Here are some quick tips for fun food events this week including food trucks, beer drops and anime.
Look at those spicy peppers! Love ‘em or fear ‘em, spicy foods and hot sauces are trendy. In downtown Sanford, Dino Ferri’s shop, Spice is Nice, carries even the spicy foods you can’t imagine – ice cream, fried sardines, bacon jam, and caramels. The shop also carries Hotter than El, Ferri’s own hot sauce line that has appeared on YouTube’s “Hot Ones.” Check out our interview with Dino Ferri in the latest print issue of Edible Orlando.
Edible Orlando writer John Graham keeps an eye on all the food fun going down around Central Florida and picks the best bets he can shout from the rooftops. Here’s the stuff you want to check out around Orlando in the next couple weeks.
Saturday, August 19 
Zymarium, Orlando’s first meadery, celebrates its grand opening on Saturday with no reservation or cover charge, noon – midnight. Expect 18+ different meads on tap with one-off kegs, bottle specials, and food trucks. Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from honey instead of grain or grapes and can be sweet or dry, gentle or high octane. Zymarium produces mead on-site in the space behind the main bar. To handle the expected crowds, Zymarium will be handing out wristbands for two-hour chunks of grand opening bar access.
A new food truck event starts tonight in the Milk District … and it’s at Hoods Up, that repair shop that’s been sitting vacant since the ‘90s. Now that the property is up for sale, Tasty Takeover and The Milk District have cut a deal with the owner and teamed up, 8 p.m. – midnight, on Saturday nights for the “Milk District Truck Stop.”
How about a Saturday bike ride that starts with doughnuts and ends with barbecue? Kyle’s Bike Shop is leading what they call the “Donut Roll,” 8 a.m. – noon. You’ll ride from the shop to Smoke & Donuts, load up on fried dough, ride around the Milk District for about an hour at a casual pace, and then back to S&D for smoked meats. The ride is free and the food is discounted, so organizers are asking you to sign up in advance so they know what to expect.
Sunday, August 20
Sideward Brewing is highlighting 10 local food vendors and ten breweries, 12 – p.m., with the first Brewer’s BBQ event. Each $100 ticket (before taxes and fees) gets you a small plate from each of ten local chefs, all the beer you want from ten breweries, and live music from The Sh-Booms & DJ Dirtfoot. Participating restaurants include Red Panda Noodle, Pizza Bruno, and Otto’s High Dive. Breweries include Alga Beer Company (Pensacola), DSSOLVR (Ashville) and King State (Tampa).
Jimotti’s restaurant in Sanford might sound Italian, but it’s the nickname of chef and owner Junichi Takazoe. Sunday, Chef Junichi will host the Anime & Japanese Street Food Summer Festival, 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., both inside and outside the restaurant. The afternoon is billed as authentic Japanese street food, ramen, and anime vendors. “Come eat, shop, and be nerdy!”
Friday, August 25
Neighborhoods and churches have potluck dinners all the time, so why not a whole town? The city of St. Cloud is inviting everyone, not just city residents, to come to the St. Cloud Civic Center, 5 – 9 p.m. with a dish to share and $10 admission that goes for decorations and live entertainment. You must be 21 or older. You know you want to try out that new devilled egg recipe.
Redlight Redlight is hosting “phantom” Central Florida brewer Mythk Brewing for a collaboration pumpkin ale beer drop with Prometheus Esoterica. Starting at 6 p.m., you can try the new beer (called Halloween Forever!) as well as meet Mythk Brewing’s owners and artist Eric Sahlsten who designs the labels. You can also check out Prometheus Esoterica’s Mobile Curiosity Cabinet, a live blacksmithing demo, and treats from Bertso’s Bakeshop and El Tinto.
Wednesday, August 30
The new location of Hash House A Go Go at Flamingo Gardens in Winter Garden has been in soft open for a month, but today, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will stop by for an 8:30 a.m. grand opening ribbon cutting. Hash House is known for its massive entrees of chicken and waffle or stuffed burger, but unlike most locations, the new Flamingo Gardens Hash House will stay open past lunch. In fact, the restaurant will stay open until 11 p.m. every night of the week with a special “late night” (5 – 10 p.m.) menu section including breakfast for dinner.
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