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!

On-Line Booking System Now Available!

Did you know that you can now make dining reservations for Walt Disney World Dining online!   Up until now the only way you could make reservations was to phone up in advance or during your vacation.

If you visit the following site

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/restaurants/

you can then narrow your search by checking through the various parks/hotels, etc to browse the various restaurants.  If you are able to book online it will give you the “Book a Reservation” option by the chosen restaurant.  This will take you through to the next screen where you can select your date, time  and no. in party.  Once you have done this you click ”Check Availability”.  The next screen will then bring up whether there is availability, together with availability at other restaurants in the same vicinity.  Once you select your desired time you then click ”add to cart”.

Once you have added your restaurants to the cart you are advised of the total payment due today (if any) and then you “check out”.   

You will find that the majority of the bookings do not require you to make prepayment, although the very popular ones like Cinderellas Castle, Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue, etc  will require full payment at the time of booking.  

This online system is great - if you find your first date is booked, you can check another date/time immediately, saving you a lot of time.  No need to make that call to the US before you visit to make all your reservations, which in the past I have done on many occasions. 

It also gives you an idea of the cost of the meals in the various restaurants so you can plan in advance.   I also found that you can browse all the different restaurants in one place and gives you a better idea of what is available at each one. 

Effective 27 October 2009, Advanced Dining Reservations will go back to a 180 plus 10 day booking window. 

I certainly will be using this online option for my next trip and have advised all our future guests of the website.   I hope that you get to enjoy many of the restaurants in the Walt Disney Resorts by planning in advance. 

There is a wide range of shopping malls big and small as close as international drive. For the older generation there are beaches like coco and Daytona and if you fancy a long drive, you could take trip to Miami.

There are water parks some that are suited to the more adventurous and others that are just like real beaches. And there is water skiing, jet skiing to flinging from a 300ft pole overlooking a lake these options are for the more adventurous.

There are spas that you can visit if you want to get away from the kids. There are also helicopter rides which can take you all over Orlando.

There are Wal-Mart’s located all over the place  for your shopping it great it’s just like Asda in England. There are loads and loads of restaurants from buffets to three course meals. The buffets are to die for the ranges of food you get for just a small price it’s amazing. There are obviously fast food restaurants located just about everywhere.

Going to Orlando is the best thing you could possibly do. There are a wide range of hotels with a wide range of prices. But there are others places to stay such as villas or condos. If you rent somewhere its means that it’s yours and you don’t have to share it especially in a villa. Orlando it a place you don’t ever want to leave that’s why you have to get it right and book suitable places that you will enjoy.

The theme parks are all amazing so there is no worry there. You’ll kids will love it but it’s not just for kids the adults will love it as well.  If you got a chance to go to Orlando take it. So if you want to go to Orlando get booking.  

In the Kissimmee area for example, the main drag along the US192 is full of restaurants, and of course some are better than others.

Now I am old and wise enough to know that recommending restaurants is asking for trouble, so this is just an overview of some we have tried, and what is generally on offer.

The breakfast buffet deals, of course, are legendary. Places like the Ponderosa Steakhouse offer an “all you can eat” breakfast for $3.99 (drinks are extra). There’s a very wide choice of food from the healthy to the very unhealthy, and you can certainly skip lunch after one of these extravaganzas. The buffet experience also enables you to sample American favourites such as grits, and biscuits and gravy.

More upmarket – and not too far from the 192 – is the Market St Café in Celebration. It is a typical smart American diner and the food is good, without being too expensive. You can create your own breakfast and the Eggs Benedict is a speciality.

For dinner, you can find Chinese buffets, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Indian and Japanese. Sea food restaurants abound and often supply buffet menus. Try The Crab House, Red Lobster, or Angel’s Lobster and Seafood Feast.

If you are looking for the American experience, there are many diners which give very good value such as Bahama Breeze, Chilli’s, and Logan’s Road House (free peanuts on the table, just throw the shells on the floor!). And remember that the burger you order in the US will be a proper burger with 100% meat, unlike the version you would avoid back home in the UK.

A trip to Downtown Disney, or the Universal Boardwalk gives you the opportunity to try out some very nice restaurants, such as the Rainforest Café, Wolfgang Puck, Fulton’s Crabhouse, and Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.

For a more sophisticated dining experience, many hotels have more exclusive surroundings. The Omni, near Champions Gate, has several restaurants none of which would break the bank.

Another area for smart restaurants, where it’s probably best not to wear shorts, is just off International Drive on West Sand Lake Rd.  There you can try the Timpano Chophouse and Martini Bar, Seasons 52, and Antonio’s. Antonio’s also has a sister business called Cafe D’Antonio in Celebration where you’ll enjoy “…the taste and style of a more expensive place”

Don’t forget your discount coupons. Many of the more popular restaurants and diners accept discount coupons to be found in coupon books from tourist information centres.

Coffee and “sodas” (coke, sprite etc) are generally topped up at your table for free, and you won’t even have to ask.

Tipping is always the problem. It is very rare to get poor service and a tip of between 15% and 20% is expected. Remember that waiters are poorly paid in the US, and rely on tips. It certainly ensures that service is good. Do check your check (bill) carefully though; some restaurants will add the tip on automatically, so don’t tip twice!

Andy Brownlie

We turned up at a busy time with 4 of us but to our amazement we only had to wait about 15 minutes. That impressed us straight away.

We were served within minutes of sitting down and were forewarned that the portions were going to be large. But our friends decided to do the usual English thing and order separate meals. We heeded the advice and we are glad we did.

When the meals arrived we were astonished on how large the portions were. Our friends had the pasta with chicken and there were four chicken breasts sitting on the plate. Amazing. The food was great and the deserts were just as glorious. We recommend the Cheesecake Factory to anyone.

One final word for those woman amongst you it is right by the Millenia shopping Mall as well. As an extra bonus there are threee or four other restaurants there that we are yet to try.

Don’t miss out on the Cheesecake Factory!!

It’s a question we regularly ask ourselves when we are intending to eat out either for breakfast, lunch or evening meal.

A variation of that same question can often come from guests. Usually guests who are visiting for the first time.

Like many who have been the area more than once you soon become aware that the choice of eating establishments is enormous.

Breakfast is easy. If we want to fill up prior to a days activities it would be one of the ‘eat as much as you like’ establishments, usually Ponderosa (192 opposite the old town).

Lunch time eating out would depend on where we were. If we were at the house the choice would be between Beef O’Bradys, Chili’s or Applebee’s

Evening dining out can be a little more difficult.

If we had a family debate every time we ate out for our evening meal we would be never get out to eat.

In our family depending on who is making the final decision where to eat for an evening meal it’s usually a forgone conclusion for the rest of us where that person would choose.

Carol, my wife would choose chili’s (Champions Gate) or Applebee’s (H27). Her reasoning would be that both places have a good choice on the menu at very reasonable prices. However the deciding factor for her would be that they are both with in a few minutes drive from our house so she could get back, pour a red wine, soak in the spa and chill out.

My eldest daughter would probably choose either Antonio’s or The Columbia Restaurant both in Celebration.

The menu is more expensive than other eating establishments but in our experience the food has always been excellent and if I’m picking up the bill what do the others care what it costs.

For my youngest daughter and me it would have to be Logan’s roadhouse (opposite the old town 192). If their was one thing I could bring home to the UK it would be a Logan’s roadhouse.

The menu choice is good but for me you could take everything off and just leave the stakes.

The pub / sports bar set up is excellent, we have never been rushed, the staff are laid back, you can drink beer or spirits and you get the bonus of walking over to the old town to check out the old cars and motorbikes (if you pick the right evening) and spend forever deciding which one I’m going to buy and ship home.

In your dreams (as carol would say).

Eating out in Florida is not as easy as you may think.

Although the address is Celebration, the ‘Shack’ is easier to get to than the town itself, right on 192 by the water tower.

The Shack gets very busy and it is well worth booking a table if you can. The interior is a sight to behold – the ceilings are hung with what appear to be the contents of a jumble sale, which all adds to the atmosphere of the place. The music can be very loud indeed, so try to get a table that’s not immediately under a speaker. Our favourite place to sit is outside on the wooden balcony, especially since one of the restaurant’s highlights is a children’s playground housed on a sandpit , so the children can play there safely and don’t even notice they are waiting for their food.

The Shack’s signature dishes are both crabs and shrimp, and the menu is mind-boggling with its choice, with plenty more in addition to the crabs and even some non-seafood choices. We would recommend you order either starters or mains, or at least do one at a time before you decide you have room for both, as the portion sizes are very generous.

Some of the specialist cocktails the bar serves are a talking point in themselves, especially the famous Shark Bite, made from Bacardi, vodka, blue curacao, and grenadine.

The atmosphere in the Shack is never what one would call sedate, in fact it’s probably the liveliest restaurant we’ve ever been to, with loud music and a real party atmosphere. The waiters are more like performers and woe betide if you visit on your birthday and they find out – they are highly likely to break into a song and dance which will soon involve the entire restaurant. This is definitely a restaurant for a large family occasion or a party, not for a quiet, romantic dinner for two. Make sure you don’t leave it until your last night to try it, as you will probably find you’ll want to return!

To get to Boca Grande we would take the causeway from the Mainland.  On Placida Road we saw this cluster of buildings just after the causeway and discovered amongst other things a restaurant called the Fishery.  It looked a bit of dump from the outside and what was the Fish Market which serviced 18 fishing boats is now a derelict building, around the corner you come to the charming restaurant. There is now only one fishing boat as time marches on.

Initially it did not particularly appear attractive at all despite backing onto the bay.  We steered clear, but we read reviews and spoke to some people who recommended it, so we thought we would give it go.

We went midweek one evening and entered the restaurant to be pleasantly surprised, the staff were friendly and the place was busy with a mixture of locals and tourists, it oozed character we were shown to a table by the large picture window which overlooked Gaspiralla Sound, and the other small islands in the area.  There was a long dock where people who had come by boat could tie them up. There was a car park for us mere mortals.

We ordered from the extensive menu, there is lot of fish as you would expect but also steaks for the likes of me, I was impressed by the basket meals they did as well, portions were huge, and prices were average and did not break the bank.

Before our food arrived on that first visit, we went out onto the dock and marvelled at view, it was so relaxing watching the pelicans dive bomb in the water for their tea. Then we saw a dolphin swimming close to shore looking for his tea as well.  

We went back inside and promptly told the waitress about the dolphin, we were excited to see dolphins in there natural environment, which was quite simply amazing.   She was unmoved and commented they were there most nights.  She added that when she was a kid around 20 years ago she would go down the Fish Market which at that time was the home to the fishing boats and feed up to 20 dolphins who would gather waiting for the local fishermen who landed there catch in the hope of getting some titbits, that must have been some sight!!. On another visit when we came out there was mother racoon with her cubs and mother cat with her kittens.  It is obviously a routine that diners bring leftovers from the meals out for them and on this occasion the racoon and the cat were in competion for the food while their young continued to play together in the bushes.

It was lovely to watch them and added to charm of the place, so if you are ever in this part of Florida then we can recommend a trip to the Fishery not only for the food but to see some of the Florida Wildlife.

The Fishery continues to serve good food and dolphins can be seen on a regular basis.