Delightful Dany, Winter Garden Restaurant, Vine of Life Ministries and more.
Dany’s Delights
Move over, cake pops; Dany Armendariz
is bringing sweet new desserts to town.
Imaginative, artistic, unique. Three words many use to describe Dany Armendariz. Turns out, they’re the same words used to describe her delectable, decorated cake creations.
A happy accident born of the pandemic, Dany considers herself one of the lucky ones.
Formerly a restaurant manager at Ohana at Disney World, when Dany suddenly found herself unemployed with an excess of free time, she went straight to the kitchen. “Baking has always been a passion of mine,” she says. “I used that time to try new flavors and test new ideas, but it was always just for fun. Then one day my husband suggested I start selling cakesicles: ‘They’re fun, unique, and you can’t find them just anywhere.’ And he was right!”
So, what exactly is a cakesicle? A luscious, baked-from-scratch cake filling shaped in a popsicle mold, a cakesicle is a hand-held treat that’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
Dany took her delicious delights straight to Instagram, and with a steady stream of support from friends and family, D’s Cakesicles popped off.
But what really makes these stand out is the passion that Dany puts into decorating each one. An avid Disney-lover, Dany takes inspiration for many of her designs from the characters and movies we all know and love. “You won’t see the face of the character, or an edible image. That’s not my style. I take inspiration from characters or themes or colors or songs, anything, really, and then create something original.”
Discovering that style, or flair, took plenty of trial and error. ”A lot of my originals went into the trash, I’m not going to lie,” Dany says with a laugh. “I had to bake them, try them, and figure out how to proceed from there. How to make the cake more flavorful; which ingredients work and which ones don’t. I kept trying different combinations until I actually achieved what I wanted.”
These days, Dany spends most of her time crafting the design. “I’ll spend an entire day just making decorations. Then I’ll take another day to decorate the cakesicles and get them ready for delivery or pickup. When you order, you pretty much get them as soon as they’re done. They’re so fresh. I bake them, the next day I’m decorating them, and then they’re in your hands.”
Using various choices of chocolate, flavors, and toppings, Dany is ambitious to fashion even the most intricate designs, though she admits that she loves most when she is given creative freedom. “It’s amazing—when I was in college I would tell my mom that I wanted to open my own restaurant or bakery. Plans change, of course, so that shifted. But just the fact that I now own my own business, it’s like, wow, I did it! I feel very accomplished, very happy, and I’m honestly proud of myself. Coming from a not-so-great situation, I was able to create something that is really good. It’s not only successful, but it’s helping to support the family, and people love it. It makes people happy, and that makes me happy.”
Local History
Winter Garden Restaurant
The historically charming Winter Garden Restaurant, located at the corner of Plant and Dillard.
It’s no secret that every small town has a favored breakfast restaurant nestled in its heart—a place for the early birds to shoot the breeze and stir their coffee before the inevitable work week. For Winter Garden, it’s the historically charming Winter Garden Restaurant, located at the corner of Plant and Dillard. Just one glance into their bustling dining area gives the promise of savory food and meaningful conversation.
But before this hoppin’ spot was the community’s favorite breakfast place, it wore more than a few titles! In the 1940s, the Silver Coach Diner brought an intimacy to the community that many natives still reminisce about—more than eggs and bacon, the Silver Coach was a place of fellowship and fun. Teenagers would hang outside, laughing and taking pictures, a great asset to any popular diner.
Sadly, Silver Coach did not survive, shuttering its doors for a number of years before the Quick, or Kwik Snack, opened at the iconic location. That too came and went, and in July 1967, K & S Restaurant fired up the stoves and started slinging favorites near and dear to the locals’ hearts for 13 years.
However, following suit of its predecessors, K & S Restaurant was woefully torn down for the expansion of the parking lot for Jimmy’s Thriftway, until new owners rebuilt on the same property, and thus the Winter Garden Restaurant was born. In the past five years, a fire meant more rebuilding, and two years ago, new owners took over the historic location, keeping the name and breathing new life into the kitchen.
Market Watch
Gran Arepa
Changing lives, one arepa at a time.
The first time I had an arepa, my life changed. It was a frigid January day at the Winter Garden Farmer’s Market, when my boyfriend ordered one from Gran Arepa. One bite in, and so much flavor and texture filled my mouth: It was crispy and slightly nutty on the outside, but soft and pillowy on the inside. I knew I needed to know more.
Founded by Consuelo “Connie” Leon in 1990, Gran Arepa has been blessing markets with its golden goodness for nearly 30 years—eight of those at the Winter Garden market.
It’s the simplicity of the dish that draws regular marketgoers. Arepas are made with just three ingredients—water, salt, and cornmeal (or masa), but what makes Gran Arepa stand out is Connie’s made-from-scratch family recipe. Her daughter, Mia Reateguis, explains, “With our recipe, one of the things that make it taste so different is the fact that we actually use ground corn in the patty itself. My mom gets the corn kernels and grinds them herself. With the ground corn, people taste the richness. It creates a natural sweetness that you won’t get in a store-bought one.”
Served with mozzarella cheese, its buttery sweetness will leave your taste buds begging for more. Now, it’s Mia and her husband, Renzo’s, smiling faces you’ll encounter on Saturdays—and sometimes, their kids even join in!
Renzo says, “We love engaging with everyone at the market. This is a dish they don’t see everywhere. We enjoy seeing the looks on their faces and the feedback we get from the arepas. A lot of folks are very adventurous—they try them and that’s all we want. It brings us joy to give a good meal to someone.”
Charitable Spotlight
Vine of Life Ministries
After struggling with substance abuse for nearly 30 years, Guy Iannello had a revelation—he had to clean up his life, from the inside out.So powerful was that change, he devoted his whole life to it, founding Vine of Life Ministries in 1998.
Vivien Spuehler, who works with the ministry, says, “Addiction is a by-product of a deeper problem. It’s usually a trauma or a means of coping mechanism. That’s why for the first portion of the program, the residents are strictly working on themselves.”
They do that through Vine of Life’s Total Freedom Program, a nine-month residential program where men and women undergo ministry teachings and training with a renewed mind. Here, they learn that they can keep their sobriety amid having a job, family, and daily tasks.
One of the ways Total Freedom supports its residents is through its Upscale Thrift store, an amazing little shop located at 1165 E. Plant Street. Operated entirely by volunteers and graduates of Total Freedom, the shop helps establish steady employment and gain experience, but it’s also a testament to the power of change. Vivien says, “We have a front-row seat to watching somebody’s life become better, as opposed to them being just another statistic. And every positive outcome impacts a thousand other lives. They are worth all the sweat, blood, and tears that go into this.”
Get involved!
May–June 2023
New
It’s the food issue… of course, we’re going to start this food, glorious food (in our best Oliver! voice.)
We have it on good authority that Hash House A Go Go (@HashHouseAGoGo) will be slinging its funky, farm fresh southern comfort food in Flamingo Crossing by the end of May.
Antojito’s Locos (@AntojitosLocosFL) will be opening a second location on Mckee street in Ocoee across from the brewery.
Three Birds Cafe (@thethreebirdscafe), looking to open their second location in 2024. Plus, the team unveiled Byrdie last month, their bright blue new delivery vehicle. Be sure to wave hello when you see her.
Did you know that Daniel’s Cheesesteak House (@danielscheesesteaks) serves breakfast? We’ve been hitting their breakfast sandos on the reg during this particular deadline.
While we dream of warm cobbler from Peach Cobbler Factory (@StayPeachyOrlando) going in at 535 and Tilden very soon. They aren’t the only new faces are shaking up the 34787 restaurant scene.
Say hello to Chrystal & Eddie Gaunt, the new owners of Matthew’s Steakhouse. Same great steak, better service and accessibility. For example, text to make a reservation at 407-520-7511.
Oh! And don’t forget to walk across the street to meet Chirag Patel, the new owner of Cilantro Indian Cuisine (@cilantrowg), which replaces Orange Crate Cafe. So far, we’ve been over-the-moon with the delicious options.
And last but not least, Dutch Bros Coffee is coming to town, building their first WG location on Highway 50.
