hurrah! We have a new fro-yo joint close to our house. This might sound like nothing but we really live in the psuedo-boonies. It is called Menchie’s and you pull your own yogurt and then add toppings as you wish. I had chocochella (like nutella I think) with marshmallow fluff, mochi, fudge and sprinkles. No joke. Cute spoons too. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Category: orlando
takes two to tango
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| Matt and Katies duck salad 🙂 |
or eight as the case may be. Last weekend we celebrated our brother in law’s birthday with a trip to Cafe TuTuTango. It is billed as a Spanish artist’s loft where food and drink and the spirit of cooperation and collaboration are shared as you share small plates (not tapas but sort of) of somewhat ethnic flair. There were eight of us at the table and menu choices were made to ensure tastes were made in an extreme variety of flavors. We each started on our own item and then passed the other bites around the table. It worked well until we accidently accepted someone else’s (thanks and so sorry Matt and Katie) Duck Confit Salad thinking it was ours. It was probably my favorite flavor of the night and only somewhat diminished by the fact that we didn’t order it (although we thought we did!) Confitted duck on top of greens with goat cheese, pine nuts and arugula on top of caramelized onion flatbread fits exactly with my favorite flavor profile of deeply savory mixed with sweetness. Other noteworthy items included chickpea falafel with pineapple tahini, picadillo beef and manchego empanadas with cilanhtro cream and the winner of the night, banana caramel flatbread with walnut ice cream which we will definitely try to recreate at home.
winter summerland
our friends and family in Denver are living through a massive snowstorm this weekend – from most accounts I’ve heard two or three feet of snow. It was probably in the balmy mid to upper seventies in Orlando today. We had a birthday party for Landen where he rode a new bike in the street with Scott running in no shoes so you know it was warm. Afterward we headed to downtown Disney for some fish and chips for dinner and then decided it was a perfect night to mini-golf. So, we headed to Disney’s Winter Summerland. Charming with two courses, one through sand and one through snow both decorated a la Disney for Christmas and frolicking Santas. We chose the sand course and had a great time navigating through sand dunes and surf boards, past ‘elfstream’ trailers and melting snowmen. Good for a warm winter eve.
lake nona food truck bazaar
we have a once a month food truck bazaar that meets in a local church parking lot on the 4th Sunday. Tonight we went and took Z’s dad with us for dinner. We gorged on locally sourced eats that included Plant City strawberry soda (not too sweet and lovely light flavor), curry tator tots with cucumber raita (seriously didn’t want to stop eating them), a creamy potato salad with thick meaty bacon, baby artichokes with a sauce of sriracha, lime, soy & sesame and chicken pot pie with a puff pastry lid from Big Wheel and a crazy burger dusted in cocoa and coffee with raspberry boursin sauce from The Crooked Spoon. I had to try a Lady Bird vegan gluten free cupcake from the Yum Yum truck to put me over the top – banana, pineapple & pecans topped with vegan cream cheese. Completely amazing. I love to support this event and all the local small businesses that turn out to feed the wandering horde and get a good meal to boot.
artist point
for Z’s birthday dinner we had the most outstanding meal we have had at a Disney Resort. I gave him a short list of 6 or 7 restaurants to choose from for his birthday dinner that included all types of places – old favorites, new hotspots, disney and magical dining. He perused the menus and chose Artist’s Point. It is at the Disney Wilderness Lodge.
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| a blt for the ages |
The Disney Wilderness Lodge is a monumental resort that is done similar to the Yellowstone lodge. It is made of (faux I’m sure) timbers and has a grandly scaled room filled with fireplaces, sculpture, huge scale art in paintings and totems along with oversize comfy lodge seating. The romance for me in this place is the memory of my childhood and the fantastic summer vacations our family took to these places. Walking the trails and seeing paint pots, geysers, hot springs, indian paint brush and getting paid to watch for wildlife. …First one to see a bear gets a quarter!
Typical of Disney, we were warmly welcomed to the restaurant by the staff and shown to our lovely window seat right away which overlooked the hillside outside with a splashing waterfall. We had fun looking over the menu which features foods from the Pacific Northwest.
For an appetizer we had a divine blt. It was totally deconstructed braised and glazed pork belly with braised baby heirloom tomatoes and microgreens. The pork belly was a total revelation. It was rich and meaty -unctuous but not one bit fatty. I fell in love just in that moment.
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| crisp and fluffy gnocchi |
I chose yukon gold potato gnocchi for my main. The potatoes were transformed into fluffy light pillows nested in crunchy vegetables and mushrooms with dollops of fresh ricotta sitting in a narrow puddle of corn nage. Z had a pork tenderloin done in a bit of Spanish style with creamy polenta and piquillo peppers and crispy jamon and crowned with roasted figs. I kind of think I accidentally snitched his bit of jamon. We were so delighted with dinner that we skipped dessert just to savor the experience. We wandered the lodge and grounds looking at the waterfall, springs and geyser made only by Disney erupt into the humid evening and slowly made our way home.
My Urban Pantry 