Address	1670 Buena Vista Drive
City	Lake Buena Vista
Phone	407-934-2628
Price	$$$$
Scott's Review

Paddlefish is the reimagined Fulton’s Crab House (née Empress Lily), on the nonfloating structure made to resemble a vintage paddlewheel river boat. It’s less vintage-y with the recent renovation, which gave it a modern look, both inside and out (though the frozen-in-place paddles remain). This is a huge facility, but it features several smaller dining rooms that keep it from feeling like a large main feeding room on a cruise ship.... Read more

Address	13586 S. John Young Parkway
City	Orlando
Phone	407-251-5107
Price	$$$
Scott's Review

I'm prepared to call this the best Cuban restaurant in Central Florida, it's really that good. A family operation out of South Florida, Padrino's features both traditional Cuban dishes and some more stylized "bistro" items, and they're served in a pleasant, bright dining room.

My guest and I started our dinner with the classic empanadas, crisp, flaky pastries filled with a spicy ground beef mixture. They were served with a wonderful guava chutney that I could have eaten by the spoonful.

We also had a selection of tostones topped with ropa vieja, ground beef and chicken. The shredded beef of the ropa vieja was a favorite.

For my entree I chose Mayi’s mahi mahi, a colorful dish of red, green, orange, yellow, golden and white that featured a fresh-tasting fillet topped with fresh mango and pineapple chutney, served with mashed sweet potatoes and fresh vegetables.

The owners are usually at the restaurant tending to the customers and making sure that everything is first-rate. And it usually is.

... Read more

Address	216 S. Park Ave.
City	Winter Park
Phone	407-629-7270
Price	$$
Scott's Review

Quietly, Pannullo's Italian Restaurant is also celebrating its silver anniversary at its Park Avenue address. It's not the oldest along the avenue -- Cafe de France and Briarpatch outdate it -- but its 25-year achievement is worth noting. Also worth noting: It may have been 25 years since I last dined there, or pretty close. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but knowing of the anniversary and needing a place to meet a friend for lunch, I decided to stop in.... Read more

Address	1590 Buena Vista Drive Disney Springs
City	Lake Buena Vista
Phone	407-934-3700
Price	$$
Scott's Review

The lastest from E-Brands group (Timpano, Samba Room) and the newest in Downtown Disney, Paradiso 37 neither thrills nor disappoints. If you're an aficionado of tequilas, the towering bar with 50 brands might impress you.

For my appetizer I chose the Central American crazy corn because I was in a wild and Central American kind of mood.  This featured fire-roasted corn-on-the-cob coated with melted cheese and drizzled with a slightly peppery hot sauce. I sort of liked it, though my companion found it more than a little crazy. What I didn’t like was the four small, half-ears for that price. At $7.50 I’m guessing there’s a profit of around seven bucks on that one.

For my entree I chose the tres tacos. There were, as the name implies, three of them, but together they barely amounted to one regular sized taco. The mini corn tortillas were firm, but the meats -- your choice from among chicken, pork, grilled steak, mahi mahi or, for a vegetarian option, roasted mushrooms -- were underseasoned and under proportioned. The tacos were further dwarfed by a large mound of green cilantro rice and a puddle of black beans. Both side dishes were fine, though again nothing ste... Read more

Address	136 Park Ave S
City	Winter Park
Phone	407-647-9103
Price	$$
Scott's Review

The Parkview is a favorite wine bar and restaurant on Park Avenue. Besides a terrific lineup of wines (be sure to check out the wines offered with the Coravin device) the kitchen puts out some good food to accompany.... Read more

Address	433 W. New England Ave.
City	Winter Park
Phone	321-972-4881
Price	$$
Scott's Review

Mi Tomatina, the paella place in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square, is now Pepe’s Cantina. While Spanish may still be spoken here, the dialect is more Mexican than Catalan. And there’s a distinct Texas accent, as well. Pepe’s Facebook page (the website is still “under construction) states that chef Jose Baranenko’s menu “puts a new twist on traditional Mexican cuisine.” Inasmuch as fajitas and nachos — and burgers, for that matter — are Mexican it’s only because they migrated from the country to the north. But I’ll not quibble about authenticity. I had a pleasant visit to Pepe’s recently, and if the cantina vibe isn’t quite in sync with such neighbors as Chez Vincent, Mynt and Armando’s — Pepe’s Facebook page is promoting an event called Cinco de Drinko — it isn’t any more out of place than, say, Dexter’s down the block.... Read more

Address	120 W. Church St.
City	Orlando
Phone	407-730-2341
Price	$$
Scott's Review

A second location for the 2017 Foodster Award for Best Tex-Mex. Pepe's offers a nice people-watching perch from its Church Street patio. ... Read more

Address	239 W. 4th Ave.
City	Mount Dora
Phone	352-385-2669
Price	$$

It’s a beautiful setting on a hill overlooking Lake Dora, and as the name might suggest, fish is the forte. Try one of the fresh fish offerings or the scallops entrée. If you feel like biting into some gator, you’ll like the bayou chicken (as in "it tastes like").... Read more