The owners of two independent restaurants, Pig Floyd’s and Stasio’s Italian Deli, are teaming up to create a new concept called Pigzza. I think I might have named it Pigsio’s or maybe Stasioyd’s. On second thought, that sounds like an uncomfortable medical condition. As you might deduce from the chosen name, though you’d be forgiven if you do not, it will be a pizza restaurant whose specialties will include P.F.’s style of barbacoa. It will be located in a former service station in the Mills 50 district.
Speaking of barbecue, Red Eye’s Git-N-Messy Smokehouse & Tavern announced on its Facebook page that William O’Neal has been named its new chef and pitmaster, replacing Git-N’s founder Chuck Cobb, who was killed in a motorcycle accident last month. Perhaps there was no delicate way of putting it, but the Facebook post wanted people to know that O’Neal has in fact been the sole pitmaster ever since the operation moved from its original gas station location to the Winter Springs tavern. Cobb, it said, had been “pursuing other projects.” O’Neal, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, is expected to add some new items to the menu.
Congratulations to Tim Barber and Tamara McAndrew who were our most recent winners of our weekly drawing. They each won a $50 gift certificate to Tap Room at Dubsdread. If you’re signed up to receive my weekly News from the Flog eletter, you’re entered in every drawing. If you’re not, you can sign up here. This week’s drawing will be for a $50 gift card to Big Fin Seafood Kitchen.
The Monroe, the new concept from Good Salt Restaurant Group (Reyes Mezcalaria, Osprey), has opened at the Julian Apartments at Creative Village in Downtown Orlando.
Not far from there, on the north shore of Lake Ivanhoe, the Pinery is planning a June opening date in the new Lake House Apartments. It will be the second restaurant to open in the past year to pay homage to the area around the lake that was once a pineapple farm. Like Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe, the Piney also has a pineapple in its logo.
Hurricane season is about to begin, which means Big Storm Brewing, a Tampa Bay beer maker that just opened a taproom at the Amway Center, could possibly get free marketing on every nightly weather forecast through November. Smart, very smart.
And if you’re someone who has a locally brewed beer that you enjoy drinking, you can just stop it, stop it right now. According to a website called Real Estate Witch – so you know it’s reliable – Orlando is one of the worst beer cities in America, coming in at number 44 out of 50 cities. (I know there were issues with the last census, but it seems to me that the U.S. has more than 50 cities.) According to the witch, the criteria to determine best beerdom included the number of breweries in a metro area; the density of breweries per 100 square miles (makes perfect sense); number of beers offered at each brewery; and the number of beer styles. Apparently quality over quantity wasn’t considered.
