Jernigan's in the new Amway Center (quick review)

Went to Jernigan's before the game last night...and i know i know you aren't suppose to review restaurants until after 2 months of them being in business...but c'mon they are in a big corporate setting, you would think they'd have their act together a little!

We waited in a long line to get in on the club level which I didn't really care about much, after all they just opened their doors...

It's a buffet, for $35.95 (desserts from dessert lady, not included....boo $10)

There are 4 different food themes: bbq, italian, asian, and american (?) i forget the fourth.... its set in a circle format, pretty small, think buffet at a wedding for about 50 people (at least that is what came to my mind)


By the time we got around the buffet circle and sat down our food was cold, good, but cold...going up for seconds there was no one in line and the food was hot for about 1.5 seconds until the freezing AC cooled our food down haha

one redeeming thing was where we sat was amazing! Great view of the court...

If it was a regular full service restaurant with a menu, I would return, but not at this rate...

Jernigan's Restaurant
(407) 440-7000
400 West Church Street
Orlando, FL 32801

NBA City ...

Rumors have risen that NBA City is in talks with Amway Center to be one of the next restaurants to occupy space in the new sportsplex! A place that will be open year 'round for lunch and dinner on the "other side" of I-4! yippy!

September is Orlando Magical Dining Month!

$30 for 3 courses at some of Orlando's finest restaurants!! Take advantage of it before the month is over!

http://www.orlandoinfo.com/magicaldining/results.cfm

I went to Capital Grille last night and it was wonderful! Review coming soon :)

Dining Experience gone Awry (Bananas Diner)

Thankfully I have some foodies in my social circle and since I have been so busy to do write-ups. I am glad someone took the time to share an experience they recently had at a local diner that JUST opened up over the past weekend. While I am fully aware that new places need time to work out the kinks, an apology goes a long way in lieu of other things that will go wrong opening weekend.

Here is their story:

Good Morning!

I recently had a terrible experience and my friend told me to share with you as you are a social media queen and have a food blog and eat out. Here goes… So I went to Bananas (the new diner on Mills that’s owned by Funky Monkey) on Saturday with 5 of our friends. I was sooooo excited about it. I love breakfast. LOVE, breakfast. And it was terrible. The food was bad (they got my order wrong, my friend’s order wrong, my husband's food never came out and everyone else’s food wasn’t very good – also, my food came out 15 minutes BEFORE everyone else’s). The service was bad – took forever to get drinks, they didn’t tell me they were out of OJ until 20 mins after I had ordered it. It took 20 mins to get drinks, the list goes on and on.

Needless to say, I was disappointed.

So yesterday they had a facebook status of “Hey! We’re open, everyone loves us, come see what everyone is tasting” and I just couldn’t help myself so I commented “I came. I saw. I tasted. I’ll never be back. Worst food and service…ever.”

I went to bed last night wondering how they would handle it, would they block me as a fan on facebook (I’m one of their fans)? Would they respond and try to rectify the situation? How would they handle this public display of “bad press”?

Well, I woke up this morning to a facebook message from one of the owners with them saying – and I quote “we just opened! Wow 5 days and your so harsh!! Sad, go f*** yourself you a**”

No, I’m not kidding. They actually told me to go f*** myself and called me an a**. Verbatim.

I mean, I was just flabbergasted! They had every opportunity to rectify the situation and then they told me that!!!!!!!

I just wanted to spread the word to food lovers that this place just really doesn’t deserve your business. There are a lot of other local places that would love for you to come and dine with them, and if you had a bad experience, that would not tell you that.

****************************
Wow, in this day in age where there is a place for immediate feedback, I would hope restaurants would use this as a place to improve customers experience and welcome them back with 'xyz' on the house. Unfortunately this looks like the owner might have been a bit reactionary and maybe didn't really think before they messaged a customer such language. By the looks of their facebook, they are doing well. So good for them! I wish them the best of success. In this economy we need all the local businesses we can have. I will give them a shot and perhaps I will get off my lazy keyboard and do a write up to see if I have a better experience.

Bananas Diner
924 N. Mills Ave.
Orlando, FL 32803
P: 407.480.2200
http://bananasdiner.com/

Sorry for no updates & Tourist restaurant news!

I have been so busy lately have not had time to post up any reviews. I have a backlog of photos waiting!

Here is some new foodie news out in Tourist land! Rangetsu's land on I-drive was recently purchased and Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern will be taking its place.

More information in this article: http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2010/05/10/daily9.html?ed=2010-05-10&ana=e_du_pub

Not open for lunch... (Gringos Locos)

well their hours on their website (http://eatgringos.com/menu.php) say open from 11-3 on Fridays...tried to go into ... closed...

has anyone else tried them during the day time? no luck?




::update:: 2/1/10
Finally was able to get my hands on one of their burritos at midnight during the week the past week. Taste? Pretty good, not too salty (salt sensitive) and I was kind of concerned it would taste like the food had been sitting their all day waiting to be eaten...but it wasn't that bad. There was no one else there on a Thursday evening at midnight, but I was thankful they were open b/c I was starving! Good alternative to after club pizza. I wish that more club goers were aware they are there! I asked them how their lunch rush was and they said it actually was very busy all at once. So that is good to hear. Sounds like they open up during high traffic times, which I guess makes sense, why waste sitting around when you will maybe get 1 or 2 customers during offpeak times. Overall good eats for times I don't want to venture too far from my doorstep ...and A++ for being open super late!

Smashburger coming to Orlando!

20 Orlando Smashburgers over the next five years as reported by the Orlando Business Journal!

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2010/01/04/daily10.html?ed=2010-01-05&ana=e_du_pub

Locations more middle america and out west, I wonder if it will be able to rival the existing chains and ma n pa burger joints in town!

Put one downtown in one of the vacant condo restaurant spots please!!!

http://www.smashburger.com