I love new slates. I love new plates. And right now, Orlando’s sitting pretty at the intersection thereof.

There are literally dozens of exciting new ventures set to open here in town throughout 2024, featuring everything from fancied-up french fries to small-scale, speakeasy-style nanobars. Presented here are updates on a few that I’m eagerly eyeballing. Most exciting of all, perhaps? One of them’s already open!

Redlight Redlight

“I want that. Right now,” I tell chef Jes Tantalo when she mentioned the fried smoked mullet and grits, already a staple at Redlight Redlight’s brand-new brunch.

“Come in,” she says. “It’s not going anywhere.”

I would, but as of this writing, it’s only Tuesday. Come Sunday, you may well find me there, immersing myself in a new Orlando culinary experience that’s been three years in the making — one that started serving on the sneak tip the week before Thanksgiving.

Redlight’s been around for ages. Tantalo says the covert ops has allowed the small staff to get used to taking larger orders and dealing with real plates.

“We’ve been going slow and steady to make sure everyone’s comfortable,” she says. But things won’t be that much different for guests. “It’s full-service but casual. Real plates and linen napkins, but no hostess stand. Come in, grab a seat, order food (at the bar) or don’t. Whatever you like.”

You’re going to like plenty, I feel confident in saying. Tantalo’s brand of comfort food will feature menu staples (like that mullet during Sunday’s 12-3 p.m. brunch) but have plenty of seasonal play. So far, guests have seen goodies like meatloaf and loaded baked potatoes, as well as charred cabbage with a curry emulsion, shrimp and beans and more. “The menu will start to solidify as we continue,” she says. “Vegetables. Seafood. Small plates. You can build a meal out of a couple of things.”

Aside from brunch, the kitchen’s open for business 5-9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Food trucks will remain on Mondays, and a small menu of pickled goodies and snacks will be available when the kitchen’s closed.

“Come in, grab a drink and eat food with us!” Tantalo says.

Don’t mind if I do.

If you go: 2810 Corrine Drive in Orlando; instagram.com/redlightredlight

The Drake

Meanwhile, that same neighborhood’s french fry phenoms are about to take downtown by storm. Fans of Duck & Drake Kitchen’s fancied-up food truck ops at Digress Wine will have a new house to haunt as chefs Heberto and Rona Segura bring their gifts to a long-awaited brick-and-mortar.

“Think downtown chic, but with a high level of comfort,” says Heberto Segura, whose space is slated for soft open this month. With about 140 seats and a full bar, the Seguras will look to entertain longtime fans while welcoming lots of new faces.

“What people can expect is an elevated take on what we’re doing at the truck: a globally influenced menu and a focus on products from our local friends and crafters, but there will be a lot of room to expand on preparations and techniques.”

A wood-burning oven will char up crafted pizzas, says Segura, as well as house-baked breads and larger format roasted meats.

“At first, we’ll have a wait list, no reservations — we’re going see how the kitchen flows and expect that the waits will be minimal based on the seating strategy we’ve been working on,” he says. “We’re looking to be a mixture of a neighborhood place but also a great option for people to visit before and after if they’re coming downtown for a game or a show.

“We’re so grateful to the community that’s been supporting us since we started out doing popups,” says Segura, whose spud-related skills are renowned. “And you can definitely still get your French fries,” he promises. “A lot of people have been asking about that!”

Fans of the truck need not worry, though. The Digress hot spot isn’t going anywhere.

If you go: 355 N. Rosalind Ave. in Orlando; thedrakeorl.com

Mid Drive Dive

There was acute excitement back in November when the Sentinel broke the news about this new joint venture between East End Market cohorts Jacob Zepf (Freehand Goods/The Neighbors) and Matt Hinckley (Hinckley’s Fancy Meats), even more so as the new College Park “dive” readies for a targeted soft open in mid-to-late February.

“Everything is moving according to plan,” says Hinckley, whose “Betty Crocker-inspired comfort food” menu will evolve as guest input dictates.

“I built the kitchen with ears. Whatever the community tells us they want, we can do.”

Smashburgers, fish and chips, disco duck fries and other snacks will figure into the mix, says Hinckley, who will be bringing the support-local vibe to Edgewater Drive even as he upends his rep as a “heavy meat” guy with seafood and vegetarian fare, including what he’s touting as the CSA salad.

It’s a one-plate tribute to community-supported agriculture featuring the rotating seasonal surplus of our best local growers.

Add to that a vibrant cocktail menu a la The Neighbors, and it’s a recipe for success from lunch and dinner to happy hour. I, for one, welcome College Park’s new locavore overlords.

If you go: 2501 Edgewater Drive in Orlando; middrivedive.com

Eastwood

Coming in Q4, the latest concept from Team Market Group will be quite a departure from their successful 2023 venture. And you won’t be seeing a hot dog on the menu.

“Very different from Primrose Lanes, for sure,” says executive chef Jason Campbell, who’ll be overseeing the kitchen. “It’s a healthier option, too, a fun, casual place where live-fire cooking is the focus.”

Campbell says the menu will touch the Med, Morocco and Israel and will offer guests something that will fit into the Mills 50 neighborhood, as well as present something new.

“It’s such a great area for shareables,” says Campbell. “You have so many great Asian restaurants. For example, you can hit Tori Tori, get a couple of bites and a couple of drinks, then bounce to the next spot and so forth. We’re going to ebb and flow with that, offer a fun, casual atmosphere but with a different flavor profile.”

Look for all manner of proteins, plus lots of local produce and grains, along with “a great cocktail program and good wines with a focus on the naturals, which go so nicely with these flavors,” he says. “You’ll be able to watch us cooking, moving logs, shifting coals.”

Curated dinners for two, four, etc., are in the plans. “We want to make things easy and allow guests to pour a bottle of wine across the table and just enjoy, to keep it easygoing, but with great quality and service. We’ve been loving the Lanes, but here, we’ll get to flex some different muscles.”

If you go: 1024 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando; instagram.com/eastwoodorlando

Moso Nori

If 2023 was the year of hand-pulled noodles, 2024 is shaping up to be the year of hand rolls. Michelin man Mike Collantes’ Sushi Saint opened its doors at the end of the year, but multiple James Beard Award nominee Henry Moso’s own hand roll concept is right behind with a target opening date in “July or August,” says Moso, who has been having lots of fun working on the joint’s design.

Inspired largely by aizome, the Japanese practice of traditional indigo dyeing, the space will feature colors and art that invoke this natural, centuries-old practice, along with soothing elements of stone and wood. Beer, wine, sake, and sake cocktails will figure into the mix.

“I think the concept ties in very well with the idea of temaki,” says Moso, whose menu will focus on hand rolls. “Price points will run from $5-15,” he speculates. “Really on the affordable side, but we’ll be featuring daily and weekly specials depending on availability. Things like sujiko (fresh salmon roe in the sac) that we can cure in-house, foie gras hand rolls, fresh uni. These might be higher price-point specials we can offer to the guests, but all will feature high-quality seaweed from Japan.”

It’s a new ballgame but sits firmly in the Kabooki wheelhouse. Moso hopes its success will lead to multiple locations around town.

“I think hand rolls are something fun and new to offer here. They are comforting and easy and fun for Orlando foodies — and we have so many more of them here these days. Moso Nori will respect the tradition but offer up some Kabooki flair with a warm, welcoming environment, soothing accents, dim lights, cool music.

“I always want to make sure the vibe is there,” he says.

If you go: 1100 S. Orlando Ave. in Orlando

Mills Market

It’s the eventual moniker by which Mills 50’s beloved Tien Hung Market will eventually go, says Johnny Tung of The Bento Group, “though the essence of what makes Tien Hung special — including the bánh mì and the Vietnamese coffee — will stay.”

Around it, and adjacent to Zaru, one of Mills 50’s hottest new hangs, will be an all-new micro restaurant and market concept the likes of which Orlando has never seen.

“Zaru was Phase One of the project and our anchor restaurant in the market,” says Tung.

Phase two will include the development of several 10- to 20-seat micro restaurant concepts, two of which he says will be open before the year is out. “The market itself will be Phase Three, an open-format space that will be a mixture of food and nonfood storefronts, including a Japanese gift shop and a flower shop.”

Included in the mix of what’s to open this year: an intimate Japanese whisky bar, one of several “hidden restaurants” within the space.

“They’ll be speakeasy-style,’ Tung teases. “You’ll have to go through one door to get to the next.”

Other ideas are under wraps for now, but once complete, Mills Market will include 10 concepts total, he projects, with multiple operators working in an incubator-style space not unlike that of East End Market’s Domu Lab, “just a much bigger version” where local chefs can test their concepts.

“We don’t want it to be a traditional food hall,” Tung notes, adding that some spaces will likely be reserved for shorter- and longer-term pop-ups. “We’d like to have a rotating roster of offerings.

In the meantime, their Sorekara concept featuring the stylings of chef William Shen (currently at Zaru) is slated to open next month at 4979 New Broad Street in Orlando, the former location of the Galeria steakhouse. Those interested should hit the website (sorekarafl.com) to sign up for a newsletter and access to reservations.

“It will be unconventional in that we’ll be reaching out to people via email to reserve seats,” Tung explains. “Sorekara will be a highly curated experience.”

The Bento Group’s third Light on the Sugar location is also set to open in Waterford Lakes this Spring.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, 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