All American Cafe - Orlando

Just got back from the "All American Cafe". I have been wanting to visit this restaurant since they moved from Kaley to Curry Ford Rd. They have a great deal for breakfast for $2.99 with enough food to fill you. The atmosphere was open, and the servers where nice. If you are looking for a place that has good American food, definitely try this place. It feels like home and you walk out satisfied. Still haven't tried anything other than breakfast, but breakfast was good. One thing I found odd, when I asked about the buffet, they said the price was $9.95 for men and $6.95 for women. Is this because women eat less? The real question is what if a drag queen came for the buffet, what then?? Overal 3/5 Chef Hats, the food was good, service was good too.




Location: 2904 Curry Ford Road  Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 897-2213Phone: (407) 897-2213

Sushiology - Japanese

During Lunch hour, I'm always looking for a quick delicious and healthy meal, driving down the block I see this sushi place with a funny name, Sushiology. I thought, "Hey I love sushi, I wonder what kind of place it is", I went inside and was greeted by the whole crew.

I was looking at their menu which was very colorful and easy to understand, the prices for one to two people ranged from $10 down to about $5, they also offered big platters for about $30 to $40. It was my first time in and wasn't sure what to order, I asked what they recommended and they told me the Salmon Tempura was really good, it is a roll filled with salmon, cream cheese and deep fried with a tempura batter. I ordered the salmon roll and was soon hooked. Sushiology is considered by many to be a sushi fast food type place, I like it because its quick and you can even have it on a 30 min lunch and its healthy. All the ingredients are fresh and the place is very cleanly.

The next few times I visited I tried different things like the Kamikaze which is a tuna roll filled with crunchy tempura bits for texture and a spicy mayo sauce and covered with salty masago which is a type of caviar. I also tried their california, which is the most well known sushi roll in america that contains cucumber, crab stick, avocado and is also covered with masago and sesame.

I then ventured out and started ordering the desserts, they have four different desserts to choose from and I've had all four, the banana tempura is really good if you like fried desserts, basically it is a banana fried in tempura batter to make it nice and crunchy and then served with chocolate swirled vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. The aged ringo was bacially an apple pie served with the same kind of ice cream. My favorite was the fried cheesecake with the ice cream, it was a cheesecake that was wrapped in a kind of wonton wrapper and deep fried and then served with the same chocolate swirled vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

I am a regular at sushiology, I always have something new to try because they have such a wide menu, even the appetizers were sufficient enough to fill me up as a meal. I had the miso soup which is a soup with tofu and seaweed, it was just like any other miso soup I've had elsewhere except I could tell the dashi stalk the used was not fresh but other wise the soup was pretty good. I then moved on to the donburi which translated means rice bowl. It basically is what it means, it is a rice bowl that is served with a protein on top such as fish chicken or beef, the first one I ordered was the ten don. The ten don was served with tempura shrimp and vegetables. That one has to be one of my favorites because it has the tempura sauce to dip the tempura veggies and shrimp in and then it falls on and flavors the rice. The second time I ordered the ten don though it turned out really greasy and oily.

Finally sushiology also offers Japanese drinks and snacks as well as your regular coke products. I first had the Calpico which is a carbonated milk drink, I thought it tasted more like an orange cream soda. they also offer alcoholic drinks like sake and other plum wines. They also have teas such as oolong and green tea in convenient aluminum cans.

Overall my expierience was nice, as I waited to get my food, the mucic was current, the people were nice. I was happy to find out that Japanese tourists were even eating there so if they like it, it must be authentic. I give Sushiology a 3/5 chef hats because I obviously continue to eat there but they could work on making the food consistent in quality.





Location: 8249 Vineland Ave,
Orlando, FL 32821
Phone: (407) 239-4920

Havana Bistro Cafe

Driving around looking for a place to eat, we could smell the aroma coming from this little Cuban Bistro and it reminded me of the food I had growing up. We went to check it out not knowing if we wanted to eat there yet and once we saw the selections it was a no brainer. The Bistro had authentic Cuban food as well as a glass display with the desserts they offered. Having a sweet tooth that pretty much sealed the deal.

The menu was easy to ready and understand. The choices were either to get a combo for $7.25 which was all day or just an entree. I went for the combo since it contained a lot of choices, which included picking one protein such as the beef with potatoes (carne con papas), spicy chicken, shredded beef (ropa vieja), and pork cooked in three different ways. Second a choice of rice which included cuban rice which is white rice cooked with black beans, yellow rice and regualr white rice. Third choice was the sides which included but were not limited to beans, corn, yuca, and tamales. I have to say it was a lot of food but living in these times you have to think ahead, I knew I would be getting the rest to go for lunch the next day.

Once seated with the food I went for my drink, they had regular coke fountain drinks, iced teas and for an extra charge, natural juice drinks such as mango and passion fruit. I went for the iced tea, I wanted the green tea but the machine was not working properly and came out as plain water so I settled for the raspberry iced tea. The building was small but looked like it could hold about 35 people.

Open for only one year, the bistro was not busy for a saturday afternoon and we had the place pretty much to ourselves as we ate. After taking the first bite, I knew I wanted to come back again, the beef was incredibly flavored and so tender it pretty much melted in my mouth, the cuban rice was authentic and the yuca was not bland at all. My fiancee had the cuban sandwich with yellow rice as a side. The sandwich tasted like an authentic cuban sandwich.

Once we ate to the point of explosion, we got the rest to go. Since the whole reason I wanted to eat there was for the dessert, we got a cheesecake and flan, a custard dessert with caramel sauce, to go. The flan tasted like flan but the texture was a bit more dense than I'm used to, it tasted great though.

I give the Havana Bistro Cafe a 4/5 chef hats for a great dining experience and great food. The price was reasonable for the amount of food I got, but the experience felt like I was eating at a fast food restaurant, I would have liked to see more things inside and maybe cuban music playing in the background. I would defiantly suggest eating at the Havana Bistro Cafe if you are looking for authentic cuban food, but for a Saturday night when you want to go out and have fun, I'm not sure this place would be too entertaining.



Location: 7975 S, Orange Blossom Trail
Orlando, FL 32809
Phone: (407) 420-7285

Planet Hollywood - Downtown Disney

I am sure many of you have been to a Planet Hollywood before. At least to walk around and view the Hollywood items. This was the 3rd Planet Hollywood I've been to. The experience was not bad at all it included a live DJ and the croud singing along to some songs old and new. Service was also pretty good. The wait was not bad either.

If you are looking for average American food such as burgers and fries, this place is a good choice. When we went, I was really wanting a burger but ended up ordering a chickan sandwhich. The food was pretty good. If you are the kind of person who does not like crouded places though, you should avoid this place. Planet Hollywood tends to be always busy. On a regular night there is a pretty long wait just to get seated. Once again I must say this place is always busy.

When it comes to price, for just burgers and fries you're spending $13 dollars. Honeslty, with that $13 dollars, I could make a better meal. The main reason to eat at Planet Hollywood is the surroundings. Also, the bigger meals are close to $30 dollars. So if you are looking to waste money on mediocre food and hollywood memorabilia then this is the right place for you. If you are looking to eat out and get good food for good money. Look elsewhere. I rate this place 3/5 chef hats.



Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Downtown Disney - Orlando
Phone: (407) 827-7827

Pei Wei - Asian Diner

Absolutely terrible food... They make the inside look nice, but the food not so nice. The dish I had was Pad Thai, and they made it greasy and gross. Every bite i felt my body shake from disgust. The noodles were burnt tasting, and every noodle was too soggy. I will not recommend this place to anyone. If you see a Pei Wei when driving around looking for food just keep driving. I recommend McDonalds over Pei Wei any day and that is saying a lot, because McDonald's is not food..

None of the staff were asian, in the 'Asian Diner'. The only thing I can say that is positive about this place, is the fortune cookies were good. But those came pre-packaged. This is just another Americanized asian food place trying to make a buck. I say ignore it and hope they go out of business soon.

That night my fiancee and I both had stomach aches from that place. I rate this place 1/5 chef hats. Stay away!



Location: Orlando-Phillips Crossing
8015 Turkey Lake Road Suite 400
Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: (407) 241-3301

Caribbean Bakery & Restaurant

When I first moved to Orlando, I went for a ride to learn the area. I saw this restaurant/bakery on Curry Ford and thought that this place would be cool to eat at. I was half right. I ordered a Torta sandwich, which is a pretty big sandwich. It was really good until i found a huge bone in my food. My fiancee had Steak with Unions and fried Yucca. I did have a taste and it was good, but very plain. Sadly I must give this restaurant a bad rating because of the service, price and layout.

As you can see from the picture, the owners would rather have an expensive car then make the inside look nice. When we left they were unloading bottled water from the car. We did say we wanted water and they gave us bottled. When we really wanted Orlando's Finest (Tap water). It was dark and gloomy, bugs where flying about in the restaurant. Our waitress was also our cook, and the food took extra long to come to us. She did not speak english that well. Good thing my fiancee was there and knows some spanish.

If you do plan on going here, make sure you bring someone that speaks spanish. I rate this 2/5 chef hats. I really don't like giving low scores, but this place really did not impress me or my fiancee.




Location: 5663 Curry Ford Rd. - Orlando
Phone: (407) 3840175

Paradiso 37 - Street Foods of America

First off this restaurant is brand new to the Orlando - Downtown Disney area. We love browsing around Downtown Disney. So a few weeks ago we saw that this place was under construction. But last night it was open! Now on to the review.. Great service, the workers were great. Our food came in good time, they had a live musician playing. The inside was very appealing, you also can sit outside, but I recommend sitting inside. The lights change colors slowly and have a soothing feel to them. You also can see the chefs in the back working away to give you a great dinner or lunch.

The prices are a bit steep, so if your looking for a place under $10.00 dollars a plate this might not be the right place for you. But if you are looking to eat out and have a good time, this place is it. They have a wide menu, the menu represents the 37 countries of North, Central and South America. If you have kids, they also have a kids menu.

On to what I had, I ordered the Quesadillas which came with cole slaw, also ordered the chips and salsa. I highly recommend the chips and salsa. Most of the other people in the restaurant ordered them too. They were great, and the salsa was even better. I rate this place 4/5 chef hats. Good food, good service and good atmosphere. Try to dine at night, that is when the live band is playing and the atmosphere is the best in the restaurant.



Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Downtown Disney - Orlando
Phone: (407) 934-3702