To
continue on, I had spent two days in Orlando and had two more to go, and still
had an opportunity to do some exploring.
Tuesday was spent all in business, discussing an issue with the home
office (you never quite leave your work behind) while missing a session and
sitting by the pool. It was again a long
day, but we had dinner plans at a steak joint.
I had hoped to visit Don Shula’s but was disappointed to find out that
they were fully booked that evening (I did call at 11AM for reservations). No worries, we found a Ruth Chris nearby and
enjoyed a wonderful filet mignon followed by a peach cobbler that really hit
the spot. I dropped Chito back at the
hotel and headed up to the Orlando Brewing Co. tasting room. Orlando Brewing specializes in organic beers,
and even though the tasting room is part of a warehouse, the folks there are
very nice. Unfortunately, the beer isn’t
that good. I got a sampler, and while my
favorite was a passable Dopplebock they brewed as a winter specialty, the rest
were easy to sip and leave. Looking at
the positive side, I did add 8 new beers to the list.
Wednesday
was my last full day in town, and since it was gorgeous out (78F and sunny) I
didn’t want to let the time go to waste.
The agenda called for a long lunch, so Chito and I drove over to the
Disney Boardwalk to dine at the Big River Grill (http://www.bigrivergrille.com/). We had stayed at this location years ago with
family, and I knew we could walk around the resort (located adjacent to Epcot)
after lunch. I got a large plate of
nachos to go along with my stout, and Chito and I took the time to reflect on
work and what we were learning at the Conference. I like the food and the location, and the
beer is fine, but they basically provide the same beer year after year.
That
afternoon, the last session that I planned to attend was cancelled, so I hopped
over to the House of Beer (http://hobflorida.com/)
to see what they had to offer. I had
visited HOB on previous visits, since they have about 50 taps, offer several
hard to find bottled beers and had a knowledgeable staff, and I was looking
forward to returning. Today was no
exception, and I sat back with some soccer fans to watch Real Madrid play
Barcelona while enjoying a Cigar City Neal’s Black Saison on draft. The saison was bold and spicy (just the way I
like it), and was part of their Torcedores (cigar roller?) series of beers
where they turned each of their brewers loose to brew something special. I also was able to stop by a local beer store
called Knightly Spirits and pick up a bottle of St. Somewhere’s Patte De Singe,
a saison brewed for the folks at Red Light! Red Light!
We
investigated and decided to skip the dinner buffet that came with Conference,
and instead headed over to the Cricketers Arms Pub (http://cricketersorlando.com/) for a
bite to eat. I had never been able to
visit this famous Orlando establishment previously, always catching them during
a move to a new location. They had 6
casks, and I was pleasantly surprised to find 2 I never had before. The first was from Scottish brewer Innis and
Gunn, their original Scotch ale that was excellent on cask. The next was from Shipyard, their Pugsley
XXXX IPA, a marvelous hoppy IPA that went well with my order of a traditional
English breakfast and Scotch eggs. For
me, it was the perfect way to end the trip.
We
finished our conference the next day and made the long, uneventful trip
home. I was thankful for getting a
direct flight so I didn’t have to worry about any connections. I know that work had piled up while I was
gone, but for the chance to get away to somewhere sunny for a while it was
certainly worth it. – 6279/13472
“Ere’s to English women an’ a quart of English beer.” – Rudyard Kipling
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