Beat the drums, this ain’t Bongos.

Estefan Kitchen has opened its first location outside of Miami, one of several restaurants at the new Promenade at Sunset Walk near Walt Disney World.

Gloria and Emilio are the Estefans of the name, she the renowned Cuban-American singer who along with Miami Sound Machine gave us the effervescently zingy “Conga” and other classics.

Fredster’s will find its audience in the many locals who crave a place to dine and dance – I’m frequently asked if there is such a place. The music, obviously, will change with the rotation of bands. It would be nice for the food and service to find their own consistent level.

A nice family restaurant, but we’re talking more of the Sister Sledge “We Are Family” kind. Fun spot on Church Street with an eclectic crowd and big sloppy burgers.It’s the first national chain to market specifically to the gay community. You might have figured it out if you had wandered in on a Tuesday for Bingo Night, hosted by local celebrity Miss Sammy (hint: it’s not short for Samantha) or for the Maryoke sing-alongs on Wednesdays. At other times, you might not have noticed anything different about the place at all. Indeed, on one of my lunch visits, there was a family at the next table, a father, mother and baby in a stroller. Everyone is welcome at Mary’s — she does not discriminate. She is a terrific hostess, but I don’t think anyone would call her the best cook in town, especially if you should wander away from the list of burgers. Suffice to say the place will never be called Meatloaf Mary’s. Stick with the burgers, and you’ll be fine. The hard part is deciding on which burger to have. There are 11 variations, with names such as Queen Mary, Sloppy Mary, Spicy Mary and Blue Boy burger. And if you missed the Sister Sledge reference, I doubt you’d understand Blue Boy. (No, it’s not served raw. The blue refers to the cheese.) Most of the burgers are made with a half-pound of certified Angus beef, although one is bigger, made with a full pound of meat. That one is called the Proud Mary, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Voted the second best German restaurant in the U.S. but readers of GermanDeli.com for 2009. (Bavarian Grill of Plano, Texas, was number one; go figure.) I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I’m prepared to call it the best German restaurant in Central Florida.Although the surroundings leave something to be desired, there’s good German food to be had here. Have a schnitzel, or the sausage platter, but beware: it’s a lot of food.The place is especially festive Thursdays through Sundays when there is entertainment. Oom-pah-pah!

Its the House of Blues, a boisterous boite that celebrates the diversity and brotherhood of world culture and promotes racial and spiritual harmony through love, peace, truth, righteousness and non-violence. But despite a mission statement that makes it sound like the lunchroom at the United Nations, this is actually a themed restaurant that serves up rhythm, blues and soul and not so incidentally surprisingly good food, most of it rooted in a New Orleans style.

What’s surprising about it is that everything is of good quality, prepared and presented with the sort of gourmet flair you’d expect from a fine dining establishment, not a place that is made to look like a juke joint.

Menu highlights include a smoked double-cut pork chop, etouffe and Cajun meat loaf. For appetizers, the Mississippi catfish bites are pretty tasty.

The bread pudding is a must. The Sunday gospel brunch, which features an all-you-can-eat buffet,  is an inspirational treat.

As you stand in line at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville to get your beeper, which you’ll carry with you as you wait even longer for your table, you might be reminded of the lyrics “Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville .” No, you definitely will be reminded of those lyrics, because if you spend more than 20 minutes in the restaurant you’re sure to hear them. Heck, you could spend 20 minutes just trying to get a drink at the bar. The theme here is the music of Jimmy Buffett and his parrothead paradise. Sorry, I don’t know why his fans are called parrotheads. And I probably missed a lot of the insider jokes and other references to his songs that I’m unfamiliar with. The upstairs bar, for example, is probably called the 12-volt bar for some reason. I have only a Top-40 knowledge of his songs. I enjoy his music, though two straight hours of it can be a bit much. I do know that many of his songs are either themed on food and drink, or contain references to them. So that part lends itself well to a restaurant theme. And the Key Westiness and island atmosphere of his songs add to the decor. There’s nothing worth writing a new song over, but there are a few things worth sampling. The jerk chicken was one of my favorite entrees because it was much more substantial than I was expecting. It featured two small leg quarters rubbed with mild jerk seasoning and served atop a mound of yellow rice and accompanied by grilled vegetables. There was an indiscernable white sauce surrounding the rice, but other than that it was pretty good. Jimmy’s jammin’ jambalaya was OK too. The rice based dish had plenty of chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage. The seasonings were a little mild, probably tuned for the masses, but it was a nice version of the New Orleans favorite. Of course, it would be impossible to visit Jimmy Buffett’s and not have the Cheeseburger in Paradise, the trademarked dish from the song of the same name. Indeed, it comes with all the accouterment in the verse, lettuce, tomato, french fried potatoes, etc. Keep in mind it’s the location that is heavenly, not the cheeseburger itself. The patty was thick, though not particularly juicy. It was cooked to the requested medium rare.

The long-awaited Kavas Tacos + Tequila has finally opened at Pointe Orlando from the folks who brought you Taverna Opa, also at the Pointe, and Tapa Toro at Icon Park. With Kavas, they add Tex-Mex and Mexican street foods to their portfolio of Greek and Spanish cuisines.

Kings is smaller than Splitsville, and is spread out over one floor. It occupies a space on International Drive that used to be a Gooding’s grocery store. So now there are alleys instead of aisles.

Although there are a couple of private rooms with their own lanes for party groups, most of Kings’ 22 lanes are grouped together. You may not notice them at first because there are so many ultra large television screens hanging over them. Hope you’re not easily distracted as you try to roll the ball to his that sweet spot that will knock all 10 pins down.

Also like Splitsville — there’s really no way to do this without comparing; we’re talking about a genre here — Kings strives to offer its guests more than your average old-style bowling alley food. I can still taste reheated frozen pizzas from my youth eaten with the same fingers that had just been placed in the holes on the balls where so many other fingers had been. And this was the pre-Purell era. But I digress.

Kings’ menu is extensive (perhaps too much so). It has sandwiches and wraps, it has burgers, it has pizzas, it has sliders (different from burgers), it has salads and it has steak, chicken and seafood entrees. What it doesn’t have is focus.

There’s barbecue, there’s Asian, there’s Southwestern. How about a little Hawaiian? Or British? Cajun, why not? And of course a Brazilian fish stew.

Most of what I tasted was perfectly acceptable. I especially liked the pulled pork sliders — very moist meat with a delightful smoky aroma. And the barbecued ribs were good, too, quite tender. And I liked the chicken wings, which are available in a variety of flavors. The pizzas I tried were a bit too thin.

Note: Kings is adults-only after 6 p.m.

Don’t pay much attention to the cafe designation. This is mainly a nightclub with elaborate (and good) entertainment. You basically come here for the show and to have drinks. The food might help alleviate the affects of the latter.

An upscale seafood (Ocean) and steak (Prime) supper club (live music) in the vein of The Oceanaire Seafood Room. The main dining room features warm wood walls with huge five-foot portholes that look through to the lounge area. (The dining room has its own bar for more intimate imbibing, a nice touch.) Touches of blue neon and a soft glow from drumlike light fixtures offer romantic notes, and white tablecloths and candles with frosted shades add a touch of elegance.
A “surf n turf” appetizer had lovely sea scallops and boneless short ribs plopped together in a smallish bowl with way too mashed potatoes. Good scallops, good ribs, bad presentation.
Onion soup was distinguished by a near lack of broth under heavy cheese; she-crab soup had a slight astringency and was not nearly as rich as it should have been.
Service was professional and thorough, and once the kitchen makes the right improvements, Ocean Prime will be a good choice.