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Yellow Dog Eats was a welcome respite after driving past miles upon miles of generic, tasteless tourist traps.  I had yet to see a restaurant in the Orlando area that really looked like it has something worthwhile to eat.

The restaurant is built in a 100 year old general store.  It was out in the middle of a non-descript suburban residential neighborhood.

I admit, as we drove up, I thought that it looked like a dicey proposition.  The parking lot was very dark and we heard loud music blasting from the back of the restaurant.  I wasn’t sure what to think.  I saw a chicken poking its way around the parking lot, looking particularly out of place.

My interest was piqued as we entered through back and the distinctive smell of wood smoke from a barbecue pit and my mouth started to water.

Once we got past the loud music emanating from the patio and got seated inside, the next step was the menu.  Frankly, I was overwhelmed by it.  I was super hungry and there were just too many tantalizing choices!  We settled on sandwiches and were not disappointed.

Our sandwiches arrived heaped full of barbecue goodness.  I had never experienced so many different tastes and textures in one sandwich as I did with the Rufus.

Sweetness from raspberry melba, salty bacon, crunchy onion straws, creamy, smooth brie and the sweet/tangy flavor of good barbecue (tip – pay the extra $1 to get it “loaded”…it was soooo worth it!)  It left my taste buds singing.  Tastes of spicy, sweet and salty all delicately melded toghether, in perfect balance, one not overtaking the others.  Sandwich magic.

Our other sandwich was almost equally impressive.  It was simpler; tender pulled pork accented by the sweet flavor of pineapple (which really brought out the smoky flavor of the barbecue.)  Simple barbecue goodness.

I still dream about the dessert that I ate here.  One of the employees was so excited about the caramel crumb cake that the got on the microphone and told everyone that they HAD to order it. I was sold.

I could taste the love radiating from the cake as I savored every last bite of my caramel crumb cake.  Home made caramel layered with moist white cake and cream.  It sent shivers of pure bliss down my spine.

We left feeling full in stomach and in soul from a restaurant that felt out of place amidst the tourist crush of Orlando.  Looking for off the beaten path Orlando?  This is your place!