**** (4 stars)
Spacious, modern rooms and nice bathrooms are the highlight at this hotel, located conveniently right across the street from Berns Steakhouse. I’m not a fan of the hotel restaurant, which is too austere, but the rooftop bar is great.
Epicurean Hotel, Autograph Collection®
1207 South Howard Avenue
Tampa, FL 33606
(813) 999-8700
http://www.yelp.com/biz/epicurean-hotel-autograph-collection-tampa
***** (5 stars)
Best live performance venue in Orlando mainly because of decent acoustics in the theaters and reasonable sound levels. The seating isn’t the most comfortable, but when you go to a concert you want to hear it clearly, and this is about the only venue in town that guarantees that.
The Plaza Live
425 N Bumby Ave
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-1220
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-plaza-live-orlando
*** (3 stars)
This is the third venue I’ve been to in this space, and they don’t seem to be getting any better. I’m not sure what differences account for the emptiness of this place when there are lines on the sidewalk for places across the street.
But clearly one difference is the food quality, which is not improving through the various iterations. On a recent visit we sampled several appetizers that were half price during happy hour, including a very soggy flatbread made with limp naan bread, some mediocre mussels, and a very tasty “pork wing.”
We then preceded to the tomahawk steak for two. This was an excellent and perfectly cooked piece of beef accompanied by average asparagus and almost inedible au gratin potatoes.
I will say, though, that the steak was an excellent deal since it included the sides, two salads and a bottle of low end wine, all for $35 per person. Including additional drinks and all these courses, dinner only totaled $108, so definitely a good deal, mostly due to happy hour pricing.
The irony is that the best things we had were both meat, and this is a seafood restaurant.
There was nothing dreadful about the meal, but also nothing that would draw us back, so I think I’ll wait for the fourth iteration before trying it again.
Mingos
100 S Eola Dr
Ste 105
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 781-2539
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mingos-orlando
**** (4 stars)
Stylish on both exterior and interior, Tartini serves up authentic Naples style pizza. The thin crust is the perfect combination of crisp and chewy, and can be slightly charred around the edge if you request. There’s an almost infinite combination of toppings available, including arugula, pesto sauce, and ricotta cheese for something different from the typical American pizza.
Even the bargain priced side salad is a generous serving, and there are some excellent pasta dishes.
A brief wine list offers an interesting three glass tasting option, and there are some intriguing beers.
Service is friendly and helpful.
Tartini Pizzeria & Spaghetteria
6327 S Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32809
(407) 601-2400
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tartini-pizzeria-and-spaghetteria-orlando
**** (4 stars)
This neighborhood Asian restaurant has a menu larger than their storefront! There are an incredible number of pages of Chinese, Japanese and other Asian foods.
We had mostly sushi, which was all good. The sashimi dishes are particularly creative. The Pad Thai was also very good. Hot and sour soup was a standout and the spring rolls were good, too.
They do a busy Chinese takeout business, but it’s also a pleasant place to eat in.
Service was pleasant and efficient. I can’t imagine how their kitchen can turn out so many different things.
No beer or wine.
Tao Asian
13848 Tilden Rd
Ste 118
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 347-8999
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tao-asian-winter-garden
**** (4 stars)
Don’t mistake RusTeak for a bar and grill, a steak house or a sandwich shop. In truth it’s all of these but also much more. There is a gourmet twist to everything they do, from appetizers to sandwiches to burgers to entrees. You’ll find ingredients combined in creative (and successful) ways, served in a casual but cozy atmosphere.
I had a pastrami sandwich, which featured extremely tender and lean meat, perfectly toasted bread, and house made close slaw and half sour pickle. My companion’s steak sandwich was also good, although it required deconstruction to be eaten.
There is a shockingly good wine list, extensive and well-conceived. It’s actually one of the best wine lists in town. I can’t imagine where they keep it all.
There’s also a great selection of interesting craft beers.
Service is friendly and efficient.
RusTeak Restaurant & Wine Bar
1568 Maguire Rd
Ocoee, FL 34761
(407) 614-3765
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rusteak-restaurant-and-wine-bar-ocoee
**** (4 stars)
This is a classic sushi restaurant with pleasing decor and a nice selection of sushi and cooked items. It’s a particularly good choice for lunch, with an assortment of bento boxes, or the option of selecting any two rolls plus soup or salad. I like the sushi and sashimi lunch, which offers a generous assortment of sushi, nigiri and a California roll plus soup or salad for a reasonable price.
Mikado Sushi
6417 Raleigh St
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 822-1080
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mikado-sushi-orlando
maguro truffle
***** (5 stars)
I’ve previously reviewed Kabooki Sushi here, but we continue to return regularly, and the food has advanced from fantastic to mind-blowing, so it deserves another mention (my first repeat review, after more than 400).
As I said previously, we’ve had sushi at some of the top restaurants all over the world, and I’ve never had a meal as good as the ones I consistently get from Chef Henry Moso at Kabooki Sushi.
We always have the omakase, where you put yourself in the chef’s hands. But we ask him to add extra courses, and to pair it with wines. We usually have about seven courses, and it costs around $125, about double what the original omakase ran. To put this in perspective, I’ve paid more than that for a single course at some high end sushi restaurants, and not gotten as good food!
Similarly, the wine pairing at $30 is cheaper than a single glass of wine at those restaurants (Nobu, I’m looking at you).
The really amazing thing is that in a dozen visits, Chef Henry has never repeated himself, except for one dish, the Maguro Truffle, that we always request. So that’s something like 100 unique dishes!
Not only is each a work of art, but the combination of flavors is so perfect (salty, sweet, umami, citrus, fatty, acidic, rich, light — often all combined in one bite) that it defies description.
And sushi isn’t an easy food to pair with wine. Yet the matches are always perfect, and usually include minor grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet and sparkling wine.
On our latest visit I showed Chef Henry a picture of a dish we had earlier in the week at Morimoto in New York. Two hours later, at the conclusion of our meal, Chef Henry, inspired by the idea, presented us with this:
otoro tartare with assorted condiments and seaweed chips
If a chef can come up with that on the spur of the moment, imagine what other treasures are in store for us in the future!
Here are some other things we had in that same meal at Kabooki:
giant clam, seaweed and pickled cucumber
compressed watermelon, tuna, ouzu sorbet
hamachi with house-made kimchi
locally caught grilled cobia
three types of fish rolled in rice paper, with apple sails, cucumber sorbet
grilled hamachi collar
If you can only dine at one restaurant in Orlando, it should be Kabooki Sushi.
Kabooki Sushi
3122 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-3839
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kabooki-sushi-orlando
**** (4 stars)
This is a welcome addition to the vegetarian dining scene in southwest Orange County, which has been pretty sparse. But despite the name this isn’t a vegetarian restaurant. The majority of offerings actually include a protein.
The menu is divided between salads, panini sandwiches, and melts made on a naan-like bread. I wasn’t too happy with my special of the day, a flank steak that was done with too little seasoning, although the accompanying broccoli was good. But my companions enjoyed their sandwiches.
The space is all hard surfaces, so it can be pretty loud, even when only a third filled. But the service is quick and friendly, making it a good lunch choice.
Green Kitchen
7055 S Kirkman Rd
Ste 126
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 413-5005
http://www.yelp.com/biz/green-kitchen-orlando
**** (4 stars)
This is a great place for pork lovers, as most of the dishes involve some variant of that meat. The aroma of the place reminds me of some of Chicago’s pig-centric restaurants such as The Girl and the Goat.
The micro brew beers are interesting. I tried the cilantro lime variant, and it went great with the CBLT, a BLT involving fried chicken skin.
I also tried the Devils on Horseback, dates wrapped in country ham and stuffed with bleu cheese, but felt they were too sweet.
There’s an extensive cocktail list, and since half the space is taken up by the bar, it’s a great place for happy hour.
Cask & Larder
565 W Fairbanks Ave
Winter Park, FL 32789
(321) 280-4200
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cask-and-larder-winter-park