Mad Girl Eat’s Summer Tour 2014!

I’m hitting the road in June on my annual Summer Tour, eating my way around the U.S.A! My itinerary thus far on the first half of my journey is: 

~NEW ORLEANS, LA  ~HOUSTON, TX ~ SAN ANTONIO, TX ~TUCSON, AZ  ~ PHOENIX, AZ ~LAS VEGAS, NV ~SAN DIEGO, CA ~LOS ANGELES, CA ~SAN FRANCISCO, CA. 

We are still organizing the second half of this trip, but MINNEAPOLIS, MN AND CHICAGO, IL are definite.

If you have any restaurant recommendations in any of these areas, I would love to hear about them! Like my motto says….Food Trucks to Five Star. If it’s a great eat, I want to know. Post them here or connect with me on Twitter @MadGirlEats. Thanks!

Summer is looking pretty fine from here!

Mad Girl Eats La Spada’s in Orlando

 

La Spada’s Original Cheesesteaks and Hoagies,  1010 Lee Rd, Orlando, FL.  Locations in Sanford and Orange City also.

This shop comes from a deep lineage of fine sandwich shops, starting in 1938 in Atlantic City, NJ with the family’s first Hoagie shop. Family carried forward the tradition and blazed a trail of new shops in Pennsylvania, then the Ft Lauderdale area of Florida, and now Orlando. The La Spada’s know what they are doing! The superior level they have maintained through the years, shows in every bite.

I ordered their original Cheesesteak. Steak, grilled onions, and white American cheese on a homemade Hoagie roll with sweet peppers. Succulent and simple. ATTENTION! This is the best Cheesesteak I have had outside of Philly. I love that they chop up their steak and don’t leave it in long pieces to make it hard to eat. This mix of meat and melty gooey cheese is perfection. The onions and peppers just add to the party going on in my mouth. Great fries too!

My partner in crime and I stopped in on a whim, split a 10″, moaned and groaned with every bite…. and ordered another. It was just that fantastic! Their Meatball Parm looked incredible and will be one for the next visit!

Hours: Mon – Fri 10:00am to 5:00pm,  Sat and Sun 11:00am to 4:00pm. Conveniently off of I-4 and Lee Rd exit, located in the far end of a strip mall.

http://laspadas.com

5 out of 5 bites of bliss. Mangia!

 

 

 

MGE: The Harry Waugh Dessert Room in Tampa

The Harry Waugh Dessert Room, 1208 South Howard Ave, Tampa, FL.  Inside Bern’s Steak House.

Bern’s Steak House is notably one of the best Steakhouses in the nation. On the second floor of Bern’s Steakhouse, is one of the best dessert rooms in the world! If you have a sweet tooth, enjoy a sugar high…or a sugar coma, or always think about dessert before you order dinner, then The Harry Waugh Dessert Room is for you! It is magic.

You enter the steakhouse lobby to a 2 story entry of rich reds, mirrors, and smoldering atmosphere. After checking in (you need a reservation), you are instructed to walk through the restaurant, past the glassed-in kitchen, to the stairway (to heaven)…otherwise known as the steps to the 2nd floor. Greeted at the top, you are whisked away through wooden passage ways, noticing that every table has its own walled cubby. Ah-mazing! As I am seated, I am handed a bible sized dessert menu. Yes, it will blow your mind. Desserts, dessert wines, cheeses, …anything you ‘d wish for. On the wall is a phone with a direct line to the wait staff, and your own selection of music. Fabulous!

Perusing this menu was so entertaining. I didn’t really have to hem and haw over anything, I knew going in what I wanted. Chocolate all the way, baby! I grew up with chocolate malted, not Hershey syrup, but the jar of powdered chocolate malt for milk. Bringing back sweet childhood memories, I ordered the mega Malted Chocolate Cake. It wasn’t just cake. It also came with a mini chocolate malt, and a malted chocolate mousse.  Oh Mama….this was tremendous. The cake…made with Valrhona chocolate crème, dense chocolate cake, and malted marshmallow crème icing. Hold me. The malted chocolate mousse was phenomenal, but the mini chocolate malt was freaking unbelievable! I wanted more! Everything was garnished with the tiniest malted milk balls I have ever seen….and oh so wondrous. This dessert was a chocolate lovers dream.

Also ordered was the Vintage Chocolate Lush Sundae. A flourless chocolate lush cake, topped with their dreamy homemade ice cream,  fresh whipped cream, chocolate shavings, a strawberry and a side of hot fudge. What more could you want?! Dense, extremely chocolately, and fantabulous! Their dessert menu is overwhelming because everything looks like you want to dive into it ASAP.

Whatever your after dinner treat looks like, you can definitely find something at the Harry Waugh Dessert Room that will make you do cartwheels.

Reservations needed.  http://bernssteakhouse.com

Hours for the Harry Waugh Dessert Room: Sun – Thurs 6:00pm to 10:30pm, Fri and Sat 6:00pm to 11:30pm.

5 out of 5 points for an exceptional experience. Food, atmosphere, staff. Perfection!