Black Bean Deli – Orlando, FL

 

On our way to my cousin Fran’s wedding in Titusville last weekend, we stopped in Orlando for a quick bite to eat.  We weren’t sure where to go, so we used the Yelp app to locate nearby restaurants.  The Black Bean Deli was only a few blocks away and had great reviews!

I was expecting an average sandwich shop, but I think this may be one of my new favorite Orlando spots.  It is located in an old retro gas station that’s been renovated to have a cozy modern interior and a covered patio with picnic benches. 

 

I ordered the Choripan sandwich with sweet ham, chorizo sausage, and Swiss cheese.  Lance had the regular Cuban, which also had the same ham & cheese as mine, but with added roast pork and pickles.  They asked if he wanted the large Cuban – but it’s a good thing he went with the regular size!   The sandwiches were huge!    

 

 

We also split an order of maduros – I love sweet plantains.  The food was all very simple, but perfectly executed.  If I lived nearby, I’d be a regular. 

They also have a Winter Park location – and I read that they’re serving a limited menu at a concession stand in the Amway Center too.  I will say that this location was pretty busy, so parking was difficult.  Guess everyone else in Orlando knows about their great food!

Black Bean Deli is located at 1835 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32803 and is open 11am – 9pm Monday – Thursday, 11am – 10pm on Friday – Saturday, and closed on Sunday.  

Datz Delicatessen – Tampa, FL

 

I had dinner a few nights ago at Datz with my friend Maddie (who just got engaged!) I’ve done a few posts on Datz, but unfortunately my photos never do it justice (the dim mood-lighting doesn’t really make for appetizing food photos…) But the food was just as spectacular as ever! 

We started off with drinks – Maddie had the El Diablo with tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice, and ginger beer.  I had the Dogfish Head Sah Tea – I’ve actually had this beer at Datz before.  The wort (liquid extracting from mashing process during the brewing of the beer) is caramelized over river rocks, then the beer is fermented with German weizen yeast.  Then it is flavored with Finnish juniper berries and black tea.  It is 9% alcohol, so stronger than what I normally drink.  To me I tastes like a mix of beer and chai tea. 

 

For dinner, we started with the black truffle fries, which were served with san Joaquin cheddar, sea salt, and herb aioli (I would order them again for sure).  We then split the uptown BLT – southern style fried green tomatoes topped with homemade pimento spread, crispy pork belly bacon, shredded lettuce, and sweet-spicy tomato bacon jam. 

 

 

We finished with the fish tacos – 3 blackened mahi-mahi soft tacos served with cilantro lime rice and Mexican street corn.  The tacos and corn were great – the rice didn’t seem like anything too special to me though. 

 

You really can’t go wrong with Datz – I’m sure I’ll be back again soon!

Datz is located at 2616 S MacDill Ave, Tampa, FL 33629 and is open Monday –Thursday 7am – 10pm, Friday 7am – 11pm, Saturday 8:30am – 11pm, and Sunday 8:30am – 3pm.