The Route 192 BBQ Competition!

If you are staying near Disney World and are hungry for some great BBQ, then you’ll want to read this. We are going to pit two of the best smoke houses on Route 192 in Kissimmee: Smokey Bones versus Wildside BBQ. Both of these can be found on 192 just 6 miles apart from each other. They offer steaks, pork, chicken, ribs – everything you would expect. And you can order it piled it high to meet any appetite.

 

For appetizer, we are going to start with the Nachos. The nachos are piled high with cheese, BBQ meat, and various other toppings. Wildside BBQ delivered a giant plate stuffed with BBQ meat. Meanwhile, the cheese on the Smokey Bones nachos wasn’t melted and the BBQ meat was cold; it was difficult finding enough topping to finish eating the Smokey Bones nachos.

 

WINNER OF THE APPETIZER: Wild Side BBQ

 

The décor of both restaurants is very nice. A nice option at Wild Side BBQ is to sit watching the cook at the fire pit. Meanwhile, Smokey Bones has televisions everywhere and plays music (which we found the music to be too loud). Nevertheless, Smokey Bones is going to win the décor because Wild Side placed us at a tiny booth at the front of the restaurant and we had to push the booth back in order to fit – and we aren’t large family!

 

WINNER OF DÉCOR: Smokey Bones BBQ

 

We tested order accuracy with some very easy customizations. Wild Side BBQ delivered everything correctly. Smokey Bones delivered our nachos with tomatoes on it (when we asked for none) and forgot to put bacon on our mashed potatoes.

 

WINNER OF ORDER ACCURACY: Wild Side BBQ

 

A BBQ meal isn’t complete without BBQ beans. Smokey Bones beans are thicker with a bolder BBQ flavor. Wild Side BBQ has a thinner sauce. Smokey Bones is going to win this due to the bolder flavor even though the flavor ‘got to me’ and I couldn’t finish the beans.

 

WINNER OF THE BBQ BEANS: Smokey Bones BBQ

 

Each restaurant has a selection of BBQ sauces to use with your meat selection. Wild side had four flavors to choose from, and Smokey Bones had three. Everyone’s preferences are different. I prefer a sweater BBQ sauce. I had difficulty finding a sauce I liked at Smokey Bones. Wild Side, on the other hand, had a sauce I simply loved.

 

WINNER OF THE BBQ SAUCE: Wild Side BBQ

 

The restaurants are priced differently for similar products. While both are reasonable, considering what you are getting, we found Smokey Bones to be cheaper providing better value.

 

WINNER OF THE BETTER VALUE: Smokey Bones BBQ

 

You can tell a lot about a restaurant by looking at their restrooms. Both restaurants had adequate bathrooms. Smokey Bones had the best restroom décor but I found Smokey Bones to be dirty and not fully functional.

 

WINNER OF THE BEST RESTROOM: Wild Side BBQ.

 

Many of the vacation area restaurants offer extras, such as souvenirs, park tickets, or pictures. Smokey Bones offered none of these. Wild Side took our picture and offered it to us for purchase. Normally we would purchase the picture, but this time my wife’s eyes were closed, so, I complained that I couldn’t buy it. The photographer was mad, snapped back the picture, and walked away. Conclusion? Sometime offering no service is better than offering poor service.

 

WINNER OF THE EXTRAS: Smokey Bones BBQ

 

The other item of note: We tried the Smokey Bones Macaroni and cheese, but didn’t try the Wild Side Macaroni and Cheese, so, we can’t compare it. But we can describe it. The Smokey Bones Macaroni and Cheese had a strong onion flavor and a sharp cheese flavor that left an after taste. We could not eat it. I would recommend staying clear of the Macaroni and Cheese.

 

So let’s recap.

	WINNER
Appetizer	Wild Side BBQ
Order Accuracy	Wild Side BBQ
BBQ Sauce	Wild Side BBQ
Best Restroom	Wild Side BBQ
Decore	Smokey Bones BBQ
BBQ Beans	Smokey Bones BBQ
Value	Smokey Bones BBQ
Extras	Smokey Bones BBQ

 

In conclusion, both restaurants are excellent. Regardless of which you pick? You won’t be disappointed. So, tuck your napkin into your shirt, order a big pile of BBQ meat, and dig in!

Disney World's Chef Mickey

We started Sunday at Chef Mickey, or, the Scream Chamber, as I like to call it. This is a breakfast buffet at Disney's Contemporary Resort. The Contemporary is a large triangle shaped hotel that allows monorails to run strait through the center of the hotel. The buffet has excellent breakfast choices. Breakfast in interrupted by Disney characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy) who pause for pictures.

 

I call this the Scream Chamber because the restaurant sits in a cove within the cavernous hotel. The screaming kids causes a defining echo chamber. I have read the area has been flagged by OSHA for sound levels, and workers are required to take longer breaks to recover.

When on vacation too many parents take a vacation from parenting. They allow their 5 and 6 year olds to go to the buffet by themselves. The children return with a plate mounded high with food. The child takes one bite from the plate and the rest goes into the garbage. What are these parents doing allowing this to happen?

 

Margarettiville at Universal

We ate lunch at Margarettiville. I had regularly tried to get into the Myrtle Beach location but the lines are an hour long or more. At Universal? We got right in! It was a nice experience even though the food wasn't as good as the decor. I have seen the magic here, no need to return to eat there.

Disney World's Ohana

Kevin Klose is a super star co-host on The Dis, a podcast and webepisode that provides information about Walt Disney World. Kevin is the show’s food critic, and he has little good to say about dinner at Disney’s Ohana. Ohana is a restaurant inside the Polynesian Resort across the lake near the Magic Kingdom.  Kevin has the perspective of dinning at other similarly priced restaurants, so, I respect his opinion. I rarely (if ever?) eat at a $30-$40 per plate restaurant, so, I have little to compare Ohana to.

 

On Tuesday after work, we went to Ohana for dinner. We made the reservations months in advance because this is a popular restaurant. When seated, they begin bringing you food, and the food doesn’t stop until you cry UNCLE! At which point they begin bringing you desert.

 

 

We had this picture taken and all of our eyes are white! What the heck?

 

Dinner started with a salad covered in fruit and bread. Followed by chicken wings and pot stickers. Then veggies and noodles. For the boys, they received a platter stacked with hamburgers and fries. That filled us. But that wasn’t the main course. The main course is all you can eat chicken, steak, pork, and shrimp, brought to your table on skewers. The pork was pork. The steak was steak. And the chicken was to die for. You would expect the steak to be incredible, but it was cooked well done and was OK, but not fabulous. That is one of Kevin Klose’s largest complaints – the steak is not that good. I didn’t care because I was eating the fabulous grilled chicken.

 

During the dinner, we were entertained by a singer that taught the kids how to dance and performed a coconut race. All the while. We had a perfect view of the Magic Kingdom castle out the window.

Gondolier Pizza

While visiting Clearwater Beach, we Ate at Gondolier Pizza. They offer Pizza, Italian, tons of deserts. They have a seating area with glass ceiling overlooking pool, or one that looks at the ocean across the street, or outside dining on the porch. Excellent TV's. Excellent food. We wanted to return for dinner too! you can find this restaturant in Clearwater Beach across from the ocean front hotel Wyndham Garden.

Wildside BBQ

 

We went to a restaurant named Wild Side BBQ in Kissimmee Florida for dinner. We ordered nachos for a starter and I ordered the Wild Side Platter, and everyone else ordered an assortment of items off the menu.

The nachos arrived on a plate that took half the table. It was piled with cheese, chili, and BBQ pork. I have never seen such a pile of nachos delivered as an appetizer. How do they expect people to eat all of this? Half way through the nachos I became concerned about my entre because I was filling up.

The entre arrived. the wildside plater was half a rack, Half a chicken, half a pound of pork, with fries and beans. It was not humanly possible to eat all the food that was placed in front of us. But that didn't keep us from trying!

After dinner we returned to the house. We spent the evening complaining about how much we had ate and pledging to only eat salads for the rest of the trip.

If you are ever in the area, I recommend the Wild Side BBQ. Just be careful how much food you order. It is very good and you will want to try to eat it all whether that is possible or not. It was so good that I was licking my fingers and had to avoid the temptation of gnawing my fingers off - that is how good it was. 

Dukin Donuts flu

We pulled into the Alta Monte Springs Dunkin Donuts. We were waited on by a lady in her early twenties with a really gross looking nose ring, and her entire face looked oddly swelled. Nevertheless, I ordered my coffee, half a dozen donuts, and some munchkins. After ordering, I used the restroom and then we all loaded into the van. As I pulled out of Dunkin Donuts, Linda said “We are not eating these donuts.” I said “I know what you mean, I need to drop a few pounds.” And she said “Well, yes, but, that isn’t what I mean. The lady who waited on us was sick. While you were in the bathroom, she was coughing and hacking all over the donuts on the rack and she blew her nose over the donuts and she never washed her hands. If we eat these we are all going to get sick!”

 

This news presents a serious problem for me. I had just spent $10 on donuts and coffee. We were on the ramp to I4. I couldn’t turn back. And if I could, what would I say? I want my money back because you have been coughing all over the donuts? We spent most of the trip home deciding whether or not we were going to eat the donuts. I was determined there was no way I was throwing $10 into the garbage. Linda, who was grossed out and using hand sanitizer just from touching the boxes, said there was no way she was catching the Dunkin Donuts Flu. To conclude the argument, I ate one of the donuts. I’m sure I won’t get the Dunkin Donuts Flu. I hope I don’t. This morning I woke up sneezing and with a scratchy throat. But I’m sure it isn’t the Dunkin Donuts Flu.

 

The decision about the donuts was now settled. I would eat all the donuts and the rest of the family would see if I got sick. Who ever won? Got the bragging rights

AMC Fork and Screen

After work yesterday, we headed into DownTown Disney to  experience AMC’s Fork and Screen. This is where you watch a movie and eat dinner at the same time!

 

All the movies were sold out except for Disney’s Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger is Disney’s latest flop staring Johnny Depp. They attempted to recreate the Pirate of the Caribbean franchise. But instead they created a $200M loss. No one cares about westerns anymore. No one knows the actor who played The Lone Ranger. No one remembers the Lone Ranger. And they went for a younger audience but made the movie unnecessarily PG-13. They put too much crap into the movie that took away from the story. Mix that with a story that was suffering from ADHD, and you produce a very expensive flop – on the magnitude of John Carter.

 

The dining experience was nice. The chairs are similar to a lazy boy that reclines back allowing one to rest their legs on bars that run under the table. When it is time to eat, however, it becomes a challenge to sit on the edge of the seat so you can lean on the table. While the tables are dimly lit, it is nearly impossible to see anything. When you need the waitress, you press a button and wait, and wait, and forget she is coming and get back into the movie and then WHAM there she is. She gives you a quick 15 seconds to explain what you need before running away.

 

There is a challenge with eating in the dark. It didn’t know it until I put it in my mouth that my Macaroni and Cheese was covered in Ritz crackers. All I could do is sink my fork into the darkness of my bowl and hope I stabbed something I wouldn’t regret putting into my mouth. My son, who was dipping his French fries, kept accidentally dipping into the mustard!

 

The ticket prices were expensive, but not unreasonable (as movie tickets go these days) - $11 for a non 3d movie. As everyone knows by the popcorn and candy prices, eating at a movie is very expensive. And eating dinner is outrageous. Linda and I had Macaroni and Cheese (with chicken and bacon). Mark had a burger and Mike had a grilled cheese. We split deserts. With tax and tip it came to nearly $100 (not including the movie ticket).

 

Would I do it again? Probably not. I thought the idea of dining while watching a movie was a great idea. But now that I have experienced it? I think that eating a big bucket of popcorn better than trying to eat a dinner, and would be a lot cheaper.

Sizzler in Kissimmee Florida

Dinner was found at the Sizzler. We haven't been to a Sizzler since  our honeymoon in 1991 when Linda upset a waiter by giving him a dirty look for seating us so far away from the buffet. The Sizzler was an interesting experience. Like Ponderosa (or, Pound of Gross Out, as we used to call it when they were still open in new York), you order a meal and eat at a buffet and take your meal home. And afterward had the additional benefit of cleaning you out gastronomically. 

We returned home is desperate need to use a restroom

Tosquitoes in Winter Garden

Last night we took a trip to Winter Garden and ate at a Mexican restaurant name Tosquitoes. There were four kids (13 to 17) who played music for tips. The food was great. The music was great.