Give Me 5; Florida Restaurants we discovered

Written by Rori on 14 January 2011

TJ's Italian Cafe offers a great setting for your pizza or other meal. Photo by Rori Paul.

The holidays are now over, but during them, Assistant Laura & I enjoyed them immensely, especially spending time with mom. Over the course of the two weeks, we also “discovered” a hand full of restaurants we’d never known of or enjoyed before.

So here are 5 of those we “discovered” and enjoyed.

Here’s a really great tip for finding great food: go where the police go. Two of these places had cops there – all very friendly people enjoying a great meal.

Bon Appetit.

(Full reviews will be coming of all of these places along with photos)

China Wok Chinese Restaurant
1218 Winter Garden-Vineland Road
Suite 108
Winter Garden, FL
407-656-9868
While we were out driving around and looking to “get to know” the Winter Garden area, we drove past this little Chinese place. Set in a strip mall, it’s almost hidden from you unless you spot the small sign along the street.

Assistant Laura & I (especially I) love good Chinese, and search for it – finding it is a great success, and in this case, we had great success. The egg rolls having the outer casing we love, though we’d love to see more of the meat inside. Both our meals were delicious and well-proportioned for the price. The lady who works there is truly friendly.

TJ’s Italian Cafe
1515 Gulf Blvd
Indian Rocks Beach, FL
727-596-1515
Exploring the Gulf barriers islands starting at Clearwater and heading south we stumbled upon this nice little Italian eatery. The atmosphere is cozy, the food very good and the prices typical.

All three of us enjoyed TJ’s – and love the area where we found it. A great place to stop while exploring Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries
3107 Daniels Rd
Winter Garden Village
Winter Garden, FL
407-905-9811
Ok, so apparently a lot of people know about 5 Guys & love it. Based on the numbers of cars in the lot, the people inside and the signs on the wall, we’re coming late to this party. There are many locations – so you can likely find one near you.

A great burger joint, apparently those from the east should know of this one. Portions are great, food is really darn good if you love your junk/comfort foods, and the prices are really pretty darn good as well.

Applebees
Many locations
Ok, so seriously, we are not into the chain-thing, especially what we call the “mid-range chains.” Not that they’re not decent places to eat, but it’s always the same old thing. Well mom loves Applebees and really wanted to stop, so she and I enjoyed a lunch one day. I’ve not been in a few years – again, that same old boring thing.

Well I was pleasantly surprised. Ok, so it’s still a mid-range thing, but the menu has expanded, the food was very good and the prices were also good. I’ve told Assistant Laura we’ll be heading back to one again soon.

We truly enjoyed the food at the Sea Horse - simple but wholesome and taste-bud satisfying. Photo by Rori Paul.

Sea Horse Restaurant
800 Pass-A-Grille-Way
St. Pete Beach, FL
727-360-1734
We’d decided to start our second visit over the holidays at the bottom and work our way, with Pass-A-Grille as our launching point. It’s a tiny island with not much between the bay and the Gulf, but the Sea Horse was a sweet & quaint little spot we chose for lunch.

Kinda cottage cozy, its in the “heart” of this historic fishing spot – and from all the people lined up to get in when we first drove by, we’d bet on it being good. It was – tasty, simple fare like eating at a favorite aunts home. From the food to the ambiance its really that kind of feel you’ll get here.