Cafe Brazil Restaurant , Great food

rholland63.yelp.com ... rholland63.blogspot.com .  Here is my 2 cents. First the food. Wow!! I was so suprize on the "bife parmigiana".. It was great. I get ahead. I got their sweet tea. It was sweet and different. mmm good. They make their own. No commercial brand here. Then the main entree

. Beans, rice & french fries. I spent six months in Brasil this tasted like I was in Brasil. The beef parmigiana was great. The sauce was seasoned just right. The cheese covered the beef. You could cut the entree with a fork. This is just perfect for the palate of Floridians. BUT if you need to kick up the flavor. I urge you to try their in house hot sauce. No vinegar taste here just flavor. I was suprized when I was given a very small serving. But KAPOW !!!!! It come on small then hits you with the heat.. SO GOOD. And no nasty sour taste.

Now some chit chat... It is under new management per the sign. The have a buffet which is 17 bucks or so. Or 8 bucks per pound to go. The staff is outstanding. They have small stage which is for weekend entertainment. OHHH yes no need to go early like I prefer, Braslians are notoriously late arrival's .  So if you need a change and desire good food come on down.

Loja de Chico, good Brasilian items

rholland63.yelp.com... rholland63.blogspot.com.  Finally ran out of coffee. American brands are too mild and bitter.. If you love strong coffee try Brasil offering. There are not too many choices but this is a good one. Folks are nice helpful and after 1130 AM they have Brasilian food. I have not tried them so you are on your own in this regards.

Bubba Roadhouse, disappointing

rholland63.yelp.com...rholland63.blogspot.com. ....Well here my 2 cents on the food first. It was disappointing.
From too much dressing to improper cooking of the prime rib.
Zoe my server did a great job. She was attentive. I thought the preparation of the salad at the table was very quaint. You can get endless soup or salad.... Though there was too much ranch on the salad.

The jalapeno muffin beside being just barely warm, the taste of jalapeno was non existed . I wanted to try spicy muffins. I have never made  them never have had them :-(     . My Bubba fries just plain  suck. Wimpy and too oily .
Now the main entree.

I ALWAYS ask when I go for lunch if something I know takes a while to make is ready. Zoe said yes. She was wrong. I ask for medium rare prime rib.  HONK HONK this was not.
It was rare. I can deal with rare provided it has a nice crust on the outside. It was gray looking and tasting.

The meat was okay it is hard to really screw up prime rib. The other thing was the horseradish . It was presented in a plastic container with a "H" on top to me. Which show me it was done at a minimum the night before. As I stated DISAPPOINTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now the chi chat.I was here at noon on a saturday. Zoe did a a fine job. Peanuts, answering question and so forth. 50's music in background place is very clean. I had been here about 2 years ago it was a good report..... I also passed on taking the leftover home... Now... NOPE I would suggest you pass on by.

The Pickled Parrot, New and up coming

Well here is my 2 cents on the food before the chit chat.
 I had 3 cod tenders, island slaw & a coke.

The lunch special. It changes daily.
I thought it was great.The fish was delicately seasoned, fried to perfection. Fish was fresh. The island slaw was a departure of the normal stuff. It was tangy seasoned well. My only issue was maybe a bit too wet.. Cocktail sauce was good. I prefer a bit more spicy but it is great for the average Floridian. I am always above average compare to floridians. Tartar sauce was a bit different than your run of your mills tartar. It was excellent.

Chit Chat. The best is nothing on the menu was over 20 bucks. All pretty much under. The Pickle Parrot is located in a small mall behind a 7-11. Nearby is a hand crafted chocolate store. At least 2 reasons to visit this mall. The folks were outstanding . Niki my server was quick and attentive. The owners came by and introduce them selves You need to go to there to get their names. They will be open on weekends for breakfast. I saw a very interesting seafood omelet on the menu. Over all the menu is seafood and such . They offer a filet mignon , burgers and a kid/ over 60 menu. Plus if you show ID on your birthday , you have up to $13.99 for a meal-FREE.

Over all I had a excellent time and will be back.

Stamatis Family Restaurant , A family affair and frugal delight

rholland63.yelp.com  ... rholland63.blogspot.com.   Here is my 2 cents.. This is another hidden gem.
I was turn on to this by  a swimming buddy. He raved about the liver & onions. :-(... NOT my cup of tea.  But I tried the chicken Souvlaki over rice.

This is a Greek dish. I thought it was great. It was grilled chicken breast seasoned just right and still moist. With onions peppers and tomatoes. very filling. The perfect dish for SW Floridians not too spicy pallet . Plus I opted for the extra Greek salad .

Plenty of dressing, onions and feta cheese. AND they served up some hot bread with butter.

Which is lacking at most eatery today.
Now some chit chat.

WOW this is a bargain place. I got there at 1130 AM I just missed the breakfast rush and got out before the lunch rush started. Perfect for the frugal mined. The typical breakfast and lunch fare' NOTHING OVER $9.00. Hamburgers ,omelets ,pancakes, hot & cold sub etc.
Its located in North Fort Myers. In a mall known as Weavers Corner. There are 3 other not too shabby, actually good ,eateries. This is anchored by a Winn-Dixie store with a P.O. office near-by.
So if you are a bargain hunter lookin for good eats this is worth a trek.

The Orient Restaurant, best so far for chinese cusine

rholland63.yelp.com ....rholland63.blogspot.com.   Here is my 2 cents.. First the food before chit chat.
I had Chow Champagne .

It is shrimp, roast pork & chicken entree. Along with oyster mushrooms & button mushroom. Broccoli ,baby corn and snow peas. Lets not forget the sesame oil... The shrimp was ocean fresh cooked to a tender pink. Pork was sliced thin along with the chicken. Fabulously tender to the mouth. The veggies was saute to just a hint of crunch. Cooked so even folks that like their veggie soggy it will be delightful.
If you like to kick up the flavor ask for the hot oil paste. Tread at you own risk.

The other unusual thing was fried wonton served with hot chinese mustard and a sweet sauce. At first I thought it was Fritos without the salt. But the kicker for me was the mustard. I HATE Chinese mustard BUT this was just spicy enough. Something new for me.

Now our chit chat. This is a old school eatery .. A long time place. They only serve chinese food and do NO advertising that I have seen in my 3 + years being here.    Ahhh the prices are a bit higher , ALAS you get what you pay for.. My server Peg did a great job. Though on this day I could see she was overwhelmed. A party of 15, 3 other tables (3 & 4 each) and then me. But Peg swooshed through doing a great job.
It is located in a small non-descript strip mall( they all seemed to be).
So if you like good food give them a try....But be warned service could be spotty.  Such is life.

Ruebens Smoke House still good

Here's my 2 cents. I had my coupon was in the area dropped in.

Oh my the beef brisket melts in your mouth. The rolls are to die for. Excellent green beans. Cole slaw ehhh stadard fare. But if you need a very worth while meal this is the place to go. Do not miss this place.