Every major city has a "ChinaTown". This is the West sides'…read moreanswer to "little Nom". There are plenty of spots in the shopping center to eat and explore. I usually go to the boba spot here, and one of the restaurants. I miss Sapporo ramen, but they were replaced by a nice Dim Sum spot. I also want to eventually check out Tofu House and Walala Noodles. When I was in college, I would make coming here a whole day trip! Plenty to do! There's an Asian grocery store in the plaza too!

I have seen this sign since moving to Orlando back in 2001. It sits within the Westside Crossing…read moreshopping plaza and I always felt pointed to what was a big part of the Asian community. The shopping plaza is filled almost exclusively Asian markets and restaurants and this is a good place to check out.

So many cool choices of bars, restaurants, and local shops here in the Milk District! Lots of local…read moreflavors to indulge in and there is something for everyone. Divey bars to upscale cocktail restaurants. Otto's has a great happy hour, as does Milk House! Black Magic pizza is one of the best pizzas I've ever had. Need to try the Pho place next!! Classic Orlando neighborhood named after the TG Lee milk plant off bumby and Robinson! Come on over to the Milk District!

Today I had the pleasure of browsing around the milk mart for their holiday soirée, they have these…read moreevery now and again I did it go to one already around the Halloween time called their spooky soirée. So what the milk mart Consists of is a bunch of vendors and a bunch of local handmade gifts and what not. There were a couple ones that I recognized like fat ash bakes and there is a local girl that does magnets for the mills district she was there as well. However I think my favorite shop of the whole afternoon was a little booth called the shop of many things most of their art was either spooky or Christmasy they also had a whole collection of DND snails which I thought were absolutely adorable. They did have stickers for three dollars and he told me if I bought three stickers that the fourth one would be free so I thought that was really neat. I had a really great time today at the milk bar and saw all the vendors I only stayed for a couple of hours; but if you do you want to attend one of these in the future I definitely recommend coming at least an hour and a half early so you can find a spot to park- I had to park all the way over by colonial plaza near sprouts so it was about three blocks out. 10/10 Recommend the Milk District

A lot of great vendors and we had perfect weather today. We managed to get a good parking spot -…read morebest reason for going early. The craft fair (Fiesta in the Park) at Lake Eola has lower prices. One vendor even admitted they raise their prices for mount Dora. But there were a lot of vendors with lots of great crafts Best kettle corn I e had in years

Will NEVER spend another dollar in this town again! We took our Therapy Dog to the Craft Fair with…read moreus for having a Certified Therapy Dog, training is never over and felt this would be perfect environment to have him around a lot of people and distractions for Therapy Dogs need to be able to ignore distractions. Therapy Dogs are Not Service dogs, so they have to special access that a service dog has, in fact a Therapy Dog is used to provide emotional support to OTHERS not it's owner. The police told us to leave for dogs are not welcome in Mt Dora. Rude ass police officer that didn't have an ounce of tact in his veins. He suggested that it could be dangerous if someone stepped on our dog. Are you kidding me? We've had our dog all around downtown Orlando and Winter Park, which are both dog friendly. He's been in airports, city buses, hospitals, retirement homes and many many other "more dangerous" environments than Mt Dora. This town is NOT a dog friendly town and I wouldn't spend another dollar in this town or any business in this town again. The officer said it's posted on their site: no dogs. Well if you didn't look up their site to decide if you wanted to drive 50 miles to attend their craft show, I guess you just drove 100 miles round trip for no reason!

If I could give zero stars I would! The point of "dining in the dark" is to enhance your taste…read morebuds... why enhance your tastebuds if there is no flavor in the food????? It was cold and just not good. Especially for the amount of money. Let me save you the trip. Don't go.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous benefit! This was so much more than just a dinner benefitting a great…read morecause- The dinner itself helped highlight the plight of those without sight, and formed a perfect metaphor for society's 'blindness' to hunger in our cities. Lighthouse Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida came together to put on the dinner, which was at the SH of CFL headquarters. We were first led into an enormous food storage facility for a cocktail hour with a musician singing softly and passed hors d'oeuvre. The anticipation was building with everyone nervously chatting about how some people get anxious and claustrophobic in the dark. But as soon as the Orlando SWAT fellas entered the room and started posing for pictures and mingling all of the nerves left the room and were replaced by giddy ladies (myself included) and laughter. Finally, it was time to line up in our table groups to conga-line into the dark dining room. Alas, I was not lucky enough to be second in the conga-line behind our SWAT gentleman... The room was pitch black- like so black that I couldn't tell the difference between having my eyes open and closed. Eventually, my eyes adjusted a bit and I could see a dim glow of something identifying where the center of our table was. As the dishes came out I realized that utensils were futile. That's right- the SWAT guys, with their night vision, got a great view of me shoveling mashed potatoes into my face with my fingers. And you know what? I was A-OK with that! We were all in the same boat at our table and it led to some great conversations and some new friends! The woman next to me let me know that she is pretty shy and this gave her the confidence to talk to strangers and make friends. In the end, the dinner really highlighted how different life would be without our sense of vision, and it did it in an amazing experiential way. I was a total mess without my vision and I really appreciated it when the lights were turned on at the end. Lighthouse has found a really powerful tool in their awareness arsenal. I would highly recommend this event to others and am now very interested in seeing how I can help both of these fabulous orgs - so, mission accomplished!

To paraphrase Ricky from Trailer Park Boys: WestArt District used to be so f*ckin cool and now it's…read morebig time fucked up! Maybe I'd think this was better if I hadn't experienced the glory of WestArt in 2017 and didn't know it's now a shadow of it's former self. Maybe I'd give it more than 2 stars if they even allowed me onto their property to take photos on an overcast Saturday afternoon in February when half a dozen people were hanging out by somebody's car and nothing much at all seemed to be going on. I knew this place was too good to last. It was this total laissez-faire anti-elitist explosion of positive energy last time I was down in the City Beautiful. WestArt 2017 had highly detailed murals, abstracted conversation pieces, stencils, cartoon graffiti characters, wild style graffiti, more basic 2 or 3 color tags, hollows, throwies, Folk art, child-produced flowers and stuff. A wide variety of styles and skill levels was present. No wall was left plain and boring. A thousand wildflowers bloomed. Walls were painted and repainted and re-repainted. Even the ground was gradually getting painted up. The afternoon I was there the place was a beehive of activity. A couple of women barbequed chicken and were selling it for cheap. 2019 WestArt looks to have less than a dozen murals. (Hard to tell since I was quickly shooed out of the parking lot by a guy who, to his credit, clearly felt sheepish about the owner's directive.) Many walls are plain white, bearing only some spraypainted labels that read "no tagging". (Ironic, since this anti-graffiti graffiti technically counts as a tag itself.) Any graffiti-looking work is gone, apart from 2 well known character pieces. Rap letters have been hunted to extinction here. All the work looks to be technically proficient and alive with bright colors. And a mural of MLK is, well, pretty much immune from criticism. But there's just too much empty space these days. And it's damn sure in no way inviting like it used to be. I can't imagine people teaching kids how to paint here now. I've stayed in touch with the guy who used to run the place, so I had already gotten a heads up and didn't expect to just roll up and paint like before. But I thought I'd at least be able to walk around and take photos. I'm told most of this is due to the city. I imagine the old WestArt was too feral looking to certain people, and too much of an encouragement to go produce similiar looking work elsewhere around town. It's deeply disappointing but sadly understandable. I just hope this never happens at Recycle Here! and the Lincoln Street Art Park back home in Detroit.

Awesome art area about the size of a block with several warehouse type buildings all painted up…read more There's a fence around the entire thing so I don't know it's closed up or how to get in. I did see a gate you could probably push open that was unlocked but didn't want to chance it plus it was raining. Cool to drive by and look at though.

5 Stars for a highly-anticipated craft market that delivers year after year!…read more This is my third time going to the annual Grandma Party Bazaar and as usual I was not disappointed! The Grandma Party Bazaar (GPB) is essentially a local artisan market. It is held at the Stardust Cafe parking lot (where the Audubon Park farmers' market is held on Mondays) and is comprised of tents under which are fabulous decorations, jewelry, vintage clothes, and other oddities. They also have a stage where local bands perform throughout the day. Not only was the bazaar a great place for me to finish some local holiday shopping but it was also a gathering place for Orlandoans on a lovely December day! I ran into tons of Yelpers and local personalities. I can't give this bazaar anything lower than 5 stars. I always feel inspired when I leave and I keep going back year after year!

Always a fun time at this annual event. It takes me back to my college days where we always had…read moreopen markets every Wednesday in the Student Union. Such a cool thrift store with friendly interesting vendors. It makes me wish I didn't have such a corporate professional job because I really have a hippy heart, and I feel like they are my people....and that's what this festival reminds me of, just a natural, authentic group of cool hippies selling their wares. A true community. The nostalgia of some of the items makes me smile. Unfortunately I had my husband with me and he has low patience with shopping and outdoor markets so I was rushed but I was able to score some cool 80s style new wave buttons before he dragged me outta there.

Love the park but the sprinklers came on just about noon time…read moreWish they would reset it too turn on when no one is there My mom is in her 70s and got soaked for our mile walk home

5 Stars for one of Orlando's most beloved Main Streets (National award-winning, in fact) that marks…read morethe convergence of Downtown Orlando, Winter Park, and Baldwin Park. Audubon Park is the perfect buffer between Mills 50 (rough around the edges and legit) and Baldwin Park (highly-planned and bougie). It's your granola-making, Birkenstock-clad aunt. You know, the one with the long tunics and butterfly garden, who also keeps beer and kombucha batches brewing at all times. What differentiates this Main Street to the point that it won a National Main Street Award a few years back as America's best Main Street? I'd say it's all about the people and businesses. It's certainly not about the looks. But what this Main Street lacks in curbside appeal (looking at you, Virginia Drive), it makes up for in best-of level businesses. I'm talking best beer bar in the country (or at least known among the best-- Redlight Redlight), best local farmers market (big ups, Monday night Audubon Park Market), best sushi in Central Florida (Kadence, not to be missed), best homemade ice cream (Kelly's), best record shop in town (Park Ave CDs), best indoor market (East End Market), best quintessentially hipster coffee shop in that the baristas will shoot you dirty looks while serving you chai and a salad (Stardust Cafe), etc. I could seriously go on and on about the incredible spots in this little 'hood. Suffice to say, it ain't much to look at, but you're going to want to spend a Saturday hopping from biz to biz for the most epic day date ever.

This mural is located on the side of the City Centre building, which is located on the corner of…read moreEast Central Boulevard and Rosalind Avenue in downtown Orlando. It is not far from Lake Eola Park and is a vibrant piece of art that enhances and beautifies the downtown Orlando, Florida area. Public art shows the underlying personality of a city, it adds soul to the concrete and steel that define most large cities and shows us the community rather than simply the population in terms of numbers. This piece of art is a wonderful addition to the downtown Orlando area and I definitely encourage you to come check it out.

5 stars for only THE BEST neighborhood in Orlando! I've lived in the Mills 50 District/Colonialtown…read moreNorth for almost 10 years and I never want to leave (that is if the increasing already sky-high rent prices don't push me out, haha). Not joking though. I can't get enough of this diverse, inclusive family-friendly community that I hope to one day raise my own kids in. I've watched so much growth happen here over the last decade and it's been beautiful to be a part of. So many new restaurants, bars, and businesses have popped up and I'm happy to see them thriving. Mills 50 is also one of the more walkable neighborhood streets in Orlando, and I'm so fortunate that I can easily hop over to some of my favorite local gems like The Strand, Black Rooster Taqueria, Hawkers, Qreate Coffee, Pig Floyd's, House on Lang, The Sunroom, Sampaguita Ice Cream... this list goes on and on! I was also thrilled to learn that Mills 50 was also featured on Yelp's list of the most LGBTQ-friendly neighborhoods in the U.S. this year. It's truly a magical place to live where everyone is welcome and I'm lucky to call it home!

Mills 50 is it neighborhood that is set around the corner of Mills Avenue and East Colonial drive,…read morecommonly known as 50. It is a hip, trendy neighborhood located on the edge of the downtown Orlando, Florida area. There is plenty to do in this area with there being a lot of bars, restaurants, parks and stuff like that. The restaurants are a good mix of cuisines and they also have a lot of little specialty shops where you can go do some shopping. I would definitely recommend coming to visit here or if you are looking to move in, understand that there are a lot of positives to move over here.

Union is one of 9 sculptures that are part of See Art Orlando, a permanent contemporary collection…read moreof art that was unveiled by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the See Art Orlando Board of Directors on November 18, 2013. The art project was launched by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and art lover Jennifer Quigley. They hoped that adding public art to downtown Orlando would bring pride, boost the economy, and strengthen the city's cultural core. The art is mainly displayed around Lake Eola. Union is located at Robinson Street and Eola Drive in Lake Eola Park. Union #2 was gifted to the city by the Harvey and Carol Massey Family. Union was created by sculptor, Ralfonso who is world famous for his kinetic, light, and interactive sculptures. Union #1, #3, and #4 are located throughout China. Ralfonso has been designing environmentally interactive art since 1980 and since 1999 he has been concentrating solely on kinetic and light sculptures for public places from his studios in West Palm Beach, Florida and Geneva, Switzerland. Once you see Ralfonso work you will know it. I instantly recognized Union because I had already visited a piece that looks very similar called Reflections that Ralfonso made as part of a 1.15 million dollar art project to create kinetic and interactive art to bring cultural tourism to Boynton Beach. Union is a group of six wind driven 25-feet tall steel aluminum poles with 30 curved wings at the top that move and reflect light. It is made out of mirrored polished stainless steel. The sculpture has programmable RGB LEDs, Hourly Light Chime, and is synchronized to the City Color Program. I love the height, movement, and drama of this piece. It is always different depending on the environment. It is so fun to explore and try to find all of See Art Orlando's pieces.

This particular piece of art is located on the edge of Lake Eola Park and just across the street…read morefrom the Persimmon Hollow Brewing Company. A little bit more clarification is that it sits on the corner of Robinson Street and Eola Drive. Lake Eola park has a lot of public art. These displays of public art help to give a community a sense of personality. I also firmly believe that these particular pieces of art will stand out in memories a people who grew up here in Orlando. The interpretation of art is left to each person who looks at it. For me, this particular piece looks towards the future and what our evolution can look like. If you are in Lake Eola Park, come check this piece out. See what it says to you. Art teaches us to look inward, it teaches us also to look outward at the world around us.