Mi Tomatina, the paella place in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square, is now Pepe’s Cantina. While Spanish may still be spoken here, the dialect is more Mexican than Catalan. And there’s a distinct Texas accent, as well.

Pepe’s Facebook page (the website is still “under construction) states that chef Jose Baranenko’s menu “puts a new twist on traditional Mexican cuisine.” Inasmuch as fajitas and nachos — and burgers, for that matter — are Mexican it’s only because they migrated from the country to the north.

But I’ll not quibble about authenticity. I had a pleasant visit to Pepe’s recently, and if the cantina vibe isn’t quite in sync with such neighbors as Chez Vincent, Mynt and Armando’s — Pepe’s Facebook page is promoting an event called Cinco de Drinko — it isn’t any more out of place than, say, Dexter’s down the block.

Let’s face it, the Porch is a bar that serves food. And you should also know that there isn’t actually a porch; The Garage would have been a better name and indicator of decor. But there are a couple of things worth eating to help soak up the alcohol. Try the slicers (with the onion rings).

It wants to be thought of as an inland contemporary fish camp, but there isn’t anything campy about it. But the seafood is good, so there’s that.

An unassuming little spot along the road where you place your order at the counter then find a seat in the small dining area to wait – not a long time – for someone to bring your food to you. Threre’s a menu board on the wall behind the counter, but don’t overlook the hot food in the steam table at the other end of the room. And if you’re not sure what the food is called, it’s OK to point at whatever looks good. Map.

I stopped in recently and had the pernil, or roast pork shoulder. They referred to it on a hand-written specials menu board as pulled pork, but this wasn’t like what you’d find in your basic barbeque joint. The meat, which was moist and flavorful, was in large chunks and topped by a piece of delicious crispy skin. Woe to the person who takes this heavenly piece of epicurean epidermis and sets it aside. It’s OK to do that with chicken skin. But with pernil you have to eat the skin. And that’s that.

In the days following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans, Ruth’s Chris accelerated its plan to move the chain’s headquarters to Central Florida. Subsequently, it opened this location – it’s third in the area – as a sort of flagship. There has never been any question about the quality of the food, especially the signature steaks. But beware the servers’ attempts to upsell. They can be persuasive and, on some occasions, deceptive. Other locations include: 610 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park; 407-622-2444; and 7501 W. Sand Lake Road, Orlando; 407-226-3900.

Formerly Seito Sushi, Sakari serves a decent menu of rolls and sashimi. Nothing out of the ordinary, but fairly priced.

Shake Shack opened a few weeks ago, but I resisted going because, frankly, I refuse to wait in line for food. The last time I did so was at a Magnolia Bakery in the West Village and I felt like the fool I was for waiting more than an hour to end up with a very average cupcake. So imagine my surprise when I finally screwed my courage to the proverbial sticking point and headed for the restaurant, preparing not only for the line but the already legendary inadequately sized parking lot, and not only got a parking space right away but also walked into the Shake Shack and stepped right up to the counter to place my order.

Of course, it was 3:30 in the afternoon, so there’s that.

The burger, a 100 percent all natural angus patty (no hormones or antibiotics), was very good. Hour-long wait good, no, but walk right in and have a bite to eat good, yes. The patty was not too rare (too thin for that, really) but had a wonderful charred flavor, and the Shacksauce, whatever that is, added a nice condimental note. The crinkly-cut fries had a good crisped exterior and an airy potatoness inside.

The shake was thick and creamy. The strawberry flavor was more of a hint than a major component — there was no evidence of actual berries in the vanilla ice cream, but I could taste it.

Small – and very expensive – high-end sushi bar.

From Atlanta’s Ford Fry comes a rare clunker. The food is modest at best, sometimes odd, and the atmosphere is unpleasantly loud.

Tamarind brings fine Indian cuisine to an area of town that could use some diversification. The main menu is extensive, with categories of chicken, lamb, seafood and vegetarian entrees as well as a selection of tandoori items and dosas. The lunch menu has a fraction of the items found on the dinner menu, which was disappointing at first — I wish I had had more options, especially in terms of soups and appetizers, which are essentially nonexistent at lunchtime, a samosa being the only exception.
But everything I sampled was wonderful, and service was warm and gracious.