The Polite Pig</a>, where Orlando chefs James, Julie and Brian Petrakis serve smoked meats plated in modern ways. You’ll order, say, the Southern Pig sandwich at the counter, and wait for the pulled pork meal topped with fennel-apple slaw, mustard barbecue sauce and mayo to be brought to your table. Begin with the oversized hop salt pretzel with beer cheese fondue and IPA mustard, and add on the grilled street corn with chipotle aioli. It’ll be easy to relax because Polite Pig is big on spirits, too. It pours the company’s own Swine Family beers, big-batch cocktails like apple-cider whiskey sours, and dozens of types of bourbon. P.S. Don’t worry about getting back in line to order seconds; servers are happy to take your second and third orders right from your seat." title="The Polite Pig" height="527"/>
Photo: Joe Brooks
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The Polite Pig
Get a taste of local food at The Polite Pig, where Orlando chefs James, Julie and Brian Petrakis serve smoked meats plated in modern ways. You’ll order, say, the Southern Pig sandwich at the counter, and wait for the pulled pork meal topped with fennel-apple slaw, mustard barbecue sauce and mayo to be brought to your table. Begin with the oversized hop salt pretzel with beer cheese fondue and IPA mustard, and add on the grilled street corn with chipotle aioli. It’ll be easy to relax because Polite Pig is big on spirits, too. It pours the company’s own Swine Family beers, big-batch cocktails like apple-cider whiskey sours, and dozens of types of bourbon. P.S. Don’t worry about getting back in line to order seconds; servers are happy to take your second and third orders right from your seat.
4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck</a>. One of a bunch of food trucks scattered around Disney Springs, this one is run by the same folks as the über-popular homegrown barbecue chain 4 Rivers Smokehouse — and those folks know how to smoke meats. Here you can get brisket and pulled pork cooked barbacoa-style as it is in Mexico City, then served, in some cases, in taco cones, which are easy to eat without utensils. The plant-based crowd (and everyone else) waxes poetic over the squash-blossom quesadilla, and all other items can be made vegetarian too. Want more? Disney-run food trucks include Cookie Dough and Everything Sweet, Mac & Cheese, and Springs’ Street Tacos. They’re usually parked near Jaleo and the AMC multiplex." title="4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck" height="527"/>
Jaleo</a> to date, serving small plates of Iberian specialties in a bold, dramatic, upbeat dining room with high-energy music pulsing in the red-hued background and staffers shouting “¡Arriba!” whenever a drumroll sounds. Diners tend to share their orders along with bottles of imported wines inside and out by the lake. Spend less time — and money — by grabbing hot and cold bocotas sandwiches, chilled gazpacho and sangria (with sangria ice cubes so it stays cold) at the takeaway Pepe by José Andrés, just outside the front door." title="Jaleo by José Andrés" height="527"/>
D-Luxe Burger</a> restaurant. As are the fries, really. The burgers are indeed a treat, made from patties of blended brisket and chuck (non-beef alternatives are available), and settled into Parker House-style custom buns baked at nearby Amorette’s Patisserie. The fries, though. Wow. They’re skin-on from russets made right on site via a two-day process. Instead of ketchup, try dipping them in garlic ranch dressing, chipotle mayo, three-mustard honey dip, curry ketchup, horseradish or buffalo blue cheese. And that pales in excitement to the gelato shakes and floats – spirited or kid-friendly. Get your sugar fix with the salted caramel version with Hawaiian black sea salt, or go boozy with the smoked Knob Creek bourbon variety, topped with dark chocolate sauce and a bacon strip. Bonus: You can order and pre-pay using your smartphone." title="D-Luxe Burger" height="527"/>
