If the weather is getting you down, take a trip to Orlando Florida. The sun shines all the time and the food is far better than you might think.
All across the breakfast room at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World, kids are going bonkers for the Disney stars and it’s hard not to smile despite the terrible noise. The characters know their stuff and entertain very well.
I’m entertained by my breakfast, it’s really rather good. It’s mostly buffet, as all hotel breakfasts seem to be now, but there’s a wide choice of fresh and healthy options – fruit, muesli, yoghurts, grains and juices – as well as the frankly more tempting eggs cooked any way you like, maple-cured bacon, waffles, hash browns and all the rest of what constitutes classic American eating. All served up to order and piping hot. And of course, the coffee is excellent; we are in the USA after all.
Sun, golf, swimming and steaks
From my room on one of the highest floors I can look down on this network of pools, as well as a never ending vista of greenery under a clear blue sky, punctuated only by the outline of Disney’s Magic Kingdom Castle away over yonder. The occasional funnel of black appears in the sky from time to time reminding me this is storm season, as does the presence of wooden braces nailed into place onto all the newly-planted palm trees until their root systems develop.
Head on down the highway
Of course you can always hire a classic American car if you want, but good luck parking one of those in town, and on some package deals, the car hire is included anyway.
The valets bring the car to the front door and it’s out of the quiet of the resort area and onto the busy freeway. It’s a breeze to roll into town, air con up high against the heat. I’ve been told that this is an unseasonably extra warm November, but then Florida doesn’t ever really get what you might call chilly anyway. This is why it’s such a magnet for retirees from the North. And of course people from UK looking for some reliable sun to chase away the blues.
A warm Winter
I go out on one of the little boats that tour the lakes for an hour, marvelling at the palatial houses built in Florida’Cracker’ style with wraparound porches, and then ducking low as we pass through the interconnecting canals where ancient trees bow down across the water and drape Spanish Moss like hair across your face.
Every Saturday the Winter Park Farmer’s Market takes place here too with honeys, vegetables, fruits and fancy French Patisserie to enjoy.
Pig out time
A Warm Smoked Turkey’sandwich’ tasso ham, avocado, tomato jam, malt aioli, rocket, and toasted millet bread, has all the flavour hits expected from American food, but the quality of the ingredients makes it special and not juvenile.
50 ways to sate your hunger
Ribs and smoke, smoke and ribs
Pig Floyd a one story Urban Barbakoa’shack’ by a busy road. It has everything you expect – a darkened interior to stumble into, an open kitchen and a massive and friendly proprietor in Thomas Ward.
Diners’ grilled chicken might be wrapped in a taco with charred pineapple salsa, or cooked tikka-style for an Indian twist. Pulled pork may be layered with smoked brisket and spicy sausage and nestled into a sandwich with citrus-peanut slaw. Local favourite dishes include shrimp and sausage chorizo tacos and the ribs.
So Co is not so so
Southern cuisine isn’t all big men eating pork though, there is delicate and considered cooking too. Soco, which stands for Southern Contemporary, is a restaurant in Orlando’s cool Thornton Park neighbourhood and that evening nothing on the menu was familiar to me;
I ate Southern biscuits (very like savoury scones) topped with Asian tinted pork belly, Soco-Style “Chicken and Dumplings†made from chicken breast, lobster and local mushrooms served up with edamame and unctuous soy butter and finally a vegetarian triumph of chicken-fried cauliflower steak with a deep-roasted tomato gravy.’Chicken- fried’ referring to the way the cauli is cooked, in breadcrumbs. Great wines, cool decor and another open kitchen.
So don’t be scared of the mouse, Disney is just a part of what this part of the world has to offer so go along for the ride and find a magic food kingdom.
Good Places to go
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort
10100 Dream Tree Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32836
The Boathouse
1650 North Buena Vista Drive, Downtown Disney Pleasure Island
Pig Floyd
1326 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803,www.pigfloyds.com
Morimoto Asia
1600 W Buena Vista Dr, Orlando, FL 32830 www.morimotoasia.com
Soco
629 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801 www.socothorntonpark.com
Follow Ricky Lee @tastychomps
Our thanks to Visit Orlando for all their help. Look them up before you go www.visitorlando.com/