Showing posts with label Places to Dine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Places to Dine. Show all posts

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Orlando dines Prix Fixe for the month of September!


Orlando’s best restaurants at unbeatable prices.

Satisfy your craving for affordable cuisine during Orlando Magical Dining Month, a culinary celebration sure to please your palate and your wallet. Throughout September, select Central Florida restaurants will offer three-course, prix fixe dinners for $20 or $30. Indulge your inner gourmet with an appetizer, entrée and dessert at a variety of casual bistros and upscale dining destinations. Try a different eatery every week. Or every day!

Restaurants will donate $1 from each meal to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Check out the website for more information and to review the list of participating restaurants:

http://www.orlandoinfo.com/magicaldining/index.cfm

Make your reservations using OpenTable

Cheers!
Gary


Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Headed to Vermont? Check this out!


If you've ever wanted to go to a ski resort in Vermont, do I have the place for you! It is called Stowe Mountain Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. You won't believe this place. We took a gamble and chose this place from our GPS; can you believe that? And, how lucky were we? We felt like we hit the jackpot.

We secured a room for the evening (only had two left), and settled in to rest a bit before getting dressed for dinner. We had reservations, but went a few minutes early to check out the bar area. It is more than you'd imagine was in a ski lodge. All of the typical appointments only heightened. The bar area looked to be a curve, almost a half circle. The entire top was copper that actually showed the rings where glasses had been sitting. It totally gave it more character; you'd have to see it to appreciate it.

They had an impressive wine list (by the bottle or glass), and even had some of their wines on special (by the bottle) because they were adjusting their wine cellar to offer new/different selections. Now, that's what I call progressive! And, any establishment that offers Jordan Cabernet by the bottle gets my vote!

We settled at our table, which overlooked the outdoor fire pit (which was burning). I had no idea what to expect, but I knew the surroundings were awesome. I started with the Foie Gras Mousse, which was served with crostini and a fruit reduction. My entree choice was a Rack of Lamb with wilted greens and Truffled Mac 'n Cheese! Wow! It was probably the best lamb I have eaten. They actually list many Vermont farms in the area on their menu. All of their menu items (meats, cheeses, etc.) come from these local farmers. It was a treat to know that too. I finished the evening with a wonderful dessert. It was chocolate mousse in a chocolate tart with a white chocolate topping, all of this sitting in a salted caramel sauce. It was divine! The perfect complement of salty/sweet, it was the perfect finish to a perfect evening.

We were only there one night, so before we checked out the next day we decided to have breakfast. The coffee was superb, and the breakfast was even better. I ordered the Eggs Benedict. The eggs were poached flawlessly, and it was probably the best hollandaise sauce I have ever eaten.

This is a MUST if you travel to Vermont. Don't go just during skiing season either, they have activities all year long! In fact, you'd probably want to avoid Christmas week and President's Day week (those are two extremely busy times for the ski lodges). Other than that, take a trip to VT. You will love it.

They are located at:
7412 Mountain Road
Stowe, Vermont 05672
(800) 253-3560

You can visit them on the web at: www.stowemountainlodge.com

Cheers,
Gary