Amy Drew Thompson

Orlando

Multimedia Food Reporter at Orlando Sentinel

Multimedia Food Reporter at @orlandosentinel. Former Orlando Local Expert, @10Best /USA Today Travel. Overuser of em dashes. I eat and I write things.

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Articles

Beverage- and beauty-forward Epcot lounge, Geo-82, now open

2 weeks ago | mercedsunstar.com | Amy Drew Thompson

The fireworks-explosive fixtures at Geo-82 only add to the snaps of the real ones outside as guests take in views of the Luminous spectacular from the sophisticated, climate-controlled luxury of this new adult-exclusive lounge. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel/TNS) TNS ORLANDO, Fla. - By day, the views from the newly opened Geo-82 are alive with the color and movement of Epcot's World Celebration Gardens and World Showcase Lagoon.
Who's your daddy? Probably the hungry one! Feed him for Father's Day

3 weeks ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

Your dad, or the father figure in your life, could go either way when it comes to eats, with some preferring a swanky seared steak and others well satisfied with a sack of burgers. The holiday offerings on this roster go both ways and also feature some fun freebies: including beer, ice cream and even cigars. Read on for some ideas on how to feed your father on June 15.
Spanish River Grill is an immaculate resurrection

3 weeks ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson
Cruller to cronut, plain glazed to garish, celebrate this classic confection

3 weeks ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

Walking into a shop like 88 Donuts Bakery Cafe can be overwhelming. The smell of fresh doughnuts, floating like gorgeous golden life preservers in the shimmering fat of the fryer, hits you in the parking lot. And by the time you get inside, where the aroma intensifies and your pupils dilate amid the sheer color and variety of fresh rings and pillows, cake and yeast, plain and glazed and sprinkled and stuffed ... you may not know what to get. But, owner Kimhuy Kea will be there to guide you.
Beverage- and beauty-forward Epcot lounge, Geo-82, opens Wednesday

3 weeks ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

By day, the views from GEO-82, which opens Wednesday, are alive with the color and movement of Epcot's World Celebration Gardens and World Showcase Lagoon. By night, those lucky enough to score seats for the GEO-82 Fireworks Experience, certain to be one of the park's hottest tickets for years to come, will enjoy bites savory and sweet along with champagne sips as they take in the nearly 20 minutes color and movement that is Luminous, the explosive nightly fireworks spectacular.
OSC, 4Roots Farm partner for hands-on, urban farming summer camps

4 weeks ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

Orlando Science Center and 4Roots Farm have been partnering for many years, within and without the OSC's on-site 4Roots Cafe, but this summer, they're taking their "Food Heroes" exhibit one step further and creating all-new ones at an exciting new immersive summer camp.
Community is part of the culinary mission at Caravan

1 month ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

I was something of an early bird on my first visit to Caravan Uzbek & Turkish Cuisine, a place I'd been wanting to visit for some time, but hadn't managed to until happenstance had me in the right part of town at the right time. Interestingly, there was a teenager out in the restaurant's driveway, managing the flow. It was interesting for a few reasons. It was barely 6 p.m.It was a weekday. And from the looks of things, we were about to be the lot's only occupants.
That's all, yolks! Asian egg dishes delight around Orlando

1 month ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

I just crushed about a quarter of this vegetable egg foo young, which according to my brief research has more than a few acceptable spellings and a tremendous number of fans. It is my favorite American-Chinese takeout staple. Done perfectly, it's wok-fried in a generous pool of oil, soft and tender inside with a crispy, wispy exterior and heavy with vegetables - all of them. Broccoli and carrot, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, mushrooms, cabbage, rough-chopped hunks of baby corn.
Tasty theming makes the Epic Universe worlds even more immersive

1 month ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

"You have to try the Labotocotta," Robert Martinez Jr. tells me. "The what now?"He laughs. "The Labotocotta," he repeats. We are sitting inside the soaring space at Mead Hall, the most epically designed dining space in the How To Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk world at Epic Universe. And on this morning, the space that perfectly captures the town-hall essence of this whimsical Viking world, so beloved by fans, feels surreal for many reasons.
Memorial Day Weekend offers honor active military and veterans

1 month ago | orlandosentinel.com | Amy Drew Thompson

Restaurants and resorts around the city and throughout Central Florida are celebrating Memorial Day weekend with fun events and specials, as well as discounts for and charitable efforts toward military personnel and nonprofits that support them. Read on for a delicious selection:American Social Bar & Kitchen: This Memorial Day, come "Tip Your Troops." In partnership with Horse Soldier Bourbon, the restaurant is bringing back their fan-favorite Peach Tea Cocktail for the weekend.