Tripadvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Best of the Best has named Earl of Sandwich to its Quick Bites category for 2022, placing it in the top 10 (actually, it came in at number 10). The award specified the Las Vegas location, though Earl of Sandwich is owned by Orlando based Earl Enterprises and its first EoS location opened here in what is now Disney Springs. Number 14 on the list is Blaze Pizza, also at Disney Springs. Portillo’s Hot Dogs, the Chicago fast fooder that recently opened a Disney-adjacent location, came in at no. 9 (watch for my review of Portillo’s soon). See the list here.

Traveler’s Choice Best of the Best lists are generated by analyzing Tripadvisor user reviews and ratings, focusing on quality and quantity. Top quotes for Earl of Sandwich on the Traveler’s Choice Best of the Best page included “Delicious!” and “Photos added.”

Mia’s Italian Kitchen is offering a special three-course, $49 menu through the end of October to help raise funds for World Central Kitchen’s hurricane relief efforts along Florida’s Gulf Coast. For each dinner sold, Mia’s will donate $10 to the organization. Make reservations here.

Monsieur Paul, the upscale restaurant upstairs at the France pavilion at Epcot that has been closed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, will finally reopen Tuesday, Oct. 18.

The restaurant is named for world renowned chef Paul Bocuse, who, along with Gaston Lenotre and Roger Verge, was one of the “chefs de France” who opened the pavilion. Bocuse died in 2018 and his son, Jérôme, now runs the business under the banner JBI.

The restaurant will reopen with a slightly different concept and a prix fixe menu that reflects the “gastronomic meal of the French as inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 by UNESCO,” according to Eric Weistroffer, executive director of JBI.

The Waldorf Astoria and Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek have some fun food events coming up beginning with the second annual Epicurious Progressive Dinner Tour, a four-hour moveable feast that will take participants through seven restaurant stops between the two properties.

The Epicurious Progressive Dinner Tour will be available Fridays and Saturdays beginning Oct. 14 and running through Nov. 12. Tickets are $245 plus tax and gratuity. There is a limit to 15 participants per night.

The tour will step off at 6 p.m. and will feature eight specialty dishes, six beverage pairings, two desserts and an interactive mixology session. The restaurants visited will include La Luce, Zeta Asia, Vibe Kitchen Food Truck, and the estimable Bull & Bear.

Reservations are required and can be made by emailing [email protected] or calling 407-597-3712.

Also, the hotels are offering special room rates for Epicurious Progressive Dinner Tour-ers beginning at $149 at the Signia by Hilton and $249 at the Waldorf Astoria. Get a room!

Chef Reimund Pitts of Le Coq au Vin with his Coquilles St. Jacques. (Photo by S.T. Cardinal of The Community Paper)

Le Coq Au Vin, at 46 Orlando’s oldest French restaurant, was already in operation for six years when Louis Perrotte and his wife, Magdalena, bought it. It is now owned and operated by Chef Reimund Pitz and his wife, Sandy, in partnership with the Perrottes. Housed in its unique A-frame — the original structure was a model for a company selling beach homes — Le Coq Au Vin is still a go-to special occasion restaurant for many Central Floridians.

In this edition of Local Flavor, a collaboration with The Community Paper, Pitz shares his recipe for coquille St. Jacques, a classic French dish of scallops in a creamy sauce. See the full recipe here.