Bob Evans

Comfort food is what I consider the main fare at Bob Evans, and a recent Sunday noonish time found at at our local Bob Evans. We did find our comfort food.

My friend Tommy was in the mood for breakfast, so he ordered the Country Biscuit Breakfast, a split biscuit topped with crumbled sausage, a perfectly cooked medium-well egg, cheese and gravy. It also had home fries on the size. For Tommy, the breakfast was "just OK." The sausage was just crumbled sausage and the gravy was pretty plain, not sausage gravy. The potatoes were very good and he was impressed that they cooked the egg perfectly, just as he requested.

I started off with a salad with raspberry viniagrette dressing. The salad itself was pretty ordinary, but fresh, a mix of iceberg and romaine lettuce, some julienne carrots and a few grape tomatoes. The raspberry vinagrette was decent and served on the side. It was all I'd expect of an average, ordinary salad.

For my main dish, I had the Slow-Roasted Turkey Knife & Fork Sandwich. Bread was topped with celery-sage dressing, mashed potatoes, roast sliced turkey (not lunchmeat, but real turkey slices) and topped with gravy. It was all I expected it to be, very good comfort food. The dressing reminded me a bit in texture of Stove-Top stuffing, but that is good comfort food. There was nothing about this "sandwich" that I did not like, except maybe it could have used a bit more gravy. The size was perfect for lunch, the flavor was good, savory, a bit of sweet, it tasted just like an open-face turkey sandwich should, and I left very satisfied.

Our service was great and fast from start to finish, the place was bright and clean. I've eaten here before and will come back again. If I want simple comfort food at a resonable price, Bob Evans is one place that comes to my mind. Close, convenient, simple, decent food at a decent price. 

Yum-Mì Sandwiches

I was glad to get a chance to try the fare at Yum-Mì Sandwiches recently, and I was not disappointed. My friend Tommy and I were headed to an art show opening at The Center which is nearby, so we took the opportunity to try out Yum-Mì. We were both satisfied and enjoyed our meals.

Yum-Mì is a fairly new establishment what is a very Asian area of Mills Street, just a bit west of downtown Orlando. It is very nicely decorated with a very modern feel. I cannot speak to the authenticity of the food. but I do know good food, so was excited to try some new things. You walk in and order at the counter, they give you a number, and then they bring your food out to you. It seems a decent system.

We started with some yummìtizers (appetizers), some Spring Rolls, At the suggestion of the young man behind the counter, we ordered both the Shredded Chicken, and the Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls. In due time they arrived. The Shredded Chicken were serverd with a peanut-based dipping sauce, a nice enhancement to the flavor of the spring roll. Both the spring rolls were fresh and tasty, filled with the protein but also with fresh veggies that included napa cabbage, carrots, and a host of other flavors. They were delicate but tasty. The Shrimp roll was accompanied by a thin, clear dipping sauce. I detected a bit or rice wine vinegar in it, but am not sure what else was there. It was very light in taste, a perfect compliment for the delicate shrimp in the roll.

Yum-Mì's main fare is bánh mì, Vietnamese sandwiches. They are served on fresh baked rolls with a variety of meats and other filings. For his sandwich, Tommy ordered one of their specialty sandwiches, the Yin N Yang, containing five-spice bouron chicken, lettuce and tomatoes, in addition to some julienne carrot, cucumber, cilantro and perhaps a few other things. It was quite tasty, though did benefit a bit from some mayo. Still, it was a very tasty sandwich with a nice balance of meat and savory flavors along with the crunch and freshness of the vegetables. It was indeed "yummy!"

I decided to try traditional, so ordered the Yum-Mi Traditional, called đặc biệt in Vietnamese.  It, too, was very good, a nice balance of savory with the meats (admittedly quite finely sliced) and the crunch and freshness of the veggies: julienne carrots, cucumber, cilantro, and perhaps a few others I am not familiar with. It also had some sort of sauce, which added to the great taste. I liked this sandwich a lot, the balance of taste and texture on a fresh roll was excellent. I had only one complaint, and that was the stems of the cilantro. They were a bit tough and i had one or two that were exceptionally large. Less stem would have been desireable as it's kind of chewy and stong in flavor. But overall, I enjoyed my sandwich a lot.

As a matter of fact, we enjoyed our whole meal, that the price is very reasonable. The sandwiches were well uner $5 each, and the appetizers were just something we wanted to try. We even took two spring rolls home, and, for a minute, debated on only eating half of our sandwiches. They were both quite filing. So we enjoyed our experience there, and I'd recommend that you give Yum-Mì a try as well. I think you'll be glad you did. It is indeed "Yum-Mi!"

Panera Bread

I'm asking myself, "Why don't we go to Panera Bread more often?" We wanted a quick and simple bite for dinner the other night and settled on Panera Bread. It was great from several aspects. I'm sure we'll be back.

First, it was rather healthy. The menu is clearly posted and each item has the number of calories posted as well. That was extrememly helpful. It helped me choose the cup of Chicken Noodle Soup (80 calories for a cup) and the half sandwich Ham and Swiss (290 calories), some of the lowest calorie items for what I considered a dinner. The soup came with some warm bread which probably added a few calories, but it was very good bread and well worth it. Second, it was fast. We'd barely ordered when Our orders were ready. Now, granted, we were there past the normal dinner hour on a Friday and they were not packed, but they certainly had a steady flow of traffic. So from order time to pick up time was barely a minute, it seemed. Third, it was a pleasant and clean atmosphere. While we were there, they were busy keeping tables and area clean. There were a fair amount of people around, some camped out with laptops and wireless devices, enjoying the free WiFi, some just like us, in for a bit to eat. Fourth, it was reasonable! For the "Pick Two" with a cup of soup and a half sandwich, the damages were a mere $6.99. Unbelievable, and we left there quite full. And last, but certainly not least, the food was very good! The soup was delicious. The sandwich was great. The ingredients were fresh. And best of all, it was a rather healthy meal. What a win. I need to get out to Panera Bread more often. I think I will now!

Alive After Five Chili Cook-Off

Alive after Five happens every month on the Second Thursday if tht month from 5-8 PM on First Street, downtown. January's them for a number of years has been aChili Cook-Off. I attended again this year and sampled 18 of the 34 different chili's there. After careful consideration, I am ready to declare my favorite.

Admission to Alive after Five is only $7.00, and for that you get a wristband that allows you to taste food from the many merchants and vendors who set up shop on the street. And this happens every month, like clockwork, on the second Thursday of the month. It is, I'd say, the best street party in central Florida, with several blocks of First Street closed off and lined with vendors and merchants giving out food and beverage samples, $1 with wristband beer, and wristband holders get a ticket for food at an event sponsored location. It's always a great time, and this year's January event was no exception.

Some of the chili served this year was really awesome. Some was just OK. And some did not really shine. The purpose of the event, though is to have fun. Some of the cooks are home cooks, and some are professional chefs. So, before I give you my results, I want you to keep that in mind. Everyone who participated put their heart and soul into this event which sponsored by and a fundraiser for the Historic Sanford Welcome Center.

First, I must make mention of the Chile names, as two were really outstanding. The first was the chili made by the Sanford Flower Shop: it was called Smokey's Florist Fire Chili. Get it?  I love that name, and their chili was mighty fine too.  The second was prepared by Magnolia Street Market and was called Praise the Lard and Pass the Beer Chili -- it was a beer chili made with pork belly, and also very good. Overall, the two above, along with the Red Solo Cup Chili made by World of Beer came in with a tie for second place, in my opinion. They were all very, very good. In my estimation, one other chili was in the same class but barely, just barely, edged out these there. So I declare all three of the above as in a tie for second place overall for the best chili I ate at the Chili Cook Off.

My winner and championship chili for the contest, by a nose, was the Red Hot Mama's Chili from The Palette, a wine and light fare bar located inside Art Affair Gallery. First place, top notch chili. It was a true Texas-style chili, and Sherry, the chef and creator should know, she's from Texas. I asked her about it and she tells me they hand cut the chuck, roasted the peppers and skinned them, and made all ingredients fresh and from scratch. The care she took in this was evident, as it was for all the top level of chilis. Good job and congratulations to Sherri and The Palette, as well as all the top level chilis.

There were other chilis that were decent, and some not as good. I have listed all the ones I tasted below and given them a ranking. They are alphabetical within their place:

Vendor/Merchant	Chili Name	Place
The Palette	Red Hot Mama's Chili	1st
Magnolia Square Market	Praise the Lard and Pass the Beer Chili	2nd
Sanford Flower Shop	Smokey's Florist Fire Chili	2nd
World of Beer	Red Solo Cup Chili	2nd
Café Rouge	Too Hot to Trot Fire Roasted Chili	5th
Candelight Catering	Chef Sennet's Even Better Chili	5th
Taste of Thyme Café	Texas Best	5th
Café Rouge	Sweet Herb's Three Bean Chili	8th
Framing 408	Cuban Chili	8th
Gander Mountain	Gander Mountain's Gas Master's Chili	8th
Healing Laser Clinics	Sweet Heat Chili	8th
Little Fish HUGE Pond	Sancho's Silly Chili	8th
Skibo's Subs	Skibo's Steak Alarm	8th
Superior Sheds	Ken 3 Alarm	8th
Gail Williams Insurance	White Chili	15th
Gail Williams Insurance	Smokin' Chipotle Chili	15th
Harrell & Beverly	Gone in 60 Seconds Chili	15th
Tru Valu	True Valu Chili	15th

Congratulations to all participants. It was a great and fun event!

   

Fat Rat's Lounge

Update 2012: The chef who prepared the food I had as noted below is no longer here. Subsequent reviews indicate things have changed, so whatever you read below is "old news" and you should take this for what it is, a review of what was, maybe not of what now is....

News Flash: Fat Rat's Lounge is now serving some good food as of late December 2011. Fat Rat's Lounge has been around for a while. It is an interesting places in that it is really three places, a bar, a middle pool table room, and a restaurant area, all connected. I'm not sure what it was like before, but recently a local favorite took over the restaurant area. Steve Richards (of Alive After Five Tail Gator fame) and Samantha did a nice job on our recent visit there.

We'd been at The Palette earlier and have eaten there plenty of times, but wanted to try something new. Michael from The Palette suggested Fat Rat's and so we gave it a try. We're glad we did.

We both decided to have the burger. There has not been a great burger around since Morgan's closed. I ordered mine medium rare and my friend Tommy ordered his medium. We had a nice chat with Steve and Samantha while we waited--they did not have any idea who I was. My burger was produced in good time and it was perfectly cooked to a medium rare. It was nice and juice and served on a delicious bun. The onion rings that accompanied it were pretty standard, but they were good, as were Tommy's fries. His buger, too, arrived just as ordered, it was exactly medium. Now, cannot say this was the best burger I've ever had, but it was darned good. There are two adjustments I'd have made on then. First, a bit of salt. Mine needed a bit of salt. Steve, I suggest you give them a light salt/pepper dusting when cooking, that would add a lot. The second was the placement on the sandwich. It was, top to bottom, top bun, cheese, burger, tomato, lettuce, mayo, bottom burger. But the burger was nice and juicy. I'd suggest putting the lettuce and tomato on top so the bun itself can soak up some of that good burger juice. Still, with a few tweaks, this would have been one of the best burgers I'd ever had.

After we were done, I did introduce myself. I'm a big fan of downtown Sanford. This is a place I'd like to return to. They tell me they're planning on doing lunch too and expanding the menu. The told me of a few of their ideas and I think they're on the right path. And you know when someone like Steve really likes to cook when he does it for fun--by day he's an A/C contractor, this is his hobby, and probably his passion. Well, he does it well. I'd go back, for sure!

Colonial Room

Our waitress told us that the French Fries at Colonial Room were good and she was right. They were excellent. But that was about the high point of my recent meal there. I don't often get to Sanford in the middle of the day, and Colonial Room is open only for lunch and breakfast. So when we had the opportunity to try it recently, I jumped at the chance.

We arrived in the early afternoon, around 1:30 on a Saturday. It was not very busy but was past the lunch hour. After a bit, we decided on our food. I had the open face turkey sandwich with French Fries and a side of coleslaw. The fries were indeed very good. And the turkey appeared to be real turkey, not just some sliced lunchmeat. It was pretty good. But the gravy seemed a big odd to me--I'd guess that it was canned gravy, it almost had a bit of a tinny taste and smell. It wasn't bad, but it was not really a turkey gravy. I'll bet that if I'd ordered the open face beef sandwich, I'd have gotten the same thing. And, there could have been just a bit more of it for the amount of bread. The coleslaw was OK, good even. Not great, but pretty standard. I guess it was the gravy that was the real turn off for me. I'm not sure that I'd go back.

My friend Tommy had one of the specials, a loaded chili cheese dog with fries. It was a nice big hot dog. The chili was pretty standard, I'd guess out of a can. It was a decent hot dog for the price. And of course the fries were indeed very good.

We had good service from Carol and the rest of the staff there. But overall I'd say it was just pretty run-of-the-mill, standard diner type of food, nothing too great. I probably would not go back, unless maybe to try their breakfast.

Acapulco Mexican Restaurant

We ate at Acapulco Mexican Restaurant on the Sunday evening before Christmas. We were in St. Augustine to see the lights (which were nice enough) and decided to stop here for dinner. It was just OK. I probably would not go back.

First, the bright side: we had good service and sat in a window right on the street (as requested). Our waiter, Dazaev M, was very attentive and did a good job.

Then there was the food. It was OK, but just OK. I had the Enchilada Mixtas, several enchiladas. Mediocre at best. My friend Tommy had the Enchilada Fajitas. They were OK, but just OK. I would not go back. It's more of a touristy place than a place for really good Mexican food.

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.

4Rivers Smokehouse

Perhaps it was my high expectations, but I came away from my recent visit to 4Rivers Smokehouse in Longwood disappointed. Or maybe it's all the hype? But the lunch I had there left me wanting for something spectacular and all i got was a mediocre sandwich with average coleslaw and beans. Let me explain.

I went with some work friends for lunch. We got there early (before 11:30) because I'd heard they have long lines. We just barely got inside the door and had about a 10-15 minute wait but by the time we left the line was well out into the parking lot. I would not wait again for what I got. 

I ordered a "Signature Sandwich," the Texas Destroyer. The only destruction was to my expectations. There was a decent portion of smoked brisket which was, for the most part, quite yummy. It was topped by two onion rings, some jalapenos, and a slice of provolone. On my first bite, the onions all came out in one long mess.... I could not really taste the provolone but it was there. My main complaints are two. First, I tasted some of the burnt ends that were in the sandwich. They were overly sweet from the rub. Very, very sweet. Second was the homemade BBQ sauces. They too were overly sweet. Now, that is a texas style, but the sweetness really masquerades the flavor of the meat, so I was not a big fan of them. Some of the brisket just by itself was good. But as a whole it was just average.

As for my sides, the beans were a bit soupy. I'm sure there were some bits of smoked meat in them, but mostly it was more of a soup. The coleslaw was average, nothing special. My friend enjoyed their meals but none of them were overly impressed either. Would I go back? If I didn't have to wait in line, maybe, but if I had to wait, it would not be worth it, I'd rather head around the corner to Chef Henry's for some really great food.

One high point, however. Just before we finished one of the employees came around with small samples of the pulled pork. I tried some and it was very good, a nice flavor, a hint of smoke, tender and juicy. After that, i made the mistake of putting on a small bit of the house BBQ sauce--that totally ruined it for me, the sweetness overpowered the flavor of the meat. Too bad. So, when I want some good BBQ, 4Rivers will not be at the top of my choice list, sorry. Over-hyped for what  you get.

Country Aire Bar & Banquet

We journeyed from to Country Aire Bar & Banquet in Stratford as it was the only place that we could find to accomodate our party of 17 on somewhat short notice. And it turned out to be a good choice as they have an excellent fish fry--that was our whole reason for going there.

So on the Friday after Thanksgiving, a large group of my family made the 10 mile journey there and had a great Fish Fry--exactly what a Wisconsin Fish Fry should be. I was in luck, they also had a seafood buffet, and it included the beer-battered, deep fried haddock that is the staple of Wisconsin Fish Fries. And it had a bit more, it had some Haddock with cheese (strange combination, but it was actually quite good) and popcorn shrimp. So I got to sample quite a bit of stuff and it was all good. But I got to sample all the staples of a Fish Fry: the deep-fried, beer-battered fish, french fried, cole slaw (excellent, too) and rye (or in this case, marble) bread. It was all very good.

The facility is rather large, with a large dining room on one side, a bar in the middle, and a large banquet hall on the other side. I'd imagine they do lots of wedding. No matter, it was a good choice, they were very accomodating, our waitress was fast, friendly, and efficient, and we had a great family outing, a great family time here.  Yumm, definitely good eats!

Daily Grind

We stopped by Daily Grind on a recent Saturday. It was lunchtime but we found they were only serving breakfast. No matter, we decided to stay. And it was a good thing because our meal was fantastic!

Daily Grind is a small, somewhat eclectic place in the heart of downtown Marshfield. It's really a coffee bar that serves a limited breakfast and lunch menu. With free WiFi and a cozy atmosphere, it's a great place to just hang out with friends, I'd thing. Tommy and I were shopping and called my sister Donna to join us. We got over our "breakfast only" initial disappointment and all settled on the breakfast burrito--it was a very good choice as it was excellent! A large tortilla was stuffed--and I do mean stuffed--with all sorts of goodness. It had a definite Tex-Mex feel to it, chilies, cheese, olives, bacon, onions, and all manner of good things. It was awesome, we all agreed. It was topped with some shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. All in all, this was great and I'd have it again. 

Susie's Home Cooking

Is there really "home cooking" at Susie's Home Cooking? You bet! We made a good choice when we decided to stop here. Warm and inviting, it feels like (and is) a small town diner inside--with great food.

We had to start with the deep fried cheese curds. They were all they should have been, with a nice beer-batter coating, fried and tender and delicious.

For his meal, my friend Tommy tried the Pasty. A Pasty is an upper Michigan treat, a pie dough of sorts that's stuffed with all sorts of goodness. This was stuffed with meat, onions, celery, and rice. It was excellent--really very, very good. I would go back to Suzie's just to have the Pasty again--it was that good. I wish I could have gotten a dozen frozen and taken them back to Florida on the plane with me. Yes, it was that good.

I started with a salad, and it was pretty typical, iceberg lettuce with a few bits of red cabbage and carrots for coloer. Nothing too special, but what you'd expect to find in a diner. however, the dressing was homemade, a raspberry viniagrette, and very good.

For my main course I had what I consider to be a diner staple, a Patty Melt. It was all I expected it to be. The patty appeared to be hand made and it was cooked perfectly. The grilled onions and the cheese made it just perfect. I loved it.

So, next time I'm driving from Milwaukee to Marshfield and need a bite to eat, I will remember the food at Suzie's. Definitely worth stopping for.

Silvano's Ristorante Italiano

We ate at Silvano's Ristorante Italiano recently, and it was a pretty good meal. I had a coupon and a taste for some Italian food. It's a pretty nice place, very Italian looking. Not huge but a warm and inviting space.

We started out with a glass of wine. I will say that the price of a glass of wine seemed a bit steep for the pour. Our meal started with a salad. The salad, as well as the accompanying bread, was very good. It was lightly dressed and the greens were very fresh.

My friend Tommy had the Penne Vodka for his main course. It was pretty good, though seemed a bit heavy on the tomatoes and light on the cream. Still, it was better than most.

I had the Veal, thin-sliced cutlets of veal cooked nicely in a lemon-cream sauce served on a bed of fettucine. It was good and I managed to eat it all.

All in all, it was a pretty good meal, and if I lived in the area I'd probably return. However, I live in Lake Mary and we do have better Italian food close by, like my favorite, Cafe Positano. Not to take away from Silvano's, it's still way above most chains the the food seemed genuinely Italian. Give it a try, let me know what you think! 

Mikado Japanese Cuisine

I went to Mikado Japanese Cuisine with a few coworker for lunch recently, and we were all in agreement--very good! It was a very pleasant surprise. I'm not all that familiar with Japanese cuisine, but they have an extensive sushi and sashimi menu--besides other things--and we all left very satisifed. We all agreed: we'd return again, it was very good.

I ordered a lunch special, two sushi rolls, and it came with a choice of soup or salad. I had the salad. It was very good. An assortment of greens was dressed with a ginger dressing. Now, for my taste, the ginger could have been a bit stronger, but still, it was very good and nicely refreshing.

For my lunch I had two sushi rolls, both cooked. One with chicken, one with shrimp. Both were very, very good! The accompanying wasabi was expecially good as well. For about $10, I had a really good meal. I'd come back here again, anytime. The service was extremely attentive as well. Excellent job, excellent food. Yumm!

Tutto Bene

We had dinner on a recent Sunday late afternoon at Tutto Bene in Lake Mary. We were pleasantly surprised and had a much better meal than I've had recently at another nearby Italian Restaurant, by far.

Tutto Bene is located very close to the Seminole State College Campus and, judging from some of the items on the menu board, I'd guess they cater to a nice College population as well as the area. We were hungry and adventurous, and sure brought our appetites with us!

We started with appetizers. First there were Garlic Knots (not pictured). They were very garlicy, something my friend Tommy does not like. But I liked them, though i found them just a bit heavy. The marinara to go-with was very good.

Then we had Fried Mozzarella Sticks. They were served with the same marinara which was fine with me as I really liked it. The mozzarella sticks could have been friend just another 30s seconds or so, they would have been better. Still, they were plenty good.

On top of that, we also ordered the Fried Ravioli. Again, they were very good, not overcooked, jsut right. And again, served with the same marinara--still just as delicious. These were pretty darned good.

For my main course I had the Penne ala Vodka with Chicken. Wow, this was very good. You could tell that this dish was cooked to marry the flavors, and it had a lot of very good flavor. I liked it a lot.

I also ordered a side salad, which our waitress almost forgot, but it had it right after my entree arrived. It was a good salad, nice and fresh. The best part of it was the dressing, a house Italian. It was very good and full of nice flavor.

For his dinner, my friend Tommy had the Chicken Cacciatore. It, too was very good, and a nice portion.

Finally, we ordered a Cannoli. All I can say is "yumm." It was very sweet but also very good. However, the chocolate sauce it was trimmed with did taste like bottled stuff from the store. Still it was good.

We had a nice experience and dinner here. I'd come back. They have a nice menu and the wine and beer prices are very reasonable as well.

Romano's Macaroni Grill

I had lunch recently at Romano's Macaroni Grill with some coworkers. It was a pretty decent lunch and a fair price. There were five of us, each with coupons. Our server handled it well without even batting an eyelid. I ordered the "choose three" for $10. The items I chose were (1) a Fresh Greens salad with Italian dressing, (2) the Whole Wheat Fettucinne Pasta, and (3) a half Roasted Turkey Sandwich.

You can see above what I was first served, two of the three elements of my dish. I thought that a bit odd. The Salad and the half Sandwich arrived but you can see there is an open space. However, within a minute or two a manager arrived with the missing element, the Whole Wheat Fettucini, below.

My guess is that there was some miscommunication in the kitchen or with the waitress, but it all eventually arrive.

The salad was nice and fresh and tasty. The sandwich was good, though maybe just a bit dry--it could have used a touch of may or something. The past was very good with crisp broccolini and cherry tomatoes. The sauce for the fettucine was a bit thin--actually very thin, but the dish was tasty.
Overall, this was a nice meal at a good price.

Bananas Modern American Diner

We recently ate at Bananas Modern American Diner on a Sunday afternoon. It was the weekend before Halloween and the wait staff were somewhat costumed up for that. But we had a decent meal here, though the service was a bit slow. Nonetheless, the food was generally pretty good and I'd eat here again.

Bananas is a diner, and it does have somewhat of that type of look and feel. We were promptly greeted and initially shown a seat by the window, in the sun. But when we asked, we were shown a nearby booth which seemed better than sitting in the hot Florida sun, even if it was a nice autumn day.

Upon ordering drinks, we also chose to get an appetizer of the Beer Battered Onion Rings. They were done nearly perfectly, nice, thick slices of onions in a tasty beer batter and fried just right. But the star of the dish was actually the horseradish dijon dipping sauce--it added just the perfect amount of zing to these nearly perfectly cooked onion rings. This was a real hit.

For his meal, my friend Tommy had the Daddy's Burger with fries. A burger was cooked and trimmed with blue cheese, smoky bacon, and caramelize onions. Lettuce, tomato, and onion were on the side. The bun was nicely toasted as well. Tommy ordered the burger medium, but it came out well. Our server did offer to replace it, but he ate it. It was still rather tasty, just a bit overcooked. The fries were very ordinary, however, and a bit on the starchy side, if you ask me. But the burger was plenty good.

For my meal, I ordered the Buffalo Burger with a chicken breast for the meat. A chicken breast was served on a toasted bun with provolone cheese and a spicy buffalo wing sauce. The portion of buffalo, sauce, though tasty, was very skimpy, as you can see in the picture. There was not much of it. The chicken breast was cooked through, and just barely. Instead of the fries, I asked for and got a side salad. It was served with a truly amazing Wasabi Viniagrette that was out of this world. It had a nice wasabi bite to it and was just wonderful. It's one of the best salad dressing's I've ever had. Overall, it was a nice meal.

As I mentioned, our service was a bit unattentive. It was the middle of the afternoon and some of the wait staff, our waitress included, were doing some cleaning and other housekeeping activities such as changing out the ice tea station. That's what kept here occupied. One thing I did notice is that there really didn't appear to be any sort of manager or anyone in charge, and I think the service suffered for that. There seemed to be no direction in the front of the house, just people doing whatever they normally do. No on really keeping tabs on the diners and the dining room.  Nonetheless, it was an OK experience here and I'd come back again another time.  

Cozee Cafe

We went to Cozee Cafe in Lake Mary on a recent Thursday evening and had a nice meal. Mitchell provided us with very good service. It was a nice November evening and we sat outside.

We decided to start with an appetizer, the Queso Dip. It was just passable and really could have used a bit of zing. It was more like melted velveeta with a few bits of peppers added. It wasn't bad, just wasn't really what I'd call restaurant quality. Fortunately, the rest of the meal was better.

For his dinner, my friend Tommy had an Omelet with mushrooms and cheese. It was served with fried potatoes and toast. It was pretty good. He mentioned that the mushrooms seemed like maybe they'd been pickled, though they weren't bad, but probably had been cooked ahead and then held. Too bad, had they been cooked fresh, it would have much better.

For my dinner, I had the special, a Blackened Chicken Sandwich. The chicken breast was tender and juicy and lightly blackened. It was served with cheese, tomato, onion, and lettuce, on a nice ciabatta roll. It was actually a very good sandwich and I enjoyed it a lot. It was werved with fries which I thought could have been cooked an additional 30 seconds or so, they were not quite crispy on the outside and just cooked inside, but overall they were still plenty good.

Overall, we enyojed our meal here and believe this newly expanded place has nice potential. A few rough edges and room for improvement, but they really tried to please us and took good care of us with fast, friendly, and efficient service. The outdoor dining on a beautiful evening was a great way to end an evening too. Nice job, overall.