Looking for a naturally leavened Neapolitan? Or a comically large slice that hangs off your plate? A pie delivered lickety-split to your door? Or a little taste of the Eternal City? Luckily for the flip-flopping foodie or noncommittal nosher, the corner of Horatio Avenue and U.S. 17-92 has everything you need. There are a whopping six different pizza parlors in this same three-quarter-mile stretch near Maitland City Centre. And between Slidders Pizza, Antonio's, Francesco's, Papa John's and (opened just this year) Lazy Moon and Pizza Bruno, the choice is yours. [Ed. note: RIP Slidders, which closed recently! But still plenty to choose from]
Lines are a given at this little shop of frozen treats situated behind Kaya, and justifiably so. They come for the frozen, airy confection known as kakigori — a Japanese summertime treat of shaved ice that takes on the texture of freshly fallen snow. "It's sooo fluffy!" is a common refrain heard at the standing tables beneath the bodhi tree where scores have enjoyed Koko Kakigori's kakigorgeous snow sculptures flavored with an ever-changing variety of flavors (mango-strawberry, black sesame–coconut and "strawberry dream" are our faves).
620 N. Thornton Ave., kokokakigori.com
There is simply no other restaurant space in the city quite like Sorekara's. The multimillion-dollar sanctuary steeped in Japanese serenity and the temporal philosophy of sorekara (the appreciation of how every moment in time is unique) is more like a museum than a restaurant, with a chef's table fashioned from a 700-year-old keyaki tree as the centerpiece. As guests are ushered from one room to the next, it's hard not to stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a Zen garden and Lake Baldwin, but chef William Shen's masterful and beautifully plated courses drawing inspiration from Japan's 72 micro-seasons easily lures eyes back. Orlando's most beautiful restaurant may also be its finest.
4979 New Broad St., sorekarafl.com
Of all the hangouts around town, this one takes the cake for functionality at all hours. Open from 7 a.m. to midnight — and with both a coffee bar and a cocktail bar, not to mention a never-dry tap of lethal St. Bernardus Abt 12 — Stardust has long stood as a go-to for daytime laptop users and nighttime tomfoolery seekers. It's not hard to find yourself here too many drinks deep for an evening show and back the next morning for a revitalizing cup of joe.
1842 Winter Park Road, stardustvideoandcoffee.wordpress.com
In Orlando's crowded field of small-capacity, budget-busting chef's tasting counters jockeying for multicourse supremacy, Ômo by Jônt, Ryan Ratino's 16-seat offshoot of his two-Michelin-star Jônt in Washington, D.C., may very well reign supreme. Elite ingredients, innovative cooking techniques, meticulous plating and an eye-popping check are, of course, givens. But Ratino is careful to toe the line between progressive and esoteric in presenting a stunning sequence of crowd-pleasers that patrons can enjoy in a choice of three tiered options — the $145 "Excursion," $195 "Journey" or the $375 "Jaunt" featuring 20-plus courses with all the caviar, wagyu, sea urchin and crown melon upgrades.
115 E. Lyman Ave., Winter Park, omobyjont.com
It's known as omurice, but "Eggs Videodrome" may be a more fitting moniker for this dish served at Kyuramen. The scene plays out like so: Enter a fluffy omelet sitting atop a mound of chicken fried rice. A server slits the omelet lengthwise and it unfurls over the rice, revealing its custardy innards. After a scattering of furikake, the server (who, thankfully, looks nothing like James Woods) pours curry sauce and demi-glace over the gory Cronenbergian concoction in appropriately heavy-handed fashion. Long live the new flesh!
3402 Technological Ave., kyuramen.com
Located across the road from University of Central Florida's main campus, Sus Hi Eatstation on Alafaya Trail is the best place for a Knight to grab a quick bite and some school spirit. The menu ranges from sushi bowls, burritos, rolls, desserts and more — all beckoning to students from just a crosswalk away. Covered in UCF-themed decor and a "Charge On For Sushi" sign, this spot keeps students (and those who work with and around them) full of sushi and Knightly passion.
4498 N. Alafaya Trail, sushieatstation.com
Ernest Hemingway and bullfighting go hand in hand like Ernest Hemingway and drinking, so the fact that there's a bar named after Papa's book on the subject — bullfighting, not drinking — is hardly a surprise. But Death in the Afternoon, the book, certainly has its fair share of dipsomaniacal characters, as does Death in the Afternoon, the bar. The primary culprit in both is absinthe, that much-maligned spirit falsely accused of causing everything from hallucinations to murder. No, if there's any slaying going on inside this moody Mills 50 booze den, it's at the hands of the expert bartenders who kill it with their cocktail game, and chef Eric Norvelus, who executes with aplomb.
930 N. Mills Ave., instagram.com/death.in.the.afternoon_
It's easy to become numbed to all the high-dollar indulgences that restaurants in this city espouse, particularly the barrage of tasting menu concepts that have opened in every corner of the city. But a meal at Coro in Audubon Park can unjade the jaded and bring smiles to the faces of burned-out bon vivants in a matter of bites. Chef-owner Tim Lovero presents a perpetually changing menu that leans Italian but celebrates flavors and ingredients from the Far East and the Indian subcontinent to the Middle East and West Africa. Menu descriptions can be misleadingly sparse, but the end result always intrigues with turns both surprising and spectacular.
3022 Corrine Drive, cororestaurant.com
While their whole menu isn't solely vegan, Sampaguita has a variety of delectably creative offerings to satisfy even the least lactose-tolerant sweet tooth. Using ice cream as a means to explore Filipino culture and tradition, Sampaguita offers fun flavors you're unlikely to find elsewhere in the area, with vegan options including buko pandan, mango royale, and even vanilla-and-ube soft serve.
1233 E. Colonial Drive, sampaguitausa.com
