Plant Street Market and Crooked Can Brewing Co. are celebrating their two year anniversary next week. Here’s what they have planned during the first week of May. Happy Birthday to Plant Street and Crooked Can!
Apr 272017
Apr 172017
This Sunday Taste of Pointe Orlando returns featuring bites and sips from local restaurants. Proceeds benefit ELEVATE Orlando, a civic nonprofit dedicated to equipping and empowering under-served youth to graduate with a plan for the future. Grab your tickets here!
Participating restaurants include:
BB King’s
Copper Canyon Grill
Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar
Funky Monkey
Itta Bena
Lafayette’s
Maggiano’s Little Italy
Main Event Entertainment
Taverna Opa
Tommy Bahama Restaurant – Bar
And more!
Apr 082017
Explore the science behind wine Saturday, April 29 at the Orlando Science Center when Science of Wine returns in a few weeks. Not just another wine tasting, but an oenological odyssey with presentations on multiple aspects of wine tasting, cooking with wine and more. This fundraiser for Orlando Science Center offers guests the opportunity to sample more than 150 wines that will be paired with dishes from 20 culinary partners, plus entertainment, live music and a silent auction.
Culinary partners include local favorites like Taverna Opa, Hawkers, KASA Restaurant & Bar and Black Rooster to name a few. It wouldn’t be the Science of Wine without some unique educational wine experiences. There will be several informal presentations throughout the evening, including cooking with wine demonstrations in Dr. Dare’s Lab as well as a blind tasting seminar.
Delight in educational presentations, wine and food tastings all benefiting Orlando Science Center’s mission to inspire science learning for life. Science of Wine is expected to sell out again this year, so get your tickets early. Tickets are on sale now and available at www.osc.org/wine.
And I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Albariños…La Cana from Rias Baixas, Spain. Cheers!
Apr 082017
Hippity, hoppity…..to Easter brunch we go! With eggcellent (sorry) options abounding in town, here are the best places to celebrate this glorious day.
- The Capital Grille: This Easter Sunday, in addition to their full dinner menu, The Capital Grille will offer a prix-fixe Easter brunch menu for $49 per person and $15 for children. We’d recommend the Shrimp and Grits with Jumbo Shrimp Sautéed with Bacon, Onions, and Sweet Peppers over White Cheddar Grits Reserve here: thecapitalgrille.com
- Ravello: The Resort’s modern Italian restaurant Ravello will present a lavish Easter buffet. The menu includes a wide array of offerings, ranging from a raw bar/seafood station to an antipasti and salad bar, a carving station with lavender honey glazed ham and braised lamb shank, and a hot entrée station with grilled salmon with lemon butter and capers, garlic marinated grilled chicken, and much more. Ravello Easter brunch will be offered from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm for $105 per adult and $45 per child.
- Plancha: For a brunch menu with a Cuban twist, celebrate Easter Sunday at Plancha, the Resort’s Cuban American restaurant. Located at the Tranquilo Golf Club clubhouse, the lakeside restaurant offers a three-course brunch including bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys from an extravagant Bloody Mary Bar. Entrée choices include traditional brunch items such as eggs benedict with truffle hollandaise, very-berry French toast, shrimp omelet, chicken and white cheddar waffles, and oatmeal pancakes. Plancha brunch is offered every Sunday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm for $68 per adult and $20 per child.
- Highball & Harvest: The menu will feature an omelet station, carved meats, a fresh raw bar with crab claws and cold water oysters, farm-fresh spring vegetables galore, desserts and the Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar. Available to guests for $115 for adults and $50 for children 12 and under. Brunch will be served from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling (407) 393-4422 or visit OpenTable.
- Luma on Park: Luma on Park unveils an Easter menu filled with delectable brunch items along with Bellinis and Bloody Marys. Kick off the festivities with Luma’s upscale and locally inspired cuisine. The menu will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling (407) 599-4111 or book online.
- Paddlefish: Special brunch features for Easter Sunday aboard Disney Springs’ latest arrival. Reservations here: paddlefishrestaurant.com
- Prato: Celebrate Easter at Prato with a lunch menu with brunch dishes, Bellinis and Bloody Marys. Complement a lovely Easter morning with a note of Italian-inspired brunch creations. The menu will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling (407) 262-0050 or book online.
- Reunion Resort: At Reunion, Easter is hopping with endlessly fun activities for the whole family. From classic Easter Egg hunts, traditional Easter brunch and appearances by Peter Cottontail, to waterslides, legendary golf courses, spa specials and so much more. Indulge in a variety of food stations such as the Sunrise Station with Omelets and Waffles, Morning Fare Favorites and a Carving Station with Cola Smoked Ham and Herbed Beef Tenderloin. Reservations required, call 407.662.3463
- Ocean Prime: For brunch, guests can enjoy an assortment of menu items include smoked salmon with sliced tomato, arugula, whipped cream cheese and bagel for $18, blackened salmon salad with an assortment of fruit, goat cheese, field greens, candied walnuts and basil poppyseed dressing for $19, French toast with mixed fresh berries, lemon curd, candied bacon and maple syrup for $15 and much more. For reservations call 407-781-4880.
- TR Fire Grill: Enjoy a $35 4-course Easter menu which includes your choice of appetizer, salad/soup, entrée and dessert. Selections include Prime Rib Egg Rolls, Wood Grilled Shrimp Cocktail, Jalapeño Soup, Salmon & Zoodles, Wood Grilled Filet Medallions, Smoked Pork Tenderloin, Smoked Flank Steak and Tempura Battered Strawberries. Reservations: Call (407) 708-3600
Happy Easter y’all!
Apr 072017
Waffles for supper? We say yes.
Chef Fabrizio Schenardi and Faiyaz Kara (one of our favorite writers in town) will be hosting a Breakfast for Dinner event at Ravello at the Four Seasons April 20 at 6:30 p.m.
The talented Chef Fabrizio and his team will prepare five dishes from Faiyaz’s new book — Gourmet Breakfasts for the GENIUS — along with 3 specialty beverages and treats. Enjoy for $75, includes a signed copy of cookbook as well. Click here to purchase your ticket.
Breakfast for Dinner Menu:
- Piperade Basquaise
- Rosemary Belgian Waffles with Seared Foie Gras and Pomegranate Syrup
- Crispy Duck Confit Potato Cakes with Heirloom Tomato Gravy
- Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Ribbed Rib-Eye with Chanterelle Cream and Huevos Fritos
- East African Doughnuts with Coconut Pigeon Pea Curry
- Negroni Cappuccino
- Mimosas
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Sno Cones
Here’s to the enjoying the most “important” meal of the day at the end of the day!
Apr 072017
Dunkin’ Donuts has released some fun creations for spring! For breakfast lovers (because donuts are superb anytime of day) Dunkin’ Donuts has unveiled a pretzel croissant as part of its new Pretzel Croissant Breakfast Sandwich.
Available at Dunkin’ Donuts now for a handful of weeks, highlights from the spring beverage menu includes:
- Chocolate Pretzel Donut: Glazed chocolate cake donut topped with sweet caramel icing drizzle and salty crushed pretzels. The salty pretzel topping and sweet notes of chocolate and caramel provide the ideal balance to the sweet, creamy, toasted nut flavor of their new Butter Pecan Coffee.
- Peanut Butter Delight Croissant Donut: Glazed croissant donut filled with peanut butter buttercreme (!) and topped with a chocolate icing drizzle.
- Pretzel Croissant Breakfast Sandwich: With Cherrywood Smoked Bacon, egg and Wisconsin Aged White Cheddar Cheese, served on a new pretzel croissant that brings together the flaky, buttery goodness of a croissant with the salty deliciousness of a pretzel.
Click here to find a Dunkin’ in your neighborhood!
Apr 012017
Celebrating 24 years, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is underway through May 29. This 90-day festival features stunning blooms, life-size topiaries throughout the park and fresh, fun eats. Most impressive are the “flower towers” and beds of multi-colored blooms that truly transform the park’s landscape. At least 70,000 bedding plants surround the park – all in pristine condition despite these 90-degree days.
Fresh, farm-market food and beverage flavors are found at the new Northern Bloom and The Berry Basket Outdoor Kitchens that will join 13 returning Outdoor Kitchens. Chef-inspired bites from Northern Bloom include Seared Scallops with French Green Beans and Butter Potatoes with brown-butter vinaigrette and Applewood smoked bacon. A Maple Popcorn Shake for sipping can become an adult libation with the addition of some Crown Royal Maple Whiskey. At Florida Fresh taste the Key Lime Tart with Toasted Meringue that’s topped with a chocolate butterfly.
Sample your way through craft beers including a Raspberry Ale from Founders Brewing or Pineapple Mana Wheat Ale from Maui Brewing – both a refreshing departure from your typical craft beer. Additionally, one of the popular Outdoor Kitchen gardens, Urban Farm Eats, will return with savory bites, sweet treats and ideas for planting your own produce.
The new generation of princess topiaries (Snow White, Anna and Elsa – the first to be designed and created with topiary facial features) welcome a brand-new Belle topiary. Located outside the France Pavilion with Beast, Belle comes to life with sculpted facial features and her ball gown is created with golden blooming Joseph’s Coat and Creeping Jenny plants.
The popular Garden Rocks concert series has expanded to four days each week, with three concerts each Friday through Monday presenting pop musicians that span multiple genres over five decades. New acts this year include Simple Plan, Exposé and Berlin featuring Terri Nunn. Festival favorite Jon Secada kicked off the series March 3 and 4, and Dennis DeYoung featuring the music of STYX wraps the long weekend March 5-6.
Beautiful blooms are aglow at Epcot, don’t miss this spectacular festival that’s bursting with flavor and magnificent florals. For more information about the 24th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or visit www.epcotinspring.com.
Photo Credits: Disney World, tart and floral bed taken by Spork