Eating as a Member....Bella Collina Country Club!

A few months back we decided to join a Country Club near where we live called Bella Collina. It is a gorgeous community.  Unfortunately it does not have a lot of residents yet, so they are trying to up the attendance at the Club House.


Since we love to go out and eat; we visited to give it a try. Of course it was beautiful and the food had a lot of promise. We joined and began enjoying visiting the club.

Recently they hired a new chef, Chef Lauren. We were very excited as we were not 100% happy with the food quality we had on previous visits. We were more than surprised recently on our Christmas visit. They completely revised the menu and improved the food quality by leaps and bounds.....which inspired me to write a small review of the Main Dining Room.

Before I review the dining experience and food, I must say the Clubhouse and community itself is absolutely beautiful. It looks like they picked up a part of Tuscany and transported it to Central Florida. I tried to take some pictures of the fountain at the entrance of the Dining Room.......(They did not come out to good) but I am sure I will have another review as we move past the Holidays.

So.....for our first course we chose, Empire Fried Calamari with Jalapeno Love Butter and Hearty Green Salad. Both were very good and generous portions.

Second course was Crespelle; crepes with ricotta, butternut squash, cream and pancetta cracklings. YUM! It was very tasty we all pasted it around and enjoyed the fantastic flavor.

Oddly enough, we all chose the same entrée. The servers, Angie and LeDallas, did such an exceptional job at explaining the fish which none of us had heard of, we all decided to order it.

Pan seared Australian Hiramasa with cous cous, vegetables, fennel and a fabulous beurre blanc.  This left us all full and satisfied.

So......this Hiramasa fish was good. The staff told us information about it, and we had never heard of it. Of course, I had to research it. Apparently, it is called Kingfish or Cobia. Not to mysterious now, but at the time, I was intrigued.  Either way, I was more than happy with my entrée.

We did have dessert; a Lemon Meringue Crostata with an almond crust and crème anglaise. It had a wonderful lemon flavor with a light and fluffy meringue. But the almond crust had so hard, it was practically inedible. I wasn’t too upset though.......I was so full!

At the end.....we met the Chef; she is a fabulous person with a lot of terrific experience. I am really looking forward to see what new menus she comes up with throughout the new year.

So I am off, in search of more corks and forks…....Here's to a Fantastic 2010!!!

Sometimes it starts with a Cookie!

By accident I found myself in downtown Kissimmee. I had no reason to be over that way, and I hadn’t been over there in years. I noticed the downtown area had been revitalized. There are café, markets, home town style shops, and business offices. I decided to stop and a cute little cookie store called Brecks Gourmet. As soon as I walked in I was overwhelmed with the smell of vanilla and a lovely sugary aroma that comes from homemade cookies.

It is a simple family owned store, but the cookies are so much more. They have many flavors, some of which I tried and loved. I left with a dozen of Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies that were to die for. They had a nice pumpkin pie taste but also a creamy cheesecake flavor. I also got a dozen of the chocolate cherry to take as a gift to a party. Packaged in a pretty box, with a label, and a blue bow, you want to give them as a gift, that is if you can stop yourself from eating them all the way home! Needless to say everyone devoured the cookies.

So if you find yourself in downtown Kissimmee amazed by the beautiful transformation. Stop in to Brecks for some really, really great cookies

American Cheese Plate | Dean

American Cheese Plate | Dean & Deluca

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A lovely day in Winter Park!

On a beautiful afternoon in Winter Park, we decide to have a drink and a snack while walking around shopping. 310 on Park Ave is one of my favorite places. I love sitting at the bar and chatting. The bar staff is always super friendly and helpful, it doesn't hurt that they make really good drinks too! We decided to order 2 items we have never had and we were pleasantly surprised. The gator tail appetizer and the smoked salmon app.

The gator tail was tender, as they pounded it out and breaded it, and then lightly fried. It came with a lovely aioli to dip it in; we devoured it as we were super hungry from all the shopping. The bartender had described the smoked salmon much better than the menu listed. When it arrived it was so beautifully presented. A large piece of seasoned rare salmon was on top of spring mix with a large cracker and a tasty aioli for dipping. Again we devoured this it was so good, I can't wait to go back and order it again.

We continued the day of walking and shopping and then headed over to the Ravenous Pig. After our last fantastic dinner there we made a reservation to back know we were going to be in Winter Park for the day.

Again we used the Valet, and headed in. We were greeted by a very nice hostess, and seated by our favorite server Jason, so thrilled he remembers us, we asked to sit in his section, and ended up at the same table.
We started with Wine a wonderful French blend and the Gruyere Biscuits....yum! We wanted to try a few starters this time. The menu changes pretty regularly but some staples remain. First out was the half portion of the Chestnut Tagliatelle. It was absolutely the best. It had small scallops, sweet potatoes, and a nice mushroom broth with a lovely truffle aroma. I loved it!! It was wintery and delicious.

The other starter was the Charred Octopus. It was kind of like a salad, the charred octopus was on top of a bean and chorizo mix with espellette vinaigrette. It was light and flavorful. The octopus had a nice tenderness to it and the chorizo had a crisp spice that added to the dish.

We were quite full but in the ended decided to split the Pub Burger. We choose to do it truffle rib eye style. It was very yummy. As were the truffle fries. I think it would have been a nice lunch or at the bar item. I had heard from so many people how good it was and it did not disappoint. I love their food and atmosphere. However, for some reason this time I was really to leave. Maybe I was full or maybe it was because it did get very crowded all of a sudden as we were leaving. It became very loud and I was ready to head home.

It was a great day in Winter Park with wondeful food.

I'm off to work and to find more Corks N Forks!!

Cantina Laredo.....left me wanting it to be better!

A new gourmet Mexican restaurant opened not too long ago next to my favorite Flemings; every time we drove by I kept saying we needed to try it.
Finally we went in on a Saturday for lunch. It was completely empty; we found that strange but decided it would be fun to have the entire place to ourselves.


We sat at a half booth in the bar area, we wanted to sit at the bar but they have these uncomfortable looking stools with no back. We were greeted promptly but for the life of me I can't remember the server’s name. He was nice but obviously forgettable.
We ordered a glass of wine and a famous margarita, both were ok but something we could have gotten at our local Chili’s. We heard that the table side - made guacamole was the best so we had that with chips and salsa. They had 2 types of salsa both were good and spicy. One had a smoky chipotle taste that I did not care for. The table side guacamole was delicious. It definitely was the best guacamole I ever had.

I tried to order the brisket tacos but unfortunately they were out of brisket! With an empty restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. The only thing I could figure is that they did not start cooking it for evening service yet.

So we had regular steak tacos and an enchilada with mole sauce. Again, both dishes were ok, but not as fabulous as I had heard they were. I am not even sure I would return to this place. The prices were not too bad but the atmosphere was depressing and the server was unsocial able and strange. They played weird sad Mexican music, which I think was supposed to be relaxing but instead it became annoying.

Maybe in the future we will give it a try for dinner but I am still not 100% sure I would go back. I highly doubt the service and food are going to change. I actually think the place may not make it. However it does seem to have some raving fans, so maybe they are seeing something I am not.

I really wanted to like it.  I wanted it to make me want more.  The only thing I want is for it to be better, to improve!!
OH, and we didn't even take pictures, you aren't missing anything.......

What Wines to Serve for Thanksgiving - Wine

What Wines to Serve for Thanksgiving - Wine

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Grilled Duck Breasts with Black Currant Pomegranate Sauce - Food

Grilled Duck Breasts with Black Currant Pomegranate Sauce - Food

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