Best Icy Treat: Kakigori at Koko Kakigori

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

Best of Orlando 2024: Food and Dining

Orlando fencing: More and more restaurants compete to dish out better and better food, ambience and experience. Winner: the dining public

Best Concentrated Pizza Offerings: Corner of Horatio Avenue and U.S. 17-92

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]

Best Restaurant Experience: Sorekara

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

Best Spot to Obtain Both Hangover-Inducing and Hangover-Curing Fare: Stardust Video & Coffee

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

Best Tasting Menu: Ômo by Jônt

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