orlando – My Urban Pantry

Canvas

March 12, 2016Leave a comment

Last night we were at Canvas , a new restaurant in Lake Nona where, when given the option to sit outside, at a table or at the chef’s counter, I jumped on the chance to watch cooks in action. Chef’s counter please. I love to see what they are doing right so I can emulate it at home. No matter that I regularly say to Z, ‘I’m struggling here.” as I cook dinner. I am going to be clear, just because I enjoy cooking most of the time doesn’t mean I rock it out on any kind of daily basis. Thursday night I was working on a project for a new cookbook for work and actually bailed mid-stream sending an email to my co-workers regarding my attempt and it’s new home in the trash can. Keeping it real. Short Rib Flatbread

But, last night, at Canvas, which is basically within walking distance of the dirt, I sat and watched the line cooks make my short rib, tomato jam, Taleggio cheese and dressed arugula flatbread while sipping a Pink Flower (Hendricks gin? Yes please.) makes me think I should keep trying. We watched the cook, about 2-3 feet in front of us spread the tomato jam on the crisp pre-prepped flatbread, and take a pre-portioned amount of braised short ribs and then deftly drop on hunks of what our server cautioned me was strong cheese. His comments about the cheese drove me to order this item. It also reminds me that everyone has a different palate and to appreciate my own. A second person who works shoulder to shoulder in front of a hot oven, dressed the greens. He plated by cutting on a board and then sending it 10 feet or so to the chef to check and clear. Our server then picked up and brought it back to me. So fascinating the journey of a simple flatbread. I imagine that at least 6 and more like 8 different people worked on that plate of food. Nevermind Z’s Cuban and fries which came from both separate part of the kitchen and the fryer 25 feet down the line. I wonder at my own struggle to produce (or try) restaurant quality food at home and this comforts me. I’m only one or sometimes two if I ask Z to help. I think about the fact of food quality, food cost, the number of people in a kitchen, people who complain over food costs without thinking of the human interaction and cost, literal lives spent ‘on the line’ making me dinner. I hope I never stop appreciating these things.

That said, I loved my flatbread. I’d eat another one today. So far, we’ve eaten at Canvas four times and I’ve tried four different menu items along with tastes of 3 other meals. I judged them on their burger-good, the grouper Rueben with kimchi (GREAT) and tasted the shrimp Mofongo. I’m excited about it’s entry into our neighborhood and hopefully the future meals and conversation and engagement I’ll get by going.

heartburn or a burning heart?

February 22, 2015Leave a comment

aka begging for mercy. We rarely get up early on Saturday mornings. I do. Z does not. We kind of have opposite schedules. I like the relative peace of the morning, a lingering coffee wake up on Saturdays with catch up reading on blogs, pinning and watching the odd history show on the dvr. Lately though, that’s been changed by some stress induced, I suppose, heartburn. I am the lucky recipient of a new morning routine that includes a half hour wait for Nexium to kick in. But this weekend, we got up early together and headed out to The Coop to try their breakfast menu.

The Coop is lovely at 8:30 or so on a sunny Saturday morning. All warm worn wood and southern specialties. Biscuits, pecan smoked bacon, gravy and such. I tried the poutine. For the uninitiated poutine is fries with cheese curds and brown gravy. For the Southern soul it included sausage gravy, cheese sauce and a fried egg. Actually, all in all, more than I wanted. More than I could (or indeed did) eat. I would have like it in a smaller portion perhaps, with a lighter (is that laughable?) touch? Skinny fries with some shreds of cheese over plastic cheese sauce? Really, I’m probably over the poutine fad now, this probably clinched that for me. It isn’t that it wasn’t tasty, just a little too heavy handed for me. Have I changed? I’ve been doing quite a lot to eat lighter-fruits, salads, veggies and fish, that kind of thing. Walking it off. This reinforces my resolve.

Epcot Food & Wine 2014 – a few thoughts and reviews

October 19, 2014Leave a comment

We hit Food & Wine the night it opened. We made a few fastpasses and went primarily to ride the now closed Maelstrom (Norway) ‘one last time.’ I think I got Z to do that about 4 times. I’m going to miss that ride when the recasting to Frozen is completed. I can see why they would want to update and add interest to the World Showcase but to me, Maelstrom at Norway wasn’t as broken as some things. It was, like most of Epcot, dated. Epcot could use a big facelift, some additional country rides I think and in general a filling in of some of their huge empty spaces. Our friend Karin was heading out of town on business so we hit the festival and Maelstrom with her before she flew off. It was pretty uneventful (compared to a previous ride and ‘rescue’ by a Viking-style Norwegian when someone fell into the water on the ride.) I’m serious about this. If you want action and interest head to the parks with us. Something peculiar is bound to happen. It was the drooly rainiest night. We didn’t eat much and just tried to stay dry. I did have a Singapore Sling (*grampa’s cough syrup) which I love. Give me Hendrick’s Gin and Cherry Heering any day. I also tried a cheese plate in Ireland. Love that Kerrygold with brown bread and chutney.

Our second trip was just the two of us on the hottest darn day of the summer! Here is how that went…

One of the huge empty spaces is being pressed into service for the festival this year. It is the big round building that sits off to the side over the water as you make your way from the front entrance back to the International Market Places and is known as the Odyssey Center. According to an online source – Lostepcot.com it was a restaurant and had a Rockin’ Mickey show once upon a time. That site has some old info about other countries and rides that I wish would happen but clearly, are not on the agenda anymore. We stopped in at the Odyssey center to scope out the booth they are housing which centers around craft beers. It seemed like a fun bar atmosphere to me although I feel they could add some chairs or bar stools to the stand up tables. I would like to see more of that in general if I could sit down and stay a while, taste the options, etc. We tried one of the bar snacks, a Muffaletta pinwheel. Honestly, it was premade and didn’t taste much likeany Muffaletta I’ve had recently. No depth and a bit limp and the best part was a bread and butter pickle on top. Kind of a miss.

Then we strolled on into the International Market Place (aka the countries) to begin trying treats that are mellowed out for the average guest but still tend toward tasty and are a great way to try something new without the pressure of it being your whole meal. We started out on the Mexico side and worked our way around until we were stuffed. We didn’t try everything and that leaves an opportunity for another day.

First stop: Mexico. I sampled the shrimp taco. I tried for two main reasons. It was National Taco Day! Hurrah for all things street taco. And it said it had pickled habanero. I wondered how hot it could be. One of my absolute worst food experiences of my life revolved around habanero ice cream I had in Fort Collins, CO at Walrus Ice Cream. They always have an experimental flavor to try (experimental means gross) and one time I was in they had habanero. That ice cream made me cry. But the taco? It didn’t have that heat. In fact it was a little nondescript but I liked it. The shrimp had a bit of crunch and the onions and peppers had bite but not really any heat. It would be safe for the majority of people to eat.

Next stop: Farm Fresh. I suppose farms are a ‘place’ that is foreign to most of us city dwellers but I don’t totally get it. I think they could call it America and be as accurate. But this stop had one of my must tries for this year. A peppered bacon hash with corn, pickled jalapenos and hollandaise. This would be a brunch rock star if you made it at home and …you should. I probably will. I mean fried potatoes with hollandaise. Divine. Side note: This is a gluten free option which is totally a thing this year.

Round the world to: China. We stopped in China and I need to go back. I had a couple of things I wanted to try from China but try to focus on one at a time. This go I tried out the roasted duck bao. I have a problem in that I love bao. LOVE. Something about that weird steamed bun texture and some fatty rich meat and bright onion or slaw condiments. This one wasn’t too complicated and was fairly sweet and no heat. It had some red onion to cut the sweetness and I went to town on it.

At this point we swang into Maelstrom for our last ride. (*sniff) I tried to soak up the Vikings, the trolls and the feeling one last time. I look forward to seeing the transformation and I hope that Frozen becomes a new happy place.

We headed back out in the heat to: Africa. Z wanted to try the stewed beef and mealie pap. Pap is kinda grits/polenta like and the meat was stewed with tomatoes and okra. I’d make this dish. It is totally a Sunday afternoon long cooked dinner. The meat was tender and I detected that distinct okra flavor that isn’t really native to the US unless you are living in the real South. Sort of side note. I hate that it is ‘Africa.’ I don’t really think that tells the right story. Africa isn’t so generic or general as that would imply. I think Epcot has the resources to do better and they should.

Heading on to: Germany. Ok. I have to say that my favorite bite so far this year came from Germany. Who would have guessed? It was a doughnut. Yeasty and filled with apricot jam that was just the right bit of sweet. I don’t know if that is so German or not but it was so good. If you have a limited budget and want to have a nice little dessert this would cover it. Z also got the brat. Ok. I know I’m a bit ranty today but this was one place they could have done better. Or differently anyway. It had the splattiest messy heap of mustard squidged on. It wasn’t tidy or helpful really. I’d really like to see a bit more care overall on presentation. I messed with several entrees to get a good shot. They are pushing food out quickly but with little care. The brat itself -tasty- but not pretty.

The Festival this year is presented by ‘Chase’ and since we bank with Chase we got to go in the ‘lounge.’ The lounge is in America and has seating and video games, Freestyle coke machines, and cell phone charging stations. Kind of a nod to something but I’m not sure what. Z tried vanilla Root Beer and I had some lemony water before heading back into the heat.

Finished the uber-hot day with: Puerto Rico. This is a new stop this year and is a cute little area set up for a party with lights and ambiance. We ordered one last dessert and a drink. Z loves flan so he tried the flancocho. A flan covered at the top with a bit of chocolate cake. It was good but a bit more set than our favorite. The flan didn’t come out of it’s baking tin so they just served it that way. It tasted good even if it wasn’t photo friendly. I also was dying of heat (and so did the logical – cocktail order) so I ordered a Gasolina Sangriiia. It was fruity and cold and I could have chugged the bottle if presented with it. Very grapey.

Overall the festival feels a little ‘less’ than it has before even though there is technically more. A little less technical and a little less stand out. We still enjoy it and I do want to make at least one more visit to try a few more dishes. So, I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully a cool evening with no rain.

is Starbucks still a thing?

August 30, 20141 Comment

In this day and age of fair trade, pay what you think it’s worth high concept coffee shops is Starbucks still a thing? I see a few blogs where the writers say they love coffee more than most other things in life but the question I have is this. Is Starbucks still a thing? Would people rather go to a small local chain or to the big boy? Has Starbucks extended their reach as far as DisneyWorld but lost their swerve? Become the Chili/TGIF’s of the coffee world or are they still as relevant as ever?

We swang by–and that was no small feat in this day of a remodel in progress Downtown Disney that has been called the seventh pit of hell for traffic –the new mothership Starbucks a while back. It was actually our second try to get access to Downtown Disney in a few weeks. The parking right now is terrible during the updates and with the summer crowds it is better for my sanity to just stay away. But since the mothership of Lego is also located there we do make the attempt now and then. It is a really beautiful and huge store. Full of reclaimed wood, warm coffee colors and technology all while being green and swishy with coffee ground compost grown lemon grass on the roof. The queue is super long and there are tons of seats and a kind of cupping bar where you can try single origin pour-overs. There is some neat tech that draws the people in the shop in line drawing and I believe is live action in a California counterpart. Bi-coastal up in here.

I’ve enjoyed having access to Starbucks at the Magic Kingdom and at Epcot. For me its a piece of my happy place-a hot cup or tall cold drink in the midst of the sometimes chaotic Disney experience. I wonder somewhat if that is the city of my birth or maybe because I hit my early adult years in their heyday. I do love me a bitter cup of Starbucks. That said, I wouldn’t make this shop a destination but I can see why people might. What do you think? Is Starbucks still a thing? Why?

Trader Joe’s

July 6, 2014Leave a comment

Over my birthday holiday weekend Trader Joe‘s (TJ’s) opened in Orlando. I’ve heard lot of people discuss it – you’d have to be crazy to head over there – and all that. Last Sunday, around noon, I asked Z if he wanted to go to Trader Joe’s with me. He politely declined. Since it is about a half hour door to door, I packed a cooler with ice in the trunk and headed over. It’s easy to find and only about five minutes from probably what amount to my three favorite restaurants in Orlando-Cask & Larder, Tibby’s and Four Rivers. So, going over there will likely be combined with the occasional dinner out and won’t be a ‘weekly’ type event. Driving up the street I could see the lineup of cars and decided to park about a half block away in the non-workday parking lot of the Civic Center. That served well as I would stay out of the fray and also be forced to limit myself to what I could carry by myself in the 90+ degree heat back to my car. I’ve only been in one other TJ’s during opening weekend so I have only that to judge by. This store was busy but not as busy as the Sarasota store opening weekend and the wine section was about 1/3 the size. You can judge that however you like.

I eased my cart inside braving the mixed crowd of Winter Park locals, Orlando hippies (I’ve never seen much of them before -maybe they are college kids from UCF and I’m just getting old?), regular old hipsters and me. I navigated through the dry goods aisles picking up na’an, pretzel loaves, and coffee and then the outer edges for cheeses, meats and prepared stuff like Wine Country Chicken Salad before hitting the center aisle that is what I’ve never shopped before on longer drives to the Sarasota store-the frozen stuff. Many people want to compare TJ’s to something. It isn’t like anyplace that you regularly shop–except just maybe slightly like Aldi. I only say that for the chaos and sort of self defined mayhem in the stores. That and they mostly sell private labelled products. At TJ’s though, they tend to be organic and internationally and otherwise ‘inspired’ type stuff. People who shop there seem to have their favorite items that they just don’t want to live without. Ours have always tended to be things I would best classify as snack foods – pita crackers & pub cheese, halloumi cheese, sea salt caramels, powerberries – with a few staples thrown in for the relatively modest prices on organic products – olive oil, thai chile & lime cashews, spicy pecans and coffee beans. I made this first local trip about trying new things and items that we could actually make for dinner. I tried a handful of new items out of the freezer sections like shredded vegetable nests (B+), poutine with cheese curds gravy (B) and spinach with paneer (don’t ask). I tried some new chicken sausages with Korean spices and bought a handful of different cheeses. All in all it was what I expected. The customers were actually quite a bit more polite than my expectations called for and I can see that there is a demand for it which gives me some hope for my developing neighborhood (WAY) across town.

Z and I were out to dinner the other night (Tibby’s to celebrate the 4th of July/Hurricane Arthur departure weekend) and decided to make a quick stop in. It wasn’t as busy the second go round and I was floored to see many absolutely empty shelves and coolers. Looks like they had a little trouble keeping up with this fierce new demand they have created. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. I was also excited to see a drop in under the TJ’s sign in the lot. Shake Shack is coming too. That’s another story.