Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney, Lake Buena Vista, FL

I recently braved the massive construction at Downtown Disney as it is transformed into Disney Springs and ate dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. This is one of two Wolfgang Puck restaurants in Downtown Disney. This particular restaurant is located in the Marketplace section of Downtown Disney and is the lower priced of the two. Wolfgang Puck Express is a quick service restaurant and they seem to specialize in pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches. According to their menu, the ingredients used are organic and locally sourced.

There were three of us who ate here on this particular visit. We each ordered a different pizza and traded slices to compare. I ordered the Fennel Sausage Pizza. This consisted of crumbled sausage, pesto, roasted sweet peppers, and mozzarella. The pie was tasty, although the crust seemed to get very soggy underneath wherever the sausage was. The slices seemed to loose some of their structural integrity because of this.

Barbecued Chicken Pizza was another pie that was tried at our table. This was topped with chicken, grilled red onions, cilantro, roasted tomatoes, and barbeque sauce. I can't exactly pinpoint what it is, but variations of barbecue pizzas don't do much for me. This wasn't necessarily a bad pie, but I wouldn't order it on my own. Perhaps it the unexpected (even when it is expected) barbecue sauce rather than a more standard tomato sauce that catches me off guard.

Finally, I also tried the Four Cheese Pesto Pizza. This one was my personal favorite of the three pies. The four cheeses were mozzarella, goat cheese, parmesan, and fontina. It was topped with pesto, fresh tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Goat cheese should be put on pizza more often because it is delicious!

Overall, I enjoyed the pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express. I know there's a celebrity chef name attached to the restaurant, but this is still essentially food in a theme park's outdoor shopping mall. With that in mind, Wolfgang Puck Express sets a pretty high bar when it comes to pizza catering to the theme park demographic. The prices are relatively affordable as well. I'd return.

903 Mills Market in Orlando, FL

I bought myself lunch from a restaurant called 903 Mills Market. They are located in a residential area on Mills Avenue, not too far south of Downtown Orlando. I remember hearing good things about this restaurant in the past. I don't remember exactly who first told me about 903 Mills Market or what exactly they said about it besides a recommendation that I should try the restaurant. 

I ordered their Italian sandwich to go. As I was waiting for my order, it became apparent that 903 Mills Market had a very large beer selection. This may have held my interest a bit longer if I was a beer connoisseur, but alas, I am not. My sandwich was ready soon enough. Being that it was a nice day out, it was eaten in a nearby park.

The Italian consisted of ham, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise, and an olive tapenade. The contents of the of the sandwich were good. They were generous with all of the fillings. The vegetables were nice and fresh. The slightly spicy olive tapenade added an extra burst of flavor. That being said, the bread ruined the sandwich for me. The Italian was served on a very mushy white bread roll. Bread is a big component in a sandwich. It should add to the overall sandwich experience, where this bread did not. They might as well have use a supermarket hamburger bun because this bread was very similar.

I had ordered the sandwich as a combo. This meant that I also received a side and a drink with my sandwich. I picked their potato salad as my side. The potato salad was okay, but really didn't have any standout flavor.

While 903 Mills Market did have some other sandwiches that sounded interesting to me, I don't know if I'm in a rush to return soon. The sandwich contents were good, all to be brought down with a poor bread choice. They were also a bit pricy with a sandwich, drink, and a tiny cup of potato salad costing over $11. Perhaps I'll return to 903 Mills Market in the future or perhaps not. They didn't get placed on my list of restaurants that I want to return to ASAP.

Tamale Co. in Orlando, FL

I was at the Orlando Farmers Market at Lake Eola a few weeks ago and had lunch from the Tamale Co. tent. The Tamale Co. is also a local food truck in Orlando that seems to frequent events like the Food Truck Bazaars. This was my first encounter with them at the farmers market so I was interested in trying their "Mexican Gourmet Tamales."

The tamales were $4.50 each, or two for $8. I was both hungry and trying to be economical, so I ordered the two tamales. I first tried the Verde Chicken Tamale. This tamale was my favorite of the two. The corn tamale was topped with shredded chicken in a chile verde sauce, topped with tomitillo cream sauce, cilantro aioli, cheese, and cilantro leaves. The other tamale was the Choriqueso. This consisted of chorizo sausage and chihuahua cheese served in a red sauce with cilantro sprinkled over the top. During the first few bites of my tamales, I prefered the Choriqueso out of the two. About half way through, the spicy flavors in the Verde grew on me and the Choriqueso suddenly seemed bland in relation.

Both of the tamales were tasty and I'm looking forward to trying the Tamale Co. again sometime in the future. Perhaps next time I'll catch them when they're in food truck form rather than tent form.

Orlando's Cheesesteak & Gyro in Lake Buena Vista, FL

I had lunch at a restaurant called Orlando's Cheesesteak & Gyro in a strip mall on Apopka-Vineland Road, not far from Disney property. There is apparently a large Islamic community in the area because the majority of the restaurants in this shopping center advertized halal food. There was a halal Chinese restaurant. There were hookah bars, and then there was this restaurant, which also was halal.

I ordered their Gyro and Greek Salad combo. The gyro consisted of a pita filled with thinly sliced gyro meat (I'm assuming lamb?), lettuce, tomato, onions, and tzatziki.  The meat was very flavorful and seemed slightly spicier than gyro meat that I've had elsewhere. They were a bit skimpy on the vegetables in the pita, but I did have a big plate of salad to go with the sandwich.

The Greek salad was nothing to write home about. It consisted of iceburg lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and feta cheese. It was topped with what tasted like store bought Italian dressing, which I didn't like very much.

My gyro here was pretty good. I didn't like the salad dressing, but otherwise it was a good lunch. Definitely much better than the Papa John's next door (I don't think pepperoni pizza is halal).

Baja Tavern in Port Canaveral, FL

I was in Port Canaveral looking for lunch. The person who I ate with had some sort of inside information that the best restaurant in the port was supposedly called Baja Tavern.

 We ate on the patio overlooking the water. For some reason this entire restaurant, inside and out, stunk like old lady perfume. Restaurants shouldn't have overpowering smells of anything.

I had the Big Bang Burrito. This was filled with fried shrimp, lettuce, tomato, cabbage, carrots, and a bang bang sauce. The shrimp had some nice flavor on the batter, but otherwise the burrito was boring and dry. The bang bang sauce seemed non-existent. Tortilla chips and salsa were served on the side.

Before I left the restaurant, I used the restroom. I noticed they had racist email jokes hanging on the bathroom walls. Is it wise to potentially offend some of your customers? The food here was forgettable and the stinky perfume smell was overpowering. I don't think I'll be back any time soon...

Croissant Gourmet in Winter Park, FL

SunRail has officially started service in Orlando as of this week. In order to try out the new train, I decided to ride to Winter Park to get some lunch. You can read all about my experience riding SunRail on a new blog that I started called FloridaTrainAdventures.com. After I got off the train, I walked over to a French restaurant called Croissant Gourmet.

Croissant Gourmet is a French bakery, serving all sorts of delicious looking croissants, pastries, crepes, and sandwiches.

I ordered a sandwich called the Croque Monsieur topped with an egg. I've heard this sandwich also described as a croque madame if egg is involved, but according to the menu this was a croque monsieur. The sandwich consisted of two slices of bread, ham, melted cheese, and a fried egg over the top. Once the yolk was broken, the runny egg was absorbed into the bread giving the sandwich an extra burst of flavor. A salad was served on the side.

I shared a cinnamon raisin roll for dessert. It had a nice, flaky, almost croissant-like texture that I enjoyed. The roll was topped with powdered sugar and was tasty.

I enjoyed my meal at Croissant Gourmet. The food was good, and although it wasn't the cheapest restaurant around, it was more affordable than a couple other similar French bakeries that I've visited. After my meal, I returned to the train station and rode home...

Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant in Gainesville, FL

I was driving through Gainesville and decided to stop to get dinner. Mexican food sounded good and after finding out the first restaurant choice right off the I-75 exit was closed on Sundays, we ended up at a restaurant called Las Margaritas. The restaurant name was ignored and I didn't have any of their margaritas. Instead, the meal began with chips and salsa.

I ordered the Enchiladas Mexicanas. This dish came with three enchiladas, each with a different filling and sauce. There was a cheese enchilada topped with tomatillo sauce. There was a chicken enchilada with cheese sauce, and a beef enchilada topped with a red sauce. My favorite of the three was the chicken in the cheese sauce. The sauce was almost like a creamy alfredo sauce (but not quite), rather than the typical melted cheese that I've encountered more often in Mexican restaurants. My second favorite was the cheese enchilada with the tomatillo sauce. I do enjoy a tasty tomatillo sauce, and this was indeed tasty. My least favorite was the beef enchilada. This seemed the most boring of the three. Not much was going on when it came to flavor with the ground beef or the red sauce. A salad made from lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole accompanied the enchiladas. 

I enjoyed my meal at Las Margaritas. After a day of driving, eating here was a nice break before the final stretch home. The food was tasty and the prices were affordable. If I lived closer to Gainesville, I'd return to this restaurant!

G&G Jamaican Delights in Ocoee, FL

I recently visited the West Oaks Mall in Ocoee. The slowly dying mall is mostly devoid of stores, including in the food court. That said, some of the occupied restaurants here were a bit more interesting than standard food court food. There was a place serving boba tea. There was another, which I had lunch from, called G&G Jamaican Delights.

I had the curry chicken. This came with several pieces of chicken, rice, plantains, and cabbage. The chicken was nice and tender. The curry flavoring was tasty and the leftover sauce added extra flavor to the rice. Like meats served from many Jamaican restaurants, careful of little pieces of bone. Much better than a standard food court chain!

Olive Garden New Menu in Orlando, FL

Olive Garden recently introduced a new menu and I was invited to sample some of their new dishes. This menu tasting happened at the Olive Garden on International Drive in Orlando. It had been quite a while since I had dined at an Olive Garden, so I was looking forward to trying what Olive Garden deemed to be their best new items that they wanted to share with the media...

The event started with a basket of breadsticks. There wasn't anything new about the bread. They were the same Olive Garden breadsticks that people seem to either love or hate.

The first new item was the Polenta Shrimp alla Greca. This consisted of shrimp over polenta topped with olives, capers, and tomato sauce.

Spicy Calabrian Wings came next. These wings were served with a gorgonzola dipping sauce and a freshly made spicy sauce made from chili paste and oil. The wings were slightly spicy, but still weren't overpowered by the flavoring.

Crispy Risotto Bites:

Two new salads came next. Both of these salads seemed like the same base salads that Olive Garden always served, only covered in toppings. The first was the Antipasti Italian Meats & Cheeses. The salad was topped with sliced salami, pepperoni, and mozzarella. For some reason this salad was very poorly tossed with certain bites soaked in dressing, while other bites were completely dry. The other new salad was the Roasted Tomato Caprese. This one was topped with roasted tomatoes, kale, and balls of fresh mozzarella. I preferred this salad out of the two, with the exception of the kale. There was far too many chewy kale stems and not enough of the parts of the leaves that were a bit more tender.

The Smashed Chicken Meatball Sandwich was described on the menu as: Focaccia bun with roasted bell peppers and mozzarella. Served in a spicy diavolo tomato sauce. With parmesan garlic fries.

The next two dishes were part of Olive Garden's Cucina Mia section of the menu where you get to pick your own pasta and toppings. Based on what we were served, I'd avoid this section of Olive Garden's menu. The Large Paccheri with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato lacked any hint of sun-dried tomato. The paccheri noodles were either way undercooked or were sitting out way too long. Pasta shouldn't be bent and then hold whatever position you bend it into. The meatballs were the same that was used in the smashed chicken meatball sandwich, but here they were forgettable without the flavors that the sandwich's sauces provided.

The second Cucina Mia dish was the Vegetable Penne Primavera. The penne was topped with marinara with zucchini, red peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Those vegetables must have been chopped up really finely in the sauce, because all I detected was tomatoes. This was a pasta dish like something I would cook at home when I'm feeling lazy. Make some pasta and pour a jar of tomato sauce over the top.

Chicken Abruzzi consisted of grilled chicken, cannellini beans, kale, and other vegetables in a broth. Out of everything served, this was one of my favorite dishes. The chicken itself was a bit dry, but I liked everything else here. The broth was nice and flavorful. The beans were hearty and the vegetables were nice and tender.

Pappardelle Pescatore was another disappointing pasta dish. This contained sautéed shrimp, bay scallops and clams tossed with pappardelle pasta, fresh asparagus and tomatoes in a creamy, red pepper seafood sauce. I did enjoy the red pepper sauce. It was spicy and really flavorful. As for the rest of the dish, it contained two shrimp, two chewy clams, and one tiny scallop. The fresh asparagus only consisted of the lower stems and none of the tender asparagus heads. I'd be unhappy with this dish if I ordered it, especially when compared to how it appears on Olive Garden's menu.

The Chicken Primavera with Giant Fusilli was my favorite of all the pasta dishes. Two pieces of chicken breasts were served over the pasta. There were lots of vegetables mixed in with the slightly spicy sauce. This is what a primavera pasta should look like, unlike the Cucina Mia version of the Vegetable Penne Primavera seen above.

For dessert, we sampled the Wild Berry Layer Cake. I enjoyed all of the tart berries that topped the cake.

Overall, I don't think Olive Garden's new menu is going to change anyone's mind about the restaurant. If you were already a fan of the restaurant, you'll probably still like them. If you weren't, the new menu items probably aren't going to win you over.

LA Boiling Crab in Orlando, FL

I had lunch at LA Boiling Crab in the Mills-50 District of Orlando. Surrounded by Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants, this place specialized in New Orleans style po boy sandwiches, crawfish, crabs, and other types of seafood. 

I ordered the soft shell crab po boy. This sandwich was filled with fried soft shell crab, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. It was served on a French baguette with a nice, crispy crust. The crab was very tender and the batter that it was fried in had plenty of flavor.

I shared an order of beignets for dessert. These four fried fritters were topped with plenty of powdered sugar. They were light and airy on the inside. They may be a type of doughnut, but beignets aren't just any doughnut. Beignets are the official state doughnut of Louisiana! An appropriate end to a meal at a restaurant with LA in the name.

I had fun at LA Boiling Crab. It had been a while since I've eaten Cajun food, so having a po boy and beignets was enjoyable. At some point I want to return here and try some of their crawfish and crabs which smelled delicious as I was eating.