Otto’s High Dive in Orlando

The Michelin Guide has announced the addition of eight new restaurants to its Bib Gourmand designation ahead of next week’s awards announcement in Miami.

Added to the Florida guide’s Bib Gourmand list are Isan Zaap, Otto’s High Dive and Taste of Chengdu in Orlando and Norigami in Winter Garden. Also joining the list are Gorkhali Kitchen and Psomi in Tampa and Rosie’s and Jaguar Sun in Miami. The Florida edition of the estimable guidebook includes restaurants in Miami, Tampa and Orlando areas.

The International Vegan Food Festival was Saturday, April 29, from 3 to 8 p.m. on downtown Orlando’s Wall Street. 

Speaking of food festivals, I’ve learned that the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which will run from July 27 through November 18, will again be missing the wine tastings, dinners and other events, including the popular Party for the Senses, that were put on hold during the pandemic. But a Disney World spokeswoman says that “the teams are evaluating for the future.”

If you want to experience the cuisines of the world, you need to go to the world. Art In Voyage, the travel company with offices in Orlando and Cape Town, is offering an extraordinary opportunity to do just that.

It’s called the Magellan Odyssey, and in March 2024 it will take 48 guests on an around-the-world journey – 10 countries on five continents in 28 days.

Travel will be aboard a private, all-business-class jet with lie-flat seats, with stops in Peru, Chile, Tanzania, Jordan, France, Finland, Bhutan, Thailand, New Zealand and Bora Bora. Along the way you may go on safari, take a jungle boat ride, dine in a Michelin-starred restaurant, see the Northern Lights, and take a train through a Peruvian valley. The trip is designed so that individuals can customize the experience at each of the stops.

The trip was curated by AIV’s founder and CEO, Mikael Audebert. “Magellan Odyssey was designed with the intent to escape the usual destinations by focusing on exclusive experiences, and avoiding crowded cities and overdone areas,” said Audebert. “We put a great deal of care into identifying and studying destinations guests might not visit on their own—because they are remote or hard to reach, or because other tour companies don’t offer the same level of luxury access.”

I know many of you have been on an AIV journey – I’ve hosted some myself – so you know that Audebert makes certain everything is first rate. This one will be truly over the top. It’s definitely a dream vacation for those who dream really big.

See more details at Art In Voyage for more on the Magellan Odyssey. And take a look at the video below.

May 14 is Mother’s Day so May 14 will be the busiest brunch day of the year.

What mother doesn’t like to be treated to brunch? (It’s a rhetorical question; no need to reply.) There are bunches of brunches to choose from this year and you’ll find some select ones on our Holiday Dining pages.

You’ll want to pay especial attention to the offerings at Tap Room at Dubsdread, a perennial holiday brunch spot. And The Wilson at the Meliá Orlando Hotel Celebration, where brunch comes with unlimited beer, wine, prosecco or mimosas for mom, assuming that your mom is over 21.

At STK at Disney Springs, you can find the traditional brunch (and I’ll have more about STK’s brunch soon), but they’re also offering an afternoon tea, which comes with prosecco, Moêt Brut or Veuve Cliquot Rosé, which is my cup of tea, as it were.

Be sure to make your reservations as early as possible, and remember that if your plans change – like your mother breaks down and tells you she’s never liked brunch – call the restaurant to tell them your plans have changed and that you may possibly be adopted.

See all the listings here