If you're not able to make the trip to Atlanta to watch UCF in the Peach Bowl on Monday, you might want to find a sports bar where you can watch the game with other fans.
Actually, it's officially the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, so thank God the game wasn't scheduled for Sunday.
If you're out Waterford Lakes way, consider stopping by Castaway's Sports Bar & Grill, which opened recently. The place has plenty of big-screen televisions -- is huge-screen tv a category? -- and enough room for everybody from section 102 of Spectrum Stadium.
And somebody back in the kitchen puts out a pretty good burger, too. His name might be Ralph, because it was the Ralph's Burger that I ordered on a recent visit. I'm not sure that's the one I was served, however, because it didn't have bacon and it wasn't topped with pepper jack cheese.
Instead it had provolone, along with lettuce, tomatoes and onions. It was a big patty, a blend of angus beef, brisket and short rib, right at the requested medium rare, with juices soaking into the bottom half of the fresh bun. In retrospect, it was probably the B.Y.O. Burger that I was served, which I initially avoided because I thought it meant I had to supply my own meat. If I had brought my own patty, I don't think it would have had the same chopped-steaklike quality that this one had.
The burger came with a week's supply of Parmesan Sweet Potato Waffle Fries, big meaty pieces that had to have been cut from a potato and a half. Lots of grated parmesan was sprinkled on top.
Service was genial but not very swift. Just as long as you get your food before the third quarter.
Castaway's Sports Bar & Grill is at 504 North Alafaya Trail, Orlando. (It's in one of the out parcels close to the road and sits between a Keke's Breakfast Cafe and Rice & Beans Cocina Latina. The website does not list the hours or days of operation, so I'll tell you that it is open for lunch and dinner daily, including late night until 2 a.m. The phone number is 407-377-5895.
Go Knights! Charge on.
