The appearance, part of SeaWorld’s Seven Seas Food Festival concert series, is set for 7 p.m., March 22, at the park’s Bayside Stadium.

Stamos has played durms with the group sporadically since the early 1980s after he was cast on “General Hospital.” He appeared in the group’s video for the 1988 hit song “Kokomo.”  As an actor, he gained fame as Uncle Jesse on “Full House” and Dr. Tony Gates on “ER.”  Other notable TV appearances include “Glee,” “Muppets Haunted Mansion” and two episodes of “Palm Royale.”

Stamos has a reputation of being a Disney buff, reportedly buying the large Disneyland entrance sign on eBay in 2000 and installing the big D in his backyard. In a worlds-collide moment, the video for “Kokomo” was filmed at the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World.

Last week, longtime Beach Boys member Bruce Johnston, 81, said he planned to stop touring with the group, but he will make special appearances, including a Hollywood Bowl gig marking the 250th birthday of the USA.  The group’s tour schedule recently expanded as it marks the 40th anniversary of its famed album “Pet Sounds.”

The SeaWorld concert is included with regular park admission. A limited amount of reserved seating is available, including front-row spots. Prices vary with concert dates, but the range for reserved seating for the Beach Boys appearance is $99.99 to $199.99.

For tickets and more information, go to seaworld.com/orlando.

New downtown plaque points out Disney history-making spot

Concerts are held on select nights throughout the festival, which ends May 17.  Other upcoming acts include Connor Price on March 14, the triple bill of Tiffany, Bow Wow Wow and Animotion on March 15 and All-4-One on March 21.  This year’s lineup also includes Boyz II Men, Trace Adkins, Uncle Kracker, Jesse McCartney, Elvis Crespo and more.

Other theme park concert series under way in Orlando include Garden Rocks, part of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival (ending June 1) and Universal’s Mardi Gras concert, which concludes March 28. (The festival runs through April 4.)

Theme parks perking up plant life after freezes

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.

But, of course, adolescence is a wild ride. And that’s clear in “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” Alexis Scheer’s high-octane look at coming of age that won critical acclaim following its 2019 off-Broadway debut.

There’s a trick to watching this show play out, with one dramatic revelation after another: Don’t get bogged down in the details — how many tragically dead relatives, after-school-special topics and teen soap dilemmas arise. “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” works best when thought of in broad brushstrokes. Scheer’s brilliance is how her four teenage female characters serve as a collective representation of the experience of young womanhood while still feeling like real people.

Of course, the fact that young women face all this pressure as they navigate their way to adulthood might be the scariest thing of all.

“Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” is set in a very specific time in American history: The runup to the election of President Barack Obama. Three high school students are welcoming a new member to their Dead Leaders Club — a group once sanctioned by their private school for in-depth study of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and the like, but then defunded when the girls began focusing on people such as Saddam Hussein.

The current object of the club’s attention is Pablo Escobar, who, as a politician, aided the poor of his native Colombia — and is still revered by some there — but also led a violent drug cartel responsible for much of the cocaine that flooded into the U.S. in the 1980s and ’90s.

The story opens with the young women trying to summon his spirit with a Ouija board, a ritual that involves animal slaughter, drug use and licking a bloody knife — setting the play’s no-holds-barred tone early. From there, it’s surprise after surprise, leading to a highly disturbing scene and an unexpected climax.

But while the twists and turns keep the audience wondering what comes next, to me, the beauty of the piece is in the young women themselves. The play is set in Miami — Bonnie Sprung’s treehouse set is imposing, eye-catching, practical and fun — and the characters reflect the diversity of South Florida: The girls are Black, Latina and Jewish.

And they all are seeking some kind of stability or comfort in a world that repeatedly frightens them.

Director Matthew MacDermid beautifully balances the ghostly and horrific elements, with an assist from Gabriel Garcia’s lighting, with the more mundane banter of reality. And his cast, three of them new to the Ensemble Company stage, hum with vitality.

“Potential is exhausting,” one says, but these young women are bursting with the potential for growth, for change, for power — if only the world would get out of their way.

MacDermid has a uniformly excellent cast who fully inhabit the potential of these juicy roles.

Critic’s Pick: Clever, funny ‘Fat Ham’ offers a way out of tragedy | Review

Maddy Poston has the showiest part as Zoom, the youngest of the quartet, who still has a childlike belief in magic even as she engages in adult activity. Poston is a force in motion as she tries to shed childish ways and live up to her older classmates.

Sarah Bathelemy has a charismatic intensity, as the most political of the group, and a bracing way of speaking her mind. Loudise Ortiz-Hernandez is suitably enigmatic and emanates a cool sort of power as the mysterious newcomer who upends the group.

Winter arts roundup: Yuja Wang, Jasmine Forsberg, Disney concerts and more

Finally, Ana Gomez-Lugo gives Pipe, the president of the club, a steely determination fueled by pain. It’s all right there — in her face, her body language — that something traumatic and unhealed burns inside her.

These almost-women tease, they talk over each other in excitement, they giggle, they argue — they seem like a real cohort. And that makes the issues they face seem more real — and more frightening than the ghost of a dead drug lord.

Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter.

‘Our Dear Dead Drug Lord’

• Length: 75 minutes, no intermission

• Where: Imagine Performing Arts Center at Oviedo Mall, 1700 Oviedo Mall Blvd.

• When: Through March 15

• Cost: $18-$22

• Info: imagineperformingartscenter.org

Festival of the Arts

Walt Disney World’s Festival of the Arts at Epcot upped the game at its concert series this year. The musical arrangements seemed more dynamic, even though the use of recorded background vocals cheapens the Broadway feel.

But the lineup couldn’t be beat: New performers this year included James Monroe Iglehart, who won a Tony Award for his exuberant turn as Genie in “Aladdin,” and not one but two original Broadway princesses: Sierra Boggess, the original Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” and Susan Egan, the first Belle in the long-running “Beauty and the Beast.”

They joined returning favorites such as Josh Strickland, the premier title character in “Tarzan,” Ashley Brown, who debuted the title character in “Mary Poppins,” and Central Floridians Kissy Simmons and Michael James Scott.

Speaking of “B&B,” Disney did a special concert devoted entirely to that title — a marketing move, no doubt, as a new national tour of the show is underway (it will arrive in Orlando next spring). Still, it was enchanting to be surprised with a special appearance by Kyra Belle Johnson, who will be starring in that tour.

Bravo, Disney, bravo.

Winter Park Arts Weekend

In another concert, Central Floridian turned Broadway star Jasmine Forsberg headlined the Winter Park Arts Weekend in February. Ooh, it was a chilly night — but Forsberg got a deservedly warm reception.

Central Florida Vocal Arts staged the concert, which featured a snappy combo fronted by piano man Julian Bond, dancers from Emotions Dance and singer AJ Morales, who joined Forsberg onstage.

Orlando’s Jasmine Forsberg rules the stage in hit musical ‘Six’

“This place is where my love of performing began,” Forsberg told the crowd, pointing out she celebrated her high-school graduation just down Park Avenue at Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine restaurant.

Forsberg performed showtune standards (“On My Own” from “Les Misérables” and, appropriately, “Home” from “The Wiz”), a Disney medley and a delightfully country-tinged song she wrote, titled “Go Down This Road.” She learned, as many a performer in Central Park has, that the nearby Amtrak train is going to blast its horn at the worst possible time — in this case, during “Heart of Stone,” her signature song from Broadway’s “Six.”

Speaking of that hit show, you can catch Forsberg in the cast of “Six” on Broadway.

Rhapsody

In a concert of a different sort, acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang headlined the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual Rhapsody gala.

Wang, known for her theatrical style, technical prowess and signature sparkly dresses, returned to Orlando, where she first memorably performed outdoors in frigid temperatures on the Exploria Stadium field during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philharmonic, conducted by music director Eric Jacobsen, handled some beloved tunes on its own: Brahms’ whirling Hungarian Dance No. 5; Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” which even in its loudest moments remained pleasingly tender; Barber’s cinematic overture to “The School for Scandal” and Copland’s bold and brassy “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

Itzhak Perlman headlines Orlando Philharmonic 2026-27 season

Wang starred in Barber’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, creating a feeling of surprise with her interludes in the first movement and then projecting a haunted air over the more sedate second movement.

The third movement crackled with energy, but perhaps Wang and Jacobsen weren’t completely satisfied? Among the five — yes, five — encores, Wang and the orchestra repeated the concerto’s entire third movement, to the delight of the crowd.

By the way, congratulations to the Philharmonic for raising $650,000 at the event.

‘Anne & Emmett’

Turning to theater, I was able to take in a special performance of the Bridge Theater’s “Anne & Emmett” for students from local high schools. It was thrilling to see how engaged the young theatergoers were; you could have heard a pin drop at times. And they asked insightful questions at a post-show talkback led by director Karen J. Rugerio.

Written by Janet  Langhart Cohen, “Anne & Emmett” imagines a meeting of Anne Frank and Emmett Till in the afterlife. The two learn they have much in common: Both were murdered as youths, both the victims of senseless bigotry and hate.

In ‘Anne and Emmett,’ Arts at the J looks at lives cut short by hate

It’s a powerful play, and here’s some good news: The Bridge Theater, which was established in 2024 to instill empathy and mutual respect among young people, is reviving the production.

With Wayne Brady as executive producer, “Anne & Emmett” will feature an additional student performance, as well as a public show, at East Ridge High, 13322 Excalibur Road in Clermont. Showtime for the general public is at 7 p.m. April 16. Get more information at thebridgetheatre.org.

Pargh Event Center

I saw “Anne & Emmett” at the new Pargh Event Center at the Rosen Jewish Community Center in southwest Orlando. That is the home of the new Arts at the J program, and the spiffy space was formally dedicated Feb. 12 with a ribbon-cutting and the unveiling of new signage across its facade.

Rosen JCC executive director Ofira Bondorowsky called the opening of the center, named after a $1 million donation from Andy Pargh in honor of his parents, “an incredible milestone.”

The Arts at the J program, which hosted a Central Florida Community Arts jazz concert last week,  will continue this spring with the “Comedy for Peace” tour on April 23. Go to rosenjcc.org/arts-at-the-j for more information.

Refreshed venue, new JCC program aim for more arts in southwest Orlando

“This is a remarkable new chapter for southwest Orlando and Central Florida as a whole,” said Frank Santos, CEO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, at the official opening. He pledged the center would be a place where “the arts are given room to breathe, grow and inspire.”

Pargh, who cut the ribbon with members of his family, said he learned about philanthropy from his parents — and he gave the idea of “giving until it hurts” a fresh twist.

“Give till it feels good,” he said. “And tonight it feels really good.”

Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter.

Mexican-American singer Lila Downs is the product of two distinct cultures. Born in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, she is the daughter of Anita Sánchez, an Indigenous cabaret singer of Mixtec heritage, and Allen Downs, a Scottish-American professor of art and cinematography from Minnesota.

With six Latin Grammys and a Grammy to her credit, Downs is widely regarded as one of the first major artists to bring the music of the Mixtec, a prominent Indigenous group in Mexico, to a global stage. Her versatile repertoire blends folk, jazz, blues, ranchera and hip-hop, reflecting her broad musical range.

From Oaxaca to the Oscars stage

Raised between the Sierra Madre mountains of Oaxaca and the Midwest of the United States, Downs grew up with one foot in each world.

“I was fortunate to grow up in two different places, both socially organized and responsive,” she said during a recent interview from Mexico City.

Today, she divides her time between Oaxaca and Mexico City. This year, Downs, who sings in both English and Spanish, will perform across Mexico, the U.S., Canada and Spain, continuing her mission to amplify Indigenous voices worldwide.

Throughout her career, Downs has used her platform to serve as a global ambassador for Mexican Indigenous culture, advocating for social justice and the preservation of native languages and traditions.

In 1994, she released her first album, “Ofrenda,” a collection of traditional songs from Oaxaca and Mexico, as well as original compositions in Spanish, Mixtec and Zapotec, Indigenous languages of Oaxaca.

By 1999, Downs had signed with Narada Productions, achieving commercial success and international recognition with her album “La Sandunga.” Since then, she has released at least 15 studio albums, though she confesses, “I’ve lost count.”

One of the defining moments of her career came in 2003, when she performed the Oscar-nominated song “Burn It Blue” from the film “Frida” at the 75th Academy Awards, bringing her voice to a global audience.

Her latest album, “Cambias mi Mundo (You Change My World),” marks a return to original material, focusing on her growing interest in the poetic side of music.

“Music has taught me to be more spiritual,” she said. “We can find relief through the soulfulness of music.”

Songs of belonging — and dissent

Given her bicultural roots, Downs is closely attuned to the political climate, particularly the ongoing immigration debate in the United States. She has been vocal in her support of the widespread public protests that have followed immigration crackdowns across the country.

“That makes me very proud,” Downs said about the protests. “But I am very sad as well. We are separating people – it’s something I’ve been singing about for a long time. We’re going back, in a way; I guess it’s something in us as human beings. We are what we know.”

Downs’ activism is also evident in her music. In 2016, she released “The Demagogue,” a bilingual protest song aimed at Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.

“When I take political stances, they heat up on Facebook,” she said.

Her song “Dark Eyes” (2021) comments on race and the invisibility of Indigenous laborers in Mexico, offering a poignant reflection on the experiences of marginalized communities.

“We are all children of immigrants, really,” she added. “No matter how people try to erase it, that’s the truth.”

A: Most of what are called cardboard palms look pretty sad at this time. Actually, these are not palms at all, but cycads best-called cardboard plants. The name comes from the feeling of the fronds that are like cardboard. Take a look at the base of the plants or within the canopy of brown fronds. Most likely there are green ones, too, indicating there is plenty of life in these plants. Now would be a good time to prune out the dead fronds so spring growth can renew your plants. Keep them moist and apply a spring feeding to encourage bud growth from the base to produce new fronds.

Q: We have a tall mango tree with all brown leaves. Will it recover from the freeze?

A: There is a lot of hope your tree can recover, but most mangos that froze for several hours are severely damaged. It’s doubtful they are alive above the graft where the new variety was added. Scrape the bark down the limbs and trunk. If you find green, then the tree can survive and produce new shoots. If there is life, but below the graft, the tree is not going to regrow the desired variety. In this case a new tree would be needed.

Q: Our cannas have died back for the winter. Can we dig the bulbs and transplant them at this time?

A: Extremely cold weather encouraged the continued decline of cannas for winter. It’s normal for cannas to turn brown and die back to the ground during the colder months. But don’t worry, the rhizomes, or root portions, below ground are usually insulated by soil and can grow back during warm spring weather. Feel free to dig the rhizomes anytime now and separate them into individual portions. They can be stored for a few weeks or immediately planted in prepared garden sites or containers. Keep moist after planting and apply a slow-release fertilizer when new growth is noted.

Q: I purchased a small lime and lemon tree. When can I transplant them into 20-gallon containers and what should I use for soil?

A: Wait no longer to give these citrus trees a new container. The weather is warm and the risk of a damaging freeze is minimal. Use a quality potting soil mixture. Most contain peat moss, bark and perlite. It should flow easily through your fingers indicating it has good aeration and won’t compact. Add the trees to their new containers but leave about 2 inches of free space at the top to catch and direct water down through the root systems. After a few weeks, add a slow-release fertilizer to the surface of the soil following instructions for container culture. Then make repeat feedings according to labels throughout the growing seasons.

Plant Doctor: Blessing of recent winter freeze is fewer peach tree pests

Q: My red maple tree is opening its buds and starting growth. Is it too late to perform needed pruning?

A: Now might be the best time to give your maple tree a trimming. Even though it has begun shoot and leaf growth, it’s not so far along that the tree’s time and energy is wasted. Do the trimming as soon as possible. It’s always best to perform needed pruning just prior to new plant growth. Be safe by hiring a professional to do work in the upper portions of the tree.

Q: Can we grow edible ginger in Central Florida? How do we get started and what care is needed?

A: Get ready to grow the ginger you need starting this spring as the weather warms. Edible ginger grows vigorously from fresh root pieces known as rhizomes, obtained from grocery or specialty food stores. Plant in containers or garden soils enriched with compost or others forms of organic matter. Space the ginger portions about 12 inches apart or one or two pieces to a large container. Keep moist and fertilize monthly with a vegetable garden product. Ginger grows best in filtered sun to light shade. Plants grow to about 4 feet tall with narrow leaves, and infrequent but exotic flowers, almost like small, greenish-yellow orchids. The stalks of ginger plants die during winter in cooler locations. Thick tubers can be removed as needed with major harvests made during late summer or fall.

Q: My lawn is starting to recover from the cold, but I see lots of weeds among the green. When can I put a weed-and-feed on my St. Augustine?

March in the Garden for Central Florida

A: When the grass is growing, so are the weeds. There is no better time than now to make the combined herbicide and fertilizer application. Do make sure your weeds are listed on the product’s label and apply it as instructed for your lawn type. Weed-and-feed products do a good job of controlling many broadleaf weeds but leave most grassy- and sedge-type weeds unaffected. So don’t expect complete control of your lawn weed problems. If weeds persist after the treatments have them identified at your local University of Florida Extension Center and ask for the recommended controls that can eliminate them from your lawn.

Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando, FL. 32802. Email: TomMac1996@aol.com. 

I would disagree, though. In reality, it’s more a rebuttal to Shakespeare’s Danish tragedy. A clever, funny, thoughtful and ultimately uplifting rebuttal. One in which the main and most insightful point is made by a stoned barbecue guest who’s describing a hallucination involving a gingerbread man and, well, sexual pleasure. Oh yes, there’s raunchy material, an emphasis on sexuality and gender identity, and an interesting look at a generational divide. And a ghost.

Onstage in a vivid Orlando Shakes production, “Fat Ham” is set at a barbecue-slash-wedding-reception in the backyard of a Southern Black family. College-age son Juicy is conflicted because his father has just died and his mother has already remarried — to his father’s brother. Then, dad’s ghost pops up to announce that his brother had him killed.

This, of course, mirrors the setup of “Hamlet.” And it has to be said that Juicy follows the same indecisive and meandering inner struggle of the Danish prince. But the mist blowing through a Danish castle has become the smoke from a barbecue, and Ijames has his own sort of poetry in his writing: The cadence of casual family talk.

Director Roberta Emerson and her actors get that cadence just right, and Emerson thoughtfully lets the jokes land while keeping her characters grounded in reality.

Most of the actors I have seen — and acclaimed — in other productions. But here they delightfully surprise all over again with characterizations far removed from previous roles. Essex O’Brien exudes masculine toxicity as Juicy’s uncle, while Patrece Bloomfield handles the complexity of Juicy’s mother with grace: She’s loving but selfish, astute but blinded by her own needs. It’s a fascinating portrayal.

Jade L. Jones plays a seemingly prim, churchgoing family friend with enough warmth that the late revelation of a secret feels real — and becomes even funnier. She’s aided by a stunning purple dress and hat; Jos. N. Banks’ costume design perfectly telegraphs each character — from Bloomfield’s just-a-bit tacky couture to Juicy’s distinctive dress style.

Banks also performs, as family friend Larry, a Marine who is struggling with his own desires. It’s a sincere performance in the most nebulous character. As Larry’s sister, Opal, Nyeshia Naomii lands rib-tickling one-liners and devastating truth bombs with equal aplomb.

Lee Kelly, as the substance-addled guest, brilliantly delivers a scene-stealing, show-stopping comic monologue.

As for Juicy, he’s played by Je’Shaun Jackson, who I happened to catch onstage in New York City giving a warm and heartfelt performance in a supporting role in a new musical based on the “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” movie.

Jackson uses that same warmth and commitment to character here, to excellent effect — especially when directly addressing the audience in Shakespearean monologues. Did I occasionally wish Juicy showed more fire under the indecision? Yes, but I’ve thought that about many a Hamlet, as well.

In musical double bill, singer has 2 roles and 1 big problem

Technically, Stephen Jones’ lighting crisply distinguishes between reality, ghostly apparitions and out-of-time monologues, while Britt Sandusky’s sound also delineates those factors — and throws in a memorable karaoke performance of Radiohead’s “Creep.”

Yes, one thing you will learn is that backyard parties have a lot in common, no matter the race of the hosts. Plenty of food, awkward grace, embarrassing karaoke, even more embarrassing games and at least one person is going to end up far from sober.

In one intriguing scene, the characters split into teams for a game of charades — the reimagining of the play within a play in “Hamlet” — along generational lines. The older characters are all content to maintain the status quo and live for appearances, while the younger characters value truthful feelings, authenticity, and personal discovery and happiness. It’s a blazing reflection of our times.

Also delightful are the play’s other nods to “Hamlet.” Juicy’s monologues sometimes come directly from the play in seriousness, sometimes in silliness. But where Shakespeare’s characters marched inexorably toward their doom, because that’s how things played out then, Juicy is determined to flip the script.

Orlando hosts new puppy-centric musical that helps children cope with grief

Truth be told, choosing to break a cycle of violence and trauma through honesty, authenticity and the pursuit of happiness doesn’t provide an ending as stunning as in Shakespeare’s work; in fact, the level of acceptance and understanding on display by the finale moves “Fat Ham” into the realm of fantasy and makes the ending the least dramatically satisfying part of Ijames’ play. But it’s a marvelous trip to get there, with a message that hangs in the air as deliciously as the scent of backyard barbecue.

Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter.

‘Fat Ham’

• Length: 1:45, no intermission

• Where: Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins St. in Orlando

• When: Through March 29

• Cost: $38 and up

• Info: orlandoshakes.org

Restaurant of the Year

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Worth the Drive

2026 Foodie Awards: Click here to see all the winners!

Batting clean up with plates you are going to want to clean up, the Italian wonder twins of M’ama Napoli, last year’s winner and still champ in this roundup and Ispirazione, where the tigelles are as round as your belly when you finish one.

Critic’s Choice

Winner: The Butcher’s Nook, 237 W. 4th Ave. in Mount Dora, 352-720-3150; butchersnook.com

Runners-up: Ispirazione in Ocoee and M’ama Napoli in Winter Park

Readers’ Choice

Winner: Bernie’s Gourmet to Go, 1875 County Road 419, #400, in Oviedo, 407-977-0010; berniesgourmettogo.com

Runners-up: The Nauti Lobstah in Apopka and Cucinella’s Brick Oven Pizzeria in Oviedo

2026 Foodie Awards: Click here to see all the winners!

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Jaleo, of course, goes without saying, but I’ll go ahead and say it. If you can’t have your gin and tonic in San Sebastian, you might as well have it at Disney Springs and “Basque” in the delights of José Andrés’ beautiful Orlando outpost. And Columbia, with its incredible history here in Florida, is a classic in Celebration, as well as its other locations throughout the Sunshine State.

Critic’s Choice

Winner: Capa, Four Seasons, 10100 Dream Tree Blvd. in Lake Buena Vista, 407-313-7777

Runners-up: Columbia Restaurant in Celebration and Jaleo by José Andrés in Lake Buena Vista

Readers’ Choice

Winner: Columbia Restaurant, 649 Front St. in Celebration, 407-566-1505; columbiarestaurant.com

Runners-up: Jaleo by José Andrés in Lake Buena Vista and Bulla Gastrobar in Winter Park

2026 Foodie Awards: Click here to see all the winners!

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Holding it down for the SoCal crew, Samuel Aguilar’s street-taco pop-up, Over The Border, will never disappoint (keep an eye out for Oaxacan purveyor Sami’s Tacos, while you’re at it!), and Francisco’s Taco Madness slings some amazing tacos off its perma-parked truck in Fern Park.

Critic’s Choice

Winner: Hunger Street Tacos, 2103 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Winter Park; 321-444-6270; hungerstreettacos.com

Runners-up: Francisco’s Taco Madness food truck and Over The Border pop-up

Readers’ Choice

Winner: Black Rooster Taqueria, 1323 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando, 407-601-0994; blackroostertaqueria.com

Runners-up: La Fortuna Mexican Market in Oviedo and Mi Casa Tequila Taquería in Orlando

2026 Foodie Awards: Click here to see all the winners!

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.