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 - Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries, 7512 Dr. Phillips Blvd, Orlando, FL

A few weeks ago, Hubby, the boys, and I were at the Dr. Phillips Marketplace and started to get hungry for lunch. Hubby suggested Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries so we went inside to check it out. Due to the accolades posted all over the wall and on the menu, including "Willy Wonkas of Burgercraft" (Washington Magazine), and "Voted Best Burger in Charlotte" (Readers Pick), we figured we couldn't go wrong.

Five Guys is a chain from the DC area and now has locations all over the East Coast including (now) Central Florida. The decor is very basic - red and white tile and, strangely enough, huge sacks of potatoes as a decorating element. Turns out the menu is very basic as well. It's just burgers and fries (with just a couple of other choices of a hot dog or grilled cheese sandwich). Everything on the menu touts how fresh it is - Fresh Ground Beef, Never Frozen - and so I guess the potato sacks all over show that the fries are fresh as well. And, actually, a sign by the order counter stated that "Today's Potatoes" (for the fries I assume) "are from Rigby, Idaho." There's also a sign that states all burgers are prepared well done - so no "moo-ing" burgers for you. With a limited menu, it was pretty easy to choose - we all picked burgers. LB decided he wasn't hungry (I couldn't even get him to agree to a hot dog - $2.59, or grilled cheese - $1.99) so I figured he would just eat off of us. Burger choices are pretty simple - "regular" or "little" (I'll get to that in a minute), add bacon or cheese. All other toppings are free including condiments, standard toppings like onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and then some non-standard ones like sauteed mushrooms, jalapenos, and green peppers. There is no kids menu that I could see so I figured (it turns out I was wrong) that the "Little" burgers mentioned on the menu were for kids. BB ordered the Little Hamburger ($2.79) with onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and mustard. Hubby ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger ($4.99) with just mustard, lettuce, and pickle; and I ordered the Cheeseburger ($4.49) with mayo, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. We decided to also get a side of the large fries ($3.79) "Five Guys Style" cooked in peanut oil - there are also Cajun Style fries. We also ordered drinks ($1.79 each) - all 24 oz - the only size they have. When I asked if they had smaller cups for the kids, the server handed me 12 oz Styrofoam cups - much better as the other cups were too big. We then sat down to wait for our order number to be called. We decided to pass on the bucket of shelled peanuts available to munch on while you wait for your food because I figured then the boys wouldn't eat lunch.

After our number was called, Hubby came back with our grease-speckled plain brown paper bag containing our food. Sorry for those greasy spoon lovers out there - to me, it's not that attractive. Inside was a very large cup with our fries, and then three aluminum foil wrapped burgers. What was really nice is that each packet had a numbered sticker on it that corresponded to a number on the order ticket stapled to the bag so we had no trouble figuring out who's burgers was whose. Then came the surprise. When BB opened his foil up, I thought, wow, that's really big for a kid's burger. Then Hubby and I unwrapped ours - and found out that "Cheeseburger" and "Bacon Cheeseburger" really mean DOUBLE Cheeseburger and DOUBLE Bacon Cheeseburger. Yep, the "regular" burgers have two patties and the "little" ones have a hefty single patty. So, there really is no kid-sized food at Five Guys - frankly, a big disappointment. Luckily, by now, LB decided he was hungry so we were able to (in a very messy fashion) split the "little" burger between the two boys. In fact, all of the burgers were very messy and would literally fall out of the bun at any given time. However, I have to admit, they tasted really good. Messy, but yummy. Unfortunately, none of us thought the same of the fries. I thought they were very greasy and, really, did not have a good taste. In fact, they tasted like I had chopped up a bunch of potatoes myself and then dumped them into a vat of oil. So, those of you who love "homemade" fries will probably love these - I guess I'm really used to the commercial-made McDonald's fries. By the way, the large order of fries was HUGE. The regular order probably would have been fine (if we had liked the fries). Maybe the Cajun Style fries are better. In all, I did not find the menu at Five Guys very family-friendly. If I was in the area, without the kids, I'd probably pop in and grab a burger, but I'd pass on the fries.

Restaurant Review - Bread'n'Buns, 1200 Oakley Seaver Drive, Clermont, FL

On a recent week night, Grandma, Grandpa, LB and I decided to try out the new Bread'n'Buns Scandinavian Bakery and Cafe that recently opened in Clermont, behind the Sonny's BBQ on S.R. 50. The decor is very simple with laminate wood floors and the same look for the tables, with lots of space. The chairs are black or orange with one small "living-room type" couch area. There is also outside seating in the courtyard by Gator's dockside. Clermonters have apparently already discovered Bread'n'Buns as other patrons clearly were there for a return visit and commented on which danishes were their favorites and how great the coffee is. Must be a great place for breakfast (they are open 6 am to 8 pm M - F; and open at 8 am on weekends - still too early for me). There is also a small bin of puzzles and toys for kids to borrow that I ended up using on one earlier visit for LB because he was getting a little wild crawling and jumping around the couch area.

You step up to the counter to order, which has a display case of all of the bakery goodies such as cakes, pastries, breads and rolls. They all look very yummy. I'm guessing the "Scandinavian" part of the tagline is actually Iceland as a few items reference that. The menu features sandwiches (with unique combinations for $6.99 - $8.49 for wholes and $3.99 - $5.49 for halves), salads (again interesting combinations for about the same prices as the sandwiches), and soups. Soups are $3.49 ($2 extra in a bread bowl) with Onion Soup available everyday and then a different soup featured each day. There is no written kids' menu, which is strange, but if you ask they have a plain ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwich on a bun for $1.79. However, they also offer half versions of their sandwiches and BB was happy with that on our previous visit (he got the half Proscuitto Mozzarella with proscuitto, arugula, mozzarella, basil, onions, tomatoes, olive oil, and sour cream - he liked it but thought the proscuitto was a little strong - we'll probably order the same sandwich but with regular ham next time for him). The one kid-unfriendly thing is the drinks. They do offer fruit punch and lemonade for fountain drinks but they only have one size - and it is pretty large. One other strange thing - the price for the drink is listed as $1.79 on the menu yet I was charged $1.99 every time - I guess they need to reprint their menus. They also have coffee drinks, bottled drinks and iced teas, and fruit smoothies. The smoothies are made with frozen fruit and the Icelandic milk product Skyr. Skyr is similar to yogurt in taste and texture. We tried a banana and strawberry Skyr smoothie last time (we asked for the 12 oz $3.99 and somehow got the 16 oz $4.99). None of us could taste the fruit at all - it just tasted like a plain yogurt shake. So either the Skyr is a lot stronger tasting than yogurt or there was not enough fruit mixed in.


Grandma, Grandpa and I all decided to get the "Triple of the Day" which is two of the following: half sandwich, half salad, or soup; plus the pastry of the day for $7.79. It is a great way to try the whole menu including the pastries. I ordered the ham and cheese kids sandwich for LB.


My choices were the half Bacon & Brie sandwich and the soup of the day (Curry Coconut Creamed Vegetable Soup for Wednesday). My sandwich was on thick (about 1 1/2 inches) and hearty dark bread with crisp bacon, arugula, brie, sun dried tomato paste, and green bell peppers. The tanginess of the sun dried tomatoes paired well with the creaminess of the brie and the slight bitter aftertaste of the arugula. The only thing that didn't really fit well, tastewise, was the bell peppers. I think I'll ask for the sandwich without it next time. The soup was fantastic - very creamy with a strong coconut taste (I love coconut). On my previous visit (on a Saturday) I had the Tomato Basil soup and it was terrific as well - I have a feeling all the soups are great - I'll have to come back every day to try them all! (Here they are in case you are interested: Monday - Cream of Forest Mushroom; Tuesday - Creamy Carrot; Wednesday - Curry Coconut; Thursday - Creamy Soup of Sweet Potatoes and Pancetta; Friday - Lobster Bisque; Saturday - Tomato Basil; Sunday - Creamy Soup of Leek and Tomatoes).




Grandpa chose the Onion Soup (delicious) and the half Crab Meat Burger. I have no idea why they call it the Crab Meat Burger because it is actually a crab salad sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, avocado, fresh coriander, sour cream, and "spicy" tomato dressing. He said at first it tasted strange but then he got used to it. It just wasn't what he expected of a crab salad sandwich but he said he might order it again. Grandma got the half Pears & Gorgonzola salad with lettuce, pears, gorgonzola, walnuts, dried cherries, grapes, croutons in a lemon vinaigrette and the half Provencal Chicken sandwich - sliced chicken breast with lettuce, kalamata olives, roasted tomato, avocado, parmesan cheese and pesto sauce on a foccacia bread. She loved the salad but didn't really like the sandwich because it was hard to eat and kept falling apart. LB like his sandwich although he picked it apart and ate the cheese, ham, and bread separately.

The last part of our meal was our Pastry of the Day. I found out it was a cinnamon roll today and, not that there is anything wrong with the cinnmon roll, asked if I could have the danish instead and was told "sure!". I had gotten it last time and it was really delicious. Yes, it is just called a "danish" (I asked). No special name like Crown Danish that they also have - it is simply known as a danish and it has this wonderfully sweet almond paste inside. Grandpa really liked his cinnamon roll, I was happy with the danish that I shared with LB. Grandma tried my danish but thought it was a little too sweet for her. I really like the offerings at Bread'n'Buns, especially the half sandwich, soup, pastry combo. I'm definitely coming back to try the other soups!

Restaurant Review - Gospel Brunch, House of Blues Orlando, Downtown Disney, Lake Buena Vista, FL

For Mother's Day this year, I wanted to do something a little different. I did want to do brunch, but with a twist. I also didn't want to spend a ton of money, especially on the kids since I knew they wouldn't eat a lot. The brunch prices I checked around town were outrageous and most raised their regular Sunday brunch prices for Mother's Day. Then I remembered the Gospel Brunch at House of Blues at Downtown Disney. I had been wanting to try it for a while so I called to find out the deal for Mother's Day. Happily, the Gospel Brunch is the same price no matter what Sunday you go - $35.48 for adults, $18.24 for kids (3-9), 2 and under free, including tax and gratuity. What is strange is that you are actually buying tickets to the Gospel Brunch, just like you would buy tickets to a concert. So, once you decide you want to go, you buy the tickets through the box office and the tickets are yours, no refunds. I ordered over the phone with my credit card and then went by when I was in the area to pick up the tickets. You can also pick up the tickets when you arrive for brunch.

I chose the 10:30 am show because I thought the 1:00 pm show might be a little late for the boys to eat. We arrived at House of Blues a little after 10:00 am, going directly to wait in the line that was already forming in front of the concert hall (the brunch takes place in the concert hall, to the right of the restaurant entrance). The woman at the box office had suggested getting there early because you have to wait to be seated but the buffet is ready as soon as you get in... and the doors open promptly at 10:30 am, not before. The wait wasn't too bad, I struck up a conversation with a family of tourists from Pittsburgh in front of us which helped pass the time. Also, about 15 minutes before the doors opened, servers came around with trays of Mimosas and Bloody Mary's for $3 a piece. Hubby bought me a Mimosa and the mom from Pittsburgh got a Bloody Mary. It was the strangest Bloody Mary I had ever seen - it had what looked like pizza seasoning around the rim of the cup and then had a celery stalk, slice of cucumber, pepperoni (!), and a cube of cheese (!) floating in it. The Pittsburgh mom said it was really spicy too. The doors finally opened and each group was taken, one by one, to their table.

I had called to get tickets about a month in advance so I was very pleased to find that we had a GREAT table. We were at Table 21 which was right in the middle of the main floor, the second row of tables in front of the stage. Tables appeared to be for either eight or two - our family of four was seated with another party of four - they ended up being two couples from Indiana and were very nice as well. The chairs were a bit uncomfortable, they were wooden folding chairs, and they also made it difficult to move around to get to the buffet. I assume that they have high chairs available as well although I didn't see any at the tables around us. The buffet was divided into cold items such as salads, fruit, and peel-n-eat prawns; hot breakfast foods like eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, danishes, and waffles; lunch items such as chicken and rice, fried fish, bowtie pasta alfredo, red beans and rice, and jalapeno corn muffins; a carving station with ham and roast beef; an omelet station; a drink station with ready-made cups of sodas and orange juice and serve-yourself iced tea, coffee, and hot tea; and finally desserts with bread pudding, key lime pie, cheesecake, apple cobbler, and pecan pie. I first took up LB to get his food while Hubby stayed at the table with BB. LB chose eggs, bacon, potatoes, a biscuit and two waffles with syrup. I dropped him back off at the table and got BB - he chose almost the same things except he got sausage as well (the sausage ended up being super spicy - even Hubby couldn't eat it). I asked both boys what they wanted to drink and was surprised when they said they wanted orange juice - they don't normally drink that at home. I picked up two orange juices at the drink station but didn't see any straws so I asked one of the servers for some for the kids. When she heard the juices were for kids, she put plastic lids on them as well which was really nice. Now it was my turn at the buffet. I got some of the bowtie pasta (very good - the sauce was creamy, not too thick), some jalapeno corn muffins (good but a little too mushy), and waited to have an omelet made. There were two chefs making custom omelets and it took about 10 minutes waiting to get my mushroom, bacon, tomato, and cheese omelet (it was great, though). When I got back to the table, Hubby gave me the "what took you so long" look and headed up to get his food. By now it was 11:00 am and a server coming by to collect used plates said the show was scheduled to start at 11:15 am. Hubby returned with prawns (he didn't like the "veins" still in them), roast beef (too dry), and Caesar salad (a winner). I went up to get an iced tea before the show started - I was really surprised they didn't have sweet tea - and to get a sampling of desserts - bread pudding with vanilla sauce (very good), key lime pie (very tart), and pecan pie (yummy and sweet - my favorite of all three).

The show started with a loud roll of the drums that terrified LB so much that he jumped and ran onto my lap. The host of the show asked us all if we were ready "to go to church" and then they started right into "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". There was a choir of four lead and three back-up singers (all female), a drummer, two keyboardists (one was also a singer), and one interpretive dancer. It was very interactive with the singers asking everyone to stand up and clap or sing along and some audience members really got into it - dancing around the room and singing. It was like an old-fashioned revival and I found it to be very entertaining and enjoyable (even though I am not that religious). The boys were clapping along and were dancing in place to the music. The group played for 45 minutes, so the experience as a whole was an hour and a half. On the way out, I asked BB what he thought about the show and he said he thought it was "cool". LB said, "Yeah, I liked it." It was a very nice way to start out my mother's day.

Restaurant Mom is on the (Internet) Radio!

I am so excited about this! There are two moms - Michelle and Suzette - here in Central Florida that have started a website and internet radio show/podcast all about being a mom in Central Florida. It is called Central Florida Moms and the radio show is called Madness of Motherhood. The shows are weekly and run about an hour but are chockful of neat ideas, fun things to do, and interviews with real moms including... yours truly! Yes, I will be on the Madness of Motherhood radio show regularly giving my latest restaurant reviews. What's great about the podcast is that it is available whenever you are - you just hit the play button and you can listen when you have time (I usually listen while I am surfing the net after the kids have gone to bed). Let me know what you think!

Restaurant Review - Nine Dragons, Epcot (in China in World Showcase), Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL

My favorite Disney theme park is Epcot and one of the main reasons is the food especially all the different cuisines available in the World Showcase section of the park. And, as a Disney Cast member, I can pop in to Epcot just to eat lunch if I want. On a recent weekend, however, the occasion was the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival. Grandma M wanted to check out the foliage and the boys and I wanted to accompany her.

As soon as we got there, my thoughts already turned to where we could eat lunch. Since we didn't have a dining reservation, I thought the best bet would be a counter service eatery. I had heard that the Lotus Blossom Cafe in China had just updated their menu and I wanted to check it out. So, after looking at topiaries and riding on the newly updated Mexico boat ride with the Three Caballeros (see how I cleverly turn this into an ad for Disney - my company would be so proud!), we headed to China. The Lotus Blossom Cafe has some snazzy new digital menu boards so we stopped to review the new offerings. I was a little surprised that there was only one kids' meal offering - Beijing Barbeque Drumstick served with white rice and applesauce. Gee, just a drumstick? Not exactly what I was looking for in Chinese food. Also, Grandma M admitted that nothing really looked good to her either on the menu. Okay, change of plans! Grandma M asked about the full-service Nine Dragons restaurant next door. I checked my watch - it had just turned noon and they were just opening - we should be able to get a table. We went inside and we seated right away (yeah!).

Now, I have a confession. I have eaten at Nine Dragons once before - about 10 years ago. I was not impressed at the time as I thought it was overpriced food that tasted like the take-out Chinese restaurant in any neighborhood. But I was willing to give it another try.

The boys busied themselves with coloring on the kids menus while Grandma M and I reviewed the main menu. Our server came by to take our drink orders - I ordered a lemonade for BB and a chocolate milk for LB, and I decided to go for the Jasmine Green Iced Tea (it was very good - very floral tasting). The kids menu really had two options - Fried Rice and Spring Roll for $4.75 and Sweet and Sour Chicken for $5.75 (both included drinks and ice cream for dessert). I asked LB what he wanted and he said he wasn't hungry. Okay, I guess he'll be eating off of my meal. BB said he wanted the Kid's Delight which is the Sweet and Sour Chicken plus pork Potstickers for $8.50. I wasn't sure he would be able to finish all that but he insisted so I agreed he could order that. Most of the adult lunch entrees were in the $15 range, with beef, chicken, seafood, and pork offerings. However, I noticed there was also a Nine Dragons Lunch Sampler for Two which came with a choice of Hot-and-Sour or Wonton soup, and then Canton Pepper Beef, Honey Sesame Chicken, and Stir-Fry Seasonal Vegetables, all for $29.99. Both Grandma M and I agreed it was the best deal plus it gave us a sampling of a beef and chicken dish. When our server returned with our drinks, we placed our order.

We had ended up with a great table at the front of the restaurant so the boys were able to watch the tourists walk by and that seemed to occupy them pretty well. Shortly afterwards, our soups arrived. I have to say, this was one of the best wonton soups I have ever tasted. It had two big wontons stuffed with pork and the broth was very tasty flavored with sprigs of cilantro. When our food arrived, LB immediately spoke up and announced he wanted everything (I guess he was hungry after all). We got an extra plate for him and I cut up some chicken and beef for him and gave him a big scoop of steamed rice. BB also declared he wanted to try everything as well so we ended up sharing the whole meal, including his Sweet and Sour Chicken. Everything was really delicious, nothing spicy at all which is typical of the mostly Cantonese food on the menu. The Sesame Chicken was crispy and sweet, the beef in the Canton Pepper Beef was very tender in a flavorful brown sauce, and the Stir-Fry Vegetables tasted very fresh. BB's Sweet and Sour Chicken was served with the sauce on the side which allowed to boys to dip the chicken pieces and eat them like chicken nuggets. The server then came by to ask BB what kind of ice cream he wanted... chocolate? vanilla? Red Bean? Caramel Ginger? When he choose chocolate, I challenged him to try something new like the Red Bean or the Caramel Ginger - he can get chocolate ice cream anywhere! He changed it to Caramel Ginger (good boy!). It was delicious as well. The caramel smoothed out the flavor of the ginger so that everyone liked it. However, I ended up eating all the big chewy pieces of caramelized ginger in the ice cream because the boys and Grandma M thought they were "yucky". That's okay, more for me! I have definitely changed my mind about Nine Dragons and it will be added back in to my possible restaurant selections when we return to Epcot.

Top Ten Things a Kid-Friendly Restaurant Should Have

When I am doing my reviews, and when I recommend a restaurant to a fellow family, I usually keep in mind several attributes that a restaurant should have to be considered kid-friendly. You know, besides good food, which is a given. So, in no particular order, here is my Top Ten List of Things a Kid-Friendly Restaurant Should Have:

1. Other families eat there
   They must know something, right? Plus, their kids may drown out my kids.
2. There's a place to run around or take a little one who's having a meltdown
   Places with playgrounds are great as are big waiting areas or even just a little (safe) space outside the restaurant to just have the kids run off some steam.
3. Entertainment/activities to distract the kids
   Crayons and coloring menus are probably the best. Also good are TVs (but only if they can be tuned to cartoons), open kitchens, aquariums, and even watching video games in demo mode (yeah, my kids like to do that). We'll let our 7-year-old bring his Nintendo DS but the problem is getting him to turn it off when the food arrives.
4. Kid-friendly food and drink menu items, with smaller quantities and prices
   Kids love pizza, chicken fingers/nuggets, Mac-n-cheese, grilled cheese and hamburgers/cheeseburgers. If a restaurant has a few of these items, most kids can find something to eat. I also look for an item or two from that restaurant's cuisine so my kids can branch out a little bit, for example, in a Mexican restaurant offering a kid-sized burrito, taco, or quesadilla. Oh, and don't forget about the drinks! Soda alone doesn't cut it. I want a place to offer at least juice (not just orange) and milk. However, my little one prefers lemonade and chocolate milk so I'm very glad when those are on the menu.
5. Appropriate cup/utensil options for kids
   Speaking of the food and drink, they should be served properly to the kids as well. Plastic cups with lids and straws are a must (especially the straw!) as well as not serving the big honking steak knives to the kids.
6. Stable and clean high chairs and booster seats are available
   Luckily, I don't have to worry about this anymore, but I know a lot of parents do. I remember pulling over high chairs and they wobbled so much I was sure it would fall to pieces as soon as I put my baby in it. It's also important to have a place to put the high chair - some of these places with the high bar-like tables can't accommodate a high chair as well.
7. Clean floors
   'Cause I know my 3-year-old is going to end up down there anyways. 'Nuff said.
8. Servers/hosts that cater to my children
   Really important to have friendly servers that act like they truly want to serve my kids. I also like when they ask if we want the kids' meals delivered first or with the adult meals, when they come by with extra napkins, when they bring small munchies such as crackers before the food is served, etc.
9. The right loudness...
   So that other patrons won't notice my kids being loud, but not so loud that we all have to shout to hear each other. There's nothing worse than when your kid yells and every head in the restaurant turns to look - yikes!
10. Short wait times
    On getting a seat, on giving our order, on getting our food, on getting our check - kids' patience levels are pretty short. My Hubby's is as well so it is a bonus all-around if we don't have to wait long for anything.

There you go, my personal Top Ten. Do you all have any others to add?

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 - Shane's Rib Shack, 155 Cranes Roost Blvd, Altamonte Springs, FL

Update 2/10/08: I've heard a rumor that Shane's Rib Shack in Altamonte may have closed. Can anyone confirm that? I know the Kissimmee location is still open.

There's a new rib/BBQ chain in town, with one location in "Uptown Altamonte" and the other in "The Loop" in Kissimmee (with more to come according to their website). It's called Shane's Rib Shack and it is brought to us by Raving Brands - the same folks that came up with Moe's and PJ's Coffee Bar. We tried the Shane's Rib Shack in Uptown Altamonte for lunch one weekend - Grandpa, Grandma, LB, BB and myself. The decor is really cute - the look they are going for is that you are ordering from a "shack" and then go sit on the "porch" behind a screen door on "disheveled" tables and chairs - but of course you can tell that everything is brand-new and is just supposed to look distressed.

When you walk into Shane's Rib Shack, there's a large order counter with an equally large menu board behind it. The menu is a bit overwhelming with offerings for Sandwiches, Platters, Plates, Wings, Starters, Sides, Salads, Tenders, Drinks, and a Kids Menu. I had to have the order taker point out the Kids Menu for me because I actually couldn't find it at first. Kids' offerings are $4.49 (except for the Cheeseburger that is $4.29 for some reason) and come with a regular side and a small drink. Other choices are Chicken Tenders, Grilled Cheese, Cheese Sticks (I thought this was strange - since when are cheese sticks a meal?), and Mac and Cheese. BB picked Mac and Cheese while LB picked Grilled Cheese (okay - so maybe Cheese Sticks aren't that weird). At this point Grandma went with the boys to find a table for us. Whoops - I didn't ask what the boys wanted for their sides - I went with cole slaw for BB and baked beans for LB. Then I had to figure out what I wanted. From what I could figure, the Platters were for the larger appetites such as full racks of ribs or rib and chicken combos - they ranged from $15.99 to $19.99 and came with Texas Toast and 2 large sides. Plates were a little smaller than that such as half a rack of ribs or BBQ pork or chicken - they ranged from $7.99 to $12.99 and included Texas Toast and 2 regular sides. I decided to go with one of the Sandwiches because I didn't feel that hungry. For $4.49 to $5.29, there were different types of chicken sandwiches, a cheeseburger, or BBQ pork. I went with the "BIG DAD" Chopped BBQ Pork Sandwich for $5.29 that seemed to be the "signature" sandwich. For an extra $1.99, I made it a combo with a regular drink and regular side - I chose the cole slaw as well. Grandpa got the Half Baby Back Ribs plate for $12.99 and ordered Grandma the Smothered Pork Sandwich for $5.09. We then received a number to post on our table so the servers could deliver the food to us and went through the screen door to our table.

When I arrived at the table, LB had apparently taken off half the roll of paper towels that are placed on the table for messes and was rolling it into a big ball. I took him with me to get the drinks to hopefully distract him. Shane's has sweet tea - my favorite - and also Sweetened Peach Tea as well. I got a sweet tea for BB and a lemonade for LB and headed back to the table. Grandpa was now examining the BBQ sauces that were on the table - Original, Spicy and Hot. There are TVs in the dining area, which is good, because it took about 15 minutes for our food to arrive at the table. While the boys were digging into their food, Grandma was surprised by her entree. She had ordered the Smothered Pork Sandwich which she assumed was the chopped BBQ Pork smothered in sauce - logical, right? Instead, the Smothered Pork Sandwich is actually the chopped BBQ pork on top of... cole slaw. Hmm, don't really get the "smothered" thing unless this is a Southern specialty that I am not aware of. It does say it is "with slaw" on the menu but that is in the smaller type and that could mean that slaw is served with it. Also very unusual, my sandwich was served on the Texas Toast while Grandma's was on a plain bun. This is also detailed on the menu but just seems random whether sandwiches come on the bun or the Texas toast. Grandma declared her sandwich "okay" despite the slaw but said her collard greens on the side were excellent. Grandpa said his rib plate was good, although small, and that he liked the collard greens as well. My BBQ Pork sandwich on the Texas Toast was good (and messy) but I would have liked the BBQ Pork to be piled on a little more - it is called the "BIG DAD" after all. BB liked his whole meal and LB did pretty good with his grilled cheese. However, I made a mistake with the baked beans - he didn't like them and instead tried to steal all of Grandpa's fries. In all, the food was pretty good, although nothing outstanding, but definitely a place to try if you are in the area.

Restaurant Review - Panera Bread, 2260 East Highway 50, Clermont, FL

There's a new Panera Bread location that opened up in Clermont, right near the intersection of Hancock Rd and S.R. 50., next door (literally) to the Carrabba's. I've been to Panera before, mostly the Sand Lake Rd location, sometimes the one at Millenia Mall, and while it is fine if I'm in the area, I usually don't "crave" the food there. I'm just not one of those organic sandwich/salad eaters. But, Grandma and Grandpa called and said Panera has a new product called the Crispani and it was really good, so I gathered up the boys and we headed to Clermont to meet Grandma and Grandpa for dinner.

The Crispani is basically Panera's version of a flatbread pizza (with organic ingredients of course). This Panera offered three different versions - three cheese, tomato and basil, and sweet sausage with roasted peppers. The Tomato and Fresh Basil Crispani looked really good in the photo - slices of tomatoes, leaves of basil, and chunks of mozzarella cheese baked onto a flatbread crust. I then checked the kid's menu on the menu board - there are three offerings: Grilled Cheese on whole grain bread with organic American cheese, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich on whole grain bread made with all-natural peanut butter, and the Kid's Deli Sandwich on, you guessed it, whole grain bread with a choice of deli meat and, yes - you guessed again, organic American cheese. For $3 - $4, each Kid's Meal comes with a squeezable organic yogurt tube and a choice of organic milk, organic chocolate milk, or apple juice (I'm guessing it is organic as well). I asked the boys what they wanted and LB said he wanted the Grilled Cheese. BB wasn't happy with any of the choices (he's like me, not big into organic stuff) so we decided to share the Crispani (it looked big). When I went up to order, the server told me that the Crispani takes a little longer than the other items at Panera so they would give me a number to put on my table and deliver it when it is ready. She suggested getting a soup or half salad to start and that by the time we are done, the Crispani should be ready. That sounded good to me so I ordered a cup of the Wild Rice and Creamy Chicken Soup for $3.29 to start and then the Tomato & Basil Crispani for $6.99, and then LB's Grilled Cheese. Grandma and Grandpa decided to share the Sausage & Pepper Crispani.

We sat down in the "living room" section of the restaurant - that's usually the section in the front of Panera that has smaller round tables and sometimes couches. There were other kids there running around so I figured my kids wouldn't disturb anyone in that section. A few minutes later my name was called - our soup and LB's Grilled Cheese was ready. The soup was really good, very creamy and flavorful - BB liked it too. LB wasn't too keen on the Grilled Cheese. He took one bite and then just drank his chocolate milk. I tried it and I could see why he didn't like it... it tasted too... organic and wheaty. Not like the greasy grilled cheese sandwiches I'm used to! LB didn't want his strawberry yogurt either so BB actually asked for it and ate the whole thing.

About ten minutes later, our Crispani(s) were delivered to the table. LB perked up at that point and declared that he wanted some pizza, too. The flatbread pizza was good - not too crunchy, not too chewy, with nice big chunky toppings -- and, it didn't taste organic, even if it was. Also, because of the flatbread crust, it made it really easy for the kids to pick up and eat. Grandma and Grandpa liked their Sausage & Pepper Crispani as well. They both said they didn't like it at first because the sausage and caramelized onions really did make for a sweet taste at the beginning. But they said the taste really grows on you and they ended up liking it. There ended up being enough pizza for all of us, I realized, so next time, I will skip the kid's meal and just get the Crispani for all of us.

Restaurant Review - Gekko Japanese Restaurant, 13900 C.R. 455 #109 A, Clermont, FL

Gekko Japanese Restaurant is a new sit-down restaurant in the Publix shopping center at the corner of S.R. 50 and C.R. 455 in Clermont. It's a nice looking place with a sushi bar on the right and tables going down the left side of the restaurant. We've been to dinner there twice now and both times there was a mix of retirees, families with young kids, and couples/singles -- so I didn't feel out of place taking my boys. Grandma, Grandpa, the boys and I went there on a recent Thursday night for dinner and I should have taken the hint that there might be a time issue on that night. Friends of Grandma and Grandpa were there and said they had already been waiting an hour and hadn't gotten their food yet. But, we were already there and I was hoping maybe the restaurant would work their timing issues out - besides, we hadn't had issues the first time we had ate there (although it had been less crowded on the other night we had went).

We were seated and started to peruse the menu. Although Gekko doesn't have a separate children's menu with activities, they do have children's offerings on their menu, which is somewhat unusual for a sushi restaurant. There's a "Sushi for Kids" for $7.95, which includes one shrimp sushi, one crab sushi, one egg sushi, and a California roll -- all of which are cooked and not raw sushi. Then there's Beef Teriyaki for $7.95 and Chicken Teriyaki or Chicken Katsu for $6.95. All kids meals come with miso soup, house salad with ginger dressing, and white rice (except the sushi that already has rice). That's actually a lot of food so the price is pretty reasonable, although still on the high side. Dinner entrees for adults run from $13.95 to $17.95 and include items such as teriyaki and tempura made with chicken, seafood or beef. Dinner sushi entrees are more pricey and go from $15.95 to $22.95, not including the Sushi and Sashimi Boat for 2 that has, if you pardon the pun, a boatload of raw fish for $55.95. I wasn't sure I would be able to eat a whole sushi dinner (probably 15 or so pieces of sushi) since I wasn't that hungry, so I ordered off of the al a carte sushi menu and got a Rainbow Roll for $8.25. A Rainbow Roll is basically a California Roll (cooked crab, avocado, and cucumber rolled in seaweed and rice) topped with strips of raw fish such as tuna, salmon, and yellowtail. However, I love miso soup (a soy-based soup with tofu and seaweed) and ginger dressing so I ordered an al a carte soup ($1.75) and house salad ($2.50) as well. BB ordered the Chicken Teriyaki (grilled chicken cooked in a sweet soy sauce-based marinade) and LB asked for chicken fingers - whoops! The server said the Chicken Katsu is basically like sliced chicken fingers - just a boneless breast of chicken breaded, deep-fried, and then sliced. So we ordered the Chicken Katsu for LB. Grandpa ordered the Sushi Dinner for $15.95 (chef's assortment of sushi) and Grandma ordered the Chicken Tempura (deep-fried chicken and vegetables) for $14.95. The server left... and then... we... waited....

Twenty minutes later (yes, I'm not joking) our soups and salads finally arrived. Thank goodness because the boys had already been getting antsy. We quickly asked for the special "kids" chopsticks and luckily received them quickly. Usually, one of the sushi chefs will take a regular pair of chopsticks and, using the rolled up paper the chopsticks come in and a rubber band, will make a pair of chopsticks that any kid (and grown-up who doesn't know how to use chopsticks) can use - even my 3-year old. BB loves Japanese food and quickly ate most of his soup and started to work on his salad. We were all surprised when LB decided that he liked the miso soup. He especially liked the tofu - that he called "squeezies" - because they squished between his fingers. Of course, he didn't touch the salad or the seaweed in the soup (he doesn't like "green" food). After he dug through his soup and realized he had eaten all of his "squeezies" he started to ask for ours. I gave him all the tofu I had but he was really upset that there wasn't more. Mental note for next time - I will ask for extra tofu in his soup. Then... we... waited... again...

Forty minutes after our appetizers had arrived, the kids' meals and Grandma's meal arrived. I was actually outside when it came, trying to get LB to run off some energy on the sidewalk. So finally, the boys could start eating. The boys' meals were served in really cute Hello Kitty covered dishes. I thought that was a nice touch. Grandpa and I both looked at each other at this point thinking, hey, where's our food? I mean, we both got SUSHI -- you know, raw fish?? Doesn't need time to cook?? Five minutes later our meals finally arrived. The fish on the Rainbow Roll was pretty good but either the cucumber or the avocado was not quite ripe enough so the roll itself wasn't as soft as I was expecting. The boys did pretty well, although both were not that hungry anymore because of the long wait between entree and appetizer. I was able to flag down the server so we could get our check because I didn't want to have to wait for that as well. To be honest, if this had been our first time eating at Gekko, I probably wouldn't go back. But everything was fine the first time we came, so I'll probably try again one more time and make my decision then. At least, I know there is a place I can go for sushi and still have things that the boys can eat as well.

Restaurant Review - HuHot Mongolian Grill, 1187 Florida Mall Ave, Orlando, FL

This past weekend, Grandma, Grandpa, the boys and I tried the new Mongolian grill concept called "HuHot" near the Florida Mall. For those of you who have never heard of Mongolian grill style cooking - it's basically stir-fry, except you gather the raw ingredients and they cook it for you. I've seen this before at a few of those huge Chinese super-buffets but this is the first time I've seen it as a fast-casual restaurant concept.

The interior of HuHot Mongolian Grill looks simliar to a lot of Asian restaurant chains - at the same time BB said "This looks like P.F. Chang's!", Grandpa said, "This looks like Doc Chey's!". You know, lots of red, brown and black in the decor. I wasn't sure if HuHot was going to be a 'go up to the counter and order' type of place or a 'sit-down' type of place - turns out it is sit-down with table service. When we were first seated though, we were placed at a booth for four, which was clearly too small for the five of us. We had to flag down the hostess again and ask for a bigger table - we were then placed in what they called the "VIP area" - which was really just a small open room with a larger table inside. On the table was a small container with "recipes" - little cards saying what kinds of ingredients to gather to make Beef with Broccoli and other Asian dishes. We started to flip through them when our server arrived. She asked if we had been there before and when we replied "No", she gave a huge sigh and said, aloud, "Wow, everyone's new today" and then proceeded to tell us how she's had to explain to all of her tables today about the whole concept and what to do and that it was much easier when she had people who knew what to do. However, she then did go on to tell us what to do - we were to go to the (raw) food bar, grab a bowl, put in our protein (beef, shrimp, pork, chicken, seafood), then put in our choice of noodles (pad thai, chinese, soba), then our veggies (broccoli, cabbage, water chestnuts, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, baby corn, spinach, cilantro, etc.), and then finally add at least 5-7 ladles of sauce or sauce additives. Sauces range from mild - teriyaki, sweet-n-sour, and Khan's Favorite (their signature sauce) - to hot (their Kung Pao - Yow! sauce) - with curry, ginger, thai peanut, and other sauces in the middle. The "sauce additives" as they call it were items such as sherry, sesame oil, garlic broth, and lime juice. Our server emphasized again that it was very important to put enough sauce and she encouraged us to put more than 7 ladles in if we want. Oh, and HuHot is all-you-can-eat so we could go back and try a different "recipe" if we liked. She said she would bring rice and wraps (these ended up being tortillas - I really don't get that - what is that doing at an Asian restaurant?) to the table. She then took our drink orders and asked if we wanted any appetizers - the menu lists several - but we decided to just go ahead and Mongolian grill.

The prices are pretty reasonable for an all-you-can-eat place - our weekend lunch was $9.99 per adult, kids 4-10 are only $3.99 and kids 3 and under are free. Dinner prices for adults are $11.99 and include a soup or salad.

Grandpa helped BB at the raw bar and I helped LB, which worked out pretty good. I was able to choose my options for my dish and put ingredients into LB's bowl as well. I decided to do something like a chicken stir-fry for LB and just put in chicken, chinese noodles, a few green beans (practically the only veggie he will actually eat) and then just started ladling in the mild sauces - a few of the Khan's, a few of the teriyaki, and a sesame oil. There were also suggested sauce recipes on a board above the sauces which was helpful. For me, I decided to attempt a Pad Thai - I chose pork, a few shrimp, pad thai noodles, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, cilantro... and... and... darn it - I should have paid more attention last time I got pad thai so I knew what went into it! I tossed in some bean sprouts, and then ladled in some thai peanut sauce, a Khan's, some lime juice, some garlic oil, some sesame oil, and then figured I was close enough. And then came... the line. I guess it was a busy weekend because we had to wait in line with our bowls to approach the enclosure with the huge circular grill. This was very difficult to do with LB as he was very impatient so I finally handled my bowls to Grandpa and BB and walked LB back to Grandma at the table. He was happy to sit there with her, especially since the rice had already arrived so I went back to wait in line. We were now approaching a tall counter that surrounded the large circular grill. There were only two grillmasters working (I thought there should be more, especially with the long line) and they would circle around the grill and stir fry each group of food in turn, making about 2-3 rounds before they would start plating the food and handing it out to the guests. This took about 5-10 minutes so it is probably better to leave the kids at the table. BB got bored waiting as well and headed back to eat some rice. One important note, if you are holding two bowls and the cook comes to take your bowls to put on the grill, state very clearly if these should be mixed together or if they are separate. The cook grabbed both bowls in Grandpa's hands and mixed them together - a big problem because Grandpa's was spicy and BB's was not! After Grandpa told him, he tried to split them up but I was worried it was now too spicy for my 7-year old. As I watched the cooking process, I realized that you cannot be a germ-a-phobe eating here - and you really shouldn't be allergic to any foods either. Sure, the grill was smoking hot but the grillers were using the same spatulas to cook up everyone's food. And the area around the grill was very dirty with spilled food parts all over the floor. Again, this may be because they did not have enough staff - all of the food was really left on there a long time - long enough to pretty much dry up all of the sauces. We finally received our food - I added some peanuts to the top of mine and we headed back to the table. The food was actually good - a little dry like I expected - but tasty. I wish they would have had additional sauces at the end that you could add back to your meal. Grandpa and I actually went back to try another dish - I tried to make a chicken curry this time which came out okay, but I liked my pad thai better. One thing, on our return trip to the food bar, they had run out of noodles and some other items and they were slow to refill those - again, seems like they need more staff to do cleaning and other maintenance during weekends. I may go back to HuHot and try other recipes another time, but I may have to wait until the kids are a little more patient.

Restaurant Review - Pat's Pizzeria, 1218 Winter Garden Vineland Rd (535), Winter Garden, FL

Update 10/13/07 - Things are not looking good for Pat's Pizzeria. Tonight I tried to call to order a pizza and no one answered the phone. When we drove by to see if they were open, a sign said they were closed - and it was a Saturday at 7:30 pm.


Pat's Pizzeria is located right on 535, just south of S.R.50 in Winter Garden. It's located behind the Publix shopping center in a new strip mall that is next to a storage place. If you didn't know it was there, you would probably go right by or think it is just a take-out pizza place like I did. Instead, it is a quaint little sit-down restaurant serving New York-style pizza. And when I say "little", I mean it - Pat's only has seven tables total with five booths that seat 4 people and two larger tables that can seat 6 - there's also the "Wine Cellar" room that is a private function room in the back that can seat more folks. Also, they appear to really discourage pizza delivery - if you want your pizza delivered to your home, they only deliver from 5 - 9 pm, and there is a $4 delivery charge. You'll probably want to eat-in or take-out.

Pat's Pizzeria is also a work in progress. Since they opened a few months ago, they are experimenting and trying new things to become a part of the community and increase their offerings. They just added beer and wine on their menu and are now open for lunch on Sundays. They also just added an "Italian Style Breakfast Buffet" on Sunday mornings starting at 9 am. The flyer says it will feature fried dough, meatballs, eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, muffins and more for $6.99 for adults and $3.99 for children under 12. I don't know if I exactly think of going to a pizza restaurant for Sunday breakfast, but hey, it's creative so I'll probably give it a try.

The restaurant, as I noted above, is very small but is nicely decorated. They went with an "Italian countryside" theme so there is faux paintings on the walls that make it look like you are eating outside an Italian village. The open kitchen is along the left-side of the space and the booths are along the right. There are also two TVs on either end of the restaurant so patrons can watch while they are eating (or waiting).

The boys, Grandma M., and I ate at Pat's on a recent Friday night and we were able to get the last booth. Pat's doesn't do too well, service-wise, when their place is crowded and our visit was no exception. Our server came by to get our drink orders and then disappeared for a while (which is hard to do in such a small restaurant). When she finally did return, she brought Wikki Stix for the boys to play with (for an explanation of Wikki Stix, see my review on the Florida Waffle Shop), and then took our order. We just ordered a large cheese pizza (18") for $12.99. I usually like mushrooms but Pat's only has canned mushrooms, so we went with just the cheese. Grandma M. also ordered a side garden salad, without onions. They do have children's items (but no coloring menu - BB was upset until the Wikki Stix arrived) such as spaghetti for $2.99 or chicken fingers for $3.99, but usually in pizza places we just have the boys eat the pizza with us. While we were waiting for our pizza, a manager dropped off some garlic bread at our table - I actually have no idea why since pizza is not supposed to come with garlic bread, but I don't quibble when there is garlic to be had. The bread was fantastic - small slices of Italian bread drenched in garlic butter and toasted just right. About 15 minutes later, our server dropped off our pizza at our table, along with cute pizza-shaped dishes for the boys, and then promptly left before we could ask about the side salad for Grandma M. Pat's makes a great pizza - crunchy crust, slightly sweet sauce, and a "fresh bread from the oven" smell. After 10 minutes, we finally had to stop a manager to ask about the salad (our server had disappeared again). He came back in two minutes with the side salad, topped with... onions - oh, well, at least he tried. When we were done with the pizza, the boys started to get antsy and we still couldn't catch our server so Grandma took the boys outside while I waited to get the check. If Pat's could fix their service problem, it would be a great place to go, at anytime. However, since the pizza is really good - I'd say the best in the area - I'll keep coming back, although I'll probably do take-out more often than eating in.

Quick Bites - Perkins Restaurants and the Search for the Crazy Cookie

Here's a "Quick Bite" to tide you over until my next full restaurant review. I've got a few I'm working on but haven't had time to pull them together yet.



When we go out to breakfast with the kids on weekend mornings, we will frequently go to Perkins. They have a pretty good, all-encompassing menu, and usually the wait isn't that long. Plus, they have a really good children's menu. The offerings are very nicely photographed so you can ask your kids what they want and they can just point to it. Then, they can turn the menu over and find a bunch of activities and puzzles that they can color. The choices are really kid-friendly too - for breakfast kids can get chocolate-chip pancakes shaped like a bear (to me, he looks like Mickey Mouse), rainbow pancakes (regular pancakes with rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream), a stack of French toast sticks, silver dollar pancakes, or a breakfast platter with eggs, bacon, and potatoes. LB usually goes for the Rainbow pancakes and BB goes for the chocolate-chip pancakes. Last time, however, LB said he wanted BOTH kinds of pancakes so our server was very nice and gave him pancakes with small cups of chocolate chips and sprinkles on the side. He loved it - he got to decorate the pancakes on his own.


One thing it clearly states on the menu is that all children's meals come with a drink and a Crazy Cookie for dessert. The Crazy Cookie is a half sugar/half chocolate-chip cookie and it looks really cool on the menu. However, I was starting to believe that maybe there really wasn't a Crazy Cookie and it was just a tease - every time we were ready to leave and asked for our Crazy Cookies, we were told that they didn't have any available right now. Hmm, I thought, maybe they only have these available for lunch and dinner? Then, one day a few months ago, we ate at the Perkins at the intersection of I-4 and U.S. 27 for breakfast. I again asked for the Crazy Cookies after we were done and was amazed when our server said, "Okay, I'll go get them right now." She said they had just made a fresh batch (so they do have them available during breakfast time). BB said it tasted okay, just like a sugar cookie with chocolate chips and LB just ate the chocolate chip side and then handed me the sugar cookie side to finish. We haven't seen one since, although we have been eating at the Perkins in Ocoee lately - so maybe we'll have to make another trip down south to see the Crazy Cookies again.