ExteriorInteriorBarArtSticks n Bricks (rum coffee cocktail)55th Street (basically a Rueben)
***** (5 stars)
I was skeptical when I saw where this new RusTeak location is on a map, because it's pretty much a stealth business park, hidden in trees, off a side road, and RusTeak is in the back.
And yet, just a week or so after opening it was packed at lunchtime, so they're doing something right.
A lot of things, actually.
First, the room is great. High ceilinged, trendy, with a great bar separate from the dining areas. The bar also opens to the outside via a counter, so lots of seating possibilities. The place just looks cooler than most Orlando restaurants.
The cocktail menu is a great place to start exploring. I enjoyed my Rum and iced coffee concoction very much. There is also a pretty extensive and reasonably priced wine list.
The menu is a single page, perhaps because they are still in a soft opening, but there is a nice variety. I loved my 55th Street sandwich, which was essentially a Reuben made with cole slaw. The smoked pastrami was wonderfully meaty and abundant.
The half wedge salad that accompanied it was a bit odd. It was Romaine rather than iceberg, which is fine, but there was no dressing, just cheese crumbles and a drizzle of balsamic.
The mushroom brie bisque was wonderfully rich and flavorful.
As I said, they were busy, and there weren't a lot of servers, but they did a good job of keeping up, although it was never really clear who our server was, and I think they still have some communication issues to work out amongst them. But all in all this is a promising start, and just the kind of restaurant we need in this part of town.
There is no question in my mind as to what the best restaurant in Orlando is. This is it. While Orlando received four Michelin-starred restaurants last year, they were very odd choices. I have no doubt that Doshi is better than all of them, and expect it to receive its acknowledgment soon.
There are two ways to enjoy this restaurant: ala cart table dining, or at the six-seat chef’s counter. We chose the latter, and it is definitely the way to go. The experience is individually curated and largely prepared by Chef Mike, while the other chefs tend to the rest of the room.
Chef Mike preparing the Royal Hot Pot
Chef Mike fills you in on the Korean history behind each of his dishes. The menu is inspired by the food a king would have eaten 500 years ago. To describe the menu as Korean is to completely undersell it, though, as each dish incorporates modern refinements, techniques, and sourcing.
The ten tasting menu courses included fifteen dishes, and absolutely every one of them was outstanding. My favorites were:
HOBAKJUK w/ MUL KIMCHI 호박죽과 물김치 kabocha porridge + water kimchi
– The incredibly complex, savory, and somewhat spiced “porridge,” which was more like a chowder with tender mini rice cakes.
OYSTER lemongrass chili butter
– The delightful oyster preparation, which was lightly cooked to bring out the flavor of the oyster, yet still fresh and citrusy with yuzu and cilantro blossom, as you would expect in a raw oyster course.
WAGYU BULGOGI grilled Wagyu with black garlic and caviar, Asian pear two ways
– The A5 Wagyu, which was the single best thing I have put in my mouth during forty years in Orlando. For the past decade we’ve all had lightly seared Wagyu with nothing done to it to interfere with the delicate fatty flavor of the meat. But what if you lightly marinated it, seared it, and served it with a smear of black garlic and top-grade caviar? The flavor absolutely explodes in your mouth, creating something wholly new, and far surpassing the individual ingredients. Alternate that with bites of acidic Asian pear and you have a dish worthy of the best three-star Michelin restaurants I’ve been to. Congratulations to Chef Mike for daring to create this out-of-the-box dish.
CHIJA CHA 치자차 gardenia fruit tea HANGWA 한과 confections
– I also need to give a nod to the dessert, which is hard to describe. Think of a tiramisu, but one made of many layers of crepes so thin and tender they become a single sort of coffee-flavored mousse. Another amazingly creative dish.
You will not leave hungry, that’s for sure. Fortunately they are happy to pack the final savory course, a royal hot pot, for you to enjoy the next day.
SINSEOLLO 신선로 royal hot pot
The wine service, provided by host Austin, is impeccable, and an interesting flight of wine pairings is offered, although there is also corkage available if you wish to bring your own wines. We did both.
The atmosphere is perfect. Low lighting in the stylish dining area, and a livelier counter experience for the tasting menu. As with the best high-end restaurants, the kitchen is organized and professional, so intimate conversation is easy, even at the counter.
Again, I cannot stress enough how far above the other restaurants in town Doshi is hitting. I am already anticipating our next visit.
DELUXE DRIED SNACKS 마른안주특선JANGEO GUI grilled eel lettuce wrapSAEWU GUI grilled spicy shrimpDOMI pan seared flukeMAEKJEOK 맥적 grilled sliced porkTasting Menu February 2023
I like Taco Bell. This is the only Taco Bell near us. Unfortunately, this is the worst Taco Bell on the planet.
I think it's really unfair when people have a bad experience at a restaurant one time and leave a one-star review. But when you have a bad experience at a restaurant literally dozens of times, it means… well, it means you like Taco Bell, it's the only Taco Bell near you, and it is the worst Taco Bell on the planet.
Of course there are the expected staffing issues when you don't pay a decent wage, and the resulting not being open when you say you are. I can give them a pass on that.
But how can the tortilla chips be rancid 20% of the time? Do they have a special process for aging them to imperfection?
How can they be out of major ingredients like onions, or lettuce, or–get this–taco shells?
Oh, and here's a helpful note: if you want Diet Mountain Dew, be sure to order MTN DEW® Baja Blast™ Zero Sugar, because they've been out of the latter for years and never updated the menu.
Taco Bell 7970 Winter Garden Vineland Rd Windermere, FL 34786
Tuna KobachiSamosasLunch Pad ThaiInteriorPapaya SaladSushi CounterExteriorInterior
***** (5 stars)
This is a third location for Thai Thani. I tried their Celebration restaurant many years ago, and it was just okay, but I really like this location. It's much better than the Thai restaurant that formerly occupied this spot.
To call it a Thai restaurant actually undersells it, because the enormous menu also offers a full sushi bar, plus pan-Asian items such as samosas.
We enjoyed all of the sushi items on both our visits. Fish quality was great and sauces very flavorful.
Yum Nua, a traditional Thai beef salad was as good as I've ever had.
Samosas we're wonderful, lightly fried with a great Indian curry flavor.
Papaya salad was very refreshing.
In fact, the only thing I don't recommend–ironically–is the Pad Thai, which was very gloppy.
They also have a very reasonably priced lunch menu.
We use Aggressive to service our appliances. Their pricing is fair and their diagnosticians are accurate. Alex and Looven did a great job on our Miele oven repair.
Aggressive Appliances 617 Mercy Dr Orlando, FL 32805
EntryInteriorCaviar on blue fin tuna, a standout courseOne of seven nigiri offeringsbeat and uzi sorbet, a wonderful palate cleanserTile Fish on risottoshrimp of mashed potatoesMaking nigiriCeasar salad soup!Oyster, crab, salmon, buriThe full staff at work
***** (5 stars)
Ten-seat Michelin one-star omakase bar with top-notch service and a friendly atmosphere. The cold dishes are the highlight, with extremely high-quality nigiri.
The menu changes daily, depending on what locally sourced items are available. For example, on our visit dessert included a strawberry that had been foraged that morning and was simply sliced in half. Sounds simple, but it was sensational.
The standouts for me were the caviar course and the buri sashimi.
Two palate cleansers served during the meal were also noteworthy.
The fish from the nigiri is sourced from around the world, mainly from Japan, but most other ingredients were local.
We were not particularly excited by any of the hot dishes, but these change often. Chef said they had served over 400 different dishes in the less than two years they have been open!
I recommend the “Past, Present, and Future” wine pairing, the more expensive of the two offered, which was extremely well curated.
MENU
Saturday | January 28, 2023
Otoshi*
BRÜLEE (oyster] | TART [dungeness crab]
BANH KHOT [salmon] | SASHIMI [buri]
Et fu…?*
anchovy | parmesan | hydro-crunch lettuce crouton | pentas
2004 Champagne Tarlant, ‘Cuvée Louis Tarlant’-(Euilly, Vallée de la Marne, France
InteriorGriddleBacon, eggs, and batterGrillin’Bacon, eggs, two kinds of pancakesGearsExteriorExterior
***** (5 stars)
NOTE: Do not follow your GPS’s directions as it will likely lead you to the gated service road in back. You need to enter Ponce DeLeon State Park ($6 fee per car), drive through the parking lot, and then it’s a short walk to the restaurant building.
I’ve always wanted to go to this place, but I was afraid of the wait, which I understand can be very long on weekends. The trick is to go at an unlikely time. We chose a bit after noon on a Thursday, and there was no wait.
Some of the reviews mention poor service, but our server was great.
Obviously you go here for the novelty of cooking your own breakfast on your table, and it is quite fun. It would be a great family activity–let the kids cook breakfast for the adults! But I have to say, the food was EXCELLENT! The eggs were really fresh, and the bacon was meaty.
Of course, the highlight is the pancakes and they didn’t disappoint. You can choose between buttermilk batter or a five-grain specialty blend. Our server suggested I try both, and indeed, although the buttermilk was nice and fluffy, the five-grain blend was also fluffy, plus it had a nice texture and even more flavor.
It’s a long way for us to go for breakfast (about a 90-minute drive) but I’d definitely like to bo back.
Old Sugar Mill Grill & Griddle House 601 Ponce Deleon Blvd De Leon Springs, FL 32130
This cavernous space manages to have great ambiance, with rock music videos instead of sports on most monitors. The extensive menu offers lots of good choices including burgers and pizza, and my favorite, jalapeño poppers. They also have one of the best beer lists in the city.
Rock & Brews – Orlando 6897 S Semoran Blvd Orlando, FL 32822
InteriorExteriorMenuDrinksGrilled fishCrispy cauliflowerCL burger with cheddarInteriorSpinach dipCheeseburgerCuban sandwich
*** (3 stars)
This restaurant is the best table service choice in Terminal A. Over the past few years the menu has become a bit more conventional. The most welcome change is that they now offer Pepsi products instead of their own weird sodas.
Breakfast is hearty, but the best choices are BBQ and burgers at "dinner", which begins at 10am.
