Open Tuesday - Sunday, 4pm till 2am. Closed Mondays
5. the state of being mentally withdrawn or blank
6. (Law) Law an intentional overlooking, esp of political offences; amnesty; pardon
[via Old French from Latin oblīviō forgetfulness, from oblīviscī to forget]
Now after reading the definitions, it may indeed sound like a strange name for a restaurant---but not for a taproom.
The food and drink served here is very memorable, and not soon to be forgotten...in a good way!
I assume that if you stayed long enough and sampled all of the 40+ craft beers on tap you personally may be induced into a state of total forgetfulness, and may need someone to overlook your past offenses while being mentally withdrawn or blank....but that's just my guess!!
Oblivion is the creative child of Missy Jahn and Pete Wesenberg. As the website states, Oblivion is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of Missy's to own a bar & grill and bring the kind of experience, food, and drinks to people that she feels you deserve when spending your hard earned money.
Pete is the "creative" guy. He brings to Oblivion a background in film, photography, graphic & web design and marketing.
Jim "Goody" Goodman - The Chef:
"Chef Goody" has learned his trade both ways, the school of hard knocks and higher education. Starting out as a dishwasher he worked his way up in the industry for 6 years until he was able to attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY. He then worked for nearly a decade for Marriott in New Jersey, Baltimore, Houston, New Orleans, Maui, and Orlando.
He has traveled the world in pursuit of great food, taking culinary trips to the Caribbean, Australia, Mexico and the Philippines among others. He has also competed for the last seven years in the largest BBQ competition in the world, the American Royal in Kansas City.
Goody knows his stuff when it comes to BBQ, charcuterie, butchering, and even homebrewing.
Now that you have some background info--lets get to the grub!!
For starters we had the Smoked Chicken Wings
The wings were cooked very well with a lightly crisped skin on the outside. They are seasoned with a homemade BBQ seasoning and then slow smoked and crisped to perfection. The wings are not overly flavorful as some wings tend to be, they had just the right amount of seasoning and smokiness to them. I would recommend them for an app, or if you just wanted to have some wings and beer---you would be good.
Next it was on to the " Rings of Oblivion"----that's what they call onion rings at Oblivion.
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| Jerkin Your Chicken Sandwich with Rings of Oblivion |
Oblivion's onion rings are fresh onions battered in a special beer batter that comes from a beer in one of their taps. The rings were fried golden brown to perfection and were a bit unusual.
My wife joked around with me that we should call them Donyun rings---because the batter was so thick, it was like eating a fried doughnut with an onion it. The rings were tasty and good, but because they were so thick they were very heavy---and when you are eating burgers and sampling a few beers---eating a jumbo fried doughnut is not such a good idea.
One of the good things about Oblivion and having a great chef like Chef Goody, is the fact that although they have a set menu of food, they are always rotating in good and different specials just like the the 40+ taps are always being rotated.
Some things may sound weird, but you may like to try the
Scrapple Egg- a delicacy of pork scraps and cornmeal. Often served as a hardened slice from a loaf. Or perhaps you would like the
Fried Black Eyed Peas, or
Egg Drop Soup...on our visit, we just had to try the
Tater Tot salad.
I know it seems really weird....but man o man was this good!!--Cold tots tossed in a sweet and tangy potato salad sauce. I would never imagine cold tots tasting good, and being used for a salad, but it works really well!
Oblivion is getting quite a reputation for great burgers around town, but unfortunately we had beef the night before, so we opted to split the Jerkin Your Chicken sandwich (it is pictured above with the rings of oblivion)
This was a very spicy Jamaican jerked rubbed chicken breast chargrilled and topped with pickled mango and passion fruit aioli served on a brioche bun. This was a spectacular sandwich that was extremely hot---but it was cooled with the pickled mango slices and aioli...a good choice if you like it hot.
The burger menu looked very tasty with selections like
The Jalapineo ( teriyake marinated beef burger with jalapeno cream cheese, grilled pineapple and apple wood smoked bacon) or
The Pretzel ( grilled beef burger with caraway, beer mustard --served on a warm pretzel bun with a side of cheese sauce)
The daredevil in you will want to try
THE FATASS---(fire grilled patty, Italian patty, pickles, bacon, jalapenos, 2 fried eggs, chopped pork, Tasso ham, griddled onions, chicaronnes, sharp cheddar, smoked bleu cheese, and cheez whiz on a garlic bun----WHEW!!!
On our next visit we will certainly try the burgers!! We also found it neat that you can try all types of potatoes---like Potato Wedges, French Fries, Potato Chips, Potato Tots and Sweet Potato Fries with a variety of different seasonings available.
Did I mention this is a TAPROOM???
---well of course no trip to Oblivion is complete without trying one or 10 of their amazing craft beers. You will not find Budweiser or Miller Lite here..all 40+ taps are unique craft brews that change as often as the season does. Since it was just before Thanksgiving we opted for a sampler of the Winter seasonal ales.
The Winter Seasonal ales included St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel, St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, Scaldis Noel and one other assorted Winter Ale....all of which were very tasty and almost had a wine like fruitiness to them.
Again, as I said--this is a taproom---so no fake beers here!!--They have something for every palate and taste. From India Pale Ales - Amber Ales - Pilsner to Stout---They have it on tap. If you are not sure what to order because the names are unfamiliar...just ask your server or bartender and they will help guide you through making a good decision.
Oblivion is just that---a Taproom--with good food---Its not quite a Gastro pub, but more of a good place for food and beer--and not just bar food--Chef Goody really brings the goods.
Inside you will find pool tables and steel tip dart boards to play games. You can sit at the bar, or sit at a table or booth. The Decor has caused a lot of debate, because many think its a little too dark inside. The walls all have murals on them depicting skeletons and skulls and the walls are painted black and blood red.
At times I did feel the need to step outside and get a breath of fresh air..It was not so dark that you could not see your food..the booths and tables are well lit, but the red and black walls just make it feel claustrophobic at times...but here in lies the debate---the atmosphere of the restaurant works well with the theme---So??--
You will find no hard plates or silverware here...everything comes served on a plastic plate or basket along with plastic utensils...so although the food is great---it is not served fancy. I have been told this is due to a problem with the aging septic system. Oblivion is making use of the old Straubs Seafood building that has long been closed. I personally did not mind the plastic ware.
We found our server and hostess to be very attentive and and we were well taken care of the whole time.
The wife and I will definitely return to Obivion sometime soon---(we have to try the burgers) We had a very good experience and enjoyed the food and the brews.
I think its a great addition to Orlando and a unique take on a taproom---that serves food.
Most other taprooms and beer specialists do not have much to offer for food---but Oblivion has taken the "Bar Food" concept to another level----You should check it out for yourself sometime soon!!
Bite Hot Dog Company aims to "Bring A Taste Of The Windy City To The Sunshine State" according to a sign inside the restaurant. They serve 100% Vienna Beef hot dogs, with a variety of toppings and styles.
Inside you will find ketchup red walls with quotes from the likes of Mick Jagger and Neil Young with sayings like "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing" and "It's better to burn out than it is 
