American Kitchen Bar & Grill Lake Buena Vista
Let us introduce you to Chef Venoy Rogers lll, the Executive Chef at American Kitchen. Don’t worry if you have never come across his name, you will do soon, for Chef Rogers is cooking up a storm at the American Kitchen restaurant located in the superb B Resort & Spa.
American Kitchen is definitely a restaurant within a hotel rather than a hotel restaurant, and could easily stand on its own in a different location.
Chef Rogers has roots in California, so is no stranger to farm to table food elements and fusion taste sensations, all of which he brings to his fantastic menu. A few years ago, we visited his restaurant in the Palms on Miami Beach and were impressed with what he could do with simple ingredients, so delighted to see him in Orlando, indeed Chef Rogers is known for his mantra “To make good food you need good ingredients”.
The menu at American Kitchen takes influences from all over the world and gives them a unique American twist, but always fresh and innovative. We asked Chef for some recommendations and were delighted to try the following items from the current menu.
Tempura Avocado – served with Tomato Chipotle Jam and Cilantro Lime Crème Fraiche. The slices of Avocado were lightly battered with Tempura resulting in a crisp refreshing bite, the jam was outstanding, more please!
Tuscan Kale Flatbread – smoked exotic mushrooms, pickled onion, Asiago cheese and garlic thyme infused honey. The flatbread was in fact Indian Naan bread a great idea, well balanced flavors especially the Asiago with Honey were simple but a very clever use of ingredients.
AK Meatballs – in-house beef grind on a bed of creamy Parmesan Polenta, smoked Tomato Pomodoro & house made Ricotta. The meatballs are a blend of Brisket & NY Strip plus some other ingredients Chef Rogers keeps close to his chest, good polenta and even better Ricotta.
American Kitchen has its own Smokehouse, so BBQ and smoked foods are readily available to Chef Rogers when creating and developing his menu. The restaurant also has a superb bar with hand crafted cocktails and good draught beer selections. We observed a guest at the bar drinking the Mezcal Mole – Creyente Mezcal, Ancho Reyes, Lime, Serrano, Chocolate Bitters & Burnt Orange. She declared this cocktail as probably the best cocktail she had ever drank.
Restaurants within the confines of a hotel are a difficult “Gig” to pull off but Chef Rogers and the General Manger of the B Resort & Spa, Michael Allen seem to have found a winning formula of providing an excellent, unpretentious restaurant experience with amazing food, great service (thanks Alex for the Lobster flatbread recipe) all at a very affordable price point.
Lots more to tell you about Chef Rogers and the American Kitchen so watch out for updates on his new and innovative take on Beef Ribs, a ticket only specialty dining event and the Best Burger deal in Orlando. Please, Orlando locals, do yourselves a favor and visit American Kitchen and Bar, you will find them at 1905 Hotel Plaza Boulevard Lake Buena Vista.
