Food & Drink | Home & Shopping | People & Media | Fun & Leisure | Health & Beauty | Kids & Pets
DANIELLE HANUSEK OF LIVE WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHY
Downtown Restaurant
Maxine’s on Shine
Sexy, Comfortable and Delicious
As the 10th anniversary approaches for neighborhood restaurant Maxine’s on Shine, owners Maxine and Kirt Earhart are delighted to have “solidified our love affair with the community,” Kirt says. “We’re looking forward to building on that.”
Popular with locals for its warm hospitality, tasty dishes, expansive drinks menu and live entertainment, Maxine’s on Shine returns to a charming new normal as the November celebration looms. Where once there was a parking lot, there now are raised-platform “islands of safety and comfort” for alfresco dining. Just added: a covered dog run with swamp coolers and a new doggie menu for pooch pals (Maxine’s on Shine also won the top spot for Best Pet-Friendly Restaurant). Eclectic music returns with favorite musicians such as Justin Kangrga performing blues, folk and rock. Resident artist Panther Brunotte paints on site. And 80-year-old Chef George Vogelbacher whips up menu favorites like lobster ravioli, cioppino and chicken Parmesan.
Maxine, who lobbied fervently to help pass Florida’s 2018 liquor license law for smaller downtown restaurants, attributes the couple’s success to “perseverance and passion.” Her flair for design gives the dining room its homey ambiance. “We invite you to Maxine’s like you would invite someone to the parlor of your home,” she says. “We wanted to build the kind of restaurant that we’d like to hang out at: sexy, comfortable and delicious.” —Jennie Hess
Community Coffee Spot
1 Achilles Art Café
MetroWest
2 Foxtail Coffee Co.
Multiple Orlando-area locations
3 Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar
Orlando
drunkenmonkeycoffee.wordpress.com
Twistee Treat. ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
Place for a Frozen Treat
1 Twistee Treat
Multiple Orlando-area locations
2 Jeremiah’s Italian Ice
Multiple Orlando-area locations
3 Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream
Audubon Park, Orlando
Wine Store
1 ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
Multiple Orlando-area locations
2 Total Wine & More
Multiple Orlando-area locations
3 BevFly Wine Outlet
International Drive
Caterer
1 Pearson’s Catering
Orlando
2 Puff ‘n Stuff Events & Catering
Orlando
3 Arthur’s Creative Events & Catering
Altamonte Springs
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
Downtown Restaurant
1 Maxine’s on Shine
Colonialtown
2 Kres Chophouse
Church Street
3 Anthony’s Thornton Park
Thornton Park
College Park Restaurant
1 Armando’s
Edgewater Drive
2 Shakers American Café
Edgewater Drive
3 The Tap Room at Dubsdread
Par Street
Chef’s Table at the Edgewater. ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
Theme Park Restaurant
1 Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza
Disney Springs
2 Be Our Guest Restaurant
Magic Kingdom Park
3 BaseLine Tap House
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Lake County Restaurant
1 Tiki West Raw Bar and Grill
Tavares
tikiwestrawbarandgrill.netwaiter.com
2 Haystax Restaurant
Eustis
3 1921 Mount Dora
Downtown Mount Dora
Seminole County Restaurant
1 Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café
Sanford
2 Enzo’s on the Lake
Longwood
3 Samurai Sushi
Lake Mary
Winter Garden Restaurant
1 Chef’s Table at the Edgewater
West Plant Street
2 Thai Blossom Restaurant
West Plant Street
3 The Whole Enchilada
West Plant Street
Osceola County Restaurant
1 Columbia Restaurant
Celebration
2 El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant
Kissimmee
3 Drive Shack
Corner Drive
AC Sky Bar. ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
Restaurant Row Restaurant
1 Eddie V’s
West Sand Lake Road
2 Seasons 52
Sand Lake Road
3 Chatham’s Place
Dr. Phillips Boulevard
Winter Park Restaurant
1 Hillstone
South Orlando Avenue
2 Prato
North Park Avenue
3 Sixty Vines
Orlando Avenue
I-Drive Restaurant
1 Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
International Drive
2 Café Tu Tu Tango
International Drive
3 Uncle Julio’s
ICON Park
ROBERTO GONZALEZ
Chocolate Shop
Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park
Sweet Success
An admitted chocoholic, Kevin Wray appears to have found his true calling as co-owner of Peterbrooke Chocolatier of Winter Park. He and his wife, Jami, opened their Park Avenue shop in 2001 and have continued to push the envelope creatively ever since. “Jami has added more things to the Peterbrooke menu as a whole than the company has in the last 12 years,” Wray says. “She’s always on trend, but not trendy.” One of their enduring fan favorites is chocolate-covered bacon. “Jami insisted I come up with the recipe for one reason only: So we could call it ‘Kevin’s Bacon,’ ” he laughs. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the shop is offering crew members’ favorites, such as Frito bark, chocolate-dipped peach rings, a chocolate-dipped Mexican coconut cookie, and chocolate-covered peanut butter Ritz-style crackers. Behind all the unusual combinations is an ethically sourced, high-quality Swiss-style chocolate that tastes less bitter than typical dark chocolate. “We have our own proprietary blend. Swiss chocolate is a little heavier on cocoa butter content and a little bit lighter on the solids, so it’s creamier and smoother. We’ll put our chocolate up against anybody’s. It’s just hard to beat.” —Cheri Henderson
Brewery
1 Crooked Can Brewing Company
Downtown Winter Garden
2 Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co.
Ivanhoe Village
3 Hourglass Brewing
Orlando, Longwood
Place for Something Sweet
1 Insomnia Cookies
Multiple Orlando-area locations
2 The Glass Knife
South Orlando Avenue, Winter Park
3 Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery
Multiple Orlando-area locations
Insomnia Cookies. ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
Watering Hole or Lounge
1 The Imperial
Orlando, Sanford, Winter Park
2 Hanson’s Shoe Repair
East Pine Street, Orlando
3 Mathers Social Gathering
South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando
Hotel Lounge
1 AC Sky Bar
AC Hotel Orlando Downtown
2 The Bösendorfer Lounge
Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando
3 The Alfond Inn
Downtown Winter Park
Chocolate Shop
1 Peterbrooke Chocolatier
Winter Park
2 Farris & Foster’s Famous Chocolate Factory
Baldwin Park
3 Chocolate Museum & Café
International Drive
Tacos
1 Rocco’s Tacos
Restaurant Row
2 Gringos Locos
Multiple Orlando-area locations
3 El Zocalo
Downtown Sanford
Crooked Can Brewing Company. ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
Specialty Foods Store
1 Trader Joe’s
Winter Park, Restaurant Row
2 Whole Foods Market
Three Orlando-area locations
3 Petty’s Meats
Longwood
Food Delivery
1 Uber Eats
2 DoorDash
3 Instacart
