Written by Scott Joseph Thursday, 02 September 2010 11:52
There’s a new food publication in town that you’re going to want to see. It’s called edible Orlando, and it’s dedicated to “celebrating Central Florida’s food culture.” It does that and more with well-written stories and gorgeous photography. If the inaugural issue is any indication, you’re going to want to subscribe to this one.Edible Orlando, which is capitalized only at the beginning of a sentence (even though it’s part of a network of publications from Edible Communities; go figure) has a masthead that includes Kendra Lott as publisher, Katie Farmand as editor, and Pam Brandon, managing editor. Flog readers know Brandon as one half of the Divas of Dish. Her easy-going and witty writing style is paints beautiful word pictures. Farmand, nee Brandon, is also the writer of the nationally recognized Web site The Thin Chef, a beautiful blog of Farmand’s recipes, paired with sumptuous photography.
Written by Scott Joseph Wednesday, 01 September 2010 08:28
Win a Magical Dining Month dinner for two at The Ravenous Pig (details below)
Update: Rhona Fournier is the winner of dinner for two at the Ravenous Pig. Congratulations, Rhona!
It's finally here!
Orlando Magical Dining Month officially kicks off today. It's a great opportunity to tvisit that restaurant you've been wanting to try but didn't want to lay out a lot of cash. For $30 (plus tax and gratuity) you can sample three courses at some pretty terrific restaurants. In most cases, it represents huge savings over the regular a la carte menu.
Take Ocean Prime, for example. The upscale seafood (Ocean) and steak (Prime) restaurant on Sand Lake Road has as one of its Magical offerings its 7-ounce filet mignon. On the a la carte menu, the same steak goes for $31. So for $1 less, you get the same steak (no, they don’t cut it down, it’s the same size) plus a starter and a dessert. At OP you can choose calamari, salad or French onion soup to begin and finish with creme brulee or sorbet.
There are about 50 participating restaurants this year, including some newcomers like La Nuova Cucina and Crave, and some that are just new to the program, like Citrus and Hue.
What are some of the ones I’m recommending? Definitely Ocean Prime, but also Norman’s (no brainer -- one of the area’s costliest restaurants), Luma on Park, Funky Monkey, La Nuova Cucina, A Land Remembered and Cala Bella at Rosen Shingle Creek, The Capital Grill, The Ravenous Pig, Emeril’s Tchoup Chop, La Luce by Donna Scala and Primo by Melissa Kelly. I’m also looking forward to visiting several others -- I like saving money, too.
Here’s what I do before I visit one of the MagDinMo restaurants: I take a look at the menu they’re offering for $30, then I call up the regular menu on their Web sites and do the math.
Click to continue reading about Orlando Magical Dining Month...
Written by Scott Joseph Tuesday, 31 August 2010 10:33
Actually, I had already been to Mama Millie’s, many years ago, but not in its current location. And, it wasn’t called Mama Millie’s at the time. Does this even count as the same restaurant? The last time I had this food, in August of 2001, it was at a place known only as Millie’s, on Colonial Drive just east of SR 417. It was kind of an out of the way location, but people who appreciated good Caribbean food found their way.
Now Millie and her newfound Mama moniker have found there way to a new location, across the street from the University of Central Florida. I have to think this is a better place to be. With 53 gazillion hungry students in proximity, Mama Millie’s should do well.
The students -- and others -- will eat well, too. The menu features all the Caribbean classics, including curry goat, stew beef and jerk chicken. (Unlike oxtail, which has real tail of ox, jerk dishes do not actually contain jackasses.)
I had the curry chicken on my recent lunch date. Even though I ordered the smaller portion, it was an ample enough serving to fill me up, plus have some more for later. It came with a choice of white rice or rice and peas, plus a side dish. Most of the “small” portions are $7 to $8.50; the larger portions are $2 more.
Mama Millie’s is at 12273 University Blvd., Orlando, on the corner of Alafaya Trail. It’s open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. The phone number is 407-382-3570. Here’s a link to Mama’s Web site.
Written by Scott Joseph Friday, 27 August 2010 09:49
Picture a prime rib sandwich. Do you have a good image in your mind? Does it look anything like a Philly cheesesteak?
That’s not what I was expecting either when I stopped in to check out Bravissimo in its new location. Actually, it’s no longer Bravissimo; it’s now Bravissimo Chophouse, or, as I saw it in at least one advertisement, TJ’s Bravissimo Chophouse, for owner TJ Bennett.
Bravissimo, of course, was the little neighborhood boite that lived on Shine Avenue in Orlando for many years. It’s origins, under various partners, go back to a location on Howell Branch Road in Winter Park. The place on Shine was just the sort of cafe you hope to find in your own neighborhood, at least in terms of atmosphere, the sort of place you can stroll to and sit outside at a small table and dine on Italian fare. In recent years, Bravissimo had become all ambience and no substance. The limitations of a tiny kitchen that had been retrofitted into the building, which was originally a small market, were never overcome by Bravissimo or any of the previous restaurant tenants. And there were several.
Written by Scott Joseph Wednesday, 25 August 2010 10:56
Newton told me that the three will draw from their bar experiences, but Aura will also be serious about its food. “We really didn’t want to be just a bar,” he said. (The name of the chef is being withheld because of current employment, but it would seem that the group will indeed be serious about the food.) Newton said if he were to compare the menu to an existing restaurant, Ocean Prime would most closely match it. But he said they will offer a variety of menu items, each based on market freshness, and the kitchen will offer tapas sizes of all the entrees. In addition, the bar will feature freshly squeezed fruit juices.
The restaurant and lounge will be open until 2 every day, and will open at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for breakfast. Newton says he wants to create the sort of place that is typical of Manhattan neighborhoods, where there is a different type of customer and feel to the restaurant at various times of the day.
The restaurant will seat 180 inside and 30 at an outside patio, which will also feature a bar. Because of the day-long work hours -- as well as some details to be released at a later date -- the business will employ a staff of 150-160.
Newton said the group hopes to have Aura open as soon as possible after the first of the year.
This is the second new restaurant announced this week for this area. As I reported on Monday, Napa’s Stone-Fired Pizza and Draft House is slated to open in the Sanctuary condominium building across the street later this year. Aura will be on the other end of the 101 Eola building from Mucho, whose owners, some of which are involved in Napa’s, also announced a package liquor store that will open between Mucho and Aura. Looks like this neighborhood, which at one time featured Graze, the Beacon and Sanctuary Diner, all now closed, is starting to come back.
Written by Scott Joseph Wednesday, 18 August 2010 10:13
find it useful.In a way, it’s taken me 23 years to write this book. Oh, I’ve written plenty that was published in that time. If you took all the reviews I wrote while at the Orlando Sentinel -- a couple of thousand, by my count -- and put them in book form, you’d have a tome several thousand pages long, even with tiny, tiny print. (Of course, if you left out the restaurants that are no longer open, you’d have a smaller book, but you get my point.) Those 23 years of analyzing, critiquing and observing the local scene have gone into compiling this guide.
I’ve not included every restaurant that I’ve ever reviewed, not even all those that are still open. Those I chose to include are mostly those I can recommend to you -- not all of them: there are some I’ve included that I feel necessary to steer readers away from, or at least offer a caveat; you’ll know them when you see them. The restaurants are those I can recommend to locals and visitors alike.
The book is available at this link for $14.95. Type in this code -- TLKMSTSR -- in the box that asks for a promotional code when you check out and you’ll receive $2 off, a special offer for flog readers. Buy two or more books and you’ll qualify for free shipping; just a suggestion!
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