They don't do much marketing but the little hand written 'Bagels' signs I see around my office caught my eye. I love a good bagel so I had to stop in and check them out. I'm really glad that I did and now go there a few times a week for breakfast or lunch.
(Bagel selection)
They have a variety of good bagels and flavored cream cheeses (the cucumber-dill is my favorite). The bagels are nice and fresh - they're really good toasted! The BLT on a poppyseed is one of my favorites along with a turkey and brie on the whole wheat!
The staff is very friendly which is very important to me.
(Toasted sesame with scallion cream cheese and bacon!)
Every time I go in there is a good crowd, and I've started noticing some regulars.
I would highly recommend trying Everything Bagels next time you are in the area!
I had to have passed this place 50 times before I had the chance to go in and give it a try. I had always wanted to stop, but time was never on my side... It's located in Orlando snuggled amongst a few of my clients, and I live outside of Jacksonville (a few hours away)...
I finally got the chance when I was on my way to a meeting and the client called to push it off for a few hours. I'm really glad they did because the people were friendly, and the food was fantastic!
I'm a huge gyro fan - let me state that again for the record, I'm a huge gyro fan - as you can see from the photos my only option was to get one and see how it was... It looked amazing - it smelled amazing - and it was 100% perfect! The pita was nice and warm, the meat was juicy and tasty, the tzatziki sauce was your standard variety but good, the lettuce, tomatoes and onions were all fresh - and most of al,l it all came together well...
Everything I saw them make looked really good as well, but if you're going to go I highly suggest trying one of their gyros fist...
New York Deli 693 N Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32801-1342 (407) 649-4900
The Kings Head is my favorite pub in the greater Jacksonville area. The pub itself was shipped over from England, and it's full of interesting items that Ann (the owner) brought over with her. For the past 3 or so years I've gone there for New Years Eve and it's a blast. The best part is that they celebrate on England time! So at 7:30 we're sing ole lang sine and getting on with the evening - home before the whackjobs hit the streets... That makes me sound really old but it is fun...
The fish and chips - The best thing going at the pub if you ask me. I get it almost every time I'm there. They do a proper fish and the chips are spot on... No mushy peas though :(
Curry chips - These are the best curry chips I've had outside of England...
Garlic Shrimp. I'd pass - I'm glad I tried it once but it really wasn't all that good. They do so many things perfect that they have to have one downer in the bunch... A lot of people seem to order it but it just wasn't my thing.
Stilton soup. OMG this is so dang good. It's rich and creamy - good to the last bite...
Escargot - It's fantastic
Cheese Plate - They usually have a few nice selections and good crackers
Scotch Egg - Well I can do better at home, but it's not bad...
Me enjoying a black castle... Half Guinness and half Newcastle...
May I introduce you to Anne - She owns the pub. What an interesting person...
If you're ever in the Jacksonville / St. Augustine area I'd highly suggest stopping in for a pint.
Restaurant Medure is one of my favorite places to eat in Ponte Vedra Beach. The food is really top notch. Beyond the food the service was always fantastic. The restaurant was shut down 2008 but has now reopened. I like the new version of the restaurant much better. It's a bit more fun and the new menu is fabulous...
Mojito of goodness...
The Pastry Chef...
The bread plate. They always serve a nice mix of bred...
See sometimes things for free are good... This was a little shrimp something or other.
Duck confit risotto. This was so dang good. The risotto was perfect...
The special appetizer. Sadly I have no remembrance as to what this was... I remember it being really good though...
Lamb... It was quite delish...
Yummy Goodness - This was a strawberry cream the pastry chef had made for the souffles - I jokingly said I could drink it out of a cup and this is what I got... Was really good...
The cheese plate. They get their cheeses from a distributor in North Florida called Twin Bridges - Amazing cheeses!
The bill - It's not your every day dinner, but when you want to have a special night out - this is the spot...
As you can see by the bill this dinner was back in 2007...
Hamburger love... Angel's Dining Car is just that - an old converted railway train car. Angel's is the oldest diner in Florida - it opened in 1932. Angel's is decorated on the inside with a 1950's decor with a old time jukebox, 50's records on the wall and they still offer drive in service.
The food is freaking amazing - Hamburgers available from .25 pound to a whopping 1 pound! (the photo below is a half pound burger) They also have great fries, onion rings, fried okra, hand dipped shakes, and other traditional diner food. To me half the fun of Angel's is the ride there. From where I live you can take nice wooded country roads to get there.
If you're in North Florida it's worth the trip over to Palatka to give them a try...
They're open 7 days a week 24 hours a day...
Angel's Dining Car 209 Reid St Palatka, FL 32177-3729 (386) 325-3927
Some of my favorite places to eat are hole in the wall restaurants. As you can see this little 8x5 pull behind falls into that category. I was driving to a meeting when I passed this gem parked in a gas station lot. I spied it out of the corner of my eye and had to turn around to give it a shot. The only bad thing is, out of all the times I've been back I can never find this place! Since it's on wheels it's easy to move and OMG I want more so dang badly! If you know how to get a hold of them please let me know!
I have said below that there is quite a difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican food. Although you can make a mole in 2 hours - it takes 2 days to make a proper mole. Although you can smother your tacos in the Kraft or Sargento Mexican blend cheese - they wouldn't do it in Mexico. There are many others and I'm working on a blog to point out some of the big differences I've experienced. When I talk about Mexican food I'm talking about eating outside of Cancun & Cozumel - most of the food these places is more Americanized... Anyway click the photo and you can see what their menu was like - 100% Yum.
There was quite the language barrier when it came to ordering - my Spanish is quite horrible, and she didn't speak a lick of English. It all worked out though and I got exactly what I wanted.
My lunch: This was 100% fantastic. Sour cream, and a roasted salsa accompanied my gordita and taco. One was chicken (bock bock bock is how I ordered it) and the other was beef (moooo for that one)...
I've never been here but I get a kick out of the sign every time I drive past it. The Beefy King is located in Orlando, Florida. I've had a few clients tell me it's really good, but I've yet to make the stop - One of these days I most certainly will - and I'll let you know what I think.
Their website said they opened for business in 1967 but for some reason the sign says 1968... I'm too lazy to email or call to find out the real number - not that it really matters...
If you've ever been here leave a comment and let us know what you think!
www.beefyking.com
424 N. Bumby Ave. Orlando, FL 32803-6028 407-894-2241
I love Skyline Chili. The only problem is that the closest one to me is some 300 miles away. That's actually probably a good thing or I would go there almost every day and weigh 300 pounds. They're recipe comes from my country of Greece (and no that's not the only reason I like it). The chili has a fantastic flavor. Some markets sell cans of the chili or you can find it in some frozen sections. You can get it directly from the Skyline website too. www.skylinechili.com I've always thought it was cool that they severed it over pasta. I can still remember going in for the first time when I was a 13 or so with my mother - I remember thinking - Pasta, Chili, Cheese what could be wrong with that - NOTHING was the answer. I fell in love after the first bite. There are multiple ways you can order your chili:
The 3-Way - Spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheddar cheese. (My favorite)
The 4-Way - A 3-Way with diced onions or red beans
The 5-Way - A 3-Way with diced onions and red beans
Chili Spaghetti - Spaghetti and chili only
I've met some people who are pretty passionate about the way they order their Skyline chili. I have only had the 3-way - It's so dang good why go anywhere else? It just can't get any better by adding anything to it...
They do have some pretty dang good coneys - mini hot dogs covered with the chili and cheese...
--
Sitting at the counter watching them make the goods...
--
Here is a recipe that will get you pretty close to what they make.
2 lbs ground beef 2 cups chopped onions 4 cups beef stock 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce 2-3 Tbsp chili powder 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate or 2 3/4 Tbsp cocoa 2 tsp instant minced garlic 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground red pepper or cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1 bay leaf or 1/8 tsp bay leaf powder
Directions
Brown ground beef and onion, once cooked drain well. Add the beef stock to beef mixture and simmer 10 minutes. Add remaining 13 ingredients, simmer uncovered 1 hour. Remove bay leaf, skim off extra fat. Serve over hot spaghetti, or hot dogs in buns for chili dogs. Top with plenty of cheese and other optional toppings.
How horrible is this - the only place I could go to take an update class I needed to take last year was in Chicago... Poor me right?
In the same hotel I was staying in was the Weber Grill Restaurant. I had seen a few spots about them on TV and had always wanted to check it out. I was just amazed at the size of those huge grills they used (modified Weber Ranch models) - they're ginormous! Many moons ago I inquired about a franchise, but they said they had no plans on ever franchising the concept.
Anyhoo, The food was good - It wasn't jump up and down fantastic but it was good. I had their ginger-soy marinated skirt steak with smoky grilled onions and peppers. The steak had a good flavor and it was cooked perfectly - I'd order it again if I went back. The mashers were so rich I could only handle a few bites - really I think there was a stick of butter and a cup of cream in that little portion. One of the people with me ordered their big G's warm dutch apple pie and it looked quite amazing. I didn't try it but she said every bite was wonderful...
My favorite part of the experience was watching them work the grills. I'd suggest going if you have the time...
My family has a house up in the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina area. It's truly beautiful up there in the summer. There are some really good foodie joints in the area and one of my favorite breakfast spots is Biscuitville.
My favorite thing about Biscuitville is that they make a fresh batch of biscuits every 20 minutes! How cool is that? They have a variety of options to go in the biscuit, but they're quite good on their own or with butter or a drizzle of honey. As you can see from the photo on that day I had a smoked sausage one... If you're in the area (or anywhere near one) I would stop by and give them a try...
There's something about pizza that's cooked in a Coal-fired Oven. The taste really is different that anything you will find from a gas or wood-fired oven.
I finally had the chance to go to Lombardi's and I enjoyed every minute of it. The pizza was really good - and getting an up-close and personal look at their oven was really cool. The crust was absolutely fantastic. It had that flavor that only a coal-fired oven can give you. The only problem with my visit was that it was after spending a whole day at the Fancy Food Show so I really wasn't all that hungry. I had two slices of my pie and took the rest to go. I ended up giving it to some urban outdoorsman by my hotel.
Posts
