The experts who design restaurants will tell you that each one has – or should have – its own personality. You should know the restaurant’s gender, favorite color, clothing style and preferred music. These things will dictate the decor and ambience and other aspects of the design.

I doubt that there’s a better local example of this theory than Maxine’s on Shine. Everything about the place seems to be a personification of the very woman it’s named for, Maxine Earhart. It’s bold, eclectic, fun. It’s a surprise find, a lone business among the bungalows of the Colonialtown South neighborhood.

It’s undoubtedly the atmosphere that appeals most to its many loyal fans. Based on my recent visit, it isn’t likely the modest food or the laughable service. 

Pam Brandon, managing editor of Edible Orlando, announced Thursday that the October issue of the quarterly publication that has highlighted and celebrated the area’s rich food resources and culinary personalities for the past 13 years will be its last under current ownership.

Kendra Lott, Edible Orlando’s publisher, said by phone that she had been planning to sell the magazine but hoped to take the publication through the spring edition, then help a buyer through the transition. But her daughter is now in 12th grade and “parenting a senior is a lot a lot,” she said. “I realized she needs me now and I need to spend more time with her.”

In February I paid a visit to Italian House Pizza & Restaurant, a Curry Ford West District eatery that had been in the converted Pizza Hut hut it called home for many years. In my review, I noted that the food was so-so and the service less so, but noted that it must have a loyal fanbase to have such staying power.

The leaving power was stronger – Italian House has closed and a new business, Smokemade Meats + Eats, is moving in. Smokemade’s maker is Tyler Brunache, who has been serving his Texas style barbecue at popups around the area and will continue to do so at least until the location on Crystal Lake Drive is open. (He’s popping up Sat., Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. at Hoods Up on the corner of Bumby Avenue and Robinson Street. He’s also offering a pit master master class on brisket and rib prepartion at the future restaurant’s site on Sat. Oct. 7; $450 per student.)

No date yet for the restaurant’s opening.

I recently had a chance to stop by Epcot and check in on the 2023 International Food & Wine Festival, which started July 27 and continues through Nov. 18. I found it rather muted and unexciting; dull, even.

But then, it has been since the Covid pandemic forced a watered down version in 2020 in what the organizers dubbed “A Taste of Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival” and what I called a festivalette. Gone were the cooking demonstrations, the wine tasting seminars conducted by visiting vintners, the food and beverage pairing luncheons and dinners, and most missed, the weekly Party for the Senses extravaganzas inside the World Showplace.

Meraki Food Group announced Friday that it has sold its International Drive restaurant Tapa Toro to Atelier Dining, which operates restaurants in Winter Garden and Las Vegas.

Tapa Toro was one of three restaurants operated by Meraki, which is owned by Vassilis and Katerina Coumbaros, but the only one at Icon Park. Meraki’s other restaurants, Taverna Opa and the recently opened Kavas Tacos + Tequila, are at Pointe Orlando and will continue under the Meraki banner.

Quantum Leap, the Mills 50 winery, will be the site of Friends of the Vine: A Magical Evening, a walkabout dinner benefitting the James Beard Foundation on Nov. 9 from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $175 per person, plus tax, and can be purchased at this link.

The evening’s participants include:

It’s a lock. One of the longtime Mills 50 District businesses, dating back to before it was Mills 50, or even before the time folks were calling it the ViMi (for Virginia Street and Mills Avenue), Armstrong Lock and Security Products has sold its building and it’s to become a restaurant. The new proprietor is Juan Rios, owner of the Agave Azul Mexican restaurants. The new restaurant, however, will be a different concept, albeit still Mexican. Armstrong still occupies the space and a woman who answered the phone said the staff had not been told when they would vacate (and perhaps move to a new location). I’m sure than when Rios takes over the building, the first thing he’ll want to do is change all the locks.

Wine Bar George, the estimable venue at Disney Springs owned by the estimabler master sommelier George Miliotes, was recognized by “The World of Fine Wine” publication, winning the Best Wine Bar List designation. Also named were: Marion Wine, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia; VIN Bjørvika, Oslo, Norway; and Brut, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.

The World’s Best Wine Lists awards were announced at a ceremony in London Sept. 11.

The staff of JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek does not do things halfway. I knew that already from previous visits to the upscale resort and its restaurants, but it was reinforced at the recent Scott Joseph’s Dinner Party (formerly Supper Club), our first vertically progressive dinner.

The dinner was nearly a year in planning, involving three of the hotel’s dining venues, as well as a portable station set up for the reception, and it took precision timing designed so that we could enjoy the food and service while still moving things along with the goal of having us to the final stop – the rooftop lounge illume – in time to watch the fireworks at Epcot.

Not only did the evening go off hitchless, the JWOBC team exceeded expectations with stellar service, exceptional food and a few surprises, including a gift bag at the end of the evening. 

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Grande Lakes Orlando will once again host its popular seasonal event Fall on the Farm each Saturday and Sunday during the month of October.

Fall on the Farm – the very words offer a promise of cooler weather coming – takes place on the resort’s 18,000-square-foot Whisper Creek Farm and features a bevy of autumnal activities for the whole family, including hayrides, a farmer’s market, animal encounters, archery demonstrations and pumpkin carving.