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I waited a long time for Shiraz Grill to open. Each time I drove by and saw the lights of the restaurant's stylized marquee illuminating a Moghul-style font, I drooled at the notion of devouring their charbroiled kebabs. And when it finally opened a couple of months later, my drooling problem had ceased, only to be supplanted by full-fledged salivary incontinence in anticipation of my first meal here. Shiraz Grill is a pet project of chef/owner Ali Zarazel, an IT professional by trade who, like so many budding restaurateurs, left his day job to devote all his time and energy into running...

With its array of large pillars, HRC stands majestically like a Roman Coliseum of rock, boasting more pieces of rock and roll memorabilia than any other Hard Rock. Not only is there a vast, multi-level cafe, but throw in Hard Rock Live Orlando, a 3,000-person concert venue, and you've got a winner.

Orlando’s lone Ethiopian restaurant is a blessing for foodies with an appetite for the exotic. Utensils come in the form of pancake-like sourdough bread called injera, used to scoop intensely spiced dishes from a large communal platter. Be sure to sample traditional honey wine as well as Ethiopian coffee, brewed in a clay pot.

Franco Petrarca always had grander visions for his humble pizzeria, visions that would gradually be realized through a series of menu tweaks, interior design facelifts and personnel changes. But the coup de grâce came earlier this year when he convinced Rosario Limonio, former head chef of Winter Park’s critically acclaimed Limoncello and Allegria restaurants, to run the relatively small kitchen at Famas and transport some culinary legitimacy to the I-Drive corridor. No question Limonio is a maestro of Italian cuisine – multiple requests for him to appea...

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