Kona Grill Grand Opening in Winter Park, FL

I was invited to the grand opening of Kona Grill in Winter Park last week. Located in a new shopping center along 17-92, Kona Grill is a welcome addition to Winter Park's collection of restaurants.

Because you want to know, here's what Kona Grill has to say about themselves:

WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 21, 2016) - Winter Park's already outstanding dining scene just got even better with the opening of the new Kona Grill. Located in the Lakeside Crossing shopping center, Kona Grill offers a modern American menu, sushi bar and signature drinks - perfect after a day of holiday shopping along Park Avenue. Kona Grill is sure to be a favorite after-work gathering spot, for its happy hour (Monday-Friday from 3 pm-7 pm) and reverse happy hour (Monday-Thursday from 9 pm-11pm and Friday-Saturday from 10 pm-midnight).

This is the first Kona Grill in Central Florida, and company's fourth location in Florida. The publicly-traded company (NASDAQ: KONA) operates 44 restaurants in 23 states.

About Kona Grill:
Kona Grill features a global menu of contemporary American favorites, award-winning sushi, and specialty cocktails in an upscale casual atmosphere. Kona Grill owns and operates 44 restaurants, guided by a passion for quality food and exceptional service. Restaurants are located in 23 states and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.konagrill.com

A sushi buffet was set up for the grand opening where I was able to sample various types of rolls and sashimi. A large ice sculpture was the centerpiece of the sushi table.

There was tuna, salmon, yellowtail, California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and more. All tasted fresh and delicious.

Yellowtail:

Potstickers were also delicious.

Portobello & Goat Cheese Flatbread - Tomato sauce, parmesan, spinach, mozzarella, sun-dried tomato, red onion, and basil.

Big Kahuna Cheeseburger - caramelized onion, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, brioche, homemade pickle spear.

Macadamia Nut Chicken - House mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, shoyu cream, and pineapple-papaya marmalade.

Miso-Sake Sea Bass - Shrimp & pork fried rice and pan-Asian ratatouille.

Passion Fruit Creme Brulee:

Carrot Cake:

Toasted in Winter Park, FL

I've been to Toasted in Winter Park a few times now. They specialize in fancy grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers. I've tried a grilled cheese on every visit.

On one visit I tried the Fig and Goat. This grilled cheese was filled with havarti and goat cheese, fig, basil, and honey. Good flavors with a nice contrast of sweet fig and honey and savory cheese and basil.   The bread was the most disappointing part of the grilled cheese.

I had the Blackberry Melt on another visit. This grilled cheese had fontina cheese, bacon, blackberry, and arugula. Again, it had a nice contrast of sweet and salty. They used bacon bits instead of sliced bacon which was a little disappointing. Again, the boring white bread was the weakest part of the sandwich. The blackberry melt was still pretty tasty though. Of the two sandwiches, I liked this one the best. I ordered this with a side of macaroni and cheese, which was just okay.

I like the grilled cheeses at Toasted, but I wish they improved their breads. Interesting bread on their sandwiches could make their grilled cheeses so much better...

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!

Zona Fresca in Winter Park, FL

Zona Fresca is a new restaurant which has recently opened in Ravaudage near the intersection of Lee Road and 17-92. This fast-casual restaurant serves fresh, healthy, Baja-Style Mexican food. They are based out of South Florida and this is Zona Fresca's first Central Florida location. I was invited to give Zona Fresca a try, and I did enjoy what I sampled!

I started out with the Pozole Soup. In all my experience eating in Mexican restaurants, I don't think I have ever ordered soup. This soup had braised chicken, hominy, onions, cilantro, and radishes in a guajillo chili broth. I very much enjoyed the soup, and may be my favorite dish out of everything I sampled at Zona Fresca.

I had a sampling of tacos on the Three Street Taco Plate. I tried the Chicken Breast, Machaca, and Baja Fish tacos. Each was served on a double layer of corn tortillas. Of the three, the Chicken Breast taco was my favorite, exceeding my expectations. The chicken was topped with cactus, avocado, cilantro, onions, and a lemony dressing. With a meat that had the potential to be bland, the combinations of toppings on the chicken taco made it burst with flavor. The Machaca was my second favorite. I don't think I've ever ordered machaca at a Mexican restaurant before. This was slowly braised shredded beef, topped with poblanos, tomato, and queso fresco. It reminded me a bit of ropa vieja with the shredded beef being tender and flavorful. The Baja Fish Taco was my least favorite of the three. Nothing wrong with the taco, but the fried fish topped with cabbage, pico, and tangy dressing really didn't have anything that stood out.

I also tried the Chili Rellenos. Two charbroiled poblano peppers stuffed with jack and cheddar cheese, served with black beans, cilantro rice, and pico de gallo. The peppers had a nice charred flavor and were very tasty.

I had the Flan for dessert. Can't go wrong with custard-like desserts topped with honey.

I liked everything I sampled at Zona Fresca. When it comes to Mexican fast food chains in the area, I enjoyed Zona Fresca more than some of their competition. The menu provided interesting flavors not typically found at non-sit down Mexican restaurants. I'll be returning...

Tastebuds Catering Food Truck in Winter Park, FL

I visited the Winter Park Farmers Market on a recent Saturday and decided to get some lunch from a food truck called Tastebuds Catering. Even though it was lunch time, I decided to get a second breakfast instead.

I ordered the Margarita Omelet. It was filled with tomatoes, organic spinach, mozzarella cheese, and was topped with pesto. Potatoes were served on the side. The omelet was tasty, although it did seem a little lopsided when it came to the cheese. One end of the omelet had plenty of mozzarella, while the other end lacked the cheese. Other than the cheese thing, I liked the omelet. There was plenty of spinach and tomatoes and the pesto was a nice touch. The potatoes were forgettable.

Overall, Tastebuds made a pretty good omelet that was a whole lot of food...

The Coop in Winter Park, FL

The Coop is a restaurant in Winter Park specializing in Southern foods, specifically fried chicken as the name implies. The Coop is owned by the same people behind the very successful 4 Rivers Smokehouse.

I've been to The Coop a couple times now. On my first visit, I ordered the Generous Two Piece Fried Chicken Plate. This came with the chicken, three fixins (side items), and cornbread. The two pieces of chicken had a tasty breading which had a very nice peppery flavor. I've read some criticism of the The Coop's chicken saying it's bland, but it tasted good to me. My issue didn't have to do with the taste of the chicken. It was more the consistency. One of the pieces of chicken was so soggy that the breading was falling off the meat. The other piece was perfectly fine, but soggy fried chicken is not a good thing at a restaurant that claims to specialize in chicken. I liked the Fixins over the chicken. I tried the mac & cheese, southern collards, and stewed okra & tomato. The okra was the best of the three. It was really flavorful and all of the okra's potential sliminess disappeared into the stew.

I tried The Coop's Chicken Pot Pie on my second visit. I was unimpressed. The pie crust was good, but the pie fillings could have used a bit of improvement. There was plenty of chicken, but also lots and lots of corn. There was more corn in the pie than anything else. I found a few green beans as well, but they were hidden by all the corn in the pie. It tasted alright, but wasn't anything to write home about. I also had the macaroni and stewed okra for my sides once again. The macaroni was consistent with the my first visit to The Coop. Unfortunately the okra was really bland compared to my first experience.

The food I tried so far at The Coop isn't going to have me rushing back soon, but I have a feeling I'll be back eventually. Except for the soggy chicken, although not exceptional, most everything was tasty enough. They seem like they have consistency issues with the good/soggy fried chicken and flavorful/bland okra on different visits, so let's hope they work those out. There are several things left on The Coop's menu that I'm interested in trying (shrimp and grits, chicken and dumplings) so I think I'll be returning to The Coop to give these a try...

Dunkin' Donuts' Fall Lineup/National Coffee Day in Winter Park, FL

I was invited to the Dunkin' Donuts in Winter Park on University Blvd to try some of the new Fall foods on their menu. I'm always a fan of pumpkin flavored stuff, so I was looking forward to trying some of their seasonal menu items.

The Spicy Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich was the first food item which was sampled. This consisted of a spicy split sausage link with egg and American cheese, served on an English muffin.

The Pumpkin Pie Donut came next. This doughnut was filled with a pumpkin pie flavored buttercreme. It was frosted with white dipping icing and sprinkled with grahmn cracker topping. This was good, but the filling and icing was very sweet.

The Pumpkin Donut wasn't nearly as sweet as the Pumpkin Pie Donut. Out of the two pumpkin flavors, I preferred this doughnut.

While on the subject of doughnuts, I was also able to try the Pumpkin Munchkins. Same as the pumpkin donut, only in a much smaller size.

The Snack 'n Go Chicken Wrap was filled with chicken, bacon, and ranch in a folded tortilla.

The Pepperjack Bagel Supreme was a bagel smothered in melted pepperjack cheese. The cheese had a nice, spicy kick, which I enjoyed. This was spicier than I was expecting from a fast food restaurant.

Dunkin' Donuts also served several varieties of their coffee. We tried their Dark Roast Pumpkin Coffee, Hot Pumpkin Mocha Latte, Pumpkin Creme Brulee Latte, Iced Hazelnut Swirl, and the Iced French Vanilla Swirl. I'm more of a tea drinker and not much of a coffee connoisseur, so I'm not the best judge of good coffee. The Hot Pumpkin Mocha Latte was my personal favorite. It tasted much more like a hot chocolate than a coffee to me.

Being that Dunkin' Donuts served coffee at their sampling event, it is appropriate that today, September 29, is National Coffee Day. That means Dunkin' Donuts is giving away a free medium cup of hot Dark Roast Coffee at all of their participating Orlando stores! Go get your free coffee!

I had fun trying the foods at Dunkin' Donuts. I vote that they bring back that pumpkin cream cheese that was served a couple years ago which wasn't brought back this year. That was my favorite pumpkin flavored food that I remember trying at Dunkin' Donuts in recent memory.

 

Shake Shack in Winter Park, FL

I was invited to a Shake Shack Housewarming Party for the new restaurant in Winter Park. Shake Shack is a burger chain which originated out of New York and has quite the following. My only previous experience with Shake Shack was when I attempted to eat at their South Beach location. There was a line pouring out of the restaurant and half way up the block, all in pouring rain. I didn't feel like getting soaked for burgers, but it showed that Shake Shack has some loyal customers with that many people willing to wait in line in the rain. I finally had my chance to give Shake Shack a try with their first Orlando area location in Winter Park. Would it live up to the hype?

I sampled three of Shake Shack's burgers. The first was the ShackBurger. This was a cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce. Was it an amazing burger that lived up to Shake Shack's hype? It's hard to say. I'm honestly not much of a burger person so I'm not the best judge. This was my second favorite burger that I tried at Shake Shack.

Up next was the 'Shroom Burger. This was a vegetarian option which consisted of crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheeses, topped with lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce. This was my least favorite of the three burgers. I found the hot gooey cheese inside the mushrooms was a bit dangerous to eat as it exploded everywhere as I bit into the burger.

The third burger was the SmokeShack. This was a cheeseburger topped with all-natural applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper, and ShackSauce. Out of the three burgers, this was my favorite. The cherry pepper provided a nice, spicy kick.

The Cheese Fries were crinkle cut Yukon potatoes with a side of cheddar and American cheese sauce.

Hot Dog with fries. This was pretty standard as far as hot dogs go.

Since the restaurant was called Shake Shack, I couldn't leave without trying a shake. Here's the Vanilla Shake:

I enjoyed trying Shake Shack. Was it everything that I was told it would be? The food was good. I don't know if I would say these were the best burgers ever, but definitely better than some other fast food chains. Like I said, I'm a horrible judge of burgers. I've disliked enough burgers to mostly stop ordering them at restaurants. I suppose Shake Shack did indeed pass the burger test for me because I'd go back again. Now that they're officially open, I wonder if the Winter Park Shack Shack will get lines out of the restaurant like I encountered in Miami?