Category Archives: Orlando

Owl City

Dani and I went to see Owl City at The House of Blues. The first warm-up band, Unwed Sailor, consisted of a talented drummer and three people who stared at the floor.  In the absence of any melody or words (no … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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LOST

Tonight Linda and I finished a six month project of watching all of LOST on DVD. For me, it was the first time to see seasons 1 and 2, for Linda it was her first time seeing seasons 5 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

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The 5 Browns

The 5 Browns is a classical music group of five siblings—Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan Brown—who play piano. Five pianos. All Steinways, all at the same time. They put on a great show last night at the Plaza, playing … Continue reading

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Protected: Dani Does Wicked

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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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

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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.

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Rachael Sage

Martin and I went to see Rachael Sage, one of my favorite performers. It was no small feat finding this concert, which was inexplicably part of the monthly Orlando Folk Music meeting. It was originally advertised as being at a … Continue reading

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Mystery Fruit

The ugly tree in the backyard has pretty flowers on it. Linda planted this cutting a few years ago, with the promise that each branch would grow a different kind of fruit. Mostly it grows dead twigs. But this branch … Continue reading

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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

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1937 Silvertone Model 4587A Refurbished

A couple of months ago I posted about my friend, Jim Carstensen’s project to refurbish his father-in-law’s 1937 Silvertone radio. The project is now complete, and I wanted to post these before and after photos of the assembled console. What … Continue reading

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Raccoons in the Screen Room

Hmmm… not sure how I got in here, but it’s a lot harder to find a way out.

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West Side Story

The touring production of West Side Story visited Orlando this week, and Linda and I saw it on our season ticket subscription to Broadway Across America. Of all the hundreds of musicals we’ve seen, it’s curious that neither of us … Continue reading

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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

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Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow rarely leaves Vegas these days, but last night he kicked off a new tour at the Amway Center in Orlando. This is the second concert I’ve seen there, and the jury is still out on the acoustics, but … Continue reading

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Rock of Ages more like Gravel

For a decade we held season tickets to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, which hosted some of the best productions in the Southeast, but then they terminated their affiliation with Broadway Across America, and stopped getting the interesting touring … Continue reading

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Christmas 2010

We had a lovely Christmas, leisurely opening our packages all day.  The best gifts were homemade. Dani wrapped up a LOST-themed Dharma pillow in DHARMA “Standard Wrapping Paper” that she made herself, and she also gave us a world map … Continue reading

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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

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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

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Theme Park Book PR

Some nice PR from the December 16, 2010 West Orange Times, courtesy of Loren.

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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

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Flight of the Cranes

Linda was up early this morning and happened to notice the sun slanting into the kitchen and lighting our cork crane diorama. She quickly grabbed this shot with my iPhone.

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