While you wait for spring to arrive, plan for some great dinners and brunches at Grande Lakes Orlando
Sponsored Is it spring yet? Nearly so, and our friends at the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott at Grande Lakes Orlando have a bevy of vernal events planned over the coming months. Beginning with Valentine’s Day, which technically isn’t spring yet but it’s close. At the Ritz, both Knife & Spoon, the Michelin-starred steak and seafood restaurant, and the southern-inspired Highball & Harvest will be offering special Valentine’s Day menus in addition to their regular fare. And you can make it extra special with a pre-dinner paddle boat ride at sunset on Grande Lake. Across the way at the JW, Primo will host “Mangi con Amore,” with a special V-Day a la carte menu for two.
|
|
Superica
A new Tex-Mex restaurant has come to town by way of Atlanta. Superica is one of several concepts from one of that city’s most prolific – and respected – chefs, Ford Fry, whose restaurants include JCT. Kitchen and The Optimist. He also has restaurants in Nashville and Houston, all of them one-offs. Only Superica has multiple locations – a dozen – the newest in Winter Park in a space that itself is new, the Palm Hills development on Orlando Avenue. The original Superica, on Krog Street, was in the factory of the Atlanta Stove Works, maker of the cast iron Barrett Range. You might be forgiven for thinking the Winter Park location was once some sort of factory rather than purpose-built to be a restaurant. It’s a vast space with soaring ceilings, white brick walls and decorative concrete block, a choir-loft-like mezzanine and kitchen windows open to the dining room. For some reason, music videos are projected on the high wall over the kitchen in images as large as your basic multiplex. If you come here for quiet conversation you’ll be sorely disappointed.
|
|
Newsy Nuggets: Super Brunch with Blais, wine dinners and a standin-O for Edoboy
Four Flamingos: A Richard Blais Florida Kitchen will offer Super Brunch with Blais on Sunday, Feb. 11, which happens to be the same day as the Super Bowl. Blais will be part of the starting lineup for the brunch, which will be served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include a noshing table and raw bar; slider station, with egg salad and caviar, braised oxtail, lobster roll and others; tailgate station, which will feature signature items from the two participating teams (I’m betting on Kansas City steak on sourdough bread; maybe not); ricotta pancake station; and myriad small plates, such as bacalaito benedict and NOLA barbecue shrimp and grits. There will be a dessert bar, too, and an option for bottomless bloody marys. Cost is $95; $45 for kids. Make your reservations here.
|
|
Next Dinner Party at Rocco's Italian Grille & Bar
I’m pleased to announce that the next Scott Joseph’s Dinner Party will be at the esteemed Rocco’s Italian Grille & Bar in Winter Park. The date is Thursday, March 7, and we’ll gather for a reception at 6:30 p.m. with seated dinner at 7. Tickets are $175, including tax and gratuity, and may be purchased by calling the restaurant at 407-644-7770.
Our host, the chef and owner Rocco Potami, has put together a delectable five course dinner, each selection paired with a perfect wine. Here’s a look at the menu:
|
|
|