Hopdoddy Burger Bar

9101 International Dr.

#1208, Orlando, FL 32819
(321) 251-4500
View Website Here

Hopdoddy Burger Bar, the nationally renowned burger and beer joint, is officially open at Pointe Orlando. Originally founded in Austin, Texas, Hopdoddy has a total of 31 locations in seven states, and this is the first Florida location.

Founded in 2010 by Guy Villavaso, Larry Foles, Chuck Smith, and Larry Perdido, Hopdoddy stands out for its “from scratch” ethos and full bar. Designed to be devoured in your hands, all burgers at Hopdoddy are made with all natural meats.

Hopdoddy grinds their meats in house daily and offers a wide variety of proteins like Angus beef, grass-fed Kobe beef, chicken, turkey, and sushi grade tuna that are stacked between baked from scratch buns. They also offer vegetarian and vegan menu items such as The Impossible and La Bandita burgers.

Alongside its burgers, Hopdoddy serves a lineup of hand-cut fries, fresh salads, and handcrafted milkshakes made with Jersey Cream Custard.

In addition to cocktails, Hopdoddy also carries an array of local craft beers on tap as well as in cans and bottles. I tried the Salt Life Lager and also had the Doble Fina Margarita with Altos Plata Tequila, lime, agave and a black lava salt rim.

If you don't like Parmesan Truffle Fries, I'm not sure we can be friends.. the ones served up here are tossed in truffle oil, Parmesan and chives and come with truffle aioli for dipping and are amazing.

Every month at each Hopdoddy location, they have a different Specialty Burger. The February featured burger was The Tao of Sow... to celebrate the year of the pig for the 2019 Chinese New Year. This burger was made with a gochujang and furikake flavored pork patty and sits atop a black sesame soy bun topped with togarashi mayo, moo shu slaw and Emperor sauce. This was a unique burger, a tad salty at times, but overall really good.

The El Diablo is made with Angus beef, pepper jack, habaneros, serrano peppers, caramelized onions, salsa roja, chipotle aioli and sits on lettuce and tomatoes for a fiery kick that leaves a nice ring of heat around your mouth.

Hot Honey and Sage Fries at Hopdoddy were really really really good, so much so that it was hard to stop eating them. These are sweet potato fries covered in a spicy and sweet pepper honey and sage glaze and tossed in a metal bowl.

I was pretty impressed with the Ahi Tuna Burger, as I'm picky about tuna, especially as a burger. This is made sushi grade tuna topped with sunflower sprouts, nori chips, teriyaki, honey wasabi, pickled ginger, mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion. Everything worked together for nice texture and flavors.

Although I really enjoyed all the burgers at Hopdoddy, something about the simplicity of The Magic Shroom Burger really did it for me, as this was definitely my favorite with Angus beef, goat cheese, field mushrooms, mayo, basil pesto, lettuce, tomato and onion.

How about a Nutella Chocolate Pretzel Milkshake to end your evening? All shakes are spun using Jersey cream custard and for an added bonus, for a few bucks extra, you can Booze them up by adding a variety of rums and other spirits to any milkshakes on the menu.

As part of the mission to “Do Right,” the burger bar offers the Goodnight/Good Cause program nationwide where Hopdoddy donates a portion of the proceeds from each Good Night Good Cause burger sold to charitable organizations. Since 2010, Hopdoddy guests have helped raise more than $1,000,000.

The Goodnight/Good Cause burger is made with Angus beef, Tillamook cheddar, caramelized onions, jalapeños, caffeinated barbecue, Sassy Sauce, lettuce, and tomato.

Hopdoddy at Pointe Orlando is open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm every day except Friday, as they stay open till 12:00 am.

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Jakes American Bar at Loews Royal Pacific Resort

6300 Hollywood Way
Orlando, FL 32819
407-503-3200
View Website Here

Loews Royal Pacific Resort is a great place to experience the allure of the south seas and feel the excitement of a time when adventurous travelers first island-hopped the South Pacific. 

Travelers often took breaks to relax along their journey at magnificent resorts where they could just kick back and enjoy the beauty of the islands. What makes Royal Pacific Resort so much more than just beauty and relaxation and a really cool lagoon style pool, is the great food they offer as well. After all, weary travelers do need to be refreshed.

The hotel boasts quite a few interesting dining options like the Wantilan Luau with live music and authentic Polynesian cuisine, Emeril's Tchoup Chop - Emeril Lagasse's take on Asian/Polynesian cuisine, Jake's American Bar - featuring live entertainment on select nights and the Orchid Court Lounge & Sushi Bar with inventive sushi and South Seas martinis.

If that's not enough to tempt you to visit yet, I've got more..

Loews Hotels & Resorts locations are celebrating National Burger Month with locally inspired signature burgers paired with craft beers, available through the end of June. In Orlando, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel and Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort are grilling up specialty burgers and pairing them with craft beer for the summer season.

From pickles and onion rings to French fries and coleslaw, everything goes with a good burger – but nothing quite like a cold beer. The talented food and beverage teams at Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando have done their research, piecing together a perfect combination of unique burgers and brews. The resulting burger and craft beer pairing is not only delicious, but also complements Loews’ dedication to delighting guests with exciting and approachable local travel experiences.

At Loews Royal Pacific Resort, guests in Jake’s American Bar can enjoy the B-52 Bomber Burger, a black angus burger with short ribs, caramelized onion, horseradish cheddar, lettuce and tomato paired with Jake’s American Red Lager, a smooth red lager with a hearty hop finish.

At Splendido, the poolside bar and grill at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, chefs will be grilling the Buddha Burger with pickled vegetables, pea sprouts and sriracha mayo, and pairing it with Funky Buddha Floridian Hefeweizen.

The Kitchen at Hard Rock Hotel is featuring its famous Kitchen Burger with fresh angus beef, bacon, cheddar, onion rings, lettuce, tomato and chipotle horseradish aioli, paired with Funky Buddha Brewery’s Hop Gun IPA.

At Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, the bowling alley will feature its popular Galaxy Bacon Cheeseburger paired with Cigar City Invasion Pale Ale.

Here is a sampling of what's on tap at Jake's American Bar...

Mexican Seafood Cocktail Shot with local fish, shrimp, scallop, avocado, cilantro, citrus tomato cocktail sauce paired with Cigar City Jai Alai. This was tangy and sweet with a dash of spice and very delicious. B-52 Bomber Burger is a beef patty with braised short rib, caramelized onion, and horseradish cheddar paired with Jake’s American Red Lager and topped with onion rings. It was really quite a mouthful, but it was cooked perfectly medium and quite good. Jake's American Red is a very smooth and enjoyable beer, but it is only available at Loews Royal Pacific Resort. From left to right… Jake's American Red, Boulevard Dark Truth Stout, Cigar City Jai Alai, Swamp Head Cotton Mouth. The Churro Bread Pudding with salted caramel ice cream, spiced candied pecans was paired with Boulevard Dark Truth Stout and all of it was extraordinarily tasty.

Jake’s is open daily from 11:00 am - 1:30 am with a limited late night menu from 10:00 pm - 1:30 am. Locally inspired signature burgers paired with craft beers are available through the end of June. For more information or to arrange your stay, call 1-800-23-LOEWS or visit www.loewshotels.com.

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Shake Shack

119 N Orlando Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789

(321)-203-5130
View Website Here

The newest location of Shake Shack is open for business in Winter Park.

In case you are unfamiliar with the brand, Shake Shack is the burger joint with a cult like following that started from a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in Manhattan by Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). The cart was such a success, that USHG won the bid to open a permanent kiosk in the Park and the legend of  Shake Shack was born. To this day, you can find patrons at the original location gladly waiting in a one hour long line.  

Shake Shake calls itself a modern day “roadside” burger stand. Although the menu is pretty simple with only a few burger and hot dog choices they also serve cheese fries, frozen custard, shakes, beer, wine, and they even serve doggy treats. Almost anywhere they have opened up, the Shack has been an instant neighborhood fixture. The Winter Park location is the first one to open in Central Florida, and the fourth one in Florida overall. The other three locations are in Miami, Coral Gables, and Boca Raton.

The Winter Park location opened on July 30, 2014, and is situated alongside a very picturesque Lake Killarney with an expansive outdoor patio space, lounge chairs and a fire pit.

The  Inside is pretty roomy as well with plenty of open table seating and large booths.

One of my favorites is the SmokeShack. It's a cheese burger served with applewood smoked bacon, cherry  peppers and shack sauce. 

Of course cheese fries are always mandatory whenever I visit.  

Although you can request a burger any way you like, the menu is simple. Offerings include The Shack Burger, Smoke Shack, Shroom Burger, Shack Stack and Hamburger.

No stop to Shake Shack  is complete without ordering one of their frozen treats.

Everything from custards to concretes and milkshakes are available. Most locations do have a set menu, but there is always a monthly flavor and special flavors unique to each location. 

Unique to the Winter Park location is  the Winters Wonderland concrete. Five percent of all proceeds from this concrete will be donated to the BASE camp children's cancer foundation.    

I have been frequenting the Shack since they opened in Miami, and they are one of my favorite burger joints...anywhere. What Shake Shack serves is just a plain good old fashioned burger in an unpretentious atmosphere with quality ingredients, and that's what makes them good. 

I can see myself being a regular at this location. Stop by soon and check them out if you have never been...you might find me out by the lake eating a Smoke Shack.

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