Category Archives: Seafood

Christner’s Prime Steak and Lobster

Posted on by

IMG_2144
1468280735317656
IMG_2145

**** (4 stars)

In a city full of steak houses, this is the best. And it’s not a chain, although the old name (del Frisco’s) was leased from one. But now taking on the founders’ name (Christner) is remains Orlando’s best. Leather booths, low lighting, and professional servers create a great ambiance.

Steak is served a bit undercooked, and finished at your table on a plate that you DON’T want to touch. Lobster tails are the best I’ve had anywhere. The house salad with blue cheese is great too. Sides are just okay.

Of course none of this is cheap, but it’s worth it. The wine list is extensive and pricey, so mixed drinks might be a better choice, and in fact fit the ambiance quite well.

Christner’s Prime Steak and Lobster
729 Lee Rd
Orlando, FL 32810
(407) 645-4443
http://www.yelp.com/biz/christners-prime-steak-and-lobster-orlando

Roy’s Restaurant

Posted on by

Dining Room

Butterfish and snapper

Kitchen

**** (4 stars)

Roys serves Hawaiian influenced cuisine that reminds me of the Polynesian restaurants that used to be popular across the US. This location is particularly noisy, and is frequented by tourists, so it’s not the best location for an intimate dinner. The food is good, but perhaps not good enough to warrant the price compared to other nearby choices such as Bonefish. Ask to sit in the smaller front room to avoid some of the din.

Roy’s Restaurant
7760 W Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 352-4844
http://www.yelp.com/biz/roys-restaurant-orlando

Big Fin Seafood Kitchen

Posted on by

**** (4 stars)

This is a big old cavernous place that does a lot of good stuff with fresh seafood. It can get really loud, so if you don’t want that ask to sit in the back room. Sushi isn’t their strong point, but they do offer some, along with oysters and other shellfish. I really like the salads and fish dishes. Good bread, too. Reasonably priced wines, unlike most of the other restaurants in the area.

Big Fin Seafood Kitchen
8046 W Sand Lake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 615-8888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/big-fin-seafood-kitchen-orlando

Triple George Grill

Posted on by

*** (3 stars)

After a tour of the Mob Museum, a couple of blocks north of Fremont Street in the somewhat seedy downtown area of Vegas, we walked to the nearby Triple George Grill. It’s a popular lunch stop, and was quite busy. The interior is old school, but the place was built in 2005. The food was fairly typical bar and grill fair, nothing special.

Triple George Grill
201 N 3rd St
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 384-2761
http://www.yelp.com/biz/triple-george-grill-las-vegas

Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse

Posted on by

***** (5 stars)

This is the Churrascaria concept, where roving servers with skewers of meats come by your table delivering 16 different kinds of meat until you beg them to stop (well, actually until you turn over the little red and green piece of cardboard by your plate).

The meats are terrific (especially the house specialty caipirinha seasoned beef, and the baby lamb chops) but I was even more impressed by the delicious offerings at the included salad bar. Each ingredient was incredibly fresh and succulent, and there was a terrific variety, from Ceasar salad to curried cucumber to giant stalks of perfectly cooked asparagus.

Service was hyper attentive. The room is decorated in very appealing woods, a much better ambiance, I thought, than the competing Texas de Brazil Churrascaria up the street, and the food was certainly better.

These places are fairly expensive, with lunch about $26 and dinner topping out at $42. On the other hand, the salad bar only option seems like a pretty good deal at dinner, since it’s always $19.

Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse
8282 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 370-0711
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fogo-de-ch%C3%A3o-brazilian-steakhouse-orlando-3

Girl & the Goat

Posted on by

***** (5 stars)

The Girl and the Goat is the new restaurant by Stephanie Izard, winner of Top Chef. Barely open a year, it has already won a James Beard award, and is the hottest restaurant in Chicago. I reserved our table three months in advance.

I was a bit wary of going the day after Moto, and some of the menu items seemed a bit scary (oven roasted pig’s face). What a delightful surprise this restaurant turned out to be! We loved all the plates we shared. We tried all three fresh baked breads of the day. Each was served with two different accompaniments, such as Worchestshire butter. Our favorite dishes were:

Wood fired chicken with fried pickles and grilled naan.
Sauteed cauliflower with pickled peppers, parmesan cheese, mint leaves and pine nuts.
Goat belly confit with lobster and crab.

Service was really professional yet friendly, and the vibrant environment and wood smoke filled room is the perfect setting for such fun and tasty food. The Girl and the Goat is a new Chicago favorite.

Girl & the Goat
809 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 492-6262
http://www.yelp.com/biz/girl-and-the-goat-chicago

Lee and Ricks Oyster Bar

Posted on by

IMG_7450

IMG_7451

IMG_7453 2

IMG_7453

**** (4 stars)

Part of the appeal of Lee and Rick’s is that it IS a dive. There’s something experiential about sitting at a concrete trough with a hundred layers of paint on it eating oysters served by girls wearing “I Eat Em Raw” T-Shirts. One of the best deals in town is the basket of shrimp, served hot or chilled (I prefer chilled). Mix up your own cocktail sauce from the provided condiments, add a few saltine crackers, and you’ve got a fresh shellfish feast for under ten bucks.

Lee and Ricks Oyster Bar
5621 Old Winter Garden Rd
Orlando, FL 32811
(407) 293-3587
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lee-and-ricks-oyster-bar-orlando