Sunday, July 2, 2023

Prato Winter Park

We had dinner at Prato, a regular destination for us. They consistently have creative and unique dishes.

Red Pepper Corn Soup - tangy with a nice crunch from the corn, onion topping. They always have great seasonal soups.

Watermelon, Avocado Salad. This had compressed watermelon, I liked it but the creaminess of the avocado puree didn't pair well with the watermelon in my mind. However my dining companion loved it.



Squid ink pasta with Shrimp - Squid Ink shells with a strong tomato sauce



Lamb Ravioli - the broth was super light, lamb filling was fantastic.



Mustard Spaghettini - this is our go to dish every time, the best pasta dish in town.


Prato is always busy, we can usually get one or two seats at the bar, reservations are strongly recommended.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/vp78y9y8VL4B3R2q8

124 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

https://www.prato-wp.com/


Saturday, May 20, 2023

Mi Ranchito Querido

Mi Ranchito Querido is a Mexican food truck on Semoran.

I had the Campechana - Chorizo and beef taco.

Pretty sure the tortilla was hand made.


Very good and generous portion.

Next time I'll try the Huarache 

I recommend this truck. Great prices and tasty tacos 

185 S Semoran Blvd, Orlando, FL 32807

#AzaleaPark

#Mexican

#Taco

#TacoTruck

#Orlando

#OrlandoFood

#OrlandoMexican



Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Pigzza



After what seems like years of anticipation, Pigzza has opened. Directly next to local music mecca Will's Pub on Mills Ave, the old garage that sat empty for quite a long time has had an amazing transformation, they even kept the garage doors. Pigzza will be an important part of the Mills/50/Virginia neighborhood.

Serving pastas, pizzas and a nice variety of related items, the theme is Italianish with some bbq ingredients on certain dishes.

For example you can select a pizza or a sandwich that has smoked brisket on it, or a smoked sausage app with meatballs. There's a pizza with bbq chicken and Alabama white sauce. 

Adding the bbq ingredients to Italian dishes definitely makes for some interesting combinations.

Food Menu


The owner of Pigzza has been well known in the Orlando Restaurant scene for many years with the Treehouse Truck and Pig Floyd's just up the street. 

Pigzza has a great wine list as well, much longer than I expected. They also have a good selection of cocktails, beer and sangria.


Wine and Beer Menu

On my visit I was able to try an appetizer, cocktail, pasta and dessert.

I began with the olives and cheese appetizer, nice flavors and good start to the meal. 

With my meal I tried the Paloma cocktail, nice refreshing taste, the banana peppers were an interesting ingredient.

Next was the parpadelle pasta. Pictured is the half portion. This had a good simple flavor with the pulled pork, cilantro and lemon. 



I finished with the Banana Tiramisu, good combination of sweeteness and banana.


Overall I can't wait to explore the rest of the menu, there are lots of intriguing items. 

Pigzza takes reservations via Resy

Address and Links:

Pigzza

1050 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803

(407) 704-8223

https://pigzza.com/

https://maps.app.goo.gl/X3rBHsWy28JkStje6

https://www.facebook.com/PIGZZA

https://instagram.com/pigzzaonmills


Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Norman's Orlando

After years of anticipation, Norman's Orlando has finally opened on Sandlake.

We had dinner there this evening and it was an elegant and delicious experience. 



Norman's 3.0 is located in the Dellagio Plaza on Sandlake Road. 7924 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando, FL 32819

https://www.normans.com/

They have a bar, patio and the main dining room. The decor is stylish and the service is formal. Our server was excellent, friendly and knowledgeable.

We started with some bread rolls, served with butter and salt and pepper. I wasn't really sure what the intention was with the salt and pepper so I just sprinkled it on the butter after I spread it. These rolls had a unique texture. 



We started with a seafood appetizer Shrimp Ceviche with the salsa of life and cucumbers, this was tangy.

Next up was my favorite of the meal...


Brazilian styled Shrimp & Mussel chowder $20 - made with saffron, orange, star anise in coconut milk. This was very tangy and so delicious I could have easily ate another full bowl. This seems to be chef Norman's twist on Moqueca

For my entree I had the scallop dish.



Seared Diver Harvested Sea Scallops over fermented black bean sauce. Served with tortellini filled with a very creamy cheese.

As you can see the scallops were seared perfectly. The sauce with black beans which was a unique choice. 

The tortellini was filled with boniato and queso fresco. I had never heard of boniato, but apparently it's a relative of the yam and it's popular in South Florida where chef Norman has a lot of history. Boniato


My dining companion opted for the fish entree. Pan-cooked fillet of Key West Yellowtail Snapper - served with Swiss chard and garlicky mashed potatoes and citrus butter.  $39


We finished with a decadent dessert. 


Dedo de Chocolate (chocolate finger) - Chipotle chocolate mousse salted butter caramel, macadamia bark, chocolate sorbet - $13

This was quite rich and delicious.

Overall dinner was excellent and we will definitely be returning. 


Here is the menu from the night we went, they will possibly change the menu on a regular basis so don't expect to see all the exact same items. Since my visit they have added an adobo pork dish. What will you choose?

Dessert Menu 

Additionally they have a separate menu at the bar.

Bar Menu

Patio


Wine Cellar

Norman's Orlando

(321) 754-1025

Reservations strongly suggested


Additionally I would suggest reading chef Norman's autobiography. I'm really enjoying it.


This is also worth a listen.

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Doshi Winter Park

Doshi Winter Park is a modern Korean restaurant in Winter Park. They are located in front of the Whole Foods on 17-92 next to Mooyah.

When they first open in mid-2022 they offered a fixed price menu called the chef's counter. 

They have recently added the option for a la carte menu items. They still offer the chef's counter option as well.

The a la carte menu offers options such as appetizers, skewers, main courses.

The food is very creative and unique, but still based in traditional Korean cuisine.

The table was set with only chopsticks no fork, so if you're up to the challenge make sure your chopstick skills are up to par, though I imagine they will give you fork if you need it. I decided to try my skills, though the peanuts and also the carrots were a little bit challenging to pick up. 

Banchan

My meal started with banchan, which is typical for a Korean restaurant. If you're not familiar, it's a selection of appetizers in small bowls selected by the restaurant. Often it's the case that if you like one particular dish you can ask for more of it. I mentioned to the server that I really enjoyed one of the appetizers and I was asking about the preparation, and she brought me more. 

The three items were:

• Kimchi

• Soy marinated peanuts - these were really tasty, similar recipe here 

• Pickled onions, cucumber, jalapeno. This had a sweet tangy flavor that I loved.

Appetizer 

Next I tried the Cheesy Tteokbokkis which is sweet & spicy rice cakes, truffle mozzarella, pepitas. This was a bit spicy and very tasty. I don't believe that cheese is a traditional item in Korean cuisine, so this is likely where the modern, creative aspect of this restaurant comes in. I really loved this dish. Read more about the history & tradition of this dish in Korea here

Skewers 

I then moved on to the Kkochi aka Skewers.



I selected two:

• King Oyster Mushrooms - salt & pine nut. The pine nuts were particularly challenging to pick up with the chopsticks. This was served with a green sauce which was not described on the menu so I'm not sure what it is. But possibly something like a pesto.

• Fire Octopus - gochujang & sesame. This was pretty good it had the texture that you expect from octopus and was not too spicy

There was another skewer I was eyeing before I arrived, on the online menu, which was eggplant, but they were out of it. 

Main Course 


For my main course it was a toss-up between selecting the shrimp fire noodles and the galbi dish.

I selected the Wagyu Galbi Jjimb - beer-braised short ribs & vegetables including carrots.

This was extremely delicious and the beef was so tender. I would highly recommend this dish. It was served with white rice. I was given a spoon for the broth on this one.

In total my meal cost about $75 with no added drinks. 

Overall, the atmosphere was pleasant, music was modern, service was excellent, pleasant and attentive. 

https://www.doshiorlando.com/

More details about the Chef's Counter:

Reservation for parties of 1 to 8

A 12- course tasting menu inspired by the royal cuisine from the court of the Joseon Dynasty.

They may be able to accommodate dietary restrictions. Email them ahead of time info@doshiorlando.com 

Prepaid reservation for parties of 1 to 6  

$160 per person. Corkage fee $35.

---

Doshi

https://instagram.com/doshiorlando

(407) 571-9264

Open daily from 5:30-9pm, Saturdays until midnight 

Closed Monday and Tuesday 

1040 N Orlando Ave STE 104, Winter Park, FL 32789

https://maps.app.goo.gl/puKdvgsaGJVd1DaL7

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Park Avenue Tavern Winter Park

Park Avenue Tavern is now in Soft Opening. In the old Dexters in Winter Park.



Salads, Sandwiches, Burgers, Flatbread, Seafood and more. 


For drinks they have Beers, Cocktails and Wine.


I tried the burger, it was simple and good, had a great flavor 




Their slogan is "Meet Me at PAT"

They aren't located on Park Ave Winter Park, but their original location in NYC is on Park Ave. The name seems to come from that.

Here's the address

558 New England Ave

Winter Park, FL 32789

https://instagram.com/parkavetavern

https://www.instagram.com/igchospitality/

HOURS

MONDAYS

CLOSED

TUESDAYS

3PM-10PM

WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS

10AM-10PM

FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS

10AM-12AM

SUNDAYS

10AM-10PM


558 New England Ave

Winter Park, FL 32789


https://parkavenuetavern.com/winter-park/


Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Tasty Takeover Presents: Love Hurts Feb 14th 2023

 Love Hurts at the Tasty Takeover tonight 



@redpandanoodle 

@tastytakeover 

https://www.facebook.com/events/578518213791751/

Tasty Takeover Presents: Love Hurts

⁃ Dinner & Dessert plus Spicy Specials from The Brujas Table, Cholo Dogs, Cloud 9 Berries, Dio Santo Street Pizzeria, The Hook Orlando, Hot Asian Buns, Over Rice, The Pass Kitchen and Pudding Queen from 6:30-10pm

⁃ And an eating competition that’ll break hearts and melt faces hosted by Red Panda Noodle, starting at 7:30pm

@cholodogs 

@cloud9berries 

@thebrujastable 

@diosanto_pizzeria 

@thehookorlando 

@hot_asian_buns 

@overricecfl 

@thepasskitchen 

THE food truck block party in Orlando, Florida! In The Milk District every Tuesday night from 6:30-10pm behind the bars and shops of 2424 E. Robinson St


Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Spuds at Four Rivers Sodo

Tried out these Spuds at Four Rivers Sodo, available until March 4th







Options are:

Spud Love

Baked potato topped with your choice of meat, jalapenos, shredded cheddar cheese, scallions, dollop of sour cream, and 4R Signature Sauce

Spud Crush

Baked potato topped with brisket, cheese sauce, crispy onions, horseradish sauce, 4R Signature Sauce, queso fresco, and cilantro





#4rivers 

#PeaceLove4R

#4RiversSmokehouse 

#SoDo

#Spuds

#potato