Here are some quick tips for food and fun in Orlando, including Memorial Day, pancakes and booze, and more.
Memorial Day weekend means the start of grilling season – burgers, hot dogs, maybe some salmon or even sweet corn! Digging into the Edible Orlando recipe archive, here’s a couple fun ones to try: Grilled Stuffed Poblano Peppers and Grilled Corn Salad with Barbecue Vinaigrette.
As you enjoy the Memorial Day weekend, please also remember and honor the veterans who aren’t here with us for the cookouts and family gatherings, the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Edible Orlando writer John Graham spreads the word on what’s coming up for Central Florida food lovers. Here’s the fabulous bits of food fun you shouldn’t miss over the next couple weeks.
Saturday, May 25
We’ve got two sweet corn festivals! The Mount Dora Corn Festival at Elizabeth Evans Park wraps up today, 3-9 p.m., with admission including two ears of Zellwood sweet corn, free shuttle parking, a concert by Mark Wills, and fireworks. Tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for kids 4-9.
Amber Brooke Farms in Eustis is also having a sweet corn festival today and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The day includes all the corn you can eat, picking your own sweet corn, live music, family fun, and access to corny foods including pimento cheese corn bread muffins, smoked corn on the cob, street corn, corn salsa, and more. Admission in advance is $15, $18 at the gate, and free for two and under.
Sunday, May 26 
Milk Mart, the food and art festival at the Robinson and Bumby, is celebrating its eighth birthday, 12 – 6 p.m., with cake and balloons along with the usual 200+ merchants, artists, pop-ups, and food trucks. Among the specials, Bang Bang Bakehouse will have a limited-edition rum birthday cake in a jar (pictured) at the Milkhouse.
Monday, May 27
For Memorial Day Monday, The Current Seafood Counter in College Park is flying in live lobsters from Maine. They’ll be taking walk-ins from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., but the best bet is to pay ahead online or in the shop. You’ll get a 1.25-pound lobster with feta-rosemary potatoes and garden slaw for $29.95.
Saturday, June 1
Bite30 kicks off today and runs through July 7, the annual chance to try out around two dozen local restaurants offering special prix fixe menus at a set price of $35. It’s a great opportunity to check out a new place or new cuisine. Just ask for the Bite30 menu. Tax and tip are not part of the $35.
In Lajas, Puerto Rico, locals and tourists annually celebrate Festival de la Piña Paradisíaca – Festival of the Paradise Pineapple. Lake Nona Town Center is celebrating its own version of the pineapple party, 5 – 11 p.m., at its annual Puerto Rican-themed street festival with live music, authentic food and live entertainment. Admission is free.
Wednesday, June 5
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Vines Grille & Wine Bar on Sand Lake Road is hosting a tasting dinner with the owners of Garrison Brothers, the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. No word on the menu yet, but Vines is promising food, drink, and a chance to meet the makers from Garrison. The label’s sub brands include Cowboy Bourbon (uncut and unfiltered at 140.9 proof) and Lady Bird (Texas honey-infused and cognac-finished bourbon at 114 proof. Tickets for the night are $107.48 with taxes and fees.
Thursday, June 6
FastBreak Sports Bar, inside the Hilton Orlando, is cooking up a curated dinner around the beers of Winter Garden’s Crooked Can Brewing. The four-course menu includes Florida Sunshine Mango Lager with wings in mango habanero sauce, Rind Down Watermelon Wheat Ale with poke bowl and salad, Space Cowboi Hazy Double IPA with braised brisket and sides of mac ‘n’ cheese and coleslaw, and Cloud Chaser Hefeweizen with a chocolate chunk cookie skillet and caramel ice cream. Tickets are $81.52 after taxes and fees.
Friday, June 7 
The name says it all. The Orlando Pancakes & Booze Art Show starts at 8 p.m. in downtown Orlando’s The Abbey. The pancakes are all-you-can-eat. The drinks are pay-as-you-go. The flapjacks and booze are the lure so you also check out 300 artworks by 75+ local artists. To seal the deal, they’ve also got live DJs and live body painting. The concept has popped up in in dozens of cities since its Los Angeles debut in 2009. If you hurry, you can get a $10 ticket, but the price goes to $15 at seven days out.
For more inspiration, visit our archives.
