Palate Coffee Roasters in Sanford, FL

 

I visited Palate Coffee Roasters in Downtown Sanford. I tried their Dark Chocolate Pistachio Latte. Nice latte art!

NewCity Coffee Co. in Lake Mary, FL

I had an Ube Latte from NewCity Coffee Co. in downtown Lake Mary.

 

Dunkin' Donuts Tasting Event

On the June 2nd, 2016 I got to go to a special Dunkin’ Donuts tasting event. It was the day before National Donut Day! I sampled their newest breakfast sandwiches, coffees, teas, Coolattas, and of course Donuts!

The Heath Bar iced coffee, the Sweet Black Pepper Bacon Sandwich and the Blueberry Cobbler Croissant Donut were my favorites! 

The Sweet Black Pepper Bacon Sandwich had an amazing blend of sweet and peppery. I’m usually not a fan of croissant sandwiches but this was still very good. I also learned that you can get your sandwiches put on any kind of bagels, pastries or donuts! 

I am a huge regular coffee fan. I was a little skeptical with the Almond Joy and Heath bar iced coffee, but both were good. The Heath bar was something I enjoyed more. It had a mocha coffee taste.

The Caramel Latte Square and Blueberry Croissant are the new donuts in town. Both were very good. The Caramel Latte Square was infused with real coffee. Dunkin’ Donuts Croissant donuts are my go to donut from Dunkin’. It has 24 layers and is so fluffy and moist.

Dunkin’ Donuts newest Coolatta flavors include Sour Apple, Blue Raspberry, and Watermelon. These drinks are popular with Millennials. These were a little too sweet for my tastes.

After all the tasting was done. We made Munchkin Trifles! We layered Dunkin’ Donuts Chocolate Munchkins, whipped cream, candy, and chocolate pudding! This would be fun to make at a kids party!

Overall, I am totally a fan of Dunkin’ Donuts. They have something for any taste palette to enjoy whether you are coffee drinker or not!







-Sienafit
]I am all about fitness and finding balance of living a healthy lifestyle and loving sweet foods! You can follow me on Instagram: Sienafit. I am writing a guest blog post for Watch Me Eat!

Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, LA

I decided I needed to take a trip to New Orleans. My one and only experience with the city happened several years ago and was way too short. So short that I don't count it as a visit to the city. I have heard all sorts of good things about New Orleans, including good things about the food. All of which I really didn't experience last time I was there. After I've had thoughts of the city brewing in the back of my head for a few years now, I finally took a detour during a trip to Atlanta and made New Orleans happen. I do not regret my decision at all. My very first foodie experience upon arriving in the city is perhaps one of the most famous/touristy. I had breakfast at Cafe Du Monde.

Cafe Du Monde is known for the beignets and coffee. They are located in the French Quarter inside of a shopping area known as the French Market.

I split an order of three beignets and tried their Cafe au Lait. The beignets were light and puffy, covered in powdered sugar. These beignets seemed to have many more air bubbles compared to some of the other beignets I've had in the past, which made them less doughnut like. I'm not a coffee connoisseur, so I find it hard to discern one type of coffee from another. This cafe au lait was made with Cafe du Monde's chicory coffee, although I had a hard time detecting flavors not present in other coffees. I did enjoy dipping the beignets into the coffee, sweetening the drink with all the powdered sugar.

I did enjoy my food at Cafe du Monde. The beignets were among the best I've had and it was a good welcome to New Orleans.

Dunkin' Donuts' Fall Lineup/National Coffee Day in Winter Park, FL

I was invited to the Dunkin' Donuts in Winter Park on University Blvd to try some of the new Fall foods on their menu. I'm always a fan of pumpkin flavored stuff, so I was looking forward to trying some of their seasonal menu items.

The Spicy Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich was the first food item which was sampled. This consisted of a spicy split sausage link with egg and American cheese, served on an English muffin.

The Pumpkin Pie Donut came next. This doughnut was filled with a pumpkin pie flavored buttercreme. It was frosted with white dipping icing and sprinkled with grahmn cracker topping. This was good, but the filling and icing was very sweet.

The Pumpkin Donut wasn't nearly as sweet as the Pumpkin Pie Donut. Out of the two pumpkin flavors, I preferred this doughnut.

While on the subject of doughnuts, I was also able to try the Pumpkin Munchkins. Same as the pumpkin donut, only in a much smaller size.

The Snack 'n Go Chicken Wrap was filled with chicken, bacon, and ranch in a folded tortilla.

The Pepperjack Bagel Supreme was a bagel smothered in melted pepperjack cheese. The cheese had a nice, spicy kick, which I enjoyed. This was spicier than I was expecting from a fast food restaurant.

Dunkin' Donuts also served several varieties of their coffee. We tried their Dark Roast Pumpkin Coffee, Hot Pumpkin Mocha Latte, Pumpkin Creme Brulee Latte, Iced Hazelnut Swirl, and the Iced French Vanilla Swirl. I'm more of a tea drinker and not much of a coffee connoisseur, so I'm not the best judge of good coffee. The Hot Pumpkin Mocha Latte was my personal favorite. It tasted much more like a hot chocolate than a coffee to me.

Being that Dunkin' Donuts served coffee at their sampling event, it is appropriate that today, September 29, is National Coffee Day. That means Dunkin' Donuts is giving away a free medium cup of hot Dark Roast Coffee at all of their participating Orlando stores! Go get your free coffee!

I had fun trying the foods at Dunkin' Donuts. I vote that they bring back that pumpkin cream cheese that was served a couple years ago which wasn't brought back this year. That was my favorite pumpkin flavored food that I remember trying at Dunkin' Donuts in recent memory.

 

Al Bacio in Winter Park, FL

I was recently invited to a new restaurant and bakery in Winter Park called Al Bacio. They are located at 505 N. Park Avenue, very close to the Morse Museum and within walking distance of the SunRail station. When translated to English, Bacio means "to kiss." This should evoke the classic Italian gesture of placing one's index finger and thumb to one's lips and giving a kiss. They serve Italian, American, and Latin American food prepared by world-class pastry and Italian chefs. Al Bacio is open from morning to early evening serving breakfast, lunch, baked goods, coffees and a variety of appetizers complimented by a fine selection of beer and wine.

The dessert case is very prominent inside of Al Bacio. It was filled with all sorts of delicious looking pastries including cannoli, cheesecake, fruit tarts, and cupcakes.

For the media event that I attended, a choice of red or white sangria was offered.

We were also served a delicious selection of appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, and pastries.

Skewers of fresh mozzarella, artichoke hearts, and sundried tomato along with skewers of prosciutto wrapped melon:

Beef chimichurri:

Fried mozzarella and cheese empanadas:

 Desserts:

Canollis:

Sienafit was my companion on this food adventure to Al Bacio. You should be subscribed to her Youtube Channel. A few days later, she returned to the restaurant and sent me her first guest contribution to this blog:

A few days later I decided to go back and show a friend the the coffee shop. I asked if Al Bacio could make coffee drinks with designs in the foam/milk like they have pictured on their website. The waiter told me cappuccino could be made like this, so we ordered two. One of the cappuccinos was served with a nice star design on top made from foam and chocolate syrup. The other was just a plain cappuccino. My friend was a little disappointed his drink was not pretty as well. Cannolis were my favorite dessert at the media dinner. We got another to go with our cappuccinos.

That's the preview of Al Bacio. Visit their website for their location, hours, and menu:
http://albacio-florida.com


 

Dunkin Donuts in Atlanta, GA

I was in Atlanta and wanted to get a very quick breakfast within walking distance from my destination for the day. The two choices ended up being either Ihop or Dunkin Donuts, and I chose the latter. I know Dunkin Donuts is nothing exotic. Just about every location is the same and normally a quick breakfast at a Dunkin Donuts wouldn't be worthy of a blog post, but I decided to write about this visit for two reasons. The first being: SNOW! There was snow on the ground leftover from the big snowstorm that hit Atlanta a couple days earlier and as a Florida based food blogger, I think snow is wonderful...

The second reason I decided to write this blog post was because what I ordered at this particular Dunkin Donuts annoyed me. I wanted to get a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich. I also wanted some hot tea. They had a combo that included the sandwich and a coffee, but I like tea way more than coffee. I asked if I could get the tea instead of coffee with the combo and I was told it couldn't be done. Tea was cheaper than coffee on the menu, but yet buying them separately ended up costing a dollar and change more than the combo which included the more expensive coffee.

The bagel sandwich was perfectly acceptable, but the drinks annoyed me. I'm sure there was some reason like cash register restrictions or messing up inventory why a more expensive cup of coffee couldn't be switched out with a cheaper cup of tea, but it still annoyed me. Regardless, once I got back outside, the cold weather and snow made me forget all about Dunkin Donuts. Especially when I found enough snow to make a snowman right across the street. Polar vortexes are fun. Too bad it was all melted when the temperatures warmed up later in the afternoon...

 

Black & Brew in Lakeland, FL

I ate lunch at the Black & Brew Coffee House in Lakeland, FL. I'm not always happy with the food from coffee shops, but I enjoyed my sandwich at Black & Brew. The restaurant is right in the middle of Downtown with a nice view of Munn Park across the street. I ordered the Spicy Thai Peanut Panini. The sandwich consisted of chicken, red peppers, green onions, carrots, and a side of peanut sauce. It also came with a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips and a pickle. The sandwich was made fresh and tasted good. I had no complaints!

Kusafiri Coffee Shop at Disney's Animal Kingdom

 I visited Disney's Animal Kingdom for the first time in several years. A whole lot was added since my last visit, and I had good time. Getting something to eat for breakfast was one of my first things I did at the park. I passed by a few restaurants that were open at 9:30 in the morning, but I didn't want a buffet (Tusker House) and another didn't sell simple breakfast items like bagels (Pizzafari). I eventually found the Kusafiri Coffee Shop in the Africa section of the park that had what I wanted.

After reading over the menu, I changed my mind from a bagel and instead got a croissant. It was nothing extraordinary, but tasted like croissants should.

I ate the croissant on the go as I headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safari, then checked out some of the animal attractions, train ride, and Kali River Rapids. I've heard people complain that there isn't enough to do at Animal Kingdom, but if you take time to actually look at all of the animal exhibits, there is plenty. Animal Kingdom really is one of the best zoos around. I wonder what happened with those giant pandas that the park was supposed to get from China a few years ago?

Starbucks in Ashland, VA

On a long drive home from New York, my fellow travelers decided that they needed to stop at a Starbucks to refuel on caffeine. I instead opted to get actual food and tried their Spinach and Feta breakfast wrap. It consisted of egg whites, spinach, feta, and some sort of tomato based sauce. It was better than I was expecting, but I really would prefer if they used whole eggs rather than just the whites. Egg whites may be healthier, but without the yolks they are tasteless with a consistency that I really don't like. Otherwise it was a good wrap from a coffee chain that isn't known for their food.