Nova – 1409 North Orange Avenue Orlando.

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Nova – 1409 North Orange Avenue Orlando.

Ivanhoe village is becoming a “Hot Spot” of amazing restaurants and local businesses, a shout out has to go to Sandi Thompson the Executive Director of Ivanhoe Village and her team, who as part of the Main Street project has been a “Tour de Force “in promoting the area ‘s great assets and local businesses.

For sure, one of these great restaurants is NOVA.

Last night we had the opportunity to sample items from a new menu that Nova launched a couple of weeks ago. Usually when menu’s change you can virtually hear the groans of regular diners whose favorite dish has been removed, but due to the care and diligence of Executive Chef Val Domingo, they have creatively kept the top sellers but added a couple of refreshing twists to those dishes and brought in some exciting additions to keep customers coming back for more. If our meal was any indication, they will be back in droves.

We got to try:

Fried Green Tomatoes – Fresno chili, whipped goat cheese with spicy pineapple chutney. Great example of this popular dish.

Lobster Bao – Maine Lobster on a steamed bao bun, preserved lemon aioli, Asian vegetable salad and sesame seed. Bao buns are gaining in popularity and by the taste of this delicious appetizer you can see why. The preserved Lemon gives this dish a great citrus hit.

Deviled Scotch Egg – Chorizo wrapped cage-free egg, peppadew egg mousse and candied bacon jam. We are Scotch Egg fans; the combination of Chorizo and Peppadews gives this an unexpected and flavorful twist.

All Natural Pork Chop – Southeastern Family Rams bone in Pork Chop, Carolina BBQ glaze, three cheese baked mac n’ cheese with bacon roasted Brussel Sprouts. Quite simply the most moist and delicious pork dish we have had in a long while. Well done Chef Val, a dish of this quality takes culinary excellence.

Faroe Island Salmon served with, Smoked tomato and mozzarella risotto, crab beurre blanc with petite arugula and pickled vegetables. Perfectly cooked to translucent and well balanced with the Risotto.

Duck Fat French fries –  Nothing to say here but – More Please!

Val Domingo and Mark Stillman have done an amazing job with Nova and this new menu change just elevates the restaurant a step further. There is so much to tell you about Nova, from the amazing cocktails to the spectacular sunset views, that we will return in a couple of weeks to review all of these in depth and explore the passion behind Chef Val’s masterly cooking skills. He has even hinted he may give away some of his secret marinades and rub recipes.

Keep a look out for more on this great Ivanhoe Village Restaurant.

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