Craig Miller’s Field House Best Sports Bar & Restaurant

Posted on October 21, 2019 by steve

**** (4 stars)

This fairly large sports bar in Dellagio offers decent food and lots of screens. The last time I went here there was a very noisy basketball game. I’m pleased to say the place has been rearranged and is much more conducive to an enjoyable meal now.

The nachos were served on half round tostada shells, but were otherwise fine, more about beans than cheese.

Chicken wings are sold by the pound. The wings are large, and nicely flash fried. The mango habanero sauce I had was more sweet than spicy, but some tabasco fixed it up.

The pepperoni and fresh basil pizza was very good, with a rich, slightly spicy tomato sauce.

Service was attentive.

Craig Miller’s Field House Best Sports Bar & Restaurant
7958 Via Dellagio WaySte 100
Orlando, FL
32819
(407) 248-3474
https://www.yelp.com/biz/craig-millers-field-house-best-sports-bar-and-restaurant-orlando-2

Maxine’s on Shine

Posted on October 20, 2019 by steve

***** (5 stars)

This is a great neighborhood place, with artisinal food and live music. Sunday Brunch is definitely bustling, and is not a place for intimate conversation!

The cheese plate offers a nice selection with appropriate accompaniments. Deviled eggs were also nicely done, with some exotic spices.

Hot chicken and waffles relied on a spicy barbeque sauce rather than a Nashville preparation.

Service was attentive, and the music was good.

Maxine’s on Shine
337 N Shine Ave
Orlando, FL
32803
(407) 674-6841
https://www.yelp.com/biz/maxines-on-shine-orlando

The Boathouse

Posted on October 17, 2019 by steve

***** (5 stars)

Restaurants in tourist areas don’t need to be all that great, because there is a constant supply of new patrons. But I’m a big fan of Gibson’s restaurants in Chicago, so I decided to give The Boathouse a try, and I’m glad I did.

As you would expect for a restaurant at Disney Springs, the decor and theming are spectacular. But the food is even better. I had the chopped salad with a couple of shrimp added. The salad was huge, very fresh, and the shrimp were perhaps the freshest I’ve had anywhere. I will definitely explore their raw bar when I return.

My wife had a selection of raw oysters, and also commented on how fresh they were.

The place was packed at lunchtime on a Monday, but the servers did a good job of keeping up, and the noise levels were quite reasonable.

The Boathouse is definitely my new favorite restaurant at Disney Springs.

The Boathouse
1620 E Buena Vista Dr
Lake Buena Vista, FL
32830
(407) 939-2628
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-boathouse-lake-buena-vista

Jaleo

Posted on September 27, 2019 by steve

**** (4 stars)

This is a nice repurposing of the old Wolfgang Puck space. They’ve opened it up, and it still has great lake views and some nice outdoor seating for smaller parties.

The food isn’t exactly my idea of tapas, since the plates are sized for sharing among three or four people. To me, a tapas meal involves a dozen little saucers filled with different interesting bites.

I found a lot of the food to be very heavily salted. This was particularly true of the squid ink and some of the other sauces.

Highlights included the olives, and the Iberico ham carved tableside. By far the best dish was the pork shoulder, which was amazingly tender and flavorful, and turned out more like wagyu beef than pork.

Service was good, but don’t go in a hurry, because the kitchen seems to get backed up when the restaurant is busy.

The wine list is, of course, all about Spanish wines, which are not necessarily my favorites, but your mileage may vary.

Jaleo
1482 E Buena Vista Dr
Orlando, FL
32836
(321) 348-3211
https://www.yelp.com/biz/jaleo-orlando-2

Bull and Bear

Posted on September 19, 2019 by steve

***** (5 stars)

Orlando lacks variety in the high-end dining scene, with only a few top-notch restaurants that aren’t steakhouses. That makes the competition for best steakhouse even tougher, because there are so many to choose from. It doesn’t get much better than The Bull and Bear.

You won’t find much on this menu that isn’t on every other steakhouse menu in town, but the execution here is superb.

The wedge salad, really more of a stacked dome, is a good starter, with a choice of dressing, and delicious bacon crumbles.

The steaks, of course, are top-notch. But the real standout for me was the short rib, which was easily the best I’ve ever had. Served on one not-so-short rib, the meat was succulent without being overcooked, and the rich, complex reductive sauce was stellar.

The usual sides are here. Particularly good is the creamed corn.

Wine prices are average, and there is an adequate selection, although no vintage depth.

The electronic menu used for both food and wine actually works really well, and the pictures linked to the menu items looked exactly like the dishes we were served.

Our wine group used to meet here regularly, but over time it slipped off my radar, so I hadn’t been here in years. The food is a top-notch as it ever was, although the prices have certainly increased!

Bull and Bear
14200 Bonnet Creek Resort Ln
Orlando, FL
32821
(407) 597-5500
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bull-and-bear-orlando-2

The French Cafe

Posted on September 19, 2019 by steve

***** (5 stars)

In addition to a nice selection of authentic pastries. The French Cafe offers crepes and sandwiches. By Alpine crepe was very generously stuffed with meats and potatoes. My companion’s tuna sandwich was served on a huge croissant, and accompanied by fries.

They also have the usual assortment of hot and cold coffees, which are well prepared and served in nice glassware.

Although you order at a counter, they bring the food to your table. There is also a nice outside eating area.

The French Cafe
16412 New Independence PkwySte 140
Winter Garden, FL
34787
(407) 500-4050
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-french-cafe-winter-garden

Brio Tuscan Grille

Posted on September 17, 2019 by steve

**** (4 stars)

This Brio location offers a nice “outside” patio that overlooks the mall’s indoor fountain. Service is attentive, and the menu is standard Brio.

The lunch combo of shrimp pasta and Caesar salad for $12 is a good deal. The pasta was perfectly al dente, and the shrimp tails had been removed.

It’s a good place to linger away from the bustle of the mall and enjoy an espresso.

Brio Tuscan Grille
4200 Conroy Rd
Orlando, FL
32839
(407) 351-8909
https://www.yelp.com/biz/brio-tuscan-grille-orlando

Los Reyes Mexican Grill

Posted on September 16, 2019 by steve

***** (5 stars)

This is a homey little restaurant in a charming part of old Clermont. The small house has been lovingly decorated and features a colorful mural.

The menu offers all the standards and a few particularly authentic items such as molcajete. Prices are reasonable, and lunch specials are very inexpensive.

Your meal includes excellent chips and a very mild salsa. You can also request spicer versions. We tried the medium, which tasted like it had been pepped up with yellow habanero. If that’s their medium, I don’t think I could handle spicy!

We tried the appetizer sampler. The rolled chicken taquitos (which they may have been calling something else) were the highlight. The guacamole was also excellent. Quesadillas were straight forward. The only thing we didn’t care for was the jalapeno poppers, which had a very thick batter. (I just wish the appetizer had come out before the lunch, but maybe some people are in a hurry, and they were very busy.)

For lunch we had the tostada and chicken fajitas. The chicken in the fajitas was a particular standout, with a delicious marinade, and a nice sear.

In addition to beer they also have margaritas, and they are excellent. I’m not sure whether it was made with traditional ingredients, but it had a nice orange citrus hint to it, and wasn’t too sweet.

This is an excellent choice for a charming sit down Mexican meal in Clermont.

Los Reyes Mexican Grill
658 West Ave
Clermont, FL
34711
https://www.yelp.com/biz/los-reyes-mexican-grill-clermont

The Waterfront

Posted on September 12, 2019 by steve

***** (5 stars)

This has got to be one of the best outdoor dining places in Orlando. The restaurant is barely visible from the road, and looks like a dive, but once inside you realize it opens out into a couple of great patios that really are on the water.

While the menu may look like a sports bar’s offering, the food is much better than the average sports bar. The smoked fish dip was balanced and complex, yet served with simple saltines. The Waterfront Platter was a generous mix of batter and fried shrimp, fish, chicken, hushpuppies and fries. All were done with a light touch, so they weren’t oily at all.

The tuna poke was a beautiful and delightful portion of chopped tuna and fresh veggies.

On a day with a nice breeze blowing in across the lake I can’t imagine a better place to be in Orlando.

The Waterfront
4201 S Orange Ave
Orlando, FL
32806
(407) 866-0468
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-waterfront-orlando-3

San Jose’s Original Mexican Restaurant

Posted on September 8, 2019 by steve

**** (4 stars)

This location is much larger than the original one on West Colonial, and I think it is much better. The space is bright and airy, and divided into a number of rooms, with a nice bar along one side.

The menu is very extensive. A good way to get a variety is to try the appetizer sampler, which actually contains items I don’t regard as appetizers, such as chimchangas, tamales, and flautas.

I also tried the taco al pastor, which is authentic with the inclusion of pineapple bits, although I would have liked the meat to be richer and spicer.

The top shelf margarita here is one of the better ones in town. They don’t call out the specific spirits, but it definitely tilts toward the orange side of the flavor chart, which I found interesting. Fresh citrus kept it from being too sweet.

San Jose’s Original Mexican Restaurant
16112 Marsh Rd
Winter Garden, FL
34787
(407) 554-2118
https://www.yelp.com/biz/san-jose-s-original-mexican-restaurant-winter-garden