Category Archives: Orlando

Landry’s Seafood

Posted on by

Snapper

Mussels

Exterior

*** (3 stars)

For seafood I often go to Oceanaire, which is owned by Landry’s, but I thought I’d try the mother chain for a change. There is definitely a big difference in food quality and service between the two, but there is also a price difference, and if you’re just looking for a decent seafood meal, Landry’s is adequate.

I wasn’t a big fan of my grilled snapper, which was overcooked and served with some fairly flavorless rice and some oddly saffron-flavored green beans. On the other hand, for $27 it also included a good sized house salad with a pleasant balsamic dressing.  

Had that been the extent of it, it was a two-star experience. But I started with the mussels, and they were excellent–perfectly cooked in a garlic and butter broth that was flavorful without being too heavy, and served with delicious garlic toast slices. I will likely return and just order this and perhaps one other appetizer. At $11 the mussels were a great deal.

Service was friendly and fast.

Landry’s Seafood
8800 Vineland Ave
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 827-6466
https://www.yelp.com/biz/landrys-seafood-orlando-5

Jeremiahs Italian Ice

Posted on by

Exterior

Salted caramel and vanilla

**** (4 stars)

A wide range of flavors, plus the ability to interleave them with vanilla (the result is strangely called gelato, but it isn’t) is the draw here.

I really liked the combination of salted caramel and vanilla, and it was a very generous serving for the price.

Jeremiahs Italian Ice
3150 S Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 757-0427
https://www.yelp.com/biz/jeremiahs-italian-ice-orlando-4

Pizza Bruno

Posted on by

Pepperoni, ricotta, basil

Cauliflower

Exterior

Interior

**** (4 stars)

I have to admit I was expecting a bit more from this place, given the hype, but while the pizza looked authentic, I didn’t find anything remarkable about its flavor or consistency. It struck me as odd that the basil was applied before baking, resulting in burnt leaves.

However I did love the kale salad! It was a perfect combination of a house-made Caesar dressing, plus little crunchy and sweet elements.

I also liked the cauliflower appetizer, although be warned that the sauce is very sweet. It’s almost dessert cauliflower.

The place can get quite loud, because the floors are concrete, and there are no soft surfaces.

Service was excellent.

Pizza Bruno
3990 Curry Ford Rd
Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 440-3894
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-bruno-orlando

Merguez Restaurant

Posted on by

Mixed grill

Chicken bastilla

Exterior

Interior

***** (5 stars)

Although this is just a quick server restaurant with a counter at the rear and virtually no ambiance, you can’t tell it from the food, which is authentic and delicious, far better than the next closest Moroccan restaurant, which happens to be in Epcot!.

I had the mixed grill, and all four meats were excellent, particularly the chicken, which had a nice sear, and the very flavorful gyro meat. I also like the accompanying salad.

Even better was the Chicken Bastilla, a slightly sweet sort of pie made from delicately crisped phyllo dough. It was actually better than the one I had in Morocco many years ago.

It’s a bit hard to get into this plaza during road construction, but hopefully that will soon be done, as it’s definitely worth a return visit.

Merguez Restaurant
11951 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 778-4343
https://www.yelp.com/biz/merguez-restaurant-orlando

Kim Wu Chinese

Posted on by

Buffet

Exterior

**** (4 stars)

This place has been in business a long time, and has a loyal following. I remember eating here long ago, and it seems they’ve expanded since then. But unlike some old restaurants, this one still seems fresh and clean.

Lunch is a buffet, and there are many dishes to choose from, including nearly all the American Chinese restaurant standards. They did a nice job of keeping the items on the buffet fresh and well-stocked.

When I eat at American Chinese restaurants I always find the food a lot heavier and oilier than those in Asia, and this one is no exception, but I can’t fault them for it since it seems to be the accepted style.

My lunch included hot tea, my choice of soup, and even an eggroll from the buffet, so for $10 it was a good deal. My server was fast and friendly.

Kim Wu Chinese
4904 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32811
(407) 293-0752
https://www.yelp.com/biz/kim-wu-chinese-orlando

Las 3 Maria’s Mexican Restaurant

Posted on by

Exterior

Interior

Kitchen

**** (4 stars)

This small restaurant might seem like a counter serve place, but they actually don’t have a counter, and it’s full table service. The menu may seem rudimentary, but the standards are all here: tacos, enchiladas, chilaquiles, tortas and more. It’s all fixed from scratch by a lady who I assume is named Maria.

And when I say “from scratch” I really mean it. I ordered tacos, and she started with corn meal, formed, pressed and grilled the tortillas herself, and then filled them with my selections of meat.

I liked the chicken best, as the steak and carnitas weren’t quite as tender. All were covered with onions and cilantro. They were small but at $1.50 per taco, they were a good deal.

Las 3 Maria’s Mexican Restaurant
4862 Orange Blossom Trl
Orlando, FL 32839
(407) 925-4174
https://www.yelp.com/biz/las-3-marias-mexican-restaurant-orlando

Black Fire Brazilian Steakhouse

Posted on by

Exterior

Sushi

Buffet

**** (4 stars)

Although I live near Disney, I rarely go to restaurants in the tourist area because they don’t need to be very good to stay busy. So I was pleasantly surprised by Black Fire Brazilian Steakhouse. The service was very accommodating, and the food was quite good.

This is certainly the best remodeling job of the many restaurants that have occupied this space. The interior is open, sleek, and sophisticated.

As with the other (many) Brazilian steakhouses in town, there is a salad bar, limited hot buffet, and then many servers come to your table with skewers of a dozen or so different types of meat, where they cut it off into your waiting tongs.

Black Fire has a somewhat more limited buffet than most of the competitors, but the quality is good, and this buffet includes pretty decent sushi, which is unusual. The meats seemed about the same quality as those of the competitors. That’s good news, because Black Fire is less expensive than most of the others.

The night we visited they were reasonably busy, which is the first time I’ve seen more that a few people in this building’s various incarnations, so they’re doing something right. Our server was extremely attentive, and obviously cared that we had a nice time.

Black Fire Brazilian Steakhouse
8594 Palm Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32836
(407) 477-7771
https://www.yelp.com/biz/black-fire-brazilian-steakhouse-orlando-2

Chez Filet

Posted on by

Quiche

Lobster bites

Bread service with complimentary butter and pate

Exterior

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is an intimate (12 tables or less) restaurant in the plaza off I-Drive north of the Orlando Eye.

As the name implies, the concept here is French/steakhouse. They are striving for fine dining, but it’s not quite at that level. Certainly the service is outstandingly solicitous, but it’s clear most of the staff is unfamiliar with the level to which the management aspires. So while many servers asked repeatedly if we needed anything, it was more obtrusive than helpful. Coupled with an offer of dessert before our main courses were served, it was a bit disjointed. Still, their hearts are in the right place, and experience will iron out these problems.

The food, too, strives but doesn’t always succeed. For starters we had the quiche and the lobster bites. The quiche was a nice, small, thin tartlet that made a good appetizer, as it wasn’t too filling. The lobster bites were essentially an escargot preparation, but using generous chunks of lobser instead of snails. The garlic butter was delicious, but the method of preparation of course leaves the lobster very, very well done.

We also had a small Caesar salad and onion soup. The Caesar was good, and at $5 was emblematic of the extremely reasonable pricing. Where else in town can you get a Caesar salad for that price? The onion soup was the only thing we had that really wasn’t good. It looked like a traditional preparation, but the consistency was more like gravy, and not very appealing in taste, either.

Main courses are also very reasonably priced, particularly considering they include two side dishes of your choice. I thought my companion’s New York steak was a bit tough, but she enjoyed it. The accompanying Chico’s sauce had a nice mustard base. I had the fish special, a corvina, which was delicate and nicely prepared. The home run of the evening was actually the Angel Onions, thin onion straws that were battered and perfectly crisped.

Photos of the place don’t do it justice, as the interior decor is stunning, although it would be better with lower light levels.

And as I’ve mentioned, the prices are extremely reasonable, particularly given the tourist area that surrounds it.

Chez Filet
8255 International Dr
Ste 144A
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 250-4090
https://www.yelp.com/biz/chez-filet-orlando

Jade Sushi & New Asian

Posted on by

KFC

Lan-sanity

Stormtrooper

Hamachi truffle

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is an attractive restaurant with a nice, open, modern decor. They offer a lot of creative sushi and sashimi preparations, plus a variety of hot dishes including Korean, Chinese and others. So it’s not really fusion, but it does offer a nice variety.

Service can get backed up, but our waitress was friendly, and the sushi was good. My favorite was the hamachi truffle, which was barely seared, and had some delicious crispy bits of garlic on it.

Jade Sushi & New Asian
2425 Edgewater Dr
Orlando, FL 32804
(407) 422-7968
https://www.yelp.com/biz/jade-sushi-and-new-asian-orlando