Pulse of Central Florida

Orlando Sentinel’s television critic posted on his blog (Hal Boedecker the TV Guy) today that WESH news veteran Wendy Chioji is leaving the station this May. This is significant news, particularly since she has been with the station for 20 years.

Much of Central Florida grew to love and admire Wendy, an Emmy-award winning reporter, when they shared in her battle with cancer several years ago. To read the story on Hal’s blog click here. You can also read the story at Wesh.com.

When I think “Citrus,” I think sunny, bright … summer. The word evokes a certain feeling of peeling away the rind of a juicy orange, well at least it does for me.Strike all of those thoughts so I can tell you about one of Urban Life Management’s latest downtown additions, Citrus Restaurant. Maybe you don’t know the Urban Life group by its name, but you’ve probably dined in at least one of their restaurants: Hue, Kres or CityFish.

In look, Citrus most resembles Kres – with its darker interior – although perhaps a little less stuffy. Featuring “New American” cuisine with a “Latin” twist, the menu offers the usual Steak, Chicken and Seafood entrees, but all have a bit of that “twist” they talk about. Salmon isn’t just salmon. It’s Pomegranate Glazed Salmon with Wild Mushroom Orzo. Not sure what’s Latin about that, but whatever.

Citrus also offers a variety of appetizers, my favorite was the Shrimp and Lobster Fritters.  The portion was decent and the sweet corn gave it a true fritter-feel.  Another favorite was the Maytag Wedge. Nothing mysterious here, but a good Wedge salad nonetheless.

The restaurant offers a full bar as well, but don’t expect your drinks Casey’s style, even though you’ll pay twice as much.If you’re shy about trying new places, head over to Citrus for lunch or grab Cocks (Cocktails, people!) and Apps before heading out for a night downtown.

Citrus Restaurant
821 North Orange Avenue
Downtown Orlando
407/373-0622
Lunch: Mon-Fri, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dinner: Mon-Wed, 4 to 10 p.m.; Thur & Fri, 4 to 11 p.m.; Sat, 5 to 11 p.m.
Closed on Sunday

Outside of our post last week featuring Peanut and Bean, we’d like to introduce the official first “Pet Pulse.”

Say hello to Guinness Brooks. Guinness is a one-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, living in East Orlando. She likes to play outside and eat grass, dirt, sticks, and trees (and, of course, her dog food and her sister’s dog food, and her Dad’s socks!). She has a lot of energy and makes her owners laugh daily.

We’ve received a few photos so far to last us through the coming weeks but we need more! If you’d like your pet to be featured simply e-mail your photo (high resolution, please) to pulseofcentralflorida[at]mail[dot]com, along with a little bit about your furry friend. Then check the site every Wednesday to see if you’re pet was the lucky chosen one!

Driving is not always the most entertaining–or even tolerable–thing, especially in the Central Florida area. So why not make driving a treat…at least for those around you?

OrlandoSentinel.com recently featured a story highlighting some recent auto license plates that are now available to consumers. They include (but are not limited to) themes on:

- “Trees are Cool”
- “Nascar”
- “Support Our Troops”
- “Donate Organs”

…and more!

To see a sampling of some of the new-and-unique license plates available click here or visit http://urlbrief.com/6e7eb5.

Psssst…. If you need to renew your current tag and you missed our recent post about renewing online, click here.

We’ve created a category to help support our new weekly series, “Pet Pulse.” It’s aptly titled “Pets.” Now we know you’re sitting on the edge of your seats to find out who the very first featured pet will be, but you’ll just have to check back tomorrow (Wednesday)!

One of the features of Restaurant.com I really, really like is it’s convenient for all residents of the Central Florida area, not just Orlando. If you’re not aware of or have never visited Restaurant.com is really is a valuable tool for folks who enjoy dining out frequently but also enjoy bargains.

In a nutshell this site offers discounted certificates for well-known restaurant chains as well as “neighborhood joints” and mom-and-pop eateries. Gift certificates can be purchased via their site for 50%, 75% and sometimes more off of the original price. For example, one of my favorite downtown Orlando places is Greek eatery Cafe Annie. Currently, Restaurant.com is offering a $25 gift certificate for the price of $10. That’s a BARGAIN! Be aware, though, before purchasing there might be stipulations associated with the “deal.” For the aforementioned Cafe Annie’s offer, it is valid for dinner dining only, and a minimum of four (4) people must be present. While looking around the site other offers have “minimum purchases” required, and, of course, the gift certificate doesn’t typically apply to alcohol purchases.

Regardless of the limitations associated with Restaurant.com, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. A few of the more well-known restaurants listed on the site are:

- Barney’s Steak & Seafood
- Friday’s/T.G.I. Friday’s
- Froggers
- Le Peep

If you’d like to check-out Restaurant.com here are a few tips to help you navigate through the site:

1. Click here or type http://www.restaurant.com into your brower.
2. Find your city. You can do this by entering your zip code or your state into the content box on the righthand side of the site. (Hint: if you chose to enter your zip code you’ll get quicker results; however, by searching for your state you’ll get a broader range of results in your area.) Only continue with steps 2-4 if you are searching by zip code.

3. Select your “region.” Cities are segmented-out by “regions,” so you’ll need to find yours and check the box located beside it.

4. Find your city. Look for your city in the dropdown menu.

5. Start finding restaurants that interest you. It’s that simple!

Now I know there’s much information contained in this post, but I’d like to share a few more benefits I feel Restaurant.com offers its visitors. So hang with me….

- Newsletter sign-up. I realize this is a feature most every site offers, but by signing-up to receive newsletters from Restaurant.com, you can have offers and deals e-mailed directly to you. This comes in handy for offers that are time-sensitive, or “for a limited time only.”
- Gift certificates. This is a perfect gift idea for someone you know who enjoys eating out often.
- Location Each search result displays the restaurant’s physical location, and most of the time contact information. This is definitely useful information when considering to purchase a gift certificate.

So that’s Restaurant.com, a great service offered to Orlando and Central Florida residents alike. If you’ve ever used the site for a breakfast, lunch or dinner we’d love to hear about it. Simply click here to e-mail us.

I’m glad I take my camera with me wherever I go these days. After all, you never know when a photo opp might present itself, like this afternoon when I was driving down Colonial Avenue near “Little Vietnam”.

Of course I was intrigued and had to check-out the site when I got home. If you’d like to find out more visit UpYourHair.com.

I love plants. In fact, I’ve been told I have a mild obsession over them. But I don’t think I have anything on this house in my neighborhood (and that isn’t even all of them):

Hello, “Pulse of Central Florida” readers! We’re glad you’re here. We’re even more glad that we’ve been given a chance to meet you guys. We are Peanut (first photo) and Bean, and we belong to blog co-authors klynn75 and akeorlando, respectively. We’re here to announce a new series on this blog called Pet Pulse. We think it’s gonna be really cool, and that you’re going to like it.

We know how much you love your pets. And we also know how much you like to show off your pets! And klynn75 and akeorlando are here to help you do just that. So here’s the deal. “Pet Pulse” will be published every Wednesday with a new photo/feature. But we need YOU to send in photos of your pet, because that’s who we’re going to be featuring*. Just e-mail your photo (high resolution, please) to pulseofcentralflorida[at]mail[dot]com–along with a little bit about your furry friend–and we’ll pick a new photo each week. You’ll just have to check-in every week to see if you’re pet was the lucky chosen one!

What do you think? Cool? We’re excited, and definitely anxious to meet your loving pet. After all…we love making new friends! Send us your photos now!

* While all pets are awesome, remember this is an Orlando/Central Florida blog so we’ll only feature pets in from Orlando/Central Florida communities!

We’ve set-up a unique e-mail address if you should need to get in touch with us. Simply click here or e-mail pulseofcentralflorida[at]mail[dot]com. We have some upcoming features and blog series that we’re sure will entice you to contact us! Stay tuned….