When you mention Orlando, Florida most people immediately think of its many amusement parks that can be visited easily via cheap travel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, discount travel deals, and cheap vacation packages. Today Orlando deserves recognition for more than just its amusement parks.

Over the past decade Orland has emerged as a haven for the farm to table movement. Visiting foodies need to make their way out of the tourist district and discover where the locals go. The city enjoys a very healthy independent restaurant scene where scrumptious eats come with a side of spunk. The following are some of the tastier local Orlando restaurants, according to Sarah Sekula:

€ Yellow Dog Eats Bistro and Wine Store's more popular items include €The Rufus,€ pulled pork topped with Brie and cherry pepper rinds, then drizzled with raspberry melba, a €Scooby Snack€ of avocado hummus, and pineapple mimosas.

€ K Restaurant & Wine Bar is in the walkable College Park area and offers a menu that changes daily, featuring delicious appetizers such as fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs. Notable entrees include a filling mac and cheese with homemade sausage and the €Gold Tile Fish,€ a succotash of sweet corn, Maine lobster and fava beans.

€ Dandelion Communitea Caf©'s outside sports an herb garden, patio, and nearby yoga studio. Inside guests find hand painted chairs, a piano, and a wide variety of eclectic people. Everything is organic, with much of it local. This caf© is well known for its tasty dishes, such as the €Fluffer Nutter Sandwich,€ €Henry's Hearty Chili€ and the €Giddy Up€ wrap.

€ Maxine's on Shine's appeal includes its brunch and live music. You can hear everything from cellists to karaoke singers while you nibble on skillet lasagna, contemporary marsala, and brisket burgers.

€ Rusty Spoon is a farm to table gastropub in downtown Orlando which offers fresh foods from local farmers and food purveyors. Crowd pleasers include the grilled culotte steak, a cocoa rubbed top sirloin with fingerling potatoes. A wide selection of craft beers, signature drinks, and wines are offered.

€ Pom Pom's Teahouse & Sandwicheria can be found in the Milk District. There diners enjoy a variety of inventive salads and sandwiches such as €Mama Ling Ling's Thanksgiving,€ which comes with turkey, Gouda, stuffing, ginger cranberry chutney, mashed potato, and cream cheese; or the €Fu Man Chu,€ a combo of Asian spiced pulled pork, goat cheese and ginger cranberry chutney.

€ Scratch serves American style tapas in a bohemian bistro setting. Patrons adore the pork belly adobo, shrimp and grits, pan roasted duck breast, and thick cut Scratch fries, and particularly a citrus thyme marinated sea bass with potato fennel hash.

€ Ravenous Pig is a Winter Park gastropub that specializes in dishes such as lobster tacos, house made soft pretzels, and gruyere biscuits, with Prohibition era cocktails like the bacon infused bourbon. Among its more popular entrees are pork porterhouse, Canaveral Cobia, and striped bass.

€ Cask & Larder niche is comfort foods. It functions as a Southern public house that offers fried chicken, funnel cake, crispy brussels, and Ribeye hot dogs on its menu. Its pumpkin spiced beignets with rum caramel sauce are out of this world. This restaurant has its own brewmaster and specializes in hand crafted cocktails.

€ The Coop is where patrons can enjoy down home Southern cooking with influences from the Carolina Low Country to where Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana meet the Gulf of Mexico. Fried chicken, shrimp and grits and Mississippi mud pies are all winners. The €Nibbles€ portion of the menu which includes pimento cheese with a buttery baguette or deviled eggs is well worth checking out.
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