Daytona Beach:  Burger

 Gregg's #1 Best Burger in US

The Brickyard                                                   * * * * *

We don't award stars, but in this case we'll make an exception.

This is the best burger in the US.  It is a hand done, flame broiled marvel. 

Friendly bar staff.  Friendly locals.  Great (I mean great) grilled wings.  Great juke box.  If Karen is working, you've hit the jackpot.

Open for lunch and dinner.

Daytona Beach:  Sports Bar

The Oyster Pub

A nice sports bar.  Get the oysters (I like them lightly steamed).  They've got good hearty salads. 

Their grilled wings are viable, but sadly they disappear when the menu shrinks for busy weeks.  That is why I migrated to the Brickyard (above) and now see less and less of The Oyster Pub -- even when I'm in town on slow weeks. 

Open for lunch and dinner.

Daytona Beach:  Breakfast

CLOSED

Mike's Galley                                                  

This place isn't exactly in Daytona Beach ... it is about 2 easy to travel towns down on A1A.

This is a little sliver of a place in a time-share type hotel.  It is the kind of a place that was built to house one of those ultra-ordinary, obligatory, so-so coffee shops.  Instead, this little space is inhabited by a very good breakfast spot.  There are a few tables squeezed onto a small porch with an ocean view.  But don't worry about the view.  Sit where you can and enjoy breakfast.

 Daytona Beach:  Everything

Booth's Bowery                                             

An eclectic combination of all sorts of great American food and good drinks.

I had liver and onions.  I may not ever try anything else there again, it was so good.

Open for lunch and dinner.

On Nova, about 5 or 6 miles south of International Speedway

Also see Ormond Beach, it is just up the road..

Daytona Beach Honorable Mention:

Bubba Gump's Seafood is a CHAIN ... and I actually didn't eat there myself.  I sat at the table with my friends (just after I finished my lunch at the Festhaus under the Adams' Mark hotel) and they REALLY enjoyed their lunch ... even though all I was having was tea, I enjoyed the service which was the best, most well managed service I have ever experienced at a bustling place like that.

Daytona DISHONORABLE Mention:

Stay out of Daytona Beach Shores (just south of Daytona Beach) ... The way I see it, the city government prides itself on being unforgiving to out of towners to augment their tax base with fines for anything they can think of.  

Jacksonville:  Breakfast

Grumpy's

Decent, home cooked-style food.

This is a picture of their old location.  I hear they've moved.

Orlando ...

Orlando:  I-Drive

Race Rock

A loud active place. 

Touristy.  But there are a few treasures on the menu (or at the bar).  The Brickyard Bloody Mary is a nice way to start the day.  (Especially if the bartender is up for doing it with the jerk seasoning and the veggies on the toothpick.)  The black bean soup with the pork is the best thing on the menu. 

8986 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 248-9876

WEB

Rangetsu of Tokyo

This is a huge sushi place.  Everything is good here.  It isn't expensive, but I always seem to spend more than I'd like to have.

8400 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 345-0044

I-Drive Honorable Mention:

This road is NOT the center of the gourmet world. 

At Ponderosa, they lure you in for a cheap buffet.  But, you need to know exactly what you'll be drinking during breakfast and pay for the works up front.  "Will you be having just a small OJ and a large milk?"  It doesn't work for me.

I hear a Dixie Crossroads is opening in the mall next to Bass Pro Shop ... order at least 3 dozen broiled rock lobsters.

Best (my favorite) I-Drive Hotel:  Courtyard by Marriott, Austrian Court.  You can walk to a few decent restaurants, the windows open.  I have defaulted to Tony Roma's for a few drinks and ribs.  It is a compromise.

The Lamb Chops at the Omni Centre Hotel are the best I've ever had.  Vito's or Charley's are okay (only okay) if you must have a steak.

I passed a place near I-Drive at breakfast time called First Watch ... I suspect it would have been worth standing in the enormous line if I were hungry.  Web Link.

   A Rare (for this site) Essay:

July 6, 2004:  I had dinner tonight at Texas de Brazil Web Link (up by the malls on north I-Drive). It is a place that specializes in slow roasted meats -- the meats were cooked perfectly (maybe a little bit more "medium" than I prefer, but they said I could get things more "rare" if I asked) ... but I was insane from salt overload by the end of the meal.

Read the stuff on the site, it explains the concept really well.

The salt thing is something my server addressed when he asked how dinner was -- without my asking.  He said it may "seem" salty because of the rock salt they use when curing the meat.  Now, that said, I've had a lot of cured meat and have never gone "insane" with salt overload before.

Why this much attention, by me, to a place with the primary feature I don't like in a restaurant?  It is because I gotta wonder why the place is so popular.  They can seat hundreds and I feel certain that  they do so most nights.  So it must be a quality place. 

  - Was it salty because I was the first in the place that night?

  - Is it salty because most people like extra salt?

  - Is it salty because the clientele on I-Drive is less sophisticated than at their other units?

Or, should I just stay away from chains?  My best guess at this point.

There is nothing salt-wise at Texas de Brazil that could not have been accomplished with some creative spicing.  (When they brought a simple sausage to my table the guy warned me twice that it was "spicy" ... it was barely spicy.)

The ribs were the least insanely salty.  They could qualify for my best-of ribs category, but sadly, I am in salt coma from everything else right now.

Anyhow, I really wanted to like the place.   

Thoughts?

Orlando:  Breakfast

First Watch

I am pretty sure it is a small chain.

Very Good.

Orlando Honorable Mention:  I tend to stay on I-Drive, but there are very few gems along the way here.

Did I mention The House of Blues at Disney?  I've only ever had the Jambalaya with the corn bread ... but it is an approved chain on my list.

Ormond Beach:  Breakfast

Peach Valley                                                  

A good, bustling breakfast joint.

Thanks Karen.

 Ormond Beach:  Seafood on the water 

High Tide                     

Nice, bikers waypoint.  Good rustic seafood.

Sanibel Island:  Seafood

 Gregg's #1 Best Fish

Gramma Dot's

If there is a line for food, get in it!  The wait is not unpleasant here in the marina.

Lunch or dinner will be awesome.  Fish.  Fish.  Fish.

634 N Yachtsman Dr, Sanibel, FL 33957
Tel: (941) 472-8138

Sebring:  Steak

The Watering Hole                                  * * * * *

This might be the last place you'd expect to find a world class steak.  The garlic and butter they use bring out the best of the meat.  Trust me.

Kitschy gator on the sign blew away in the hurricanes.  They are making a new sign.

Full bar.  Only serving food some nights.

No credit cards.

OTHER REVIEWS

IT CLOSED ... IT REOPENED (SANS ALLIGATOR ... REPORTS ARE IT IS STILL VIABLE.   NOW OPEN FOR LUNCH

Note: Last couple times I went, the steaks were only 8.5 to 9.0 rather than the 10's I've become accustomed to.

 Sebring:  Cuban Sandwiches 

Julio's                     

A grocery store actually.  Prepare for a wait as the guy sells them as fast as he makes them.

Across from Home Depot

NOTE HE CHANGED THE OUTSIDE A BIT

Sebring:  Home Cooked Cuban

The Latin-American Cafeteria

Not quite a cafeteria. You order at the counter, they make your lunch, you sit down, they bring you your food.

Order the special ... or a Cuban

Just past the Fairgrounds, on your way to the track.

Sebring Honorable Mention:

Coffee Bean Restaurant for a nice home cooked breakfast.

Don Jose for Mexican.

Hotels:  You are better off at Inn on the Lakes over the Chateau Élan at the track.  Never eat at the Chateau.

MORE  on SEBRING HERE:

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/tm.aspx?high=&m=553656&mpage=1#553656
 

Titusville:  Rock Shrimp

Dixie Crossroads                                                 

Heard of the place and went a bit out of my way.  I was surprised to see the parking lot full at 3pm on a Tuesday.

I had Rock Shrimp -- I should have had 3 dozen.

Open for lunch and dinner.

Places We've Heard of But Haven't Been To Yet ...