WILD CHILD

Maya Café Lounge & Gallery’s expressive, indomitable, feel-good spirit finds its way to the kitchen

BY FAIYAZ KARA

In the less-buffed sector of Winter Park sits a little slice of Bohemia by way of Venezuela. It’s called Maya Café Lounge & Gallery and it’s run by three generations of women — Letty Vallve; her eldest daughter, Celeste Aguinaga; and Letty’s mother, Leticia Gil. The trio of talents have single-handedly … well, with six hands, that is … transformed the old Goodwill Donation Xpress on Howell Branch Road into a striking, polychromatic design den for the local counter-culturati.

Aside from the dazzling number of hearts and plants, paintings and murals, rope pendants and mismatched chairs, there’s a red Corvette in the middle of the dining room, or at least sections of one.

MAYA CAFÉ

LOUNGE & GALLERY

1980 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park 407-968-1201 instagram.com/mayacafelounge

A lounge area has been crafted from the roadster’s red leather seats, and glass-topped engines double as tables. You’ll see artifacts and memorabilia of that sweet ride scattered throughout the space; the items were procured when Vallve operated a used-car business. It takes a while for the eyes to adjust to all the vehicular vestiges and flower power motifs inside and outside,

$$ and I mean that in the most flattering way possible. There’s a feel-good vibe at Maya and that love seeps its way onto the menu, even with a kitchen limited in terms of equipment. You won’t find a flat-top, a hood or deep fryers here, but you will find a chunky eggplant dip ($14.95) blended with olives and dill and flecked with pomegranate and sesame seeds that’ll leave you blowing chef’s kisses to your mates. “It’s definitely one of our most loved dishes,” our server told us. Bites of prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella ($18) served on a cheese board and drizzled with honey, seemed hastily put together, but we tried to see the creations as “organic” in form and the missing filling of nuts a “culinary improvisation.”

Some lateral thinking was exhibited with the tuna sandwich ($8.50) as well — yogurt is used in the mustard and celery mix instead of mayo, and it’s served on a plain bagel. “This is how you should make me my tuna fish sandwich,” gushed my tuna-loving wife. “You got it!” I said before rolling my eyes into the back of my head. The tuna sandwich is probably my least favorite sandwich, but if it were a buttery Cuban sammie ($11.95) she wanted, like the one we ordered with pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard, I might be a little more keen. I also liked that it came sided with plantain and yuca chips. fkara@orlandoweekly.com

When I came across an item on the menu that read “oven roasted meat,” I liked that even more. It was offered for the intriguing price of $25.25, and a part of me — a quarter, perhaps — felt the urge to order it. The “meat” in this case was four chunks of medium-well sirloin shellacked in a red-wine glaze. A side of green beans and potatoes, as well as an extra side of honey-roasted carrots ($8.50), gave me all the Sunday-roast feels on a Friday evening. Yet another extra side of Mexican street corn ($8.50) served with tortilla chips only added to the communal conviviality.

And all the while, folks of every stripe walked through the doors — some to order a banana-caramel espresso (they use Bustelo); some to chill in the corner with a charcuterie board and a book. It’s a linger-friendly zone, and linger we did over the luscious passionfruit mousse ($5.99), unlike the cheesecake ($9) heavily weighted by caramel sauce squeezed from a plastic bottle.

But food alone doesn’t convey the whole story at Maya. It’s a colorfully unconventional space to be experienced; a place to get to know the gifted, free-spirited women who run it; and a place to truly appreciate — wild artistry, Corvettes and all. Like the car of song fame, there’s really no taming this little red love machine.

Town Center in Winter Garden … Melt Brownie, offering four unique flavors of artisanal brownies each week, will open this June in the former Sourdough Bread House space at 110 N. Orlando Ave. in Maitland. Expect flavors like churro, birthday cake and chocolate Oreo.

NEWS+EVENTS:

The 5th annual SoDo After Dark kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at RockPit Brewing. The Parking Lot Party will feature plenty of craft beer, craft cocktails and a sneak peek into Rockpit’s forthcoming craft distillery. Food will be provided by Royal T Tapas, Chill In Tacos, Cecil’s BBQ and more. Cost is $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Visit eventbrite.com for tickets

… Through April 30, Jaleo at Disney Springs celebrates Spain’s national cocktail with the Gin & Tonic festival. Five specialty cocktails along with a selection of specialty tapas, including croquetas de pollo and buñuelos de bacalao, will be offered … The Hampton Social on I-Drive hosts “Run for the Rosés” on Kentucky Derby Day, May 6. The restaurant will offer $10 rosé mint juleps from 3-6 p.m., along with live music, raffles and contests … If you’re a BDSM enthusiast with a sweet tooth, you may be interested in trying Better Than Sex’s latest dessert creation — the Berry Bondage. With 20 layers of crepes, raspberries and Callebaut white chocolate, the sultry dessert promises to hold you captive. Between you, me and the bedpost, it’s so good, you may need to be restrained.

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Algiers, America: The Relentless Pursuit — A five-part docuseries shows at-risk youth attempting to escape the race-based poverty and violence of their community by playing football. And if they make it all the way to the NFL, they’ll never have to worry about racial inequity ever again! (Hulu)

Chimp Empire — Let narrator Mahershala Ali take you to a Ugandan forest where chimpanzees have built a dynamic, thriving society. Until those colonizers from Meerkat Manor get wind of it, that is. (Netflix)

The Marked Heart — In Season 2, Simón learns that getting involved with the woman who’s carrying your dead wife’s stolen heart can be dangerous — particularly if her jilted husband has connections to the criminals who trafficked the organ in the first place. I don’t want to sound like Mr. Know It All, but I think I could reasonably have assumed that none of this would be a day at Volcano Bay. (Fun Spot, maybe.) (Netflix)

PREMIERES THURSDAY:

Chokehold — A Turkish couple tries to flee controversy by abandoning Istanbul for a coastal village, but the locals prove more hostile than they had bargained for. Seriously, you used to have to go to Boston Market to see somebody working so hard to be OK with Turkey. (Netflix)

The Diplomat — Keri Russell plays a reluctant ambassador to Britain in a series that executive producer Debora Cahn calls a metaphor for “the transcendence and torture of long-term relationships.” Girl, please. Like it would be easier to just hook up with France. (Netflix)

Fired on Mars — A 2016 short was the source material for this animated sitcom, in which a downsized tech worker finds himself stranded on the red planet with no way to get home to Earth. The voice cast includes Pete Davidson, who hasn’t been living on Earth in any real sense for years now. (HBO Max)

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head — Season 2 of the reboot floats the prospect of our heroes becoming parents and/or entering into a same-sex marriage. At last, the kind of equality right and left can be equally nauseated by! (Paramount+)

Mrs. Davis — A nun (Betty Gilpin of G.L.O.W.) makes it her mission to destroy an omnipresent AI in a series that’s meant to embody the battle between faith and technology. Pitting something that isn’t real against something that is doesn’t seem like the fairest of fights to me. Maybe faith could take on the invisible hand of the free market instead? (Peacock)

Quasi — Broken Lizard’s latest flick is a spoof of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in which the title character gets caught between the murderous machinations of the Pope and the King of France. If you think that’s bad, try coming between a Methodist youth pastor and the supervisor of a Soil and Water Conservation District. Those dudes can throw down! (Hulu)

PREMIERES FRIDAY:

Dead Ringers — Rachel Weisz takes on the dual role originated by Jeremy Irons in a gender-swapped series remake of the Cronenberg classic about predatory gynecologists. Kind of seems to defeat the purpose, but I can’t wait to hear Annie Lennox’s reworked theme song, “Sisters Are Doin’ It to Themselves.” (Prime Video)

Drops of God — The Japanese manga that preaches the interrelatedness of food and wine becomes an internationally flavored miniseries, with segments filmed in France, Italy and Japan. So essentially, it’s the Epcot Food and Wine Festival if you’re too loaded to do much walking. (Apple TV+)

Ghosted — Ain’t it always the way? Chris Evans is a nice, regular guy who’s found a woman he’s crazy about — only to learn she’s a secret agent on a mission that threatens both their lives. Think about that one before you set your Bumble preferences to “must have own career.” (Apple TV+)

Indian Matchmaking — Marriage expert Sima Taparia travels the globe to bring more perfect couples together. What she doesn’t want you to know: Her past failures include Brad and Jen, pineapple and pizza, and the Florida Legislature and the roof of your garage. (Netflix)

Judy Blume Forever — With the theatrical version of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret just a week from dropping, take a refresher course in the life and work of the author who introduced a generation of young readers to their hoo-hah. This is what struck us as inappropriate material before we had Heather Has Two Mommies, and One of Them Teaches CRT. (Prime Video)

The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs — Season 5 gets underway with a doublefeature launch party, followed in subsequent weeks by “Walpurgisnacht Part 2,” “Cinco de F*cking Mayo,” “Mama’s Day” and “Dysfunctional Family Jubilee.” Oh wait, my mistake. Those are promotions at Sam’s Club. (Shudder)

One More Time — Yet another riff on Groundhog Day, with a 40-year-old forced to relive her 18th birthday over and over again. Like that’s supposed to be some sort of curse? Plenty of us would love to exist permanently in the day we first committed vehicular manslaughter. (Netflix)

Rough Diamonds — A family of Belgian Jews finds their diamond business in danger thanks to the actions of a ne’er-do-well son, forcing his more responsible brother to right the ship. Spend one seder listening to a bunch like this argue, and you’ll know why that whole “international banking conspiracy” would be impossible to pull off. (Netflix)

SUGA: Road to D-Day — Yet another of the BTS kids gets a TV special about the making of his solo album. By my count, that’s two down and five to go. By the time we get to Jungkook, they’ll be reuniting at Golden Corral. (Disney+)

A Tourist’s Guide to Love — Ever wonder what happened to Rachael Leigh Cook after last year’s Spirit Halloween: The Movie? Her very next project has her discovering romance and adventure in far-off Vietnam. That’s a long way to go to lie low. I wonder if the entire cast of Rob Zombie’s The Munsters are thinking of changing their names and getting jobs as croupiers in Cairo. (Netflix)

Welcome to Eden — Rebellion boils over in Season 2, threatening the cult’s plans to erect a paradise in the wake of society’s collapse. Listen, not everyone is going to be happy when they hear they’re losing their TooJay’s to mixed-use housing. (Netflix)

PREMIERES TUESDAY:

The Boulet Brothers’ Halfway to Halloween

TV Special — The masterminds of the Dragula franchise welcome celebrity guests like Matthew Lillard and Kevin Smith for a salute to old-fashioned holiday variety shows. What I’m hearing is that it’s like the 1976 Paul Lynde Halloween Special, only less gay. (Shudder)

Family Legacy — The children of music superstars from Sammy Hagar to the Notorious B.I.G. offer an intimate perspective on their parents’ life and work. Blink and you’ll miss the contribution of Mariah Carey’s daughter, Monroe: “I don’t know her.” (Paramount+)

John Mulaney: Baby J — As he intends to tell us in his third stand-up special, a lot has happened to Mulaney over the last few years: He did two stints in rehab, got divorced, and had a baby with new girlfriend Olivia Munn. What are three other things he can tell us while trying to remain remotely sympathetic? Or is he just expecting us to be as grateful as him that it wasn’t Olivia Wilde? (Netflix)

The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey — The former FLOTUS sits down with Oprah to tell inspirational stories of getting older and making a difference. In a surprise highlight, Angel Reese shows up with potato salad. (Netflix)