Tasting menu's in Orlando?

[Gabe Q]

Hello

Well I am going to be working for the next 2 months in Orlando and I want to get familiar with the restaurant scene there. I am a lot into the new wave of molecular gastronomy, howhever I am not positive that any such place even exists in Orlando.

So I also wanted to know, apart from that tyope of cooking, are there are other high end places offering tsating menus??????

Thanks for the help.

Gabe

[robyn]

Hello

Well I am going to be working for the next 2 months in Orlando and I want to get familiar with the restaurant scene there. I am a lot into the new wave of molecular gastronomy, howhever I am not positive that any such place even exists in Orlando.

So I also wanted to know, apart from that tyope of cooking, are there are other high end places offering tsating menus??????

Thanks for the help.

  Gabe

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If you want to do some driving....

Jordi Valles is now the head chef at Salt - which is the new restaurant at the Ritz Carlton at Amelia Island. He used to be the chef at Mosaico in Miami. Here's some of his background:

"Most chefs consider themselves fortunate to have an opportunity, no matter how brief, to cook with one of Spain's innovative chefs. Jordi Vallès has worked with three leaders of the culinary revolution there, including Pedro Subijana, Juan Mari Arzak, and Ferrán Adrià. Born and raised in Barcelona, Jordi is an ambassador for the new style of Spanish cuisine in the US."

I took a look at the menu at Salt a couple of weeks ago. It didn't look that innovative. But there is a tasting menu available every night. If you go - I suggest calling the chef ahead of time and telling him what you're interested in. Perhaps he can do something special for you on a slow night.

Closer to home - Chef Michael McMillan offers excellent seasonal tasting menus which change nightly at Opus 39 in St. Augustine. His cooking is more traditional - but it local and seasonal and excellent. Robyn

P.S. Both of these places would make for nice overnight trips. Too much driving for a single day.

[robyn]

P.S. I don't live in Orlando - I live near Jacksonville. Perhaps there is a restaurant of the type you're looking for in Orlando - but - if there is - I haven't heard about it. Robyn

[Gabe Q]

Thanks for the replies so far. Yeah unfortunately I don;t think I could make it somewhere too out of the way from orlando.

But I have realised I won't find exactly a type of place like what I am asking for in terms of molecular gastronomy or big tasting menus.

But are there any other more casual places that stiill make innovative good food??? I just want to find a nice place to go like on a date and that it is not just typical hotel tourist food like so many places here in orlando. Thanks.

[chefAZ]

Thanks for the replies so far. Yeah unfortunately I don;t think I could make it somewhere too out of the way from orlando.

But I have realised I won't find exactly a type of place like what I am asking for in terms of molecular gastronomy or big tasting menus.

But are there any other more casual places that stiill make innovative good food??? I just want to find a nice place to go like on a date and that it is not just typical hotel tourist food like so many places here in orlando. Thanks.

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Normans is in Orlando, which is decent....nothing amazing. And I heard that they have a Todd English Joint in the Disney's Swan-Dolphin Hotel. That's about all I know for Orlando. Here is the link to Bluezoo:

http://www.swandolphin.com/bluezoo/staff.htm

hope that helps

[markk]

I spend a couple of weeks each year in Orlando, and I don't think that you're going to find what you're looking for.

A comprehnsive list of restaurants (with reviews) can be found at the Orland Sentinel's Dining section.

[Majra]

But are there any other more casual places that stiill make innovative good food??? I just want to find a nice place to go like on a date and that it is not just typical hotel tourist food like so many places here in orlando. Thanks.

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Blue Bistro is my hands down favorite. The menu changes daily, and I always love my meals there. My husband and I are going tomorrow night for our belated Valentine dinner. Website is here:

www.bluebistroandgrill.com

As our "go-to" restaurant for a special meal out, my husband and I have taken many friends to Blue and everyone enjoys it.I've mentioned this place several times here on the Orlando forum, but I don't know that any eGers have corroborated my opinion. If you do try it, please report back and let us know what you think. They also do a monthly wine dinner which may be of interest to you.

[markk]

Though I haven't been in over a year, I have had many enjoyable meals at Coq au Vin in the past. It's traditional French food, not innovative in any way, but it always used to be quite good. If you're there for two months, you might want to check it out. It's small and charming.

And I would suggest that you not overlook the Orlando branch of Texas de Brazil for a very enjoyable meal (despite the horrendous upsell that sometimes happens at their restaurants). And speaking of horrendous upsell, you can get utterly delicious steaks at Vito's Chop House and Charley's Steakhouse (same owner), though, as it was commented on another Orlando dining website, many people use the wording "we left in tears" to describe the experience; but if you go in forewarned and don't pay any attention to it, you can get a magnificent steak at either place. And since Orlando once used to be famous cattle country, it's an authentic experience, perhaps wiser than looking for water in the desert.

It is possible to get good food at the Emeril's there, but it's hit and miss. You will get a tasting menu. You might ask if Chef Bernard (the Culinary Director of the group) is going to be there if and when you think of going. That will definitely increase your chances of a very good meal. You won't get molecular or highly innovative, but if he's on the premises, you may get a deliciously executed tasting menu.

I know you're looking for innovative, but I really don't think you're going to get it. In fact, I think you'll be lucky if you just get good really good food.

[Tonyy13]

Gabe, as an Orlando native, this will not be the first time I have been on eG bashing the local food scene. Coq au Vin is a good restaurant, but very old school. Blue Bistro, good food, but no where even close to Molecular Gastronomy. Texas de Brazil? A buffet of meat that comes to you (good eating, but not breaking any culinary grounds or even tryingn to push the envalope w/ exciting sides).

The closest thing you are going to get to a fine dining experience will be at either Normans (Floribean cuisine, but probably not any m.g.) or Luma in Winter Park (also, very nice hand made stuff, but no m.g.). It is hard enough to get people to eat and pay for handmade pasta here, let alone fruit caviars and warm gellee's. I used to do a dish w/ a gremolada gellee, and I can't tell you how many times it would come back completely untouched on the plate. Maybe it's hopeless here....

TA

[Majra]

The closest thing you are going to get to a fine dining experience will be at either Normans (Floribean cuisine, but probably not any m.g.) or Luma in Winter Park (also, very nice hand made stuff, but no m.g.).  It is hard enough to get people to eat and pay for handmade pasta here, let alone fruit caviars and warm gellee's. I used to do a dish w/ a gremolada gellee, and I can't tell you how many times it would come back completely untouched on the plate.  Maybe it's hopeless here....

TA

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Luma did nothing for me...so pretentious and overly confident. I went once with a group of friends and have not/would not go back again. The food was underseasoned, the portions minute, and the wine upselling was positively obnoxious.

In the Winter Park area, I've heard good things about Beluga but have not been there yet. When I go by it looks like quite a see-and-be-seen scene like you get at Hue or on the sidewalks of Park Ave. Besides Blue, Dexter's and K Restaurant are also decent for casual date-night dinners. Then there's Midnight Blue, in Thornton Park, for small plates or a nice weekend brunch. My own preference is for these types smaller low-key, food-focused establishments, as opposed to the Hues and Lumas of the area which appear to appeal to the beautiful people, or the huge chain type places that mainly attract the tourists.

Texas de Brazil's meats are delicious, but I'm not sure it's a great date place. Just my additional $0.02. FWIW, I live just north of Orlando and don't get down to the restaurant row area of Sand Lake Rd. very often at all, so I can't comment on those places personally.

[markk]

Tony and I are in complete agreement. It's pretty hopeless.

If you're looking for "just want to find a nice place to go like on a date and that it is not just typical hotel tourist food", I think you can do that. It's the same dilemma that I face when I vacation there, and have come to dread dinnertime; you have to lower your standards. Still, if you combine a place's enjoyment factor with some kind of good food, you can get a "nice" experience, albeit by lowered standards than you were initially looking for.

I still think that Texas de Brazil is a lot of fun, most especially considering your other options. And indeed, Coq au Vin is incredibly old school, but after enough lousy meals down there, you may see what I mean. And if you're craving a great steak and don't mind what must be possibly the world's most horrifying dining experience, you should try Vito's or Charley's.

Lastly, here are two recent menu inserts from Emeril's Orlando. The daily specials and "tasting menu" for each night is side by side. Is this what you're looking for?