**** (4 stars)
Nice atmosphere, good food and service. There is a ramp on the left of the parking lot if you don't want to climb the stairs.
There is quite a good local non-alcoholic drink that is like sprite with bitters.
Dorf-Alm zu St. Wolfgang
Markt 123
5360 St. Wolfgang
Austria
https://www.yelp.com/biz/dorf-alm-zu-st-wolfgang-st-wolfgang
***** (5 stars)
Wow, this place is HUGE. Fortunately the ceilings are high, so noise levels are reasonable. And the interior decor is very nice, with giant fake trees.
Kudos to management, because opened only three weeks this place was extremely busy, yet running like clockwork.
The menu is extensive. We started with a giant pretzel, and the sauces that came with it were amazing, especially the house sauce, a mixture of mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and black pepper. The pizza dough was also very good, and the chicken wings, ordered extra crispy, were truly HOT.
This is a real brewery, and offers only their own brews. The four beer sampler is a good deal. They also have a full bar.
New York Beer Project – Orlando
9230 Miley Dr
Winter Garden, FL 34787
https://www.yelp.com/biz/new-york-beer-project-orlando-winter-garden
***** (5 stars)
Excellent spot with a large open air eating area under cover.
The pizza was terrific, with a thin crust and just the right amount of chew.
The Little Debbie Harry desert was fantastic, a great combination of hot and cold, crisp and chewy, bitter and sweet.
Very extensive selection of Amaros.
Argosy
470 Flat Shoals Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
**** (4 stars)
This location is a bit of dejavu, since it is almost the same as the previous Bar Louie on Sand Lake Road. No doubt this is a better spot for the evening tourist trade. The large bar makes it good for groups, and the many roll-up doors are nice on cooler evenings. The menu is the same as other Bar Louies, with a mix of bar foods and burgers. A few of my favorite items from the past have disappeared or been simplified, but it’s still probably one of the better choices in the tourist corridor.
Bar Louie – I-Drive
8510 International Dr
Orlando, FL
32819
(407) 553-8502
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-louie-i-drive-orlando
Bacon Cheeseburger
Salmon dip
Beer flight
Exterior
Interior
*** (3.5 stars)
This is a nice sports bar at the rear of the MGM Grand. There are lots of large screens so it’s a great place to watch a game.
The beer flights give you lots of flexibility to sample four of your choice, and there is an interesting menu, with excellent burger options. We also really like the salmon dip appetizer which was plenty for several people to share. Service was quick.
Michael Mina Pub 1842
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
89109
(702) 891-3922
https://www.yelp.com/biz/michael-mina-pub-1842-las-vegas
Bar
Interior
Gnar BQ Taco
1/2 Grown Up Grilled Cheese and side salad
Exterior
***** (5 stars)
A great little dive bar with excellent food and 16 beers on tap.
The place is really small, but there are also some larger tables on the back porch.
The Gnar-BQ Taco was a nice portion of savory shredded pork offset by crisp, tangy slaw.
The Grown Up Grilled Cheese combined cheddar, Swiss and goat cheese with bacon, but the real highlight was thin, crisp apple slices. It was perfectly grilled. I had it as “Mom’s Special”: a half sandwich with a side salad. The blue cheese dressing is VERY chunky.
It’s nice that their tap beers are available in half portions so you can try more. Service was friendly.
The Gnarly Barley
7431 S Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32809
(407) 854-4999
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-gnarly-barley-orlando
Exterior
Interior
Gazpacho
Ceviche
Flatbread
Salmon rillettes
Burger
**** (4 stars)
I love the interior design of this place, which has cool lighting and excellent acoustics. It is a Spanish tapas restaurant, but at least at brunch I found the selections to be more modern American that authentic Spanish tapas.
My companion had the gazpacho, which was excellent, although unusual in that it seemed to include cream. She also had the ceviche, which included a very generous portion of cooked shrimp, but wasn’t really what she was looking for in an authentic Spanish ceviche.
I had the brunch, which allows you to choose three plates for $27. While that might sound steep, they are very large servings and quite shareable.
I had the flatbread with Mahón cheese, sunny side up quail eggs, caramelized onions, oyster mushrooms and bacon. It was one of the best flatbreads I’ve had, with a thin, crisp crust, charred around the edges, and the eggs and bacon perfectly cooked. The sweetness of the caramelized onions went perfectly with the savoriness of the other ingredients.
My second plate was supposed to be the salmon crostini, slices of salmon on crostini. Due to confusion in the kitchen (or a mistake our waiter was unwilling to admit to) they actually brought me the Salmon Rillettes, which was a spread. It’s actually not a selection on the brunch tasting menu, but I liked it fine, despite my confusion.
My third plate was the least successful. The Bulla Burger was a generous serviing of 45 day dry-aged beef, topped by cheese, sauteed onions and a single pepper. The meat was, in fact far too generous, more of a baseball than a patty. As a result the “medium” I ordered ended up charred on the outside but completely raw throughout the middle. I also felt the burger needed some condiments, as the ingredients didn’t really have that much flavor. However at this point I’d had so much food it didn’t really matter that this course went largely uneaten. I will say the accompanying “truffle fries” (which were actually rosemary flavored diced potatoes) were well cooked and tasty.
I’m not a big brunch fan, so I appreciated the wide varieties of non-brunchy offerings at Bulla. Service was friendly, and I’d definitely go back.
Bulla Gastrobar
110 S Orlando Ave
Ste 7
Winter Park, FL 32789
(321) 594-4175
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bulla-gastrobar-winter-park-2
Interior
Bar
***** (5 stars)
This gastro pub has an excellent menu that is more healthy than most. There is less frying, more grilling, and a thoughtful selection of vegetables.
There is also an extensive selection of carefully chosen quality wines by the glass.
The decor is sophisticated, with an acoustic-friendly ceiling that works well.
Service was friendly and helpful.
F&D Kitchen & Bar
1541 International Pkwy
Ste 1001
Lake Mary, FL 32746
(407) 915-5687
https://www.yelp.com/biz/f-and-d-kitchen-and-bar-lake-mary
*** (3 stars)
I was expecting River Roast to be like all the steakhouses in town, but it’s not. For one thing, they don’t have steak. It’s also much more casual.
The concept here is that almost everything is roasted. I guess that makes sense, given the name. On the day we visited there was one selection of fish, prime rib or chicken as the protein sources. We didn’t choose any of them, although perhaps we should have.
Instead, we tried almost everything else on the menu. Unfortunately, despite that diversity, we didn’t really find anything we’d want to eat again. Here’s what we had:
House pickles were good, actually the best thing we had, but beware the red peppers as they are insanely hot.
Chicken “gobbets” were bite size chunks of fried chicken in a crispy batter, served with honey. They were the other dish we liked.
Shaved salad had a broad mixture of fennel, radishes, mushrooms, arugula, carrots and other stuff, dress in a lemon vinaigrette. The ingredients didn’t really come together into a cohesive dish.
Smoked salmon was served in a sauce that didn’t do it any favors.
Roasted carrots and “dirt” were pretty plain tasting carrots with some crumbs on them. A bit of the honey from the chicken helped them.
Peas were served in a bowl, and couldn’t decide whether they wanted to be soup. The bits of ham added some flavor, and these were probably the best vegetable.
Roasted curry cauliflower had a nice char on top, but the only flavor was from the red sauce underneath which it is a stretch to call curry.
Overall, nothing would bring me back unless I had a craving for prime rib, which might be good.
The service staff was friendly and efficient.
The night we visited there was a live jazz trio playing in the dining room, even though it was early. They were talented and the music was at a reasonable level.
River Roast
315 N La Salle Dr
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 822-0100
http://www.yelp.com/biz/river-roast-chicago-3
**** (4 stars)
This space that occupies one section of the ground floor of a hotel doesn’t look much like a gastropub, but the food definitely qualifies.
The standout item was the #16 Biscuits, probably the best biscuits I’ve ever had. They were crunchy on the outside, warm and flaky on the inside, with a slight herbal scent. The honey butter was a perfect accompaniment.
Smoked gouda mac and cheese was also very good, with slightly crisped edges due to the bubbling hot skillet it was served in.
The seven layer chicken salad was a nice combination of romaine, corn, black beans, shredded chicken and ranch dressing. Less interesting was the hamburger, which was fairly ordinary, and served with thick cut, skin on, somewhat limp fires.
Service was friendly. There is an adjoining bar making some interesting cocktails, including several complex variants of the Moscow Mule.
Copper Fox
155 East Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 255-8505
http://www.yelp.com/biz/copper-fox-chicago