Party All The Time!

A truly wonderful event, congratulations to Heart of Florida United Way on such a grand, fun and delicious success!

Not exactly news, but I LUV big events. I’m not someone who shies away from a crowd. I enjoy them, the people watching, meeting new people and chatting. Good – or better yet, GREAT – food is a bonus.

This past Saturday evening I attended the 21st annual Chef’s Gala for the Heart of Florida United Way. The event had 1,100 attendees and took place at the Epcot World Showplace. It raised a record $296,000 for the United Way and all the many programs it supports in Central Florida. It had lots of people, great food and so much more.

Heart of Florida United Way President Robert “Bob” Brown and his wife, Mary, at Saturday evening’s big event.

I rode to the event with Rebekah Brown from Winter Park’s own The Marketing Square. As much as I enjoy big events, I loathe driving to and from them, so if I did not say it enough on Saturday night, THANK YOU, Rebekah! We got to the event, parked in the far eastern portion of the Epcot lot, boarded a bus to go into the park. Our bus was to be “volunteers”, but included bloggers / media types like ourselves and others who should get there early. I was sitting on the bus as Rebekah talked on her phone and greeted a few of our fellow coach companions, complimenting one woman’s dark black with blue sequin-paisley jacket and then her husband’s colorfully cubist, Missoni-esque tie. Once we were at the facility, entered via the red carpet I began checking out the two long tables presenting 190 silent auction items donated for the event and saw LOTS of names I know from Winter Park and will detail below. But I was a bit amused as Lisa Junkerman, the Vice President of Marketing & Communications, came around and said she wanted to introduce me to the President of their organization, Robert (Bob) Brown. I walked over as he turned around and it was the guy with the great tie. He said he already knew me and I remarked again on his great tie. It’s a little thing, but I think provided great synchronicity for the rest of the night, as I interacted with Bob and his wife, Mary, others I’d met during casual conversations early on. It’s important to have people to joke around with no matter the event. Laughter, raving about amazing food, most else is best in groups.

The young ladies from the Longwood 4Rivers Smokehouse Sweet Shop helped guide my ice cream choice with topping and it was DELISH!

A few observations about the early evening . . . . First, when you see the employee lot behind the scenes you understand – if you didn’t know already – just how many people Locally Mickey Mouse employs. Living in Winter Park, it’s easy to forget Mickey and Minnie, their neighbors Hulk and Spiderman, Shamu and all the rest are down there. Even as I will surely lull back into that state of obliviousness, I will surely also be thankful they ARE there, not just for the thousands of jobs they provide, or the fun for us and our visitors, but also the good works and amazing contributions they make to groups like the Heart of Florida United Way. Second, well, the backs of those “country” buildings – whether Scandinavian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, etc. – all look just like other buildings from behind.  Guess I knew that. But it looks weird seeing them from that angle!

Cask & Larder’s country ham biscuits and their Florida shrimp sausage and grits were SPECTACULAR. And I might be under-selling them.

Attending the Chef’s Gala, with so many well-known Central Florida and “attractions” restaurants, I have to say I felt a bit like I was attending an away game supporting the home team, as two Winter Park establishments – Cask & Larder and 4Rivers Smokehouse Sweet Shop – were there. And, I have to say, the home teams were the stars. Honestly, I think James Petrakis and his Cask & Larder offerings had the longest lines all night, until maybe 45 minutes to an hour before the end. And then, the baton was handed to 4Rivers Smokehouse Sweet Shop. The line for the Sweet Shop then circled around, overtook a few other lines nearby.

As the evening concludes I catch Orlando’s Vasaj Communications‘ Vel Johnson (left) with DaVonda Simmons who was such spectacular entertainment all evening. She sings beautifully and the song choices, the band, all wonderful!

Their offerings were incredible. The country ham biscuits from Cask & Larder would have been familiar to their fans, and one of my absolute favorites, but they also served grits – I began describing as molten cornbread – with Florida-sourced shrimp sausage and just a bit of fried chicken skin on top. These guys worked non-stop all night trying to keep up, ran out of the biscuits and then put even more effort into the grits and shrimp sausage. They were amazing from start to finish. AMAZING. Then, there was the Sweet Shop. While they had a number of ice creams to select from, I went for the salted Bourbon caramel ice cream and received a nod of approval from the young ladies serving it. They also suggested a pecan covering. The taste was stunningly intense, delicious. The home team ROCKED on Saturday night. I couldn’t help but feel just a bit like a proud parent. Yeah, like I had anything to do with it! But proud I was, of these two amazing restaurants, that they were there representing the community I LUV.

Winter Park’s celebrity Chefs John Rivers and James Petrakis talk on stage just before the big toast including all participating chefs during the 2013 Chef’s Gala.

This is completely and totally unrelated, but I have to say I LUVed seeing guys there on Saturday in seersucker suits with bow ties. One guy finished that off with white bucks! Classic is classic for a reason and it is back in style. I hope he didn’t get any food on it.

Again, the event much exceeded its goals for the evening, bringing in almost $300k in one evening for Heart of Florida United Way’s support of Local food and shelter programs, and more. Many Local businesses contributed to that with donations and I’d like to acknowledge them here, will have many (most?) in the accompanying photography gallery.

Those businesses are:

310 Park South
Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens
Alkemy Skincare and Day Spa
Blu on the Avenue
Café 118°
Citrus
Cocina|214
Coralia Leets Jewelery Design
Del Frisco’s
Dubsdread
Elite Strength & Fitness
Euro Day Spa & Salon
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Harry P. Leu Gardens
Toasted
LaBella Intimates on Park Avenue
Lilly Pulitzer
mi Tomatina – Paella Bar
Morse Museum of American Art
Ranger’s Pet Outpost and Retreat
Scott Laurent Collection
The Ravenous Pig
The Tap Room at Dubsdread
Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen
Timothy’s Gallery
Tuni’s of Winter Park
Winter Park Laser & Anti-Aging Center

Scott Laurent, Tuni & La Macaron

La Bella Intimates on Park Avenue

Citrus & Dubs Dread

Toasted

The 310 restaurants, including the new Blu

Del Frisco’s & Fleming’s Steakhouse

Cocina 214

The Albin Polasek Museum & Gardens

Coralia Leets Jewelry Design

James & Julie Petrakis’ Ravenous Pig

Elite Strength & Fitness

Cafe 118 Degrees

Winter Park Laser & Anti-Aging Center

AND . . . not in the silent auction, but in our “swag bag” as we left, a bag of chocolate covered popcorn from Peterbrooke of Winter Park!

Chocolate popcorn and a coupon in the swag bag from Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park.

The whole evening was so well done, so much fun. I’d like to again THANK Lisa Junkerman for the kind invitation. Those plates which allow you to sit you wine glass easily on the side are genius and I want one to take to any and every party I ever attend! And, I’d like to thank the anonymous gentleman in the black and white hounds tooth sports jacket who was casually walking in front of me with his plate and wine glass, but when the music and the superb vocals of performer DaVonda Simmons struck him, he proceeded to do a series of three twirls, dancing along to the next station. It was a good time all around, yet he may be the surprising random memory which lingers, reminds me of just that. THANKS to everyone who worked so hard to put the evening together, for all those who helped to raise so much for Local causes. It was a true privilege to attend, my honor to write about.

Paxton, a long-haired Chihuahua was crowned champion at the 2013 Running of the Chihuahuas by Cocina 214.

Earlier on Saturday there were many events in Winter Park, including the Cocina 214 Running of the Chihuahuas, which went on despite some light morning rain. My money was on Foster, who apparently sort of phoned it in. Little Paxton, a long-haired Chihuahua, was the winner, after 10 heats with 60 participants. No question this is going to be a yearly thing now, fun for adults, kids and, yes, pups alike! And owner Lambrine Macejewski, catering coordinator Madeleine Glascock and the whole staff did such a GREAT job!

With the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, HATS were in. Caught these ladies and their gorgeous hats at the Derby on Park party by Winter Park Annual. I especially LUVed the one with peacock feathers.

Later on Saturday I briefly attended the Derby on Park event at the Winter Park Country Club, organized by Anthony Dinova’s Winter Park Annual. Big, fun and colorful hats were plentiful, as well as some great bow ties. There were two terrific bands, LUVly art from Jessilyn Park and food from both Fleming’s Steakhouse and John & Shirley’s Catering. Winter Park Annual has a barbecue event coming up this summer I anxiously anticipate. YES, you CAN do events during the SUMMER! Thank you, Anthony, for acknowledging that and doing so. And, hey, you’ve got to admit Anthony has the luck of the Irish since the rain we’d dealt with for days ended just a few hours before his event. Great job, Anthony!

Cocina 214′s Cinco de Mayo block party was lots of fun! Maybe a bit too much. But not for this little one I caught with their fun burro and face cutout below a sombrero.

This weekend was packed with events, and Sunday’s Cinco de Mayo at Cocina 214 was a blast. It wasn’t just the loud music and margaritas, corn hole-tossing and inflatable Corona bottles hanging overhead. It was also the characters. What is a party if not at least in part all about people watching? I met Brad and his friend from College Park. Brad danced all around while I was there, was obviously having a great time and promoted it in others, as he kept me smiling. The margaritas were yummy . . . and contributed to my very slow Seis-o de Mayo. Aye yi yi, oy! Again, I had fun. Maybe more than was required. 

Congratulations on 20 years to Richard Pannullo and crew!

A few quick shot outs in closing. We had such a terrific dinner at Pannullo’s on Park Avenue on Friday to begin the weekend. I finally got to meet Richard Pannullo in person and I learned they just recently celebrated their 20th anniversary! A well-deserved congratulations on such a milestone. You do not last that long without doing what you do well. I commented to Richard that when I go to new Italian restaurants I always first try the spaghetti and meatballs because it’s such a simple dish, and how good it is indicates to me how good all other dishes are likely to be as well. And, well, when it’s as good as what I get at Pannullo’s, yeah, I tend to stick with it! I’m a creature of habit. Pannullo’s is a great habit to have. CONGRATS, again, Richard and crew!

The old Vegas Cuban sandwich shop on Colonial is to be a second location for the Black Bean Deli SOON! Congrats!

As I TRIED to finally finish this blog last evening I was sitting in the backroom – oyster bar – at The NEW Bistro on Park Avenue in the Hidden Garden. The time was just after five o’clock and I was feeling pretty good about FINALLY getting it done. Beware finishing up anything in a space where a networking event is about to break out. Soon I was surrounded by lots of Locals talking Local business, introducing myself and handing out cards. Erika Boesch & Shirley Stamper‘s new networking group is definitely going well! I met some very nice new people and I’ll always make time for that. One of those new people, Ana Lacey, who owns A Bella Boutique, a ladies’ upscale consignment store on 17/92, informed me of a new Black Bean Deli which will soon be opening on Colonial in the old Vegas Cuban sandwich location. Congrats to them! Their Cubans are amazing and it’s nice to know they’ll be nearby if I’m on Colonial and get that craving!

Till tomorrow – and I WILL write tomorrow, as I’m leaving stuff out here – holy bricks and Spanish moss, I LUV Winter Park!

Cask & Larder, 4Rivers Smokehouse Sweet Shop Part Of Local Arts Scene, Tonight’s Chef’s Gala

Heart of Florida United Way’s 2013 Chef’s Gala takes place tonight at the Epcot World Showplace.

I’m not sure of the time of year, but I remember it was chilly as we stood there in the early morning hours as people arrived at work. I’d volunteered to help recruit employees who’d be willing to donate a small amount from their paychecks each week for the United Way in Atlanta. I was working for GTE Wireless — now part of Verizon – at time, and our building curved so that wind whipped along its sides, arriving right where we were standing to greet employees that morning. We laughed and joked to deal with the chill, but probably still felt a bit warm inside for our efforts.

All these years later I’ll be attending the largest fund-raiser of the year – the Chef’s Gala – for the Heart of Florida United Way this evening, Saturday, May 4, at the Epcot World Showplace. The invitation came last week from out of the blue, my online writing efforts so fresh they still have that new blog smell. With my Local focus, at first I wasn’t even first sure it made sense for me. When I saw Winter Park’s own Cask & Larder and 4Rivers Smokehouse Sweet Shop on the participants list, however, I thought my angle, the story I would tell was basically clear. How naïve I can be.

The Sweet Shop’s ice cream flavors include “Airplane”.

I know lots of people who talk about the arts. It’s a bigger four-letter word than it first seems. It covers so much, can hint at the creative talents and resourcefulness of so many types of people, so many who do such varied things. As I learned more about these two very young Local businesses I began to consider if they might be a sign of one of the greatest arts scenes presently at work in Central Florida: the art of food.

I’ll be honest and say that if I’d heard anyone talk about the “art of food” fifteen or twenty years ago I would have laughed. I’ve never been a good cook and am still not. I can destroy a kitchen given a simple task. But I live with one of those types, have for over 20 years, and have gotten much better at suggesting what one dish needs to pull it all together, accent its flavors. I’m surely no critic, never desire to be one, more a celebrator of what I LUV, what I see as special, of all the people I see who create, define whole new categories because their own imaginations are bigger than the current list of possibilities before them. That is more what the inclusion of both Cask & Larder and 4Rivers’s Sweet Shop is to me now. In addition to Local stories, they are tales of defined purpose and passion, creative artistic energy focused on the edible.

The Sweet Shop’s offerings are made fresh daily.

I’d never been to the 4Rivers Smokehouse in Longwood. I’d heard about it lots, however, as it’s developed a cultish following, along with the other locations. But maybe this one especially. Can you be legendary in just a year and a half? I’m not sure that word is too big among those who work with my life partner. He speaks of them speaking of it and I can’t help but smile, appreciate the power of a good idea, of one man’s passion to do things which have been done before differently, better. You can’t escape it’s amazing success now, even as you drive around, those bumper stickers everywhere.

I visited that location on Thursday and spoke with The Sweet Shop Manager, Erin Young. She’s young, like the restaurant. She offers lots of one word responses to my questions because when you’re talking so positively about something, it’s easy. For this evening’s gala The Sweet Shop will be offering ice cream and “cupcake drop-ins”. I’ll admit to being at first underwhelmed. Again, I can be so very naïve.

How about a ‘grasshopper’ cupcake?

I was first blown away visually. Now handling social media for a number of Local restaurants, picturesque food is so nice to work with. We’re a very visual society. The Sweet Shop is big on visuals. After Erin told me of the plans for ice cream and “cupcake drop-ins” I asked such an innocent question, expected largely innocent answers. What are the favorite flavors? Could it be maybe vanilla or chocolate, or maybe something really exotic like rocky road? No. Erin responds, “Red velvet is really popular, and AIRPLANE.”

It is fortuitous I had nothing in my mouth at the time, not sampling anything, not chewing gum, as my ears and mouth worked together to blurt out: “AIRPLANE?” “Yes,” she said. “It’s amazing. It’s my favorite.” She looks at me wide-eyed, smiling.

‘Airplane’ is a flavor built around biscotti you might receive in flight, she said. I think most would have been as shocked by the flavor as I was, but Erin explained that they like to produce TWO new flavors a week. It’s a process initiated and still overseen by John Rivers. She said he presents flavors, possibilities and the guy who makes the ice cream, others go to work. The whole staff acts as guinea pigs, but, she says, “then John okays everything. We’re trying to get more flavors out. Right now we’re testing a bunch.”

2012 Chef’s Gala participants pose with one of Disney’s big cheese!

I’m more than a little amused the guy who served me my favorite dish at the recent Taste of Winter Park – a beef brisket burger – is also this Local Willy Wonka of ice cream and cupcakes, with names like grasshopper, earthquake, junkfood and airplane. The Sweet Shop’s “cupcake drop-ins” are actually a milkshake produced WITH your choice of cupcake. Come with me, and you’ll see, a world of pure imagination . . . .

I’d heard everything is made fresh daily here and Erin confirms it. “Daily. Yeah,” she says. That sounds like a lot of work, I say. “A lot. Yes.” As we talk I notice four or so employees behind her who’ve been busily working as we talk. When you do this stuff daily, I guess you get pretty good at it, work as quietly, seamlessly together as what I observe.

Cask & Larder’s fried chicken livers sitting on a delicious duck
liver mousse & johnny cakes topped with sungold tomatoes & shaved brussels sprouts in a sorghum vinaigrette!

I now feel I need to allow her to get back to work, ask simply if what they’re serving Saturday going to be yummy? “Of course, yes.”

That spirit of pushing the envelope, of creating a new envelope when you don’t find one that suits you seems an interwoven part of the Cask & Larder fabric as well. In a setting Marketing Manager Erin Allport describes as “Southern Living”, Cask & Larder continues to do what it’s sister restaurant, Ravenous Pig, has done for years, but with a very upscale southern personality.

Admittedly, I AM the stereotypical American. I’d prefer to think of all my favorite meat dishes being immaculate, their origin was that small Styrofoam container with shrink wrap in the cooler at the grocery store. Once alive? The heck you say. Once upon a time my parents bought a steer and had it butchered during the inflationary 1970s. I refused to eat it. The Chinese like to stare their food in its eyes before they eat it. I’ve always preferred to pretend mine never had eyes.

Pickled Beef Tongue with IPA mustard, shaved carrot salad & frisse with a pastrami vinaigrette!

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the silliness in that. James & Julie Petrakis’ Cask & Larder menu of vanilla pork belly, suckling piglet, and “lamb fries” would have terrified the old me. Embracing more of my adult self, and perhaps as part of this new and growing cultural appreciation of knowing more about our food and where it comes, my approach is much different.

“James talks about it all the time,” explains Erin. “Someone took the time to grow these vegetables, someone took the time to raise these animals, someone took the time to fish them out of the sea. We need to honor their time by honoring them, preparing them in a way that people will love, want to eat them.”

She continued, “We like to use the whole animal. We don’t throw away parts of the animal. We use it, whatever it may be, even if it’s just to make a stock.” She talks of grouper cheeks, “they’re delicious, but people either use it in stock or throw it away.” She tells me of their “lamb fries” dish – lamb testicles – and how “people were eating them like crazy. I gave them a try.” She speaks of customers’ openness, explaining, “I haven’t tried that before, but I’ll try it. We’ve earned the trust of the community. It’s fun to watch them trying new things, like livers and frog’s legs. People are really becoming more adventurous, they’re curious about where their food comes from.”

Cask & Larder’s popular country ham will be served this evening at the Chef’s Gala.

Erin says Cask & Larder dishes are largely “very simple. That’s another thing about Cask & Larder, is that our preparations are simple. . . . . When you have fresh food around us like we do, you shouldn’t have to cover it up with a bunch of sauces.” She talks of how there are 144,000 farms in Florida, that 88 percent of what our agriculture industry produces is shipped out of state, while so much from California and other places gets shipped to us. She refers specifically to a Local farm which produces “Charlie’s sweet broccoli” with seeds he’s developed over time. She speaks of the intense flavors of their produce because it’s picked one and served the next. A large blackboard in Cask & Larder lists Local farms where produce is sourced.

She estimates 80 percent of Ravenous Pig ingredients are sourced Locally. Cask & Larder dishes, she said, are more from across the south. She mentions grits they purchase from Columbia, South Carolina, milled there and served fresh at Cask & Larder the next day, and will be among the dishes served at the Chef’s Gala, along with shrimp sausage made from Canaveral royal red shrimp and Key West pink shrimp, both from Florida waters. Cask & Larder’s popular country ham with ramp biscuits, farmer’s cheese and pepper jelly will also be served. Wines from South Africa and Spain will accompany the dishes.

Prohibition era bottles from the parking lot now line a beam above the Cask & Larder dining room.

As I sat waiting for Erin earlier I noticed the large framed images hanging against the ceiling. She tells me they are images from James’ own family. At Cask & Larder bottles high above the dining room were found by the Harper family when excavating the parking lot, discarded during the Prohibition era. A wrought iron form rises before the front door, once part of the same building before it largely burned in the 80s. More black and white photographs from early in its history, as Harper’s, other businesses, line the hall to the bathroom.

There’s not just an appreciation of food, of the effort to produce it here, but also of history itself. I consider how such an appreciation increases the attention to detail, to ingredients and what is served.

I ask Erin if she will be in attendance at the gala and she says yes, says “the United Way is a really great charity. It helps a lot of families in Orlando so it’s good to be a part of this.”

And I so agree.

Get Along Little Doggies!

Sure to be FUN!

There’s very little, if anything, amusing about watching a Greyhound run. They’re fast, graceful, NOT funny. If you want laughs, go smaller.

Tomorrow morning Local contemporary Mexican restaurant wunderkind — wish I knew of a similar Spanish word to use here — Cocina 214 introduces what I’m sure will be a new highly anticipated annual event in Winter Park: Chihuahua races! It’s officially called The Running of the Chihuahuas. Think Pamplona with no horns, no goring, and, yeah, small dogs instead of bulls. Like in Pamplona, however, there is bound to be a fair amount of chaos. So many little furry ones with big personalities (and egos, think Napoleon) are bound to produce a healthy dose of laughs. I stopped in on Thursday to talk with Cocina 214 owner, Lambrine Stergios Macejewski, and I think our non-stop joking and laughing about the possibilities are surely indicative of what is to come.

Madeleine demonstrates the face cutout prop.

I arrive at the restaurant and am taken to see Lambrine (Greek and pronounced Lamb-reen-E) in the back, not the usual office visit. There I find her standing before a multitude of white bags waiting for goodies from The Doggie Door for Saturdays, uh, runners. From the outset this was no ordinary conversation. Lambrine, myself and Private Dining / Catering Coordinator Madeleine Glascock are all just a wee bit too excited. I’m just a big kid, easily excited; and, I sense I’m with two others. (And I apologize to them now for talking over them so much . . . as witnessed by my recorder. Again, TOO excited.) Back here also is a large cutout of a donkey and a faceless figure — just insert head — with sombrero obviously to be enjoyed during this weekend’s events.

As we move to the office Lambrine is quick to credit City of Winter Park Economic Development/CRA Director Dori Stone with suggesting the idea, mentioning a similar event held in Delray Beach each year. She and Madeleine then dive into a large box filled with teeny sombreros, ready for each small participant. “They get little miniature sombreros, each Chihuahua,” Lambrine says, demonstrating how they’d be attached, holding them forward to be photographed. “Yeah, they’re cute,” adds Madeleine.

At the time we talked on Thursday 34 Chihuahuas had been registered, with a goal of 50, an absolute cut-off of 60, planned. If those numbers are not exceeded registration can occur right up until race time, 10 a.m. Saturday morning. Ten individual heats are planned, with Chihuahuas tasked with covering a distance of 40 feet. Doesn’t sound like a lot to us, surely, but think in Chihuahua scale, think of screaming adults and kids cheering on their favorite wee athlete.

Just wear this wee sombrero!

“We did a little practice run yesterday and Fox 35 came. It’s best if someone they don’t like as much holds them and their favorite person is at the finish line so that they will run to them, even entice them with treats,” she manages between our laughter. “So we have a barricade, and they’re all starting here and it’s just a race to the finish.”

Heat names will also relate to tequila and names of most contestants I catch relate to Mexico or tequila, which I guess is no surprise. There is one early registered contestant named Foster who promises — at 19 pounds — to be among those easiest to spot during the activity. “He was pretty chill. I was like, Foster, you’ve got to run dude,” Lambrine said of Foster during their Fox TV demo on Thursday morning.

When Lambrine first heard the idea, she said her response was instantaneous: “OMG, I am totally stealing that idea! We want to do that. Totally fun.” She added, “I want something where kids can come out, families will come out, it’s during the day, something fun. So really, I have to credit Dori because she’s the one who told me about it. I’m always like I want to do something fun. I want FUN. Totally. FUN.”

No rabbits to chase, I ask if there’s anything owners will be doing to jack ‘em up before the race, but apparently not. Also no word of the training regimen each of these little athletes may be going through in preparation for their big race.

Foster Hemphill was ready for his closeup with Fox 35, held by his mom, Julie Hemphill with Brightside Events.

Says Lambrine, “We will have one winner.” The Doggie Door will be supplying the prizes, but Cocina 214 will be awarding a gift certificate to the parents. And if they eat on the patio, the newly crowned champ is welcome to dine with them.

“The cool thing is that we have a six year old and she’s so excited. She can’t wait to come see it. There aren’t a lot of events that kids can be a part of, kids can watch, you know what I’m saying? This is kind of an adult thing that kids can come and watch, too,” Lambrine explains. “They can come as a family. We’re big family people and you know what, bring your friends, bring your family.”

They’re obviously excited, but I ask to confirm, stoke the energy in the room. “TOTALLY. It’s going to be fun. It’s different. I grew up in Dallas and Dallas just had cool events. I remember events, going and doing and seeing.” She specifically mentions fond memories off Shakespeare in the Park being a fond memory.

Cinqo de Mayo is Sunday-o!

Madeleine notes “the servers are all excited” as well.

“It’s our first but we’re going to keep doing it,” says Lambrine.

Sunday is the Cocina 214 Cinco de Mayo block party and also the second anniversary of their opening. I ask about that and when she confirms it’s only been two years, I’m rather floored.

Cocina 214 was selected by Orlando Sentinel readers as the BEST over all restaurant in January’s Foodie Awards. They were also just named Orlando Magazine’s Best Tex Mex for the second year in a row.

The ‘Running of the Chihuahuas’ event will benefit for Florida Little Dog Rescue and Winter Park Lost Pets.

Multiple Opportunities to Enjoy The Kentucky Derby With Your Friends & Neighbors

Click on respective image below for event information . . .

1. Winter Park CC – 761 Old England Ave, Winter Park
2. Starts at 4 pm at the Winter Park Country Club until 10.
3. Multiple TVs brought by Best Buy and Digital Projection Screens.
4. Complimentary Cigar Roller – First 100 Cigars rolled.
5. Amazing vendors like Taps, Flemings, Matildas, Barnies Coffee, John & Shirley’s catering etc.
6. Beer, Wine and Mint Juleps are served complimentary.
7. Cash bar for premium liquor.
8. Live music begins after the Kentucky Derby is over-2 bands.
Top 3 voted hats for the ladies receive automatic $50 gift cards, and the same goes for the man who has the best Kentucky Derby outfit. Jessilyn Park has given us the opportunity to raise some money for our charity by donating a piece of her artwork to be auctioned off. Everything is included in the price of a ticket. Click here for to purchase your ticket -winterparkannual.com/tickets Also the event is happening rain or shine, no rain checks.

Two fashion shows by Liz’s Boutique taking place at 4:20 and 5:20, and says organizer Joe O’Grady, “If someone wants to buy the hat right off the models they can do that.” Prizes for best hat, open bar and buffet.

The hats. The horses. The hoopla! Join Leadership Winter Park class XXIII in the Run for the Roses at Winter Park’s ultimate Kentucky Derby Party benefiting Welbourne Avenue Nursery & Kindergarten. The classy sophistication of Winter Park meets the Derby infield crowd to bring an evening of jockeys, juleps, and big hats. There will be no shortage of entertainment and the classic food and beverage of the Derby.
When & Where:
Saturday, May 4, 2013
3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Winter Park Welcome Center
151 W. Lyman Avenue Winter Park, FL 32789

Happenings:
Hat Contest & Best-Dressed Couple Contest
50/50 Betting
Silent Auction
Appetizers and Open Bar featuring the traditional Kentucky Derby drink, Mint Juleps
Showing of the Kentucky Derby
Entertainment by “The Mikes” and “Matt Shenk”

Childcare:
Childcare will be available at Welbourne Avenue Nursery & Kindergarten. Services will be available from 2:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m at a charge of $15 for one child and $25 for multiple children. Extended childcare is also available until 9:00 p.m. for an additional $5.

Hat contests are a part of all three Kentucky Derby events tomorrow. These hats are from Liz’s Boutique on Park Avenue, and her models will be included in two of the events, both at the Chamber of Commerce and Park Plaza Gardens.

Chill-laxin’

Confession. I spent most of yesterday chill-laxin’, and it carried some over to today.

Tomorrow!

I’m not tired as much as I admit some non-stop days are ahead. It’s nice to be busy, to see so many things to do. Saturday is lookin’ cra-zay. In a good way.

In keeping with my commitment to las blogosphere, I am still writing something, though not much tonight. But some cool, fun stuff coming up, so let’s go . . .

First . . . tomorrow on what was once sort of Park Avenue’s less frequented block, things have started to come together and stuff is goin’ on! Seriously. Think in the last year all that’s opened there, with the very significant launch of the Winter Park BurgerFi. That one business, and its very cool motif, fresh and largely non-grease burger was a catalyst for the whole block. If no one else has said it, I will . . . THANK YOU, BurgerFi! Your gentrification efforts worked! I attended their opening last year, met the owners, and since they arrived good stuff has been happening on that block. So, again, THANKS!

I can just see those little legs going!

Since then . . . California Closets directly across the street, and an impending opening by Smart Coffee shortly, as well as a new sushi place in the old sushi place across the street. That last one is a change which seems to happen not so infrequently. But, I digress . . . . on the same side as BurgerFi the new Rocket Fizz opened only a few weeks ago, LaBella Intimates opened after moving from Hannibal Square and the new Hadco distributor showroom for Viking also opened. This once dusty block is taking on a trendy, eclectic sort of vibe and I like it. No, correction . . . I LUV it. This being the closest section of Park Avenue to Rollins College, eclectic personality seems just what the doctor order. Prescription filled . . . good stuff going on in the first block of Park Avenue.

That being said, they’re hoping to lure you out tomorrow evening with a little Uno de Mayo! See . . . eclectic. I LUV creative thinking, creative thinkers. And they’re having a block party, serving hors d’oeuvres and drinks and offering specials tomorrow evening, Wednesday, May 1, from six to nine. Come out and check things out . . . I think you may be surprised by what you find. Check out my blog on the recent openings, as well: http://iluvwinterpark.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/if-you-havent-noticed-youve-got-some-new-park-avenue-neighbors/

Speaking of creativity . . . a tip of my sombrero to the owners of Cocina 214. Cinco De Mayo has become a new American holiday nearly . . . . not that, from what I understand, any Mexicans actually get into it. Another nod to great marketing, it seems mostly a concoction of Corona and other Mexican beers. They will have their annual block party this FRIDAY (not Sunday) from 5 to 10 in honor of it. But what’s caught my attention even more is what they have planned for Saturday morning . . . what I anticipate will be a new tradition to rival the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, the Running of the Chihuahuas! Yes, holey frijoles, I can’t wait. AND, I’ll be speaking with Lambrine, one of the owners, tomorrow to get more info. I can just imagine all those little legs trotting along at a rapid rate!

Two Kentucky Derby parties happening Locally on Saturday.

Also Saturday . . . at least two Local Kentucky Derby parties. If you’re interested, stay tuned, because I’ll have more on them tomorrow . . . PROMISE!

I’m being yelled at for dinner. Isn’t that always the way? I didn’t cook, so I’d better run!

Til tomorrow . . . . holy bricks & Spanish moss, I LUV Winter Park!

Paint Out Was A BLAST! Busy Week Ahead!

That day last year when I caught Local painters Lynne Whipple and Don Sondag painting in Central Park.

It can be the simplest thing, most casual interaction which opens your mind, casts your attention on something new and wonderful.

I’m pretty sure for a few years I’d noticed lone painters around town, seriously involved in recording the Local scene before them in oils and acrylics. Artists go out in public, of course, spend time in parks and on streets, nothing out of the ordinary. But they don’t tend to do it en masse, travel in packs, so maybe I knew something was up even before I had confirmation.

I remember last spring seeing two of my favorite Local artists, Lynn Whipple and Don Sondag, hanging around Central Park one afternoon, involved in regular art’s more serious older sister, ‘plein air’ painting. I’d enjoyed seeing their wonderful art at the McRae Art Studios several times before, saw them that day and immediately LUVed the idea of real live painters being in Central Park creating new art, there on display for all to see and enjoy the evolution of their work, to observe. Each Artist’s individual techniques, manner while painting fascinates me a bit.

The paintings created by Wisconsin native Ken DeWaard were some of my favorites of the week.

That day Lynn told me of the Winter Park Paint Out which was ahead. A “paint out” sounded exciting. I have an active imagination, so I may have entertained visions of Artists with paintball guns in addition to their brushes, canvases, easels and umbrellas. A “paint out” evoked the idea of non-stop activity, perhaps even a battle.

During that week I did find a number of Artists out there doing what they do during such events, found my own curiosity increasing. I’ve been fortunate to see many of the world’s most celebrated museums, the Louvre and Musee D’ Orsay in Paris, The National Gallery in London, the Prado in Madrid. Viewing art has always been something I’ve enjoyed, sought opportunities in which to do it. But this event, other Local art discoveries, I was becoming more interested than ever before.

While I enjoy art from around the world, I think I now understand the art I truly LUV, most enjoy, is the art created around me, of Local sights with which I have some familiarity. Included in that is surely also meeting the Artists, knowing something about them, seeing them and their individual style in what I am viewing. You come to really know and understand the people you meet and then know over time. Art created by individual Artists can be a similar experience.

With the advent of this year’s Winter Park Paint Out, as organized by the Albin Polasek Museum, I was determined to see more, to participate at a higher level. I’m pretty sure I indicated that desire to its Executive Director, Debbie Komanski, but I’m not sure how well. I hope my stalking of her artists was never a problem. Focus and enjoyment of the event took over and each day became a little magical as I sought them out to see where they were and what they’d focused on that day. As with the Local Artists I follow, I came to know several a little better each day, know their individual stories and where they were from. Yesterday and today have seemed like something is missing as my stalking opportunities have ended.

The Winter Park Paint Out this year was a daily treat. It is now one of my own favorite events of the year, an event so easy to take part in and enjoy because it takes place over the span of an entire week. If you missed out this year, don’t make the same mistake next. It happens over the last full week of April. No matter what your schedule, there’s a way to take part and enjoy.

Looking forward to covering Local restaurants Cask & Larder and 4Rivers’ Sweet Shop this weekend at this year’s Chef’s Gala at the Epcot World Showplace.

The short time I’ve been back to writing on-line, beginning anew to build my blog has been wonderful, has already begun to produce such terrific opportunities and nice reader response. The blog can now be found easily at ILUVWinterPark.com. I’m pleased and excited to say that I will be among those covering this year’s Chef’s Gala at the Epcot World Showplace this coming weekend. This event is a yearly fund-raiser for Heart of Florida United Way. Among the amazing Local restaurants participating will be Winter Park’s own Cask & Larder and the 4Rivers’ Sweet Shop. Beginning mid to late week I’ll be writing more about the event and its two Local participants. THANK YOU to Lisa Junkerman, the Vice President of Marketing & Communications for Heart of Florida United Way, for the invitation. I’ll be attending with founder of The Marketing Square, Rebekah Brown. More in the coming days! We’re both looking forward to it!

Congrats to Carina Graham for recognition for her work with The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families. You can donate $10 to the center easily by texting HPC to 20222 today and tomorrow.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. As part of this national awareness program The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families has placed those blue pinwheels around Orlando at various businesses and other spots to heighten awareness and raise funds as part of their Paint Orlando Blue program. Contributing to this cause is EASY . . . just text ‘HPC’ to 20222 to make a $10 donation. YES, that’s it! You can find more information online at www.PaintOrlandoBlue.com. Congratulations to Local mom and Downeast of Winter Park buyer Carina Graham who was recently honored with the organization’s Semper Fidelis award for her work with the center.

Best wishes to Peter Millar manager Thomas Allen Cox.

On Saturday the Peter Millar store on Park Avenue opened and closed for the last time. Over the last four or so months I’ve had opportunity to interact with its manager, Thomas Allen Cox, quite a few times, and have enjoyed his amazing eye for color and pattern over the entire past year. Thomas is a graduate of The Parsons School in New York City and I have many friends who, like me, have marveled at the amazing and unexpected combinations he worked into displays and on mannequins in the store. His plans are a bit up in the air at the moment; but, I want to wish him my best in whatever he does, though I’m pretty sure he’ll be a success in whatever that is.

And lastly . . . I, as many others, are used to seeing rabbits on Park Avenue during the weekends. I was on Park Avenue the other day when again, here comes the rabbit guy and his wee friends. I feel embarrassed now to say I didn’t even get his name. But I did get the names of Cinnamon, the brown bunny, and her adoptive sister, Desdemona. Apparently they don’t get along too well, which may be why he carries Cinnamon and her bitchy sister rides along in the shoulder satchel. They apparently have their own little portion of the house at home but like to get out to feel the breeze in their bunny hair along Park Avenue!

So, so much going on this week and weekend . . . I’m determined to cover it all like Spanish moss covers Winter Park!

Til tomorrow . . . holy bricks and Spanish moss . . . I LUV Winter Park!

Winter Park is Awesomeness!

Very cool technology . . . design your engagement ring virtually online on the huge flat screen before you.

I received a little vocabulary update last night via the parents of an 11 year old girl. I’ve always enjoyed the word “awesome”. It seems the 2013 version is awesomeNESS. I’ve had the opportunity to use it a few times today, as it’s been a most delightful — excuse me — awesomeness Local day.

I’d met these parents, Chris & Dyanne Kozlowski, several times before, friends of friends, as the drill goes. I’d never heard their kid stories. The event we were all at was the grand opening party for The Unique Diamond Boutique on New England Avenue. They shared some sobering kid experiences while we sipped on wine, spring and summer rolls from Orchid Winter Park on Park Avenue.

I was invited to the event by Sue Hanna, who organized the party. I met her and I was immediately intrigued by an awesomeness pendant and chain she was wearing from the business. You’re not going to find me wearing it, obviously – or not, these days – but I am a definite fan of vintage women’s jewelry, vintage pieces in general. I’m a big Downton Abbey fan, and I LUV Mad Men. The vintage, period costumes and accessories help make the shows.

LUVed this vintage inspired pendant from The Unique Diamond Boutique, caught at their grand opening party on Thursday, April 25.

What was most impressive about The Unique Diamond Boutique, however, was how modern they are. They use custom, cutting edge software shown on a LARGE flat screen on the wall to custom design engagement and other rings down to the smallest detail. It makes so much sense, as you can really tell what you’re looking at when it’s blown up to 100 times the usual perspective on a screen in front of you. In addition, you receive a book which outlines the process involved in the design and production of your specific ring, following it through the process. If you’re one of the soon to get hitched, you’ve got a new spot in Winter Park to consider on your way to the altar.

I begin using ‘awesomeness’ in fun, but some word of a superlative nature is surely needed to describe this wonderful week. I won’t lie, some very good stuff is beginning to happen with my blog, my efforts to promote and celebrate Local. It’s nice, comforting, always feels good to see efforts begin to pay off. It’s also nice because a number of those things have related to the Local small businesses I work with directly. I take those relationships seriously, take nothing for granted, feel a responsibility to anyone who puts their faith in me. So, yes, it feels awesomeness when things start to work well. 

I LUV Your Style! I’m not a fashion plate, for sure, but I do LUV fashion, enjoy it when I see someone who really seems to be comfortable, yet stands apart in their own. So, I’m going to bringing that attention from time to time on the blog. I LUV your style! First up, June Smith, whom I met last night at The Unique Diamond Boutique grand opening party. Such a cool, colorful tunic style shirt with this fun abstract pattern and thick, antique gold earrings . . . contemporary with a hint of vintage. LUVed it!

Awesomeness Fashion

Wednesday I stopped by The NEW Bistro in the Hidden Garden to take photos for a fashion show they were hosting for a number of shops directly around them on Park Avenue. Participating in the show were Bella on Park Avenue, Wearable Art, Blue Door Denim Shoppe, The Tugboat and the Bird and the Orlando Watch Company. (See photos on the NEW Bistro facebook page, LINK at the very end of this blog.)

Some very cool summer fashions on display from all participating businesses, including Bistro owner Erika Boesch in an amazing orange dress from Wearable Art. I keep telling her how great she looked in it, but she either refuses to believe or just wants to me to go on and one some more.  It was a great show and makes so much sense, I believe, for small groups of individual merchants to get together to show off what they offer, complimenting one another’s strengths and exposing potential new customers to one another. So, great job to everyone participating! Too, I’ve come to understand any fashion show involving kids is going to be entertaining.

Tugboat & The Bird fashions at The NEW Bistro.

One more mention on this. Back when I was writing for print, doing my Local LUV’n Local piece, which focused each week on a Local business selling something made or designed Locally, I included the Sophisticated Peacock, a Local business owned by Sindy and Diane Meltz. They do tunics and other tops, design themselves, have them made here Locally. They were included in the fashion show as well, wore their own designs, often paired with jewelry made by another Local. I will likely be writing more about them in the coming months.

Mr. David Elliott, who owned Cottrell’s 5 & 10 on Park Avenue from the 50s to 1985, as he enjoys lunch with me at Linda’s Winter Park Diner this afternoon.

This morning after posting my piece on Linda’s Winter Park Diner I took off for the diner with my neighbor, Mr. David Elliott, who owned Cottrell’s 5 & 10 on Park Avenue. It was nice to hear the positive comments regarding what I’d written, and I did chuckle a bit to hear how much crying had ensued. Good, touching stories evoke emotion, may bring about crying spells. So, it seemed another positive to me. Mr. Elliott LUVed his burger and, I’m guessing, may have enjoyed even more sitting next to Gina & Linda in the booth. Mr. Elliott, I will tell you, is quite a ladies’ man, the kind that begins with gentle(man). He’s a class act and it was fun to include him in one of my exploits! He marvels over social media, my references to facebook and Twitter and the like. He had a few trees come down in his yard a month or so ago. That resulted in an electrical episode which fried a number of his appliances, and his television. That large box he used to have as a television is now a large flat screen and it’s an update to new technology he is very much enjoying.

The Awesomeness Winter Park Paint Out

Winter Park painting guru Don Sondag and 2013 Winter Park Paint Out participant Don Sondag paints in the front gardens of the Polasek Museum this afternoon.

So, the most awesomeness – funny how that word is fine with spell check . . . hmmmmmm – part of this week has certainly been the Albin Polasek Museum and Gardens’ Winter Park Paint Out. Oh, how I have enjoyed this event. One thing I LUV about it is that it’s spread across a whole week. There are many events I enjoy which take place in an evening or during a single day. Some even go a whole weekend. But it’s nice to have one to savor, to enjoy leisurely as I have time, as I go looking here and there for free-range artists on a mission to paint. I had some real favorites developing, but after going by the Polasek Museum earlier today, seeing new works, checking out the ones now hung inside the museum, I may have only been able to narrow it down to the entire group. There are some truly wonderful pieces of art hanging in there now, others to come. It’s a bit like Christmas with a paint smell hanging in the air. Thanks to Debbie Komanski, the staff and volunteers at the Polasek, to all these wonderful artists for providing me such engaging, fun and beautiful entertainment this week!

Okay, time for some TGIF-ing! Holy bricks and Spanish moss, I LUV Winter Park!

Happy Weekend! I met little Jake on Park Avenue this afternoon, as he was having lunch with his mom. My three might be able to get a paw in that bag!

Happy Weekend!

FASHION SHOW PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NEW BISTRO ON PARK AVENUE: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.548299225221506.1073741826.478690598849036&type=1

Happy 25th Anniversary Linda & Crew!

Linda of The Winter Park Diner (r) and two of her biggest fans, (l-r) Lisa Lyons Coney and Beth Wood.

Linda’s Winter Park Diner wasn’t always in Winter Park, though it’s never moved locations.

When Linda came to the Winter Park Diner in 1988, it was located in unincorporated Orange County. She doesn’t like to get too specific, but there were issues related to that which made owning her new business more challenging than she expected. For instance, one day someone tried to sell her a crossbow at the backdoor. Not typical diner kinda stuff.

At the end of last month I wrote about Linda’s time at the Winter Park Diner, my own experiences and thoughts on diners. I knew I’d be writing about this story again, focusing more on Linda and the people around her. As she says, 25 years, her duration at the Winter Park Diner, is “longer than most marriages.” It’s a story with many layers, as any over such a period of time.

Over the weekend of the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival I had the opportunity to meet one of Linda’s older sisters, Rose. We would have driven my life partner nuts as we engaged in non-stop quotes from Moonstruck, laughing all along the way. Rose talked about the realistic writing, characters, relating to it from their own experience growing up in a large Italian family in the New York area.

Linda and another of her sisters had purchased a New York deli before she came to Winter Park, her entree into the restaurant industry. She credits the people they purchased the deli from, an older German couple, for her training, being prepared to take on owning the diner. For her twenty five years of success at the Winter Park Diner, she also credits her employees and family.

I’m not sure if my approach of talking to her with two enthusiastic Winter Park Diner fans in attendance was genius or insanity. Lisa Coney, a friend of mine, is an enthusiastic champion for the diner, who speaks fondly of Linda and her years at the diner, coming here since she was 16. Seated on a stool next to her, Beth Wood, has been coming here since she was 22. They sing Linda’s praises, speak of what makes the Winter Park Diner special, are protective of Linda and her crew like family. Listening to them is reminiscent of hearing the oldest friends sharing stories, reacting sarcastically to one another. As in a family, they mock and kid, but it’s all in a familiar, LUVing way. They’ve got one another’s back, no question.

Linda speaks of the diner as if she’s still a bit surprised she came to it. “Believe it or not,” she shares, “(this is) one of the last places – this broker we had hooked up with to buy a business – from the get go he kept saying he wanted to show me this diner. But because he used the word diner, in my mind I was conjuring up the diners of New York, and thought I have no experience with diners. We were strictly a gourmet deli, so he showed us about, I don’t know 40, 43 places and finally on the last day said, ‘Can you just meet me at this diner? You know, I really don’t have anything else to show you, but for the fun of it, let’s go have a cup of coffee.’ And when I walked in, I went okay, this is it. Of course, I had no experience in waitressing, or servicing, anything like that, but the good news is, the owner that I bought it from, that was her second time around. She had sold it and bought it back. And she was ready to retire and absolutely LUVed me. There was somebody else who was interested at the same time but she chose me because she thought I would be successful.”

That previous owner was Liz Pulliam, whom Linda describes as “a LUVly woman”, speaks of her with a soft reverence, appreciation, explains how she’d helped guide and advise her right up until she passed away.

In 1988 the clientele was very different, as was the diner itself. Linda describes dark brown paneled walls as had been popular in the 60s and 70s. And back then, she says, the diner’s customer base was 98% male. She lightened up the space, changed the menu and environment over time, noting it’s not wise to change dramatically over night. She speaks of how well it’s built, noting the number of hurricanes it’s been through, often times coming out better than anything else around.

“Oh my gosh, we were probably the only place open during Charley in a five mile radius,” she says of the storm’s devastating arrival in 2004. “We were – oh forget it — I mean, the devastation, we were unaware of it. In my neighborhood there was nothing. By the time I pulled up my husband was like, hey, you need to go to Publix to buy bread and I’m likely really? I mean for us that would be crazy. I walked in and I didn’t stop, got to Publix and didn’t even realize why it was so dark. The first thing this lady screamed out, they’ve got coffee on register seven. I’m like ‘coffee on register seven’? So I bought out what bread they had and came to realize the devastation, I mean houses gone, there was no power.’

The big storms she’s experienced since arriving at the diner now hang on the wall over one booth, large satellite images with names the Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan. “And we did everything we possibly could to help the neighbors, to help anybody. I mean, my ice machine was working overtime. By the end of the day I had no ice because everybody needed it,” she adds.

This theme of helping neighbors and customers comes up again and again. Lisa recalls a difficult time in her own life and how she saw that in a big way. “Linda’s regulars are not just regulars, they’re family,” she says. “And when I worked in the Commerce National Bank building for a few years, I had – very unfortunately – a seizure condition and the diner was doing deliveries at that time and they would literally call my office and say we’re going to be in your office doing a delivery, can we bring you back to the diner or can we bring you anything? There are not too many diners which will pick you up and drop you off and make sure you’re fed every day when you’re not feeling well. If I didn’t show up in here someone would call and say, ‘Are you okay? Do you need chicken soup?’ It never failed that somebody would pick me up and bring me in here, but then it would be a busy lunch hour and time to go and so it would be a regular saying ‘Hey, I’m headed back that way, do you want a ride?’ This place is – there’s just no other place on the planet like it.”

And when they talk of regulars, they do mean regulars. Beth, who works at the Bob Carr Theater, explains about her two plus meals a day Linda habit. “I live in the neighborhood. I’ll come in for breakfast and then I’ll get two meals to go to get me through the rest of the day.” She remarks that her co-workers are often more interested in her food than what they’re eating.

Lisa interrupts, “Regulars even know what she wants,” she says of Beth. “I could place her orders most of the time. (Referring to a voice from the kitchen, she says . . .) Did you hear Ben? He said he cooks her order before she comes in most of the time.”

Such familiarity among people doesn’t just happen, but I think it’s a natural in such a truly Local, easy-going establishment, is accented by owners and employees who care, who care to get involved.

Linda has a number of long-time employees, 10, 15 years. She has one, Bunny, has been there since almost day one. Lisa talks of Bunny’s “cult-like following”, but Bunny isn’t loud, is more succinct, I found, than chatty. Perhaps that is a by-product of being so productive, such a popular server for 25 years at the Winter Park Diner.

I ask her what it’s been like to work for Linda for so long and the first thing she says is that Linda “is a very good person.” I ask her about her favorite items on the menu and she responds simply “I don’t know. I’ve worked here so long. I LUV the stuffed cabbage. The pot roast is excellent. I don’t eat eggs. I think I’ve served too many in my lifetime.”

Gina and Linda, her mom, pose behind the counter.

I was told of Bunny’s experiences with the family, driving Linda’s mother to the hospital when she was to give birth to her younger daughter, Gina, and later how she took Gina out for her first time trick-or-treating. I’ve heard other Gina stories, so I ask how that was. “Oh my God,” she says, still amazed by how stories might get shared in such an environment. “How did you find out about that? She was good, but she didn’t last too long. She only went around the block once. I wanted to go further, but she wanted to go home.”

I had heard a lot of Gina stories, even remember my first time in the diner way back when, how Gina was our server. I remember her quick wit, a penchant for appearing in charge, shall we say.

Lisa likes to tell just such a story from early on in Gina’s life. “I’ve known Gina since she was a little, little girl. She was just as mouthy and just as in charge when she was 5 or 6 years old. And I remember coming in one day and seeing her with a ticket book in her hand taking someone’s order. She was 5 or 6 years old. She could run the kitchen, she could work the tables. And I remember asking, oh, Gina, are you a waitress today? She goes no way, Lisa, I own this place. And she’s still like that today.”

I get the chance to talk with Gina, who has an older sister, Jill, and I definitely get the softer, less in charge side of her. “I love working with my family,” she says in response to what she likes about working at the diner. “I don’t think I’d have it any other way. It has its moments, but at the end of the day I get to work with people who love and genuinely care about me. It’s my life. Everybody’s like family. Angie, that’s one of my mom’s best friends.” Angie is another long-time server at the diner.

I ask about favorite memories and she generalizes. “I have a lot of them. I don’t know, I guess just coming here and sitting up at the counter and everybody being, you know, talking to me.”

As we talk, I have a view into the kitchen, see Linda’s back as she mixes salad dressing. I’m getting to the end of my questions for Gina, and ask simply, Are you proud of your mom?

Congratulations on 25 years, Linda & crew!

Before she can get a word out her eyes fill with tears, not just a mild amount but I see my casual question touched a deep and sincere attachment. “I’m very proud of my mom. My mom is my hero. She’s the strongest person I know,” she finally manages. “I LUV my mom. I’m really proud of her. She’s worked very hard. I just hope I can do a good enough job, you know, following in her footsteps. Those are big shoes to fill.”

As Gina talks Linda has now turned and is coming out of the kitchen, looking at me and wondering WHAT I’ve done to her daughter. As Gina is wiping her eyes, I explain the scenario to Linda who gives me a look of controlled containment, turns and goes back into the kitchen. There was no doubt from those eyes there was about to be a mother daughter tag team of tear producers. She came back out a short time later and gave Gina a big hug.

Gina turns to me and says, “She really is my best friend.”

Happy 25th anniversary, Linda and crew!