While on a cruise to Grand Bahamacruise to Grand Bahama, I rented a car in Freeport to explore more of the island. The guy at the car rental place told us to got to a place called Cleveland's Beach Club for lunch. A selling point to go to the restaurant was that they had pigs to swim with. According to the car rental guy, if we told Cleveland's that he sent us, we would be able to swim with the pigs for free. This wasn't the case. One of the people in my group almost paid for the pig swimming experience, but we were running short of time and decided against it.
We did get to see the pigs as they were taken for a walk past our table. Good enough for me. I wasn't there to swim with the pigs, I was there for the food.I ordered their combo plate which came with lobster tail, fried fish, fried shrimp, and conch fritters. It was a little bit of overload of deep fried seafood. The two standouts was the lobster and the fish. Conch was a little tough.Monday, June 10, 2024
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Food on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Cruise
I recently went on a cruise on the Margaritaville Paradise from Port of Palm Beach to Freeport in The Bahamas. Here's the food I ate on the ship:
There were some issues in the port where boarding the ship took longer than expected. Headed straight to the Port of Indecision Buffet for lunch as soon as I was on board. Unfortunately, they were clearing the buffet by the time I got there. I was able to pick some stragglers that were still there including some sort of vegetable curry, rice, a pig in a blanket, and a hot dog with no bun. Everything tasted like I got the leftovers just before it was thrown out.
Walked around the corner after getting some of the leftover buffet food to find the Cheeseburger in Paradise Burger Bar. They were still serving food. Got a cheeseburger and fries that tasted fresher than the buffet food.That evening, I ate dinner in the Fins Dining Room. This was the fancy dining room that was included in the cruise. There was also a steakhouse, pizzeria, and coffee shop that were upcharges. My meal started with a bowl of Jamaican Pumpkin Soup:
This was followed by a Caprese Salad. Wasn't my favorite. Hunk of cheese, lots of arugula, and not much flavor.I had the Antigua Shrimp Skewer for my main course. This was jumbo shrimp with mango salsa over jasmine rice. Broccoli was served as a vegetable. It was fine, but could have used a little more sauce for flavor. Everything on the plate lacked any distinct seasoning.
Here's some video I took of the food on the ship:
Monday, April 29, 2024
Pizza from Wawa in Casselberry, FL
I was getting gas at a Wawa in Casselberry. I was using their rewards app to get discounts on gas when I noticed they had dropped a coupon for a free 14" pizza into my account. I was aware that Wawa sold pizza, but I wasn't about to go out of my way to try pizza from a gas station. If the pizza was free though, that was different.
I ordered a pepperoni and sausage pizza. I selected the garlic crust option when ordering. Upon first glance when opening up the box, it had the look of a chain pizza similar to Hungry Howie's or Little Caesars. The crust/sauce/cheese/topping ratio was good. Everything seemed well balanced and the pizza held together. The garlic taste/smell on the pizza was surprisingly strong for gas station food.
Overall, I went in with very low expectations. The pizza was okay, on par with other fast food pizzas. Definitely wouldn't be my first choice of pizza in Orlando, but I might pick Wawa if it was between them or a Little Caesars...Monday, April 22, 2024
904 Gyros Food Truck in Jacksonville, FL
I had a Carved Lamb/Beef Gyro Plate, served with saffron rice, a cucumber and tomato salad, and Tzatziki. Everything was delicious. Everything on the plate was really flavorful.
Monday, April 15, 2024
Sticky Rice Lao Street Food in Orlando, FL
Monday, April 8, 2024
Tin & Taco in Downtown Orlando
We walked in, and the guy behind the counter announced that they had no tortillas and could only make bowls. Fine, who wanted the food item in the restaurant's namesake anyway? With that in mind, I ordered a Buffalo Soldier Bowl. This was basically a buffalo chicken rice bowl. That's when I was further informed that the chicken was still cooking. They could give it to me, but the chicken might not be done. Rather than risk foodborne illness from undercooked chicken, I decided to try the Mac Attack. This was ground beef, macaroni & cheese, bacon, and green onion.
This was the best macaroni & cheese, beef, bacon, and rice bowl I've ever eaten. I can say that because it's the only rice bowl of that combination that I've eaten. Rice topped with cheesy noodles didn't quite go, in my opinion, but I did eat it. Definitely wouldn't get it again, but I ate it. With everything, from the lack of tortillas at a taco restaurant to the offer to be served chicken that was still cooking, I don't think I'm rushing back to a Tin & Taco anytime soon.
Monday, April 1, 2024
Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers in Orlando, FL
Friday, February 23, 2024
Eet at Disney Springs
As much as I want a good fast food Indian restaurant in Orlando, Eet wasn't it. Go to Indian Hut instead.
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Dio Santo Street Pizzeria in Longwood, FL
Monday, November 6, 2023
HHN32 Food
Here's some of the specialty seasonal foods that I tried at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando this year:
Walking Taco: Fritos topped with taco beef, shredded mozzarella, black beans, queso fresco, pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and cilantro.
Lakeside "Meat" Stew: Beef Cheek stew with fingerling potatoes, wood ear mushrooms, tempura fried enoki mushrooms, and white rice
Cordyceps Corndog: Korean cheese dog with cordyceps, crispy potato sticks, trufle cream sauce, and diakon spouts
Monday, October 9, 2023
Universal Studios Hollywood Food
I visited Universal Studios Hollywood twice in the past year. The initial visit was to see the park for the first time (alongside Disneyland). A few months later, my schedule and budget allowed me to go a second time to see Hollywood's version of Halloween Horror Nights.
I tried a brownie from the French Street Bistro.
I had this during Halloween Horror Nights. I had a Strawberry Spiral Croissant. This round croissant was partially stuffed with whipped cream, with some strawberries topping the cream. Pretty tasty.
Monday, September 25, 2023
Magic Kingdom Food (Casey's Corner and Sunshine Tree Terrace)
It's been a while since I've had food at the Magic Kingdom. Since the last post on this blog was about Disneyland, why not write about the similar castle park in Florida.
Casey's Corner:
I've lived in Orlando most of my life and have been to the Magic Kingdom countless times, but somehow I had never been to Casey's Corner on Main Street. I've heard the restaurant hyped up quite often, so on my last visit to Magic Kingdom I finally had lunch there. I ordered the Chipotle Barbecue All-Beef Foot-long Hot Dog. It was a hot dog topped with pulled pork, coleslaw, and barbeque sauce. Good for Disney serving more than plain hot dogs. Toppings always make them more interesting. This was fine. Not anything great that I'd go back for again though. As I write this, I'm realizing that this had very similar ingredients to the Ronto Wrap at Galaxy's Edge. Slightly different forms of the ingredients, but it was essentially the same thing.
Sunshine Tree Terrace:
I had the I Lava You Float. Orange Dole Whip topped with strawberry Fanta, passionfruit syrup, and Pop Rocks. This was a good dessert.
Friday, September 15, 2023
Disneyland Food (Rancho del Zocalo & Ronto Roasters)
I had the Trio of Street Tacos. Each taco was filled with either beef, chicken, or cauliflower served in Corn Tortillas with Tomatillo Sauce, garnished with Onions and Cilantro served with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans. The cauliflower taco was the best. All of them were surprisingly good when thinking of the equivalent restaurants at Magic Kingdom which are notoriously bad (I said it. Disney adults, leave your angry comments).