Tabla in Orlando, FL

Tabla Indian Restaurant was interesting. They were located inside of a motel next to the former site of Mystery Fun House across from Universal. I've never had Indian food in a motel before. All of the open parking spots near the restaurant entrance were reserved for hotel rewards members. I chanced parking in the reserved spot and nobody checked. The inside of Tabla was well decorated, more upscale than I'd expect in a motel restaurant. Regardless, we had hesitations about what we'd be getting because of the strangeness of the motel and parking. Thankfully, the food was good!

Started with Mixed Pakora Appetizer. This was a big plate of deep fried cauliflower, potato, paneer, and onions served with dipping sauces.

Chicken Tikka Masala was served on a sizzling skillet. I've had many versions of chicken tikka masala in my life, but this is the first time I've ever seen it served on a steaming platter. I enjoyed the show.

Also tried the Butter Chicken. 

I enjoyed my meal here. The food exceeded expectations set by the sketchy location. Everything was good and portions were huge compared to most Indian restaurants in the area. It's rare that I eat in an Indian restaurant and have leftovers. This was the case at Tabla. I'd go back.
 

Eggholic in Queens, NY

I tried a restaurant called Eggholic in Queens, NY. This was an Indian fast food restaurant where most everything was egg based in some form, whether it be actual egg or chicken.

Started with somosas:

I tried the Lachko. This was new to me when it came to Indian food and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The menu described it as shredded green bell pepper cooked with cheese and running eggs. It was served with roti. I enjoyed it. The egg wasn't very identifiable, but the cheese very much was. It reminded me of eating the roti covered in a cheesy dip. 

 

Catfish Johnny's Restaurant in Lake Panasoffkee, FL

I was driving to Dade City from Orlando a while back and wanted dinner on the way. Restaurants were thin on the route I was taking, but the internet told me there were restaurants in the town of Lake Panasoffkee. I had never heard of the tiny little town, but the highest rated restaurant was called Catfish Johnny's. Headed that way and lost cell signal, meaning that my meal was phone free.

I ordered the Catfish Fingers Dinner. This consisted of a huge mountain of deep fried, boneless catfish. The crispy batter was nice and flavorful and the fish was tender. Corn fritters, cheese grits, and fried okra were served as sides.

With the slim pickings of restaurants that I had in the area, I think I chose well!

NY Food (Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, Veselka, Totto Ramen, Sunnyside Pizza, Halal Truck, Shiro, and Dave's Bagels)

Continuing from my recent trip which took me around New England, New York was the next stop on the journey:

Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery (Manhattan):

This place has been on my radar for a while. They specialize in Knishes and have been around since 1910!

I had a Spinach Knish. Spinach was mixed into the potato in the knish. I very much enjoy knishes, and this was no exception!

Veselka (Manhattan):

I went here almost immediately after visiting Yonah Schimmel's. Pierogi are hard to resist and Veselka is one of my favorite restaurants in New York. Their Sunday Brunch was happening and I tried the bacon, egg, & cheese pierogi. The waiter told me I wanted them fried. I should have gotten them boiled. The amount of crispiness from being deep fried made them seem like empanadas more than pierogi. Filling wise, bacon egg and cheese in a pierogi was really good!

Totto Ramen (Manhattan):

Google listed this as a highly rated ramen shop in the city. They specialized in a type of broth which I had never had called Paitan. This is apparently a chicken based broth.

I had the Miso Paitan Ramen. It was noodles in chicken paitan broth, topped with miso, egg, scallions, bean sprouds, onions, and pork. Delicious!

Sunnyside Pizza (Queens):

This is a pizzeria in Queens that has good New York style pizza, available by the slice.

I had a slice of cheese and an eggplant/ricotta slice. I do enjoy that they put sesame seeds on the crust.

Halal Truck (Queens):

I had a Lamb/Chicken combo from a random Halal food truck in Sunnyside. They made the standard NY Halal cart fare a little more interesting by adding bell peppers and onions in with the meat. Served over rice and lettuce, topped with white and hot sauce.

Shiro (Grand Central):

I had an Eel Avocado Roll from a fast food sushi restaurant in Grand Central from Shiro.

Dave's Bagels and Grill (Queens):

I had an everything bagel with lox cream cheese.

Indian Hut in Orlando, FL

I recently discovered an Indian fast food/take out restaurant in Orlando at the intersection of Conroy and Kirkman called Indian Hut. Indian food after lunch buffets are finished for the day gets pricy in Orlando, so Indian Hut's affordable prices were refreshing. The place is set up similar to a Chinese take-out where you order at a counter then find a table to eat. Better than most take out places, they serve the food here on real plates.

I tried the Chicken Vindaloo on my first visit with a side of naan. Pretty tasty. The vindaloo wasn't as spicy as I've had elsewhere, but was just about right for my tastes.

I had the Masala Dosa on another visit. This huge pancake was filled with a potato filling, served with three different sauces.

I have enjoyed my visits to Indian Hut so far and I'll most likely return again. Fast food Indian food is a good thing!

Dragon Court Super Buffet in Lake Buena Vista, FL

Dragon Court Super Buffet is a Chinese buffet located right off Disney property. I've assumed it catered towards tourists, meaning overpriced bad food. Dragon Court has been around for as long as I can remember, but I recently ended up eating there at lunch for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised.

They had some items not typically found on other Chinese buffets in the area and the majority of the food was pretty tasty. On my first trip to the buffet, I tried the curry chicken, fried rice, Chinese eggplant, beans, lo mein, tempura vegetables, pork dumplings, and a crab rangoon. The stand out dishes were the eggplant and curry chicken.

Second plate had a few more items. There was some baby bok choy, chow mei fun, boneless spareribs, chicken and broccoli, and some sort of spicy pork. 

I did enjoy the food that I ate on my first visit to Dragon Court Super Buffet. Hopefully their quality stays consistent.

Sugar Factory Media Preview in Orlando, FL

I was recently invited to the media preview of Sugar Factory in I-Drive 360. With the Sugar Factory name, I didn't exactly know what this restaurant would be serving. Would the menu consist of all sorts of sugar filled desserts, or would the sugar be more of a name? The answer would be yes to both. Sugar Factory did serve plenty of sweets, but there were savory food items as well. To quote Sugar Factory's press release, "Upscale dining classics are served all day long from brunch to late-night, ranging from decadent crepes to flavorful milkshakes and gourmet burgers to ice cream sandwiches and more." Sugar Factory has several other locations throughout the country and has pictures of various celebrities dining in their restaurants hanging on the walls. This was the first I've heard of the chain.

The media preview event started with us sampling some Meatballs:

Fried Mac & Cheese Pops: Homemade macaroni and cheese, battered and deep fried and served with creamy tomato-herb sauce.

Red Velvet Pancakes: Fluffy pancakes, white chocolate chunk, orange zest, whipped cream, and warm maple syrup.

Bolognese Rigatoni: Rigatoni in a slow simmered ground beef and sausage meat sauce.

Four Cheese Pizza: Mozzarella, feta chese, gryere, swiss cheese, garlic, and fresh basil.

Here's a couple other menu items that we didn't get to taste. There was chicken and waffles and crepes that looked tasty.

For the featured drinks, there was the Ocean Blue (filled with gummi sharks), the Lollipop Passion, Mai Tai, and White Gummi. These 60 ounce drinks were all available with or without alcohol.

On to dessert, we tried three milkshakes. There was the Very Berry Blast, the Make a Wish, and Chocolate.

World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae: 24 scoops of ice cream covered with hot fudge, caramel, and strawberry sauce, sliced bananas, toasted marshmallows, Reeses's Pieces, chocolate chip cookies, crushed waffle cones, gummi bears, white chocolate strawberry shavings, and toasted walnuts with whipped cream, giant lollipops, and sparklers on top! Serves twelve people.

Strawberry Cheesecake Overload: Three scoops of strawberry ice cream with New York cheesecake chunks and fresh strawberries topped with strawberry sauce, vanilla bean whipped creame, and white chocolate straberry shavings.

Sugar Factory had an attached candy store and ice cream shop separate from the dining area.

I helped myself to a little too much candy...

I'm going to have to go back to Sugar Factory soon and dine there as a regular customer. With the addition of Sugar Factory, I-Drive 360 is getting a nice collection of restaurants. Hopefully that trend continues!

TR Fire Grill Grand Opening in Winter Park, FL

I was invited to the grand opening of TR Fire Grill in Winter Park. This is another of the newly opened restaurants to go into the slowly developing Ravaudage shopping area at the intersection of 17-92 and Lee Road. Of the three restaurants which are currently open there, TR Fire Grill definitely seems to be the most upscale. At the grand opening event, sample sized portions of various menu items were being served. The following are some of the highlights:

Pulled Pork Tacos:

Hawaiian Ahi Tuna:

Prime Rib Egg Roll and Prime Rib:

Shrimp & Grits:

Deviled Egg, Meatball, Salad, Macaroni & Cheese, and Seared Cauliflower.

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Buttery Seared Lemon Pound Cake:

Wonuts: These are the menu item I was looking most forward to trying. The wonuts were a cross between a waffle and a doughnut, dipped in chocolate and topped with powdered sugar. They didn't quite taste like a waffle or a doughnut. They were somewhere in between and were nowhere as sweet as I was expecting. These are only served at the restaurant during Sunday brunches.

I liked what I tasted at TR Fire Grill. I did notice that much of the non-dessert food was pretty spicy compared to what I find at most restaurants. I personally was a fan of the spice, but it was overwhelming for the person I ate here with. I wonder what the spice tolerance of the general public is? Regardless, TR Fire Grill seems like a nice addition to Winter Park!

Sea Thai in Orlando, FL

I had dinner at Sea Thai in Orlando. Sea apparently stands for South East Asia rather than anything to do with seafood. I know this restaurant from the countless awards that they won over the years, but this was my first visit to Sea Thai.

I ordered the Spicy Basil Duck. This dish was served in a sizzling skillet. The duck was served with sweet basil, chili, onions, scallions, and bell peppers in a slightly spicy sauce. I enjoyed the crispy skin on the duck. While some of the meat was nice and tender, there were other parts which were tough and chewy. Different parts of the duck perhaps? The sauce was good, although it wasn't as spicy as the menu advertised. My biggest complaint with the dish was that there wasn't enough sauce. Being that the plate was hot and sizzling, most of the liquid in the sauce evaporated. I would have liked to use some of that sauce to flavor the rice that was served on the side.

I liked what I tried at Sea Thai. With my one data point of eating here, I don't know if I'd be willing to rate it as the Best of Orlando like all their awards do just yet, but I'd go back!