Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

3200 S Orange Ave.

Orlando, FL 32806
(407) 757-2318
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Co-founded in 2002 by brothers Bill and Randy Simon, and their friend and business partner, Scott Redler, the three men named the restaurant after Bill and Randy’s father, Freddy Simon, a World War II veteran.

Freddy grew up on a farm near Colwich, Kansas and signed up for the infantry in the U.S. Army at the first opportunity. After years of fighting in places around the Pacific Rim during World War II, Freddy earned the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his service, and returned home safely.

Following World War II, he worked hard for 56 years while raising his family. Freddy believes he is “the luckiest man in the world.” In between his visits to high school history classes, Freddy actively participates in veterans groups, and takes part in World War II memorial events across the United States.

Today, Freddy’s restaurants from coast to coast serve a menu reminiscent of the all-American meals Freddy prepared for his family. The menu is pretty simple and straightforward here. Steak burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken breast sandwiches and a variety of frozen custards.

From steakburgers to sundaes, Freddy’s makes food fresh after you ask for it because that’s the kind of quality you deserve. The beef is lean ground and the hot dogs are Vienna beef only and they make classic shoe string fries.

Inside is very open with an exposed ceiling and and AC ducts to make the location feel bigger than it actually is splashed with lots of Freddy’s favorite color of red.

The Bacon and Cheese Double Steakburger is made with lean American pure ground beef with no additives or fillers. They press the patties thin to create deliciously crispy edges and always cook them to order so they’re steaming hot. This is then topped with seasoning, two slices of melting cheese, mustard, onions and crunchy pickles and bacon all on a toasted bun.

The Original Double Patty Melt consists of two steakburger patties, Swiss cheese & grilled onions on toasted rye bread, and it is really good. At the drink station, they have ketchup and Freddy’s sauce for your fries. The sauce is a mayonnaise based sauce and if you like it hot, they have a jalapeno based sauce as well.

Of course steakburgers here are really good, but you have to get a frozen custard if you visit. The good news is they have a snack size that's just right if you don't have much room left. On the left is the Signature Turtle Sundae with fresh & creamy vanilla custard, hot fudge, hot caramel, toasted pecans, whipped cream & a cherry, on the right is a Hawaiian Delight with vanilla custard, pineapple, strawberry, coconut, macadamia nuts. Both were delicious.

Yes , Freddy’s is a chain, but they are far and few between at the moment. The burgers are quite tasty and made fresh when you order, and the crisp edges are pretty savory.

I've been a few times to this location, and it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. Freddy’s compares to a Culver’s or a Steak & Shake, but I think they are a cut above both.

This location is open on Sunday to Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.

Stop by and try them out if you have not already. I've yet to have a bad meal here, and always leave satisfied.

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The Parkview

136 S Park Ave.

Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 647-9103
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Downtown Winter Park has been known as a foodie destination for quite some time, and it's quite the popular spot for Winter Park Locals.

With restaurants like Luma and Prato with local celebrity chef Brandon McGlamery, The Coop by John Rivers and a host of other great restaurants that fill up the area, one is sure to find something great to eat.

The Parkview once upon a time was known as Eola Wine Company, which was a cool place to grab a glass of your favorite wine, or sample something new, but offered nothing in the way of food. Back in 2015 Eola Wine Company was sold, and the the location occupying 136 S. Park Avenue turned into The Parkview.

Chef Brad Holmes is the current executive chef, and he is doing everything in his power to make sure The Parkview gets its place on the map as an official destination for the cool kids and foodies alike that visit Winter Park.

Everything here is made using only the finest and freshest ingredients possible, when they are available. Chef Brad is also making sure all of his assistants know the menu inside and out, because he is very big on quality and consistency, and that's a really good thing.

The menu here has a big focus on small bites and bar fare, because after all, wine and food go hand in hand. Items like Baked Brie, Baked Gnocchi, Beer Cheese & Pretzels, Confit Chicken Wings, and a truly amazing Truffle Mac & Cheese are great items to enjoy while sampling a flight of wine, or enjoying one of the many specialty craft beers available.

The Confit Duck, Pulled Pork and the Roasted Artichoke crostini’s are enough to share, or simply enjoy it all to yourself. Charcuterie Boards and a variety of fresh salads are also plentiful here with assorted meats accompanied with local jam, house cured olives, chef’s butter, grapes, sweet pickled peppers, caper berries and walnuts, and a variety of fresh greens used in the salads.

If you require a more complete meal, Chef Brad and The Parkview have you covered there also, with a nice selection of chef’s specials and a flatbread selection that will leave you full and satisfied. Items like Braised Short Rib Wellington, Fresh Catch en Papillote, Roasted Lamb, Roasted Bone Marrow, Thai Curry Mussels and a Confit Duck flatbread are wonderfully delicious and wholesome meals to cure your dinner cravings.

The Birdwatcher is a wine flight of crisp white wines featuring wines from Montinore Estate, Font-Mars, Terranoble, and Pazo das Bruxas. If you are not sure what you want, or like, The Parkview has a good selection of flights to choose from. If wine is not your thing, they have an incredible craft beer selection too.

Spring Salad was light and refreshing and features field greens, poached pear, dried cherries, smoked bleu cheese, candied walnuts and a champagne vinaigrette.

The Roasted Artichoke Crostini is pretty outstanding with roasted artichokes, red pepper pesto, pickled red onions, arugula and Manchego cheese.

Truffle Mac & Cheese is quite a popular dish at a lot of restaurants these days, but the one served up at The Parkview is quite spectacular. This is made with smoked Gouda cheese, Crimini mushrooms, Parmesan, Truffle oil and bread crumbs. This is a great dish to share at the table, but one bite into it, and you may try to put it all away yourself.

Aside of being beautifully presented, the Roasted Lamb is herb crusted and served with sauteed olives, roasted red peppers, artichoke and spinach, Tzatziki sauce and chili oil for a slight touch of heat on the end.

The Fresh Catch en Papillote is a classic French style of cooking in a parchment packet that features fresh fish of the day, and this day it was fresh Yellowtail cooked with crab butter, summer squash, zucchini slaw, lemon and herbs and served along side roasted potatoes, and green bean almandine. This is a very traditional dish, and the flavor was nothing short of extraordinary.

Chocolate Mousse with bacon cookies was an off the menu special dessert and it was a wonderful ending to our time at The Parkview.


The Parkview still has an incredible selection of wines in its current form, but now they also have an incredible selection of food and craft beers.

Since the the transition from Eola Wine Company, they have had a couple of head chefs come through the doors and pretty much build a menu from scratch with a very small kitchen that only has the bare necessities.

When you consider this, and the quality of food and wine here, this place is pretty amazing, and Chef Brad is doing an excellent job of adding yet another great dining option to the historic Winter Park area.

The Parkview is open on Sunday to Wednesday from 11 am to 12 am, and from Thursday to Saturday from 11 am to 1:45 am. They serve food late here and they also have a really good weekend brunch and happy hour specials with Tuesday Trivia.

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Cocina 214 Set to Open Second Location in Daytona Beach

357 S. Atlantic Ave.
Daytona Beach, FL.
32118
View Website Here

Cocina 214, in Downtown Winter Park is expanding to include a second location at a popular beachfront spot in Daytona Beach.

Executive Chef Isidro Alvarez is leading the award winning restaurant’s kitchen staff and menu ingenuity.

With more than 35years of experience in the restaurant industry, Alvarez is the perfect person to hold this well deserved position, overseeing the production of Cocina’s high quality and fresh Tex Mex dishes.

Previously, he trained with notable chef David Cordua and founder Michael Cordua of Churrascos Restaurants, in addition to working for Hilton Hotel and other restaurants.

Dining Room Rendering

Cocina 214 is an award-winning contemporary Mexican Kitchen & Bar. The name is a combination of the Spanish word for kitchen, “cocina” and the Dallas area code, “214.” The idea for opening Cocina 214 developed when two of the owners from Texas missed the Tex-Mex and Mexican food they had grown up eating.

They wanted the same authentic, fresh and quality food here in Florida. Cocina 214’s menu combines bold flavors with the freshest local ingredients to create exceptional Tex-Mex – all served in a vibrant, elegant setting.

The first location opened in May of 2011 in Downtown Winter Park. Since it's inception, Cocina 214 has won over 35 awards, including, “Best Mexican Restaurant” and “Best Tex Mex”, among others.

Cocina 214 is known as a vibrant and hip spot for brunch, lunch and dinner with a lively bar that is still approachable and family friendly. The new Daytona Beach location will look to continue that trend and uniquely position itself as the best Tex Mex destination in the heart of Daytona Beach.

Chefs make Cocina dishes twice daily from scratch to ensure the freshness and highest quality dishes. Cocina also offers a variety of vegan and gluten - free options to accommodate the preferences of all its guests.

Bar Rendering

The newest location will be aiming to provide guests with real authentic Tex-Mex, the freshest local ingredients and made from scratch dishes, including homemade tortillas, eclectic salsas, unique sauces,savory tacos, fiery fajitas and famous signature margaritas.

The Daytona Beach location plans to be open from Monday to Sunday from 11 a.m. until midnight.

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Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic Introduces Grand Tasting Experience

1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd.
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 934-4000
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For the first time in its eight years, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic will offer a grand tasting experience led by a master sommelier.

The tasting will feature wines from the Italian regions of Barolo and Barbaresco and highlight the unique Nebbiolo grape of northern Italy.

Leading the experience will be Master Sommelier Matthew Citriglia, one of only 149 master sommeliers in the Americas. He will guide the tasting like a tour through Piedmont showcasing several rare vintages from the region. As an intimate experience, tickets will be extremely limited.

Citriglia is the director of education for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits and among the longest-tenured master sommeliers in Florida.

He has served on the board of directors of the world-renowned organization since 2004. Citriglia mentors students pursuing master sommelier certification and has created training seminars to educate professionals in the food and beverage industry. He has more than 30 years of experience in the industry.

The grand tasting will join other seminar favorites returning to the event once again, including Wine Blending, Italian Wines, More than Malbec, Base to Bubbles, Beer Please, Craft Cocktails, Fine Art of Sushi and Sake, The Cheese Course, Pasta Making and back by popular demand after a several year hiatus, Riesling, So Sweet & So Dry.

The Grand Tasting with Master Sommelier Matthew Citriglia will take place on Saturday, Oct. 28 from 2:00p.m. – 3:30p.m. Tickets are $300 per person. For information on all Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic seminars, events and pricing, please visit www.SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com/seminars.

The two-day Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic offers guests unlimited tastings at more than 50 stations featuring culinary selections from the resort’s award-winning restaurants and wine from more than 30 wineries amidst a festive backdrop of live entertainment on the hotel’s scenic causeway.

Upgraded ticket options allow guests to enjoy access to a beer garden featuring a wide selection of craft beers and Oktoberfest-inspired cuisine. The event also includes hands-on seminars with the hotel’s chefs and certified beverage experts. More information is available at www.SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com

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Sus Hi Eatstation

380 S State Rd 434 #1004
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
(407) 960-2250
View Website Here

Sus Hi Eatstation is what you get when you combine fresh sushi, a Chipotle style ordering system and employees who totally take on the persona of “A Ninja”

When you walk into Sus Hi Eatstation, you instantly become a Ninja. You will be greeted as a Ninja, as soon as you walk in by other Ninjas with fun nicknames. 

While in line, you'll hear things like the resounding boom of a gong when appetizers are ready, Ninjas yelling "FIRE!" when they melt cheese and interesting greetings to welcome you into the Ninja family. Just on entry points alone, this place is already pretty cool.

Everything at this establishment is meant to be fun and they love wordplay. In their own words, everything they do is because “That's how a true Ninja rolls.” Of course they are talking about sushi rolls, but the idea and concept is really fun.

At Sus Hi Eatstation, they encourage customers to be creative and to use their imagination to create sushi that is uniquely their own. Every single item that they make is unique to the individual, and they never get two items that are identical. Every Ninja has their own style and they are here to help you master it.

The process starts when you order. You choose a roll, made with dried seaweed, a bowl, or a flour tortilla as your base. Next you choose white rice, brown rice or salad, and then you pick a protein. They have plenty of offerings from spicy tuna, salmon, tempura shrimp, cooked shrimp, chicken and even grilled steak. Tofu is also a popular option.

Now it's time for your ingredients. They have 20 options to choose from.. cucumber, cream cheese, carrots, scallions, masago, tempura flakes and yes, they even have BACON, basically whatever you can conceive to make some super dank sushi roll or bowl...they have you covered.

Finally you move on to the sauce selection. With 10 choices from Triple X hot sauce to Ginger Sesame, Sus Hi has got a sauce for you. Hot, sweet, tangy, hot and sweet, traditional ponzu, you can add the perfect amount of zing or heat or sweet to anything the Ninjas make you.

They also offer small bites like Krab Rangoon, Egg Rolls, Dumplings, Seaweed Salad, and something they call Rice Fries made with rice and nori tempura served plain or loaded with cheese, bacon and scallion.

For something a bit healthier, you can make a roll with Brown Rice. This is a custom roll made with brown rice, tempura shrimp, tuna, avocado, cucumber, cream cheese, carrots, tempura fried & topped volcano style which is krab, scallops & spicy mayo with masago. It was so good, and it was custom made.

So many different options to create your own roll, bowl, or wrap. This was a roll made with white rice, spicy tuna, salmon, cream cheese, avocado, scallions, cucumber & masago & a side of spicy mayo.

Building your own bowl is a good way to get as much of what you want all in one place. This bowl is literally loaded down with brown rice, salmon, spicy salmon, cucumber, volcano toppings, edamame, scallions, carrots, fried sweet potatoes, daikon, avocado, seaweed salad, masago, nori seasoning, ponzu sauce & the house signature 'Triple X' sauce… like BOOM!

Fried pork & vegetable dumpling was nice and crisp on the outside & even better dipped in the house signature 'Triple X' sauce.

Integrity and Fast sushi with high quality ingredients is what Sus Hi Eatstation is all about. They stand by the quality of ingredients that are prepared fresh daily. Look into the kitchen dojo and you'll find Ninjas skillfully preparing your food for the day. They believe in FRESH, FAST & FUN Sushi, serving food that they are proud to present to all those within the Ninja family!

Built by you, and served by ninjas, this is fun fast sushi in a cool atmosphere and the only limit to what type of sushi experience you want to have is your own imagination.

This review took place at the Altamonte Springs location, but they also have another location at 4498 N Alafaya Trail #324, Orlando, FL. Both locations open at 11:00 am. The Orlando location has a standard 10:00pm closing time, while the Altamonte Springs location closes at 9:00pm, except for Friday and Saturday, they are open until 10:00pm.

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