Saporito, Ocoee

About ten days ago I tried this Italian restaurant at the end of Old Winter Garden Rd at lunch time. It is in the strip mall that has Rusteak. If you are coming from I-4 you can reach it by going down 50 and cutting across to OWG Rd or take 50 all the way to just before the overpass for the loop that is just before Winter Garden. I forget the name of the street. They have been open for three months. It's Italian (owner) with a Puerto Rican (chef) nuance. I had small order of zuppa di pesce for $6 and pancetta alla saporito for $10. The zuppa was a fairly large bowl of clams and mussels and one shrimp in fresh tomato and stock broth. The seafood was pretty fresh. One mussel had a beard. It was a nice beginning. The plating was considered. The pancetta was three finger wide strips of pork belly with beans. The beans had nice flavor. The pork was a little dry. They leave a lot of fat on it. I would prefer a little trimming or more rendering time. They also do a lot of flatbreads, pastas, salads, calzone and panini. Not just run of the mill ingredients and pairings. A variety of antipasti. Quite a few specials. They were doing meatballs and short ribs and some other things that day. I believe all their ingredients are procured in order to conform to a variety of dietary infirmities (gluten, lactose, etc). I Thought that it was a vegan type place when I came here, but, the menu and the few things I had seem to succeed despite the hurdle they have created for themselves. You wouldn't know it's good for you. The pricing is also very fair. I almost tried an alfredo. It was only $10. I just ate too much pizza for dinner the night before. I wasn't hungry. The pricing here makes it possible to eat like an Italian. A pasta as a first or middle course and a main. The mains were all (or mostly) under $20. The dinner menu is similar. A few trade outs (panini). The place is cute. Big, open space. Open kitchen and bar in the rear. windows up front. Little décor. Service was good. It seats about fifty. There were three other tables seated at noon. They also make baked goods. It's worth a trip.

*There are three other restaurants in the strip mall. Negril, A Middle Eastern or Greek place called Prime and a pizzeria named Joe's. There is also a hipster ice creamery on the cross street. I would have tried it, but, they don't see fit to crawl out of bed until 2pm. I guess people need time to digest lunch before they get their cream on.