Big Bad Voodoo Lou's Profile
Best Steakhouse in Orlando?
Coolcoolcool. Thank you for reporting back! I'm glad we didn't steer you wrong.
Recommendations near Boston Marriott Copley Place/ Hynes Convention Center in July
More than willing to pay $10-$20 for a good meal (including lunch), but anything above $25 becomes a rare splurge for me.
At least I don't eat breakfast, so that gives me more wiggle room for lunches and dinners.
So far the suggestions are great, folks! Thanks a lot, and keep 'em coming.
Recommendations near Boston Marriott Copley Place/ Hynes Convention Center in July
Hello, Bostonians! I'm coming to a conference in July at the Hynes Convention Center and staying three nights at the Marriott Copley Place. I'm from Orlando (and a regular poster on Chowhound's Florida forum), and I'm looking for a few good recommendations. I won't have a car and I'll probably be dining alone for the majority of my meals. I love to walk and I wouldn't mind staying in that general Back Bay area, but I'd be willing to take a cab for a "can't miss" Chowhound experience, of course.
I'm on a budget so I'd prefer to visit much-loved institutions -- small, cheap, even divey -- that represent some of the best local food, especially stuff I can't get back home (where we have world-class barbecue and Vietnamese food). I'm just not into anything fancy or expensive, at least not on this trip. And I don't really drink, but have no problem eating at good pubs (especially gastropubs).
I am perfectly happy eating great sandwiches and I love delis (both NY/Jewish and Italian-style), diners, and burger joints. Cured meats and fish are some of my favorite things to eat; I don't suppose there's an awesome local salumeria or appetizing store? I like Greek, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern food, the more casual the better. And anywhere around there I can get local seafood, especially without breaking the bank, would be fantastic. I don't suppose there are any expansive market/food courts, like Philly's Reading Terminal Market or San Francisco's Ferry Building? Any great food trucks in the area?
Thanks for any tips! I realize there have been a few other threads soliciting recommendations in the same general area, but I thought I'd put my own spin on it, with my own likes and dislikes.
snacks or other foods you eat, that others find " gross"
Pickled herring (especially on bagels)
Canned sardines, anchovies, kippers, smoked oysters, and mussels
Chopped liver
Liver and onions
Oxtails
Goat meat
Liverwurst
Blood sausage (morcilla)
Chicken hearts (we have an awesome Brazilian food truck, Feast Beast, that sells five marinated, grilled hearts on a skewer for $5)
Pickled eggs
Strawberries (with or without vanilla ice cream) with balsamic vinegar
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Rusty Spoon is supposed to be great, but I haven't had a chance to go yet. I can't imagine it would be better than the Pig, even though I'm sure it is quite good.
Does anyone make a Chili Onion Ring dish?
And we'd have big, thick, steakhouse-style onion rings, none of those Burger King "pinky rings" with reconstituted onions.
Does anyone make a Chili Onion Ring dish?
I love chili and onion rings (especially as opposed to fries), so I'd be all for this. My dream chili restaurant and/or food truck would definitely serve chili-topped onion rings, with or without cheese.
Quick eats near Bob Carr theatre, Orlando?
There's nothing within walking distance I can think of. If I were you, I might just grab fast food before leaving town, and then get something after your show when you're in less of a hurry.
Finger lickin' good? [moved from General topics]
Yikes, who is your SO, Margaret Dumont?
Chow-worthy in Delray?
We had two nice meals in Delray Beach last year: at Tryst (a trendy gastropub with good food) and The Blue Anchor (a traditional British pub with great food), both on Atlantic Avenue, where everyone hangs out.
Other than that, if I'm down that far south, I'll usually drive to Ben's Kosher Deli in Boca Raton, which is awesome.
ISO really special dried fruit
This has to be the place I tried on a trip to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market a few years ago. Most beautiful selection of dried fruit I had ever seen.
University Park/ Orlando visit. Low sodium diet a must. Help, please.
I can't help you too much with low sodium, but at most halfway-decent restaurants, the cooks would be willing to adjust their recipes accordingly, whenever possible.
One of my favorite Thai restaurants in Orlando is Thai Singha in the sprawling Waterford Lakes shopping center on Alafaya, just south of Colonial (about 5-10 minutes south of UCF).
http://thaisingha.net/
There are no high-end steakhouses around UCF, but your husband can definitely get a steak at nearby Logan's Roadhouse on University. I prefer their ribs and burgers, though.
http://www.logansroadhouse.com/Default.aspx
If you want to splurge on the best steakhouse in town (and don't mind driving about half an hour in decent traffic), Del Frisco's is awesome:
http://delfriscosorlando.com/
Back in the UCF area, I love the giant pizza slices at Lazy Moon, a divey pizzeria right across the street from UCF at University and Alafaya:
http://www.eatdrinkandbelazy.com/
In the same strip mall, you have Mama Millie's Jamaican Cafe, which is good:
http://mamamillies.com/
And Jeremiah's Italian Ice, which everyone loves:
http://www.jeremiahsice.com/
Orlando - Best Mexican Restaurant
By the way, the new tamales at Chilango's are great, but the highlight by far is the poblano chili and cheese tamal -- everything you love about a chili relleno, rolled up into a tamal instead of being batter-dipped and deep-fried!
Store Bought BBQ Sauce Survey
My new favorite bottled barbecue sauce is from a homegrown restaurant empire on the rise, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, based right here in the Orlando area. They first opened in 2008 and now have three extremely popular local locations. They're probably the best barbecue in Florida, and their Signature Sauce is awesome (and well worth a try via mail order, for all you non-locals).
http://www.4rsmokehouse.com/featured-products/signature-barbecue-sauce/
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Seconded. Sushi Pop is awesome, and a real gem hidden in the 'burbs of Oviedo.
I liked the original Dragonfly as a poor student in Gainesville, so I really need to make my way across town to the Orlando location some time.
Orlando - Best Mexican Restaurant
Perfect timing for this thread, as last night I returned to one of my old favorites in my old part of town -- Chilango's, on State Road 434 in Winter Springs, near where Winter Springs turns into Longwood and Casselberry. I'm proud to say that I was the first person to review them on Chowhound several years back, and even prouder that they still have my four-year-old review printed out and framed on the wall of their restaurant.
http://chilangosmexican.com/
Anyway, the food is still incredible. I was ordering takeout this time: a taco salad for my wife (which turned out to be the biggest and most beautiful taco salad either of us have ever ordered in town), and a lengua (tongue) torta and two tacos for myself. At Chilango's, unlike most other Mexican restaurants, you can order your tacos on hard or soft corn tortillas, and get them American style (shredded cheese, lettuce, and tomato) or Mexican style (with just finely-diced onions and cilantro). The torta was outstanding, and my two tacos (cochinita pibil and chorizo, Mexican style on soft corn tortillas, of course) will be lunch today.
Sra. Silva, the owner and chef, remembered me even though I moved out of the area and unfortunately hadn't been in for a long time, but she gave me three tamales, her newest menu specialty, completely free, just because she is generous and awesome. Tamales are hard to make and even harder to make right, but she started making them to meet popular demand, and Chilango's has three varieties: pork in green sauce, chicken in red sauce, and poblano chili and cheese (like a chili relleno in tamal form). Once again, that's my lunch, and I love me some tamales!
I can't say enough good things about this restaurant and the fine family who owns it. Like another one of my local favorites, pizzeria/Italian/Thai restaurant Del Dee Bistro (soon to move and reinvent itself as Bistro 436), I love the food and the people who make it, and want to support them as best I can.
Chilango's is a tiny place, easy to drive by without even noticing, but anyone in town who craves authentic, cheap, and delicious Mexican food (NOT Tijuana Flats-style Tex-Mex, where everything is covered with mounds of neon orange cheese and sour cream) needs to give it a chance. They're as good now as they were four years ago, if not better, and I still have yet to find Mexican food I've liked more anywhere in the Orlando area.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Vietnamese standards include grilled meats, rice noodle soup called pho (pronounced "fuh") with a variety of meats, and delicious French-inspired sub sandwiches called banh mi, with exotic cold cuts and other unfamiliar meats, served on crusty baguettes with cool, crisp vegetables, herbs, and spicy sliced peppers. I haven't encountered many heavy, fried foods in Vietnamese cuisine.
Honestly, I'd get a bowl of pho somewhere (any of the places we mentioned), possibly with slices of rare beef brisket that you actually cook in the hot soup, and try a "house special" banh mi at a place like Boston Bakery (I'll warn you that Little Saigon and Lac Viet don't serve them), and those are two of the best, and most popular and representative, Vietnamese dishes.
If you head west/south on I-4 toward Florida's west (Gulf) coast, grouper sandwiches are a local specialty along the beaches of St. Petersburg and Clearwater. There's a place in St. Pete Beach I've always wanted to try called Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish, a little dive that specializes in multiple kinds of locally-caught and smoked fish, burgers, and beer.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
I-Drive isn't the area of town I know best, but if you drive 20 minutes east on I-4 toward downtown Orlando, you have our huge Vietnamese neighborhood, the ViMi District, with many great Vietnamese restaurants (my favorites are Little Saigon and Lac Viet, plus Boston Bakery for banh mi sandwiches) and Asian markets (especially the gigantic Phuoc Loc Tho Super Oriental Market). The good news is, all those places are along East Colonial Drive (east of downtown), within a few blocks of each other.
http://www.littlesaigonrestaurant.com/
http://www.lacvietbistro.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/phuoc-loc-tho-super-oriental-market-orlando
http://orlandoweekly.com/dining/banh-voyage-1.1059036
If you take Colonial and drive a few blocks north on Mills Avenue (the "Mi" in ViMi), you'll also encounter Hawkers Asian Street Fare, a funky restaurant with an eclectic menu of pan-Asian small plates. It's a great place to go with a group, since everything is perfect for sharing.
http://issuu.com/soapbox/docs/hawkers-menu
I've never been to it, but Ming's Bistro in the same neighborhood is known for its authentic dim sum.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/26/302450/restaurant/Mills-50/Mings-Bistro-Orlando
Guess what my DH put on his McDonald's hash browns this morning
I have a weakness for McDonald's Sausage McMuffins with Egg, but when I take them home, I love to slather on spicy, horseradishy deli mustard (or sometimes barbecue sauce) and add a big slice of tomato.
King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread, anything special?
My wife and I love it, especially the little dinner rolls. We use them as buns when I make buffalo "sliders" for a perfect blend of sweet and savory and a little gamey.
What are you favour 3 cuisines?
Italian
Greek/Turkish/Middle Eastern
Mexican
But oh, it kills me to leave off Jewish/Polish/German and American barbecue!
Tampa luch and dinner - near USF?
My favorite spot around USF is Mr. Dunderbak's, a great German place on Bruce B. Downs.
http://dunderbaks.com/
Best Steakhouse in Orlando?
Del Frisco's, by far. Very old-school, Rat Pack-style class, with incredible steaks and sides. In addition to those steaks, the fried oysters are the best I've ever had, and the mandarin orange cake is one of the all-time greatest desserts anywhere, ever.
http://delfriscosorlando.com/
If you want a non-traditional steakhouse, take him to Texas de Brazil for all-you-can-eat rodizio-style grilled steaks and other meats, plus a high-end salad bar.
http://www.texasdebrazil.com/orlando
Tell me about the state of food in Gainesville
Hey, folks! I lived in Gainesville from 1996 to 2003 as a poor student, and I've hardly been back since. I was just wondering about the food scene in town, since it changed a lot while I was there and has probably changed even more in the last decade (almost) since I lived there.
I was particularly interested in any mid-range to "nice" restaurants (though not necessarily expensive ones) like gastropubs, new additions to the ethnic food scene, any awesome Cuban or Mexican, Turkish or Greek, any farmer's markets or food trucks, and anything else new and noteworthy. Basically, I'm interested in anything aside from the countless pizza/wings/burgers/subs/sports bars catering to college kids, and even the standouts among those.
And as far as grocery shopping, is Publix still the best option around? It looks like Costco hasn't made it to G'ville yet.
Where can I get guanciale in Orlando?
Wow, Sergio, thank you so much for responding here! My wife and I absolutely loved your restaurant, and we still talk about it today as one of the best Italian meals we've ever had. Any chance of you and Chazz deciding to expand to Orlando, Florida? It would be a huge hit here.
I think when I finally make all'amatriciana, I'll end up using Mario's recipe with bucatini and pancetta, but it still won't be as good as yours. You are doing everything right in Baltimore!
Lunch at 4 Rivers Smokehouse or Hawkers Asian StreetFare tomorrow?
Everything at Fiddler's is spot-on every time: the burgers, fish and chips, Irish stew with lamb, bangers and mash, corned beef and cabbage, Guinness BBQ wings, housemade potato chips... I could go on and on. It's one of my favorite restaurants in town, and one of the most consistent for sure.
Lunch at 4 Rivers Smokehouse or Hawkers Asian StreetFare tomorrow?
I'll give an edge to the burgers at Fiddler's Green over Oblivion (aside from Oblivion's more creative toppings), but those are the best burger choices in town, otherwise.
Lunch at 4 Rivers Smokehouse or Hawkers Asian StreetFare tomorrow?
You know what? I agree with these guys. I like Hawkers and love 4 Rivers, but I REALLY LOVE the Ravenous Pig. It's my favorite restaurant in all of Florida, and definitely the best in Orlando. The pub burger can't be beat.
Lunch at 4 Rivers Smokehouse or Hawkers Asian StreetFare tomorrow?
Both are great. 4 Rivers is the best barbecue in Orlando, and probably the best in the whole state, but Hawkers is really unique and fun.
However, due to the majority of Hawkers' menu being small plates, it is ideal for sharing with two or more people, to try a variety of dishes. If you're traveling with a group, it might be the most exciting option, but if you're going alone (and/or if you really love barbecue), 4 Rivers would be the best choice.
