Flakowitz Bagel Inn in Boca Raton, FL

I had breakfast at a restaurant called Flakowitz Bagel Inn on my last visit to Boca Raton. This place has apparently been around for quite a long time and is very popular. It is a New York style bagel place with a really large dining area. Most of these type of places in Boca seem to be always filled with senior citizens, but this one was a bit different. Most of the people in here were young to middle aged, with most everyone in my hearing range having very obnoxious New Jersey accents.

 

A basket of bagels was delivered to the table with everyone's food. I had an everything bagel that was very good.

Beside the bagel, I ordered their Two Egg Breakfast. This came with scrambled eggs, homefries, and two slices of bacon. It was a very basic breakfast, but it did the job!

O'Leary's Tiki Bar in Sarasota, FL

I was in Sarasota for the day and decided to get some lunch at a restaurant called O'Leary's Tiki Bar. The restaurant was located in Island Park and had a very nice view of the bay.

I had the Blackened Fish Bun.The sandwich had to large filets of fish on a roll along with lettuce and tomato. Curly fries were served on the side. The fish sandwich was good, too big for the bun, but can't really complain about that. I liked the fries. They were the type that have enough flavor alone where they don't need to be dipped into anything. The curly shape was just an extra plus.

I'd come here again, but I discovered a nifty downtown section of Sarasota a few blocks away that I had never came across before as I was leaving with lots of restaurants to try. Think I'll be exploring the food in this section of town next time I'm in Sarasota...

Stay Calm Cupcake Truck

There's a new cupcake truck in town! I was sent a coupon to try the Stay Calm Cupcake Truck for their grand opening. I found them at Rebounderz in Longwood for a very rainy Taste Bud Tuesdays.

We tried the strawberry lemon cupcake and the chocolate peanut butter cupcake.

Rocco's Tacos in West Palm Beach, FL

I was in West Palm Beach and had dinner at a restaurant called Rocco's Tacos. I didn't realize this was a chain before eating there, but they have several locations throughout Florida with one opening soon on Sand Lake Road in Orlando. The inside of this Mexican restaurant looked pretty nifty with all sorts of cool metal lights and old brick walls. It was also very loud and very cramped, with hardly any room between tables.

We started with chips and salsa. It sort of rubs me the wrong way when Mexican restaurants charge extra for chips and salsa when so many other restaurants include them in the price. Rocco's had higher prices than most other Mexican restaurants and they still charged extra for the chips. That being said, the chips were pretty tasty. They were topped with some sort of seasoning that made them really flavorful, even without the salsa. Dipped in the salsa, they were only made better.

I had the Enchiladas Rojos for my dinner. This consisted of two corn tortillas filled with pulled pork and topped with cheese and a guajillo chile sauce. Refried beans and rice were served on the side. I found the enchiladas to be very average. The pork was a little dry and tasted very bland. The sauce seemed to provide all the flavor in the enchiladas. They tasted okay, but weren't anything worth going out of my way to return for. At $13, they were also kind of pricey for very typical enchiladas.

Rocco's Tacos seemed to be an upscale Mexican restaurant that served basically the same food that you could get at any other dumpy Mexican restaurant. The only big differences seemed to be higher prices and fancy lighting fixtures. Based on the amount of people in Rocco's though, it seems like people really like them. I hope it isn't just because of those lights...

Chicken Satay Stand in Orlando, FL

On July 4th, I watched the fireworks at Lake Eola park in Orlando. Lots of food vendors were set up, most of which I did not partake. As I was leaving though, I did start to get hungry and noticed skewers of Indonesian chicken satay being grilled.

The grilled meat smelled really good and the skewers were very affordable compared to most of the other foods being sold in the park.

I bought my chicken satay, which was immediately drenched in peanut sauce, and I proceeded to eat as I wandered around Downtown Orlando. These tasty chunks of chicken made me think about how Orlando needs more street food that is between a full-fledged food truck and the hot dog carts that show up late at night. We need more skewer carts. We need some halal carts. We need all those fun little carts that show up in other cities like New York and Washington, but have yet to come to Orlando. The ones that fit on a sidewalk corner and provide a nice tasty snack for cheaper than any full restaurant or food truck. Chicken Satay should be around in Orlando all the time, not just on holidays in the park...

Big Italy in Orlando, FL

I had dinner at a new Italian restaurant on International Drive called Big Italy. While many of the neighboring restaurants were serving Brazilian pizza (which I've yet to try), this place was going for the traditional Italian stuff.

They advertised over 100 types of pizza. Initially, I was a little scared and was expecting a place like CiCi's with a claim like that, but it turned out that they had a nice menu of all sorts of interesting sounding pizzas. We decided to try a pizza called the Big Italy Trio. Meant to look like the Italian flag, the pie was split into three sections. Green was topped with arugula. The white section had four cheeses. Red was made from slices of prosciutto topping the pie.

I thought this pizza was good. The crust was thin and crispy (although not a NY style type of thin, more cracker-like). The toppings were tasty, beside the boring four cheese section. I think I would give Big Italy another try for some of their other 99 types of pizzas!

Da Kine Diego's Insane Burritos in Satellite Beach, FL

Da Kine Diego's Insane Burritos is a fun little burrito place in Satellite Beach. The restaurant was listed as the #1 place for cheap eats on Urbanspoon in the Melbourne area, so I figured it was worth a try!

 

Da Kine Diego's had a really cool eating area with giant palm umbrellas over their outdoor seating. It also looked like they had a screen set up behind the restaurants to potentially show movies. 

 

The line winding out the door when I arrived was a good sign that this place was worth a visit. 

I had one of the Insane Burritos filled with chicken, beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and salsa. The burrito was quite large, equivalent to what the chains like Chipotle give if they're generous. It was also served with a nice little instructional card about how to properly eat the burrito for the uninformed.

The burrito was good, especially with the addition of the hot sauces that were kept up front by the kitchen. My only complaint was with the cheese, which had somewhat of a slight metallic taste. I've been told this is the taste of the anti-caking agents in pre-shredded cheeses. The cheese at Moe's has the same flavor, and here it took a few points away from an otherwise excellent burrito. The cheese didn't detract enough from keeping me from returning either, because this place was pretty nifty otherwise!

Mobay Bakery at Orlando Farmers Market

The Orlando Farmers Market that happens every Sunday at Lake Eola Park is one of my favorites in Central Florida. On my most recent food excursion to the farmers market, I had lunch from a booth serving Jamaican food called Mobay Bakery.

I tried their curry chicken. The chicken was normally served with rice, but they were out so they gave a beef patty instead. The curry chicken tasted good, although the chopped up bones in the chicken pieces did start getting annoying after a while. The beef patty was good (and better than rice in my opinion)!

Hiro's Sushi Express in South Beach, FL

While visiting South Beach on a rainy evening, dinner was had at a Japanese fast food restaurant called Hiro's Sushi Express. I started my meal with a cup of miso soup served in a styrofoam cup.

Next up was a shrimp teriyaki box. This bento contained shrimp cooked with mushrooms, rice, vegetables, and an orange slice. The shrimp were tasty but the rest of the box was somewhat boring. The vegetables were very plain and the rice was standard brown rice.

I've enjoyed better Japanese fast food elsewhere in Miami at Iron Sushi, but Hiro's wasn't that bad. They gave a good sized portion of food for less than the price of a milkshake up the street at Shake Shack...

Medieval Times in Kissimmee, FL

Medieval Times recently introduced a brand new show and this blog was invited to the premiere. Medieval Times is one of oldest dinner shows in Orlando and is also a show that I had heard lots about but had never seen. I was looking forward to the show!

When we arrived, the evening started out in a large hall. This seemed like the preshow area and was honestly a little disappointing. Appetizers were served here and beside a repetitive knighting ceremony for the birthdays/anniversaries/etc, not much happened in here. All the bars and gift shops were open, but more needed to happen (court jester juggling or something?).

Since we had over an hour of waiting for the show to start, I suppose it was a good thing that they had a medieval village set up next to the main Medieval Times castle. This is the only Medieval Times that has a village and it was very cool! The village was filled with all sorts of authentic medieval and renaissance artifacts, everything from armor to torture devices to pottery. Here's a 700 year old manuscript...

Animals were also in the village. Here's a falcon.

Eventually it was time for the main show and dinner to begin. Several rows of seating surrounded the stage, separated into color-coded sections. We sat in the green section, and therefore cheered for the green knight.

Once everyone was seated, the first course of tomato bisque and garlic bread was served. The tomato bisque seemed like typical tomato soup to me, not exceptional but still tasty. The garlic bread was more interesting. It actually reminded me a bit of a garlic naan from an Indian restaurant rather that what I would expect at a dinner show.

While we were eating our bread and slurping our soup, the show began and horses did all sorts of nifty tricks in front of us. Knights soon followed with a fun competition of jousting, sword fighting, and other nifty stuff.

As the show was going on, the next courses were served. The chicken came next. Half chickens were served and we ripped them apart with our hands in a very medieval manner (unless you insist that they bring you silverware). The chicken was flavorful, although it was a little dry.

Soon after the chicken, a rib and herb-basted potatoes were served. The rib was good, but the potatoes were really dry and flavorless.

For dessert, we were served apple turnovers. According to one of the people working in the medieval village, the dessert is the only non-standard item on the menu and is always a surprise as to what will be served. The turnover was good with a flaky crust surrounding some apple jam. 

 Before I knew it, the show was over. I never saw the old show, so I can't compare, but I enjoyed it. Overall, the Medieval Times was like an indoor renaissance festival with air conditioning and better food. Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a good time!

Medieval Times had a great castle-shaped cake made by a company called Cupcake Kisses sitting in the lobby/preshow area for the premier. It almost looked too nice to eat, but to my surprise the cake was cut with a sword and was served after the show.

 This was definitely the most architectural cake I've ever eaten!

I had a good time at Medieval Times. Once the show got started, it was very entertaining. The food was all good (with the exception of the potatoes), and overall was fun night. 

If you've read this far into this blog post, it is your lucky day. I have a goodie bag from Medieval Times to give to one of my lucky readers. It contains two tickets to the show, fancy Medieval Times drinking cups, a Medieval Times hat and rain poncho, and some other extras. It can all be yours, all you have to do is like Watch Me Eat on Facebook and comment on the post mentioning the contest. Do this before August 7, 2012, you will be entered into a random drawing to win the prize. Good luck!

That's Amore in New Smyrna Beach, FL

After a day at New Smyrna Beach, I had dinner at an Italian restaurant called That's Amore. The meal started with a caesar salad.

We shared a Margherita pizza for the main course. The pizza was very tasty with a nice, thin, crispy crust. It was topped with a good amount of cheese, sliced tomato, and basil.

Since pizza from other Italian restaurants in New Smyrna has been disappointing, I'm definitely going to have to add That's Amore as a place to keep in mind after future visits to the beach.

Habaneros Mexican Grill in Winter Park, FL

My dinner goal was to get some chicken from La Granja, but they had closed for the night. That meant my hunger drifted next door to the Habaneros Mexican Grill near the intersection of Semoran and Aloma in Winter Park. This restaurant was an Amigos the last time I was here, but I had been to some of Habaneros other locations and liked them. Turned out this place was better when it was Amigos and the food was subpar compared to the other Habaneros a few miles up the road in Casselberry.

I had one of their dinner combinations which came with a chicken burrito, a chicken enchilada, and a chili relleno. It should have been good, but everything on the plate was flavorless. The burrito and enchilada were both filled with dry, bland chicken. The sauces on top tasted like tomato paste and not much else. The chili (which the waitress warned was really spicy) was like a soggy cheese covered bell pepper.

The other two people that I ate here with both had similar sentiments about their food as well. I don't think I'd go back to this Habaneros when the one in Casselberry serves food that actually has some flavor to it...