I’ve never been big on over-theming a restaurant, especially if it involved creating a contrived back story about real or imaginary characters who may or may not have had something to do with the place. Portobello Yacht Club comes immediately to mind.

One of the things I like most about my job is finding great new places to eat and being the first to tell you about them. So I was really excited when I happened upon Los Autenticos Sandwich Cuban Cafe, a small but delightful eatery on East Colonial Drive. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the restaurant has been around for 10 years, four under its current owner. |READ|

It used to be that any restaurant you’d find in a hotel was the last place you’d want to dine. These were the three-mealers that existed for travelers too busy, too intimidated or too lazy to leave the confines of their hotel to find something better to eat. |READ|

I t’s easy to tell when the owners of a restaurant are passionate about what they do. It shows in all aspects of the business, including the attitudes of the employees. And when the owners also happen to be the people cooking the food, you can quite literally taste the difference.

A funky little eatery and taproom in the Milk District.

Here’s one of the things I like about Cocina 214: It doesn’t advertise itself as authentic Mexican, as many of its ilk erroneously do, and it doesn’t make apologies for being Tex-Mex. Yes, the eatery’s Web site describes it as “a contemporary Mexican kitchen,” but adds that the offerings are “creative, gourmet interpretations of traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites.”

It’s been 10 years since The Palm restaurant opened in Orlando at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal. It was the 22nd location for the New York-based Palm Restaurant Group. The storied past of the venerable Manhattan steakhouse made its Orlando outpost worthy of attention at first – but the food and service didn’t sustain my interest.