B Resort, a new hotel scheduled to open on Hotel Plaza Boulevard at Walt Disney World this summer, will have a new restaurant from Jeffrey Chodorow’s China Grill Management group, which operates China Grill and Asia de Cuba.
But it won’t be one of those restaurants. Instead, it will be a new concept called Avenue Q. No, wait, that’s not the name. Let’s see here…ah, it’s American Q. I think I like Avenue Q better. Or maybe Avenue ‘Cue. Think of it: Muppet-like characters dishing out Brunswick stew and pork ribs. OK, I’m totally claiming dibs on Avenue ‘Cue.
Anyway, do you remember the name Jeffrey Chocorow? He was the financial guy on that reality tv show from several years ago called The Restaurant. The show followed the travails of creating and opening a restaurant to be run by chef Rocco DiSpirito. And if you don’t remember Rocco DiSpirito you certainly won’t remember Chodorow. But that’s OK. You may have also heard about Chodorow from the feud he had with the New York Times’ Frank Bruni when he was the paper’s restaurant critic. Chodorow started a website that followed Bruni’s reviews with counter-reviews. I’m not sure how that turned out.
Where were we? Oh, yes, Avenue Q. Funny, funny show. But American Q? Funny or serious? From the press release I gather that this is going to be something of a North American version of a churrascaria. It says here: “…the signature restaurant will feature an a la carte menu of barbeque (sic) specialties from more than a dozen regions throughout the United States and Latin America, as well as an “all-you-can-eat” parade of BBQ meats, seafood and poultry, continuously served tableside by American Q’s “cowboy/cowgirl” carvers.” I take that last part to mean that these are servers who slice meat at the table and not sculptors who specialize in Old West figures.
It also says, “Guests will enjoy an appetizer and salad buffet served from the bed of a ’50 cherry red Ford F1 pickup truck.” Because what doesn’t taste better when it’s served from the back of an old truck? As for decor: “A distressed brick smokehouse, barn-inspired wood-clad bar and mason jar chandeliers add to the modern yet nostalgic “industrial farmhouse” charm of this American BBQ original.” I’m just going to assume that they mean distressed-brick smokehouse and not that the place will be fraught with anxiety. But I’m afraid I can’t even begin to guess what a barn-inspired bar is going to look like.
Looks like they’re aiming for June because that’s the first that the resort’s booking calendar shows that dates are available.
Oh, and I should probably mention that the restaurant from The Restaurant tv show didn’t last very long. Maybe if they’d have had waiters with puppets.
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