Another Universal Studios Holiday Getaway

Roll your eyes, or rub your hands with glee, because we’re virtually visiting Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, again!

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Belly Time

Gold Belly, that is. Gold Belly, as you are probably aware, is a site that connects you with sellers all over the country and lets you buy meals and food products to be delivered to the comfort of your home. I guess you could use it for local makers, but that would be dumb given the premium prices you pay on Gold Belly. But if you want a pizza from Rochester, NY delivered to San Diego? Gold Belly is probably your site. And I’m sure they have grown exponentially thanks to covid. I’ve tried it a few times and offer my experiences.

Tequila’s second shot goes down better

I’m happy to report that giving Tequila’s in Shop Rite Plaza in Niskayuna went MUCH better than the first time. As I previously wrote, the food was really good, but the customer service/ordering experience was beyond frustrating.

They have since joined up with Mealeo for online/mobile ordering. This has resulted in a bit less customization availability that was welcome on their website ordering. But it also adds some accountability to online orders. Anyway, ordering on Saturday we used the Mealeo app to order. The pickup time was 30 minutes from order and was ready within 5 minutes of that time. Not great, since our order wasn’t elaborate and they didn’t seem to be busy when I went to pick it up, but at least I wasn’t standing around in the foyer for an hour. It was downright bearable.

Desert Drinks & Exotics, first taste

Here it is, the first batch of reviews from my megabox of worldwide treats from Desert Drinks & Exotics!

The ups and downs of Tequila’s, Niskayuna

I’m not going to lie, I was ready to absolutely SHRED Tequila’s Mexican Bar & Grill. We decided to finally try the relatively newly opened Mexican spot (in the old LT’s Grill space in the Shop Rite Plaza – which we never did try) recently, placing an order through their website. That process was generally painless and I headed off to pick up our order at the time indicated. Well, after waiting a half hour or so for my pickup time (not unreasonable for a Saturday night), I arrived and stood around waiting for my order for very nearly AN HOUR. I wasn’t happy at this new restaurant, owned by the same people that own the well-regarded, but parking deficient, La Mexicana in Schenectady. There were two other people there waiting for takeout when I arrived that waited an awfully long time, also, not including however long they had already been there.

Take out from Innovo Kitchen in Latham

We waited a LONG time before finally trying Innovo Kitchen on Route 7 in Latham. Shortcut review: We won’t wait so long before going back! It was their Twitter post on Saturday touting their Saturday special that finally drew me in. I had my eye on a couple of new places to try (currently at least 3 on my list – hopefully test drives and reviews soon), but when I ran the special by my wife she jumped on board.

Christmas at Universal Orlando Resort

Imagine the usual disclaimers about skipping this post if you’re not interested in reading about UOR…AGAIN! I know, I know, it’s not local, but I’ve got some great pictures and food talk from a short visit paid to UOR during their holidays celebration.