By Fran Delinez
The other night I had a friend who came from out of town to visit Orlando. He visited the parks, the Eye, Disney Springs, the typical tour that a tourist would do in Orlando. He sent me a last-minute message, that he wanted to go out and have some beers, relax and enjoy some music. I wasn't ready for his request, but I picked him up and drove towards the Ivanhoe Village and Mills 50 area. We started on Virginia Drive, there's always something popping there with places like Ten 10 Brewing, Santiago’s Bodega, Orlando Meats, The Matador and Norah’s Sugar Shack, among others. This destination seemed to be the perfect area to enjoy a good beer or glass of wine, and catch up with my old friend.
We parked behind the Ten 10 Brewing and as we walked down the Orlando Urban Trail, the smell that came out of this beautiful wooden patio was amazing. We looked at each other and that was enough for us to go and see what was going on at this other cozy place next door.
When we stood in front of it, that celestial blue house called Grape And The Grain, the place shouted our names. We went in and met two of their owners, who welcomed us as if we were family. They went on explaining about all the draft beers they carry and especially all the wine that was available that day. The paintings on the wall alone were worth a visit, imagine looking at art with a little bit of wine, and as if that was not enough, they said to us, "we’ll have live music in 15 minutes". Bingo!
We walked to the backyard and tried some delicious ceviches, empanadas and one of the best wings I've ever tasted. The Coffee Chipotle wings made by Chef City Catering are something made in heaven. I will not lie, my first experience in this place was as if I had pray to God for a place to hang out, and the Grape And The Grain was his answer. With food trucks that rotate every day, live music on Fridays and Saturdays, and mimosas on Sundays, you can go every day and live a different experience. In addition, we were told that they have live Reggae music on the last Sunday of each month. I can not wait until February 24 to listen to some reggae while sippin’ on some mimosas.
We would like to thank its owners, Christian, Alexie and Maritza, and the bartenders, Luke, Chloe and Reed, for their time and attention… And to the performers, for making this experience a once in a lifetime adventure for me and my buddy. #EmbraceYourCity #PinYourTarget