Orlando Fast Food Critic – Page 11 – Sharing my food experiences with you.

AMC Dine-In Theater at Downtown Disney

My fiance and I were recently invited to attend media night at the new AMC Dine-In Theater at Downtown Disney. The theater will open to the public on Monday, May 16, but they are hosting several media nights as a soft launch, and to get the word out.

This is the 8th AMC dine-in theater in the country, and the first one in Florida. However, this is not the first dine-in theater in the area, the Enzian and Aloma Cinema grill have been around for years. The AMC Dine-in Theater is much more like a traditional theater though. The AMC 24 now has 18 traditional theaters, and 6 dine-in theaters. The dine-in theaters have a separate entrance, and admittance is 18+ unless accompanied by an adult. Sorry parents, no dropping your kids off at this theater for babysitting on the cheap.

The theaters I was able to tour all had 3 sections, of 4 seat rows. Four of the theaters seat between 100 and 110, while the other 2 can seat around 200. The chairs recline, and felt larger and more comfortable than what you would typically experience. There is more lighting than a traditional theater, so you can see the menu, as well as your food and drink, as well as providing adequate lighting for staff to serve you. Lighting may be an issue for those of you that require a pitch black theater, but shouldn’t be a problem for most. There is a full bar, MacGuffin’s, in the lobby, that serves a variety of beers, wines, liquors, and mixed drinks. The beer is a hair on the pricey side, $5.99 for a pint of premium (Blue Moon, Guinness, etc.), and $4.99 for a pint of domestic (Budweiser, Coors Light, etc.), but it is to be expected because of the venue.

The food is comparable in variety to what you would get at a restaurant like T.G.I. Friday’s or Chili’s, but definitely better in quality (you can view their menu here (PDF)). We started our meal with the sampler appetizer, which came with 4 Buffalo wings, 4 mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, kettle cooked chips with ketchup for dipping, and onion rings. The mozzarella sticks and onion rings were excellent, the wings were good, but the chips were bland without ketchup. They would have been much better if they had been salted, and could have been enjoyed on their own then. I had the Thai Coconut Chicken Tenders with french fries, and my fiance had the Bistro Chicken Mac and Cheese. The Thai Coconut chicken was good, but the Mac and Cheese was much better. They use thick spiral pasta which hold a lot of cheese, making every bite delicious, and it’s topped with bacon and breaded chicken, making it that much better.

I had talked with our server, Brad, over how they handle this unique experience. He said that one big obstacle to overcome is people’s habit of arriving at the theater right on time, or just a little late to skip the previews. It’s generally better to arrive a little early here, so you have time to look over the menu and place your order before the movie starts. While it wasn’t a full theater, distractions from servers and other patrons was minimal. Rather than the server checking on you every few minutes, there is a call button at each seat that you press if you need anything. Your check is typically delivered toward the end of the movie, which you can pay right away, or wait until the end of the movie, and even until the final credits have rolled if you feel so inclined.

I see the AMC Dine-in Theater as an excellent adult geared movie theater, providing a much needed alternative to the typical theater. While I wouldn’t consider it an optimal dining or movie going experience (it was somewhat awkward leaning forward in my recliner to eat), the hybrid experience is enjoyable. The pricing is on par with a traditional dinner and movie, but now you can do both at the same time. I see this as a great way to get people out of their homes watching movies and back into theaters.

From what I have been told, ticket prices will be as follows:

Adult: $13.00 – After 4:00 pm
Child: $10.00 – Age 2 – 12
Matinee: $11.00 – Before 3:55 pm
Senior: $12.00 – Age 60+

This is $2 more than standard ticket prices at the AMC 24 theaters in Downtown Disney.

$MacGuffin\'s Bar$

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East Palace

Food Quality: 7/10
Food Quantity: 9/10
Cleanliness: 7/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: $5-$10

East Palace is hidden on the back side of I-Drive, actually being located off of Universal Blvd. It’s a nice, quiet place to have lunch. There’s not a lot of traffic because of it’s location. The food is decent, the entrees are tasty, but the fried rice is a little bland. The service here is very good. While I got mine to go, I did see the staff helping an elderly couple with their food. They helped pour sauce, and situate everything on the table. While it might not sound impressive, just remember that this isn’t typical service at most restaurants. I wouldn’t make a special trip to eat here, but it can be a nice change from some of the godawful food that can be found in the tourist trap area of I-Drive.

Red Brick Pizza

Food Quality: 4/10
Food Quantity: 4/10
Cleanliness: 5/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Price: $6-$10

With so many pizza places to choose from in the Orlando area, it’s a wonder places like this stay open. The pizza and toppings were bland. My friend and I finished a large pizza with 2 toppings with little effort. The meal cost about $10 each with drinks. At most other pizza places, we would have gone home with leftovers. The experience is very inconsistent with the pricing. You order at the counter, get your own drinks, grab paper plates and napkins from a common area, and I assume you bus the tables yourself too since no one else had. Skip Red Brick Pizza, and eat at any of the many good pizza places in town.

Mama Mia’s Pizzeria

Food Quality: 7/10
Food Quantity: 7/10
Cleanliness: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Price: $5-$10

The pizza at Mama Mia’s has a different flavor than a lot of other shops in the area. I had the 2 slice lunch special, and the slices were fresh out of the oven. It’s pretty good pizza, and reasonably priced. It’s not the best pizza in town, but I would definitely grab a couple slices if I were hungry and passing by. There’s not much room if you plan on dining in, a few bar stools against the front window and a table or two. If you do want to dine in, I wouldn’t bring a party bigger than 4 people.

The First Annual Pizza Wars

I was recently contacted to be a judge at the first annual Pizza Wars at the Jewish Community Center in Maitland. The event was a lot of fun, and there was a great turnout by the participants as well as the crowd. For $10 adult tickets, $5 for children, or $25 for a family of four, guests were able to dine on pizza all evening from 5 local vendors. Proceeds went to benefit the children’s scholarship fund, particularly to send kids to camp. In all, they were able to raise over $2000 for the evening.

The 5 participating restaurants were Pizzeria Valdiano, Anthony’s Pizza of Altamonte Springs, Mellow Mushroom, NYPD Pizzeria, and Carlucci’s Pizza Restaurant of Winter Park. Everyone offered a variety of pizzas, and some very unique ones for the crowd to sample. Pizzeria Valdiano offered a pizza, with feta, salmon and capers, which wasn’t for my taste but definitely something the crowd enjoyed. One that I really enjoyed was Carlucci’s onion ring pizza with ketchup instead of tomato sauce. While I don’t see myself ordering it often, it was unique and fun to try, as was their peanut butter and jelly pizza (which I assume was a dessert pizza).

There were several awards given out for the evening. Pizzeria Valdiano picked up the first award for most creative pizzas, which I would attribute to their salmon and capers pizza. Anthony’s Pizza won the Kid’s Choice, which may not be the most prestigious award, but I really enjoyed their pizza as well. Pizzeria Valdiano picked up another award with the People’s Choice, and both Pizzeria Valdiano and Carlucci’s Pizza shared top honors with judges choice.

There were also games and activities, including a hula hoop contest, and some group dances. While Pizzeria Valdiano is far from my favorite pizzeria, I have to give them credit for their participation. If there were an award for most fun or most entertaining, it would go to those guys. They really had a good time with the activities, and made me rethink my opinion of them.

I’d like to thank Julie Varkonyi and Crystal of the Jewish Community Center in Maitland for inviting me to judge the contest. It was a great time, and I hope they continue the tradition next year. I’d also like to thank Donna Wilhelm, publisher of Life in Altamonte Springs City Magazine, and Jason Freed. While we didn’t always agree on pizza, we still had a great experience.