American Q Restaurant at B Resort And Spa in Lake Buena Vista

I spent a delightful Monday evening this week at a tasting for Orlando’s newest BBQ concept, American Q.  This unique restaurant combines the fun and excitement of a Brazilian-style carving and buffet experience with the traditional American flavors of barbecue.  It’s a relaxed, rustic setting with a restored 1951 red Ford truck as the centerpiece, holding the salad bar. Executive Chef Justin Leo created an inspired menu that gives guests a true tour of the best of BBQ.

I started with a Dragonfruit Smash cocktail. This unusual drink combines muddled dragon fruit, tequila, basil simple syrup, lemon and mint, with a big slice of dragonfruit as a garnish. The flavor was very sweet and tropical, but the lumpy texture from the dragonfruit seeds takes some getting used to.  Still, it’s a fun way to try this exotic fruit for the first time!

The bar snacks are truly worth the trip, especially the signature Swine Candy.  I’m not usually a fan of sweetness and bacon combined, but this snack is truly exceptional.  Smoked bacon is roasted with molasses & bold spices to a crunchy-chewy texture, and I liked pairing it with the yummy tater tots.  

I also loved the blue crab and rémoulade stuffed deviled eggs, a nice twist on this vintage favorite.

Visitors to Florida often want to sample alligator meat, and American Q’s alligator boudin is a nice way to cross that off the bucket list. Nicely smoked with rice, roasted tomatoes, peppers & okra, it’s like a Cajun jambalaya in a sausage.

I tried all three types of ribs, and my favorite was the Memphis Baby Backs, nice and meaty with a mild sauce, served with a refreshing apple and caraway coleslaw.

Then it was on to the Flatbed Buffet- an all-you-can-eat bargain at $34.95 for adults, $10 for kids. The servers did a great job explaining the regional sauces: Kansas City, Carolina, Texas Mustard, and a Florida-inspired Mango Heat.  They helped us pair them with the delicious smoked meats.

My favorites were the House Made Andouille Sausages, Smoked Pork Shoulder with Spiced Onions, and Picanha of Beef.  

But the star of the evening was the Brisket Of Beef with Texas Bark.  I’m a brisket connoisseur, having traveled all over Texas to experience different preparations. And I was shocked to discover that this was the most tender, most intensely smoky and juicy brisket I’ve ever tasted. I really enjoyed pairing it with the very nice loaded baked potato salad from the buffet. I’ll make the trip to American Q just to experience that brisket again.  

Oh and for the dessert too! Many restaurants just phone in their desserts, or serve some frozen and reheated standards. But American Q makes each one in-house, and each is incredibly delicious.  

The classic Berry Cobbler, served in a mini cast iron pot, is rustic perfection with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I also loved the Croissant Bread Pudding with warm apple compote and whipped cream. The piece de resistance was the decadent S’mores Pie.  This stuff is serious! The layered graham crackers, gooey chocolate cake, and toasted marshmallow topping makes it a chocoholics dream come true. 

I was wowed from beginning to end at American Q, and I highly recommend it for both locals and tourists alike! Located in the B Resort & Spa in the Downtown Disney area of Lake Buena Vista:
1905 Hotel Plaza Blvd.
Lake Buena Vista, FL
(407)827-3080

Southern Moon Smokehouse now serving Brunch Saturdays & Sundays

Southern Moon BBQ is now serving brunch every weekend starting Saturday the 27th and will be every Saturday and Sunday from 10-4 ‪

They are located on Curry Ford near Crystal Lake next to Winn Dixie & Rogue Pub.

They have some really great creative dishes that are a great mixture of breakfast/brunch and BBQ. One of the best things about Southern Moon is they make almost everything in house even most of the bread.

Tropical Mimosa: lychee, mango, guyaba juices, sparkling wine

I'm not a Mimosa person but this was really good, alcohol was mild, juices were sweet

Pulled Pork Pancakes - Smoked pulled pork shoulder over fluffy corn griddle cakes served with whipped honey butter and whisky maple syrup.$10.99

This was my favorite dish, the pork didn't have a strong BBQ flavor so it didn't overpower the pancake, the corn cakes were very good, the cornmeal was obviously made in house, it had plenty of real chunks of corn.

 

Brioche French Toast - French toast topped with seasonal berry compote. $7.99

 The grits were nice and creamy, in the dishes below, they also had good flavor, grits are hard to do well and they know how to do them right here.

Q Grits - Creamy cheese grits topped with brisket. $6.50

Q Grits - Creamy cheese grits topped with pulled pork. $6.50

Pumpkin Spiced Latte Martini - House made coffee liqueur, Crop Organic Pumpkin Vodka, amaretto and house made ginger beer 

BBQ Benedict - House biscuit topped with smoked short rib, poached egg and Carolina gold hollandaise. $8.99

French toast, hash, grits

Hash Brown Casserole - Crispy hash browns smothered in cheese and creme fraiche topped with your choice of BBQ meat. $9.99

Smoke House Frittata - Filled with tomato, melted onion, and cheese baked fluffy to order. $5.99

Scotch Quail Egg - House sausage wrapped around quail egg, breaded and deep fried served with our Carolina gold hollandaise nestled in a bed of fresh greens. $5.99

Southern Moon Smokehouse Southern Brunch Menu

Pig Floyd's more pics

I already did a full post about Pig Floyd's Here but I had some more pics to share from a second visit.

They are now open from 4 pm daily. Soon they will be open for lunch as well.

Southern Moon BBQ Orlando

Southern Moon BBQ just opened This Past Sunday so I stopped off today to give them a try. They are located on Curry Ford and Crystal Lake next to Winn Dixie and Rogue Pub.

Kicked things off with a drink, Lemonade Tea with Moonshine and Peach Schnapps.

 

Here is the Menu which is on a couple walls, no paper menu yet.

Started off with the buffalo wings, the ranch was buttermilk and unique, Wings were good but nothing I haven't had before. Still good wings are hard to come by.

Ordered a variety of the BBQ'ed meats which you can order by the 1/4 pound or more. wanted to try all the red meats, so got the St. Louis Ribs, Pork Shoulder and Brisket.

Side of Mac & Cheese, better than average. Kinda expensive at $5.99 but a very generous portion. Pretty good, better than average. Would like to see a version with some pork in it.

St. Louis ribs were my favorite thing, they had a nice seasoning and a light smoke flavor which was just right.

They give you a variety of sauces if you request them, they have Texas Q style which is Smokey with I believe a Chipotle pepper flavor. St Louis sauce(my fav) it was thin and a little sweet, Alabama White sauce, Mustard sauce & a Spicy One. One complaint, the sauces they gave us in bottles kept getting ingredients stuck in the top so not much would come out. Have them give you each sauce in a bowl/side container instead, but what that means is that they are using real ingredients and making the sauces themselves which is outstanding.

Interior was a bit desolate but still comfortable and Cozy, can't judge or expect much in their first week they are still getting things situated I'm sure. Our server was awesome, Booth was comfy, restroom was spotless.

There hasn't been any good BBQ places in the Conway area for a long time so I think and hope they will do quite well. Menu has a lot more things that I didn't try lots of interesting desserts too.  If you order typically I'd say check will average $20-$25 a person. Not counting alcohol.