To drive College Park’s dining scene forward, Matt Hinckley checked the rearview mirror and reversed it back to America’s Golden Age of the 1950s and 1960s. In Mid Drive Dive, billed as a “mid-century dive bar and restaurant,” Hinckley — an East End Market fixture with Hinckley’s Fancy Meats and Boxer & Clover — and Jacob and Brittany Zepf of Freehand Goods and The Neighbors have done just that. Well, the “restaurant” part, anyway, because there’s really nothing divey about the bar area. The live-edge bartop fashioned from monkey-pod wood, the vintage mid-mod stools, and the framed photographs and posters capturing post-war Orlando provide a curated platform in which to serve some stiff and crafty cocktails.
There’s a counter made of American walnut fronting the TVs, and globe sconces shining light onto smooth terrazzo-top tables. But strip it all away and what’s left is a neighborhood diner that every neighborhood in the city would be envious of. Yes, you’ll find throwback dishes very much in keeping with the midcentury motif — an incredible “fatty melt” ($18) comprised of a seared beef and bone marrow patty; steak Diane ($29) with peppercorn cream sauce; and icebox cake ($8), a ’50s cookbook staple.
Or at least you once could.
Seems like College Parkers weren’t taking to those bygone-era presentations, so they were summarily 86’ed from the menu. In this case, what was old wasn’t new again.
But bite into any of Hinckley’s fancy meat burgers — like the medium-rare elk-bacon cheeseburger ($19) with smoked paprika aioli on an onion roll, or the revelatory mushroom smashburger ($17) made with Florida beef and topped with melted gruyere, grilled onions and porcini aioli — and you’ll be of the opinion that both are ones for the history books. Those books may have to redefine “smashburger” though as these patties were definitely on the thicker side.
Hinckley’s duck à la king ($28), a variation of the classic chicken à la king, has duck confit tossed in gravy-slicked egg noodles with mushrooms, peas, pimientos and scallions. It’s a hefty, comfort-filled plate that could feed two. While it’s a permanent item on the menu (for now), it would also make a fitting blue plate special. Hinckley offers a daily changing item which, initially, was to be served over rice or noodles — like the mishkaki, or skewers of beef marinated in East African spices, I had when the restaurant opened in February. But, in the weeks since, the blue-plate specials are now based on the feedback received from the community.
Hey, I get it — give the people what they want. But when you conform to the palates of Yelpers and College Parkers, there’s inevitably going to be a dumbing-down. When I first had the ceviche ($16), with its bracing mix of cobia, aji amarillo, toasted cancha corn, avocado, cilantro, onions, citrus segments and a halved sweet potato propped up inside the bowl, I couldn’t stop raving about it. When I went back a few days later with some friends, the same dish had been dispossessed of its soul. Gone was the cancha and sweet potato, plus I noticed a lot more onions and a lot less cilantro (just two leaves in that bowl). When I asked our server, who was an absolute delight, about the rationale of the recipe change, I was told it was “based on customer feedback.” Double eyeroll.
Here’s hoping the Cobb salad ($16) and the beet and orange ($12), with its almond dukkah and sherry vinaigrette, aren’t tinkered with. Mess with the Cajun fish sandwich ($21) and Hinckley may be chasing a hoodoo down Edgewater Drive. BTW: The fries served with the sandwiches and burgers are textbook executions.
I love that pineapple-upside down cake ($8) leads the list of MDD’s dessert offerings. I’ve had it when it’s been a spongy, buttery, caramelized round of indulgence and when it’s been a bit dry and heavy. Which only means I’ll order it again. If that old-school capper isn’t your thing, there’s always chocolate chip cookies ($5) — these are crisp and crunchy. No raw dough served here.
In all of my three visits to the diner, I’ve left wishing that Mid Drive Dive existed when I lived in College Park. It really is the ideal neighborhood restaurant, and it’s a particularly great fit within a community that embraces its mid-century leanings. Here, the past is prime.
Mid Drive Dive
2401 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL
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This article appears in Jun 12-18, 2024.
