Fellini's Pizza in Atlanta, GA

On a recent weekend in Atlanta, I had a late night dinner at Fellini's Pizza on Ponce De Leon Avenue. Fellini's is a local Atlanta chain and this particular location looked like it was inside of some sort of repurposed auto-repair place. We ordered at the counter and after much negotiation, it was decided that we would share a large Ham & Pineapple Pizza. Hawaiian pizzas are a funny thing. Pineapple and ham on pizza seems like a horrible combination, that is until you taste a slice of Hawaiian. Most people seem to have a strong opinion towards Hawaiians, but I was recently converted into a fan of pineapple on pizza, so I had no objections.

The pie wasn't bad, but also wasn't something I'd go out of my way to return for. It tasted okay, but the crust was doughy and seemed undercooked. There was also far too much cheese for the pie in my opinion. I never understood the reasoning when pizzerias double the amount of cheese on a pie when toppings are ordered. Why can't places like this give the standard amount of cheese with the toppings on top? Excess cheese shouldn't pool off the slice under it's own weight just because of some small pieces of fruit and meat...

Overall, I found the pizza to be very mediocre. But then again, Atlanta isn't a city famous for pizza so I suppose I can't expect too much. Fellini's Sicilian pies did look interesting though. They didn't have the typical look of a standard Sicilian, so perhaps I'll branch out and give one a try if I ever find myself in a Fellini's again...

Cayo Esquivel in Miami, FL

Continuing my weekend in Miami where I decided I really need to improve my spanish language skills, I found myself at a seafood restaurant called Cayo Esquivel...

One of Cayo Esquivel's daily specials was Salmon with almonds in pineapple sauce. It sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. Dinner rolls came out first along with a large plate of lime slices for the fish. Soon enough, the main course was served. The flavor combination on my salmon was interesting. I can't remember ever having pineapple sauce, especially over fish. The sauce was very smooth with the almonds adding a bit of crunch and wasn't quite as sweet as I was expecting. It was really good...

The salmon came with rice and a salad made mostly of cabbage with a great dressing. Kind of like cole slaw, only better...

Another diner at the table ordered this Avocado Salad. I guess non-seafood items aren't ordered here often because the waitress seemed surprised and kept on asking ¿No pescado? repeatedly when taking the order...

Gourmet 2 Go in Sanford, FL

I had The Classic Cuban Press sandwich from Gourmet 2 Go in Downtown Sanford. The sandwich was filled with pulled pork, ham, pickles, mustard, and a very gooey cheese. Macaroni salad and a pineapple slice were served on the side. It was a very tasty Cuban sandwich and I'd gladly return to Gourmet 2 Go!

Weekend Trip: The Official Snack of Jetblue at 35000 Feet

After my early breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, I arrived at the Orlando International Airport, went through security, rode the people mover, and boarded my flight with no problems.

After about an hour of flying, somewhere over North Carolina or Virginia, snacks were served while at a height of 35,522 feet and a speed of 583 mph.

I asked for orange juice as my beverage. I received a can of Welch's Orange Fusion drink which was a mix of orange, apple, and pineapple juice. It wasn't the orange juice that I was expecting, but it's no big deal. For the food item, I decided to go with the Official Snack of JetBlue and got Terra Blues Potato Chips. The chips were actually made from blue potatoes and tasted halfway between a normal potato chip and a sweet potato chips.


I had my snack and I had my window seat, so I was happy.

Soon enough the plane landed in JFK, and after getting yelled at by another passenger sitting in the row who was accusing us of sticking gum on her seat while she used the restroom, I was ready for lunch.

Pan Pan Bakery Desserts

I pass by Pan Pan Bakery at the intersection of 17-92 and 434 in Longwood, FL almost daily, and the place always appears busy. With all of the customers, I figured it must be good and gave this Colombian Bakery a try.

I ordered a guava & cheese roll, a strawberry turnover, and a pineapple turnover.

My favorite was the pineapple turnover. It consisted of pineapple jam baked in a flaky crust.

The guava and cheese roll wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Inside of the sugar topped bread, there was guava jelly and a slice of cheese. Too much bread here, and not enough guava. I could have done without the cheese.


It seemed Pan Pan Bakery specialized more in breads than desserts since their selection was somewhat limited. Maybe one day I'll return to try some Colombian bread.

Pepper Market at the Coronado Springs Hotel

I went to eat dinner at the Coronado Springs Hotel in Walt Disney World. I walked through the hotel and reached a restaurant called The Pepper Market.


There were some animals baked out of bread outside of the restaurant. Here is a turtle and an alligator.

The restaurant is set up where a hostess brings you to a table, and a waiter gets your drinks. Everyone is then given a card which is taken to various food counters and is stamped with whatever is ordered. There are various counters in the restaurant, including Mexican, Italian, American, Asian, and dessert. On this visit to the restaurant, I decided to go with Curry Chicken with Pineapple from the Asian counter. The only problem was that nobody was working at this counter. I went over to the Italian counter and asked the employee working there to get someone to make me food. He acted surprised and asked me "You want that Oriental Food?" as if customers ordering from that particular counter was a rare occasion. When someone finally came over to cook my food, the worker seemed really annoyed that he actually had to do his job. As he begrudgingly cooked my food, he added pre-cooked fried chicken, pineapple, carrots, peppers, sauce, and other various ingredients into his wok, and then served all of this over steamed rice.

My biggest complaint with the meal was the actual chicken. I wasn't expecting fried chicken, but I can't complain if that's the way they do it. The problem was rather than using white meat chicken, they seemed to use cheap chicken parts. I saw some dark meat. I saw some black areas. As I was eating, there was occasionally an unedible hard piece in the chicken. I really didn't want to know what parts of the chicken were served, and just swallowed it down. For the $15 that the Pepper Market charged for this rather small portion, I want white meat. A chicken breast would be nice, not the leftovers. Maybe they figured that since the chicken is fried, nobody would notice what the meat looked like under the batter.

I also noticed that overall, the menu of this restaurant changed very much since my past visit. Prices went way up, while the menu size and portions went way down. The Mexican counter seemed to be their showcase in the past (makes sense in a Mexican themed hotel), with lots of options, huge portions, and it all tasted good. On this visit, the Mexican menu was down to only two items. I saw someone ordering the fajitas, which cost a few dollars more than my chicken, and it included one tortilla filled with meat and peppers. The quesadilla wasn't much better.

The Pepper Market made some changes for the worst, and I don't think I'll be returning anytime soon.

After eating, I took a walk around the hotel and saw the duck topiarys and the swimming pool surrounding a Mayan pyramid.