American

Boca Winter Park

Address
City
Phone
Price

358 N. Park Ave.
Winter Park
407-636-7022
$$$

Ownership changed several months ago, and after verifying that the kitchen had made all of the adjustments it was going to do, I decided to head back and check it out. I can report to you that Boca is virtually the same as it was when I first reviewed it in 2015.

Unfortunately.

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Boheme

Address
City
Phone
Price

325 S. Orange Ave.
Orlando
407-581-4700
$$$$

The Boheme has grown into a more consistent fine dining experience but now is trying to position itself as more accessible. Try the Kessler calamari, a silly name for a delicious appetizer, and follow with the lamb duet or the Chilean sea bass. The kitchen also has a way with scallops.

A special treat about dinner here is that most nights there is entertainment in the rotunda just outside the dining room, and the music easily wafts in. If you arrive early, have a seat in the lounge, listen to the music, and enjoy the stories of the affable bartenders.

It should also be noted that the Boheme (and by the way it’s pronounced boh-HEEM and not like the name of the Puccini opera) also serves a very nice Sunday jazz brunch.

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Bohemian Bar and Grill

Address
City
Phone
Price

700 Bloom St.
Celebration
407-566-6000
$$$

It turns out that it is at the Bohemian Hotel Celebration, a sister hotel (or maybe it’s a brother; I always have trouble determining the sex of lodging) to the Grand Bohemian in downtown Orlando. Of course the restaurant there is called the Boheme, and you find it by walking through the bar and under the piano rotunda to the ornately designed dining room.

Step inside the front door of the Celebration hotel and you’re in the lobby, and, apparently, also in the dining room. A bar is off the the side and there are several tables with glasses and flatware, the sort of setting that I, as a trained observer, immediately recognize as places to eat.

The sausage was really quite good, and if it were available as an entree I would have gladly made it my main course. The texture was surprisingly smooth, almost like a boudin, and there were several nice spice notes. It seems to me that making sausage is one of the best uses for gator meat, which can be a little tough.

Best seating is outside at the lakefront patio.

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Brick House Tavern + Tap

Address
City
Phone
Price

8440 International Drive
Orlando
407-355-0321
$$

Brick House fancies itself as a “man cave.” Take that as you will. I wish they’d spend less time thinking about the man cave concept and a little more about the food, which is marginal. Brick House is a fledgling chain out of Houston.

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Bridge (The)

Address
City
Phone
Price

155 E. Morse Blvd.
Winter Park
407-755-3300
$$$

The Bridge is a New York restaurant. We know that because it says so in large letters, right beneath the name, on a big sign that, um, spans the backbar.

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Burntwood Tavern

Address
City
Phone
Price

5078 Dr. Phillips Blvd.
Orlando
407-776-9991
$$

Things looked promising at the beginning of my visit to Burntwood Tavern, the Ohio based mini chain that recently opened in Orlando. My dinner companion and I stopped in to the rustically decorated restaurant, which occupies the former site of the similarly named Stonewood Grill & Tavern in the Dr. Phillips area. We started with an appetizer of Stuffed Jalapeños and were impressed with the quality. Unfortunately, everything that followed did not have the same quality.

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Café Tu Tu Tango

Address
City
Phone
Price

8625 International Drive
Orlando
407-248-2222
$$

Cafe Tu Tu Tango is at its best as a celebration destination. You’ll have more fun – and the food just might taste better – if you go with a big group. Order a table full of tapas and share. Be careful: The cost can really add up fast.The Cajun chicken egg rolls ($6.25) were a favorite, with blackened chicken rolled inside a wonton skin with corn and cheese. Red onions and a touch of cilantro added just the right flavor notes.The duck and mixed greens salad ($7.25) was one I had enjoyed six years ago, and it was still good on my recent visit. It featured shredded duck meat served on flatbread atop mesclun greens drizzled with balsamic vinegar.Tu Tu’s setting is a Spanish artist’s garret, Spanish, I suppose, because for the Mediterranean slant of the menu. Every inch of wall space is occupied by paintings, drawings, sculptures and oddities, all of which are for sale. Should you purchase one, another will be slapped up in its place in no time flat because there are artists in residence dappling, scribbling and shaping new works of art right before your very eyes. According to literature distributed by the restaurant, it isn’t uncommon for a guest to sit down and see an artist staring at a blank canvas. But by the time dessert is finished the artist is signing his or her name to a finished piece. Some of the art looks as though it was completed that fast, but having the artists working there among the diners is part of the fun.

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California Grill

Address
City
Phone
Price

4600 N. World Drive
Lake Buena Vista
407-939-3463
$$$$

After more than a dozen years at the top, literally and figuratively, California Grill is still one the Central Florida’s best restaurants. Much of the concept of California Grill has not changed over the years, and the menu still features, as it has for much of the time, flatbreads and sushi as well as more traditional appetizers. The menu supposedly changes daily, though with three weeks separating my two most recent visits, I noticed most of the changes were in the wording and ranking of ingredients rather than completely different entries.

Service is impeccable and exemplary of the best that Disney can offer. The wine list focuses, as it should, on California and other American cuvees.

The pork tenderloin remains a favorite, but the filet mignon is a contender for best entrée. Sushi from master chef Yoshi is a treat.

Of course the best feature remains the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Seven Seas Lagoon and the Magic Kingdom. And at the appropriate hour the lights dim slightly and the music that accompanies the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks display plays in the restaurant. It’s one of the best shows in town.

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Canvas

Address
City
Phone
Price

13615 Sachs Ave.
Orlando
407-313-7800
$$$

Lakeside dining from the Tavistock Restaurant Group. Most people head to the outdoor deck, but there’s a much better dining experience to be had at the food counter overlooking the cooks at the grill.

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Cask & Larder

Address
City
Phone
Price

1 Jeff Fuqua Blvd.
Orlando
321-280-4200
$$

If this had been the Cask & Larder that opened originally in Winter Park, it would still be there. (Sister restaurant Ravenous Pig moved into the Cask’s old home.)

This is a “Southern-inspired public house,” which means it features stylistic takes on Southern fare. The Larder in the name is a reference to a pantry.

The Cask refers to a beer barrel and is an indication that C&L brews its own beers. (All involved would prefer that you not call it a brewpub.) Good beer, too, plus a fully stocked liquor bar (with some fun cocktails, it should be mentioned).

Cask & Larder is in Terminal 2 of Orlando International Airport, so you can visit only if you’re flying out of that terminal.

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