Local food blogger Ricky Ly is guiding me through the iFresh supermarket, an Asian store in the Mills 50 district of Orlando, Fla..
Taiwanese pastries are among the specialties, he explains, gesturing to a 20-foot-long display case filled with everything from mango cream cheese buns to pineapple buns with dried pork. A minute later, we’re gliding through the produce section, passing pale green stalks of fragrant lemongrass and tiny, orange habanero chilies. A few feet away is a bubbling tank of water filled with live shellfish, where a bright orange-black lobster skitters over the top of sleepy Dungeness crabs.
Ly finishes our tour and steps into a small restaurant tucked in the corner of the store called Kai Kai, a dim sum and barbecue joint, where whole ducks and chickens hang in the window and the smells of anise and barbecue pork swirl in the air.
Mills 50 is a heavily Asian area of Orlando; filled with Vietnamese grocery stores, mom-and-pop Asian restaurants and shops that are a far cry from what you’d find in the worlds of Mickey and Harry. Earlier that day at lunch, I’d devoured part of a massive seafood and vegetable pancake, as well as beef ribs and chicken bulgogi at a place down the road called Korea House. At breakfast, I had a marvelous vegan breakfast burrito at a nearby spot called the Sanctum Cafe, specializing in vegetarian and organic cuisine.
The day before, I ate tacos made with hibiscus flowers and guacamole at a spot called Hunger Street Tacos in the nearby city of Winter Park, which boasts a walkable downtown sprinkled with dozens of restaurants and sidewalk patios.
“I’ve been in Orlando for 18 years, and the food scene has really exploded,” says Greg Richie, chef at Soco, a modern Southern food spot on the edge of downtown Orlando. “We have a super-diverse group of people, and folks are starting to realize what variety and great food we have in Orlando, and that it’s not just the theme parks … but good chefs doing great things.”
Richie, who worked with celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi in Hawaii, likes to mix Asian influences with Southern cuisine. His chicken and dumplings come with chicken, lobster, local mushrooms, edamame and soy butter, with a flavorful sauce.
Up in Winter Park, chef Brandon McGlamery at Prato whips up Florida-influenced Italian classics, such as a cacio e pepe that features homemade spaghetti soaked in a special mustard and flecked with radicchio, crunchy speck and balsamic. I can’t promise you’ll hear the Sistine Chapel choir singing when you taste it, but it’s possible.
“It used to be all chain restaurant- and big restaurant-driven around here,” says McGlamery, whose pedigree includes top-tier California restaurants such as The French Laundry. “When I first got here, we didn’t have many farmers, but the state has really opened itself up.
“We have our greens grown for us by a little old lady who has an organic, hydroponic system,” Richie adds. “She’s like the ultimate hippie lady. You could leave her produce in the kitchen for two weeks, and it would still look better than the stuff you see at the grocery store.”
About an hour north of Orlando, in a cute town at an elevation of 184 feet that calls itself Mount Dora, is 1921 by Norman Van Aken, run by the Florida chef of the same name. The restaurant contains stunning pieces of art, including, I was told, works from rock star David Bowie’s private collection. The food is just as impressive: sweet, local fish with hedgehog mushrooms, dates stuffed with lamb merguez sausage and agnolotti filled with carrot puree and just the right touch of truffle oil.
It’s not surprising that a large American city in a state with a robust agriculture scene would have fine food options. But Orlando’s multicultural food scene seems to take visitors by surprise. That’s especially true in the Mills 50 area, which runs along part of North Mills Avenue and East Colonial Drive. I visit every time I’m in Orlando, marveling at grocery stores with brilliant pink, yellow and green dragon fruit, jars of star gooseberry, Thai coffee and red bean pastries.
“The Asian population of Orlando is growing weekly, and there’s more demand for authentic Asian food,” says Jerry Lau, who runs Kai Kai in the iFresh market. “Our prices are very reasonable because I’m a working person, and I want to give back to the community.”
Trina Gregory-Propst, who runs the wonderful Se7en Bites cafe in the Mills 50/Milk District area, says people are surprised to see that the city has “food from all over the world: Indian food, Ethiopian food, Peruvian food.”
Gregory-Propst likes to have fun with her Southern-style menu. Her “7th Trimester” mac and cheese dish features buttermilk biscuits, a poached egg, five types of cheese, crumbled bacon, thick gravy and a crushed potato chip crumble.
“Orlando is a very accepting place,” says John Rife, who runs the East End Market on Corrine Drive. “If there’s something that’s new and innovative, people are really going to get behind it.”
Credit: Jim Byers
Credit: Jim Byers
East End Market is a marvelous project in a converted church that gives small businesses a chance to shine. Among the tenants are a pour-over coffee spot and a decadent cookie place called Gideon’s, where a single cookie is enough to feed a family of three and contains what appears to be half a package of chocolate chips, crowding one another for space.
At the theme parks that put this part of Florida on the map, you’ll still hear plenty of jokes about turkey legs. But the food at Disney Springs is no laughing matter. Walt Disney World Resort’s popular shopping, entertainment and dining spot (there’s no admission charge, and parking is free) features dozens of restaurants, including an Asian spot by chef Masaharu Morimoto, as well as a fun barbecue place called The Polite Pig, serving tender brisket and dozens of bourbons. There’s also Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ by the Florida native who was born in these parts. It offers up terrific cocktails and Smith’s signature buttermilk fried chicken in a warm, engaging restaurant with a patio.
Soco’s Richie admits that Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) has been smart to bring in well-known chefs — he just wants visitors to venture beyond the parks to get a taste of what else is out there.
“I’d love to get even 1 percent of the theme park folks into the city to check things out,” he says with a sigh. “Disney Springs is almost part of the Orlando fantasy area. Here, you get great local chefs and bakers. They’re people you might not see on TV, but they still make great food.”
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(Jim Byers is a freelance writer.)
BEYOND TASTY BITES
Not only does Orlando have great food, but there also are fun things to see that don’t involve mouse ears or wizards.
Winter Park canals: The Scenic Boat Tour in Winter Park takes you around quiet lakes lined with opulent mansions and through narrow canals covered in canopies of thick, tropical plants and trees. You'll pass lovely Rollins College and a home once owned by Mister Rogers of TV fame.
Mount Dora: A lively, fun town about 50 minutes north of Disney, with old-time architecture and independent shops alongside a pretty lake.
Museums: The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park is a stunner, boasting the world's largest collection of Tiffany glass and other treats. The Orlando Museum of Art is just north of downtown and features art from Africa, North America and Central America. The Grand Bohemian Hotel in downtown Orlando has a shop selling stimulating local art, several art displays throughout the building and its own curator.
Nature: The folks at Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures in Kissimmee can take you on zippy tours of wide-open lakes a few minutes south of the Interstate 4 corridor. You'll likely spot tons of birds and probably a few alligators. Lake Eola in downtown Orlando is a fine place for a walk, with swan boat rentals, an outdoor cafe and an Asian pagoda.
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