The idea of elevating temaki to become a legitimate restaurant concept was birthed in America. Originally, hand rolls were meant to be easy DIY sushi made in the Japanese household for gatherings. But in America, the concept of the humble handroll has evolved to be an upscale restaurant concept. With crisp high quality seaweed, great…
The highly anticipated Kappo Tsan has just recently underwent their soft opening phase, so as a local sushi fanatic I was keeping a close eye on my email inbox for the reservation link. Sure enough, I was able to snag a spot. I guess this is the time to admit my blog is heavily focused…
I’m not immune to social media hype. Actually, I eat that stuff up like Joey Chestnut eats hotdogs. So if I see a lot of people hyping up a place or a certain thing, I’ll have to try even though most of the time I end up disappointed. Which leads me to Gnarly Cuban. The…
If you had read my previous guide where I ranked all of Orlando’s Michelin stars, then you know I hold Natsu and Chef Stone in high regard. After the disappointing experience at Koya in Tampa, we had to have a do-over so we could get our sushi fix. Natsu is the perfect place for someone…
I know this website is called Orlando Bites, but I guess this will be the rare exception where I venture outside of my domain to visit a restaurant in our rival city of Tampa. The Michelin Star scene in Tampa is not as abundant as Orlando, but they still have a good selection of establishments….
After our weekly trip to the Chinese grocery store, we stopped by this newly opened noodle shop to grab some dinner because everybody knows after loading a trunk full of groceries, the best thing to eat afterwards is not home cooking but eating out. First off, I want to say I do not like the…
Cowboy Curry is another one of Chef William Shen’s projects, and I finally got the chance to try it. Like his other concepts, this focuses on Japanese cuisine. Japanese curry has an interesting lineage, traveling from India to Britain to Japan in the 1800s, where it became yoshoku (western-inspired Japanese cuisine). It’s a far cry…
When Briarpatch announced they were going to start serving dinner, the Orlando Facebook forum was out in droves, mostly commenting on the steep menu prices. They’re not wrong. It’s high end steakhouse prices in an upscale brunch setting. My general verdict is that the food is good, but at the price point I wouldn’t come…
With the addition of Papa Llama to my list, I have officially visited every Michelin starred restaurant in Orlando. Among them, Papa Llama stands out as the odd one in the group. While most Michelin restaurants in the city present a sleek, contemporary atmosphere from kitchen to dining room, Papa Llama feels more like a…
June is an upscale Mexican restaurant in the Thornton Park region of downtown Orlando. I really like the design and atmosphere of the restaurant. It’s like walking into a modernized hacienda, it feels new and hip but also cozy and warm. It gives off a trendy vibe similar to AVA MediterrAegean without the pretentious feeling…
