Lucas Widrick
Contributing Writer
Staff Page
I must mention up front that I have never officially reviewed a book before. There is even a small part of me that is still intimidated by those that don’t have pictures. However, after receiving a copy of Scott Joseph’s Orlando Dining Guide recently and reading through it I am going to give it my best shot.
Let’s see where this goes . . .
If you are anything at all like my wife and me, there is a conversation for you each weekend when you are away from home that starts something like this:
Me: “I am getting hungry, where do you want to go eat?”
Her: “I don’t know. What was that place that we have been meaning to get to out here?”
Me: “I can’t remember. Let’s just start heading toward home.”
Sure we have phones with us that could help narrow the search, but those are of much more use when you know what you are looking for to begin with. That is why I am happy to now have my own copy of Scott Joseph’s Orlando Dining Guide.
This first version of the guide was not meant to cover every single eating establishment in Orlando, but really to provide a current collection of mostly the best. His recommendations are what I am looking for in a guide like this anyway and who would want to carry around the huge volume that it would take to cover the thousands of others in the area? I much prefer having the size of this guide that will fit comfortably in my glove box (which is where it will likely live) or even my wife’s purse.
Ease of use and the ability to find what you are searching for quickly is also what I am looking for in a guide like this. Though the main body of the book lists the eateries in alphabetical order if you know exactly what you are looking for, the back of the book also provides a few other handy search options:
• Cuisine – to search from categories from African to Vietnamese
• Location – to help you find something in the area where you happen to be
• Features – perhaps my favorite, as a way to search by things like dog friendly or outdoor dining or quiet conversation.
After taking a just a minute to read through the introduction of the book I was able to use this guide very efficiently. Scott indicates that the book will be regularly updated as restaurants come and go and as the information changes. I am looking forward to seeing the future iterations as the Orlando area food scene continues to evolve.
*For those of you who would like to meet Scott Joseph in person to congratulate him on the book, there will be a book signing on Thursday, September 16 at Citrus (821 North Orange Avenue – 407-373-0622).