Singing Sam's Pizza: A few notes away from being a Bohemian Rhapsody

Aside from a good cheeseburger, there is perhaps no food in life that can quite satisfy you like a good pizza. This is a fact, not an opinion. For those that know me best know my history with pizza has been an interesting one. I have traveled two hours for pizza, with some help destroyed a 26-inch pizza, and even took on pizza with heavy African influence. Now while Florida is almost surrounded by all these pizza joints claiming their pie is New York style or Chicago style, there has not been one to claim that their style is Detroit. And yes, Detroit has a style.



But since last July, there is a pizza place in the Premium Outlet area that boasts great pies influenced from Michigan. Singing Sams has had an interesting history which involves fighting the Great Depression, singing to make sure the customers never leave, surviving decades of tough Detroit economy, and ultimately shutting down and moving down to the Sunshine State. Being someone who has never had north border pizza, decided to give this place a shot.


Singing Sam's has carry-out and delivery, no dining inside. The building is small but full of life with some old-school Italian music and a small memorabilia display. Their pizza menu is actually a bit more extensive than most by offering round-style and square-style. They also have some nice-sounding pizza ideas: Southern Style Pizza (mozzarella, bbq sauce, ham, bbq pulled pork), Carne Italiana (mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, ground beef, ham) and lastly Canadian White Pizza (bacon, roasted chicken, blended cheeses, honey mustard). But for fairness to compare with the others, I went with the Pepperoni Pepperoni (which is two layers of pepperoni with cheese in between). I also ordered a Folded Crust Sadie Caesar, which is their bread stuffed with chicken tenders, lettuce, dressing, and parmesan cheese.


15 minutes later I take the food home. I decide to try their pizza first. This pizza is good, but quite greasy, and the toppings had a lot of trouble staying with the pie. If you are to create a mammoth greasefest (and that word is being put in a positive note for this conversation) you have to make sure the crust is strong enough to withstand it. The bread underneath the cheese, sauce, and meat couldn't handle it, which prevented this pizza from being really special. Nonetheless though, this is better than the usual small carryout/delivery-only pizza joint. The cheese tasted fresh and the pepperoni was thick without being too overbearing, while the crust tasted fresh and didn't occupy too much of the pie.



The folded crust (Not the best name, but I'll let it go) is a very interesting meal indeed. Picture fresh baked Italian bread gutted and stuffed with all sorts of ingredients. That's essentially the folded crust, the bread, salad, and appetizer rolled into one. It was good and would make a great substitute for pizza in case you aren't craving it. One final note though; they have one of these with chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, and honey mustard........that sounds atrociously good too.


Bottom Line: So while there was little that separates Detroit style from any ol' pizza, it was still a fine pizza with a few fixes away from being spectacular. This pizza isn't for your Weight Watchers though, its full of flavor, full of calorie goodness. They don't cut back on the toppings, whether its the pizza or their surprisingly delicious thick sandwiches. If you live in the area, I recommend this as your go-to pizza place if you want something beyond the norm. With almost all their specialty pizzas sounding awesome, it might take a while before your consistent visits here actually start feeling repetitive.

Final Verdict: Recommend

Singing Sam's Pizza
8113 Vineland Avenue
Orlando, FL 32821

Polonia: Great Temporary Trip to Poland

So throughout my journey through Florida the one type of food I have yet to experience is that of the Polish. From what I’ve been told and from what I’ve seen, it’s a very meat-and-potatoes type of cuisine. And, being a fan of both I decided to finally try a strongly recommended Polish restaurant in Longwood, located just off the outskirts of Orlando. Polonia Polish Restaurant, after bouncing around through Key West and Winter Park, has emerged as one of the highest-rated restaurants in the area.




From the outside, the restaurant doesn’t look like much. A tall sign, a building with one dominating color, and a small parking lot. Not much more than that. However, inside the atmosphere immediately changes as you have music in the background, people dancing, different European accents bouncing around, and a very simplistic theme accompanied by a home-friendly feeling. The menu isn’t big, but quite varied—and the only difference between the lunch and dinner options is price and most likely the serving size. For lunch I decided to tackle the potato pancakes for my appetizer, and then attempt the Polish Trio for the entrée. The Polish Trio consists of three typical Polish foods: stuffed cabbage, pierogi, and kielbasa.




With a brief wait, the potato pancakes arrive with some apple sauce on the side. Picture a thicker hash brown with more flavor and a crispier texture. These round cakes of awesomeness hit the spot and are surprisingly more filling than meets the eye. The apple sauce had the texture of almost like a creamy shredded cheese, but still had that nice kick of apple that complimented the pancakes quite well. If you are a fan of potatoes, then these are a must-have. Thick, fresh, and tasty, it was a nice way to kick off the lunch.





And then came the Trio. Like a wonderful cinematic trilogy, each item was great in their own special way, but altogether created a nearly flawless lunch. I started with the kielbasa (it can come fresh or cooked—I picked cooked) and they were two large pieces of thick sausage. They were very good, very hearty and with a side item alone it can constitute as a meal. I personally thought I was going to enjoy the pierogi the most since my mindset had decided that it’s basically ravioli made out of potato. The texture of the pierogi was very similar to that of a ravioli, but has less stuffing than your typical pasta dish. Nonetheless, they were good, and worked well with the sauce it was swimming on.



Lastly is the stuffed cabbage. I was much more skeptical with this dish because a) I don’t like cabbage and b) I don’t like cabbage. This almost made me a converter however because it was a pure delight from start to finish. You have the cabbage engulfing a nice bundle of meat and rice while tomato sauce (Or mushroom sauce, depending on what you choose) covers the whole thing. The cabbage on the outside nearly melts like butter while the cluster of meat and rice inside is soft, tasty, and mixes well with the sauce. It is very unique to what I usually eat, but it’s the good kind of unique.



Feeling good about the place I decided to attempt a dessert to finish off the lunch. Lemon mascarpone became the dessert of choice. This work of art is a very tall lemon pound cake with a sweet cheese filling in between the layers. In a small bit of cheating, this dessert is more Italian than Polish but they make the cake inside the restaurant from scratch. Like I said before, this is less a dessert and more a work of art as it was tasty heaven from the first bite to the last. You have a very tasty pound cake that wreaks of tasty lemon messing around with a cheese that is so sweet and so creamy I label it as one of the five best frostings/toppings I’ve ever had on a dessert. Seriously. It was my favorite part of the meal, and this is after having such a delightful lunch. And at less than $25 for this lunch, I definitely got my money’s worth.

Bottom Line: If all Polish food tastes this good, it is no wonder why Fredrick Chopin was able to write such beautiful music---he was always pleased with his meal. Ridiculously out-of-nowhere reference aside, Polonia is a wonderful cuisine experience that is essentially taking homestyle cooking of Poland and serving it to satisfied locals year-round. With great food, great service, and great prices, I have no reason to ever deter you away from this delightful place. From top to bottom, Polonia stands as one of the better Central Florida restaurants out there.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommend



P.S. You can take some of their food to go. Score one for the customer.


Polonia Polish Restaurant
750 South US Highway 17/92
Longwood, FL 32750