Best Calamari in Orlando

So here it is, our first official review! This weeks journey took us to a nearby pizza joint located in Waterford Lakes on the east side of town called Vito's Pizza and Pasta. My job is located near UCF so this place was close enough that we could go there during my lunch break. Waterford Lakes Town Center is a well sized shopping center located on Alafaya Trail near the East-West Expressway.

Vito's (formerly known as Papa Joe's) has a casual atmosphere and ample seating whether you prefer a table or booth. I found their menu online before we decided to visit so we were unpleasantly surprised to find that the price of calamari had been raised to $9.99 vs. the $7.95 listed online. "Meh, what the heck" we figured, since this was for scientific research! :).

After only a few minutes of waiting, our waitress delivered it and wow, what a let down!! A very small plate that could hardly satisfy a party of two. So things are already getting off to a rocky start. The presentation wasn't too bad as you can see from the photo, even though there was a smudge of marinara on one side of the plate.

Now came the important stuff, how did it taste? Well, to be kind, I'd say it was very good if I were eating a Goodyear tire. Very rubbery in texture, greasy, and not seasoned very well at all. I asked the waitress if it was breaded and seasoned in-house or prepackaged and she assured us that it was prepared in-house.

All of the restaurants we review obviously won't make our "best of" list so one other criteria we decided to use for judging was whether we would ever come back for the calamari.  Unfortunately for Vito's the answer would have to be no.  The pizza and pasta might be great here but for the quality and price, sorry Vito, we gotta give ya the big thumbs down on the squid...