Restaurant Review - Infusion Tea, 1600 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL

Located in College Park, south of Princeton Street on Edgewater Drive, is Infusion Tea. Infusion Tea is a modern teahouse as well as an organic/vegetarian cafe. I visited with my boys and one of my girlfriends. Yes, this was another attempt by me to take my kids to tea -- I can't help it that I had boys instead of girls!

Infusion Tea is part retail tea store, with all kinds of tea accouterments such as tea pots, stirrers, infusers, and cups, as well as modern cafe. The chairs and tables are interspersed throughout the room so you can look at the wares as well as wait for your food. There is also a comfy couch area towards the back.

If you love tea, there is a lot to enjoy at Infusion Tea. They have an extensive tea menu including black, oolong, green, white, flavored, herbal, and rooibos (African red bush) teas, most of them organic. All can be ordered in the cafe or can be purchased to be made at home. The cafe menu features soups, tea sandwiches, wraps, appetizers and dips, salads, as well as a kids' menu and seasonal specials. You order your teas and food at the counter and then your meal will be delivered to your table when it is done.

The kids' menu offers three meal items, an apple and cheese quesadilla in a light wheat tortilla ($4), organic fruit and cheese kabobs with yogurt dipping sauce ($3.50), and a half peanut butter and jelly sandwich with veggies chips ($3.50). My younger son asked for the PB&J while my older son ordered the fruit and cheese kabobs. I was stumped for what to get them to drink because my boys don't like hot drinks. My oldest wanted sweet iced tea and the server immediately said she could make that for him with a light green tea, sweetened with simple syrup over ice. She offered apple juice for LB but he decided he just wanted water.

Another mother with her young son walked in at this point and I asked her what her son usually drinks here. She said he likes the Izze brand sparkling juices that Infusion Tea carries (so it is kind of like a fruit soda). She also told me he is a picky eater and his favorite thing on the menu is the veggie burger wrap ($7.50). So that is another option for a child, although kind of pricey unless you know your child will eat the whole thing.

I ordered the lunch combo ($7.50), a choice of a half soup and half sandwich - you can also chose a half salad as well. I chose the gazpacho, a cold tomato-based soup, and the Sundried Special, a sandwich with sundried tomato spread, cream cheese, cucumbers, and organic spinach. My friend ordered the Concorde wrap ($7.50) which consisted of hummus, tabouleh (a parsley-based Middle Eastern salad), and field greens in a wheat wrap and a scone for dessert ($2). We ordered a pot ($6) of the Cape Town Rooibos tea to share.

The drinks came out right away. I was very pleased with the presentation of the tea. It was served in a clear glass pot and two huge glass tea cups. On the side were the sweeteners -- honey, raw sugar cubes, and sugar. After the timer went off, we took out the filter with the tea leaves and put it on the provided plate and then poured the tea. It was a wonderful rusty red color and had a deep, comforting, slightly sweet flavor.

Our food arrived and it all looked very appetizing. The half peanut butter and jelly sandwich was on lightly toasted white bread and came with vegetable chips that looked like real vegetables that had just been sliced, cooked and lightly salted. I was surprised that my four-year-old, who I can never get to eat his veggies, dug right into the chips and finished them all -- all except one green bean that looked a little too much like a green bean to him. The fruit and cheese kabobs were strawberries and red grapes alternated with large squares of cheddar cheese and came with a sweet honey yogurt sauce. My oldest ate all of the fruit, dipping them in the sauce and did a good job with the cheese but said there was just too much cheese to eat.

My gazpacho was unusually prepared. Gazpacho is typically a soup made with tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, and garlic and can be smooth, with the veggies all pureed, or "chunky" with diced vegetables in the soup. Infusion Tea's version is all chunky with no soup, just very finely chopped vegetables spooned into a large cup. It was very fresh and I appreciated the unique presentation. The sandwich was tangy and creamy at the same time and was very filling. My friend's wrap was a wonderful blend of Middle Eastern flavors. The warmed scone was served with strawberry jam and Devon cream and the scone itself was full of pieces of juicy dried fruits. It was so good that I ordered one as well. Wow, it was a very decadent pastry and extremely filling - I was not able to finish it. I will definitely return to Infusion Tea to try some of the other teas and sandwiches... and I'll attempt to save room for another scone.

Restaurant Review - Pei Wei Asian Diner, 3011 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL

Pei Wei (pronounced "Pay Way") is P.F. Chang's foray into the fast casual restaurant market. There is only one Pei Wei restaurant currently in the Orlando area but I heard from a server that more are coming soon. Also, if you are a fan of P.F. Chang's (see my review here), then you will recognize several of the same dishes on the menu at Pei Wei, such as Dan Dan Noodles and Ginger Broccoli.


The decor inside Pei Wei will also remind you of P.F. Chang's but is a bit more "casual". Menu boards are listed, sedately, on the left as soon as you walk in, and a sign directs you to please order at the counter to the left before proceeding to a table in the dining area ahead. Every time we visited Pei Wei, it was pretty crowded so that is probably to ensure that those who have already ordered have seating available to them. The menu is broken out into appetizers, entree salads, noodle and rice dishes, and signature dishes. Salads and noodle/rice dishes are from $6.50 to $7.50 and the signature dishes run from $7 to $9 depending on what kind of meat you choose. Kids meals are $3.95 with a drink ($3.45 without) and offer a choice of a chicken dish (teriyaki, honey seared or lo mein) and accompaniment (white rice, brown rice, or egg noodles).

On our first visit, I ordered an appetizer of crab wontons (4 for $3.95), chicken lo mein for my boys, and Mongolian chicken for me ($7.50). One interesting thing at Pei Wei is that almost half of the dishes are marked spicy... and apparently most cannot be changed to mild. [Strangely, the Pad Thai is marked as spicy too and cannot be changed. I've never heard of a spicy version of Pad Thai. I ordered it on a subsequent visit and it was more mild/medium than really spicy. My biggest complain with the Pad Thai was with the very large hunks of tofu in it, not the spiciness.] I guess that the sauces are prepared in advance and cannot be made more mild? Such is the sacrifice of eating in a fast casual restaurant rather than a full-service one.

After ordering, I was handed a round red disk with a number on it and was told to attach it to our table. I then went up to get our drinks at the self-serve fountain. LB asked for fruit punch while BB asked for sweet iced tea. Pei Wei offers up some unusual fresh-brewed iced tea flavors. One was Mandarin Orange Green Tea and the other was Vanilla Spice Chai Tea. I got myself and BB the Green Tea. There were even slices of orange to place in your tea which I thought was a nice touch. BB gave the tea a thumbs down so he ended up with fruit punch as well. I very much enjoyed the green tea - it was very light and almost floral tasting.

Pei Wei does a really nice job in the dining room area. Each table is prepped by a server as soon as the previous occupants leave. They completely clean the table and floor area and then restock the wooden chopsticks, appetizer plates, and napkins. It was nice to see so much commitment to cleanliness. Situated at the top of the chopstick holder is a clip for your numbered disk so the servers can find you and unite you with your food. Pretty much as soon as we sat down, a server came by with our crab wontons. These are really crab rangoons - crispy fried wonton wrappers filled with crab and cream cheese. The wontons were served on a sea of very spicy red sauce, again a surprise as I've usually had them with something similar to sweet & sour sauce. However, after I scraped the sauce off the bottom of the wontons, the boys ate them up, especially BB. In fact, both boys ate two each before I got to try any so I sent BB up to order some more. That order came quickly as well and I was able to try the crab wontons. Very creamy but with a definite crab presence as well and the wrapper was perfectly crisp.

Soon our meals were delivered to the table. The boys received a very nice size portion of grilled chicken with the lo mein noodles. They did very well and almost finished their meals. My Mongolian chicken was fantastic with a slightly sweet garlic sauce and large chunks of mushrooms with the white meat chicken. We've already been back to Pei Wei several times and each time our meals have been delicious. This is a great place for a quick, high quality Asian-style meal.

Restaurant Review - Hurricane Grill and Wings, 1700 W. Sand Lake Road (near Florida Mall), and 3120 South Kirkman Road (Metrowest), Orlando, FL

Hurricane Grill and Wings, a new wings chain to arrive in Orlando, touts themselves as a "getaway for the whole family." This is a home-grown chain, originating in Ft. Pierce, FL, in 1995. Two locations recently opened in the Orlando area - one in Metrowest and one by the Florida Mall - and I tried them both (separate days of course), with the boys, and Grandma and Grandpa in tow.

The decor is very bright and beach-y inside. You get the feeling that you are on a bamboo-walled dock, on a pier somewhere, by the ocean. And the music adds to the atmosphere with 50's and 60's beach tunes like (natch) the Beach Boys. There are also large flat-screen TVs on every wall, which helps to keep the kids (and the dads) entertained. It's also a full-service restaurant (yay!) which is a welcome change to all the fast casual chains that have been opening up lately.

There is a kids' menu, complete with coloring and puzzles, which the boys were very happy about. The kids' offerings are pretty simple and mostly chicken. For $4.95, kids get a choice of wings, chicken bites, chicken strips, grouper fingers, Mac-n-Cheese, or a grilled cheese sandwich. The chicken and grouper items come with a choice of sauce. All the kids' meals come with two sides: either fries, applesauce, cole slaw, salad, or celery; and a drink: milk, juice, or soda. I like how milk is one of the choices, that's actually pretty rare to see nowadays. The regular menu is a lot more extensive, and frankly, a little overwhelming. There are appetizers, platters, sides, wings (both with and without bones), 33 sauces to choose from (yes, that's right... 33!), sandwiches, Philly sandwiches, entree salads, side salads, desserts, beers, and wine. Whew. We decided to take the easy way out and order wings. With 33 sauces, we figured we would have enough to decide on.

The sauces (FlowingWithFlavor Sauces & Rubs as Hurricane Grill and Wings calls them) are broken out into five categories, with Category 1 the weakest and Category 5 the strongest (get it - just like a hurricane is categorized?) Pretty much anything you can imagine is a sauce on this menu. For Category 1 there is a mild Hurricane sauce (basically a mild buffalo-style sauce), BBQ, teriyaki, Tuscan Herb Toss, etc. In Category 2 there is Mango BBQ, Honey Garlic, Maple Pepper Glaze, and more. Category 3 has Chile & Lime, Cajun, Spicy Pina Colada and others. Category 4 features Jamaican Jerk, a Citrus Chipotle and two others, and Category 5 has two offerings - Ridiculously Hot Hurricane Sauce, and Habanero Lime Toss.

On our first visit to the Florida Mall area location, I ordered the Garlic & Parmesan Fries ($3.75) as an appetizer and the 6-piece Boneless TenderWings with Mild Hurricane Sauce ($4.75). BB ordered the Kids Chicken Bites with Barbecue Sauce and fries and applesauce and LB ordered the Chicken Bites plain with fries and applesauce. Grandma ordered the 6-piece boneless wings with the Raspberry Ice sauce (a Category 2) which combines raspberry and horseradish. Grandpa order the regular wings with Mango Barbecue sauce (also a Cat. 2). We also ordered drinks ($2.25), with the boys getting lemonade (included in their kids' meal price). After the drinks arrived, in very normal looking plastic cups and lids, I read in the menu that Hurricane Grill prides itself on its beverage cups that are made from 100% corn which is 100% compostable. That led to ten minutes of us all marvelling at the cups and trying to figure out how in the world they were made out of corn! Our Garlic & Parm fries arrived and boy, were they good! They were definitely lick-your-fingers good. About 15 minutes later, our food finally arrived (both locations were slow in the service department - don't know if that is because they are new or if that is standard). My Mild boneless wings were fantastic - all buttery and vinegar-y, and actually a touch of hotness - not so completely mild. Grandpa though his Mango BBQ wings were "okay". Grandma thought her Raspberry Ice bites were too mild - just tasted like raspberry jam and were too sweet... until she reached the sauce on the bottom that really had a kick to it. So, make sure to toss your sauce when you get it! LB barely ate because he had loaded up on the garlic fries. BB decided he didn't like the chicken bites already tossed in the BBQ sauce and wished he had ordered the sauce on the side.

For our second attempt at the Metrowest location, we all strived to do better in our ordering. This time, I ordered the Shrimp Tenders as an appetizer ($7.50), again with the Garlic and Parmesan sauce. LB decided to get the Mac-N-Cheese this time and BB went with the Chicken Bites again but with the sauce on the side and with cole slaw and celery this time. Grandma, Grandpa, and I decided to go for the 24-piece Flavor Sampler ($16.95) which comes with chicken tossed in four different sauces. We went with the boneless wings and choose Mild Hurricane Sauce again (really a winner), Chipotle Raspberry (Cat 3), Chile & Lime (Cat 3), and Mojo Glaze (Cat 2). I also ordered a side of celery and bleu cheese dressing for 99 cents because I was worried some of the sauces would be too hot for me. The Shrimp Tenders came out and they were delicious. I pretty much think they could serve napkins drenched in the Garlic & Parm sauce and everybody would eat them. Grandpa thought the shrimp were a bit too pink and mushy for him but I was happy with the little shrimp and so were the boys. Our main courses came out a bit later and we did a lot better in choosing this time. The boys ate their food - BB was happy dipping his chicken in the sauce - LB liked the Mac-n-Cheese. All of our sauce choices were great. We couldn't decide which one was best - the mild was still very good, the Raspberry was sweet and smoky at the same time, Chile & Lime had a strong citrus/orange flavor and then a kick at the end, and the Mojo Glaze was citrus and garlic. Actually, we felt all of them were about the same in heat level - even the Cat. 3 sauces didn't get too hot. We cleaned the plate, with Grandpa swiping fries from LB's plate to sop up the leftover sauce. I'll definitely be back - there are still more sauces to try!

Restaurant Review - Beefy King, 424 Bumby Ave, Orlando, FL

Today for lunch, we ate at Beefy King, a small non-descript fast-food restaurant on Bumby Avenue, just south of SR 50. Well, non-descript except for the large Beefy King sign with the bull on it.

We have passed this place many times before but it always looked a little "questionable" to me. However, Hubby recently ate there and declared it great so we all went along to try it. As Hubby says, it's like Arby's, only better. Beefy King, apparently, has been around since 1968, yet the inside is nice and if not modern, then at least clean. As you enter, the menu is on boards at the back. Their specialty is beef - what a surprise - especially roast beef, corned beef, pastrami, and BBQ beef - however, they also offer ham, turkey, and BBQ pork. The best part is that right in the center of the open kitchen, an employee freshly cuts all the meat on a deli slicer. There is no kid's menu but they do offer a Junior size combo that comes with a small sandwich, "Beefy Spuds" (tater tots), and a small drink for $4.95. They also offer plain hot dogs for $2. Both boys got the Junior size combo with roast beef. I got the Regular size combo for $5.95 - same as the boys, just the larger size roast beef sandwich. Hubby ordered a Combination Sandwich which combines any two meats that you want. He got the roast beef and ham which I thought might taste weird but he said he's had it before and it is very tasty.

Nothing is too fancy at Beefy King so the food is served in plain wax paper wrappers with plain bags for the Spuds. The sandwiches are served on fresh kaiser rolls, although the junior sandwiches looked like they were on hamburger buns. The roast beef was great! It was really tasty and tender and didn't really need any sauce. Those who like sauce, however, have several to choose from including BBQ and horseradish sauce. The Spuds were tasty as well. I was surprised that the boys both ate pretty well, each finishing about half of their sandwiches. Maybe next time I'll have them share.

Apparently, Beefy King is only open for lunch (10a-3p M-F; 11a-3p Sat; closed Sun) but they do offer a drive-thru that is open a little later during the week (til 5:30 pm M-F). They also have milkshakes, in the standard vanilla and chocolate, but also cherry and orange. I'll have to try a cherry milkshake next time, it sounds interesting! I found Beefy King to be a really nice fast-food restaurant that doesn't taste like fast food, with friendly employees and a nice, clean interior.

Restaurant Review - Mama Fu's Asian House, Mall of Millenia, Orlando, FL

UPDATE 12/23/06 - Well, the Mama Fu's outside of Millenia Mall has bit the dust - completely gone and already replaced with another store. However, as far as I know, the Lake Mary Mama Fu's is still open.

Today for lunch we ate lunch at Mama Fu's Asian House at the strip mall directly outside the Millenia Mall. We actually ate there about a year ago, I believe the first few days the restaurant opened, and I wasn't that impressed. But, I decided to give it another try since they were new when I first went.

Mama Fu's is in the same tradition as Doc Chuy's (near Florida Mall) and Pei Wei - kind of fast casual Asian fusion cuisine. I've never tried Pei Wei but I really like Doc Chuy's. Both Doc's and Mama's offer counter service for lunch and then table service for dinner. Since it was lunch time, we stepped up to the counter to order our food. Mama Fu's has a beautiful decor, rich reds and golden yellows, with fountains and Asian touches for accents. The menu is on a board to the left of the ordering counter. Lunch offers appetizers (a large selection), soups (Thai coconut or wonton), entree salads, signature dishes where you choose your meat and then how you want it cooked (teriyaki, honey seared, red Thai curry, etc), and noodle bowls (Pad Thai, Lo Mein, Thai Fun Noodles, and Spicy Basil). For the dinner menu, steak, grouper, and baby back ribs get added as well as desserts.

I have to tell you that one of the reasons I didn't like Mama Fu's the first time I went was because I ordered two of my favorite Thai dishes - Thai Coconut Soup and a Pad Thai Noodle Bowl with chicken. They did not taste anything like what I would get at a Thai restaurant. Not exactly bad... just different. So I decided to stay away from the Thai dishes this time. One of the dishes I had liked last time was an appetizer that Grandpa had gotten - the Dynamite Shrimp. It is shrimp coated in a spicy crispy topping and then drizzled with a creamy sauce, served on top of Asian slaw. So, I got that as my main lunch meal - in Big Mama size for $7.99. All of the appetizers come in either Mama size or a bigger Big Mama size -- nice if you want to share. I also got the wonton soup for $1.99. For the boys, I ordered off of the kids' menu. There are three choices, all for $3.49 and come with a drink and a chocolate chip cookie - Dragon Tails (chicken fingers with mac-n-cheese), Scooby "Fu" (honey garlic chicken with mac-n-cheese), and Ninja Noodles (Teriyaki chicken over noodles or rice). I got both of them the Dragon Tails. I thought it was a nice touch to serve chicken fingers with mac-n-cheese -- two of my kids' favorites in one meal. Grandma and Grandpa were not too hungry so they chose off the appetizer menu as well. They order the Mama size Beef Curry Rolls for $3.99 and each got a soup - Grandma got the wonton as well and Grandpa decided to try the Thai Coconut. After paying, the cashier gave us a number to put on our table and said the food would be delivered when it was ready.

We got our drinks (they offer a selection of hot teas or they have Blackberry Jasmine and regular China Mist iced tea at the drink station) and sat down. Grandpa noticed the condiment bar and came back with soy sauce, hot mustard, and hot sauce, all in nice little glass containers for our table. In a few minutes, our soups showed up and the kids' food as well. Everything was served on real plates in a fun, colorful pattern. My wonton soup was fantastic! It came with two shrimp and pork wontons and the broth was very flavorful and filled with scallions, carrots, and baby spinach leaves. Grandma liked hers as well. Grandpa didn't so much care for the Thai Coconut soup. I tried it again - yep, I still didn't like it. It was too coconutty and just didn't taste right. Plus, it had tomatoes in it - not a typical Thai soup ingredient. The boys got three small strips of chicken and a small portion of mac-n-cheese -- however, with the way my kids eat, it was just right. When I was about halfway through my soup, my Dynamite Shrimp and the Beef Curry Rolls arrived. Yummy! My Dynamite Shrimp was as tasty as I remembered. I must have had about 10 small-to-medium shrimp on top of the slaw. The spice is slow to gather so it wasn't until I was almost finished that I started to feel the hot spices. The slaw really helped to cool it down. Grandma and Grandpa also liked the Beef rolls - although Grandma declared the sauce that accompanied it was too spicy. The boys did pretty well, finishing most of the macaroni, and each a finger of chicken and then started begging me for their cookies. I finally gave in - the cookies were nice and big with hunks of chocolate chips. The servers were very nice and kept checking back with us so I asked for a to-go box for the leftover chicken fingers. They brought back a very cute mini Chinese to-go carton to put them in. What was the best part? We got to leave the table as is as they come and clean up your table as well. So, I would go back, but I'd still avoid all of the Thai dishes. I'll have to try Mama Fu's for dinner one time as well.