Winter Park, Florida
A dinner reunion
Dined
in January 2014
Northeast of Orlando and all the Disney parks, Sea Worlds,
and Universal Studios is the city of Winter Park,
a small city community with lots to offer as far as shops, museums, and
business. I was meeting some friends of mine who lived in the Orlando area that I
worked with over in Afghanistan at FOB Shank, which we casually nick
named “Rocket City,” since it was attacked
more by the enemy than any other base in the country. Deb and her husband knew the Orlando area,
more than me, so they picked the location for me to meet and enjoy a reunion
dinner, and that place was a small Italian Restaurant called The Prato.
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****
The worlds best restaurants, based on the
That I visited and reviewed on this site…
****
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Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Sydney, Australia
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Christchurch, New Zealand
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Cape Town, South Africa
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Dubai, UAE
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Dubai, UAE
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New Orlean’s, Louisiana, USA
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Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
Star
ratings chart:
5 stars
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Extraordinary
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4 stars
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Outstanding
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3 stars
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Exceeded
expectations
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2 stars
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Above average
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1 star
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Average
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No star rating
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Basic,
poor, or appalling
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Review basics:
Overall Star rating by
Wine, Dine, & Play:
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4 of 5
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Quality of food:
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8 of 10
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Presentation:
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7 of 10
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Wine selections by
region:
Scroll below the main review section to see the tasting
notes of the wines chosen.
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8 of 10
Old world:
1.
Spain: Rias Baixas, Ribera del
Duero, & Rioja
2.
Italy: Piemonte, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto,
Toscana, Sardinia, Montalcino,
Abruzzo, Pulgia, & Sicily
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Customer service:
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7 of 10
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Ambiance:
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7 of 10
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Corkage fee’s:
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American Restaurant standard is $25.00 per bottle
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Restaurant style:
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Casual
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Dress code:
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Smart casual, or Casual
attire
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Reservations:
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Recommended
Make reservation through opentable.com, or by contacting the restaurant
directly. See contact info below the review section
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Walk-ins:
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Accepted, but not guaranteed
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on
this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full
enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in
attendance. Hire a Babysitter. See Alinea Baby Gate,
god I love Alinea.
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Cuisine style:
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Contemporary, Bistro, Modern, Italian, Mediterranean, Fusion,
& Vegetarian
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Music styles:
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Background instrumental
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Business parties, hot spot, Great bar,
Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Rustic, Classy, and a
Neighborhood gem.
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Gratuities:
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Industry standard is 18-20% added to parties of 6 or more
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner’s,
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Parking:
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Valet, or street parking
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Transport options:
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Taxi, limousine, personal vehicle, and walking
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The restaurants reviewed on
this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the
excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead
of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium, to high
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant, and nonsmoking patio
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Patio:
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Yes
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Chef:
Brandon McGlamery
Food price per person
(Excluding gratuity)
Price chart:
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - Under 75.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
My food bill:
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Currency:
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Country :
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Price chart:
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$45.00
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USD
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$
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£26.92
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GBP
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£
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€32.68
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EUR
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€
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$49.84
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CAD
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$
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$50.30
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AUD
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$$
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¥275.50
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CNY
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¥¥¥¥
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Visit these sites to
get up to date currency rates:
Alternatively, visit:
Scroll down below the main review to see cost of wines and tasting
notes.
From restaurants home page:
Blending simplicity and inspiration, Prato celebrates
cuisine from Italy’s rich culinary landscape, seamlessly blending Italian
classics with modern techniques and seasonal ingredients. The warm space
welcomes guests with its contemporary design balanced by rustic elements,
including a long bar, which encourages a vibrant and communal atmosphere. With
its window-paned doors and year round patio seating, Prato emphasizes the
“Park” of Park Avenue.
Main review:
I met my friends at The Prato Restaurant, enjoying the
small town feel and square where the restaurant was located, and the unique
setup of the dining room. The bar was down the center in a long square with
tables and booths on either side. Beyond the bar were the kitchen and the
famous picture of the pigs symbolizing the restaurants artistic design.
Along the right wall near to the booth where we sat was a symbolic sign of a classical bistro style restaurant having a large
chalk board showing the specials of the day from food to drink, and classic
menu items. Deb started with a glass of Chardonnay, from the Alois Lageder Vineyards, in
the Alto Adige region of Northeastern Italy, while I had a Nebbiolo, from the Cascina Chicco Winery, a prominent
vineyard in the Piemonte, Northwestern Italy. Deb's husband stayed to non-alcoholic drinks. (Scroll down below the main
review to see wine tasting notes)
The server was very helpful going over the menu in full and
elaborate details, showing pride and confidence in what he was selling to us,
which to me shows great effort on the restaurants part to train their staff,
and hire a group of professionals who are not only there to collect a paycheck,
but to be excited about the food, and get the customer excited. Things like
that tend to improve gratuities at the conclusion of the meal, like we did for
our server. As we chatted and caught up, we ordered a starter dish of Heirloom
Eggplant Crostini with charred peperonata,
(stewed peppers) and white anchovy, very delicate and wonderful tasting starter
dish.
For the entrée course Demand her husband split the Campanelle pasta with beef
short rib, ragout, Swiss chard, and horseradish. I had a taste, and enjoyed the
wonderful flavors of the dish.
I on the other hand was in the mood for duck. So I enjoyed
the duck leg confit served over a butternut and acorn squash purée, with
roasted root vegetables of parsnips, turnips, and carrots, with a garnie of
chickpeas. The leg was topped with a
cranberry mustardo
and finished with a little fresh cut chive. This item is on the autumn and winter
menu’s, and according to the staff was one of the most popular, so I’m sure it
will return after the summer season. This was without a doubt, an absolutely
outstanding dish that does great credit to Chef McGlamery and his crew at the
Prato.
It had been a fantastic night catching up with them,
and enjoying a wonderful coursed meal and it was time to end the evening with
some coffee, and a tiramisu dessert, served in a glass dish, layered in the
traditional bread and coffee mascarpone fashion, instead of on a dessert plate.
This Restaurant reminds me of:
Besides classic American style cuisine, the United States is
known for its Italian Restaurants, thanks to the Italian immigrants of the
early 20th century, who helped take the old country recipes and
merged them with the already well diverse melting pot of American food. Unfortunately
most Americans don’t visit finer dining establishments, so their idea of eating
out is chain restaurants, which for Italian are places like little Caesars and Olive
Garden, so they will never get the chance to experience what real Italian food
like. Carabbas
comes close, but still misses the mark. Though when I travel, I don’t eat at a
lot of Italian Restaurants, but when I do, they are usually very memorable. I
would compare my experience food wise with BiCE Restaurant, near the Marina in Dubai, UAE with
my experience at the Prato. BiCE has two locations in Dubai, and is rated as
the best in the country and the top 10 in Asia. I would rate the Prato with one
of the best I have visited in the United States. It would have received a 5 of
5 on my list if the wine menu would have exceeded the old world varieties of
Italy and Spain, and if the Italian section had more or higher end varieties to
match the wonderful cuisine.
Cost of wines and other
alcoholic beverages in USD:
$20.00
Tasting
Notes:
Wine & Grape:
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Nose (Bouquet):
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Palette Experience:
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brilliant, straw-yellow color with light green hints; the
aroma is delicate with pronounced notes of subtropical fruit;
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Quite intense flavour and a
good, medium-bodied structure, coupled with lively acidity. Under proper
storage conditions, this wine will drink well for at least 2 to 4 years.
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The color is red and it has an ethereal, elegant
fragrance;
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There are hints of violet,
marasca cherry, and final notes of spice. It’s full, aristocratic, and
delicate.
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Restaurant address:
124 N. Park Avenue
Winter Park
Florida, USA
Cross streets:
East Morse BLVD &
Lincoln Ave.
Contact Information:
Maître d, reservations:
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+1 407 262 0050
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Website:
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Email:
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Online Reservations :
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Hours:
Lunch:
Wed-Sun: 11:30am-3:00pm
Dinner:
Monday
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5:30–11:00 pm
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Tuesday
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5:30–11:00 pm
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Wednesday
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5:30–11:00 pm
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Thursday
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5:30–11:00 pm
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Friday
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5:30–11:00 pm
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Saturday
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5:30–11:00 pm
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Sunday
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5:30–10:00 pm
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Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5:00)
Proprietor / Manager:
Tim Noelke
Review by:
Chef Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
"Culinary perfection
consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things
extraordinarily well."
TTFN
