The best thing about a Lakeland day trip is that there is usually something new to check out every time I go. The worst thing is having to take I-4 to get there. Here is the itinerary from my most recent day trip along with a few others from past trips. BORN AND BREAD Regardless of how many times you have made the trek to Lakeland, Born and Bread should always be stop one. That is if your day trip falls on a Wednesday or Saturday (their two open days). It’s the ideal spot for breakfast or lunch, and you can load up on pastries to take home.  Yes, they have coffee, but it’s just iced or ho ..read more

When it comes to barbecue, Florida is not the first state that springs to mind. The smoky flavors of Texas, the tangy sauces of Kansas City, and the slow-cooked Carolina hog roasts are what usually pop into your head. Once you’ve traveled and tasted for yourself why other areas are titans in BBQ, Orlando has a hard time competing, and it’s safe to say we don’t have a BBQ style to call our very own. That isn’t to say we don’t have a growing BBQ scene here. We, in fact, do have some serious smokers doing the work, and it seems to be growing each year. However, regarding price, BBQ has become one ..read more

download Do you think we have enough Bubble Tea Spots? Probably not, and rumor is there are more on the horizon. This map is a little different from the last few I’ve done. The sheer amount of bubble tea spots we have here is hard to capture in a small image with cute little tea images for each one, so I made a key that shows the local shops so you can find which ones are closest to you! Here are 10 reasons to try Bubble Tea if you haven’t already: It’s very customizable. One of the best things about bubble tea is that it's highly customizable. You can choose the type of tea, sweetness leve ..read more

It wasn’t until a trip to Toronto that I realized Orlando had a very pitiful showing of local ice cream shops for a city in the center of the Sunshine State. Why was a city in Canada, with freezing temps for a large chunk of the year, brimming with fun, innovative local creameries while Orlando sat with mostly Twistee Treats and parlors with a few store-bought ice cream shops. I never got an answer to my question, but I knew how much Orlando needed more than one local ice cream dominating the market. Enter Marie Mercado of Greenery Creamery and now Sampaguita. Sampaguita stands out from the Gr ..read more

If you've driven down Edgewater Drive in College Park lately, it's turning into a restaurant ghost town. More restaurants in the past two years have closed up shop whether to move or shut down entirely than in the nine years I lived in the neighborhood. With such great walkability and access, it's odd why so much turnover keeps happening. Driving down the main drag on a Saturday evening feels more like an abandoned neighborhood than a popular Main Street District. Holding steady for the past six or so years, however, is Zeytin Turkish Cuisine. A place that many may only be familiar with if th ..read more

If you think about it, BBQ and Donuts isn’t that odd of a combo. After all, if you are anything like me, as soon as you’ve taken your last savory bite of food, you are already planning the sweet treat to enjoy afterward. At the newly opened Smoke and Donuts in the Milk District, you can have that sweet bite immediately after inhaling your BBQ Board and even customize it. Husband and wife duo Ian and Juliana had differing ideas when they decided to pursue their place in the culinary world. One wanted BBQ, and one wanted artisan donuts. Personal marketing opinion inserted here: they could ..read more

Constantly dining out is everyone's dream. Never seeing a kitchen that looks like an explosive went off just because you wanted to cook a basic meal at home is enough reason to order out. However, with rising prices of food costs making what was once somewhat affordable now seem like a simple meal is at the same level as a high-end restaurant, more than ever, we are looking for a deal.   But where can you eat for under $15 these days? I've done the leg work for you and compiled a list of places in my regular rotation. Before you get hysterical, these prices DO NOT INCLUDE TAX AND TIP ..read more

YUMMY TASTE - WATERFORD LAKES Thanks to a foodie friend, who, much like myself, eats for the love of eating and not for the gram, I got to be introduced to Yummy Taste. Located in one of the larger shopping centers on Alafaya Trail (near Royal Tea), you will find Yummy Taste which now occupies the space that was once V.L.C Vegan Eatery. My friend Allyson and I were the only patrons inside for the entire lunch hour, with a few people coming in to pick up to-go orders. She has become a regular patron and assured me it's busier on nights and weekends. I trust her recommendations, so we set out to ..read more

Many restaurants will open up in 2023, but none will be as dear to me as the opening of OverRice over on Lee Road in Orlando. I found OverRice at what was then called Tasty Tuesdays in the Milk District back in 2013. I blame his truck for claiming most of my attention at those events because I rarely bothered trying new trucks if Joel was there. After all, he was the main event I was looking for with the food that consistently delivered and his kind and welcoming demeanor. Over these past 10+ years, OverRice has become one of Orlando's more notable and popular food trucks because the food is w ..read more

I don't really like referring to any establishment as a "Hole in the wall." It's an outdated expression, but in the flashy times of hospitality we find ourselves in, places that dare not to have fanciful wallpaper, neon signs, arches in their decor, and modern pendant lighting are often thrown into that category. Deemed unhip or unworthy of your Instagram carousel, it's not really fair that we don't have a better way to categorize places that are unassumingly themselves. True story - I once got a message from someone asking me why I posted a particular restaurant in Orlando once because they l ..read more