Ma-Se in Longwood, FL

Ma-Se is a Japanese restaurant that's been in Longwood for a while which I finally visited for the first time. I ordered the Nachos Don. This was a rice bowl topped with tuna, krab, masago, avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, tomato, and tempura flakes. I enjoyed dinner!

 

Dio Santo Street Pizzeria in Longwood, FL

I tried a food truck called Dio Santo Street Pizzeria when it was at an even in Reiter Park in Longwood.

I tried the Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza. The pie was topped with sauce, cheese, prosciutto, arugula, and a balsamic glaze. Crust was nice and crispy. Flavors were good. The pie was a little expensive for the size, but it was expected for a food truck. I'd get this again.

Shiraz Market in Longwood, FL

Shiraz Market is located in a tiny, somewhat shady looking strip mall in Longwood. A taco shop once occupied the spot, but they have been long gone. I would ride by all time and the restaurant went completely unnoticed until they started getting all sorts of press, including being featured by Andrew Zimmern (part of his apology after insulting Orlando's restaurants). I tried Shiraz Market soon after and was very underwhelmed. They served good sized portions, but everything I tried tasted unseasoned and flavorless.

I recently gave them another try and enjoyed the food much more this time around. Perhaps I caught Shiraz Market on a bad day on my first visit. 

The Koubideh Combo: Ground beef and chicken made into skewer form. Served over rice with a garnish of tomato, sliced onions, and parsley. 

Beef & Chicken Kabab Combo: Almost the same as the meal above, only the chicken skewer was replaced with whole pieces of chicken rather than ground chicken.

Gateway to India in Longwood, FL

Since everyone is supposed to be social distancing right now, I used UberEats for the first time ever and had food delivered from Gateway to India in Longwood. I've been to the restaurant before in the past, but always at lunchtime for their buffet.

The order consisted of Chicken Tikka Massala, Butter Chicken, and Garlic Naan. The main dishes were served in plastic takeout containers and came with a large styrofoam container of rice. The naan was wrapped in foil. All was delivered in a sealed paper bag.

The garlic naan had plenty of garlic on it.

Here's a photo of the chicken tikka massala after it was re-plated out of the togo container. Of the two chicken dishes, this was slightly spicier. Not unbearably spicy, but it had a nice, flavorful heat to it.

Everything here was enjoyed with my stay at home meal from Gateway to India.

Biscuits Restaurant in Longwood, FL

I had dinner at Biscuits in Longwood. They are located in the strip mall behind where Polenia used to be. I had heard that Biscuits has the same owners as Polenia and served a hybrid diner/Polish menu to consolidate their restaurants. Once there, I was sort of surprised to see that the menu pretty much was the same as what used to be offered at Polenia. I was fine with that because I liked the food at Polenia, but I don't quite get the name change to Biscuits. Especially when there were no biscuits on the menu. Maybe at breakfast?

The only biscuits I spotted were on the sign out front and on the artwork of these poodle chefs...

I ordered the Polish Sampler. It came with stuffed cabbage topped with tomato sauce, smoked kielbasa, potato filled pierogi topped with onions and bacon, and sauerkraut. I've eaten this in the past back when Polonia was a restaurant. I liked it back then, and I still liked it at Biscuits. Can't go wrong with a dish that includes potato dumplings and sauerkraut!

The identity of Biscuits/Polonia was confusing and I don't think I was the only one who felt this way. On all of my visits to Polonia in the past, they always seemed to be doing good business. During my visit to Biscuits, we were the only customers in the restaurant. I guess most of Polonia's old customers haven't gotten the message that Biscuits basically is Polonia...

Oh My Gyro in Longwood, FL

I tried a new restaurant in Longwood called Oh My Gyro. They are in a location that has had an endless cycle of restaurants opening, lasting a few months, and closing again. Because of this, I wish them the best of luck, especially since it seems like they did major renovations on the space since the last time I was in the building. Oh My Gyro touts themselves as having authentic New York Halal cart food. Having frequented halal carts in New York on my visits and comparing the menu here, this seemed to be about right. The menu was simple where you had your choice of platters with gyro, chicken, or falafel or sandwiches with the same fillings.

I tried the combo platter. This came with gyro (lamb and beef), shredded chicken, salad, lots of yellow rice, and pita. Most everything was topped with the famous halal cart white sauce and hot sauce was served on the side. The portion of food was very generous and tasted comparable to actual New York halal cart food.

I enjoyed my food here. As noted with the history of past restaurants not surviving very long in this location, I hope they do well (but try them while you can).

Tortilleria La Mexicana #11 in Longwood, FL

I had lunch one afternoon from Tortilleria La Mexicana #11 in Longwood. They are located in a small strip mall near the intersection of 434 and 427. The restaurant is attached to a convenience store, selling various products. The Mexican convenience store has been in this location for as long as I remember, but the food is a relatively new addition. I'm assuming by the #11 that this is part of a Tortilleria La Mexicana chain.

I ordered three tacos. I tried the Pollo, Chorizo, and Al Pastor. Each taco was served in a corn tortilla. These were interesting. They weren't completely soft, but they didn't have the consistency of hard shelled fried tortillas either. They were still soft and pliable, but had a bit more character. I am guessing the tortillas were pan fried. Each of the tacos was topped with onions and cilantro, with lime slices to squeeze over top and salsas on the side. As for the meats, the pollo was a little plain. The chicken was shredded into fine strips and was good enough. Similar to my experience at El Taco Amigo in Deland, I was unable to tell which meat was the al pastor and which was chorizo. Both were good, but in terms of taste, texture, and appearance, both meats were very similar.

I enjoyed my visit to Tortilleria La Mexicana. The tacos were good, the prices were very affordable, and I now know where to get good tacos in Longwood. I'll be back...

900 Degreez Food Truck in Orlando, FL

I was driving home one night and passed The Hourglass Brewery in Longwood. Sitting in their parking lot was one of the coolest looking food trucks I've come across. They were called 900 Degreez and consisted of a shipping container with one side removed and replaced with glass windows, equipped with a pizza oven and kitchen inside. All this was on the back of a truck.

I had seen 900 Degreez posting on Twitter and Facebook, but had never come across the truck in person. The uniqueness of the truck design alone made me stop and buy a pizza.

I ordered the Hercules Pizza. Their oven was very quick, cooking the pie in about 90 seconds. The pie was topped with spinach, yellow tomatoes, feta, and a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. The balsamic was the weird part of the pizza. Vinegar was the dominant smell wafting off the pie which overpowering the familiar pizza smell. Pizza that doesn't smell like pizza is unexpected, but tasting the pizza was different though. The balsamic actually went well on the pizza and blended very nicely with the rest of the flavors. The pizza's crust was thin and crispy. There was a good proportion of cheese to other toppings. 

If my memory serves me correctly, this was the first time I've ever had pizza cooked on the back of a truck. It's definitely the first time eating a pizza from a truck as nice looking as 900 Degreez. To top it off, I liked the pizza too (except for the vinegar smell). I'd get pizza from 900 Degreez again!

Terra Mia in Longwood, FL

I had dinner at the new Terra Mia in Longwood. This is the same Terra Mia that has a location in Lake Mary and was formerly located in a strip mall right around the corner until they moved here. This new Longwood location now serves pizza, unlike their store around the corner. Upon arriving, our meal started out with some good bread with nice crust.

I ordered the Deliziosa pizza. The pie was topped with salmon, mozzarella, capers, and onions. I've tried other seafood on pizzas in the past, but I think this may have been my first time having salmon on a pizza. I did enjoy it, although they weren't very generous with actual amount of salmon on the pie. The combination of capers and onions went well with the salmon. The crust was nice and crispy.

I enjoyed the pizza regardless of the slightly skimpy amount of salmon on the pie. I still think Terra Mia has some of the best pizzas in the area. Word of warning though: Other two people I was eating with both ordered the lasagna and weren't very happy. The tiny portion of a mess that somewhat resembled a typical lasagna was totally not worth what Terra Mia was charging for the dish...

Country Kitchen in Longwood, FL

Country Kitchen is a little breakfast place in Longwood that's been around as long as I can remember. Country Kitchen is located very close to where I live and has always been in the current shopping center, although not in the same storefront. After years of passing by Country Kitchen, I finally decided to give them a try and stopped in for breakfast one morning.

I ordered one of their daily specials and had the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant sandwich. The eggs were scrambled with chopped pieces of bacon mixed in. Hashed browns were served on the side. As far as breakfast sandwiches go, this was perfectly acceptable. For $3 and change, I was happy with my meal and would return to Country Kitchen for breakfast again!

4 Rivers Smokehouse in Longwood, FL

Everyone seems to love 4 Rivers Smokehouse. As much hype as the original location in Winter Park received, I didn't try 4 Rivers until they opened a location very close to where I live in Longwood. Since then, I've visited the restaurant several times and I do enjoy their food. I wouldn't necessarily say it's the hands down best barbecue around but they are pretty tasty with some interesting variations on the barbecue restaurant standards. 

Pulled Pork Sandwich: This was pretty standard pulled pork sandwich. Shredded pork with barbecue sauce sandwiched between two halves of a bun. A very boring sandwich compared to some of the other stuff on 4 River's menu.

BBQ Quesadilla: I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Pulled pork with melted cheese in a grilled tortilla. The smoked flavor of the meat and the barbecue sauce went really well with the cheese. Why does cheese rarely come on barbecue sandwiches? I liked it. Had a side of collards and macaroni & cheese.

Messy Pig: Basically the same pulled pork sandwich as above, only with the addition of coleslaw and jalapenos. The additional toppings definitely add dimension to an otherwise boring pork sandwich.

Six Shooter: This is one of the more interesting menu items that 4 Rivers has. It consists of baked cheese grits topped with pulled pork, coleslaw, jalapenos, and pickles. Cheese grits topped with anything is normally good, and this is no exception. Also note the bacon-wrapped smoked jalapenos that I choose as a side. Seemed like they should have had potential but the peppers were too soggy for my liking.

Burnt Ends: This sandwich was filled with 4 River's Burnt Ends which is a mixture of pork and brisket. Because the Burnt Ends were very saucy, much like the pulled pork, I didn't taste too much of a difference between the two sandwiches. The sauce was the dominant flavor on both so differences in the meat were somewhat buried. I was expecting to notice a bit more of a difference with the brisket in there, but I didn't. Fried okra and collards were my sides with this sandwich.

There we go. Those are the food pictures from my visits to 4 Rivers. The barbecue is good, but one thing that bothers me about this place is their serving methods. They just unceremoniously dump the food on wax paper over trays, half the time covering the order written on the same paper with a grease pencil. Whether those pencils are food-safe or not, I don't want to be eating that stuff with my burnt ends. I've also gone with people that have just ordered sides (on multiple occasions). Instead of giving them their own tray, they put their meal on the trays belonging to other people in our group who have ordered meats/sandwiches, resulting in us having to uncomfortably eat off of the same tray. We always seem to forget to ask for them to put the food on separate trays because we seem to assume that new person equals a new tray. Minor things really, and I seem to be one of the few people to be bothered by it judging by the following that 4 Rivers has. I'm not convinced to put a 4 Rivers bumper sticker on my car yet, but I'll definitely return for more barbecue at some point...

Gateway to India in Longwood, FL

There are so many Indian restaurants in the Central Florida area, and I've visited so few of them when compared to other types of foods. Recently, I was able to give one of these Indian restaurants a try when I stopped into Gateway to India in Longwood for lunch. Gateway to India is located along 434 in an old Pizza Hut building. They had a lunch buffet for $10.95, so I went with that. It seemed a little pricy for lunch, but still probably a better value than ordering from the menu. My buffet experience included two plates of food, filled with chicken masala, tandori chicken, various vegetarian dishes, naan, and rice.

I enjoyed all of the food from Gateway to India's buffet. I've been to other Indian restaurants with larger buffets with lower prices for lunch, but the quality of food seemed substandard at some of these other restaurants. Here, the food seemed fresh and everything tasted good. I guess that's a plus of paying a few dollars more for a buffet!

Max & Meme Cafe in Longwood, FL

I tried a new breakfast/lunch place in Longwood called Max & Meme Cafe. This restaurant took over a former Burger King and although they did some renovations, it is still pretty obvious how the building started its life. The menu consisted of mostly breakfast items along with some sandwiches for lunch. I ordered one of their specials that were written on the space that once displayed Burger King's menu and went with Joseph's Frittata.

The frittata was filled with chorizo, bacon, jalapenos, cheeses, and various other ingredients. It was really flavorful and had a nice spice from the chorizo and peppers. Homefries were served as a side, but I personally found them a bit bland. Otherwise, I was pretty impressed with the breakfast menu here. There were items like the frittata that weren't the typical breakfast foods that every other restaurant serves, which is definitely a good thing.

The service at Max & Meme Cafe could definitely use some work though. There were a couple of us at our table that didn't get drinks for the entire meal, even with several reminders to our waitress. Service otherwise was acceptable, but extremely slow. Looking at the reviews on Urbanspoon, issues with the service seems to be a common theme at this restaurant. I hope they get their service issues sorted out because their food was good!

Bite in Longwood, FL

Tomorrow is July 4. Seems like Independence Day in the United States has become one of the biggest hot dog days of the year (mostly due to the Nathan's contest). Because of the holiday, I suppose a blog post about hot dogs is in order. One of my recent excursions into the world of hot dogs was at Bite in Longwood. Bite is connected to Jeremiah's Italian Ices and does mostly hot dogs and burgers.

I tried their Chicago dog. The dog was topped with tomato, onion, relish, peppers, celery salt, and mustard on a poppy seed bun. Normally dressing a hot dog up vastly improves a plain hot dog, but the toppings didn't do much for me in this case. The amount of toppings seemed skimpy to me and they ended up making the bun really soggy. Some pretty good fries were served on the side.

The Southern slaw dog, topped with cole slaw, jalapenos, and fried onions was also ordered at our table. I personally didn't taste this one, but heard good things about it.

The hot dogs at Bite were okay, but not anything extraordinary. They seemed a bit small for the price and the menu here really didn't do much for me. It really couldn't compete with the menu at Mustard's Last Stand in Melbourne. I did notice a review of Bite on Yelp mentioned hot dogs that were no longer on the menu that sounded a bit more interesting than what they serve now. I'm not sure if I'd go out of my way to return here.

Dunkin Donuts in Longwood, FL

I think this heart-shaped, cream filled doughnut from Dunkin Donuts in Longwood is probably an appropriate food item to post for Valentines Day. Have fun facing the crowds as you try to eat out tonight!

Twisted Cuban Food Truck in Orlando, FL

There is an annual Halloween Festival in Downtown Longwood and food trucks were involved this year. The festival was located in Reiter Park, where the baseball fields and playgrounds were removed and replaced with a mysterious grass covered hill. The trucks attending were Gastrotruck, The Batter Bowl, and a truck that was new to me called The Twisted Cuban.

I tried their Cuban sandwich. It consisted of ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on pressed Cuban bread. The sandwich was very tasty and was plenty to eat. It was also made extremely quickly by the standards set by most of Orlando's other food trucks that I've tried. I'd get more food from them in the future!

I tried the Twisted Cuban truck a second time at one of the Food Truck Bazaars. On this visit, I tried their fritas. These were two slider-size sandwiches consisting of burgers topped with fried onions. Unlike the traditional American beef burger, these contained other meats including chorizo which gave them really nice flavors.

First Watch in Longwood, FL

It's been a very long time since I've been to a First Watch. Last time I was at one of these restaurants, I was very unimpressed with their breakfasts. It's been a few years, but I finally returned to the First Watch in Longwood to give them another try.

I had the Avocado, Bacon, and Tomato Sensational Skillet. This large plate of potatoes was covered in the mentioned toppings, along with two scrambled eggs and cheese. Turned out that this was very tasty. It could have used more avocado and less bacon in my opinion, but it was still good regardless. A fruit salad and English muffin were served on the side. While I generally don't eat out for breakfast all that often, I think I'd return to First Watch again!