Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament has been a successful tourist attraction for many years, and they have several locations across the country and even in Canada.

The Orlando location is on Highway 192 in Kissimmee and has been delighting audiences for as long as I can remember.

I actually had my first experience there recently and had a really nice time.

Although the sound quality is very poor and it is very difficult to hear what the actors are actually saying, the crowd still loves to cheer for their section’s team and the knights really do put on a good show.

There are no utensils and so everything is eaten with your bare hands.

You have your choice of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Water to drink.

It is a set menu and the first two items brought out are “Tomato Bisque” and “Castle Bread”.

Now I am certain that this is your basic “Campbell’s Tomato Soup” and a piece of frozen Texas Toast, but I also wasn’t expecting gourmet anything.

Next course was a Roasted Chicken, a BBQ Spare Rib, and an Herb-Basted Potato.

Although the little part of the Chicken that I did eat was very moist and tender, I just couldn’t eat very much of it and just picked at it a little bit.

(It’s a personal thing, Meat on the bone grosses me out)

The Spare Rib was the same thing – it had a nice flavor, but I barely ate any of it.

The Herb-Basted Potato was a joke. I don’t think any herbs were harmed in their herb baste, and it was dry and tasteless.

The Pastry of the Castle was my favorite thing of the entire meal. It was an Apple Turnover and actually tasted pretty good.

The ticket price is $62 and change, but is about $70 per adult by the time it is all said and done.

By no means should you go to Medieval Times for an amazing dining experience, however the show they put on is great and you will have a really good time.

King of Falafel

My friends (who I trust on where to dine) have been telling me about King of Falafel in Kissimmee and I finally got time to meet them there for lunch.

Because of their praise I knew it was going to be good, however I did not expect it to be this good!

Turns out this place (located in a small strip mall – if you blink you might miss it) has been opened since 2009 and has gained all of its business by word of mouth and great customer reviews.

We walked in, grabbed a seat and were greeted by their very friendly staff who took our order.

We started off with a dozen Falafel

(Crushed Chick peas mixed with parsley, spices and fried in vegetable oil, served with tahini sauce $5.99)

I must say that I have had a lot of Falafel in my day, and this was probably the tastiest I have ever had.

The outside was super-crispy, and the inside was fresh and packed with flavor.

Now to drink they have what is labeled as “Tamarindo” and it is a self-serve (yay-free refills) Tamarind-flavored juice/drink. I’m sure it is not for everyone’s palette but I loved it and found it quite addicting.

Now most of the entrees come with your choice of Soup.

I had the Harira.

(Moroccan style soup with tomato base mixed with celery, lentils, cilantro, parsley, spices and chick peas)

I also found this to be really flavorful, with just the right amount of spice.

Then my Vegetarian Plate arrived.

(Hummus, Babaghanouj, Tabouleh, Falafel and stuffed Grape Leaves $9.49)

I really enjoyed the freshness of everything. The Falafel was indeed my favorite so I am very glad that we had the appetizer, because the two on this plate wouldn’t have been enough.

A basket of Pita was also served on the side.

My friend ordered the Chicken Ticka.

(Chunks of marinated chicken and a spicy hot blend charbroiled to perfection, served with rice and roasted vegetables $9.99)

I had a bite and although it was a little too spicy for my tastes I still thought it was pretty good.

Then for dessert I had two Baklavas, one Pistachio and one Walnut.

They were perfectly cooked and just sweet enough. Both were good but I preferred the Pistachio over the Walnut.

I am very excited to return to King of Falafel, I just wish they were closer to where I live.

Leaky Cauldron - Universal Studios

Universal Studios recently opened up Diagon Alley with new Harry Potter themed attractions so you know that meant they also had to open up new dining options as well.

Leaky Cauldron is their latest restaurant offering fast casual options.

First off you go up to the counter and place your order.

Then you are seated and your food is brought out to you.

I decided to drink I would get the Lemon Squash ($4.79)

It was pretty good, but was really just a glorified lemonade.

Damn those theme park prices!

For my meal I ordered the Cottage Pie Platter ($11.99)

This is a Sheppard’s Pie with a Side Salad. For a massed produced Sheppard’s Pie it actually tasted quite good. I always hate eating off of plastic utensils but that was my biggest complaint about the dish itself. The Salad was basic field greens, with a roasted tomato and a packet of Ken’s Salad Dressing. There was nothing special about the Salad, but it was a nice alternative to greasy fries.

Theme Parks make a fortune on their food. In most cases the food is awful and the prices are high. Although it is not exactly what I would call cheap I will say that at least the Leaky Cauldron’s food tasted pretty good.

Hollerbach's Willow Tree Cafe

Located in the heart of the very charming downtown Sanford stands Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café.

You will know it when you see it because where any of the other restaurants in this area might have a busy time, but Hollerbach’s has always got a good crowd.

Originally it was just the Willow Tree Café and from what I understand it was just plain old American Food, but then when they added the “Hollerbach’s” and changed it to German Cuisine business really took off causing them to expand into the adjoining store fronts and now they even have a store around the corner that sells beer and baked goods.

Hollerbach’s always has raving reviews and has won tons of awards year after year.

On certain nights they have a live band, and if you wish to dine at a peek time I would suggest that you make a reservation.

They brought out (2 kinds of) Bread and Butter and then took our order.

Although I am not a Beer drinker, several in my party were and believe me they have quite a selection!

I ordered my favorite thing on their menu (as I have been there many times).

Jager Schnitzel (pounded out, breaded chicken breast, topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms and glazed in a rich pan sauce, served with 2 sides $17.99)

For my sides I got the Gurkensalat (Julienned cucumbers tossed in a dressing made of sour cream and herbs) and Potato Dumplings (with crouton centers covered in Rahm Gravy)

The Cucumber Salad is always my favorite, but I think next time I will go back to the Potato Pancakes as my other side. The Potato dumplings were not bad but just a little “Blah”.

Now I need to stress that this photo does not do justice to how much food this was.

I ended up only being able to finish about half, which meant I got to take home a nice amount of leftovers, which was my lunch the next day.

There were four of us and one ordered the same as me, but in addition we had an order of Hungarian Beef Goulash

(Beef with sautéed onions, garlic, potatoes and bell pepper with a freshly prepared paprika blend, enhancing the astonishing flavor $12.89)

This was also a huge serving with plenty to take home.

And the Two Sausage (Weisswurst) plate with a double order of Spatzle (homemade egg noodles) with Rahm Gravy $10.99.

This is also another favorite of ours when we go to Hollerbach’s.

They also have a large assortment of decadent Desserts to choose from, however we were so full we didn’t have room for any.

So if you are a fan of German Cuisine, or just ready to try something authentic that the locals swear by, then be sure to check this place out.

You’ll be glad you did!