Archive for the 'Dessert' Category

Maggiano’s Little Italy

Published on October 3, 2011 in Dessert and Italian. 0 Comments Tags: .
  • Food Quantity: 9/10
  • Food Quality: 9/10
  • Cleanliness: 8/10
  • Atmosphere: 7/10
  • Service: 8/10
  • Price: $10 – $30

Maggiano’s Little Italy is a great traditional Italian restaurant located in Pointe Orlando. It offers a classy, yet casual, atmosphere. The prices are comparable to Olive Garden, but the food is much better. It tastes like a home cooked meal and the portions are more than enough for a single meal. Make sure you save room for dessert because their cheesecake and chocolate cake are excellent. The one complaint I would have is that while their individual tables are nicely sized, the tables themselves are too close together. Maybe you could request a booth if you want a little more privacy. Other than that, I’d highly recommend Maggiano’s, for big parties, families, or an intimate dinner for two.
Maggiano's Little Italy on Urbanspoon

Delish Frozen Yogurt (Baldwin Park)

Published on July 8, 2011 in Deals and Coupons and Dessert. 0 Comments Tags: , .
  • Food Quality: 7/10
  • Food Quantity: 8/10
  • Cleanliness: 7/10
  • Atmosphere: 7/10
  • Service: 7/10
  • Price: $3-$6

If you’ve read any of my reviews of one of the numerous froyo shops, they you’ve read them all. There’s really not much to differentiate one from another. All of them rotate the flavors of frozen yogurt. Some have more toppings than others. It’s 100% self serve, so service is never really an issue. They all have the same type of atmosphere, but some do have more seating, indoors or out. Every froyo shop I’ve been to so far has a loyalty card as well, usually giving you 1 free cup of yogurt after you’ve purchased 10. I think the main factor in picking which one you go to is which is the closest, considering most everything else is more or less the same.

While service is normally negligible at these shops, I will say I received some service above and beyond what was required of them. My fiance and I had gone here with our dog. He’s obviously not allowed inside, so we took turns getting our frozen yogurt. My fiance went first, and the lady at the counter allowed here to take her yogurt without paying so that I could pay for both of them when I was done. It’s a very minor thing for them to do, but that simple trust put in us (yes it was only over a cup of yogurt) for our convenience goes a long way.

There are a couple minor differences with Delish Frozen Yogurt. They give you a free cup of yogurt (up to 8oz) on your birthday. I have not seen a special like this anywhere else. While most froyo shops have a flat, per ounce pricing structure, Delish charges $0.32/oz for frozen yogurt, and $0.42 for frozen yogurt with toppings. I really don’t see the need to do this, since most people really don’t pile on the toppings, and I can’t see toppings other than fresh fruit costing much more than the yogurt itself.

Delish Frozen Yogurt on Urbanspoon

ShakeOut 25% Off July 4 Weekend

Published on July 1, 2011 in Deals and Coupons and Dessert. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

ShakeOut, in the Orlando Fashion Square Mall, is offering 25% off any shake with this coupon. You can print it out or show them the coupon on your smart phone.

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt

Published on June 28, 2011 in Dessert. 0 Comments Tags: , .
  • Food Quality: 7/10
  • Food Quantity: 9/10
  • Cleanliness: 6/10
  • Atmosphere: 6/10
  • Service: 7/10
  • Price: $3-$6

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is just one of the many self serve frozen yogurt shops to pop up. This particular establishment is generally more crowded than others in the area. There may not be enough room to enjoy your frozen yogurt there, but you can always eat it in your car in the parking lot. Menchie’s has a ton of toppings, more than any other froyo shop I’ve been to yet. While they do offer fresh fruit, most toppings are on the less healthy side, and include all sorts of candy, sprinkles, marshmallows, and syrups (caramel, chocolate, etc.). Menchie’s is self server so you can get as much or as little as you want, both of yogurt and toppings, and you just pay by the ounce.

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt on Urbanspoon

ShakeOut

Published on May 16, 2011 in Dessert. 1 Comment Tags: , .

ShakeOut is a new gourmet milk shake shop in the Orlando Fashion Square Mall which opened this past February. I was invited to try out their milk shakes, and learn about what they have to offer. The owner, James Stadelman, hails from England where I’ve been told gourmet milk shakes are all the rage. Rather than smoothies or ice cream parlors, they have gourmet milk shake shops. James, and his father hope to bring the craze to the US, and from what I’ve experienced, they’ve got a great chance in doing so.

While you can get milk shakes in several different flavors at Steak and Shake, McDonald’s, Arby’s, Sonic, and many other places, no one other than ShakeOut offers 120 flavors. They only offer French vanilla ice cream, but that is so that the ice cream does not take away from the added flavors themselves. To flavor your milkshake, you pick from over 120 options, including candy, cookies, cakes, cereal, and fruit (view their menu). The fruit they use is fresh, the cakes, cookies and pies are real, not just flavor shots, and the candies are right from the package you would get at the store, rather than bulk generic candies. They also offer boosters like, bran, energy or muscle builder, and toppings like whipped cream, sprinkles, or chocolate chips.

For $3.99 for a regular shake (16oz) or $4.99 for a large (20oz), you get to pick one flavor. If you want to create your own combination, it’s only $1 more per flavor. Or, you could try one of their custom blends created by and voted on by customers ($4.95 for a regular and $5.95 for a large). They have a customer loyalty program offering 1 free milk shake after your 10th purchase, and they also offer 10% off to military and service employees.

I really liked ShakeOut and think it has a great, unique offering. I would recommend it to anyone that likes ice cream or milk shakes. I can see them thriving, and spreading all over, much like the froyo shops you see popping up everywhere now.

ShakeOut on Urbanspoon

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