Review: Treasure Tavern Fine Dining & Show

By Jen Thuy
Contributing Writer
Twitter | Facebook
  
There are several dinner shows in Orlando but there’s only one Treasure Tavern.  

At Treasure Tavern, guests experience a two-hour comedy and burlesque variety show filled with laughter and indecent fun. The show is daring and different, appropriate for adults only.  

Madame Gretta, the hostess with the mostest, leads guests through the show from the start to the end. She is usually accompanied by her sidekicks Rob and Grift who say idiotic, funny things. Madame Gretta is also accompanied by her “jewels” who sing and dance and her “special” jewel Jinx.

The show consists of humorous and entertaining skits. Rob and Grift opens the show teaching guests the Treasure Tavern creed. Madam Gretta talks about her issues in love and that every woman needs a man with a big "bulge". The "Celebrity Flash" part of the show makes fun of political leaders such as Bill and Hillary Clinton and reality TV stars such as Snooki and the Situation of Jersey Shore and Kim Kardashian. 

Some of the other performances include acrobatics by Verbotten Sensation, acrobatic hula-hoops by Anna Jack, singing by Mysterious Mystique and quick-change act by the Smirnovs.
 
Throughout the show, guests enjoy dinner that consists of cream of vegetable soup, garden salad, beef tenderloin (you can substitute with chicken or salmon), asparagus and decadent opera cake. The meal was well-prepared and very tasteful. The mixed green salad contained cherry tomatoes and olives and was topped with feta cheese. The thick, juicy, well-seasoned beef tenderloin was paired with delicious loaded mashed potatoes and tasty asparagus. The meal ended with a slice of good, chocolate opera cake. Guests listened to fun songs “Toss My Salad” and “You Can’t Beat the Meat” before eating dinner.  

Treasure Tavern is a small venue so every seat has a good view and the atmosphere is intimate and cozy. The show takes place on a small stage and sometimes, the performers go off-stage and walk around the venue to interact with guests. The venue has great lighting and audio.  

Located just off International Drive, Treasure Tavern is a great place for a fun night out and special occasions such as a date night or a birthday party. Here’s a tip, if you sit close to the front, you might be invited to go onstage to receive a sexy dance by the jewels. Also, the show involves some audience participation so don’t be shy.

Click here for more info about Treasure Tavern show tickets.

Photo credit: Ryan Smith

SkyHouse Orlando Update | Parking Structure Now Up

SkyHouse Orlando is finishing up visible construction on the main 23 story tower while the parking structure next door is now topped out and is awaiting its façade. The 8-story, 471 space parking structure will have 987 sq ft of retail on the eastern edge of the property. A decorative façade will be attached to the garage within the next few months. A one story building segment will attach the garage to the residential tower. SkyHouse is an estimated $63million development and will feature 320 residential units in a mix of studio, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom suites along with 7,245 sq ft ground floor retail.

The parking garage is one of the few aspects of the new development that is not an exact replica of recently built SkyHouse towers in Atlanta and Austin. This SkyHouse will also feature a small dog park for residents on the southeast corner of the property and a public park in front of the retail area along Livingston Street on northern line of the property.

SkyHouse finishes construction as another tower is yet to break ground. Will +1 ever happen?

The parking structure

Looking down at the parking structure, just beside the stairs is where the main entrance will be

The future dog park area

Look at how close these parking structures are to each other. Its about ten feet across.  They should be connected! 

Retail area and lobby entrance on Magnolia Ave

Current view looking south on Rosalind Ave

Rendering of same angle once SkyHouse is finished.

  All renderings via City of Orlando MPB Staff Report

Brazilian Fast Casual Giraffas Opens In Orlando

Giraffas is the latest restaurant to enter the Orlando market.  The Brazilian based chain has over 400 locations in South America and 5 in the Miami area.  The restaurant was named one of the top 10 Fast Food Chains in the world by Travel and Leisure (they’re #10, they're the only one in the Top 10 to have a location in Orlando, next closest is Five Guys at #16).  Giraffas is planning a major expansion in the Orlando market.  Their first Orlando location opened on I-Drive earlier this month.  

I recently checked out the new Orlando location.  The menu features burgers, steaks, pasta, and fish along with sides such as rice, black beans, farofa, grilled veggies, and mashed potatoes.  One nice thing is a side salad is also a side option.  Steaks are served with a sauce on the side as well. 

I had the Picanha with Chimichurri sauce. I selected the haricots verts (green beans), farofa, and the quinoa.

After ordering at the counter you sit down and the meal is brought out to you.  Real plates and silverware are used!  It was less than 4 minutes from the time I order till I received my steak dinner.  The meal is impressive for the price (just over $11) and tasted very fresh.  Expect something a step above Pollo Tropical or Boston Market.  I used the Chimichurri sauce on the farofa as the steak needed no sauce due to its own full taste. 

Giraffes are used throughout the décor.  Televisions play a special Giraffa’s network that mixes current news, weather, and trivia.  At least three different employees checked in on me while I was eating even offering to refill my drink.  A check-in on Foursquare scored me a side of bread.  The meal left me full and impressed.  The contemporary décor was inviting , creating a relaxing atmosphere to dine in.  The entire experience was a welcome retreat from the noise of I-Drive.   

Expect a Winter Park location to open by end of the year.

For a full menu and more information make sure to check out Giraffa’s website.

Image via Giraffas USA facebook

Giraffas5415 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: (407) 226-9191
Hours: Sun-Thu:11am-10pm Fri-Sat:11am-12 midnight

 

Islands of Adventure's Jurassic Park Getting Carnival Games. Are new rides next?

It’s finally official that Harry Potter is expanding beyond Islands of Adventure and into Universal Studios.  As part of the major expansion a new Hogwarts Express train ride will connect the two areas with construction pointing to the Islands of Adventure station being just outside of the current Potter area.  This means that at least part of the new expansion will be in the current Lost Continent land.  That land was already cut in half with the layover of Harry Potter in half of the land.  The current smaller Lost Continent faces huge crowds already due to the massive success of Wizard World of Harry Potter next door.  With the new addition these crowds are only expected to grow. 

There have been rumors for some time now that Lost Continent would undergo a remodel with its carnival games shifting over to the Jurassic Park area instead. This would allow for larger pathways within the Lost Continent that would help relieve the crowd issues the land has experienced.  Recent permits now confirm that games will be coming to Jurassic Park.  The permits state that 627sq ft of sidewalk and 417sq ft of landscaping will be replaced with a 1,044sq ft building area.  This lines up with the rumor of the new games replacing the extended queue of the River Adventure ride.

The confirmation at the new games was found in the project name. 

Now rumors have it that these games are just part of a larger expansion of the Jurassic Park area.  Other rumors rounded up from across the internet for the land include:

• A family friendly wooden coaster that will travel through the amber mines seen in the films. The Gravity Group will likely be the coaster builder if these rumors are correct.
• A dark ride built in the bottom floor of the Discovery Center.  This ride would use the DNA ride film from the first movie, then will take riders past an active lab that similar to the one currently found within the Discovery Center before going through a storage area, possibly outside, past audio-animatronic dinosaurs.
• One to two flat rides themed to Jurassic Park.  Both Seuss Landing and Marvel feature themed flat rides already.   Rumors for Jurassic Park’s include a paratrooper style kiddie ride and a small log flume that would be the answer for kids who are too small to ride the River Adventure.
• New themed food and merchandise carts are also expected.

All of this is expected to open by 2015 just in time for the theatrical release of Jurassic Park 4.  

Here is one of the letters attached to the permit paperwork.  

Here is the permit information if you want to check out all the attachments. 

Application #: 130424-13 Permit#: 48-00103-S Final Action Date: 17-May-2013

Issuing Office: ORL/SFWMD Permit Status: ACTIVE Application Status: Complete

Permit Type: Environmental Resource (Compliance Letter Mod) Expiration Date:

Project Name: Basin I O A Improvements-Project J P Games Project Acres: .08

Landuse(s): Commercial Location: Orange S24/T23/R28

Receiving Body: Shingle Creek

Applicant:  Universal City Development Partners Ltd   Charles Gundacker 1000 Universal Studios Plaza Orlando FL 32819 Engr Consultant:  Harris Civil Engineers L L C   Abdul Alkadry P E 1200 East Hillcrest St Suite 200 Orlando FL 32803

Disney Introduces New Classy Looking Logos For Four Of Its Resorts

In 2012 Disney introduced Character-centric logos for four of its vacation club resorts.  The logos each featured Mickey or Minnie taking in one of activities associated with each of the resorts.

Now Disney has introduced four more logos for the resorts.  These are similar but instead of a character each new logo features an iconic symbol or architectural detail found in its associated resort.  

• Disney’s Old Key West Resort features the lighthouse found at its central pool area.
• Disney’s Vero Beach Resort features a sea turtle.  
• Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort a beach chair is featured.  
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa features a racing horse (in case you're wondering there are no horses at Saratoga Springs, but wouldn't a nice field of horse be a lovely thing to add!).  

The new logos also each feature a Hidden Mickey.  These four Vacation Club resorts are the only ones to feature updated logos at this time though Disney has confirmed more resorts will receive new logos in the future.

You'll be able to purchase a wide variety of merchandise with new logos beginning in June, 2013.  The character logos will also still be available on select merchandise. 

Images via Disney Parks Blog (Source 1, Source 2)