Outback Restaurant at Buena Vista Palace Hotel

I'm in Orlando, Florida at the Golden Crown Literary Society 7th Annual Conference. My first novel, Unbroken Circle, is to be released on Monday and I am here to connect with old friends and promote my book.

It was very cool to see a box of my book for sale:


My publisher, Bella Books, held a dinner for their authors at the Outback Restaurant at the conference hotel. Not to be confused with the Aussie chain, this place supposedly had an Australian theme. However, I never tasted or saw anything at all related to Down Under.

I had the four course prix fixe meal that included a fairly bland French onion soup, an equally banal Caesar salad, and tasteless strawberry cheesecake. The prime rib, however, was cooked beautifully and well marbled. It was quite good and the roasted garlic bulb on top was a very delicious touch.

Despite my quibbles with the soup, salad and dessert, the steak and the company were great--being among such great writers is very inspiring and I hope to spend more time with them in the future.

Cafe Pontalba

Situated on the corner of Jackson Square, Cafe Pontalba has one of the best locations in the city for foot traffic. Perhaps that is why it serves pretty darn bland southern and soul food. Very much a tourist trap, don't go into it expecting great food. I was with some folks who were exhausted from walking the French Quarter and were fine with the people watching. The fried shrimp po-boy was served on stale bread, the brown gravy on the roast beef sandwich tasted canned.