Category Archives: Orlando

Gallettos Wine Bar & Grill

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Exterior

Lunch Salad bar

Lunch buffet

*** (3 stars)

Gallettos offers a well-tended buffet at lunch time. While the food on the menu is Spanish and Portuguese, there was little evidence of this on the buffet. I’m pretty sure neither stroganoff or Chicken Milanese are from either of those countries!

The salad bar is somewhat limited by has very fresh ingredients for making a Caesar salad or a simple green salad. There are several soups available, too.

The main course buffet offerings are more extensive, wth two types of rice, two types of beans and several types of chicken. There were also ribs.

There were also a couple of dessert offerings.

The price of lunch was a very reasonable $9.95.

Everyone working there was friendly and attentive, but there were more employees than diners on the day we went. I would have liked to try the Portuguese specialties from the menu, but many were over $23, which was too much for lunch time. Perhaps I’ll go back for dinner.

Gallettos Wine Bar & Grill
3875 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32811
(407) 295-3146
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gallettos-wine-bar-and-grill-orlando

Nine Spices Hot Pot

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Interior

Veggies

Table

Sauces

Conveyor

**** (4 stars)

This is a fun and healthy place for dinner, or for lunch if your budget will handle it. The idea is to use a pot of boiling broth to cook your own vegetables and meats at your table. At lunch you can select vegetarian, which is reasonably priced, or one meat, which is rather pricey, or all you can eat, which is definitely dinner pricing.

The fun thing about the all you can eat option is that you then select your ingredients as they pass by on a conveyor belt that makes its way around the whole restaurant. This seemed to be what most customers were doing. Note that there is an advantage to being “upstream” on the conveyor, as you have first choice of ingredients.

I went with the vegetarian lunch and the “original” broth. This was a good choice, because the “spicy” broth was pretty spicy, and there is a condiment bar where you can add your own desired degree of spiciness and other flavors.

My favorite ingredients were the corn on the cob and the rather spicy “pickles” on the condiment bar. I also used lots of fresh cilantro.

I won’t say it was my favorite lunch of all time, but it was a fun experience, and I’ll probably go back someday.

Nine Spices Hot Pot
5320 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(321) 270-0830
https://www.yelp.com/biz/nine-spices-hot-pot-orlando

Fruit ?n Smoothie Sensations

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Stracciatella

Interior

**** (4 stars)

I can’t comment on the fruit or smoothie quality, but the gelato is excellent, and the service was friendly. The mall’s food court is one of the nicest anywhere, with lots of nice furniture and landscaping for you to relax in while you eat.

Fruit ?n Smoothie Sensations
4200 Conroy Rd
Orlando, FL 32839
(407) 363-0304
https://www.yelp.com/biz/fruit-n-smoothie-sensations-orlando

Maoz

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Falafel

Interior

***** (5 stars)

This is the answer to the question “What do I do when I want to eat healthy and all my friends want a burger, fries and pizza?”

How refreshing to find good, healthful food in a food court! And yes, your friends can find all those other options just a few steps away.

Maoz offers bowls or falafel sandwiches. The quality of the falafel is top notch, and you can select what other ingredients you like. I added hummus, chickpeas, chopped tomatoes and onions, and some banana peppers. Seriously, banana peppers in a falafel sandwich are really good. There’s also tahini, garlic sauce and other condiments you can add yourself.

The food court at the Millenia Mall is one of the nicest anywhere, so you and your unhealthy friends can eat together, in a nicely furnished and landscaped environment.

Maoz
4200 Conroy Rd
Orlando, FL 32839
(407) 363-3555
http://www.yelp.com/biz/maoz-orlando

Mrs Potato

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Exterior

Interior

Empanada

Chicken Catupiry Rosti

**** (4 stars)

This is both a counter serve and sit down restaurant. Although there are only three tables in the building, an adjacent permanent tent accommodates many more. The menu offers many variations of potatoes rosti, and also baked potatoes.

Rosti is essentially a beret-sized mound of hashbrowns with whatever filling you like. I tried the Chicken Catupiry Rosti. I enjoyed the crispy brown hashbrown crust, but the filling wasn’t my favorite.

In addition to potatoes, they also have many Brazilian and South American entrees and appetizers. My favorite was the empanada. The beef version I ordered was unavailable so I tried cheese, and it was excellent, with a delicate crust cooked a perfect golden brown, and served with an excellent salsa/relish.

Service was excellent, very friendly and efficient. I was impressed that every customer was promptly and warmly welcomed upon arrival.

They also have a large assortment of Mr. Potato head toys for the kids to play with!

Mrs Potato
4550 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32811
(407) 290-0991
https://www.yelp.com/biz/mrs-potato-orlando-2

Tom + Chee – Orlando

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Exterior

Interior

Tomato basil soup and BBQ+Bacon grilled cheese

*** (3 stars)

This is a quick serve place that offers a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, variations on tomato soup, and some odd-sounding cheese donuts.

I tried the BBQ+bacon, with American cheese, bacon and BBQ potato chips on white sour bread. It probably wasn’t the best choice, as I usually prefer a more flavorful cheese. I should also have realized that the expected flavor of BBQ sauce was not going to be there, since all the flavor came from the BBQ potato chips which, of course, taste nothing like BBQ. I also feel the bread could have been a bit more grilled.

The basil tomato soup was good, with lots of fresh basil leaves in it.

It’s useful but also discouraging that they list the calorie counts of everything on the menu. It’s not good news.

Tom + Chee – Orlando
12533 State Rd 535
Orlando, FL 32836
(321) 395-4930
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tom-chee-orlando-orlando

Sushi Kichi

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Spicy salmon and Philly Lynch rolls

Sashimi lunch plate

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is a pleasant strip mall sushi restaurant that offers a good price for a variety of combo lunches. The sushi or sashimi samplers are good choices, or you can select two rolls. All come with soup and salad, and there are three choices of dressing.

The kitchen also offers hot lunch combos. All run from $10 to $12.

The dinner menu offers more selections.

The fish was fresh, and service was attentive.

Sushi Kichi
5368 Central Florida Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 778-1953
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-kichi-orlando

Gaviota

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Fried rice gaviita

Ceviche

Causas

Exterior

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is a good Peruvian restaurant in a space that has been many restaurants. As was the case for those others (and even more that were planned here and never opened) the challenge is finding customers. I suspect one reason is that it is nearly impossible to park in the neighborhood. As a result, the staff outnumbered the patrons throughout Saturday lunch, and the two of us were alone for most of it.

The dishes we sampled were all good.

The complementary corn kernels were skinnier, puffier and better than any of the other Peruvian restaurants we’ve been to.

The Causa assortment (they were out of one kind, so we only tried the chicken and octopus) was delicious, the best thing we had.

The ceviche assortment was good, similar to others in town, with three different types of fish, all steeped in lime juice.

The house fried rice was tasty but a bit unusual, more Chinese than Peruvian.

The Pisco Sour we started with was a bit sweet, but we added lots of lime juice and it tasted more authentic.

Service was friendly, but had the tentative feeling of inexperience.

If I was in downtown Orlando and in the mood for Peruvian food I would definitely go back, especially if I didn’t have a car to park.

Gaviota
100 South Eola Dr
Ste 104
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 428-4682
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gaviota-orlando

Pio Pio

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Number one with rice, beans and ripe plantains

***** (5 stars)

I’ve been coming here for years for their delicious rotisserie chicken. The number one is my lunchtime favorite. It comes with rice and beans and your choice of plantains. I like the ripe plantains, which are caramelized and make a great dessert. Try them with the white garlic sauce! Weird but good. Just watch out for the green sauce. It’s HOT!

I’m looking forward to their upcoming move to larger quarters across the street.

Pio Pio
5752 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 248-6424
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pio-pio-orlando-3

Soupa Saiyan

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Line

Chicken wings

Beef broth, ramen, brisket, veggies, lime, basil

Exterior

Interior

Menu

**** (4 stars)

This is a true Asian noodle place, common in big cities like Chicago, but fairly rare in Orlando. It’s a quick-serve operation where you order at a counter and they bring it to you–assuming you can find a seat. The place is very popular, and a line forms within minutes of opening.

The menu is extremely clear, enabling you to build your dish step by step. You start with a broth flavor, select a noodle type, and then two ingredients. I had beef broth with ramen noodles, beef brisket and mixed vegetables. The serving was really huge. The basic flavors are fairly subtle, so I was happy I’d asked for lime and basil as fresh accompaniments. These came in a separate bowl, and were generous helpings.

I also tried the chicken wings, which were simple fried wings and legs served with duck sauce packets.

Service was fast and friendly, but be sure to arrive early if you want to eat there.

Soupa Saiyan
5689 Vineland Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 930-3396
https://www.yelp.com/biz/soupa-saiyan-orlando-2