***** (5 stars)
Great and inventive menu. I could graze on appetizers here all evening. Oh, wait, we did.
The ceviche and the fried oysters were highlights.
Reasonable sound levels and friendly service.
Gram & Dun
600 Ward Pkwy
Kansas City, MO 64112
***** (5 stars)
Excellent traditional steakhouse with an extensive menu and wine list. I highly recommend the wet aged rib eye and the oven baked cream spinach.
Excellent professional service. Reasonable pricing for what it is.
Note that the nearest entry is on High Street, not Grand.
801 Chophouse
801 Grand Ave
Des Moines, IA 50309
***** (5 stars)
Conveyor belt sushi for a fixed all you can eat price is just one option at this nicely decorated Japanese restaurant. They do a great job of keeping the offerings varied and fresh, and even have some noodle and fried dishes on the belt. Short walk from Brandenburg Gate.
YAKOOLZA
Wilhelmstraße 87
10117 Berlin
Germany
***** (5 stars)
Such winning ambience at this traditional bistro near Trafalgar Square and the theatre district. Be sure to ask to sit downstairs in the cozy little rooms!
Standouts we're the escargot and the absolutely scrumptious confit of duck.
The cafe gourmand is a great way to try small samples of all their wonderful desserts.
Service is very welcoming.
Le Garrick
10-12 Garrick Street
London WC2E 9BH
United Kingdom
***** (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.
RusTeak
1681 Amazing Way Ocoee
Ocoee, FL 34761
***** (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
Soseki Modern Omakase
955 W Fairbanks Ave
Winter Park, FL 32789
https://www.yelp.com/biz/soseki-modern-omakase-winter-park-2
**** (4 stars)
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
*** (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.
Cask & Larder
1 Jeff Fuqua Blvd
Orlando, FL 32827
***** (5 stars)
I realized it has been ten years since I've left a review of Cedar's on Yelp! Blissfully, nothing has changed. It's still the best Middle Eastern food in Orlando. In fact, I've traveled the world and have yet to find better.
The hummus and tabbouleh and baba ganoush can't be beat. The falafel is never greasy, and the pitas are baked fresh and replenished multiple times during your meal.
Service is always friendly, and you can tell they are really happy for your business.
Perfection.
Cedar’s Restaurant
7732 W Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
***** (5 stars)
We love this place not just for its interesting collection of wines, but for the great food. You really can't go wrong with any of the shared plates. We love the Brussels sprouts, bruschetta, charcuterie, and the pita plate. Caesar salad is excellent.. And you won't find a better pizza crust anywhere–it's imported from Napoli. Service is very gracious and welcoming, and the wine advice is, of course, great.
The Vineyard Wine Bar and Healthy Bistro
4848 South Apopka Vineland Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-vineyard-wine-bar-and-healthy-bistro-orlando