Eat Like a Rabbit

Our first night eating local started off pleasantly in at a great little restaurant on Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando. Virgin Olive Market used to be on Clay, and I think the change in location surely must have increased its exposure. There was a nice, steady stream of customers during our entire dining experience. Virgin Olive makes the grade in a couple of areas. First, it is a fast, very friendly, and significantly cheaper restaurant than the two restaurants it's sandwiched in between. Next, it holds down the spot as a source for good coffee and breakfast in the immediate vicinity. Also, it offers healthy (generally), light, budget friendly meals on top of some unusual foodie items for sale to take home.

Back in the middle of August, I stopped off at Target to pick up a chocolate cheesecake for a going away party at the office. I figured I was the pregnant one and therefore they had to eat what the pregnant woman wanted. Luckily, everyone was pleased with my choice (or at least pretended to be.) As I was pulling out of the shopping center, I noticed a Jason's Deli and remembered I had a gift card in my "card wallet" for dining there. I decided I'd been eating out so much, which was not in our budget originally, I would use the card to get a free lunch. Luckily, my little wrap only cost about $6; so, I have leftovers on the card to be visiting again over the next couple months--taking advantage of the vegetarian soup selection and salad bar.

A few weeks ago, I excitedly clipped a $1.50 coupon for a Kraft Salad Dressing out of the newspaper. I'm not obsessed with using coupons, but if there's a coupon for something I really want, I'm gonna use it. The salad dressings were $1.58 at Walmart, which meant I would pay just $0.08 for my bottle of Peppercorn Ranch Salad Dressing. Sadly, Walmart was out of my preferred store-bought dressing. But, I came across this new Green Goddess dressing, which rang a bell because the vegan restaurant, Dandelion Cafe, uses a vegan dressing by the same name. I took a chance, and was glad I did.

This restaurant is consistently good. It has a menu rotation for every season and has a nice selection of teas. It was a tad warm this fall day; so only Gerald selected a warm tea. But everything was good. Paul and I absolutely loved our sandwiches. IF I could only make them like that at home! Surely it can't be that hard!

Guacamole is a favorite for us. However, we tend to differ on how to make it. Fresh cilantro is better than dried cilantro. Lime is better than lemon. And never use mayonnaise!

After a long plane ride home from Texas, we called my father to meet us at this restaurant. This visit was far superior to the previous one (not that the last one was horrible).