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🍽 54 places to eat in Orlando right now
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What Orlando is talking about
Local food writer Faiyaz Kara just rounded up Orlando’s newest hot spots, and his list deserves a bookmark.
Kara covered all 10 of the new food halls that are opening in Winter Garden, Oviedo, SoDo, Ivanhoe, downtown Orlando, and more. And he got us real jazzed about what that means for us… so many options and hopefully fewer fights over where to eat at night.
He also dished out the scoop on fine dining restaurants like Norman’s reopening in Dr. Phillips and The Pinery opening under the new Lake House apartments in Ivanhoe. And yes, he reminded us that we’ll soon be home to the world’s largest White Castle.
The City Beautiful is fast becoming the City Foodie-ful. And we promise you, that felt as cheesy to type as we’re sure it felt to read. 😏
In other news…
Orange County commissioners voted Tuesday to dedicate $10 million from last year’s surplus funds to a future affordable housing trust. The trust fund is part of a 10-year plan that the county’s Housing for All task force put together late last year. The fund is stalled for now while it waits on an ordinance to “protect its assets from ‘raids’ for other projects” (i.e. what consistently happens to the Sadowski Fund). (Orlando Sentinel)
WalletHub says Orlando is the best city to host a wedding. The list-making site studied the “wedding-friendliness” of each city, ranging from average wedding cost to venues and event spaces per capita to hotel availability. We ranked No. 1 for event planners, No. 2 for facilities, and No. 7 for activities. (WalletHub)
Country crooner Chris Stapleton is heading to Orlando this summer, and he’s bringing Sheryl Crow with him. Tickets go on sale next Friday, with presales starting on Tuesday. And speaking of throwback performers, Mandy Moore will be stopping at the Bob Carr Theater in April, and those tickets are already on sale. (Orlando Weekly)
The new Winter Park Library and Winter Park Events Center are officially moving full-steam ahead. What started out as a $30 million project has turned into a $41.7 million investment — and sparked a little controversy along the way with regards to what was originally proposed and where city officials landed. (Orlando Sentinel)
Today
🍷 Grilled cheese and wine night is back at Swirlery (SoDo)
🍻 Pair your Girl Scout cookies with local brews (Sanford)
🐶 Hey puppy-lovers, let's swap stories about our favorite four-legged friends over dinner (Downtown) (Partner)
Tomorrow
🎶 Take it back to the 80s with 80s icon Tiffany (Disney Springs)
🗣 Hang at the library late night to hear from New York Times-bestselling author Debbie Macomber (Downtown)
🍻 With over 45 breweries and 100 beers, this event will quench anyone's thirst (Loch Haven Park)
🎶 Jam to country music with Jason Aldean, Morgan Wallen and Riley Green (Parramore)
Saturday
👟 Walk a 5K to raise awareness about suicide and raise money for prevention (Baldwin Park)
🍿 Treat yourself to treats and a Toy Story (Maitland)
🐆 Go beyond the world of Black Panther with a masquerade (Downtown Orlando)
🖼 Expand your knowledge design at the Orlando Museum of Art (Lake Ivanhoe)
🐶 Fundraise for man's best friend by deadlifting for the doggos (Oviedo)
Sunday
🐶 Take a photo shoot of your pet in support of man's best friend (SoDo)
🖼 Wander through a nationally-ranked arts festival (Mount Dora)
Monday
💫 Discover a whole new world before it's gone (Downtown)
🎥 Show off your Cult Classic cred (Mills 50)
😎 Discover 5 Orlando food trucks and enjoy some of the blues (Milk District)
Tuesday
🍻 Expect the brews and "I do's" to this hop-heavy wedding expo (Universal)
👢 Get rowdy on Mills with Total Punk Turnbuckle Tuesdays (Mills 50)
Wednesday
🗣 Put your name in a hat and share your favorite "past your bedtime" story (Thornton Park)
📖 Tell a story to strangers for a good cause (Downtown)
🎻 Transport straight to Dublin at a traditional Irish session (Curry Ford)
One last thing...
Last week, we were invited to attend the media night of Disney’s Aladdin at the Dr. Phillips Center and it did not disappoint. Princess Jasmine and Aladdin were certainly captivating but Genie, Orlando native Michael James Scott, really stole the show.
Yesterday, we learned that a few of the touring cast members surprised local students at Dover Shores Elementary School who are in the midst of preparing for their own production of Aladdin. “Princess Jasmine” Kaena Kekoa and another cast member, Michelle West, were there to hand out scripts to each student as they found out what part they’d be playing in Aladdin Jr. and if that’s not cute af, we don’t know what is.
If you wanna see Disney’s Aladdin, you’ve still got time. The show goes on until Feb. 9.
Be cool, Orlando,
—Pulptown