Orlando Area Dining

[Susansea2003]

I have a question for you though. When I was interviewing at Microsoft about 6 years ago I ate dinner in Bellevue (I think) at a very good restaurant on the top floor of a high-rise. Do you know the name of this place and if it's still open? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks very much for your detailed answer - it's very helpful!

I don't know that many restaurants in Bellevue, but I'm thinking maybe the restaurant you're talking about is Daniel's Broiler? It's primarily a steakhouse & part of a small local "chain," but very popular and is on the 21st floor. with a great view of Lake Washington.

http://www.schwartzbros.com/daniels.cfm#anchor3

Could this be the one?

[moosnsqrl]

Well, this is bizarre but they are renting timeshare homes and apparently they don't tell you where they are. They give you the office address, you show up there and pick up keys and a map! Guess I'm a little naive about vacation/resort rentals but I didn't see that coming at all.

Thanks to all who posted suggestions. I will forward them and they can decide when they see where they land.

[percyn]

I will be in Orlando in the Championsgate area as well. Here are my current reservations and I would appreciate and input from people who have visited these places or recommend others:

Sun - Emeril's Tchoup Chop

Mon - Boma

Tues - Roy's

Wed - Texas de Brazil Churrascaria

Thurs - Emeril's Orlando

(Trying to see if I can swap for Primo )

Fri - Victoria & Albert's

Any faux pas? Other recommendations (Dinner will be for )?

[Bill_H]

I will be in Orlando in the Championsgate area as well. Here are my current reservations and I would appreciate and input from people who have visited these places or recommend others:

Sun -  Emeril's Tchoup Chop

Mon - Boma

Tues - Roy's

 

Wed -  Texas de Brazil Churrascaria

Thurs - Emeril's Orlando

(Trying to see if I can swap for Primo )

Fri - Victoria & Albert's

Any faux pas? Other recommendations (Dinner will be for )?

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Well, Champion's Gate is WAY out there, so eating in the Disney area is recommended if possible. I think Tchoup Chop is ok - it's a very nice space and the food is good, just not spectacular. As for Emeril's, I've always loved the food but rarely go because the location and fellow patrons are so low-class (esp for the prices). Call back and ask for a quiet location, maybe upstairs. The pork chop there is awesome. If you go to Primo, you may want to check out my VERY recent Primo report Primo Dining Report Feb 2005

The only one I would recommend AGAINST is Roy's. It's just not worth it. If you're looking for seafood, in the same location I think you'd do better at Moonfish or Bonefish- both for less money. But if you want to try something great, RIGHT NEXT to Roy's is an upscale Lebanese place called Cedars - highly recommened. Or if you want something more local, in the same area is a small place with a limited but wonderful menu called Chatham's Place. It's our very favorite in town.

For eats on Disney property, our guests have loved Todd English's bluezoo, we found it pretty, but the fish ok. Boma is great, but if you want something that's not a buffet you can't go wrong with Jiko in the same hotel. The wine list is very good too. Lastly, if you haven't been to the California Grill, it's worth putting on your list.

You'll LOVE Vickie's & Al's. I'm jealous!

Hope this helps

Edited February 25, 2005 by Bill_H (log)

[percyn]

Bill,

Thanks for the recommendations. I was thinking about Bluezoo.

BTW, if you want to eat at one of the restaurants in say Epcot's world pavilion (is that what it is called?), do you need to buy a ticket to enter or can you get special access just to the restaurant?

Thanks

Percy

[john b]

Bill,

      Thanks for the recommendations. I was thinking about Bluezoo.

     

      BTW, if you want to eat at one of the restaurants in say Epcot's world pavilion (is that what it is called?), do you need to buy a ticket to enter or can you get special access just to the restaurant?

Thanks

Percy

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It's "World Showcase." I'm pretty sure you need to buy a ticket for Epcot if you want to eat at one of the restaurants there. So add $120 to you dinner tab.

[TerrelK]

We always go to the Norwegian restaurant at the Norwegian pavillion in Epcot for the herring. I like it better now that the hot dishes are ordered and not left sitting out on the buffet. But, it's really a waste, if you love herring as we do, to have anything but the herring and other fish specialities (gravlax!!!) on the cold buffet. We went to the bar at Todd English's Bluezoo in the Dolphin hotel one night and had bar food that was excellent. (Mediterranean) Would like to try the spit-roasted fish sometime. If you want an adventure, find out if the Branch Ranch in Plant City is still in operation. It had huge southern comfort dishes (fried chicken, ham) and lots of sides including, but not limited to, homemade strawberry jam and beaten biscuits that could float off the plate (slather with butter and then jam).

[Bill_H]

You do need a ticket to eat at an Epcot restaurant - but if you're not going to be there anyway, there are better options outside the parks. If you really want to eat there, Chefs de France is the best bet. Biergarten is fun and you can't screw up sausage. AVOID Alfredo's in Italy, it's beautiful but way average and overpriced. Norway's ok too, as the above poster said.

[Susansea2003]

*  If you like Lebanese food, we have a doozy here.  Try Cedar's, in the Restaurant Row area on Sand Lake Road.  My wife was born in Beirut and loves the food there.

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Bill, just wanted to say THANK YOU for your recommendations & give a little report back on our trip.

1st, I must rave that Cedars is wonderful. The Lebanese menu contains some interesting dishes I haven't seen at many "Middle Eastern" restaurants. We had some great dishes, including the best pita bread I have ever had - in fact, I now feel like I never had pita until I ate it there. Piping hot little puffs of bread with a somewhat crackly surface - wonderful. A very nice fool mudammas (I'm probably messing up my spelling), excellent mixed kabob grill (our preschooler loved the lamb & the chicken), a Lebanese ground beef kabob, and a lovely dessert that was somewhat like flan. We ate in the outside space, which seems a bit less formal than the inside. This turned out to be a smoking area, but that was okay because folks were smoking hookahs, not cigarettes & the smoke was more like incense. We were even entertained by a belly dancer! It was a great evening.

We also enjoyed Boma at Disney. Buffets are a good option for families (like us) with a preschooler as it is already noisy and we could get food immediately. I don't know much about foods from Africa, but my impression was that the foods were primarily from West and South Africa - there wasn't anything I recognized from our meals at our many local East African (Ethiopian, Eritrean) restaurants in Seattle. Some of my favorites were the Fufu (puree of sweet and regular potatoes) and a grilled chicken. The desserts are lovely as well, and servings are small enough that sampling many things is reasonable. It is quite pricey - $25 per person for dinner - but the Lodge is lovely and worth seeing as well. As an aside, I was dismayed at the number of folks I saw around me who had plates full of chicken fingers and french fries when there were so many other dishes to try, but such is Disney, I guess.

We returned to Wildsides for some pork sammiches, beers & (coincidentally) the end of the Daytona 500. We combined our trip there with a walk around Lake Eola & a long play session for our daughter at the adjacent playground. It was a nice day - the BBQ is good, though I thought it was a bit on the dry side. I did like being able to have a salad with it since BBQ is so heavy. I wondered what happened to the lake, though - it seemed very dry.

We had a couple of other meals that were just expedient (near our hotel, etc.) The Italian restaurant in the Swan (might be called Palacio or something like that) is pretentious and overpriced and just not that good. They claim to have a wood fired oven, but their pizza was not much bettern than Dominos - too much cheese, crust and the sauce iis not flavorful enough. Ugh.

Just wanted to mention that we went back to the Shark Encounter restaurant at Sea World. Definitely very pricey & food is uneven. But watching the sharks & other large fish in the tank was great - especially for the mobility-impaired elderly family member with us. I had a very nice citrus caesar salad, and some red snapper that was really excellent - tender, not overcooked, sauced delicately. The empanada and creamed spinach accompanying were pretty awful, though. If you're at Sea World, it can definitely fill a need as it did for us.

Again, thanks for all of your help. We had a great time. Susan

[Bill_H]

Susan, so glad you liked the recommendations, especially Cedar's. Lake Eola has been partially drained for dredging and cleaning up of algae, that's why it seemed low. Palio's at the Swan is pretty bad, if you go again Kimonos is better and in the adjacent Dolphin bluezoo and Shula's are good but pricey. Friends have also said the shark tank restaurant at Sea World is a great experience, especially for kids.

[percyn]

Orlando Trip Report - Part 1

Just got back from a week in Orlando and thought I would share my dining experiences.

We stayed at the Omni at Championsgate, which is about 2 exits (3-4 miles) off I-4 from the Disney area and is more of a golf resort.

The hotel has 3 restaurants; Zen - a Pan-Asian inspired restaurant, David's club - a sports bar and Trevi's - a Mediterranean/Italian restaurant. In addition to this, they also have Crocs, a poolside restaurant and Broadway deli.

We arrived in the late evening at the hotel and given that the airline had misplaced our bags and sent it on the next flight, which we waited for at the airport, we were tired and decided to eat at Trevi's, the Italian restaurant in the hotel.

Trevi's - The space looks good and well laid out, with an open kitchen on one end. The service was courteous, though sometimes seemed lacking the much needed attention on the part of the wait staff. The wine list was OK, and we order a bottle of Chianti. It took them about 15 minutes to get some bread to our table. We ordered Mussels and Insulata Caprese. The mussels did not seem as fresh as I get at local restaurants and the broth could have been a bit spicier. For our main course my wife ordered chicken parmesan while I ordered a brick oven margarita pizza with garlic shrimp. The main courses were quite disappointing. Since this was an upper end Mediterranean restaurant, I was expecting the pizza to be thin crusted, really baked in the brick oven (which they seemed to have), with slices of tomato, mozzarella and basil, but rather when I received seemed to be a plain cheese pizza from Pizza hut (with that pan-fried crust), topped with tiny shrimp sprinkled with garlic salt. My wife's chicken parmesan would have been better if it was made by Olive Garden.

Croc's - On Sunday afternoon we relaxed by the pool and ordered a sandwich and a Pina Colada from the pool side restaurant Croc's. This place had decent sandwiches at a reasonable $8 and awsome waffle fries with aeole.

Emeril's Tchoup Chop - This is the newest of Emeri's growing list of restaurants. It is not far from his other signature restaurant in Orlando.

The restaurant has a beautiful interior and running down the middle is an above ground pond, filled with lotus(?).

Seating is also available facing the kitchen, mainly for those ordering the tasting menu. We would have normally sat there, but decided to order a bunch of appetizers instead of the tasting menu.

As soon as you sit, you are greated by your wait staff, a team of 3 and presented with some shrimp flavored chips (the kind you can buy at asian groceries to make at home) and some thai peanut dipping sauce.

There were quite a few dishes we wanted to try, but since we were not too hungry, decided to get a series of appetizers with a flight of wines. We ordered sea scallops, crab cake, pork dumplings and fried rice, which were good, but not memorable. The dishes that were memorable were the BBQ shrimp (based on a traditional New Orleans recipe, but with a slight twist of ginger and cream in the BBQ sauce). The other memorable dish was a carpacio of kobe beef.

Unfortunately pictures of the dishes did not turn out that well because of the lack of light.

Rainforest Cafe - We happened to be roaming the Disney Marketplace when hunger attacked, so we decided to try the rainforest cafe, since there was little/no wait. We were seated in about 5 minutes and lead past plastic animals making loud noises, but were lucky to get a table in the Gorilla room, next to the fish tank.

Again, we ordered some appetizers to get a sampling of various dishes. Perhaps it was the low expectations I had about the restaurant, but the appetizers were surprisingly good.

Bomas - That evening, we went to Boma's, located in the Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The resort has a great gift shop and a good interior design, though close inspection reveals the true origins of the artifacts (but by now we were getting used to the faux nature of everything Disney).

Boma's is a buffet style restaurant, which serves 50-60 African dishes (along with a few staples for kids). It was early evening, and the restaurant started to get full quick (a common theme in Orlando), especially with families with young children. I had heard rave reviews of this place online, so I was a bit disappointed with the food, though it was not a total loss as there were a few dishes that sparkled. I ordered a Casablanca beer, from where else, but Morocco, which seems to accompany many of the meat based dishes. There was hummus, couscous, salads, chicken, salmon, lamb and beef. The dishes that I really enjoyed were the salmon in a curry-type sauce and a stewed lamb dish which was topped with a flaky pot-pie type crust.

Cheers

Percy

P.S : A lot more to come.

Edited March 13, 2005 by percyn (log)

[Susan in FL]

Welcome back, Percy... great pictures and write-ups. Thank you so much for reporting back. I can't wait to hear more!

If you were here this past week, you had some fine weather for your trip.

[reesek]

So I have to pass on some kudos to the Southeast forum for some very comprehensive suggestions for visitors to Orlando. I now know I can get my mother a lovely gift (dinner at Victoria and Albert's) and have some good ideas about where to go when I'm in town.

...and in town I will be. My mom lives in Ocala, and I'll be visiting for just a few days at the end of March. Since I'm flying out of MCO early on a Sunday morning, we'll spend the night relatively close to the airport on Saturday. I've tasked myself with finding a place to go on Saturday.

I'm leaning toward blue bistro, but want to make sure that it's the right blend of cozy, tasty and reasonable. Mom is one cool lady, but I don't want to take her to a scenester restaurant. She's also a smoker, so I'm always on the prowl for a bar that allows smoking.

Can anyone give me a rough range of wine prices for Blue? Their site lists bottles, but no prices. I've also considered "K" but think that it might be a little trendy.

I'm also contemplating Primo - is that considerably (+ $50) more expensive than Blue? Susan's pasta and that duck dish both sound great.

Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks so much! (I'll happily return the favor should any of you find yourself in Seattle)

reese

[percyn]

Orlando Trip - Part Duex

Cedars - I really wanted to try this place after reading the reviews on this forum, so I decided to visit. The hardest part was actually finding the place. It took me 1/2 hr of driving up and down to locate this restaurant, which is actually near Roy's and Season 52. It was almost 9:30pm by the time I found the place, but it was still busy and people kept coming in. I was seated and immediately presented with some amazing mini-pita bread and olive oil. Many things on the menu looked interesting. Keeping with my previous dining themes, I decided to try a series of appetizers. I would have liked to try some kebabs, but those were sold as entrees and I would not have been able to finish them (plus the hotel room I was in did not have a usable fridge or microwave, not to mention I had reservations for every night). So I got some homemade sausage, hummus with beef strips, moussaka and a feta cheese dish the waiter recommended. Everything was great !! The hummus was so creamy and smooth, it was unlike any other I have tried. As mentioned in other posts, the pita bread was terrific and they seem to keep brining them to you in little baskets from the brick oven. For dessert my waiter recommended a melted cheese, topped with sugar syrup and pistachios. It went well with the Lebanese (Turkish) coffee, but would have been a bit too sweet otherwise. The only downside was that there were 3 waiters for 50-75 patrons. These poor guys were running around, but many patrons still needed attention. I left around 10:30pm and people were still coming in. Unfortunately it was too dark in there for the pictures to turn out well.

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria - If you are not familiar with a Churrascaria, it is a kind of steakhouse were Brazilian (or is it Argentenian?) cowboys roam around with various types of meats on a skewers, serving you as desired. This is a carnivor (or Aetkin's diet) heaven !! Besides the "salad bar", which had salami, ham, sushi, etc, there are 17 kinds of meat. These meats are spiced with what tastes like a bolder version of Montreal Steak seasoning and then spit raosted, which sears the outside and makes the inside tender and oh so delicious !!

I was determined to try all 17 meat cuts, but only made my way through Garlic Sirloin, Filet wrapped in bacon, Chicken, Pork, Leg of Lamb, Lamb Chops, Flank Steak, a special Brazilian steak (not sure exactly what cut is was, but looked like bottom round)...I may have been forgetting a few. I was so full I decided not to eat meat for a week...luckily that feeling lasted less than 24 hrs

Emerils - This original restaurant is located in the Universal Studio's Citywalk (like an artificial boardwalk) park. Given that it is in a very crowded touristy area, the atmosphere is definitely not as relaxed or upscale as his other Orlando restaurant. I ordered a shiraz at the bar, was seated at my table a few minutes later. The patrons seemed to be a mix of people in sportscoats and people in T-shirts. The service was better than the average restaurant and the wait-staff seemed knowledgeable about the menu. You should know the drill by now... I decided to try a few things on the menu...

First dish - Seafood gumbo. Having been to Emeril's New Orleans restaurant, I was looking forward to a great gumbo all week. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed as a luke warm gumbo was served in a hot bowl, with 4 limp shrimp pile together like they came out of a pre-packaged container.

Second dish - BBQ shrimp, original style. Suddenly things were looking up again....these shrimp were succulent and the BBQ sauce was just awesome. I love to scoop some up with pieces of bread. I almost ordered another one of these.

Third dish - Crabmeat and Sweet Corn Cheesecake. I had tried a similar dish in New Orleans at a different restaurant and wanted to try it again. This version was slightly chilled and served with a sweet corn tomato relish and a creole tomato glaze. Good, but not amazing.

Not wanting to end my dining experience on anything but a triumphant note, I decided to order a dish that hd caught my eye...

Dish Four - Wild & Exotic Mushroom-Truffle Pizza with a Truffle, Chive and Potato Sauce, a Drizzle of White Truffle Oil, Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and Truffle Emulsion. After being disappointed with the pizza in an Italian restaurant, I was happy to see that this pizza had a perfect crust and though the toppings may not have been traditional, THIS was my kinda pizza !!!! There was ample truffle flavor and the truffle emulsion sauce was fabulous. In fact, I am going to try to make this at home tomorrow. So, though I don't have a decent pic to post here, I will try to post of pic of the pizza I make, if it turns out similar.

The final post for this trip will soon follow. I have been saving the best for last !!

Edited March 18, 2005 by percyn (log)

[percyn]

Welcome back, Percy... great pictures and write-ups.  Thank you so much for reporting back.  I can't wait to hear more!

If you were here this past week, you had some fine weather for your trip.

←

Good weather overall, expect a bit of clouds and rain on Tuesday and Wed, but I was indoors during that time and prefered the 70 deg w/clouds weather over the 30 degree w/some sun weather back home.

[percyn]

Orlando Trip Report - Part III

Zen (Bill_H, this one is for you) - So I had been wanting to try this sushi place, located in the hotel I was in. Since it is only open for dinner and I had reservations for most other days, I had to squeeze this one in.

The space has a clean design and this was one of the very few restaurants which were not swamped by Disney tourists.

I decided to get some sushi and a few appetizers to try the menu. The tuna I ordered was served with a side of a somewhat tangy sauce. The temp of the tuna was good and it seemed fresh, but it wasn't as flavorful as tuna sashimi I get back home. The presentation was beautiful....

The spicy tuna rolls were very well presented, but lacking a bit in the flavor department, in my opinion. The spiciness was "served on the side" as opposed to mixed into the sushi pieces.

The sesame shrimp toast were delicate and crunchy. Good, but a small portion for almost $10.

The Beijing BBQ ribs were lightly fried ribs with a spicy, tangy sauce.

I had a chilled "silver" sake, which was served in a wine glass.

Overall, this is a good restaurant if you want to escape the crowd, but IMHO, I can get better tasting dishes for 1/2 the price in Philly. Since I have not tried any other Japanese restaurants in the Orlando area, I unfortunately cannot compare it to how it stacks up against its competition.

Victoria & Albert's.

I had heard good things about this place, so I was saving this experience for my last dinner in Orlando. It is in the Disney area, but so secluded that it took me 20 minutes to find the place. Actually, it is very close to epcot, but the access roads are tricky. The lobby of this place is stunning. I wish I was not already late for my dinner, which would have allowed me to relax and take in the surrounding.

The restaurant is elegant (jackets required for gentlemen), but still with a faint touch of fakeness (it may just be a psychological reaction to overly touristy places). I was greeted to the door by name, escorted to my table, which happened to be in a small dining room with 3 other tables. One with a couple from NJ celebrating the wife's birthday in a very hushed voice and over on the other table, a self-absorbed medical intern with his father and new girlfriend he must have been trying to impress. He was giving the wait staff and the sommelier a hard time, commenting on his wine collection and later in the evening on the meal and vacuum coffee percolator. Ironically, (and amusingly) his attempts to impress everyone were giving us great insights into his ignorance. Anyway...on to the review...

The restaurant tries to mimic the service of a 2 star Michelin restaurant and comes close. There are 2 very attentive wait staff who seem almost devoted to each table. The only slightly downside in their service was the attempt to dumb down the dishes as they narrated the menu (i.e. Foie Gras, which is duck liver, etc).

The wine list was decent, but not great and the prices had an incredible mark-up. I opted for the wine paring, which seemed to be a reasonable $50 for 6 pairings (compared to $15/glass, with a very limited per glass selection).

Here were my choices for the evening (apologies for the poor lighting in advance)-

Amuse Bouche (I don’t remember exactly what it was, so it couldn't have been that great)

Pierre sparr cremant D'Alsace Brut Rose, NV

Timbale of Jumbo Lump and King Crab w/Black Pearl Caviar

King Estate Pinot Gris, 2003

Foie Gras and Vinalla Scented Brioche w/Pedro Ximenez ($15 suppliment)

La Fleur D'Or Sauternes, 2001

Virgina Black Bass with South Carolina Grit Cake and Florida Corn

Jermann Vinnae da Vinnaioli, Venezia 2002

Petit Poulet w/Black Truffles and South African Procini Sauce

Carpineto Chianti Classico, Greve 2002 (I would have preferred a Bordeaux or Pinot Noir)

Baked Seckle Gorgonzola Dolce

Benjamin Tawny Port, Victoria

Grand Marnier Souffle

Tableside Brewed Coffee

All the food tasted great, even though this was my second meal for the evening and I was quite impressed by the quality of the ingredients. The wine pairings seemed to work well for me in most cases, with one exception.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay in Orlando and V&A is now on my list for all future visits to Orlando !!

Cheers

Percy

Edited March 21, 2005 by percyn (log)

[Bill_H]

Orlando Trip Report - Part III

Zen (Bill_H, this one is for you) - So I had been wanting to try this sushi place, located in the hotel I was in. Since it is only open for dinner and I had reservations for most other days, I had to squeeze this one in.

←

Well Percy, sounds like you saved me a trip out to Champions Gate. Think I'll stick with Amura and Hanamizuki.

Overall, sounds like you had a good time.

[Susan in FL]

I almost missed the Victoria and Albert's review! I was on the lookout for that! It looks like you edited, to add it to your previous post, and so an email notification didn't come until another reply was added. Anyway, I am so glad you enjoyed it. In case anybody is interested in the comments from others and myself about this restaurant, and a few others in the area, click here about Victoria & Albert's and here and here and here for some fairly recent descriptions.

[phungi]

I will be in Orlando with my wife, kids(ages 3 & 5) and in-laws, staying at the Marriott near Sea World, which I believe places us in the International Drive area. My wife and I will be dining out alone one night, and it looks like Moonfish is a good choice, as we love seafood. Any other recommendations?

Also, can anyone recommend kid-friendly places for our whole party?

[percyn]

Just wanted to add that in the Championsgate area there is a new Mom & Pop restaurant called Le Crepe, who's menu and setup reminded me of Bistros in Paris. The reviews posted near the enterance looked good, but unfortunately I was not able to try this place as it is only open for lunch and dinner and I visited for breakfast (thinking they may serve crepes). They do seem to serve Sunday Brunch though.

I would be interested in a review if somone visits.

Edited March 22, 2005 by percyn (log)

[Bill_H]

I will be in Orlando with my wife, kids(ages 3 & 5) and in-laws, staying at the Marriott near Sea World, which I believe places us in the International Drive area. My wife and I will be dining out alone one night, and it looks like Moonfish is a good choice, as we love seafood.  Any other recommendations?

Also, can anyone recommend kid-friendly places for our whole party?

←

See my reply above dated Feb 8th at 11:33 for recommendatons on kid-friendly places.

[JennyUptown]

What would your suggestions be for two young single girls looking for good food in a fun atmosphere? No sushi. We're staying at Portofino Bay. Thanks!

[Bill_H]

What would your suggestions be for two young single girls looking for good food in a fun atmosphere?  No sushi.  We're staying at Portofino Bay.  Thanks!

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Are you there on a weekend?

[JennyUptown]

Yes

[Bill_H]

As I see it you have 4 options, in order of what would be my preference.

1) Spring for the cab fare to head to downtown Orlando and make it a late dinner. I would recommend Hue for dinner, then walk up Central Avenue to the area around Orange Avenue/Central Avenue/Church Street etc, stopping in at places along the way. Make sure to try get some wine at the Lake Eola Wine Company (also called the Wine Bar). Two other possible places to eat are Kres Chophouse or Boheme, but they can be a little pricey. Rocco's in Thornton Park (a downtown neighborhood) is also popular.

2) Second choice is the Restaurant Row area, a short cab ride for you. Eat at Season's 52 or Samba Room, and the later bar scene at both of those are popular.

3) Universal CityWalk is OK but very touristy. The only places to eat there that are worthwhile are Emeril's and Tchoup Chop. The bars there are OK but full of vacationers.

4) The last option is to take a short cab ride to the Mall at Milennia, which is a very upscale mall. The food there is OK (try Brio or McCormick & Schmick's), and a new bar called Blue Martini just opened there that seems popular, but the clientele may be too old for you

A last option (if dinner is all you want) is to head for Texas de Brazil, a churrascaria, or Cafe Tu Tu Tango, both on International Drive. They have a fun atmosphere, but after dinner there's not to much to do right around there.

So based on your age and marital status, I'd say head downtown.

Edited May 16, 2005 by Bill_H (log)