Miss Vi's Cook-Up in Orlando, FL

I tried food from Miss Vi's Cook-Up a few weeks ago during the Orlando Fringe Festival. They were set up in Loch Haven Park as one of the festival's food vendors serving Caribbean foods. Of the nearby vendors in the area, Miss Vi's food smelled the most delicious making my decision to eat there easy.

I tried the Oxtail. The meat was stewed with carrots and served over rice & peas. Cabbage was served on the side. The oxtail was nice and tender, with the meat easily falling right off the bone. The jerk sauce had a very nice flavor with added to the rice below.

I did enjoy the oxtail. It was a little messy to eat with the bones in a festival environment, but it was otherwise delicious!

Coney Island Halal Truck in Brooklyn, NY

I was in Coney Island and passed by a Halal Truck parked along Stillwell Avenue under the subway station. We were looking for some food and the scents emanating from the truck smelled so good that this truck was the chosen food source for the night.

I choose the lamb with rice. This consisted of a mound of yellow rice topped with lots and lots of gyro meat. A salad was served on the side. Everything was then topped with white sauce and a little of their hot sauce. I did enjoy this meal (way better than Nathan's less than a block away in my opinion). The meat was flavored very nicely. The rice was cooked well, and the sauces were tasty. It also ended up being a huge portion of food for a very affordable price.

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...

Garden Cafe in Orlando, FL

Garden Cafe is a vegetarian restaurant in Orlando that serves mostly Chinese food. The restaurant is located just outside of downtown on Colonial Drive in an old Pizza Hut building. The menu was interesting, with sections for different types of meats regardless of this being a vegetarian restaurant. This initially was a red flag for me, but I got over it. Vegetarians that try really hard to find substitutes to the meats that they no longer eat is something that I can understand, but I wish restaurants like this would embrace their food for what it is rather than pretending it contains meat.

Garden Cafe's lunch specials were a good deal. They were a few dollars less than most of the other items on the menu. I had the mixed vegetables in curry. This consisted of zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and mushrooms with a soy based meat substitute that had a similar color and texture to chicken. Brown rice was served on the side. As an omnivore, I really did enjoy this meal. It didn't seem like Garden Cafe was trying to overcompensate for the lack of meat like I've noticed at other vegetarian restaurants, nor did they charge far more than what the meal was worth since it was vegetarian. The flavors were nice and the meal was really filling.

I'd gladly return to Garden Cafe. After the demise of Udipi Cafe in Longwood, Garden Cafe takes my top ranking for vegetarian restaurants that I've tried in the Orlando area!

Green Day Cafe in Orlando, FL

Green Day Cafe is a healthy, eco-friendly fast food restaurant on Lee Road in Orlando in an old Taco Bell building. I was intrigued by the concept when I first heard about the restaurant but really didn't think they would last. Green Day Cafe is still open after a few years since I first noticed them, so I decided it was about time to taste their eco-friendly food.

I had their 7-Layer Rice Bowl (Green Day Cafe is in a former Taco Bell building. My menu item of choice at Taco Bell is a 7-Layer Burrito, and I ordered a 7-Layer Rice Bowl here!). This large portion of brown rice was topped with black beans, colby jack cheese, guacamole, salsa, hummus, and buffalo sauce. While a couple of the ingredients didn't seem to go with the others (hummus), it still tasted good. The buffalo sauce/salsa gave the bowl a nice bit of spiciness and guacamole is good with everything. Who knows if this rice bowl was actually healthy by the time they put on all of the sauces, but I suppose it is definitely better for you than eating a burger.

I'd return to Green Day Cafe.

Zushi Asia in Melborne, FL

I had dinner at Zushi Asia in Downtown Melbourne. It seemed they did mostly sushi and Thai food...

I ordered the Green Curry Rice Dish with Chicken. The chicken was mixed with bamboo shoots, squash, bell pepper, and peas. The sauce was a mix of green curry and coconut milk. The coconut milk was the dominate flavor over the curry, making the dish more sweet than spicy. Since this was called a rice dish, I was expecting the chicken and other ingredients to be mixed together with the rice. Instead, the rice and chicken were served completely separate on the plate. Overall, the food was okay, but I was hoping for something with a bit more spice when I ordered something with curry...

Oasis Cuban Cafe in Longwood, FL

I had dinner at Oasis Cuban Cafe in Longwood. Everyone's meal here started with a choice of soup or salad. I choose the salad, topped with beets, beans, and tomatoes.

I had the Pechuga a la Plancha for my main course. This was a tender chicken breast topped with grilled onions. The chicken came with congri rice (black beans & rice) and plantains on the side. Everything was good and was a whole lot of food!

Perhaps next time I'll try the pork...

La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant in Longwood, FL

I recently tried La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant in Longwood. I had been to the Chinese buffet that was in this location formerly, but for some reason I never got to La Fiesta until recently.

I ordered the Traditional Combination #1, served with a taco, enchilada, refried beans, and rice. The taco came in a crispy corn tortilla filled with chicken, lettuce, and cheese. The enchilada was stuffed with chicken and was topped with melted cheese and a somewhat spicy red sauce.

On a return visit with a coupon from La Fiesta's Facebook page, I tried the Enchiladas de Mole. While there are many different types of mole, the standard mole served in Mexican restaurants in the United States is specifically called Mole Poblano. This mole is made with chocolate, chilies, and other good stuff. The Enchiladas de Mole consisted of three chicken enchiladas topped with this awesome sauce. It's spicy, smoky, and chocolately all at the same time. My tongue couldn't decide whether I was eating dinner or dessert with the great mix of flavors in the sauce!
I liked La Fiesta's food! Everything I tried had nice flavors, and I'd gladly return. They also offer a lunch buffet. I've never been to a Mexican buffet before, so I'm going to check it out next time I'm in the area for lunch. One word of warning though: Karaoke night happens every Tuesday. Reminded me of this, whether that's a good or bad thing...

Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy in Lakeland, FL

I had lunch at Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy in Lakeland. The interior of the restaurant was set up to look like an outdoor courtyard.

I had the Enchilada and Taco combination from the lunch menu. I had my choice of fillings in each and picked an avocado enchilada and chicken taco. The avocado in the enchilada was actually a really smooth guacamole. Sort of reminded me of the guacamole from Taco Bell, but it was still tasty. No complaints about the taco. The combination also came served with refried beans and rice.

Abuelo's was pretty good for a chain Mexican restaurant. I'd place them above other chains like Chevy's or Don Pablos.

Pipo's Cafe in Lakeland, FL

I ate lunch at a Cuban restaurant in Downtown Lakeland called Pipo's Cafe.
I ordered their lunch special that included a half sandwich, rice and beans, plantain chips, and iced tea. For my sandwich, I chose a classic Cuban sandwich, or the Cuban "The Real Deal" as they called it. In addition to the normal roast pork and ham, there was salami and mortadella on this Cuban sandwich. The pork was topped with cheese, pickles, and mustard, and then pressed. The sandwich was a little dry, but was still pretty good.

I got the impression that Pipo's Cafe was part of a large, franchised chain from the way it looked on the inside. After checking for other locations on their website, it turned out they are a local chain and aren't that big with only four stores in the Tampa area. Interesting...

Asian Express in Altamonte Springs, FL

A new restaurant called Asian Express opened in Altamonte Springs in the building that was formerly occupied by Wonderful Chinese Express. For a fast food Chinese, I always thought Wonderful was pretty good, so I decided to give the new place a try.
I ordered a Kung Pao Chicken dinner combination which started with wonton soup. For whatever reason, I've noticed many local Chinese restaurants have stopped putting the strips of roast pork in their wonton soup. It used to be that the pork was standard in wonton soup, but now it seems I see it rarer and rarer in the soup. The soup at Asian Express had plenty of pork...

The soup was followed with the Kung Pao Chicken, brown rice, and an eventual egg roll that was initially forgotten. The chicken was chopped into small chunks, with green and red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, scallions, and peanuts. The Kung Pao Chicken was tasty, and I'd gladly get it again!

Kyoto Sushi & Grill at UCF

Kyoto Sushi & Grill is one of the newer restaurants to open in the shops surrounding the UCF Arena in Orlando. It is a semi-fast food restaurant, where you order your food with a cashier, and then the food is brought out to your table.

I ate here once previously for lunch and had a California Roll. On my second visit, this time for dinner, I had the Hibachi Chicken. Miso soup and salad were served first. The soup was good and the salad had the typical ginger dressing that everyone loves.

Soon enough, the main course, a huge plate of chicken, vegetables, rice, and noodles was served. It was mostly good. The chicken was tasty, but I found a bit too much of it to be fatty. They offered an upgrade to all white meat, and I should have gone for it. Regardless, I shouldn't need to be spitting out an unedible bit every few bites. Rice and vegetables were good, although they were a bit stingy with them. Looking at the picture below, it's hard to even spot the vegetables on the plate, and they are one of my favorite parts of the meal! The menu stated the chicken was served with soba noodles, but instead, we got the typical Japanese Steakhouse noodles. Still good, but not soba...

Besides the unedible chicken bits, I liked Kyoto. The food is mostly tasty, the prices are pretty reasonable (especially for lunch), and the portions are quite large. I think next time I'll either try a bento box or the hibachi shrimp.

China Star in Sanford, FL

There are several Chinese take-outs in the various strip malls that surround the Seminole Towne Center mall in Sanford, FL. Out of all of them, China Star is my favorite. They have the tastiest food for the most reasonable prices. On this visit, I ordered a shrimp with black bean sauce combination. It came with wonton soup, fried rice, an egg roll, and the shrimp.

The shrimp came in a brown sauce with black beans, carrots, onions, and huge mushrooms, maybe portobello? Mushrooms are one of the few foods I really dislike, so I could have done without them. Besides from picking out the mushrooms, I enjoyed my food!

Flying Melon Cafe in Ocracoke, NC

Here's another post from the Watch Me Eat archives of previously unpublished food adventures. In this particular post, I'm going to expand from the food a bit and add some travel photos as well. Memories are fallible, but I will do my best to keep these posts as accurate as possible. Mistakes in the details may happen though. Feel free to correct!

In June of 2007, I was traveling back towards Florida from a more northern state and took a side trip through North Carolina's Outer Banks. Ocracoke is the southernmost island in the chain of barrier islands accessible by car. It is on Ocracoke that you must catch a ferry to return to the mainland. While waiting for this ferry, I did some sightseeing around the island, including seeing wild horses (in captivity?), ancient graveyards, and the Ocracoke Lighthouse.


After the quick exploration of the island, it was time to eat before catching the ferry. We settled on a place called the Flying Melon Cafe.

I remember I ordered the fish of the day. I can't remember what type of fish that was. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a fish commonly seen in restaurants, I'm thinking it possibly was scrod. The fish was served very simply, served over rice, with a side of zucchini. From what I remember, I had no complaints about the meal!

After dinner, we boarded the ferry at dusk and took the long voyage back to the mainland in the dark...