If a restaurant could survive on earnestness alone, eXile Restaurant & Lounge would be a sure thing. “I’m glad you’re here,” co-owner Joseph Aintabi said to me and my companion shortly after we took a seat at the bar, and something about the way he said it made me believe it. And our conversation with Aintabi and his co-owner, Tim Herman, as we chatted about the restaurant, the menu and the business in general further demonstrated a sincere love of the business. 

But sincerity can take you only so far. I’ve seen plenty of nice guys with good intentions fail because they couldn’t follow through with good food and service. But eXile can and does. The menu is, at first glance, rather mundane and predictable: burgers, wings and pizza are the items that stand out. But look a little closer and you’ll find some special treats.

Read more: eXile Restaurant and Lounge

This article was originally published in the Orlando Sentinel 24 years ago today, on May 29, 1988. It was my first byline for the paper and the first of the 935 Chow Hound columns that I would write. (Chris Sherman wrote the Chow Hound column before that.) In rereading it, I was surprised to see the names Bananas and Nick's Italian Kitchen in the review. Those are the names of existing restaurants, both from FMI Restaurant Group, but have no relation to the current day restaurants. I also winced at some of the writing, including the now unacceptable description of one menu as "Oriental." We move on, but I thought it would be fun to share this with you.

(May 29, 1988) Church Street Station Exchange, the new multilevel retail center in downtown Orlando, has been touted for some time as "a whole new reason to shop." The big question as far as Chow Hound is concerned: Will it offer a whole new reason to eat? Not that you need a new reason to eat, but then, did you really need a new reason to shop?

The answer to the question on eats, though still developing, can be found at the top of the stairs in the Exchange's food court. So far, this is what's available in the way of edibles:

-- Chinese Cafe offers your basic Oriental favorites a la carte or in one of four combo plates. You get your egg rolls, your chow mein and your fried rice, among others. There is also a lot of cabbage. A lot of cabbage. A word of warning: Chinese Cafe charges 20 cents for chopsticks. It seems silly to charge extra for what should be considered basic eating utenils. Someone suggested they should charge extra for forks and give the chopsticks away. A great idea.

-- Nick's Italian Kitchen features pizza, calzone and other traditional Italian fare. Also available is something called King Nicoli's Sandwich, which is more commonly referred to as a submarine sandwich. It's served on a "homemade" bun. Judging from the freshness of the one served to Chow Hound, the home where the bun was made is somewhere in Sicily.

-- Bananas -- that's the name of the place -- has shakes and drinks made with fresh fruits. Banana -- the fruit -- is only one of the flavor choices, making it perhaps an inappropriate name.

-- Even more inappropriately named is Everything Yogurt -- because everything isn't. Chow Hound, looking for something to eat for lunch, bypassed the E.Y. stand and got in line at the Chinese Cafe. It wasn't until after dining on a plate of cabbage (a lot of cabbage) and curried onions (don't ask) that Chow Hound noticed Everything Yogurt also offers quiches, sandwiches and soups. Poor marketing to say the least, unless of course the soup du jour, Creole-style gumbo that particular jour, was made with . . . nah.

Other foodstuffs within the shopping center include Mrs. Fields' Cookies, which need no introduction, and The Fudgery, featuring the singing fudgemakers.

Read more: Remember Church Street Exchange? Former Chow Hound Does

If you walked through Peperoncino’s front door and took too many steps you’d find yourself back outside through the little restaurant’s back door. Peperoncino is a relative newcomer to the Dellagio Plaza on Restaurant Row. It’s much smaller than its culinary neighbors, Dragonfly, Cantina Laredo, Big Fin and Fleming’s. 

But what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in charm and, more important, the food. In the realm of Italian restaurants in Central Florida, few offer the sort of authentic experience that Peperoncino does. If you’re sitting in a spot that allows a view of the Dellagio’s central plaza, you might think you’re on a piazza looking at one of the fountains of Rome.

And don’t expect the food to bring you back to reality. It is expertly crafted from recipes cooked in the kitchens of the chef/owner Barbara Alfano’s grandmothers and is lovingly replicated here. Every bite is a veritable travelogue.

Read more: Peperoncino

Do you have an SJO Dining Deal for Matteo's, the Italian restaurant that closed its International Drive location earlier this week? Thinking it's not worth the paper it's printed on, assuming you took the time to print it out? Well, take heart. Remy van Driel, vice president of the New York based restaurant, says the company is looking for another Central Florida location, and when they reopen, they will gladly honor the vouchers.

That's very nice. Of course, there's no information on where or when that might happen, but at least it's a glimmer of hope.

And if you're holding on to any other unused vouchers, this a good time to remind you of the line in the not-so-fine print on each of the SJO Dining Deals: Caveat couponer: although this certificate does not have an expiration date, it should be used promptly. Should the restaurant go out of business for any reason, the certificate will have no value.