The Smiling Bison- 5 Stars

The Smiling Bison​ is a great place located in Baldwin Park off Bennett Rd. If you are looking for a good burger, I'd say try here. Their burgers are delicious!

My first visit was a couple months ago, in January. I went with some friends, after a run, to celebrate a birthday. The place was busy and parking was difficult, but to me that is a good thing. Busy means it is a good place. After walking in, I noticed right away I was going to like the place. They had a live Jazz band playing and the ambiance was casual. Definitely a place to go with friends or even on a date.

Bison Burger with fries

The food. I decided since it was my first time, and that they are known for them, I should try a Bison Burger. I was definitely pleased. It is hard for me to find a place that cooks a burger the way I ordered, and they did. The burger was cooked perfectly! The bread, Texas Toast, is a favorite of mine. It makes the burger taste even better. Imagine a group of people who are chatting, having a good time. Then the food comes out, and everyone is quiet. That's how good the burgers are. We all were definitely enjoying them!

Along with the burgers, they have many other options as far as food goes. Don't want a burger, no problem. They also have a roast beef, smoked chicken sausage, or crispy fish roll sandwich. Prefer a salad, pizza, ravioli, ribeye, or a small plate (like meatballs), they have that too. There are many choices when it comes to dinner. Don't forget dessert, they have a few that sound delicious. I am looking forward to trying the Mascarpone Brownie next time I go.

On Sundays they have brunch from 11 am to 3 pm. For brunch they offer anywhere from fish & grits, banana bread french toast, biscuts & gravy, to a breakfast burrito, basic breakfast, or brunch poutine. I have not been for brunch yet, but the menu looks really good.

Drinks? There are many choices of beer and wine to choose from. Happy hour? Every weekday from 5:30-7 pm. Special events/music? They have a calendar on their website: http://thesmilingbison.com/.
Check it out to see what's happening each month.

Great food, good time, & definitely a hidden gem, The Smiling Bison is a place I will visit again! And it should be a place you visit soon and frequently. Let them know Local Girl sent ya and recommends the Bison Burger.

Don't forget to try the pickles! They are so good, I bought a jar to go.

RusTeak Restaurant and Wine Bar- 3.5/4 Stars

New restaurant, great location, and delicious food! RusTeak is a much needed and great addition to College Park. I have been waiting for something awesome to come and help bring College Park back to being a good place to go for food; RusTeak is doing just that.

While driving around and running errands for Christmas gifts (2014), my family and I got hungry. Being in College Park and knowing how my mom and sister in law love good food like me, I recommended RusTeak. I had heard from a few friends I needed to try it, so I decided this was a great time. I was excited when my mom parked and agreed to try it. We arrived at about 11:30 am, so it was not that busy yet for a Saturday. Parking lot was also pretty much empty, except for a few cars. I was happy because I was hungry! 

Truffle Fries and Sweet Potato Tater Tots

We all walked in and were immediately greeted by a hostess. She was very friendly. The tables and setup are really nice inside. It is also really clean, which is always a must if I am going to eat there. After we sat at the table, I decided to go check out the bathroom. It was also nice and clean inside. Clean bathrooms are important. As my mom says, "If they don't keep their bathrooms clean, then how do you think the kitchen probably looks?" Great to remember when going to a restaurant for the first time!

Food, food, food...the menu had so many mouth watering options. We decided to start with Sweet Potato Tots and Truffle Fries. Great decision! My sister in law and I couldn't stop eating the fries. The seasoning they use is unique and flavorful. My mom and niece loved the sweet potato tots! They were good; I could definitely taste that they were made from a real sweet potato. 

When it was time to order my entree, I had a hard time deciding. It was nice to see creative menu options; I love new and creative ideas. For example, instead of regular hamburgers, they have venison burgers. Looking for tacos? How about Duck Confit Tacos...sounds delicious! Their salads are also tasty. The Southern Gent has grilled chicken, egg, maple pepper bacon, cucumber, tomato, Gouda, roasted corn, edamame, mixed greens, and their honey mustard seed dressing. The Southern Gent according to my mom and sister in law is amazing! It definitely looked amazing! I decided to get the Blackened Mahi and Pear Sandwich. It was great! It tasted fresh out of a kitchen and the pear slices definitely were not from a can. It was better than I expected, I loved it!

Blackened Mahi and Pear Sandwich

A great experience was definitely had by all 4 of us! The staff and food were great! The waiters were very helpful with the menu and any questions we had. The only question they did not answer was about the different seasonings on the truffle fries. Chefs don't give away their delicious secrets! It was fun to try and figure out the ingredients and seasoning. They also have a gluten free menu, which was awesome because my mom has Celiac Disease. This made RusTeak even better to me.

Edamame is delicious

Update: I recently have gone back several times since my first visit. The truffle fries are still one of my favorite items on their menu; I love that they are a staple. They also have Daily Chef Specials that offer unique dishes (most of the time they are fish, but not always). Their fish entrees are usually pretty good, however, I have had a couple rough experiences lately. I ordered the special on my friend's birthday and it was delicious. But that same night my friend ordered a regular entree including fish and it was not as flavorful as it normally is. She was not impressed with the place and it saddened me because it was her first visit. The second time was after that. I went to dinner with my family and again chose to get one of the chef's specials. This time it was a different fish and included different side items. The meal was overall not anything I would order again. I couldn't finish the fish because it was just too salty. Sometimes chef's are a little too heavy on the salt; this was one of those times. The truffle fries are still really good and I recently tried and was very happy with their Edamame appetizer. To sum it all up, my update is to tell you it was a favorite of mine when I first started going, however, it has now moved down on my list. I really hope they work out some of their kinks that are starting to show because College Park needs a good place.

RusTeak is located in College Park, FL off Edgewater Drive and are open Monday- Saturday 11 am - 11pm. They also have another location in Ocoee, FL. For more information and for a look at their menu (it changes monthly), you can visit their website at: http://www.rusteakwinebar.com/.

Salads are always good! Pictured: House and Southern Gent. Honey Citrus dressing is the way to go!