Here are some quick tips for food and fun in Orlando, including National Honey Bee Day, chef collabs, and more.
Saturday, August 17: Zymarium, the first meadery in Orlando, is celebrating its one-year anniversary which also just happens to be National Honey Bee Day. Starting at 1 p.m. with no cover, the party includes ten special keg meads and two more in bottles. (Mead is a drink made with fermented honey that can be sweet or dry and varies in alcohol content.) Zymarium will also have food trucks, beekeepers and bees from D&J Apiary, Ascension Tattoo artists doing bee-themed flash tattoos, and Phat Ash Bakes with an ube (purple sweet potato) cookie inspired by one of those new meads, Ube Noir.
Monday, Aug. 19: Central Florida’s first dedicated cocktail bar, The Courtesy, is teaming up with distiller Tequila Ocho for two cocktail classes at 5 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. For your $70 (before tax and fees) ticket, you’ll get a two-hour interactive cocktail class with private access, meaning the Winter Park bar is closed on Mondays, and learn to make three cocktails.
Tuesday, Aug. 20: FusionFest celebrates the many cultures and foods you find in Orlando and the latest Diversitastic! dinner night explores feteer meshaltet, or what some call “Egyptian pizza.” Everyone meets at The Dough Show near UCF at 7 p.m. We haven’t seen the exact plan for the night, but Diversitastic! events usually include food (of course) along with a cultural talk from the restaurant’s owner and some kind of culturally specific entertainment. Tickets are $64.09 after fees.
Wednesday, Aug. 21: Kaya and Reyes Mezcaleria are teaming up to celebrate the birthdays of both their chefs, Lordfer Lalicon and Wendy Lopez. There’s a seated dinner inside Kaya that’s already sold out, but for $20, Kaya is also hosting a patio and garden party, 7 – 10 p.m. Your ticket gets you entry and the first drink (cocktail, wine, or beer). After that, there’s a collab bar food menu for purchase, and just possibly, outdoor karaoke.
Thursday, Aug. 22: The Ravenous Pig is popping onto the menu at Superica for a week. Winter Park’s new Tex-Mex place has been adding limited-time menu items from Orlando-area chefs to raise money for charity. Today through Aug. 28, it’s James Petrakis from The Ravenous Pig and pork belly tacos with birria sauce, black bean puree, avocado cream, and queso fresco. James will be there for the kickoff tonight with all proceeds from his dish going to Captains for Clean Waters, a nonprofit fighting to restore and protect Florida water resources.
Friday, Aug. 23: Maggiano’s in Pointe Orlando is starting a new master sommelier’s wine dinner series tonight, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Three wines selected by Master Sommelier Jason Smith and two wines from Tuscany’s Il Borro winery pair with a menu of antipasto misto, Caesar salad, rigatoni alla vodka, steak alla Fiorentina, and toasted poundcake with lemon curd and fresh berries. For $95 (before taxes and fees), you also get am M-topped wine stopper and the early chance to reserve seats for an October wine dinner celebrating the 50th anniversary of Napa’s Caymus Vineyards.
Sunday, Aug. 25: TheArt Gallery at Mills Park is hosting a little Sunday afternoon wine, cheese, and charcuterie, 4:30 – 6 p.m., to help the elderly in and around Orlando. Check out the current exhibitions, sip, nosh, and chat with a wine expert. Tickets are $44.52 with taxes and fees. Money raised go to the local nonprofit Silver GALA (Gifts, Attention and Love for the Aging).
Thursday, Aug. 29: The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is back at Walt Disney World, today through Nov. 23. Just like past years, you walk around the theme park, buying tasting-size portions of food and beverages from around the world. Plenty of favorites are back – such as the Polish kielbasa with potato pierogis and the Hawaiian roast pork slider with sweet-and-sour pineapple chutney – but there are plenty of new items too. Maybe try the Spanish paella negra with squid ink rice, shrimp, scallops, and octopus or the tiramisù funnel cake. The Eat to the Beat concert series includes Sugar Ray (Sept. 1-2), Shelia E. (Sept. 20-21), Aloe Blacc (Oct. 4-5), Hanson (Oct. 25-28), and Boyz II Men (Nov. 3-4). The festival is included with valid EPCOT admission and a theme park reservation may be required, based on admission type.
Friday, Aug. 30: Christner’s Prime Steak and Lobster is getting a jump on September’s National Bourbon Heritage Month with a dinner, 7 – 10 p.m., pairing your meal with five single-barrel custom bourbons (Angel’s Envy, Barrell, Clyde May’s, Hillrock, and Knob Creek). The menu includes calamari, tomato and onion salad, a choice of USDA Prime strip or sesame-seared tuna, skillet potatoes with onions and broccoli au gratin, and carrot cake. Tickets are $150 per person, which includes tax and tip. For reservations, call 407-645-4443.
Ongoing: Mercury is in retrograde through Aug. 27, which astrology believers say is a time of disruption and confusion. Whether science or superstition, Grande Lakes Orlando will get you through with limited-time Lucky Libations cocktails at many venues in both the complex’s Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott resorts. At Knife and Spoon, the Legend cocktail blends Woodford Reserve Double Oak bourbon with herbal Amaro Montenegro, both orange and black walnut bitters, and a cherry. At Primo, the Serendipity is vodka, house-made raspberry/basil syrup, fresh raspberries, and cold foam.
