Travel Edition – Orlando

Day 7

Magical dining month (or for us, week) comes to an end with a reservation at Terralina Crafted Italian in the heart of Disney Springs (Some of you may remember this as Downtown Disney).

The parking is easy with parking around the area as well as several relatively new parking complexes that tell you how many spaces are available in each level and row. Tonight, we decided it was easier to take a Lyft and it’s a good thing we did because there are huge lines of cars waiting to get into the parking garages on Friday evenings. Save yourself the time and aggravation if you can and get a Lyft. They drop you off on the east side so you also get to enjoy the walk past the grand stage (which often has live music) and we would recommend you take a walk past Rainforest café (with a huge fireball volcano) and across the beautiful marketplace bridge.

We arrived at Terralina and you can immediately see the outdoor bar area and outside seating along the waters edge of Lake Buena Vista. We entered the front and let them know we had reservations. They asked if we were OK with a high-top to which we responded no. Normally, high tops are the leftover seating around the bar and a last choice for fine dining. I guess I would understand if we did not have a reservation and they were terribly busy, which was not the case (plus my wife was wearing a dress so we were expecting normal seating). They seemed surprised that we said no and told us that we would have to wait 10-15 minutes (As if we didn’t have a reservation). I looked at all the open space on the outside seating area and asked if we could be seated out there, to which they responded sure, if you would like to eat outside (very confusing since it was a beautiful night). They seated us at a table where apparently everyone exited and bumped their strollers into so I moved the table myself 2 more feet towards the water so we could enjoy our dinner. Ok, so hostess team and seating was a fail, but we were looking forward to the award-winning food.

Our waiter was friendly, and we ordered our drinks. My wife ordered a white wine flight (which was good, but the glasses were a strange shape and she had trouble with them) and I ordered a nice red wine. For the appetizers we ordered the Crispy Eggplant Fries with lemon-caper aioli and the Bruschetta. Both were amazing so things were looking up. For the main course I ordered the catch of the day (which happened to be Salmon tonight) and my wife ordered Spaghetti Bolognese with beef, pork and pancetta meat sauce, tomato parmesan cream. They sounded excellent so we were excited (especially since this is a James Beard Award winning chef, Tony Mantuano). Apparently, he did not win the award for his food at Terralina because both main courses were just OK (sort of the food I would expect at Olive Garden for ½ the price). Neither meal was bad, or good and pretty bland. I get the feeling the Chef was not there this evening.

There was an extra ordinarily long wait between our underwhelming meal and when our server appeared again (we joked about a waiter in Palm Beach that always starts off great but then disappears once the food arrives) and it made the experience even more deflating. Neither one of us had any wine or water left when he came back (not great service). For dessert, my wife ordered the Cannoli and it was good (not great) and I ordered the Lemon Panna Cotta with candied thyme which was amazing and we both fought for every bite.

Overall, we would suggest you pass on this overpriced and underwhelming experience since there are plenty of great options in the area. At least Disney Springs was fun and made up for the disappointing meal. Oh well, I guess they can’t all be winners.

Travel Edition – Orlando

Day 6

Magical dining month (or for us, week) continues with a reservation at Café Tu Tu Tango. Olay’

  If you are looking for a little escape from the quiet fine dining experiences, this unique restaurant should be on your list. Located in Orlando’s tourism corridor on International Drive there are plenty of fun things close by, like the mini golf next door, the giant swing ride, or the nearby Ferris wheel. This makes for a fun and casual total date night experience.

 Themed as an artist’s loft from Barcelona Spain and known for three things, Tapas (Spanish appetizer or snack), Live entertainment like belly, salsa, merengue and flamenco dancers, Tarot card readers, and Local artists can be one or all of the things that you are likely to see here at random. Part of the magic of it is that even the staff doesn’t always know what will happen that night. As our waitress told us with a shrug “Well, they are artists, so we will see”.

  Normally they have valet parking available (and still likely do on the weekends) and even though they did not this night the parking lot had plenty of room and it was easy to find a space. We walked under the neon sign at the entrance to a warm welcome. We told them we had a reservation (highly recommended) and they walked us to one of what appear to be four spaces, each with its own personality. They have an outdoor seating area, main or center area with a local artists creations, a right side with a little more action, and a left side with (on this night) a tarot card reader and a television with Bob Ross showing how to paint a landscape. We noticed there were paintings and art covering the walls and our waitress told us they were all created by local artists and available for purchase.

  We took our seat and were given the dining options (Magical vs. normal) and recommendations by a very friendly waitress. We ordered drinks while we looked over the digital menu (like many restaurants during COVID they use a QR code you hover over in picture mode until the website pops up). We ordered sauvignon blanc (guess, who that was 😊) and I ordered “Angie’s Laugh” (prosecco with a strawberry jalapeño reduction) which was really good and very different. They also have craft beers, limited production wines, Mojito’s, and signature sangria.

The difference with this restaurant and others is the fact that you have 5 courses included in the Magical dining experience (10 with 2 people) so bear with me while I cover the incredible amount of distinct flavors and foods from around the world. To make it easier I will not go into details on exactly what is in each one and I will rate on a scale of 1-5 based on how much we both liked them with 5 being excellent. We started with the Cajun Chicken Eggrolls (4) and Jalapeno Mac & Cheese (5), then came the Cuban sliders (3) and fish tacos (2, very salty), then the Smoked Thai Spare Ribs (4.5, a tad too tangy for my wife but I really liked them) and Sesame Steak Skewers (5), then the Funghi Pizza (3, pretty earthy) and the Polpetta Pizza (4). They do not skimp (as you can see in the pictures) on the portions so pace yourselves if you plan to get to dessert.

The Waitress was excellent and checked on us often as we paused for breaks and made sure our drinks stayed full. Then she offered us boxes and we all joked about how much food it actually is. Our dessert arrived and looked beautiful. I ordered the Strawberry Margarita Shortcake (2, unfortunately the shortcake was slightly stale) and my wife ordered the chocolate dipped cheesecake lollipops (5) which were a very different and fun dessert.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience and the food was good. You definitely get your money’s worth here and the incredible number of flavors adds to this unique experience. We did not see dancers on a Thursday evening which would have made it better but if you get the chance, we recommend a visit here but maybe on a Friday or Saturday night.

Travel Edition – Orlando

Day 4

Magical dining month (or for us, week) continues with a reservation at The Oceanaire Seafood Room. This is a fine dining restaurant located in the heart of I Drive in Pointe Orlando on the corner of the plaza next to the Capital Grille. I would like to point out that for many years this has been our favorite upscale restaurant in the area, until tonight.

I spoke about the parking situation in a previous blog but apparently it is inconsistent so while they do offer both valet and garage parking the valet’s seemed to be off their game tonight. They were disorganized at best and we waited 5-10 minutes just to get out of the street. When we did finally move I asked the valet if he was comfortable driving the car (It’s a difficult thing to do if you don’t know how and I have mentioned it in previous posts), he laughed and said “If a valet doesn’t know how to drive this car he shouldn’t be a valet. I chuckled, relieved, and walked away confidently just to watch him struggle for the next few minutes until he gave up and parked in an easy spot (on the street, which made me very uncomfortable).

We entered the familiar Oceanaire with a great amount of confidence that this would be the best meal of the week, it was not. I do want to say that my wife looked stunning and really dressed up for this one, she turned heads as we walked in (I know she will hate me saying that but its true). They have recently remodeled the interior but I was a bit unimpressed with the mishmash styling that seemed to contradict itself and decreased the quality of the previous atmosphere and we felt overdressed.

They led us to a private booth which was very nice and feels upscale. The server was there immediately with a big friendly smile. When we were asked about drinks my wife asked about the selection of sauvignon blanc and the waitress went into how different wines started fruity and ended grassy especially if they were from California or New Zealand (it did not say where they were from on the menu so the reference was immediately lost) and rather than making things easier and just suggesting a wine my wife got frustrated and pointed at the first one she saw (which felt like a waste of time just for the pretentious and was completely useless to us). I ordered the Barrell-Aged Manhattan which was excellent (I try and find different drinks to showcase for you). They have a very nice selection of cocktails, premium pours, and what they call ‘Admirals selections” of wine and champagne.

We ordered from the Magical dining menu. I asked for a recommendation between the Halibut and the Redfish (which I have never had but they fly in the seafood fresh daily so I figured this was the place to try a new fish). I got the same wishey washey kind of answer from the waitress and after several seconds of her going back and forth I just ordered the Black and Blue Redfish which was very good, especially with my drink choice. My wife ordered the steak and lobster tail. I know, she orders the same thing nearly every time but on the bright side its easy to compare the real differences between the chef’s abilities across all restaurants (and frankly she’s not that adventurous with food, but she’s a great wife). We were disappointed that they no longer offer the classic sourdough and relish plate (now its an extra $3.50 and seems silly that they charge a few extra dollars, like a McDonalds charges for extra sauces, in a fine dining establishment). In fact, they no longer bring bread or anything to the table and when the appetizers arrived (I ordered the calamari and my wife ordered the Caesar salad) they seemed off par with the restaurant.

We normally order the baked Alaska since this is one of the few places that offer this exceptionally difficult and decadent dessert so we asked if we could upgrade to that since this is a special occasion. The waitress had become enthralled with another table (apparently had some local weatherman) and we quickly noticed that there was no longer any service or attention for any of her other tables. It was a crushing disappointment from a restaurant that we held in such high regard. We also noticed that the high levels of service (like folding your napkin when you went to the restroom, assistant waiters, or scraping the crumbs off the table) were no longer a priority. Sometimes it’s the small things, especially in service that make a place special and without Scotty (our long time favorite server who left, and now I know why) it just fell flat. We were told that they did not have baked Alaska tonight and instead we got a bland cheesecake and key lime pie where the crust had clearly fallen off the back end (We likened it to something you would find at a buffet or all you can eat restaurant for $20, you know the little squares, yea that).

We paid our $137 bill (I normally don’t include a price but this was worth half that). We aren’t shy about spending money at a nice restaurant for a great experience but this was insulting.

They fell short on atmosphere, service, food, parking, and overall value. They clearly were cutting corners in all aspects and I am not sure if that is due to COVID (but we had great experiences elsewhere) or the Magical Dining and quite frankly I don’t care. This is the second Landry’s restaurant to disappoint in a few days and sadly after many great experiences we will not be back. When you fall that far that fast and forget about great service and great food you do not deserve another shot.

Save your money and go to Applebee’s if you want this kind of service and food.

P.S. To add insult to injury, the valet told me it would be a few minutes to go get my car (which was parked in the street a few feet away) then promptly lost the ticket I handed him and didn’t believe me when I told him that it was the only Ferrari here and had to validate my name. I just told him to give me my keys and we left. Totally disappointed.

Travel Edition – Orlando

Day 3

Magical dining month (or for us, week) continues with a reservation at The Capital Grille. This is a fine dining restaurant located in the heart of I Drive in Pointe Orlando on the corner of the plaza. I am not sure if they have a dress code but this is definitely one that you can and should dress up for. My wife and I started the day at the Florida Mall where she found a couple beautiful dresses and we were ready for an elegant evening dinner. The Capital Grille does not disappoint.

The plaza “Pointe Orlando” has valet service right in front of the Capital grille for $12 and is free if you are eating at one of the fine restaurants. They also have a large parking garage that charges reasonable prices by the hour. The valets are competent and are familiar with exotic cars (He did a visual inspection of the vehicle before getting in which means they take good care of your car).

The entrance to Capital Grille is small and understated and has some old world charm to it. The Hostess was warm and welcoming (some of these restaurants can come off as snobbish but this one did not) and immediately led us to our table. It is our anniversary week (and yes, we celebrate it for a week each year) and my wife had notated that on our Open Table reservation. They had a special table in the back room all set up and waiting for us in a quiet and romantic corner along with a card and tasteful decoration (It was a special surprise that really speaks to how some places do just a little extra to make it special and we really appreciated the gesture).

The décor reminds me of an upscale hunt club with dark red walls and pictures of animals but somehow feels cozy. I did see what looked like a large bronze eagle in the center of the main dining area and the chef’s behind glass and wearing Covid masks. There are clocks above the eagle representing time from around the world that remind me of grand central station. I appreciate any restaurant brave enough to show you the kitchen in action behind glass, it shows confidence that they are doing everything right and based on the meal I would say that is correct. I would say the atmosphere is a kind of relaxed elegance.

Our server (Ivy) was fun and witty while keeping it upscale (we really liked her and based on the positive attitudes of the whole staff I would guess they have a solid leadership team). She immediately made us laugh when she said that the one thing she knew she couldn’t have but was craving was wine (she was pregnant). She explained the differences between the magical dining menu and the normal menu. They do not cut any corners here, the same items on the regular menu were on the magical dining menu but at a reduced cost to benefit charity. We appreciated that they do not scale anything down for the specials and still offer to let you add on as you please. We ordered some nice sauvignon blanc and waters and away she went. They are great at giving you privacy at all the right moments but always being there when you want them.

The Capital Grille is known for their custom aged and butchered in house steaks (not many places do it in house and you can taste the difference) so my wife ordered the 8oz Filet Mignon and a field green salad for an appetizer and I ordered the bone in, dry aged New York strip 14oz and New England clam chowder for an appetizer. The Magical Dining menu comes with accompaniments for the table, tonight was Sam’s mashed potatoes and creamed spinach (and both were excellent). We added twin lobster tails (probably butter poached) with a wonderful sauce as an add on to the meal. The steaks were beautiful and perfectly (expertly) cooked as was the lobster. In fact I would give all the food here a perfect 10. The desserts are fresh made nightly so they are always changing to keep it fresh. Tonight we were served a decadent flourless chocolate cake and Creme Brulee cheesecake with a chocolate “Happy Anniversary” (very upscale) and a full regular Crème Brulee for me (I think Ivy had something to do with that as it as not on the Magical Dining menu). The desserts are incredible so save some room for these special treats, their pastry chef is amazing.

Overall the experience is world class and the food is amazing. Take advantage of the special pricing and enjoy this one. Kudos to this team!

Travel Edition – Orlando

Day 2

Magical dining month continues with Fogo De Chao an authentic Brazilian Steakhouse. We have never been to a Brazilian steakhouse before, but I had heard many things from friends in the past. There is one major consistency, “I hope you like meat”. We were interested in this one in particular because it is part of the magical dining experiences and keeps within the theme and culture. They use the traditional “Goucho” way of preparing meat in Porto Alegre, Brazil (10 different cuts for magical dining and 16 on the regular menu) and continuous tableside service.

Located on I Drive in Orlando’s “visitors’ corridor” this restaurant is very convenient when you are visiting any of the many attractions in Orlando. In fact, from the parking lot you can clearly see the “Orlando StarFlyer” the world’s tallest swing ride. They have complementary valet service and we found the valet team very pleasant.

We checked in and were led into the dining area that had a traditional western meets transitional twists (like the fireworks looking lights in the center of the main dining area). The décor was fun and inviting while somehow making our seating feel a bit private.

Service: They take service very seriously (almost too much) but are genuinely helpful and are trying to make sure you have a great experience, the waiter told us he would have us speaking Brazilian by the end of the night, and while that didn’t really happen you can’t help but get pulled into the experience. I really liked that they were also wearing traditional Goucho outfits as they served the tables and seemed very happy (sometimes “hooping” with exuberance) when you enjoyed a particular cut of meat. We were asked by our server if wanted to request a specific or special cut of meat and you could tell that they really try to make your night special.

Wow, appetizers: We ordered our drinks, I had the traditional drink of Brazil called “Fogo premium caipirinha” (which tasked a bit like a strong muddled margarita) and my wife ordered the Meiomi pinot noir. We were then invited over to the market table and Feijoada bar with exotic vegetables, fresh salads ( I really enjoyed the apple salad), traditional black bean stew (Feijoada), meats (different cuts of salami, smoked salmon, and more), fine cheese selection, and fresh soups. The truth is we probably could have just eaten straight from the market table and been happy.

When we returned to the table they had additional side dishes including warm pao de queijo (a wonderful cheese bread, yum), crispy polenta (which my wife really loved), mashed potatoes, and caramelized bananas, all of which were amazing.

And then it started…..(I mean that in the best way). The most incredible cuts of meat came out and the Goucho chef’s each came to the table with their offerings and big smiles enticing you to take (with your little tongs) their fantastic creations. And they were all amazing!!! We got to the point where we had to turn them down because we were getting full and we still wanted to enjoy the desserts. I almost felt like I was in my (wonderful) mother in laws house who puts food on my plate faster than I can eat it and I feel bad when I can only eat three servings 😊. It reminded me of when we went to Ireland and someone had to explain that a meal out was a multiple hour experience that should be savored with your closest loved ones.

After explaining that we could only eat so much (and they seemed disappointed) they offered dessert. My wife was looking forward to the cheesecake and the staff  (I say staff because there were multiple people taking care of us) explained that they were out of cheesecake but would happily upgrade us from the basic magical dining menu to other options (which was nice). She ordered the Key Lime Pie which was fantastic, and I ordered the molten lava cake. I think I can say that it was the best molten lava cake I have ever had and I did not expect that from a Brazilian steakhouse.

Overall, the experience was nothing short of amazing, the service was incredible, the atmosphere was fun, and the food was incredible. My advice, be prepared to eat, take your time, invite some close friends, and enjoy this wonderful restaurant experience!

This one is a WOW and should not be missed.

Travel Edition – Orlando

Day 1

Magical dining! Every year the city of Orlando hosts “Magical Dining” month. There are many high end restaurants that participate with $35 per person special menu’s that include a 3 course prix-fixe menu with choices for an appetizer, main course, and dessert. Every year they choose a charity and every meal purchased donates $1 to the chosen charity. This year it is all to benefit “Feed the Need Florida” that works to helps those in need get access to healthy food during the Covid crisis.

It is also a great way to try out many restaurants that you may have only visited on special occasions for a very reasonable price. It also falls during our anniversary and my wife’s birthday so we always make it a point to spend at least a weekend or more to relax and enjoy everything Orlando has to offer. Our favorite place to stay is the Waldorf but during Covid they are closed to the public for a “special party” (my guess is it’s the NBA bubble). So, this week we are staying at the sister hotel “Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek” that is also beautiful and as an extra benefit has a lazy river and tubes along with poolside services (drinks and food).

We both chose three restaurants for the week that we wanted to visit for various reasons (menu, classiness, parking, and overall experience or atmosphere) in addition to one that we visit every year as the seventh. The first one on the list was Del Frisco’s which had a nice magical dining menu and valet service (yes, we brought the fancy car which the valet staff at Bonnet Creek was very excited about). The entrance is grand and beautifully decorated with walls made of wine selections (I believe the waitress told us they had a very extensive wine list). The staff seemed to be a little younger but very friendly and well dressed. The lighting was upscale, classy, and romantic. We were quickly led to our table with no wait. We would recommend you make reservations on your favorite app (we use OpenTable) because we noticed they were completely booked on a Saturday night.

They offer the magical dining menu and a normal menu, or you can add anything you want to the magical dining. We ordered our drinks (I of course had a martini with blue cheese stuffed olives and my wife ordered a glass of white wine) and they came quickly. Our staff (waitress and assistant) were funny and made good conversation/ clever comments that make the experience more enjoyable without being intrusive. They made their recommendations and gave us time to enjoy the drinks and make our selections. The bread was a warm and fluffy loaf with sesame seeds which was nice. My wife ordered the wedge salad, filet medallion duo (one with bearnaise and the other with a mushroom bordelaise) that came with mashed potatoes and green beans. And I ordered the Del’s jumbo lump crab cake with green beans and a Caesar salad. The truth is my salad was a bit on the wilted side and my wife’s medallions came out rare instead of medium rare (and yes, we know the difference but when in a fine restaurant we know that it comes out correct so we do not make adjustments to compensate, this one unfortunately was not correct). Both of our meals were still really good, but I would not say excellent. The service, however, was excellent. For dessert my wife had the cheesecake with a pecan crust (which honestly we did not care for the crust) and I ordered Belgian chocolate mousse with salted chocolate caramel fudge sauce to go because we were already full and thought that it would be nice back at the hotel. We were underwhelmed with the desserts and mine did not look appetizing but tasted good.

As I said, the service was excellent, but we felt like they had cut some corners for the magical dining and it did not do their restaurant justice. We were happy to see that they were part of the Landry’s Select group (which is probably the best rewards programs we have ever had, I think we paid $25 for it 10 years ago and have received well over $1,000 back plus, you can skip the line with no reservations at all of their restaurants which is especially helpful in Disney at the Yak & Yeti, T-Rex and Rainforest café). We had an additional reward (which you get on your birthday each year) of $25 that they applied and usually the manager comes by to thank you for being a member (which is a nice touch) but tonight that did not happen (and now that I think of it that may be the first time ever that they have not done that).

We left with our to go desserts and headed for the valet, which is a little awkward because it is 100’ or so from the front entrance and it was pouring rain. I was pleasantly surprised at the valet who immediately remembered me and asked if my wife was at the front then promptly ran over to her with an umbrella which I appreciated.

Overall, the experience was good not great and so was the food. There was a combination of things we liked and were disappointed in and although it is a Landry’s restaurant, we would rather spend our time and money at one of the better ones (like the Oceanaire, which we will be visiting later this week).