Bull & Bear, the fine dining steakhouse at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, has been voted 2018 Best Restaurant Overall in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants. Two restaurants — Victoria & Albert’s and Kadence — tied for second place. Osprey Tavern came in fourth.

Of Bull & Bear, Richard E. Brown wrote, “Great Food and the staff is top notch, all under the directions of chef Richard.”

Victoria & Albert’s was a winner in this category last year, as well. Kadence, the nine-seat sushi restaurant in Orlando, is new on the list.

Selam Ethiopian & Eritrean Cuisine has been voted the Best New Restaurant of 2018. Wine Bar George takes second place and Winter Park’s The Glass Knife is third.

Many of the people who voted for Selam took the time to leave lengthy comments supporting their choice. “We’ve traveled and visited many restaurants across the state,” wrote RealVision Enterprises. “However this one deserves our review after a great experience with excellent food, excellent drink, fantastic staff/customer service and an excellent manager running the show. Definitely worth many more visits in the future.”

Apparently, I haven’t dined at Pisces Rising in Mount Dora since the middle of 2004. At least that’s the date on a yellowed framed copy of a review I wrote in June of that year. Since then, I’ve learned, there have been at least a couple of ownership changes, so I figured it was time to check it out again.

Not only ownership changes, the concept is different, too. Originally a seafood centric restaurant — Pisces, after all — its menu is decidedly less fishy in its current iteration.

Actually, I’d be hard pressed to put my finger on a central menu theme. Dishes jump from region to region and event to different countries. But a general goal, it seems, is to Floridate them with a local twist using ingredients from nearby farms.

It’s been nearly two years since we first visted The Pie, the plainly named pizza seller in College Park, and nearly one year since word came that the original owner was closing and a new owner was taking over. I’m not sure when the new management moved in — recently a young fellow working there said it had only been a few months — but it still has the feel of a place that hasn’t quite found its niche.

And I don’t know why that should be because the food is actually quite good, though the pies of The Pie might not be the pizzas most people imagine when the topic comes up.