I have to admit, this is the first year I’ve paid much attention to it, and I was rather disappointed with many of the choices for Orlando area food and drink. Granted, this is a very subjective subject, but the number of national, and multinational chains on the list was surprising.

While I have many grievances with this list, these are the choices that really stand out to me.

Best Chinese
#1 P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
#3 Pei Wei Asian Diner

P.F. Chang’s is good, but far from great. Add in a mix of high prices, and an upscale atmosphere, and P.F. Chang’s moves much further down my list. Upscale Chinese food is like having an upscale wing place or upscale barbecue. They just don’t mix.

After seeing number one on the list, it’s not surprising to see Pei Wei at number three. Pei Wei is owned by P.F. Chang’s, and is basically a cheaper, lower quality version of it’s parent. Already not liking P.F. Chang’s much, Pei Wei falls even further down my list.

There are numerous mom and pop Chinese restaurants in Orlando. Some are bad, but some are excellent, and offer unique flavors. One great example is Summer Palace on South Alafaya Trail. The food is great, both in taste and portion sizes, the atmosphere is nice, but not too upscale, and it is unique to Orlando.

Best Breakfast
#2 Ethos Vegan Kitchen

As a disclaimer, I will say that vegan does nothing for me. However, breakfast without eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, or milk leaves little to be desired. I don’t need a breakfast filled with heart attack inducing foods, but these items are staples of great breakfast. A notable absentee from this list, and a great replacement would be Brian’s Restaurant. Brian’s is a diner only open for breakfast and lunch. While I’ve driven by it for years, I only recently had the chance to try it (I rarely have ambition to go out for breakfast). After my first time trying it, I fell in love, and went 3 times in as many weeks. All the food at Brian’s is excellent, the eggs, bacon (giving you 4 strips, not just 2), omelets, pancakes, french toast, home fries, their famous sweet rolls, and anything I may have missed. The service is also great, not only being on top of your needs, but being friendly and striking up conversation with you too.

Lastly,

Best Wings
#1 Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar

Based on wings along, this place is good. Account for their atmosphere, where you can’t hear the people at your own table, but can hear every TV in the place, the fact that any food other than wings is barely edible, and their consistently bad service, and Buffalo Wild Wings shouldn’t even be a consideration. An excellent place for wings, and in my opinion the best place for wings period, is Flyers Wings and Grill. Flyers has a quiet atmosphere, amazing wings, and great service.

My main gripe with this list is that Orlando is a hub for people from all over. These people often bring their cuisine with them. There are plenty of local only places that could top any of these categories. When friends or family visit Orlando, do you rave about the restaurant chains they most likely have in their home town, or do you tell then they have to try this local barbecue, or wing place, or Italian place, or whatever other place you love?

One place in particular, What’s Your Beef? was opened because the owners, Mike and Lisa longed for the Italian beef style sandwiches they frequented back in Chicago.They couldn’t find this anywhere in Orlando, and decided to open up their own shop. Personally, I’m glad they did because I may have never been introduced to this excellent sandwich otherwise.

We have an excellent variety of food available in Orlando and the surrounding area. We have several eateries with great BBQ offering different styles. We have high class steak houses. We have New York style pizza, gourmet pizza, and Chicago style deep dish pizza. You can get just about every flavor of Asian cuisine, from Chinese and Japanese, to Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai. There are countless Mexican (and Tex Mex), Spanish, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other Latin American eateries, both fast food, and high class. There are numerous other types of food, including places dedicated to Chicago style hot dogs, Indian food, Mongolian BBQ, burgers, and so on. The main point of all of this is to get you to break out of your routine of going to the same place. Get out there and try some of the excellent food Orlando has to offer.

• Whataburger – University Blvd. Orlando, FL
• Shane’s Rib Shack – Orlando Ave. Maitland, FL
• Shane’s Rib Shack – Sand Lake Rd. Orlando, FL
• All Bennigan’s and Steak and Ale Restaurants (2008). There is actually one Bennigan’s left on US-192, near I-4
• T.G.I. Friday’s – E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL
• Denny’s – E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL
• Pizzeria Uno – E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL
• Smokey Bones – Sand Lake Rd. Orlando, FL
• Natural Chicken – Orange Ave. Orlando, FL
• Quizno’s – Blake Blvd. Celebration, FL
• Casselberry Kitchen – Casselberry, FL (via Damien McKenna)
• Fazoli’s – E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL (via Paul J)
• Fazoli’s – Babcock St. Melbourne, FL
• Hu Hot Mongolian BBQ off of Sand Lake Rd (via Ryan Price)
• BD’s Mongolian BBQ off of 434 in Mailtand (via Ryan Price)
• American Pie Pizza Co. – Semoran Blvd. Orlando, FL
• Barney’s Steak and Seafood – E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL
• Donato’s – All Central Florida locations (via Brian Ashe)
• Krystal’s – Semoran Blvd. (between University and Aloma) Winter Park, FL
• Uncle Jones on 436 in Altamonte Springs. (via Mark Branson)

If you know of one I missed, please let me know and I will add it to the list.