Camille is already poised to be the best restaurant opening of the year, so it's no surprise chef Tung Phan's French-Vietnamese tasting menu concept in Baldwin Park serves the best tasting menu dish we've had this year. His chim cút features Manchester Farms quail brined in lemongrass for 24 hours, then air-dried for two days before being stuffed with Vietnamese broken rice. It's served with a scallion and ginger puree with pickled ramps and confit of quail leg. Like most everything Phan serves, it's superb.
Watching David Creech manhandle a massive inverted pyramid of meat, then secure it onto a rickety "flame thrower" trompo on Cinco de Mayo this year was a scene right out of the streets of Mexico City (well, minus the Cinco do Mayo part). That the slow-roasted adobo pork served on an heirloom corn taco with jalapeno and arbol crema, onion, cilantro, lime and, of course, pineapple, was just as good as the tacos al pastor you'd taste in CDMX was really no surprise. Creech, after all, was born and raised in Mexico City, so tacos are in his blood.
When we're in NYC, we live by a code: Avoid $18 avocado toast spots with rotating iPad check-out screens and head to corner stores for hearty $4 breakfast sandwiches and dusty tip jars. It's always the best deal in town. Stasio's is the closest we've found to those bodega BECs in Orlando — their breakfast sandwiches are mouth-watering, with plenty of options to dress it up. More than a meal. Plus the place is polished like a movie set and you're greeted with a smile when you walk in the door. Never disappointing.
We've tried many different boba shops throughout the Orlando area, and Krave Tea continues to take the cake (or the tapioca pearl, in this case). A favorite is their classic black sugar boba milk tea: The warmth and sweetness of the boba paired with the refreshing milky tea is a combo that has us "Krave"-ing this drink over and over again.
With the downtown Winter Park location now closed for good, the Oviedo original is your only option to partake of the Sushi Pop way of doing a happy hour. It's worth the extra minutes' drive, as everything that was good about the brand has settled neatly into its flagship spot: The service is attentive, the ambience is cozy (in a Sailor Moon kind of way) and the specialty rolls are as delicious as they are affordable. We particularly recommend the Coco Roll, a scrumptious concoction of tempura shrimp, avocado, Kewpie mayo, toasted coconut and honey kabayaki. Hey, wasn't Honey Kabayaki the villain in Season 4 of Sailor Moon? Extra points for synergy.
Picture this: We stumbled into the Axe Trap for a semi-aggro Valentine's date night, but we were shocked to find that the star of the show was the food — catch us still dreaming about "The 2600" (a six-ounce Prime Angus filet mignon covered in caramelized gorgonzola, nestled inside a warm brioche bun). Not only can you live out your Viking/Valkyrie dreams by hurling weapons at targets, you can venture over to the slightly less-violent side, The Trap, for some swanky ambience and excellent craft cocktails. Bonus points for the real heads: It's located on Lee Road in Winter Park where the Booby Trap was once upon a time.
So, you've woken up from a wild night out. You're potentially in not your own bed, unsure of the decisions that got you here. That final tequila shot might be the culprit, but one thing's sure: You're hungover AF. Don't worry; we've got the perfect cure: Se7en Bites. Gather your sunglasses and some water, and head immediately to this haven of sweet and savory delights, specializing in Southern comfort. (Not that kind.) As you stand in line outside, allow Florida's natural sauna to cleanse you from last night's excesses. As you step inside, feel the refreshing air conditioning, and let the kitchen's aroma awaken your appetite. Se7en Bites serves up the necessary hangover elixirs with heaps of grease, sugar, butter and flour. It's a place to mend your body and soul while filling in the missing pieces of the previous night with friends.
These bialy sandwiches are absolutely incredible. Every time we order one, we wish we had two instead. The latkes, corned beef and bacon (no, it's not a kosher deli) will weight down your troubled tum and the everything-spice tomatoes, fresh herbs and crisp pickles will put some fresh nutrients into your system. It's a great spot to grab the latest issue of Orlando Weekly and treat yourself to a house-made seltzer (hydration!) for the drive back home to scarf down that sandwich.
Those quick to admonish others for playing with their food have clearly never indulged in Yamuel Bigio's "Kan Kan" porchetta at Crocante Restaurant. This boneless round of loin and belly rotisseried for six hours yields an outer ring so shellacked, so crackling, so ... crocante, that one can't help but pick up a knife and fork and play the thing like Tito Puente on the timbales.
Walk into the Dough Show near UCF and you'll be greeted by a mesmerizing performance from Alexandrian pastry maestro Ahmed Hamam. The man is the Egyptian equivalent of a pizzaiolo — not of pizza dough, mind you, but of delicate feteer meshaltet, or feteer, as it's commonly known. Hamam works, stretches and pounds the gossamer-thin dough before theatrically swirling the pastry disc around his head numerous times, all the while twirling in circular fashion himself. And then, like all shows, this dough show comes to an end: It's slammed back onto the quartz counter, given a few open-handed slaps, then filled with toppings like house-brined and cured pastrami and Kiri cheese before being folded, crimped, inverted and placed into a 600-degree oven for a few minutes until baked through. Encores are welcomed.
