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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Restaurant Updates for Winter Garden Village at Fowler's Grove

I've been spending a lot of time at the new mall in Winter Garden, now that Target and several other stores have opened already. As for restaurants, only McDonald's and Quizno's have opened so far. However, it looks like they are putting the finishing touches on the Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Longhorn, Mimi's Cafe, and First Watch (a breakfast/brunch restaurant). I also just discovered signs that say a Bonefish Grill will be opening here soon, next to where the Barnes & Noble is going to be. The directory also said an Urban Flats (a flatbread restaurant) will be coming.

My one concern is parking for the restaurants. While the larger stores like Target, Best Buy and Lowe's appear to have lots of parking, the restaurants look like they will have very few spots. In fact, the Bonefish Grill is located in the "historical walk" section of the outdoor mall with no dedicated parking - I foresee that will be a problem. One curious thing is the non-existent development of the Cracker Barrel restaurant. While the other restaurants have all been at least started, the space where the Cracker Barrel is supposed to go is still an empty field. It hasn't even been cleared. However, it is still listed on the mall directory so I don't know what the delay is.

In other Winter Garden new restaurant news, construction of a small retail center has started at the southwest corner of 545 and Hartwood Marsh (due west of the new mall). Signs indicate a Caribbean, Japanese, and NYPD Pizza restaurant are coming soon. The owners of the NYPD Pizza restaurant contacted me and said they hope to be open in December.

Restaurant Review - Chipotle, 10149 West Colonial Drive, Ocoee, FL

I decided to try Chipotle again, despite having a bad experience about 2 years ago at the Florida Mall location. Why was it bad? I found that most of Chipotle's food was very spicy and that there was no children's menu even though Chipotle was started by McDonald's and was a fast-casual restaurant. However, a new Chipotle opened in Ocoee and, they sent me a free burrito coupon in the mail.

Unfortunately, nothing has changed at Chipotle since my previous experience. I knew I was in trouble when I looked up at the menu board upon entering and still saw no children's menu. As I waited in line to get to the counter, I quickly scanned the menu for something my kids could eat. BB announced that he wanted a beef taco while LB said he just wanted beef and cheese. The menu is very simple at Chipotle. All pricing is calculated by what kind of meat you want: chicken $5.70, steak $5.80, carnitas (pork) $5.85, barbacoa (shredded beef) $5.85, and vegetarian (guacamole and black beans) $5.25. Then, you choose how you want it: burrito with rice, beans, your chosen meat, salsa, cheese or sour cream; fajita burrito which is the same as the regular burrito except you substitute sauteed peppers and onions for the beans; burrito bol which is everything in a bowl instead of a tortilla; tacos - three soft or four crispy; or salad which is like the bol but on lettuce.

When I got to the front of the line, I asked if they had a children's menu. The server handed me a card that said "Parent's Menu" which was not a good sign. Here is what it said, "We don't really have a kids' menu, but we'll put together anything your child will eat. Just gaze down our serving line, look at the ideas below, and then get creative." Listed below were ideas such as quesadillas, single tacos, bols, and chips & guacamole. By the way, none of these items had prices by them and most of them are not on the menu. It also had a "heat index" that showed that the ONLY items on the menu that were not at all spicy were the pork, rice, beans, and chips. Wow, so most of the menu items are spicy. Next up on the heat scale was the chicken, shredded beef, and, get this, mild salsa (!). So I guess the mild salsa isn't that mild! I asked how much a single taco was and the cashier said they were $1.95. BB came over to me at this point and reminded me he wanted a beef taco. I told him he couldn't because the steak was one of the spiciest things on the menu. This started an argument between me and my 8-year-old and I finally told him we were getting this all to go and that he would be happy with a chicken taco (they had run out of the mild pork and were making more but it wasn't done yet). Next, I had to figure out what to get my youngest one. I decided to get him a children's bol as it had suggested on the "Parent's Menu". I asked the cashier how much those were. She replied that they didn't really have children's bols - she would just ring up everything I chose as a side dish. This was getting more and more complicated and I could tell the crowd behind me was giving me looks so I just said, "Fine, we'll just have a side order of rice and black beans." As the server opened up the rice cover, I knew I was in trouble. The rice is actually cilantro rice and has strips of shredded cilantro all throughout. I knew my picky eater would never eat that and asked if I could get plain rice without the cilantro. The server called over to the cook in the back to make the plain rice. I quickly decided on a chicken burrito for me with rice, black beans, cheese, mild salsa, and sour cream.

As the server was packaging up our order to go, I asked the cashier some other prices for all of you readers. A side order of rice or beans is 65 cents. A small cheese quesadilla is 85 cents (I assume on a taco tortilla) while a large quesadilla is $2.25. I also decided to get an order of guacamole and chips ($2.25) with our order. Heading out of the restaurant, I noticed that the decor looks the same as the Florida Mall location with corrugated steel and light woods everywhere. However, there were also quite a lot of the very high tables with high stools that had no foot rests - another thing that wasn't very kid-friendly, I thought.

When we got home and unpacked the food, I discovered that they had forgot to add the beans to the serving of plain white rice for LB. Luckily, he decided he wasn't that hungry when we got home so I just made him mac-n-cheese. BB attempted to eat his chicken taco and finally had to ask for milk to cool down his mouth. I tried my chicken burrito and I couldn't even finish it since it was so spicy hot. I can't imagine how hot the other meats are if the chicken was this hot and it was supposed to be one of the least spicy. Also, we found out that guacamole was very spicy as well and the chips were over-salted. I looked closely and saw that they had used sea salt flakes on the chips, that's probably why they tasted so salty.

All in all, I had a very bad family food experience at Chipotle. If you take your kids there on a regular basis, please let me know what you order for them because I can't figure out anything that my kids will like there. I'm probably not going back.

Restaurant Review - P.F. Chang's China Bistro, 4200 Conroy Road, Mall of Millenia, Orlando, FL

P.F. Chang's China Bistro is a "nouveau" Chinese restaurant, typically located near malls. While they do have some traditional Chinese dishes on their menu, they usually put a unique twist on each one. The decor inside the Mall of Millenia location is dark with dark wood on floors and tables, burgundy and brown walls, large golden moon-like lights in the ceiling with a spot light on each table - the feeling is very muted and subdued. In fact, there is not much natural light in the Mall at Millenia location; if you visit the Winter Park Village location, it is much brighter inside due to the large windows.

There is also usually a wait for a table at P.F. Chang's although you can call ahead to be put on a virtual waiting list. So, if you are going during normal eating hours, be sure to have some games and toys for your kids to play with while you are waiting for a table.

There is no children's menu at P.F. Chang's but there is enough on the menu that you should be able to share with your kids or get them an appetizer. My kids have eaten just one of the appetizers as their meal before such as steamed dumplings or spring rolls or even just an order of fried rice. What is nice is that even though they don't have a children's menu, they do have children's cups with lids and straws with a "good luck waving cat" on it.

As soon as the server arrives, they will bring a condiment tray with soy sauce, hot mustard, chili sauce, vinegar, and chili oil. They will also prepare a special sauce for you using the condiments on a tray based on whether you request a mild, medium, or hot sauce. We usually request the medium sauce -- you can add heat with more chili sauce or chili oil, or take some away with the vinegar. This is great to use on your own food to make it a little hotter while still leaving the main dish mild for the kids.

I also like to order the hot teas at P.F. Chang's ($2.50). There are several to choose from including green teas, oolongs and flavored herbal teas. On my last trip, I tried the Tropical Green which comes out as a nice honey golden color and had some citrus and orange hints in the light green tea. My favorite part is how it is presented - in a cast iron tea pot on a circular pot holder.

We always order the wonton soup to start at P.F. Chang's because everyone in the family likes it and it feeds everyone in the family. For $6, you get a HUGE bowl of wonton soup that includes water chestnuts, spinach, big chunks of chicken, shrimp, green onions, mushrooms, and pork wontons. It can easily feed four people with almost two bowls of soup a piece. The broth is a very light chicken stock which is nice for the kids but I like to add the special soy sauce mixture prepared by our server to add some kick to it. I always know to make sure LB's bowl only contains the wontons and chicken because he doesn't like anything else - especially the green stuff.

Portions at P.F. Chang's are big enough that we usually order one less dish than the number of people. So, for a party of six, we'd order five dishes and share. We order the chicken or beef lo mein ($8 at lunch) for the boys to share. My favorite dish is the Ginger Chicken with Broccoli ($11.50). Big chunks of white meat chicken are covered in a delicious brown ginger sauce and are served with crisp, green broccoli stalks that taste very fresh and crunchy.

On our most recent trip, we tried dessert. Two of the desserts sounded very intriguing - the Banana Spring Rolls ($6) with pineapple-coconut ice cream and vanilla caramel sauce, and the Lucky Eight ($8) which is eight chocolate creme filled sticks with peanut butter caramel dipping sauce and toffee bits. The boys outvoted me and chose the Lucky Eight - I'll have to try the Banana Spring Rolls another time (I'm a sucker for anything with coconut in it). The Lucky Eight ended up being a lot bigger than I expected. It could easily be shared by four adults and because of the individual sticks is an easy dessert to share as well. Chocolate creme, which tasted like chocolate fondue (yeah, that rich), was rolled, stick-like, inside a long wonton wrapper and then fried. Those were scooped into a mug and were set next to a small bowl with the warm peanut butter caramel sauce. On the plate were the bits of toffee that we were supposed to roll the dipped sticks into. My only complaint - I wish the toffee pieces were much smaller. Some were pretty big and they didn't stick since they were so heavy. Man, this is a rich dessert... and very good! Both boys loved it although they got to the point where they were only eating the chocolate rolls and ignoring the sauce and toffee.

Since P.F. Chang's isn't a traditional Chinese restaurant, there are lots of options for those that don't like Chinese food and lots of options for kids as well.

My Other Blog - Musings from a Restaurant Maven

I think I might be crazy. I started another blog. Not because I had extra time on my hands - far from it. I got the idea from Scott Hume, editor-in-chief for Restaurants & Institutions magazine, who wanted to know if I could do a restaurant blog that didn't have reviews but had thoughts and experiences about restaurants. So, I started Musings from a Restaurant Maven. I got the "maven" from the book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. Several people I knew read the book and then came to me and said I was a "maven". Apparently, according to Mr. Gladwell, a maven is a person who likes to learn and then is motivated to educate others. So, I can see that - I like to find new restaurants, try them out, and then tell others about them. Let me know what you think of my new site. Again, there are no reviews, it is just thoughts (and sometimes rants) of whatever pops into my head as I am eating out or thinking about restaurants. Enjoy!

Restaurant Review - Manny's Original Chophouse, 35496 Hwy 27, Haines City, FL

On a recent Sunday, Grandpa called up to say he had heard about a really good steak restaurant way down south on US Hwy 27 in Haines City. He had heard it could get pretty crowded so we decided to head down around 4 pm figuring we would beat the crowd. Around 4:45 pm, we had arrived in Haines City and it wasn't too hard to find Manny's Original Chophouse on the west side of US 27 - just look for the big sign with a cleaver as the "p" in Chophouse. We were able to sit right down at one of the last open tables. For the rest of our dinner, there was a constant crowd of people waiting to be seated so I figured we had gotten really lucky with our table.

The decor at Manny's Original Chophouse is eclectic roadside steakhouse. There are license plates from around the country used as wall-hangings as well as road signs, hubcaps, and a lot of neon. It's also very loud. I had to shout a few times so that Grandma, sitting just across the round table from me, could hear me. The tables are covered with white butcher paper and there are crayons for the kids (and adults) to color with and decorate their space. The menu is surprisingly extensive with chicken, fish, ribs, and burgers, but we decided to stick with the house specialty and get steak.

I ordered the 12 oz Prime Rib for $14.79. All entrees come with the bottomless salad bowl, yeast rolls, and a choice of a potato, veggies, or black beans & rice. I chose the garlic mashed potatoes and was asked if I wanted gravy on them. I thought that would ruin the garlic flavor so I said no - that ended up being a mistake that I'll get into later. Grandpa ordered the 16 oz T-bone steak ($16.99) with sweet potato and Grandma asked for the bacon-wrapped filet ($14.98) with a baked potato. The kids' menu runs from $3-$4 and includes the standards like mac-n-cheese, cheeseburger, pepperoni pizza, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, corn dog, as well as "steak-on-a-stick". BB ordered the corn dog and LB, no surprise to me, ordered the mac-n-cheese. Kids' entrees come with just fries, not a drink, which ended up being another issue. Inexplicably, Manny's does not have child-sized drink cups so both of my kids got their drinks in the same very large plastic cups as the adults did. BB ordered a sweet iced tea like I did and LB ordered a chocolate milk. Our server had to go check on the chocolate milk when she brought the other drinks to our table because apparently the chocolate milk came from the bar (?).

Service was kind of slow but I suspected that would be the case in this crowded restaurant although the kids seemed happy making drawings on the table. A little while later, our bottomless salad bowl arrived along with yeast rolls with cinnamon butter. Our server tossed our salad in a large stainless steel bowl tableside and then provided plates for us to serve ourselves. Seriously, this was one of the best tossed salads I have ever tasted. It just had your standard salad ingredients in it - iceburg lettuce, thinly sliced carrots, radishes, shredded cheese - so it had to be the dressing that was so amazing. The menu listed it as a garlic ranch dressing but it was incredibly flavorful and was a great accompaniment to the crisp lettuce. The yeast rolls were soft and still hot from the oven which made it even better to put on the sweet cinnamon butter.

It was at this point that we had a "fly" issue. For some unknown reason, there were a few flies buzzing around Manny's that day and even the server commented that was unusual - she figured maybe someone had left a back door open or something. Unfortunately, one particular fly was apparently as big a fan of chocolate milk as LB is. Luckily, LB had been guarding his chocolate milk and notified me immediately when he discovered the intruder. When we caught our server again, she quickly replaced LB's chocolate milk and all was well after that.

When our food arrived, I was pleased to see that the mac-n-cheese came with garlic toast and that the corn dog was pretty big - a good value for the money. All of the adults' food looked fantastic. My prime rib was incredible - done perfectly to medium with dipping sauces of au jus and creamy horseradish on the side. It was so flavorful and tender... until I tried Grandpa's T-bone. Wow, the T-bone was well-seasoned and juicy with great meaty flavor. Grandma's filet was also very good so Manny's main dishes got the "thumb's up" all the way around. While Grandma and Grandpa had equally good side dishes, my garlic mashed potatoes were... dry. Darn, I should have listened to the server and gotten the gravy! At this point, though, I was getting pretty full and we couldn't find the server for a while so I was fine just leaving the side dish alone.


LB had picked at his mac-n-cheese and, of course, eaten all of his garlic toast. BB had done really well and finished his complete corn dog and then started helping Grandpa eat his T-bone steak. In all, it was a really great meal, except for one last surprise when we received the check. While all of the soft drinks and iced teas were $1.99 a piece, LB's one chocolate milk was $3.45! That actually turned out to be more than his entire meal. When I asked the server about this, she said she was sorry but that's because it came from the bar. So, LB will be getting lemonade next time we come to Manny's Original Chophouse.

Orlando's Magical Dining Month - September

Is there a new, somewhat expensive, restaurant in town that you have been dying to try? Then try them this September! For the second year in a row, the OOCCVB (that's Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau to those in the know) has established September as Orlando's Magical Dining Month. Selected restaurants throughout the area have agreed to provide a special 3-course prix fixe dinner menu for the month for only $29 per person ($19 per person for more casual restaurants). This does not include beverages, tax or tip, but still sounds like a great deal - especially if you've been hesitant to try a restaurant because of the cost. I did not participate last year but it looks like some good restaurants on the list this year. Find out more information at the Orlando's Magical Dining Month home page. Some of the restaurants for Upscale restaurants include Emeril's Tchoup Chop, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, House of Blues Orlando, Jeffrey's Restaurant & Piano Bar, and Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe. The Casual Dining list includes Rice Paper (a favorite Vietnamese restaurant of mine), Kahuna Grill, The Grape, Buca de Beppo at Florida Mall, and Punjab Indian Restaurant. Report back if you do try out some of these places!

Restaurant Review - Joe's Crab Shack, 10 Blake Blvd, Celebration, FL

Since Joe's Crab Shack is right around the corner from where I work, I often go there for lunch during the week. About six months ago, I noticed that Joe's completely changed their menu - both in look and in food items. They went away from the very flashy "Eat at Joe's" designed menu with mostly fried foods to a beach-scene look with more "healthy" items. (Too bad their interior decor stayed the same - a junky garage sale mounted on the ceiling and walls of the place). Also, while perusing their children's menu, I saw they has some really fun new items. The boys and I have eaten there several times recently for dinner, with the boys inviting friends with them.

Joe's Crab Shack has a playground outside their dining patio which draws the kids in like a magnet. My boys are no exception and they typically run there first and I have to remind them that we need to get seated at a table first. On two recent occasions we were able to get a table on the patio right by the playground. However, Joe's does allow smoking on the patio so keep that in mind. The last time we went, it was about 100 degrees out so we opted for an inside table with the promise that the kids could go on the playground after dinner.

A note (warning?) about the playground. For some unknown reason, Joe's decided to use small pebbles on the ground around the play area. They post several signs that say "Don't throw the rocks" but EVERY SINGLE time I have been to the playground, kids are throwing the pebbles at each other. Also, there is one "swing-out" bar that the older kids like to fly out on. The last time we went, a friend's 2-year old got tackled as she walked by the area from an older kid swinging out on it. So, I definitely recommend watching your kids while they are playing here.

Joe's Crab Shack did a good job with their new kids' menu. I like that they have a little cartoony picture of each of the entrees so that even little kids can pick out what they want by pointing at it. For $4.99, kids get a choice of chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, popcorn shrimp, grilled chicken, mini beach burgers, pizza, or cheese quesadilla. Each meal comes with a side item such as fries, mandarin oranges, corn-on-the-cob, or rice, as well as a drink - soda, lemonade, or milk/chocolate milk. On our latest trip, BB ordered the popcorn shrimp and LB ordered the mini burgers, with cheese.

The regular menu now has some nice salads - the Aruba salad comes with a choice of chicken or coconut shrimp mixed with field greens, bacon, tomatoes, candied nuts, and bleu cheese, topped with a strawberry vinaigrette ($10.49). The mix of flavors is really tasty, as well as the variety of textures. I ordered the chicken, trying to be healthy, and then wished I had gone for the fried coconut shrimp. The chicken cubes were very bland and even the tangy-sweet dressing couldn't help them. My new favorite item is the Pacific Coast Wrap - fried fish wrapped in a spinach tortilla with black bean & corn relish and a jalapeno ranch sauce ($7.99). The crispy fish is warm and crunchy and contrasts nicely with the cool relish. The jalapeno ranch sauce is not too spicy at all and just adds a very small bit of heat - nice! Plus, the spinach tortilla gives the illusion that you are actually eating something healthy when in reality you know you are eating a fried fish sandwich. And, my old favorite is still there - the lobster bisque soup - although you have to ask if it is the soup of the day. Seriously, this is the best lobster bisque soup I have ever tasted. I don't know how much real lobster is in it, or if it is just langostino, but all I know is it is good! The broth is very creamy, but not too thick, with a rich lobstery, buttery flavor. And it is loaded with meat so you get a taste in every bite.

One strange (annoying) thing about dining at Joe's Crab Shack at night is that the servers have to stop periodically to dance. Yes, it's true. The disco ball in the ceiling will start to spin, and a song will come on such as the Macarena, and all of the servers stop what they are doing and go to the edges of the restaurant and start doing a choreographed dance. This can be fun if you already have your food but it is very frustrating when your server is about to bring you drink refills and then tells you that she has to go dance and will bring them after. Luckily, this does not happen during lunch hours.

The kids did very well finishing their meals so we decided to get them dessert. We ordered each of them the new Paint-a-Crab. For a very reasonable kids' dessert price ($1.79), each kid gets a Rice Krispies Treat in the shape of a crab along with a paint brush and three "paints". The paints are strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce, and wildberry sauce. The kids had a blast with this and got very serious about their artwork. Then they had a good time eating the crabs afterwards.

Now, Joe's Crab Shack is certainly not a relaxing dinner out with the kids. But for a fun, slightly hectic, and loud night out, it does fit the bill.

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.

Restaurant Review - Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, 7760 W. Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine is on Sand Lake Road's "restaurant row", near Seasons 52 and Roy's sister restaurant Bonefish Grill. Roy's, Bonefish Grill, and Carrabba's are all owned by the Outback Steakhouse group. From the exterior with tiki torches lighting your way to the interior with beautiful wood touches, you can tell that Roy's is a first-class restaurant. I visited Roy's twice, once as a "date night" with Hubby, and once as a girl's night out. While I did see parents with their kids at Roy's, I don't think my kids are mature enough to eat there yet. See the end of this review for kids' options at Roy's (I picked up a kids menu on my last visit just to see what they offered).

I highly recommend making reservations to Roy's to ensure you have a minimal wait and get the dining time you want. There are three eating areas at Roy's - the main dining area, the front room and the bar/sushi area. The main room is darker and rather loud. The front room is a bit brighter and a lot more quiet - I'd ask to sit here if you want a romantic dinner or just want to be able to talk. Finally, there is the bar/sushi bar area which is where my friend and I sat during our girls night out.

What is really fun about sitting at the sushi bar is that you get to see everything going on in the open kitchen. Also, we got slid several different appetizers to try, just because we were there, including spicy edamame (big green soybeans served in their pods) and seafood potstickers. Both were really good and were served to us as soon as we sat down. Roy's menu, being based on Hawaiian cuisine, is mostly seafood (although I had the short ribs when I ate with Hubby and they were outstanding - tender and tasty). It is also pretty pricey with entrees in the $20-$30 range. So I highly recommend, for those of you on a budget like me, the prix fixe menu. For $35 per person, you get an appetizer sampler, a choice of selected entree (both seafood and meat dishes are offered), and a choice of macadamia nut almond tart or hot chocolate souffle for dessert. Not a bad deal at all.

My friend and I both chose the prix fixe - I picked the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi for my entree and the Macadamia Nut Tart for dessert (what can I say - I like macadamia nuts!). My friend Stacey could not decide between the mahi mahi or the Grilled Salmon Filet so our wonderful server Jackie (ask to sit in her area if she is working) said she would check with the kitchen on a way to help my friend decide. When she came back, she said she had gotten approval to serve a half portion of both items to Stacey. We couldn't believe it - that is true customer service. We also decided to get the signature Roy's Hawaiian martini ($10). Let me tell you, it was a strong (true?) martini - not like those chocolatinis and other-tinis that have become so popular. In fact, one of the managers saw us drinking them and came over to warn us not to eat the pineapple that was at the bottom of the martini glass - apparently they have been soaking in vodka for 5 days (I guess he could tell that we were lightweights).

The appetizer sampler was a shrimp stick, BBQ rib, and a crispy seafood ravioli (which looked like a fried potsticker to me). All were excellent and made a good combination of tastes. Our dishes were quickly whisked away and soon our entrees arrived. Wow, the mahi mahi was cooked to perfection - flaking away easily but still very moist. The lobster butter sauce served with it was to die for - I almost felt like licking my plate. Stacey liked her "entree sampler" very much as well - the salmon was also very good. Next came our desserts. Stacey's Hot Chocolate Souffle is like those chocolate lava cakes where you cut into the cake and the hot fudgy chocolate sauce comes flowing out. She let me try some and it tasted just like chocolate fondue. My macadamia nut almond tart was great as well, although less rich than the chocolate dessert. The almond flavor really comes out under the nut crust and actually I avoided the mango and raspberry purees dotting the edge of the plate - they kind of took away from the nutty flavor that was my favorite part.

Kid's Offerings at Roy's: Roy's apparently does encourage you to bring your kids with you when you dine there. There is a kids' menu which is kind of it's own prix fixe dinner. For $10, your child will get an appetizer (sliced raw veggies and a cheese quesadilla), a choice of entrees (short ribs, salmon, chicken fingers, or pasta with butter sauce), and dessert (vanilla ice cream sundae). Now, I don't think I'll be bringing my 3-year-old because I don't think he will eat $10 worth of food. But, I might take my 8-year-old. Roy's also has Parent-Child "Date Night" which just means any time you bring your son or daughter with you for some one-on-one time at Roy's. They will apparently do a custom menu for you and your child with your names, a photo and a personalized message. If I ever do this with BB, I post an update to let you all know how it went!

Restaurant Review - IKEA Restaurant, 1000 IKEA Drive, Elizabeth, NJ

To finish up my reviews from my recent New Jersey trip, I decided to get a sneak peek at an internationally known restaurant that is coming here to Orlando this Fall. Yes, of course I'm talking about IKEA. Okay, I know IKEA is known the world over as a furniture store, but I was eager to try their Swedish food (I am Restaurant Mom after all).

Every IKEA has the same basic floor plan with a "restaurant" (really a cafeteria) and Swedish Food Market so you can bring your favorite goodies home (oh yeah, and they have furniture and stuff, too). I don't know if the restaurant prices at the Orlando store will be the same as the NJ store, but I can't imagine they will be that different. And I have to tell you that the IKEA cafeteria has the best kids' meal deal I have ever seen - Mac-n-Cheese and a drink for 99 cents. The kid's drink alone is 79 cents so this is a huge bargain. I figure it is a loss leader to lure folks in, just like their 99 cent breakfast special (I'll have to wait until the Orlando IKEA opens to try that). There other items on the kids menu are the Kid's Meatball Plate with five Swedish meatballs, potatoes, and lingonberries; and a PB&J that comes with a small fruit cup and a drink - both of these go for $1.99 - still a huge bargain. Oh, and milk and chocolate milk can be chosen as the kids' drink. What is also very cute are kid-sized trays so kids can carry their own food through the line.

The adult meals are just as reasonable. IKEA's specialty, of course, are the Swedish meatballs. These are offered in 10, 15, or 20 meatball portions, ranging from $4.29 to $5.99. Grandpa decided to get the 20 Meatball Plate so that he, Grandma, and my brother could share. The Plate also comes with potatoes and lingonberries. BB decided to get the PB&J which actually turned out to be a package of Uncrustables - I guess it is quick for IKEA but it would have been nice to have a freshly made sandwich. It came with a very small fruit cup that looked like canned fruit cocktail. Oh well, what do you want for $1.99? I got the Gravad Lox Plate ($4.99) which is similar to the lox you'll find at a bagel place, only a bit milder and smoother in flavor and texture. I also picked up a Daim cake which is an almond cake with what appears to be a coating of chocolate, almonds and toffee bits. It came with a Daim candy on the side, which is a Swedish version of a chocolate toffee candy (think Heath or Skor bar). Heading to the check-out lane, Grandpa grabbed a Lingonberry bottled soda. Everyone else went with a fountain beverage ($1.25) and we picked up our glasses and placed them on our trays. One un-kid-friendly thing is that they don't have kids' cups, plastic or otherwise (at least the NJ store didn't when we were there). So the kids have to drink out of small glasses. Also, I couldn't find a straw anywhere in the restaurant - even for the adults! They did sell straws inside the store on the first floor so maybe they were trying to increase sales (lol)?


After placing our trays down at the table, I went up to get drinks. I found lingonberry juice available at the fountain and decided to try it. I'm usually not a big fruit juice drinker but this was a really light juice, somewhere between a berry and grape taste. I got a regular cola for BB. Grandpa was a little peeved that he had bought the Lingonberry soda in a bottle because he didn't realize the juice was available at the soda fountain. BB blissfully ate his Uncrustable and fruit cup so I guess the pre-packaged food didn't bother him. My Gravad Lox was great - it was melt-in-your-mouth slightly salty flavor with a hint of fish taste - and the dill mustard that went with it was wonderful as well. I also stole one meatball from the Meatball Plate. By itself, it was very good - tender and tasty. Adding the cream sauce made it even better and then adding the lingonberry sauce to that was great - the tangy fruit really complementing the meat and cream sauce. Our one gripe was the temperature of everything on the meatball plate - it was all lukewarm - it would have been better hotter. My Daim cake for dessert was extremely sweet and rich. The cake itself was in very thin layers and was very light but the chocolate candy topping really put it over the top. At one point I picked off the topping and ate the rest of the cake underneath. Of course, that didn't stop me from eating the Daim candy that came with it - yummy chocolate toffee goodness, but in a small, palatable size.

Once you are done at the IKEA restaurant, you bus your own tables, bringing the trays up to a cart with your dirty plates on it. Signs all around say it is to keep the prices down - and really, it is nothing more than you would do at a fast food restaurant but now you are putting away real plates and utensils. I look forward to checking out the Orlando IKEA store when it rolls into town and trying some of the other menu items - and getting some more Gravad Lox!

Rita's Water Ice Coming Soon to Hunter's Creek!

I am so excited! I just found out from a friend that a Rita's Water Ice location is coming to Orlando in the Hunter's Creek area (according to the Rita's website: 13651 Hunter's Oak Drive). For those of you who have never heard of Rita's - or water ice for that matter - they are a franchise in the Northeast that sells a product similar to Italian ices, and frozen custards. I first discovered Rita's on our bi-annual family summer trip to Ocean City, NJ. Ocean City has a very fun, very family-friendly boardwalk that runs for several miles along the Atlantic Ocean. The boardwalk is lined with tons of beachwear shops, arcades, old-fashioned amusement parks, miniature golf courses, as well as summer eateries serving all manner of shore-like foods such as salt water taffy, NY-style pizza, hot dogs... and water ice. After trying a few ices myself, I determined my favorite to be Rita's, especially the cherry flavor. On a hot summer day, nothing beats a cool cherry water ice with its smooth sweetness and little bits of maraschino cherry mixed in - yummy! I can't wait for them to open -- see you there!

Restaurant Review - Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que, 1443 Route 22, Mountainside, NJ

Grandpa, Grandma, BB and I went up to New Jersey a couple of weeks ago to visit my sister and bring my nieces back down to Florida to visit Mickey Mouse. While we were there, we ate at Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que, which just happened to be close to our hotel. Famous Dave's is a BBQ chain that has not made it's way to Central Florida yet. However, with the way chain restaurants are flying in here lately, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before one sets up residence here. Famous Dave's has a really fun, kitchy decor with several highly themed rooms. Each is decorated slightly differently but all give off the impression that you are at a hunting/camping lodge. Our room was wood panelled with lots of pictures of American Indians canoeing and duck decoys. Think lots of wood and lots of lumberjack plaid.

Famous Dave's menu is nicely laid out with fun graphics and ways that you can basically mix and match everything on the menu to make your own combo. There's even an All-American BBQ Feast for five or more hungry folks that is essentially a sampling of many of the menu items. Grandpa wanted to order that but then everyone wanted different sides than were offered on the Feast so we all decided to order our own individual meals. The kids menu, complete with crayons and drawing activities, featured "Lil Wilbur Meals" (Lil Wilbur isn't so little - he's a pig that looks like a "hefty" Porky Pig). BB wanted to get the kids rib dinner ($4.99), but he didn't want any bones. I thought maybe the Rib Tips appetizer on the adult menu would be what he was looking for but the server told us that those did indeed include bones and she warned us that they were tough and were not one of her favorites. BB and I reviewed the kids menu again and I realized he could get the kids pulled pork sandwich ($3.99) sans bread which would give him the BBQ meat he wanted without bones. I chose the Two-Meat Combo ($13.99) and chose the lemon pepper chicken and beef brisket. Grandpa ordered the Texas Beef Brisket ($12.99), Grandma ordered the Georgia Chopped Pork ($10.99) and my brother ordered a half slab of the Baby Back Ribs ($15.99).

We all ended up trying a little bit of everything. The pulled pork was the winner of the night - extremely tender, light smokey flavor, very tasty and savory. The beef brisket, while also very good, was a bit too smokey for me and was not quite as tender as the pulled pork. I wished I had ordered the pork instead. My lemon pepper chicken was fantastic - perfectly done, moist, with full lemon flavor and just the slightest hint of pepper seasoning. And the lemon flavor was in every bite, not just in the skin. All combo meals come with a cornbread muffin and a small corn-on-the-cob, as well as two other sides. My Sweet Potato Smash was an ice-cream scoop shaped portion of mashed sweet potatoes topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar (oh yeah!). Again, very nicely done, not overly seasoned, just the natural potato finely smashed and the sweetness of the topping. The cole slaw was another story. To me, it was too vinegary, and not creamy enough, however, that is probably an individual taste preference. I had a few bites and left the rest. BB loved his pulled pork and was happy with his potato salad as well. All kids meals also come with a small package of Oreo cookies. My brother was very disappointed with his baby back ribs. He said they were very tough and had obviously been cooked too long. Since this would be our only visit to Famous Dave's I don't know if that is how they normally are or if this order was an anomaly. Also, no one ordered the St. Louis-style spare ribs so we couldn't compare the two types.

I had to try dessert because the photo of the bread pudding just looked amazing on the menu. Up until a few months ago, I didn't think I liked bread pudding, but after trying it at the House of Blues Gospel Brunch, I realized it wasn't too bad! As I ordered the bread pudding, our server warned us that it has golden raisins instead of regular ones. I didn't even know it had raisins so I told her that was actually a good thing because I don't like regular raisins but I do like golden raisins. That started a discussion between us on the attributes of each type of raisin (the black ones remain chewy - which she liked; the golden ones soak up the sauce and get very soft - which I like). When the bread pudding arrived, it was enormous. It was easily enough for four people. I begged everyone at the table to please help me eat it because there was no way I was going to finish it. I scooped up a spoonful of the warm creamy bread, scraped up a bit of the vanilla ice cream served on the side and then dipped a bit into the praline sauce pooling around the bottom of the pudding. OMG! It was great! The texture was perfect - slightly firm but giving like a stiff flan. And the sauce was just incredible - caramel and cinnamon with bits of pecans - a perfect accompaniment to the pudding and ice cream. I forced myself to eat as much as I could - just because it was so darn good - but then had to leave more than half of it over. Famous Dave's is a fun family-friendly place and I'd welcome a location or two here in Central Florida.