Suzanne Calling

Today's food truck offerings were two that I hadn't tried before, Yukon Mike's Fry Bread and LizzieCakes. I wasn't sure if fry bread was going to end up being lunch (I was in the mood for veggies), but I assumed that LizzieCakes was desserts. Thankfully, I was wrong. I wanted fresh, I wanted veggies, and they had several options that sounded good. I went for the Chicken salad croissant with a side salad. Why not, it's croissant day. I debated the Greek salad, but also had a trip to Wawa for their chicken salad hoagie on my to do list for the coming week. (Yeah, Wawa. Good sandwiches, with my current fave being the chicken salad on whole wheat, pressed with cheddar. Yum.) The menu did have some tempting dessert offerings, but I just went for the lunch. Maybe next time I'll get one, like the coworker who got the bacon caramel brownie. The ladies were super friendly and quick. I had my food in under three minutes, though the weather really ...

Today, Ed and I ran some errands and planned to get some lunch. Neither one of us could really decide, but somehow, we'd settled on Shingetsu, so Ed could have sushi and I could have tempura. Alas, with their new ownership, Shingetsu currently is only serving dinner. Both of us were trying to figure out something nearby, and Lings was just too much food for lunch, so Ed suggested Gosh, and off we went. He'd been before, I haven't. The main reason I don't typically go to sushi places is that while I like it, I usually max out on 3 or 4 pieces, grow bored, and want something else. As Gosh's menu showed more variety than sushi, it was a good balance. However, once I looked at the menu, the sushi grabbed me more than the entrees. That said, the vegetarian menu is a winner. We sat at the sushi bar and a server suggested getting an egg roll appetizer. That sounded good. Now, a lesson for the uninitiated: Egg Rolls are fat and short, spring rolls are skin...

Twin Peaks is like Hooters, if it was up north and in the snowy mountains. Servers in short shorts and plaid tops from which those 'twin peaks' runneth over is the uniform, but other than the sex appeal, this isn't a Hooters rebadge. For one: Twin Peaks offers up their own beers (two varieties), as well as a plentiful assortment of other brews from smaller companies, and the small print at the bottom of the beer menu indicates they have those major label brews. Still, Ed was tickled to get a manly sized Bell's Oberon, while I went with a girl-size of Abita's Purple Haze. I saw that they had the lovely Leinies, but the hanging decor indicated it was Canoe Paddler, which we'd tried last month and weren't thrilled with. Beers are served extremely cold in frosty mugs-in fact, mine developed icebergs! The menu is small, and leans towards hearty, manly-type meals. This is a good thing when you're feeding two locusts and a husband with a big appe...

A friend is vegan due to health reasons. As I am prone to do, I scope menus when I dine out, hoping to find places that can accommodate his needs with something more substantial than a potato and whatever vegetable du jour they may be serving. We planned to get together for dinner last week and when I asked where we would dine, he had no idea and told me to choose. In his words, I was the only other person he knew who would scope out a menu and pick up on why he couldn't eat something. Thankfully, I was able to compile a list of six Lakeland restaurants and links to most of the menus, with the eventual dining spot being Cafe Roti. Indian, which is a cuisine he was only familiar with because of all the Amy's frozen entrees. I was able to explain enough about the preparation and options he had, plus the Cafe Roti menu is pretty expansive. It was a great meal for conversation and laughter and finding another person who enjoyed the subtle thermonuclear heat bombs set off by...

Deja vu? Yes, I had a Gyro while in Daytona last week. Heck, I'd probably eat Greek food every day, if I had enough decent options in Lakeland. I don't, which means that if I'm driving along Kennedy Blvd, near West Shore, I'm hungry, and there's a sign for a Greek place I haven't tried (Neon, even-but it was daytime), then you can bet money I'm stopping. Gogos Greek Grill is definitely in the camp of "I'm glad I stopped." It's a quick casual that does for Greek what Chipotle and Qdoba do for Mexican food-elevates it beyond fast food. The menu is limited, but there are enough variations that one can get their fix of this cuisine, even if their favorite isn't there. It's a good sign when you walk in the door of a place, just after opening, and the tables are topped with 'to go' orders and a half dozen employees are grabbing these huge orders and hurrying to deliver them. The smells were spot on for Greek food, but I...

Last year, our first night of our Daytona vacation found us at this nice pub near Ormond Beach. We're over here again and when dinner time rolled around, we decided to head back to a known quantity. (My apologies for the lack of pictures-I took them, but they're not uploading). Anyway, Daytona seems really quiet today, and it extended to the Black Sheep, because there were less than a dozen people in the place when we walked in. This meant we had the pick of tables and a very attentive server. The menu is full of traditional British pub standards, like bangers and mash, Shepherd's pie, fish and chips and liver and onions, as well as traditional American bar food of burgers and sandwiches. At a pub, you want beer, and they've got over 21 of them on tap-so Ed got a Newcastle Brown. It's hard to come by on tap, and he was pleased. As for our meals, we were all set with some delicious choices. GameTeen had some homemade fish and chips that looked fantastic, Chef g...

When you live in Central Florida, you can probably think of about 30 to 40 storefront Latin restaurants, where you don't know the name, but the odds are high that they've got authentic cuisine. Along 98 North in Lakeland, I know of several and keep meaning to visit a few, one that is reported to have really good Arepas, and another with really good Ropa Vieja. Basically, you think of a cuisine from the Latin world, and you probably can find it within a half hour of your front door. Meanwhile, I've been looking at Tropical Latino for months. It is next door to the laundromat that I go to, alas, I typically do my laundry when they are closed. A few weeks ago, I went in the early afternoon and had an empanada and chatted with the girl behind the counter. She showed me all the delights in the steam table and we talked of their specials. As the saying goes, el restaurante huele bien, and I knew I'd be back the next time. So, the other day, I loaded up the laundry and...

When we first moved to Florida, this is one of the very first unique places that people steered us to, especially after hearing that Ed lived in Chicagoland for a while. Vienna Beef hot dogs and Italian Beef sandwiches and close to Busch Gardens, what could be better? Well, if I'm perfectly honest, the price. The price could be a LOT better. We got two average size dogs, not even coney length, no extra meats on them, and having one as a combo, one drink and a small order of onion rings set me back almost 18 bucks. I was kicking myself that I didn't talk GameTeen into going to Tijuana Flats, or go to his first suggestion, Five Guys, because we would have left either place stuffed to the gills for a few bucks less.to the gills for a few bucks less. Yes, those prices are for only the sandwich. I've spent less for burgers at sit down establishments. (I know, I am harping on the price.) These dogs are boiled and placed into a steamed poppy seed bun. You can get a variety ...

You walk into a restaurant, sit down, and the server comes up and says the exact order you usually get. Five times at Bosphorous in a year and that's what happened tonight. Of course, it was just Ed and me and we'd decided we were ordering different things this time! So, Ed had a lamb saute that was wonderful, and I had lamb kebabs. They brought us extra bulgur because they had been out the last time we were there. As much as we love the mixed grill, the lamb was so wonderfully seasoned and tender. We were so stuffed that we brought the baklava home. Seriously, theirs is so amazing that I wasn't passing it up. I probably won't have room to eat it until tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, Ed has designs on all the leftovers. When it tastes better than these pictures look, could you blame him?

In the time I worked down in the Hyde Park section of Tampa, I found a bunch of places to get a decent lunch or dinner. My first day on the job, the boss treated me to a meal at the Wine Exchange , and that became the special treat that I'd enjoy with the laptop every once in a while. The nearby SoHo area has an abundance of little bistros and restaurants that made it easy to find good food, no matter what cuisine I was in the mood for. One day, I tried Daily Eats and their special that day was a greek burger and I was sold. As my work shifts meant I was there for lunch or dinner, the brunch menu never passed in front of me. (The sweet potato fries, the burgers, and their wonderful bowls? Oh, my yes!) Yesterday, though, the lure of some shopping nearby brought us down Howard street and of course, that meant I was going to visit this old favorite once again. Not surprisingly, the restaurant was packed and had a wait, but it appears that those in front of us were parties of 4...

While New York style thin crust is my absolute favorite pizza, there is a place in my heart for Chicago Deep Dish, too. When Pizzeria Uno expanded years ago and opened one on LI convenient to the movie theatre my dad, sister and I patronized most often, it got a lot of our business. Years later, I even got a job waiting tables at Uno's, because I loved their product. Here in Florida, we've got several places that serve the pizza that you eat with a fork and knife. This is good, because the nearest Uno's locations flank either side of Walt Disney World and are way too hectic to consider on anything but a weeknight. Enter Olde Town. Their Brandon location is in the same little strip mall as Carvel, so it was a matter of time before we decided to give them a try. When we did, we agreed that it was dumb to wait so long, because their representation of deep dish is so good: flaky crust, bright tomato sauce, plentiful fillings and an atmosphere that is pleasant and relaxing...