Restaurant Review - Mellow Mushroom, 2015 Aloma Avenue, Winter Park, FL

No, it’s not an all-mushroom menu at Mellow Mushroom, as my oldest son envisioned as we headed to the restaurant on Aloma Avenue in Winter Park with Grandma and Grandpa. It’s actually a pizzeria although it’s hard to tell from the cute chalet-looking exterior with a large covered patio on the side. The patio had plenty of whirling fans above and looked like it might be okay, even in the summer. There are a few parking spaces around the actual restaurant itself with more parking available at the nearby shopping mall.

The interior of the space is bright yellow with reproductions of famous Masters paintings throughout featuring the two Mellow Mushroom mascots, who are mushrooms, of course. So think "Starry Night" with two mellow mushrooms hanging out viewing the stars. The rest of the décor is very subtly psychedelic including the motto of “Give Pizza Chance”. We were seated at a table by the small bar, near the booths that are on the raised level of the restaurant. While there is no children’s menu, our server brought the boys coloring pages and crayons to keep them busy.

After reaching the table, LB decided he needed to go potty so we followed the signs to the “Mellow Flushrooms” which had me chuckling. When we returned to the table, we perused the menu. Besides pizzas and calzones, there are also salads, hoagies, and appetizers, as well as mircobrew beers and wine. There is an emphasis on healthy and premium offerings such as pizza toppings like tofu, tempeh (another soy-based product like tofu), pesto, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and other fresh ingredients. There’s also a hummus appetizer and most of the hoagies are topped with sprouts.

We ordered drinks, including iced tea for BB and chocolate milk for LB. Grandpa tried one of the microbrew beers called Purple Haze - a wheat-based beer with raspberry tones. He liked it but wished it had more fruit flavor. I almost tried the “Monk in the Trunk” microbrew just because of the name, but decided I wasn't in the mood for a beer and ordered an iced tea.

We decided to try a small order of Parmesan Pretzels (3 for $4.25 or 6 for $7) and a small Greek salad ($4.75) to start. The pretzels are more like breadsticks in the shape of pretzels. They were thick and doughy, basted with butter and topped with Parmesan cheese, and served with a warm marinara sauce. They were very filling and had enough flavor even without the sauce on the side. The Greek salad came with the house Esperanza dressing which is like a light Caesar-type dressing. The dressing perfectly complemented the fresh crunchy vegetables, big chunks of feta cheese and Kalamata olives that topped the salad. BB helped me with the salad while everyone tried the pretzels.

Mellow Mushroom pizzas range from 10 inches to 16 inches and are $7.50 for a small cheese up to $22.50 for a large Specialty pizza. Hoagies are around $4.50 for a half and up to $7.75 for a whole. To try a little bit of everything, we ordered a small cheese pizza, a half ham and cheese hoagie, and a medium House Special pizza ($17.50) which is topped with pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, bacon, ham and extra cheese. Wow, when they brought the House Special pizza, it was completely loaded with meat and veggie toppings yet still had a generous Parmesan-topped crust border. Each slice was like a meal in itself and the dough is more bread-like than a NY-style crust. The cheese pizza was a perfect size for an adult or for two kids to share. Grandma, Grandpa and BB worked on the specialty pizza while LB and I shared the cheese pizza. The cheese was nice and stringy and the Parmesan coated crust really added to the flavor.

The ham and cheese sandwich, which was for me along with two slices of the cheese pizza, was on a toasted sub roll with thick slices of ham and cheese, generously topped with sprouts, and with mayo as the only dressing. I typically prefer thin-sliced ham so the thick-sliced was a little too "hammy" for me. Also, I would have liked more dressing, such as the Esperanza, so I probably wouldn't order a hoagie again. I did like how the sprouts added a nice crunchy texture, though.

Needless to say, we brought home leftovers, and will definitely be back for more.

Restaurant Review - Black Bean Deli (a Cuban cafe), 325 S. Orlando Ave, Winter Park, FL

In search of a good Cuban sandwich in Orlando, I heard about the Black Bean Deli in Winter Park. I wanted to try their food but there was a problem. I don't live nor work near Winter Park. Ordinarily, this would not be a problem, however Black Bean Deli has unusual hours for a restaurant - they are only open Monday through Friday from 11 am - 8 pm. No weekends. So, when I took vacation days during the week of July 4th, I paid Black Bean Deli a visit. Uh oh. Turns out the Black Bean Deli folks decided to take off as well - they were closed for the week. As I waited in the parking lot with my two boys trying to decide where to go instead, a virtual stream of hungry patrons attempted to enter the Black Bean Deli only to find a locked door and a "we are on vacation" sign. Wow, I thought, if this many people are coming by, this place must have good food. I peeked in the window to see that, really, Black Bean Deli is more like a tiny, but nice, takeout place rather than a restaurant, with only seating for about five people on stools around the counter. I decided that we would return again, next time I was on vacation.

This month, I was finally able to return to Black Bean Deli and try their food. The boys and I arrived on a Monday, around 11:30 am and there were already a few people in the small place waiting for their orders. Seeing that the small inside space was about to get crowded, I made a decision to get our food to go. The menu is pretty simple at Black Bean Deli - sandwiches are about $5; platters that come with rice, beans, plantains and salad run from $5.50 - $7.50; and then there are sides, desserts and drinks. Drinks all come in cans or bottles and are mostly domestic sodas as well as imported sodas such as Ironbeer, Materva, Jupina, Malta, and tropical juices. I considered the platters that included offerings such as picadillo, papas rellenas, and baked chicken, but ultimately chose the lunch special for all three of us. The lunch special (served daily until 3 pm) consists of a 4-inch Cuban sandwich with a cup of black beans and rice for$5. That was exactly what I wanted and I thought it would be a good size for the boys. After I ordered, I backed away from the counter to wait while the boys played on the stools. The folks running the counter are very efficient and quick - they must be used to lots of orders at one time. In about five minutes our order was ready so we hopped back in the car to take it home.

As soon as I unwrapped the meals on our kitchen table at home, I knew I should have just let the boys share one lunch special. The sandwich was a lot bigger than I expected and so was the black beans and rice. The sandwiches were done to a nice buttery crispness with a few burn marks here and there. The black beans and rice... well... looked a little too watery to me. That's when I checked the takeout menu I had grabbed and re-read the lunch special - 4" Cuban sandwich w/cup of black beans & rice. Hmmm. Oh, there you go - under "Soups" it says black bean & rice or soup of the day available in cup, pint, or quart. So, maybe, it is a cup of black beans and rice soup that comes with the sandwich? Either way, I strained off some of the liquid from all of our containers. The sandwich itself was still warm and the bread had a nice crunchiness to it. The first taste was of sweetness from the ham then the roast pork and swiss cheese flavors kick in. Overall, it was a pretty good sandwich, although just a little dry. Definitely tasted like the ones in Miami, though. The black beans and rice were a bit salty but once I started digging in, it didn't bother me anymore. They were very flavorful but I did wish there was a little more rice - I like a nice balance between the two. BB ate about half of his sandwich and just pecked at his beans and rice since he was full. LB didn't touch the sandwich at all and ate almost all of his beans and rice. Again a reminder that next time I need to order one special for the both of them.

I'd really like to go back and try Black Bean Deli's platters - the picadillo is one of my favorite dishes. If anyone lives in the Winter Park area, can you just pick one up and deliver to us? Thanks in advance.