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Category Archives: Dining
Painting
Last night an impressive storm blew through Evanston, knocking out our power five times. This morning 48 buildings on the Northwestern campus were still without power, according to an email sent to Dani. Fortunately, Dani’s German class was unaffected. The … Continue reading
Father’s Day at The Stained Glass
Dani and I spent a pleasant day in Evanston before the start of summer session at Northwestern. We walked up to Al’s Deli for lunch. Al’s is an interesting place, because it sounds very American, but is, in fact, French. … Continue reading
Bull and Bear
Ron organized a last dinner before my trip to Evanston, and we met at The Bull and Bear at the Waldorf Astoria. Dani flew in Friday, so she was able to join us. The five of us spent a lovely … Continue reading
Blind Misconceptions
For our Wine Syndicate group’s quarterly dinner we challenged ourselves to correlate price with quality. We failed. Meeting at The Capital Grille, we poured six pairs of wine, completely blind except for knowing the wines’ prices, but not which price … Continue reading
Cocina 214
Most restaurants open to indifference and close within a year. But every once in a while someplace hits upon exactly what the public wants and is an instant success. Cocina 214 is not a place I would have predicted would … Continue reading
Nine 18
One of the under-appreciated restaurants in town is actually the closest to us (well, not counting sneaking in the back entrance to Victoria & Alberts). It’s Nine 18 at the Grand Cypress Golf Resort. The restaurant used to be The … Continue reading
Imperium
Somehow Imperium, a wine bistro in Celebration, had escaped my attention, although it’s been in business for three years. It’s a bit like The Cellar at the Stained Glass in Evanston, which we love. Maybe not a dinner destination, but certainly … Continue reading
Cuvée Wine & Bistro
Linda thought it would be a nice weekend outing to drive up to Ocala, about 90 minutes north, so we picked up Martin on our way and went to Cuvée Wine & Bistro. The place has an interesting business plan, which … Continue reading
Map of the Chefs
I think I first saw this take-off on the London Underground map somewhere in London. It shows most of today’s celebrity chefs, and purports to show how they are interrelated. You can try out the interactive version, which gives you … Continue reading
Posted in Dining
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Wines That Don’t Rock
Every couple of months there is a “Vine and Dine” event at the Everglades Restaurant at the Rosen Omni Center near the Convention Center. The events are usually quite fun, because the chef rises to the challenge of matching foods … Continue reading
The Science of Wine
This fund raiser for the Orlando Science Museum was everything we hoped the event two weeks ago at Dellagio would be, but wasn’t. There were over 100 wines arranged around the fourth floor of the museum. Each table had 4 … Continue reading
Pao Gostoso Bakery
I heard about this place that makes insane hamburgers, so Tommy and I had to try it. They are… insane. Tommy got their very craziest offering, which included beef, chicken, sausage, ham, bacon, corn, lettuce, cheese, potato straws and a … Continue reading
Yellow Dog Eats
Yellow Dog Eats is a wonderfully funky hangout that the locals fill every day at lunch for the best sandwiches you can get in Central Florida—and perhaps anywhere. The menu is filled with the eclectic creations of owner Fish Morgan. … Continue reading
Cigar City Brewing
I’d never been to a micro brewery tasting before, so when I heard about a Cuban dinner and beer tasting at Padrino’s, I asked Martin if he’d like to go. Since it combined two of Linda’s least favorite things—beer and … Continue reading
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1982 Bordeaux
Ron organized this 1982 Bordeaux tasting at Bull & Bear. Words cannot express how much better a tasting this was than the 1986 Bordeaux event in New York last week. That said, I still don’t see what all the fuss … Continue reading
Benoit
We finished our trip to New York with an authentic French Bistro lunch at Benoit. We’d spotted this place in our walks around the neighborhood of the hotel, and it looked just like a Paris bistro. So before catching our … Continue reading
Eleven Madison Park
A jam-packed day of culinary adventure in New York City! The City’s Top Rated Zagat Restaurant — But Why? Our day began with Lunch at Le Bernardin, the city’s top rated food according to Zagat, the only place rated 29/30. … Continue reading
Victoria & Albert’s Anniversary Celebration
On our 33rd anniversary we invited our friends Ron & Bev Siegel to join us at Victoria and Albert’s chef’s table. Ron and Bev just celebrated their 36th anniversary, so it was a dual celebration. Maitre d’ Israel Perez managed … Continue reading
Colorado Fondue Company
One of our favorite casual restaurants is the independently owned Colorado Fondue Company in Casselberry. Dani started a tradition of going there on or near her birthday when she was ten, and we always take a picture with their moose.
l’Atelier
We saved the best for last. Having been to Joel Robuchon’s l’Atelier in London, we knew it was good, but I had expected his formal restaurant, Robuchon, to be better. However I actually prefer the honest flavors of the simple … Continue reading
Backstage at Caesar’s Forum Shops
With our wine group back in Orlando, Linda and I have a few days alone in Las Vegas. Thursday we met Ron Ford of Simon Malls for lunch at Sushi Roku and a backstage tour of the Forum Shops. There … Continue reading
Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining, Las Vegas, Wine
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Delmonico’s
Delmonico’s was the final restaurant on our Wine Syndicate Las Vegas culinary adventure, and it was easily the best experience. Incredibly attentive and professional wine service by Ryan Anderson made the evening a delight. At last, here was a place … Continue reading
Lotus of Siam
For lunch we went to Lotus of Siam, regarded by many as the best Thai restaurant in America. It’s in a dumpy shopping center off of Sahara, so I’m sure we looked a bit incongruous piling out of a stretch … Continue reading
Pinot Brasserie
Monday Linda and I walked up to the Forum Shops and had lunch at Sushi Roku. Our server, Chase, made some great recommendations. It was a beautiful morning, and we stopped to look back at our hotel across the Bellagio … Continue reading
Robuchon
Today Linda and I explored the area around City Center, including several hotels owned by MGM: The Bellagio, Aria and Monte Carlo. These are connected by a tram, along with the Crystals mall. We had a good lunch of tapas … Continue reading
Vdara
Today is the first day of our Wine Syndicate getaway to Las Vegas. We took advantage of our membership miles to fly first class on Delta through Atlanta. It took most of the day, but it was a pleasant flight, … Continue reading
City Fire Oven and Bar
Tonight Linda an I went to a pre-opening test run of a new restaurant by the family that created Pebbles, Harvey’s Bistro and Manuel’s. For a first night, things ran remarkably smoothly. It was fun to try some of the … Continue reading
Wine Competition
This was my 20th year judging wines at the Florida State Fair International Wine Competition. There were about 1269 wines from 34 different states, with 25% coming from California. The event begins Wednesday evening, at the judges’ dinner, when we … Continue reading
Around the World in 180 Minutes
Everglades Restaurant at the Rosen Centre Hotel hosts a food and wine event about five times each year. We particularly enjoy these events because of their fun and intimate nature, the opportunity to meet interesting people at our table, and … Continue reading
Christmas Eve at Victoria & Albert’s
Christmas Eve we went to Disney’s Grand Floridian for our traditional dinner at Victoria & Albert’s. We’ve gone every year for more than a decade. Here, Dani poses in the lobby in front of the jazz band. The enormous gingerbread … Continue reading
Posted in Dani, Dining, Orlando, Theme Parks
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