Finnigan's Wake Irish Pub in Winston-Salem, NC

I took a detour along one of my road trips and ended up in Winston-Salem, NC for a festival. It was my first time exploring the city, and I ate while there. The restaurant I chose was an Irish pub called Finnigan's Wake. I had the fried cod sandwich. The fish was Guinness battered and fried, topped with lettuce, tomato, and sauce. I found the fried fish to be soggy rather than crispy. Not good to get soggy fried fish on a $9.00 sandwich. Mashed potatoes and a pickle were served on the side, both of which I liked.

This was my one and only food experience in Winston-Salem and I wasn't too impressed. Finnigan's Wake was on the expensive side (my sandwich was one of the cheapest items on the menu) and nobody I was with was happy with their food. Hopefully the other restaurants in Winston-Salem are better!

Cookes of Dublin in Downtown Disney

It has been a while since theme park food has been featured on this blog. That's too bad since theme park food can be surprisingly good, especially at Disney. The last time I had Disney food was for the pre-opening of Star Tours back in June where we were treated to an ice cream buffet. The last time I ate in an actual restaurant at Disney was for the media opening of the AMC Dine-In Theaters in May. Seeing the pictures that were popping up all over the internet of delicious looking foods from the Epcot Food & Wine Festival (which I did not attend - too expensive), I figured it was about time to go on another Disney food adventure. The Festival of Masters was going on at Downtown Disney so we ventured out to view some artwork and eat lunch. The mentioned lunch happened at Cookes of Dublin.

Cookes of Dublin is the fast food Irish restaurant attached to Raglin Road in Downtown Disney. They have foods you would expect like fish and chips, but I was intrigued by their pies. I've actually though of eating here a few times in the past to try their pies and they always end up being sold out. It must have been my lucky day on this visit, because they had plenty to choose from. I went with the Fisherman's Pie, filled with mashed potatoes, carrots, shrimp, salmon, and scallops in a doughy pie shell. I wasn't exactly sure what would be inside the pie when I ordered, but the variety and size of the seafood was a nice surprise. The swirly mashed potatoes on top were a nice touch as well. I suppose this was sort of like a seafood version shepard's pie...

Fried Shrimp were also ordered at the table. These were exactly what they were described as, battered shrimp deep fried and served over fries. My pie was definitely the winner by far...

Cookes of Dublin is definitely worthy of another visit to try more of their pies. Expect to pay Disney prices, but they are cheaper than Raglin Road next door (which I really want to return to one day). Best of all, they satisfied my craving for theme park food for the moment...

Cricketers Arms in Orlando, FL

I had dinner at a British pub called Cricketers Arms in Festival Bay on International Drive. I ate at the restaurant years ago, way back when they were in The Mercado Mall at the other end of I-Drive. If I remember correctly, they were one of the last businesses in the Mercado before it was demolished. Cricketers Arms moved and has been at it's current location for a few years now, and I finally returned to give them a try...

I wanted to try the Dubliners Bangers & Mash, featuring Irish sausage instead of English sausage (what's the difference?), but they apparently didn't have the Irish sausages. So that meant I ordered the Cricketers Bangers & Mash. This came with three sausage links topped with caramelized onions and a side of mashed potatoes. The meal was okay, but these were definitely not the best bangers & mash I've had. There was far too much grizzle in the sausages, hitting something hard every few bites. After seeing someone else order the Shepard's Pie, I think that may be a better choice here. It seemed like a bigger portion for a lower price and also came with a salad. Next time I suppose...

Fiddler's Green in Winter Park, FL

Fiddler's Green Irish Pub has been in Winter Park for as long as I can remember.  I've heard almost all good things about them, so I finally managed to visit the restaurant to give them a try.
I had the Irish Stew. At first, I was considering ordering something I was more familiar with. Something like Bangers & Mash or Fish & Chips, but I was feeling adventurous and decided to get something I had never tried before. Irish Stew consisted of lamb, peas, and carrots in a gravy, topped with mashed potatoes.  The stew tasted good, but unfortunately the lamb was so fatty that the majority of it was unedible.  My bowl was half filled with large chunks of lamb fat when I finally gave up and decided there wasn't any more edible meat in the bowl.

Perhaps I didn't make the best choice when ordering the Irish Stew, but who would expect they would fill the stew with big chunks of lamb fat rather than better quality meat?  I didn't hear any complaints from the people I was dining with, so I think I was the lucky one with the bad meal. I really should give Fiddler's Green another try because of all of the positive buzz surrounding the place, but my Irish Stew didn't put me in a rush to return...

Trinity in Floral Park, NY

The original plan was to eat dinner at a diner, but after discussing how expensive most diners on Long Island became, we decided to try something new and go to a nicer restaurant (hopefully in the same price range). We ended up at a good Irish Pub in Floral Park, NY called Trinity.

The meal started out with a basket of Irish Soda Bread, crackers, and really good scones. Someone at the table ordered a beer, and somehow they put this clover design in the beer head. I've never seen anything like this in beer and have no idea how it's made.

I ordered Fish & Chips for my meal. I normally don't go for the fried fish, but this was pretty good. Drenching everything on the plate with lemon juice and malt vinegar makes it so much better though!

Someone else at the table ordered a Chicken Pot Pie. I traded a piece of fish for half of the pie and really liked it. It was one of the best chicken pot pies that I have eaten in a long time.

Another person at the table ordered Bangers and Mash. They didn't finish, so I tried one of the leftover sausages. It had a somewhat unique taste that I couldn't quite place, but was still good. Not as good as the Chicken Pot Pie though.

I really enjoyed Trinity and I'm glad I found it. It was way better than a diner!

Beef O' Brady's Cuban Sandwich

My Cuban Sandwich from Beef O' Brady's in Deltona, Florida wasn't very authentic. Compared to other Cuban sandwiches that I've eaten, this was more along the lines of a ham sandwich with pickles. There was no roast pork here, but that's what you get when Cuban food is ordered at an Irish sports bar. Not that the restaurant was even very Irish. The only food on the menu that seemed remotely Irish was the fish and chips, but there were plenty of American hamburgers. For what it was, the sandwich was decent tasting, but was nothing that will have me rushing back to visit Beef O' Brady's again soon...