The signature dish of Ravello, a destination Italian restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, is the veal ravioli.
Stuffed with veal, spinach and ricotta and served with wild mushrooms and essence of truffle, it is a dish that chef Fabrizio Schenardi has been cooking for decades, one that draws inspiration from his own family. It has been part of their holiday meals for generations and is an ideal plate to highlight on National Ravioli Day (March 20).
The pasta for this dish is made fresh on site.
“The ravioli are made with svogliavelo pasta dough, which is softer than traditional pasta,” says Schenardi, whose team slow-cooks the veal shoulder with white wine for up to six hours, using onions, celery and herbs. It’s then combined with ricotta impastata and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
“When you eat the ravioli, you have a very unique flavor and texture mix. Our guests come from all over the world and order this ravioli, and it is a favorite among local patrons who frequent Ravello.”
If you go: Four Seasons Orlando at 10100 Dream Tree Blvd. in Lake Buena Vista, 407-313-7777; fourseasons.com/orlando/dining/restaurants/ravello
Pillowy perfection on the line at Orlando City Pasta. (Courtesy Orlando City Pasta)
Orlando City Pasta
Harry Herzig started his tenure at Orlando City Pasta, which opened in 2012, during his senior year of high school (2014-15) and five years later took the reins, buying the biz from its original owner.
Pasta making, he says, is an art you never truly learn.
“It’s ongoing. Every day is different. We live in Florida, where the humidity goes all over the place, and we’re nowhere near where the Semolina flour comes from,” says Herzig, “which means it’s an adventure. Similar to pizza, you have to listen to your dough.”
Ravioli is popular, he notes, and runs from simple four-cheese to the top-selling braised brisket and even vegan offerings.
“The brisket is extremely popular on both the farmer’s market side and it’s getting even more popular with our restaurant and wholesale clients,” says Herzig.
You can pick up Orlando City Pasta to go (and not just ravioli, either) at seven different area farmers markets, or have them shipped right to your door. (Courtesy Orlando City Pasta)
That’s a lengthy roster, including places like Chayote, which uses their pumpkin ravioli, The Monroe, the Loews’ area resorts and the Thornton Park Pub (see below).
You need not dine out to enjoy Herzig’s pasta, however, which his team is out selling in force at seven area farmers markets each week, including the Windermere Farmers Market (Fridays), Lakeland, Ocala, Winter Garden, Winter Haven and Winter Park (Saturdays) and Orlando Farmers Market at Lake Eola Park (Sundays).
Customers can also order three of the bestselling varieties (sauces, too!) online and have them shipped frozen, right to their door, though Herzig prefers to see their smiling faces in person.
“It gives us a great inspiration for both why we do what we do and the love of the craft.”
Orlando City Pasta smoked gouda ravioli made with red pepper-infused pasta with pancetta, roasted red peppers and mushrooms in a red pepper cream sauce. (Courtesy Thornton Park Pub)
If you go: 407-656-1077; orlandocitypasta.com
Thornton Park Pub
Four-cheese fried ravioli (courtesy of Orlando City Pasta) will hit Denny Tornatore’s menu at the Thornton Park Pub at the end of the month, thanks to an offhand conversation as I was putting this story together.
It makes sense, here, though, where pub foods for snacking hit just as easily as Tornatore’s larger Italian menu, which serves as the kitchen’s backbone here in Thornton Park.
Four-cheese Orlando City Pasta ravioli, crafted by Orlando City Pasta, fried and served by Denny Tornatore at Thornton Park Pub. (Courtesy Thornton Park Pub)
Spring will also see a new Orlando City pillow, a smoked gouda ravioli made with red pepper-infused pasta that Tornatore’s pairing with pancetta, roasted red peppers and mushrooms and a red pepper cream sauce. It’ll stay for three months.
“Until the summer menu!” says Tornatore, “And there will definitely be another ravioli in the mix.”
If you go: 808 E. Washington St. in Orlando, 407-826-1331; thorntonparkpub.com
The pear ravioli poached in wine from Turci Pasta. (Courtesy Turci Pasta)
Turci Pasta
Much like Orlando City Pasta, Turci’s is all housemade, and the varieties seem innumerable. The main difference is that you have more options here. Take the ravioli home to pair with your own sauce, bring Turci’s sauce along with, or stay and let them cook the entire meal.
From black truffle to traditional cheese, the pasta artisans here are crafting ravioli that’s truly special. In fact, their signature pear and cheese ravioli, served with a beautiful wine-poached pear, bathed in three-cheese sauce and topped with crushed pistachio, is one of co-owner Nathalia Demarchi Kalil’s favorites.
If you go: 2120 Edgewater Drive in Orlando, 407-487-2015; turcipasta.com
Seasonal “fatti-a-mano” handmade pasta (spinach and ricotta filling with brown butter and candied nuts) from VINIA Wine & Kitchen. (Courtesy Lisa Wilk/TasteCookSip.com)
VINIA Wine & Kitchen
There’s always something wonderful going on in the kitchen at VINIA in Winter Park, where scratch-made ravioli has been an ongoing tradition since the beginning. On the menu right now, guests can enjoy the seasonal “fatti-a-mano,” featuring a spinach-and-ricotta filling with brown butter and candied nuts.
If you go: 444 W. New England Ave. in Winter Park, 321-297-6561; viniawinebar.com
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.