Windermere, a small town just off the edges of Orlando and Kissimmee is a beautiful area full of gorgeous I-must-have-this houses and scenery that drifts you away from Florida and transports you to seemingly another country. Somewhere in between a plethora of orange groves and the beautiful mansions lies a restaurant that seems to be the only one for miles around. Yellow Dog Eats had been recommended to be by multiple people for the past several years and it reached a point in which a guest in Disney World demanded that I visit this spot next. Heeding his word, I decided to make the trek over there.
In terms of having a successful restaurant, location is quite frankly the most important aspect---even above food. While few places with amazing food and bad location survive, many places with mediocre food but amazing location thrive. With Yellow Dog Eats, this place is prime positioning because its close enough to the massive houses to attract the higher-class crowd, but close enough to the Downtown Orlando edges to attract the more adventurous college crowd. To explain just how crazy this spot is check this out: as I was walking towards the building there were roosters crowing, a mustang in the backyard of one of the nearby homes, and all this is next to a small local church---while beyond the distance you’ll see houses the size of my apartment complex.
The interior was also quite quirky, with a very varied crowd of the hipster youth, the old-schoolers, the obvious casual visitors, and even a couple families. The place was packed throughout the lunch, so word-of-mouth has definitely benefited this place. Accolades, awards, and newspaper articles can be seen everywhere along with random signatures, phrases, and drawings written all over the walls of the building. Clearly this building has had some history---several decades of it too. The place even appears pet friendly as there was a cat roaming the outdoor patio area without issue.
Yellow Dog Eats' menu isn't as big as the average sandwich shop but its variety and range of foods makes up for it. There's even an entire selection of items for the vegetarians. Upon entering I was immediately greeted by the ambiance that this place is known for. Matching its hipster environment was Lady Gaga's Just Dance playing in the background through a variety of speakers. I told the lady at the register that it was my first time an she immediately told me to get Mr. Smokey--one of their signature sandwiches. Going by her word, I decide to order that and some potatoes.
After a brief wait my sandwich was ready. Since the place was still full to the brim I head outside in the light rain to eat my food. Outside there's more art, more drawings, more signatures, and more tables. Mr. Smokey is a pulled pork sandwich with smoked pineapple, small fried onions, bacon pieces, and bbq sauce. Each sandwich comes with a bag of chips. At a price tag of $10, this sandwich ain't cheap. But boy oh boy was it fantastic.
We can start with the pulled pork, which is hands-down some of the best I've ever had. This pork was sweet, tender, and thick enough to completely beat up on the bread throughout the lunch. The bacon and fried onions, albeit existing in small chunks were also fantastic as they were crispy and gave the sandwich the crunch it needed. The pineapple rings were not necessary, but nonetheless added a sweetness to the sandwich and complimented the very light and tangy bbq sauce. Their sauce is one of the best in Florida, as its not overwhelmingly thick, but not light to a point that it runs like water. Finding the right balance of texture and sweet, this bbq sauce is legit.
Mr. Smokey stands as one of the best sandwiches I've had in the Orlando area, as they don't hold back on the content, even if it means nullifying the bread in the process. The roasted potatoes were pretty good too, as they came with onions and other spices and complimented the sandwich quite well. The meal overall including a drink stood at around $15. A little high-end, but worth the cash.
The dessert on the other hand was quite a disappointment. I went with the Florida Sunshine cake, which was an orange-infused cake with thick frosting and chocolate chips. This cake was quite dry, didn't have much flavor, and at a $6 price tag it was a major bust. What hurts more is that this had to follow up one hell of a sandwich. Not sure what happened here, but they dropped the ball on the cake. Its hard for me to be upset at cake (Come on, its cake!) but I guess this explains why critics always praise the sandwiches but remained mum on the final course.
Bottom Line: Uniqueness surrounds the environment here as it delivers a fun and laid-back atmosphere while delivering some fantastic lunch. While Florida hasn't impressed me on bbq outside your typical chains, Yellow Dog Eats is the exception as they have a sauce that stands as some of the best out there and a pulled pork sandwich that rises as the best I've personally had. The service is great, the food is great, but by all means skip out on dessert--focus strictly on lunch. The trip there is fun as you get to see the houses of the 1%, and then experience sandwiches that I rank as the 1% in the sandwich scale. I will be back.
Just not for dessert.
Final Verdict: Recommend.
Yellow Dog Eats
1236 Hempel Avenue
Windermere, FL 34786
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