This is a bowl assembly concept similar to Chipotle, but focused on healthy selections.
My choice was coconut rice and kale slaw topped with chickpeas and salmon. The ingredients worked well together. The sriracha-based sauce I selected was fairly bland, but my wife’s ginger sauce was excellent.
The counter setup at lunchtime is extremely efficient, so it took no time at all to order and pay.
There’s a nice outside seating area in addition to the indoor space.
*** (3 stars)
This is an open, clean and nicely designed Uno location. Of course it offers the standard chain menu, but that’s okay, because it’s fairly interesting, with much more than just pizza.
Service is friendly, and the lunch specials are a good deal.
Uno Pizzeria & Grill
3167 Daniels Road
Winter Garden, FL
34787
(407) 877-6510
https://www.yelp.com/biz/uno-pizzeria-and-grill-winter-garden
*** (3 stars)
This Pei Wei is organized a bit differently from the one I usually go to, with a U-turn in the queue and the menus against one wall. There’s a large wall of windows in the dining area, and a large outside dining area, too. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same as all others.
There was a new item on my visit to this one, and I really like it: cauliflower fried “rice”. It was very good with the spicy Korean sauce.
And yes, they have Coke Freestyle machines, which are my favorite fast food device of all time.
Pei Wei
3337 Daniels Rd
Winter Garden, FL
34787
(407) 347-9928
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pei-wei-winter-garden
Interior
Exterior
Periodic table of cheese
**** (4 stars)
I need to return here to try the grilled cheese sandwichs, as they look good, but we tried the burgers, which are half their offerings.
In particular I wanted an Impossible Burger, the meatless patty that is–when correctly prepared–just as good or even better than meat. It’s best with a nice crust on the outside and a thin patty. Toasted’s version was actually a bit too thick and a bit too big, with pieces falling off around the edges, but it was nicely crusted.
I like my burgers fully dressed, with a slice of onion, pickles or relish, mayo, mustard, and so on. Not sure if they can do that, but the default isn’t the case.
At $12 including fries the Impossible Burger seemed a bit pricey, but I suppose it is because it is exclusive.
We also tried the Southern Burger, which is basically a BBQ bacon cheese burger plus mac and cheese on the burger. The meat in this burger was definitely inferior to the Impossible Burger, and I wouldn’t order it again. We also didn’t think the mac and cheese added anything.
Both burgers came on a nicely grilled bun.
I probably wouldn’t order burgers here again, but I would go back to try the grilled cheese. The employees were all great, very enthusiastic, and the place has a nice ambiance.
Toasted Windermere
6506 Old Brick Rd
Ste 100
Windermere, FL 34786
(407) 217-5485
https://www.yelp.com/biz/toasted-windermere-windermere
Interior
Pabellon
** (2 stars)
This nice space has been a succession of restaurants, all of them better than this incarnation.
The extensive menu offers a variety of Latin cuisines, with an emphasis on Venezuela. The prices are pretty ridiculous, with a soda or iced tea costing $5, and a milkshake an astounding $15.
Fortunately there are lunch specials for $9. We tried several, and none rose above mediocre. Your money would certainly be better spent at an alternative such as Pio Pio or Arepas El Cacao.
Service can only be termed snail-like, despite the place being only half full, with plenty of servers.
I’m already looking forward to the next restaurant in this space.
Bocas Grill – Orlando
7600 Dr Phillips Blvd
Ste 22
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 723-8351
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bocas-grill-orlando-orlando-2
Crab shrimp and lobster louie
Tuna sashimi
Caesar salad
Exterior
Interior
*** (3 stars)
If you like old-school places, you’ll probably like The Grill on the Alley. It’s pretty much unchanged since it opened in the 80s, and it was designed to be retro even back then. It’s a bit like more recent retro steakhouse concepts such as the Palm or Mortons, but somehow lacks the upscale feeling of those.
I didn’t find much that was remarkable on our visit. The best thing I had was a shrimp, crab and lobster Louie salad, which was very generous in its seafood portion, as it should have been for almost $50.
The service was–and I’m being charitable here-uneven, to say the least. We seemed to be handed off through a succession of at least four servers, and the people delivering the plates and bussing the table were all in rotation, too, so it wasn’t exactly conducive to feeling like a guest–more like part of an assembly line.
The clientele here is even older than the restaurant — by about forty years, I’d guess, and seems to be devoted, so perhaps they see something in it that I didn’t.
The Grill On The Alley
9560 Dayton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 276-0615
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-grill-on-the-alley-beverly-hills
Exterior
Bar
Interior
Clams Casino
Fettuccine Alfredo
Eggplant Rollatini
***** (5 stars)
Bella Italia is definitely a level above what you’d expect in a strip mall location. The decor, food and service are all top notch.
We started with the Clams Casino, a generous portion with a delicious lemon and garlic broth.
Fettucine Alfredo was equally generous, nigh on to huge. It needed a bit of salt to bring out the flavor, but had plenty of butter, cream and cheese.
Eggplant Rollatini was a nice improvement on Eggplant Parmigiana, with grilled rather than breaded eggplant, stuffed with four kinds of cheese, baked in marinara sauce, and topped with melted mozzarella. It was delicious. The accompanying spaghetti was fine, but not needed.
All of these dishes were less than $9 at lunch, a great deal. Lunch also came with a basket of fresh bread and an excellent pesto/olive oil mixture for dipping.
Service was friendly and attentive.
Bella Italia Ristorante
13848 Tilden Rd
Ste 192
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 347-3277
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bella-italia-ristorante-winter-garden
Who Shot JR
Reuben
Exterior
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This charming sandwich shop also offers a variety of wonderful home cooked specials such as soda bread, stew and quiche. You can also pick up dinner to take home.
As the name implies, most sandwiches are grilled. I had the Reuben, a special, and it was excellent. I wasn’t a huge fan of the very chunky potato salad that came with it.
The Who Shot JR wasn’t quite as flavorful as the Rueben, but it came with a mild blue cheese spread on the side that was a nice accompaniment.
There is live entertainment on Sunday.
Melts On Main Street
108 S Main St
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 656-3587
https://www.yelp.com/biz/melts-on-main-street-winter-garden
*** (3 stars)
A beautiful patio is the highlight of this place. Unfortunately sitting in it means you have to eat their food, which is a mixed blessing at best.
The only particularly good item was the nachos, which were unconventional but good. Each rustic chip was topped with shredded beef, black beens, a little drizzle of cheese, tomatoes, scallions, jalapeños and sour cream.
The fish in the fish tacos was coated with a very strange seasoning that no one at our table liked. And the chilaquiles were a sodden lump, the worst we ever encountered.
Service was friendly and efficient, and as I said, the patio is lovely. My advice: have a sangria and some nachos and call it a day.
Maya Del Sol
144 S Oak Park Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 358-9800
http://www.yelp.com/biz/maya-del-sol-oak-park
**** (4 stars)
This is a great concept for pizza.
It’s always bugged me that pizza places charge some ridiculous amount for each ingredient when you roll your own. Well not at Blaze. Here you can get anything you like, in any combination, for one reasonable price. Assembly is quick and easy, and the baking process is equally quick, so it’s as fast as fast food, but completely custom, and with much better ingredients.
Service was friendly and efficient, and they took extra care to get my crust crispy, the way I like it, and to melt the ricotta cheese I selected.
It’s great that there’s finally an excellent pizza place in Evanston!
Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza
4999 Old Orchard Center
Ste F9
Skokie, IL 60077
(847) 568-1649
http://www.yelp.com/biz/blaze-fast-fired-pizza-skokie