I think we’ve found our new favorite German restaurant down in Largo.  German Bistro 2 is in a little strip mall, has about 10 tables inside and some very tasty and hearty German food.  They started us off with some bread and coleslaw.

The bread was fresh and tasty.  The coleslaw was a bit on the peppery side, but still very good.  I knew I shouldn’t have ordered an appetizer, but I just love potato pancakes.

Normally, Loren isn’t a fan, but he really enjoyed these.  They were nice and crispy with a little bit of herbs on them and served with applesauce and sour cream.  I have to admit, I was already full by the time our entrees arrived.  Loren got the Gypsischnizel with a side salad and dumpling.

They forgot to bring out the dressing for his salad, but other than that the meal was very good.  His pork had a tomato and green pepper sauce on it.  The dumpling was made of stuffing.  It was different.  I ordered the Jaegerschnizel with spaezel and warm potato salad.

The pork was very tender and the mushroom gravy had lots of thick slices of mushrooms.  The spaezle was so good that I had to order seconds.  I forgot to mention, all the sides have free refills.  Loren really enjoyed the potato salad.  It had bacon and that distinct vinegary German flavor.  We both ended up with lots of leftovers and yet, we still ordered the apple strudel for dessert.

It was served with ice cream and whipped cream.  Seriously, we were both so stuffed by this point that we couldn’t finish the pastry, though we did eat all of the apples inside.  Another thing to mention is that they also offer complimentary beer or wine.  It was a very enjoyable experience.  The owners are very friendly and accommodating.  They want to make sure you enjoy every last thing on your plate.   This is definitely a restaurant we’ll be returning to.  Just have to remember to bring a big appetite.   Total bill was $55.

German Bistro II
1300 E Bay Dr Ste L
Largo, FL
727-216-6519

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When we were at Sabai Thai last night we noticed that a new Greek restaurant just opened up next door called Taverna Skara.  It’s a light and airy looking restaurant and they weren’t busy at all when we got there.  They brought pita and olives to the table while we looked at the menus.

Loren said the olives were really good and I enjoyed the pita, though I would have liked something to dip it in.  We decided to try the fried calamari for an appetizer.

This was a mixed bag of tender and chewy pieces of calamari.  It seemed as though the pieces that kept their coating were fairly tender, but other pieces ended up being overcooked.  The dish definitely needed salt and I didn’t like the way it was served in the cone.  It made it very hard to get pieces out and dripped oil and crumbs all over the table.

For his entrée, Loren got the pork souvlaki platter.

It had pork, rice, pita, Greek salad and tzatziki sauce.  He enjoyed it and ended up with way more pita and rice than he could eat.  The tzatziki sauce had an interesting flavor to it.  I can’t quite put my finger on what was different about it, but there was something.  I tried the pastitsio.

This was a very good version of the dish.  The flavors were all there, the pasta was tender and the béchamel sauce was creamy and had good flavor.   My only criticism was that they melted some cheese on top that formed a hard crust.  I just didn’t care for that.  I also would have liked if it had been served with a small Greek salad.   Most of the other entrees on the menu were served with a side or salad, so it seemed odd that the items on the Traditional Greek Entree list were not.

Service was very attentive, almost too attentive, but I’m guessing it’s because they’re new and there weren’t too many customers in the restaurant.   Overall, the food was good and we’ll probably be back again to try some other dishes.   Total bill with a drink was $43.

Taverna Skara
2454 McMullen Booth Rd
Clearwater, FL
727-726-9000

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We haven’t been eating out much lately, mostly because both Loren & I caught a nasty little cold.  Chicken soup, the occasional take out, and the couch were about as far as either of us wanted to go.  But, now we’re back among the living and had a quick lunch at Cuban Breezes.

Loren got the masitas with a side of ultimate rice and beans.

Tender and tasty as always.  I went for a mahi Cuban with a side of rice & beans.

The mahi was pretty thick today which made the sandwich a little difficult to eat.  It just kept wanting to fall out of the Cuban bread.  Nonetheless, it was cooked perfectly and with a side of rice and beans filled me right up.  Total bill with a drink was $21.

Cuban Breezes
13980 W. Hillsborough Ave.
Tampa, FL
813-814-9939

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When I’m in the mood for tater tots, we head over to Pete & Shorty’s.  Loren got a pork tenderloin and I got the Chalet burger, both with tots, of course.

At first Loren said he didn’t really want tots, but he ate every last one of them in his basket.  As usual, the pork tenderloin was way bigger than the bun and the burger was nice & juicy.  For $18, my tot craving was satisfied and my taste buds were happy.

Pete & Shorty’s Tavern
2820 Gulf to Bay Blvd
Clearwater, FL
(727) 799-0580

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Tonight’s dinner was at Sirio Ristorante with some co-workers.  This was probably the most upscale restaurant I ate at while in Vegas.  The food was excellent, but the prices were pretty outrageous.

We started off with an antipasti platter and some bread.

There were several different types of bread and they were all very good.  I didn’t eat much off of the antipasti platter.  I found the flavors on both the cheeses and meats to be too harsh for my tastes.  The guys at the table really enjoyed it though.

I ordered the Cappellacci, a cheese & spinach stuffed pasta.

It was very thick and dense, but overall had some good flavors.  Other dishes ordered around the table were the Lobster Risotto, a seafood pasta, and a pork three ways dish.

Everyone seemed very happy with their meals.  I tasted the lobster risotto and it was good, but had a really strong flavor to it.  I don’t think I’d have been able to eat an entire bowl of it.  I didn’t see the final total on the check, but it definitely wasn’t cheap.

Sirio Ristorante
3730 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(877) 230-2742

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You really don’t wanna know how often we eat at Cuban Breezes.  We can’t help it, the food is fast, tasty and inexpensive.  We don’t vary too much on what we get either.  Tonight it was the Lecho with ultimate beans and rice for Loren and the Prime Rib Dip for me.

It was all tasty and good.  I’ve had the prime rib dip a few times and this one was one of the better times.  It’s been too salty in the past.  This one was just right.  We decided to try the apple pie empanada tonight.

Loren liked it more than I did.  I just didn’t find the filling or the empanada to be sweet enough and the syrup that was on it had an almost bitter taste.  I don’t know how to describe it.  Almost like a molasses/honey type mixture.  Whatever it was, it just didn’t do it for me.  Total bill with a drink was $24.

Cuban Breezes
13980 W. Hillsborough Ave.
Tampa, FL
813-814-9939

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We ate lunch at Andy’s today.  This is one of Loren’s favorite lunch places and he gets the same thing every time we come here, a small roast pork with rice and beans.

The small could easily feed two people.  The pork is tender and tasty and the rice & beans just finish out the goodness.  I went for a simple ham & cheese sandwich today.

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Even though we had a spicy lunch we decided to go for a spicy dinner as well at Pacific Thai in Oldsmar.  Nothing out of the ordinary for us tonight, some Nam Sod for Loren and massaman curry for me.

Both dishes were fresh and flavorful.  Loren ate every last bite on his plate, while I ended up having leftovers.   I always think his Nam Sod looks so pretty when it comes to the table.  It’s a light dish, but full of flavor.  My curry dish wasn’t overly spicy tonight, but it’s also a spice that builds as you eat more of it.  Total bill with a drink was $22.

Pacific Thai Cuisine
4058 Tampa Road
Oldsmar, FL
813-855-6633

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I’ve been craving German food for a while so we headed off to the German Restaurant in Holiday.  They were pretty busy when we got there and as it turned out, I think all the tables showed up right before us, so it took quite a while to get our food tonight. This definitely isn’t a place you go for a quick meal. We both started out with bread and the potato sausage soup.

The sausage took over the flavor of the soup, but it was yummy.  There’s nothing quite like fresh, home made soup.  From here the long wait began.  We were beginning to think they had lost our order when they finally brought it out. Loren got the Rinder Roulade.

He said it had some interesting flavors.  There was a pickle in the middle, which they actually warned him about, saying it gets really hot and doesn’t cool down quickly. The only thing he really didn’t care for was the cabbage.  He thinks it’s too tart.  I’m pretty predictable when it comes to food here.  The Jaegerschnitzel and spaetzel were the two things I was looking forward to.

The portions are huge and I ended up taking half of it home.  I did find it a little on the salty side, but overall it just has such a nice flavor and texture.  Comfort food at its best.  And there’s no coming here without a slice of the Black Forest cake.

Cream filled chocolate cake goodness.  Delicious!  Total bill with a drink was $46.

The German Restaurant
2616 US Hwy 19
Holiday, FL
727-937-7400

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Didn’t feel like cooking dinner tonight (I’m on vacation afterall), so we went over to Lagerhaus for some schnitzel.  I got the Jagerschnitzel and Loren went for the Naturschnitzel.

We’re both somewhat amazed that you can get chicken & pork this thin and yet have it come out so tender and tasty.  Loren finished his, but I had lots of leftovers.  Our dinners both came with salads and for sides I got some spaetzl with mine & Loren got some warm potato salad.

Last time, I got the spaetzl with cheese and it was kind of greasy.  This time I got it without the cheese and liked it better. We have to remember to order salads without the onions from now on though.  These have got to be the strongest onions on the planet.  Total bill with a drink was $33.

Lagerhaus Brewery & Grill
3438 East Lake Road
Palm Harbor, FL
813-343-2449

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We’re at Disney for the Backstage Magic Tour and decided to spend the night since we’ve got to be here early in the morning.   We went to a movie in Downtown Disney and ended up eating dinner at Bongos Cuban Cafe.  Unfortunately, it was too late for us to go find a restaurant off property which we would have preferred.

This was another one of those restaurants where you can’t hear yourself think.  It was really crowded and we had about a 15 minute wait for a table.  We started off with some fried stuffed potatoes.

They were interesting.  They looked like they had a crunchy exterior, but it was actually pretty soft.  The filling was flavorful, but the overall texture didn’t really do it for me.  Loren ordered the masitas.

He said they were ok. Honestly no better than what he gets at Cuban Breezes for half the price.  He didn’t like the rice and beans that came with it.   I tried the shredded chicken breast.

I liked the flavor of the chicken.  It had a lime flavor to it and the onions were flavorful too.  The rice was very soft, but I kinda like it that way.  My only complaint is that the dish felt like it needed some tortillas or Cuban bread to go with it.  Total bill with a drink was $47.  Overpriced for what it was, but what we expected in Downtown Disney.

Bongos Cuban Cafe
1498 E Buena Vista Dr
Orlando, FL
(407) 828-0999

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I felt the need for tater tots tonight and the best place I know to go for them is Pete & Shorty’s.  Actually, we couldn’t even come up with another restaurant that served them since the Sonic close to our house closed down.

Mmmmm… little bundles of crunchy potato joy.  I can’t explain it.  There’s just something about tater tots that make me happy.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t even need to order a burger, but I still did, the mushroom swiss.

Ok, so I order the mushroom Swiss with American cheese instead of Swiss, but it’s still one of the tastier burgers around.  The buns they use here are very soft and doughy in a good way.  I really like them.  The burger was juicy and quite messy.  Loren went for the tenderloin sandwich.

The piece of pork on this sandwich was enough to fill two sandwiches.  He said it was tender & crispy.  With a drink, the total bill was $21.

Pete & Shorty’s Tavern
2820 Gulf to Bay Blvd
Clearwater, FL
(727) 799-0580

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Stopped by Eli’s BBQ today & picked up a couple of BBQ pork sandwiches & headed down to the water to enjoy them.

Eli’s is it when it comes to BBQ for me.  The pork is always tender and moist.  There’s always a line of people there since it’s open Friday & Saturdays until 6pm, but always worth the wait.  It’s also cash only and the best $15 we spent this week.

Eli’s Bar-B-Que
360 Skinner Blvd
Dunedin, FL
(727) 738-4856

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So many Sunday nights we just want a quick, tasty meal, so we head out to Cuban Breezes in Oldsmar.  We just know we’re going to walk away with full tummies, happy taste buds, and not much strain on the wallet.

Tonight we went for a mahi cuban and some masitas de puerco.

Loren likes the masitas.  Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.  This is my favorite mahi sandwich in the area.  I don’t know what they do to make it so tasty, but I’ve spent twice as much for mahi at other restaurants and it wasn’t as good as it is here.  Total bill with a drink was $22.

Cuban Breezes
13980 W Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL
813-814-9939

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Panos Kouzina has changed owners and they’ve renamed it Bella Kouzina.  It looks the same inside and the menus haven’t been changed yet, but there was definitely a difference in the food.

We both decided on the clam chowder to go with our entrees.

The chowder was pretty good.  Not quite as creamy as other places, but it had a good flavor to it.  The bread was tasty.  I seem to remember it being a lot more garlicy here before though.  For his entree, Loren got the Pork Medallions.

He said the pork were very tender and tasty.  The dish was served with rice, but he sort of wished it was served with a vegetable as well to round out the meal.  I ordered the chicken marsala with a side of fettucine alfredo.

My plate was very plain looking.  The marsala sauce was very thin and looked like chicken stock, though it absolutely tasted like marsala.  It had a nice sweet flavor, though I’d just never seem a marsala dish that looked that color before.  (Here’s a photo of the last time I ordered it)  The chicken was ok, though, very plain.  It didn’t even have any sort of breading on it whatsoever.   They also hit on a pet peeve of mine by not giving us steak knives to cut our food.  I’m sorry, but butter knives just don’t cut it, literally.

Surprisingly, Loren liked the taste of the fettucine alfredo more than I did.  There was just something off about it.  I don’t know if it was the type of cheese in it or if they added some additional herbs.  All I know is that it just didn’t do it for me.

Unfortunately, our waitress ignored our table quite a bit.  We were done eating long before she ever stopped by again.  And once she brought us boxes for our leftovers, she disappeared again.  The owner ended up clearing the dishes off our table.  We didn’t even get asked if we wanted dessert.  Total bill was $30 with a drink.

Bella Kouzina
3101 SR 580
Safety Harbor, FL
(727) 797–2667

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I’ve been driving by Pit Stop BBQ on SR 580 for a while now and we finally stopped in tonight.  It’s right over the bridge when you’re driving into Oldsmas next to the Hess gas station.

Loren got a thin end rib dinner with collard greens and baked beans and I tried the rib & chopped pork combo with mac & cheese and potato salad.

Loren liked it more than I did.  It had a very smokey flavor and I thought my ribs were a bit dry with not a lot of meat on them.  The thin end ribs Loren got had more meat on them and were a little more tender.  The chopped pork was ok, but I like a moister BBQ.  Loren really liked the collard greens, but the baked beans were too sweet for him.  The mac & cheese had good flavor, but was really dry.  The potato salad was ok.  Total bill was $23.

Pit Stop Southern Style BBQ
3665 State Road 580
Oldsmar, FL
813-855-3136

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We stopped for lunch at Highlands Smokehouse.  We were on our way to Glen Falls and decided to eat lunch before hiking the trails.   For an appetizer, we decided to split a bowl of Brunswick stew.

Best thing we ate here.  It had just a hint of spice along with some meat and lots of veggies, including okra.  It was really tasty.  Normally I don’t like hushpuppies, but this one  just tasted like cornbread to me.  As for the rest of the meal, we weren’t as impressed.

Loren got a half rack of ribs with collard greens and baked beans.

He said the ribs were ok, but didn’t really have a lot of smokey goodness.  He did like the beans, but the collard greens had a really odd flavoring to them.  I thought they tasted like sweet dill pickles.  He didn’t like them at all.  I got a pork sandwich with corn pudding and mashed sweet potatoes.

I did not like the taste of the pork.  It wasn’t smokey and it had an odd aftertaste.  It’s hard to describe.  It was really moist and almost had a beer like flavor to it.  That’s probably not the right flavor, but whatever it was, it just didn’t do it for me.  The corn pudding sort of tasted like scrambled eggs with lots of pepper.  The mashed sweet potatoes were ok, but would have been so much better if they were served with a cinnamon butter.  Overall, not the best BBQ we’ve had.  Total bill was $35.

Highlands Smokehouse
595 Franklin Road
Highlands, NC
(828) 526-5000

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We ate lunch at Andy’s By the Bay today and both ended up ordering the same thing, a small roasted pork, rice & beans.

I don’t know how anyone could eat a large bowl.  The pork is always super tender and the rice and beans are yummy.  Plus, the prices are really cheap.  Two orders and a drink ran us about $14.

Andy’s on the Bay
472 East Douglas
Oldsmar, FL
813-855-8166

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We drove over to Tampa tonight for some BBQ at Alex’s Southern Style BBQ.  Let me preface this review by saying that it was a very hot August evening and there was a definite lack of air conditioning in the restaurant.  Couple that with the overwhelming BBQ smokiness in the air and you end up with an overall uncomfortableness that definitely had an effect on how we felt about the food.  After a while, the air felt so thick and pungent that my eyes started to water.

Our initial reaction when we walked in the door was that the BBQ smokiness in the air was a good sign; that the food was going to have that deep rich smoked flavor to it.  We wanted to try a little bit of everything, so we got two of the two meat meals, one with chicken and pork, the other with beef and ribs.

Unfortunately, there was so much BBQ sauce on everything that we couldn’t really taste the meat.  It was a sweet and tangy sauce and a little went a long way.  The meats were all tender, but neither of us could make a good judgement on the flavor.  What’s funny is that so many of the other reviews we’d read said that they usually didn’t put a lot of sauce on the plate.  As for the sides, the onion rings and okra were both crispy and tasty, the cole slaw was good, but Loren didn’t like his greens.  He said it had a flavor that just wasn’t what he expected.

Total bill was $22 and the smell of BBQ smoke lingered on our clothes for hours.  I began to understand why people were coming in and getting take out instead of eating in the restaurant.

Alex’s Southern Style BBQ
5362 W Village Drive
Tampa, FL
813-269-0050

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We stopped by Cuban Breezes for lunch today around 1pm and it was packed.  We luckily snagged the last available table.  I had no idea Sunday afternoon was such a busy time for them.  Loren ordered his usual lechon and I went for something light today, the grilled mahi with rice/beans and a side salad.

Both dishes were really good today.  The pork was tender and flavorful and the mahi was some of the best I’ve eaten.  It’s cooked perfectly, tender and flaky, with just a hint of seasoning.  Definitely something I’d order again.  With a drink, the total bill was $19.

Cuban Breezes
13980 W Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL
813-814-9939

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