As a local, Jim Greene is very excited about Disney Springs’ newest sip, SunShine Stroll Orange Pilsner — because it’s local, too. The beer’s July 1 release pairs neatly with the return of Flavors of Florida, which offers visitors to the Springs a taste of the Sunshine State.
Greene, general manager operations for Disney Springs, hails from Satellite Beach. SunShine Stroll Orange Pilsner, a light and citrusy offering, is custom crafted by Playalinda Brewing Co. from Titusville, an old rival city of Greene’s.
“We used to play them in football!” he notes with enthusiasm, but he reserves the bulk of his excitement for the beer itself — the refreshing result of years’ worth of visitor queries.
“Both domestic and international travelers ask about local beer all the time and ask, ‘What do you have that I can’t get anywhere else?’ We never had an answer.”
Now, they do — the Pilsner is a Disney Springs exclusive — and it joins the fourth annual Flavors of Florida lineup of more than 80 items, found at more than 40 locations from kiosks and fast-casual offerings, to storefront stop-ins, to fast-casual and full-service restaurants.
This hazy 4.5% ABV offering, with its touch of Florida orange, fits right in.
“It’s what you call a walking beer,” Greene says, and beginning July 1, visitors can grab a 16 oz. can or a draught at any number of outposts on property and walk it end to end. It will be sticking around after the summery event ends on Aug. 11.
In fact, the beer has even been incorporated into some of the festival’s offerings, such as the orange pilsner goat cheese dip (available at Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar) and crispy pork-topped St. Augustine datil pepper frites (at The Daily Poutine).
Over at Morimoto Asia, where past Flavors of Florida events have seen proteins like gator and frog legs giving folks a taste of former Executive Chef Yuhi Fujinaga’s penchant for thinking outside the box, this year’s take by Executive Chef Takeshi Ikeuchi speaks to something more familiar to most: Key West shrimp.
“He enjoys using this in his Cantonese-style cuisine,” says Fujinaga, now director of culinary for Patina Restaurant Group, “but also wanted to bring in his Japanese heritage by bringing in chilled soba noodles. They are infused with green tea, too, which is very unique.”
The dish also employs vegetables from local growers, such as carrots, cucumbers and purple daikon from small-scale, organic Sugar Top Farms in Clermont. This is an element the festival has been tapping into, Springs-wide, as the event has grown, says Disney Springs Vice President Matt Simon.
“It’s no longer just ingredients that are Florida-familiar,” he says. “We’re bringing in the farmers of our community and showing our guests, in a very special way, how to enjoy these flavors in a truly authentic way.”
Part of this is encapsulated in an all-new pairing series that will connect guests with their food and drink, says Michael Reiss, general manager of Disney Springs business relations and food and beverage.
The series will be hosted at The Edison, Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, Paddlefish, Wine Bar George, City Works Eatery & Pour House and Jaleo.
“It’s one of those things we’ve layered in to give more options and value to the guests,” Reiss explains. “These will have a limited number of seats, with two events per location.” Tickets for these events, which span multiple courses and run from 1.5 to 3 hours, drop July 1 at disneysprings.com/pairingevents.
“It’s exciting for guests to be able to have this personal connection with the chefs in Disney Springs,” says Simon. “They’re such an important part of our story and what we do. And for them to be able to get together and have an amazing food experience that nobody else in the world can have.”
History, too, plays a role. As Florida is the birthplace of the Cuban sandwich, several venues will be doing takes, from the Tampa-style Cuban at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ to an Ybor City-style dog at B.B. Wolf’s Sausage Co.
The beverage teams have been getting in on the fun, too. At Morimoto Asia, the orange shiso mocktail allows guests of all ages to get in on Florida flavors with a house-made orange shrub. Frontera Cocina has a Sunshine State margarita. Gideon’s Bakehouse‘s orange mocha nitro cold brew will be jet fuel to its queued-up fans while eet by Maneet Chauhan’s Sunny Days brings them back down, its ice pop-laden, whipped vodka delight is a cocktail in dessert disguise.
And of course, there’s that beer, the one Flavor of Florida that’s sticking around past Aug. 11.
“It’s here for good,” says Greene.
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
Leave a Reply