OPENINGS + CLOSINGS:
New York City import Park Avenue Tavern has opened its Florida outpost at 558 W. New England Ave. in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square … Friendship BBQ, a stateside chain offering Xinjiang-style chuan’r (grilled skewers cooked over wood), has opened at 5126 W. Colonial Drive, next door to the Enson Market … Aji Express, sister operation to Aji Ceviche Bar in Casselberry and South OBT, has opened near the airport at 5928 Butler National Drive.
Foreigner Restaurant, Bruno Fonseca’s “Nouveau American” chef’s tasting concept, will soft-open next to Redlight Redlight at 2816 Corrine Drive. The 10-seat restaurant is taking reservations starting Feb. 27 at exploretock.com/theforeigner … Smoke & Donuts, housing one of the largest smokers in Orlando, is firing smoked meats and made-to-order cake donuts out of their new brick-and-mortar restaurant at 601 N. Primrose Drive in the Milk District. The new location offers a full bar serving specialty cocktails as well …
NEWS + EVENTS:
Puerto Rican/Latin pop-up outfit MariaLina will stage a five-course dinner March 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Edible Education Experience in College Park. The menu will feature tuna crudo, jardinera, bolognese criolla, mole lamb chop and coconut rice pudding. Cost is $95 plus tax and tip … The Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida hosts a Food Crawl March 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. stopping at Meng’s Kitchen, Sampaguita Ice Cream, Qreate Coffee and Z Asian Vietnamese Kitchen. Visit asianamericanchambercfl.org to register.
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This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2023.