Well…we dropped a bit of a clanger on Saturday with the blog. How the devil could we keep our list to 5 or 6 things?? Madness! So, we decided to do the midweek blog to try and round up what other foods we’re looking forward too…
Let’s start with the Cheesecake Factory, this has got to be America personified. The first time we ate here we were actually speechless, the size of the menu was the first indication that we were in for a massive treat… The ‘menu’ or ‘war & peace’ as we called it is about 15 to 20 pages of deliciousness, from sides to mains to the real deal – Cheesecakes – there is something here for everyone, the trouble is choosing something then sticking with your choice…
(Mr Oh Orlando here)
Our 1st visit a few years ago I had the terrible ordeal of choosing my main, I plumped for the ‘Grande Chicken Burrito’ – a brilliant choice thought I, until it came over on the plate… the waiter popped it on the table and I exclaimed at the sheer size of the Burrito, ‘My God! It’s mossive!’ (In my best Willenhall accent) without missing a beat the waiter simply said ‘that’s why it’s called the Grande Burrito sir’… he even swapped my normal knife for a steak knife so I could attack it easier… I recall I managed to get halfway through it, and I’d forgotten that I’d ordered a side sweet potato fries..what a rookie mistake.. Mrs Oh Orlando always orders various small side dishes and makes a little picnic with them because there’s no way she’d eat a full size meal to herself.
Our visit last year saw us ordering the sides and sharing amongst the group, with 6 of us at the table it was pretty full of plates in no time. The sweet potato fries always go down a treat, and the cheeseburger spring rolls were an absolutely astonishing treat!! Cheeseburger, in a springroll?? What sorcery is this! Delicious that’s what it is!!! It sounded like a sword fight with people trying to get hold of the various snacks.
The Cheesecake Factory is famous for…CHEESECAKE! Oh my giddy aunt, you have never seen so much temptation behind glass, you nearly get whiplash when you walk past the glass counter. So many flavours! Nearly 30 at the last count, from the classic plain cheesecake that started it all to lemon meringue cheesecake, Cinnabon cinnamon swirl cheesecake, Reese’s peanut butter chocolate cake cheesecake or toasted marshmallow s’mores galore cheesecake. (Had to stop typing and wipe my mouth here). You will not be disappointed with a visit here, its always busy but go in, book a table and they give you a little buzzer that alerts you when your table is ready and you can go off around the mall again and spend a few more $$$’s. The staff here are excellent, as we’ve said before on many occasions its the actual staff that make the experience well worth the trip. Go and visit the Cheesecake Factory but before you go in buy some slightly larger shorts for after the meal…
Now Mr Oh Orlando’s son Ashley had a bit of a problem in Orlando last year, he kept eating the same meal at nearly every chance he got! The ubiquitous Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. And we can’t say we blame him. Steak, cheese, onions and more cheese. Sounds like a done deal to us! Everywhere we visited the first thing he would ask was ‘they got cheesesteak in this place??’ And yup, if it was on the menu he would have it… we must admit no one does a Philly Cheesesteak Like the American’s. It’s one of the best sandwiches out, in our humble opinion of course.
Each shop/cafe/restaurant has it’s own little spin on it and each one is praise worthy.
From the Outlet mall on Vineland to the Longhorn Steakhouse you’ll be hard pressed to not to be disappointed. There might not be any pics of this particular meal, because in Ash’s words ‘I couldn’t wait long enough to take a pic Dad!’ Trust us, if you are looking for something filling and a real slice of Americana have Cheesesteak sandwich. You’ll thank us later.
Now, talking of problem’s, Mrs Oh Orlando had one as well…she got a tad obsessed with ‘Yum-Yums’ the delicious doughnut like cake that was sold in the Joffrey’s coffee bars. Every time Mr Oh Orlando went for a coffee while out and about (lets face it, it was a regular occurrence) she would smile sweetly and ask ‘see if they have any Yum-Yums please’.. they are a devilishly tasty treat, the take on a plain glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut but bar shaped. At one point in the holiday we thought we were going too have to stage an intervention on her behalf. Incidentally she also got pretty obsessed with Krispy Kreme doughnuts too.
Joking aside though, when you are 8 hours in a park day and the feet are on fire and you just want a 10 minute break, grab one of these bad boys and eat it and feel the energy flow back through you as the sugar does its job, Mr Oh Orlando would get one of these for Mrs Oh, and he would have a massive ‘blue Powerade’ drink. That had the same effect on him as the Yum-Yum’s had on Mrs Oh Orlando!
Now for the Longhorn Steakhouse. In our humble opinion the best steakhouse in Orlando. Period. Again with this establishment it’s the level of service we were given. The food wasn’t half bad either! Mr Oh Orlando’s go to meal is the Flat Iron Steak and baked sweet potato. Mmmmmmm…
The menu is one of those ‘tricky’ items in that you see something and go “oh! I’ll have that” then turn the page and exclaim “bugger! No! I’m having THAT instead” over, and over, and over… again. When we all visited last year it was for our wedding meal, and the staff could not have been nicer. They were VERY accommodating and genuinely happy to be celebrating with us. As always it was flat iron steaks and Philly cheesesteaks and burgers all round. Smashing. And the suprise hit was when the waitress asked if we wanted some frickles?? Go on then…….., what a find! deep fried pickled gerkins with a sour cream dip! Yes! All the day long!
One of our fave places for a cheeky treat is a visit to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlour on Main Street in the Magic kingdom. This is a must do if you ever visit here, the ambiance is classic cool, with 9 flavours to choose from and plant based options as well you will not be spoilt for choice. The classics such as Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, mint choc chip and cookies and cream. With toppings such as hot fudge, peanut butter or caramel to spoil you. If you don’t fancy an ice cream how about brownie sundae, warm brownie served with hot fudge with a cherry and your choice of 2 flavours ?? Or one of our faves is the Apple blossom sundae, warm apple pie served with caramel sauce and 2 scoops. Dear lord…. a good trick here is to grab the treat of your choice and stake a claim along the route of the parade. Sorted!!
Our last but not least is at Universal City Walk, Voodoo Doughnuts, this has to be experienced to be believed. From entering the store and seeing the revolving menu of Doughnuts you’ll be hard pressed to make your mind up. From the O.D.B. To the ‘Texan’ your tastebuds will be in overdrive.
We don’t think we’ve ever been anywhere that sell’s items by ‘the coffin’…they do here, a wooden coffin full of doughnuts…it costs $100 and contains 36 doughnuts. Mad eh!? We ended up getting the peanut butter and jelly and the apple fritter doughnuts, oh man…they were brilliant, BUT we could not finish them, so filling and so so sweet!
You have to visit this place once to say you’ve done it and you have to have your picture taken in the massive throne of Voodoo Doughnuts as a right of passage.
We could do another 3 blogs on food alone and places to eat, and we probably will! But that’s all for now! So speak to you all soon.
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