Address	2942 Curry Ford Road
City	Orlando
Phone	407-985-1174
Price	$
Scott's Review

When Uncommon Catering, a culinary service that started in 2015 using the incubator kitchen at East End Market, decided earlier this year to relocate to a storefront on Curry Ford Road, it added the words & Eatery to its name. The idea of owners Tara Vernau and Travis Smith was to offer a small dine-in space as well as foods to go while continuing to operate a catering business out of their very own kitchen.... Read more

Address	4120 S. Orange Ave.
City	Orlando
Phone	407-704-8881
Price
Scott's Review

From the same people who own Finnhenry's in downtown Orlando and Ollie's Public House in College Park, Vanbarry's succeeds because it doesn't overreach. It does not promise to be more restaurant than it can produce, and so expectations aren't elevated. I don't mean to damn it with faint praise because it does do some things quite nicely. The burger, for instance, and the Vanbarry's Bacon Jam Burger in particular. It was a thick and juicy patty served on a kaiser roll (you can have a pretzel roll if you prefer) with a modest leaf of lettuce and a couple of pickles and tomato slice. There were plenty of blue cheese crumbles and the bacon jam, though not as good as actual bacon, gave a nice smoky note. Multiple napkins were necessary in the eating. The burger came with stack of nicely seasoned and meaty fries. The Mac & Cheese Skillet was excellent. The creamy mix included lots of bits of prosciutto for some saltiness. I ate more of it than I really intended to.... Read more

Address	Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Walt Disney World
City	Orlando
Phone	407-939-3862
Price	$$$$$
Scott's Review

Quite simply one of the best restaurants in the Southeast, headed by talented chef Scott Hunnel, winner of the 2008 Sante magazine Culinary Professional of the Year award. This is haute cuisine, and dinner here is a delight. The menu changes frequently but is prix fixe with multiple choices. This may be the last restaurant in Florida to require gentlemen to wear jackets. (Also, children under 10 are not permitted in the dining room -- yes, this is a Disney restaurant.)

V&A recently received its 10th AAA five-diamond rating, that guidebook's highest honor. Only 52 of the 60,000 North American restaurants rated by AAA achieves five-diamond status. Only two other Florida restaurants - l'Escalier and the Restaurant at the Four Seasons, both in Palm Beach -- have the top honor.

For a truly special treat try to snag the chef's table. It's a mulitple course feast (I lost count at 15) that can easily last four and a half hours.

A new offering -- a third option -- is the Queen Victoria Room, features tableside service from a menu separate from the dining room but priced the same as the chef's table, $200 per person plus $95 for the optional wine pairings.  A b... Read more

Address	7533 W. Sand Lake Road
City	Orlando
Phone	407-351-1227
Price	$$$$
Scott's Review

It would be almost enough to go here to sit at the bar, sip a glass of wine and eat strips of bacon while listening to live jazz. (Instead of salty peanuts they put rashers of crispy bacon on the bar here.)

On my first visit to Vines I dined in the main room. I sampled the onion soup, a hearty bowl of beefy broth topped with stringy cheese. For my entree I had the braised beef short rib, oh-so-tender meat that had long given up the bone, served with polenta infused with blue cheese and Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon. (They love bacon in this joint.)

On another visit, I decided to make a feast of a couple of appetizers while sitting at the bar. I selected the steak tartare and seared day boat scallops. The tartare looked as though it were a burger patty ready for the grill. It was surrounded by the usual accouterments, capers, onions, as well as hot sauce drizzled on the plate and a pile of salt. It was topped with a raw quail egg, cracked open and still in the shell. The bartender/server asked if I had ever had the tartare there before and I allowed as to how I had not. She made the suggestion that I blend everything together, the hot sauce and salt included... Read more

Address	4201 S. Orange Ave.
City	Orlando
Phone	407-866-0468
Price	$$
Scott's Review

Formerly Julie's Waterfront. Julie's gone, but the divey atmosphere lives on, thank goodness. And there's still a great burger and cold beer to go with it. ... Read more

Address	7563 W Sand Lake Road
City	Orlando
Phone	407-930-6517
Price	$$
Scott's Review

The space that held Cricketers Arms didn’t sit empty too long after that British pub closed. It’s now called The Whiskey, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that any place with such a name is more about the drink than about the food. But based on my recent visit, that isn’t the case at all. Oh, it’s very serious about the drink part, especially with cocktails featuring the eponymous liquid. There is an interesting craft cocktail menu with some intriguing entries. ... Read more

Address	4040 Central Florida Parkway
City	Orlando
Phone	407-393-4755
Price	$$
Scott's Review

The folks at the JW Marriott recently opened two new entities, Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen and Whisper Creek Farm: The Brewery. You’ll notice The Kitchen as soon as you walk through the front door of the hotel. It’s just off the lobby, to the right. The Brewery is a little harder to spot. In fact, you’d need a staff person to escort you through the warren of corridors and passageways to the kitchen office where the vats, tanks and necessary gauges have been set up in a corner. It’s definitely not a show brewery such as the one at Cask & Larder. But the Kitchen is on full display, and what it’s churning out is surprisingly ambitious. I say surprisingly because when it was first announced it was downplayed somewhat, as though it would be more of a bar-menu venue. But while portions are meant to be more of the small plate size — or, reasonable portions, as I like to think of them — the items are well above the ranks of bar snacks.... Read more

Address	1829 N. Orange Ave.
City	Orlando
Phone	407-895-9911
Price	$$

This is a funky little place in Orlando's Ivanhoe Row district of antiques shops. When it first opened, in 1991, it was part cafe, part antique shop. But it was clear most people were coming for the sandwiches and salads than the collectibles, and eventually the cafe overtook the antiques store. The atmosphere may be more of an allure than the food, although most of it is quite acceptable. Still, most people see it as a fun meeting place than an eating place.... Read more