Austin Grill in Washington DC

It seems like I was just here a few months ago (I was), but I found myself in Washington DC once again. While in the city, the first place I ate was a restaurant called Austin Grill near the National Mall. Over the next couple days while in the area, I passed by a couple more Austin Grills. According to their website, they have four locations in the DC area.

Austin Grill served Tex-Mex food. The meal started with a basket of chips and salsa. I did enjoy the salsa. It had a lot more flavor than the standard Mexican restaurant salsa. It had a nice kick to it, as well as having a nice cilantro flavor.

I had the Double Stuffed Chorizo Tacos. The double stuffed aspect of the tacos was interesting. Rather than just having the taco fillings inside the tortilla, they melted cheese between two tortillas and used this mini quesadilla as the taco shell. The inside of the tacos were filled with chorizo, grilled onions and peppers, and more cheese. The chorizo had a nice, spicy flavor and melded well with the cheesy tortillas. Refried beans, rice, lettuce, and salsa were served on the side.

I enjoyed my food. Everything I ate at Austin Grill was very flavorful and was very filling. I'd come back here again.

Maid-Rite Diner in Wilson, NC

Time for another road trip meal along I-95. It was time to have dinner and I found myself getting off an exit in Wilson, NC. I bypassed all of the normal big chains that I'd heard of here and decided on a restaurant in a strip mall called Maid-Rite Diner.

Apparently Maid-Rite is a chain with locations mostly in the midwest. I apparently came across the one and only location in North Carolina.

I tried their turkey sandwich, served on a ciabatta bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I was surprised to see actual turkey on the sandwich rather than standard deli meat. This was a good and bad thing at the same time. It showed that Maid-Rite was using better meat than other places that serve processed deli meat, but the turkey on this sandwich was served cold. There's something about turkey like this that rubs me the wrong way if it's chilled. If it seems like real meat, I want it warm. Beside this fact, the sandwich was good enough. Fries and a drink were also included with the meal. The sandwich from Maid-Rite was better than a sandwich from the surrounding fast food places, but wasn't outstanding enough to seek out again on a future road trip.

Bubba's Southern Cafeteria in Darien, GA

I was in the middle of a road trip heading north along I-95 when lunch time rolled around. We stopped to get gas in the town of Darien, GA and hoped there would be some food at the exit as well. The normal selection of fast food places were abundant here, but then a restaurant called Bubba's Southern Cafeteria advertising bar-b-que and award winning Brunswick stew caught my eye.

We entered the restaurant, and it really was set up cafeteria style. There was no menu. There was just a cafeteria line where you choose a meat and your sides. The three meat selections that were available were fried chicken, fried fish, or fried shrimp. There really wasn't any of the mentioned barbecue being served, but we ate there anyway. The Brunswick stew wasn't being served on the day I visited either.

I decided to try the fried fish. I was given three pieces of fish that was lightly fried. The fish still had skin, bones, and fins which would probably be a turnoff to some people. I was fine with picking around the inedible parts. I'm not sure what type of fish it was, nor did I ask, but it was pretty tasty. For my sides, I choose the collards, macaroni & cheese, and mashed potatoes. The collards were the best of the three sides that I tried. A roll and sweet tea were also included with my meal.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Bubba's Southern Cafeteria. It wasn't exactly the barbecue that I was expecting when I went into the restaurant, but I still liked it. There ended up being a whole lot of food served for the price and the people working here were super friendly.

Pie-Fection in Orlando, FL

I tried a restaurant serving pizza in MetroWest called Pie-Fection. This place is somewhat fast food where you order at a counter and wait for your food to be delivered. All the pizza toppings are located behind glass and apparently this place is supposed to work like a Subway where you tell your pizza maker exactly what you want on your pie as it's being made. When I walked in, I was handed a menu with lots of set topping combinations. Interestingly, there were lots of Brazilian inspired pizzas on the menu, but I went with what they called the Italian.

This pizza was topped with pesto-alfredo sauce, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, spinach, and parmesan. Being a fast food pizza place, I really was not expecting much but it ended up being surprisingly tasty. The crust was nice and airy with a good crunch. The pesto had a nice garlicky flavor. The cheese and other toppings had a nice proportion to the rest of the pie. The pizza was a bit overpriced for the size of the pie, but I still enjoyed it. I would return to Pie-Fection again, and maybe order like I'm at a Subway next time...

Dixieland Diner

I visited the Orange City Food Truck Bazaar. I tried a truck serving Cajun food that I had never eaten at before called Dixieland Diner.

I ordered the Shrimp & Grits. This bowl of cheese grits was topped with chopped tomatoes and several large shrimp. The shrimp had a nice spicy seasoning and the grits were cheesy. Overall, I found these to be very tasty. The first response from someone I was here with was a look of disbelief and the comment "you paid $9 for that!?" The portion did appear to be on the small side, but I guess the bowl was bigger than it looked because the meal filled me up.

I liked my shrimp & grits. I'd try Dixieland Diner again, although think I'll try something else here the next time I visit for some variety.

China Lee in Orlando, FL

I ate lunch at China Lee in the MetroWest area of Orlando. This Chinese takeout restaurant is hidden away on the back side of a strip mall located in the parking lot of a Walmart. Typical of most restaurants like this, there were only a few tables for dining in with most of their business being to-go. My meal here consisted of the Szechuan shrimp combination.

While the price was a couple of dollars more than what I've seen at other similar restaurants, the reason was quickly apparent when my food was ready. The portion size was huge, probably double of what many other Chinese restaurants serve in these combinations. The Szechuan shrimp were large, served with lots and lots of vegetables, including peppers, broccoli, squash, onions, carrots, snow peas, corn, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. This Szechuan shrimp was also much spicier than what I've had elsewhere, which is always a good thing. That little pepper symbol on the menu actually meant something. A large serving of fried rice was also included alongside the shrimp as well as an egg roll. I'd return to China Lee again...

Ollo Fresh in Palm Beach Gardens, FL

On a drive home from south Florida, I stopped into the Palm Beach Gardens Mall located just off I-95 to stretch my legs for a few minutes. While there, I ventured into the food court and got lunch from a Middle Eastern restaurant called Ollo Fresh. I ordered a gyro sandwich. They offered a choice of lamb or chicken gyro inside the sandwich and I choose the lamb. The pita was topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and lots of tzatziki. The lamb had nice flavor, as did the tzatziki. Overall, this was very typical of what mall food court Middle Eastern restaurants serve, but I was happy with my gyro regardless.

Terra Mia in Longwood, FL

I had dinner at the new Terra Mia in Longwood. This is the same Terra Mia that has a location in Lake Mary and was formerly located in a strip mall right around the corner until they moved here. This new Longwood location now serves pizza, unlike their store around the corner. Upon arriving, our meal started out with some good bread with nice crust.

I ordered the Deliziosa pizza. The pie was topped with salmon, mozzarella, capers, and onions. I've tried other seafood on pizzas in the past, but I think this may have been my first time having salmon on a pizza. I did enjoy it, although they weren't very generous with actual amount of salmon on the pie. The combination of capers and onions went well with the salmon. The crust was nice and crispy.

I enjoyed the pizza regardless of the slightly skimpy amount of salmon on the pie. I still think Terra Mia has some of the best pizzas in the area. Word of warning though: Other two people I was eating with both ordered the lasagna and weren't very happy. The tiny portion of a mess that somewhat resembled a typical lasagna was totally not worth what Terra Mia was charging for the dish...

Hash House A Go Go in Orlando, FL

Hash House A Go Go is a newish restaurant that has opened along International Drive. It is located in a building that was originally a Whistle Junction buffet, followed by a few Brazilian restaurants. Hash House A Go Go seems like the first restaurant to occupy the space that will probably be successful. They advertize themselves as having twisted farm food, which somehow translates to gigantic portions. The Hash House A Go Go chain seems to be popular with celebrities as well. The first thing you see upon entering is a giant tractor in the lobby, followed by walls covered in their celebrity endorsements. I guess if Martha Stewart likes Hash House A Go Go, then it must be good...

On my first visit to Hash House A Go Go, I tried one of their breakfasts and had the Sundried Tomato, Basil & Goat Cheese Farm Scramble. This was served with griddled mashed potatoes, biscuit, and fruit. While this breakfast wasn't as excessive as some of the other plates I witnessed being served, this was still a large breakfast. Goat cheese in scrambled eggs is always good. The mashed potatoes were tasty, sort of cooked on the outside until slightly crispy. The biscuit was a bit weird though. It didn't have the normal biscuit consistency compared to what's served elsewhere and seemed very dense. This was a perfectly good breakfast...

I ordered the Sage Fried Chicken & Bacon Waffle Tower on my second visit to the restaurant. This was a huge serving of chicken & waffles. The waffles had bacon cooked into the batter which was unique. I don't think I've ever had waffles containing bacon in the past. The tower of fried chicken was very tasty. The batter had a really nice flavor. I finished my whole breakfast here. Chicken & waffles was much larger and I made it about half way through. This chicken & waffles was much better than what I've had at places that specialize in chicken & waffles, so that's a good thing!

I enjoyed my food on both visits and I'd return to Hash House A Go Go!