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PHOTO © PHELAN M. EBENHACK
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Forget burnt sienna. The new colors for autumn are emerald green, ruby red and navy blue. by Marianne Ilunga • photographs by Rafael Tongol
32 NEW SEASON, NEW
FACES, NEW PLACES
Changes are afoot both on stage and behind the scenes as Orlando’s arts season gets under way. by Michael McLeod • photographs by Rafael Tongol
ON THE COVER: For our fall forward fashion preview, we brought models Natalia Z and Aaron Bean to the award-winning home of Winter Park architect and builder Phil Kean to show off the new looks of the season. Natalia’s Balenciage color-blocked handbag is $1,345. Her Rachel Zoe tassel bracelet is $325. Both are available at Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. For more information, see page 26. Photograph by Rafael Tongol. 2
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Photo: courtesy broadway across america
FEATURES: SEPTEMBER 2012
SEPTEMBER 2012
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DEPARTMENTS 12
JAY BOYAR’S AGENDA Good ol’ Charlie Brown is making history; a film festival that wants to give peace a chance; the Bard is getting roasted at the Shakes; the Headdress Ball is helpful and hopeful; a maestro meets his match at the Phil; Mad Cow Theatre takes a walk through the park to its new digs.
A FEW MOMENTS WITH
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FLAVOR
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WELLNESS
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DISCOVER HEALTH
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Photographer Jimm Roberts on why he needs two “m’s” – and how he managed to get some of Florida’s greatest writers and artists to smile for the camera. by Harry Wessel • photograph by Rafael Tongol
The causes of dizzy spells can be complex, but new treatment options can help you to keep your feet on solid ground. by Harry Wessel • photograph by Ken Lopez
At the UCF College of Medicine, the first question new med students must answer is: What qualities would you want your own doctor to have? by Dr. Deborah German
VIEW Footsteps in the sand. photograph by Rafael Tongol
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At food and wine events, anyone can get a taste at what life is like for restaurant reviewers. by Rona Gindin • photographs by Rafael Tongol
PHOTOS: (TOP AND CENTER RIGHT) RAFAEL TONGOL; (CENTER LEFT) KEN LOPEZ; (BOTTOM LEFT) COURTESY ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART; (BOTTOM RIGHT) COURTESY ORLANDO REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER
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Of Cents and Sensibilities
N
Take Note
OW AND THEN I MEET SOMEONE WITH
a name I want to use for one of the characters in the novel I’ll probably never write. Here’s the latest name to go on that list: Flora Maria Garcia. Say it loud and it’s music playing. Say it soft and it’s almost like praying. How can you possibly doubt that the arts are in good hands when a woman with a name like that is the new CEO at the helm of United Arts of Central Florida? Not to mention the fact, speaking of resonant names, that she owns two foofy Maine Coon cats she calls Donatello and Leonardo. And oh, by the way, her resumé indicates that she’s a battle-tested warrior when it comes to building consensus and convincing municipalities of the financial advantages inherent in fostering the arts. This month’s Orlando Home & Leisure features our annual preview of the most promising performances and exhibitions on Central Florida’s cultural calendar. Usually we simply round up the usual suspects and cull through their offerings. This year we took a slightly different tack and looked behind the scenes, too. What we discovered was that Garcia’s isn’t the only important new name in the local arts world. We also noticed an obvious consensus among both newcomers and veterans: It’s critical to branch out, reaching new audiences and new donors. God bless Harriett Lake, longtime arts benefactor who single-handedly saved Orlando Ballet and who knows how many more worthy artistic enterprises. But the woman is 90. This is embarrassing. Others need to pick up the slack. It isn’t just about tutus and fluff. It’s a savvy civic investment. A thorough, groundbreaking study recently released by Americans for the Arts indicates that the arts-oriented nonprofits generate $135 billion a year in national economic activity. In Central Florida, one of the areas surveyed 6
ORLANDO HOME & LEISURE
What’s ONLINE Check out our expanded listing of arts organizations and their schedules of events for the upcoming season. Follow us on Twitter at orlandohlmag.
in the study, such nonprofits are a $264 million industry that supports nearly 9,000 jobs and generates $200 million for households and $356 million in local and state government revenue. That doesn’t factor in the intangible matter of enhancing a community’s identity. I tire of friends from the North who assume that down here in Orlando all we do for fun is watch crazy trials and circle Cinderella’s castle. So I’m happier than usual to welcome what’s new in the arts this year, and that there’s more of what’s new to go around. A new season. A new perspective. And a few new names, one in particular. Maybe I’ll skip the novel and write a song. Flora Marcia Garcia, I’ll never stop saying: Flora Maria Garcia. OK, so it doesn’t scan so well. But I’ll work on it. Because I think it’s worth the effort.
Michael McLeod Editor in Chief mmcleod@ohlmag.com
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FIRST
What you CAN DO Remember that this is magical dining month. Dozens of area restaurants are offering fixed-price, $30 meals throughout September. Check out visitorlando.com for participating restaurants. What’s ON DECK Our Home of the Year issue, coming in October, recognizes creativity, efficiency and livability as designed and executed by area architects, designers and homebuilders. What’s ON FACEBOOK LIKE us on Facebook and get fun updates and sneak previews. Correction The correct email for Karri Odenbach, one of the personal shoppers profiled in our August “Living Well” feature, is karri_odenbach@ yahoo.com.
SEPTEMBER 2012
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CONTRIBUTORS JAY BOYAR is arts editor
of Orlando Home & Leisure and a former longtime movie critic for the Orlando Sentinel. He teaches film at the University of Central Florida and at Rollins College.
RAFAEL TONGOL OHL’s Senior Photographer is a longtime Orlando resident. His photographs have been published in Newsweek, Women’s Wear Daily and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. MARIANNE ILUNGA is an Orlando image and fashion consultant
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retailing. She has served as a fashion contributor for magazines and as a wardrobe stylist for modeling agencies in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. RONA GINDIN is a freelance writer and editor specializing in restaurants and travel. A native New Yorker, the award-winning journalist contributes regularly to national publications and is the author of The Little Black Book of Walt Disney World. DEBORAH GERMAN, M.D. is the founding dean of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and UCF’s
(407) 671-8300
vice president for medical affairs.
www. OrlandoSingleProfessional.com 8
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SEPTEMBER 2012
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www
Come
Hear WHAT SETS
US APART
October 27th LAKE MARY PREPARATORY SCHOOL will team up with United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida for a 5K! Please visit our website for more info. After the 5K— 9:00 am-12:00 pm We will have a Haunted House open to all families
private tours available on request 407–805–0095 x205
www.lakemaryprep.com
PreK3–12
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& Michael MCLEOD Editor in Chief HARRY WESSEL Managing Editor LAURA BLUHM Art & Production Director RONA GINDIN Dining Editor Jay Boyar, DR. Deborah German, MarianNe Ilunga Contributors rafael tongol Senior Photographer KEN LOPEX Contributing Photographer katelyn dobKin, jessica inman, katie lewis Editorial Interns Editorial: press@ohlmag.com
Lorna Osborn Senior Associate Publisher Director of Marketing & Public Relations KATHY BYRD Associate Publisher
IN EVERY ISSUE!
FLAVOR An expanded dining guide featuring reviews, profiles and listings by RONA GINDIN, one of the region’s best-known, most-respected food writers. It’s part of
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Copyright 2012 by Florida Home Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without written permission of the copyright holder. ORLANDO HOME & LEISURE (USPS 000-140) (Vol. 13/Issue No. 9) is published monthly by Florida Home Media LLC, 2700 Westhall Lane, Ste 128, Maitland, FL 32751. Periodicals Postage Paid at Maitland FL and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Orlando Home & Leisure Magazine, PO Box 5586, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310-5586 SEPTEMBER 2012
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AGENDA • HAPPINESS IS … PEANUTS. A PARTICULAR FORM OF
happiness, at least, for those of us who grew up reading the iconic comic strip and watching the spinoff holiday specials on television. Now, a dozen years after the last original Peanuts cartoon appeared in newspapers, an exhibition featuring good ol’ Charlie Brown; Snoopy, his daydreaming dog; Lucy, his irrepressible nemesis; and all their pint-sized pals is coming to the Orange County Regional History Center. Called Peanuts … Naturally, the exhibit was organized by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, Calif., and will be on view at the center from Sept. 29 through the end of the year. It features more than 65 Peanuts cartoons and focuses on environmental themes, which were close to the heart of the strip’s creator, Charles M. Schulz. “He was already talking about environmental issues
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From Alice to Zeus: The Art of John Rocco
Through Oct. 28 Orlando Museum of Art For the young and the young at heart, a chance to see rough sketches and drawings as well as finished works by the celebrated illustrator of the Percy Jackson series and The Kane Chronicles. omart.org
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in the ’60s and the early ’70s,” says Mike Perkins, the center’s curator of exhibits. The Peanuts exhibit includes a short, environmentally themed video that Schulz created. The strip began to take form in the late 1940s, when Schulz developed an early version called L’il Folks that ran in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. When it went national, its syndicate decided to call it Peanuts, a name Schulz never liked. The first official installment ran on Oct. 2, 1950. Peanuts ended its run on Feb. 13, 2000, just one day after the cartoonist died at 77. During that extraordinary half-century tenure, the strip gradually wove its way into the fabric of millions of lives – and became a billion-dollar business. “Schulz is such a part of our cultural history over the last 50 to 60 years,” says Perkins. “Even as he was working, it [Peanuts] was becoming a part of our consciousness.” At a time when strips
Titanic: The Musical, in Concert
Sept. 7 Northland Church Haunting songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway show will be performed by the Central Florida Community Choir to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the liner’s sinking. cfcommunityarts.com
ILLUSTRATIONS: COURTESY ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER; PHOTO COURTESY GLOBAL PEACE FILM FESTIVAL
Good Grief! It’s Peanuts at the History Center
Miss Saigon
Sept. 14-23 Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center This Tony Award-winning musical, based on a Puccini opera, follows the unlikely romance that forms between an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl following the fall of Saigon. wdpac.com
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ILLUSTRATIONS: COURTESY ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL HISTORY CENTER; PHOTO COURTESY GLOBAL PEACE FILM FESTIVAL
BY JAY BOYAR
like Bringing Up Father and Blondie featured adults behaving like children, Schulz introduced a group of children who behaved like adults. Sophisticated adults. Among other things, they took an interest in psychiatry (remember Lucy’s advice booth?), high culture (Schroeder’s devotion to Beethoven) and faith (Linus and the Great Pumpkin). Unlike, say, Doonesbury, Peanuts was always more about our common humanity than our political differences. Even so, the strip was also gently topical. Schulz had a knack for finding whimsical ways of commenting on the issues of the day. In 1970, for example, he bestowed a name on the little yellow bird that had first appeared in the strip three years earlier. The name he chose, Woodstock, referred to the famous 1969 rock festival and suggested that the cartoonist felt a certain kinship with the era’s peace movement. “Schulz’s message was so subtle,” says Perkins. “It became a nice little subtext to the characters and really elevated the strip.” In contrast to creators of other successful comic strips, Schulz didn’t hand off his franchise to another artist as he got older. But, amazingly, reprints of his classic cartoons currently run in 1,600 newspapers worldwide. Like the center’s exhibit, the continued popularity of Schulz’s work is a testament to its timeless appeal. Happiness, it seems, never goes out of style. Visit thehistorycenter.org for further information.
Kissimmee Festival of Festivals
Sept. 21-23 Various locations Downtown Kissimmee hosts two mass balloon launches and five different footraces as well as festivals to celebrate arts and crafts, food, wine and music. kissimmeefestival.com
WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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The Power of Two Art Exhibit
Sept. 28-Dec. 30 Art & History Museums-Maitland Can artists coexist under the same roof? The work of creative couples who live and work in Central Florida is on display in this all-in-the-family exhibition. artandhistory.org
All She is Saying Is: Give Peace Films a Chance
AS THE GLOBAL PEACE FILM FESTIVAL RAMPS UP
for its 10th edition this month, peace on earth remains as elusive as ever. This doesn’t seem to discourage Nina Streich. If anything, it may have spurred the festival’s executive director to work even harder to bring socially conscious movies to Orlando. “A lot of the films are about people who are doing things that make a difference,” says Streich, who notes that last year’s event attracted about 7,500 attendees. “We want to inspire the audience to take action.” Set for Sept. 18-23, this year’s festival will offer 40 to 50 films in several venues at or near Rollins College and in downtown Orlando. While most of those films are documentaries, their topics are diverse. The opening-night film, The Zen of Bennett, focuses on the life, career and personal philosophy of crooner Tony Bennett. “His life is exactly what the festival is about,” says Streich. “He was an infantryman in World War II, and that caused him to become a pacifist. He’s also been very much involved with the civil rights movement from the early ’50s.” Other offerings range from Party Crashers (about the rise of the Tea Party) to Bonsai People: The Vision of Muhammad Yunus (about the Nobel Peace Prize-winner who created a micro-financing bank) to Planeat (about making better food choices). The opening-night film is free; admission to others is $8. In addition, the festival will include panel discussions that feature local activists and question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers. All of which – fingers crossed – might bring us a little closer to global peace. “Peace,” says Streich, “starts within each and every one of us.” Visit peacefilmfest.org for more information. – Jay Boyar ORLANDO HOME & LEISURE
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AGENDA
IT’S LIKE GETTING A CHANCE TO
roast the CEO. That’s how Jim Helsinger sees his task as director of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), a spoof of the Bard that opens the season for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater on Sept. 12. “It’s super funny. Not kinda funny. Super funny,” says Helsinger, artistic director at the Shakes since 1995. Funny as in seeing Titus Andronicus played out as a Julia Child cooking show or Hamlet squeezed into a maniacal 43 seconds. In another scene, all the plays about kings and warriors are boiled down into a single football game featuring the likes of Richard III, King Lear and Julius Caesar as trash talking, Elizabethanera jocks.
The parody, performed by local Shakes mainstays Philip Nolen, Brad DePlanche and Christopher Patrick Mullen, features references to all 37 Shakespeare plays and offers plenty of room for improvisation and asides about breaking news and popular culture. Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singe and Jess Winfield, founding members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the popular sendup debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “I’ve spent a great deal of my career honoring Shakespeare,” says Helsinger. “But let’s face it. Guys wearing tights are always funny.” Visit orlandoshakes.org for more information. – Michael McLeod
POSTER: COURTESY ORLANDO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
At the Shakes, Let’s All Laugh at Guys Wearing Tights
538 Virginia Drive Orlando, Florida 32803 Office:
407-897-8988
www.cabinetrycreationsinc.com 14
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SEPTEMBER 2012
8/22/12 10:49:10 AM
Here’s Hope, Help and Headdresses PHOTO: COURTESY HOPE AND HELP CENTER OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
MAGGIE KING IS ALWAYS HAPPY TO
hear people talk about Orlando’s most flamboyant gala, the Headdress Ball. What bothers her are the puzzled expressions that appear when she mentions the lesser-known cause it benefits: the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, where King has served as development director for the past 10 years. Last year, the center helped 4,692 people who were either at risk for AIDS or affected by it, offering education, counseling, testing, a food pantry and assistance in finding other resources. “We could not do what we do if it wasn’t for the support of the community,” says King. A huge chunk of that support is generated by the ball, whose showcase event is a competitive runway show featuring elaborate, Carmen head- 259-137 PMMiranda-style - SeptOrlHomeLeisure
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dresses. This year’s ball will be held Sept. 22 at Hilton Orlando. Last year’s ball generated $325,000, 90 percent of which went to Hope and Help Center clients. In Central Florida alone, 12,500 people a year are infected with HIV or AIDS. Nationally, the disease infects someone new every nine and a half minutes. “As long as you have blood running through your veins you are susceptible to contracting HIV,” says King. “It is no longer a gay disease. It’s an everyone disease.” The funds from federal and local governmental agencies that the center receives are not nearly enough to keep it afloat. Last year, the center had to raise $800,000 to bridge the gap between what it receives from those sources and what it actually costs to run the agency, says King. It isn’t1 always Once, Marc.pdf 8/7/12 about 12:02 money. PM
when a lonely, elderly, half-blind, severely depressed man came to the center for help, King talked him into becoming a volunteer. He’s now a cheery presence at the facility. “Sometimes people just need a little bit of rope to hang onto,” King says. “So we provide them the hope.” Visit hopeandhelp.org for more information. – Jessica Inman
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AGENDA
CALLING THE SHOTS IS A MAESTRO’S
prerogative. So it’s no surprise that music director Christopher Wilkins chose a work by one of his favorite composers to open the Orlando Philharmonic’s 20th anniversary season. Mahler’s 3rd Pastorale Symphony, an orchestral work in six movements, will be performed Sept. 29 at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre. It’s a work, says Wilkins, in which the late-Romantic Austrian composer blends sounds “the way a painter does colors on a palette.” That’s particularly true of the first movement of the pastorale, which is meant to evoke the Austrian Alps as spring dissipates into summer. “It’s sort of like that opening pan of a great epic film that covers the lay of the land,” says Wilkins.
The grand scope of the work calls for a full complement of musicians and singers, including the 96-member orchestra, the University of Central Florida Women’s Chorus, the Florida Opera Theatre Woman’s Chorus and the Young Opera Theatre’s Chorus. Mahler was all about overarching themes, large orchestras and unfettered imagination, urging musicians to abandon traditional thinking and focus on instinct and intuition as they played his work. That advice is especially apt for a pastorale in which the movements develop progressively through mystical layers, from flora to fauna, then from earthly human beings to those on a spiritual plane. “It takes us on a wild and harrowing
ride,” Wilkins says of the work, one of several Mahler symphonies he’s directed during his tenure at the Phil. “At moments it’s absolutely overpowering and frightening, and at times blissfully serene.” Visit orlandophil.org for more information. – Jessica Inman
PHOTO: COURTESY ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC
Making a Match of Mahler at the Phil
SIP & STROLL WINTER PARK
SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 5-8:30PM
SIP, STROLL & CELEBRATE 125 YEARS Celebrate the city’s 125th anniversary and spend an evening with friends enjoying wine samples and appetizer pairings at your favorite Downtown Winter Park merchants and restaurants. $25.00 meet at Central Park 251 S. Park Ave Winter Park, FL www.winterpark.org
407-644-8281
21 and over please
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SEPTEMBER 2012
8/21/12 10:29:25 AM
Mad Cow Presents Pointillist Play
photo: rafael tongol
This is one Sunday Mitzi Maxwell
has been waiting for a long, long time. When Mad Cow Theatre’s production of Sunday in the Park with George opens on Oct. 6, it will mark the end of one journey and the beginning of another for the professional company. The Stephen Sondheim musical about French post-impressionist painter Georges Seurat will christen Mad Cow’s new home at 54 W. Church St. “The theater really goes back 12 years, when a group of visionary downtown leaders introduced the idea,” says Maxwell, the company’s general manager. “You find out pretty fast how complicated these things can be.” It took the combined effort of civic leaders and über-arts patron Harriett Lake to kickstart the crusade. The company had moved in and out of 10 homes in its
PhilKeanDesigns.com
15 years of existence. “I know it sounds like we were traveling around in covered wagons, pitching a new tent every night,” says Maxwell. “But the good part of it was, that’s how we built our audience. We got to know a lot of people that way.” Mad Cow had hoped to move into its new home and stage Sunday in the Park with George last year, but construction and planning delays made that impossible. Sondheim’s musical, which won a Pulitzer Prize, two Tonys and a battery of other awards in 1985, focuses on the creative struggles of Seurat as he works on Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in 1884. The painting was certainly no walk in the park: It was 10 feet across, took two years to paint and represented Seurat’s revolutionary effort to trick the viewer’s
eye with tiny, juxtaposed dots to create the illusion of color. In the musical, Seurat alternately struggles with and revels in the artistic challenges he faces. “This piece speaks to the creative process, and that’s what Mad Cow has always been about,” says Maxwell. “Trudy Bruner [a longtime Mad Cow director] used to say: ‘We love to simmer the sauce.’ You have to let things steep for a while. Sometimes, when you do, what you end up with has a wonderful character to it.” Visit madcowtheatre.com for more information. – Michael McLeod
407 / 599 / 3922
Phil Kean, Architect AR95091/CRC1327855
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Jimm Roberts in his studio.
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50 Faces of Florida
PHOTO: rafael tongol
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Photographer Jimm Roberts has compiled a gallery of the state’s revered cultural icons. is subjects range from politicians to
rock stars, from Reuben Askew and Carl Langford to Duane Allman and Pat Travers. His portraits have been published in top national magazines, including Vogue, The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, and he has won more than two-dozen ADDY Awards for his commercial work. But Orlando photographer Jimm Roberts’ proudest and most lasting achievement is his 20-year project of photographing and interviewing dozens of authors and artists with Florida connections. The project culminated in the 2005 coffee-table book, Southernmost Art and Literary Portraits. It features introspective, black-and-white portraits of 50 cultural luminaries as well as their answers to a handful of basic, open-ended questions. (Asked what she would have done had she not become a writer, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas snipped, “I haven’t the slightest idea and couldn’t care less.”) While the collection includes still-active authors and artists such as Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard and James Rosenquist, most of the book’s subjects have died. They include such notables as John Hersey, Robert Ludlum, Roy Lichtenstein, John D. MacDonald, James Michener, William Manchester, Robert Rauschenberg and Nobel Prize-winner Isaac Bashevis Singer. “Roberts’ book is a remarkable cultural history of Florida,” says Maurice O’Sullivan, Rollins College professor of literature. O’Sullivan is teaching a course this fall that focuses on many of the writers and artists in the book. “I believe that it is one of the most important collections of cultural portraits in American history.” The Orlando Museum of Art agrees. Its exhibit of photos and documents from Roberts’ project, subtitled 50 Internationally Noted Artists and Writers in Florida, opened early last month and continues through Oct. 28. At least three of the book’s subjects – author Ann Beattie, painter James Rosenquist and photographer Jerry Uelsmann – will make appearances during the run of the exhibit.
The soft-spoken Roberts, 72, says he is far more comfortable behind a camera than in front of it. Nevertheless, he recently spoke with Orlando Home & Leisure from his studio office on Orange Avenue. Your career as a professional photographer began in 1971, when you were living and working in New York City. That’s the same year you moved to Orlando, where you’ve lived ever since. Why Orlando? My parents had moved here, and I liked Orlando. It was quieter than Manhattan. It was a good place to start, and I’ve been in the same house ever since. I get to live upstairs over my studio. What’s with the extra ‘m’ in Jimm? After graduation from college, I was living in Atlanta doing a lot of painting. I never really liked the way my signature looked with a paintbrush. When I began to print my name it was more legible, but with a brush one m looked like two. I liked the way it looked and stuck with it. Around that time I did the photography and design for the Allman Brothers’ second album, Idlewild South, Gregg Allman ended his name with one g. When their third album came out I noticed he used two g’s. That began to catch on, and I figured that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. What got you started on your portrait project? When I first started, I kept it quiet. My first subject was [sculptor] John Chamberlain. I attended a retrospective of his work at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. There were lots of people there, with parties afterward, and I wound up in his studio nearby. I was the only one standing at 4 a.m., and he asked, ‘Who the hell are you?’ We began a dialogue, and he later agreed to a photo session. That was March 1983. The project went from 1983 to 2003.
by Harry Wessel
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They’d fully cooperate, even to the point of referring me to their friends. When I last visited [poet] John Brinnin in Key West, he said, “Jimm, this project is becoming a unique record, a portrait of a passing generation.” In two months he was dead. That was back in April ’98. Now, more than 60 percent of the artists and writers in the project have passed on.
Tough-guy novelist Harry Crews (above) and pop-art pioneer James Rosenquist (below). The hard-drinking Crews died earlier this year, but Rosenquist will make an appearance during the run of the exhibit.
How did you get so many artists and writers to not only pose for portraits but to agree to be interviewed? All the sessions were preplanned appointments, and I agreed I’d use nothing they didn’t authorize. They were very interested in the nature of this project, and they all thought it was worthwhile.
Your portrait subjects are dramatically posed, yet you catch them at moments in which they are very much themselves. How do you do that in a 20-minute session? I’d describe my style as conversational. I’m sincerely interested in the people I photograph. I try to find a moment when they‘re not thinking about being photographed and when they’re involved in the information we’re sharing. Were there any sessions that didn’t work out? I didn’t have a problem with anybody in photographing them. I don’t know why. It was always enjoyable, and I was often invited back. Because of the project’s 20-year span, over time I’d often go back and photograph the same subject again to show changes that may have occurred. Did you have a favorite? They were all colorful, but if I had to
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PHOTOS: courtesy orlando museum of art
Among Roberts’ subjects:
How did the appointments work? My initial request was for 45 minutes of uninterrupted time – 20 minutes for the photography and the remainder for a taped interview. I asked the same series of questions to all the subjects, from “When did you first come to Florida?” to “What’s the best piece of advice you were ever given?” I always offered to leave after 45 minutes, but I’d often wind up staying for two or three hours, sometimes more.
SEPTEMBER 2012
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point to one personality it would be [novelist] Harry Crews. He has a legion of fans who might be best described as a cult. I’m definitely a member; call me chairman of the board. I have a photograph of him with his 1932 Underwood, with a tall Budweiser next to the typewriter; it’s 10 in the morning. It’s a compelling portrait, one F ASHION C ONSULTING of my favorites. He was a very intense guy. Sloan Wilson referred to him as a redneck genius.
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them cold,� he told me. When I asked, “Why warm Budweiser?� he said, “I’m not like a lot of folks. I don’t drink for recreation. I don’t want to wait for my body to warm it up. I want the alcohol to go straight to my brain.� Your photo of Crews shows some kind of marking on the inside of his elbow. What was that? That’s a tattoo of a cabinet hinge. He told me he was on a magazine assignment in Alaska, interviewing oil pipeline workers. He got drunk one night, passed out and woke up with it. He swore he had no memory of getting that tattoo. He had another tattoo on his upper arm, a line from e.e. cummings: “How do you like your blue eyed boy, Mr. Death?� He was like a character out of his own fiction, a contradiction. He was an ultimately kind, caring, generous individual. He had his demons, but he was brilliant. He once told me writing a book is the closest way a man can understand what a woman feels when she gives birth: “Without me, this thing would not be. It’s mine, and I delivered it.� You’re familiar with this question: What’s the best piece of advice
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you were ever given? Shut up and drink your milk. That’s what first comes to mind. OK, what’s the best piece of advice you heard from your portrait subjects? “The middle of a thing is no place to judge it from.” That was advice [novelist] Andrew Lytle had given to Harry Crews. But I think it holds true for most artists regardless of their individual disciplines. Whether you’re in the middle of a painting, a short story, a poem, a photographic folio or even making a single print, you often begin to second-guess yourself and think, “This isn’t working; this is not where I want to be with this piece.” But then you begin to persevere and you find yourself driven to finish the damn thing, until you can live with it. ●
IN BRIEF
Here are some notable events during the run of Southern Art and Literary Portraits: 50 Internationally Noted Artists and Writers in Florida by Jimm Roberts, which continues through Oct. 28. ■ Wednesday, Sept. 5, 1:30 p.m.: Associate curator Jan Clanton leads a Gallery Talk on the Roberts’ exhibit. ■ Saturday, Sept. 22, 2 p.m.: Presentation by James Rosenquist, followed by a book signing. ■ Sunday, Sept. 23, 2 p.m.: Roundtable discussion with Ann Beattie, Jerry Uelsmann and Rollins professor Maurice O’Sullivan. ■ Wednesday, Oct. 3, 1:30 p.m.: Clanton leads a Gallery Talk on the Roberts’ exhibit. WHERE: Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 N. Mills Ave. MORE INFO: omart.org / 407-8964231
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FALL FORWARD
Forget burnt sienna. This year, the colors of autumn are emerald green, ruby red and navy blue. by Marianne Ilunga • hair & makeup by Elsie Knab • photographs by Rafael Tongol Aaron Bean of Ten Model Management (left), is retro twice over in a gray double-breasted suit, $1,995, and a black turtleneck sweater, $545, both by Giorgio Armani and both from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. Natalia Zenin of AbFab Models & Talent wears a beaded tunic dress, $698 and a black leather jacket, $795, both by Diane von Fürstenberg; Theory leather leggings, $835; Cära earrings, $30; and Via Spiga silver T-Strap sandals, $250; all from Bloomingdales at The Mall at Millenia. Her alligator cuff with diamonds set in white gold, $625, and alligator cuff in natural color with stainless studs, $145, are by Ken Marsak and are available at Tresor Gallery, Winter Park. Her black fascinator embellished with silver chains and vintage brooch, $110, is by Boldly Unique, boldlyunique.com.
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Natalia’s menswear-influenced ensemble features an oversized houndstooth tweed jacket, $1,460, and a matching tweed skirt, $460, both by Akris Punto. Enhancing the look is a Vince hooded coat, $675; color-blocked Giuseppe Zanotti ankle-strap heels, $715; a Rachel Zoe cuff bracelet, $495; gold earrings, $200; an Alexis Bittar gold ring, $225; and HervÊ Van Der Straeten gold geometric necklace, $900. Aaron wears a black Burberry Coat, $1,395; distressed Diesel Jeans, $228; Wolverine combat boots, $265; and an Alexander McQueen knit scarf, $235. All items shown are from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. 26
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Natalia wears an Escada houndstooth black-and-cream dress, $1,395; Oscar de la Renta cream-colored tassel earrings, $395; and Gucci sunglasses, $325; all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. Her alligator hide-andleather cuff is by Chronicle Stones, $85, chroniclestones.com. Editor’s Note: The photo shoot was held at the 2012 New American Home, built by Phil Kean Designs for the National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show, held earlier this year in Orlando. The home, on an infill lot in downtown Winter Park, is a high-tech re-interpretation of the classic “white box” of the ‘60s and ’70s and highlights every energy-efficient feature imaginable and full-height windows that bring the outdoors in. WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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Natalia doesn’t have to wait for Christmas to break out a red BCBG dress, $298, and Theory red jacket, $435, from Saks Fifth Avenue at the Florida Mall. Her clothing, as well as her two-tone red Fendi handbag, $2,600, and nude ankle strap pumps by Charlotte Olympia, $975, are exclusive to Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. Her T Tahari gold ring, $48; Michael Kors gold watch, $250; and Aqua gold hoops, $30; are all from Bloomingdales at The Mall at Millenia. Her red garnet and champagne topaz necklace, $330, is by Michal Yakar, michalyakar.com
Natalia (left) mixes greens and blues with a Roberto Cavalli print dress, $720; an Adrienne Landau faux fur cropped jacket, $695; Miu Miu sparkle and suede ankle booties, $790; and an Yves Saint Laurent handbag, $1,990. Her clothing, as well as her Alexis Bittar emerald and gold ring, $490; Rachel Zoe square emerald ring, $165; and Oscar de la Renta emerald and sapphire statement earrings, $265; are all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. Her Boldly Unique olive-green round mini hat adorned with extralong pheasant feathers, $95, is from boldlyunique.com. Aaron (left) wears slim-fit brown plaid pants, $400; a brown plaid jacket, $1,380; and a paisley print shirt, $420; all by Etro. His clothing, as well as his green Prada loafers, $795, are all from Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millenia. WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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Natalia wears a Les Copains gray short-sleeve cardigan, $1,045; a plaid dress, $625; and an animal print, long-sleeve top, $295; while carrying an Aqua green Rebecca Minkoff handbag, $395; all from Saks Fifth Avenue at the Florida Mall. Her floral necklace, $375; three rings, $230-$260; and light blue Chalcedony hoop earrings, $145; are all by Michal Yakar, michaelyakar.com. Aaron wears a navy striped Hugo Boss suit, $745; with a pinstripe shirt by Hugo Boss, $115; while carrying a Gucci messenger bag, $1,150; all from Saks Fifth Avenue, The Mall at Millenia. His wingtip, brown lace-up shoes are by Magnanni, $435, available exclusively at Neiman Marcus, The Mall at Millenia. 30
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Natalia wears a pine-green shortsleeve blouse by Vince, $225; green digital print harem pants by Parker, $198; and a navy-blue lightweight leather jacket by Georgie, $298; all from Saks Fifth Avenue at the Florida Mall. Her green patent clutch by YSL, $595, is available at Neiman Marcus at The Mall at Millennia, while her Via Spiga suede, hunter green pointed-toe pumps, $225, are from Bloomingdales at The Mall at Millenia. Her Indian ruby and copper earrings, $95; druzy agate bracelets worn as a necklace, $50 each; amazonite and jade necklace, $135; and three-stone cuff bracelet, $65; are all from Chronicle Stones, chroniclestones. com. Her brown alligator cuff with gold studs, $110, and naturalpattern, linear, mini-studded alligator cuff, $135, are both from Ken Marsak and are available at Tresor Gallery, Winter Park.
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s Greet Cultural Season The arts in Central Florida are poised for a fresh set of performances and exhibitions. Changes are afoot behind the scenes, too. by Michael McLeod
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Flora Maria Garcia, the new CEO of United Arts of Central Florida, is immersed in art at her job – and surrounded by it when she’s home. The mural is by Billy Hassell, of Fort Worth, Texas. WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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Orlando Ballet, you may notice a few more people in the audience at the next performance you attend. If you’re an Orlando Fringe Festival fan, you’ll have more plays to choose from – and perhaps a bit more walking to do – when the event celebrates its 22nd season this spring. When you see changes like that during the upcoming cultural season, whose highlights we preview on the following pages, bear this in mind: Not all the drama happens on stage. Several of Orlando’s core arts organizations have undergone important shifts in leadership and location over the past few months. And those changes will profoundly affect the area’s visual and performing arts in both the near and distant future. If the ballet’s audiences are larger this year, it’s thanks to an aggressive membership drive orchestrated by new executive ORLANDO HOME & LEISURE
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director Mark Hough, who’s looking to fill up empty seats by targeting a younger, broader audience. Hough, who says season subscriptions increased by 40 percent this year, has professional ties with the ballet’s artistic director, Robert Hill. Back in the 1980s, Hill was a dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and Hough was its director of operations. Changes at the Fringe Festival are being overseen by a new producer, Michael Marinaccio. There’ll be more plays and a new emphasis on shows that cater to children and families. The festival will also expand its presence from Loch Haven Park into nearby neighborhoods, staging some shows at Theatre Downtown in trendy Ivanhoe Village and others at The Venue on Virginia Drive. Another dramatic change of scenery is on tap this month for Mad Cow Theatre, a highly respected professional troupe that will move from its home on Magnolia Street to a new, twotheater facility on Church Street. The first production: Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. (See our preview in the Agenda section.) The biggest change in the cultural corps is at the very top: In May, Flora Maria Garcia, formerly the CEO of the Metro Atlanta Arts & Cultural Coalition, took over as the CEO of United Arts of Central Florida, which raises funds for more than 50 arts organizations in four Central Florida counties. United Arts, a coalition of businesses, foundations and governmental agencies, also has a new development director: Denise Bealin, a Washington, D.C., fundraiser who helped launch a campaign to build the National Library for the Study of George Washington.
All in all, it’s an impressive infusion of high-end movers and shakers. They bring years of experience and a fresh perspective to the rapidly changing Orlando arts scene, which is just two years away from having a $400 million performing arts facility, The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, in its midst. Garcia, 57, is another major leaguer. In Atlanta, she was a key player in a narrowly defeated effort to pass legislation for a fractional sales tax to support the region’s cultural organizations. She’s both realistic and optimistic about what she’s seen so far in Central Florida. “The larger arts institutions here either have no endowment or are under-endowed,” Garcia says. “They’re in crisis-management mode, focusing all of their energy on productions and exhibits. They don’t have time to pay attention to long-term stability.” To devote more time to fundraising on their behalf, Garcia decided to temporarily cancel Artsfest, an annual array of free performances by Central Florida cultural organizations. She and her staff will be devoting much of their attention to cultivating a broader donor base. Garcia has been impressed by the enthusiasm for the arts she sees in governmental and business leaders in Orlando, and the cooperative attitude among Central Florida arts groups. “The directors of the cultural institutions in this area know each other. They talk to each other. I can tell you in other places that’s not always the case. There’s a spirit of collegiality here. The theme parks attract millions of visitors and increase the tax base. I’m an eternal optimist. I see all sorts of advantages here. You just have to find a way to leverage them.”
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THE ART OF GLASS
Contemporary Glass Exhibition
We’ve grown accustomed to the idea that fine art can be created from sculpted and blown glass, but it was a revolutionary notion until Harvey Littleton came along. Littleton, an artist, teacher and adventurer, taught a seminal series of glass sculpting workshops in 1962 at the Toledo Museum of Art. Those workshops, the first to promote glass as a medium for studio artists, marked the beginning of the American Studio Glass Movement. The movement’s 50th anniversary will be celebrated at OMA with an exhibit of glass sculptures, many of them contributed by local collectors, including the works of veteran artists such as Dale Chihuly, William Morris and Littleton himself. 34
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Dec. 22-March 31 Orlando Museum of Art omart.org
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Art that makes you
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The Mysterious Content of Softness September 15–December 30, 2012
cfam.rollins.edu 1000 Holt Avenue | Winter Park, FL | 407.646.2526
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Portrait of an Artist in a Digital World Jessilyn Park found the secret to success as a painter: Head for grandmother’s house. Then hit the Internet. Times are hard for anyone in the arts these days. So it’s nice to run across someone like Jessilyn Park, a newly minted, 31-year-old Orlando painter who discovered a three-step pathway to success. Step one: Go see your Memaw. Step two: Fly to Mexico to meet with a mysterious Russian man. Step three: Come back home and start painting – in front of an audience of thousands. Last December, bored by her monotonous office job and brokenhearted from a relationship gone sour, Park found herself at a turning point in her life. She went to visit her grandmother in Palm Bay for advice. “My grandmother was a painter,” she says. “She went partially blind a few years ago and couldn’t paint anymore. We sat down and started talking about relationships, and divorce, and dreams, and after a while she got up and took the last painting she ever did off the wall. She was touching it and talking about how she had hoped that one of her grandchildren would take up painting, but none of them had. Then she said: ‘If I could give anyone my talent, it would have been you.’ ” The old woman’s words drifted across the dining room table, as soft and light as a dandelion gone to seed. Park, whose college degree is in communications and business, had always been intrigued by painting. But she had never tried it herself, never so much as an idle sketch in a school notebook. So she surprised herself a little when the thought came to her: Why not? Her grandmother had used a palette knife, not a brush, to paint. Park came back home to Orlando, researched the technique, and wrote to one of its best practitioners, Leonid Afremov, asking if he’d be her teacher. He didn’t answer. She got a friend to write to him in Russian. This time the artist wrote back, inviting her to study with him for a week in his studio in the Yucatan beach town of Playa del Carmen. Park agreed. Friends were appalled. “They said, ‘You’re going to Mexico? To meet with some Russian guy who can’t even speak English? You’ll never come back. You’ll be murdered.’” But she went. For a week she shuttled back and forth between her hotel and her mentor’s studio. They did two paintings a day together – seascapes, landscapes, flowers, people. He would paint first. Then he’d leave the room and she would try to emulate him. After a while, he’d walk back in and look at her work, only to shake his head
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in frustration, mutter despairingly and throw his arms up in the air in dismay. Then Boris, Afremov’s English-speaking son, would translate. “My father says keep your arm straight. Don’t bend your elbow.” “My father says never use black. Mix Prussian blue and burnt umber instead.” It went on like that for a week. “It was hard core,” Park says. But she didn’t give up. She came back to Orlando and began to practice, practice, practice. Every time she finished a painting, she’d post it on her Facebook page, jessilynparkart, and solicit her mentor’s opinion. Boris would write back to her with his father’s critiques. Park painted lush landscapes and beautiful women and glowing orbs of streetlamps and suns, paying special attention to how light reflects off the surfaces around it. She gained confidence as she went along, grafting her own sensibilities onto the techniques Afremov had shown her, using bright colors, purples and greens and metallics of all shades. When she dreamt of walking through a forest with a red sky, she’d paint that. Soon Park’s Facebook page was attracting a rapidly growing audience. She asked them for advice, too, and even came up with a name-my-paintings contest: Every time she posted a painting, she asked visitors to send in their suggestions for a title. The fan who came up with the title she liked best got a signed print of the painting on archival paper. The contests started going viral. Her Internet audience grew and grew. These days, she has 20,000 followers on Facebook and a Klout score – a measurement of her social media reach – of 76. “Better than Kobe Bryant,” she boasts. Park still has her old job, but soon, now that the season is here, she’ll be spending most weekends traveling to juried art shows throughout Florida. “So far, I’ve been accepted to every show I’ve applied to, except for two: the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Show and the Festival of the Masters at Disney World.” She pauses, laughs lightly, then adds: “Obviously, they don’t know who I am. Yet.” Sounds awfully confident for a newbie. Perhaps it’s because of the email Boris sent her a few weeks ago: “My father says you have potential,” he wrote.
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New Season, New Faces, New Places
Orlando Philhamonic Orchestra
In Concert
The Marriage of Figaro
Nov. 9, Nov. 11
Madama Butterfly
April 5, April 7 Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre orlandophil.org For the first time since Orlando Opera shut down three years ago, the Phil is going to produce two operas this season. The first is Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, a bawdy comedy in which Figaro, Count Almaviva’s valet, prepares to wed Susanna. But complications ensue when the philandering count tries to seduce the bride and the count’s housekeeper tries to scuttle the marriage. The second is Madama Butterfly, Puccini’s tragic tale about the ill-fated romance between a Japanese girl and an American Naval officer. One of the most performed operas in the world, its plot formed the basis for the modernday stage classic, Miss Saigon. Brooklyn Rider
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Nov. 4 bachfestivalflorida.org The appearance by this Brooklyn-based string quartet, whose inventive, broadranging repertoire ranges from Bach to bluegrass, is one of several eclectic offerings this season from Winter Park’s Bach Festival Society. NPR fans have likely heard Brooklyn Rider on Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, Deceptive Cadence and All Things Considered. In fact, NPR credits the group, which made its Carnegie Hall debut this year, with “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.” Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
March 16 Trinity Preparatory School bachfestivalflorida.org Are you ready to go for baroque? Then check out this appearance by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, an English chamber orchestra named for a famous church in Trafalgar Square. Founded a
half century ago by Sir Neville Marriner, the orchestra is now under the tutelage of celebrated American violinist Joshua Bell. The ASMF has played on the film soundtracks of Amadeus, The English Patient and Titanic. Chang & Tchaikovsky
Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre Jan. 26 and 27 orlandophil.org Korean-American violinist Sarah Chang, a child prodigy who was admitted to the Julliard School at age 5 and played Paganini with the New York Philharmonic at age 8, will perform selections from Tchaikovsky, Rossini and Barber. Alasdair Neale, music director of the Marin Symphony and principal guest conductor of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, will conduct. Chang, now 32, was recently appointed by President Obama to the Presidential Commission on Russian Relations and serves as a State Department Special Cultural Envoy. SEPTEMBER 2012
8/22/12 11:21:16 AM
Good Theater is Our Heritage.
Proud sponsor of Orlando Repertory Theatre’s 10th Birthday Season. Tickets and season subscriptions are now available. Call 407.896.7365.
EDYTH BUSH CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
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We’re here for good.
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New Season, New Faces, New Places Orlando Ballet’s new executive director, Mark Hough, is taking an aggressive approach to increasing attendance.
PARTNERING Star-Spangled Birthday Party
Loch Haven Park Oct. 20 orlandophil.org, orlandorep.org Some of the best events of the upcoming season are collaborative efforts. The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orlando Repertory Theatre will team up to celebrate their respective milestones – it’s the 10th season for the Rep and the 20th season for the Phil – with a free, family-oriented outdoor extravaganza at Loch Haven Park. The Star-Spangled Birthday Party will likely be the only concert of the year that will feature a petting zoo. Carmina Burana
Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre April 12-14 bachfestivalflorida.org, orlandoballet.org The Carmina Burana is essentially a bunch of snarky schoolboy notes. Dating back to the 11th century, it consists of 254 irreverent poems and stories secretively written, mostly in Latin, 40
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by bored Benedictine monks. German composer Carl Orff, of Also Sprach Zarathustra fame, wrote a cantata based on 24 of the poems in 1937. The Winter Park Bach Festival Society and the Orlando Ballet will team up for a presentation of that cantata featuring the society’s orchestra and 150-member chorus and choreography by the ballet’s artistic director, Robert Hill. The best-known song, “O Fortuna,” has been used in a number of films and as theme music in the popular video game, Final Fantasy VII. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre April 27 orlandophil.org, orlandoshakes.org. The Orlando Philharmonic will collaborate for the first time with Orlando Shakespeare Theater for a staged production of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Mendelssohn wrote the music to accompany Shakespeare’s story of four Athenian lovers overtaken by supernatural woodland creatures. The performance will showcase Shakes artistic director Jim Helsinger’s adaptation of the romantic comedy. SEPTEMBER 2012
8/21/12 10:43:57 AM
2012-2013 Super Series: Get your tickets NOW! All concerts presented at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre.
Opening Night!
SePteMber 29
OctOber 13
nOVeMber 17
nOVeMber 24
January 26 & 27
Mahler SyMPhOny nO. 3
Wicked diVaS
brOnFMan & beethOVen
hOMe FOr the hOlidayS
chang & tchaikOVSky
8:30 PM
2 PM & 8 PM
8 PM
2 PM & 8 PM
8 PM & 3 PM
February 9
March 16
March 30
aPril 27
May 11
My Funny Valentine
VOigt SingS Wagner & StrauSS
2 PM & 8 PM
8 PM
cirque de la SyMPhOnie a MidSuMMer night’S dreaM hOW tO Succeed in buSineSS 2 PM & 8 PM
8 PM
2 PM & 8 PM
2012-2013 Opera Series: Subscribe now! 8 PM Fridays & 2 PM Sundays • Presented at Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre nOVeMber 9 & 11 – the Marriage OF FigarO • aPril 5 & 7 – MadaMa butterFly
407.770.0071 • OrlandoPhil.org
More than 180 artists from around the world! One of Florida’s Largest Outdoor Art Festivals
Florida Watercolor Society Exhibition Sept. 1 – Nov. 25, 2012
Robin Lee Makowski, Tanqueray
41st Annual
Rene Lynch, Going With the FLow
Live Entertainment All Weekend Special Children’s Art Section Great Food!
Nov 17 - 18 • 10am - 5pm DOWNTOWN DELAND
www.DeLandFallFestival.com WWW.OHLMAG.COM
Miles Batt, Sr., Reticulated Sunset
MENNELLO MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART M M THE 900 E. Princeton St. Orlando www.mennellomuseum.com
A A
n
Owned and operated by the City of Orlando.
THE MENNELLO MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
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Kris Parins, Last Stand
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New Season, New Faces, New Places
For the Holidays
The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswoman’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol
Lowndes Shakespeare Center Nov. 28-Dec. 30 orlandoshakes.org
Halloween-inspired folk art has become a staple of the season.
WITCHING HOURS Spirits in Sanford
Oct. 19, 20 and 21 Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery jtfolkart.com Halloween will never rival Christmas as a theme for the visual and performing arts, but it’s becoming a spooky upstart. One of the best examples is Spirits in Sanford, featuring Halloween-inspired folk art. This display of decorative, homemade works, more charming than chilling, has become an annual tradition at Jeanine Taylor’s gallery, located in historic downtown Sanford’s circa1880s Hotchkiss Building. Vampire’s Ball
Oct. 19-20 Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre orlandoballet.org Who knew the undead could look so good en pointe? Artistic director Robert Hill’s campy yet classy Vampire’s Ball, which debuted last year, combines contemporary sensibilities with classical influences and more than a hint of eroticism. Told through a series of vignettes featuring Hill’s distinctive choreography and music ranging from classical to pop, it’s guaranteed to give you the willies. Ghost Stories
Oct. 28 Harry P. Leu Gardens leugardens.org The venerable art of storytelling takes a spooky turn as dusk overtakes Harry P. Leu Gardens on a moonlit night. Ghost Stories features local yarn spinners weaving vintage, hair-raising tales such as “Wiley the Hairy Man” and “The Monkey’s Paw.” Hotdogs, sausages, drinks and other snacks will be available for purchase. Bring a blanket or chairs and leave the younger kiddies at home. Did we mention there’s a graveyard in the park?
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A bumbling production by five members of a well-meaning but eminently incompetent amateur theatrical group features collapsing scenery, dueling egos, forgotten lines – and a charming capacity for forging ahead no matter what. There were 10 Farndale plays written by David McGillivray and Walter Erlin Jr., the first of which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Each play parodies a different theatrical genre. “I think it’s no accident that the Farndale Ladies were created in Great Britain.” says McGillvary. “This is possibly the only place in the world which discourages personal achievement as vulgar and has made a cult out of heroic failure.” Junior Claus
Orlando Repertory Theatre Nov. 15-Dec. 23 orlandorep.org If Santa Claus is out of commission, who delivers all the presents? The question comes up when Santa oversleeps and his only son must quickly learn the ropes – from wrangling reindeers to reading a GPS system in a blizzard. The play, from New York playwrights Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond, also includes an elf, a homesick penguin and a youngster whose faith bolsters Junior’s will to salvage the holiday. Home for the Holidays
Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre Nov. 24 orlandophil.org With guest conductor Albert-George Schram, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performs festive favorites with the help of The Holiday Singers and the Florida Opera Theatre Youth Program singers. The program features such classics as Let There Be Peace on Earth, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch! O Holy Night, Silent Night and more, including a couple of singalongs. SEPTEMBER 2012
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2012 - 2013 SeaSon VampireS Ball oct. 19 - 21
the nutcracker Dec. 20 - 23
hollywooD en pointe FeB. 15 - 16
carmina Burana apr. 12 - 14
Family SerieS: Hansel & Gretel Oct. 20 tHe nutcracker Dec. 22 - 23 tHe little mermaiD apr. 13
For ticketS call
407-426-1739
all performances at Bob carr performing arts centre
O r l a n D O B a l l e t. O r G
New and original lamps like this one by Preston Studios can be seen at Timothys on Park Avenue in Winter Park, Florida. 407-629-0707 • www.prestonstudios.com WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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New Season, New Faces, New Places Million Dollar Quartet: when the stars aligned.
On-Stage Nostalgia Million Dollar Quartet
Oct. 30-Nov. 4 Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre orlandobroadway.com One day in the mid ’50s, the stars and the sun aligned. The stars: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. The place: Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn. On Dec. 4, 1956, by sheer chance, the four young rockabillies turned up at the studio and wound up in an impromptu jam session. In what may be the greatest understatement in musical history, Sun producer and engineer “Cowboy” Jack Clement, who was in the control room that day, said to himself: “I think I’d be remiss not to record this.” Those recordings, and that chance meeting of nascent legends, are the basis for this rousing jukebox musical. You can safely assume there will be a whole lotta shakin’ going on. Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Jan. 25-Feb 17 The Harriett Theatre maddcowtheatre.com Neil Simon’s semi-autographical comedy revolves around gag writers working for a weekly variety show during the Golden Age of television. It’s based on Simon’s experience writing for Sid Caesar’s groundbreaking Your Show of Shows. Airing live, the show straddled two eras – its broad comedy vaudeville-influenced, its reoccurring skits precursors of today’s sitcoms. As for the name of Simon’s play, which opened on Broadway in 1993 and was turned into a television movie in 2001: Writers for Your Show of Shows sometimes met on the 11th floor of the NBC building, sometimes on the 12th. You do the math: Simon simply added the two floors together. (Note: The Harriett Theatre is at the new location for the Mad Cow Theatre company). l 44
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AT THE SHAKES orlandoshakes.org Race
Sense and Sensibility
Oct. 11-Nov. 12
Feb. 6-March 17
Three attorneys at a small law firm grapple with a tinderbox case: defending a wealthy white man accused of raping a black woman. David Mamet’s taut examination of black rage and white guilt garnered mixed reviews when it opened on Broadway three years ago. It will be interesting, given the Trayvon Martin case, to see how Orlando audiences react to the themes explored by the ever-caustic, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Glengarry Glen Ross (“Coffee’s for closers!”) fame.
Literary immortality rewards any writer who can see through love’s illusions as acutely as Jane Austin. Last year’s Shakes’ production of Pride and Prejudice brought out the British novelist’s modern-day devotees in force. They’ll likely be just as pleased with this stage adaptation of Austin’s prescient, 200-year-old novel about the ambiguity of amour, as seen through the romantic entanglements of the downtrodden Dashwood sisters.
Othello
Jan. 23-March 16 There’s no villain more viperous in all of Shakespeare’s tragedies than Iago, that master of mind games, who destroys the love between the Moor of Venice and the innocent Desdemona by using poisonous whispers to invoke “the green-eyed monster”: jealousy. It’s as timely as ever – particularly for those of us who have loved not wisely, but too well. Bring your handkerchief.
Titus Andronicus
March 27-April 28 Shakes artistic director Jim Helsinger calls this blood-spattered tragedy “The Friday the 13th of 1699.” One of the Bard’s lesser-known works, Titus Andronicus was popular when it debuted but shunned by later generations for its graphic violence. Set during the latter days of the Roman Empire, it tells the story of Titus, a general who is embroiled in a cycle of revenge with Tamora, warlike Queen of the Goths. SEPTEMBER 2012
8/22/12 11:20:53 AM
After 80 Years, She’s Still the One! Celebrate the 80th Season of the
ANNIE RUSSELL THEATRE The Miss Firecracker Contest November 9 – 17, 2012 The Drowsy Chaperone September 21 – 29, 2012
by beth henley
book by martin & mckellar | music & lyrics by lambert & morrison
Anna in the Tropics by nilo cruz March 15 & 16, 2013 Rollins Dance XXVII April 19 – 27, 2013 She Stoops to Conquer by oliver goldsmith February 8 – 16, 2013
Order your subscription today!
407.646.2145
rollins.edu/annierussell
©Jimm Roberts 2012, All Rights Reserved. Jimm Roberts, James Rosenquist, Aripeka, 1983, silver gelatin print, collection of the artist.
Orlando Museum of Art 2416 North Mills Ave Orlando, FL 32803 www.omart.org WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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New Season, New Faces, New Places
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT It's time once again for Orlando Home & Leisure's annual Silver Spoon Awards, recognizing the region's best reastaurants in an arry of categories, from fun diners to fine dining.
MAKE YOUR PALETTE HEARD BY VOTING IN THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE CATEGORY.
Vote at ohlmag.com Results will appear in our November issue.
DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW EVERY TIME YOU VISIT We offer art and history programs for children and adults. Visit us online at www.ArtandHistory.org
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SEPTEMBER 2012
8/22/12 10:11:03 AM
Maitland Ar
36th Annual Maitland Rotary Art Festival October 5-7, 2012 Around Beautiful Lake Lily in Maitland
A juried fine art show and sale featuring 150 artists Enjoy continuous live entertainment Maitland Symphony Orchestra performance Saturday evening
FESTIVAL HOURS: Friday 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Free admission Sales of posters, food, beverages and parking to benefit local charities. Student Art in the Maitland Civic Center
www.MaitlandRotaryArtFestival.com Sponsors for the 2012 Festival include:
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10:40:56 AM 8/21/12 10:46:51
FLAVOR • At Food and Wine Events, Anyone Can Live the Life of a Restaurant Journalist
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SEPTEMBER 2012
8/21/12 10:47:45 AM
by rona gindin
I
’m sitting inside an intimate, elegant room
called the Chef ’s Table, watching through a window as men in toques scamper around The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lake’s catering kitchen. They’re putting finishing touches on a pork dish with heirloom vegetables, fava bean ravioli and sherry gastrique. I don’t allow the hubbub to distract me from my task: sampling butter-poached Maine lobster prepared with beets, fennel purée, preserved blood orange and chipotle while sipping a 2008 ZD chardonnay from an elongated Rosenthal crystal glass. This is Course No. 2 of a four-dish, four-wine affair – not counting the champagne and three creative finger foods served first, with each hors d’oeuvres presented on an artisan-crafted wooden board. The head chefs chat with the guests, all journalists, sharing back-of-the-house knowledge about how the menu was conceived and perfected. On evenings like this, life is dreamy for a professional restaurant writer. But civilians can enjoy similar meals at restaurants throughout Central Florida, which offer culinary experiences ranging from shorts-and-tees pig roasts to gourmet soirées. Like the settings, the prices vary, ranging from invitingly low to “Happy 25th anniversary, honey.” Guests generally pay one set amount and are served a predetermined meal that includes carefully chosen spirits. Chefs and beverage gurus explain the fare and beverages.
With such offerings, everybody wins. Dining rooms stay busy on off nights. Chefs venture beyond the standard menu’s restrictions. Adventurous eaters enjoy both the unusual fare and the company of fellow food lovers. Most special dinner gatherings are one-shot affairs. Some, like the recent Grande Lakes event, are trial runs for a showcase at New York City’s prestigious James Beard House, which frequently hosts guest-chef programs. On Sept. 10, three local chefs – Kevin Fonzo of College Park’s K Restaurant, Hari Pulapaka of Deland’s Cress Restaurant and Greg Richie of Emeril’s Tchoup Chop, which is hosting the event – are presenting a preview of one such feast. Spicy lemongrass escargot, a lamb’s tongue “Reuben” and a fois gras-rosemary waffle with bacon chutney and blueberry marmalade are on the menu. Tickets are $90. Call 407-5032467 for reservations. On the following pages, we’ll highlight a few of the many local opportunities for memorable megameals. There are far more than we have space to describe, including but not limited to Rocco’s, Raglan Road, Norman’s, Padrino’s, Napa at the Peabody, Ruth’s Chris, Antonio’s Café & Market and La Luce. To keep up, sign up for your favorite restaurants’ e-newsletters, “like” their Facebook pages, or check in occasionally at my own ronagindin.com or facebook.com/ondining.
Stanley Miller (facing page), executive sous chef with The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, works on one of the courses featured at a recent special dining event. The dinner was a team effort for the top chefs PHOTOS: rafael tongol
from The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes, including (left to right): Miller, Jennifer Knox, Sean Woods, Chris Brown and Stephane Chéramy. WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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F L AV O R
The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, an annual extravaganza held this year from Sept. 28 through Nov.12, is a beacon to those who love sampling new flavors and learning about an eclectic array of culinary subjects. For the price of an Epcot ticket, anyone can meander around the World Showcase and buy small dishes from nearly 30 “marketplaces” offering the flavors of New Zealand, Greece and Singapore, among other ports of call. Educational sessions are held regularly, some for free, others for a nominal fee. New this year are all-vegan and allFlorida marketplaces as well as chef tours and a chocolate demonstration. Celebrity chefs and HGTV hosts will be on hand to meet guests and autograph books and merchandise. For the ultimate indulgence, sign up for Premium Events and Experiences. This year, those experiences include a five-course Italian white truffle lunch with Batisiolo wines ($65 plus park admission), a Mexican tequila lunch ($70 plus park admission) and a three-course lunch with Art Smith, chef/owner of Art and Soul in Washington, D.C. The most extravagant offerings are mostly in hotels and at Downtown Disney, meaning park tickets aren’t required. Consider a specially created wine-pairing dinner offered at about 15 restaurants including Jiko: The Cooking Place ($195), California Grill ($125 or $250), Raglan Road ($100) or Victoria & Albert’s ($185). Every year, the festival’s Party for the Senses gets a bit better. Held on five consecutive Saturday nights sin the fall, the gala attracts up to 1,000 guests who sample foods and beverages from about 50 stations while Cirque du Soleil performers entertain. Prices are $145, $170 and $270 plus park admission, depending on how many extras are included. Call 407-939-3378 or go to epcotfoodfestival.com for more information. 50
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Rosen Centre Hotel Conventioneers ordinarily fill the dining rooms of International Drive’s Rosen Centre Hotel, save for a few times yearly when the facility wows locals with a Vine & Dine dinner. Many arrive in costume for the annual autumn Halloweenthemed event, held this year on Oct. 26. Forty diners, tops, gather first in the Everglades Bar to sample a certain wine or wine cocktail. Then they’ll be trickor-treated to five courses, each with beverage pairings, and they’ll learn about the food from head chef Fred Vlachos and the spirits from a sommelier or winemaker. The restaurant often raffles off hotel stays and wine gifts. The price is $75. Rosen Centre Hotel is at 9840 International Drive, Orlando. Call 407-996-8560 or go to evergladesrestaurant.com for more information.
K Restaurant K Restaurant, located in a converted College Park house, generally gathers guests for small events such as Friday Night Flights wine tastings in the garden, “Kevin’s Day Off ” oyster roasts and the occasional Sunday brunch. Once a year in the fall – Nov. 15 this time around – the restaurant celebrates the Feast of Fonzo, an all-out Italian bash. And every December – this year on Dec. 3 – chef-owner Kevin Fonzo welcomes a sellout crowd for a truffle dinner, where guests swoon over course after course infused with the elusive and extremely expensive delicacy, some from Europe, others from the West Coast. The price is about $65. K Restaurant is at 1710 Edgewater Drive, Orlando. Call 407-872-2332 or go to krestaurant.net for more information.
Peperoncino An easy-to-miss independent tucked among the splashy chains of Restaurant Row, Peperoncino is an intimate Italian eatery where the menu changes daily, so even a regular dinner feels a bit like a special event. Once a month, chef-owner Barbara Alfano closes the restaurant for the night
and serves a special tasting dinner to a full dining room of about 55 guests. Generally the meal involves five courses, each developed after Alfano has selected five interesting wines. A recent repast began with Sicilian risotto balls with basil purée, followed by seared duck wings flavored with amarene (sour cherries) and tarragon. Next came porcini mushrooms tossed with pasta, then prosciutto-wrapped pork loin in a white wine-rosemary sauce. Limoncello mascarpone cake ended the meal on a sweet note. The Peperoncino staff dims the lights to create a romantic aura and often puts appropriate entertainment on the two TVs, such as an Andrea Bocelli concert. The price is $69. Peperoncino is in the Dellagio retail center at 7988 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando. Call 407-440-2856 or go to peperoncinocucina.com for more information.
Taverna Opa Orlando Taverna Opa Orlando has always surprised us by serving truly delightful food in an atmosphere that shouts “tourist trap” with its long communal tables, dancing diners and thundering music. Once a month, owners Katerina and Vassilis Coumbaros host a wine-pairing dinner, set in a private room, where guests gather around wide wooden tables with fake grape vines overhead. As each of five courses is served, Vassilis talks about the food, including his trips to local markets, where he selects tomatoes and other produce. Then a personable expert shares information about the wines, all Greek and each served in a glass resembling a water tumbler. A recent menu featured hearty portions of oak wood-grilled octopus with capers, a caprese salad made with a creamy-tart sheeps-milk cheese called manouri, the spinach-phyllo specialty spanakopita, tender lamb chops that had been marinated for 36 hours and bread pudding with ice cream. Guests were handed a gift on the way out – a box containing all the makings of
PHOTO: courtesy disney; matt stroshane
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
SEPTEMBER 2012
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PHOTO: courtesy disney; matt stroshane
the restaurant’s signature hummus. The next event is Sept. 25. The price is $40. Taverna Opa is at Pointe Orlando, 9101 International Drive, Orlando. Call 407-351-8660 or go to opaorlando. com for more information.
Kouzzina by Cat Cora Here’s a Disney dining deal worth noting: At Kouzzina by Cat Cora, a twiceweekly “Chefs Menu at the CoraNation Room” dinner is a multicourse gastronomic event. The meals are served in a private dining room that seats only 24. Chef Dee Foundoukis infuses Mediterranean flavors into the menu and chats about each food as it’s delivered to the table. During a recent gathering, guests started with two “meze,” or small bites. One was a chilled English pea shooter with poached lobster, the other cherryglazed duck with leek stifado (stew). Following were a salad with, among other WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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Three new standout sweet tastes are on the menu at the Desserts & Champagne marketplace during the 17th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, including (left to right) dark chocolate mousse with chili and salted caramel; yogurt panna cotta with orange cake, raspberries and pomegranate; and lemon custard verrine with blueberry compote.
ingredients, smoked baby beets and fennel-dusted goat cheese, then a chilled watermelon-mavrodaphne (wine) “palate refresher.” The entrée was really two distinct main courses: oak-grilled peppered lavender lamb loin with mushrooms and smoked tomato lamb jus, and panroasted red grouper with kalamata olive oil hollandaise. The meal concluded with a trio of desserts including flaky phyllo dough filled with farmer’s cheese and fig-honey. The price is $65, another $35 with paired wines. Kouzzina by Cat Cora is at Disney’s BoardWalk Entertainment District, 2101 Epcot Resorts Blvd., Lake Buena Vista. Call
407-939-3463 or go to disneyworld.com for more information.
Café de France We receive the emails every month, and see small mentions on Facebook: “Stag’s Leap Wine Dinner.” “De Martino Winery Dinner.” “We Are Tasting Burgundies for Dinner … Four Courses, Four Wines, $65 as Usual.” Winter Park’s Café de France is so intimate to begin with – the owners know many of the guests well and greet them warmly – that even lunch for two can have an insider’s feel. The monthly events are a hit, though, so proprietors Dominique and German ORLANDO HOME & LEISURE
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R O N A’ S F L AV O R L I S T I N G S Gutierrez hold them on Wednesday evenings and always try something new. In general, the meals involve four courses and four wines and cost $65. German chooses the wines, sometimes from a region, sometimes a certain vineyard, and then Dominique and chefs create a menu representing foods of the area. “When we did a Burgundy dinner, we had charcuterie and a cheese plate because people in Burgundy eat those a lot,” Dominique says. “If we do wine from Oregon, we might try Pacific seafood and game.” Dominique hustles into the dining room from the kitchen to explain why she chose each dish, and a wine rep or winemaker shares information about each vintage as it’s poured. Guests are free to buy the featured wines that evening at wholesale prices. There’s always a drawing at the end for prizes such as a magnum of wine. Café de France is at 526 Park Ave. South, Winter Park. Call 407-647-1869 or go to lecafedefrance for more information.
Winter Park Harvest Festival Back in the day, food extravaganzas tended to be formal affairs, where crystal, silver and tuxedoed waiters were part of the experience. That’s still often the case, but at the Winter Park Harvest Festival’s Farm-to-Table dinner, all the glory goes to nature. The foods are raised locally, and the dishes are prepared by Central Florida chefs. Flavors and décor items often include the likes of pumpkins, apples or chestnuts. In the past, the dinner was a five-course gig with foods prepared by Big Wheel Provisions, Cuisiners, Fatto en Casa, Luma on Park, The Ravenous Pig and K Restaurant. Tickets are on sale for $125. This year, the Winter Park Harvest Festival’s Farmto-Table dinner will be on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the West Meadow, Central Park, Park Avenue in Winter Park. Call 407628-1230 or go to wpharvest.com for more information. l 52
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AFRICAN
Nile Ethiopian 7048 International Dr., Orlando, 407-354-0026 / nile07.com. Locals willingly navigate International Drive to dine at Nile, a family-owned restaurant specializing in the exotic cuisine of Ethiopia. Order a few dishes to share and scoop up the intriguing concoctions with the eatery’s signature spongy bread. End with a strong cup of aromatic, brewed-toorder coffee. $$ Sanaa 3701 Osceola Pkwy., Lake Buena Vista, 407939-3463 / disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/sanaa. Sanaa, one of Disney’s most interesting restaurants, offers dishes based on cuisine from the Spice Islands, a coastal African area rich with Indian influences. Flavors are intense, but spicy only upon request. (Curry, the chefs insist, is a melding of flavors, not one particular spice.) The marketplace-style dining room boasts picture windows overlooking the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s savannah, so you might spot zebra or wildebeest while lunching on tandoori chicken or a vegetarian platter with stewed lentils and a vegetable sambar (stew). $$
AMERICAN
Bananas 942 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, 407-480-2200 / bananasdiner.com. Bananas has a split personality. It’s a wholesome, family place to grab higher-quality versions of such classics as burgers, shakes and pancakes (the Buffalo Benedict is a surprise pleaser). Other times, it’s a delightfully outrageous experience for more adventurous diners who enjoy the antics of crossdressing servers. The Sunday drag gospel brunch (“Sinners welcome!”) is like no church service you’ve ever attended. $$ Citrus 821 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, 407-373-0622 / citrusorlando.com. A clubby yet stylish restaurant in a convenient downtown Orlando location, Citrus features modern American cuisine with a nod toward regionally grown and produced ingredients. International influences also highlight the menu, from smoked chili aioli complementing herb-marinated chicken to balsamic rum glaze topping juicy pork chops. $$$ Dexter’s 808 E. Washington St., Orlando, 407-6482777; 558 W. New England Ave., Winter Park, 407629-1150; 950 Market Promenade Ave., Lake Mary, 407-805-3090 / dexwine.com. Central Florida has three Dexter’s locations, and each has become a neighborhood magnet, drawing diners of all ages for hearty portions of creative American fare (at fair prices), good wine and, in some cases, live music. Casual dress is the rule. The brunches, and the pressed duck sandwiches, are especially popular. $$-$$$ Emeril’s Orlando 6000 Universal Blvd. Orlando, 407224-2424 / emerils.com. Get a taste of New Orleans at Emeril’s, a fine-dining restaurant at always-bustling Universal CityWalk. You’ll find classics from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, including the signature barbecue shrimp, andouille-stuffed redfish, double-cut pork chops and banana cream pie. The service, of course, is superb. Consider sharing appetizers at the bar area. $$$$ Graffiti Junktion 900 E. Washington St., Orlando, 407-426-9503; 2401 Edgewater Dr., Orlando, 407377-1961 / graffitijunktion.com. The Graffiti Junktions in Thornton Park and College Park are loud and purposely grungy looking, hence “graffiti” in the name. But this ultra-casual duo dishes up great burgers, wings and zucchini fries. Live entertainment ranges from performance art to trivia contests. Watch for daily happyhour specials. $
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Hillstone 215 S. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 407740-4005 / hillstone.com/hillstone. Formerly known as Houston’s, this Winter Park mainstay is part of a highend chain. Still, it grows its own herbs, bakes its own bread, grinds its own meat, cuts its own fish and whips its own cream. In nice weather, guests relax with a cocktail in Adirondack chairs overlooking Lake Killarney.
Many proposals have been popped during dinners for two on the boat dock. $$$ Jernigan’s 400 W. Church St., Orlando, 407-4407000 / www.amwaycenter.com. Watch a Magic game in style at Jernigan’s, a well-appointed buffet restaurant located on the Amway Center’s exclusive club level. The reservations-only eatery, open to ticket holders, serves wholesome meals for about $40. The menu of the day might offer slow-smoked barbecue ribs, grilled rib-eye steak, pasta pomodoro and Chinese chicken salad. Jernigan’s is run by Chicago’s Levy Restaurants, the team behind Downtown Disney’s Portobello Yacht Club, Fulton’s Crab House and Wolfgang Puck Grand Café. $$$ Napa 9801 International Drive, Orlando, 407-3524000 / peabodyorlando.com/dining. California-style farm-to-fork procurement of mostly organic and sustainable ingredients – often Florida fruits and vegetables — gives a freshness to this hotel restaurant, a casually elegant space where wine bottles are part of the relaxing décor. Specialties include the San Francisco specialty cioppino, a robust seafood stew, made with fish from local waters and tomatoes from area farms. $$$
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Rusty Spoon 55 W. Church Street, Orlando, 407401-8811 / therustyspoon.com. Foodies flock to this Church Street gastropub, a warm and welcoming space at which meals are described as “American food. European roots. Locally sourced.” Your salad will consist of über-fresh greens, your sandwich will be filled with slow-braised lamb, your pasta will be hand-rolled and your meat will be robustly seasoned. $$-$$$
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Seasons 52 7700 Sand Lake Rd., Orlando, 407354-5212; 463 E. Altamonte Dr., Altamonte Springs, 407-767-1252 / seasons52.com. A Darden concept founded in Orlando, the two local locations turn out creative and tasty meals in grand, bustling spaces. The food happens to be low in fat and calories; that’s just a bonus. The wine selection is impressive and the ittybitty desserts encourage sampling without guilt. $$$ Shipyard Brew Pub 200 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park, 321-274-4045 / shipyardemporium.com. This ultra-casual brewpub has been packed night and day since it opened in 2011, and not just because it pours a great lager. To complement suds brewed both inhouse and elsewhere, a from-scratch menu offers Buffalo chicken dip, amazing white-bean hummus, sandwiches, flatbreads and entrées, including étouffée and pot roast. $-$$ Tap Room at Dubsdread 549 W. Par St., Orlando, 407-650-0100 / taproomatdubsdread.com. One needn’t play golf to dine at this historic course-side tavern, a College Park icon offering a varied menu – and a reputation for fine burgers. Options other than the famous half-pound patties include steaks, salmon, tequila-citrus chicken and a dandy Reuben sandwich. $$ TooJay’s Various locations / toojays.com. When it’s time for a taste of Jewish Brooklyn – pastrami on rye, latkes, blintzes, knishes – the six local outlets of this South Florida-based chain have it all. You’ll also find diner foods such as omelets, sandwiches and pot-roast dinners. Take home some black-and-white cookies. $ Yellow Dog Eats 1236 Hempel Ave., Windermere, 407-296-0609 / yellowdogeats.com. It’s the lunch locale for the Windermere-Gotha crowd, who come for scratch-made sandwiches, hearty barbecue and whole-
THE KEY
$ Inexpensive, most entrées under $10 $$ Moderate, most entrées $10-20 $$$ Pricey, most entrées over $20 $$$$ Very expensive, most entrées over $30 indicates the restaurant is a 2011 Silver Spoon winner (Judges’ Choice).
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R O N A’ S F L AV O R L I S T I N G S
ASIAN
Anh Hong 1124 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, 407-9992656. You’ll receive a bundle of fresh herbs to tear into your soup at this Mills 50 Vietnamese eatery, and another bunch for a roll-your-own entrée that’s like a DIY summer roll. Asian classics, such as grilled meats and scallion pancakes, are done exceptionally well here, which makes Anh Hong a top choice for local Vietnamese-Americans longing for a taste of home. $ Dragonfly 7972 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando, 407459-1892 / dragonflysushi.com. Stylishly attired 30-somethings regularly pack this oh-so-hip restaurant, where groups share sushi, grilled “robata” items, and tapas-style Asian foods such as soft-shell crab tempura, crispy black pork belly and shiso-wrapped spicy tuna. $$
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Hawkers 1103 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, 407-2370606 / facebook.com/hawkersstreetfare. This Mills 50 mainstay, named for street vendors of Asian fare, serves up generous tapas-size portions of curry laksa (an aromatic Singaporean soup), roti canai (Malaysian flatbread with a hearty curry sauce), five-spice tofu, chilled sesame noodles, smoky mussels and sensational beef skewers with peanuty satay dip. $$ Ming Bistro 1212 Woodward St., Orlando, 407-8989672. Enjoy perhaps Orlando’s best dim sum for dinner or, on a weekend morning or afternoon, select shrimp dumplings, beef balls, turnip cakes, sticky rice, barbecue pork buns and egg tarts one small dish at a time from carts that roll between tables. The a la carte menu features Hong Kong-style staples from stir-fry beef to chicken feet. $ Sea Thai 3812 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, 407-895-0985 / seaorlando. com. Start with a green papaya salad and beef yum, then feast on steamed whole fish with garlic chili sauce, pad Thai and green curry chicken. But you can’t go wrong with any of the Thai classics offered at this welcoming East Orlando eatery. $$ Tasty Wok 1246 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, 407-896-8988 / yelp. com/biz/tasty-wok-orlando. True, it’s a humble spot, but Tasty Wok offers an array of satisfying dishes, among them roast duck and steaming soups. Try the beef chow fun, eggplant with minced pork, and salt and pepper ribs. A smaller menu of American-style Chinese dishes is also available. $
BARBECUE
Hamburger Mary’s Bar & Grille 110 W. Church St., Orlando, 321-219-0600 / hamburgermarys-or54
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Johnny’s Fillin’ Station 2631 S. Fern Creek Ave., Orlando, 407-894-6900 / johnnysfillinstation.com. Neighbors gather for hearty burgers, along with wings, subs and wraps, at this homey spot in a residential downtown neighborhood. Beer flows, TVs broadcast big games, and families love the pool tables and dart boards. $ Pine 22 22 E. Pine St., Orlando, 407-574-2160 / pine22.com. Burgers go chic at this fast-casual downtowner, where every ingredient is special. The burgers are from happy cows, the eggs from free-roaming chickens, the pork from lovingly raised pigs. Mix and match your toppings over a patty of beef, turkey or black beans (or pulled pork), with options ranging from mango salsa to sautéed mushrooms. $$
CONTINENTAL
Venetian Room 8101 World Center Dr., Orlando, 407-238-8060 / thevenetianroom.com. Walk though a run-of-the-mill convention hotel to reach the AAA FourDiamond Venetian Room, an elegant, domed-service, continental restaurant that hearkens to the heyday of unapologetic, butter-and-cream-enhanced fine dining. The lobster bisque is an absolute must. After that, try the filet mignon, duck a l’orange or Dover sole. $$$$
ery meal begins with complimentary lime-garlic edamame at these eclectic eateries, known as much for sushi and intriguing wine lists as for creative American cuisine and an ever-changing menu. FMI Restaurant Group also owns Bananas, Nick’s Italian Kitchen and Prickly Pear as well as a catering arm and the Funky Monkey Vault, a wine shop that also sells gifts, apparel and furniture. $$ Hue 629 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, 407-849-1800 / huerestaurant.com. Hue is a progressive American restaurant on a busy corner in trendy Thornton Park. Well-dressed 30-somethings sip colorful martinis at the bar and dine, indoors and out, on of-the-now items such as tuna tartare, duck breast with cranberry reduction and amaretto risotto, and grouper with smoked paprika olive oil. $$$
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K Restaurant 2401 Edgewater Dr. Orlando, 407872-2332 / kwinebar.com. Kevin Fonzo, the go-to chef in College Park since 2001, owns this homey eatery, which is, in fact, located in an erstwhile residence. The menu is mostly creative-American, along with Italian favorites celebrating Fonzo’s heritage. Casual wine tastings and themed special dinners, along with a constantly changing menu, bring back regulars for singular experiences. $$-$$$
Le Rouge 7730 W. Sand Lake Rd., Orlando, 407370-0909 / lerougewinebar.com. This Restaurant Row hot spot is a sexy lounge with backlit lighting, a long bar and comfy sofas. It also features fine food. Guests can choose from among three-dozen tapas, including garlic shrimp and sautéed wild mushrooms, or enjoy traditional entrées such as seared salmon with wine-lemon-dill sauce. $$$
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Luma on Park 290 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, 407-599-4111 / lumaonpark.com. If there’s pancetta in your salad, the salumi was made in the kitchen, by hand, starting with a whole pig. Most herbs are from local farms, fish from sustainable sources, pickled vegetables jarred in house and desserts built around seasonal ingredients. Luma’s progressive menu, which changes daily, is served in a sleek and stylish dining room in the heart of Winter Park, under the passionate direction of Executive Chef Brandon McGlamery, Chef de Cuisine Derek Perez and Pastry Chef Brian Cernell. $$$
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Norman’s 4012 Central Florida Pkwy., Orlando, 407-278-8459 / normans.com. Celebrity Chef Norman Van Aken’s restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes, turns out artistic New World cuisine combining the flavors of Napa’s brightly illuminated, circular bar features an Latin America, the Caribbean, the Far extensive wine selection, with an emphasis on CaliEast and the United States. The dining room is dramatic, the food astoundfornia wines. ing and the service polished. Be sure to begin with a Norman’s classic: foie gras “French toast.” And you’ll be delighted with the Mongolian veal chop. $$$$
4 Rivers Smokehouse 1600 W. Fairbanks Ave., Winter Park; 1869 W. S.R. 434, Longwood; 1047 S. Dillard St., Winter Garden / 407-474-8377, 4rsmokehouse.com. A diverse array of barbecue specialties – from Texas-style brisket to pulled pork, smoked turkey and bacon-wrapped jalapeños – has gained this rapidly growing homegrown concept a large following. The Longwood outpost even includes a bakery and an oldfashioned malt shop featuring homemade ice cream. $
BURGERS
lando.com. A colorful crowd is part of the fun at this Church Street hotspot, where bingo games, trivia contests and cabaret shows are among the events that vie for guests’ attention beside the enormous and creatively topped burgers. $
CREATIVE/PROGESSIVE
Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel 99 W. Plant St., Winter Garden, 407-230-4837 / chefstableattheedgewater.com. Husband-and-wife team Kevin and Laurie Tarter are your personal servers at this intimate Winter Garden hideaway, where Kevin prepares the evening’s three-course, prix-fixe meal and Laurie helps choose the wine. Both stop by every table to chat with guests. Adjacent, the Tasting Room offers tapas-size portions of international dishes and a full bar. $$$ Funky Monkey 912 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, 407427-1447; 9101 International Dr., Orlando (Pointe Orlando), 407-418-9463 / funkymonkeywine.com. Ev-
Park Plaza Gardens 319 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, 407-645-2475 / parkplazagardens.com. After 30-plus years, Park Plaza Gardens is practically an institution on Winter Park’s tony Park Avenue. People-watchers gather at the small bar and sidewalk tables to linger over casual meals and cold beers, while those looking for an indulgent experience dine in the garden-like back dining room, which boasts atrium windows and plush décor. The menu features a melding of American, European and Asian flavors and cooking techniques. $$$-$$$$
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Ravenous Pig 1234 N. Orange Ave., Winter Park, 407-628-2333 / theravenouspig.com. After leaving
PHOTO: courtesy of napa, the peabody orlando
some baked goods. The menu also has a significant vegan-friendly section. The dining rooms are scattered throughout a funky, historic building that was once a country store. $
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their hometown for serious culinary training, Winter Park natives James and Julie Petrakis returned to open the region’s first genuine gastropub. Dinner reservations have been tough to snag ever since. The ambitious menu changes daily based on the fish, meat and produce that’s available, and it’s executed by a dedicated team that abhors shortcuts. Besides daily specials, The Pig always serves up an excellent burger, soft pretzels, shrimp and grits and a donut dessert called Pig Tails. $$$
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Victoria & Albert’s 4401 Floridian Way, Lake Buena Vista, 407-939-3463 / victoria-alberts.com. Indulgent, seven-course prix-fixe feasts are served in the serenely elegant main dining room, accompanied by live harp music, while 10 courses are offered in the more intimate Queen Victoria’s Room. But what the heck? Why not go for 13 courses at the Chef’s Table? Chef Scott Hunnel, Maitre d’ Israel Pérez and Master Pastry Chef Erich Herbitschek travel the world to seek out impressive food and service trends, then adapt the golden ones locally. That’s why V&A, at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, is Orlando’s only AAA Five Diamond restaurant. $$$$
EASTERN EUROPEAN
Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café 205 E. 1st St., Sanford, 407-321-2204 / willowtreecafe.com. If you like to indulge in a good schnitzel with a liter of hearty beer, head to Sanford. There you’ll find Theo Hollerbach overseeing the gemütlichkeit while serving up authentic German foods from sauerbraten to a wurst sausage platter. Live music on select evenings gets the whole dining room swaying together in a spirit of schunkel abend. $$
Yalaha Bakery 1213 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, 321-800-5212; 8210 County Road 48, Yalaha, 352324-3366 / yalahabakery.com. Fans of hearty German breads and scratch-made German pastries can drive to this homey outpost in rural Lake County, or they can pick up their loaves and sweets at an Ivanhoe District storefront. The Yalaha unit also sells sandwiches and hot lunches. $
HAWAIIAN/ POLYNESIAN
Emeril’s Tchoup Chop 6300 Hollywood Way, Orlando, 407-503-2467 / emerils.com. Emeril Lagasse’s Polynesian-fusion fare is executed by locally renowned chef, Greg Richie. Within a dramatically decorated space, diners enjoy tropical cocktails, steamed dumplings and creative entrées such as pan-roasted duck breast with gingered pear chutney and umeboshi (pickled) plum glaze. $$$$ Roy’s 7760 W. Sand Lake Rd., Orlando, 407-3524844 / roysrestaurant.com. Hawaiian-fusion flavors enhance familiar and exotic fish dishes at this Restaurant Row pioneer, a link in a Honolulu-based chain owned by namesake chef, Roy Yamaguchi. $$
INDIAN
Aashirwad 5748 International Dr., Orlando, 407-3709830 / aashirwadrestaurant.com. Begin with kashmiri naan, a slightly sweet bread stuffed with nuts, coconut and raisins, and continue with chicken biryani, cauliflower in exotic Manchurian gravy and a mixed tandoori grill. Whole spices are roasted and ground daily on site, further enhancing the cuisine’s authenticity. $$
Memories of India 7625 Turkey Lake Rd., Orlando, 407-370-3277; 3895 Lake Emma Rd., Lake Mary, 407-804-0920 / memoriesofindiacuisine.com. Exceptionally good Indian fare draws diners in Dr. Phillips and Lake Mary to these twin restaurants, where dishes such as palek paneer (creamed spinach) and lamb masala in rich ginger-garlic gravy always satisfy. $$
ITALIAN
Antonio’s 611 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland, 407-6455523 / antoniosonline.com. Fine Italian fare comes at reasonable prices at Antonio’s, proprietor Greg Gentile’s culinary homage to his ancestors. The upstairs restaurant, recently remodeled and expanded with a balcony overlooking Lake Lily, is somewhat formal, although the open kitchen provides peeks of the chefs in action. Its downstairs counterpart, Antonio’s Café, is a more casual spot that doubles as a market and wine shop. $$$ Bice 5601 Universal Blvd., Orlando, 407-503-1415 / orlando.bicegroup.com. Bice, with 50 locations around the world, has a local outpost of ambitious Italian cuisine at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal. Homemade egg pasta is used for several dishes, such as spaghetti Bolognese; other choices include veal piccata and steak with a Gorgonzola-demi sauce. $$$$ Enzo’s on the Lake 1130 U.S. 17-92, Longwood, 407-834-9872 / enzos.com. Long before Orlando became a serious foodie town, Enzo’s was serving up lovingly prepared Italian specialties inside a converted Longwood home. Little has changed. Split a bunch of antipasto to begin your meal. After that, you pretty much can’t go wrong, but standout dishes include homemade ravioli stuffed with chicken and spinach, veal with artichoke-caper-white wine sauce and possibly the best spaghetti carbonara in town. $$$
Join us for
3 courses for $30 Sept. 1-30, 2012
PHOTO: courtesy of napa, the peabody orlando
View the Magical Dining menu on our web site
W inter Park 400 South Orlando Avenue • 407-644-7770 Reservations online at www.roccositaliangrille.com WWW.OHLMAG.COM
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R O N A’ S F L AV O R L I S T I N G S O’Stromboli 1803 E. Winter Park Rd., Orlando, 407647-3872. This innocuous neighborhood eatery isn’t fancy, but the food is filling and fresh. That’s why it has become a favorite of residents of Merritt Park, Rose Isle and Baldwin Park. The carbonara is particularly hearty and the fettuccini Alfredo is rich, buttery and more than you should eat in one sitting. The homemade soups are always a dependable starter. $$ Prato 124 N. Park Ave., Winter Park, 407-262-0050 / prato-wp.com. This is one of Orlando’s very best Italian restaurants, but don’t expect a classic lasagna or chicken parmigiana. Executive Chef Brandon McGlamery and Chef di Cucina Matthew Cargo oversee an open kitchen in which pastas are made from scratch, pizzas are rolled to order, sausages are stuffed by hand and the olive oil is a luscious organic pour from Italy. Try the chicken liver Toscana, a satisfying salad Campagna with cubes of sizzling pancetta tesa, shrimp tortellini and citrusy rabbit cacciatore. Begin with a Negroni cocktail; it’s possibly the best around. $$-$$$ Rocco’s 400 S. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 407-6447770 / roccositaliangrille.com. Calabria native Rocco Potami oversees this romantic Italian eatery, where fine authentic fare is presented in an intimate dining room and on a secluded brick patio. Classics include carpaccio (raw, thinly sliced beef with white truffle oil and arugula), ricotta gnocchi and a breaded veal chop topped with a lightly dressed salad. It’s easy to miss, tucked away in a Winter Park strip center, but once you find it, you’ll be back. $$$
LATIN
Mi Tomatina 433 W. New England Ave., Winter Park, 321-972-4317 / mitomatina.com. This eatery bills itself as a paella bar, and indeed guests share a half-dozen varieties of the signature Spanish rice dish. Yet others come for a mellow meal over tapas (garlic shrimp, potato omelet, croquettes) and sangria, enjoyed while seated within a small contemporary dining room or outdoors overlooking Hannibal Square. $$-$$$ Pio Pio 2500 S. Semoran Blvd., Orlando, 407-2072262; 5752 International Dr., Orlando, 407-248-6424; 11236 S. Orange Blossom Tr., Orlando, 407-4385677 / piopiointernational.com. Latin American-style marinated roast chicken is a mainstay at the three Orlando locations, each a dark, mid-scale den where families fuel up on heaping platters of pollo along with garlicky salad, fried plantains (sweet and green) and rice and beans. $$
MEDITERRANEAN
Anatolia 7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando, 407-3526766 / anatoliaorlando.com. Sensational Turkish food in an upscale-casual setting makes Anatolia a popular choice in the Dr. Phillips area. Start with any of the “cold salads” and a piping hot puffy lavash bread, then try chargrilled whole fish, tavuk doner (Turkish gyro), lamb chops or spinach-feta pide, sort of like a boatshaped flatbread. $$
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Bosphorous 108 S. Park Ave., Winter Park, 407-644-8609 / bosphorousrestaurant.com. This is the place for flavorful Turkish fare in either a whitetablecloth setting or alfresco along Park Avenue. Many couples fill up on the appetizer sampler with oversized lavash bread. For a heartier meal, try the ground lamb “Turkish pastry,” a shish kebab or a tender lamb shank. Outdoor diners can end their meals by smoking from a hookah. Or not. $$ Taverna Opa 9101 International Dr., Orlando, 407351-8660 / opaorlando.com. The food is excellent, but that’s only half the reason to visit Taverna Opa. On busy nights, the place is festive indeed: Some guests join a Zorba dance around the dining room while others toss white napkins into the air, joyously shouting “Opa!” Then there’s the belly dancer. $$
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MEXICAN/ SOUTHWESTERN
Cantina Laredo 8000 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando, 407-345-0186 / cantinalaredo.com. Modern Mexican cuisine in a spiffy setting draws lovers of cilantro, jalapeño and pico de gallo to this Restaurant Row eatery, where the margaritas flow, the guacamole is made tableside and the portions are generous. The spinach enchilada is a vegetarian-friendly treat. $$
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Cocina 214 151 E. Welbourne Ave., Winter Park, 407-790-7997 / cocina214.com. Tex-Mex food is top quality here (214 is the Dallas area code), with salsa, savories and even margarita flavorings made from scratch. The spinach-mushroom quesadilla and braised pork tacos with “orange dust” are especially noteworthy. $$ El Tenampa 11242 S. Orange Blossom Tr., Orlando, 407-850-9499 / eltenampaorlando.com. Many Orlandoans make El Tenampa part of their Costco shopping ritual, since the restaurant is located only a block from the OBT warehouse store. This authentic eatery features fresh fruit juices, spicy chicken chilaquiles (a Mexican breakfast, available all day long, made with fried tortilla pieces and a green sauce) as well as a satisfying shrimp quesadilla in addition to the standard enchiladas and fajitas. $
SEAFOOD
Cityfish 617 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, 407-849-9779 / cityfishorlando.com. Feast on slabs of grilled, blackened or fried fresh fish at this hip Ts-and-flip-flops Thornton Park hangout. The atmosphere is ultra-casual and the sidewalk seating is great for people-watching. $$ Ocean Prime 7339 W. Sand Lake Rd., Orlando, 407781-4880 / ocean-prime.com. Designed to evoke the ambience of an old-time supper club, Ocean Prime’s white-jacketed servers offer sensational steaks and fish dishes along with creative options such as sautéed shrimp in a spectacular Tabasco-cream sauce, crab cakes with sweet corn cream and ginger salmon. End with the chocolate peanut butter pie. $$$$ Todd English’s Bluezoo 1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd., Lake Buena Vista, 407-934-1111 / thebluezoo.com. Creatively prepared seafood is served in an over-thetop undersea setting at this fine-dining restaurant, located in Disney’s Swan and Dolphin hotel. The fashionforward choices might be a miso-glazed Hawaiian sea bass or fried lobster in a soy glaze. The desserts are among the best in town. $$$$ Winter Park Fish Co. 761 Orange Ave. Winter Park, 407-622-6112 / thewinterparkfishco.com. Fish and seafood dishes are fresh and well-prepared at this humble Winter Park spot, where a counter service format helps keep the prices reasonable. Crab cakes, lobster rolls, mahi-mahi sandwiches and more ambitious dishes such as grouper cheeks in parchment and stuffed grouper are among a day’s assortment. $$
STEAK
Bull & Bear 14200 Bonnet Creek Resort Lane, Orlando, 407-597-5410 / bullandbearorlando.com. Orlando’s Bull & Bear looks similar to New York’s legendary steakhouse (except for the pool and golf course views), but ours has its own ambitious menu. Guests of the Waldorf Astoria’s fine-dining spot can feast on traditional items such as veal Oscar and prime steak that’s dry aged for 21 days, and intriguing ones like appetizers of gnocchi and escargot with crescents of black garlic, and shrimp and grits presented under a dome that, when removed, introduces a waft of aromatic smoke. The chocolate and lemon desserts are superb. $$$$ Capital Grille 4600 N. World Dr., Lake Buena Vista, 407-939-3463 / thecapitalgrille.com. Capital Grille
tries to one-up its upscale steakhouse competitors by dry-aging its beef, an expensive process that results in especially flavorful meat. Try a beautifully unadorned chop or a more creative dish, such as citrus-glazed salmon or Kona-crusted sirloin. The setting is clubby; the wine selection is generous. $$$$ Christner’s Del Frisco’s 729 Lee Rd., Orlando, 407-645-4443 / christnersprimesteakandlobster.com. Locals have been choosing this prototypically masculine, dark-wood-and-red-leather enclave for business dinners and family celebrations for more than a decade. Family-owned since 1993, Christner’s features USDA Prime, corn-fed Midwestern beef or Australian cold-water lobster tails with a slice of the restaurant’s legendary mandarin orange cake. And there’s a loooong wine list (6,500 bottles). On select nights, Kostya Kimlat hosts magic shows along with a prix-fixe menu in a private dining room. $$$$ Fleming’s 8030 Via Dellagio Way, Orlando, 407352-5706; 933 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 407699-9463 / flemingssteakhouse.com. Fleming’s puts a younger spin on the stately steakhouse concept, featuring sleek décor and 100 wines by the glass along with its prime steaks and chops. The tempura lobster “small plate” with soy-ginger dipping sauce is a worthy preentrée splurge. For a taste of the old-fashioned, visit on Sunday, when prime rib is served. $$$$ Ruth’s Chris 7501 W. Sand Lake Rd., Orlando, 407-226-3900; 610 N. Orlando Ave., Winter Park, 407-622-2444; 80 Colonial Center Pkwy, Lake Mary, 407-804-8220 / ruthschris.com. With three stately steakhouses and corporate headquarters by Winter Park Village, Ruth’s Chris, a native of New Orleans, has become an Orlando special-occasion mainstay. Its service-oriented restaurants specialize in massive cornfed Midwestern steaks served sizzling and topped with butter. $$$$ Shula’s 1500 Epcot Resorts Blvd., Orlando, 407934-1362 / donshula.com. Coach Don Shula, who led the Miami Dolphins through a perfect season in 1972, is now in the restaurant business. His Orlando outpost, located in Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin resort, is a dark, tastefully sports-themed steakhouse where the menu is painted on a football. Offerings include Premium Black Angus beef as well as barbecue shrimp, wedge salad and crab cakes. $$$$
VEGETARIAN
Dandelion CommuniTea Café 618 N. Thornton Ave., Orlando, 407-362-1864 / dandelioncommunitea.com. Proprietor Julie Norris meant to open a crunchy teahouse, but her organic, locally sourced foods were such a hit that the Dandelion is now a hot spot for lunch and a mecca for the “OurLando” movement. Even carnivores can’t resist Henry’s Hearty Chili, Happy Hempy Hummus, and wraps and sandwiches. As for dessert, Razzy Parfait’s vanilla soygurt is delicious, filling and healthful enough to be a meal. $ Café 118 153 E. Morse Blvd., Winter Park, 407-3892233 / cafe118.com. Raw foods – none cooked past 118 degrees – are the focus of this crisp Winter Park café, attracting raw foodists, vegans and vegetarians. The spinach and beet ravioli stuffed with cashew ricotta is an impressive imitation of the Italian staple. Thirsty Park Avenue shoppers might stop by for a healthful smoothie. $$ Ethos Vegan Kitchen 1235 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, 407-228-3899 / ethosvegankitchen.com. Orlando’s Ivanhoe District is home to Ethos, a vegan restaurant with a menu that also satisfies open-minded carnivores. Fuel up on pecan-crusted eggplant with red wine sauce and mashed potatoes or a meat-free shepherd’s pie, if salads, sandwiches and coconut-curry tofu wraps won’t do the trick. $-$$ SEPTEMBER 2012
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WELLNESS
A Question of Balance
The causes of dizzy spells can be complex, but new treatment options can keep your feet on solid ground.
M
ichael Palko stands on a metal platform
in a three-sided booth, harnessed and tethered to a sturdy crossbeam to ensure he doesn’t fall. He’s not an acrobat. He’s an otherwise healthy and active 59-year-old Orlando resident with a nagging balance problem, and the machine is designed to help solve it. Controlling the very ground upon which he stands, it precisely monitors his body’s reactions as the platform shifts and the booth’s walls periodically fluctuate. Balance can be tested in less high-tech ways, but the $90,000 machine “gives more of an objective measurement,” says Marissa Conrad, Palko’s physical therapist at the Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute. The Smart EquiTest Balance Manager debuted a year ago at the institute’s Gore Street facility. “It shows how a patient’s balance compares to others in the same age group,” says Conrad. “It helps us more quickly determine the deficits, and it
helps guide our treatment.” The Smart EquiTest machine is among the latest sophisticated tools being used to diagnose and treat balance disorders, an age-old but often overlooked health problem. Balance problems are common – six in 10 U.S. adults experience them at some point – and even more common, and dangerous, among older adults. It’s a matter of cause and effect: Balance problems lead to falls, which lead to bone fractures, which often result in disability or death, particularly for those past age 75. About a third of all injury-related hospital admissions in the U.S. involve people over 65, and more than 80 percent of those injuries are from falls, notes Conrad. Palko’s balance problems began seven years ago when, in the middle of the day, he suddenly experienced the worst dizzy spell of his life. “It felt like I was drugged,” recalls the retired AT&T computer specialist. It was the first of many episodes
by Harry Wessel • photograph by Ken Lopez
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WELLNESS
of dizziness as well as the start of a long search for answers involving multiple doctors, multiple prescription drugs and multiple tests. Balance problems often go untreated for years, largely because they can be difficult to diagnosis. The sense of balance starts in the inner ear, a complex yet elegant architectural structure comprising bone, hair, fluid and crystal that can’t be seen in a standard physical exam. For example, there’s no way to visually check if a few pieces of tiny calcium carbonate crystals have dislodged and floated into the wrong place. These socalled “ear rocks” can cause disabling vertigo, and they’re experienced by nearly one out of 10 adults over age 65. But the inner ear is only part of the balance equation. Balance also depends upon vision, sense of touch and pressure in the feet and legs, and the brain’s ability to properly sort through all the incoming signals. Palko was told that his frequent bouts of lightheadedness could be treated through physical therapy. He was skeptical of the idea of retraining his brain, but was running out of alternatives. So he was referred to Orlando Health’s Rehab Institute, where Conrad introduced him to the Smart EquiTest machine, which was derived from technology first used by NASA for its astronauts. One session made Palko a believer. “It makes sense to me, because I’m a computer person,” he says. After four sessions on the machine, which looks like a three-sided, oversized phone booth, he still marveled at the detailed feedback he received. The computer readouts showed him exactly how he was progressing and where he needed to improve. In addition to his sessions on the Smart EquiTest machine, he does daily balance exercises at home that Conrad prescribes. He does them religiously, twice a day for 20-25 minutes each. The exercises are simple. For exam60
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ple, he’ll stand with one foot directly in front of the other and stare at an image on a wall, rapidly nodding his head for 30 seconds while trying to keep the image steady. After a 30-second pause, he’ll repeat, this time rapidly moving his head from side to side. In another exercise, he’ll move to a corner, step onto a foam cushion and take turns trying to balance on one foot and then the other, first with his eyes open and then with them shut. “I still can’t do it with my eyes closed,” he says, “but I feel like I’m getting better at it.” In Conrad’s lingo, Palko has a problem with his vestibulo-ocular reflex, which involves complex coordination between what he sees and what his inner ear senses. The solution is retraining his eyes, brain and inner ears to stabilize images while his head is moving. Although he wouldn’t describe himself as cured, Palko is delighted with his rapid progress. He still gets lightheaded on occasion. But the occasions are less intense, far less frequent and, for the first time in years, he doesn’t take medication for the problem. “I hate taking drugs,” he says. But drugs sometimes can help. Joan Wharry, a 79-year old grandmother who lives in DeBary, says the prescription antihistamine Phenergan – often used for motion sickness – has been a big help in combating her chronic dizziness. Like Palko, she had to go to several doctors before she was prescribed a medicine that helped. But Phenergan isn’t enough. It helps with dizziness, but she still has trouble maintaining a steady image when she’s walking. To deal with that problem, she was referred to the Florida Hospital Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center at the Florida Hospital East campus. She worked with Rod Olson, clinical manager of the facility and a veteran physical therapist who specializes in balance issues involving the inner ear – the vestibular system.
“Most of the patients I see have the strength to maintain their balance, but they have a control-system issue,” Olson says. “It’s probably true that 80 percent of balance problems are related to the inner ear.” Wharry traces her inner-ear problem to an autoimmune disease she contracted in 2004 that left her legally blind for a year. She could see shadows, just enough that she could move around by keeping her eyes focused on the ground directly in front of her feet. Her eyesight returned after several surgeries, but all those months of looking down eventually took their toll. A couple of years ago, she arose from bed one morning and had a severe attack of vertigo that landed her in a hospital emergency room. She, too, went to several doctors and through several tests before she was prescribed the right medication and referred to Florida Hospital’s rehab center. The exercises Olson has given her, which are similar to those in Palko’s regimen, have helped. She still gets lightheaded on occasion, but she is able to drive, live independently and remain active as a volunteer at her church’s food pantry. Wharry’s improvements were a result of just three weeks of in-office physical therapy and at-home exercises. “If somebody has a balance or a dizziness problem, they should get it checked out,” says Olsen. “It’s mind-boggling how people will let things go until they’re pretty much disabled.” He also warns that seeing one or more medical specialists may not suffice, since each concentrates on a specific area while “balance is a culmination of various systems working together. A physical therapist can probably improve things.” Conrad agrees. “Patients come to us late, after they’ve had three or more falls in the past few months. We like to catch them before they fall.” l SEPTEMBER 2012
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APPLIED
Future. Home. The learning opportunities are numerous. The list of amenities is nothing short of impressive. The retail and entertainment options are growing. And the selection of homes and neighborhoods is becoming more diverse, intriguing and forward-thinking with each new day. The future of Central Florida is taking shape at Lake Nona.
Find your future home at Lake Nona by visiting the Lake Nona Info Center, or learnlakenona.com
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D I S C O V E R H E A LT H
The Good Doctor: A UCF Tradition
P
icture the person you love most. Now imagine that this person is seriously ill and waiting to see a doctor. What qualities do you want this doctor to have? What traits are most important for the physician – rather, the human being – who will care for your loved one? At the UCF College of Medicine, we ask our students that question on the very first day. Each year, as a new class of M.D. students enrolls, we hold a White Coat Ceremony, a tradition in which the medical school welcomes first-year students as colleagues dedicated to patient care. Before students receive their white coats, we hold their first medical school class, called “The Good Doctor – A UCF Tradition.” There, I ask new students the questions posed above. Their answers are recorded on a blackboard and remain on display for the entire year. At this year’s White Coat Ceremony, 100 new medical students listed 62 traits of The Good Doctor. The traits included: trustworthy, humble, diligent, ethical, dedicated, optimistic, resourceful, courageous, perseverant, resilient and passionate. When the list was complete, I stood in front of it and asked: How would such a doctor treat colleagues? How would such a doctor treat nurses and staff? How would such a doctor treat friends – and enemies? How does such a doctor behave in a crisis? Or at a party? To be successful and to serve their community, our doctors-intraining need both a head and a heart for medicine. One without the other is a disservice and a danger. That’s been true since the late 1700s, when America’s first medical schools opened. But this next generation of doctors faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. They will care for patients who have more knowledge, higher expectations and more diverse backgrounds than ever before. They will have at their fingertips technology that my generation couldn’t have imagined. Because medical advances are happening so quickly, these new doctors can’t know everything. They’ll need to be lifelong
learners with the initiative to seek out new ways of approaching problems when there are no obvious answers. They’ll need to be courageous, committed and collaborative. Every year I place a card in the pocket of every student’s new white coat. Then I ask them to write on the card the reason they went to medical school and the dreams they have for their futures. Their dreams generally fall into one of three categories. Some want to provide care and service to individual patients. They’re the Mother Teresas of the group. Others dream of discovering the cures for cancer, heart disease and AIDS. They’re our Nobel Laureates. The third group wants to improve the health of an entire population and care for the medically underserved. They’re our Surgeons General. Dreams often grow out of life experiences, and this year’s class has many unique interests, experiences and goals. One of our students was the host for a PBS television show called Kids Can Cook Too, where she taught healthy eating and food preparation to combat child obesity. In her spare time she focused on the health of sea animals by studying, tagging and diving with sharks – without a cage. Two of our students are glass blowers, who love the fiery art form because of its meticulous detail and focus. Another student raised guide-dog puppies to improve the lives and enhance the independence of people with disabilities. Another emigrated to the United States from Egypt and enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where she became a Navy medical corpsman and gave tours of the USS Constitution in Boston. The class includes an emergency room nurse, a decorated Sanford firefighter/paramedic and students who majored in everything from theater to finance, from biological engineering to chemistry. But beyond their unique backgrounds, these students all share a dream – a dream to care for people; to eliminate disease, pain and suffering; and to make the world a better place. Now it’s up to us and our community to develop these young people into The Good Doctor – A UCF Tradition. l Please contact Dr. German at deangerman@mail.ucf.edu.
by Deborah German, M.D.
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Footprints in the sand
Vacationing in the Florida Panhandle resort town of Seaside a couple of years ago, Orlando Home & Leisure senior photographer Rafael Tongol took an early-morning stroll on the beach. A pattern of footprints caught his eye, and he framed a shot with his Canon 5D Mark II camera using an EF 24-70 mm lens. He converted the digital color photo to black and white, using a cyanotype process to create the final print.
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A Complete Approach to Wellness
MAGUIRE MAG IRE
FAM FA AMILY AMILY AM LY Y MEDICIN NE
Don’t just get well, stay well. Wellness is about far more than treating an illness. It’s about promoting your good health through preventative medicine and proactive care for your entire body, not just ‘where it hurts.’ Dr. Amy Jackson and Dr. Suvy Kuriakose are accepting patients at Maguire Family Medicine where they provide a Complete Approach to Wellness for you and your entire family through the following services: • Adult Well Care
• Child Well Care (Ages 1 and older)
• Well Woman Exams
• Osteopathic Manipulation
• Minor Surgeries • Sports Physicals
Treatment (OMT) • Immunizations • Cryotherapy
To schedule an appointment call: 407.877.1990
2711 S. Maguire Road, Ocoee FL 34761 westorangephysiciangroup.com
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A FINE VINTAGE AND A WEEKEND TO SAVOR. THE PERFECT PAIRING.
This October, Waldorf Astoria速 Orlando presents Food & Wine Weekends, a celebration of fine wine and the culinary arts. This is the perfect complement to Epcot速 International Food & Wine Festival for the serious epicurean. Experience exclusive tasting menus with wine pairings, interactive chef demonstrations, and the decadent Bar du Chocolat. Located within the gates of Walt Disney World速 Resort, the hotel offers luxurious guest rooms and suites, impeccable service, exquisite pool with private cabanas, and complimentary luxury transportation to and from the parks. Enjoy a $50 per day Resort Credit. Ask for promotion code PBBWW1. For reservations, call 888-211-6079 or visit www.WaldorfAstoriaOrlando.com/Fall E X T R A O R D I N A R Y P L A C E S . A S I N G U L A R EXPERIENCE.
At each of our landmark destinations around the globe, experience the personalized Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts service that creates unforgettable moments.
息2012 Hilton Worldwide
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WaldorfAstoriaOrlando.com
Based on availability. Rates vary by date. Offer valid for stays through November 30, 2012. Food & Wine Weekends take place on Fridays and Saturdays from October 5 through November 3, 2012. No Resort Fee. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount and is not applicable to group or negotiated rates. Resort credit not applicable to retail purchases, and cannot be applied to room rate or tax. Resort credit is not redeemable for cash. No credit will be given for unused resort credits.
8/21/12 11:22:01 AM