Category Archives: Burgers

January 19, 2013 · 5:46 pm

Final preparations

I’m less than one week away from my first weekend in Gainesville for my MBA program. I’ve been diligently going through my accounting book that I need completed by the start date and tying up all the loose ends that need to be taken care of (i.e. paying a lot of money). One final thing I’ve been procrastinating on is getting something to carry all my class stuff around in. I have no clue what the kids are wearing today. Are shoulder bags in still style? Are backpacks the rage? What about messenger bags?

Last night, Kevin and I hit up the mall to figure out what would make sense for me to carry all my books and my laptop around campus in. Finally, we landed on Lululemon’s Take Me With You Tote in black and mint. It’s actually a gym bag with laptop and tablet compartments. It can carry up to 50 pounds and has two strap types.

Lululemon Take Me With You Tote

Source

It’s huge…almost too big, but I think it will be perfect for throwing everything I need into it. It comes with an inner bag for dirty gym clothes or shoes, plenty of compartments and I love the color I settled on. I’m excited to wear it around campus!

Burger 21

While on our mall journey, we ventured to Burger 21, one of Orlando’s newest quick-service burger joints. They have a huge menu of different types of burgers and toppings combinations, and they have a dipping sauce bar, featuring many unique condiments.  Some of their unique sauces included toasted marshmallow, apple cider, ragin’ Cajun and Thai ketchup. They also have a black bean burger, chicken burgers and seafood burgers.

Burger 21-Sauces

I ordered The ‘Shroom, a burger topped with crimini mushrooms, fontina cheese and veggies on a brioche bun.

Burger 21-The Shroom

To accompany, I ordered sweet potato fries. The burger was perfectly cooked and tasted like high-quality beef. I loved the sweet buttery bread and all the flavorful mushrooms. My favorite types of fries are shoestring cut, so it was so nice to get sweet potato fries in that format. I actually preferred them without all the exotic sauces. The sauces were very unique, but a little too out there for me. I preferred the flavor of the sweet potato fries on their own. Overall, I was really pleased with my meal.

Kevin ordered chicken fingers and normal fries. His fries were really delicious too.

Burger 21-Chicken Fingers and Fries

I was eying some of the ice cream and milk shakes others ordered. I was too full for dessert, but they looked really elaborate and tasty. I would definitely return to Burger 21 for a good burger and exceptional fries.

What did you use for your books when you were in school? In high school, I was  a big fan of the messenger bag, and then in college, like every other girl in the south, I had my Vera Bradley tote.

6 Comments

Filed under American, Burgers, MBA, Millenia

January 13, 2013 · 7:02 pm

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries

Burgers are to Kevin what sushi is to me. High expectations are involved, and it’s incredibly sad when the end product falls short. Unfortunately, our experience at Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries just didn’t impress. Boardwalk is a quick-serve hamburger chain with many options. You choose your bun type, burger type, toppings and sauces. They’re located on East Colonial near the Fashion Square Mall.

Our trip may have been slightly tainted from the beginning because the man taking our order was very terse and just seemed to have a lot of attitude. After placing our order, it seemed to take quite awhile for the food to arrive, and when it did, there was nothing spectacular about our lunch.

Their hamburgers were bland in the flavor department.

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries-Hamburger

I ordered their black bean burger on a whole wheat bun. I was really pleased that they had this option for a lighter choice. The bean burger has chunks of whole black beans and onions. This burger also didn’t have a lot of flavor, which was surprising since I could see all the onions inside.

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries-Black Bean Burger

Their fries also didn’t taste very fresh. Hopefully we just had one bad experience and this isn’t indicative of their usual level of service or quality.

I can’t believe the weekend is already over (as I usually feel on Sundays). I’m busy gawking at the Golden Globes red carpet overage. I’m loving all the ball gowns!

Congrats to everyone who participated in the Disney marathon and the Color Run! I’m so jealous of everyone’s post-race photos. Maybe one of these days I’ll get the courage to sign up for one myself!

What is your favorite burger place?

2 Comments

Filed under American, Burgers, East Orlando

August 1, 2012 · 6:45 pm

BurgerFi

BurgerFi, a franchise that boasts all-natural, grass-fed beef, just opened in Winter Park on the corner of Park Avenue and Fairbanks.

BurgerFi

This quick-service restaurant has a pretty basic menu of burgers and hot dogs with a variety of choices of toppings. The set-up is very reminiscent of Pine 22 but  without quite as many topping options. They have a number of locations around the country.

Kevin and I went to check out the newest burger joint to hit town, and the place was packed for a weekday. To accommodate a larger number of people, the tables were very close together, so be warned that you’ll be buddying up  next to your dining companions and neighbors.

Kevin ordered a double hamburger with grilled onions and lettuce. He said that he enjoyed the burger but prefers both Five Guys and Pine 22.

BurgerFi Hamburger

I ordered their VegeFi burger, which is a quinoa burger with cheddar cheese and toppings on a multi-grain bun.

BurgerFi VegeFi Burger

I really loved my burger. It had a lot of flavor. The outside of the quinoa burger was crisp and the inside was creamy and full of flavor. The texture was really great and paired well with the cheese and bread. I also love Pine 22’s black bean burger, but I may prefer this vegetarian burger to Pine 22’s. It was that good.

My biggest qualm was that they don’t serve their food on plates, so you end up creating a placemat of napkins to eat on.

As a side, we ordered the Cry and Fries, a combo of onion rings and French fries meant to be shared.

BurgerFi Cry and Fries

Neither was anything spectacular. The onion rings were massive but very greasy. I only ate one before throwing in the towel.

BurgerFi is a nice option compared to all the pricier places lining Park Avenue, especially when you want a quick bite to eat. Rumor has it that their frozen custards are amazing.

What is your favorite type of burger? I love Hillstone’s veggie burger, and Kevin had an amazing burger in Arlington that was a combination of beef and pork.

11 Comments

Filed under American, Burgers, Park Ave, Quick Service, Winter Park

April 28, 2012 · 12:45 pm

Engagement photos teaser

Yesterday Kevin and I had our engagement photo session!

So what was Kevin’s and my vision for the photos that would most represent us as a couple and our undying love for each other? What would be the scene to build up to the most romantic and happiest day of our lives? Here’s a hint:

The Carnage

Of course food would be involved. About one year ago, I first blogged about Bite Hot Dog Company, owned by the same team as Jeremiah’s Italian Ice. I fell in love with their food and the décor of the restaurant. When it came around to choosing an engagement photo location, Bite immediately came to mind. Their chrome, bright red and black walls would make for a bold and modern backdrop, and Kevin and I used to grab hot dogs a lot when we first starting dating (clearly, he knew the way to my heart). We wanted something fun and non-traditional, which is pretty much our goal for everything surrounding our wedding planning.

The engagement photos went so much better than I could have even imagined.

I really don’t like having my picture taken because I feel so awkward, but our photographer Kellie did an amazing job making us feel comfortable and at ease. She’s fun and a total nerd like us, which made the photo shoot a blast.

With Kellie

Not only was Kellie awesome, but the Bite staff was incredible. Kevin’s brother/best man Stephen orchestrated the whole thing. He’s friends with the Bite owners and reached out to them to see if we could shoot there. The Bite staff was more than accommodating. Devin and Vinny made sure we had everything we needed and truly went above and beyond. I’m still in awe over what great people we have in our lives.

With the Bite Crew

Devin, who did all of the awesome artwork on the walls of Bite and does all the artwork and logos for Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, even designed a card for us just for the day.

Card

How awesome is that? I’m pretty obsessed. We’ll probably get the professional photos back from Kellie in a couple weeks, which I’ll be sure to share. Another added bonus about the day was that we got to try Bite’s new, expanded menu, which has grown beyond just hot dogs to include burgers, including a vegetarian Portobello burger. They also have milkshakes, which are made from the same delicious ice cream found at Jeremiah’s.

Shakes

The milkshakes were unbelievable. They were thick and rich.

The shoot ended up being so much fun, and it really wouldn’t have been nearly as wonderful without Stephen, Kellie, Devin and Vinny. Kevin’s other brother Nick also joined us for the shoot, which was perfect. I’m so glad we got to share in the experience with Kevin’s brothers.

I can’t wait to see the final photos and have some professional pictures of us to use. The majority of my photos of Kevin look like this:

Excited Kevin

This morning we went over to Sweet to finalize the order for our wedding cupcakes. Of course, we couldn’t leave empty-handed. Everything is really moving along in terms of wedding planning.

Sweet Cupcakes

If you had engagement photos taken, where did you take them?

Or, where would you like to take them?

11 Comments

Filed under American, Burgers, East Orlando, Hot Dogs, Wedding

July 27, 2011 · 8:39 pm

Graffiti Junktion

First of all, thank you for all your support and encouragement on my running rut. I was feeling really down on myself because I felt like I wasn’t at the fitness level I should be, and I feel ready to go down the process of slowly building up speed and endurance. So the plan is to have all of you meet me at my gym tomorrow after work and applaud and throw confetti as I run on the treadmill. Good?

But seriously, I am going to do as many of you suggested—take it slowly week by week building distance and incorporating intervals and cross training to build up endurance. I just need to be more diligent in documenting it and making sure I’m progressing. Wish me luck!

The other evening, Kevin and I went out to dinner with my friend Erica and her fiancé Brian. It was such a fun night. We went to the Graffiti Junktion in Thornton Park and unbeknownst to us, it was trivia night. I am awful at multitasking even though I attempt it often. I kept striking up conversations and couldn’t stay focused on the trivia, so we ended up dropping out in the last round. Whoops.

Kevin ordered a hot dog, Erica ordered a taco salad, and Brian and I both ordered burgers. I wasn’t really sure what I was in the mood for so I finally settled on pepper jack cheese, avocado and bacon on my burger. It may be random, but those were just the ingredients I was in the mood for.

The burgers were cooked really well, and they are very generous with their fries. I think the atmosphere is what really keeps people coming back to Graffiti Junktion. It is a very laid back place, and they often have events like trivia or dating games going on. I had a great time catching up and chatting away.

Rainier cherries are buy-one-get-one-free at Publix so I wanted to give them a try. I’ve actually never had them before. I’ve only had the deep red cherries. These are delicious! They almost taste like a sweet peach or nectarine. I’m so excited that I have two big boxes of them. They’re a great work snack, even though it’s kind of gross to spit out the seeds at your desk. I try to be discreet though.

What restaurant serves your favorite burger? Graffiti Junktion claims to have the best burger in Orlando, but I like the burger at Hillstone better (which is also way more expensive). I’m also a huge fan of Pine Twenty2’s burgers because you can get goat cheese on the burger there. Confession: I also adore Big Macs. I know it’s gross, and I can’t even remember the last time I had one, but I have such a soft spot for them.

6 Comments

Filed under American, Burgers, Thornton Park

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