Huey Magoo's

4293 Alafaya Trail,
Oviedo, FL 32765
(All Locations)
(407)- 977-0213
View Website Here

Huey Magoo’s was founded in 2004 by Matt Armstrong and Thad Hudgens, two southern boys with a passion for quality chicken and a penchant for serving others. Huey Magoo’s prides itself on providing great tasting chicken tenders in a clean, friendly environment, while showing their love for people.

Not only does Huey Magoo’s deliver delicious, fresh, cooked to order chicken tenders, they also use a special Never Ever Antibiotic free chicken that is never frozen. This means the chicken tenders you eat at Huey Magoo’s are as fresh as you can get and and is 100% antibiotic free.

It is with exacting purpose that you won’t find an extensive menu filled with dozens of options here. Burgers and burritos aren’t in their wheelhouse. They focus on delicious, fresh, cooked to order chicken tenders that are served grilled or fried, on their own, as part of a meal, or in a salad, sandwich or wrap.

Twelve years ago when tour golf professionals Matt Armstrong (aka "Huey") and Thad Hudgens (aka "Magoo") decided to get into the restaurant business, little did they know that one day their brand, Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders, would entice some of the deepest talent in the industry.

Committed to building a culture of excellence in service and food quality by serving only premium hand breaded or grilled chicken tenders dipped or "sauced" in uniquely flavorful signature sauces, Huey Magoo's attracted a cult-like following of Millenials, families and neighboring businesses desiring quality, natural foods at reasonable prices.

It also attracted the attention of former Wingstop Executive Vice President Andy Howard, who helped grow the Wingstop chain from 80 stores to over 600 stores. As Huey Magoo’s Chief Executive Officer, Howard has assembled a team of industry power players to assist him in doing the same with Huey Magoo’s.

The Magoo’s Sandwich features hand breaded or grilled tenders, iceberg lettuce, and Magoo’s Sauce, served on Texas toast or a toasted bun and crinkle cut fries. You can also choose the house made potato chips which are delicious as well.

Here is a sample selection of the tenders offered at Magoo’s. We have the Buffalo sauced fried wings to the left, traditional breaded in the center and the grilled wings to the right. You won't find many people offering grilled wings, and these are pretty tasty. The real difference with tenders at Huey Magoo’s is in the chicken. The never ever antibiotic chicken and the fact that it's never frozen makes for a tender that is as juicy and tender as you possibly have. Hands down the the most tender chicken tender I have ever had.

The sauces offered for dipping at Huey Magoo’s are the Magoo sauce, a spicy Magoo sauce, Buffalo sauce and Spicy Buffalo or an Oriental Sweet Heat. All tenders that you request sauced can be sauced in Buffalo, Tangy BBQ, Zesty Garlic Parmesan, or Oriental Sweet Heat. Texas toast comes with most orders and coleslaw is another side item you can choose.

With this deeply experienced team assembled, Huey Magoo’s is poised to take their simple food and great taste of fresh made to order chicken tenders, sandwiches, salads, Texas toast, fries and tasty tea to the next level.

Already boasting four successful operating units in Oviedo, Altamonte Springs, Winter Springs and the UCF Student Union, Huey Magoo's will open two additional stores early next year at Millenia Gardens and Sand Lake/Dr. Phillips, with plans to open several more in Central Florida. 

Huey Magoo's will also commence franchise sales with the initial focus on key Florida markets starting with Tampa and moving from Florida north and west to fan out across the country. 

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World Of Beer UCF

3402 Technological Ave.
Orlando, FL 32817
321-235-9741
View Website Here

Most of us Floridians are very familiar with the craft beer chain known as World Of Beer, especially since they started in Tampa.

Since opening that first location in 2007, WOB has grown to more than 70 locations in 20 states. What began as a neighborhood tavern to sample great craft beers and swap beer talk has grown into a unique cultural phenomenon celebrating the world of craft beers and camaraderie.

Now, in addition to 500 craft beers and 40 rotating taps daily, WOB is changing the game once again with a variety of delicious food that pairs perfectly to whatever you’re drinking at the moment. World of Beer UCF’s newest addition, the signature “Tavern Fare” menu features a variety of elevated comfort food that provides the perfect marriage of food and beer for the ultimate experience.

The “Tavern Fare” lineup of pub inspired foods has something for everyone with WOB tavern shares that include an authentic German Pretzel, Sriracha Lime Shrimp Tacos, Black and Blue Flatbread, Guinness Brat Sliders and Belgian Waffle S’Mores to name a few. The menu also has plenty of tasty and hearty sandwiches like the Chimay Burger, Chicken Pesto Sandwich and even a classic Reuben.

This pretzel’s original Bavarian recipe was created by Germany’s most sought after artisan pretzel baker, Ossi Piller, and dates back more than 100 years. Served with house made stone ground mustard, this pretzel was delicious and fun to eat all at once. For an additional $2.00 you can grab the house made beer cheese, which was pretty awesome too. Try it with a Narragansett Pale Lager.

The Spring Greens & Kale Salad features spring greens & kale with goat cheese, apples, sweet pickled red onions & candied pecans tossed in a Framboise vinaigrette. Pair it with St. Louis Premium Framboise.

St. Louis Premium Framboise.

A very impressive Artisan Sausage Board was served up with a trio of jalapeño cheddar, cracked black pepper and hickory smoked sausages. Served with spicy pickled green beans, peppadew peppers & our house made stone ground mustard. Pair it with Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest.

Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest.

Sriracha Lime Shrimp Tacos are stuffed with beer battered shrimp tossed in WOB’s homemade Sriracha lime aioli and served on tortillas with roasted corn and tomato salsa with shredded lettuce and fresh cilantro. Pair it with an IPA of your choice.

The Belgian Waffle S’mores are light & crispy, fresh baked, Belgian beer-infused waffles with toasted marshmallow, drizzled with a Kahlúa fudge sauce, & topped with graham cracker crumbles & powdered sugar. These were a most awesome dessert. Try them with a Sprecher Imperial Stout.

Priced between $5 and $15, every dish pairs perfectly with WOB-UCF’s vast selection of local and global craft beers, and are perfect to share with friends. At World of Beer, they want to take you on a taste journey so you can enjoy the great flavors and aromas of great beers, and enhance your experience with delicious food on the Tavern Fare menu. The combination gives you the ultimate craft tavern experience.

WOB UCF is open Monday to Sunday from 11:30 am until 2:00 am

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Bento Cafe UCF

12250 Strategy Blvd #443

Orlando, FL 32817
(407) 658-8088

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I have always been a fan of Bento Cafe, especially the Downtown Orlando location.

Bento primarily serves up what is best described as Pan-Asian cuisine, with a wide array of different foods from all over Asia. The downtown location is great if you happen to work or live near there, as it has become a staple in that area for quick and fresh Asian cuisine at a reasonable price. I however live on the east side of Orlando, and unless I ask my wife to bring me something home, it’s a bit out of the way. That is why I am very happy to share with you my most recent review of the all new Bento Cafe UCF. Yes you heard right...Bento has a brand new location in the Plaza at University, and the food is just as awesome as it is at any other location.

The Bento Cafe brand, If you are not familiar with them, is a small chain of seven restaurants with more on the way, that offers a creative mixture of Asian inspired dishes from wok stir-fry to fire-grilled items to sushi using the finest Asian spices and the freshest ingredients all at great prices.

The concept at Bento is to bring unique and authentic Asian food in a fast and efficient manner. Everything on the menu is cooked to order and prepared in minutes and served up in an atmosphere that is fun, friendly and stylish. The word “Bento” means boxed-meal in Japanese, and they have a wide selection of traditional boxed meals, but the menu includes a wide variety of sushi rolls, sashimi, nigiri and chirashi bowls as well as soups, udon noodles, rice bowls and noodle bowls. They also offer Boba Tea, a popular Asian beverage that is consisted of milk tea and chewy tapioca pearls.

Every store is designed differently which makes visiting each Bento Cafe an experience. Each store will be either dominated by the warm red dragon colors or the cool blue dragon colors. Each Bento has a sushi station, but the UCF location has seats at the sushi bar, so you can watch the chefs prepare your rolls live and in person.

 

Speaking of sushi, the Jade roll with marinated spicy tuna, eel, avocado, krab delite, masago, scallions and eel sauce tasted just as good as it looked.

For my entree, I chose the the Sesame Wok Stir Fry bowl. This dish comes with your choice of chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu and red bell peppers, snow peas, onions, baby corn in a sesame soy sauce. I really enjoyed the flavors, and the portion was more than I could eat.

Now, I really did enjoy my entree selection, but it would be dishonest of me not to tell you that I was really jealous of my wife’s Bento Box. She opted for the Sriracha Garlic Chicken in a bento box. You can get chicken, shrimp or tofu grilled or fried with red bell peppers and onions with a sweet and spicy Sriracha sauce for dipping. Bento boxes come with your choice of steamed rice or lo mein, ginger salad, and string beans and a dessert. Not only was this delicious and lots of food, it only costs $8.95, and that's a bargain.

The UCF Bento Cafe is the third one to open in the Orlando area, and I can now say I have been to all three, and all three locations have been very consistent in quality and service. Sometimes chains can vary in quality and the overall experience you may have there, and I am impressed with the consistency of Bento Cafe.

If you are looking for some really good Asian food with variety and great flavors in a fast casual environment, check out Bento if you have not done so already. Whats even better is the fact that you can dine there without putting a hurt on your wallet and without sacrificing quality over price.

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Spoleto : My Italian Kitchen

12101 University Blvd.
Ste. 219
Orlando, FL 32817
(407) 658-0593
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Spoleto is the newest arrival to the ever growing world of the “Fast Casual” dining experience. Fast Casual is a type of restaurant that does not offer full table service, but promises a higher quality of food with fewer frozen or processed ingredients than a fast-food restaurant. It is a concept that is positioned between fast food and casual dining. The typical cost per meal is $8-15 and is exemplified by chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill Panera Bread.

Guests dining at Spoleto will find a restaurant that combines the speed of fast casual service with the sophistication of an Italian restaurant with gourmet quality food. Spoleto further defines the uniqueness of the concept by offering a seasonal menu based on the availability of fresh local products and an endless number of guest selected food combinations.

With a choice of over 25 authentic Italian inspired ingredients, it gives everyone a chance to create meals that inspire their palate. You can choose to indulge in richer ingredients like meats and cheeses, as well as a full complement of fresh vegetables, whole grains and fruits. All of this sounds great and looks even better in person, but it may be confusing to a first timer of Spoleto.

As you enter the queue, your first choice is what type of pasta you would like, or if you want to customize a flatbread or salad. You then interact with someone behind a counter that tells you to pick six additional ingredients that will go into your dish. There are over twenty five additional ingredients to choose from and include things like broccoli, tomatoes, onion, sausage, kale and scallions to name a few. Don't feel bad if you give that person behind the counter a blank stare...it's a lot to take in on your first visit.

Next you can choose an upgrade. If you go with just pasta, its about $8.00, and if you add a protein upgrade, you will add another couple of dollars to your tab. Upgrades include House Made Giant Meatball ($3.50), Prosciutto ($2.50), Roasted Link Sausage ($2.50), Herb Roasted Chicken ($2.50), and a Basil Marinated Shrimp for $4.00. Naturally your next decision will be what sauce you would like...choices include - Pesto, Marinara, Bolognese, Alfredo, Brodo di Pollo (chicken broth). Your final question is whether you would like to top off your creation with crushed red pepper, Parmesan, Italian herbs and a variety of other toppings.

After you select a pasta, you can choose up to six of the twenty five plus additional ingredients.

At Spoleto your ingredients are actually cooked together, and not just picked out of hot pans and mixed. The chef is always fun to watch and conversate with as he prepares your meal.

I chose the penne pasta with bacon, truffle roasted mushrooms, tomatoes, caramelized onions, pepperoncini and Italian cheese blend as my six ingredients. I also added the house made meatball and topped it off with fresh grated Parmesan. This looked and tasted as good, if not better, then anything you may get at a traditional sit down restaurant and was ordered and ready in under 10 minutes.

My guest chose the fettuccine with broccoli, carrots, pine nuts and sun roasted garlic and added the herb roasted chicken. You don't have to choose six ingredients, you may choose less, if you so wish. This dish was sauced with the Alfredo sauce and topped with fresh grated Parmesan and Italian herb blend. This was a perfect portion size and tasted wonderful.

As an added bonus, and I must say “You have to try this,” we had the Nutella flat bread with fresh strawberries. This is very simple and quite understated, but the Nutella and the delicious flat bread taste like they were made for each other.

Although the ordering system may be confusing at first, don't let that prevent you from trying out Spoleto. The food here is really good for fast casual Italian, and the number of dishes you can create is only limited by your imagination. The inside is very nice and open as well, and features open face brick and unique lighting fixtures made of cooking utensils.

Spoleto : My Italian Kitchen is open from Monday - Sunday 11am - 10pm. Keep an eye out for the newest location to open up inside of the Florida Mall’s all new food pavilion, and a third location coming to Winter Park at 349 N. Orlando Avenue.

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First Watch: New Summer Menu Items

3402 Technological Ave.

Orlando, FL, 32817

(407) 823-8146

View Website Here

First Watch, the breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant, has added three new seasonal menu items that will be available through Sunday, August 17.

In addition to the food offerings, long time fans of First Watch will be happy to know that the brand has finally added Iced Coffee to the menu that is available year round. 

Those new menu items include the BLT Benedict, Shrimp and Grits, and the Bruleed Banana Waffle. Chris Tomasso, chief marketing officer for First Watch says "they are very excited to offer a new spin on some breakfast and brunch classics that offer a little bit of everything, a little sweet, a little savory and we think our guests will thoroughly enjoy them.”

The BLT Benedict is served with two poached eggs on toasted ciabatta with bacon, tomato, hollandaise sauce, lemon-dressed arugula, avocado slices, fresh herbs, and includes a side of fresh seasonal fruit. 

I really liked the flavors and textures of this dish and would certainly order it again. The ciabatta added a nice crispy layer of support for all of the toppings.

The Shrimp & Grits features sautéed shrimp and Andouille sausage in a Cajun low-country reduction with house-roasted tomatoes, onions, peppers, corn and fresh herbs on Cheddar Parmesan cheesy grits served with ciabatta toast.

First Watch has done a pretty good job of creating an authentic "Low Country" shrimp and grits. The flavors were light and fresh with an earthy note, and the Andouille sausage added the right amount of spice.

The Bruleed Banana Waffle is a light and airy waffle that  is topped with caramelized bruleed bananas, brown sugar glazed bacon, a sweet cream sauce drizzle and bacon-infused syrup.

This was really good, but it was really sweet. I like sweets, but this was too much for me. I recommend you order this and split it with at least one other person.

I personally am a big fan of iced coffee, don't get me wrong, I like it hot too, but sometimes I just want iced coffee. That being said, I don't why it took so long to add iced coffee to the menu at a place that specializes in breakfast and brunch. So all my fellow iced coffee drinkers out there can now rejoice as First Watch has finally decided to make it a staple. My coffee was perfectly sweetened and ice cold, and I will certainly have some again on my next visit.

First Watch is a recipient of more than 200 “Best Of” accolades in markets across the country and was recently recognized with a 2014 “MenuMasters Award” by Nation’s Restaurant News for Best Healthful Innovation for its Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowl. The “Daytime Café” features traditional favorites including pancakes, omelets, salads and sandwiches, as well as signature specialties such as the Chickichanga, Healthy Turkey Omelet, and Fresh Fruit Crepes.

First Watch serves its entire menu seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The restaurant also offers guests complimentary newspapers and free Wi-Fi Internet access.

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