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 - Kafe Kalik, Prime Outlets Mall, 4969 International Drive, Orlando, FL

Way, way, down at the north end of International Drive is the Prime Outlets Mall, with high end outlet stores galore. Joining this group of retail is now Kafe Kalik, an upscale Bahamian restaurant. The interior is beautiful with florals, bright colors, dark woods, and a sheet of "rain" at the entrance. There's also a Straw Market (gift shop), sushi bar, and gelato counter. I never knew Bahamian cuisine was known for gelato and sushi, but there you have it.

We visited during lunch which looks to be the best bargain as all the prices go up (way up) during dinner time. The menu is huge with a lot of very unique flavors, mostly concentrating on seafood. The "sushi" is actually Caribbean rice rolls and as I far as I could tell, all of the fish items were cooked, not raw. The Junior Junkanoo kids menu stays the same for lunch and dinner and offers a burger, chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, chicken in the bag, pasta, ribs, cracked conch in the bag, or grouper fingers from $4.95 to $6.95. All kids meals come with a soft drink and most include fries.

On our first visit, we started with the West Indies Curry Crunch rice rolls ($8.00) which is honey coated mahi mahi with tempura flakes, wrapped in rice like a sushi roll. It is served with traditional pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce but also with a tamarind soy dipping sauce and julienned calabaza. The roll was very good as is but I did dip it in the tamarind soy sauce and it was even better.

The server also brought to the table a basket of goodies including johnny cakes (like small corn muffins), flatbread slices, plantain chips, and regular tortilla chips. Watch out -- we found out the hard way that some of the johnny cakes come with jalapenos as my 5-year old found out. Accompaniments were guava butter (and you could really taste the guava!), regular butter, and a "pigeon pea relish", a Caribbean-style salsa with tomatoes, beans, and onions. The relish was delicious with all of the items and it went quickly.

Grandpa had had the jerk chicken platter before (which he declared as excellent), so this time he and Grandma shared a Banana Boat combo ($27.00), a choice of three of the Caribbean Rice rolls. They chose the Bump and Grind, Fat Annies Refrigerator Lobster Maki, and Johnny Canoe Crabby Cali (I swear these are the names on the menu for these rolls). The best was the Lobster roll with a sweet sauce, which had lobster, shrimp, crab, avocado, cream cheese, and veggies rolled in rice. The Johnny Canoe was really like a California roll, with a slight Caribbean twist.

BB ordered the Kids Ribs ($6.95) but had helped out a little too much with all the rice rolls so was not really hungry when his large kids plate of ribs came. He got four big, meaty ribs in a guava barbecue sauce. It came with fries that were slightly sweet. Grandpa helped him finish the ribs and said that the sauce "grew on him". I got the Grouper fingers platter ($11.50) which was very lightly fried and also had a slight sweet taste to the batter. The fish was good and tender but I think I would have liked it to be a bit more crispy. I also got the peas and rice which was good but I was hoping for more taste, maybe more of a coconut flavor. I actually preferred the island cole slaw (the server snuck me a cup of it to try) which was very light and fresh tasting and a good companion to the grouper.

The next visit, it was just me and the kids for lunch. This time I got the soup and sandwich lunch combo ($9.50) with two Guava Hog BBQ sliders and a cup of the conch chowder. The chowder was a nice size and was slightly spicy with big chunks of veggies and conch and, well, some sticks and stuff. I know they were probably fresh herbs but I would have preferred to have those large pieces of herbs strained out or removed before serving. The sliders were small but after the soup, it was enough. The guava pulled pork was sweet but not overly so and was tender. LB got the kids cheeseburger ($4.95) and BB got the pasta, with Alfredo sauce ($4.95). Both boys ate pretty well, although we did have to ask for more sauce for the pasta as it was very skimpy. And I was glad that LB didn't want the pasta as it was fettuccine which he doesn't like.

I don't know if it is supposed to be the island way, but the service can be pretty slow at times. The kids ended up watching a video of parades in the Bahamas that kept them entertained so make sure you have something to keep your kids occupied.

Dessert time! We decided on the Mini Trifle Creme Shooter desserts ($2.50) which are a good deal for the price. Basically, it is cake, topped with your chosen flavor of gelato and then topped with whipped cream. Plus, we each got to choose our own flavor of gelato instead of having to choose one to share like with the bigger gelato dessert. There are eleven tropical flavors to choose from including mango, passion fruit, rum raisin, key lime, tangerine, etc. LB chose banana, I chose coconut, and BB ordered the chocolate gelato. I liked how they were all presented slightly differently with rainbow sprinkles or toasted coconut flakes. All were great, but we all decided that the chocolate was the best; it tasted like rich chocolate pudding.

There was still a lot on the menu that I have yet to try, and this time I'm going to order the chocolate gelato as well.

Kafe Kalik website: http://www.kafekalik.com/

Restaurant Review - Outta Control Magic Comedy Dinner Show (inside WonderWorks), 9067 International Drive, Orlando, FL

Inside the WonderWorks attraction on International Drive is the Outta Control Magic Comedy Dinner Show. Having tried most of the dinner shows in the area, I was intrigued by this offering because of the relatively low price ($24.95 per adult, and $16.95 per kids and seniors), and because it offered all-you-can-eat pizza, which is my kids’ favorite meal. Plus, my kids like magic shows so we decided to give it a try.

There are two shows each night at 6 pm and 8 pm. The woman on the phone suggested I arrive at WonderWorks by 5:30 pm at the latest for the 6 pm show, as there are no assigned seats and the first in line get the best seats at the front of the stage.

WonderWorks is located right next door to The Pointe shopping area on I-Drive so we parked in the parking garage there. I didn't find out until I got inside WonderWorks that they do not validate parking at The Pointe garage so factor in another $3 or so for parking. We arrived at the Will Call window at 5:15 pm, picked up our tickets, and found there were already several people in line in front of us. As Tom Petty says, "the waiting is the hardest part", especially with two active boys like mine. The doors to the show didn’t open until 6 pm sharp so we had 45 minutes to try and distract the boys while we were waiting. As the doors opened, hosts took each group separately to sit at long family-style tables set perpendicular to the stage, so you will be seated directly next to another group as each table holds about 18 people. We were lucky and were seated at the first table, in the middle. Already on the table was popcorn in upside down magician's hats so the boys dug in. A server came around asking for our drink orders. Choices are Pepsi soda products, along with fruit punch, or beer and wine, all unlimited. I ordered a white wine while BB had Sierra Mist and LB had just water (he doesn't like soda). As we received our drinks, servers began coming out with big bowls of salad, just a regular iceberg blend, with bottles of creamy Italian dressing. Again, this is family style, so we waited while the group in front of us scooped out some salad and then they passed it to us. By now, the show area was almost full and it was getting close to the 6:30 pm show time.

As the show was starting, servers came out with the pizzas and placed them down approximately one pie per every six people. The six-slice pizzas were half pepperoni and half cheese and were pretty decent with a crispy crust and melted cheese. The servers checked back periodically throughout the show to refill drinks and bring more pizzas. BB ate a couple of pepperoni slices and then started on a cheese slice. LB had one cheese slice and was done as I think he ate too much of the popcorn.

The show magician is Tony Brent and I have to say his entire act was just amazing. We didn't really know what to expect and I was even thinking it might be magic that the kids would enjoy but that I would think was a little cheesy. It was incredible all the way. The tricks were outstanding and something that everyone could enjoy. The whole hour-long show included a lot of audience interaction, as well as comedy, card tricks, optical illusions, and all set to an 80's soundtrack. Who wouldn't love that?

Right towards the end of the show, the servers came out with slices of chocolate cake, the kind like those square chocolate cakes you find in your grocer's freezer. You know the ones -- slightly cool cake interior with thick fudgy frosting. My kids and I thought it was great but several of the other folks around us passed on dessert. Oh well, more for us!

As the show ended, it was time to tip the servers so don't forget to bring cash with you to do so. All in all, this was a fantastic show, truly all ages family entertainment, and all-you-can-eat pizza and popcorn, too. What's not to like?

Find out more at: Outta Control Magic Comedy Show

Restaurant Review - Fuddruckers, Festival Bay Mall, end of International Drive, Orlando, FL

A couple of weekends ago, Hubby, the boys, and I were at Putting Edge glow-in-the-dark indoor mini-golf at Festival Bay Mall, when we started to get hungry for lunch. We decided to eat at Fuddruckers in the mall since the boys were hungry for cheeseburgers and we were not in the mood for McDonald's. Fuddruckers is located at the main entrance of the Festival Bay Mall in what is becoming the mall's "restaurant row." There is also a Dixie Crossroads there (see my review here http://restaurantmom.blogspot.com/2006/04/restaurant-review-dixie-crossroads.html) and they are finishing up a Cricketer Arms English Pub and a Bergamo's Italian Restaurant (both relocating from the Mercado Center, also on I-Drive). Fuddruckers is the only one of the four to also have an entrance inside the mall besides an outside one.

When you first walk into Fuddruckers, you are "funneled" along a narrow pathway that leads to the ordering counter. Along the way, you pass several menu boards, along with a display of raw hamburger patties - I guess so you can gauge how big of a burger you would like to have? At Fuddruckers, you can have a 1/3 lb, 1/2 lb, 2/3 lb, or even a full 1 lb burger, with all sorts of toppings. There's also salads, and grilled and crispy chicken sandwiches, sides (all burgers are a la carte - if you want fries, you'll have to order them separate) plus a whole dessert counter. The kid's menu offers cheeseburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, all with fries on the side (lucky kids) or mac-n-cheese. For $3.99, the kid's meals come with a drink and a cookie as well. Hubby wasn't feeling "burger-y" so he ordered the All-American Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($6.69) that comes with smokehouse bacon, mushrooms, and American cheese on a bakery fresh Fuddruckers bun. He then took the boys to find a table while I finished the order. I chose one of the Specialty Burgers (meaning some premium toppings are already included), the Southwest Burger in 2/3 lb size ($6.89), which comes with guacamole, pepper jack cheese and smokehouse bacon. Both boys wanted cheeseburgers and I upgraded their drinks to chocolate milkshakes for an extra $1.49. I was then handed a milkshake-shaped sign with a number to put on our table and was asked for a name for the order. The order taker said our milkshakes would be delivered to us but to come back to the counter when our name was called to get the food.

I arrived at the table with the sign and drinks for Hubby and me. The seating area is large, but feels very crowded. There are square booths and circle booths, and regular tables and high tables. There is pretty much no place to put a stroller and if you have a high-chair child, you'd better hope one of the regular tables is empty because that's the only kind that can accommodate a high-chair. About 5 minutes later, the kids' milkshakes arrived, which was good because it was something to keep their attention. Hubby wondered why they took the sign with the number on it when the shakes were delivered - how were they going to deliver our food now? I explained that, no, we had to listen for our name and then go back up and get the food. He thought that was very inconvenient for parents, especially if there is only one adult and a bunch of children - how would you keep track of your kids when you are going up to get the food? With so many other "fast-casual" restaurants today delivering food right to your table, I wonder why Fuddruckers hasn't adopted this as well. About 15 minutes later, our food was ready and I went up to the counter to get it. There are no trays for you to get your food with so I had to juggle the three burger baskets and one chicken basket on my way back to our table. The boys both wanted ketchup and mustard and BB wanted tomatoes, pickles and lettuce, too, on their burgers so I had to go back to the toppings and sauces bar to fix up their burgers. It's actually a pretty nice spread with fresh veggies and other toppings including onions, salsa, jalapenos, relish, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, mayo, and about 4 different kinds of mustard. Back to the table again and now Hubby got up to fix up his chicken sandwich how he wanted it. My Southwest burger looked really good as is so I didn't feel like I needed any additional toppings. After cutting up LB's burger into quarters and BB's burger in half, it was now time for me to eat! Yum! The mix of guac, pepper jack cheese and bacon really gave the burger a great taste. Plus, I just love Fuddruckers' bakery buns. They slather them in butter and then toast them and they just taste perfect with the burgers. Hubby thought his chicken sandwich was okay - the chicken was a little dry but otherwise pretty good. Both boys did pretty good with their burgers and fries (homestyle cut and seasoned) but only got halfway through with their shakes. It's not clear when you are leaving whether you need to bus your own table or not but we didn't see any garbage cans so we left everything on the table. As we were leaving the table, though, a server did come by and start clearing our table. She also reminded us to get our kid's meal cookies at the bakery counter and that we just needed to show our receipt. That's right - the cookies! We had totally forgotten about those. I went by the counter and got two kid's chocolate chip cookies on our way out. I really like the food at Fuddruckers and the boys enjoy it too but Hubby doesn't like how it is so "self-serve" focused. I tend to agree and I'll have to make sure I have another adult with me when I bring the kids back.

Restaurant Review: Dixie Crossroads, Festival Bay Mall, Orlando, FL

Update 5/31/08: We drove by Festival Bay Mall a few weeks ago and it looks like the Dixie Crossroads there has closed. Too bad, I liked a local place to get those little rock shrimps. However, if you liked Dixie Crossroads, you can always visit the original flagship restaurant in Titusville at 1475 Garden Street, Titusville, FL 32796. It is a LOT bigger than the Festival Bay restaurant ever was.

A new addition to the Festival Bay Mall at the end of International Drive is "World Famous" Dixie Crossroads (of the Titusville Dixie Crossroads), a Florida-style seafood restaurant. The restaurant is located outside of the main entrance to the mall, next to the now defunct Caddyshack restaurant. There's a fun looking patio with an indoor/outdoor bar at the front and the main restaurant area inside. Of course, since this is mostly a tourist mall, you can also take your picture by the Mr. Rock (Shrimp) statue by the door. I actually really liked the decor with whimsical undersea motifs including manatees, dolphins, and other Florida underwater creatures. When you are with children, I believe the best area to be seated is the center "house" that features a large aquarium to occupy the little ones' attention. There is but one menu at Dixie Crossroads, all listed on your paper placemat, kids' meals included. Prices are a little high for some of the entrees but the restaurant boasts that they catch all of their own seafood and ensure it is fresh. I won't be able to do the menu justice but be prepared for a boatload of different types of shrimp and seafood preparations (pun intended). Pretty much any type of shrimp or fish (that is in season, of course) can be done almost any type of way - fried, broiled, steamed, grilled, blackened, seasoned, stuffed, "coconutted", etc. All kids' meals are $2.99 and include fries, drink, and a chocolate pudding. Kids' choices are limited to a hamburger, chicken nuggets, shrimp, fish or clams. BB asked for fried shrimp and we ordered chicken nuggets for LB. Hubby was hungry this Saturday afternoon and so ordered a crab cake for an appetizer and then the mahi-mahi basket ($7.99) for lunch. From what I could tell, the only difference between the baskets and the entrees on the menu was an extra side item for the entrees (and about $2). Hubby chose the shrimp soup as his side and asked for the fish simply broiled with butter. I went for the specialty of the house - the rock shrimp. I had first tried rock shrimp about 3 weeks ago at this same restaurant and had come back for more. If you love lobster, you'll love rock shrimp. They are like tiny little lobsters pretending to be shrimp. Last time, the sweet potato side had been a disappointment due to its small size (although the cinnamon butter served with it helped) so I went for the regular baked potato hoping for the best. The rock shrimp basket goes for $9.99 and comes with one side; if you go for the entree with the two sides it will run you $11.99. Before we even got our drinks, my favorite part of eating at Dixie Crossroads arrived at our table - the corn fritters. These little hot balls of fried cornmeal dough come dusted with powdered sugar and are just wonderful. LB's eyes lit up as soon as the basket hit the table and he quickly grabbed one. Hubby is not one to eat sweets before lunch so he left the rest of us to gobble up the little goodies. Soon enough, Hubby's shrimp soup arrived. He claimed it was "okay" but was similar to potato soup with some tiny shrimp thrown in at the last minute. But, LB was willing to help him finish. Hubby was a little annoyed that our request for an extra spoon took a bit of time, especially with LB chanting, "Soup, soup, SOUP!" Our meals arrived soon after and I was pleased to see a large baked potato accompany my shrimp. Hubby peered down at my 12 small shrimp and asked if I had enough food. Okay, they do look small but they taste really good and with a baked potato and a bunch of corn fritters, it makes a nice meal. Hubby tried one of the rock shrimp and did declare that they tasted like lobster but that a dozen would probably have not been enough for him. His mahi-mahi he said was good and done as requested. LB had apparently stuffed himself with fritters, crackers (they come ready for snacking on every table), and shrimp soup and was just picking at his chicken (which really resembled chicken fingers versus nuggets). BB was carefully eating his fried shrimp, trying to avoid the tail shell that we warned him about. He actually got pretty good size shrimp with his kid's meal, most hidden under the french fries. Hubby, who is a quick eater, finished and then took LB to walk the mall so BB and I could finish our meals. BB did pretty good, eating most of his shrimp, and I polished off all of mine. The kids' meal dessert - the chocolate pudding - is of the pre-packaged variety and comes in the basket when the food is delivered so BB dug into his, and, well, okay, I ate LB's pudding (what he doesn't know won't hurt him). It was actually pretty good, almost mousse-like. Dixie Crossroads is a nice place to bring the family for a seafood meal, only marred by some hit-or-miss service (trust me, you don't want to hear about the service the first time I visited). You've got to try the rock shrimp when you visit [Mr. Rock told me to say that].