The Halal Guys in Orlando, FL

There is a food thing in New York City known as Halal Carts. These carts mostly serve middle eastern rice bowls and sandwiches. Of the New York Halal Carts, the most famous is perhaps The Halal Guys. The Halal Guys have a reputation of being really good, but my one attempt to see what they are all about was deterred by the line going up the block. Their countless competitors all serve variations of the same menu with no waiting, so I never actually tried The Halal Guys. Until now. Apparently they have expanded beyond street food and a location was opened in Waterford Lakes.

I tried their combo platter which consisted of yellow rice topped with beef gyro, chicken, lettuce, tomato, white and hot sauces, and several slices of pita. Was it worth the hype? It was okay, but I would be disappointed if I waited in a line spanning a NY city block. Both meats were very plain tasting to me. The gyro reminded me of a hamburger and the chicken lacked seasoning. Not necessary bad, but I normally expect a bit more flavor from middle eastern food.

I wonder if the food from a brick and mortar location of this chain in the suburbs of Orlando is equivalent to a cart serving food on a city street corner? Since their a chain, I would expect so...

Marlow's Tavern in Waterford Lakes, FL

Marlow's Tavern recently opened up their third location in Central Florida at the Waterford Lakes Town Center. This joins their Winter Park and International Drive locations. This new location is located in the center rear of the shopping center, near the movie theater. Marlow's Tavern hosted a Media Tasting at their new location which I attended. Here's some of the foods I sampled:

Asparagus Fries were crispy thin asparagus with tarragon and a citrus aioli.

J.T.'s Kettle Chips was a tasty mound of crispy potato chips topped with gorgonzola cheese, bacon, Roma tomato, and scallions.

Shrimp and Crab Nacho Plate. These overloaded nachos were piled high with rock shrimp, crab, pepper jack cheese and fresh jalapeno. I heard comments from others at the table that these were spicy, but these nachos were pretty mild to me. Perhaps I got a nacho with a weak jalapeno.

Grilled Chicken Stack. This dish featured Grilled Prestige Farms Chicken, Squash “Carbonara,” Apple-Wood Smoked Bacon, Sautéed Spinach, Fines Herbs, Parmesan, Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce and Parslied Olive.

Tavern Burger was a classic burger, topped with lettuce and tomato. Fries were served on the side.

Shrimp and Grits consisted of a white cheddar grit cake, spinach, Roma tomato, shallot, and Roast Tomato Beurre Blanc. Since my very first visit to a Marlow's Tavern location, their Shrimp and Grits has been my favorite thing I've tried on their menu.

Classic Creme Brulee was house-made with Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Crispy Sweet Crust.

Smashburger in Orlando, FL (Waterford Lakes)

Restaurants specializing in fancy burgers seem to be opening all over the Central Florida area lately. One of the newest gourmet burger chains to recently open is called Smashburger. They currently have two locations in the area, one in Waterford Lakes and another along Colonial Drive in Orlando. Just before they opened to the public, I was invited to come try the Waterford Lakes Smashburger for a media preview.

Tom Ryan, the founder of Smashburger, was there to guide us through the restaurant's menu.

I tried some of Smashburger's fries and sides first. I tasted their Smashfries (fries tossed with rosemary, olive oil, and garlic), Sweet Potato Fries, Spicy Buffalo Fries, Veggie Frites, and Fried Pickles. My favorites were the Buffalo Fries and the Fried Pickles.

The Classic Smash was the first burger that was tasted. This was a burger topped with American cheese, Smash Sauce, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion, all on an egg bun.

The BBQ, Bacon, and Cheddar Burger was my least favorite of all the burgers. It was topped with BBQ sauce, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, and haystack onions. It was mentioned that this burger was a big seller, but it didn't do much for me. Even with the toppings, it didn't seem to have enough flavors happening for my liking and was too meaty.

The Truffle, Mushroom, and Swiss Burger had truffle mayo, sauteed criminini mushrooms, and aged swiss on an egg bun.

The Central Florida Burger included Wicked pimina cheese, spicy brown mustard, fried green tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and mayo on an egg bun. This was the first time I've ever had fried green tomato on a burger as well as ever hearing of wicked pimina cheese. Since this was the Central Florida Burger, specifically sold in local Smashburger stores, I suppose I'm supposed to like this stuff. This burger was tasty.

The Avocado Ranch Black Bean Burger was a vegetarian option that we sampled. It consisted of fresh avocado, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato, and ranch on a multi-grain bun. I did enjoy the black bean burger patty.

Spinach, Cucumber, and Goat Cheese Chicken. The chicken sandwich had cucumbers, spinach, goat cheese, tomato, onion, and balsamic vinaigrette on a multi-grain bun. This was my favorite sandwich of the evening.

The Buffalo & Blue Cheese Crispy Chicken consisted of fried chicken in Frank's RedHot Buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on an egg bun.

The Spicy Jalapeno Baja Burger was the last sandwich that was sampled this evening. It had fresh jalapenos, guacamole, pepper jack, lettuce, tomato, onion & chipotle mayo on a spicy chipotle bun. The chipotle bun was interesting. I personally didn't find the bread too spicy, but it had a unique flavor. For the rest of the burger, guacamole is always a plus.

Smashburger also had various flavors of hand-spun shakes available featuring Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Their Nutter Butter shake was my personal favorite out of what I sampled.

I liked what I tasted at Smashburger. For my personal burger preferences, there should be enough flavors happening on a burger so it doesn't just taste like beef and bread. Luckily, the majority of the burgers at Smashburger had enough going on to make me remember that burgers don't have to be disappointing. I'd have a burger from Smashburger again!

Vito's Pizza & Pasta in Waterford Lakes

I ate at Vito's Pizza & Pasta in the Waterford Lakes shopping center in Orlando. This restaurant seemed to be a former Papa Joe's, and the food was very similar. The meal was started with an order of garlic knots.

I ordered an eggplant parmesan sub. As far as sandwiches in Italian restaurants go, this one was huge. Normally, I have no problem finishing my food, but here I had to leave almost half of the sandwich. It was really overstuffed with breaded eggplant, tomato sauce, and melted cheese. The bread was nice and crusty, covered with sesame seeds. Vito's left me with no complaints about their food!

Pine Garden Chinese

I was doing some shopping for a birthday present in the Waterford Lakes Town Center outdoor mall and started getting hungry. After wandering from store to store in search of a giant Pez dispenser in the horribly designed mall, I stopped by the Pine Garden Chinese Restaurant. I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken lunch combo, which included wonton soup, rice, and the chicken. I wasn't too happy with the food. Everything was pretty much tasteless. The soup tasted like oily water with wontons floating in it. Kung Pao chicken is normally somewhat spicy, but Pine Garden's chicken was very bland. The price was good, but I don't think I would return to Pine Garden any time soon.