Mr. Cebiche

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**** (4 stars)

This is not an easy place to find. It’s inside the Renaissance building, on the second floor, and the only obvious signage is a temporary sign on the sidewalk behind the building, and another at the base of the stairs inside.

But it’s worth the effort to locate it. We were personally greeted by the owner and immediately made to feel welcome as he explained the menu.

We started with the Causa De Roca, an attractive stack of seasoned mashed potatoes mixed with yellow peppers, layered with tomato and avocado, and topped with Shrimp and a sauce made of mayonnaise and ketchup with blackened seasoning, lime and cilantro. It was delicious.

It seemed only logical to order the lunch dish called Mr. Cebiche, and that was a good move. The mixture of white fish “cooked” in lime juice was served ice cold, and my wife declared it the best ceviche she’s had outside of Peru.

My lunch was also good, the Tacu Tacu, consisting of Stir-Fried Rice with Beans topped with onions and tomatoes marinated in lime juice.

The interior of the restaurant is charming, and very clean. Many of the tables have a nice view of the shopping street below. It can be a challenge to park in Mount Dora, but there is a well-disguised public parking structure two blocks to the south.

Mr. Cebiche
411 N Donnelly St
Ste 212, 2nd Fl
Mount Dora, FL 32757
(352) 735-8106
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mr-cebiche-mount-dora

Chimiking Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

Chimiking takes this space over form a previous tenant with somewhat similar cuisine, but the space and service is now vastly cheerier. The specialties are chimichurri burgers, Dominican sandwiches and mashed plantain mofongos.

I tried the garlic shrimp, which was served literally swimming in butter in a bowl lined with mashed plantains. Pretty rich, but tasty. My companion has the triple meat sandwich, which he liked.

In addition to an assortment of regional soft drinks, they also offer beer, wine and sangria.

The space is newly painted and clean and bright, and the highlight of the meal was our very friendly server. Although it looks like a counter service place, in fact it is pretty much full table service.

Chimiking Restaurant
6700 Conroy Windermere Rd
Ste 105
Orlando, FL 32835
(321) 732-3933
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chimiking-restaurant-orlando-2

El Inka Grill

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**** (4 stars)

Southwest Orange County needs more restaurant diversity, so it’s great to see Peruvian cuisine come to the neighborhood. Hopefully it will last longer than the previous restaurants in this space.

We tried El Inka for lunch, and everyone liked their selections, which ranged from chicken to steak lunch specials. I ordered the Ceviche Mixto from the regular menu, because the best ceviche I ever tasted was in a restaurant in Lima, Peru.

The ceviche was a very generous assortment of fish, shrimp, octopus and squid in an extremely limey broth. I think next time I would try one of the chef’s special ceviches instead, to see if the broths are more complex. At $17 it was a rather expensive lunch; I wish the ceviche was available in an appetizer size.

Service was very speedy, so it made a great choice for lunch. The place is already quite popular, and because the stylish interior has no acoustic treatments it can be quite loud.

We all agreed we would like to return soon and try more of this interesting cuisine.

El Inka Grill
7600 Dr Phillips Blvd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 930-2810
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-inka-grill-orlando

Crooked Can Brewing Company

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***** (5 stars)

What an array of options this place offers! Regardless of the style of beer you like best, they’re likely to offer a very well-made version of it at Crooked Can. The menu is on the wall behind the bar, and offers great explanations of what’s on offer, and how it is made.

Aside from the beers, though, it’s the environment that makes this place special. The concept they had for a new building to house their showcase brewery and synergistic businesses has been perfectly executed. The long counter lets you sip and enjoy your brew while admiring the stainless steel complexity behind the glass was. Or, if you prefer a table inside or out, that’s available, too.

A variety of tasty noshes are available just down the hall, from burgers to pizzas and all sorts of sweet treats. The whole of Plant Street Market is a great place to stop in after work, or enjoy after visiting the nearby Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings.

Crooked Can is a great addition to the town of Winter Garden.

Crooked Can Brewing Company
426 W Plant St
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 395-9520
http://www.yelp.com/biz/crooked-can-brewing-company-winter-garden

Shake Shack

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*** (3 stars)

This is a perfectly fine spot for fast food, but after all the hype that preceded it I must admit I was expecting more.

The space is light and airy, and the ordering process is super-efficient. The speed of preparation is surprisingly slow, though, and I went on a not particularly busy day.

The French fries are excellent–very crisp on the crinkly outside, tender in the center. The coffee shake is also great, and worthy of naming the place after.

The weak element turned out to be the burger. I had the SmokeShack, a completely average cheeseburger except for the addition of fairly flavorless bacon and some pickled red peppers. The meat patty was unremarkable, but the bun was the real weakness, a large mushy hunk of bread that quickly turned soggy.

The price of these three items was a bit shocking, coming in at just over $16. And they aren’t even particularly large. I’m somewhat insensitive to restaurant pricing, but even to me that seems a lot for what was on my tray.

I would go back to Shake Shack if I was in the area and wanted a shake, but I’d probably eat lunch someplace else first.

Shake Shack
8359 International Dr
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 205-0362
http://www.yelp.com/biz/shake-shack-orlando-3

Lafayette’s

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**** (4 stars)

It’s about time Orlando had some authentic Cajun food. Pointe Orlando seems an unlikely location, and this upper deck location seems cursed, but so far Lafayette’s is doing a lot better than the former succession of tenants.

The large space is divided into four dining areas that feature three bars. Live music is featured in the evenings, but if you don’t want it quite so loud it should be possible to sit a fair ways away from it.

The menu features Cajun classics such a Po’Boy sandwiches and Jambalaya. Note, however, that they’ve applied a twist to some dishes. The Jambalaya, for example is made with angel hair pasta, which sounded awful to me. Fortunately our server, who was from Louisiana suggested getting it made with dirty rice inside. Great call! It was the best jambalaya I’ve had outside of New orleans. The food is pretty mild, so be sure to ask for that bottle of hot sauce if you like it spicy.

There are also non-Cajun dishes such as chicken wings, but I wasn’t too impressed with them. The cheese grits, however, were delicious.

There’s a decent selection of beers and some wine. Service was extraordinarily friendly and helpful. This place definitely is filling a much needed niche.

Lafayette’s
9101 International Dr
Ste 2220
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 917-2870
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lafayettes-orlando

Mamak Asian Street Food

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**** (4 stars)

This bright, trendy space is a great place to enjoy Asian street food. Much like the restaurant that pioneered this cuisine in Orland (Hawkers, which is just around the corner and up the street), Mamak offers a menu of pan-Asian dishes arranged in columns including noodle dishes, rice dishes, tapas and soups.

We started with some edamame (a gift for checking in on Yelp). It was perfectly heated and salted.

Our first main dish was the Mamak Roti Canai, which many Yelpers justifiably raved over. The curry was the perfect spiciness, and the rotis were puffy and flakey.

The Roast Duck was less successful, fatty, somewhat tough, and it had that jagged “carved with a Korean chain saw” aspect.

Nasi Goreng Kari was a good rice dish, but it was completely overshadowed by the spectacular Indian Mee Goreng, one of the greatest noodle dishes I’ve ever tasted. It was like Pad Thai on steroids. Each bite of this dish produced layers of complex flavors: first the protein (shrimp and tofu), then the scallions and bean sprouts, then the wonderful wok-fried noodles in a sweet chili sauce, and finally the crushed peanuts and tart lime. I could eat this dish all day!

An extensive beer list offers something to match any dish on the menu, and the wines by the bottle come in a fair variety, too, better than Hawkers.

Service was friendly and attentive. The room is large, light and airy, but has no acoustic treatment whatsoever, so it can be quite loud. As a result the most pleasant dining might be during the hours between lunch and dinner.

Mamak Asian Street Food
1231 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 270-4688
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mamak-asian-street-food-orlando-2

LAKEHouse Restaurant

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*** (3 stars)

This restaurant, located in the former Cascades space, has been completely remodeled into a trendy and airy space. Unfortunately the food and service could still use some remodeling.

There’s nothing really wrong with the menu, but the more creative the dishes, the less the flavors seem to click. For example, the idea of making a shrimp cocktail using grilled, chilled shrimp sounds inventive, but turns out to produce a fairly off-putting texture.

The house pizza combined citrus, boursin cheese, asparagus and chicken, but somehow managed to be nearly flavorless. It’s the only time I’ve ever put salt and pepper on a pizza.

The LAKEhouse salad bowl combines interesting ingredients such as figs, spicy pecans, arugula and parmesan cheese, but they don’t really work together.

The best thing I had was the “cauliflower steak”. Like many of the dishes on the menu, the name is not descriptive. It’s simply cauliflower and several other vegetables that have been nicely grilled.

An extensive cocktail list tends toward sweeter drinks. The wine list offers quite a few selections, although the most interesting ones are available only by the bottle.

Service was well-intentioned, but not at the level of a fine dining restaurant; perhaps is is more appropriate for breakfast or lunch, when the space serves as the hotel’s coffee shop.

LAKEHouse Restaurant
1 Grand Cypress Blvd
Orlando, FL 32836
(407) 239-1234
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lakehouse-restaurant-orlando

Servando’s

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***** (5 stars)

If you were a fan of Taquitos Jalisco when they had three locations, you will love Servando’s. It’s run by the original owner, and has all the same dishes, prepared just the way you remember. As an added bonus, it’s much cleaner than the remaining Taquitos, and the space is light and airy. Service is friendly, and Servando is there to make sure everything is just right.

Personal favorites include Servando’s Nachos (without any meat or beans is the way I like them), and either tacos or gorditas with their amazing Pastor. The Plato Botanas appetizer is a nice way to sample many things. Margaritas are also quite good.

If you’re looking for REAL Mexican food on the west side of town, this is the place.

Servando’s
14107 W Colonial Dr
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 654-6866
http://www.yelp.com/biz/servandos-winter-garden-2