Recent Reviews, plus let’s talk Greek

Written By Scott Joseph On August 16, 2018

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Who has the Best Greek Food in Orlando?

Kebabs

Our next Foodster Award for Independent Restaurants will be for Best Greek. Who has your favorite souvlaki? Whose ouzo oozes charm? Let us know.

These are the nominees for Best Greek Restaurant. You may vote for as many as five nominees. You may also write in a candidate, but please, make sure the name isn’t already on the list — if it is, your entry and any subsequent votes for it will be deleted. Also, do not nominate a restaurant with more than three locations.

Note: This category is for restaurants that identify as Greek — Mediterranean and Middle Eastern categories will be separate.

The top vote getters will advance to the finals.

Nominations will be accepted through Aug. 29.

Click the Read More link to see the nominees and place your vote.

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Recent Restaurant Reviews

Agave Azul Winter Park

Agave Azul sign

I like Agave Azul in Winter Park. And if I sound slightly surprised when I say that, it’s only because I never cared very much for the original in Orlando.

Then again it’s been over seven years since I visited the Kirkman Road location. And I rather liked its sister restaurant, Saint Anejo Mexican Kitchen + Tequileria when it opened a year and a half ago in Winter Springs.

Like Saint Anejo, the newer Agave leans a tad more to the Mexico side of the border in the Tex or Mex question, though a full section of Fajitas, an American invention, has it straddling the wall.

But everything I tasted was good. Though in the case of the Taco Shooters it was good taste in an odd presentation. But how could I pass up something called Taco Shooters?

NEW: Watch a video version of this review. Click the image below.

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Kings Pizza

Kings Pizza box

I suppose it wasn’t very sporting of me to visit a pizzeria that claims to serve New York style pizzas on the day I was scheduled to fly to New York.

Actually, it was my second visit to Kings Pizza on Curry Ford Road, a second location for the business, which also operates a restaurant on International Drive. The first time I visited the Curry Ford location was back in June and I remembered thinking they didn’t really seem completely set up yet.

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 News

4R Restaurant Group Adds Chief Marketing Officer Ahead of Growth

Jay Zavada4R Restaurant Group, parent company of 4 Rivers Smokehouse, has made recent changes to its headquarters operations, outsourcing payroll, benefits and human resources divisions to third party vendors and creating a chief marketing officer position.

Joining the Winter Park based company as CMO is Jay Zavada, left, a former vice president of global relationship marketing for Walt Disney Parks.

“It’s a change we’ve been looking at for some time,” said company founder and CEO John Rivers. 

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Other Stuff

Bullet Point Buffet: Openings, Closings, Magical Dining Headstart

Big Fin dining room

  • Pre-preview: Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month has historically been during the month of September. For years now it has started earlier with a preview week. Big Fin Seafood Kitchen is taking it further and has started offering its MagDinMo menu now. You can see the menu at the Restaurant Row seafooder’s website.
  • Orlando is getting another seafood restaurant. Slapfish, a fast-casual California franchise, will open its first Florida location soon. If you hear a slapping sound coming from the Waterford Lakes area, you can assume it has opened.
  • Rustic Table has closed. This was the restaurant that changed its name from Park Social earlier in the year. That really was about all it changed and it wasn’t enough. There is talk online that it may move somewhere with better rent rates.

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Franciacorta, Italy’s Other (and Better) Bubbly

Franciacorta glass

Do you know the wines of Franciacorta? It’s not a winery or the name of a winemaker. It’s not even the name of a vineyard.

It’s a sparkling wine from Italy in the region of Lombardy.

Usually when you hear the words “sparkling wine” and “Italy” together you immediately think Prosecco. And if you’re like me, you turn your nose up. I find most Proseccos to be too sweet and ultimately inferior to Champagnes, a comparison that is inevitable, seeing as how Champagne is to sparkling wine as Kleenex is to facial tissue (speaking of turning one’s nose up).

 

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