The list of local eateries participating in this year's Downtown Food & Wine Fest is impressive – we're talking Siro Urban Italian Kitchen, Ruth's Chris, Christner's Del Frisco's, Maxine's, Marlow's Tavern, Taverna Opa, Nona Tap Room, Old Hickory Steakhouse, Hawkers, Primo and Nick's Italian Kitchen, to name just a few. Tickets for the Feb. 23-24 festival are $10, or $15 on day of event. Visit downtownfoodand winefest.com for more info.
The Organic Growers Collective, a program designed by the Simple Living Institute to bring organic growers and farmers together with regular consumer folk, is staging a get-together in the Camilla Room at Leu Gardens 7-8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20. The event will feature the biannual seed exchange, a local growers potluck and a raffle, along with a post-event powwow at Ethos Vegan Kitchen from 9-10 p.m.
In Winter Park restaurant happenings: Toasted Crafted Grilled Cheese & Burgers will open in the former Green Lemon Café space (in the same plaza housing the Whole Foods Market) later this month. Also planning an end-of-February opening is the long-awaited Tiffany Deli in the former Brandywine Deli space on North Park Avenue. Italio, the self-dubbed "Modern Italian Kitchen" specializing in piadina, is planning a March opening, while WP's Peterbrooke Chocolatier and I-Drive's Taverna Opa are collaborating on a new, limited-edition chocolate baklava dish available at the Greek restaurant for $6 until Feb. 28. Also on I-Drive, we've heard rumors that San-Diego-based Hash House a Go Go, a comfort joint proffering "twisted farm food," will open on the tourist strip in the near future.
BRIEFLY:
Terramia Wine Bar Trattoria in Altamonte Springs has closed, but plans to reopen later this month in nearby Silver Springs Square … Look for the World of Chocolate Museum & Café to open in March on South International Drive … Winefest XXIII takes place this weekend (Feb. 15-17) at the Lakeridge Winery … Over at the Central Florida Zoo, guests can partake in breakfast with the animals (that's with the animals) 7-9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 16.
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