After months in the making, Cafe Roti is ready to open its new home for Indian and Pakistani cuisine on Monday. Owner Dr. Saqib Khan has upgraded the site at 116 S. Tennessee Ave. between Main and Lemon that used to house a Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Check a preliminary menu.
The Lakelander staff lists Latin restaurants they think you should know about, and writer Tara Campbell (known to many for her baking talent) profiles some favorites: La Michoacana, Arepazo Grill (food truck), La Imperial Bakery and Brasa Latina.
A cute bungalow on Dixieland Mall Lane, a little alley west of Florida Avenue, became a restaurant a few years ago when Fat Maggie’s moved in and served the best broccoli au gratin. Then it was Crane’s Crossing at the Gardens for a brief while. Now it’s home to D’Lucas, a new restaurant opened in May by Chef Marcos Fernandez, who also owns Nineteen 61 three blocks away.
The owners of the popular Cafe Zuppina are opening a retail market next to their tiny South Florida Avenue restaurant to offer prepared foods and some of the ingredients used in their Turkish specialties.
Lakeland Restaurant Week, a chance to get deals at some of our town’s finer dining establishments, has become an annual event. The third incarnation is set for Aug. 13-19.
Federal Swine. No. Mojo Whiskey. Or is it Mojo pronounced moho? Mojo Federal Swine & Spirits is the official name.
Downtown Lakeland’s newest barbecue place is located in the old Federal Building at Tennessee Avenue and Lemon Street.
La Imperial Bakery is more than a bakery. There, I said the cliche sentence; but if you have been to the new cafe at 830 E. Main St., you know it’s true. When you walk in, you see the back wall is painted blue like a sky, and the halo glow below is the bakery case in all its glory. The whole scene is all warm and welcoming.
Restaurant critic Eric Pera checks out the fast-growing, Florida-based chain of premium burger-and-beer restaurants and gives their new north Lakeland location three stars out of five for food and four for service and ambience. “While Ford’s food is average, the restaurant does have some pretty nifty features,” he concludes.
Expected to open in the next few months: Mission BBQ, Federal Bar, Revival cocktail lounge, Ford’s Garage, Tsunami Sushi, Black & Brew 2. The article doesn’t mention it, but the new Cafe Roti downtown is expected to open in a few weeks.
