Copper Canyon Grill in Orlando, FL

Copper Canyon Grill has been located in Pointe Orlando on International Drive for years now. I had been warned multiple times from different people about how horrible the restaurant is and to avoid Copper Canyon at all costs. I finally decided to ignore those warnings and give the restaurant a try. 

I was there for lunch on a Sunday. These lunch specials were advertised outside the restaurant and it must have worked. I ordered the Korean Pork Belly Tacos.

The food took quite a while to be served. The restaurant was mostly empty. They had an open kitchen and the guy cooking was getting loudly upset at something and yelling at some of the servers. If you have angry cooks, don't put them in an open kitchen where the guests can see and hear them. Once the food did come out, I had no complaints. The tacos were delicious. The pork belly was tender rather than rubbery (I've been served rubbery pork belly one too many times at other restaurants). The sauces were delicious. The side of kimchi was unexpected, but I graciously devoured it.

Prices at Copper Canyon Grill were a bit too high for most of the food which was served, but I suppose most of their business is from the convention center with people with expense accounts. Besides the high price point and the angry cook, I have no complaints about the food itself. Copper Canyon definitely didn't live up to their reputation as a horrible restaurant...

Oliviero Café in New York, NY

I was wandering around Manhattan near Times Square late one evening when it was decided that everyone was hungry and food was required. Without venturing too close to the overpriced chains that dwell in Times Square, we decided to try a deli/supermarket/convenience store that was open called Oliviero Cafe.

 

They had a much bigger selection of foods than I was expecting. There was a salad bar. There was a sandwich counter. They had sushi and a pasta bar. It seemed like they were in over their heads in trying to do everything, but it seemed to be working.

 

I ordered from the Korean section of the menu and had the vegetarian bibimbop. Not being well rounded in my Korean foods, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting but it was described as a rice bowl. The bibimbop turned out to be a large bowl of steamed rice topped with a fried egg, mushrooms, onions, squash, carrots, and broccoli in what tasted like a teriyaki-like sauce.

Korean food was the last thing I was expecting when I walked into Oliviero Cafe, but I enjoyed my meal. It is hard to go wrong with a bowl of rice, vegetables, and an egg...

Korean BBQ Taco Box in Orlando, FL

The Korean BBQ Taco Box was among one of the initial food trucks in Orlando that started the food truck craze that we're in right now. Everyone seemed to love this place, but it took me a while to actually try them.

When I finally got around to trying one of the Korean BBQ Taco Boxes, it was at one of the Food Truck Bazaars in the Oviedo Mall parking lot. I was reading the truck's menu when someone inside yelled out that they only had one box left, containing some sort of beef, and I could get it for half price. Sounded like a good deal, so I went for it. My mystery box contained beef cooked with onions, rice, and two fried chicken drumsticks. I was disappointed, with the beef being so fatty and tough that I couldn't eat most of it. The fried chicken was much better, but it wasn't the main focus of the meal either. I guess you get what you pay for I suppose with a half price meal...

While at the Food Truck Bazaar at Winter Springs High School, I decided to give the Korean BBQ Taco Box another try. I figured I should have their food when it wasn't the discounted bottom of the barrel. This time around, I tried the Spicy Pork Taco Box.

 The box came with a taco, salad, chicken wing, tempura potato, and a fried cheese roll. This was a huge improvement over my first meal with the Taco Boxes. The taco was filled with spicy shredded pork topped with lettuce. The salad consisted of iceberg lettuce with ginger dressing. The chicken wing was similar to what I had previously, and still good. The cheese roll was interesting too. It was like an egg roll filled with rice and cheese.

After my second meal with the Korean BBQ Taco Box Trucks, I am now a fan!

Mobile Deli Food Truck in Orlando, FL

Mobile Deli is one of Orlando's newest food trucks and also has one of the most generic names. Who would think that a truck called Mobile Deli serves Korean-fusion food? I tried them while at the Oviedo Food Truck Bazaar and I'm glad I did. My first taste of Korean tacos in Orlando was delicious...

I had two tacos, filled with chicken bulgogi and pork bulgogi, both on corn tortillas. These two overstuffed tacos were plenty to eat, containing the meat, onions, tomato, cilantro, and lime. The pork bulgogi was okay, although I thought the meat was kind of dry. The chicken was definitely the standout of the two meats. It was much spicier than the pork (good thing) and it was perfectly cooked. The flavors all mixed very nicely, so nicely that I was even thinking about getting another chicken taco. I will definitely be tracking down Mobile Deli on another day...