter was a smorgasbord of four Polish favorites, but a smaller sampling of each item was served so as not to overwhelm lesser appetites. I dove right into the kielbasa, a nicely grilled link of Polish sausage, with a prominent smoky flavor. The sauerkraut was a nice surprise in that it was cooked with bits of sausage that really made a normally bland side a major treat. The stuffed cabbage was also a winner. The cabbage was stuffed with seasoned ground beef in a loaf. The beef inside was so light and fluffy, it was really more like a meat mousse than a meatloaf. Two more periogies completed the Polish platter.

My guest chose the Pork Tenderloin. The thinly sliced, sautéed cutlets were tender and topped with caramelized peaches and cranberries. The pork was served on a bed of potato dumplings with a side of fried, red potatoes. With a lesser appetite, my guest enjoyed Polish leftovers the next day.

Other dishes on the menu include beef goulash, blood sausage, several sandwiches, blintzes, potato pancakes and borscht. I hear the Polish Easter Soup (Zurek) is delicious. I’ll be sure to try it on my next visit.

For dessert, I went with the Poppy Seed Cake because I am a fan of poppy seed muffins. I think I’ll stick with muffins. The poppy seeds in the cake at Polonia were simply too much. Think a layer of seeds, topped with frosting, a layer of seeds, frosting, seeds, frosting, you get the picture. A poppy seed muffin is a muffin with poppy seeds. Apparently, a poppy seed cake is poppy seeds, period. I was picking seeds out of my teeth all night. I’d like to try the strudel next time.

Service at Polonia was less than stellar. We were served by two people but neither one seemed to be in charge of our table. We had to just wave down the nearest one whenever we needed something. Near the end of the meal, both servers went missing. We finally got up and tracked down one of the servers at the front counter hanging out. When we told her we were ready to pay, she said she would write up a ticket and asked us what we had ordered. Isn’t that her job to know?

The Polish people I know personally are honest, no-nonsense, salt-of-the-earth-type folks. The food served at Polonia is much the same: honest, no-nonsense, meat-and-potato-type meals. If you come with a hearty appetite, and don’t have high expectations for the environment or the service, you’ll enjoy Polonia. If not, I would recommend the food, but suggest you try takeout or purchase some items from their deli at the front of the restaurant – the place where we found our server hanging out.

3 Meat-and-Potato Meals out of 5

Polonia Website

Eating Orlando Favorites V

There are a lot of things to love about Orlando, especially when it comes to eating. Here's a random selection of 10 of Eating Orlando's favorites:

Favorite Shrimp:
Rock Shrimp, Dixie Crossroads, Titusville

Favorite Onion-Based Appetizer:
Onion Loaf, Tony Roma’s Famous for Ribs, Orlando

Favorite Pizza:
Hawaiian, Mellow Mushroom, Winter Park

Favorite Chinese Buffet:
Golden China Buffet, Lake Mary

Favorite All-You-Can-Eat:
Texas de Brazil, Orlando

Favorite Pancakes:
Peach Valley Café, Heathrow

Favorite Place to Eat with Tourists:
Pecos Bills, Magic Kingdom

Favorite Place to Eat with Locals:
Robinson’s Restaurant, Apopka

Favorite Hot Sauce:
Captain Sorensen’s Datil Pepper Hot Sauce, Firehouse Subs, Orlando

Favorite Coffee:
Café Cubano, Alex’s Cuban Café, Winter Springs

Florida Waffle Shop: Save Some Money and Head for Waffle House Instead

Location, location, location. A lot of people will tell you that’s all there is to great businesses, restaurants included. Florida Waffle Shop certainly has a prime location. You can’t miss it if you’re driving to the Mall at Millennia - it fronts Conroy Road in the upscale shopping center right in front of the mall. Could that be all there is to it?

When I visited Florida Waffle Shop on a Saturday morning, hoards of people were patiently waiting to eat breakfast - some inside, and some outside. In a courtyard, a large group of Adirondack chairs circled a potted palm to hold those waiting. Have you ever walked into a Waffle House and been handed a pager?

Seeing all the people waiting to get in really got my hopes up for some incredible waffles. I know there are not a lot of breakfast choices in the area, and no upscale breakfast options at all, but come on, could all those people really be there just because of the restaurant's location?

Yep. It is all about location, location, location.


The waffles at Florida Waffle Shop were artfully presented on large, square platters with orange slices on the side. My Chocolate Chip Waffle ($7.49) was smaller than I expected, much smaller. I expected a delicious, light and fluffy waffle. My waffle was so tough I could not cut off a piece with the provided knife. A steak knife would have worked, but the tough skin on my waffle was no match for an ordinary butter knife. The description of my waffle on the menu reads, “…chocolate chips in the batter.” The few chocolate chips “in” my waffle were actually sprinkled on top. For all I know, they served me a toasted Eggo waffle. I wouldn’t have known the difference.

My guest ordered the Banana Split Waffle ($9.79) and received the same puny waffle, but with generous portions of banana, pineapple, glazed strawberries, chocolate syrup, pecans and whipped cream on top. He enjoyed it at first, but half-way through called it “the most expensive banana split in the world, on top of a plain waffle.”

The sausage links ($3.49) we ordered on the side were good, but were the same links you could get anywhere. The coffee was above average, but nothing special.

Our server was friendly and quick to take our order, bring our food, and clear our table when we finished. We couldn’t have asked for anything more in a breakfast server.

The décor was nice, with much of the furnishings obvious holdovers from the previous tenant, Mama Fu’s. It was nice, for a change, to enjoy breakfast in a contemporary, stylish and comfortable environment. Why must every other restaurant that serves breakfast model their dining rooms after country farmhouses? I hate country farmhouses.

The Florida Waffle Shop is assuredly in a great location. I like the idea of Florida Waffle Shop. I like the food at Waffle House more. Florida Waffle Shop is expensive. Waffle House, cheap. Florida Waffle Shop is near the Mall at Millennia. Waffle House, the Magic Mall.

2 Great Locations out of 5

http://www.floridawaffleshop.com/

KFC or KGC? The Choice is Now Yours: Kentucky Grilled Chicken Quick Look

I stopped by an Orlando area Kentucky Fried Chicken location this week to try their new Grilled Chicken. It’s about time they offered grilled chicken. I’ve never been a big fan of KFC; I’ve always thought that the chicken was too greasy and too bland. The 11 herbs and spices in the original recipe has never done much for me, and I know it’s bad for you to eat fried anything. Well, the grilled chicken at KFC wasn’t bad.

I ordered a grilled, three-piece, dark-meat meal ($5.59) with potato wedges and barbecue beans for my sides. The meal was served with a biscuit. The chicken pieces seemed very small (two thighs, one leg). For a second, I thought maybe I had received grilled chicken nuggets by mistake. The breaded and fried pieces seem so much larger. Goes to show you how little meat, and how much breading, you’re normally served.

The grilled chicken was very crisp and crunchy when I bit into it. The skin was left intact, and there were deeply-seared grill marks etched into each piece. Inside, the chicken was nice and juicy. I expected the grilled chicken to be dry inside, but it was surprisingly moist. The chicken was, however, bland as usual.

The potato wedges were crunchy and moist inside as well. The barbecue beans were runny and kind of tasted a little “barbecuey.” The biscuit was extremely dry, and had a pronounced artificial butter taste.

I won’t be rushing back to KFC anytime soon to grab more grilled chicken, but if you’re a regular customer, ordering grilled instead of fried can save you substantial amounts of calories and fat. Bravo to KFC for making an effort to allow fast food consumers the opportunity to make better decisions.

I noticed on the KFC website nutrition information page that simply removing the breading and skin from original recipe fried chicken would actually be a better choice for consumers. For example, you would save 350 calories and a whopping 29 grams of fat over the extra crispy version, just by removing the breading and skin from a single breast piece. You would even save 40 calories and 2 grams of fat over the new grilled version. I say ditch the skin and breading next time and enjoy your fried chicken.

KGC: 3 About Times out of 5

Nutritional breakdown for a single breast piece:

New Grilled:
180 calories
4 grams of fat
440 mgs of sodium

Original Recipe:
370 calories
21 grams of fat
1050 mgs of sodium

Extra Crispy:
490 calories
31 grams of fat
1080 mgs of sodium

No skin, no breading:
140 calories
2 grams of fat
510 mgs of sodium



http://www.kfc.com/

Jimmy John's Shakes up the Orlando Sandwich Shop Scene

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches is a recent entrant into the crowded Orlando sandwich scene. Known as much for their quirky décor, as for their sandwiches, Jimmy John’s competes with the likes of Subway, Quiznos, Firehouse, Panera, Blimpie, and Sobik’s in this market. I got my first taste of Jimmy John's when I grabbed lunch at the new location in Winter Park on Orange Avenue.

I liked it. The location is great. The inside has plenty of seating, with good lighting. Service was friendly and amazingly fast. By the time I ordered my sub and paid, it was ready at the other end of the counter. Jimmy John’s was the fastest sub shop I’ve ever patronized.

My #9 Italian Night Club ($5.99) was very good. It came with salami, capicola, ham, and provolone cheese and topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and Italian vinaigrette. I paid 25 cents extra for hot peppers. The meat and cheese tasted very fresh, like it had just been sliced. Deli meats quickly lose their taste once sliced. The veggies were all crisp, and the Italian dressing tangy. I loved the sliced hot peppers. I should have asked to buy a jar; they were that good.

The sub was heavy. It had substantial weight to it when I held it in my hand. There was a lot of meat and cheese on the sub and the fresh-baked bread had heft and a strong texture when bitten into. I liked my sub on their French baguette-type roll over the traditional, softer Italian roll found at Subway and the like. It takes a little bit of chewing to get through the bread and to the meat at Jimmy John’s.

The interior was funky – lots of signs to read as you sit and eat. And speaking of sitting, I had to go into the men’s room to see the infamous German sign.

Looks like the Orlando sub scene is in for a shake-up. Jimmy John’s serves a very substantial, tasty sub, the restaurant is funky and clean, and service is friendly and fast. What more could you want in a sub shop? I suggest you try Jimmy John’s.

4 ½ Sandwich Shop Shake-ups out of 5

http://www.jimmyjohns.com/

Eating Orlando Favorites Part 4: More

The Eating Orlando Favorites series continues. Here are a few more of my favorite dishes and dine spots in the Orlando area.

Favorite Greek:
Greek Corner, Orlando

Favorite Onion Rings:
3-Way Tie: Hops, Sonic, and Boston’s Fish House

Favorite Place to Drink Sake:
Fuji Sushi, Winter Park

Favorite Frozen Treat:
Citrus Swirl at Sunshine Tree Terrace, the little stand next to the Tiki Birds Show in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom

Favorite Place to Eat and Walk:
Winter Park Arts Festival

Favorite Cheap Hotdog:
Rocky’s Replay, Casselberry

Favorite Non-Traditional Hotdog:
Pretzel Dog, Annie Anne’s

Favorite Place to Binge and Purge:
Golden Corral

Favorite Fish and Chips:
Grouper and Chips, Baldwin Park

Favorite Pickle:
Hot Mama, 7-11

These are some of my favorites. Let me know some of your favorites…

Graffiti Junktion Review: Props to the Burger

My hunt for the best burger in Orlando brought me to Graffiti Junktion, a newer restaurant in Thornton Park, in the space formally occupied by Midnight Blue. The new proprietors have transformed the place. Gone is the cool, urban sophistication of Midnight Blue; replaced by an outrageous, urban hip hop vibe. The old was haute cuisine with a twist; the new, hot dogs with relish. Out: reduction sauce. In: ketchup.

I think the space may finally have a winner on its hands. When I visited on a Saturday night, the place was packed, and the atmosphere rocking. The restaurant was full of college co-eds and twenty-somethings. Most were dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts but quite a few were dressed up, as if this were just the first stop in a long night of drinking and club hopping.

Tables were wood picnic, some with chairs and some with benches. Most of the seating was open air, under a large awning. The walls and benches were covered with graffiti, various "Tom loves Susie," "Gators Rule!" and "Kevin was here" type messages.

Many, myself included, consider certain types of graffiti more an art form than a nuisance. I’m a fan of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat from the eighties, and follow such current graffiti artists as Banksy and Blu. Most of the graffiti at Graffiti Junktion was purely amateur; almost nothing came close to what I would call street art. It looks as if they simply let the employees loose on the dining room with spray-paint and markers, resulting in a look less inner-city, and more middle school bathroom. Pity. There were a couple of larger works obviously done by professionals, and the hanging artwork done on canvas was nice. I was hoping for so much more.

The graffiti let me down; the burgers did not. I sampled the Lone Star Burger ($9.00) with bacon, barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese. It was terrific. Served a perfect medium, as ordered, the burger was large and juicy. The bun was fresh, the cheese flavorful, and the bacon crispy. The barbecue sauce was spread heavy and was decidedly tangy and sweet - a nice compliment to the burger. The burger was right up at the top of my favorites in Orlando. I was very pleased.

My friend chose the Chi-Town Stuffed ($12.00) and claimed it was really good. It looked good. I think I’ll try that one next time. Others burgers on the menu included the Little Italy (tomato, basil and provolone), the Iron City (ham, egg, fries, American cheese and onions) and the Austin City Limits (chili, pepper jack and jalapeno). These aren’t your typical burgers, and they are priced accordingly.

The burgers were fantastic; the sides not so great. The fries seemed a little greasy and limp but they did have a nice flavor. The zucchini fries ($8.00), that started the meal, were also greasy, and had a weird, milky flavor. Possibly dipped in buttermilk before breading?

I didn’t get to try the Texas Style Beef Chili ($5.00). Our server forgot to bring it before she served the burgers. When I inquired about it, she said she would go check. When she returned, she explained that they were out, and the kitchen was making more. She finally returned with the chili, after we had finished our burgers. It was cold. Cold like it had just come from the refrigerator. When I finally waved down the server to complain, she didn’t apologize. Instead she informed me that she would “tell them,” and see if they would take it off the bill.

The menu included some interesting sounding soups and salads as well as a few sandwiches and hot dogs. Burgers can be ordered with ground beef, turkey, or veggie patty. There is a full bar and a sizable beer selection. The “Novelty Desserts” included ice cream sandwiches and popsicles - meant to be cute, but I found lame.

One warning: the restaurant is an extremely loud place - deafening. Granted, the NCAA Basketball Tournament was in full swing on the many flat screens, and fans were uproarious, but they could have been showing old Murder She Wrote reruns, and it would have still been loud in the place. The tent-shaped canopy seems to amplify the din of conversations and blast it back toward you. You’ve got to shout your order to the server and shout to be heard even across the table. The weird thing is, I couldn’t tell if people were shouting because it was so loud or so loud because people were shouting.

So I wasn’t impressed with the graffiti at Graffiti Junktion. Service was non-existent. The noise level was excruciating. The scene was not my thing. The sides were so-so. But the burger, oh the burger, was so good that I just might put up with all the rest to come back again. I really wish the burger wouldn’t have been so great.

The Place: 2 wacks out of 5
The Burger: 5 legits out of 5