What you see here is the Thor from the SwedeDISH Food Truck. It’s not your ordinary hot dog. The Thor starts with a pretty thick wrap, not quite a pita but not a normal wrap either, and adds mashed potatoes, a crab salad (I know right?), fried onions, and an all beef hot dog. It sounded so unusual on the menu that I had to order it. I’m very glad I did.
Somehow all those flavors and textures work very well together and provide a really great meal. The crab salad was surprisingly refreshing while the fried onions gave a great crunch. The hot dog could have been a little meatier, but the total package is pretty great.
You can find the SwedeDISH Truck on Twitter.
Hawkers is one of my favorite places in town (I know you hear that a lot, but it’s true). Hawkers is based around the idea of street fare “hawked” on the streets in Asian countries. I call it Asian style-tapas. And it’s fantastic.
The best way to enjoy Hawkers is with a group of friends who like to share. Order a bunch of stuff, and start the passing around. Sure, there will be a dozen small plates on your table, but it will be totally worth it.
Pictured above are, in order of how amazing I think they are:
- Duck Tacos which are just incredible. This is a must have for me every time we go.
- Hawkers Delight which is a vegetarian dish. I actually chose to have the tofu left out, and ordered the five-spice fried tofu and added it to this dish. It’s a nice flavor and texture combination.
- Tempura Green Beans. Anything that is battered and fried is instantly better than the regular version.
- Bean Sprouts, which is light appetizer.
- Chicken Skewer.
Pretty much everything at Hawkers can be shared, with the exception of the soup bowls (unless you don’t mind eating out of the same bowl). But make sure you come hungry because, if you’re anything like me you’ll want to order half the menu. And it will be worth it.
Hawkers can be found on Mills.
Today is the end of Taco Week here at Chow Down Orlando. It might be the end of the week, but it’s not the end of us eating tacos. Don’t forget to submit your favorite taco places for us to check out in the future!
These are the Pork Tacos from the 5 Gastronomy food truck. They may look like your typical taco fare, but these babies take 48 hours to make. The pork is marinated for 48 hours before getting cooked to perfection. But the amazing pork that literally melts with each bite is not the only star of this show. There is so much amazing stuff in these small shells that each bite is a new explosion of flavor.
The tacos are listed to contain smoked corn purée, pickled onions, jicama cilantro salad, creme, and an avocado drizzle. All of these flavors seem like they’re portioned out so that each bite contains a new taste that combines wonderfully with the moist pork. These tacos are legit.
5 Gastronomy is a food track and can be followed on twitter.
Today is day two of Taco Week here at Chow Down Orlando! This is the second of three taco centric reviews coming this week. Don’t forget to submit your favorite taco places for us to check out in the future!
If I were to tell you the picture above doesn’t actually contain grilled chicken, would you believe me? The tacos in question are the Tempeh Tacos at vegetarian friendly Infusion Tea on Edgewater.
Tempeh is a soy product and, in these wonderful tacos, it’s the star of the show. The tacos are simply constructed with seasoned tempeh, black beans, and cabbage slaw but they pack a great flavor punch. They’re served with blue corn chips and fresh salsa.
As the name implies, Infusion Tea is primarily a tea house. Carla is the tea drinker and enjoys the large variety of flavors from around the globe while I enjoy the interesting menu options. While I’m not a vegetarian, I can enjoy a nice change in the menu from time to time.
If you’re looking for a verity of teas or an extensive vegetarian menu, be sure to give Infusion Tea a try.
Infusion Tea can be found at 1600 Edgewater Dr.
Come back on Friday when Taco Week concludes with a pair of tacos that take 48 hours to make!
Today is the start of Taco Week here at Chow Down Orlando! This is the first of three taco centric reviews coming over the next few days. Don’t forget to submit your favorite taco places for us to check out in the future!
It’s kind of hard to make out any unique features from the five tacos, excuse me, takos pictured above with all the cilantro, onions, and cabbage lying about. But below all the green, purple and white lies the good stuff from Orlando’s newest taco house, Tako Cheena.
Tako Cheena opened a few months back and is run by the fine folks from Pom Pom’s Tea House. They offer a number of unique taco options for all different taste preferences. Carla and I decided to sample five of the seven taco options. From the “House Tako” menu we sampled Thai Peanut Chicken, Indian Yellow Curry with Crispy Tofu, and Asian Braised Beef. From the “Specialty Tako” menu we went with Panko Crusted Cod and Chinese BBQ Char Siu Pork Belly.
I’ll be blunt, skip the House Tako’s all together and stick with the Specialties. The house options aren’t bad, they just don’t leave much of an impact nor carry much in the way of flavor. On the other hand, the Specialty Takos, especially the Panko Crusted Cod, take tacos to a whole other level. Specifically, the Panko Crusted Cod is one of the best taco options in Orlando. The flavors mixed with the crispy fish makes for a very enjoyable experience. So good, I had to order a second.
You can find Tako Cheena by Pom Pom at 932 Mills Ave.
Check back into Taco Week on Wednesday when we look at tacos from a place you might not expect.
Ah, Gatorland. Right now Orlando’s oldest theme park* is only $9.99 for Florida residents. This means that if you haven’t yet been to Gatorland, now is the time to do so. It’s a great way to spend half a day just roaming the park looking at the various animals. Besides the hundreds of gators and crocodiles, there’s turtles, snakes, and even goats. Besides, it’s one of the only places I can think of where you can no only observe alligators in their natural environment, but you can eat them too!
For lunch we went to the Gatorland smokehouse and while the chicken tenders are your standard fare, you can get an order of fried gator nuggets for $9.99. The gator comes with lemon juice and hot sauce and that’s really all you need (though a little barbecue sauce or ranch dressing doesn’t hurt either). If you haven’t tried gator before, it’s a little tougher than chicken but really good. And, seriously, what’s not good deep fried?
But really, go to Gatorland before the end of June and take advantage of the $9.99 Florida resident special. Just make sure everyone getting in has their ID and you’re good to go. Just skip the $2 train ride because, well, it’s not really worth it. But everything else there is and it’s a piece of Orlando history, so get on it.
*This may or may not be true as I kind of just made it up. Though, Gatorland did open in the 40’s so that has to count for something.
As we’ve stated before, 310 Lakeside is one of our favorite places in Orlando. The food is wonderful and the atmosphere is great. It’s where we chose to have Easter brunch this year.
Pictured above were the two specials for Easter: A ham steak with sweet gravy, asparagus, and five cheese penne on top and biscuits with duck confit below. It’s safe to say 310 hit a home run with their Easter offerings.
In sampling the menu trying to decide what we wanted for our wedding reception, I’ve been able to enjoy most of the brunch menu at 310 and some of their lunch offerings as well. The Easter ham steak was one of the best things I’ve ordered from the restaurant. The ham was cooked perfectly and the sweet gravy — almost the flavor of warm caramel — was awesome. And really, what’s not to love about five cheese penne, or as the waiter called it, “grown up mac and cheese.”
310 Lakeside can be found at 310 Pine St in Downtown Orlando, right across from Lake Eola. They serve brunch on the weekends and lunch and dinner the rest of the week.
Orlando is a great city for barbecue fans. There are a number of options for all different styles and tastes. But at the top of the list is 4Rivers. 4Rivers opened a few years back on Fairbanks near I-4 but quickly expanded to Winter Garden and Longwood. The original location will be moving down the street this summer to a location over four times as big. There’s no denying that 4Rivers is good. If you haven’t waited in line yet, you need to.
When Carla and I got married in December of 2010, we had 4Rivers cater the rehearsal dinner. It was a great idea. Pans and pans of the good stuff allowed us to eat leftovers for a week. Recently we had family in town, so we picked up a few pans from 4Rivers for dinner.
Meat (top left): For the family dinner, we got a pan of smoked turkey and another of pulled pork. The turkey is great, not too dry, and carries a lot of flavor. The pork is good too. Not too salty and nicely seasoned.
Beans (top right): What can you say about green beans? They’re good. But the star of the show are the baked beans. I could eat these things by the gallon if I was allowed too. They are by far the best baked beans I’ve ever had. Sweet, think, a loaded with pulled pork. I actually use the beans as sauce for the rest of their meats. Their sauce is good, but the beans take it to the next level.
Sides (bottom left): There’s sweet potatoes where are extremely sweet and creamy. There’s nuts of some sort mixed in to give a nice extra texture and flavor as well. Sitting next to them is the macaroni and cheese. It’s creamy and all things bad for you, but very, very good.
Wings (bottom right): One thing 4Rivers didn’t have when we got married but have now are smoked chicken wings. These things are incredible. Carla said they may even dethrone Korean BBQ Taco Box for best wings in town. The flavor on them is incredible and the smoke flavor really comes through. They’re served dry and as they come they’re perfect, but dipping them in the 4R sauce knocks them out of the park. They’re fantastic.
If you can’t tell, 4Rivers is my favorite barbecue spot in town and is quite possibly my favorite restaurant. It takes bbq to another level and has to be tried to believe. I suggest you head over to 4Rivers now and try everything. But if you can’t decide, try the Texas Destroyer with a side of baked beans. And make sure you ask for the Krispy Kreme bread pudding for dessert.
The original 4Rivers can be found on Fairbanks near I-4. Park in the back and wait in line. It’s worth it.
My first experience with Eclectic Kitchen was highly anticipated. I’m a fan of all the Asian food verities and Eclectic Kitchen is Thai inspired. Everything on the menu sounded great; there were curry dishes, all kinds of good stuff. I decided upon the Chicken Basel Stir Fry, pictured above.
The stir fry is what you would expect: quality flavors, nice rice. But the kicker is the over easy egg on top of the bowl. It’s not something I’m used to, though Carla would probably be ok with over easy eggs on every meal she eats. The egg white add a nice texture to the stir fry while the gooey yoke combines well with the sauce. It makes for a nice dish. The portion size isn’t wonderful, but ultimately nice for a lunch meal.
Also pictured is what was listed as dessert: Krispy Kreme bread pudding with a raspberry jam. Every since 4Rivers introduced me to Krispy Kreme bread pudding, I’ve been hooked. Eclectic Kitchen takes it a nice step forward with the raspberry jam. It’s sweet but not too sweet and makes for a nice treat.
Overall, the prices and portions of Eclectic Kitchen are good, the flavors are great, and it’s a nice addition to the Orlando food truck scene.
You can find Eclectic Kitchen on Twitter.
The Flattery truck in Orlando does one thing and they do it well: flatbread pizzas. They’re all cooked to order in a very cool on board gas fire pizza oven which gives them the very crispy crust. Pictured above are the Swine Not (top) and Thai My Shoes (bottom).
Swine Not is everything that is bad for you but oh so delicious: ham, bacon, prosciutto, white sauce, and caramelized onions. Simply put, it’s amazing. All of that wonderful salty pork make the crunchy crust so. Freaking. Good.
Thai My Shoes is a nice blend of Thai peanut sauce, chicken, and kicked up with Sriracha. It’s very good. The Thai favors all blend very well together and taste great as a pizza.
If you’re looking for some delicious pizza, make sure to give The Flattery a shot.
You can find The Flattery on twitter.
