Category Archives: Florida

Urbain 40 American Brasserie and Lounge

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***** (5 stars)

The interior of this restaurant is quite stunning, an amalgam of classic French bistro and modern supper club. There’s really nothing else like it in Orlando.

The menu offers a selection of mostly traditional French bistro food, with a few more modern items such as flatbreads.

We started with French onion soup and a watercress salad. The onion soup was good, but not spectacular, however the salad was excellent, with just the right zing to the vinaigrette, offset by crispy apple slices and some crunchy candied pecans. It was my favorite item of the meal.

We had two “hors d’oeuvres”–which were really appetizers–instead of entrees. In keeping with the theme of misnaming things, the “crepe” was actually a torte comprised of many layers of crepe interleaved with vegetables. It was good, but not a crepe. We also had the mussels. Two preparations were on offer, one pan roasted, the other steamed. We opted for the former, and received a HUGE pan full of mussels. They were perfectly cooked and quite tasty, although the shells were coated in salt, which made eating them without ODing on salt a challenge.

For dessert we tried the trio, and nice sampling. The highlights were the “cheesecake pops” which were also misnamed, as they contained ice cream and were chocolate coated, so essentially ice cream bars on sticks.  These were excellent, and much better than the accompanying truffles and jelly filled macarons.

Service was very attentive–almost to a fault. The staff is clearly still trying to find their way (there was a lot of fiddling with lighting levels) but is very well-intentioned, and will get there.

A reasonable selection of wines is available by glass or bottle, and there is also an emphasis on 40’s cocktails, really the only way that the 40s theming plays into the experience.

Two excellent private dining rooms are available, and the lounge is even a more pleasant space for dinner than the restaurant proper.

I’m hoping that Urban does well, as Orlando could really benefit from such a beautiful restaurant.

Urbain 40 American Brasserie and Lounge
8000 Via Dellagio Way
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 872-2640
http://www.yelp.com/biz/urbain-40-american-brasserie-and-lounge-orlando

Dan’s Family Restaurant

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*** (3 stars)

This coffee shop has a particularly welcoming and enthusiastic staff.

They offer the usually array of breakfast and other coffee shop choices, and everything is carefully prepared and served.

The interior is a bit tired, but the friendliness of the place makes up for that.

Dan’s Family Restaurant
7300 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32807
(407) 917-6318
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dans-restaurant-orlando

Pho-Real

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**** (4 stars)

It’s nice to find an Asian restaurant in this are that isn’t Chinese or sushi. The menu has a limited offering of Vietnamese staples including Pho and Banh Mi sandwiches.

I had the Special, which turned out to not be Pho, but rather a bowl of rice topped with beef chunks and an optional egg. It was good, but my friend’s Pho was better, a generous serving, with all the usual ingredients.

The Banh Mi was good, although at over $6 it’s one of the more expensive versions in town–not that that’s a lot for a sandwich, but for some reason this sandwich is traditionally really cheap most places.

Although it’s counter service, the interior is rather nice. Service is friendly, but the kitchen takes a while at lunch time, so don’t be in a hurry.

Pho Real is quite hard to spot from the street. It’s not on the main sign at the entrance to the strip center, and the combination of the name and logo make it look like a real estate office, so don’t give up.

Pho-Real
2910 Maguire Rd
Ste 1006
Ocoee, FL 34761
(407) 614-1684
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-real-ocoee-2

Cuvee Destin

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**** (4 stars)

Cuvee, as you might expect, offers an excellent wine list. The list is oddly divided into two parts, essentially the cheap part and the expensive part. Pricing varies, but seems to be about double retail. For me the highlight was the two pages of half bottles, something you don’t see a lot of anymore.

I thought the food was good, but there weren’t really any home runs. We tried the portobello mushroom, fried green tomatoes (which were more about crawfish), and the pecan crusted grouper (be sure to get the very sweet sauce on the side).

Our server was excellent, and we liked the quiet back corner of the back room, as the bar can get quite boisterous.

Cuvee Destin
36120 Emerald Coast Pkwy
Destin, FL 32541
(850) 650-8900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cuvee-destin-destin-2

Gators Dockside

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*** (3 stars)

All of the Gators I’ve been to are similar, but this one seems to have a few service issues, or perhaps it was just our server, but almost nothing we ordered came out correctly, from drinks to salads to wings.

That said, Gator’s grilled wings are about the best there are, especially with the hot garlic sauce.

If you’re passing through on I75, this place is about a mile and a half off the highway, but worth driving past all the fast food places to get to.

Gators Dockside
313 NW Commons Loop
Lake City, FL 32055
(386) 438-5446
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gators-dockside-lake-city

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

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**** (4 stars)

This BJ’s has the nicest interior decor of any BJ’s I’ve been to. As with all of them it has a very extensive menu, and a full page devoted to a very clearly described array of beers.

We took a large (16 people) group here after playing the Escape game nearby, and our servers did an amazing job of dealing with so many people.

I really liked the queso dip appetizer, which was more about chili than cheese. The appetizer combo was less exciting, and I particularly disliked the egg rolls and the spinach dip.

My entree, the ahi tuna salad, was delicious, with tender, rare slices of ahi arranged around a nicely tossed pile of greens with just the right amount of tangy dressing, and a nice variety of textures.

In short, this is a great place for large groups or small parties, for groups who all want something different to eat, and for beer lovers. One of the better choices on I-Drive, for sure.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
8103 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(321) 732-8190
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bjs-restaurant-and-brewhouse-orlando-4

Mellow Mushroom

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**** (4 stars)

This is a really nicely decorated Mellow Mushroom, with a music theme that is well executed throughout. Because it’s near the theme parks, it attracts a larger crowd of newbies, and a lot of small rather rambunctious kids, so it has a different atmosphere than other Mellow Mushrooms.

The pizzas are still great, and there are lots of creative offerings. As at other Mellow Mushrooms, you can build your own salad or pizza from scratch, however because the individual ingredients are quite expensive, you can quickly end up with a twenty or thirty dollar production.

I took the opportunity to try the new veggie burger, and I must say it was one of the better veggie burgers in town, with a nice sear on the mostly bean-based patty.

Service was a bit inexperienced, but the location is new, and I’m sure it will work itself out. Management seemed on top of things.

Mellow Mushroom
10725 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32821
(407) 351-9670
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mellow-mushroom-orlando-2

Morimoto Asia

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*** (3 stars)

Morimoto occupies a spectacular space within Disney Springs: the old three-story Mannequins building. They’ve taken full advantage of the height, with two floors of dining, and beautiful long lighting fixtures making the space feel like a scene out of Spirited Away.

Unfortunately, as with most restaurants on theme park properties, the food and service don’t measure up to the decorating.

If you’re expecting the food experience you’d get at another Morimoto, you will be disappointed. Here, only the name has been licensed, and the majority of the food is actually Chinese rather than Japanese,

There is a sushi bar upstairs, and sushi is available throughout the restaurant, but it’s expensive and nothing special. They do have a few fish not found at every neighborhood sushi place, including Fluke, Red Snapper, and Yellowtail, although they were out of some selections when we visited. Sashimi pricing was a problem though, with the serving sizes bordering on microscopic. I calculated that the one inch long paper thin slices of Fluke and Red Snapper are going for about $100 a pound. That’s just ridiculous.

Other dishes we tried included:

The five spice chicken wings were very oily inside, and there was no sign of five spices, although the garlic bits and jalapeño that topped them were tasty.

Spare ribs were delicious, very meaty and fall-off-the-bone tender, with a sweet, spicy coating.

Ikura sashimi was very good, served in a hollowed out lime with a shiso leaf.

Hamachi tartare was a small portion literally swimming in a soy broth. Any attempt to pick up some of the tartare, even with the provided miniature spoons resulted in the tartare disintegrating into the broth.

Spicy salmon roll seemed straight out of a sushi bar at central casting. Nothing remarkable here, move on.

Thai fried rice was delicious, with anise leaves, lemon grass and sprouts. This was the best dish we had.

Fried bronzino was the traditional whole fish, carefully deboned and covered in sweet and sour sauces. The fish was excellent as long as you could avoid too much of the sauce. This is a classic presentation, well done.

Our server was well-intentioned, but clearly needed more training and more practice. With about a hundred employees buzzing around a new restaurant, that’s not too surprising. I’m sure things will shake themselves out.

In short, if you’re looking for an Iron Chef experience, forget it. If you’re looking for PF Chang on steroids at twice the price but in a gorgeous building, this is a spectacular choice.

Morimoto Asia
1600 E Buena Vista Dr
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 939-6686
http://www.yelp.com/biz/morimoto-asia-lake-buena-vista

Lac Viet

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***** (5 stars)

We had a great meal here, made all the more memorable because the night before we ate at Morimoto Asia. The food a Lac Viet was substantially better, and one third the price.

The interior of the restaurant–which I remember from decades ago, when it was Le Cordon Bleu–is bright and open, divided in to many intimate rooms.

We started with the Tom Yum, which had a thinner and less tomato-based broth than the Thai version I’m used to, but despite it’s clarity, it was the most flavorful Tom Yum I’ve ever tasted, with just the right spice level.

The seafood crepe was also good, although not quite what I was expecting. Fried to a crispy gold, it looked more like a giant taco, filled with bean sprouts, shrimp and other goodies. This is a giant appetizer, so plan ahead.

The Vermicelli bowl is always my favorite at Vietnamese restaurants, and this was no exception, the combination of charred pork, cucumber, sprouts, vermicelli, and greens was delicious, especially with some added fish sauce, hoisin and Sriracha.

The other entree we tried was a massive assortment of pork, beef and chicken. The pork and chicken had each been sautéed with different sauces and vegetables, and were absolutely delicious. This one dish is plenty for sharing, but we were happy to have lots of all three preparations to take home for later. This dish really emphasized the light touch of Lac Viet, because it was similar to Chinese stir fry, and yet there was none of the heavy oiliness that turns me off of Chinese food. Really great stuff.

There is a small but well thought out list of wines and beers. Service is attentive and helpful.

There are quite a few good Vietnamese restaurants in Orlando, particularly in the Mills 50 area, but Lac Viet is the best I’ve been to anywhere.

Lac Viet
2021 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-4000
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lac-viet-orlando