Comfort food – The Saboscrivner

Harold & Belle’s (Los Angeles)

Harold & Belle’s (https://haroldandbelles.com/) is a historic, Black-owned Los Angeles restaurant that has been serving the delicious cuisine of New Orleans since 1969, in the same location in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. On my most recent work trip to L.A., I had a rare free day to play tourist before teaching several classes, so I went to the brand-new, awe-inspiring Lucas Museum of Narrative Art with a good friend. We have shared many culinary adventures over the past three years, and this time, we decided to try Harold & Belle’s for lunch after exploring the museum.

The restaurant serves brunch on the weekends, so there was a saxophonist playing along to jazz, R&B, pop, and soul backing tracks, adding to the cool, sophisticated mood of the place, and we were able to choose from the brunch menu in addition to the regular menu. We were tempted by drop biscuits from the brunch menu, but they were out of those by the time we arrived. It wasn’t a problem, because we didn’t even realize that all diners get a basket of French bread, perfectly crackly on the outside and fluffy on the inside, already sliced and buttered. This great bread and the live jazz set the tone for a terrific lunch to follow.

My friend ordered the shrimp and grits étouffée off the weekend brunch menu, with blackened shrimp, corn grits, crawfish gravy, and garlic trinity (referring to onions, green bell peppers, and celery, the “trinity” that makes up the basis of so many Cajun and Creole dishes).

Whenever I visit a new restaurant, and especially when I’m traveling, I always like to maximize the experience by trying as many different things as I can. Because of this, I was drawn to the home-style platter, which comes with jambalaya, red beans, and a choice of fried wings, fried catfish, or hot links. They all sounded good to me, so I consulted with my friend to break the tie, and we shared the catfish. Nothing could have prepared us for the massive mountain of crispy fried boneless catfish filets, though. I never expected such a huge portion, and they were so good with the accompanying tartar sauce and a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce. They weren’t greasy at all!
I was so full, I saved the jambalaya and red beans to enjoy in my hotel room later, where I had a fridge and a microwave. The red beans were great as a solo side dish, but the jambalaya wasn’t full of different proteins like I am used to from elsewhere. It was essentially just saucy rice, so I guess it complemented the red beans, which didn’t come with their own white rice. I knew the microwave would ruin that catfish, so I sent my friend home with the leftovers, since he has an air fryer. One of these days, I need to get one of those!

The menu said all the house specialties come with a side, so I chose macaroni and cheese as yet another component of this legendary lunch. There is such a wide range of macaroni and cheese, ranging from the best thing you’ve ever eaten in your life to sub-“Blue Box” disappointment (and I actually like “Blue Box” mac and cheese, having never eaten it until I was an adult). This was the good kind, like a creamy, buttery casserole, then finished under the broiler for a crispy cheese crust on top. I enjoyed this mac and cheese on the premises, knowing it wouldn’t be as good back in my room, microwave or no microwave.

I’ve been kicking myself ever since for not trying the filé gumbo while we were at Harold & Belle’s, since it features a dark roux, ground sassafras (that’s the filé powder, used to thicken the gumbo instead of okra), shrimp, sausage, ham, blue crab, and chicken. As good as all the things I tried were, that might have been the best choice of all, but I can only eat so much.

But we left satisfied, and I would encourage any Angelenos and tourists alike to try Harold & Belle’s. I love that Los Angeles has so much rich culinary history, and so many restaurants have survived for a half-century or more, doing the same things they have always done, because they are just that good. As I continue to check these iconic L.A. eateries off my list, I realized I had never heard of Harold & Belle’s before, but it definitely belongs in the pantheon of Los Angeles classics. I haven’t had a chance to return to the Big Easy in 25 years, but those flavors brought me right back, reminding me what it means to miss New Orleans. And this wasn’t even the first good New Orleans restaurant I’ve enjoyed in L.A. I still need to review the other one some time!

Digino’s

Digino’s (https://www.facebook.com/diginos/) used to be one of many nondescript pizzerias in Casselberry, hidden away near the Walmart Supercenter and behind the McDonald’s at 1271 State Road 436 (also known as Semoran Boulevard). However, earlier this year, new owner Dana Temirbayeva revamped the restaurant, changing the entire concept and menu to something fresh, healthy, and unique. She turned two lovely Ukrainian ladies loose in the kitchen, and they came up with an eclectic menu of breakfast and brunch dishes (including avocado toast and plenty of other toasts, plus brunch cocktails), healthy protein bowls, soups, salads, savory and sweet crepes, desserts, and best of all, a bunch of authentic Slavic and Ukranian dishes. My wife loves breakfast foods and healthy stuff, and I’m always excited to try any Eastern European cuisines, since there isn’t much to choose from here in Orlando.

Since Digino’s doesn’t have an operational website with their menu up yet, I took the liberty of photographing every page of the diverse menu. Yes, they’re using AI-generated pictures of their dishes throughout the menu, but their food comes out of the kitchen looking so beautiful, hopefully my review will give you more of an idea of what the dishes really look like. As always, you can right-click any of these menu photos and open them in new tabs, then click again to enlarge the images.

This is my wife’s cappuccino, which she enjoyed. Tatiana brought out Sugar in the Raw and Sweet and Low to go with it, and my wife told me she would have preferred regular white sugar, which melts better in hot beverages. But I was struck by the beautiful glass mug. The water glasses were from a matching set with the same intricate bubble-like pattern, and they were striking.

She is going through a chia pudding phase, so she tried Digino’s Greek yogurt chia pudding, served as a parfait between layers of fresh mango and mango puree, topped with granola. We both love mango, but I didn’t try any of this. The little round glass with a holder for a wooden spoon was a nice touch.

She also got this shrimp protein bowl with garlic paprika shrimp and a salad with mixed field greens, cherry tomato, cucumber, and lots of fresh avocado. The menu mentioned a lime yogurt sauce, but this tasted more like a very light vinaigrette to both of us. On the menu, it is served over jasmine rice, but she asked if they could substitute quinoa, since another protein bowl came with quinoa instead of rice, and they were fine making the substitution.

These beauties are called pelmeni, handmade Ukrainian dumplings stuffed with seasoned beef. They were delightfully soft and chewy, a bit like Italian tortellini, Chinese wontons, or tiny versions of the manty we loved so much at the Uzbek restaurant Chayhana. I ordered pelmeni earlier this year at Wine 4 Oysters in East Orlando, but this was a much larger portion. Like Wine 4 Oysters, these pelmeni came with sour cream on the side, were garnished with parsley, and were also tossed in a little melted butter, which is always nice. The side salad, similar to what came in my wife’s shrimp protein bowl, was also a pleasant touch. The golden vinaigrette dressing was so good, I found myself wishing there was more of it.

This was the braised beef short rib shawarma wrap, which was like no shawarma I’ve had before. I’ve enjoyed beef shawarma at many SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) restaurants like The Dough Show (Egyptian), The Cairo Express food truck (also Egyptian), and Rawsha (Iraqi), but this one had a completely different flavor profile, probably due to its Slavic pedigree. The main vegetables inside were lettuce and carrots, cut into crunchy matchsticks, and there was an oily sauce inside that I could not place. The outer surface of the wrap was grilled until crispy, which I love, but Tatiana served it with a pair of disposable black latex gloves, which was a first for me. It’s because the outside surface of the grilled shawarma wrap was completely brushed with butter, which was also a first for me! Check out that gorgeous green glass in the top right corner above!

These are cottage cheese pancakes called syrniki. They look small, but they are much thicker than standard American-style pancakes, and a lot denser. They are sweet, with a hint of vanilla, but even with that light dusting of powdered sugar on top, they weren’t cloyingly sweet like some pancakes that taste more like a dessert. That is sour cream in the ramekin in the top right and sweetened condensed milk in the bottom right.

Finally, Tatiana sent us home with a slice of Eastern European honey cake, with multiple thin, creamy layers. Folks, this was sooooo delicious. It was sweet, but not nearly as sweet as American cakes always are, and it was surprisingly light. Best of all, the consistency of the entire cake felt like when a graham cracker pie or cheesecake crust gets really moist. It practically melts in your mouth.

Here’s a different angle so you can see all the luscious layers after we each got a few forkfuls. If you go to Digino’s (and you should), don’t sleep on the honey cake!

In fact, don’t sleep on this place at all. It doesn’t help that Digino’s is just far enough off Semoran that you can’t see it when driving by, but it really is behind that McDonald’s, and there is ample parking. This is one of those unique treasures, where you can have a bougie, boozy brunch with your besties (I can’t believe I typed that), protein-maxx (I can’t believe I typed that either), or enjoy and explore old-world comfort foods from Eastern Europe, whether you or your people hail from that old world or not. I can’t wait to return when the weather gets a little cooler and order some borscht, since my wife and I both like beets now. I also look forward to trying kholodets, a beef and chicken garlic aspic that was once reserved for well-to-do nobles who could afford refrigeration, but I learned about it from one of the best food shows of all time, Hannibal.

Tatiana was so warm and welcoming, and the whole place is just nice, right down to their beautiful glassware. They could use your business, and you could use a little treat this morning, or this weekend. Why not seek it out at the all-new, all-different Digino’s?

Sofrito Latin Cafe

Sofrito Latin Cafe (https://www.sofritocafe.com/) features familiar dishes (and a few more esoteric ones) from eight countries: Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Peru, and Brazil. It is located at 8607 Palm Parkway, Orlando, FL 32836, in the Lake Buena Vista area near Disney Springs — way out of my usual radius.

Last weekend, however, I met two out-of-state friends there for lunch: a cat-loving badass with his own hardcore/punk/metal record label, Absolute Contempt Records, and his partner, an accomplished and brilliant art history professor. They were exhausted after a week at Disney World and getting ready for the long drive home, and they wanted some good Cuban food before leaving Orlando, since it isn’t available anywhere in their small college town. They actually discovered Sofrito, which was close and convenient, but I had never heard of it, since I’m never on that side of town. It ended up being the perfect place to meet and catch up before they hit the road.

Like many other fast casual establishments have started doing, you order and pay on touchscreens at the front of the restaurant, then your food is delivered to your table.

My one friend has a real sweet tooth, and I was living vicariously through his social media photos of the food they were eating at Disney all week. He ordered himself a virgin piña colada and a coconut flan, which they brought out before all the rest of our food. For most, flan is a dessert, but for this dude, flan was an appetizer!

His partner ordered this Cuban pernil sandwich, with roast pork marinated in cilantro-garlic mojo criollo on pressed Cuban bread. They shared the sandwich and fries, which cost extra.

He ordered himself this Venezuelan arepa de pabellon, a corn patty stuffed with shredded beef (similar to Cuban ropa vieja), black beans, crumbled white cheese, and a sweet plantain, which I write about often enough that my dozens of readers probably know them as maduros by now.

And speaking of sweet plantains, I ordered a unique Venezuelan sandwich for myself: this beautiful patacon de maduro. Instead of bread, this sandwich of the same shredded beef, white cheese, chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cilantro-garlic sauce was (barely) held together between two flattened and fried sweet plantains! This was a “knife-and-forker” sandwich for sure; there was no picking it up.
That little ramekin in the photo above is Dijon mustard, which they serve their Cuban sandwiches with.

Here’s an inside view. I think it could have used far more tomatoes and cilantro-garlic sauce, and some onions would have been nice, but it was still good, and the Dijon helped add some necessary acidity and spice to this patacon de maduro. I am proud to report I got two meals out of this!

Sofrito Latin Cafe had a nice menu with plenty of choices to please anyone, and all the food we tried was solid. It would be a convenient place to stop into occasionally if it was anywhere near me, but because it is almost an hour away, I don’t know when or if I’ll ever return. But for anyone who lives on that side of town, or any tourists who dare to venture out of the parks and want an authentic sampling of all the diverse Latin culinary cultures in Orlando, it would be a fantastic destination — affordable, fast, welcoming, and plenty of variety.

Chain Reactions: Philly Pretzel Factory

Philly Pretzel Factory (https://phillypretzelfactory.com/) is a chain of soft pretzel bakeries that two Philadelphia guys started 25 years ago. The website doesn’t make it easy to see a complete list of locations, but as of this writing, there are two in Florida — one that opened recently right near me in Casselberry, and another further south in Palm Beach Gardens. However, more are coming to Orlando’s Kia Center, Winter Garden, Cocoa Beach, South Tampa, and Cape Coral, and their pretzels are also available at Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks in Oviedo and Orlando’s SoDo neighborhood. (I haven’t tried Big Dave’s yet because I already have my favorite place for cheesesteaks in all of Florida).

But just for the heck of it, I searched for locations within 200 miles of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 150 showed up, so there may be a Philly Pretzel Factory near you, wherever you are — or one might be coming soon, in any case.

When I visited the Casselberry shop the week it opened, the lady working was kind enough to offer me a free pretzel right away! I don’t think I’m a special person or anything; she probably offers everyone one. But since I was coming in to purchase a pretzel, I happily accepted. This is what five of them look like, and they pull apart easily.
The pretzels are somewhat soft, but on the dense side. If you’ve been to a Wawa (another Philadelphia import; my favorite convenience stores in the Orlando area, which serve surprisingly solid hoagies and other fresh food), they sell really similar dense pretzels. As an aside, we used to buy frozen Deutsche Kuche pretzels at Aldi, imported from Germany. I must admit that after baking those in the toaster oven, they are a lot softer and fluffier than Philly Pretzel Factory or Wawa.

Thinking of my wife back home, as I always do, I thought she might like the cinnamon “rivets,” pretzel nuggets coated with cinnamon and sugar. Unfortunately, they only sell them in these large shaker cups. She didn’t really care for them, and I’m more of a savory pretzel person, so I literally rinsed the cinnamon and sugar off each one, dried them carefully, and used them for my own savory (never unsavory!) purposes.

I couldn’t resist the allure of these pretzel poppers, which are stuffed with Philly cheesesteak — sliced and chopped steak and Cooper Sharp white American cheese, which has become my favorite cheese for burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, and of course cheesesteaks. American cheese is already great for any melting purposes, and I like the tanginess of Cooper Sharp more than any other brands I’ve tried. If you’re stuck in the mindset that American cheese is all gross plastic-wrapped, highly processed “cheese food,” think again!

They come in an order of three, and here’s a cross-section:These were far superior to the plain pretzel, and so much more unhealthy!

Because I am also a mark for spicy sausages, I couldn’t turn down a spicy pretzel sausage on my first visit:

And here it is, cut in half. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was essentially a hot dog inside, just a little thicker and slightly spicier than a normal hot dog. But it paired well with…

Mustard! Philly Pretzel Factory sells four kinds of mustard in squeeze bottles, and they have little dipping cups for those who aren’t obsessive-compulsive mustard collectors like your humble narrator. I skipped the original yellow and honey mustards, but I bought bottles of the spicy brown and super hot mustards. How were they? You’re going to have to wait for my next installment of Cutting the Mustard, my massive mustard mega-reviews, to find out!

So did I like Philly Pretzel Factory? Sure! They were so nice, and I rarely regret trying anything new and novel. I was a little disappointed that the regular pretzels are almost identical to the ones at Wawa, in all their denseness. But I was happy to try the Philly cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel poppers and even the spicy pretzel sausage, and I’m always thrilled to discover new mustards to sample and review. But at the end of the day, my greatest soft pretzel experience remains a different chain, one you probably recognize from malls and airports: Auntie Anne’s. I love their buttery goodness above all! Maybe one day I’ll review them.

Wine 4 Oysters

Wine 4 Oysters (https://www.wine4oysters.com/) is a friendly neighborhood restaurant and bar with a nautical theme and a seafood-centric menu. It has been on my radar for years, but it’s in East Orlando, at 1957 South Alafaya Trail in the Publix plaza, south of the sprawling Waterford Lakes shopping plaza and State Road 408, in a part of town I NEVER go to, so I had never made it… until two weeks ago. I timed my visit with my wife for 4 PM on a very rare Friday off, to be there when Wine 4 Oysters opens, snag one of their few booths, and take advantage of their happy hour specials.

This is the counter. I appreciate any blue decor in restaurants, which I find soothing and comforting.

Here is the opposite side of the dining room. There are two half-booths in the very front, up against the front window that lets in lots of natural light, and you can see the one other half-booth in the back.

We both studied the menu in advance, but my wife was more prepared than I. She knew exactly what she wanted, and she defaulted to two time-tested favorite dishes. The first one was baked brie, which came in a ramekin, melty and warm, topped with walnuts. They served it with toasted bread, cranberry sauce, and apple wedges on the side. I love cheese, but brie honestly does nothing for me, so this was all her. She doesn’t eat a lot, so she brought quite a bit of this home to enjoy the next day.

As for me, I love oysters, but they are such a rare treat for me. I realize I haven’t had oysters in well over a year, but we’ve been dealing with some very stressful health-related situations lately, and I also had some good things happen at work that we haven’t had a chance to celebrate or even acknowledge. Since we were finally at Wine 4 Oysters during their happy hour, I said “screw it” (actually, I said something a little more adult) and ordered 30 plump Gulf oysters for the excellent price of $35. My wife doesn’t like raw oysters, so I ate them all myself… and I’d do it again. They were so cool and refreshing, and so far, I am not regretting it.

The oysters came with accompaniments: the lemon wedges and cocktail sauce above, plus hot sauce, a French mignonette with shallots in red wine vinegar, a different mignonette with jalapenos and lemon, and grated horseradish in the cylindrical container. I tried them all in various combinations and permutations, and it was nice. It was just nice being there, out on a rare Friday date with my wife, who has been through so much lately, enjoying a huge platter of one of my favorite “sometimes foods,” going through the ritual of topping them with various acidic accoutrements to enhance their fresh, briny flavor.

At happy hour (which is 4 to 6 PM, Monday through Friday), in addition to the 30 Gulf oysters for $35, Wine 4 Oysters also offers 30% off James River oysters from Virginia, oyster shooters, and cocktails. And on Wednesdays, I believe they run an all-you-can-drink wine special, so bohemians, wine moms, and UCF students, just be careful, that’s all I ask.

I am always a sucker for smoked fish dip, that Old Florida standard that has infinite variations, but it’s almost always great. Like Italian subs, chili, and onion rings, I will almost always order smoked fish dip if I see it on a menu, so I was immediately drawn to the house smoked tuna dip at Wine 4 Oysters. It was presented as a large scoop over a spring mix salad with wasabi dressing, accompanied by long, thin, unsalted flatbread-style crackers (Sixty Vines serves similar ones). I was a little disappointed that the “dip” was more like the consistency of tuna salad, rather than a creamy dip. It tasted good because I happen to like tuna salad a lot, but it wasn’t what I expected or hoped for. I blame myself rather than the restaurant. The taste and texture made me think it was made from regular canned tuna fish rather than ahi tuna or some other higher-grade tuna. I’ve made similar-tasting tuna salad at home, sometimes with a splash (or more) of liquid smoke, so even though it was fine, and I ate every morsel, it didn’t blow me away.

One thing my wife will always order on a menu is octopus. She loves those tender, brainy cephalopods! This lemon garlic octopus came with one large, heavily seasoned, super-garlicky tentacle, plus a mountain of white rice with some seasoning on top, a scoop of relatively thin baba ghanoush, and a mixed greens salad with pomegranate dressing, probably made from pomegranate molasses. She loves baba ghanoush too (and she orders that anywhere it is available), so this was a winning combination for her. That said, since she was pretty full from the baked brie and doesn’t eat that much to begin with, she only tried a tiny bit of the octopus at the restaurant. We (mostly she) brought home a bunch of leftovers, and she had more of the octopus the following day, just chilled, straight out of the fridge. She said it was much tastier the following day, eaten cold!

Finally, I thought we would both enjoy the Russian beef pelmeni dumplings, and we did. They were pretty much what I hoped for, with thin, chewy dumpling wrappers, similar to Chinese wontons and the wonderful, beautiful manty dumplings we enjoyed so much recently at Uzbek restaurant Chayhana, but with seasoned beef filling. They were served in a pool of melted butter and topped with a dollop of rich sour cream and plenty of parsley. Both of us enjoyed these quite a bit. I don’t know if they were handmade (because you can buy frozen pelmeni from multiple brands at Green Hills Supermarket, the huge Russian and Eastern European grocery store in Altamonte Springs), but it doesn’t matter, because they might have been my favorite part of the entire meal.

I don’t know when I’ll make it back to Wine 4 Oysters, but it’s the kind of place more people should know about, so here I am, boosting the signal. I love oysters so much, and even though I’ll always sing the praises of High Tide Harry’s and The Osprey, two of my favorite restaurants in the entire Orlando metropolitan area, it is always good to have options. Wine 4 Oysters is another fine oyster option, especially for people living on the east side of town.

New York Bakery Boys

New York Bakery Boys (https://www.nybakeryboys.com/) is connected to a New York bakery called Bakery Boys of New York. (Whew!) They sell fresh bagels (some of the best bagels I’ve had in the Orlando area), sandwiches, cookies, and pastries out of two locations in Oviedo and Celebration. The prepackaged cookies are labeled from the Bakery Boys of New York facility in New York, but the other baked goods seem to be baked in-house.

I visited the Oviedo location for the first time last year and ordered two sandwiches, so I got four meals out of them. Okay, three. These were hearty heroes on thick semolina bread with sesame seeds.

The first one was that New York bodega classic that has become a lot more popular and trendy in recent years, the 104th Street chopped cheese. A chopped cheese is the extroverted love child of a burger and a Philly cheesesteak, with burgers cooked on a flattop grill, then chopped up, as opposed to thinly sliced steak. Cheese is added so it melts, along with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and ketchup. It’s a very satisfying sub… sorry, HERO.

You can see how thick the semolina hero rolls are in this cross-section! This was a hit. I had a very different chopped cheese a few years back at Ray’s Deli and More, the closest thing Orlando has to an NY borough bodega, where they pressed the entire sandwich on the flattop grill like a Cuban sandwich. I’d say both are valid, but I don’t pretend to know which presentation is more “authentic.”

I also ordered the Italian special, because come on, bro. I love Italian subs/hoagies/heroes, so how could I not? The New York Bakery Boys make theirs with ham, salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, provolone cheese, roasted red peppers, and “Boar’s Head Deli Mix,” which is a special sandwich dressing (or sandwich lubricant, if you will) made of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, herbs, and spices. This was another tasty sandwich, but I found myself missing lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. One reason I love Italian subs so much is because I like to top them with a whole damn salad so I can pretend I’m eating semi-healthy and absolve myself of a bit of guilt. Plus, all those fresh vegetables add so many more flavors and textures and add a lightness to what feels like a heavier sandwich without them.

On my second visit, I bought a half dozen bagels to go with some nova salmon, cream cheese, fresh tomatoes, and red onions I pickled myself. I got three everything bagels, one egg everything bagel, one pumpernickel bagel, and one blueberry bagel that my wife requested, but it went stale before she ever got around to it. I tried slicing it a few days later, but by then, it was hard as a rock, and I cut my thumb kind of badly. Oh well, nobody’s fault but my own.All the other bagels were delicious. They were fresh, fluffy, and still warm when I first brought them home, and I made wonderful sandwiches with them. I wish New York Bakery Boys had bialys when I went there, because I surely would have gotten a couple. They may make them and were just out at the time.

I should note that New York Bakery Boys also offers several breakfast sandwiches, not just heroes. You can get nova and cream cheese there, or your typical bacon/sausage/ham with egg and cheese, or even “The Great Jersey Debate,” a sandwich with Taylor ham, also known as pork roll. Sandwiches come on your choice of bagel, a kaiser roll (this is the bodega way), or a hero roll or wrap for a small upcharge.

Since my wife was with me, she got a big black and white cookie, another New Yawk classic that she always loves. Those cookies are always cake-like, with the slightest hint of lemon under the heavy frosting that reminds us, “We’re not so different, you and I.” And she got a container of really tasty cannoli cookies with the same cake-like consistency, light frosting, and slight lemon and anise flavors. I liked that all the cookies were soft, because I don’t like hard, crunchy, crumbly cookies.

As far as I’m concerned, there can never be enough good places for sandwiches, bagels, and baked goods, so I’m glad New York Bakery Boys exists, as a bit of a hidden treasure in Oviedo (and not even that far from D’Amico and Sons Italian Market and Bakery, which is a real treasure in the Oviedo Mall). One of these days I’ll finally get around to reviewing Cavallari Gourmet too. The address of New York Bakery Boys is 2960 W State Rd 426, Oviedo, FL 32765, and there is another location at 603 Market Street in Celebration. (Celebration, which is a planned suburban community that is part of Disney World, is a weird, weird place, by the way.)

Canter’s Deli (Los Angeles)

Canter’s Deli (https://www.cantersdeli.com/) is a legendary Los Angeles delicatessen, a Hollywood hotspot that has been in business since 1931 and in the same location at 419 North Fairfax Avenue since 1953. The decor is pure 1950s-style Art Deco, which I associate fondly with Los Angeles delis and diners, and with the City of Angels in general. I wish everyplace was decorated this way, including my own home. Like so many other timeless restaurants I’ve enjoyed in L.A. like Langer’s Deli, Philippe the Original, HMS Bounty, The Prince, Bob’s Big Boy, and Pann’s, Canter’s retains all its old-school cool as it approaches its hundredth anniversary. I regret not taking any photos of the interior, but I was a little distracted on my one and only visit.

I visited Canter’s on my second work trip to L.A., where I met an Internet friend for the first time after knowing him online for over 25 years, along with his lovely and talented wife, who many of you may recognize.

These free pickles were delivered to the table, as any good deli should do, and they were great.

Instead of a soda or egg cream, I ordered this chocolate phosphate, kind of like a creamy chocolate soda — so not really that different from an egg cream. I just thought it would be nice to try, like an old-timey soda fountain favorite that you never see on menus anymore. Now that “dirty sodas” are a whole thing, I wish people were willing to go more retro and bring back the whole soda fountain concept. With all the jerks out there, maybe some of them could find work as soda jerks.

My friend’s wife is an actress you would have seen if you watched the first season of The Pitt, the wonderful HBO Max hospital drama that was my favorite show of 2025. She ordered a lox benedict, a classic brunch dish with a toasted English muffin topped with salty, smoky salmon, poached eggs and velvety, creamy hollandaise sauce. I didn’t try any, but it looked like a perfect version of eggs benedict. Personally, I never order benedicts at restaurants, but sometimes I make them in my own kitchen because there is no place like home for the hollandaise. At the top, she chose potato pancakes (also known as latkes) for her potato side. They are usually served with sour cream, applesauce, or in this case, both. I always recommend both.

Los Angeles is a big pastrami city, between its historic delis like Langer’s and Canter’s as well as the pastrami French dip, a more localized sandwich that hasn’t spread out of the city. (I tried one of those at a “deli-adjacent” spot more recently, and I will get around to reviewing it eventually.) Local fast food joints like Original Tommy’s and The Hat even load up burgers and hot dogs with pastrami. Somebody call Randy Newman, because I too love L.A.!

My friend, an accomplished film critic, ordered this terrific-looking pastrami Reuben sandwich with grilled pastrami (my preferred alternative to the traditional corned beef), Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye bread grilled to perfection. It looked perfect, and so did the fries.

I got the Canter’s Fairfax sandwich, with generous portions of corned beef AND pastrami on rye. Just like I did at Sarge’s in NYC and Attman’s in Baltimore, when I visit a deli in a faraway city, I usually order combination sandwiches that allow me to sample as many different tastes as possible. They loaded up the sandwich higher than the pastrami sandwiches (plural!) I tried at Langer’s, but I give Langer’s the edge for the exquisite quality of their thicker, hand-sliced pastrami. Not that this was bad, by any means. It was terrific! That’s potato salad in the background — the Canter’s Fairfax comes with a choice of that or cole slaw. The good conversation distracted me, because for a mere dollar more, I could have ordered the Fresser, an identical sandwich that would have come with potato salad AND cole slaw. Oh well! At least the potato salad was excellent.

Because I’m me, I had to RING THE ALARM and try onion rings while I was at Canter’s, and I’m so glad I did. These are some of the most perfect onion rings I’ve ever had in my life. There’s something about Jewish delis just nailing the batter, the frying process, and onion rings in general. Junior’s and Sarge’s Deli in New York City both serve a very similar style. They all share rich, thick batter that holds up and doesn’t separate from the onions, and they are the perfect light, crunchy consistency that never has any burnt spots.
Yup, those are my Top Three onion rings of all time (and no others even come close): Sarge’s, Junior’s, and Canter’s. I’ve never had any quite like them here in Florida. I guess Jewish delis in major metropolitan cultural centers are the lords of the rings.

I can’t imagine how many famous, talented people have hung out at Canter’s Deli over the past 95 years, although the website drops a few dozen names. (I loved Guns ‘n’ Roses back in 8th and 9th grades, and I know they hung out at Canter’s all the time back in the late ’80s.) It is staggering to think how many genius ideas were born there, how many deals were struck there that helped shape our culture, and how many delicious deli dishes were devoured during those acts of creation and negotiation. We certainly enjoyed the heck out everything we tried. Even though there are other delis I have yet to discover in L.A., I would totally return to Canter’s on a future visit. Whenever I do, what should I try next time? I’m thinking some kind of smoked fish, but it would be hard to turn down those top-tier onion rings again.

Junior Colombian Burger

It has been a while since I’ve been to Junior Colombian Burger (https://juniorcolombianburger.com/), which has four locations in Orlando, none of which are exactly close to me. But the one I visited was in East Orlando, between UCF’s sprawling campus and the Waterford Lakes sprawling shopping center, at 11875 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32826. Junior’s is a casual restaurant where you order at the counter, and they have a lot to choose from: multiple burgers, hot dogs, arepas (savory Colombian corn pastries stuffed with cheese, beef, or chicken), empanadas, fries covered with various toppings, and plantains covered with various toppings. This is not exactly health food, especially when you realize there are eight different sauces to dip your food in. I fully admit the allure of multiple sauce combinations and permutations is what pulled me in to finally try Junior’s.

From left to right: pink sauce (kind of like a ketchup/mayo concoction), pineapple sauce (sweet and sticky; thinner than preserves), garlic sauce (mayo-based for creaminess), Zulu hot sauce, and Bella hot sauce.

And in additional squeeze bottles, pale orange creamy chipotle sauce, tangy barbecue sauce, and a mysterious unlabeled green sauce.

Here they are! Do I remember which is which? Abso-fucking-lutely not! Like I said, it has been a while. But were they good? Yes, every one is worth trying, as long as you’re there.

RING THE ALARM! These onion rings were breaded rather than battered, which is not my preferred style. They were on the greasy side and remained boiling lava hot while I tried to eat them, complete with that mouth-shredding texture. But they functioned mostly as delivery devices for the eight condiments.

Because this was my first visit, I chose the eponymous Junior’s burger, with a single beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, cooked onion, potato chips, pineapple sauce, pink sauce, and garlic sauce on a soft brioche bun. Yes, there’s a lot going on there, but that is far from their most complicated or decadent burgers. As you can see, the patty is on the small side, cooked like a smashburger (although it didn’t get much in the way of crispiness from the Maillard reaction), and gets a bit lost in the mix with all the other flavors and textures.
I didn’t hate it by any means, but there are certainly better burgers to be found in Orlando. I think a thicker, juicier burger patty would help immensely, but I always prefer those to thin smashburgers.

Next time I’ll branch out from burgers and try something a little more unique. I love that they have a ridiculous-looking sandwich served on flat fried plantains instead of bread called the amor toxico (toxic love), topped with cheese sauce, queso fresco, mozzarella cheese, ketchup, mustard, garlic sauce, tomato, lettuce, corn, and a choice of beef, chicken, or both. I know Junior’s Colombian Burger has a strong and loyal fan following, so please tell me, stalwart Saboscrivnerinos: what are your favorite menu items, and what should I get next time?

Uncle Tony’s Backyard BBQ

I love barbecue, and now that I’m making a genuine effort to eat fewer carbs, I have made two visits to a relatively new barbecue restaurant, knowing I could focus on delicious meat and hopefully make wise choices with the sides. Uncle Tony’s Backyard BBQ (https://uncletonysbackyardbbq.com/) is located in Orlando’s Pinecastle neighborhood, at 6807 South Orange Avenue, south of Lancaster Avenue (which you can take west to Orange Blosson Trail get to Saboscrivner favorites Bombay Street Kitchen and Tortas El Rey). Back in 2018, when I had just started this blog, I reviewed a short-lived sandwich shop called Dancing Pigs Deli in the same location Uncle Tony’s has been operating in for the past four years. Because it is all the way across town from me, I only recently made it down there, but I’m so glad I did. By the way, it is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11 AM to 3 PM. There are tables for dining in, but no booths.

I brought home takeout both times. On my first visit, my wife requested St. Louis style ribs, so I got her an order that came with four generously sized, tender ribs. By the way, St. Louis style is more of a cut than a specific barbecue style or flavor. All the meals come with two sides, but the only thing she was in the mood for was collard greens. I got her the greens, plus baked beans for myself.

Meals also come with a choice of bread, and she wanted cornbread. It’s a dollar upcharge, but it is so good, that’s a bargain at twice the price.

I got a two-meat combo for myself, with spare ribs (so we could try both kinds of ribs) and brisket, plus collard greens and potato salad. Between those two and the baked beans, I knew I would be in side heaven, and you can gauge barbecue joints by the quality of their sides as well as their meats. I liked both kinds of ribs, but she liked my spare ribs even better than her St. Louis ribs. After I had one of these, we traded the rest of our ribs. Happy wife, happy life!

Here’s a better view of that brisket on a separate plate. It looks a little dry, but it tasted great, I assure you. I prefer fattier brisket, so I made a mental note to request it that way next time.

The potato salad was Southern style, with some crunch and tanginess from diced pickles, as well as some yellow mustard in there. This might be a hot take, but aside from chips, potato salad is probably my favorite way to eat potatoes. Better than baked, mashed, even fries? I said what I said!

Forgive me — I don’t remember exactly which sauce was which, but the reds were hot and extra hot, and the oranges were “tangy” and mustard. I liked them all, but naturally, I preferred the hot ones. But whenever I visit a new barbecue restaurant, I want to try all of the sauces.

I returned to Uncle Tony’s in late April when my wife was craving ribs, greens, and cornbread again. I brought her home a two-meat combo with the spare ribs, a smoked chicken leg and thigh, collard greens, and yellow rice and peas. The ribs were good this second time, but we both underestimated how perfect the smoked chicken would be. I always prefer thighs and legs (at least when it comes to chicken), and they were so tender and juicy. The skin pulled off easily, and she doesn’t like to eat chicken skin, so that was my little treat. It was sooooo good. This might have been the best smoked chicken we’ve ever had anywhere. The rice and peas were somewhat nondescript, aside from being salty, but the greens remain the best around.

I got that great cornbread for both of our sides so she could have them, since I’m still trying to be better about carbs.

I got myself a two-meat combo with the the St. Louis-style ribs again, plus smoked sausage. My favorite part about barbecue sausage is the almost crispy natural casing, and this did not disappoint. I admit I prefer SmokeMade Meats + Eats for sausage as well as brisket, but we are both superfans of the ribs here at Uncle Tony’s. The sauteed cabbage in the top left was extremely salty, but I love cabbage in all its forms, so I’m glad I tried it. But those greens have never failed us and never could.

This time, I splurged on the beef rib as well, a huge and expensive piece of meat we have both enjoyed at multiple barbecue spots, including SmokeMade, Briskets in Oviedo, and the much-missed Git-N-Messy BBQ (RIP, Chef Chuck Cobb). Beef ribs are a perfect example of a “sometimes food,” for multiple reasons (fattiness plus cost), but it was a worthwhile indulgence, since they only ever offer them on Fridays and Saturdays. Luckily, they are big enough that we can easily get a few portions out of each one. I could easily slide the bone right out of the rich, marbled meat.

Here’s a top view, so you can see that peppery crust on it.

Well folks, I gotta tell you, my wife liked the smoked chicken and collard greens so much that she asked me to return the following Saturday to bring home more. And I never say no to Dr. Professor Ma’am if it’s within my power to do what she wants. The smoked chicken was just as good this time, after setting a very high bar.

Finally, here’s a good close-up of those tender, savory, smoky collards that are packed with smoked meat:

It took me three visits to finally try Uncle Tony’s macaroni and cheese, and it is wonderful. Definitely one of the best mac and cheeses in the Orlando area. Not baked to dryness, and not swimming in a gloopy, gloppy cheese “sauce.” Just perfect.

I had to bring home another beef rib as a treat. Here’s a surprisingly good photo I took after removing the bone, which was as long as my forearm. (As Jason Statham said in the movie Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, “It’s as long as my arm; I wish it was as long as something else!”)

And here’s that top view again. The rib was even better this second time around, and more photogenic to boot.

Despite the distance, we intend to keep coming to Uncle Tony’s, most likely to continue bringing home takeout. Our other favorite barbecue place in Orlando, the aforementioned, Michelin-recommended SmokeMade Meats + Eats, isn’t exactly close either, but we love both, and it is nice to have a couple of fantastic options to choose from. I think their beef ribs are about equal, but I give Uncle Tony’s the edge for smoked chicken and all the different sides, especially the greens, potato salad, and mac and cheese. Also, now that I’ve spoken to Tony himself and his wife LaShunda, they are the nicest people, and they deserve all of our support. If you have already been to Uncle Tony’s Backyard Barbecue, what are your favorite dishes on the menu, and what do I need to try next time?

Aloha Hawaiian Kitchen

I love Hawaiian food, and I had been excited to try Aloha Hawaiian Kitchen (https://alohahawaiiankitchen.com/) for a while. Aloha is down near Orlando International Airport, so I don’t see it becoming part of my regular restaurant rotation, but when I finally made it there in December, it did not disappoint. Hawaiian cuisine evolved from a combination of Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese, and mainland American ingredients and influences due to the diaspora, but it is very much its own thing. It is one of my favorite regional American cuisines, up there with Ashkenazi Jewish delis and appetizing stores and the grand tradition of barbecue. But while I’ve tried amazing delis in New York City, Los Angeles, and South Florida and barbecue in Texas, Memphis, and right here in Orlando, I have yet to visit Hawaii, so I take our local Hawaiian restaurants at their word.

Because I always love sampling multiple things, especially when I know I won’t be able to return to a restaurant often, I ordered the Surfside Sampler, which comes with three meats: marinated and grilled beef short ribs (kalbi), crispy marinated and fried ono shrimp, and marinated and pulled luau pig. However, I asked if I could substitute the mochiko chicken instead of the luau pork, since it is the same price when they are sold separately. They were kind enough to allow me to get that substitution. This heaping tray came with scoops of white rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad, which I am a huge fan of. It was probably more than enough calories for the full day, with more to spare. I think the Hawaiians perfected mayonnaise-based macaroni salad, which I have recreated at home. The secret, which I found in a few different recipes, is to let slightly underdone macaroni noodles absorb a lot of milk, and then stir in your mayo. (They recommend Best Foods, which I think is the same stuff sold as Hellman’s in the eastern U.S., but I’m a Duke’s man.)

I first tried mochiko chicken at the first Hawaiian restaurant I ever visited, a place called Hawaiian Grindz that used to be on State Road 434 in Oviedo. It didn’t last very long, perhaps in part because the laid-back owners didn’t always open on time… or at all, despite posted hours. But I loved the little pieces of fried chicken thighs, which were lightly breaded and then tossed in a sweet sauce. While these mochiko chicken pieces at Aloha look a bit dark, I can assure you they were fried to crispy perfection. They weren’t overly sweet, either. It was a nice blend of sweet and savory — much less sweet than the mochiko chicken at the old place that closed.

Here’s a close-up of the kalbi, those wonderful marinated and grilled Korean-style beef short ribs, cut against the bone These also had a savory-sweet marinade, and the grilling process added some great flavor from caramelizing sugar on the surface. The meat was tender, but not exactly falling apart or off the bone. Kalbi (sometimes called galbi on Korean menus) always has a pleasant chew, and you can usually tear or bite the meat near the bone and pull it right out. That area is even chewier, but the texture is nice.

Here is an extreme close-up of one of the crispy, garlicky-fried shrimp. It had such a nice flavor and crunch, and just like at my beloved Poke Hana, it is fried so well that you can eat it crunchy tail and all. Look at all that garlic!

While I wanted to try more, I limited myself to a Spam musubi, which I enjoyed later, back at home. These are the ultimate in simple comfort food: a slice of fried Spam (which is actually delicious, snobs and skeptics!) on a bed of sushi rice, rolled tightly in a sheet of nori (seaweed, the same stuff in sushi rolls), and often served warm. I’ve seen these musubi referred to as “Hawaiian protein bars,” and they do have just enough protein and carbs to give you a burst of energy when you need it.

By the way, Spam is a product of Minnesota, but it became closely associated with Hawaiian cuisine when the U.S. military used it to feed troops stationed in Hawaii in the 1940s. That’s how it found its way into saimin (a Hawaiian take on ramen), Spam fried rice, and of course, the musubi.

We are lucky to have a few wonderful Hawaiian restaurants to choose from in Orlando, including the aforementioned Poke Hana, OverRice, the new Moa Kai Hawaiian Diner, and Hanalei Shave Ice for a cool, refreshing dessert. Aloha Hawaiian Kitchen is in great company. Sadly, Aloha is much further away from me, but even though I don’t foresee going back as often, it was very good, and I’m so glad I tried it. If you find yourself down near the airport, or coming or going from the 528 or the Lake Nona area and you don’t feel like awesome seafood at High Tide Harry’s or Orlando’s best Cuban sandwich at Vicky Bakery, check it out. Aloha features a large menu, including meat-centric combo meals like I ordered and customizable poke bowls, if you want something lighter than the smorgasbord of meats I enjoyed. Nowadays, as I continue slowly losing weight from eating less and eating healthier, I would have gotten two or even three meals out of that Surfside Sampler, but I housed it in one sitting at the time, thinking that dangerous thought of “Well, it won’t be as good heated back up later!” I’ve come a long way over these past four months.