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Recent Reviews and Restaurant News

Written By Scott Joseph On December 15, 2022

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News from the Flog  

Recent Reviews

Wine 4 Oysters Bar & Bites

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Wine 4 Oysters Bar & Bites is a charming little restaurant on South Alafaya Trail in the Shoppes of Eastwood. It’s a small storefront space with a few tables and chairs along one wall and a bar on the other. That the spaces at the bar seem to fill up before the tables lets you know that this is a neighborhoody kind of place.

It’s a mom and pop operation run by Tatiana Golenkova and Andrey Makhotin, who are mom and pop to Nikolay, who also works at the restaurant on weekends.

As the name suggests, oysters are a forte here, but this is not your divey kind of oyster bar with a concrete counter and shuckings scraped on the floor. The wine part of the name conveys its more boutiquey atmosphere, which may be one of the reasons that women made up most of the guests on the evening I visited recently.

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Monsieur Paul

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The France pavilion at Epcot has reopened its boutique restaurant Monsieur Paul, which had been shuttered since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. It returns with a new concept that is ambitious both in scope and price, especially considering its location within a theme park.

It is presenting the “gastronomic meal of the French,” a festive meal that celebrates special occasions that in 2010 was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It doesn’t get much grander than that.

In more simplistic terms, it is a multi-course, prix fixe dinner that according to the dictates should begin with an apéritif, end with liqueurs and feature in between at least four courses – a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert.

That’s all there, and more, at Monsieur Paul. Plus the added fun of having fellow diners in shorts, t-shirts and the occasional Minnie Mouse headdress. A note on the restaurant’s web page reads: “Guests are expected to dress accordingly in attire that adheres to the restaurant’s sophisticated and upscale aesthetic. Please no swimwear.” So at least there’s that.

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Newsy Nuggets

Newsy Nuggets: New Tabla and other stuff

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Our friends at Tabla celebrated the one year anniversary of their third location, in Lake Nona, by opening a fourth. The new Tabla is in Oviedo, at 945 City Plaza Way, in the space that previously was occupied by De La Vega, which closed in February, citing vagaries of the pandemic.

The Tabla collection now includes the original, near Universal Orlando (which was one of the first restaurants I reviewed for this website); the Park Avenue location, which opened in 2020; Lake Nona; and Oviedo.

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Other Stuff

Restaurants open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve

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The lists have been made and I’ve checked them twice (because I don’t have a copy editor on staff).

Our Holiday Dining pages have listings for restaurants with special offerings on the Eves – Christmas and New Year’s – as well as all restaurants that have indicated they will be serving on Christmas Day.

Take a look and make your selections, then reservations, for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve dining.

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Local Flavor: Baton Rouge Burger from White Wolf Cafe

Local Flavor is a collaboration between Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Guide and The Community Paper.

White Wolf Burger

White Wolf Cafe has been a mainstay of Ivanhoe Village District for 31 years — before it was known as Ivanhoe Village Main Street District. Back then, you’d more likely hear it referred to as Antique Row because of the many antique shops along that stretch of Orange Avenue.

In fact, White Wolf started as part antique shop and part cafe, and in those early days, a large white German shepherd named Casper (the putative wolf in the name) could be found lolling around the store, effectively eluding the glance of health inspectors.

Casper left us long ago, and owners Michael and Anne Marie Hennessey turned their focus to the restaurant side of the business. Here, Anne Marie Hennessey shares the recipe for White Wolf’s award-winning Baton Rouge Burger, so named for the Cajun notes from the blackened seasonings. The burger started out as a burger-of-the-month special but proved so popular that it is now part of the regular menu.

Find the full recipe at YourCommunityPaper.com.

 


We hope you find our reviews and news articles useful and entertaining. It has always been our goal to assist you in making informed decisions when spending your dining dollars. If we’ve helped you in any way, please consider making a contribution to help us continue our journalism. Thank you.

 

 
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We hope you find our reviews and news articles useful and entertaining. It has always been our goal to assist you in making informed decisions when spending your dining dollars. If we’ve helped you in any way, please consider making a contribution to help us continue our journalism. Thank you.

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