The freestanding building at 3334 Curry Ford Road has been home to many restaurants in the past 36 years. When I arrived in 1988 it was occupied by Cafe Barcelona, which was the third restaurant I critiqued for the Orlando Sentinel’s Florida magazine. I noted in my review that “If you’re looking for an authentic Spanish restaurant, this is the only show in town.” And it was.

Thai restaurants were rare back then, too, but we’ve seen many, many more open over the years. Ironically, some have been at this location. We had Chai Thai and Smile Thai here. (More recently it was Vietnamese – Pho Curry Ford and Pho & Roll. It was also something called Regional Grill & Bayou about 11 years ago, for those of you keeping score.)

Now it’s back to Thai, Thai Spoon, an earnest operation with food good enough to recommend, even if there are quirks to work out.

Great Southern Box Company food hall opened over the Memorial Day weekend in College Park’s nascent Packing District. It is, appropriately enough, a big, boxy building with the food hall in the center and two large spaces on either end. One will be a microbrewery and the other will be an event space capable of handling large crowds. 

The food hall is reminiscent of an upscale mall’s food court – Mall at Millenia came to mind when I visited for a preview last week – with the various vendors ringing the space. But unlike a mall, GBSC features a central bar and rather comfy-looking seating, including spacious booths.

John Paonessa and Mike Rogier, owners of the Orlando Hamburger Mary’s franchise, announced this week that they close the restaurant in the historic Church Street Station on June 2. So that’s kind of a drag, but take heart – the duo pledge to reopen in another location as yet to be decided.

In a post on HM’s Facebook page, Paonessa wrote: “Downtown Orlando has been great to us. However, times have changed. The hustle and bustle of Downtown Orlando has given way to a sleepy city with few people working downtown and opting for remote, and less traffic in the evenings.”

Our latest Dinner Party was held Wednesday at the illustrious illume, the ninth-floor rooftop restaurant and lounge at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek, and as they have before, the staff went our of their way and over the top to impress everyone who attended.

We were whisked to the rooftop by express elevator at precisely 6 o’clock and greeted by servers with lychee martinis, elegant cocktails made with Empress 1908 gin and Giffard Lychee liqueur, a lovely fuchsia hue and garnished with an orchid.

Taste! Central Florida, the annual fundraiser to end childhood hunger, is Aug. 10 and in a new location – Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek (that’s the hotel next to the Waldorf-Astoria).

It’s a lovely hotel and it’s going to be a great place for the event, which includes lots of eating and drinking opportunities. And so instead of drawing straws to see who in your group will be the designated driver, you should just book a room at the Signia for the night. And to make that more attractive, Taste! has partnered with Signia to offer $100 off the room rate for that evening. Just go to this link and fill in the reservation form.

And to make it an even better deal, when you go to this link to purchase your tickets, enter code SJO25 at checkout to get $25 off each ticket. (Coupon code valid through Aug. 1.)