Salt & The Cellar by Akira Back, Orlando's newest Fine-Dining entrant

Chef Akira Back’s Salt & The Cellar, ensconced at ette, one of Orlando’s newest concept hotels, is currently providing one of the most scintillating dining experiences on offer in the city. I was alerted to the restaurant, and it’s fare, by two separate sets of friends who dined there and left singing its praises. I had to investigate.

The ette hotel is located in the heart of one of Disney's tourist zones, in close proximity to some of the Disney attractions. Access is via exit 64 on I4 and then travelling westward on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. Given the traffic volumes in this area, it is prudent to add to your travel time budget in order to ensure timely arrival.

The restaurant is described in its literature as "an Innovative Mediterranean Asian restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner." It does not serve alcoholic beverages, offering instead a number of inspired mocktails prepared by a resident mixologist. These mocktails are made-to-order and a number of them are finished tableside. Winelovers are encouraged to bring their own beverages for corkage-free consumption.

As you drive under the hotel overhang, the car doors are opened by the valet and a Bellman, the latter of whom asks if we are here for dinner and the name for the reservation.He relieved me of my wine bag as he escorted us inside to the Hostess stand. He passed us, and my wine bag, onto the hostess who verified our reservation and then led us to our table. Once seated we were presented with the food and mocktail menus.

Menu entry point

Menu jump page

Food menu

The restaurant decor is eye-catching, as is the color-coordinated staff attire. The ambience and service up to this time served to reassure us of the pleasing experience to come.

The table setting was immaculate with chopsticks available for those so disposed. Each table sports an ice-filled bucket for chilling wines or champagne brought in by customers.

Our waiter was Paul and he showed up brandishing the bottle of English Sparkling from my wine bag (the bag had been deposited with the bartender by the hostess) and immediately plunged it into the ice bucket at our table. He the proceeded to tell us about the restaurant, the pedigree of the chef, the restaurant philosophy, and how staff training reflected that philosophy. After taking water orders, he went over the mocktail menu.

Parlo and Ken opted for mocktails with the former ordering the Foreshadow and the latter Into the Woods.The tableside presentation of the mocktails was elevated. Both Parlo and Ken were pleased with their orders with Parlo going on to order Where the Clouds End (too thick, she said) and Hidden Path (she loved).

Foreshadow: Coconut, Cleared Pineapple, 
0% White Rum, Citric Syrup, and Jelly
with Coconut

Hidden Path: Crodino, Balsamic Vinegar,
Ginger Ale, Dehydrated Strawberries,
0% Gin, Acorn 0% Vermouth

Where Clouds End: Yuzu Tonic, Lemon Cordial,
Espresso, 0% Coffee Liquor

        Into the Woods: Fresh green herbs, ginger, cucumber, 

                 lime, cookie crumble, forest aromatic mist

In the intervening period I had scanned the QR Code and gained access to the menu. We set about ordering appetizers. Paul had alerted us to the fact that all dishes would be placed in the center of the table and would thus be shareable. We ordered the Grilled Eggplant, Akira Back Tuna Pizza, and the AB Wagyu Tacos. Parlo is Gluten-free so Paul said he would have the Chef prepare an appropriate option for her. That option turned out to be something he called Beyond Tacos, a plant-based filling inside lettuce leaves.

The tacos were very flavorful and were livened up with a touch of spice.There was an exciting contrast between the pizza base and the raw tuna. I enjoyed all of these dishes immensely.

AB Wagyu Tacos

Beyond Tacos

Akira Back Tuna Pizza

Grilled Eggplant

We followed the appetizers with a Black Miso Cod course and followed that with a Caesar Salad and Togarashi Fries.

Black Miso Cod

Caesar Salad with Tofu dressing

Togarasi Fries

For our main courses we had the New York Strip and the Jidori Chicken with Vegetable Fried Rice and Roasted Broccoli as sides. The Chef recommends that a minimum of three salts be added to the steak to complete its seasoning. The selected salts were brought to the table when the steak was delivered.

Jidori Chicken

Vegetable Fried Rice

NY Strip Steak

We had the Yuzu Curd for dessert.

Yuzu Curd

This was an absolutely stunning evening. This was a Michelin-Star-worthy dining experience. As Parlo described it, "this was one of my best dining experiences in Orlando. The food, service, and ambience were all excellent and the environment was relaxing. It was worth every penny that we spent."

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Dinner at Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs (Orlando, FL)

It is not often that you get a restaurant which so effectively combines amazing environment with equally amazing, high-quality dishes. Morimoto Asia does. I hate to say it, because I have a number of personal faves in town, but the food at this establishment is pretty hard to beat. We ordered a wide range of dishes and were blown away by each one. This is one of the rare meals I have had where the wine was of secondary importance. The flavors were were so pleasing that I wanted them to linger and be unimpeded by other influences.

The dining menu is a two-page foldout with an insert containing raw bar items. The drinks menu is presented on an additional page. The main dining menu is shown here.

While we were perusing the menu, I had the server pop open a bottle of La Closerie Extra Brut. Our first order was slightly extensive and I was concerned about the staging. But not to worry. They staged the items perfectly and brought items out when they fit into the pattern rather than based on who had placed the order.

The items ordered on this first pass were: the hamachi tartare (dashi soy with crispy shallots, chives, and fresh wasabi; edamami; hot and sour soup (egg, tofu, and vegetables in a spicy broth); from the dim sum menu, kakuni pork bao (steamed buns, braised pork belly, lettuce, spicy mayo); and five spice chicken wings (with chopped jalapeno and crispy garlic). Every single one of these items was heavenly.

The hamachi tartare was not exactly as I had pictured it (it was a little more disembodied and tower-like than I had imagined) but after a couple of tentative tastes, I dug into this gold mine of flavor. And this was the most linear of the flavor profiles presented that evening. The hot and sour soup had a thickness to its texture and was perfectly balanced between the two components. Heavenly. I split the dim sum with my friend Paul (the ladies wanted no part of it) and it was a meal in itself. The bun was tender and juicy and, in texture and flavor, was the perfect contrast to the flavor bomb wrapped within its fold. The chicken wings (not pictured here) were perfectly cooked and was spicy without being overbearing. Lovely garlic note. By this time we knew that we were in the midst of a stellar dining experience.

Hot and Sour Soup

Hamachi Tartare

Kakuni Pork Bao

The main courses are presented on the right side of the menu where the peking duck and spare ribs have pride of place with standalone boxes (according to the server they are considered signature dishes of the establishment) so, of course, we ordered both.  In addition, Parlo ordered the sweet and sour crispy bronzino (boneless Mediterranean sea bass with signature sweet and sour sauce) and spicy thai basil fried rice (egg, bell pepper, scallions, bean sprouts, and spicy basil sauce) while Debbie ordered the Morimoto buri-bop (korean-style yellowtail rice bowl served in a hot clay pot, finished on an egg yolk and prepared tableside). 

We shared the plates between us. It was a gastronomic bacchanal. The spare ribs were a handful and should only be ordered as a shared plate (or if you want to eat leftover ribs for the remainder of the week). Bountiful but also bounteous flavor-wise.

Sweet and Sour Crispy Bronzino (sic?)

Peking Duck

Spare ribs

Spicy Basil Fried Rice

Buri-Bop -- before

Buri-Bop after tableside preparation

I was shot after this. I could not eat another morsel. But my wife insisted on dessert and ordered a Mochi-Mochi (annin tofu, coconut mango soup, fruit boba, frozen mago, and lemon yogurt powder). I was a non-participant.

Mochi-Mochi -- before

Mochi-Mochi after tableside preparation

This had been an extended and extensive meal and the service was an excellent complement. At no time did we feel rushed or hurried and the server opened and poured our wine as though it was his own.

I will be a frequent visitor to this establishment.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme