Infusion Tea

Posted on by Thor

I often stop into Infusion Tea in College Park (1600 Edgewater Dr, Orlando, FL). I usually go to Soft Exposure to listen to poets and authors but this evening I just stopped in for a bite to eat. The food is delicious and it is always fun to try a new blend of tea. I get over whelmed when I order since there is a wall of teas behind the ordering counter. There is also a counter where you can order gelatos. Gelato is healthier than ice cream.  It uses more milk than cream, and less fat. Additionally, it usually uses fewer egg yolks, another source of fat in custard-based
ice creams. Ice cream is churned quickly introducing more than 50% of air into the mix. Gelato is churned much slower which makes it more dense. Gelato has a more direct flavor. It always reminds me of Rome.

Infusion has a 60’s retro feel with the yellow Formica tables and lime green chairs. Some people come to sit for hours, sipping tea and working on a laptop.  Outside a patio enclosure has been added that looks like it came out of a shagadelic Austin Powers movie. The Arts Co-op, a  chic gift boutique inside Infusion is also a great place to get unique local hand crafted items for the holidays. Now through the end of the year if you buy one item, you get 1/2 off on another item. Many of the items are perfect as old fashioned Christmas decorations.

Ethos Vegan Kitchen

Posted on by Thor

On October 22nd, I planned to go to Rollins College to sketch a concert. I got to Winter Park several hours early and decided to get dinner at Ethos Vegan Kitchen (601 S New York Ave, Winter Park, FL). I hadn’t eaten at Ethos since it moved from it’s previous location in Ivanhoe Village. The new restaurant location is cavernous with a long bar set up against one wall. The interior easily had to be more than twice as large.

I sat at a table for one and asked advice on ordering a drink with caffeine.  The waitress suggested a sweet, organic iced tea which was quite good. I ordered a lasagna which was just as good as any meat filled lasagna I’ve ever had. If vegan food is this good, then I can seriously consider changing my diet.

I really didn’t have time to sketch if I was going to get to the concert on time, but I couldn’t resist drawing the bar which vaguely reminded me of Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” painting. The people at the bar were Ethos employees who were eating dinner before starting their shift for the night. My waitress checked up on me periodically. I don’t think she was used to having someone linger as long as I did. Pumpkin pie was written on the chalk board and I couldn’t resist kicking off the fall season with a slice. I deserve a small treat.

Sure enough, as I finished up the sketch, I realized that I was late to the concert. I decided to bag the concert and I walked back to my car instead. Sometimes my sketch plans change on a whim. I need to pay attention to that inner voice, especially when it whispers “pumpkin pie…”

White Wolf Cafe

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Paul Horgan posed for the mural I did for the Menello Museum. I had to reconstruct the mural for a book I’m writing on Urban Sketching since the original file was on a now dead hard drive. Paul purchased the sketch I did of him on the evening of the mural’s unveiling. Since he is prominent at the front of the line I felt I deeded to get the sketch back to re-scan. He agreed to meet me at White Wolf Pizza.

White Wolf Cafe, (1829 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL) was once an antique shop but is now a cafe and bar. I sat at the bar and sketched the line of nude ballet sculptures. The bar was empty until Larry finally sat down and started checking his phone for football scores. I ordered a German beer with an orange slice. It as quite good. A saxophone player, Gregory, who is Larry’s son, began to play. He plays at White Wolf just about every Saturday.

All that remains of the antiques are a series of Tiffany styled lamps scattered throughout the establishment. The bar tender was quite intrigued by my progress and wanted to shoot a photo but no one’s smart phone was working. When the sketch was done, I realized that Paul still hadn’t shown up. I got a text from him explaining that the pizza place was down the block. I met Paul and Ed Anthony, half way between the establishments. I believe they were going to check out a show at the Venue. I rescanned his sketch that night and got it into the book. A few days later, I returned the sketch to him by leaving at the Shakespeare theater box office. He is so well known in the theater community that he said I could leave it with anyone and they would know how to get it back to him.

Taco Tuesdays

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Mark Tour Calendar, every Tuesday is $2 Taco Tuesday at Wall Street Cantina in Wall Street Plaza (19 N. Orange Ave., Orlando , FL). The event includes $2 tacos, tequila shots, Cantinaritas and Corona and Corona Light beers. Tacos start flying from 2pm to 2am. I decided to do a sketch early in the day to surprise Terry who works downtown and loves Tacos. I figured I’d do a sketch and then call her at work to surprise her. Well the best laid plans go astray, when the sketch was finished I called only to find out she was out getting a massage in Maitland. I decided to order a second taco and keep working on the sketch.

As 5pm rolled around the place really started filling up. A group of white collar business men muscled up to the bar and grew louder. The waitress in a green T-shirt kept checking on my progress and she stoked my soda caffeine fix.  The $2 Tacos are only available in beef, but they were good. I headed home at rush hour to get some work done on the Urban Sketcher’s guide which is almost finished.

Cinco de Mayo

Posted on by Thor

Terry wanted to go to Cantina Laredo for their Pico de Gallo. It is located in a new knot of strip mall restaurants on Sand Lake Road. This huge fiberglass replica fountain was actually spewing water. It is the first time I’ve actually seen it work. It is hard to describe how cheesy and repulsive the fountain is. If you have ever been to Italy and seen true sculpted fountains then you will find this holds no comparison. It is sort of like the Lego Land of sculpted fountains. No, I take that back, a Lego version would have far more class.

It was a beautiful crisp and cool day however and it was nice to sketch while Terry read her magazine. The chicken flour Tacos were rather tasteless but spicy hot. I had a few of Terry’s chips to try her Pico de Gallo and it was yummy.

A woman wanted me to do a portrait of her dad but there wasn’t time.

Dish Mobbed

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Restarants.com brought a “Dish Mobbed” Event and Dine Local Movement to Orlando Area. On February 20th, I went to Casey’s Sports Bar and Grill, (1335 Tuskawilla Rd. Winter Springs, FL), where the “dish mob” event was being held. The Orlando Dish Mobs event was part of a nationwide movement organized by Restaurant.com and local community members and organizations to inspire residents to dine out and boost business at local, independently-owned restaurants.

A small group of female bloggers was seated at a table with several dishes from the restaurant. A news anchor, Mike Holfeld, from Channel 6 News was interviewing participants. He conducted several interviews with representatives from Restaurant.com as well as bloggers. I didn’t see the news that night to see the news story. The only item I tried was a coconut crusted shrimp. It was decent but it wouldn’t inspire me to make the drive out to Tuskawilla a second time.

 Each year, Restaurant.com helps to fill nearly 5.5 million tables at independently owned restaurants nationwide. To further the company’s mission to support businesses at the local level, Restaurant.com is launching the second, Dine Local Dish Mobs campaign – an effort to further encourage diners to dine local at independently owned restaurants in their communities from February 20th through March 1st.

After the TV news crew left, the restaurant started filling up for the noon rush. Buzzing on several cup of Coke, I finished the drawing and made my way back home. Rather than a “Mob” this felt like a small coffee clutch, but I like the “Eat Local” mission statement. Ironically this family owned restaurant was right next to a McDonald’s.

Taste Jazz

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Since I have been working till 9PM at Full Sail, I have been searching for late evening sketch opportunities. Monday Night Jazz at Taste (717 W. Smith Street in College Park) has become a standard Monday Night ritual. They have an early set from 7PM to 9PM and then a later set from 9:30PM to 11:30PM. My sketch is usually finished before the evening of music wraps. All sorts of musicians gather in the bar area and different musicians rotate in for each jam session.

I order a Blue Moon beer and some tater tots to munch on as I sketch.  The young couple at the table in front of me were obviously on a date just getting to know each other. As always the music was lively and spontaneous. My goal at these late night sketch outings is to get a quick sketch done then get home before Terry goes to sleep.

Gator’s Dockside

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Terry and I went to Gator’s Dockside, (5142 Dr. Phillips Blvd. Orlando, FL), to watch the football Playoffs with the San Francisco 49ers playing the Atlanta Braves. Surprisingly the place wasn’t very crowded. As the game went on more people gradually filtered in. The guy at the table next to us watched the game alone and he argued with Terry about certain calls the referees made. Very late in the game, his wife and children joined him. Don’t ask me who won the game, I wasn’t facing the large flat screen TVs.

The guy at the table in front of us had an iPad still in its cardboard box. I guess he never takes it out to protect it from harm. He checked the iPad constantly throughout the game. Maybe there is a game statistics site that updates as the game is happening.  His girlfriend was busy talking to friends on her phone. I did my best to avoid catching any one’s gaze as I sketched them. The second you catch someones gaze, they consider that an invitation to see what you are up to and your clandestine cover is blown.

I ordered a Tail Gate Burger and it was so big I couldn’t open my jaw wide enough to take a bite of it. I ended up eating half of it using a knife and fork. The waitress kept me well stocked with Mountain Dew. Whenever there was an uproar I would glance at the TV screen. There was a moment when a players knee gave out and his leg twisted with horrific torque. It was played back repeatedly in slow motion. It was horrible to watch, but obviously I did watch when I could have been sketching. Today is the Super Bowl. I don’t know who is playing but I’ll be there to sketch and watch the commercials.

I just came back from the supermarket where I found out that the Ravens are playing the 49ers based  on all the helium balloons in the produce section.  I’ll be rooting for the 49ers since I like their red and gold uniforms. As a kid I used to get a mini NFL helmet from a gumball machine every Sunday and I always liked the 49ers helmet logo. Mark my words, they can’t lose.

Monday Night Jazz at Taste

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I have been working a late shift at Full Sail from 5PM to 9PM. That means I’ve had to search for events that go late into the evening. Jazz at Taste (717West Smith Street in College Park) fits the bill. Danny Grudal, Chris Muda and Michael Wells started a set when I arrived. I ordered some crispy tater tots, a beer and got to work. Different musicians joined in for different jams. A saxophone player I had met at Terrace 390’s Jazz event said hello.

This is a great way to relax after a hectic day. Soloists would take the music and improvise their own riff on top of it. When a performer got lost in the moment, the audience at the bar and tables would root him on with laughter, clapping and shouts. It is quite addictive. I nodded my head to the beat and tapped my foot as I sketched. I tried to let the lines flow unhindered.

These Jazz sets happen every Monday Night from about 9PM to 11PM. There is no cover.

Tijuana Flats

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On my way to Urban ReThink, I decided to stop by Tijuana Flats, (8 North Summerlin Ave.), for some Mexican food and a sketch. I ordered a Chimichanga and a Coke. Anytime I eat alone I end up sketching. Two men sat at a table opposite me having an animated conversation about sports. The walls were covered with quirky murals of aliens in UFOs. The murals had an urban graffiti quality to them.

I’m writing this post on a flight back to Orlando from Paris. I was surprised by how much graffiti there was in and around Paris. Of course there is always more graffiti along railroad tracks. It was odd that most tags were crossed out with a single spray painted line. Only tags that were precariously high had any hope of lasting. I suppose graffiti is an ephemeral art. In a city with so much beautiful art, architecture, and history, the graffiti was just an eyesore.