Chefs of three Central Florida restaurants are up for the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: South award for 2014. They've all been nominated before, as have some others, who didn't make the list this year. No one from the area has yet snagged the actual title, or others like Best New Restaurant or Outstanding Bar Program.
Read moreHearty Winter Meals – Yes, Even in Orlando
If we can’t fuel up over a bowl of steamy, solid, soul-comforting foods in February, when can we?
These two restaurants do an especially good job with wintry entrees. I’d sure rather eat them without having to shovel snow first. Wouldn’t you?
With a classically French menu in a homey trio of dining rooms, Le Coq au Vin is an insider’s winter escape.
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Read moreSo Now I'm Telling You to Eat McDonald's Food ... sort of
I felt sorry for the best chefs in town, truth be told. They were tasked with creating appetizers so delicious that folks wouldspend $250 to eat their creations, along with others, at a gala event. The catch? Some ingredients had to be the same as those used in the kitchens of the McDonald’s fast food chain.
Last night, Orlando-area food writers were invited to taste four of the appetizers, plus two cocktails. My conclusion? ...
Read moreI Beg You, Windows 8.1. Bring Freecell Back. Please!
It's not an addiction, not really, my compulsion to play Freecell. Just like Facebook -- or Pinterest, or ProgressBook, or my online library account -- Freecell is simply a distraction. It's a tool for procrastination.
I lied. It's more. The simple on-screen card game is a path to calming down. If my head throbs during a writing
struggle, if I'm miffed at family, if I ...
Read moreAll I Want for Christmas ... Is to be Served in a Restaurant
Roasts, nogs, chestnuts ... mess. Maybe you're exhausted by holiday prep and prefer to dine civilly this year, seated at a restaurant table, with
prepared foods delivered to you, the clean-up not your concern. Here are three tempting options.
Café de France is an intimate French restaurant right on Winter Park's main drag, with seats in the small dining room and ...
Autumn in Orlando – Four Harvest Festivals
Now that our air has gone from sultry to seductive, Orlando-area chefs are stepping outdoors and firing up their stoves. Among thebest events are four that celebrate the season. I talkied about these events on Fox 35 on October 20. Those of you with Facebook can see the clip here. CLIP
Edible Orlando Field to Feast Dinner
The editors of Edible Orlando happen to also ...
Read moreThe Lemon Pledge
On Rona's rarely used Wordpress blog, she will post photos showing how different restaurants respond to, "Can I have lemon with my water--a lot of lemon?"
Eat heartily, my friends,
Rona
www.ronarecommends.com
blog.ronarecommends.com
The Newest Bites: 18th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
The mania builds for months before the six-week Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which, on September 27, will start its 18th year. You'll find all kinds of seminars and classes and lunches and dinners, all well-run and well-done.
My favorite part is the simplest: the marketplaces. All around Epcot's World Showcase, little kiosks serve up a trio or so of ethnic
...
Read moreThe Door Bore
So now it’s doors. Every three hours, it seems, I must replace a part of my home.
Blame Florida heat and humidity, cheap 21-year-old builders’ materials or plain old age. Whatever the culprit, it siphons off loads of cash I’d rather keep. And is, specifically, no fun. At all.
Today’s project is the front door to my house. It’s a double-door, wood, painted green right now, with little glass panes. The glass gets filthy, the wood is weakening, the ...
Read moreA Funky Local Food Joint, in Jerusalem
Here's Where to Get Great Food for Less in August
As I prepare to talk about three great amazing food deals in Orlando for Fox 35's Good Day on August 11, let me share the details with you. (OnAugust 13 or so, you'll be able to find the interview here; simply search for "dining deals.")
Who knew? you'll ask. Bar ...
Read moreOur (Temporary) Ultra-Jewish Immersion
Once I got to Tel Aviv, I found the Israel I expected — a bunch of brunettes who looked like me and my family living lives similarto ours.
That’s not what I encountered traveling to Israel.
Our ultra-Jewish adventure began in the Newark airport as we waited for our connecting flight. After a lunch we didn’t need in case the airline meal was awful, we packed up the remaining half of my son’s Subway turkey ...
Read moreHow to Stay Connected While Traveling: Brilliant Kid Version
We were four over-connected Americans traveling to Israel. Between us we had three iPhones, one regular cell phone, one laptop, one GameBoy, oneKindle, and three iPads. Cheapy me, though, refused to buy a new converter for plugging American devices in overseas outlets. Two is enough, I insisted. We'll share.
Not enough! my 16- and 20-year-olds agreed. So they came up with a solution: a circuit breaker with space for plugging in several ...
Read moreTry Lunch at Cask & Larder
I rarely blog after a media meal. I think it's cheesy to fill space with free publicity for a restaurant just because I fueled up on its dime. If thefood is worthy, I'll write about the flavors, the portion sizes, the plate presentations, in magazines, books, and online features as opportunities arise.
But oh my heavens, I just returned from sampling a few items off Cask & Larder's lunch menu, which debuts ...
Read moreIn Israel, Itching for a Cure
We were hustling through Tel Aviv to get to the Palmach Museum, where we were scheduled for a tour to learn about the young men and women who worked underground to help Palestine become Israel. We didn't yet know that we'd grow attached to the characters in a sort-of re-enactment (and that I'd cry. Twice.), or that we'd see a photograph of
Read moreIsrael, in Bits and Pieces
So clearly my plan to blog about Israel isn't bustling along. I've been home for nearly three weeks without posting a word. So let's do this inbits.
Bit No. 1: Instead of touring on our own or with a group, we splurged and had a private tour guide. A cousin recommended a guy named Nir Nitzan, who
owns a company called Nirtours4U. The name doesn't appeal so much ...
Read moreThis Chick Has No Need for Speed
I’d made it three times around the track already, heart thumping, sincerely scared. Yet I hadn’t knocked over any orange cones or barrels, hadn’t tipped the $270,000 Lamborghini LP570-4 Superleggera on its side, hadn’t accidentally bloodied the bored young man in the passenger seat.
Read moreNo, Publicist, I Will Not Guarantee Ink for Your Client
No ma'am. No sir. A journalist does not guarantee, promise, pledge in writing, with a signature, that s/he will spread word of your glory because s/he ate a pork chop with slaw as your guest at a media dinner.
Read moreCharlotte County, Upscale and Down
Should you fear that Charlotte County, Punta Gorda and the surrounding areas are good only for eating food, you're mistaken. You can also learn aboutwhere food comes from.
We travel writers began Day 3 at the Peace River Wildlife Center.
We saw injured birds including two bald eagles, quite close up. The highlight was wading in Peace River. The adventure is held periodically ...
Read morePunta Gorda, on a Plate
My journey around Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf lslands turned out to be a gorge-a-thon -- which is a lovely way to see Punta Gorda and itsenvirons.
Our troupe of food writers and bloggers began Day 2 at The Egg & I Restaurant in Englewood.