While driving to work this morning I heard a radio advert for one of my favorite local restaurants, which inspired this post. I was actually planning on publishing a post about this place at some point in the future, but the radio spot was a good motivator to get it done more quickly. The place I’m speaking of is Amura Japanese restaurant.

One of the fantastic things about this local restaurant is its various locations, spread throughout the Central Florida area:

For those sushi lovers, Amura’s extensive selection of rolls will probably have you deciding for a half-hour. It’ll surely be worth the wait, particularly when you see the presentation. Now, you’ll note I said “surely” because I myself don’t care for sushi. For those who share my taste–or lack thereof–there’s a diverse selection of traditional Japanese food. One of my personal favorites is chicken katsu.

A couple of things I’d recommend you keep-in-mind when dining at Amura, particularly if you plan on visiting the downtown location:

- Lunch can be quite busy, especially on Fridays. Anticipate a wait, as well as a longer-than-one-hour outing.
- Lunch is quite a bit more affordable than dinner. Dinner dishes average around $20 (not including cocktails).
- Parking can be tricky, especially if you’re their specifically for lunch and you don’t work downtown.
- The dining area is fairly small, so you may not be able to be accommodated if you have a really large group…or you just might not be able to all sit together.

ENJOI!

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but buying a car is tantamount to a trip to the dentist.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been leisurely (read: obsessively) looking for a car.  Thankfully I’m under no immediate pressure to buy, but it’s time, I’m ready and I’ve done my research.  And, by research I mean I’ve scoured the pages of Consumer Reports, checked out Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds, and I’ve run various scenarios to see if I can truly afford what my heart desires.

That being said, no amount of research prepares you to sit face-to-face with the sales people.   First stop tonight: Bill Ray Nissan in Longwood, not because I enjoy sitting in traffic driving 30 minutes in the opposite direction of home, but because I researched their Web site, saw a car I liked and wanted to take it for a spin. Maybe they sized me up from the word go or maybe my “I’ve done my research attitude” was written all over my face … either way, they obliged me with a spin around the block, but didn’t humor me an ounce on the negotiation I was so well prepared for.

Stop Numero Dos was completely opposite. The folks at Classic Nissan were not only well-informed, but they actually tried to talk me out of buying a new, more expensive car and into a year-old SUV with slightly high mileage. I’m not sure if my communication skills need polishing or if their ears needed de-waxing, but no amount of “I’m not buying a car tonight” could convince them. In fact, an hour later I was still trying to figure out their strategy of selling me the used car. I suppose, as they said, there’s a high demand for the new ones so they’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of the old ones even if Clark tells me otherwise.

Speaking of doing “whatever it takes” … maybe I’ll go here next.

The 4th annual Downtown Orlando Art & Living Expo is just around the corner. In fact, it’s this coming weekend — Saturday, February 23rd and Sunday, February 24th. Providing the weather is agreeable, this wide variety of arts, crafts, music, plants and food–hosted around beautiful Lake Eola–can be a favorite local experience.

If you’re thinking about heading downtown for this festival, visit the official website first for event times and information. This includes extensive information on featured artists (as well as past award winners).

One important thing to consider when driving downtown during this festival is parking. While there are several public parking garages located in the downtown area, many of the surrounding streets are closed…including a portion of Robinson Street. (Just be aware of where not to park!)

Bring your patience along, and remember your neighborhood spirit!

If you’re a blogger and happen to attend and take photos of the downtown expo, please feel free to share your stories with us via the comments section here.

This past Sunday I popped-in to the Starbucks in the Dr. Phillips community. While I was there I saw something quite entertaining. I was paying for my sweetened passion fruit iced tea when my eyes wandered to some signage sitting next to two “tip” jars:

I wasn’t able to take a picture of the tip jars because there were people behind me and I didn’t want to hold up the line, but if memory serves me correctly…Michael Jackson’s jar was way more full than Britney’s! What an innovative way to solicit tips.

NOTE TO SELF: If I’m ever visiting Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, do not park directly in front of The Waverly on Central Avenue.

One thing I don’t want this blog to become is a venue to “dog” or “diss” local businesses. If anything I want to bring them support. However, I think it only fair that if our adventures led us to experience something not all-too-great, then we owe it to our readers to let them know about it. Given that, I feel it necessary to share my opinion of a recent visit to Gloria Estefan’s Bongo’s Cuban Cafe, located at Downtown Disney in the heart of “tourist town.” Now, you might be asking yourself why I as a local resident was spending time at Downtown Disney. Well, I can honestly say it’s all because of Virgin Megastore, which is located across the plaza from Bongo’s.

A friend of mine is in town from Colorado and we wanted to make a trip to the music store, and we decided to couple that with a bite to eat and a cocktail to wash it down with. While the atmosphere at Bongo’s is certainly festive, our dining experience–albeit merely appetizers–left much to be desired. Firstly, the barstools are extremely uncomfortable. They’re extremely fitting with the theme of the venue — after all, they are bongos. But anything past 20 minutes just becomes a pain in the rear. Literally. Secondly, three items I inquired about on the menu were no longer being served. This includes one type of beer and two dishes. For a restaurant located in a prime tourist location, to not have a current menu is not a plus in my book.

Lastly, the two dishes I ordered were lukewarm. I’m not typically a fan of super hot [temperature] food, but the rice & black beans and french fries were borderline cold, which is not enjoyable to me.

Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t want this to be a forum of negativity or bashing, but I would have to say I would not recommend visiting Bongo’s Cuban Cafe, either for locals or for tourists. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be alone in my opinion. “Gloria,” I say, “stick to makin’ the music.”

Do you have your own Bongo’s experience you’d like to share? If so, please let us know by leaving a comment in this post.

I love food. I love to eat it. I love to smell it. I love to look at it. Simply put I just love food, and the older I get the more my body is reflecting that love. But that’s fine — I’ll just have to start eating smarter.

Now unless I’m out-of-the-loop Orlando isn’t necessarily known for it’s wide variety of “food” or specialty “health” cuisine. So eating smart can often be difficult if you are constantly on-the-go (like so many of us are today), but it’s not impossible. In fact, it’s quite simple at Dandelion Communitea Cafe. The self-proclaimed “urban teahouse with an eco-attitude” provides consumers seeking a healthier lifestyle with a robust menu of organic & vegetarian food, and tea. That coupled with the venue’s charming atmosphere and convenient downtown location make it the perfect “out-of-the-box” place for a meal.

Aside from the healthy food one of the appealing things about Dandelion Communitea Cafe is the community feel. As pictured above, the cafe resides in an old house, and is immediately welcoming to its guests. After ordering your food, have it delivered to you while you’re lounging in any given room. It really is like having a meal at a friend or family member’s house, and is a local experience like none other.

Visit the Dandelion’s website for information like location, store hours, menu & pricing, and to sign-up for their newsletter. For additional information–like a calendar of events–visit the Dandelion Communitea Cafe MySpace page.

If you happen to visit this local cafe anytime soon please write in and let us know about your experience.

True to form, every “New Year” starts out with a fresh set of resolutions … lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more … you’ve heard (and resolved to master) them all.  I skipped the resolutions this year, but I’m always hoping to find more time for Health & Wellness. 

Surprisingly, Central Florida has TONS to offer in the way of activity to help achieve these goals. 

If you have $20 and a couple spare hours, my first recommendation is a canoeing trip through the Wekiva River.   

Five bucks gets you entrance to  Wekiwa Springs State Park, which is situated just off of Wekiwa Springs Rd., easily accessed from I-4 and SR 434.  Another $15 gets you a canoe.   The waters are calm, the surroundings are serene and you can maneuver your way through the river in a couple hours.  For the more adventurous, choose the Rock Springs Run, it’s full of narrow passages and challenging paddles. 

A little advice though, if steering isn’t your thing, you’d better take a seat at the front of the canoe and work on Madonna-izing your arms by mastering the art of paddling! 

And, if that workout isn’t enough for your well-being, throw on your hiking boots and traverse through the 13 miles of trails this State Park offers, but don’t forget the trail map!!!

My only question: If it’s the WekiVa River, then why is it WekiWa Springs?!?! 

Welcome to Pulse of Central Florida, a blog about the Orlando and Central Florida area from an insider’s perspective. The content will be diverse and cover everything from local entertainment, shopping, news, and more. Yes, of course there will be mention of what Orlando has become known the world over for: Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando; however, the primary focus is Orlando as seen through the eyes of a resident.

The site has two primary authors but will have various contributors — from guest bloggers to featured articles. We encourage user-engagement via post comments and e-mail, and will do our best to respond in a timely matter (keeping in mind we are both full-time professionals and this is a side-project). If there’s anything you’d like to see featured please let us know.

While this blog will certainly grow and morph into something different over the coming years, we will be launching with these categories:

• Entertainment
• Food
• Health & Wellness
• News
• Nightlife
• Out and About
• Tourism & Travel

We look forward to providing interesting and relevant content, and meeting new Central Florida residents through this outlet.