Hidden gems aren’t hard to come by in Orlando — you just have to seek them out. From storied sub shops to walk-up Mediterranean delis to late-night taco spots, Orlando is full of great eateries that may be just out of site or nestled in a small space.
Here are 24 of Orlando’s best hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
King Bao 710 N. Mills Ave., Orlando
This Mills Avenue mainstay specializes in diminuitive Asian buns stuffed with creative and delicious mixes of proteins and veggies.
A proposed memorial for the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre will not be on the grounds of the former club.
The OnePulse Foundation released a statement on Tuesday confirming that negotiations had broken down between the Foundation and the Orange Avenue property owners over housing the memorial there.
The statement read in part:
The onePULSE Foundation is disappointed to report that after months of negotiation an agreement could not be reached with Barbara Poma (the Founder of onePULSE Foundation), her husband, Rosario Poma, and their business partner, Michael Panaggio, for the full donation of the Pulse nightclub property. The Foundation had previously planned to build a permanent national memorial at the site to commemorate the 49 lives taken, survivors, first responders, and all those impacted by the June 12, 2016, tragedy.
Poma left the Foundation back in April, which has been planning and fundraising for years with the intent of building a memorial site to the 49 lives lost at the LGBTQ+ nightclub during a mass shooting on June 12, 2016,
Poma had floated an asking price of $2.25 million for the property to the Foundation. The Foundation, on the other hand, pushed for a donation of the property. Interestingly, back in late 2016 negotiations were in advanced stages for the City of Orlando to buy the Pulse property for $2.25 million, though that fell through when the Pomas and co. decided to hold on to it.
OnePulse also promised an update in mid-May regarding a new location.
Gentrification of the Orlando Parramore district downtown continues. Back in 2014 super progressive, liberal Mayor Buddy Dyer tried to force Faith Deliverance Temple to sell it’s property to the ciy of Orlando and pave the way for City Soccer. The Pastor refused and Mayor Buddy threatened eminent domain and take it, by force, from the traditional Black church family. The very wealthy, powerful white people finally got their way…. The church has been sold and now Orlando City Soccer can…. I dunno, make their parking lot bigger.
Dozens of cats were likely killed in a fire at the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando location on Conroy Road late Wednesday, officials said.
About 25 dogs were inside the shelter at the time, and all got out safe, officials said.
Orange County Fire Rescue around 10:20 p.m. responded to the fire at the 5,000 square-foot building, which was 50% involved in flames, spokeswoman Lisa McDonald said.
Flames could be seen through the roof of the building.
Pet Alliance Executive Director Steve Bardy said there were about 35 cats in the shelter at the time and that “probably 20 to 30 cats” were killed in the fire.
Continue readingTo support local businesses and ensure two deserving charities receive maximum benefit, Visit Orlando – the area’s official tourism association – is extending Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining. The program will run through Oct. 17 (originally slated to conclude Oct. 3), giving food enthusiasts an additional two weeks to experience some of Orlando’s best cuisine.
“We’re thrilled to offer more time for visitors and locals to take advantage of this incredible program, which has raised over $1.8 million for local charities since 2009,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO for Visit Orlando. “The two-week extension opens the opportunity to raise even more money for this year’s charity beneficiaries while continuing to support our local restaurants.”
Continue readingAbout that eternal lockdown: The principle of “Hanlon’s Razor” holds that we shouldn’t credit malice for actions that can be explained by stupidity, but in Florida, in 2020, sometimes it was tough to tell the difference. As other countries and even states worked together to flatten their disease curve and return to something approaching normality, those of us in Orlando who scrupulously observed COVID protocols watched helplessly as those who refused to danced, drank and wedding-partied Florida into a viral cesspit. Malice, stupidity, or a little bit of both? We’ll never know, but in the meantime, our three months of quarantine is stretching out into 13 with no assured end in sight.
But even though it felt like living the movie Groundhog Day, things happened that deserve notice, both commendable and regrettable.
Rep. Val Demings is a manager of the Trump impeachment:
We kicked off 2020 with the hometown-pride-inducing sight of U.S. Rep. Val Demings serving as one of seven managers to physically “transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.” As an impeachment manager, Demings walked to the Senate chamber to hand over the printed articles and after reading the charges aloud, returned to the House to give a verbal report. “I’ve enforced the laws and now I write the laws,” Demings, who was once Orlando Police Chief, said during the debate before the House impeachment vote. “But the laws mean nothing if the accused can destroy evidence, stop witnesses from testifying and blatantly refuse to cooperate.”
COVID craters the local tourism industry:
Before 2020, conventional wisdom was that, no matter what, theme parks don’t close; 9/11 only interrupted Disney operations for less than a full day, for god’s sake. But the coronavirus pandemic put paid to that notion, shutting down the tourist industry that Orlando’s economy hinges on in March. Theme parks and attractions closed and furloughed scores of workers. Then hotels, restaurants, bars, the convention center, even the airport all followed suit to varying degrees. The ripple effects were heartbreaking, like watching a car wreck in slow motion. In June, Universal and SeaWorld reopened, followed by Disney World in July. But with limited capacity and large events like Halloween Horror Nights off the table, profits nose-dived enough to cause thousands more layoffs. It will be a long road back to where we were at the start of 2020, and things will get worse with Disney and Universal, yes, set to lay off still more employees by the time you read this issue.
Continue readingFlorida’s unemployment rate was unchanged from October at 6.4%, but Orlando recorded the highest number of any metropolitan area in the state at 7.7%.
A report released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity shows the continuing powerful effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the state and particularly Central Florida’s tourism-dependent economy.
In all, about 651,000 Floridians were jobless in November, the report says.
In Central Florida, Orange County came in at 8.1% for November, Osceola at 9.7%, Lake at 6.5% and Seminole at 5.7%. Osceola and Orange had the first- and second-highest county rates in the state.
Metro Orlando’s rate topped that of Miami’s, which in previous months had posted the highest percentage of joblessness.
Adrienne Johnston, DEO’s chief of the Bureau of Labor Market Statistics, said seasonal retail hiring was slow this year.
“I think we’re seeing where people are shopping online a little bit more of the season. Businesses did not add as many employees to their payrolls,” Johnson said in a conference call.
The overall U.S. unemployment rate for November was 6.7%.
Continue reading1.) Castillo de San Marcos (St. Augustine)
If we’re talking haunted or creepy destinations in Florida, of course, St. Augustine is going to top most lists. Let’s talk about Castillo de San Marcos, a former military fortress that’s infamous for some of its battles.
Some say the spirits of Spanish soldiers still defend the 17th century fort. Others say a light shines from a fixture in one of the watchtowers that has no electricity running to it. The spooky accounts also include one Spanish soldier in particular who stands at the edge of the fort, looking out to sea just when the sun is about to rise or set. And then there’s the dungeon — where many people have reported the feeling of cold hands touching them. Others say they just felt cold in general while walking through, according to a website called ghostsandgraves.com. Visitors to the fort say they’ve shot videos and photos of glowing orbs, misty shapes and even some shapes resembling bodies. Enthusiasts of the paranormal and supernatural definitely flock to Castillo de San Marcos for a number of reasons — all of which will make your skin crawl.
The Puerto Rican population in Central Florida returned to pre-Hurricane Maria levels, according to the latest American Community Survey, conducted yearly by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The newest estimate of Puerto Ricans is roughly 385,000 in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties, which is similar to before the Category 5 storm ravaged the island in mid-September 2017, driving many Puerto Ricans to Central Florida.
UCF sociologist Fernando I. Rivera, founder of the Puerto Rico Research Hub, explained that Puerto Rico’s migration “is circular.”
“Basically, the economic conditions are what really determine the population movement,” he said. “If you are going to suffer economically here, you would prefer to go back to Puerto Rico and at least be with family.”
The decline is an unusual twist for one of the U.S. mainland’s largest concentration of Puerto Ricans — only second to the New York metro area. In the city of Kissimmee, where Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden made a campaign stop last week to announce an economic recovery plan for the island, 1 in every 2.5 residents is of Puerto Rican origin. They represent a large block of voters to be wooed in Florida, with Central Florida positioned as the highly-sought swing region in a state viewed as one of the most coveted prizes in the upcoming presidential election.
Central Florida, a tourism-dependent region walloped by the coronavirus pandemic, hold four of the top seven highest unemployment rates for July, according to state figures.
Osceola and Orange rank first and second, while Polk is fourth and Lake is seventh. Statewide, 11.3% of workers were unemployed. Here’s a look at county-bycounty jobless numbers for the month.
■ Osceola County: 20.2 percent
■ Orange County: 16.1percent
■ Miami-Dade County: 14.2 percent
■ Polk County: 13.2 percent
■ Broward County:13.1percent
■ Hendry County:13 percent
■ Lake County: 12.4 percent
■ Palm Beach County: 11.6 percent
■ Citrus County:11.2 percent
■ St. Lucie County:11percent
■ Hernando County:10.9 percent
■ Putnam County:10.9 percent
■ Hamilton County:10.7 percent
■ Lee County:10.7 percent
■ Seminole County: 10.5 percent
■ Volusia County: 10.5 percent