Yeoman's Cask & Lion in Kissimmee, FL

I had lunch in the new Sunset Walk shopping center at Margaritaville in Kissimmee. I ate at Yeoman's Cask & Lion. This British themed restaurant sits beneath a replica of Big Ben. Big Ben fits perfectly for a resort complex with a tropical theme! The menu here seemed to be mostly burgers and sandwiches. There was a small portion of the menu which served stereotypical British food.

I ordered a sandwich called the Brie Castle. It was a fancy grilled cheese made from brie and muenster. Besides the cheese, there was pot roast, arugula, apple slices, and caramelized onions. Overall, the sandwich was mostly good. All the components made it much more interesting than a basic grilled cheese. A corner of the sandwich did have some pot roast that was fatty and inedible, but the rest of the sandwich was covered in nice and tender pot roast. Fries were served as a side.

Besides the little bit of chewy pot roast, I enjoyed my lunch here. I'd return to give them another try.

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!

Abracadabra Ice Cream in Kissimmee, FL

I tried a restaurant called Abracadabra Ice Cream in downtown Kissimmee. Unlike the standard ice cream shop, Abracadabra served ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. You picked your flavors, they added them in a bowl with some cream, and mixed everything with liquid nitrogen to freeze everything.

I choose mango and raspberry as my flavors. The consistency of the ice cream was interesting. It wasn't as smooth as standard ice cream. It sort of reminded me of Dippin' Dots, only with larger pieces of ice cream and a much better taste.

I very much enjoyed the novelty of seeing ice cream being formed before my eyes in a misty cloud. I'd return to Abracadabra!

Rosie's Smokin Hot Bar-B-Que in Kissimmee, FL

I tried Rosie's Smokin Hot Bar-B-Que in Kissimmee for dinner. This restaurant is located along 192 and has the same owners as Wildside BBQ. While the Wildside locations are full service sit down restaurants, Rosie's is cafeteria style and resembles 4 Rivers (a whole lot).

I ordered the sliced pork platter. Just like at 4 Rivers, it was served on a tray covered in a sheet of paper.  The pork looked good, chopped into larger pieces rather than the typical pulled/shredded pork often found at BBQ places. Unfortunately, the pork was sort of chewy, was very bland tasting, and was room temperature. It was made a bit better with barbecue sauce, but it definitely looked better than it tasted. One of my sides was macaroni and cheese. It was okay, but was also room temperature. My other side was collard greens. These were the best part of the platter. They were really flavorful and contained bits of pork. The sad part was that the pork in the collards was much better than the main dish pork. The collard pork was nice and tender and had plenty of flavor on its own, not requiring barbecue sauce. While the collards were good, their temperature didn't seem to be where it should have been either.

I suppose the Wildside people thought they would be able to follow the 4 Rivers formula to make a successful barbecue restaurant, but it wasn't working. I don't think I'd bother trying Rosie's again. I'm not sure why but it seems like I've been having bad luck with Central Florida barbecue lately. Smokey Joe's in Sanford had a similar problem with room temperature meats. I've also been to the 4 Rivers in Winter Garden twice since then and have seen quality issues there as well. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time.

Bistro Europa Express in Hunters Creek, FL

I had lunch at a restaurant in Hunter's Creek called Bistro Europa Express. This was a restaurant where you ordered at a counter, then you are given a number and the food is delivered to your table. The counter where you order was very appetizing. There were large glass cases displaying all the salads and ready made foods here. Apparently salads are a big thing here where you choose your ingredients following the Subway/Chipotle model. There was a section of the menu specializing in Greek food, and I chose to order from this. I had the Europa Combo, which consisted of gyro, chicken souvlaki, tomatoes, onions, tzaziki, pita, and two sides.

This was a humongous amount of food. The gyro meat was stacked high atop slices of pita. It had plenty of flavor on its own, but that didn't stop me from dipping it in the tzaziki. The chicken souvlaki had a few cubes of chicken skewered with onions and bell pepper. For my sides, I had a Greek salad and the macaroni & cheese. The salad consisted of romaine lettuce topped with lots of feta and Kalamata olives. Macaroni and cheese ruined the trend of Greek food, but it called my name when I saw it in the display case. Everything on this plate was very tasty. The price was good for the huge amount of food that was served. I had no complaints about my meal and would return to Bistro Europa Express if I'm looking for food again in Hunter's Creek.

China Bell in Kissimmee, FL

I was in Kissimmee and wanted to get a quick lunch. I ended up at a Chinese take-out in a strip mall along 192 called China Bell.

I ordered one of their lunch combinations which came with shrimp with broccoli, fried rice, and an egg roll. The shrimp were nice and large, served with lots of broccoli and carrots in a brown sauce. The rice was a little bland and needed to be spiced up with soy sauce. The egg roll was good, but pretty standard. Overall, this was a perfectly acceptable meal from a Chinese take-out. Very similar menu and food to most other take-out places.

Wildside BBQ in Kissimmee, FL

Wildside BBQ is a local chain in the Orlando area. I was recently near Disney on 192 and decided to give the Wildside in Kissimmee a try. It wasn't until halfway through the meal that it clicked that this was the same restaurant as the Wildside BBQ in Thornton Park or College Park (neither of which I have tried). They also apparently own Pacino's a few miles up the road on 192. Three barbecues and an Italian restaurant is an interesting combination... 

 

I went with something simple and ordered a pulled pork sandwich with a side of mashed potatoes. The pork was nice and tender and was topped with a squirt of sauce. The potatoes were mashed with the skin, which I always like.

Overall, my meal at Wildside BBQ was good. I'd go back here, although next time I'll probably try one of their non-barbeque items on the menu.

Medieval Times in Kissimmee, FL

Medieval Times recently introduced a brand new show and this blog was invited to the premiere. Medieval Times is one of oldest dinner shows in Orlando and is also a show that I had heard lots about but had never seen. I was looking forward to the show!

When we arrived, the evening started out in a large hall. This seemed like the preshow area and was honestly a little disappointing. Appetizers were served here and beside a repetitive knighting ceremony for the birthdays/anniversaries/etc, not much happened in here. All the bars and gift shops were open, but more needed to happen (court jester juggling or something?).

Since we had over an hour of waiting for the show to start, I suppose it was a good thing that they had a medieval village set up next to the main Medieval Times castle. This is the only Medieval Times that has a village and it was very cool! The village was filled with all sorts of authentic medieval and renaissance artifacts, everything from armor to torture devices to pottery. Here's a 700 year old manuscript...

Animals were also in the village. Here's a falcon.

Eventually it was time for the main show and dinner to begin. Several rows of seating surrounded the stage, separated into color-coded sections. We sat in the green section, and therefore cheered for the green knight.

Once everyone was seated, the first course of tomato bisque and garlic bread was served. The tomato bisque seemed like typical tomato soup to me, not exceptional but still tasty. The garlic bread was more interesting. It actually reminded me a bit of a garlic naan from an Indian restaurant rather that what I would expect at a dinner show.

While we were eating our bread and slurping our soup, the show began and horses did all sorts of nifty tricks in front of us. Knights soon followed with a fun competition of jousting, sword fighting, and other nifty stuff.

As the show was going on, the next courses were served. The chicken came next. Half chickens were served and we ripped them apart with our hands in a very medieval manner (unless you insist that they bring you silverware). The chicken was flavorful, although it was a little dry.

Soon after the chicken, a rib and herb-basted potatoes were served. The rib was good, but the potatoes were really dry and flavorless.

For dessert, we were served apple turnovers. According to one of the people working in the medieval village, the dessert is the only non-standard item on the menu and is always a surprise as to what will be served. The turnover was good with a flaky crust surrounding some apple jam. 

 Before I knew it, the show was over. I never saw the old show, so I can't compare, but I enjoyed it. Overall, the Medieval Times was like an indoor renaissance festival with air conditioning and better food. Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a good time!

Medieval Times had a great castle-shaped cake made by a company called Cupcake Kisses sitting in the lobby/preshow area for the premier. It almost looked too nice to eat, but to my surprise the cake was cut with a sword and was served after the show.

 This was definitely the most architectural cake I've ever eaten!

I had a good time at Medieval Times. Once the show got started, it was very entertaining. The food was all good (with the exception of the potatoes), and overall was fun night. 

If you've read this far into this blog post, it is your lucky day. I have a goodie bag from Medieval Times to give to one of my lucky readers. It contains two tickets to the show, fancy Medieval Times drinking cups, a Medieval Times hat and rain poncho, and some other extras. It can all be yours, all you have to do is like Watch Me Eat on Facebook and comment on the post mentioning the contest. Do this before August 7, 2012, you will be entered into a random drawing to win the prize. Good luck!

Osceola County Fair Food 2010

I visited the Osceola County Fair in Kissimmee, FL. They had all the good stuff that a fair should have such as a huge selection of farm animals, circus acts, and plenty of rather scary rides. But this blog is not about any of that stuff, it's all about the food. While I didn't see any of the famous fair foods like doughnut burgers or deep fried butter, the Osceola County Fair still had a pretty good selection of food served from trailers. The following are random photos of some of the various food vendors at the fair:





I tried the Ribbon Fries from this cart. Fresh potato chips like this are normally pretty tasty, but the potatoes near the bottom of this plate were somewhat soggy.


I also got some roasted corn from this stand (Little Richard's?). How can you go wrong with an ear of corn roasted on a grill, dipped in butter, and then served by grumpy carnies?

Pacino's in Kissimmee, FL

I ate dinner at Pacino's Italian Ristorante on 192 in Kissimmee, FL. I ate here years ago and didn't remember too much about the restaurant. Inside, the restaurant's layout reminded me of a Romano's Macaroni Grill. From what someone I ate with was saying, the interior of the restaurant is very different from what it was in the past. Originally, this place supposedly had a very high ceiling, made to look like you were eating in an outdoor courtyard. They finished the effect with fiber optic fireworks in the ceiling. Now it seems they added a second floor in the space for parties/dinner shows, so the faux outdoor dining is gone.

We started with the Pacino's Flaming Cheese appetizer. With the camera flash and the window behind the plate, the flames don't show up in the picture, but that is indeed a plate of salty fried cheese doused in ignited alcohol. To add to the fun, our waiter bringing the flaming cheese looked exactly like Patrick Stewart, only with an Italian accent...

A house salad and some bread came next.

For my meal, I had the Linguini Carbonara. It was a huge plate of linguini in alfredo-like cream sauce, mixed with bits of prosciutto. It was a whole lot of cream and pork for one serving, but it was tasty. I have no complaints about the taste although I don't know if I would get it again, just based on it being a bit too much of the same thing.

Being located where the restaurant was, just a few miles from Disney and right across the street from Old Town, the prices really weren't all to bad. It seemed to be about equivalent to Olive Garden, only with a better menu.