Category Archives: Florida

Anita’s Mexican Restaurant

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Exterior

Interior

Appetizer sampler

Chicken chipotle

Green enchilada

*** (3 stars)

This place serves typical Tex-Mex food in a road side diner environment.

The most interesting item we had was the chipotle chicken, which had been simmered in a thick red sauce and was fairly spicy. We couldn’t try the rellenos or the tamales because they were out of both, but the green chili cheese enchilada and quesadilla were average. The rice was good, refried beans had an odd flavor.

I would avoid the appetizer sampler, a literal pile of loaded nachos, quesadillas, taquitos and guacamole. It just sort of dissolved into a sodden mess, although the taquitos were pretty good.

Anita’s Mexican Restaurant
114 W Central Ave
Lake Wales, FL 33853
(863) 223-8504
http://www.yelp.com/biz/anitas-mexican-restaurant-lake-wales

Smashburger

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BBQ Bacon cheddar

Exterior

Interior

Spicy jalapeno Baha and smash fries

**** (4 stars)

The main attraction here is the extraordinary staff. They are definitely into providing great customer service.

The burgers are fairly juicy, despite being “smashed”. I tried the BBQ bacon Cheddar burger, which was fine, but I wasn’t a fan of the limp bun. That said, if you build your own burger there are several bun types and many toppings to choose from, so next time I would definitely roll my own. They also have turkey and black bean burgers.

The burger price seemed comparable to competitors such as Burger-Fi and Shake Shack. However the “smashfries” were a rather small serving for the over $2 price. I was expecting them to have more of the rosemary flavor that warranted them being more costly than the regular fries.

Smashburger
5812 Conroy Rd
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 440-3595
http://www.yelp.com/biz/smashburger-orlando-5

Mo-Chica Ceviche Peruvian Grill

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Chaufa and 1/4 chicken lunch

Causa (shrimp)

Tuna

Disco sour

Bar

Interior

***** (5 stars)

So far this is the best Peruvian food I’ve found in Orlando.

Of course I had to have a Pisco Sour. It was nicely made, with lots of frothy egg white on top, although it was a bit sweeter than I like.

Our server was nice, but there was definitely a language barrier. However we managed to mostly convey our order, although she didn’t understand the concept of appetizer, even though there is a section of the menu labeled that.

The Causa is extremely good, three small towers of the yellow pepper mash topped with fresh shrimp and a delicious sauce.

The Tiradito de Tuna Mikey was a very interesting preparation of sashimi style tuna slices in an Asian sauce and topped with chunks of sweet potato and avocado. The tuna was very good quality, and the sauce was excellent.

On the back of the menu is a small lunch section, with items for $9. Unlike the rest of the menu, there is no translation, so it requires a bit of research. I tried the Chaufa con 1/4 de Pollo a la Brisa. It was rotisserie chicken over fried rice. It was good, but not as good as the other items we had.

Because the tuna and shrimp were so good, on my next visit I will definitely try one of their many ceviches.

Prices seem a bit high, but not unreasonable for a tourist area. The place had only been open a couple of weeks when we went, but there wasn’t much lunch business. I’m rather surprised they opened here, because this shopping center is getting a bit tired, and I thought they were planning to bulldoze it to make room for a luxury hotel. But as long as it lasts I will be a regular visitor, because this is an excellent Peruvian restaurant.

Mo-Chica Ceviche Peruvian Grill
5700 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 723-8416
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mo-chica-ceviche-peruvian-grill-orlando-2

Boca Kitchen Bar Market

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Exterior

Interior

**** (4 stars)

I used to think this space was cursed, because of the long succession of unsuccessful restaurants that occupied it. But it turns out it wasn’t the space, it was the restaurants that were the problem. Boca is packed every day, and with good reason.

The food and service are both top notch. We had the day’s lunch special, a blackened amberjack sandwich. The amberjack was a thick piece, perfectly cooked. The accompanying mango slaw was a bit sweet for my taste, but with just a little on the sandwich it was perfect.

Rather than fries we asked for the mixed vegetables which had been sauteed and had a delightful smokey flavor.

Boca is one of the best bets for lunch on Park Avenue.

Boca Kitchen Bar Market
358 North Park Ave
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 636-7022
http://www.yelp.com/biz/boca-kitchen-bar-market-winter-park

LemonShark Poke Orlando

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Custom poke medium

Kitchen

**** (4 stars)

This is a much better use of this space than the prior occupant. Unfortunately, it’s still a bit dark and drab, but the food is better and more interesting.

I spend a lot of time in Chicago, where there are poke places all over town, but this is the first one in this part of Orlando, and so far it is popular. The assembly line process works well for poke, because there are so many potential ingredients. You can get a better bowl of fish and rice up the street at Bonsai Sushi, but there are more variants here, and it is cheaper. You can also get a version on lettuce rather than rice, if you’re really trying to cut carbs.

I tried the ahi tuna, spicy salmon and miso glazed salmon. The tuna was still a bit frozen, but quickly thawed, and seemed fresher than the salmon. The miso glaze turned out to be something squirted on, no actual glaze. The crab salad topping was good; the avocado topping was more like guacamole, but it was okay. There are a lot of sauces to choose from. The iced tea dispenser was either empty or not working.

Service was efficient.

LemonShark Poke Orlando
7600 Dr Phillips Blvd
Ste 102
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 730-5201
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lemonshark-poke-orlando-orlando-2

Hot N Juicy Crawfish

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Crawfish

Crawfish sandwich

1lb crawfish

Menu

Exterior

Interior

*** (3 stars)

This place is well-named, as the food was certainly hot and juicy. Not surprisingly, it’s also a mess. You know you’re in for a participatory meal when your table is equipped with bibs, gloves and a bucket!

We shared a pound of crawfish for $14. It comes in a tied plastic bag, swimming in sauce. That’s a reasonable price, but you need to realize that equates to only a few tablespoons of actual crawfish meat. We had the hot n juicy sauce, which was pretty good, but be cautious of the spiciness level. We ordered medium, and it equated to HOT most places.

We also had the cajun fries, which were crisp, hot and well-seasoned.

Our companions had the crawfish po boy sandwiches, which were a lot easier and neater, as the crawfish meat was deep fried.

Service was friendly and helpful.

Hot N Juicy Crawfish
7572 W Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 370-4655
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hot-n-juicy-crawfish-orlando

The Fat Snook

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Wet jerk pork ribeye

Mahimahi special

Blue crab

Seafood charcuterie

Amuse bouche

Menu

Exterior

Bar

Interior

***** (5 stars)

This restaurant is certainly the gem of the space coast. It’s a truly fine dining restaurant in what is a bit of a wasteland.

We started with the seafood charcuterie, which turned out to be our favorite item of the night.  While the octopus terrine wasn’t particularly flavorful, all the other items–salmon rillette, smoked fish pate–and the accompanying salads and relishes were wonderful.

The blue crab was also excellent. The single soft shell crab topped an amazing piece of cornbread.

My wife’s wet jerk pork ribeye was very good, better than the mahi mahi fish special I had.

The space is relatively small, which keeps noise levels reasonable, and it is nicely decorated.

Service was amazing, We were impressed by all the servers’ interactions with their guests; our server, Michelle, was particularly excellent.

The wine list is a bit limited, but there are many excellent choices, and the value is good, particularly for the top end bottles.

The Fat Snook
2464 S Atlantic Ave
Cocoa Beach, FL 32931
(321) 784-1190
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-fat-snook-cocoa-beach

Johnny’s Fillin’ Station

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Sign

Bacon cheeseburger

Fries

Interior

***** (5 stars)

For at least 20 years Johnny’s has been acclaimed for having the best burger in Orlando (they even have the 1998 plaque on the wall to prove it), and it still is. The secret is a thick, meaty patty perfectly cooked to order served on a bun with some substance. And the bun is grilled on the insides to make sure it doesn’t get soggy as you make your way through the burger. The bacon cheeseburger is the way to go. And it comes with all the fixin’s you’d expect of a fillin’ station.

The fries that come with the burger could be better, as they are steak fries rather than something skinnier, but if you order them crispy they will do.

The atmosphere is also unchanged in at least twenty years: quintessential dive bar. It’s a real dive bar that has earned its designation, not some artificially decorated pretender. The junk on the walls is all there for historical reasons.

Service is not what you’d call attentive, but it is pleasant.

Johnny’s Fillin’ Station
2631 S Fern Creek Ave
Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 894-6900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/johnnys-fillin-station-orlando-2

Akina

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Sashimi Bento

Alakan Roll, Poki Roll, Ikura

Roti with red curry

Exterior

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This is a very upscale restaurant for a strip mall type location. Great decor, and an extensive pan-Asian menu including Sushi, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and even Indian cuisines.

We started with an order of Roti with curry sauce, because what other sushi restaurant has that?! It was excellent, with perfectly fresh roti. The sauce was so good I saved it to put on my rice.

I had the lunch sashimi bento box, which included seven nice pieces of fish, seaweed salad and lettuce salad, rice, and a very large bowl of miso soup. The miso was a bit sweeter than normal, but everything else was great.

We also had two rolls and some ikura sashimi. All were good.

Pricing might be a bit high for the area, but I thought it was worth it. Service was exceptional. I’ve never had a soft drink refilled so many times!

Akina
4300 S Hwy 27
Clermont, FL 34711
(352) 243-8988
http://www.yelp.com/biz/akina-clermont