Rangetsu, the Japanese restaurant and sushi bar that has been a prominent fixture on International Drive since 1986, will close at the end of the month. General manager Takashi Kikuchi told me that the economy was a deciding factor. "We used to get big parties," said Kikuchi, "but conventions are down, Japanese tourists are down, and we have too many employees."

He said the building was under contract to be sold, but could not give any details about the prospective buyers. The current owner, according to Kikuchi, is in Japan. He also couldn't say what will happen to the many koi in the ponds in front of the restaurant, although he was certain they would be cared for.

Rangetsu, which was spelled with a hyphen for many years and whose name means orchid moon, has 350 seats and a staff of 40. The last day will be March 31.

Steak and Salad is the Least of What Is Offered Here

The sign out front couldn’t be less enticing, a plainly unadorned marquee with the words Steak & Salad in red lettering on a white background. In the restaurant’s defense, that is the name of the restaurant, though that alone is worth a lesson in the pros and cons of good marketing.

I had passed the small building in the 1300 block of Mills Avenue for months and couldn’t think of a good reason to stop. Then one day a blackboard had been placed outside that read, “Now serving Turkish food.” Now there was a reason to stop. Now I have even better reasons to go back.

The way I heard the story, the owners opened the restaurant, which was the former Friends cafe, with a menu that featured the eponymous food items, your basic salads and basic cuts of (decidedly inexpensive) meats. Then a server pointed out to the owners that they were of Turkish descent, and perhaps they might try serving some of their traditional homeland foods.

So a separate menu was added with such things as kebabs and kofte and bulgur pilav and red lentil soup.

That soup, also indicated on the menu with its Turkish names, mercimek corbasi, was a little bowl of spicy liquid heat, with the lentils more pureed than in pebble form.

For my entree I had the adana kebab, which the menu calls a spicy meatloaf. That’s pretty much the perfect description. The ground meat concoction was freckled with bits of red pepper, which added tastes of fire. But just in case that wasn’t enough spice, a whole grilled jalapeno was included. The meat and pepper were atop a flat pita, which also had slices of tomatoes and raw onions. You could either eat with a knife and fork or fold it all up into a wrap. At first I wanted to add a little tzatziki or other sauce, but once I started eating it I realized none was needed. A generous serving of bulgur pilav was included.

I also had the kofte, which are sort of like meatballs, and the shish kebab, which ahd sirloin steak tips and mushrooms. (I could leave without having some sort of steak.)

Dinners also include a choice from an array of side dishes, which are identified as salads. The shepherd salad was a mixture of large chunks of chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and green peppers in a vinaigrette, a light and fresh-tasting salad. Eggplant and spinach salads were more like dips, along the lines of babaganouj or hummus. And they, too, were delicious.

The restaurant is small, fewer than 40 seats by my count, but it’s tidy and has the look of having been recently painted. Tabletops are a sort of greenish marble design, although no actual stone is present. A small bar has seating for three or four people at large wicker stools.

Oh, about the bar. The menu lists a number of cocktails, but be warned -- these are not made with actual liquor. They are fashioned out of wine-based liquids meant for restaurants with licenses restricting them to beer and wine. To me, this is sort of like offering chopped steak fashioned out of tofu.

If, like me, you’ve passed Steak & Salad and dismissed it as unworthy of your time, I hope you’ll stop in. The folks are friendly, the setting is comfortable, and the food -- at least the Mediterranean fare -- is quite good.

Steak & Salad is at 1326 N. Mills Ave., Orlando. It is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. The phone number is 407-898-0999. The Web site is steakandsaladorlando.com.

Restaurant reviews tend to follow a pattern, one that chronicles the meal itself, starting with appetizers, then soups and salads and on to entrees. But a review of Chef Henry’s requires one to start with dessert. Simply put, the apple strudel here is phenomenal.

This isn’t exactly news. I’ve raved about the strudel since I first wrote about this family’s original restaurant, Chef Henry’s Cafe. And the strudel was singled out for my very first Foodie Award for Best Dessert, in 1999. Then, as now, the strudel was made by Estera Brestowski, chef Henry’s wife. Words can’t do it justice. There is no way to adequately describe the buttery flakiness of the pastry or the sweetly tart taste of the apples and how they are baked perfectly to that elusive point between too crunchy and too soft. It just can’t be done.

Of course, the strudel is even more enjoyable when it comes at the end of a meal as wonderful as one at Chef Henry’s. The food is simple, really, but the flavors are complex. And the execution is masterful.

My guests and I started with an array of appetizers, including halusky, a potato dumpling mixed with cheese and a touch of bacon that can only be described as a sort of Slovakian mac and cheese. But even a fancier version than those currently being touted at expensive restaurants around the country. And bryndzovnik, a puff pastry filled with sliced potatoes, sour cream and cheese. And gazda kobasz, a classic Hungarian style pork sausage.

Read more: Chef Henry's

 

Spring is here. It’s raining outside right now (March showers bring April...that doesn’t sound right). It has finally warmed up to a temperature resembling Florida. And Daylight Savings Time returns this weekend -- don’t forget to set an alarm so you can watch all your atomic clocks reset at 2 a.m. Or is it 3 a.m.? I forget.

Anyway, it’s spring, and that means grilling outdoors. It means doing some other things outdoors, too, but for now let’s keep our minds on grilling, shall we?

I love throwing things on the grill. I like to cook a nice juicy steak, of course, but I’ve also done a prime rib and a stuffed turkey on the trusted Weber. Sometimes I use a gas grill, but I prefer the heat of charcoal. That’s just me.

But I’m no expert by any means. And I can always use some advice. That’s why I’ve invited chefs who have a particular skill with the grill to be part of my Grilling Garden cooking stage at the Central Florida Home & Garden Show. The show is March 19-21 at the Orange County Convention Center, and I’ll have chefs each day doing demonstrations and giving tastes and recipes.

On Friday, at noon, Tim Keating, executive chef at Flying Fish Cafe will whip up some gazpacho and cook some of the fish he’s known for at the popular Disney’s BoardWalk restaurant. Then at 2:30 Dan Drayer, executive chef for Talk of the Town restaurants (Charley’s Steakhouse, FishBones, MoonFish, Vito’s Chophouse) will be cooking some halibut and talking about the best way to cook a big hunk of meat.

Click to see who else will be grilling at the show...