Photo: La Luna Two of the newest additions to the Florida Michelin Guide, Otto’s High Dive (Bib Gourmand) and Kaya (Michelin recommended), have collaborated on a co-branded mezcal de pechuga from La Luna Mezcal, a Michoacán artisanal distiller. The two restaurants will unveil the final product at a release party on Kaya’s patio Wed., June 14, from 6 to 10 p.m. The $45 tickets are sold out but you can join a waitlist here. The project was spearheaded by Otto’s co-owner and bartender, Justin LeVaughn, and Jamilyn Salonga Bailey, Kaya’s co-owner and general manager, and that restaurant’s bar man ..read more

When I attended the Michelin Award ceremony in Miami last month, I was surprised to see only one Orlando restaurant, Z Asian, serving food at the reception on the concourse of LoanDepot Park, where the event was held. Then again, seeing as how this was Miami’s gig – Orlando hosted last year at the Ritz-Carlton; they’ll be in Tampa next year – perhaps it was unusual to have even one Central Florida participant. And the area was well represented by the staff of Z Asian and its owners, Hien Q. Pham and his wife and the restaurant’s chef Huong Nguyen, who operated a food station overlooking thir ..read more

Linda’s Winter Park Diner will cease to be the last week of July. Owner Linda D’Auria has been the owner of the Fairbanks Avenue favorite for 35 years and decided it was time to retire. She has sold the property and would not say who the buyer is but did say it will no longer be a restaurant. “I feel like I served the community for a really long time,” D’Auria said by phone Tuesday, “I made so many great friends and I wanted to go out on top.” The James Beard Foundation handed out its chef and restaurant awards Monday at a ceremony in Chicago. As in years past, Central Florida left awardless ..read more

What’s going on with valet parking? Reports have come in that two cars were stolen from the valet parking station at the recently-opened Norman’s at Dellagio Town Center on Restaurant Row Friday evening. The cars are said to be a Rolls Royce and a BMW, so at least the thieves aim big. Exact details from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately available, but a spokesman at Norman’s confirmed Saturday that two incident reports were filed. This follows another theft two weeks ago at Ava Mediterragean restaurant in Winter Park where a Mercedes G-class wagon was also stolen after ..read more

The Curry Ford West District F&D Woodfired Italian Kitchen is set to reopen, perhaps as soon as June 12, The freestanding, newly constructed building sits on the corner of Curry Ford Road and Primrose Drive. It replaces the original FDWIK that was near the corner of Bumby Avenue and was closed a little over a year ago because the block it was on was scheduled for imminent redevelopment. Apparently imminent doesn’t mean within a year – nothing has happened on the site so far. When the relocation was announced, an official with F&D said that when the restaurant reopened it would likely ..read more

On Monday, June 5, Henry Moso will find out if he becomes the first Central Floridian to win the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: South award. He has already made history as the first local chef in the awards’ three-decade history to advance to the final voting round. Moso, whose full surname is Phimmoso, is the owner and itamae of Kabooki Sushi, the Michelin-recommended restaurant with locations on East Colonial Drive and Restaurant Row. I had visited the original location, oddly situated across from Fashion Square Mall, several years ago and more recently for a takeout review during the ..read more

Sponsored Grande Lakes Orlando, the 500-acre luxury resort that is home to the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels – and their top-of-the-line restaurants – is celebrating its 20th anniversary with GLO Summer NIghts all season long. Through Labor Day, the resort will feature fireworks every Saturday (Fridays, too, on holiday weekends), so if you’re going out to experience Knife & Spoon’s special four-course menu in celebration of its Michelin star rating, make your reservation for a Saturday to end the evening with a big bang. In addition to the fireworks, the evening will include stilt ..read more

Big Fin Seafood, the elaborate restaurant at Dellagio Town Center on Restaurant Row, has been sold. Philippe Villain, who also owns Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe and a new brand called Little Fin in the Villages, said he sold Big Fin last week to Estein USA, an investment company located on Apopka Vineland Road in Orlando. In a phone call Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for Estein said Big Fin will continue to operate the same with the current front- and back-of-house staff in place. Estein also owns and operates the private London House next door at Dellagio. Read More ..read more

Ace Cafe, the downtown Orlando mega bar and restaurant that emphasized loud motorcycles and louder music, announced its closing over the Memorial Day weekend. The restaurant, at 100 W. Livingston St., opened almost exactly six years ago in the former Harry P. Leu building. The Orlando location was based, loosely, on a venue in London that became popular with young people during World War II who would ride their motorbikes to the remote bar to listen to one of the few juke boxes in England. (For my review, in June 2017, I visited both the just-opened Ace Cafe Orlando and the one in London, ne ..read more

I have a family recipe, one my mom cooked regularly when I was growing, that I make from time to time. It’s noodle based and I’ve always just used store-bought dried egg noodles. Then one day I decided to make fresh pasta and I used some in the recipe. And suddenly a mundane dish was a superior one. I’ll never go back to using dried pasta in that recipe again. Vinicius Turci and his wife, Nathalia Kalil, understand that. Fresh pastas are the centerpiece of their College Park restaurant, Turci Pasta. Read More ..read more