Kenny & Denny's BBQ at Orlando Farmers Market

I visited the Orlando Farmers Market in Lake Eola on a recent Sunday afternoon and bought lunch from Kenny & Denny's BBQ. Their menu consisted of turkey legs, sandwiches, quesadillas, and breakfast items. I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Quesadilla.

The quesadilla consisted of a tortilla filled with a generous portion of pulled pork, cheese, onions, and barbecue sauce. The whole thing was grilled until everything melted together, then was sliced and served. I did enjoy the combination of smoked meat, cheese, and barbeque sauce. The quesadilla was dripping grease while I was eating, probably a sign of how unhealthy it was. Still, the quesadilla was very tasty and I'd order this again at some point.

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill in Orlando, FL

I had lunch at Lime Fresh Mexican Grill in the Dr. Phillips/Restaurant Row neighborhood of Orlando. This Mexican chain has been in the area for a couple of years now, but I had not visited any of their locations until now. Unlike the other big burrito places, Lime had a set menu instead of the assembly line style of fast-food Mexican food that is done by Chipotle/Qdoba/Moe's.

I ordered the Lime Burrito. This consisted of a tortilla filled with chicken, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce. The burrito was alright, although a bit forgettable. Nothing really stood out and for some reason the refried beans reminded me of a Taco Bell burrito. Other burritos on the menu did have black beans, but not this particular one. Nothing is wrong with refried beans, but it did have the Taco Bell connotation. The chips served on the side seemed a bit too hard and somewhat stale. Overall, the food burrito I tried at Lime Fresh Mexican Grill was alright for what it was, but I don't think I'll go rushing back to try them again anytime soon.

Captain Cook's Snack Company in Disney's Polynesian Resort

I visited with some relatives at the Polynesian Resort at Disney. While there, I decided to get a quick lunch from the hotel's main snack bar called Captain Cook's Snack Company. This quick-service restaurant mostly served sandwiches, salads, and flatbread pizzas alongside convenience store type items.

I ordered the Hawaiian Flatbread and a Dole Whip. The flatbread consisted of a rectangular pizza topped with tomato sauce, cheese, pineapple, ham, and red onions. The flatbread was good sized, slightly larger than I was expecting it to be with the corners hanging off the plate. It was tasty enough, especially since it was from a hotel snack bar. The pineapple didn't make everything else soggy on the pizza which is always a good thing on a Hawaiian pizza. My biggest complaint here was with the rectangular crust not being utilized. The corners of the flatbread were completely free of sauce, cheese, or any other toppings. Otherwise this was a good flatbread.

As for the Dole Whip, I don't quite understand those things. It's nothing more than pineapple flavored soft-serve ice cream. I've seen far too many Disney-centric food websites rave about the amazing qualities of Dole Whips. It's tasty ice cream, but nothing worth seeking out. If you do have a burning desire to seek out a Dole Whip though, at least get it inside the Magic Kingdom where you can get the Dole Whip Floats...

Big Louie's Pizzeria in Pompano Beach, FL

While in South Florida, I ordered take out from an Italian restaurant called Big Louie's Pizzeria in Pompano Beach.

I ordered a medium Margherita Pizza. This pie was topped with tomato sauce, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese. I probably should have ordered a normal cheese pie since I really couldn't detect what the $2 upcharge was for over a plain pizza. I suppose it was the fresh mozzarella, but nothing about the pie really stood out. Not to say this was a bad pie. It was actually a pretty good pizza (especially considering that this was cooked on a conveyor belt oven - normally a sign of mediocre pizza). I don't why, I just was expecting something a little different from a normal cheese pie when I ordered the Margherita.

Balagan Mediterranean Cafe in the UCF Arena

Today we're talking about Balagan Mediterranean Cafe in the UCF Arena. This Middle Eastern/Kosher restaurant is located on the first floor of the arena right inside of the main entrance. They have a menu that features falafel, shawarma, kababs, and standard arena snack bar fare like burgers and hot dogs. Their Middle Eastern foods are very tasty and the best part is the price. For the price of a bag of cinnamon nuts up a single flight of stairs at an official arena snack bar, you can get an entire sandwich at Balagan.

I ordered the Schwarma pita. This was filled with turkey and chicken, lettuce, cabbage, onions, hummus, tahini, hot sauce, and whatever other toppings were available. I basically had them load up my schwarma with everything! Although not the most photogenic sandwich, it was still very tasty. Way better than an overpriced hot dog or nachos from the snack bars right up stairs.

The Whip Ice Cream Truck in Orlando, FL

I watched the fireworks at Lake Eola this year on July 4th. While there, I bought some ice cream from a truck called The Whip. They served ice cream where they would blend vanilla with a large selection of flavors to come up with over 40 different varieties. Shaved ice was also available, but I stuck with the ice cream.

My flavor selection for the night was the blueberry cheesecake. A cup of vanilla soft serve was filled and a container filled with the flavoring was removed from a freezer. Both were taken to a separate machine where they were blended together into a purple tinted ice cream. The flavor wasn't as strong as I've had elsewhere. I could taste a bit of berry flavor but didn't taste much cheesecake. Regardless, the ice cream was good enough and it was an interesting process to watch how they got all those flavors out of one soft serve machine.

Harry Buffalo in Orlando, FL

On the 4th of July, I ventured into Downtown Orlando and ate dinner at a restaurant called Harry Buffalo. This space was formerly occupied by a Cajun restaurant called Mojo, which I enjoyed on my first visit. The next two visits weren't nearly as good. I actually never got to try the food at Mojo on these visits. We were seated and sat for far too long without being acknowledged. Even after asking for our server, we were still ignored and ended up leaving on both of these subsequent visits. I know it's a different restaurant now, but because of the last two bad experiences at Mojo, I was hoping Harry Buffalo wouldn't have similar problems.

Inside, not much was different during the change from Mojo to Harry Buffalo. There was more of a sports bar vibe now with more TVs and some sports memorabilia hanging on the walls. The building was still impressive, remnants from when Church Street Station was a thing...

This didn't click for some reason before dining at Harry Buffalo, but they do a lot of variations of Buffalo wings. With buffalo in the name, I don't why this wasn't obvious, but it didn't click for me. With that in mind, I ordered something that incorporated Buffalo chicken and had the Buffalo Mac & Cheese Big Horn Melt. It sounded like a weird and very unhealthy combination, but it was actually very tasty. The sandwich consisted of Buffalo chicken and macaroni & cheese sandwiched between Italian bread. The spicy buffalo sauce went really well with the cheesyness of the macaroni. Fries and coleslaw were served as sides.

I liked my food at Harry Buffalo. They didn't have any of the problems that Mojo developed. They also had trivia going on which is always fun. I'd return!

Pizza Rustica in South Beach, FL (Washington Ave.)

A while ago I visited Miami and tried the Pizza Rustica on Lincoln Road in South Beach. The pizza was pretty unique with huge slices with creative topping combinations. I was recently down there once again and passed by another Pizza Rustica location on Washington Ave and decided to give them another try.

This Pizza Rustica was slightly smaller and didn't have the crowds of people gobbling down pizza like the other location had. There was only one other customer actually eating in here and then a couple more people occupying the outdoor tables with no food. Apparently you can get more than food at this Pizza Rustica as well. While I was waiting for my slice to warm up in the ovens, a man walked in and offered to sell me drugs, which I declined. I was here for pizza, not other mind alternating substances! Interesting crowd at this Pizza Rustica...

I had a slice of the Caprese Pizza. This rectangular slice was topped with tomatoes, basil, kalamata olives, and fresh mozzarella. While the toppings here could have had potential, the slice was overall disappointing. After being freshly reheated in the oven, this slice had a very soggy crust with no crispiness at all. The mozzarella was hardly melted and the other toppings didn't seem to adhere to the cheese like normally happens on pizza. They were just sitting on top and all fell off as I was eating the slice.

I wasn't a fan of the pizza at this Pizza Rustica, nor was I a fan of the somewhat sketchy looking people loitering around the outdoor seating and the drug dealers. Stick with the Pizza Rustica on Lincoln Road.

On the Border in Royal Palm Beach, FL

I was taking the scenic route home from a visit to South Florida and was searching for some Mexican food for lunch. We were in the Wellington/West Palm Beach/Royal Palm Beach area along 441 and wanted to find food before we continued along our route and ventured into the sugar farms. The first two Mexican restaurants that we attempted to try were either no longer in business or closed, so we settled on going to a Mexican chain called On the Border. I had been to an On the Border a very long time ago and didn't remember much. This visit started with chips and salsa.

I ordered the three item lunch special where there was a big list of foods and I picked what I wanted. I went with a chicken enchilada, guacamole tostada, and chicken empanada. This lunch ended up being far more food than I was expecting. The lunch was served on a huge plate with black beans and rice, enchilada, two empanadas, and a queso dipping sauce. The tostada was served on a separate plate. The food was tasty enough for a Mexican chain with the same parent company as Chili's but the portion size here was a bit of overkill. Half of the food served would have still been a whole lot of food. With this being lunch, I wonder how much larger the dinner portions are at On the Border?

Lester's Diner in Coconut Creek, FL

I had a late breakfast one morning while staying in Boca at a restaurant called Lester's Diner in Coconut Creek. Apparently there are a few Lester's Diners in south Florida although this was the first one I ever came across. The building was unique looking with a somewhat dated looking but cool sign. Looked like it was built in the 1960s or 70s if I had to guess.

I ordered the spinach and feta omelet, served with a side of hashed browns and toast. The omelet was tasty with plenty of cheese. The hashed browns and toast were both forgettable. The omelet was a bit expensive for a diner breakfast, about equivalent to the overpriced omelets at a place like IHOP. The big difference here though was that this omelet was way better than what most of the chains serve. I'd return to Lester's Diner.

Expedition Cafe in Sea World Orlando

I ventured over to Sea World to see the recently opened Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin section of the park. While there, I had lunch at the new restaurant called Expedition Cafe. The restaurant is very nicely themed as an Antarctic base built into ice. There were three different counters to order from inside. One served Italian food, another served American food, and the counter that we ordered from served Chinese food.

I had the Shrimp Lo Mein. This was basically a large plate of lo mein noodles with the very occasional vegetable mixed in. Shrimp were served alongside the noodles and the meal was completed with a fortune cookie. Serving the shrimp separate from the lo mein was a bit different. I do understand the reasoning behind this to accommodate vegetarians. This definitely wasn't worth $13, but in terms of theme park foods, it was acceptable. The person visiting the park with me also ordered the Pepper Steak and fried rice. The normal bell peppers were absent from the pepper steak which was a bit unusual. Let's be nice and assume the lack of vegetables in both the lo mein and pepper steak was because of authentic Antarctic base themeing where I imagine fresh vegetables in food wouldn't be readily available... 

After eating, it was time to stand in line for 75 minutes to ride the new penguin ride. Big improvement of the the old penguin exhibit. The ride was way too short, but you get way closer to the penguins now. Overall, Antarctica was pretty cool (figuratively and literally)...

Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill in Deland, FL

Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill is a restaurant located in Downtown Deland. I've been here a couple times in the past and always liked the restaurant but never wrote about them on this blog. I took a picture of my food on my most recent visit, so now there's a blog post. The Brickhouse Grill has a very varied menu, ranging from sandwiches, steaks, pastas, salads, and my choice for the evening: barbeque.

I decided to try some the beef brisket and smoked turkey. This was served with garlic toast, mashed potatoes, and pickle slices. The meats had a nice smokey flavor. Out of the two, I preferred the turkey. A couple of the slices of brisket were very fatty. It's unfortunate because the brisket was otherwise tasty. The mashed potatoes had bacon and cheese mixed in for some added flavor.

My meal at Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill wasn't perfect with the fatty brisket, but was otherwise good. I'd most definitely return, next time to probably try some of their sandwiches that sound really good.

Brooklyn Pizza in Orlando, FL

I was on International Drive and stopped into the Brooklyn Pizza right outside of Magical Midway. Brooklyn Pizza is a local chain with several restaurants around Orlando. I've visited a couple of the other locations a long time ago but they weren't very memorable. Being that this Brooklyn Pizza was in the shadows of go-kart tracks, I didn't exactly have high hopes for the pizza but I was pleasantly surprised.

I ordered one of their combos which included two slices and a drink. The two pepperoni slices were good sized. They were nice and thin with a crispy crust. Each was topped with six pepperoni slices. Overall, the pizza was pretty good for pies that I was expecting to be catered towards tourists rather than repeat customers. I'd return.

China Star in Orange City, FL

I was in Orange City and stopped to pick up some Chinese take out from a restaurant called China Star. This is apparently a very prevalent name when it comes to these type of restaurants. This particular restaurant was in a somewhat run down looking strip mall located just off 17-92 and I was the only customer at the time. I ordered vegetable lo mein and wonton soup. The lo mein was filled with cabbage, snow peas, carrots, scallions, and broccoli in a tasty brown sauce.

The soup had a nice broth with plenty of dumplings floating around. It had scallions but no pork.

For a Chinese take out place, the food that I tried here was pretty tasty. I'd come to China Star again.

Sloan's Ice Cream in West Palm Beach, FL

I was in West Palm Beach and had some dessert at a place called Sloan's Ice Cream.

Sloan's was a very colorful place inside. There were intricate ceiling murals. There was a model trolley moving back and forth under the ice cream counter. I apparently missed the main attraction here. Sloan's has one of the top ten bathrooms in the world according to Travel Channel. According to what I read after the fact, the bathroom has glass windows that allow everyone to see in, that is until you lock the door and the windows become opaque. Worth returning for?

I had strawberry cheesecake ice cream in a waffle cone. The large serving of ice cream had big chunks of actual cheesecake mixed in, always improving any ice cream that calls itself cheesecake flavored.

Sloan's had good ice cream. I'd return and will hopefully have to use the facilities next time...