YosemiteSam's Profile
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Is there a place your Japanese co-workers prefer to Hanamizuki now?
As far as best in town, I personally think you need a three-way option as Japanese food is so broad a category: for traditional food as you so ably outline Hanamizuki is the best. For sushi I like Nagoya, not too many fancy rolls but very fresh fish and a nice quiet simple environment. For new-wave style food and robata grill and izakaya-style food I like Dragonfly.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
First off, yes to Lou's Vietnamese recommendations - my 2 personal favs are Pho 88 and Lac Viet but everyone has their choices.
Hanamizuki has very authentic non-sushi roll Japanese, but it isn't in the izakaya style either. I do recommend it though. The best izakaya option we have is right in that area though - Dragonfly. It's hardly traditional, but they do have small bites of interesting Japanese-style tapas as well as using that special charcol for grilled skewers of meat yakitori-style. Nowhere near as good as Hiro's Yakko-San in Miami but we like it quite a bit.
Seafood stinks here - sorry.
If you are the kind to include Indian in your Asian food category, you will find much better Indian food here than in South Florida - check our Memories of India for a good survey of the the cuisine.
Finally, also echoing Lou above, you might also want to take the drive downtown to check out Hawkers which strives to simulate the Singaporean street vendor experience, I've heard it can be hit-or-miss but the options are plentiful and for the most part very good.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Near Universal, there are a few places I would recommend checking out in the "ethnic" category - none are fancy but the food is great and consistent and they are things that you don't always find elsewhere.
Try Pio Pio for some great Colombian food at a very reasonable price, Hanamizuki is basically open to cater to Japanese visitors and is very authentic, and Memories of India serves up wonderful Indian food. I also send a lot of people to Cedar's for Lebanese, and if you can take a 15 minute drive you should try one of the Vietnamese places (as Lou mentions below) - we all have our favs but my personal ones are Pho 88 and Lac Viet
In Search of Stone Crabs in Orlando
Restaurant - Johnny's Hideaway. Take home - Lombardi's Seafood Market. We're REALLLLLY close to out-of-season though - they may be a little less-than-fresh anywhere you look
Best Steakhouse in Orlando?
Well then hopefully he'll love Del Frisco's as it is an important birthday! Good luck
Best Steakhouse in Orlando?
Just to add another opinion, I've only thought Del Frisco's was ok, but I don't really dig any of the other steakhouses in town either. I will say that my opinion is in the minority in town and most others love it, so it might just be a matter of personal preference. I thought the steaks were nothing special and found the ambience a little too theme-y.
If your dad is a REAL steakhouse junkie, and you have a car, then I highly recommend the 1 hour drive to Tampa for Bern's. It is a must-experience for anyone who loves classic steakhouses, and to top it off the dedicated dessert room finale is awesome. It is a long drive (especially home if you've had wine), but it is IMO the only really great steakhouse experience in Central Florida.
BTW, Spice is TERRIBLE, don't do there. Kres in fine, but it is more interested in trying be hip than in delivering great food.
The best steak in town is actualy at a non-steakhouse - it's at K.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Well, I have a new entry for my top 10 - finally ate at The Table this weekend, and it was first rate food, a wonderful vibe, and something any food lover in Orlando has to experience. They are also opening up an a la carte place with an artisinal cocktail vibe next door soon. If you love hyper-seasonal, local food this is a must stop. And at $100 pp wine pairings and gratuity included it's a steal for five courses of serious gourmet food.
Where can I get guanciale in Orlando?
If you are REALLY dedicated to getting this right, you can order it from Salumi Artisan Cured Meats in Seattle and they'll ship it to you. This is from Mario Battali's father's place, and if you look under "our basket of products" under "For Chefs", you'll find it. You'll need to call them and place an order and shipping can be high, but their quality is AMAZING so it might be fun to try it once.
http://www.salumicuredmeats.com/
There is also a cheaper option here from igourmet:
http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/prodview.aspx?prod=3312&src=froogle
New Places to look forward to - Orlando - 2012
The new place from the Ravenous Pig chef's should be open - I think it's called Cask & Larder. Also looking forward to what Manny Garcia (of Manuel's on the 28th and Harvey's) does at Park Plaza Gardens when he re-opens.
Among places already open I haven't made it to yet, my top wish list is:
The Table
Prato
Bosphorous
Hawkers
Tako Cheena
Sushi Pop
Finesse
Oblivion Taproom
Bull & Bear Steakhouse
El Bodegon
Bar J Me
C&S Brisket Bus
Tasting Room is awesme and worth the drive - don't be lazy!
Florida Strawberry Festival - Plant City Mar 1-11, 2012
Yes that is what it is. Most people rave about the strawberry shortcake they churn out in bulk in one of the tents/buildings, but I find it blah.
That said we always enjoy the state fair atmosphere, and if you get the strawberries from a stand right outside the festival they are fresh, in season and ridiculously cheap compared to the grocery store - buy a case and eat them all the way back to Orlando - you'll be stained with strawberry juice but lovin' it
Orlando - Best Mexican Restaurant
My mother always told me if you don't have anything nice to say....
I do like their burritos, especially if I make it "wet" with the red chipotle sauce
IMO, best Mexican (it's a low bar), is the original Taquitos Jalisco in Winter Garden/Ocoee
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Wow, not sure how I missed the Jewish deli - you're right on that one for sure, local options are sorely lacking
As for Chinese, two other places to consider for authenticity are Magic Wok in Dr. Phillips (their American Chinese is ho hum but if you dive deep into the menu thaey have a lot of interesting and otherwise hard to find Shanghai specialties (lots of eel, bean curd and awesome ribs etc)) and Teriyaki House near Pine Hills for Taiwanese cuisine (again order carefully)
Finally, if you've never been, the 1st Oriental Supermarket on West Colonial is a trip - they have a food counter with all kinds of whole roasted birds, pig's head and other "weird" stuff as well as the most interesting live seafood selection in the area (plus gobs and gobs of hard-to-find Asian produce and dry goods). Kinda a tough neighborhood though so go during the daylight hours (the manager at the counter at the door wears a visible sidearm :) )
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
When you combine deserved raves like this, plus how great Cedar's is with Lebanese food (my wife is from Beirut and she raves about it), our extensive great Indian choices, the plethora of Vietnamese food, plus hiddens authentic gems like Hanamizuki and Nile Ethiopian along with Latin places like Pio Pio, I think we all need to realize that what Orlando is as a foodie city is an EXCELLENT place to find affordable ethnic food. Quick, call the city tourism officials - we need an annual Orlando Ethnic Food and Spirits festival.
So, what are we missing to round this out? We need a great Mexican restaurant, our Greek food is bleh, Chinese is kinda embarrassing and we need a signature Puerto Rican place that reps our huge local population.
I've excluded European cuisines as I see them as "mainstream", though I do wish we had a signature authentic Spanish tapas place. I also left out Cuban since Miami owns that for good reason.
Any other holes in our ethnic portfolio? Morrocan? Indonesian rijsttafel? Thai?
Orlando report (2/12) - Disney, Universal and more
I think you're feedback is fair and accurate, though individually your experiences seem better than the overall tone of disappointment in Universal that led this thread and this post. It seems that you had lower expectations of WDW and were pleasantly surprised (you picked VERY well from their many restaurants) but had higher expectations for Universal and were let down.
The main difference I see is most of your Universal options were park food and at WDW it was hotel dining - those are almost entirely different audiences and needs each is addressing.
That said, the best of WDW dining (hotel based) is a better option than that of Universal if for no other reason that WDW has 26,000 hotel room and Universal less than 3,000 - so WDW has more diversity to spread its quality over, but trust me there are A LOT of bland, boring and disappointing options at WDW as well.
Mythos used to be a very adventurous dining experience but it didn't sell as well as the standard stuff you see here - it wins its awards because most folks hve the memories of what it used to be plus when talking theme park restaurants the design weighs heavily and it is a beautifully designed room.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
OK, take a taxi to Pio Pio on International Drive - it's a less expensive than other options so it will offset the cost of the cab - it's amazing food. Not much ambience though - it's just a simple authentic restaurant. Cuba Libre isn't authentic anything :)
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Hilton Bonnet Creek? Its hotel restaurant La Luce is on my top 10 list above - that's a must do for you. Even if you're in the Hilton in Hotel Plaza, it's like a 3 minute cab ride.
You should get stone crab at Johnny's - you're almost out of season ofr them but April is still the tail end of that.
Hemingway's and Cuba Libre are not that exciting
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Welcome to the board and a great list - so Greens and Grills is by the Ravenous Pig people? Interesting...
Since you are often in the Restaurant Row area, just curious if you've tried Anatolia - I'm trying to see if it's worth the drive to Bosphorous since we like Anatolia so much - looking for someone who's been to both
As far as NYC, if you can afford it and can get in, I HIGHLY recommend the full tasting menu at Eleven Madison Park - the vey best meal of my life - truly fantastic
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
You're less than 5 minutes from the Vietnamese places as well - I like Lac Viet and Pho 88. A little closer than Ravenous Pig is K - just as good too
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Nah, skip Florida Mall at hit the Premium outlets at the NORTH end of International Drive and maybe the Mall at Millenia.
As for food, from my list above you are short taxi distance from Memories of India, Hanamizuki, Cedar's, Nile, Anatolia, Pio Pio, Press 101, Kona Dog, Chatham's Place, Nagoya, Dragonfly and Cafe Tu Tu Tango. Not sure which ethnicities you have good dining options for in Montreal outside of Greek, but if you don't have good Vietnamese then it may be worth one car trip downtown to the ViMi district - stick with a beer and you'll be fine to drive. The other great ethnic option on my list you won't find much of outside of Florida is Pio Pio. Unfortunately the tip top places in town are not in the I Drive area so you'll miss out on our best if you don't drive.
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Great list and so different from mine - goes to show you the diversity this city has to offer - my guess is you live on the north side of town based on your options.
Is Naradevo that place shoved into a strip mall by Off Broadway shoes (used to be a crappy sandwich place)? I'm shocked its good - will need to check that out - my fav Thai is Red Bamboo
Is Sushi Pop worth the drive from Southwest Orlando?
Have you tried Anatolia on Sand Lake? Curious if you think Bosphorous is better or if they both deliver the same great quality because to me Anatolia is awesome
As far as flogs go, I just like the back and forth message boards provide, to me blogging seems like broadcasting vs. a conversation
Yelp is full of complainers :)
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
Let us know what part of town you're in and we'll provide some specific recommendations - Orlando is very spread out.
One more thing, mmmmm Montreal - Joe Beef, Au Pied du Cochon, L'Express, bagels, smoked meat - great food city! We can't match that here but you can find some interesting options if you know who t ask - us!
Orlando area top 10 - February 2012
While I know there's only like 5 people who post here regularly (tangent - where do all the Orlando foodies correspond online? I think they're all bloggers rather than message boarders - though that seems navel-gazing to me), I still thought it might be fun to name each of our current top 10 favs in the Orlando area based on whatever criteria you want to use - food, decor, value, trendy, scene, etc
Just list your 10 with a few comments to support each.
Here's mine:
1) Ravenous Pig - great food, full of flavor without getting pretentious, awesome bar and cocktail program, too damn hard to get into on weekends
2) Tasting Room - hidden gem with great food on an ever-changing menu, also a great cocktail program, worth the drive
3) K - stick to the rotating new menu options and you'll get a meal on par with any in a bigger city - had my best dish of the last year here of gnocchi with pig head ragu
4) Luma on Park - great, fresh seasonal food in a scene-y but beautiful space - chef is the best in town with seafood but great with everything else too
5) La Luce - hard to believe there is something this great in a hotel on Disney property - there will be kids around but with food this good and a great staff you must find a way to try this place
6) Chef's Table - sister restaurant tot he Tasting Room above - prix fixe only place with simply prepared but deceptively complex flavors - great spot for a date night
7) Memories of India - just great traditional Indian food with a range of flavors in a simple strip mall setting - this holds my ethnic slot on the list, but also considered here were Pho 88, Hanamizuki, Cedar's Lebanese, Nile Ethiopian, Beewon Korean and Anatolia
8) Pio Pio - a Colombian chicken joint that's my top value pick in town - the chicken is amazing but the rest of the food is great too - other value choices that almost made the cut were Yellow Dog Eats, Press 101, Kona Dog, and Beefy King
9) Chatham's Place - old school standby tucked away in the sea of glitzy chains on Restaurant Row - the best choice in town for a quiet special occasion meal. Other option is Victoria & Albert's but the WDW location gives me pause
10) Big Wheel Provisions - had to include the best food truck as this trend has really taken off this year - you also won't go wrong with the Crooked Spoon
You see how I managed to get in more than ten? :) That said the main ten I listed are really my best choices for any type of occasion, though I would have loved to find a place for the others I mentioned above as well as some that didn't make the cut but are also wonderful (or pefect for certain situations) like the Rusty Spoon, Nagoya, Dragonfly, Cafe Tu Tu Tango, Le Coq Au Vin, Hollerbach's Willow Tree, Funky Monkey Downtown and Lac Viet
One final thought - there are a few categories of cuisine missing that I wanted to mention and bemoan our state of here in Central Florida - no seafood places (a true tragedy considering our location), no steakhouses (all interchageable) and finally no entries for my personal favorite cuisine: BBQ - we are ok here but I find 4 Rivers a bit overrated by locals (and I prefer southern pork-based BBQ and 4 Rivers is Texas beef-based) and Bubbalou's is OK but ultimately average - if I had to choose I'd go with Harry and Larry's in Winter Garden.
Now what are your lists? I reserve the right to alter mine if one of you jogs my memory of a place I forgot
Between Orlando & St. Augustine
Do you mean literally "between" Orlando or St Augustine, or in Orlando? The two areas you mentioned are actually on the OTHER side of Orlando in the opposite direction of St Augustine. Plus nothing there to meet your request.
To truly answer your question though, by far the best option is Luma on Park in Winter Park - it's not a seafood restaurant per se, but he does great things with fish and uses local and seasonal fish and produce. It's also only 10 minutes off of I-4 on the way to St Augustine. One of the top 5 overall places in the Orlando area
Where are the best Orlando Mixologists & Food Trucks
Considering only restaurant bars (most of our bar only places are pick up joints and 2 for 1 beer or test tube shooter monstrosities), Lou's right about Ravenous Pig, and then I HIGHLY recommend a trip to out of the way Winter Garden for the Tasting Room - awesome food and cocktails that are based on seasonal ingredients and intertesting spirits. Other decent options are Dragonfly (great cocktails and a wondeful sake list), the Rusty Spoon downtown and for fun the margarita cart at the Prickly Pear - just don't eat there beyond bar snacks. This is a tough town for cocktails - I've often had to explain to bartenders how to make me a Negroni - they've never heard of one. But they have a mean way with an appletini or cosmo
Food trucks that I endorse lead with Big Wheel Provisions and the Crooked Spoon. Also worth trying are the Korean BBQ Taco Box, Yum Yum Cupcake Truck and the C&S Brisket - all are on Twitter and the best place to find them is at round-ups all over town - they don't do the individual location thing too much, it's more of a scene here
K Restaurant Orlando - Yes and also Yes
Glad you liked it - def one of our best - I love the R Pig but it's ridiculous they are booked weeks out but you can get a table at Luma or K the night of on a Friday or Saturday - all are in the same class
New to Central Florida and Yes! It appears that all "farmers markets" here stink.
I think they might tap into the South Florida farming area - if you go south of Miami to Homestead there are some solid farmer's markets from the huge farms they have down there - plus some great Mexican food from the migrant workers
A related issue is that we don't really seem to have any great seafood here in C FL either, which is odd since some of the best fishing beds are on both sides of us.
So as not to completely discourage you, make sure to get over to Plant City in February for the Strawberry Festival for some of the best and super-cheap strawberries you've ever tasted, keep an eye open for local citrus over the next few months, and mostly look into our great ethnic restaurants - you'll find few cities with the diversity of great small individually owned ethnic options like Vietnamese, Indian, Puerto Rican, Japanese, Lebanese, etc. For whatever reason, that's what Orlando will be known as. Go figure....
If you are really into this, I recommend you contact the guy who runs the Big Wheel Provisions food truck - he's 100% local and a major supporter of eat local, eat organic etc. He's a great guy and will clue you in to where we do have some opportunities for locavore eating
Also here's a few links that may help
http://www.bigwheelprovisions.com/home/
http://www.eatlocalweek.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SlowFoodOrlando
http://www.localharvest.org/
and look for copies of Edible Orlando around town (http://www.edibleorlando.com/)
New to Central Florida and Yes! It appears that all "farmers markets" here stink.
Nope - you're right and there really aren't any better options - check out this link for more of a reason why
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137371975/how-industrial-farming-destroyed-the-tasty-tomato
We have other great things about living down here and there are good restaurants using fresh local produce, but we've given up on the farmer's markets - can't fight big business
Durham NC Hound in Orlando Weekend Trip Report (long)
Great feedback - thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed report.
I'm not surprised by your reaction to Prickly Pear - I actually hesitated to put it on the list but good walkable options are so limited downtown and the drinks are pretty great. They just need to get their kitchen straightened out - no pun intended after the drag show you witnessed!
Filing under you can always learn something new - I've never heard of the Orlando brewing location and tour - that's a must-try for me very soon
Lastly, did you try the butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Just curious what you thought.....
rate my orlando eating plans
That sounds like a fine (if hipster-ish) dining itinerary, but with a strong geographic focus on downtown. Most of those places are on the informal, cheap and basic side, which is great if that's what you're after.
A few specific thoughts:
- Beefy King is great for what it is, but make sure your expectations are aligned as it is basically an excellent old-school Arby's
- as for Vietnamese we all have our favs - mine are Lac Viet and Pho 88
- Ravenous Pig is your outlier - it's much more expensive than your other options - it's also much much better. Just an FYI
- Do you mean Funky Monkey instead of Drunken Monkey? If so that's a great place but it is quiet and a little romantic so know that if your mood is different
- Bananas is actually not so great UNLESS you are hungry at 2 in the morning - then it's a better option than Denny's
- Two to add in this area and price strata are Tako Cheena (from the Pom Pom guys), an Asian taco fusion joint, and Yum-Mi Sandwiches, an update on the bahn mi Vietnamese sandwich - both are very informal and cheap
- You also might consider adding in Rusty Spoon if you don't want to make the drive up to Ravenous
