RESTAURANT REVIEWS BY JOEY Z

Speakies or my Guys and Dolls:

I've decided to start my own restaurant review page. Being a local in Florida, I want to make sure all those visiting Central Florida are assured of a good meal at the right price and when you leave say that Joey Z knows his restaurants. Roe and I took a few days off last week and did some day trips and ate at a few places of which I will give you my review.

Prior to our small vacation, we had lunch at a new restaurant in Orlando called O'Charley's located at 8081 Turkey Lake Road, Orlando, FL. Rosemary had a Roast Beef Ciabetta Sandwich, a French Dip type sandwich, absolutely the best. Try it. I chose poorly with the 4 mini cheeseburgers over cooked and well done. Server was notified of this and the kitchen was made aware. Nice place for lunch, good choices. Check out the menu at www.ocharleys.com


On our anniversary we traveled to Ocala, FL. I wanted a true German dish called Sauerbratten.
I have not had sauerbratten since we moved to Florida and the last time I enjoyed this was in my home town of Trenton, NJ at the Old Heidelberg. The restaurant in Ocala is called The Schnitzel Factory, 1053 NE 14th St., Ocala, FL, phone 352-433-2300. Their home page is www.theschnitzelfactory.com Now the restaurant itself is not fancy, plain tables covered in blue and white tablecloths, truly a German theme. The waitress and staff are all German born and the woman who does the cooking is the owner. Roe and I were not disappointed at all. The Sauerbratten with the schnitzel and red cabbage was to die for. Roe's veal with string beans and mashed potatoes was delicious. I enjoyed washing it all down with a great German beer. Certain Saturday nights they have a band and the place looks like a good fun spot. If you are in Ocala and enjoy German cuisine do make it a point to stop in. They are closed Sunday and Monday.

If you are visiting the Disney area, and like pizza, I recommend 2 places. In Kissimmee, on John Young Parkway near the downtown area is a place called LaForchetta, very good pizza and food. The people are friendly and from NJ originally. The other pizza place with a great menu selection is in Winter Garden, FL called Winter Garden Pizza Factory, 42 Plant St., Winter Garden, FL. This restaurant is located in the historic district. We ate lunch at this restaurant last week, 2 slices of pizza and a drink, $5.95. Good pie and as we were enjoying our meal, the food coming out of the kitchen passing our table, made our eyes bulge out, huge portions. Check the internet, I believe they have a menu posted.

Hope you all enjoy these reviews. More to come.