Category Archives: American (New)

McCoy’s Bar & Grill

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Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is our go-to place whenever we’re flying in and out of MCO. My favorite is the salmon salad.

My wife loves the sampler, which allows you to select three small plates such as hummus, chicken wings or quesadilla. They’re served on a tower that is kind of fun. It would also make a good shareable appetizer for a party of three or four.

The recently remodeled and added a sushi bar, but I’ve never been to the restaurant when it was actually open, which is a shame. I wish they would extend the hours beyond dinner time.

Service is fast and efficient, so it’s possible to have a pleasant meal and still make it to your gate without a rush.

McCoy’s Bar & Grill
9300 Airport Blvd
Orlando, FL 32827
(407) 825-1340
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mccoys-bar-and-grill-orlando

Norman’s

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*** (3 stars)

I have to admit I don’t really get Norman’s food. I’ve been to a couple of special events here that I liked quite well, including a Paul Bocuse dinner that was superb. But it was Paul Bocuse’s food, for the most part, that made it so. The restaurant’s normal menu doesn’t do it for me. It always seems to me as if there is one too many spices in each dish, that somehow muddle the flavors. It leaves me yearning for something a bit simpler, where the quality of the natural ingredients is allowed to shine through.

Service is pleasant, although I’ve run into more than one server who was clueless about wine. One server had never heard of the expression “corkage charge,” which is a bit amazing for a restaurant of this caliber.

The room is pretty, although it can be noisy. If you’re staying at the resort, it’s probably worth trying. It’s certainly better than the dozens of steakhouse alternatives that surround it in the tourist area. But when I visit the Ritz I eat at The Vineyard, which has a better wine list and a subtler touch with the food.

Norman’s
4012 Central Florida Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32837
(407) 393-4333
http://www.yelp.com/biz/normans-orlando

Michael Jordan’s Steak House

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***** (5 stars)

I have to admit that I went to an Adobe Road Wine Dinner here, rather than experience the normal dining room offerings, but usually group events don’t offer a place its best opportunity to shine.

Boy did the chef knock it out of the park. I’ve been to hundreds of wine dinners and this had to be at the very top. Duck with cherries and dijon mustard; hickory smoked lamb chops with mint, watermelon and tomatoes; wagyu beef with black carrots. I’m not sure which course was the best.

Service was prompt and friendly, and the private room was perfect for a group of twenty. I will definitely go back to check out the regular menu, because there is some serious talent behind the scenes here.

Note: the bar was absolutely packed on a Wednesday night after work, so if you’re into that scene, it’s the place to be.

Michael Jordan’s Steak House
505 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 321-8823
http://www.yelp.com/biz/michael-jordans-steak-house-chicago

Sola

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***** (5 stars)

This is a great place for Asian fusion, and also a wonderful Sunday brunch spot. The food is quite different between those two menus, and fittingly the atmosphere inside and outside is very different, too. The trendy energy inside would be perfect for lunch or dinner, while the sidewalk on this quiet, tree-lined side street is perfect for brunch.

We shared several dishes: ham and cheese french toast, smoked fish scrambled eggs, and an Asian chicken salad. The salad was light and refreshing, with exotic greens and just a touch of very flavorful dressing. The smoked fish scrambled eggs was good, the highlight being a dollop of very flavorful cream cheese, and some nicely cooked hash browns, but I probably wouldn’t order that dish again. The best was the ham and cheese french toast, which reminded my of a Montecristo sandwich. It was slathered with fresh strawberry preserves that contained a hint of five spice. There wasn’t a bite of that dish left on our plates!

Service was friendly, with food delivered by an efficient team, and prices are quite reasonable. We’ll definitely return for brunch, lunch and dinner.

Sola
3868 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 327-3868
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sola-chicago

One If By Land Two If By Sea

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***** (5 stars)

This place is billed as New York’s most romantic restauran. We really enjoyed the ambiance of the place, which used to be Aaron Burr’s carriage house. The food was delicious, service very professional, and the piano player among the best I’ve heard. It’s divided into a number of intimate rooms, and most of the lighting is provided by table-top tapers, so it is, indeed very romantic. My barramundi had a wonderfully crispy crust, and the espresso souffle was light and airy. A glass of rainwater madeira was the perfect way to complete a perfect meal.

One If By Land Two If By Sea
17 Barrow St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 228-0822
http://www.yelp.com/biz/one-if-by-land-two-if-by-sea-new-york

Eleven Madison Park

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**** (4 stars)

I had the greatest meal of my life at Eleven Madison Park. I also had the second greatest here. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend their new format. There are still 16 complex courses, and the service is still masterful yet friendly. But the emphasis on theatre rather than flavor has taken it down a notch. Some courses seemed repetitive, and there were very few “wow” moments. I’d trade the table-side magic act (lame) and the carrot grinding for a few of those one-bite orgasmic wonders of the past.

The carrot course was actually one of the best. It offered a dozen ingredients to add to the freshly ground carrot. I selected mustard and mustard seed. If that sounds like haut cuisine, you need to get out more. And it would have been just as good if the carrot was ground in the kitchen rather than on a hand grinder clamped to the table.

Another theatrical course that was a bit more successful was the “picnic basket.” This was a fun idea, where you took ingredients out of the basket and set up your own picnic. The second best food came out of this. It was a freshly made soft pretzel with house-made mustard. There’s a theme here. Madison Park makes good mustard.

The various shellfish courses that started the meal were simply repetitive. And why did we have to all have the same meat course, when they were individually plated? Surely there are enough two ounce portions of lamb and duck in the kitchen to be able to mix it up?

Sadly, the great bottle of cognac that used to end the meal is also gone, replaced by a local apple brandy.

In short, Eleven Madison Park is still a good restaurant, but it is no longer THE restaurant. I’ll certainly go back… but not until the concept changes again.

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-0905
http://www.yelp.com/biz/eleven-madison-park-new-york

Hash House A Go Go

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**** (4 stars)

I’ve enjoyed other Hash House locations, so I was happy to see this place was taking over the location on I-Drive that has hosted a variety of restaurants in the past years. The building is a bit odd, but the surface remodeling done by Hash House is better than the previous incarnations, and the food is pretty much identical to elsewhere.

I don’t know what the fuss is about chicken and waffles. The waffles are pretty good, but the chicken is really pretty flavorless. I’ve tried it in Chicago and here, and it’s the same. A better choice is one of the hashes, which are really thickly chopped up potatoes with other chopped up stuff. I had the vegetarian one, and it was actually fairly healthful. I ordered it with eggs over easy, and they were about the freshest eggs I’ve ever gotten in Orlando. The biscuit was also great, and I’m not a big biscuit person.

My companions had burgers and the BBLT, and liked them. The bread pudding was a good shareable dessert.

All in all a good solid (i.e. heavy) choice for breakfast or breakfast type foods, with enough other offerings to keep the non-breakfast eaters happy.

Hash House A Go Go
5350 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 370-4646
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hash-house-a-go-go-orlando

Seasons 52

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***** (5 stars)

This is the original, and I think still the best Seasons 52. It’s hard to believe this is a chain owned by Darden, the same people who bring you Olive Garden. The food here is delicious, nutritious, and low in calories; in fact, the original concept was that everything was less than 475 calories, which given its flavorful nature was amazing. Now there are some exceptions, but it’s still pretty healthful.

I like the quarterly updating of the menu. Favorites are all of the flatbreads, the cedar plank salmon, the vegetarian plate and the hummus. Less successful are the burgers.

While many people like the little dessert shot glasses, they’re not what I want in a dessert; they remind me of supermarket pudding cups. But that’s okay, it makes it easy to skip a course that could double the meal’s calorie count.

Although the wine list has been dumbed down since the early days, there are still some interesting offerings, even by the glass.

My favorite thing about Seasons is the architecture, both inside and outside. Drawing upon elements of Frank Lloyd Wright ad the 1950s, it is elegant, interesting and restful. A great place for business lunches, family dinners, single (there’s an active bar scene here) and dates–quite an accomplishment to work for so many different interests.

Seasons 52
7700 Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 354-5212
http://www.yelp.com/biz/seasons-52-orlando

Emeril’s Orlando

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**** (4 stars)

Emeril’s is one of the original and most high profile fine dining celebrity chef restaurants in Orlando. It’s a strange amalgam of upscale and touristy, an inescapable fact when there is a steady parade of sweaty people in shorts outside the windows. Most of the food at Emeril’s is really quite good, especially the mushroom and pasta appetizer and the calamari with olives. appetizer. Portion sizes tend to be large; the calamari could easily serve as an entree. Given that, appetizer pricing is reasonable. Wine and entree pricing is a bit high, but given the location and big name chef it’s not too surprising. Service is efficient, and sometimes friendly. The biggest problem is the noise level in the main dining room. It’s actually quieter to sit at the chef’s bar facing into the kitchen! Another trick is to ask to sit in the small room along the windows. It’s quieter, and has better ambience than the upstairs rooms. Emeril’s is a good choice for pre-show dining before going to a concert at Hard Rock Live.

Emeril’s Orlando
6000 Universal Blvd, Ste 702
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 224-2424
http://www.yelp.com/biz/emerils-orlando-orlando

Hillstone Restaurant

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***** (5 stars)

I’m not a big fan of chain restaurants, but this Hillstone really doesn’t feel like one. It’s in a beautiful location on a lake, and the food and service are better than other Houston’s (its nearly identical sister chain) that I’ve been to. The smokes salmon and smoked trout (which are completely different) are two of my favorites. The kale salad that comes with the trout is particularly tasty. The spinach dip is also good, as are the beef entrees. The dock is a wonderful venue for private events, and can be mostly sealed from the wind if needed. Hillstone is a particularly excellent choice for Saturday lunch.

Hillstone Restaurant
215 S Orlando Ave
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 740-4005
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hillstone-restaurant-winter-park-2