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Jeez. Orlando. Right before the pandemic decided to show up. So, firstly, I got tested and similar to the days before the ol' wifey wife it was a relief not to have to call all of my loved ones and tell them I was infected with some disease due to my irresponsibility. And secondly, I had to go. It was a difficult choice, but at the time Florida was relatively safe and NYC was on the downswing so why not?
Okay, with that said, I was going to do an Orlando super post similar to Berlin and Portland, etc... Except Orlando is so steeped in chain restaurant homogeny that there wasn't much to write about. I didn't dig deep, and I wasn't with company that wanted something risky or trendy. Steakhouses and Hooters would suffice. And I must say, hooters is a great place to sit and drink beer. Nonetheless, as my random luck would have it at one of our multiple afternoon happy-hour Hooters excursions we met Ray, the owner of Kitty O'Shea.
A .little about Ray. He is from Buffalo. He was the first winner of the annual wing competition. He moved to Florida and opened this bar. It is a traditional Irish Pub, which is saying something in the strip-mall, chain-restaurant mecca that is Orlando. More so, Ray took me (as a fellow purveyor in the industry) on a full tour of Kitties; walk in box, bathroom renovation, structural problems, etc... followed by him sampling John Powers Irish whiskey--an Irish spirit he admitted he'd never tried. Several beers ensued. I only had drinks so cannot comment on the wings. But I will say that this dude checks out and so does his bar.
11 hours ago
