Bagels From Bruno
The pizza artist is expanding his craft. Plus arrivals and departures, including two new breweries.
News comes fast and furious in this town, particularly when the news is about food and the cool people who make it. Case in point: Bruno Zacchini and the various permutations of his always hot Pizza Bruno.
With a second branch currently open inside Orange County Brewers on Orange Avenue downtown, and renovations still under way at Slice by Pizza Bruno, an NYC-style spot on North Mills, hearts were all aflutter when news spread about yet another project. The already announced takeover of Hubbly Bubbly in College Park by local beverage behemoth Foxtail Coffee will now include a new venture: Bagel Bruno. “I’ve been talking to Alex [Tchekmeian, Foxtail co-founder] about food things for a while,” Zacchini told me. “I don’t know where the bagel idea came from, but we’ve started making bread at PB and a good, Montreal-style bagel is something I really want.” He says the idea might grow as a franchise, or incorporate into other Foxtail efforts, or, as he says, “I’d like to see an awesome baker involved. I can see it growing.” The operation will include bagels made with Bruno’s naturally leavened flour, spreads and sandwiches (Bruno’s New Jersey shows when he says “sangwiches”). “It’ll be cool.”
Bagel Bruno will appear in the spring (“April is what they’re telling me”), with Slice opening sometime in May-June.
COMINGS AND GOINGS
* The long-awaited Tre Bambine (originally expected last August) is open along Lake Eola. The American version of an Italian bacaro adds table service to traditional Venetian counters, offering cicchetti small plates like lasagna cupcakes, paninis and pasta.
* Our best wishes to Lauren Delgado, who is leaving her desk as food reporter at the Orlando Sentinel after a three-year hitch to join Habitat for Humanity.
* Artisan’s Table has completed its move from Pine Street to 55 W. Church Street.
* Chef Albert DeSue, having recently added his talents to Hunger Street Tacos after positions at The Smiling Bison, Scratch, Seito Sushi and Yuki Hana, has moved into the kitchen of the venerable Amura Sushi on Church Street. Expect great things once the transition is complete.
* The dizzying round of changes at 1921 Mount Dora (the departure of Norman Van Aken; the move of chef Camilo Velasco to Ravenous Pig; and pastry wizard Gloriann Rivera to Rusty Spoon) seems to have settled down with the arrival of Executive Chef Josh Oakley, who steered the original Smiling Bison in Orlando and then the Sanford version until 2018. I’ve known and admired Oakley’s work since his time at the Enzian Theater/Eden Bar in 2010.
* The great Tim Keating, who took Flying Fish Café to greatness after earning four James Beard Award nominations in Houston, has parted ways with Urbain 40 and plans to stay in the area. We look forward to his next adventure.
* Add two new craft breweries to your must-visit list: Ivanhoe Park Brewing, tucked away on Alden Road; and Sideward Brewing in the Milk District, opening March 30.
AROUND TOWN
Have a meal and do some good: Do Good Date Night is joining with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to combine philanthropy and community on April 5 at Second Harvest on Mercy Drive. Participants will spend an hour working in the SHFB warehouse on a food-related project, and then move to the community room for food, wine and beer, and interactive activities. The event supports both the food bank’s warehouse team by providing much-needed volunteer labor, along with Second Harvest’s culinary training program. Tickets are $25.
Stay in touch at joseph.hayes@orlandomagazine.com, and access a comprehensive list of my print and online reviews here!
