Orlando

We’re at the Loews Royal Pacific next week. I haven’t been to Orlando in a long time so need some restaurant recs. I know it’s the city of chains but interested in local venues.

nobody?

PM Alfert. I don’t know that he ever gets to the travel forum.

Berns is only an hour and a half away

good idea!

It’s the land of chains but there are a few.

Berns is an easy drive, but I’ll suggest:

Rusty Spoon is great
Colombia (I don’t looooove it, but it’s a huge favorite of a lot of friends and family)
There’s a decent Thai place near Wole foods that I can’t recall
Pio Pio for empanadas and snapper
There’s a good Brazilian steakhouse at the curve in I drive. Not as ginormous as fogo or Texas de Brazil, but better.
Flippers for good ny style pizza (they deliver)
Casa del marisco for Ecuadorian seafood similar to paella

I’d just show up at Alfert’s house. Bring a bottle of something greenish. Also, don’t expect Cuban food

18 months old, but here were my notes. I went back again to Cask and Larder last year and it was just as good. Uber was cheap. →

Ravenous Pig was good, but not memorable. As in, I really don’t remember dinner all that much. I had a glorified pork chop for $27. Wine list was tolerable, and we had an 09 Grammercy Cellars Third Man, that I thought was reasonably priced at $85.

Strange then, that I LOVED Cask and Larder. Vibe was a lot better there, as was the food. Southern-style, with some hipster flare (hello, in-house brewpub and logo with an x). Started off with a ham sampler (“sir, you had me at ham sampler. then I saw Benton’s on there…”) and proceed to power through pimento cheese with ham jelly, mac and cheese, roasted corn. Nashville hot chicken for dinner, while picking at a friend’s smoked pig collar. Wine list was wildly unimpressive, but the cocktails were great.

Alfert said he has armed guards so that’s out. Seriously, thanks for these recs.

Anything more up to date on Orlando.
I will be downtown staying at the Doubletree in the UCF area (12125 High Tech Ave)
and working from 11486 Corporate Blvd

Looks like a lot of fast food around there

Alfert and his nearly-Pro Tennis playing wife are too busy to cook. Pretty sure I saw some dog food.

That means he’s got plenty of restaurant experience. Fair warning, Alfert lives in the City with the world’s largest McDonald’s…and pretty much every other major fast food chain. His knowledge and assessment of fine dining might be relative.

RT

Check out Disney Springs. Lots of great choices there. Some of my faves:

Wine Bar George
Jaleo by Jose Andres
Morimoto Asia
Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill-Recently opened
Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming

Decent wine lists at all…especially Wine Bar George

http://www.lecoqauvinrestaurant.com/

Ok a little Birdie told me about this thread that needs my attention.

First, Le Coq Au Vin is a total pass. Used to be great, quaint, then sold. The former owners were a super cute olkder French couple, they are gone. Now it is for the out-of-towners and trades on past reputation.

Second, the Disney Village stuff, total pass unless you are staying out there. Some fine places, but total tourist Mecca. Gives you no sense of the real Orlando, and has a theme park feel.

If you are in the downtown core, here are the top places IMHO:

1. Kabooki. The original location is on Colonial, go to that one. Sit at the sushi bar and let Chef Henry work his magic. Exceptional sushi. Not a great wine list, however. Worth it just for the food. I eat here sometimes every week.

2. If you are at downtown UCF and need a nice meal locally, DoveCote is in my building like 2 blocks from the campus. Solid food across the board, great oysters. I got 2012 Chave here last year at retail price, like $275. They currently have Roilette on the menu.

3. Ravenous Pig, Luma or Prato in Winter Park. All excellent. Luma has best wine list, and probably is the swankiest. Luma and Prato also on Park Ave, which is a great drag for shopping and people watching. The Wine Bar next to Luma is excellent. All wines under some gas system so you just plop in a card and press a button for whatever pour size you want. Generally some really fine wines, including aged First Growths, in the walk-in wine room.

4. If you are entertaining clients downtown and need a steak place, Kress.

5. Grand Boheme Bar downtown always nice. Drinks and charcuterie.

What I could not tell from your post is whether you are at the downtown UCF campus or the main campus west of town, which is not downtown at all. Yes, out there, everything sucks. Head to Winter Park. It’s like 6-7 miles away from campus.

Hope this helps.

I thought Disney was “the real Orlando”

Thanks
Looks like we are a good 10 miles east of the real downtown Orlando, over by the campus next to 434. Kabooki seems like it is worth the cab ride. Only dealing with 2 dinners to fill, no clients just co-workers… But what is right near the hotel and office seems like what you’d expect next to a college campus. Oh well… one good sushi night and one night at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Recently ate at AVA in Winter Park. Mediterranean restaurant (that took over Luma’s spot?). Great food and fun wine list. Our favorite meal of the week.

Any recs for the theme park area? Meeting a friend next month and he’s staying in I-Drive near Sea World. Would prefer to Uber, so don’t want to go downtown. Obviously hoping for corkage friendly. I’d normally go with Charley’s Steakhouse but while I haven’t called that location, Tampa raised their corkage to $50 last time I was there.

Wine Bar George is fantastic for trying wines by the glass (1/4 bottle pour and priced the same)

Menu not extensive, but goes very well with wine exploration

I do love that place and yea, need more of a menu as well as corkage

Oh, and Go Gators!!