Category Archives: Dining

Fine dining, restaurants and food

Jean Pierre’s Bistro

For some time I’d been wanting to try Jean Pierre’s Bistro, a French bistro and bakery in Water Tower Place, the cute shopping village in front of Disney’s Celebration. Orlando doesn’t really have any true French bistros, with the possible … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando | Comments Off on Jean Pierre’s Bistro

Alcorn McBride Christmas Party 2010

We had a great time at the Alcorn McBride Christmas party last night. This year we hired Puff ‘n Stuff to cater the event, and they did a great job. It was nice to have more time to spend with … Continue reading

Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining, Orlando, Wine | Comments Off on Alcorn McBride Christmas Party 2010

Thanksgiving in LA

We’re spending Thanksgiving week in Los Angeles with Linda’s mom. It’s given us an opportunity to catch up, since we haven’t seen her in two years. Dani flew in from Chicago on Wednesday, and we met her at LAX, where … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Los Angeles, Wine | Comments Off on Thanksgiving in LA

Elton John

Elton John has devoted this year to resurrecting the career of Leon Russell, his early inspiration. At Daytona Beach last night Sir Elton even came out first to introduce Leon’s half hour set. Leon’s long white hair and beard make … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Music | Comments Off on Elton John

Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful evening at Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table with Ron and Bev and some new friends, Keith and Parlo Edwards and Adam and Gigi Chilvers. Chef Scott Hunnel outdid himself with the ten course tasting … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Wine | Comments Off on Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table

Via Napoli Pizza at Epcot

Via Napoli is a new pizzeria constructed at the rear of Italy at Epcot. Their claim to fame is that they import their flour from Naples and carefully match the water used to make the dough. Linda and I tried … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Theme Parks | Comments Off on Via Napoli Pizza at Epcot

Festival of the Masters

This weekend is the 35th annual Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney. Linda and Ryan and I went to Paradiso 37 at Pleasure Island. (Ryan is a programming intern from England, working on iPad apps. He’s here for IAAPA.) … Continue reading

Posted in Alcorn McBride, Dining, Orlando, Theme Parks | Comments Off on Festival of the Masters

Delish New York Bakery

For dinner I made Bacon Wrapped Scallops and Cilantro Lime Rice. That meant a trip to Whole Foods for wild caught sea scallops and uncured hikory smoked bacon. Whenever I go to Whole Foods I like to stop in at … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Dining, Orlando | Comments Off on Delish New York Bakery

The Eagles

The Eagles played the first big concert at the new Amway Center. The event was actually rescheduled from an earlier date because Don Henley was sick. At nearly the last minute we decided to get tickets and were surprised at … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Music | Comments Off on The Eagles

Chateau France

Today we went to St. Petersburg for a book fair, to hear a presentation by Michael Connelly, whose latest book, Reversal, is number one on the bestseller lists this week. He signed my copy, and also a small chapbook he’d … Continue reading

Posted in Dining | Comments Off on Chateau France

Winter Garden Noises Off

Tonight we had dinner at Thai Blossom in Winter Garden, a restaurant in the Edgewater Hotel around the corner from The Chef’s Table. The Thai food was mostly quite good, and the place was packed by the time we left. … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Theatre | Comments Off on Winter Garden Noises Off

Hamburger Mary’s

Since it won Scott Joseph’s readers’ poll of best hamburger in Orlando, Tommy and I decided to check out Hamburger Mary’s downtown on Church Street. While the rest of Church Street is still in the early stages of recovering from … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando | Comments Off on Hamburger Mary’s

Wine Bottles

We loaded up three cases of empty wine bottles and took them up to one of our favorite restaurants, The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel in Winter Garden. They’re going to use them to decorate their new dining room. … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando, Wine | Comments Off on Wine Bottles

Del Frisco’s 39 Steps

It’s been more than a couple of years since we’ve been to Del Frisco’s, and it was near the Shakespeare Center, so we decided to have an early dinner there on Friday. Since our last visit they’ve completed the seamless … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando, Theatre | Comments Off on Del Frisco’s 39 Steps

Epcot First Bites

This is the first year for a new event at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. It’s called First Bites, and it gives you the opportunity to sample some of the food and wine that will be on the promenade, … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando, Theme Parks, Wine | Comments Off on Epcot First Bites

Orlando Magical Dining Month

Today marks the last day of Orlando Magical Dining Month (although last night was our last foray, since tonight we’re going to “First Bites,” the opening event in the Epcot Food and Wine Festival). During September, a wide array of … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando | Comments Off on Orlando Magical Dining Month

Wine Syndicate – 1961 Bordeaux

Our Wine Syndicate group met Saturday at the Bull & Bear in the Waldorf Astoria. It was one of our best tastings ever, focusing on the 1961 Bordeaux vintage, perhaps the best of the century. The two vintages of Chateau … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando, Wine | Comments Off on Wine Syndicate – 1961 Bordeaux

Everglades at the Rosen – Four Seasons of the Vine

Martin and I (Linda has a cold) went to the periodic Vine & Dine event at the Everglades restaurant at the Rosen. They always do a nice job at these events, which allow the chef to experiment outside of his … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando | Comments Off on Everglades at the Rosen – Four Seasons of the Vine

Chez Josephine

After the always superb lunch at Jean Georges (perhaps my favorite restaurant in the world), we strolled down Broadway, which becomes a giant flea market closed to traffic on Saturdays. Then, in the evening, on the spur of the moment, … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, New York, Theatre | Comments Off on Chez Josephine

The Weird World of Princess Cruises Food

I’m baffled by the mediocrity on-board the middle-brow cruise lines such as Princess. It’s not from a lack of quality ingredients: the ships hold produces amazingly fresh (albeit often previously frozen) lobster tails, lamb chops, beef, fruits and vegetables through … Continue reading

Posted in Dining | Comments Off on The Weird World of Princess Cruises Food

Crown Princess Chef’s Table

We had an interesting experience tonight after a quiet day at sea. The Crown Princess Chef’s table is a dinner for twelve offered three times during the cruise. It begins with a tour of the kitchen conducted by the ship’s … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Travel | Comments Off on Crown Princess Chef’s Table

Cornwall

We awoke in the harbor at Fallmouth and tendered over (a slow process because of the small dock) for an hour drive to Lizard, the southernmost point of England. There we took a five-mile two-hour coastal hike along the perilous … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, England | Comments Off on Cornwall

Southampton

Today we bid farewell to London, and its extraordinarily nice weather during this week of gastronomic exploration. We had a painless transfer by private car to Southampton, a 90 minute drive south. The boarding procedures in the new terminal were … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, England | Comments Off on Southampton

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

We had lunch at Benares, an Indian restaurant near our hotel. It’s run by a chef with one Michelin star. I was a bit disappointed, as I didn’t really find the food to be the creative twist on Indian cuisine … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, England | Comments Off on L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Love Never Dies But This Tooth Did

For the past month I’ve had sinus headaches and jaw aches, but when I went to my dentist at Starbase Dental last week he couldn’t identify a particular tooth that was the problem. He prescribed antibiotics and told me to … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, England, Theatre | Comments Off on Love Never Dies But This Tooth Did

Maze

We tried another Gordon Ramsay restaurant for lunch, Maze. It was a short walk through Mayfair, a really charming part of the city. Maze is near all the embassies that cluster around Grosvenor Square. It’s fairly different from Petrus, more … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, England | Comments Off on Maze

Into The Woods

I was awakened by Linda informing me it was 11:30AM and we were about to miss our lunch reservation! A quick shower and short cab ride took us to Petrus, one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, where we had a leisurely, … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, England, Theatre | Comments Off on Into The Woods

Food Fail

There’s something truly fascinating about the indescribable awfulness of airline food, especially the food on American-based airlines when they try to compete internationally. It begins right in the international departure lounge, where the cheese tray offers: Yes, that says it’s … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Travel | Comments Off on Food Fail

England, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, New York 2010

By Land and Air and Sea And so we set out for a three week adventure, first to London, then a peculiar repositioning cruise that will take us to odd places on the way back to New York. Our morning … Continue reading

Posted in Dani, Dining, England, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Linda, New York, Travel | Comments Off on England, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, New York 2010

Dragonfly Sushi

I spent today getting organized for my brief week back in Orlando, sorting mail, going to the office to pick up boxes (mostly wine and books), and getting AAA to jump start Linda’s car, which had a dead battery due … Continue reading

Posted in Dining, Orlando | Comments Off on Dragonfly Sushi