Many of these are chains with restaurants along International Drive or the 192 highway – and here are a few of our favourites (as at July 2010)

Italian

It is difficult to match the Olive Garden for value – with a couple of restaurants along the 192, and also at the Florida Mall.  Whilst pitched as a ‘budget’ restaurant, the variety of Italian food, wine and beer is always of a good standard. 

Perhaps equally as good, although maybe a little more pricey, is Carabbas – again with a restaurant along the 192 (at Formosa Gardens) and also elsewhere in the attractions area.  If anywhere can match the Olive Garden for Italian food, this is the one to try…..

Steaks

America has some great offerings for the steak lover.  Most restaurants will have a choice of steaks on the menu – but many consider it worthwhile to try a specialist steak restaurant.  And our favourite is ‘The Outback’ – at Formosa Gardens, but also by the Premium Outlets on International Drive, and at The Florida Mall.  An interesting mix of American and Australian, the steaks at The Outback are of a very high standard, cooked to perfection, without breaking the bank.  And most restaurants within this chain offer a happy hour during early evening, when the value stretches even further

Tex-Mex

Chillis is also a chain restaurant, which can be found at The Loop and Champions Gate.  The focus is on Tex-Mex and value – with many drinks on happy hour throughout the day.  A wide choice of menu includes many steak, fish and chicken options, as well as the traditional ‘tex-mex’ choices, including fajitas, quesadillas and many others.  No visit to Florida is complete without an evening at Chillis!

Sandwiches

Sometimes a lighter meal is enough – and Subway franchises are to be found in many locations.  Always freshly made with quality ingredients, a Subway will often provide an alternative, especially as a ‘take-away’ or ‘carry-out’ option.  A huge choice of sandwiches (or ‘subs’) made to order with your own choice of ingredients – often with great value offers.

On Highway 557 between Lake Alfred, Auburndale and the Fantasy of Flight we stumbled across this quaint restaurant with a gift shop and Antinque showroom.

The restaurant provides some fantastic sandwiches that are served up in a quaint picnic basket. You can eat inside or outside. There is also a bar that does the usual selection of American Beers along with some Iced wine - My wife thought this was great.

As we sat outside on the decking beside the samll lake we were introduced to Bob by the staff. He was their resident alligator who came right up close whilst we were sitting there. Don’t be afraid he was in the water below the decking.

You get a selection of fillings and bread for you picnic. The staff can’t be anymore helpful and they never rush you out of the place.

Right next door is a large antique shop and a gift/garden centre with some quaint little gifts.

Give it a try it’s a great place away from the usual tourist traps that you would associate with Florida.

The atmosphere is great with a very friendly staff.  Your hostess will take you up to the display case and ask if you would like to choose your own steak.  As you pass by, you’ll see the yummy rolls being cut and shaped right before your eyes and your hostess will pick up a steaming basket full fresh out of the oven to leave with you after she has shown you to your table. While you’re waiting to order, snack on buckets of peanuts and keep your eyes open because at any time, you might see the wait staff break into a country line dance!

We love to start out with a spicy cactus blossom (a hand-battered whole onion, deep fried and served with Cajun horseradish sauce) or the Cheese Fries (steak fries with melted cheese and bacon).

There are many fabulous entrees, great steaks of course, but also ribs, BBQ chicken, pulled pork as well as seafood choices plus even a County Vegetable plate if you happen to have vegetarian in your party.  Probably the very best value is the 8 ounce sirloin steak dinner - only $10.99!! Dinner includes a fabulous salad with all the fixings topped off with hard boiled egg, shredded cheese and croutons (the house dressing is fabulous!), potato (try the sweet potato with brown sugar and marshmallows!) and those warm fresh made rolls that I already mentioned with cinnamon butter!!

I prefer the Dallas filet - 6 oz only $15.99! This one melts in your mouth.

For you guys with the big appetites, there’s a larger Dallas filet or see if you can handle a 16 ounce New York Strip, Sirloin, Rib-Eye or Prime Rib. 

For the kiddies, there is a great kid’s menu with prices starting around $2.99.  And for middle aged kids, there’s a Ranger Menu including a choice of sirloin steak, chicken or ribs.  All kid’s meals include a beverage and a side.

Save room for dessert – my favorite is Granny’s Apple Classic, but often times, I’ve got to have chocolate and the Big Ol’ Brownie is just the ticket!

We all agree that Texas Roadhouse offers truly extraordinary food and at the best prices besides!

If you are on the way home from a park with the kids and you’ve been drenched wet through on the water rides, you probably want somewhere quick and easy. The Golden Corral was always our choice for those times, a vast array of food, buffet style with something for everyone, from meat, potatoes and veg to pizzas and burgers for the kids, with a fantastic assortment of desserts and cakes this is real value for money for about $12 per adult. They also do a great buffet breakfast if you want to fill up before your day out and the whole family can eat without breaking the bank.

Shoneys is another good option for the buffet breakfast or dinner. The choice of steakhouses is also vast and probably depends how far you want to drive. Mannys Chop House at Haines City do a great meal but beware the wait time can be 2 hours. You can call ahead but you will still have to wait and the place is always packed. For me, you can get a good steak elsewhere without all that waiting.

We like Longhorns on the 192, the Texas T’oniion is our favourite starter followed by Flo’s filet. We ate at a Longhorns out at Cocoa Beach once and it wasn’t as good so they do vary. The Outback is always good too.

We like the Bahama Breeze at Buena Vista, the menu is varied and the restaurant is really nice. We also like the Olive Garden there will be one of those close to wherever you stay. Don’t bother with a starter - you will get endless soup or salad and breadsticks, followed by a good selection of pasta, chicken, seafood and steak dishes. wherever you eat you will always get far too much

Finding restaurants outside of Disney in the Orlando area can be tricky.  Most won’t be able to accommodate your gluten free diet even if they say they can.  You have to be very careful.  Unfortunately, you will find that most restaurant staff will be uninformed about proper handling of gluten free food and there is a risk with foods that are normally considered to be gluten free selections because they could be contaminated in preparation. 

Of the chain restaurants, the Outback and Carrabbas Italian Grill are the preferred choices as they both offer a special gluten-free menu  unlike many of the others.

The following is a list of  local establishments that do offer gluten-free options:

Azteca D’oro

Ethos Vegan Kitchen

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar

Nona Sushi

Bonefish Grill

Thai Blossom Restaurant

Bonefish Grill

Tijuana Flats Burrito

Though the restaurants listed are gluten-free friendly, most celiacs find it easier to just prepare their own meals.  There are gluten-free products available at the local grocery store chains, especially at Publix.  My friend found Chamberlin’s Natural Foods to be a particularly good resource.  They not only sell gluten-free foods (and other foods for those who suffer from food allergies or lactose intolerance) but also organic products, vitamins, beauty products and books.

They have the best steaks that I have ever tasted and you can see the cuts all displayed to help you make up your mind.

At the same time there is a happy hour from 4pm to 7pm - great value draft and bottled beer including wine for the ladies.

There are also special offers during the week, e.g., Wednesday night is 2 for 1 fajita night they are delicious. You get bottomless salad and sweet yeast rolls with most meals.

It has a great atmosphere but you need to make sure that you call in advance as there is always a queue to get in - so that tells you a story.

So give it a try you will not be disappointed.

This article focuses on themed dining - there are many different themed restaurants in the Orlando area, covering many different themes.  Two of the most popular are themed around the entertainment industry - Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Planet Hollywood

Planet Hollywood is located on Downtown Disney, and is easily spotted by its distinctive shape - the large blue ‘globe’ (similar to the chain’s logo) is visible from some distance.  With plenty of free parking, it is easy to get to, and offers theming around the movie industry.  With large screens showing excerpts from films new and old, there is always plenty of entertainment on offer, be it from the classics or more recent blockbusters.  But the real star of Planet Hollywood is the massive collection of memorabilia and props from the movies.  Everywhere you look inside the restaurant, you will see items collected over the years - many are instantly recognisable.  There is also every opportunity to buy the Planet Hollywood merchandise, be it shirts, glasses etc.  Oh, and the food - it is easy to forget that the reason for a visit to Planet Hollywood is for a meal.  The menu has a reasonable choice, largely built around burgers, steaks and pasta.  It may be true to say that better food is available elsewhere (and the bill may be less), but perhaps the real reason for your visit to Planet Hollywood is for the theming.

Hard Rock Cafe

If Disney offers Planet Hollywood, Universal provides the Hard Rock Cafe.  Hard Rock’s theming leans more towards the music industry than movies - but there are similarities.  The memorabilia includes gold discs, posters, artwork, costumes - from a wide range of international artists.  Whether your musical tastes are from the 60s, 70s or more recent, you will recognise many of the items on show.  Hard Rock also offers occasional live concerts, and is situated just outside the two Universal Parks (free car parking applies in the evenings only).  The food at Hard Rock tends to have many similarities to Planet Hollywood - accompanied by music throughout the meal.

Summary

It’s difficult to pick one of these restaurants above the other - they both have fabulous theming, and your choice may depend on your entertainment preference (music or films).

Carrabbas is a very popular place to eat great authentic Italian food.  We always try to eat there at least once when we’re in Florida.   Since it’s popular and they don’t take reservations, you could be in for a lengthy wait.   They do offer call ahead seating which we always take advantage of.  Call when you’re ready to leave and they’ll put you on the waiting list so that when you arrive, your wait will be reduced considerably.

On this last visit, we had the opportunity to go to the newer location on Vineland Avenue in Orlando just up the street from Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine.  As always, we started off with some of the wonderful appetizers.  My favorites are the bruschette of the day and the zucchini fritte (thin strips of zucchini coated with a parmesan batter and deep fried).  On that particular day, the bruschette was a tomato goat cheese topping served with slices of toasted garlic bread – delicious!  Three different starter salads are on offer, Caesar, Italian and House.  Though I chose Italian this time, I have had all three and they are all wonderful.   The Italian salad has a vinaigrette dressing whereas the House salad is served with a creamy dressing, both full of lettuce, olives and assorted veggies.  With our salads came baskets of warm crusty Italian bread with herbed olive oil for dipping. 

For the main course, there are a variety selections including pastas (of course), seafood, veal, chicken and steak all prepared in an authentic Italian manner.   I have tried many but my favorites are Chicken Bryan (grilled chicken breast topped with herbed goat cheese, basil, sun dried tomatoes and a light sauce), Veal Piccata (sauteed veal topped with mushrooms, proscuitto ham and lemon butter sauce) and Pasta Weesie (fettucini alfredo topped with shrimp, scallions and mushrooms).

There are a few choices for side items with certain entrees and a must have is the cavitappi amatriciana.  It’s a pasta dish with a delicious tomato sauce.  The sauce is excellent and we have been known to ask for a bowl of it for dipping our bread! The server always complies!

Make sure you save room for dessert!  They always have a wonderful selection on offer.  Since I love tiramisu, I almost always order this – it’s delicious!  My husband usually orders the fudge brownie with ice cream and I have to say that it is also very delicious since I usually have to sample his as well!

Bon Appetit!

The food, though a little pricey (not surprising as you have to take into consideration the novelty of your surroundings), was very good.  One of their specialties is rotisserie chicken which you can see cooking in the “Kitchen of Fire” (the kids will enjoy this special viewing area as it is truly surrounded by fire!) as well as watch the chefs bake pizzas and flatbreads in the wood burning oven.

 We ordered the Footprints Flatbread and Dexter’s Dual Dips for our appetizers.  The flatbread was topped with 4 cheeses, carmelized onions, chicken and drizzled with a balsamic glaze.  The dips included a queso and an artichoke dip served with tortilla chips.  Both were very good. 

For the main course, my daughter and I decided to share our entrees.  I ordered the Omnivore’s Delight salad with grilled chicken and she opted for the Triassic Tortellini.  Both were delicious, but we agreed that the salad was probably the best we’ve ever had.  It was a huge salad of iceberg lettuce and field greens with really generous portions of sweet pecans, sliced strawberries, craisins, and goat cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  I was really pleased because I really love salads with pecans and goat cheese and I’ve never seen such a pile of pecans and so much goat cheese in any salad I’ve had before.  I really loved it!

You may be familiar with the Rainforest Café’s famous “Volcano” dessert – lots of chocolate, lots of ice  cream, lots of topping, lots of yelling “Volcano!” and just plain lots – one will feed our family of 5!  Well, T-Rex offers their version of this indulgent dessert – the “Chocolate Extinction.”  Make sure you finish off with one of these – it’s fabulous!

We arrived at Universal one summers afternoon just as the storm clouds opened, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before they moved off we parked the car and decided to make our way along the walkways from the car park. Well lets say that the storm didn’t move off as quickly as we hoped so we were stuck there for a little while as it was raining that hard it wasn’t worth getting wet for, but true to style the rain relented and we made our way toward Islands of Adventure.

However before we made it Margaritaville called us over, as it was still a little wet we went in and decided to have a margarita.  We had promised ourselves that we would try one this year.

It was early in the afternoon, no plans of driving until that evening so we thought why not? Having never tried a margarita before it was going to be an experience.

We were pleasantly surprised by the great welcome we got from the bartender who said it was fine for our boys to sit at the bar, it was quiet but we are used to “no children” at the bar attitude that it made a lovely change, to sit there and chat to a “local” so we sat down and perused the menu. Gosh what a choice? I can’t remember which 3 margaritas we chose but they were all very different and had great names. Next came “sugar or salt”? Sorry? Around the glass would you like “Sugar or Salt”? My sister and husband chose salt but I chose sugar and I think I made the right chose but that comes down to the individual’s choice. WOW, that first sip nearly took my head off, I wasn’t expecting it to be that strong, thank goodness we were going to have a lazy afternoon at the park. For some reason my sister decided against the Hulk that afternoon, (me I never go on it) I wonder why??

What was nice was that the boys could eat at the bar whilst we took it easy with the drinks, play on a bar game like skittles and we could all relax. My 13 year old has asked to return next year for a meal, so perhaps we will have to try another margarita?