Orlando Dining Round-Up January 16: Tapa Toro, Sushi Pop, Shake Shack, and More

- Michelle Snow

In this week’s dining news round-up, cooking classes, chef’s dinners, and new openings. Are you hungry? Let’s dive in…

Tapa Toro at I-Drive 360
Tapa Toro at I-Drive 360 in Orlando will launch a monthly cooking class series, En La Cocina (In the Kitchen), starting on Thursday, February 11.

This Valentine’s Day class, in collaboration wth Kristen Maner of Orlando Date Night Guide, is dubbed “Love at Sea,” and will feature an array of seafood in the three dishes planned: Mussels con chorizo, Croquetas de Bacalao, and Grilled Sea Bass.

Cost is $45 per person (+ tax/gratuity), and space is limited to 12 participants. Future classes are Easter in Espana (March 10), A Taste of Spain (April 14), and Tapas! Tapas! Tapas! (May 12). Tickets may be purchased at tapatoro.restaurant/cooking-classes/.

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Sushi Pop in Oviedo is doing a Nomimono Tasting on January 20 at their recently added bar. It will feature three cocktails paired with food tastings. Cost is $30 (including tax/gratuity), and seating is limited to 12 participants. Tickets may be purchased at squareup.com/market/sushi-pop/nomimono-tasting.

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Gnarly Barley will be opening a second location at 531 Virginia Drive in Orlando. It will be called GB’s Bottle Shop and Tasting Bar and it will be a full bottle shop, package store, and bar. This new craft beer destination is expected to open sometime Spring 2016.

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Shake Shack The Chick'n Shack

Shake Shack is debuting The Chick’n Shack on its menus this weekend at both the I-Drive 360 and Winter Park locations. This new menu item made its first appearance at the Brooklyn Shacks last summer, and was a big hit.

Retailing for $6.29, the Chick’n Shack is a crispy 100% all-natural and antibiotic-free chicken breast slow-cooked in a creamy buttermilk marinade, hand-dipped into Shack-made batter, dredged through seasoned flour and crisp-fried. It is then topped with pickles, crisp shredded lettuce and a tangy Shack-made buttermilk herb mayo made with chives, parsley and thyme, and served on a a non-GMO potato roll.

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Cress Restaurant will be hosting a “Sustainable and Locally Sourced” dinner at Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford on February 9. Menu includes: 1st course – All Local Salad; 2nd course – choice of Florida Lion Fish two ways OR Seely’s Ark Farm Breast of Chicken OR Chef’s Vegetarian Creation; 3rd course – Vo-LaSalle Farm Strawberry Panna Cotta. All courses include wine pairing.

Cost is $25 for Zoo passholders, and $30 for non-passholders, and only 30 seats are available. Call Dawn Danzi at 407.323.4450 ext123 with 2nd course choice and payment to reserve.

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Dragonfly Robata Grill & Sushi has rescheduled their Behind the Knife: Sushi Class to Sunday January 23. It was originally scheduled for December 19. Cost is $60 per person and during the course, Chef de Cuisine David Song will provide his students with the tips, tricks and techniques it takes to make perfect sushi rice, and how to recognize sushi-grade fish based on color, texture and smell. A champagne aperitif and floating hors d’oeuvres are included. Visit the event’s Eventbrite page to register.

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That’s it for this week. If you have any Central Florida dining news to share, drop it in comments or send it to us via our contact form. We’ll credit you if we use it.

About Michelle Snow

Michelle is the owner and editor of CitySurfing Orlando. She also owns Zengrrl.com, is a freelance writer specializing in travel and entertainment, has authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida, and is head editor/writer at TheDisneyBlog.com. She's lived in Orlando near Walt Disney World since 1995, and still finds there's so much fun to be had in Central Florida.
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