T-Rex: Its Getting Mesozoic up in Here

T-Rex has been an explosively popular place in the Downtown Disney area ever since its opening back at 2008. Perfect location, perfect premise, and the Disney bonus makes it a money-making machine on a daily basis. Now, while it is technically part of a franchise, its also technically a local place since its the only one. I am here because I have not had a burger in quite some time and I was told that the best burger in Orlando can be found here. So, a burger challenge has been introduced, and it must be met.


Every avid reader knows where Level 7 on the Burger Scale can be found. I have repeated it more times than I can count. Nonetheless, the second-best burger I've ever had has been in Orlando (CityWalk's Margaritaville), so its not like Central Florida can't pull off anything special. T-Rex replaced a good chunk of the Downtown Disney parking lot and sports a Rainforest Cafe-like atmosphere that makes it quite colorful at times, quite loud at times, and just a very different perspective on higher-scale dining. The bar area has massive fish tanks, there is an ice cave at the center, and lastly dozens of dinosaurs scattered throughout the joint.


Before fighting their signature massive burger, I decided to try their flatbread appetizer. Their footprint flatbread consists of several different types of cheese as well as caramelized onions and chicken--topped with a balmasic glaze. I find it rather funny that a place that created an end-of-the-world event every 25 minutes would throw such a fancy-sounding appetizer on the menu. But I ordered that and decided to take on the Gigantosaurs burger, which is two 100% beef patties with fried onion rings.




The appetizer was much bigger than I thought, and was definitely going to be a factor in me not being able to finish my dinner. This massive flatbread is a mix of delicious, mildly messy, and quite intense in content. One of these can easily fill you up. The four cheeses blended perfectly and the glaze worked well with the chicken. While I believe they should have cut back on all the onions and put more chicken in here, the pizza is quite good and among the best flatbreads out there (The best still belongs to Jikos). I would have finished it but seeing that a massive burger is just around the corner I decided to hold off after eating half of it.



This cheeseburger is no joke. Its massive to the core, as the two patties are buried with cheese and to top it are two big fried onion rings. Shockingly, the buns were very soft and almost melted with the patties once you hold the monolith together. I must say though, this was a mighty good burger. It wasn't very juicy, but it packed plenty of meat, plenty of heat, and was cooked just right. T-Rex seems to have a love affair with onions, as the onion rings made the burger look taller, and also gave it a mild fried crunch to it. The cheese didn't deter from the burger nor did it enhance anything. It was good I must say, the best comparison is that its a lighter, more expensive version of a Five Guys patty. Five Guys means you've achieved at a Level 5.



Bottom Line: Now, this place is funky, its great with the kids and/or large groups, and definitely offers some mammoth-sized food at quite mammoth prices. Everything about this place is larger than life from the prices to the food to the size to the atmosphere. Great for hungry families, and miserable for anyone trying to score a good date with someone. Good luck proposing when you have an approaching meteorite in the background. I recommend the burger for it is quite good, and one of the better ones in Central Florida. T-Rex is a fun place that should be experienced at least once.

Final Verdict: Recommend




T-Rex
Downtown Disney Area
Lake Buena Vista, Fl

Yellow Dog Eats: Cooky, Hip, Clever, Delicious

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

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