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...

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers in Orlando, FL

I decided to get lunch at the much hyped Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers location which opened recently in Orlando along Daryl Carter Parkway. Similar to when White Castle and Portillo's opened in the same shopping center, the lines to try Raising Cane's were insane at first. Now that there's no longer police directing traffic due to their drive-thru overflow, I decided to give Raising Cane's a try.

I ordered The Box Combo. Came with 4 chicken fingers, fries, Cane's sauce, Texas toast, coleslaw, and a drink. This was some of the worst fast food I can remember attempting to eat in recent memory. The batter on the chicken fingers lacked any crunch or crispyness. The batter basically wiped off the chicken under my fingers when I picked up a piece of chicken. The fries were cold and soggy, as was the Texas toast. Thankfully, the coleslaw was actually pretty tasty. 

I ended up throwing out most of the meal. I know my fast food expectations should be low, but I should at least expect to eat the food. My meal left me with no reason to go back to Raising Cane's...
 

Rise Pies in Sarasota, FL

I had things to do at The Mall at University Town Center in Sarasota and got lunch there. 

Besides having a horrible, overly complicated name, this mall doesn't have a food court, which was interesting. There were restaurants in storefronts, each with their own seating rather than one centralized location. I had food from one of these restaurants called Rise Pies.

Rise Pies was the same concept/setup as Blaze Pizza. It did seem like the topping selection here was a bit more limited than what Blaze offers. I had a pie with pesto for the sauce, topped with mozzarella, green peppers, kalamata olives, basil, sausage, and pepperoni. The pepperoni here curled while cooking into a cup shape which always makes pizza feel more gourmet. The crust was puffier than a lot of the fast food pizza competitors.

Not bad for a mall pizza!

White Castle in Orlando, FL

The wait is finally over! On May 3, 2021, the first White Castle ever in Orlando is having its grand opening. I was invited to try White Castle a few days before they open their doors to the masses.

It appears White Castle is expecting quite the crowd when they open on May 3. They had a few large tents set up in the parking lot to accommodate a large queue line. 

White Castle's lobby:

It has been a very long time since I've been to a White Castle. So long that I asked the employee taking my order to recommend the quintessential White Castle food. He told me to have the Cheese Slider Combo. The menu describes these sliders as "made with 100% beef, steam grilled on a bed of onions topped with a slice of American cheese."

The combo came with a side of crispy, crinkle cut fries.

The cashier also recommended that I try the 1921 Slider. This sandwich was topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and cheddar. 

After sampling some of what White Castle had to offer inside the restaurant, I was asked if I would like to experience the drive-thru. Of course I would!

I tried the Chicken & Waffles Slider. Fried chicken, bacon, and cheese between two waffles. This was my favorite of all the sliders I sampled at White Castle.

I also had a side of Onion Chips. Crispy, breaded, deep fried onions.

Vanilla shake for dessert. 

Here's a video from White Castle. This is one of the few times on this blog where you can actually watch me eat...


White Castle is located at 11595 Daryl Carter Parkway. That's between all the theme parks near the intersection of Palm Parkway and Daryl Carter Parkway. Go tomorrow and see what White Castle is all about!

MOD Pizza in Orlando, FL

MOD Pizza. Another fast food pizza chain in Orlando near the attractions. I ended up eating here 4 or 5 times since they opened. 

  Here's two of the nicer looking pies I got from MOD Pizza:

I enjoyed MOD Pizza when they were new, but I liked them a little less on each visit. It seemed like the employees stopped caring about the pizzas as time went on. On my last two visits, the pizzas were sloppily thrown together as quickly as possible resulting in pies that weren't as good as my initial visits here. Don't know if I got unlucky with my pizza maker or...? 

Blaze Pizza in Disney Springs

Blaze Pizza has been around for a while now in the Orlando area, but they never made it onto this blog. I've eaten at a few of the Blaze Pizza locations in Florida, but these pies are all from their location in Disney Springs. 

Of the pizza chains where you pick what you want on your pie as it's being made, Blaze seems to be the most consistent. The proportions of crust, cheese, sauce, and toppings always seems to be just about what I'd expect from a pizza at Blaze. That's some good corporate fast food consistency...

1000 Degrees Pizza in Lake Mary, FL

 I had lunch from 1000 Degrees Pizza in Lake Mary. This is yet another restaurant following the formula of Blaze, MOD Pizza, etc, where you pick toppings for your pizza in a Chipotle style format. I honestly started mixing up places serving pizza in Orlando, and confused this with 900 Degreez in a brick and mortar form. Wrong temperature, wrong restaurant, and 900 Degreez is still a truck.

My pizza was topped with sausage, pepperoni, onions, bell peppers, olives, and banana peppers. Pretty tasty. Topping selection here seemed slightly more limited than some of the similar competitors, but they still had a decent selection. I'd get a pizza here again.

Las Vegas Food #2: In-N-Out Burger

This post is going to be controversial. I'm going to talk about my first visit to an In-N-Out Hamburgers. I'm going to say I wasn't impressed with everyone's much hyped burger chain...

I decided I had to try the In-N-Out Burger I spotted along the Las Vegas Strip. I've been hearing about the wondrous food miracles that In-N-Out does with their burgers for years. With all that hype, I'm sure I was setting myself up for disappointment. I know In-N-Out is known for their secret menu, but I figured I'd order some of their published menu standards since it was my first visit.

I ordered the Double-Double (left). The person I ate there with had a Cheeseburger (right) with only meat and cheese (super picky eater). Fries came as a side for both. My Double-Double had two beef patties, cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato, and sauce. It was adequate. It tasted like a mediocre fast food burger to me, above the monstrosity level of Burger King, but about even with a McDonald's burger. The Double-Double wasn't the worst thing I've had, but not something I'll be craving from Florida for years to come. Don't get me started on the fries though. They were bad. They were soggy, had no character of their own and desperately demanded to be drenched in condiments to make them somewhat okay.

Since my visit to In-N-Out, I've discussed my thoughts with fans of the restaurant. I've been told I would have enjoyed it so much more if I had ordered off the secret menu. In my mindset though, my first experience with the restaurant should be with the regular menu. If I was that impressed, I'd go rushing back to try the secret menu items. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. In-N-Out, you did not live up to your legendary hype...

Tijuana Flats Cheeseburger Tacos

Tijuana Flats invited me to one of their Orlando locations to sample some of their new menu items, specifically the new Cheeseburger Tacos and fries.

Tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, and queso are always on the menu at Tijuana Flats.

The seasoned fries were good. They were crispy with a peppery flavor. Once they were dipped in queso, I'm sure the fries became healthier...

The Cheeseburger Taco was a tortilla filled with ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes plus pickles, ketchup and mustard. You get two tacos with seasoned fries for $7.89.

The Cheeseburger Tacos and fries are available at Tijuana Flats through the end of August. Go try them while you can!

Tijuana Flats Flat Outrageous Menu

Tijuana Flats has added a new section to their menu. They call it Flat Outrageous. This new Flat Outrageous menu features street tacos, flautas, and tostadas. I was recently invited to one of the newest Tijuana Flats locations in Orlando near Millenia to sample some of the items from the new menu.

Tijuana Trio: Chips, salsa, queso, and guac. Not from the new Flat Outrageous section of the menu, but chips and dips are always a standard.

Crispy Baja Fish Street Tacos: Crispy fish, chipotle crema, shaved cilantro cabbage, and pineapple salsa.

Jerk Chicken Street Tacos: Crispy jerk chicken, MoreFire! hot sauce, shaved cilantro cabbage, pineapple salsa, and cotija cheese. Of the street tacos, this one was my favorite. It had much more heat than I'd expect from tacos in a chain restaurant.

Lime Steak Street Tacos: Grilled garlic-lime steak, avocado crema, shaved cilantro cabbage, pico de gallo, and cotija cheese.

Philly Cheesesteak Flautas: Cripsy tortillas stuffed with shaved sirloin steak, mozzarella cheese, grilled onions & peppers served with queso.

Bangin' Chicken Tostadas: Cripsy corn tortillas with Smack My Asss Bangin' Chicken, refried beans, cheddar jack cheese, grilled onions & peppers, tomatoes, and ranch dressing. Another item that I really enjoyed. I think this is what I'll be ordering on my next visit to Tijuana Flats.

Cookie Dough Flautas: Chocolate chip cookie dough in a flour tortilla, lightly fried and topped with powdered sugar. Served with a side of chocolate syrup.

MidiCi in Kissimmee, FL

I was invited to try a new restaurant in Kissimmee called MidiCi. Located in a shopping center near the intersection of Osceola Parkway and 441, MidiCi is a quick service style restaurant. Neapolitan pizza seems to be the star here, with the entire kitchen centered around a wood-fired oven. You can either choose to order of the menu, or customize your pizzas by selecting what you want on your pizzas. I wanted to leave the flavor combinations to the experts, so everything I tried came straight off the menu. 

We started out our visit with the House Cheese Board. This consisted of a selection of house cheeses: black truffle cheese (sottocenere al tartufo), smoked mozzarella, goat cheese, gorgonzola, and parmigiano-reggiano. The cheeses were accompanied with fresh pears, king walnuts, organic honey, and wood fire-toasted ciabatta bread

House Meat Board: This was similar to the cheese board, featuring a selection of cured meats. There was black truffle salami (tartufo), prosciutto di San Daniele, spicy Italian salami (calabrese), Neapolitan salami, and rosemary ham (cotto). The meats were served with gourmet pickles, two mustards, and wood fire-toasted ciabatta bread

Burrata with Melon & Prosciutto di San Daniele: Fresh soft burrata cheese, fresh melon, prosciutto di San Daniele (imported from Italy and aged 24 months).

The Devil's Pizza: Crushed Italian peeled tomatoes (sauce), fresh whole mozzarella, housemade all natural spicy sausage, spicy Italian salami (calabrese), all natural Fresno chilis, all natural Italian chilis, parmigiano-reggiano, organic non-gmo extra virgin olive oil, and fresh organic sweet basil. The pizza had a fair amount of spice for what is essentially a fast food restaurant.

Pizza Bianca e Prosciutto: Fresh whole mozzarella, oregano, fresh garlic, parmigiano-reggiano, organic non-gmo extra virgin olive oil, topped with prosciutto di San Daniele and baby arugula after bake. Of the two pizzas I sampled, this was my favorite.

Nutella Calzone with Fresh Berries: Our signature Neapolitan dough, light, thin, soft and chewy, baked fresh with Nutella, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Topped with a hint of balsamic reduction and shaved coconut. I've had similar desserts at other fast food Italian chains. This was better.

The Drowning Gelato (Affogato): Italian vanilla gelato by Italian Master Gelatiers Leo Leo Gelato, drowning in espresso. I'm not a big coffee person so the espresso flavor was a bit strong for my liking.

Everything I tried at MidiCi was delicious. The pizzas were done really nicely. All the appetizers and desserts were quality. I look forward to returning to MidiCi in the future!

Pizza@ Artegon in Orlando, FL

When Artegon Marketplace opened as a renovated version of Festival Bay Mall on International Drive, I had very low expectations of them being successful. Yet here we are, almost two years after their opening and they seem to be doing well. Recent news is that they are working on opening a food hall in some of the unoccupied space in the mall. Before that happens though, I recently had lunch at Artegon at a restaurant called Pizza@. This is a small chain with locations around Florida, with the other Orlando location near Lake Eola. They are set up like a Subway/Chipotle where you pick what you want on your pizza at a counter. I ordered one of the pre-picked topping selections called the Artegon Ana. This had a whole wheat crust topped with alfredo ricotta sauce, fresh mozzarella, sausage, artichokes, chickpeas, red onions, olives, feta cheese, and truffle oil. When they offered to add additional toppings, I went with the green peppers and capers.

For a fast food pizza cooked on a conveyor belt oven in a mall, I enjoyed this. I don't think I've ever had chickpeas on a pizza before. They were generous with the toppings, but everything held together nicely. I'd go back to Pizza@.

Indian Hut in Orlando, FL

I recently discovered an Indian fast food/take out restaurant in Orlando at the intersection of Conroy and Kirkman called Indian Hut. Indian food after lunch buffets are finished for the day gets pricy in Orlando, so Indian Hut's affordable prices were refreshing. The place is set up similar to a Chinese take-out where you order at a counter then find a table to eat. Better than most take out places, they serve the food here on real plates.

I tried the Chicken Vindaloo on my first visit with a side of naan. Pretty tasty. The vindaloo wasn't as spicy as I've had elsewhere, but was just about right for my tastes.

I had the Masala Dosa on another visit. This huge pancake was filled with a potato filling, served with three different sauces.

I have enjoyed my visits to Indian Hut so far and I'll most likely return again. Fast food Indian food is a good thing!

Fuji Express in Deland, FL

I ventured to Deland and had dinner at a restaurant called Fuji Express. This fast food Japanese restaurant served both hibachi style food as well as sushi. There were other people eating there, but I don't know if I'd trust this restaurant with raw fish. I ordered the Shrimp Teriyaki Bento Box. The shrimp was cooked with carrots, baby corn, and broccoli in teriyaki sauce. It was served with California rolls, goyza, and steamed rice. Everything tasted adequate enough. None of it was outstanding, but nothing was bad either. I wouldn't rush back here for fast food Japanese food, but wouldn't necessarily object if someone suggested eating at Fuji Express again.

Crown Colony House at Busch Gardens Tampa

I was at Busch Gardens Tampa and ate lunch at a restaurant called Crown Colony House. This restaurant is located in the Egypt section of the park and overlooks the animals in the Edge of Africa section. The Crown Colony House is a cafeteria style fast food restaurant.

I noticed this sign while waiting in line for food. I found this a bit amusing. Busch Gardens is really trying their best to make deep fried food sound healthy. With ZERO grams of trans fat, low saturated fat, Omega 3 fatty acids, and a good source of monounsaturated fat, how could deep fried food be bad for you? Let's eat it every day!

Since the oil used in deep frying has all of those pros with apparently no cons, why not indulge? I had their combo with came with deep fried chicken tenders, deep fried french fries, and a slice of pepperoni pizza (not deep fried but not good for you regardless).

This was typical theme park food. The pizza was mass produced. The chicken was mediocre, as were the fries. At least I was getting lots of my Omega 3 fatty acids though! I always heard fish was a good source of Omega 3s. Why bother when you can get the same stuff from deep fried foods? Thanks for the education Busch Gardens!