Orlando Restaurants & Bars

[WAJAS]

6 hours ago, HankStrong said:

There was a bit of a stink about C-F-A using MSG a few years ago.  I know some mommy groups got C-F-A to make a bunch of changes and remove some dyes from their foods.  I think they removed a few chemicals, too.

OFF TO THE GOOGLE-COPTER

https://www.chick-fil-a.com/Menu-Items/Chick-fil-A-Chicken-Sandwich   (lists monosodium glutamate)

I think this *may* be the item I mentioned above, but I thought it was moms, not a random food blogger.

https://foodbabe.com/breaking-news-chick-fil-a/

 

 

On the totally different anti-GMO topic mentioned by that blogger, I find it hard to get behind hating something that saves millions of lives and (at least so far there is zero evidence) has taken none.  If GMO corn can be drought tolerant, pest averse, and higher yielding which means that millions of starving people actually get to eat food then I'm not so worried about Buffy and her precious Snowflake thinking it is evil when absolutely nothing bad is happening to them as a result.

People have been genetically modifying food sources since life began.  If red whateverberries grow bigger than blue whateverberries and fill you up more with the same basic tastes, people weeded out the blue ones and grew red ones.  If they found out that by cross-breeding the red/blue to make purple whateverberries, they lasted longer on their tables, made them feel stronger, and fed more of their children the new normal would be purple whateverberries.  It is what we do.  We've naturally done it with bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, and basically most fruits and vegetables.  Then SHOCKER we learned how to do it more accurately/faster with machines.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/well/eat/are-gmo-foods-safe.html

 

Monosodium Glutamate is MSG.  Popular belief characterizes it as unsafe and addictive in nature, but double-blind tests show this belief is false.  It's inclusion or exclusion should only mean anything to anyone who believes these restaurants shouldn't mess with the taste of their food because it is used in the food industry to increase the savory taste in foods.  I see no problem with it but to each there own.

[spenser1058]

This wiki thread on MSG concurs with most of the things I've read on the subject. Perhaps most importantly, our FDA has concluded it's OK as have the food safety organizations of several other developed countries. 

While I subscribe to Michael Pollan's "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much" regimen and therefore look for as few additives in food as possible and naturally derived ones as well, MSG doesn't set alarms ringing when I'm reading labels.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate

As WAJAS notes, however, food is highly personal and my conclusions may not work for everyone.

Edited August 21, 2018 by spenser1058

[HankStrong]

1 hour ago, WAJAS98 said:

Monosodium Glutamate is MSG. 

Just for clarity, I know MSG = monosodium glutamate.   

[spenser1058]

11 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

Just for clarity, I know MSG = monosodium glutamate.   

The more you know...

[spenser1058]

For all  of you with Big Boy (and Girl!) appetites, our homies at Darden are introducing the Annual Pasta Pass for just... $300! Unlimited pasta, salad and breadsticks can send you into a carbo stupor all year long! Just think of the pastabilities if Olive Garden ever makes it back to Church Street...

(btw, things like meatballs have an upcharge)

https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/9D7F4EF7-5E83-4127-A019-8514D7185F62

From Market Watch

[JFW657]

Just reported on WFTV  Eye-missed-it news, iconic Orlando drinkin' hole Wally's Mills Avenue Liquors is closing it's doors effective today.

Closing due to owner's health problems, but it was also reported that good ol' John "Reeferman" Morgan has started a "Save Wally's" campaign and might even become the new owner.

Stay tuned.... 

 

[HankStrong]

8 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Just reported on WFTV  Eye-missed-it news, iconic Orlando drinkin' hole Wally's Mills Avenue Liquors is closing it's doors effective today.

Closing due to owner's health problems, but it was also reported that good ol' John "Reeferman" Morgan has started a "Save Wally's" campaign and might even become the new owner.

Stay tuned.... 

 

Apparently, he posted a few memes on his Twitter account about saving it.

[spenser1058]

More tacos and beer for sunshine! Scott J thinks the SoDo version of Tin andTaco is much improved over the Downtown original:

https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/reviews/recent-reviews/72-tex-mex/4447-tin-taco-sodo

[orlandouprise]

I tried EL BUDA next to the train depot. It was delicious! Awesome restaurant. Great food. Hard to see from the street unless you are looking. Tell your friends. I hope they make it. Very good caliber restaurant right off Church St.

[HankStrong]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 8:27 PM, orlandouprise said:

I tried EL BUDA next to the train depot. It was delicious! Awesome restaurant. Great food. Hard to see from the street unless you are looking. Tell your friends. I hope they make it. Very good caliber restaurant right off Church St.

The food was good, the service was a crapstorm when we visited.

[AndyPok1]

On 9/7/2018 at 8:27 PM, orlandouprise said:

I tried EL BUDA next to the train depot. It was delicious! Awesome restaurant. Great food. Hard to see from the street unless you are looking. Tell your friends. I hope they make it. Very good caliber restaurant right off Church St.

First I've heard of it.  Is it in the old 'Brick and Fire/Eternal Tap/Chicago's/That One Random Place that I think only opened for a week' that is down the tracks past Hamburger Mary's?

[AndyPok1]

On 9/7/2018 at 8:20 PM, spenser1058 said:

More tacos and beer for sunshine! Scott J thinks the SoDo version of Tin andTaco is much improved over the Downtown original:

https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/reviews/recent-reviews/72-tex-mex/4447-tin-taco-sodo

3 of those 4 tacos he got are available downtown.  Scott is practically a caricature of a cliche food reviewer.  Both Tin and Tacos are amazing.  As long as Rob doesn't let his feud with Gringos turn into a full on CVS/Walgreens, T&T is a hit, has been a hit for a while now, and will continue to be for a long time.  Best "craft" tacos in town and I've been preaching that for over a year.

[spenser1058]

13 minutes ago, AndyPok1 said:

3 of those 4 tacos he got are available downtown.  Scott is practically a caricature of a cliche food reviewer.  Both Tin and Tacos are amazing.  As long as Rob doesn't let his feud with Gringos turn into a full on CVS/Walgreens, T&T is a hit, has been a hit for a while now, and will continue to be for a long time.  Best "craft" tacos in town and I've been preaching that for over a year.

It's easy to tell Andy & Scott J are BFFs! *runs*

[mdeancherry]

3 hours ago, AndyPok1 said:

First I've heard of it.  Is it in the old 'Brick and Fire/Eternal Tap/Chicago's/That One Random Place that I think only opened for a week' that is down the tracks past Hamburger Mary's?

Yes, El Buda is in that space. Food is great - probably my favorite place downtown at the moment. Those plantain and pork dumplings are crazy good. 

My concern is that the space they are in has a lot of visibility problems so I hope people go to the trouble to seek them out since I'm not sure they will get a lot of wander-by traffic. 

[mdeancherry]

4 hours ago, AndyPok1 said:

...T&T is a hit, has been a hit for a while now, and will continue to be for a long time.  Best "craft" tacos in town and I've been preaching that for over a year.

How do they compare to El Rancho? I go to the El Rancho by John Young Parkway (near where I work) all the time so I haven't tried a lot of the taco places downtown. 

[Jernigan]

Andy have you tried Jimmy Hulas?

[orlandoguy]

I can second (fourth?) the love for El Buda. Definitely a hidden gem among CBD restaurants.

[dcluley98]

I prefer Tako Cheena. 

[AmIReal]

 

6 hours ago, mdeancherry said:

How do they compare to El Rancho

El Rancehro is much more traditional. T&T is anything, but...

Local food blogger did her definitive guide to Orlando tacos. I'm more of a Black Rooster Taqueria fan.

https://www.lemonhearted.com/blog/orlandotacoguide

El Buda is decent and definitely unique, but I agree with Hank that the service is lacking. I also seldom see anyone else there. For those people that have been there, is it just the time I'm there or are they always empty.

Speaking of food, was at Orlando Meats today (yum) and Andrew Zimmern was there- appears to be on his Orlando apology tour as I heard he was at Domu on Monday.

[HankStrong]

9 hours ago, AmIReal said:

El Buda is decent and definitely unique, but I agree with Hank that the service is lacking. I also seldom see anyone else there. For those people that have been there, is it just the time I'm there or are they always empty.

The food is good, but the con list is large:

1. The menu doesn't tell you what anything is other than "Latin Asian Fusion" where it lists a latin food in bold and says "WITH _____" where the with is an Asian item.  That's great, but the end result doesn't appear like either item and if you aren't someone with a strong background of Latin or Asian flavors then you have no idea what you are eating.  You'd have to ask the server.
2. Which leads me to the servers.  Both times, ours has had no clue what they were serving.  The first server actually just said the words back to the guy we were with.  "The grilled churrasco with ho fun noodles?  It's a grilled churrasco, but it has ho fun noodles with it." Yes, thanks, I could've read that much at 6 years old.  What does it mean?  Which led to us trying to interpret for our friend by saying "We assume that means grilled steak over these flat white rice noodles."  Since churrasco could mean any grilled meat that was a (turned out correct) guess, but the noodles didn't look to be made of rice, although they were wide and flat.
3. I read a Yelp review and laughed about the hostess not knowing if they had tables or not, but I kid you not, they did the same thing with us.  She didn't know if we could be seated or not.  I don't always read Yelp reviews, but I find it stupid to have the same problem as some other random stranger.  Shouldn't the restaurant read and correct?  I guess that's a lot to ask.
4. Getting our server to come back and refill drinks or get more bar drinks was useless.  Go thirsty was the theme!
5. Getting our server to get our check was difficult.
6. The layout still stinks, as with every restaurant that has ever been in that spot.

[AndyPok1]

15 hours ago, Jernigan said:

Andy have you tried Jimmy Hulas?

I have.  Very enjoyable, but I always feel compelled to get some sort of fish or something just because of the vibe.  With that said, now that there's one downtown, I'll probably eat there more than the 2 or so times I found myself on Aloma.

18 hours ago, mdeancherry said:

How do they compare to El Rancho? I go to the El Rancho by John Young Parkway (near where I work) all the time so I haven't tried a lot of the taco places downtown. 

Completely different game.  IMO that'd be like comparing Chicago deep-dish with NY thin-crust.  Sure, they're both pizza, but two different genres.  El Rancho are traditional as @AmIReal pointed out.  Very good, but I tend to go to Taqueria Ameca if that's what I'm in the mood for.

11 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

I prefer Tako Cheena. 

As far as "craft" tacos, they're not far behind, but I give the edge to T&T because of much larger menu, and because TC only really has the Asian inspired options.  But that butter chicken burrito, yumm.

 

11 hours ago, AmIReal said:

Local food blogger did her definitive guide to Orlando tacos. I'm more of a Black Rooster Taqueria fan.

https://www.lemonhearted.com/blog/orlandotacoguide

 

So many people I know love Black Rooster, I haven't been impressed.  I guess I'm due to give it another shot.  It always just fell to me in the category of, "good, can tell they use super fresh ingredients and know what they're doing, but there's no specific flavor to go out of my way to eat there"

[bqknight]

12 hours ago, orlandoguy said:

I can second (fourth?) the love for El Buda. Definitely a hidden gem among CBD restaurants.

Food was good, service was meh as others have stated. 

They really need to build out a sign there, with lights and all. That's the only way they'll gain visibility. I'm actually surprised it's still open. 

[mdeancherry]

13 hours ago, AmIReal said:

For those people that have been there, is it just the time I'm there or are they always empty.

Re: El Buda - I've been in there a few times where there have only been a couple of tables with diners at them.  Unfortunately that has made me less likely to go there if I'm alone and it's not peak dinner time - I don't want to be the only person in the restaurant. :/

[dcluley98]

5 hours ago, AndyPok1 said:

As far as "craft" tacos, they're not far behind, but I give the edge to T&T because of much larger menu, and because TC only really has the Asian inspired options.  But that butter chicken burrito, yumm.

2

Andy, I meant I prefer Tako Cheena to El Buda. Both have asian/mix theme. 

Love me some T&T. Never had Black Rooster, but always wanted to go there. 

I eat at El Rancho on Orange all the time, cuz it's closest to work so I can walk. Not bad, but nothing spectacular. Just good old-fashioned traditional hole in the wall. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by dcluley98

[Jernigan]

OBJ has an headline teasing a Taco Bell Cantina targeting downtown Orlando.   I was able to do a screen grab to read some of it before the paywall.   What I read was a lot of unconfirmed nothing with no useful quotes or timeline but I believe the story didn’t come out of no where and we may see one downtown at some point.