WaiTiki at Wall Street Plaza in Orlando

You’ll find WaiTiki tucked away on the backside of downtown Orlando’s Wall Street Plaza, a complex of bars and restaurants surrounding a block-long pedestrian walkway.

As the name implies, the bar has a vintage South Pacific feel to it. Thatched grass lines the bar while Tiki statues and Shag art decorates the walls.

WaiTiki does serve a full menu of Polynesian and Caribbean-inspired bar food starting at 11am daily. Lots of seafood, along with burgers and sandwiches.

For those feeling especially hungry, the kitchen can whip up their special called “The Big One.” It features one pound of grilled burger, 8 strips of bacon, 4 slices of cheddar cheese, 4 fried eggs, onion rings and chipotle bbq sauce between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, served with a mountain of french fries. It costs $26.99. However if you can down it in 25 minutes, not only is it on the house, but you also get your picture on the wall.

The Big One at WaiTiki in Orlando

Hopefully that photo is before your stomach explodes.

Happy Hour occurs daily from 4pm to 7pm and appetizers are half-off. Other deals during this time period include $2.50 Bacardi drinks and half off all Tiki drinks.

Can’t make it for Happy Hour? Enjoy $2.50 bottles of Red Stripe all day.

WaiTiki has special events most nights. Mondays are Kona Music Mondays, with acoustic live music and $3 Hawaiian beer specials. Wednesdays, chill out to reggae from the 506 Crew. Sundays are bingo night, but this isn’t gramma’s bingo. Win prizes ranging from bar tabs to adult toys while enjoying various drink specials.

Inside WaiTiki in Orlando

Sunday through Thursday there is no cover charge from open (11am) to close (2am), but on Friday and Saturday nights, WaiTiki becomes part of the Wall Street Plaza block party. Entrance to this is at the Wall Street Cantina and is usually $5 for admission to all of the plaza venues.

Follow Wall Street Plaza on Facebook and Twitter for information on upcoming events and promotions.

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WaiTiki Retro Tiki Lounge
Wall Street Plaza
19 N. Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 407-481-1199
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[Photos by Michelle Snow, except "The Big One" courtesy of WaiTiki's menu]

Since 1933, Sloppy Joe’s Bar has been serving up cold ones in Key West. And they start early here – Sloppy Joe’s opens at 9am, serving up food and beverages to customers. Closing time is 4am.

Sloppy Joe's Exterior

Food is of the average bar type – burgers, sandwiches, etc. There’s also a good variety of seafood, this being an island after all. And yes, you can order a Sloppy Joe sandwich at Sloppy Joe’s, too. It’s quite tasty, actually, though I was disappointed to have to pay extra for fries.

Beers here average about $4-$5 for a bottle, drafts a little less. Frozen drinks like rum runners and the award-winning “Sloppy-Rita” will set you back about $7-$8.

Sloppy Joe’s has live music from noon until 2am every day. The first act, usually a solo artist or duo, plays from noon until about 5pm. A second band plays from 5:30pm until 9:30pm. And a third band takes over from 10pm until 2am, when Sloppy Joe’s clears out a few tables to make room for a dance floor.

Sloppy Joe's Drink Menu is Hard to Miss

The bar is also home to several major Key West events throughout the year. Most notable is the annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. Author Ernest Hemingway was a fixture in the bar in its early days, and when he died, his wife gave some of his memorabilia to the bar to display. In 1970, Sloppy Joe’s started up the contest and it’s been a major Key West shindig ever since.

Sloppy Joe’s is usually crowded. During Spring Break, when I visited, it was wall-to-wall bodies at night. It’s a short walk from Mallory Square’s infamous sunset carnival and a main stop on the popular Duval Pub Crawl, so it tends to draw a lot of tourists. The bar has no dress code and usually no cover, either.

Can’t make it there in person? The bar’s website even has several web cams to capture all the action.

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Sloppy Joe’s Bar
201 Duval St
Key West, FL 33040
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[Photos by Michelle Snow]

Had enough of the brightness and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip? Looking for a nice local hangout to grab a nice glass of wine or meet up with friends who live in town? Head to the western suburbs, just a block shy of the official border of Summerlin to The Grape Street Cafe and Wine Bar. Tucked into a strip mall a few doors down from a Gold’s Gym, you’ll find a cozy hideaway with indoor and shaded outdoor seating.

Yes, you can grab a table and have dinner, but I’d recommend hanging out with the friendly staff at the bar. They have a number of lovely wine flights sorted by variety as well as at least 75 options by the glass on any given night.If you’re a real wino, be sure to stop by on Mondays to take advantage of their half-priced bottles.

No fancy-shmancy electronic machines pouring wines by the ounce. If you want something you like, talk to the bar staff and they’ll point you in the right direction without smugness or superior airs.

Your best bet is to decide if you’d like to try one of their amazing starters (the crab-stuffed shrimp go great with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio) and then work your wine selection from there. Even if you opt for a heavier Merlot with a lighter appetizer, you’ll hardly go wrong.

This oasis is quite a distance from the strip, so if you’re cabbing it, prep yourself for an expensive fare and make arrangements for a pickup before your driver departs (the taxi’s don’t troll Vegas suburbs and won’t stop when hailed). If you’ve got a rental car at your disposal, be sure to rochambeau for a designated driver. It’ll be a bit of a drive back. That said, it’ll be well worth the trip.

Image courtesy of Grape Street Cafe.

Take a break from shopping at The Palazzo at SUSHISAMBA

No, it’s not a typo. SUSHISAMBA at that Palazzo Shoppes at The Palazzo Las Vegas is branded that way. Normally seeing text in all caps drives my copy writing sensibilities over the deep edge, but in this case, the all caps are well earned.

Fusion dining and entrainment is all the rage these days and I’ve had some fairly interesting combinations — Latin/Italian, and French/Thai to name a few. However, I’ve never had anything quite like SUSHISAMBA’s mash-up of Asian/Brazilian/Peruvian flavors.

You can opt for dinner within the body of the restauarant, or you can wrap yourself around the bar at the entryway. If you really want to see what’s going on behind the scenes, grab a seat at teh sushi bar in the back of the house. It all depends on what kind of magic you want to see happen.

From a bar point of view, it’s a fun place to stop and sit in the midst of your shopping excursions at The Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip. If you want a more intimate feel, swing around to the interior space where you’ll be transported into a fantasy of anime and kabuki images swimming in a sea of bright oranges and reds.

Now THIS is my kind of tree.

When you sit down, i encourage you to leave your old standbys behind. After all if, you wanted a well drink, you could go downstairs to the Venetian/Palazzo and grab one of those while trying your hand at the tables. When you’re are SushiSamba, follow the gracious staff’s recommendations. If you love sake, let them walk you through their offerings and they’ll help you match the right pour with your palate and sushi or small plate selection. I’m not much of a sake girl, so I tried a sampling of some of their most popular house specialties. Here’s a quick breakdown of my favorites:

• Samba Juice: This blend of raspberry and watermelon infused rum, açai, passionfruit, créme de banana, guava was amazing. It’s the kind of drink that goes down fast and smooth and every minute of it is delightful. With all the fruit and the fresh pineapple garnish, you feel much better about skipping that V-8 and enjoying this.
• Nina Fresa: Like the Samba Juice, this sweet refreshing glass of Svedka Vodka, muddled strawberries, orange liqueur, lime, and guava is so light and delicious, you hardly believe the alochol content of it. It’s certainly a cold glass of the best tastes of summer.
• Caipirinha: The classic Latin cocktail with Leblon cachaça, lime, and sugar is muddled muddled with fresh fruit. If you like mojitos, try this. It’ll be everything you like about the Cuban cocktail with an extra boost of flavor.

If you’re not a drinker, or if you need to give your liver the night off, try the watermelon mojo or a berry smash. You’ll get all of the flavor, even without the kick.

Some of the yummy sashimi options

Of course, I would never recommend consumption of alcohol without accompanying it with some substance.  Get a dose of your daily greens with some incredibe tempura green beans (the aoli is to die for) and the yellowtail seviche taquitos. If you’re a sashimi fan, don’t miss a sampler of their fresh and unique preparations. I highly recommend the tuna with granny smith apples, serrano chiles, and lime. Yes, it sounds like nothing you’ve ever tasted. Trust me, it is like nothing you’ve ever tasted.

Photos by Nancy Syzdek

Disclosure: I was invited and hosted by SUSHISAMBA to try their menu. That said, they earned every accolade they’ve received here.