New restaurant serves dessert, wine on Eola
A new downtown eatery and bar is trying to pair a sweet view of Lake Eola with some sweet eats.
Sweet on Park Dessert & Wine Bar opened across the street from Lake Eola Park at 151 E. Washington St., on street level of the Metropolitan condo building.
“It’s a totally outdoor spot, and it’s covered,” said owner Henry Lambert. “We wanted to be able to give people an option for dessert downtown where they can grab something to eat and have a few drinks in a great place.”
The patio space was once the entryway for Metropolitan Dog Spa, but the small plot has a new purpose.
Sweet on Park has just a few refrigerators, so Lambert said it will have a small dessert menu of items such as cake and cheesecake.
“We are going to have to find a few items people really like,” he said.
Bonjour DoveCote
Downtown French restaurant DoveCote opened Wednesday morning, bringing together chefs Clayton Miller and James Petrakis with The Courtesy bar owner Gene Zimmerman.
Miller, head chef at the new restaurant, said the menu has traditional French favorites such as bouillabaisse and steak frites.
“It will be my version of a lot of things, and we’ll try to make them more modern,” Miller said.
The restaurant takes the place of Terrace 390 Rustic Bistro, which closed last year in the Bank of America Financial Center at 390 N. Orange Ave.
Cage-free eggs
Publix has agreed to sell only cage-free eggs by 2026.
“We are committed to moving forward with this challenging and complex effort and will work toward being 100 percent cage free by 2026,” the company updated its website to say.
Animal welfare groups have pushed major grocery and restaurant chains to stop selling eggs produced by chickens that spend their lives in small cages.
The Polite Pig
Ravenous Pig owners James and Julie Petrakis will open a new restaurant at Disney Springs called The Polite Pig, they announced.
The James Beard award nominees plan to open the new concept this Spring, partnering with James Petrakis’ brother Brian, who runs Greens & Grille.
It should open in spring 2017.
Julie Petrakis said Polite Pig will be a fast-casual setup at the request of Disney, who approached them about the deal.
“It seems like the right time and place and people want these dining options,” Petrakis said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “We feel like we are bringing some of the things from the restaurant in Winter Park out to Disney.”
The new restaurant will serve wood-fired smoked and grilled items, beer, wine and cocktails. Julie Petrakis described the menu as lighter fast-casual with items.