Category Archives: Lunch

February 13, 2013 · 9:29 pm

The Greek Corner

Last weekend, we took advantage of the great weather and grabbed lunch outside with Kevin’s boss, husband and adorable daughter. We settled on The Greek Corner, a small authentic Greek in Ivanhoe Village. They have a nice outdoor patio for us to soak up the weather.

I had a craving for stuffed grape leaves, and I was pretty excited by the large portion that came out.

The Greek Corner-Dolma Thakia

I loved the savory lemony rice with the texture of the grape leaves. I could munch on these all day.

The Greek Corner’s menu is kind of limited, but they did have a lot of tasty looking options. (Although they didn’t have falafel, which I had a craving for.) I usually opt for the gyro when eating Greek but decided I was craving a slightly lighter protein so I ordered the chicken souvlaki.

The Greek Corner-Chicken Souvlaki

Holy tzatziki! The pita came overflowing with grilled chicken onions, tomatoes and plenty of tzatziki sauce. Sometimes tzatziki sauce just tastes like sour cream or yogurt, but their sauce was really flavorful and tasted homemade. I ended up dipping my fries in some of my excess sauce. It was addicting. The chicken was also really well seasoned and moist.

Not only is tomorrow Valentine’s Day but it’s also my last evening with Kevin for a few days. I’ll be gone this weekend celebrating one of my best friends Sarah at her bachelorette weekend festivities. She was one of my amazing bridesmaids, and I’m so excited and honored to return the favor.

Sarah and I

Sarah and I at my bachelorette party

I can’t wait for a fun girls’ weekend!

What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Kevin and I are pretty low key for V-day every year. I’m sure we’ll enjoy a relaxing evening in.

4 Comments

Filed under Greek, Ivanhoe Village, Lunch

December 20, 2012 · 8:12 pm

J. Alexander’s

Don’t forget to enter both my Tuttorosso and Lone Star Steakhouse giveaways. I’ll pick three winners this weekend!

The other day Kevin and I were in the restaurant row area and decided to grab lunch with Kevin’s step mom at J. Alexander’s. They are a contemporary American restaurant chain with locations scattered across the country. They have a pretty similar menu to our beloved Hillstone. I think I actually may have been craving Hillstone because I ordered pretty much my standard go-tos that I would get there. To start, we ordered grilled artichokes, drawing the first Hillstone comparison.

J Alexanders-Grilled Artichokes

The grilled artichokes at J. Alexander weren’t as large as the ones at Hillstone nor were they as flavorful, but they were still incredibly tasty. I really liked the salty seasoning they put on the artichokes.

I ordered the veggie burger, and once again, it just wasn’t Hillstone. For my side, I ordered mac and cheese.

J Alexanders-Veggie Burger

The burger was good, but in my opinion, Hillstone just has the best veggie burgers. The mac and cheese was wonderful. It had bits of onion in it, different cheeses (not your typical cheddar) and the top was nice and crunchy from being baked. I love the pieces of dried out pasta, like the edge of lasagna. I could have probably eaten two ramekins of mac and cheese.

Kevin ordered chicken tenders, and Kevin’s step mom ordered a cheeseburger.

J Alexanders-Chicken Fingers

J Alexanders-Cheeseburger

J. Alexander’s seems to really know what they’re doing with their sides. Their fries are really good, and I’ve also had their loaded baked potato before (delicious). Even though I was feeling the Hillstone vibe, it really is a good restaurant in its own right. The service is good, and it’s great for a classier lunch.

Tomorrow is my last day of work until the new year. I’m excited to launch into my first Christmas as a married woman. I’m still in awe that it’s only five days away. Where did the year go?

What is your favorite type of mac and cheese? My sister makes a great mac and cheese with fontina, gruyere, blue cheese and bacon. It’s heavenly.

2 Comments

Filed under American, Lunch, Restaurant Row, West Orlando

October 7, 2012 · 8:00 pm

Theo’s Kitchen

Nothing celebrates Friday like a lunch out with coworkers. On Friday my boss treated us to some Greek food at Theo’s Kitchen on Curry Ford Road. I had never been there before. The family-run quick-service restaurant is pretty unassuming located in a strip mall. They have a wide variety of Greek favorites on their menu.

I ordered the gyro supreme, which is a gyro wrap with tzatziki, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese. The wrap was huge with plenty of meat and fillings.

Theo's-Gyro Supreme

The meat was a little dry, but the flavors of the tzatziki made up for it. We also shared fries at the table, which were addicting. They were perfectly golden on the outside and still soft on the inside.

Also ordered at the table was their two-piece fried chicken special, which came with fries and a Greek side salad.

Theo's-2 piece chicken

Theo's-Side Salad

They seem to be known for their fried chicken. It was ordered by many patrons that day.

I thought that Theo’s was a good casual bite for some Greek food. Everything came out really fast, and the family manning the counter was very friendly.

Once again, this weekend went by way too quickly. We spent a lot of time with friends and was out and about more than usual. My birthday is on Thursday, which should also help this work week move along a little bit. It sort of snuck up on me. It doesn’t feel like it should be October yet!

How was your weekend?

5 Comments

Filed under Greek, Lunch, Quick Service

August 21, 2012 · 6:26 pm

310 Lakeside

We have another wedding to-do item checked off the list! We have found our rehearsal dinner location! I’m really lucky because Kevin took the lead on this project and did all the research on available menus and pricing. The staff at 310 Lakeside couldn’t have been easier to work with.

They are owned by the same company as 310 South on Park Avenue in Winter Park, which I had been to a few times before. This location is right on Lake Eola in downtown Orlando and is a go-to location for power lunches. Their interior is very elegant, and they have a back room for private events. Their prices were very reasonable compared to other restaurants, and they didn’t try to nickel and dime us every step of the way. They were extremely flexible and easy to work with.

Last weekend, Kevin and I met up with his family to grab some lunch and to make the final decision about the location. We started out with bruscetta for the table, Kevin’s sister’s favorite.

I really liked their spin on bruscetta. Everything was sweet from the balsamic, and they also incorporated onions and chopped black olives. The bread soaked up all the juice from the toppings.

I ordered their salmon burger with a side salad.

I ordered it thinking it would be on the lighter side, but it was very hearty and very delicious. The salty bacon accompanied the salmon perfectly.

Also ordered at the table were a couple burgers and a hot Italian sandwich.

Of course 310 Lakeside’s lunch menu isn’t exactly the same as their catering menu, but I have a pretty good feeling the food will be delicious. They said their pastry chef can pretty much prepare anything we’d like for dinner, which started getting my imagination jogging.

I’m so excited to have another big item checked off our list. I know our rehearsal dinner is just a preview of the wedding, but it’s such a heart-warming feeling to think about your closest friends and family together in one room.

6 Comments

Filed under Downtown Orlando, Full Service, Lunch, Wedding

August 7, 2012 · 9:09 pm

Khasiyat

After hearing that I enjoy Indian food, my coworker offered to take me to her favorite hole-in-the-wall Indian place for some traditional Indian street food. She is Indian and said this place reminds her of her family’s cooking. How could I resist?

Hole in the wall is right. Khasiyat is located just south of downtown off of Lancaster Road, and it’s easy to miss. They don’t serve Indian food like what you might be used to. They are a vegetarian restaurant that serves less formal Indian cuisine, almost like fast food. It’s a very simple place and looks like a dive, but the food was so good and different from any Indian food I had ever had. The food is served on paper plates, and you get plastic silverware, but the service was really friendly and I don’t need fancy utensils.

The meat was definitely not missed. Everything had layers of flavor. I was glad Anita was with me to help me navigate the menu. A large portion of their offerings are “Bites,” meant for sharing like tapas. We ordered three of these bites, and it was plenty of food. I left stuffed, despite the food being lighter than typical Indian curries.

Bhel Pure

Khasiyat-Bhel Pure

I start with my favorite dish (although all were wonderful). This was a bowl of puffed rice, poori (wheat bread), sev (very thin noodles made of flour), onions and chutney. I was eating this by the spoonful. It was very crunchy but also thick and hearty. The texture made it so much fun to eat. Even the onions were crunchy.

Samosa Chaat

Khasiyat-Samosa Chaat

Here they take two fried samosas, filled with potatoes and peas, and mash them to form the base of the dish. Then they topped the mashed deliciousness with yogurt, lentils, chickpeas, onions and various chutneys. I was familiar with samosas, but I had no idea they could be used this way. The flakey crust soaked up all the toppings, and everything melted together so well.

Sev Puri

Khasiyat-Sev Puri

These are bite-sized bread puffs stuffed with spices, lentils and yogurt and topped with sev. I was instructed to pop the whole pocket in my mouth. It was a lot but tasted really good. The spices heated my whole throat, but the yogurt cooled everything down.

I really enjoyed my experience trying the other side of Indian cuisine. I loved all the uses of chickpeas and lentils and the many layers of spices throughout the dishes.

What is your favorite Indian dish?

7 Comments

Filed under Indian, Lunch, Quick Service, Vegetarian