Yellow Dog Eats Cafe'

Have you ever been to Gotha, Fl? I have been living in Orlando for 8 years now and my first time hearing about Gotha, Fl was yesterday. It is located in the Windermere/Ocoee area and it is home to Yellow Dog Eats Cafe'.


Nique's "O" Town Eats was at it again yesterday I had been doing my research for the best of the best eats in the Ocoee area since I recently moved there and I came across Yellow Dog Eats Cafe'. It is home to the best pulled pork sandwiches, so I had to give it a shot. This location was not hard to find in the little town of Gotha but it did feel like I was in another city. As soon as I arrived it looked like if the Cracker Barrel had a Bistro restaurant, Yellow Dog Eats Cafe' would be it.

As I entered the small bistro I could see real photos of dogs everywhere with small tables and chairs for sitting, a wall full of vintage wines, and another wall full of preserves and different hot sauces that were bottled by Yellow Dog and for sale. I was greeted promptly and given a menu, and was told by the cashier, that you order first and then pay at the counter. At the front of the store there was a deli case full of home made pasta salads and vintage brews. The tomato and mozzarella salad caught my eye so that was going to be on my list to order. I had a couple of friends on the way, so I took a seat to a small table that had a graffiti feel to it, then I noticed that all the tables were written on by people that have visited or eaten there.

I studied the menu and saw that they had an array of sandwiches, salads, and barbecue. All the signature sandwiches had a country style name that were referenced to dogs such as the Retriever's Roast a seasoned medium rare roast beef sandwich with tomatoes, leaf lettuce, sweet smokey pommery mustard, Gouda cheese, orange-Cointreau mayo, and caramelized onions all on a multi-grain bread...Um mm a very interesting combination of flavors. I decided I was here for the pulled pork so I went with the Blue Suede Shoes for $9.95, pulled pork topped with tangy blue cheese, crispy bacon, thin sliced scallions and red onions served on a soft bun and I ordered a small order of tomato and mozzarella. My friends arrived and looked over the menu and Jamar decided he was going to get the Blue Suede Shoes as well and we were going to share a 1/2 rack of St. Louis Style ribs with "Gold Sauce" for $9.95. Shanae settled for the original Yellow Dog's "Famous" pulled pork sandwich for $8.95.


The whole time we spent on going over the menu, no one came to our table to ask if we needed help with the menu or if we would like to start with anything to drink. This place was really a do it yourself Cafe'. We got up and ordered our food all together when we ordered the ribs our cashier told us they were out of ribs! And we just missed them. I'm sorry did the ribs get up and walk away? What do you mean we just missed them? As she was explaining this to my friend who had his heart set on the ribs, I saw a big order up before ours that was full of ribs, so that would explain it. But for them to close at 9:00pm and it was 6:45pm they should work on having a substantial amount of ribs especially for people who would come for dinner.

I sat down with my tomato and mozzarella while we waited for our sandwiches. The tomato and mozzarella was very good. The grape tomatoes were very big, plump and juicy. The mozzarella balls were fresh with a good texture to them and together they were swimming in an olive oil, pesto, and basil dressing, I had balsamic vinegar added on top to give it a signature tomato and mozzarella taste. I ate that pretty quickly. Our order was up and they called our name to pick up our order. The sandwiches were over flowing with pulled pork and they were drizzled with a sweet and tangy sauce that was lip smacking good. My friend Shanae was upset that her sandwich was not hot enough and that her pulled pork didn't look like it was submerged in the sweet and tangy sauce just drizzled, I agreed that the pulled pork could have been hotter and you would think that a sandwich of this caliber would be piping hot and fully coated in sauce. The buns were soft but they tasted like they came straight out the bread bag, not toasted nor heated up in any way.


My Blue Suede Shoes was served with potato chips and coleslaw. The coleslaw was home made and it was just okay a little too tangy for my taste but yet it had a little kick to it that wasn't your average coleslaw. My pulled pork sandwich was good given its temperature, the creamy blue cheese and the scallions were a great compliment to the pulled pork. I had to get up and go ask for more sweet and tangy sauce because my pulled pork needed to be a little sloppier. Once I got that I was able to put down my massive Blue Suede Shoes.


I enjoyed my meal, but my visit, not so much I would go back again only for a to go order, because a do it yourself Cafe' is not my forte.

I would recommend Yellow Dog Eats Cafe' if you are ever in the Windermere/Ocoee area or if you would like to get away from the "O" Town to experience a home town Cafe' with it's own personal touch.

Check out the website:
http://www.yellowdogeats.com/