A Land Remembered
AddressRosen Shingle Creek
9939 Universal Blvd
CityOrlando
Phone407-996-3663
Price$$$$
Scott's Review

An odd name – it comes from a book about Florida by Patrick Smith. But it’s a good restaurant, though not the best steakhouse. If you’re a prime rib lover, this is your place, but be prepared to pay dearly. The restaurant has been known to close on evenings when the hotel's capacity is low, so always call first.

Though it is situated in the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel's golf clubhouse, the atmosphere is more along the lines of a hunting lodge. Very clubby. Service has always been first-rate.

Have you been to this restaurant? Tell us what you think. Log in, then click on "write new review." Be specific about what you liked or didn't like. Be pithy, be pertinent, but be fair.

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Agave Azul
Address4750 S. Kirkman Road
CityOrlando
Phone407-704-6931
Price$
Scott's Review

I’m thinking Agave Azul might be a more attractive restaurant in the evening. During the day, the bright sunlight streams in through the front windows and makes everything in the restaurant look as though it’s in shadows. Seated at a table in the back of the restaurant, I felt as though the power had gone out.

I know for certain there was no electricity in the food. I had the enchiladas rancheras, two enchiladas with a soupcon of pork, chopped onions and bell peppers. They were topped with melted cheese, which had actually started to recongeal, and sauce. It was accompanied by a bit of rice, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole. And there wasn’t a thing that was memorable about it. Service was perfunctory.

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Amatista Cookhouse
Address6601 Adventure Way
CityOrlando
Phone407-503-3463
Price$$$
Scott's Review
Located inside the Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando, Amatista is supposed to represent the tropics, though the decor is a bit more North Polish. The food, though, is recommendable. Ostensibly Caribbean, it is presented in a creative and stylistic way.... Read more
B.B. King’s Blues Club
Address9101 International Drive
Pointe Orlando
CityOrlando
Phone407-370-4550
Price$$
Scott's Review

You can expect to chow down on Southern comfort foods, signature items from Memphis, the Mississippi delta and the bayous of Louisiana.

Well, OK, not all of it is authentically Southern, such as the nachos, unless you’re talking south of the border. My guest and I had put ourselves in the hands of the chef who sent out this massive mound of chips and cheese and other accouterments, including pulled pork. The chips were surprisingly crispy, and there were plenty of toppings.

However, I preferred the platter of fried dill pickles, smallish but crisp, and the meaty barbecued ribs with a sweetish sauce.

Better still was the bowl of gumbo ya ya, with smoked chicken, andouille sausage, crawfish and peppers in a roux as dark as the bayou.

For my entree I had the chicken fried chicken, a meaty breast with a jacket of buttermilk breading topped with pan gravy and accompanied by macaroni and cheese.

There's also good live entertainment, including the 10-person B.B. King house band. Don't expect to see the blues legend himself too often, however: even when he's performing in town he isn't obligated to stop in.

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Bice
AddressPortofino Bay
5601 Universal Blvd.
CityOrlando
Phone407-503-1415
Price$$$$
Scott's Review

Dinner at Bice is not an inexpensive night out. But when you consider cost vs. quality, you’ll find that Bice is not overpriced.

Just consider the restaurant’s signature dish, ravioli stuffed with beef short ribs and spinach. The pasta was delicately thin and tender, and the braised meat inside had a rich, fatty mouthfeel that blossomed with the sauce of mushrooms and Marsala wine. Absolute heaven.

Or another from the list of primi piatti, big, fat tortellini filled with spinach and ricotta and dressed with a sauce of butter and sage.

From the secondi my companion had the scalloppine di vitello, flattened medallions of veal sauteed with a darkly rich mushroom sauce and served with a timbale of potatoes similar to a potatoes Anna dish.

I chose a special of the evening that featured sea bass in parchment. Enclosed inside the envelope with zucchini, yellow squash, red and green peppers, and a few salty olives, the fish took on all the vegetable flavors while maintaining a fresh and moist texture. The taste was buttery and absolutely delicious.

Desserts are worth lingering over.

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Bob Marley - A Tribute To Freedom
AddressCityWalk
Universal Orlando
CityOrlando
Phone407-224-3663
Price$$
This oddly named restaurant is a replica of Marley's home in Kingston, Jamaica. The menu has traditional Caribbean fare, such as jerk chicken, oxtail, beef patties and such (no curried goat, however). One taste of the food and you'll understand why Marley is a music legend. Note: after 9 p.m. only adults over 21 admitted. There may be a cover charge for entertainment (usually $7). Food is served only until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, but the music keeps playing -- and the drinks keep pouring -- until 2 a.m.... Read more
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
AddressCityWalk
Universal Orlando
CityOrlando
Phone407-903-0044
Price$$
Forrest Gump, in the movie of the same name, quotes his mother as saying that life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. The movie, you see, takes place in a time before candy companies started putting maps to their assortments on the inside lid.
Still, Mother Gump was wise in her way. So I can’t help but think that if she were to visit Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a chain restaurant new to Universal’s CityWalk, her reaction might be: “Sometimes life is like a carton of frozen shrimp, you know exactly what you’re gonna get.”
There’s little to recommend here, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that the menu is dominated by what Bubba called "the fruit of the sea.” It isn’t quite as extensive as detailed in the movie when Bubba, in a memorable sequence, lists every possible way to cook and serve shrimp. “You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp Creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.”
He d... Read more
Café Tu Tu Tango
Address8625 International Drive
CityOrlando
Phone407-248-2222
Price$$
Scott's Review

Cafe Tu Tu Tango is at its best as a celebration destination. You'll have more fun - and the food just might taste better - if you go with a big group. Order a table full of tapas and share. Be careful: The cost can really add up fast.

The Cajun chicken egg rolls ($6.25) were a favorite, with blackened chicken rolled inside a wonton skin with corn and cheese. Red onions and a touch of cilantro added just the right flavor notes.
The duck and mixed greens salad ($7.25) was one I had enjoyed six years ago, and it was still good on my recent visit. It featured shredded duck meat served on flatbread atop mesclun greens drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Tu Tu’s setting is a Spanish artist’s garret, Spanish, I suppose, because for the Mediterranean slant of the menu. Every inch of wall space is occupied by paintings, drawings, sculptures and oddities, all of which are for sale. Should you purchase one, another will be slapped up in its place in no time flat because there are artists in residence dappling, scribbling and shaping new works of art right before your very eyes. According to literature distributed by the restaurant, it isn’t uncommon for a guest to sit down and ... Read more

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