Written by Scott Joseph on 22 November 2010 on 22 November 2010 .
The newest Graffiti Junktion has been open for a few weeks now. I stopped in one afternoon with a friend to check it out. This GJ, as reported previously, took over the space evacuated earlier this year by K Restaurant Wine Bar in College Park. Those familiar with the original Junktion in Thornton Park know that it is a loud place, both aurally and visually. The name is a pretty good clue as to the genre of its decor. Most of the seating is at rustic picnic tables, So we’re talking some not too subtle changes from the way K looked.
My guest and I chose to sit outside, partly because it was quite crowded inside and partly because my friend couldn’t easily pull her mobility scooter up to the picnic tables; a smaller, conventional table outside was more accessible.
The menu is basically the same as the one in Thornton Park. Because Graffiti Junktion bills itself as an American Burger Bar, that’s what I wanted. I selected the specialty burger called the Lone Star, which has bacon, barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese.
Perhaps the kitchen crew is still getting used to the vagaries of their new equipment, but my patty, which was certainly ample enough, was cooked way beyond the requested medium-rare and had lost a lot of juiciness. My friend went the salad route, having one with spinach, chicken and brie with a mimosa dressing. She declared it delicious.
The oddest thing happened while we were dining. A construction crew of two arrived and began drilling a hole in the concrete about five feet from us using a keyhole saw the size of a jackhammer. It made about as much racket as one, too. Conversation, of course, was impossible, and we were a bit concerned about flying debris. When I got up to complain to a staff member just inside the door, she shrugged and said they didn’t work for the restaurant. She showed no concern for passing our displeasure on to anyone else. But a few minutes later, several top management people came out to tell the operator to stop his drilling. He initially said it would only be a few more minutes, but they insisted he stop and told him to come back later. It’s really quite amazing that these idiots, who apparently were under contract by the city, would think it would be OK to do that type of work while people were eating food so close by.
For reasons I’m not quite sure about, later that evening I found myself at the downtown Graffiti Junktion. Another friend and I sat at the bar and ordered the nachos with beef. I know, I know: sometimes my judgement scares me, too. But as it turns out, these were pretty good nachos, sufficiently gloppy and loaded with lots of good stuff, including chili, cheese and sour cream. We were watching a football game on one of the numerous screens, so it was just the right sort of food to have.
Once the College Park location gets used to its new place, the food there should be up to par with the original.
Graffiti Junktion is at 2401 Edgewater Drive, Orlando. It is open for lunch and dinner daily, and late night every night (1 a.m.; midnight Sundays). Here’s a link to the Web site, but they haven’t added the new location yet. Click this link to download the menu . The phone number is 407-377-1961.