Orlando Food and Wine Festival

On November 13, I visited the Third Annual Orlando Food & Wine Fest. It happened on a section of Robinson Street next to Lake Eola Park. The festival featured food samplings from a multitude of Orlando's restaurants, cooking demonstrations, and live music.

While I was there The Redcoats were playing Beatles covers.

I watched a cooking demonstration with John Zimmerman of Ruth Chris Steakhouse.

Moving on to the food for sale, Kobe was cooking up their hibachi chicken.

Sushi was also well represented at the festival with Shari Sushi, CRAVE, and this Spicy Tuna Hand Roll from Orlando Sushi House.

There were several restaurants serving ribs. O'Charlie's had big slabs of ribs and The Boheme at the Grand Bohemian Hotel was offering Beef Ribs with Mango BBQ.


Dexter's was serving up pulled pork sandwiches.

Cityfish had huge Jalapeno Hush Puppies and some delicious looking Gumbo.

Champion's Gate was grilling kabobs that smelled great!

The larger restaurant chains were also at the festival. Panera Bread was serving soups and P.F. Chang's had rice and lettuce wraps.


Anatolia Mediterranean Cuisine was one of the booths that I choose to try. I had a gyro, served with tzatziki, hummus, and pita. The lamb in the gyro was very tasty!


I also tasted the food from Caribbean Sunshine Bakery. I tried the Jerk Chicken with a side of rice. The chicken was nice and tender and had a great kick to it. Out of all the food at the festival, it seemed like Caribbean Sunshine Bakery was giving some of the most generous portions.


I had a good time at the Food & Wine Fest! I was able to eat delicious foods, but my only wish was that I could have tried a bit of everything! There was so much to choose from at the festival, there was no way to sample it all! I suppose it's a good excuse to go visit the restaurants represented at the festival and try what I missed...

Cappello's Pizzeria in St. Cloud, FL

While traveling through St. Cloud, I realized it was time to eat. I spotted an Italian restaurant called Cappello's and pulled into the parking lot. As I exited the car, I was greeted with a great pizza odor emitting from the building. At that point, I immediately knew I'd be ordering a pizza for my meal. Before the pizza though, I had a garlic knot appetizer.

The pizza was served pretty soon after the knots. The crust was thicker than what I expect from a NY style pie and didn't have that foldability that most 'real' NY pizzas have. Instead of a super-thin crust, this thicker crust was light and airy and had a great texture. The cheese was nice and salty and released just the right amount of oil when cooked. What really pulled the pizza together was the sauce. It had a wonderful garlic flavor that permeated throughout the whole pie.

Initially, I saw the thicker crust on the pie and assumed that this would be one of those pizzerias that claim to serve NY style pizza, when in reality, their product is nowhere close when it comes to taste or structure. After all, St. Could isn't a town where I would expect to find good pizza. Once I tasted Cappello's pizza though, I realized I was wrong! I would rank this as one of the best pizzas I have had in a while!

Space Coast State Fair

During the first weekend in November, I found myself at the Space Coast State Fair in Cocoa. If you're reading about a fair here, it means I consumed some fair food while I was there!

I had some freshly cut french fries. There was a scary amount of oil dripping off these...

For something a bit less greasy, I also had an ear of hot roasted corn! I love how they grill these still in the husk.

I also came across a taco truck in a camper called Authenticos Tacos Mexicanos. These fairs generally don't have taco trucks serving stuff like tongue tacos...

Marti's Deli & Cafe in Boca Raton, FL

During an early morning visit to Boca Raton, I stopped for breakfast at Marti's Deli & Cafe (or as the sign reads from the road: Bagel & Deli). I ordered an egg & cheese sandwich on an everything bagel. The sandwich had a nice portion of egg with plenty of melted cheddar. The bagel was nicely toasted, although it could have used some more seeds on top.

Overall, this was a satisfying breakfast sandwich for a good price. No major complaints here!

Sizzler in Orlando, FL (International Drive)

Sizzler is a buffet chain that has several locations in Orlando. Originally, they were spread all over the area, but now they are limited to the touristy sections of town. To me, this implies that if you aren't a tourist, you probably won't be going to Sizzler. And yet, one evening, I ended up at the Sizzler across from Pointe Orlando on International Drive...

I started with a plate of salad. It was okay, but it can't compare to larger salad bars like Sweet Tomatoes.

Tacos...

This is the type of food that comes from Sizzler's hot food section. Mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, fried foods, and sausages.

Dessert.

After this visit, my opinion of Sizzler remains the same. If you live locally, you probably know that you shouldn't be going to Sizzler, but if you're like me, you may have eaten there on a few rare occasions and are probably in no rush to return...

Third Annual Orlando Food & Wine Fest, Nov 13-14

Third Annual Orlando Food & Wine Fest

Treat for the Senses at Lake Eola on November 13-14, 2010

Featuring Top Chef'Testant Kenny Gilbert & National Entertainment War and Fourplay 

Presented and produced by 103.1 WLOQ and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, this signature event  features mouth-watering dishes from 36 Central Florida restaurants and more than 50 domestic and international wines.  Lincoln Mercury is the presenting sponsor of the Fest, a top three Community Best Event award winner by the Orlando Sentinel.  

WHERE:          
Downtown Orlando on Robinson Street along Lake Eola from Rosalind to Eola Drive

WHEN:           
Saturday, Nov. 13, 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 14, 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. 

More than 16,000 guests enjoy cooking demonstrations by local and celebrity chefs on the Bright House Network Chef's Stage; world-class entertainment including national recording artists WAR, Fourplay and Marc Antoine performing live on the Widmer Main Stage, and collegiate and professional sports games airing in the outdoor sports bar.

Saturday

2  p.m.                         Entertainment: Lori Brothers

2 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Warren Caterson, Table for Two - The Cookbook for Couples

3 p.m.                          Chef Demo: John Zimmerman, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

3:30 p.m.                     Entertainment: The Redcoats (Beatles tribute band)

4 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Dionna Hurt, Best In Show, Crisco National Pie Making Championship

5 p.m.                          Entertainment: Jose Valentino

5 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Ian Hollman, Dexter's Thorton Park

7:30 p.m.                    Entertainment: WAR

Sunday

1 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Tyler McMahan, Tommy Bahama

1 p.m.                          Entertainment: Lyman High School Jazz Band

2 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Top Chef'Testant Kenny Gilbert 

2:30 p.m.                    Entertainment: Marc Antoine

3 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Stuart Borton, Yellow Dog Café

4 p.m.                          Chef Demo: Dustin White, CRAVE

5 p.m.                          Entertainment: Fourplay

ADMISSION/TICKET PRICES:  

Limited advance tickets can be purchased online at www.OrlandoFoodAndWineFest.com and at local Trustco Banks and Lincoln Mercury dealers (through November 12).

• Advance weekend pass:        $15
• Advance one-day pass:          $10
• At the gate:                              $15
• Children:                                  Free (12 years of age and under)

Tasting samples cost $2 to $6 and may only be purchased with food and beverage tickets. Tickets, in $2 increments, will be available for cash purchase on site.

The Orlando Food and Wine Fest benefits the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Educational Foundation and the Children's Home Society of Florida (CHS) and Central Florida Jazz Society.

Schlotzsky's Deli in Florence, SC

We don't have any in Orlando anymore, but Schlotzsky's Deli is still one of the best sandwich chains around in my opinion. I recently stopped in a Schlotzsky's in Florence, SC and had one of their Turkey Original sandwiches. Good bread and lots of tasty stuff on the sandwich. This beats Subway or Quiznos anytime!

Panchero's in Orlando, FL

I had dinner at Panchero's on Church Street in Downtown Orlando. They are a fast food Mexican restaurant, following the same format as Chipotle/Qdoba. The main difference I noticed at Panchero's was the freshly made tortillas. Dough was pressed out, then cooked on a grill before being stuffed with fillings.

I ended up getting a chicken burrito with rice, black beans, lettuce, corn, jalapenos, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Overall, this was a pretty good burrito. There was a couple of fillings (like roasted peppers) that I would have also liked in the burrito, but they looked like they had been sitting out for far too long so I passed.

My meal at Panchero's was the first time I had been to Church Street since the new Amway Center opened. There was a Magic game going on at the time and I haven't seen Church Street so crowded since the days of Church Street Station. Unfortunately, very few of the people walking here were actually stopping into any of the businesses on Church Street. It seemed everyone was leaving the Amway Center and going elsewhere in Downtown. We were the only customers for the time I was eating, and there is no way Panchero's was making any money that night with all of the employees they had. The Amway Center was supposed to revitalize Church Street, but I'm not seeing it. With the exception of Hamburger Mary's and Ceviche, all the other bars and restaurants on Church Street were completely deserted. Sad really...

Happy Halloween

What's better on Halloween than a home-grown Seminole Pumpkin?

Desert Grill at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL

I went to Busch Gardens for Howl-O-Scream this October. Eventually, I started to feel hungry so I ventured to the Desert Grill in the Timbuktu section of the park. The restaurant doubled as the theater for their Blood Relations show, so I was able to watch the show during my meal.

Mix Frozen Yogurt in Orlando, FL

Mix Frozen Yogurt is one of the newest self-serve yogurt shops in Orlando. They are located near UCF in a shopping center at the corner of Colonial and Alafaya. They are sort of hidden back there and I never noticed Mix until they were kind enough to invite me to try their yogurt! Now that I know where they are, I'll definitely be back!

They had a very nice selection of sixteen different flavors of frozen yogurt.  

They also had a large topping bar filled with fresh fruit, candies, cookies, and everything else imaginable that you could possibly want on yogurt.



I tried four different flavors of yogurt. I had pumpkin, red velvet cake, strawberry, and tart yogurt. Pumpkin was my favorite out of the bunch, tasting like pumpkin pie.

I topped my yogurt with kiwi, raspberries, strawberry flavored boba, and some candy corn. With Halloween coming up soon, I had to add the candy corn to go with the pumpkin yogurt...

Mix Frozen Yogurt is a great addition to Orlando's collection of places serving frozen yogurt. With the large selection of yogurt, big topping bar, and only costing $0.39/oz, how can you go wrong?