Let’s do lunch – this phrase forks up to a whole new level of food at The Bistro tucked inside Marion Technical Institute, 1614 SE Ft. King Street, Ocala. The Bistro, a hands on experience in cooking and serving to the public, is part of the training for future chefs at the Culinary Institute, one of several technical programs at the Institute.
You can do lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. most days, Monday through Friday. Call (352-671-4765) to make sure they are open (school holidays and all that). Come through the front entrance and they’ll direct you to The Bistro.
food festivals and schools
Menu choices the day we went included soup, salad, sandwiches, a hot entrée special, grilled sandwiches and chicken done different ways plus two cakes that looked wickedly rich (we resisted). Prices ranged from $2.75 for soup and salad to $5.00 for chicken fingers to go (yes, you can get to go).
This is a dynamic learning situation and we, The Bistro customers, are like a final exam. Does this soup taste good? Did the rolls rise enough? Taste and see. Yes and more yes.
food festivals and schools
Perhaps lunch is waiting for you – cooked by chefs in the making. Check the phone book for a technical institute near you then see if they serve lunch. I can recommend The Bistro here in Ocala – good food served by students whose jaunty chef’s hats are on the rise – future culinary stars perhaps with their own television shows. And we can say, ah, we knew them when . . .
Continue your munching with a walk through food festivals, ah, the free samples, and the great aromas. Here are some possibilities in November .
Food festivals offer samples of local & international cuisine
The Orlando Food and Wine Festival, downtown Orlando on Nov. 14 and 15 – along Robinson Street along Lake Eola from Rosalind to Eola Drive. Enjoy you repast on the north side of Lake Eola park. Hours are 12 to 9 on Saturday and 12-6 on Sunday. Advance tickets on Website. Weekend pass is $15; one-day pass is $10.
The 35th Annual Homosassa Arts, Crafts & Seafood Festival, Saturday Nov. 14 from 8-5 and Sunday, Nov. 15 from 8-4:30. Entry donation is $2, children under the age of 12 admitted free. Pets are not allowed. Any festival that is near the water is going to have good seafood – think shrimp.
This weekend, Nov. 7-8 is the 21st annual Ruskin Seafood Festival at a waterfront park right on Tampa Bay. Saturday hours are 10-5, Sunday 10-4. Island music, strolling entertainment, arts and crafts and lots of seafood – lobster, oysters, clams, mullet, shrimp, need I say more?
Finally, a do-it-yourself suggestion – every Friday at Cocoa Village from 11:30 to 1 is a brown bag lunch while listening to live jazz. You bring your lunch and they have some benches but bring your own lawn chair to be sure of a seat. Different musicians show up each week. Cocoa Village is in downtown Cocoa located 20 minutes from Kennedy Space Center.
Did you know that there are lunch suggestions in every chapter of my book “50 Great Walks in Florida”? And for the night walks, there are dinner suggestions, all listed under Trip Essentials. And yes, myself and friends tried each selection. Enjoy!
Coming next month in Saturday Morning magazine = Flower Power
©2009 Lucy Beebe Tobias. All rights reserved.