Chemmie

Correct, they don't have a license yet. But, some places will let you do this and will usually charge a few dollars for a "corking fee". I'm sure smaller, local, places are much more likely to do this. Just call and ask. Honestly, at La Cucina it made it a lot more enjoyable. We love wine but can't stand the outrageous prices that places charge for sub-par wine. I brought a great bottle of wine and paid only a few dollars more, instead of a fortune. We really enjoyed it.

I went to La Cucina on Mills Ave, near the intersection of Marks St., last night and it was fabulous. Bring your own wine and they will pour it with an $8 charge, that's the only thing I didn't like. That shouldn't be more than $5, but it still beats paying $30 for a $8 bottle of wine at other places. The steak was great, and the pork tenderloin with figs and blue cheese was amazing (that's what I had). Also, if they have bread pudding that night, try it. It's great! Here's their website. http://www.lacucinaorlando.com

I love driving by the old Xanadu "House of the Future" with the weeds growing up all around it and windows boarded up. That's classic humor. Skull Kingdom was a nice novelty building, though. Too bad the inside stunk. Terror on Church Street was one of the best haunted houses I had ever been in. The old, two stories, maze and wonderful scenery was perfect. I really miss Terror.

PF Changs is insane. As a whole, Asian foods are cheap. Lots of spice, lots of veggies, rice and a little meat. PF Changes gets by on image alone. You can get the same or better Chinese food from the majority of strip-mall take out places for less than half the price. On top of that, you don't have to wait for hours and deal with the morons who think they are eating some kind of gourmet asian dishes.

"Friends" next to the 7-11 on the corner of Mills and Virginia has a good brunch. I wouldn't say it's great, but it's good and has improved and gotten more popular over the last few months. I think it's around $15 and has all you can drink Momosas. It's not large, but usually has some good selections. It is VERY gay-friendly. I just wanted to put that out there. There is an Italian place in the Gaylord Palms Hotel that has the most amazing brunch I've ever seen... if you want to go out that far.

(Itallian Recommendation) If anyone is into Italian, I'm recommending Guiseppe's Ristorante in Ocoee (OF ALL PLACES!) Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant is located at 1568 Maguire Road in Ocoee. For more information, call 407-656-0129. Now, first I will say that this is a family owned place, not a chain. The owner, Guiseppe, used to own a small family place in a small town called Seaville, New Jersey. My family owned a summer home directly across the street from Guiseppe's in Seaville, NJ. We loved it there. Well, last year, Guiseppe decided to move to Orlando and open his place here! My parents, who still have the place in New Jersey, called me immediately when they found out upon their first visit to Guiseppe's this season. We're very excited!! Guiseppe's menu is actually kind of complicated. You pick a meat and a pasta and they have a lengthy list of sauces. There are just too many choices!! They also have very good French Onion Soup. I just wanted to point this place out since my family has been going to the original for years. It's amazing Italian food and there are several choices that are different from your typical Italian dishes. Orlando City Beat had a very positive review. http://orlandocitybeat.metromix.com/restau...0,1824136.story Please, try them out and let me know what you think!!

I sure hope not. I can't believe anyone could have allowed Camden to be built as cheaply as it has been built. It's all wood and cheap siding. That place will be torn down in 10 years.

There's a lot of good gyro places. There's one on the corner of Semoran and Colonial. One near the corner of Virginia and Orange Ave. (Greek Corner). One on Semoran, near Howell Branch.... A simple gyro place isn't hard to find. However, there is also Bosphorous. It's on Park Avenue and it's Turkish. A "Doner" is your typical gyro meat. It's much, much, much better than your typical gyro, but I also think Bosphorous is overpriced. It's delicious, but Turkish food usually isn't a very expensive meal, at Bosphorous it is. I would also suggest getting other items on the menu. There are some items that have tomato sauce and yogurt, more spices, and the chicken is also seasoned well. Turkish food is pretty much my favorite in the world. There aren't many cuisines with as many bold flavors as those in the Med. My suggestion is to pay the extra amount and hit up Bosphorous for a Doner Kebab or Iskender Kebab. You won't be sorry.

Nonsense. They aren't selling Bartel's and James' Park Wine Merchants and other local wine shops are just too expensive. I've seen wines in these places for a few dollars more per bottle. I'm just not going to spend it. Cost Plus World Market was my wine store of choice, but this new Total Wine is amazing. They have everything you can think of and all of it is at great prices. The beer prices are great as are the liquor prices. Sorry, mom and pop, but if you can't keep your prices down or offer something they can't, you're not getting my business.

Sorry, but the "client" of the Altamonte Springs building is in no position to get angry at anyone concerning any piece of this project. As long as that building is not built, it's an eyesore. Sooner or later, in an incredible twist of irony, the Holy One himself is going to unleash fury on that stain. Doing us all a favor by bringing it down.

A mall would be a bad idea. As much as we want something like other major cities have, I just don't think it could compete with Florida Mall, Millenia and the outlets. Orlando just can't sustain another high-end mall with two already, one of which hasn't been the same since the new one opened.

It's really sad. They had a good thing... The city needs to sell it cheap and give tax discounts to whomever buys it, while not allowing them to destroy it.

Whoever buys it needs to re-open a Rosie O'Grady's back in the old spot!

The new Maggiano's is open over at Pointe Orlando and damn is it good. I've been a big fan of Maggiano's since I went to the original in Chicago many years ago. Now they are national and, even though it's a chain, it is some damn good italian. I'm thrilled that we finally got one here in Orlando. For any steak lovers, their NYStrip steak Al Forno is one of the best steaks I've ever had. It's expensive, but great. And for those on a budget, even something as simple as the spaghetti and meatballs is superb.

Bola is next to Friday's Front Row. It used to be Italliani's, owned by the TGI Friday's group, and was suprisingly pretty good chain italian. Then it was Aussie Steakhouse for a bit... never ate there, though.

That's a great place to live for those EA Tiburon Employees whom are forced to work 80 hour work weeks.

Here are the pictures I promised from Pointe Orlando... http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemmie/ There is a couple pictures of the new Tommy Bahama's, the Maggiano's, The Grape and the new entrance, all under construction.

Damn. That's funny.

I'm scared of that Hooters because I've seen more roaches crawling around the Adobe Gilla's next door than at the landfill.

As you know, Capital Grill is open. The Tommy Bahama store and restaurant looks to be about ready to open. It's painted and the signage is up outside. The "Agrape" (I think that's what it is) looks almost ready, too. Also has it's signage up but has only been primed for painting. The Maggianos building is framed and has a facade up. It still needs work though to finish the outside before it's even ready to pain. This is just what I could see driving by on I-Drive. It looks like the Tommy Bahama place, which is across from Capital Grill (where Monty's Conch Harbor was) is almost ready to open. The Maggianos, which I really want to open, looks a few months away, still. I have my camera in my car, if I can get by there on my lunch or after work, I'll get some pictures.

I don't want to sift through the 36 pages, so... does anyone have a link to the floorplans of the residential units in Solaire? Thanks.

We went back to Park Plaza Gardens again a couple weeks ago and it is still amazing. I haven't had anything in Orlando that comes close. It's pricey if you go all-out, but every single thing we put to our mouth was insanely delicious.

According the CFNews13.... Orange County and Orlando leaders have agreed upon a plan to build a brand new arena for the Magic, a new Performing Arts center, and renovate the Citrus Bowl.

Losing Will's kind of sucks. I never really went there, but that's the type of place that a city needs. An eclectic club that both city dwellers and those from the suburbs will visit.