Fun Food Events through Sep 27

We’ve got a new Oktoberfest party this year – Winter Parktoberfest. Organized by the Rotary Club of Winter Park, the party runs 5:30 – 10 p.m., in Mead Botanical Garden. German food is by Hollerbach’s with food trucks as well. Of course, you’ve got the beer garden, live polka bands, and competitions including stein hoisting, wurst yodeling, kraut eating, and pretzel fishing. The Dachshund Dash starts at 5:30 p.m., organized by the non-profit Florida Weiner Dog Derby. Both dachshunds and wannabees can register in advance. Winter Parktoberfest tickets are $28.52 (after taxes and fees) for adults with one free drink. Children over six are $12.51. Using the free shuttle parking would be a good idea.

Moving down to the metaphorical Mediterranean, Formaggio & Friends is celebrating Italy’s (and New York’s) San Gennaro festival through Sunday with a special menu, live music, and complimentary Saturday-only Italian wine tastings, 1 – 3 p.m. Limited-time menu items include meatballs with lemon ricotta and tomato gravy, cioppino (fisherman’s stew), and house-made cannoli. The San Gennaro festival honors Saint Januarius, patron saint of both Naples in Italy and Little Italy in Manhattan.

Today is National Cheeseburger Day with The Capital Grille adding three Wagyu burgers to the menu through November 1. The classic Wagyu cheeseburger with grilled onions, steak sauce, and Vermont white cheddar. There’s also a bleu cheese and black truffle burger with cabernet-braised onions as well as a roasted wild mushroom and Swiss burger with truffle aioli. A Wagyu burger and a glass of Duckhorn portfolio red wine starts at $35. You can also choose to replace your fries with house-made potato chips and caramelized onion and caviar dip for an extra $20.

For the return of Marlow’s Tavern’s “Ribs & Whiskey” menu, the three Central Florida locations are cooking up a series of Wednesday night whiskey dinners. Tonight is built around Old Forester bourbon, but future Wednesdays include ASW Distillery (Sept. 25), Michter’s (Oct. 2), and Basil Hayden/Booker’s (Oct. 9). Each Wednesday Whiskey Dinner is three courses and $75 per person, starting at 7 p.m. Advance booking is recommended. Marlow’s seasonal “Ribs & Whiskey” menu is available seven days with options including a meat-and-three plate, honey bourbon bread pudding, and a Brown Derby cocktail with bourbon, grapefruit juice, honey syrup, orange bitters, and lemon peel.

Want even more bourbon? FastBreak, Hilton Orlando’s sports bar, has a four-course meal built around Buffalo Trace bourbons, 6:30 – 8 p.m. We’re talking about barbecue braised brisket with Eagle Rare, smoked salmon salad with a Blanton’s single barrel, spiced pork loin with W.L. Weller wheated bourbon, and caramel chocolate mousse with Buffalo Trace bourbon cream. Seats at the table are $120 with taxes and fees.

Prefer bubbles? Ceiba, the regional Mexican restaurant inside Conrad Orlando is pairing dinner with Henriot champagnes, starting at 6:30 p.m. The five courses include tostada de queso de puerco (head cheese), ceviche verde with poached shrimp and compressed watermelon, seared yellow tail snapper, prime NY strip with mole negro, and a dessert built around corn (jalapeño and corn bizcocho, sweet corn crémeux and sweet corn mousse). Only 20 seats are available for $200 per person plus tax and tip.

The Palm steakhouse inside Universal Orlando’s Hard Rock Hotel is curating a special “Land and Sea” dinner featuring Napa Valley wines, 6 – 9 p.m. The $179.99 dinner includes five courses: carpaccio with Siberian Ossetra caviar and sauvignon blanc, agrodolce (sweet and sour) cherry peppers with chardonnay, dumplings with a new chardonnay, sliced dry-aged NY strip with pasta and spicy vodka sauce and a cabernet sauvignon, and a dessert of panna cotta with pomegranate molasses and fresh blackberries alongside coffee and tea service.

To celebrate Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month, Jaleo at Disney Springs has assembled an “all-you-care-to-indulge” night of food and drink from southern Spain. From 5 – 7 p.m., Jaleo is promising tapas, sherries, live music, and flamenco dancing. Tickets are $121.58 with taxes and fees. Jaleo will also recognize northern Spain with a similar party on Saturday, Sept. 28, and Mediterranean Spain on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Guess what? It’s another Oktoberfest – this time, a kickoff to the season at Gravity Taproom on N. Orange Ave. From 4 – 8 p.m., they’ve got live music, German-inspired food specials, tapping a cask of an exclusive beer, and prizes.

Good news for folks who crave 4Rivers’ burnt ends on a Sunday. Today is the first time most 4Rivers locations will be open every day of the week. The SoDo shop will stay closed on Sundays, but the other Orlando-area locations should now be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Most locations will also stay open until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, but that’s take another week.

“Top Chef” winner Kelsey Barnard Clark will be signing copies of her new book at the Barnes & Noble on Sand Lake Rd., 5 – 7 p.m. Clark’s book is Southern Get-Togethers: A Guide to Hosting Unforgettable Gatherings Plus Entertaining Inspiration, Tips, and 100+ Recipes. The fifth woman to win “Top Chef,” and the first southerner, Clark was also a 2024 James Beard Awards semi-finalist for best chef in the south. If you can’t make the book signing, Clark will also be at the Williams Sonoma in Winter Park on Sunday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m. – noon, teaching a class on tablescaping with local expert Eileen Tongson, owner of Farmgal Flowers. Class tickets include a copy of the book and are $37.35 after taxes and fees.

‘Tis the season for Oktoberfests! Oviedo’s starts tonight at Oviedo Amphitheatre and Center Lake Park, 5 – 9 p.m., and continues Friday, 5 – 9 p.m., and Saturday, 4 – 9 p.m. There’s no admission charge and parking is free. Along with live music and dancers, German food will also be for available to buy with beer tickets available both in the park and in advance online.

Winter Park Sunset Wine & Jazz kicks off at 7 p.m. in the Winter Park Events Center with unlimited wine tastings, samples from local restaurants, and live music on multiple stages. Tickets start at $82.42 with taxes and fees, and go up as you add early admission and/or VIP access. Restaurants participating include Jimmy Hula’s, Tabla, Outback Steakhouse, Rock and Brews, Krispy Kreme, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Let It Roll Ice Cream.