The Skinny on Skinny Cocktails

Wow. I never realized that a couple years after Bethenny Frankel developed a line of Skinnygirl cocktails, many bars and restaurants would be offering their version of "skinny" drinks. Kudos to my girl, Bethenny, by the way, for coming up with this idea and seeing it through to its successful fruition. 

The Cheesecake Factory, Houlihans, and Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine bar, all offer lines of "skinny" cocktails. Fleming's new "Skinnier Cocktails" are all 100 calories or less. Olive Garden smartly developed a couple of skinny non-alcoholic drinks too. The White Peach Cobbler version (white peach and mint, mixed with a splash of iced tea and lemonade) sounds good to me! 

Flemings' Skinnier Cocktails

I am also impressed that hotels are latching on to the trend. Recognizing that its guests want to look their best for swimsuit season, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has recently come out with several skinny cocktails. For example, at the Fairmont Mayakoba in Mexico's Riviera Maya, guests can indulge in a "May-Chay Skinny-tini" prepared with chaya, a native plant that is known for lowering blood sugar levels and being packed with vitamins.


Where will you enjoy your next "skinny" drink?

See Inspiring Art this Weekend in Winter Park

Curtis Krueger, Wilmington, N.C.

I realize that this weekend is St. Patrick's Day, but I am more excited about one of my favorite local annual events: the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. My friends and I like to peruse the rows and rows of very unique art, which includes sculpture, jewelry, paintings, photography, ceramics and well....just neat things that you would not see anywhere else. Many people make a day of it, as they  bring their blankets, sit on the grass, and listen to the featured local musicians.


It is not only the art and culture, though, that draw me to the Sidewalk Art Festival every year. I love the booths serving up a variety of fair food and grilled food, including vegetarian items. The rows and rows of food options typically include Cuban sandwiches, funnel cakes, kettle corn and caramel popcorn, corn dogs, grilled chicken pitas, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. I can't wait!


Where: Central Park, Park Avenue, Winter Park
When: Friday and Sat., March 16 and 17, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
             Sunday, March 18: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Fun, Local Food & Wine Tastings

Cafe Tu Tu Tango at Baldwin Park

‘Tis the season for food and wine festivals in Central Florida. There are too many great events to cover all of them today, but I will tell you about the two coming up soon: The 2012 Food & Wine Festival at Baldwin Park this Saturday, March 10, and the Taste of Lake Mary on Monday, March 19.

Normally, I would be so excited about the Baldwin Park event because of the quality restaurateurs that will be serving up food and beverages including Café Tu Tu Tango, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, Funky Monkey, Stonewood Grill, Shula’s 347, and Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen. However, the cost is $65 each, which is too pricey for me. The fee reflects the evening’s great cause, though: the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

J.W. Marriott Primo at Baldwin Park

The Taste of Lake Mary is somewhat more reasonably-priced at $40 per person or $75 per couple. It also features food from some of the highest-quality restaurants in Orlando, such as Fishbones, Liam Fitzpatrick’s, Stonewood Grill, Shula’s 347, and Fin-esse.

Where & When:

March 10, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., New Broad Street, Baldwin Park.

March 19, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m., Park Place at Heathrow, 1501 International Parkway, Lake Mary.

Ellen is Most Popular Travel Companion

Photo Courtesy Ellen's Facebook Page

At least it would be a hilarious vacation. World travelers say that, if they could travel with any of the top celebrities on Twitter, they would most want to take a trip with Ellen DeGeneres. The new Living Social survey also found that people would also like to travel with Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Katy Perry.

Another interesting fact from the survey: nearly 40 percent of U.S. travelers have stolen something from a hotel during their stay. The most common items taken: towels, bathrobes, batteries, and pillows. Sadly, I am not surprised by this at all.

Something else that did not surprise me: Americans are vacation-starved. On average, Americans had 16 days off last year, compared to Australians, who had 27 days, Canadians (21 days), Irish (28), and those from the U.K. (23). Two-thirds of employed Americans said they took at least one staycation last year. This is one of my favorite types of vacations!

What do you think about the findings of this survey? Would you take something from a hotel? How many days did you have off last year and where did you go? 

Gourmet Food at Lake Mary Food Trucks

It was a cool, rainy day here in Central Florida this past Sunday. But that did not keep a motley group of food trucks from serving up their delicious wares at Central Park in front of City Hall in Lake Mary. Families came out and were having a great time as well. The park has plenty of seating and natural beauty, so it beats some of the other food truck stops in parking lots.

I was excited to try new food from unique trucks I haven’t seen at other food truck events. Fork in the Road and Nubu Grill did not disappoint. Fork in the Road, started by Lake Mary chef Bryce Balluf, offers up gourmet plates such as Scotch Quail Egg, Toasted Tomato Mac ‘n Cheese Pops, and Elvis Cookie-wich.

Nubu Grill also had tasty dishes such as Lemon Pepper Flounder and Polynesian Beef. I had the Coconut Curry Chicken from Nubu Grill, and was really impressed with the homemade curry and spicy peanut sauce on this dish. Plus, I got a big serving of rice, chicken, and fresh vegetables for $7.

Central Park - Lake Mary

Some of the other food trucks that I was not able to try but that looked great were: Louis Bistro, Kona Dog, and Firehouse BBQ. If you have tried these food trucks or the Lake Mary food truck event, what did you think? Comment below.

When: The last Sunday of every month.

Where: Central Park, 100 North Country Club Rd., Lake Mary (on the corner of Lake Mary Blvd. and Country Club Rd.)

Eat & Drink for Good Causes, Orlando!

Two Orlando events – both on Friday, March 2 – will allow you to try tasty local food and help out important causes.

The Sit, Stay, Sip & Save a Life event, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., features food and wine samples from top Seminole County restaurants. It benefits TEARS, an organization for homeless pets in Seminole County. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 the day of the event.

Where: The Courtyard at Park Place at Heathrow Center.

Spanish River Grill

Another mouth-watering event, Slow Down, includes cocktails and beers from Florida distillers and local, seasonal food tastings from Spanish River Grill, The Rusty Spoon, and Dandelion Communitea Café. It runs from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15, and the event benefits Slow Food Orlando. Call 407-648-7060 for more information. 

Where: City Arts Factory, 29 South Orange Ave., Orlando.

Celebrate Mardi Gras at Tibby's

I love the atmosphere of Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen in Winter Park, Fla., and how it reminds me of a nicer version of the many neighborhood bars and seafood eateries in New Orleans. This is such a fun, busy place, and I’m glad I went there to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Tibby's sports a vibrant bar and the seating area features a high ceiling – painted purple, no less - and authentic New Orleans décor. Plus, there are few places in Orlando where you can get real Cajun food. While the dishes we tried were close the real thing, they stopped short. The Crawfish Etoufee was flavorful and I loved the overflow of crawfish in the mix. Still, the etoufee was over-salted and not the best I have ever had. Same with the Seafood and Andouille Sausage Gumbo: it  was good, but I have had a few better versions.

The Shrimp Po’ Boy was pretty good, though. To make a good po’ boy, you need the right bread, and Tibby’s definitely has it. I'm not a beer lover, but those who are appreciate the fact that Tibby's has a wide variety of Abita beers on tap and bottled. You can find Purple Haze here! Happy Hour is every day from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

I would give the overall experience four stars out of five. Tip: don’t go during dinner hour: you will likely have a 30 minute to 1 hour wait.

Where: 2203 Aloma Ave., Winter Park.