Orlando Opinions Podcast seeks to offer a new way of looking at how new retail, restaurant and residential projects affect Orlando locals. The 5-minute show is scripted, fast paced and full of sass thanks to host by Mark Baratelli, Editor of Orlando's longest-running local indie news website, thedailycity.com. The episodes are released every Sunday. Orlando Opinions is a production of PFT Media.
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Transcript of Episode 18:
Hamilton's Kitchen, a restaurant on the first floor corner of Alfond Inn, a lovely 122-unit boutique hotel built in 2013 in Winter Park received 27 health code violations from DBPR during a routine health department inspection November 29th. A full list of the violations in on thedailycity.com. Here are a few highlights from the 27 violations:
- They were unable to locate the certificate which proves their nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked had undergone proper parasite destruction. This was deemed as a high priority.
- Foods in the reach-in cooler are not allowed to be held greater than 41 degrees. Raw fish was 48F, raw burger patties wereat 51F, heavy cream was at 49F and more. All the products were moved from walk in cooler about 2 hours per chef and iced. Their french toast batter was found to be 48F and left out for 2 hours with an insufficient ice bath. This was deemed a sa high priority
- Milk and heavy cream cartons were found to not be not date marked.
- According to a Chef, three trays of shell eggs were left on a prep table for about 2 hours. Holding shelled at room temperature with an ambient air temperature greater than 45 degrees Fahrenheit is not allowed. This was deemed as a high priority.
A follow up inspection was required and conducted November 30th. They found ice build up in the walk in freezer, no conspicuously located ambient air temperature thermometer in the reach-in cooler, required employee training has expired for some employees, the walk-in cooler/freezer gaskets were soiled with a slimy/mold-like build-up, the walk-in cooler bottom gasket was torn and in disrepair and the walk-in freezer floor was soiled.
The gas station at the corner of Winter Park Drive and Corrine at 3000 Corrine Drive (MAP) is getting a $44,681 make-over. The City will be paying $20,000 of it through their City of Orlando Small Business Facade Program.The part of the improvement plans that caught our eye was the new second entrance, complete with windows on either side of the door labeled below as "new storefront." The Daily City confirmed with the wife of the owner that indeed, a wall was being built to cut the building in half and a new business was coming into that second space. This is important because retail space in the popular Audubon Park is at a premium.Along with the new storefront, the property will get new paint, landscaping, and a freshly painted parking lot.
The gas station at the corner of Winter Park Drive and Corrine at 3000 Corrine Drive (MAP) is getting a $44,681 make-over. The City will be paying $20,000 of it through their City of Orlando Small Business Facade Program.The part of the improvement plans that caught our eye was the new second entrance, complete with windows on either side of the door labeled below as "new storefront." The Daily City confirmed with the wife of the owner that indeed, a wall was being built to cut the building in half and a new business was coming into that second space. This is important because retail space in the popular Audubon Park is at a premium.Along with the new storefront, the property will get new paint, landscaping, and a freshly painted parking lot.
The Daily City was the first to report that thousands of North Quarter residents were being subjected to non-stop 24/7 high pitched painful squealing coming from, for many many years, get ready for it, the Orange County Bar Association!!! They have a building in the district and they attached little boxes to the front of the building that release these large pings that are extremely painful and remained ON ALL DAY EVERY DAY…. FOR YEARS. On December 5th we shared audio directly from the building and many residents commented that they never knew where it was coming from.
The Daily City spoke with the Bar Association's secretary who told us the noise was intentional, it's to keep dogs off their property and that this was only the second time they've ever received a complaint. We were given an employee's name and number to send our questions to. The questions remain unanswered.
On Wednesday December 6th, North Quarter resident Tim Lawrence organized a community facebook group called North Quarter United #StopTheSqueal in response to our instagram post and our two follow up stories. He called every news organization until Channel 6 got the issue stopped. The Orange County Bar Association said they’d discontinue the ridiculous practice until a new solution could be found. Chanel 6 did not credit us and that is some shit behavior, especially because when Lawrence met up with Channel 6, the first thing the person interviewing him said was that they found the story on the daily city. I went to the Chanel 6 office and the new director was extremely curt and told me stories in orlando are like ornaments on a tree. Everyone can do a story on that ornament. I told her that I was the only one in this case who did a story on the ornament, for two weeks. Ass holes.
Named after the some of the citrus packing houses demolished to make way for The Packing District, The Parking District will be built near College Park at the corner of Princeton Street and Orange Blossom Trail.
What's to be expected is 202 acres of "a mix of residential and retail offerings that may include apartments, townhomes, commercial office space, a grocer, coffee shop, brewery, etc.” It will also contain a 100-acre park with urban trails, tennis center, bike trails, running trails, an amphitheater, and an urban farm. Construction is expected to begin in 2018 and go one for 10-15 years.
Dr. Phillips Inc. is behind the project. City of Orlando would pay Dr Phillips Inc $30 million to make improvements on and around the 202 acres. However, it will take 25 years for the City just to earn $121 million back in taxes. How generous of a CHARITY to take money from the city and the city accept the conditions. Go to hell both of you.
Recently Visit Orlando headed an effort to crowdsource the answer to a question nobody asked: What is Orlando's signature dish? You know, like New York City's famous pizza, Chicago's famous pizza and Philadelphia's famous pizza.
Rather than asking locals to TELL them, Visit Orlando asked hotel chefs, theme park chefs and a few locals to make up the signature dish. As far as we know, no one in New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia was asked by a half public half private company to make up the famous pizza. It just happened.
The signature dish had to include honey as an ingredient (because apparently Florida exports honey) and it had to be a dessert. Chefs entered the contest and 5 judges picked the winner. The answer to the question NOBODY asked was answered last week: Honey Nougat Glacé.
The project was inspired by the vacations of a rich white woman, Orange County Mayor Theresa "knotted pearls aren't just for 1990s middle school secretaries" Jacobs. We told you this project was racist, nowhere near local-centric and void of representation of ethnic (except French), street or casual food in the invited planning group. Now we want to confirm Orlando Weekly's Faiyaz Kara's thoughts: it's effing stupid.
So what should be Orlando's Signature Dish? At first I felt it should be Beefy King's sandwich. It's an inexpensive dish from a restaurant with tons of local history that started in Orlando. Then through a brief twit-versation, Faiyaz convinced me that if we're to use Visit Orlando's model of deciding on one dish that every restaurant (who wants to) will sell, a meat sammich perfected by one restaurant may not work. For now, I move Beefy King from SigDish to the "must visit" list.
So I second Faiyaz's nomination of... the turkey leg. It can be re-created by any restaurant, each restaurant can easily make their own version and most importantly it's legit. Yes everyone jumps for joy anytime a local restaurant opens (as I do as well) but we're not known to billions of humans for our locally-sourced beet salad. Those turkey legs are what the world knows us for.