Restaurant Review - Redrock Canyon Grill, 9101 International Drive (Pointe Orlando), Orlando, FL

Restaurants are popping up all over at Pointe Orlando, right in the middle of the International Drive tourist district. One of these is Redrock Canyon Grill, on the first level of the complex, where you can eat comfortably whether it is a date night or a day out with the family.

The interior of the restaurant is dark, very dark, even during daytime, which is probably due to the dark concrete floors, dark wood tables and deep brown booths. There are southwestern touches here and there such as cacti and exposed brickwork and a rotisserie spit rotates constantly with golden-hued chickens near the open kitchen.

The menu clearly features comfort food with cornbread, chicken, meatloaf, pot pie, and ribs offerings, and “skins left on” mashed potatoes, green beans, and sweet glazed carrots as side dishes. There are also salads, seafood selections, and combinations platters as well. The lunchtime menu also has a few more sandwiches available than the dinner menu.

Kids’ menu choices range from $5 - $6 and include standbys such as hot dogs and chicken tenders but also rotisserie chicken, ribs, and spicy meatloaf. Yep, it even says "spicy" on the menu. When we asked, the server said there are a few peppers in the meatloaf and sauce and they wanted to warn kids. That's pretty nice. There is also the Mac Daddy Mac & Cheese side dish on the menu for $4 that can serve as a kids’ meal as well.

I choose the house specialty, the Wood-Fired Rotisserie Chicken ($17.75) with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots on the side. I found out that portions at Redrock Canyon Grill are large when the server placed the plate of half chicken and mound of potatoes and carrots in front of me. The chicken was extremely tender and juicy. The carrots were not too sweet and still had some crispness, which is great because I don’t like mushy carrots.

Grandpa ordered the Meatloaf - the spicy one but it doesn't say so on the adult menu - ($14.00) which comes with two sides, typically red-skin mashed potatoes and green beans. Our server explained that we can substitute any regular side dish so Grandpa ordered the grilled zucchini and squash instead of the green beans. The meatloaf did turn out to be a little spicy. The meatloaf comes with a tomato-based sauce and was also large portion. The grilled veggies were quartered, brushed with olive oil, and lightly cooked, leaving the insides still crisp. They were so good I wished I had chosen that as one of my sides.

Grandma ordered the Grilled Chicken and Avocado Club Sandwich ($11.00) with sprouts, bacon, and swiss cheese. The sandwich was rather high which made it difficult to eat like a sandwich so she used a knife and fork instead. While delicious, she wished it had more honey mustard dressing as the flattened chicken breast was a little dry.

BB initially wanted the chicken tenders but I cajoled him into ordering something more of a specialty of the house so he ended up ordering the Kids Ribs ($6.00) with fries. They came with a BBQ sauce for dipping. He thought they were a little dry and only ended up eating half because he didn’t like the sauce, so I felt a bit bad about making him change his mind.

LB choose the Hot Dog ($5.00) and then contented himself with the coloring and mazes on the Kids' menu. He ate the whole thing, although asked me to cut the hot dog into pieces half way through so he could dunk the bites into catsup.

On another visit, I tried the Texas “Chop House” Rotisserie Chicken Salad ($14.00) with black beans, tomatoes, jicama, corn, and shredded cheese with chipotle-bleu dressing. The salad was filled with large, tender pieces of chicken, which were drizzled with a BBQ sauce, and was topped by a sliced half of an avocado. The different tastes and textures combined for a great-tasting salad that was also very filling. And as a bonus, it comes with a slice of cast-iron cooked corn bread!

For dessert, there are family-size temptations for $6.50 including a brownie sundae, bread pudding and pineapple upside-down cake. We tried the Apple Blossom Pastry which is a warm apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. Everyone dug in and we still couldn’t finish it, although we did try!

Don't forget to your Pointe Orlando parking ticket validated as you pay your bill. Also, don’t miss the bowl of chocolate mint sticks on your way out the door. They look like wrapped toothpicks but they are really yummy candies and are a great finish to a great meal.

Phone: 407-363-3933
Website: http://www.rrcanyongrill.com/

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 - Zaxby's Chicken, 4067 Millenia Blvd, Orlando, Florida

Zaxby's is a fast-food chicken restaurant chain that has recently hit Central Florida. We visited the location across the street from the Millenia Mall (near the Target) but there is also a location in Kissimmee on John Young Parkway. Zaxby's has a nice look when you walk in - nice dark wood for booths and eclectic stuff hanging all over the place similar to a Bennigan's. But, it is still a fast-food restaurant so while not completely messy and dirty, not exactly sparkling clean either. However, it was a busy Saturday for lunch and we were able to find a mostly clean table for us. Grandma stayed with the boys at the table while Grandpa and I went up to order the food. If you are wondering what is on the menu at Zaxby's, it's one word - CHICKEN. You can get chicken wings, chicken fingers, chicken salad, salad with chicken on it, chicken sandwiches, etc. The menu board is a little overwhelming at first so I looked in the middle where the "Most Popular" dishes were displayed with photos. There are no descriptions of the menu items anywhere so I had to ask the order taker several questions before I was sure of what I wanted. For example, the Big Zax Snak Meal is just a smaller version of the Chicken Fingers Plate, but with a drink and without coleslaw. I choose the Wings & Things (which by the way is ONLY located in the Most Popular section and nowhere else on the menu board) which is a "sampler" platter if you will of 5 wings, 3 chicken fingers, crinkle fries, and Texas Toast for $5.99. I added on a regular drink for $1.29. For the boys, I got BB the Kiddie Fingers Kidz Meal (I assume they are made out of chicken!) and for LB the Kiddie Cheese (grilled cheese), both $2.99, both come with a drink, fries, and a surprise. By the way, those are the only choices for the kids' meals so if your kid likes wings, you might have to get a regular meal. Grandpa also went for the Wings & Things and Grandma got the Big Zax Snak Meal for $4.99. I went to get drinks while Grandpa waited for our order.

They certainly have a nice selection of Coke products including Barq's Root Beer, Sweet and Regular Tea, and lemondade. Grandpa yelled over that he wanted the Fanta Cherry Soda. BB ran up to me and declared that he wanted the same. I had never tried Fanta Cherry so I took a sip of BB's before I gave it to him. Yuck! It tasted like a 7-Eleven cherry Slurpee that has melted and you are just left with the cherry syrup. So of course, BB LOVED it! He and Grandpa thought it was the greatest drink ever. I went back and got sweet tea for me and lemonade for LB. A few minutes later our orders arrived via Grandpa. Wow! You sure get a lot of food for the money at Zaxby's! My plate was loaded with food. A nice touch was including celery and carrots sticks with the wings. Also, Zaxby's provides Ranch dressing with the wings and their own Zaxby's sauce for chicken fingers. It's hard to describe the Zaxby's sauce except to say it was good - and was a great dipping sauce for the crinkle-cut fries as well. It was almost like a Big Mac's secret sauce. I had ordered my wings mild - and they were - so they tasted nice. My only complaint was that the wings were a little small, although I barely finished my entire meal so the big chicken fingers really made up for the wings' smallness. Might be different if you just order wings for your meal, though. Grandpa ordered his wings Medium and he thought they were a little too mild. The kids' meals came in a bag that also had a fun "toy" featuring the Zaxby's chicken mascot. LB's grilled cheese came on a folded up Texas Toast piece and it looked good! (I am a sucker for Texas Toast). He and BB ate all of their meals. The food was very good and I would definitely go back.