Grimaldi's Pizza in Garden City, NY

The Grimaldi's Pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge is pretty famous. I've seen them listed quite a few times as having some of the best pizza in the country. All that publicity must be a good thing for them because apparently the line to eat reaches city blocks in length on occasion. Needless to say, I never lined up for one of Grimaldi's pizzas in Brooklyn. Especially when I can get Grimaldi's coal oven pizza with no wait at another one of their locations in Garden City, NY.

I shared a 16" plain pie on my visit. The pizza had all of the characteristic charred marks and islands of mozzarella floating in a pool of sauce that are common on coal oven pies. I did like the pie, although it needed salt in my opinion. The fresh mozzarella nor the sauce had enough salt, but besides this issue, I liked the pizza. Grimaldi's pizza is definitely way overrated, but they do make a pretty good pie...

Istanbul Grill in Manhattan, NY

To continue my recent New York dining experience, I had dinner at a Turkish restaurant called Istanbul Grill in Chelsea. I ordered the Gyro Doner, consisting of lamb, lettuce, and tomato in a pita. While the gyro wasn't bad, it did lack flavor. The gyro meat was unusually bland and the three sauces that were brought to the table didn't help much either.

Istanbul Grill was okay, but don't think I'd return with their flavorless gyros. Perhaps I caught them on a bad day because they have good reviews on Urbanspoon and Yelp, but I think I would have enjoyed a gyro from the halal cart at the end of the block more than what I had at this restaurant based on smell alone...

Eddie's Ice Cream Truck in Long Island, NY

I love how multiple ice cream trucks pass by several times a day through neighborhoods in Long Island. While up north, I waved down one of these trucks...

Here's a Rainbow Merlin from Eddie's Ice Cream Truck in Elmont, NY. The Rainbow Merlin was a vanilla cone with the lower half dipped in sprinkles and the upper half dipped in hard chocolate.

Of course, no mention of New York ice cream trucks would be complete without Mister Softee:

Donut Pub in Manhattan, NY

During one of my most recent visits to New York, I stumbled upon a place called Donut Pub. Their classic neon sign quickly pulled me from across the street and the awards hanging in their window pulled me inside. The humungous muffins and cupcakes in the window helped get me in too...

Inside, the wall of Donut Pub was covered in racks of desserty deliciousness. There were several counter seats in the narrow restaurant filled with customers enjoying their late-night donuts and coffee.

I decided to go for a French Cruller. I'm not a donut expert by any means, but this was definitely better than what you get from the donut chains. The cruller was really light and airy inside, almost having a flaky consistency. It was almost too sweet, but this is a donut that we're talking about. It's supposed to be sweet...

An oreo muffin was also purchased. It got less than rave reviews, therefore my conclusion is to stick with donuts at the Donut Pub...

Donut Pub was new to me, but it's definitely worth checking out. Can't go wrong with a 24-hour bakery in a classic diner-like setting serving all sorts of desserts...

Skyline Diner in New Hyde Park, NY

There's not much of a skyline near Skyline Diner in New Hyde Park on Long Island, but lets not get hung up on restaurant names. While up in New York, I had a late night dinner/early breakfast at this diner. Two scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast for $4 wasn't a bad deal at an overpriced diner...

Pho Mac in Staten Island, NY

Staten Island, NY. It's a place that everyone seems to drive through without ever leaving the highway while either coming or going to other parts of New York and New Jersey. Still, I figured being one of the five boroughs of New York City, chances are there was some good stuff hidden on the island. That's why on my last trip up to New York, I made a point to actually stop in Staten Island for the first time ever and found some good Vietnamese food at a restaurant called Pho Mac...

I ordered the Pho Thit Heo Nuong, or #17 on the menu. This bowl of pho was described as combination rice noodles beef soup with grilled pork. The thinly sliced pork came served on the side which was a bit different, but once added into the bowl of soup, all the flavors came together into a very tasty dinner!

Mobile Deli Food Truck in Orlando, FL

Mobile Deli is one of Orlando's newest food trucks and also has one of the most generic names. Who would think that a truck called Mobile Deli serves Korean-fusion food? I tried them while at the Oviedo Food Truck Bazaar and I'm glad I did. My first taste of Korean tacos in Orlando was delicious...

I had two tacos, filled with chicken bulgogi and pork bulgogi, both on corn tortillas. These two overstuffed tacos were plenty to eat, containing the meat, onions, tomato, cilantro, and lime. The pork bulgogi was okay, although I thought the meat was kind of dry. The chicken was definitely the standout of the two meats. It was much spicier than the pork (good thing) and it was perfectly cooked. The flavors all mixed very nicely, so nicely that I was even thinking about getting another chicken taco. I will definitely be tracking down Mobile Deli on another day...

Russian & International Food Market in Boca Raton, FL

I found a place called Russian & International Food Market in the shopping center at the intersection of Glades and Lyons Road on my last trip to Boca Raton. The store was filled with all sorts of interesting Eastern European foods, but what really drew me in was their case of pierogi. For $2.50, I had a huge potato pierogi. Unlike other pierogi I've had elsewhere, this Russian version of the food was more akin to a knish rather than a dumpling.

This huge pierogi had a flaky crust wrapped around a mound of mashed potato. It was quite different from other pierogi that I've had in the past, but was still very tasty...

I also bought this Poppy Seed Danish. Pretty good, although nothing compared to the freshly baked poppy seed rolls I've had in the past...

Green House Chinese in Orlando, FL

I had a late dinner at Green House Chinese on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. Because most people seem to eat dinner way too early in Orlando, I was expecting the restaurant to be closing or completely empty at 9:30 pm. It was probably a good sign when Green House was packed with customers.

I ordered the Kung Po Shrimp combination. Wonton soup and an egg roll were served as appetizers.

The Kung Po Shrimp shared the plate with a large mound of fried rice. The large shrimp were drenched in a spicy sauce, along with carrots, peppers, and other assorted vegetables, then topped with peanuts.

My meal was pretty tasty and was a whole lot of food. The prices were good too, equivalent to most Chinese take-out places. I don't think I'd make a special trip to the other side of town for Green House's food, but if I was in the area, I just might stop in again for another try...

Frank's Ristorante in Pompano Beach, FL

I was in Pompano Beach and wanted to get a quick slice of pizza for lunch. Frank's Ristorante was close to where I parked so I gave them a try. Frank's had several different traditional pies to choose from, but for some strange reason I decided to try a slice of their taco pizza. It wasn't my best pizza decision, with my end conclusion being that American cheese and lettuce definitely don't go on a slice of pizza. I won't be ordering taco pizza again any time soon...

Oviedo Food Truck Bazaar

Food truck events have begun to spread out of Orlando. Last night was the first time food trucks have congregated in Seminole County. The Oviedo Food Truck Bazaar happened in the Oviedo Marketplace Mall parking lot and consisted of fifteen trucks. Food pictures of what was eaten will come soon, but enjoy this Food Truck Bazaar video until then...

Sunset Ice Truck from Merritt Island, FL

While at the Orlando Food Truck Bazaar #2, I bought dessert from a truck called Sunset Ice from Merritt Island.

I tried a cup of ice with half mango and half lemon. The mango ice was very different in a good way. Rather than being overly sweet like most Italian ices, this mango was more tart than sweet and actually tasted a whole lot like the fruit it was supposed to taste like.

Lemon is a standard flavor for me when it comes to Italian ice. I almost always taste some lemon whenever I try ice. This was good lemon ice. Had a good mix of sweet and tart, but the mango was definitely my favorite of the two flavors...

Gino's Pizza & Brew in Orlando, FL

Gino's Pizza & Brew has a few locations within blocks of one another in Downtown Orlando (or had- I know a couple of the other Gino's have since closed). The biggest and original Gino's is located on Orange Avenue near Church Street. Gino's is open 24 hours so pizza for breakfast is always an option here. The employees here are very creepy most of the time and it always seems like there's something shady going on in the restaurant. They are overpriced too, but they're cheaper than the other nearby pizzerias in downtown. All that being said, Gino's does have some very tasty pizza (and free garlic knots). They are one of my favorite places to go for pizza by the slice since they always have a good selection of different pies.

On one visit to Gino's, I shared an 18" cheese pizza. The pizza was good, although I personally felt it could have been cooked a little longer for a crispier crust.

On another visit, I had the Tomato Bianca pizza. This sauceless pie was topped with sliced tomatoes and sprinkled with basil. Unlike the cheese pie on my previous visit, the crust was cooked to perfection this time around.

Update: While downtown on May 19, 2013, I noticed that Gino's has gone out of business. I think this was the last one in Orlando. This place has been in Orlando for as long as I can remember, but I guess their high prices and creepy employees finally caught up with them. According to the sign out front, a new restaurant called Gitto's is opening up in this location.