Locations in Orlando: Romantic

A much-awaited renovation gives an updated look and feel to this downtown establishment hidden away on Church Street. Blissfully undiminished is the quality of the food ' seaweed salad that crunches just right and sushi so fresh it needs no adornment (though the elaborate rolls are delicious).

Broadway Café is a quaint bistro and art gallery located in the heart of downtown Kissimmee. Not only a restaurant, the Café also allows you to dine surrounded by art that isn't just restricted to the walls! Every table is a one-of-a-kind painting depicting scenes ranging from the building in the 1920's to beautiful flora and local scenery. We also offers a variety of coffee drinks, homemade desserts and an ice cream bar! The motto of Broadway Café is â??Where the Creation of Good Food is an Art!â?� so if you enjoy the arts, irresistible food made with pride, and a unique dining experience, come visit us in Historic Downtown Kissimmee!

With a commitment to nose-to-tail cookery and a fine selection of accessible-but-atypical cuts, this "Southern Public House" has already reached legendary status. James and Julie Petrakis' latest venture (now available only to ticketed airline passengers, as it's behind security at MCO) serves terrific nouveau-Southern fare -- grilled lamb heart, ethereal pork belly, foie gras-stuffed quail and a country-ham tasting flight, to name just a few. Pair your meal with a house-made brew or craft cocktail.

Delivery to Winter Garden, Oakland Park, Winter's Landing

Rigorous sustainability and local sourcing are integral to chef Cory York's  stellar seafood dishes, though you'll have to navigate the depths of Disney property to sample them The astoounding crab cake is an absolute must, though the eight fresh fish options are the real draw. Don't overlook prime cuts of beef - the 22-ounce T-bone is a budget-buster, but well worth the price. Desserts please, but won't necessarily wow. Validated parking offered.

Teaser: Rigorous sustainability and local sourcing are integral to chef Cory York's stellar seafood dishes, though you'll have to navigate the depths of Disney property to sample them. The astounding crab cake is an absolute must, though the eight fresh fish options are the real draw. Don't overlook prime cuts of beef ' the 22-ounce T-bone is a budget-buster, but well worth the price. Desserts please, but won't necessarily wow. Validated parking offered.

My friend and I got to Harvey's Heathrow around 5 p.m., just as they were opening for the evening. We sidled into a bar booth and eagerly embraced our bronze paper menus. As my eyes rested on a delightful-sounding onion and ale soup with Gouda ($5), my friend said, "Oh, look. The beautiful people are arriving."

Startled out of my menu-reading trance, I looked up to watch a gaggle of golf shirts strutting in accompanied by fake boobs. Welcome to the Lake Mary dining scene, where replicas of great restaurants are set amidst the sprawl of construction.

The original Harvey's, a downtown Orlando establishment for more than 10 years, has decidedly kept up with the dining times, even if it's a little dated in appearance. The new Heathrow site has an updated appearance, while still maintaining the delicious set of standards upheld by the original.

The Harvey's in Heathrow differs from the original in one respect: The room is lighter and brighter and more airy than the dark-wood, bottom-floor-of-a-bank original. A shotgun dining room juts out from a spacious bar and is bathed in mint green and russet. Adorning every nook and cranny are design elements made of geometrical shapes – like the giant orb lamps suspended near small, angular square paintings.

We ordered a first course of lobster bisque ($5) and artichoke and cashew salad ($7) as we perused the menu for more. The lobster bisque was perfect: Sweet lobster meat mixed with rich, heavy cream that hit the tongue first. Then a subtle heat followed, tinged with pungent garlic and fragrant tarragon. Finally, a note of acidic sherry burst through, while the taste of cream still lingered. I was so absorbed that I barely had a chance to taste my friend's salad, but she insisted. Raspberry vinaigrette draped over greens and whole cashews made for a bright, clean flavor that paired well with artichoke hearts. We also tried Harvey's version of Caprese salad ($7), a mixture of underripe red and perfectly ripened yellow tomatoes stacked with fresh mozzarella cheese. This is a dish in which most restaurants miss the point. Let's face it: This is a seasonal salad, at its best when the ingredients are so fresh that the tomatoes are picked an hour before they're served (why even bother with a tasteless, green tomato?) and the cheese has been hand-pulled by the owner's grandmother in the basement. Unfortunately, Harvey's didn't quite meet that expectation, but the fresh basil and a crude pesto gave it some spunk.

The entrees are a mix of surf and turf with a few pasta dishes thrown in. My friend ordered the grilled petite tenderloin ($24), a succulent center cut of beef, well seasoned and cooked exactly to her desired doneness. A mélange of jardinière snow peas, carrots and onions, cooked tender with a refreshing snap of crispness, were dynamite. I eschewed my usual pot roast ($17) to try herb-crusted sea scallops on angel hair ($18). Drenched in a silky sauce of wine, garlic and clams, the pasta was irresistible. A few dollops of sautéed spinach made a bed for the herb-encrusted scallops, which tasted superb with nice salinity and a wonderful crust of herbed batter. But the four scallops themselves were a tad overcooked and on the rubbery side. There are many other choices, but if you like duck, don't miss the roasted half duck with triple sec and pistachio glaze ($19), a tribute to the undervalued bird.

For a nibble at the bar, I recommend ordering a bowl of truffle fries ($6), dusted with Parmesan and tossed with lightly fried shiitake mushrooms. They had a deft hand with truffle oil in the kitchen, and this dish was magic, instead of a mouthful of perfume.

We were full by dessert, but we couldn't resist at least sharing a slice of Key lime pie ($5), a pleasing balance of tartness and sweetness.

Harvey's is another successful addition to the expanding dining scene of the Lake Mary/ Heathrow area. Even if this part of town represents a maze of highways, malls, construction and suburban sprawl that I don't appreciate, at least they know how to eat up here.

For the last 10 years, I have been conducting a secret experiment: When traveling to other cities, I seek out Vietnamese restaurants to compare with the ones in Orlando. Unwittingly, restaurants in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, New York and Washington, D.C., have been put to the test, and not one of those exalted cities had anything – be it summer rolls, pho or syrupy-sweet coffee – as good as the eateries back home. And now there's a new contender in the Vietnamese paradise on that wonderful stretch of Colonial Drive near Mills Avenue: Lac-Viêt.

It was hard not to be a bit skeptical about Lac-Viêt, because I wasn't fond of Lemongrass Bistro, the last establishment to occupy the space that for years housed La Normandie. When we walked up to the door just after dusk and crossed under a welcoming gate with a cheerful entrance, I saw that the new occupants have more design sense than any of the previous ones.

The dining room has been opened up and made brighter, and it smelled like fresh bamboo and steeping lemongrass. I breathed a sigh of relief. The whole room felt altogether more pleasant than it ever had in the past. With sleek wooden chairs, a traditional Vietnamese instrument motif and depictions of Vietnamese scenery adorning the walls, a sense of style has taken the place of what is usually referred to as "character."

The food was the true test, and it passed with gold stars. We started with the old standby, garden rolls ($2.50), which were fresh and flavorful with plenty of sweet shrimp, basil and a sprinkling of fried shallot. The sweet potato shrimp cakes ($4) – a dish that was new to me – sounded alluring, so we tried those too. Starchy shreds of sweet potato mingled in a tasty batter and married well with fish sauce for dipping. Lotus salad ($9.95), a medley of tender white lotus shoots, fresh herbs and marinated pork with a garnish of fanned shrimp also was delicious. My favorite dish was the seasoned rare beef with tamarind juice ($8.95), served with crunchy shrimp chips and fresh cilantro. This creation was so moving that I am petitioning the city to start a Seasoned Rare Beef With Tamarind Juice Day.

The pho ($6.95) was outstanding. The one I chose had eye of round, brisket and soft tendon in an exotic, hearty beef broth with tantalizing seasonings – delicate cinnamon, a spark of star anise, the gentle heat of ginger, refreshing mint – toned down and made almost creamy by a large helping of cool rice noodles. The special vermicelli ($9.95) came with a heaping amount of grilled pork, spring rolls, shrimp paste and grilled beef, all absolutely delicious.

The meal was so exciting that we decided to go for dessert, something I rarely do at Vietnamese restaurants. Soon we were blissfully sipping our avocado fruit shake ($3) and pink jelly with coconut milk ($2.50), nodding agreeably at all the flavors we'd experienced. For days, I couldn't stop thinking about the vast menu and all I hadn't tried. So I went back two days later to test the seafood hot pot for two ($20.95) and the not-to-be-missed house specialty rice crepes ($7.95).

Orlando is now even further ahead of the rest in my quest to find the city with the very best Vietnamese cuisine.

Test.

A new version of the old Jax fifth Avenue, Ollie's still has a robust array of sandwiches, pita pizzas and salads, though you'll need to ask for your tableside jar of pickles (a Jax signature). Gone is the extensive beer menu, though there's enough here to sate any barfly's or sports fan's thirst. Grilling s'mores tableside can make for some interesting moments in a bar. Open daily until 2 a.m.

Teaser: A new version of the old Jax 5th Avenue, Ollie's still has a robust array of sandwiches, pita pizzas and salads, though you'll need to ask for your tableside jar of pickles (a Jax signature). Gone is the extensive beer menue, though there's enough here to slake any barfly's or sports fan's thirst. Grilling s'mores tableside can make for some interesting moments in a bar. Open daily until 2 a.m.

Combination lunch-and-dinner restaurant with weekend entertainment shows, stand-up comedy, bands and other live arts performances.

An inordinately long period of time passed before the space that once housed the widely lauded Trastevere Ristorante in Winter Park finally found itself another tenant. It had seemed Jasmine's would be that place, but cost overruns and other factors shut it down before it even opened. So Rocco Potami, who has more than 30 years experience in the restaurant business, and international restaurateur Enrico Esposito took over the space, dumped $600,000 into remodeling the interior and built a brand-new kitchen to bring it up to code. That's a hefty investment for a place that isn't exactly conspicuously located, though a recently mounted marquee and additional signage should help catch the attention of commuters driving along busy Orlando Avenue.

Nevertheless, the duo's commitment is a testament to their dedication in establishing Rocco's on the city's dining scene. 'You only get out what you put in,â?� so the saying goes, and Potami and Esposito have put a lot into making their trattoria as soothing and inviting as (lots of) money can buy. By that I mean polished travertine tile floors bathed in a hushed luminescence, laundered white tablecloths, modern art on cappuccino-colored walls and all the dark-wood trimmings and furnishings a 170-seat restaurant will allow. Arched brick-framed windows looking out into the courtyard are a nice Etruscan touch and give the place an air of comfortable modesty ' a tone the pair of expressive cheek-peckers take pride in setting.

Another source of pride is chef Juan Mercado, a protégé of noted chef Massimo Fedozzi, whose creative Ligurian dishes had locals flocking to Universal's Portofino Bay Hotel. Under Fedozzi's tutelage, Mercado honed the art of preparing regional Italian fare.

Coastal regions of Italy, particularly Veneto, are well-represented in the insalata di frutti di mare ($12), plump curls of shrimp, rounds of calamari and moist slices of scallops washed in a 'secret marinadeâ?� of lemon juice, garlic and flecks of Italian herbs and served inside a large sea-scallop shell. Aesthetically, it's as though Mercado is paying homage to Botticelli; culinarily, the dish is worthy of being served to a goddess.

Another Venetian delicacy, carpaccio con arugula ($12), wasn't as worthy. The gossamer-thin slices of beef drizzled with truffle oil are artfully arranged, but just too bland on the whole. A topping of refreshing rocket salad, capers, shaved parmesan and lemon vinaigrette completed the dish.

Pasta e fagioli ($6) is done in the Neopolitan style, its hearty broth of cannellini beans and chewy rounds of pasta served in an oversized bowl. The soup had the desired consistency ' thick, not mushy ' but it could've used a little more garlic and seasoning to elevate the flavors.

For my entree, I opted for a northern Italian delicacy, and one of Mercado's signature dishes, the lombata di vitello alla Milanese ($29). The bone-in veal chop is first flattened like a cartoon character, then brought to life with a light, crisp golden-brown breading. Diced tomatoes, arugula, radicchio, lemon juice and balsamic vinaigrette provide the requisite zing.

Seeing that Rocco's is billed as an Italian 'grille,â?� it seemed appropriate to sample some meat seared over an open flame, like the pollo alla griglia con erbette ($15). This simple dish of herb-marinated chicken breast served over mashed potatoes is impeccably executed, each succulent morsel nicely complemented with intermittent bites of caramelized shallots.

Desserts are, in a word, heavenly. If you're a fan of tiramisu ($6.50), the lady fingers served here will roll your eyes to the back of your head. The glass of divine indulgence is rich, creamy and an exquisite ending to your meal. If you're so inclined, a chocolate version is also offered. I also savored a scoop of luscious milk gelato ($2.50), the deliciously dense ice cream being ideal for diners who d

Except for the music, we liked almost everything about Sushi House, which is so tiny it might as well be called Sushi Nook. Please, please, we silently begged through an otherwise fine dinner, make someone turn off the Japanese pop versions of Kylie Minogue and Devo tunes.

But if you can stomach peppy music with indecipherable lyrics, the rest is highly palatable. The sushi is luscious and ocean fresh. Team some Kirin beer with the natural resources for a satisfying combination that we enjoyed on our visit.

But if you can stomach peppy music with indecipherable lyrics, the rest is highly palatable. The sushi is luscious and ocean fresh. Team some Kirin beer with the natural resources for a satisfying combination that we enjoyed on our visit.

Sushi House is unassuming in contrast to its high-profile neighbor, the Outback Steakhouse. Both are in a shopping "island" on the outer fringes of the Florida Mall property. The steak aromas were tantalizing as we made our way through the parking lot. But we got over any temptations once we stepped inside Sushi House. There we found a microcosm of delicate colors and culinary simplicity, based on a menu of sushi, sashimi, teriyaki and traditional Japanese (soba) noodle dishes.

Sushi House is unassuming in contrast to its high-profile neighbor, the Outback Steakhouse. Both are in a shopping "island" on the outer fringes of the Florida Mall property. The steak aromas were tantalizing as we made our way through the parking lot. But we got over any temptations once we stepped inside Sushi House. There we found a microcosm of delicate colors and culinary simplicity, based on a menu of sushi, sashimi, teriyaki and traditional Japanese (soba) noodle dishes.

Oddly, the waitress left only one menu at our table. We tried sharing, but then my friend got another one from the vacant hostess station. When the waitress came to take our orders, my friend said he was leaning toward the "sushi deluxe" sampler entree ($16.95), but we needed a few more minutes to decide.

Oddly, the waitress left only one menu at our table. We tried sharing, but then my friend got another one from the vacant hostess station. When the waitress came to take our orders, my friend said he was leaning toward the "sushi deluxe" sampler entree ($16.95), but we needed a few more minutes to decide.

About 10 minutes later, the waitress delivered the "sushi deluxe" to my guest and asked if I had decided on an entree. This was strange, but I went ahead and placed my order. Then we shared his entree as an appetizer while we waited for the rest of the food. The sampler was an extensive collection of California rolls combined with a dozen varieties of tuna, yellowtail, whitefish, octopus, crab, smelt roe and more. All of the preparations were exquisite and fresh.

About 10 minutes later, the waitress delivered the "sushi deluxe" to my guest and asked if I had decided on an entree. This was strange, but I went ahead and placed my order. Then we shared his entree as an appetizer while we waited for the rest of the food. The sampler was an extensive collection of California rolls combined with a dozen varieties of tuna, yellowtail, whitefish, octopus, crab, smelt roe and more. All of the preparations were exquisite and fresh.

About 15 minutes later, out came my tempura seafood combination ($14.95), a delicately battered and fried collection of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, scallops and shrimp. We also savored the sushi made with grilled teriyaki pork ($3.75). And among dozens of choices for sushi a la carte, we particularly liked the "dragon roll," a rich taste of eel, avocado, roe and cucumber ($7.50).

About 15 minutes later, out came my tempura seafood combination ($14.95), a delicately battered and fried collection of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, scallops and shrimp. We also savored the sushi made with grilled teriyaki pork ($3.75). And among dozens of choices for sushi a la carte, we particularly liked the "dragon roll," a rich taste of eel, avocado, roe and cucumber ($7.50).

Despite the cheesy pop music and the service mistake, we'll return to sample more of the menu the next time we're in the area. Among the crop of small, family-owned Japanese restaurants near the south Trail, the cuisine at the Sushi House holds its own and then some.

Friendly family owned Japanese restaurant in MetroWest Orlando. Because we are a family business, we treat our customers like family.

Village Tavern features a wide-ranging menu of inventive American food. Only the finest ingredients are incorporated into each dish, including fresh produce, made-from-scratch pizza dough and Certified Angus beef that is cut and aged to exclusive specifications.