Provisions & Buzz Co.
4868 New Broad St. 407-896-2688 provisionsandbuzzco.comMore of a rebranding than a whole new restaurant, nevertheless this bee-centric rethinking of Baldwin Park mainstay Jack's Steakhouse is intriguing. Seito Sushi and Osprey Tavern (another one of our Top Tables of 2015), both also on New Broad Street, serve the locals' luxe dining desires; Provisions & Buzz, on the other hand, is more of a comfortable hangout, offering Sunday brunch, Taco Tuesdays, a generally playful vibe and a hopping bar area home to happy-hour specials. Menus, though heavy on comfort-food favorites, are ambitious, with plates like burrata and beet salad, miso-marinated black grouper, and bourbon-spiked pineapple upside-down cake.
Smith & Adams Confections
2560 E. Colonial Drive 407-394-6535 smithandadams.comSmith & Adams sounds almost like a law firm, doesn't it? Oddly enough, this home-grown sweetshop is the result of a partnership between an experienced patissière and, yes, an ex-attorney, and they're making sweet music in a Colonial Plaza storefront next to Gigi's Cupcakes. After a long run-up to readiness, doors opened in December, and Smith & Adams' polished, clean-edged caramels, cordials, truffles and ganache already have a devoted following. (If they have it when you visit, don't pass up the matcha-lemongrass bonbon – it looks like a Martian Ring-Pop but tastes like heaven.) Would it be gilding the lily to point out that Valentine's Day is fast approaching?
Morimoto Asia
Disney Springs 1600 E. Buena Vista Drive 407-939-6686 facebook.com/morimotoasiaIt almost wouldn't matter what they served here – the design of the place, from the 36-foot-tall ceiling with rainshower-crystal chandeliers to the grand staircase and tucked-away jewel box of a bar, is jaw-dropping. But Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto doesn't disappoint, either, offering a menu of exquisitely executed pan-Asian creations like duck ramen, sweet-and-sour crispy branzino, sticky-sweet spareribs and rock shrimp with spicy gochujang aioli.