Highball and Harvest, Orlando

I went here Friday afternoon after a snafu with Yelp mislisted the times (it's 6pm not 6am dumb shits) for my intended destination - Norman's. It is their more casual restaurant. It replaced Vineyard Grill. Shockingly it is a gastro pub. Is it my imagination or is every second restaurant now one of these? It is a nice space. Big. They have a bar area with a hand shuffleboard table. I think they even brew some of their own beer. The "main" area is composed of a patio area and an inside area divided by Pottery Barn (is Pier One still around?) like curtains. Imagine all the cliched decolletage of the genre and you have the mental image. It looks out on the pool and golf course. Oh, did I mention, this is in the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes off John Young and CF Turnpike. I had the Pimento Burger for $18. It was among the cheaper items. They had some ridiculous chicken for around thirty dollars. It was fine. To tell you the truth, if you matched it against a Freddy's double for $6, I wouldn't find much difference. It was two thin patties covered with pimento cheese and bacon. Toss in some pickle slices, lettuce, mustard, tomato and a glazed bun and you have the rest. The pickles were too "too" for the burger. I had to remove them to taste anything else. They are there to add a sweet flavor (not note - we all know by now that music has notes - flavors do not - and people do not have either). They need to be put on a leash. The bacon was sloppily laid on. Pieces were stuck together. The cheese had heat (ie pimento). The patties were well crusted from their time on the grill. A little overcooked. The thick cut french fries were under cooked and over seasoned with some Cajun mess. The $4 soda is an ass invasion. Refill didn't come until the eleventh hour. The meal was very salty and I was forced to ration my beverage. Service was otherwise top notch. You can get the free wifi from the lobby. They will validate the required valet parking charge. The Norman's menu was pretty dull, so, I am not that disappointed that it fell through. I think they have a dinner menu here too. Not a destination spot. This category is too flooded and too simplistic for that designation. You really have to be doing something evocative for that.

*I have to add that this has to be one of the trashier Ritz's in the catalog. At least from the outside. So, don't be intimidated about showing up here. And see Saturday's NY Post Editorials for a good lampooning of culinary elitism.