When looking for cheap travel Orlando tips and advice on local restaurants, the best advice is always going to come from someone who actually lives in the area. I've been a resident in the Central Florida area for most of my life and I love trying new restaurants.
The restaurants and eateries I will mention are not your usual tourist-trap-type places. For those, just stick with International Drive and the theme park areas. The places I will mention here are for those of you who would like to venture away from the theme parks and explore the actual city of Orlando and its outlying areas. So a rental car is needed. Don't try to get to these restaurants using a taxi or other public transportation as this will seriously deplete your vacation budget and ensure this will not be a very good cheap travel Orlando deal!
For Italian, I normally do not like to eat at chain restaurants. The best Italian restaurants are the family owned type. One that I highly recommend is located in Casselberry, which is considered by locals to be part of Orlando. Palma Maria is family owned and operated since 1981 and located in Summit Plaza at 1015 East Semoran Blvd. This is homemade Italian superbly cooked. A word of warning here though. This is NOT the place to go if you are in a hurry. The pace here can only best be described as "leisurely." What does that mean? Plan on waiting a while for a table to be set up for you and also for your dinner. No one hurries in this place. I usually go with friends and we use the time to talk so it's no problem. Honestly the homemade bread alone is worth the trip though. They bring you an entire loaf of steaming hot, crusty, yeasty bread along with real butter to slather on. The pasta is absolutely delicious. I can't really say a bad word about this place but just remember not to go if you are in a hurry, and this is an excellent cheap travel Orlando tip for a wonderful place to eat.
In the mood for barbecue? I can heartily recommend Backyard Boys Bar B Que. You will find other articles and publications recommending all manner of BBQ restaurants but I've tried most of them and hands down I would want to eat at Backyard Boys. This is a fairly new restaurant to my area but I've already been there about 4 times in the past month alone. The baby back ribs are scrumptious, the BBQ chicken is moist, the service is wonderful, and there are a slew of great sides to choose from. For a cheap travel Orlando deal, this one is right up there. Don't miss it! It is located near the Seminole Town Center Mall in Sanford, another outlying area but not too far off the beaten track.
Now some may not consider this a secret or anything like that, but I simply love Big Boy Restaurant. It used to be called Frisch's many years ago, then they left Florida, and now they are back under simply the name Big Boy. This is not a fancy place but as cheap travel Orlando deals go, it is great for the family. My favorite thing to eat there is the Slim Jim which is like the Buddy Boy that Frisch's used to have. The Big Boy is great too, and the onion rings are hand cut and breaded. They are awesome! But truly the best thing there is the Hot Fudge Cake. This is my all-time favorite dessert. It is so bad for you but oh so delicious. You can find these restaurants scattered around here and there. One is located in Sanford.
These cheap travel Orlando restaurant tips should help you find a great place to dine while in Orlando.
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