Mario's Restaurant

I felt like I stepped back in time about 50 years when I entered Mario's Restaurant in Ormond Beach lately, but the food was good, the service attentive, and the portions huge!  


 We arrived on a very stormy and rainy Saturday evening. They were not very busy, but still had a fair flow of traffic. We were promptly seated and a drink order taken. Our wine arrived in due time and we were hungry so we ordered.

 Our meals each started with a salad, and it was a very good salad, nice and fresh and cold. It was served on a chilled metal plate. The plate itself had a place to put in a container of dressing, but for some reason the dressing was just placed on top of the salad. Curious. But the salad itself was very good with nice fresh lettuce, some tomato, egg, and etc. It was very good and very refreshing.

For his main course my friend Tommy had the Chicken Parm. Holy smokes! Talk about a huge portion! Three good sized chicken breasts were covered with parmesan cheese and red sauce and grilled nice and hot. The chicken was nice and tender, the parm was nicely browned. It was a good dish. It was served with a side of penne with red sauce, but that was really unnecessary. The portion was huge, he actually had a total of three meals out of it, eventually.


Our meals were accompanied by bread, and lots of it. One was a garlic bread, that was very good. But the best was a somewhat rustic chubby baton of a nice whole wheat bread, nice and fresh and warm. Very good bread.

For my meal I had the chicken marsala. The marsala was just a bit on the sweet side for me, but still it was very good. The chicken was nice and tender, and the sauteed mushrooms gave the dish a nice earthy flavor. This was very good. And the portion was large, I ended up taking half of it home for another meal on another day.


Overall, I enjoyed my meal here. It was good Italian comfort food, not a lot of pretention, but good food done well and served in large portions. The restaurant itself probably has not changed much since it was opened in the 50's, but it was nice and clean. I'd eat here again, definitely. I can see why it has so many favorable votes on Urbanspoon.com!

Lulu's Oceanside Grill

We had dinner recently at Lulu's Oceanside Grill in Ormond Beach. We were staying nearby and found this place on Urbanspoon.com with a fairly good recommendation as well as a "thumbs up" from Watch Me Eat, another blogger. They were right, it was pretty darned good.

We started out with the crab fritters and they were yummy. I had the Grouper Fish Tacos and they were excellent. My friend Tommy had the Jerk Chicken Wrap. We both enjoyed our meal here and recommend it.

Mike's Galley

They claim to have the best breakfast in town, and you know, they might just be right! My friend and I decided to give Mike's Galley a try on a recent Sunday morning based on the good reviews on Urbanspoon.com. We were not disappointed.

When we walked in around 11, they were pretty busy. But as luck would have it, someone was just leaving a table, so we snatched it up, even though it was dirty. But by the time we got close the dishes had disappeared, and within second one of the waitresses was cleaning the table. Wow, what service. We immediately had our beverage order taken. As a matter of fact, they tried to take it twice as another waiter also came by to take it. I will say that during most of our visit, we were double and triple teamed by the waitstaff: our drinks were topped off often and we lacked for nothing at all. 

The atmosphere here is somewhat diner-like and it fits it well. On walking in you're greeted by a "seat yourself" sign. The kitchen takes up about 1/4 of the square area, with tables and chairs aplently. The walls are somewhat kitch-ish, adding to the charm. It's a warm and comfortable atmosphere, for sure.

After a short wait, our orders arrived. I ordered a half order of Sausage Gravy and Biscuits to go along with my Mike's Ultimate Mix. I think a better name would be "Mike's Mess," but that is a compliment. It was a huge plate full of food, 3 eggs scrambled with cheese. ham, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes. It was absolutely delicious, fantastic. The sausage was big chunks. The ham was big chunks, This was very, very good. I had an English muffin with it and a Potato Pancake with onion. Both were also very good. Now in all honesty, the Mike's Mix alone was more than enough, but I also had a side of Biscuits and Gravy. That was pretty good too, though just a bit on the salty side. I could not finish it, no way! It was all very good.

My friend Tommy ordered the 2 eggs over medium with toast and home fries and sausage. It was also very good, though he did note that the over medium eggs had a bit of runny whites in them. But they were good. The toast appeared to be of homemade bread and was very good. The homefries, he said, were just OK. The sausage links were huge, and very good.

Overall, this was a very good meal, and I'd say yes, it was the best breakfast in South Daytona Shores, no doubt. I'd come back here again for breakfast. The food was good, the service excellent, and the value outstanding. Yumm!

Maria Bonita Restaurante Mexicano

My friend and I made a return visit here the other night and had a nice meal. We'd been to Maria Bonita Restaurant Mexicano before and had to wait. This time luck was with us and there was no wait, though they were generally busy. We were quickly greeted and shown to a table, and in short order our waiter, Josue, took our drink orders. He returned with our drinks and also some chips and salsa. The chips were nice and fresh as was the salsa, very tasty.

For my dinner I ordered the Guadalajara, a combination dinner which consisted of a chicken enchilada, a chicken burrito, and a chicken tostada. All were delicious, but the chicken tostada really stood out in my mind, it was excellent, absolutely wonderful. The other components were very good as well. It was served with some refried beans and rice and a bit of guacamole and sour cream as well. Not only was it very good, but it was a lot of food as well. However, somehow I managed to eat it all.

My friend Tommy ordered the Steak Fajitas, the normal steak and onions and bell pepper served hot on a sizzling platter with flour tortillas and beans and rice as a side (with a bit of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream). Tommy was not overly impressed with them, saying they were good, but certainly not the best he'd ever had. I had a taste and I'd agree. For some reason, the fajita meat seemed a bit too sweet for my taste. It was not bad, just not great.

Our service during the meal was OK, but just OK, it could have been a bit more attentive. Several times someone who I guess was the manager came around and basically asked if things were OK, but that was about it. Our meal was prompt as was the check, though. So it was OK. Overall it was a good meal though I've eaten here before and it was a bit better. Still, it's not bad Mexican food considering, and certainly better than you get at a chain such as Don Pablo's. I'll eat here again, it's a charming place with good food at a reasonable price.

Wing House of Daytona Beach

You get what you pay for, and we had a decent experience at Wing House of Daytona Beach. We were downtown to attend the Elton John and Leon Russell concert at the Ocean Center. The downtown and boardwalk area were quite busy. After trying a few places and not wanting a long wait, we settled for the bar a the Wing House. It was a good decision. The bartender was very attentive, our food was not too long in the making, and it was pretty good for the price.

We started with the nachos. Oh my! This was a huge plate of nachos, but we did do a good job on them. Nachos covered with taco meat, some beans, cheese, jalapenos, lettcuce and some onions. They were served with a bit of salsa and some sour cream and were really good, all that nachos should be. We pretty well cleaned them up, to be honest. Wow.

For "dinner" we decided to spit a fish sandwich, and that was a good choice since we were already pretty full from the nachos. The sandwich was good and decent, though nothing extraordinary. Still, it hit the spot and, with a bit of tartar sauce, was quite tasty. This is a very touristy area, so that is a drawback (for me). But for a quick bite and somewhat of a party atmosphere, I'd go back!

Brickyard Lounge

I figured there must be some reason that so many reviews on urbanspoon.com raved about the burgers at Brickyard Lounge, so on a recent Saturday night, my friend Tommy and I went there to investigate for ourselves. I was pleasantly surprised.

We arrived a bit late on a Saturday evening. It's really more of a bar than a restaurant, but in the back there are maybe a half dozen tables that'll hold up to four people. We were lucky, there was one open. We sat down and were quickly greeted and a drink order taken. We also ordered the Jalapeno Popper's for an appetizer.

Brickyard Lounge is not a very large place. It's rather narrow and has a very small kitchen near the front. Yet they seem to put out a hell of a menu from that tiny kitchen.

In due time our Jalapeno Poppers arrived. They were pretty typical, though the remoulade that was served with them was very good. A jalapeno had been slice in half and the seeds/ribs removed, stuffed with a cream cheese mixture, breaded and deep fried. They were decent enough, but nothin exceptional. Just good. But the remoulade was very good.

We both ordered burgers. I had a cheeseburger with Cheddar cheese, medium, and with onion rings instead of the fries. Tommy also had a cheeseburger with cheddar cheese, medium well, and with the fries. Both of us had the coleslaw.

First off, I liked the presentation. There was a small container of coleslaw, but it was certainly overflowingly packed. That was nice. My burger, though ordered medium, was actually cooked to a solid medium well. I was, however, really excited by the outer char that it had--it was very nicely charred and that added alot of flavor to it. It was said to be a half pound of sirloin, and I believe that to be so. In any case, it was very good, tough at medium well, just slightly on the dry side. Still, it was very good. Same thing for Tommy's burger, he liked it a lot.

Overall, we had a very nice meal here. The burgers were indeed very good, tender and flavorful. Though it's more bar than restaurant, they do a fine job with the food and I'd recommend them. A job well done!

BJ's Restaurant

We stopped here for a second time on a Sunday evening recently and again had a nice meal. BJ's Restaurant was quite busy, but it was a beautiful evening and we were glad to sit outside--the temperature was perfect!

First off, I like the fact that they have some of their own beers on tap, and I love their pale ale. But aside from that, the food has been good so far. I'd say the service still needs a bit of work--my salad came before our appetizer, and all the food and the beer seemed to come from someone other than our server! But she did follow up quickly on each serving. Still, it can be a bit confusing when the server does no know who gets what or what's alread been served. They have a bit of work to do here.

But lets talk about the meal. As I mentioned, my salad was the first thing to arrive, even though we'd ordered appetizers well in advance. Oh well. The salad was very good, fresh and flavorful.

We ordered two appetizers. The first was the Mini-chicken Quesadilla. It was good, not spectacular, but good and I'd get it again.

The second entree was the Mac 'n Cheese. This was very, very good. It had a nice cheesy flavor, a bit of bacon and onion in it. Yumm. I'd order this again in a hearbeat. My friend Tommy thought the pasta should have been something other than rotini, but I was fine with it. We both enjoyed this dish a lot!

Then there was a long wait. Really, too long of a wait. But eventually our entrees came out. Tommy ordered the MeatLoaf Sandwich--it was huge, and very good. A large chunk of meatloaf was on a bun, smothered with gravy and topped with shredded onion rings. It was very tasty indeed, though the bun was really just a prop and was a bit heavy. Still, it was very good. 

For my entree, I chose the Fish 'n Chips, but substituted the aforementioned salad for the chips. The fish was good, several pieces of white fish had been battered and deep fried. OK, it was not quite as good as a Wisconsin fish fry, but it was still pretty darned good. I was not crazy about the tartar sauce--it was too sweet and lacked the acid it needed. But i added some lemon juice to it and that seemed to give it the kick it needed. Not great tartar sauce, but at least passable.

BJ's has a large menu, and there are a number of dishes on it I'd like to try at another time. Overall I enjoyed the meal we had here. The food delivery could have been better and faster, but what was delivered seemed to be pretty good for the fair price we paid. I'd come back here, for sure!

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

I could not find the "gourmet" in the burger I had here at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers recently. Oh, it was an OK burger but pretty run of the mill as burgers go--I was expecting something different, something "over the top." And if you advertise something to be gourmet, wouldn't you expect it to deliver that? Well, Red Robin did not deliver the gourmet, they served me an average (good tasting but average) burger on my first visit to them. I won't say it's my last visit, as there were other things on the menu that looked good, but I would not go out of my way for a burger here.

My friend Tommy and I stopped here recently for a late evening dinner. I'd heard of Red Robin and seen the ads and was drawn in. They were somewhat busy when we arrived, but we were greeted and seated promptly. The menu mentioned micobrews so that piqued my interest. But apparently they don't know the definiton of microbrews, because when the waitress recited their beer menu, there were no microbrew on it that I could tell, just plenty of big brewery brews, though some were their specialty brews, but no true microbrews from smaller independent breweries. I was a bit disappointed. But no matter, I had a Kilians Red. See what I mean, not a microbrew.

We started with an appetizer, the tower of onion rings. Thirteen onion rings were piled on a tower and served with two dipping sauces (don't try to count them in the picture, we ate some as soon as they arrived). The onion rings were good, fresh and hot with a nice crisp coating. They were good onion rings. One dipping sauce was pretty much an ordinary ranch dressing, not bad, just not special. The other had a barbecue base and had a bit of heat--I liked this one a bit more. The onions were nice and thick and well cooked and server very hot. Yumm!  While waiting, we had a chance to look around a bit. The interior decor is very, very nice, warm and inviting, modern, with a friendly atmosphere. The colors were browns and reds and accented with some contrasts, all making for a very inviting atmosphere, a fun place to gather with a group, I'd think.

In due time our orders arrived. I ordered the Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger. The say it's "the orignal upon which we have built our fame." I ordered it medium. The burger was garnished with crisp lettuce, fresh tomatoes, pickles, onions and mayo. For cheese I chose the old standby: cheddar. Now, it was a good burger. It was cooked just a bit beyond medium but that's a minor point. But, with all the other toppings, it was a bit difficult to taste the burger. I'd think if you called something a "gourmet burger" you'd want that to stand out. Well, though it was a good sandwich, I did not find anything gourmet about it--it was just an average good burger, no more, no less. And with all the "stuff" on it, hard to even taste the burger itself. The burger was served with ther "Bottomless Steak Fries." They were just larger cut fries, not at all spectacular, just average. I'd say they coudl have used another 20 seconds or so fo cooking time to make them a bit more crispy. They were good, but just average.

Tommy ordered the Just-In-Quesadilla from the appetzer menu. These were flour tortillas filled with sliced chicken breast, mushrooms, applewood smoked bacon, pepper-jack and cheddar cheeses, fresh cilantro, and tomatoes. It was served wtih small sides of chipotle black beans, salsa, and guacamole with sour cream. They were tasty. A pretty good quesadilla actually. Tommy liked the quesadillas, and I had a taste and agree, they were quite good. I also liked the chipotle black beans a lot, they had a very nice flavor. This was a good choice, a nice quesadilla.

At one point during our meal a manger (at least I think it was) did check in on our. And our waitress was pretty attentive too. I'd say we received very good service overall. For fun you might want to compare my picture of the quesadillas to that on their menu...quite a difference, but then that's to be expected I guess. But overall, it was a good meal here, just not the gourmet burger I expected. You should deliver what you promise. For a great burger, you'll have to go elsewhere. But for a good--but average--burger and decent food, give Red Robin a try.

Mango Sun Cafe and Grille

Mango Sun Cafe and Grille is chiefly known as a breakfast/lunch spot, but they recently added dinner to their repertoire. So, when my friend  Tommy and I were in the area on a recent evening, we decided to take some advice and give Mango's a try. Our dinner there was good. Not great, but it was good. Currently, they only offer dinner on Friday and Saturday nights--we were there on a Saturday night. They were not very busy, but our service was very attentive.

I started out with a salad and my friend Tommy started out with a bowl of soup. My salad was good, but the best part of it was the dressing. They said they had a Bleu Cheese Viniagrette. I thought to myself, "how can you make a viniagrette with bleu cheese?" I was skeptical. But I'm a convert now. The dressing was actually very, VERY good! I thought the bleu cheese would overpower the dressing, but I was wrong. However they made it, this was a definite hit in my book. Definitely good eats!

Tommy had the soup. I'm not exactly sure what it was called, but I did have a sip and it was very good soup. I believe it was a vegetable soup, it had lots of veggies in it but also a nice savory flavor. He liked it a lot. There were a lot of good flavors going on in that bowl, including zucchini and potatoes, among others. Not sure how it was done, but it was good.

For my main course I had Barbecue Chicken. To me it seemed somewhat ordinary. The piece of chicken itself looked like what you'd get at a lot of restaurants--you know, it appeared to have those fake grill marks on it, basically painted on lines. The chicken itself was tender. But it seemed just an ordinary piece of chicken that had some barbecue sauce slathered on it and not much more. It was not bad, but it was not special.  It was served with a rice pilaf that was good, though also somewhat ordinary, and with some mixed vegetables. The veggies were cooked perfectly, nice and crispy and not at all overcooked. Overall this was an OK dish--not great, just OK.

Tommy had the prime rib. It came out perfectly prepared and with a wonderful jus. It was cooked to a perfect medium, maybe a bit towards medium well, but was nice and tender and juicy and flavorful. It was served with smashed potatoes that were very good. His only complaint was maybe a bit too much salt. But the potatoes had a nice texture and flavor. He also had the mixed vegetables.

All in all we had a pretty nice meal here. I'd certainly like to go back and try breakfast and/or lunch here as that's what they're known for. But dinner wasn't too bad either. Top that off with the good service we had and we left as happy campers, another meal of good eats under out belts!

Lime Restaurant

The appetizer should not arrive at the same time as your meal! However, that is the only substantial complaint I have about my recent meal at Lime Restaurant in Daytona Beach.

My friend Tommy and I ventured to the boardwalk area of Daytona Beach on a recent Saturday evening in May, before the start of the tourist season. It was a very warm and pleasant evening and surprisingly busy with lots of people out and about. I'd wanted to try Lime Restaurant for some time. This was the time. It was not crowded and we had no wait for a seat. Lime Restaurant is a big place with a large open area in the center of the room, a bar and bar seating in one quadrant, and tables for dining around the sides of the room. I'm guessing maybe it's a busy night life sort of place later in the evening. 

We were promptly greeted and seated. In due time our waiter came and took drink orders and answered a few of our questions. When he returned with the drinks, we told him we'd like to start with the Chicken Skewers. He left to put in the order while we continued to peruse the menu. After a bit he came back and took the rest of our order. In a short time, my salad arrived. I'd ordered the Creole Salad. It was very good. Hearts of palm and tomatoes were served over romaine lettuce, the salad dressed with a cilantro and lime viniagrette. It was absolutely delicious and it did not take me long to devour it, though I did think the salad a bit on the small side given the $5 price tag. No matter, it was certainly very good. 

It seemed that our wait was a bit long, and then all of a sudden a few staff came with out dinners and our appetizer, all at the same time! I was certainly surprised. I believe we ordered the appetizer in plenty of time for it to have been truly an appetizer, so I was disappointed with what I'd consider a kitchen timing issue. That was a bit of a let down.

For the appetizer we ordered the Chicken Skewers. Two skewers each had several pieces of chicken which had been marinated in a Jamaican jerk marinade.This was served with two sauces, both very good. One was an avocado based sauce, the other I'm not certain of. I guess if the appetizer had been served first rather than with my meal, I'd have been able to pay closer attention to it. The skewers were on a bed of rice which served to soak up any juices. The chicken pieces themselves were very tender, juicy, and flavorful. I did think that the two sauces were just kind of thrown on the plate, they did not look very organized and seemed just a bit mess. But they sure did taste good and all the ingredients went well together. 

For his entree, Tommy ordered the Island Roasted Pork and it was delicious. Pork had been slow roasted and pulled apart. It was served with Congri, Cuban black beans and rice. Tommy commented that the Congri seemed a bit pasty and I must agree, as if it had been holding for some time, it was just a bit starchy and the rice a bit flat. However, the delicious pork made up for this shortcoming. The dish was served with two yucca fries (yes, only two) and an avocado type sauce. Overall, it was a very good dish, quite yummy.

For my entree I had the Skirt Steak with Chimichurri. All I can say is, "yumm." The skirt steak was cooked just a tad beyond the requested medium rare, but was still quite good. The chimichurri sauce on top added a nice depth of flavor to an already flavorful cut of meat. Two pieces of broccolini graced my plate--they were delicious. And I had a few more yucca fries than Tommy, along with the avocado sauce. But the real star of my meal was the skirt steak--it was delicious. 

I enjoyed our meal at Lime Restaurant. In general, the food was very good, spot-on. The timing was a bit off, but the food was excellent and made up for that. I'd eat here again, definitely!

Mestizas Restaurant

Unfortunately, Mestizas Restaurant did not live up to the hype. It was not bad, but based on the urbanspoon.com reviews, I was expecting something way above what I got. Had those reviews been representative of what I experienced on my recent visit there, I'd have loved this place. As it was, it was OK food, some high points, some low points. However, I would say it was a value. That is, the prices are very reasonalbe, and i think I would like this a lot more as a lunch place, a place to grab a reasonably priced meal at a good price. For dinner, it just fell a little short.

To begin with, I was a bit confused. We arrived around 7 on a Friday night and were promptly greeted, told we could seat ourselves, and had our drink order taken in prompt manner. While perusing the menu, we saw chips and salsa listed as an appetizer. We were going to order that, but our waitress arrived with chips and salsa. Perhpas they are complimentary at dinner time? I don't know, I just was a bit confused. However, the chips were fresh, fresh, fresh. The first few I had were actually on the hot side, obviously fresh out of the fryer and very good. I will say that the pile of chips was a bit unevenly salted, some on top were a bit salty, those on the bottom under-salted. But they were good, as was the salsam though I would have preferred a bit more heat. But it was tasty with a nice, fresh tomato flavor with a hint of lime and a very faint cilantro flavor--very good salsa overall.

For an appetizer we ordered the Carnitas de Pollo--deep-fried tips of chicken wiht sauteed onions served over some chopped romaine. My friend Tommy thought the chicken a bit tough or rubbery, but I thought it was pretty good. The onions, however, were a bit tough, and I'm not sure why. They seemed to have been just a bit undercooked and were for the most part locked in that stage between raw and sauteed where they were just "tough." I don't know how else to explain it. But the real star of this dish was the dressing--a lime based light dressing was used and it was indeed outstanding. I actually used a spoon to sip some of it and really, really liked it--a lot. For me the chicken and the dressing were very, very good and I was pleased.

For his main course, Tommy ordered the Chimichanga. The menu says it's shredded beef tips wrapped in a flour tortilla, deep fried, and topped with cheese, served with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. It was also topped with a bit of guacamole and served with refried beans and rice. I did have a bite and it was not bad, quite tasty, actually. However, the beef was not shredded, it was cubed, and the filling was a bit runny, not the firm filling I'd expect in a chimichanga. It was not bad tasting, it was actually pretty good, just not quite what I expect in a chimi....  Also, the "topped with cheese" was actually a thin cheese sauce, too thin for my liking actually, but it was not my dinner. It was overall OK.

For my entree, I ordered the enchiladas. The menu describes this as two corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, shredded chicken, or beef tips, topped with a "signature" sauce, cheese, and onions. First of all, overall, it was pretty good. But when I ordered one beef and one chicken, the waitress said that it was actually three enchiladas! OK, fine, i also had cheese. It was garnished with a bit of lettuce and a dollop of sour cream, and served with rice and refried beans. The rice and refried beans were good, though ordinary. However, the beans could have used just a bit more salt. The same "bit more salt" theme ran through the rest of my meal as well. It was good but could have used just a bit more salt. The enchiladas overall were goodl. The beef and chicken were good. The cheese, however, could have been a bit hotter--the cheese was not quite melted inside as it should have been. The high point of this dish, however, was the "signature" sauce. It was indeed very, very good. The rich tomato flavor definitely stood out in this sauce. I could have eaten a bowl of it all by itself. Overall, my enchiladas were good. Oops... didn't the menu mention onions? I didn't miss them, but my enchiladas were not topped with any onion...

I definitely enjoyed my meal here, but I'm not sure that I'd go back for dinner, there is better Mexican food for dinner, I think, in Daytona (La Fiesta and Maria Bonita's definitely). However, I think this would be a great place for a lunch bite if I lived or worked in the area. But again, it did not live up to the hype given in the three reviews I read on urbanspoon.com. Makes me wonder who really wrote those reviews. No matter, it was an acceptable experience, I was just not overwhelmed. The price for our meal, two entrees, and appetizer, and two regular drinks was about $26. Not bad. A value. Just not great.

Malibu Beach Grill

I had high hopes for Malibu Beach Grill because they are a sister to the fabulous Monterey Grill just around the corner and down the street a bit. But my meal here left me with mixed feelings. Perhaps I set my sights too high?

Don't get me wrong, I had a nice meal here, but it did not quite meet my high expectations. Still, the meal was above average, no doubt!

My friend Tommy and I headed to Port Orange on a recent Friday evening, anxious to try this sister of our favorite Monterey Grill. We arrived at prime time to find that it would be a 45 minute wait. Well, we were interested in trying it out, and if it was that popular after only being open just over a month, we were willing to wait. We parked ourselves in the small bar/lounge and waited. Our service in the bar/lounge was great. We had ourselves a drink and eventually secured a few seats at the bar. Eventually, our buzzer sounded and we were quickly shown to our seats.

Malibu Beach Grill is not a huge place, and seems a bit cramped. But there was more than adequate staff who all seemed very competent and well trained. We were quickly seated by the host and in short order our waitress, Andrea, arrived.

We started off with the Chez Mushrooms--small button mushrooms that were served on a sizzling cast iron platter in a bit of oil and covered with mozzarella cheese. They were OK but did not live up to the hype. They were a bit on the salty side, and that took away from them. I would not order them again. They weren't bad... but they did not excite me a lot either.

On to the soup. Yes, I saw Tomato Bisque on the menu and just had to try it. A good tomato soup of some variety is a favorite of mine, so I was excited to see this on their menu. First the good. There was a very nice tomato flavor here, and it had a great texture--almost meaty in texture. However, the great flavors were a bit overpowered by too much salt. As in way too much. I believe a diner should be served with food that is either perfectly salted, or even a bit under-salted--but my Tomato Bisque showed a heavy hand with the salt. It's too bad, because the rest of the flavors were spot-on. Take away the extra salt and this bisque is or could be a real winner.

Our salads arrived in due order. They were good salads, nothing too special but certainly a cut above ordinary. My dressing was a house mediterranean italian type with olives and citrus in is--it was actually very good. I liked it a lot and it was fairly unique. It was a good salad with fresh ingredients and not too "wet"--something I really hate. I'd have this salad again, no doubt.

Finally it was on to our main courses. I was having dinner with my friend Tommy. For his main course he ordered the Paremsan Chicken. All I can say is "wow!" This was really a very nice dish. The chicken was extraordinarily tender and juicy--exceptional in flavor. The parmesan-crusted chicken was flavored with a lemon cream sauce and it too was good. This was a very, very good dish, the Chicken was excellent. Along wiht this was a medley of vegetalbes which was good. And last but not least was the parmesan mashed potatoes--this was the weakest element of the dish. The potatoes were very creamy and thus had little texture. They were also a bit watery and slightly bland. They could have been seasoned a bit more and could have stood up to less cream/butter--in other words, they were just a bit too blah. The needed a bit more texture and firmness. They weren't bad, they just weren't as good as the other elements of the dish.

As for my entree, I chose the Ginger Soy Shrimp--eight large shrimp which were served in a ginger soy sauce. This was just an OK dish for me. The shrimp were just a bit past cooked--in other words, slightly overcooked. The ginger soy sauce was lacking in some pizzazz quality--it was OK but it did not overwhelm me with either ginger or soy flavors. It left me wanting for something to make it really stand out. For a go-with I had the black beans and rice. They were OK but not more than that. 

Our service for our meal was very good. Not only did our waitress take good care of us, but other waitstaff were always attentive, removed used plates and the like promptly.

Malibu Beach Grill has only been open a short time but shows great promise the staff is very well trained and attentive. The food, though good, could use a bit of fine tuning. Still, I believe that in time this will turne out to be a fine place. It may have a few growning pains to go through, but it has definite potential! 

Chili's Grill & Bar

My friend and I were hungry for some comfort food the other night and so decided on Chili's Grill & Bar in Daytona Beach. Chili's does not pretend to be gourmet food, but it is mass produced food done well with good service in a nice atmosphere. 

It happened to be the opening weekend of Bike Week in Daytona, so restaurants were busy and Chili's was no exception. However the host seemed to have a great grasp of the situation. We had no sooner gotten one of those wireless beepers than he came by to retrieve it and take us to our table. Wow, that was the shortest wait I've ever had--barely had that thing in hand two seconds! Our waitress also was very competent and friendly and she did a very nice job.

I started out with a draft beer--didn't know it was two for one but I didn't complain either. And we started with the chips and salsa. I'm used to run-of-the-mill salsa, but this was actually above average (though the chips were just average). But the salsa was not only flavorful, but had a nice kick to it. i ate a lot of these and needed the two drafts to help wash them all down.

I ordered a salad with my dinner and it came promptly. It was a good salad, though sort of full of "stuff." It had chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, corn, and a few red onions in it and some nice croutons. The lettuce was primarily romaine. It was a good salad. I only needed a small portion of the house citrus viniagrette to dress it. Yumm, it was good.

For my dinner I opted for the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. This was also very good. It was served on a whole wheat roll (my choice) which was nice and hearty. The chicken was breaded and fried and covered in a nice and hot/spicy buffalo sauce, atop a slice of tomato and a bit of lettuce. It was also dressed with some blue cheese dressing. You know, for what it was, this was a nice sandwich and I thoroughly enjoyed it--a lot!

We had a nice meal at Chili's, just good food with good service and for a reasonable price. At a time when some big-chain restaurants are empty and some floundering, this location seemed to be very busy and sure knew how to take care of people. I'd eat here again, for sure. If you want gourmet, try elsewhere. But if you just want a good meal for a fair price, give this place a try.