Universal CityWalk previews Antojitos restaurant - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

" 2014 has just begun, but Universal Orlando is already well underway in their ambitious agenda to make over their CityWalk dining venue before Harry Potter's Diagon Alley expansion opens this June. The new Red Oven Pizza Bakery was the first of 8 new restaurants to open, and is recieving respectable reviews. The next to debut will be Antojitos, a replacement for the former Latin Quarter restaurant, where I (along with 3 other journalists) was invited on Thursday (1/9/14) for an exclusive Antojitos preview tour and taste-test of their authentic Mexican cuisine and tequila.

My visit began with a tour of the completely-rebuilt building, whose aesthetic is summed up by Modesto Alcala (our guide and VP of Revenue Operations at CityWalk) as if a Mexican church were taken over by urban hipsters. That combination is obvious from the outside, where the Spanish Mission facade (complete with a working bell circa 1893 that weighs 16,000 lbs) looks like it's been tie-dyed with psychedelic primary colors.

The courtyard in front of the restaurant will have a "street" atmosphere, with full-service al fresco table dining, along with vendor carts and a bar fashioned from a vintage VW mini-bus. The first floor "marketplace" features an extensive bar, and even more extensive open kitchen, where diners can still at the stainless steel counters. The dining room decor is an ecclectic mix of polished concrete, aged woods, courragated metal, all covered with bold graffiti and neon that balances between of-the-moment edgy and over-the-top ironic. The "seating pods" tat resemble giant wooden tubs ensnared in a nest steel cables should be a talking point. Upstairs, the "hacienda" has a more intimate, upscale feel; there is a private dining room, and covered outdoor terrace with a killer view, along with a separate kitchen and slightly more expensive menu.

After admiring the aesthetics -- which include a wall of Luchador-painted kewpie dolls and a display of Dia de los Muertos skulls -- we settled in for crash course in agave with David Grapshi. He's a national sales manager for Genini Spritis & Wine and an internationally-recognized tequila expert, who has been conducting "tequila 101" training sessions with the Antojitos staff. I learned that only liquor distilled and bottled in Mexico from 2 specific agave plants can legally called true tequila (mescal can be from any of 29 plants); that anejo is aged at least 1 year in used bourbon barrels; and that the proper way to drink tequila is to sniff it open-mouthed from a wide glass, then press the tequila to the roof of your mouth with your tongue, sipping a shot slowly over 15 to 20 minutes." (visit link)

Type of publication: Internet Only When was the article reported?: 01/10/2014 Publication: Orlando Weekly Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: regional News Category: Business/Finance

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