It's potato chip-crusted chocolate cake with peanut brittle and salted caramel. Need I say more?
Read moreSoco Serves Orlando's Best Vegetarian Entree
It's an entree that looks so appealing, and tastes so fine, that meat-shunners will feel as if they're being treated with respect.
Read moreBubble Tea Bonanza at Chewy Boba Company
I’ve been searching for jasmine milk bubble tea since this fab place called something like Q Time closed a few years ago. It was near Orlando’s 1st Oriental Supermarket. Bingo! A small local chain called Chewy Boba Company sells that and way more.
Read moreIce Pops, at Their Peak
The flavor options are really tempting. Avocado lime? Apple cinnamon? I'll need to return to try those.
Read moreLive Like a Food Tourist at the Waldorf Orlando
I got to sample a Global Venture wine-pairing dinner. Here's my favorite part, besides the food: Sixteen guests maximum participate in a Friday or Saturday night meal and they all dine together at one big table. Trust me, those strangers sipping sparkling wine at the beginning will be your chums by the time you polish off that last bite of dessert.
Read moreThe Challah of All Challahs from Ooga Ooga
I haven't even tasted these yet. They are so gorgeous that I am super-excited and had to post their photos right away.
Read moreMy New Favorite Ice Cream Is at Epcot
This is a salted caramel ice cream. Epcot calls it Fleur de Sel or some other fancy take on salt.
Read moreMy Newest Burger Crush - Oblivion Taprooom
Juicy inside, caramelized outside. It must have been cooked over a flame. The Oblivion patties themselves are a half-pound blend of chuck, brisket and short rib.
Read moreTake a Look at this Gorgeous Chile Relleno. Stunning!
Paxia's take is lightly breaded, not battered, and possibly baked, not fried. The filling is mostly shrimp and eggplant and the sauce is from roasted red peppers. There's even a sauce-painting design.
Read moreSisters in Crime Writers Blog Hop. What Is Your Writing Process?
Laurie is a travel writer; a mystery writer with some Murder She Wrote books to her name, and baseball guru. Take a look at her kid-lit baseball book, Catcher in the Sky. She's also the daughter of the guy who wrote Coffee, Tea or Me?
Read moreDear Chef, You Know Beans About What's Truly Vegetarian
Suddenly I thought about kosher products. At many deli counters, signs say something along the lines of "Kosher meats when sliced become unkosher."
Read moreSix New Flavors: 2014 Epcot Food & Wine Festival
We gallivant--or schlep, weather-depending--around the Epcot Food & Wine Festival every year. Themed marketplaces sell piping hot foods from several different countries. What's more, complementary wines and beers enhance each snack with satisfying finesse.
The stews, curries, dumplings and pastries change somewhat every fall, which is only a sliver of the reason the Festival seems fresh, even in its umpteenth go-round since 1996. (The Festival has WAY more than just themed marketplaces. Visit the official website to get a taste of the tastes available.)
Here are six newbies out of the 35 added to the line-up, fresh off the grills for 2014. All seven were very good, although I put my two tippy top favorites first.
This year's Epcot Food & Wine Festival is a week longer than in the past. Lace up your walking shoes and arrive hungry, again and again, from September 19 thorugh November 10. Please share your favories, and your disappointments, in the comments area to help your fellow readers.
Eat enthusiastically, Rona
www.ronarecommends.com
Orlando's Magical Dining Month: Le Coq au Vin
Put on your heels and dust off that credit card. It's time to dine out in Orlando. September is Magical Dining Month here. That means dozens of restaurants offer three-course dinners for $33 every night they're open. Some of the menus give tremendous value, which is why locals find themselves sampling eateries all over town.
We were invited to experience the Magical Dining Month offerings at Le Coq au Vin, so last night we headed to South Orange Avenue to revisit an old-time French restaurant we'd been meaning to retry.
Every restaurant handles its Magical Dining Month menu differently. We were delighted to see that all the servers at Le Coq au Vin mentioned the Magical Dining Month option to each party as they handed out menus.
Some restaurants decline to bring up the fact that they have a lower-priced option. At those places, servers sometimes scorn while delivering a flimsy add-on menu when guests dare to ask about the selections. Le Coq au Vin not only mention the choice but has it on the back page of its hardbound regular menu.
That's smart. It gave us a chance to look at the regular entrees and remark, "Oh, this really is a value. Most of the entrees are $33 on their own." Most of the Magical Dining items were different than the standards, but that's okay. The quality level was the same.
We started with the French onion soup, which was a nice version of the simple, flavorful broth topped with melted cheese. It arrived in a decidedly small cup. I'd imagine the full, and even the half, versions on the standard menu are larger (I could be wrong), but we found it satisfying.
I'm a long-time fan of the restaurant's onion tart so quickly chose the $33 menu's zucchini tart. It was similar--a flaky pastry bottom topped with a combination of three creamy cheeses plus sliced vegetables. Mixed greens tossed with a spectacular herb-laced vinaigrette on the side made the appetizer more of a meal.
The third appetizer choice was a salad of wild greens with a mustard seed vinaigrette. If it's like the tart's side salad, or even if it's a larger version of that salad, it'll please you.
Le Coq au Vin offered four menu choices. We, hesitantly, passed over tournados of beef with Port wine sauce, and beef Bourguinon with egg noodles. Instead, we had a fork-tender salmon fillet with a mustard-flavored crust.
Our other selection was chicken Chasseur, a cut up leg or breast (your choice) in a brown sauce flavored with vermouth , tomatoes, herbs and spices. Both entrees were plated with butter-coated broccoli and carrots, and a cheese potato dish.
The dessert choices are crêpe Suzette and apple tart. The tart was sweet but not too sweet, buttery but not too buttery, and warm with vanilla ice cream on top.
My dining companion chose to pay $6 extra for a souffle. He ordered chocolate but received what I believe is Grand Marnier. Although he'd been craving chocolate, he liked end meal-topper so much that he didn't even mention it to the waiter.
We happened to have been due for a Le Coq au Vin visit so this was the perfect Magical Dining Month starter for us. You can choose from all kinds of other restaurants. Here's the list. I haven't tried any of this year's other $33 menus yet, but, that said, I'll suggest choosing Spencer's for Steaks and Chops, Big Fin Seafood Kitchen, and Luma on Park for starters. They all seem to offer exceptional value.
Eat enthusiastically,
Rona
Vote for Orlando's Best Restaurants -- Now, Please
Love breakfast at your corner diner, the waitress at a particular Italian restaurant or the happy hour specials at an Asian-fusion place? Let your neighbors know.
Read moreOutside the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
I'll just say that 3,000 plays, concerts, comic acts and more are offered all over the city during August. We saw a wrenching drama, an inspiring Capella group, and good and awful comedy.
Read moreChip, Chip, Hooray!
In terms of variety, Scotland's "crisp" manufacturers are pretty fearless. Here's an assortment of what I eyed last week.
Read moreDon't Touch that Plate!
Once the server cleared Michael's place, though, I felt self-conscious about eating slowly. I felt rushed, as if the table-clearing were a clear message that I should hurry the heck up. And pissy. I felt very pissy.
Read moreIn My Backyard? Yessum. In Seminole County
I'd always thought of Seminole as a bedroom community just north of Orange County, home to Orlando and Walt Disney World. It is that, but it's also a multifaceted destination with natural attractions and art. Here's a round-up of my top finds.
Read moreImmerse Yourself in Nature: Geneva Wilderness Area
We were lucky enough to drive over what are normally hiking paths. In fall, winter and spring, I'd prefer to hike them. The trails are wide and well-marked -- so much so that even I probably wouldn't get lost. That is saying something.
Read moreCall It Quirky. Call It Pretty. It's Danville
Danville is an events venue. And, as we writers joked during a recent media tour there, we never use the word "unique," yet Danville is, indeed, unique.
Read more