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Orlando Food Finds

Rona Gindin — Sun, 05 May 2013 12:15:00 GMT

So much fab food, such enticing price breaks. Here are four finds worth seeking out. Watch the video on Fox 35 starting sometime Monday, May 6, to hear me talk about them.

Pio Pio

Pio Pio is one of my favorite budget restaurants in Orlando.

It has a dark dining room, which is sort of offputting, and it’s on a busy corner of International Drive, another negative. Go anyway. Pio Pio specializes in a Latin American style of chicken, which is marinated and then cooked on a rotisserie. The result is so flavorful, and so tender, I can’t get enough of it. It’s served with two dips, one spicy, the other garlicky. I mix the two together and dip in every bite.

Two combo meals offer a terrific value. One is called Campestre, the other Matador, and they’re said to serve two and four people, respectively. They serve far more. A family of four will have leftovers if they order the meal for two, and the meal for four will satisfy a group of six. At $28 and $38, that comes to about $7 per person, and you’ll all leave stuffed. In addition to loads of chicken (cut into small pieces, unlike in the photo above) with the sauces, you’ll receive a salad with a wonderful garlicky dressing, plus, sweet plantains, green plantains, rice and French fries. With the Matador, the larger version, you also get beans, and delicious little frankfurter slices mixed in with the fries.

www.MyPioPio.org

Yum-mi Sandwiches

The French occupied Vietnam for a time, and that blending of cultures led, among other things, to a work of art known as the bánh mì sandwich. The sandwich is usually a bit of protein, such as marinated pork or chicken, on a crusty baguette, layered with the most delicious pickled vegetables such as carrots and daikon, plus raw thin cucumber slices and a few cilantro sprigs. A healthy schmear of mayo finishes it off.

Until a couple of years ago, we could only buy bánh mì sandwiches in ethnic shops that were often a little creepy. Then three siblings—whose parents own the more traditional Vietnamese restaurant Pho 88—brightened the concept with Yum-mi Sandwiches. Here you can get traditional bánh mì sandwiches, from tofu to pork roll. But you can also get more creative ones, plus bubble teas, salads and other enticing, Asian-ish foods and beverages.

Yum-Mi is offering two deals. First, the owners want you to try their new unPHOgettable sandwich, which is filled with beef brisket, steamed bean sprouts and onions, hoisin and Sriracha sauces, basil, cilantro, jalapeño, a squeeze of lime and a side of beef broth. Yum-mi, right? Buy a combo that includes the sandwich, chips and drink for $8.95. It’s usually $10.70.

If that’s not your thing, visit on Sunday. All day on Sunday, guests who buy two sandwiches from the traditional menu get a third one free.

So, a budget meal in a bright, welcoming, trendy space is even more of a value.

www.yummisandwiches.com

Sushi Pop

Sushi Pop is a bright point in Orlando, a Japanese restaurant with really good, really interesting food, plus a pop-culture theme borrowed from Tokyo's Harajuku district. The servers wear outrageous costumes that match the playful decor.

If you want to try out Sushi Pop’s food at a reduced price, visit during Happy Hour, which is held Tuesdays through Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The entire Happy Hour menu is $4. That means, among other items, you can fill up on pulled pork tacos with hoisin sauce and kimchi lime slaw (they’re amazing), tempura shrimp rolls with chipotle aioli and sun-dried tomato sauce, volcano rolls, everything bagel rolls, and loads of raw fish and shellfish. You can drink for $4 too, including beer, wine, sake and saketinis.

This is an Oviedo you’ve never experienced before.

www.sushipoprestaurant.com

Lovin' it? Start eating.

Rona

www.RonaRecommends.com

No, Publicist, I Will Not Guarantee Ink for Your Client

Rona Gindin — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:30:27 GMT

An editor asked me to represent his magazine at a media dinner next week. The meal will be a gathering of journalists and bloggers at a new farm-to-table restaurant within a major Orlando hotel. Sure, I said. I'm a food and travel writer so I need to keep up with the area's newest kitchens. This magazine, among others, might be able to use an article about it.

I RSVP'd yes and filled out a form stating my affiliation. The paper, sent by the restaurant's publicist, asked me to pledge that -- Ach, I can't even paraphrase without wincing. Here, just read it yourself: "I confirm I am on assignment for the outlet listed above and will produce a feature/review as a result of my dining experience at {Restaurant X}." The form required a signature.

That is the sleaziest, most unprofessional invitation I have ever received.

Let me back up. Restaurant and travel writers who work for the upper echelon of publications do all their research independently, on their own or their company's dime. The rest of us accept invitations to media events, where we're wined and dined so we can get a general idea of what the establishment is like. In my case, if I like the experience a lot, I return anonymously, with my credit card, to do research for a critique or feature article. I'll use what I learn repeatedly in various forms for any number of respectable magazines, books and websites, local and national. In other words, media dinners help me weed out top places without going broke--and potentially lead to extensive media coverage.

This pig head is part of a whole-animal dinner for eight I hosted, anonymously, as research for a feature at Winter Park's Cask & Larder. If the new hotel restaurant impressed me, it might have gotten similar coverage. Now I will never write about it.

If the restaurant is meh but has a noteworthy feature, I find another way to give it press. Maybe I include its custom glass flower wall art in a design piece or scoop the chef into a round-up about where local culinarians dine on their nights off. I never trash a restaurant based on a media dinner. I only do that if I visit undercover on my own and have a horrid experience. If based on the media dinner I find the restaurant hopeless, I slink home and stay quiet.

Restaurants gamble a bit when they host a media event because they're spending money on food, wine and labor that, at most, they won't get back in publicity. Usually they get plenty of ink. They take a chance. That's the game.

Clearly Restaurant X's management--or its publicist--would rather not chance it. Thus, the form.

No ma'am. No sir. A journalist does not guarantee, promise, pledge in writing, with a signature, that s/he will spread word of your glory because s/he ate a pork chop with slaw as your guest.

I understand the caution. Journalists and bloggers enjoy freebies, especially freebies they can use to write new articles. Many accept every request that comes their way. I don't. I turn down invitations that won't be useful for my business. I am not what I call the freelance schnorra who accepts a seat at any table (although I do not blame anyone for trying; media events are terrific for networking).

It is the publicist's job to learn who's who in the market and invite the writers most likely to help her client.

A signature? A promise? That's not the way.

I wrote back "Count me out." I wonder how many of my colleagues will sign the form and show up. I wish they'd all boycott.

Eat well,

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

Charlotte County, Upscale and Down

Rona Gindin — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:18:47 GMT

Should you fear that Charlotte County, Punta Gorda and the surrounding areas are good only for eating food, you're mistaken. You can also learn about where food comes from.

We travel writers began Day 3 at the Peace River Wildlife Center.

We saw injured birds including two bald eagles, quite close up. The highlight was wading in Peace River. The adventure is held periodically and anyone can sign up through the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center. After learning about the creatures that live in the water, such as blue crabs, snails, hermit crabs and way more, we waded in with nets on sticks and caught a bunch.

Here's a horseshoe crab, which is more spider than crab, apparently.

We had one of our very best meals, a take-out crispy eggplant burger with pepper salad and goat cheese spread with sweet potato chips from River City Grill.

The produce for the lunch was grown at Worden Farm, a sizeable, impressive, organic enterprise owned by two PhDs, husband and wife, who are committed to changing the way the world eats.

Here are cherry tomatoes on the vine. Take an educational hayride of the property, and time your visit to hear a seminar, such as on vegan cooking.

Three more teasers, then I am off to take a walk on the beach.

We had cocktails on the roof of the sleek Wyvern Hotel -- live music, martinis, rattan-ish sofas and chairs.

Next up was a phenomenal meal at the playful, rustic Peace River Seafood. The business is also a wholesaler and retailer, so the shrimps and crabs from local waters could not be fresher.

As a teaser, here are some stone crab claws.

The shrimp are unusual, and from local waters. Phenomenal.

Crabs are the house specialty, so get messy with the blue crabs or the garlic clusters. These plates are only about $15 each, which is a tremendous bargain given the quality.

The evening's final tasting was of truly spectacular desserts at an upscale restaurant with a well-coiffed clientele called The Perfect Caper. Based on the sweets, I'd try it for dinner in a flash. Here is the gingerbread ice cream sandwich filled with dulce de leche gelato drizzled with caramel sauce.

I'm off for that walk now. As if it'll make a dent in the waistline.

Next and final stop: Opus restaurant, an urban-looking retreat in downtown Punta Gorda. Brunch. Bring it on.

Eat well,

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

Punta Gorda, on a Plate

Rona Gindin — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 13:41:57 GMT

My journey around Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf lslands turned out to be a gorge-a-thon -- which is a lovely way to see Punta Gorda and its environs.

Our troupe of food writers and bloggers began Day 2 at The Egg & I Restaurant in Englewood.

For the most part The Egg and I is your typical diner, but it has this one amazing breakfast dish. It's called abelskiver, and it's a soft, slightly sweet "Danish pancake dumpling" that's flavored with cardamom, of all things. Gentle yet striking. Smear on a bit of strawberry jam ... and smile.

We next ventured to Cole's Clam Nursery, where we learned how clams are harvested in the Gulf of Mexico. I won't go on with the details, which happen to be fascinating, but take a look at two things.

These are baby clams.

This is a Sunray Venus clam. Sunray Venus is native to the area but only now being harvested so we'll have enough to eat regularly. Clue: They're what Howard Johnson generally used in those renowned fried clam strips. Expect more news in about a year and a half.

These are the Sunray Venus clams steamed and served with olive oil, wine and parsley at The Fishery Restaurant, a colorful, down-to-earth spot that also has an amazing grouper sandwich.

It worth a stop at Fishermen's Village to get a shopping fix. The complex is a one-stopper with nearly 40 stores -- every one an independent, a marina, and 47 villa-style rental accommodations.

A store called Sweet Treasures sells fruit wines. For a classic seafood meal, try Village Fish Market. These photos will give you an idea.

Enough food for one day, right? Nuh-uh. We ended on a blissfully sweet note at the brand new candy shop Simply Sweet, a Confectionary Cafe. This photo is, ahem, the reason my magazine editors follow up my restaurant visits with photographers. But you'll see some of the store's vast inventory, which includes the best fudge I've ever had (Heath Bar), Norman Love chocolates, gelato and classic candies. On a nice day, the outdoor seats overlooking the marina area a relaxing place to take on a calorie-worthy sugar rush.

Oh, and the employees wear these sassy hats. They set a tone that no small detail is overlooked.

Somewhere along that same day, we took our first of several drives through downtown Punta Gorda, which has been beautifully rebuilt following a wicked hurricane several years ago. One highlight is murals painted on building walls around town. Here's one.

Truly interesting art galleries, many own and run by artists, are scattered about town. For a refresher, stop in for wine, coffee and cupcakes -- I chose strawberry -- at In Your Face Cupcakes.

So that's it for Day 2 in Charlotte County, although somehow I forgot to tell you about Palm Island and Gasparilla Island, known for its one and only town, big with second-home owners, Boca Grande. Enough from me. Take a tour.

Homemade Olive Oil and Wicked-Good Scallops

Rona Gindin — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:03:20 GMT

Our Charlotte Harbor, Florida, culinary adventures began with a visit to Catania's Winery.

You're thinking grapes, right? And vines? Me too. But this place isn't like that. It's a little storefront in what seems to be an industrial area. Husband and wife John and Margarita make their own wine -- from California grapes. They also press their own oil from Sicilian olives and repackage imported Spanish olive oil under their own label.

They sell their wares in a sweet little shop. Parts are woodsy and warm, with accents such as earthenware and glass grape clusters.

The back room is filled with winemaking tanks. They're stainless steel and custom-made to John's specifications. They needed to do what he wants and also be easy for one man to use alone.

Stop into Catania's, too, if you dabble in wine-making yourself. John and Margarita sell their own line of equipment.

Following the wine and olive oil tasting, we dined at Farlow's on the Water, where the chef-owner is a St. Croix native who has Cruzan and Southern dishes alongside typical seafood ones.

We tasted the gamut, from fried green tomatoes to spicy conch fritters. The highlight was a signature dish made with three large sweet Peter Island scallops -- among the best I've ever had. They were blackened just slightly, placed over blue crab meat, and bathed in a cream sauce along with artichoke bits and spinach. Like all entrees at Farlow's, the scallops came with a salad and two sides.

So I'm stuffed, sitting in my mega-suite big enough for a fraternity, listening to the waves break as a symphony places on my iPad.

I'm scheduled to be out and about by 8 a.m. tomorrow for breakfast and a clamming tour. I can't imagine leaving this idyllic retreat.

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

Welcome to the WannaB Inn

Rona Gindin — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 02:17:06 GMT

The folks who handle tourism for Charlotte Harbor and The Gulf Islands were kind enough to invite me on a media tour of the this pretty coastal area. Please indulge my sharing the highlights.

I just checked into the WannaB Inn, a pretty hotel down a quiet block with 900 feet of beachfront. Lemon Bay is one side, filled with dolphins and manatee. The Gulf of Mexico is steps in the other direction. The hotel has been around since 1958, but new owners took over two years ago and have been sprucing it up ever since.

Take a look at this room -- it's like a whole house. With its simple yet colorful facade, the WannaB seemed more motel-like than residential. Yet I have a full kitchen with a large refrigerator and bar stools of sunny yellow and sky blue.

I'll write this blog and eat my breakfast at this dining table, which seats up to six. The conch shell centerpiece coordinates with conch shell wall art.

The living area has a sofabed that sleeps two plus a comfy LazyBoy-type chair.

A long balcony has views of the gulf, seabirds flying freely.

I wannabe here. (Corny. Had to. Excuse it.)

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

The Pickypants Family, Part 2

Rona Gindin — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 20:54:19 GMT

Background: For a friend's Christmas dinner, I baked a chocolate "decadence" cake from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

Making the dessert included melting chocolate, beating egg whites, sifting flour ... work. Son No. 1 -- who has preferred processed foods to fresh since he was a baby -- wasn't thrilled with it.

A couple of days after Christmas, he and a friend baked their own cake in the wee hours, apparently in tribute to the movie they'd just seen, Django Unchained. This conversation happened the following morning.

Son: We made a white cake last night.

Mother: I saw. It looks great. What'd you do, use a mix?

Son, defensively: Yes, we used a mix. It was good.

Mother: That's great. Most people use mixes. They don't make things from scratch like I do. There's nothing wrong with that.

Son: And it's better.

www.RonaGindin.com

Fantasyland’s New BE OUR GUEST Restaurant

Rona Gindin — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:47:24 GMT

For food-focused travelers, the most exciting part of the Magic Kingdom’s new Fantasyland additions will be Be Our Guest, a restaurant themed around Beauty and the Beast. Here are some inside details about what to expect.

The restaurant will be an immersive experience. You’ll cross a bridge lined with pots of fire to reach it and, upon entering, be swept up in the movie. Three dining rooms have entirely separate looks, such as the ballroom, which is grand and carpeted, and the West Wing, complete with shredded wallpaper. Statues will look like they’ve been there hundreds of years. About 320 of the 500 seats will be in the ballroom.

Here's the ballroom (photo from Disney).

Lunch will be fast-casual, meaning guests order at a table and have the meal delivered. Tables will be bussed. Dinner will be traditional table service with an a la carte menu.

The food will be French, though of course approachable for Americans (mac and cheese will have a Gallic twist and a fancy name). Scratch cooking will be the rule, so the turkey on your lunchtime baguette will be roasted on the premises, for example. A croque-monsieur sandwich will be offered (melted ham and cheese between two slices of eggy bread). Dinner entrees will include a splendid citrusy salmon.

Starters include refreshing salads such as string beans with caramelized onions, watermelon with radishes (wonderful) and beets with yellow raisins.

Kids foods will incorporate nutrition in sneaky ways. For example, the ketchup will have carrots in the recipe, and the meatloaf will incorporate hidden vegetables.

Twenty wines and a few French and Belgian beers will be offered at dinner — a first for the Magic Kingdom, which has never before offered spirits to its theme park guests. “It never really made sense before,” an executive explained. A signature fruit drink made with pomegranate and apple juices (no added sugar) will be served in a light-up castle-themed cup over ice. Expect to dole out whatever it costs for every kid in your party. It is that cute.

Desserts will be delicious (look at this one) and presented on a rolling cart, yet will be made with little or no refined sugar. The pastry chefs instead use agave syrup, mango and other clever sweeteners. Pastry puffs, quite French, will be on offer, along with cupcakes. “The gray stuff,” as mentioned in a song from the movie like sthis: “Try the gray stuff, it’s delicious,” will be offered as as topping.

Time for a culinary adventure.

Eat well, my friends,

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

17th Annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

Rona Gindin — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:49:19 GMT

For 17 years, Epcot has transformed its World Showcase into a mecca for folks who like to taste new foods and wines. And for 17 years, the Food and Wine Festival team has brightened the festival with new flavors. The 2012 event will have Florida and vegan (called Terra) marketplaces. Kids will get to drink frothed up Nesquick in chocolate or strawberry and adults can sample a wine made from key lime juice. The Florida Beer Company will make a Devil's Triangle brew exclusively for the festival.

I got to taste a bunch at a sneak peek luncheon for journalists. Verdict: Oh yea.

Here are some noteworthy items.

POLAND: Zapiekanki-toasted mushroom, caramelized onion and cheese bread with housemade ketchup. This bruschetta-like snack is sweet, spicy and earthy.

TERRA: Trick'n Chick'n curry with basmati rice featuring Gardein Chick'n Breast. This was the surprise hit. This absolutely delicious, spicy dish has at its center a tofu-based mock mound of poultry. It is superb.

Australia: Grilled lamb chop with mint pesto and potato crunchies. A generous lamb chop, tender and juicy, with a minty topping. (My iPhone photo skills stink, I know. But the lamb chop is good.)

FLORIDA: Florida Shrimp Ceviche with Fire Roasted Vegetables, Fried Plantains and Cilantro. Light and tangy seafood. (Photo courtesy of Disney)

CANADA: "Le Cellier" Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce. The writers were raving about this one - fork-tender steak with a creamy, earthy topping.

I have no photo, but trust me and, if you like steak, make this dish a priority.

DESSERTS: Yogurt Panna Cotta with Orange Cake, Raspberries and Pomegranate, Lemon Custard Verrine with Blueberry Compote, Dark Chocolate Mousse with Chili and Salted Caramel. All good, but the dark chocolate mousse is you-must-buy-this phenomenal.

For information on new events to be held during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, read the appropriate section of this feature article.

Eat well, my friends,

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

Taco Tuesday. Meh.

Rona Gindin — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:59:48 GMT

“It looks pretty saucy. Is it saucier than usual?”

This is Josh, my college student, home for the summer. He’s examining a frying pan filled with flavored chopped meat, perplexed, nay concerned, that the dinner set before him isn't quite right. It’s Taco Tuesday, you see, a weekly event in our kitchen because Josh misses Cornell’s make-your-own supper, in which he indulged every Monday last school year. (They don't menu plan via alliteration there, apparently.) Taco night relieved Josh from the monotony of the Mongolian-barbecue chicken dinner; that's what he ate every other evening.

I am insulted. Not because Josh is wary of tonight’s center-of-the-plate presentation. He’ll eat it, saucy or dry, and will erupt with comments, negative or positive. It’s because he prefers school dinners to mine. Seriously. Don’t most kids return home after freshman year yearning for Mom’s meatloaf, casserole or minestrone? I don’t make any of those for family dinners, actually, because, as I’ve mentioned before, my family is a trio of pickypantses. Neither do I serve my guys a killer country French chicken fricassee, an inspiring Italian swordfish empanada, or loads of other truly tasty from-scratch dishes. They're not interested.

He wants tacos.

My husband and other son, Ryan, thought this was a fine idea, so I tried. I seasoned chopped meat with Mexican herbs and spices for Josh and marinated chicken breast in lemon juice for cholesterol-shy Hubby, figuring Ryan and I will feast from either platter.

I put out a bottle of green sauce to perk things up for the adults and a jar of chemical “queso” for the kids. Josh likes cheese, so I freshly grated some aged Cabot cheddar. I microwaved some medium-size tortillas. I skipped the chopped black olives, onions, tomatoes, jalapenos and avocado I serve with fajitas for company, since the fussy fellows forgo them all.

Not a hit. “The meat tastes funny.” “I only like pieces of steak, not ground meat.” “The chicken is bland.” “I only like the small tortillas.” “I only like the big tortillas.” “The cheese is a weird texture, flaky-like, soft.”

The tinkering began. The only thing that makes Taco Tuesday tacos taste “right,” it turns out, is a bright orange powder produced in a factory.

I refuse to read the package to see what frightening chemicals comprise this mix, since by using it I make Josh a contented young man. I simply stir it in along with water and commercial picante sauce and pray the crap won’t kill us.

For cheese, I now plop plastic bags filled with preshredded dairy-ish product on the table. “This is just right,” Josh announces as he gleefully sprinkles handfuls of the fake food over his doctored-up filling.

I buy two sizes of tortillas and heat them up together. Really, honestly, neither of these men will make do with the other size? (Josh: The tacos are too spicy in the big tortillas. It's about the meat-to-bread ratio." Hub: "I can't fit enough toppings into a small tortilla.") Both despise the medium size, and corn tortillas. Reason unknown.

As for the blandness of the leftover chicken tacos, I found a fix that’s ideal … for those who feel like fussing after a long day of work. I make an absolutely delicious mango salsa from Epicurious.com. That involves buying mangos at just the right ripeness; peeling them, which is a big messy pain in the tush; and then chopping up vegetables. It’s serious work.

With this plan, Josh is happy with his chemical beef and Hub with his labor-intensive topping. I’m annoyed because this is no simple dinner. (I hear crazy-serious whining when I roast a chicken with potatoes or sweet potatoes, the easiest and most delicious healthful dinner in my repertoire. "And I have to clean a roasting pan, too? This is the worst dinner ever!"). And Ryan – did I mention Ryan? – starves, because he doesn’t like any of it. I hand him a bagel with nova in the camp bus loop on Tuesdays, and later he snacks on frozen pizza.

Wholesome indeed. I will miss Josh when he returns to New York. I will not miss Taco Tuesday.

Eat well,

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

The Rest of Orlando's Best

Rona Gindin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:39:23 GMT

When the editors of Orlando Home & Leisure couldn't fit all my "best of" suggestions into their next issue, they generously agreed to let me share the remainders here. These are sensational tastes and such in and near Orlando. Get in those cars, locals! For more -- the ones that did make the cut, check out the magazine's May 2012 issue.

Best Reason Never to Order Fried Mozzarella Sticks Again We used to battle over appetizers at casual Italian restaurants. “Why can’t we order the fried mozzarella sticks?” “Because they have no flavor so you’re the only one who’ll eat them.” At Peperoncino, the whole gang wants this starter — every visit.

Using chef-owner Barbara Alfano’s recipe, the cooks prepare Pecorino fritto by cutting imported Pecorino romano cheese into small cubes. Then they dip it in eggs, coat it lightly in flour, fry it, drizzle on a bit of honey, and sprinkle on spicy powdered pecorino. These beauties are gentle to the bite and amazingly flavorful. Each mouthful is subtly sweet and hot at once, enhancing the the powerful pecorino zing. The fried pecorino is one of many good dishes at this casual new European-style Italian in Dr. Phillips.

Most Indulgent Steak in All of Orlando “Fat equals flavor,” dietitians dictate when explaining why fat-free versions of traditional desserts are unsatisfying. So imagine how sated you’ll feel after sharing the Tomahawk steak for two at Bull & Bear, since the 36-ounce hunk of beef is served with extra “flavor.”

Here’s how it works at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando’s signature restaurant. Once you order, a server will discretely place a candle that is in a stainless steel gravy boat on your table. When the 28-day dry-aged Four Diamond Harris Ranch steak arrives, your server will pick up that gravy boat with the candle in it and pour some of the “wax” onto your meat

As it turns out, the Bull & Bear candle is made of beef fat, seasoned with the mix that chefs sprinkle onto steaks in the kitchen. As it melts, a “gravy,” let’s call it, accumulates at the bottom of the gravy boat. And it’s that luscious liquid that tops your Tomahawk. This subtle surprise enhances the Tomahawk significantly — not that this expertly aged hunka flesh needs improvement.

Here's a photo:

Best Place to Watch a Farmers Market Grow Just a couple of years ago, Winter Garden’s weekly farmers market was a sad affair with a few vendors spread around a nondescript parking lot. Fast forward to 2012: Under an attractive new pavilion, partially covered, just southwest of historic Plant Street, this same weekly gathering has become a bustling must-do for area residents.

Up to 90 vendors a week sell their wares to hordes of shoppers. Produce local, hydroponic and otherwise, fresh cheeses, Lake Meadow eggs, artisan breads, organic coffee, and our newest find, jars of Orlando-made Fran’s Specialty Foods savories (sold by Fran) like Tuscany Blend and Spinach, Artichoke and Parmesan Blend, are on offer. Jewelry, cutting boards and other nonfood items are also for sale. With live music playing, and food trucks doling out crepes and other meals, the Winter Garden Farmers Market doubles as a fix for grocery needs and a destination-worthy event.

Best Meals on Wheels When five, 10, even 25 food trucks gather into “pods” at a time, it’s tough to single out the special from the so-so. For us, there’s no need to guess which mobile restaurant’s fare to choose. Big Wheel keeps on churning out great meals, week after week, so we play it safe and choose that line for our alfresco suppers.

Big Wheel’s truck is run by Tony Adams, who makes “provisions” (such as long pepper hot sauce, bacon salt, and onion jam) and manages a catering company under the same name. His shtick is locally sourced food, and Big Wheel’s menu changes regularly based on what goodies Florida farmers are harvesting at the time. On a recent evening, the truck’s menu included crispy curry tots with garlic crema; Brussels sprouts with honey-siracha-lime sauce; spicy deviled eggs with crispy cornmeal-fried Apalachicola oysters; and pheasant cacciatore.

Best Way to Make a Lousy Dinner Delicious Admit it: You serve your family pathetic dinners sometimes. We all do. For us, the quickest fix is to open a jar of Sunchowder Emporia’s corn relish. A couple of tablespoons of this sweet-spicy concoction helps us deal with dullards like (dare we admit we prepare this?) those awful frozen turkeyburgers and chickenburgers.

The Pop Corn Spicy Relish’s flavor is bright and lively, so much so that you can ignore the pedestrian fare sharing your fork. Proprietor Wendy Read gets her kernels from Mount Dora’s Long & Scott Farms. She blasts them with red pepper, jalapeño, ghost chile, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt and a bunch of strong flavors like coriander and celery seed.

Read actually started preparing Sunchowder condiments as a way to gain entrance to the Winter Park Farmers Market, since it already had a jam specialist. Her specialty is the sweet stuff — zucchini-ginger, raspberrypepper, pineapple-tangerine, which surely can all do wonders to a blasé slice of toast. She makes her goods in Longwood and sells them at Homegrown LocalCo-op and the Winter Park and Lake Eola farmers markets.

Best Bread Where You Would Never Expect It Winter Parkers flock to Shipyard Brew Pub for its boutique beers and chef-made bar food. But to buy a loaf of bread? You bet. The eatery’s biggest draw, to some of us, is the hearty crusty loaves that are displayed for sale at the retail counter.

We generally pick up three varieties of Arby Gonzales’ creations every visit: the spicy jalapeño-cheddar, which we get sliced and pull out of the freezer in twosies for sandwiches; the walnut, which we slather with farmers’ market salted butter for breakfast; and the hearty multigrain, which is as versatile as it is satisfying. Pick up even one loaf and you’ll know what Orlando has been missing all these years.

Most Eagerly Awaited New Restaurant The Ravenous Pig can do no wrong in the seasoned eyes of Orlando’s die-hard food fanatics. Now owners Julie and James Petrakis are opening a second den of delectability: Cask & Larder, which will be a micro brewery with a casual yet locally sourced, made-from-scratch menu — just a very different locally sourced, made-from-scratch menu than its sister restaurant.

Pig alum Dennis Bernard will run the kitchen as chef de cuisine, embracing Southern cuisine in the form of country ham. Guests can share a 15-seat communal table or book it for a group and order a whole roasted animal such as pig, goat or lamb. At an oyster bar, guests will be invited to try east and west coast mollusks wrapped with seaweed into burlap and steamed over an open fire. Bernard’s wife, Tracy Lindskoog, will transfer her exacting dining room management skills from one Petrakis restaurant to the other.

Overseeing the cask side of things, brewmaster Ron Raike will work his magic with hops and barley here as he did until recently at Shipyard Brew Pub. There will be five beers on draught and one in cask. Additionally, southern-inspired beverages such as mint juleps, and an all-American wine list, will be available.

Cask & Larder will take over the beleaguered Harper’s Tavern space.

Best Place to Score Some Sauerkraut Buoyed by the success of his German restaurant Hollerbach’sWillow Tree Café, proprietor Theo Hollerbach decided to sell groceries for those who prefer to eat their Eastern European foods at home. Enter MagnoliaSquare Market, which stocks 2,500 items, from spatzle noodles to sausages, from fresh brochen bread to Bavarian potato pancake mix, black forest cake mix, and a candy called Mozartkugeln.

“We specialize in German Dry goods, like pickles, noodles, potato mixes, spices and chocolates you would find on a German grocery shelf,” says Hollerbach. “We have our own bakery, sausage, cold cuts, cheeses and sandwich counters along with gluten-free products, beer and wine, and home brewing supplies.” Roast beef, turkey (including herb and gypsy-spice varieties) and pork roasts are made in –house.

Best Way to Start the Day the Caribbean Way Breakfast in the West Caribbean isn’t quite so, um, fattening. In Trinidad and Tobago, locals often pick up a morning fix of doubles from street vendors. The spicy breakfast is a sandwich of quickbread rounds layered with mashed chickpeas.

In Orlando on Old Winter Garden near Kirkman, Singh’s RotiShop & Bar specializes in the exotic foods of the West Indies, from roti (a flaky bread) rolled around curried meats to beverages like mauby (the foundation is a tree bark) and sea moss, which is reputed to be an aphrodasiac.

But it’s those doubles that seem to be on everyone’s tray throughout the day, along with whatever else makes them appreciate the restaurant’s slogan, “Home away from home.” They’re only $1 each, making them that much more of a treasure.

Best Little Lunch in Dr. Phillips, Japanese-Style If you have a yen for tuna of the raw variety, head to Bonsai Sushi, Dr. Phillips second-worst-kept secret. Those in-the-know order the signature Bonsai Lunch Bowl. It’s a mix of cubed raw salmon and tuna plus spicy chili sauce. It’s served over rice, topped with “tempura crunchies,” and frizzled with spicy mayonnaise, wasabi mayonnaise and eel sauce. For $12.95, it comes with soup and salad. (It’s filling. You won’t need dinner.)

In its seventh year, Bonsai is owned by Chun and Giselle Kim. Chun has been a sushi chef for seven years, and Kim is a graduate of the Florida Culinary Institute.

Best Way to Get a the Kids to Eat Chinese In New York’s Szechuan restaurants, you’ll find cold sesame noodles on nearly every table. Long round noodles are tossed with a peanut, and slightly spicy, sauce, then topped with bean sprouts and cucumber slices.

A decent version — heck, nearly any version — was hard to find in the City Beautiful. But now Hawkers, a Mills 50 restaurant featuring the street foods of Asia, plates up a bowlful of ridiculously addicting ones. Plan to order two if you’re dining with children because otherwise you’ll be battling chopstix. This, together with the marinated beef skewers with satay sauce, tend to be a hit with the under-12 set. facebook.com/hawkersstreetfare

We'd love to hear about your favorite food items in Central Florida. Please share them in the comments section.

Eat well,

Rona

www.RonaGindin.com

Faux Moi

Rona Gindin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:46:25 GMT

You should have seen me Saturday night, wiping salt off my tongue. Not wiping. That’s too civilized a description. With a force of desperation, I was dragging a linen napkin over my tongue, from top to bottom, top to bottom. Occasionally I’d jam a finger in and wrap it around my tongue to scoop out more of the assaulting mess. The chunky, sandy NaCl tasted repulsive — more like putrid coffee grounds that wouldn’t dissolve than the tempting bits of crystal at the bottom of the Snyder’s bag.

Generally having a mouthful of an offensive substance would be annoying, not embarrassing. But Saturday evening was no average time. Dolled up with a sequin dress and styled hair, I was attending a wine-pairing dinner at Norman’s, a posh restaurant within Orlando’s Ritz-Carlton. And I wasn’t sitting at a quiet two-top with just my husband, who would have chuckled and rolled his eyes at my mishap (he has grown quite accustomed to them). Sharing our large round table, which was surrounded dramatically by glass walls lined with wine bottles, were, among others, a Master Sommelier and a magazine publisher.

You don’t want these kinds of folks eyeing you as you drag granular white crud out of your mouth with a wad of cloth as if you’re a certain redhead in an I Love Lucy episode, all the while silently pleading with your body not to gag. And you really don’t want them knowing the source of your discomfort. But I’ll confide in you: Without paying attention, sort of thinking the blur of snow beneath my Wianno Oysters Duo must be the “horseradish foam” mentioned on the menu, I’d scooped up a forkful of rock salt from the bottom of the plate and nonchalantly shoveled a tablespoon-sized portion through my lips.

Faux pas.

I hadn’t noticed the white dots atop each oyster, which was surely the foam – although the enticing accents could have been instead the jicama or the Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyards granita, a kind of super-fancy Icee. But in typical Rona fashion, I was paying no attention to the details as I supped enthusiastically while engaged in the table’s assorted conversations.

I’d like to tell you that the seemingly scandalous salt screw-up was my only error that evening. Not so. During the champagne reception earlier, a sprightly young waiter walked over to us carrying an hors d’oeuvres tray. I reached down and plucked up a mini beef empanada. As instructed, I dipped my savory pastry into a small bowl containing a deep golden plantain sauce. And, Rona being Rona, I accidentally let go of that turnover, plopping it right into the sauce. I probably shouldn’t admit that I had a cold so, although I'd washed my hands, the fingers with which I’d held that empanada might not have been super sanitized.

The waiter trotted away to get a new dip. The three dozen empanadas and croquettes still on the tray surely lost their sizzle by the time the server got them back into the dining room.

I felt like a hero though. Truly, I did, and here’s why: because I didn’t dip my hand into the bowl and scoop out the empanada.

To you, I’m sure, that’s not worth mentioning. Well, you’re not Rona. Just a week before, I’d been enjoying an extraordinary feast at the Flying Fish Chef’s Chef’s Tasting Wine Experience. Part of the shtick with this five-course meal is that a chef delivers each course to your seat and shares tales of the ingredients’ origins. I attended on a night when the chef de cuisine himself, Tim Keating, was working. He brought over a little bowl similar to the one that held Saturday night’s plantain sauce. In it were light brown bits called wattle seeds, which Keating explained is a ridiculously expensive delicacy from Australia. “Here, it tastes a bit like coffee,” Keating said. He dipped in a utensil, drew out a speck and put it on his tongue. I took the utensil, couldn’t get the wattle seeds onto it, so put two fingers in and took a pinch.

Uh-oh.

I wish that blunder had been just a faux pas. I must have cost Flying Fish a bundle, as its culinary team is ultra food-safety conscious. I’m sure those wattle seeds went right into the rubbish. And I’ll bet Keating will show future guests cheap foodstuffs like, er, garbanzos.

There’s a lesson in this, and it’s not to keep me off the invite list for gourmet dinners. I hope you’ve learned that I’m a great guest at any frou-frou function. Unintentionally, I’m always good for a laugh.

www.RonaGindin.com

Food Bloggers: Keep Your Day Jobs

Rona Gindin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:53:49 GMT

“I am a underwriter by day.”*

Well that’s it. This food blogger surge must stop.

Every house in every subdivision, it seems, is home to a food blogger. In every apartment, petite or palatial, sits a would-be scribe compelled to share the joy of each smoky slab of ribs, silky slice of pie or chilled glass of single-origin iced coffee consumed. This I-shoulda-been-a journalist flits 10 fingers across a laptop keyboard by night, interspersing pedestrian photos with enthusiastic, if unpolished, prose.

I wouldn’t care about the Internet’s overwhelming wad of food bloggers … if the amateurs weren’t getting undue attention.

This will come across as bitter no matter how carefully I say it, although, as you’ll see, that’s truly not my intent: The food bloggers who are savvy about getting their work before loads of pairs of eyeballs are also now getting prime invitations. They’re seated beside me and my ilk at media events; in the past, we were a closed-to-the-public posse of like-minded souls, passionate pros who get as enthusiastic about a cunning pun as a sensationally seasoned caramelized onion. Occasionally, the new bevy of bloggers is seated at such events instead of the credible crews.

I can see why. Credentialed critics might write a glowing feature — or snarl about a soggy salad. If we’re unimpressed, we may not give the host establishment any ink at all. Our magazines/newspapers/books/websites have limited space and we use our precious column inches to guide our readers to the best meals possible. Bloggers, by contrast, seem giddy to be gallivanting to restaurant tables all over town. As thanks for passage into the inner sanctum, they’ll produce virtual pages upon pages of glowing praise — of course with hopes of receiving new evites in the future.

Many bloggers are discriminating, to be sure, and they are due full respect. Others tend simply to write about the basics. I’d like to share two examples. At one recent media dinner for a new restaurant, an egg was lovingly cooked for 55 minutes sous-vide style. Its creamy yolk and satiny white were served atop a frisée salad dotted with bacon lardons and tossed with celeriac dressing, the whole a complement to a seared King salmon fillet. A food blogger — a really neat gal who does a respectable job — summed up her detailed description about the egg thus: “It was very enjoyable.”

That’s clear. It’s straightforward. And if I handed an editor an opinion like that, I’d … well, I’d be an untethered food blogger with no source of income. The pains of food writing — the tortured eons we long-timers loathe — are due to the challenge of descriptive writing. “Very enjoyable” is fine. It’s also an easy way out. By contrast, think about how many times you’ve read a review mentioning a restaurant’s crab cakes. “Very enjoyable” would be unacceptable. Even a predictable sentence like, “The golden-brown discs were filled with well-seasoned chunks of tender crabmeat and plated with a spicy remoulade” wouldn’t do. It would once, actually — but what about the next time that food writer describes a crab cake? That one would need to be differentiated from the first. Not easy stuff.

Here’s the second example of writing that could have more umph. A local luxury hotel flew (I presume) a bunch of New York-based food bloggers into town to cover a culinary extravaganza. Reporting on a special breakfast, one of the guests did what bloggers do well. She wrote a lo-o-o-ong piece and inserted several photos. "And the peacock rug!! I want one in my apartment! ” she cooed. “Handsome devil, isn’t he? ” she said of the chef. Cute stuff. We see creative juice concoctions, honey-truffle butter … all appropriate. And then – ta-dum – “I also drank a cup of coffee with breakfast.” Below was an image of coffee being poured into a fine china cup. Really? (The blog received 35 comments, so obviously she is meeting a need in the marketplace. I’m bewildered as to why.)

I could offer restaurants and hotels the same service – easily, in fact, since I can whip up a written sentence as speedily as that handsome hotel chef can get an omelet from pan to table. I can snap a bunch of photos with my camera, iPhone or iPad and fill up this blog with a lo-o-o-ong combo of images and explanations. I don’t in part because I don’t have time; writing is my livelihood, not a hobby, so I’m repulsed at the idea of doing more once I shut down the workday. (Food bloggers, by contrast, are often engineers, accountants or full-time moms by day; I can certainly relate to their urge to delve into food writing as a hobby.) I also tend to find food blogs boring. I don’t mean that as an insult. I just don’t know why anyone would want to see photos of some other layman's meal along with lengthy descriptions for each one.

I do blog some. On this site, I test out new kinds of writing and venture into topics unrelated to my paid work. My website, by contrast, has what I call a bloggy area on the home page; readers find a regularly changing roster of restaurant and travel news. My goal is to have a lively site so editors and publishers seeking assistance will be impressed enough to hire me for writing gigs. It’s a success.

So I’m not bitter. I have the wherewithal, the reputation and the contacts to be Chief Food Blogger Babe in my market should I so chose. I’m just … dismayed. Although I Tweet and blog and manage three Facebook pages, I’m exhausted by the constantly changing virtual world and the need to keep up with it. I also like having an editor polish my work, a luxury blog posts lack, including mine.

I humbly accept that I’ll be a guest at fewer media meals as the hip techno-whiz food bloggers take my seat, since those go-getters give most venues more press than I do. They tend to be a spirited, intelligent and passionate group of up-and-comers, and I wish them no ill will. In fact, I admire them. But will I feel a little sad, a tad cranky, the next time I read that a bunch of them “checked in” at a new restaurant's grand opening ? Of course. That’s how we people react.

*As for that quote up top, “I am a underwriter by day”: I happened upon a blog today that featured a contest to win a cute apron. That quote is part of the author’s bio. Here’s where I do get mad: That’s not proper English. Get an editor, or get out of the business.

I do like that apron, though. Most of mine are faded and stained shmatas from past restaurant media events.

(See, I can play the picture game.)

I should consider buying that retro-chic apron even though it is $36. I may not be gifted another one at a restaurant media event anytime soon. That would be fine, but the thought of “a underwriter” wearing a freebie makes me mad.

Eat well,

Rona