Orlando Burgers, Farm Meat and the Places Locals Still Miss

Ask Orlando residents where to eat and which old haunts they miss, and the same names keep coming up. Here is what locals recommend and remember.

The Hunt for a Knockout Burger

One local who calls Orlando one of the best food cities in the US went looking for a burger better than Shake Shack, after being disappointed by Teak and Cow & Cheese. The Dubsdread Taproom was the first name locals offered, and it came up more than once.

Junior Colombian Burger got a detailed recommendation: the burgers come topped with chips and a sauce, and the pineapple sauce is the one to get. Another local calls it their late-night stop. One person names The Whiskey as the best burger they have ever had, and another says Johnny’s Fillin’ Station is their go-to.

Cow & Cheese splits opinion. Some rate it highly. Others say it looks better than it tastes, is hard to eat with your hands and comes in a box soaked in grease. For anyone near Four Corners, locals suggest Adlers, possibly with a second location in Winter Haven.

Buying Meat Straight From Farms

Some residents look for farmers who deliver meat around Central Florida or the Orlando–Tampa area, specifically farmers who share their politics. Locals point to Claremont farmers market, where the rainbow on the stand is the sign to look for, and to Zenn Naturals, a Groveland farm that sells at the Audubon Market on Mondays.

What Locals Like About Eating Here

Asked what they enjoy about living in Orlando, residents keep bringing up food: a really good food scene, a “killer” one, and the growing diversity of food in the city.

Places People Still Miss

Longtime residents keep a list of what is gone. Someone who moved to Orlando in the early ’90s remembers Church Street Station, with Jungle Jim’s, Pebbles, the Olive Garden across the street, Sloppy Joes and Howl at the Moon, along with Pleasure Island. Others name Disney Quest, Wet n Wild, the smell of the Merita Bread factory drifting over I-4, and orange groves with their blossoms.

For nightlife, one resident recalls downtown in 2007: pizza or a gyro after the clubs, then after-parties on Colonial. Another lists I-Bar, BBQ Bar, Lodge, Echo Lounge, Back Booth and Matador downtown, from 2003 to 2014. Dandelion Communitea Cafe makes the list too. Asked which local stories deserve a documentary, people suggest Tanqueray’s as a symbol of the ongoing death of Orlando bars, and Will of Will’s Pub and Lil Indies.