Monthly Archive for April, 2011

Mama Mia’s Pizzeria

Published on April 26, 2011 in Italian and Pizza. 0 Comments Tags: , .
  • Food Quality: 7/10
  • Food Quantity: 7/10
  • Cleanliness: 7/10
  • Atmosphere: 6/10
  • Service: 7/10
  • Price: $5-$10

The pizza at Mama Mia’s has a different flavor than a lot of other shops in the area. I had the 2 slice lunch special, and the slices were fresh out of the oven. It’s pretty good pizza, and reasonably priced. It’s not the best pizza in town, but I would definitely grab a couple slices if I were hungry and passing by. There’s not much room if you plan on dining in, a few bar stools against the front window and a table or two. If you do want to dine in, I wouldn’t bring a party bigger than 4 people.

Mama Mia's Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

The First Annual Pizza Wars

Published on April 18, 2011 in Pizza. 2 Comments Tags: , .

I was recently contacted to be a judge at the first annual Pizza Wars at the Jewish Community Center in Maitland. The event was a lot of fun, and there was a great turnout by the participants as well as the crowd. For $10 adult tickets, $5 for children, or $25 for a family of four, guests were able to dine on pizza all evening from 5 local vendors. Proceeds went to benefit the children’s scholarship fund, particularly to send kids to camp. In all, they were able to raise over $2000 for the evening.

The 5 participating restaurants were Pizzeria Valdiano, Anthony’s Pizza of Altamonte Springs, Mellow Mushroom, NYPD Pizzeria, and Carlucci’s Pizza Restaurant of Winter Park. Everyone offered a variety of pizzas, and some very unique ones for the crowd to sample. Pizzeria Valdiano offered a pizza, with feta, salmon and capers, which wasn’t for my taste but definitely something the crowd enjoyed. One that I really enjoyed was Carlucci’s onion ring pizza with ketchup instead of tomato sauce. While I don’t see myself ordering it often, it was unique and fun to try, as was their peanut butter and jelly pizza (which I assume was a dessert pizza).

There were several awards given out for the evening. Pizzeria Valdiano picked up the first award for most creative pizzas, which I would attribute to their salmon and capers pizza. Anthony’s Pizza won the Kid’s Choice, which may not be the most prestigious award, but I really enjoyed their pizza as well. Pizzeria Valdiano picked up another award with the People’s Choice, and both Pizzeria Valdiano and Carlucci’s Pizza shared top honors with judges choice.

There were also games and activities, including a hula hoop contest, and some group dances. While Pizzeria Valdiano is far from my favorite pizzeria, I have to give them credit for their participation. If there were an award for most fun or most entertaining, it would go to those guys. They really had a good time with the activities, and made me rethink my opinion of them.

I’d like to thank Julie Varkonyi and Crystal of the Jewish Community Center in Maitland for inviting me to judge the contest. It was a great time, and I hope they continue the tradition next year. I’d also like to thank Donna Wilhelm, publisher of Life in Altamonte Springs City Magazine, and Jason Freed. While we didn’t always agree on pizza, we still had a great experience.

Chicken Now (Florida Mall)

Published on April 14, 2011 in American and Chicken. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
  • Food Quality: 4/10
  • Food Quantity: 4/10
  • Cleanliness: 5/10
  • Atmosphere: 3/10
  • Service: 1/10
  • Price: $6-$9

Chicken Now replaced the Chick-Fil-A in the Florida Mall food court. I expected it to be a similar establishment. While both places serve chicken, that’s about the only similarity they share. Chicken Now is overpriced. The chicken was overcooked, leaving it dry and chewy. They tried to charge me $0.25 when I asked for sauce for the chicken fingers, but when I protested saying that I never received any, they finally caved into letting me have it for free. They provide no ketchup for the french fries. Luckily, I was able to walk over to Charley’s Grilled Subs (a much better place to eat in the food court) to get some ketchup. This place is a complete rip off. I asked for a refill on my fountain drink, and was charged $0.50. Only, the cashier didn’t open the register to deposit the money, but a drawer underneath. It didn’t occur to me to question it at the time, but something felt odd. I later realized that being located in the Florida Mall, a high traffic tourist area, employees either are falsely charging customers for refills, stealing from the customers, or correctly charging customers, and pocketing the money, stealing from their employer.

This place should be avoided like the plague. While there is no shortage of bad places to eat in a mall food court, the place is the worst of the worst, and the fact that they’re stealing from their customers or employers seals the deal for me. I will never eat at this place again.

Chicken Now on Urbanspoon

Brick & Fire

Published on April 12, 2011 in Italian and Pizza. 1 Comment Tags: , .
  • Food Quality: 6/10
  • Food Quantity: 8/10
  • Cleanliness: 7/10
  • Atmosphere: 6/10
  • Service: 6/10
  • Price: $6-$10

Brick & Fire serves up brick oven pizza, as well as the usual fare of Italian cuisine. Their pizza is cheesy, really cheesy. I normally like extra cheese, but I didn’t even ask for it here, and it felt like a ton of cheese. It was too much cheese to enjoy the pizza. It might have been better if the pizza was cooked a little longer making the cheese crispier. One thing I found odd about the restaurant is that it is a sit down restaurant, you have a server take your order and bring your food to you, but the drinks are self serve. I guess you could look at it as nice that you don’t have to wait for refills, but the mix of service and self-service creates an inconsistent experience. The food here wasn’t terrible, but not my cup of tea. I wouldn’t tell someone to avoid this place, but I wouldn’t recommend it either. There are plenty of good pizza places in Orlando that you don’t have to eat at this one.

Brick & Fire Pizza & Pasta Parlor on Urbanspoon

Torta El Rey

Published on April 6, 2011 in Mexican. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
  • Food Quality: 7/10
  • Food Quantity: 8/10
  • Cleanliness: 5/10
  • Atmosphere: 4/10
  • Service: 8/10
  • Price: $3-$5

Torta El Rey looks like it is in an old Checkers building. Located in the heart of Orange Blossom Trail, it has bars on the windows, and only outdoor seating. Don’t go here for the atmosphere. Do go here for the $0.50 tacos (chicken or steak). I got 3 chicken tacos (with cheese, onions, and cilantro) and a 32oz drink for less than $5. The chicken is a mixture of white and dark meat, but they were surprisingly good. This place is definitely worth trying, but you might want to get it to go.

Tortas El Rey on Urbanspoon

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