Cask & Larder Winter Park, FL

Two Fridays ago, 9/7, Phil and I tried a new restaurant in Winter Park with his sister and our brother-in-law, Becca and Earl. (Winter Park is an adorable, small, historic city in the greater Orlando area) Cask & Larder was opened on September 5 by another amazing restaurant, Ravenous Pig, just down the road. Ravenous is our go-to spot, so I knew Cask & Larder had to be good! For more info about the restaurant and their menus, go to www.caskandlarder.com . I've never written a restaurant review so this might be awkward. 

It was a stormy evening when we arrived at Cask & Larder 30 min early for our reservation. End luminous mystery novel talk here. But it was super rainy. We wanted to grab a drink before sitting down to eat, so we made our way to the bar which was packed to the brim with people. There is quite a bit of seating in the bar that is first come-first served if you ever want to go without reservations. Every table and bar stool was full but we happened upon someone leaving so we snagged one stool. We ordered a Seelbach, a Gin Fizz and a New Pal. As usual, we observed the bartender making our cocktails (some call it awkward staring) which usually take a few minutes per drink with craft cocktails. He was very efficient, although he was still noticeably looking down at a recipe/ingredient list. Totally understandable since this was the third night they were open and he had tons of orders. 

New Pal and Seelbach

The Seelbach (bourbon, cointreau, sparkling wine, peychaud's and angostura bitters) was absolutely delicious. It had a great bourbon flavor that was refreshed by the sparkling wine and made complex by the two different bitters. The New Pal (rye, campari, carpano antica, absinthe rinse) was also enjoyable. I don't care for campari but Phil does and he said it was perfectly bitter and delicious as well. The Gin Fizz (gin, lemon juice, egg white, orange blossom water, cream) was a disappointment. The best word to describe it was "watery". Overall, we were impressed with the bartenders' ability to execute these drinks under pressure. The bar was a few people deep and these cocktails are very involved. Kudos to the man in the pic above. 

My Seelbach - best drink of the night

Like clockwork, at 7:30 I checked with the hostess stand and our table was available. The ambiance is modern Southern- clean but rustic - with empty jars and bottles that reminded me of a Pinterest vintage pin. We ordered small plates to share; smoked oysters with bacon jam & serrano hot sauce, potted pimento cheese and the country ham tasting. 

Smoked Oysters

The smoked oysters were ridiculous! They had a really tasty not-too-smoky flavor and the jam and hot sauce complimented them perfectly. 

Country Ham Tasting

The Country Ham tasting came with pepper jelly, farmers cheese and biscuits. The three hams were arranged in intensity of flavor and firmness. The pepper jelly had a subtle pepper taste. The farmer's cheese was interesting -- kind of like extra thick sour cream. I didn't care for it but the others did. 

I don't have a pic of the potted pimento cheese but it was disappointing especially since I had been looking forward to ordering it all day. It is a very creamy rendition of pimento cheese with a very light flavor topped with a red dry layer that added spice (like pimentos). To me it seemed mayonnaise-y - and this girl is not a fan of mayonnaise anyway - so that kinda ruined it for me. 

We also ordered another round of drinks. We ordered a Gin & Jarred, Watermelon Beer that was on tap for the night, Olde Southern Wit, and Raven's Head. If you do not love pickle juice -- do NOT order the Gin & Jarred. I knew it included pickling liquid (gin, dolin blanc vermouth, pickling liquid, bettermens habanero shrub) but I thought "I like pickles, I like gin and I like spicy peppers! What could go wrong?" I knew it was a risk but I just wasn't prepared. The Watermelon beer was available until the one keg made ran out. We all really enjoyed the flavor -- smelled like watermelon juice, but not too fruity or overwhelming! The Olde Southern Wit is their Belgian-style wheat beer and was spot on. I would be elated to sit in the front porch-area outside the restaurant and sip on this house brew any afternoon. Phil's Raven's Head was aged in Grenache wine barrels. It was like a stout with dark roasted malt flavors and a slight fruity wine taste at the finish - he wishes that had been more prominent. 

For the main course we ordered three meat entrees: Heritage fried chicken, grilled lamb heart and beef brisket. For sides we ordered the mac & cheese and wheatberry risotto. 

Grilled Lamb Heart with popcorn grits, peaches, sorghum  & roasted peanuts

Let's start with the grilled lamb heart. Phil loves eating organs so we were not surprised when he ordered this. It actually reminded us of flank steak in texture and flavor in the first bite. A few bites in you got the irony heart flavor that I hate and he loves. The peaches and sorghum added a subtle sweetness to cut this.

Mac & Cheese with pickled mustard seeds and ham-cheddar crumble

I loved the mac & cheese and the rest of the table liked it. I think mac & cheese is a personal thing and I don't know that you are ever going to get a whole table to like one version. I really liked the extra chedar-ham crumble on the top and took it upon myself to finish the entire thing.

Beef Brisket with giardiniera, mustard and yeast rolls

The beef brisket was awesome! You were able to make your own sandwich with the yeast rolls, mustard and pickles on the plate. I will absolutely order this again. 

Heritage fried chicken with smoked tupelo honey

The Heritage fried chicken was super delicious. I usually NEED a sauce for everything but they had a perfect amount of honey on them and the skin kind of melted in your mouth.

Wheatberry Risotto with Georgia Gouda and Royal trumpet  mushrooms

The Wheatberry Risotto was another disappointment. We were expecting risotto but this was a play on risotto with grains and it was crunchy. Also, the gouda (which I love) did not come through as much as I was expecting it to. 

All in all, we had a great experience at Cask and Larder. I am super excited to go back and see what they've come up with and how they have improved/worked out the kinks. I know if I went back I would get the following no doubt: 

Cocktails: Seelbach or New Pal

Beer: Old Southern Wit 

Starters: Smoked oysters and Country Ham tasting

Main dishes: Brisket and Fried Chicken 

Sides: Mac & Cheese

Obvi i haven't tried everything on the menu so I'm sure there is more to be had. I am possibly trying brunch there on Sunday so I may have more to report:)