Orlando - Restaurant needed near 4 Points Sheraton on International Drive

Can someone suggest a decent restaurant within a 10 minute drive of the Four Points Sheraton, 5905 International Drive? I need it to be able to handle a group of about 15. Ideally, I'd like the price to be under $20, with free parking. (B-Line Diner in the Peabody Hotel only has valet parking, at $10 a pop.) It can be any kind of food, though I tend to be partial to ethnic - Cuban, Mexican, Japanese, Vietnamese, and so forth. I'm not keen on chains.

Any thoughts?

How about this?

http://orlando.citysearch.com/profile/2395676/orlando_fl/cafe_madrid.html

It's about 15 minutes away from the hotel, has on-site parking (no idea if free or not), prices in the range you're looking for, and it's ethnic.

Never been, so can't personally vouch for it, but the reviews seem good... :)

Oh, my, that looks good.

Yes, it is good, but not really convenient to I-Drive. Don't know where the 15 minutes came from, but that's an underestimation of the drive time. I'd place it closer to 25, maybe 30. I-Drive traffic is the absolute worst in town - three or four cycles to get through one light during some parts of the day.:td:

There are a few places in the I-Drive area, but realize that almost everything there is geared toward the tourist trade. We like Texas de Brazil for "all the meat you can eat" and if you have a coupon (PM me if you want) it's about $25 per person with a KILLER salad bar - best ever, anywhere, to me. I think Tde B is a small chain with a few other locations across the country. There's a good Thai place that never seems to have anyone in it called... can't think of it but will PM you when I do (middle-aged moment).

When will you be here?

We'll be in town a week from Friday night. I'd love any further thoughts you have.

I just looked at the website for Texas de Brasil and it looks great. I think it's a bit more than we want, though. We've got folks flying in from various parts of the globe for a Saturday meeting, so many are coming straight from the airport. For some folks, it will be the wee hours of the following morning, and all you can eat beef seems a bit heavy.

Any help you can give is much appreciated, as I am the blind leading the blind here.

I see - yes, all the meat you can eat may not be what some people want when they have internal clocks all screwy. Still, when I say they have a great salad bar, it's much more than that. Soups, delicious black beans and rice, sushi... more of a buffet of sides than salad when I think about it.

Anyway, I'll figure out the name of the Thai restaurant and get that to you. It's pretty good, and I can't figure out why we're the only ones in there when we go. I cannot believe I can't think of the name. Pretty much everything else in that area is going to be chain stuff, which I agree is pretty weak. I'll ask some friends for suggestions too and see if we can come up with some alternatives.

I got a promo email from T de B today, but didn't pull it out of spam. I'll do that (they're usually BOGO offers) so if you decide to go that route, I can forward it to you. It's expensive if you don't have a coupon.

I hate to say this, but people don't go to MCO for the food :) While there are some very nice restaurants in the area now, the $20pp is going to limit you to most of the chains. If you were closer to $40pp, I could give you a list :)

I've been wanting to try Texas de Brasil, but have to agree that for your crowd of people, it may be too heavy - and crowded.

Keep in mind that is a very busy weekend in MCO. It's a holiday as well as "NJ Week." The schools in NJ are closed for 3 days the week of the 3rd and they're also closed on the 11th.

PM me if you want more info.

Mary, you have cheered me up no end - not.

And I'm at the airport, heading to Europe, with this hanging over my head.

If you're still on the ground, check your messages. I have an idea....@:-)

Yes, it is good, but not really convenient to I-Drive. Don't know where the 15 minutes came from, but that's an underestimation of the drive time. I'd place it closer to 25, maybe 30. I-Drive traffic is the absolute worst in town - three or four cycles to get through one light during some parts of the day.:td:

Sorry, I am not familiar with the area - I just used google maps as a reference and it said 18 minutes (12 miles).

http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=4502+Curry+Ford+Rd,+Orlando,+FL+32812+( Cafe'+Madrid)&geocode=CSOsnIl3PA-HFcc-swEdMwYn-yEF_1YaUL8glA&dirflg=&saddr=5905+International+Drive,+orlando&f=d&dq=cafe+madrid,+loc:+orlando,+fl&sll=28.524231,-81.328589&sspn=0.063631,0.078868&cid=28524231,-81328589,10673741467628273413&ie=UTF8&ll=28.500376,-81.396503&spn=0.116613,0.263672&z=13

Don't worry - you'd have to know the traffic to know that the area is a bottleneck and Google doesn't always take that into consideration. The restaurant is great though, so it's a good suggestion if people want to go a bit further.