321 Flavor Bites: You're running out of time to make Christmas dinner plans

Suzy Fleming Leonard, Florida Today
·3 min read

OK, folks. We're getting down to the wire.

Christmas will have come and gone by the time I write my next newsletter.

If you haven't bought your Christmas turkey, do it now, or it won't thaw in time. If you haven't made your Christmas reservations, you might be out of luck.

A few places are taking walk-ins. So if you really, really don't want to cook we've got a Big List of places open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We'll be updating the list through Friday. I just added info about Christmas Eve brunch at Djon's Village Market on Fifth Avenue in Indialantic.

Get your shakers ready

While we're on the subject of Djon's Village Market, shake up some festive fun on Friday at a Martini Class.

Tickets are $25, for the event which is from 5-7 p.m. Learn to create three martinis using Upstate Vodka. Each will be accompanied by all-natural mixers from Strangeway Cordials. Participants receive a gift set that includes a bottle of Upstate Vodka and a martini glass.

Get your tickets at djonsvillagemarket.com.

Best new restaurants list

The team at BB Rad's Coastal BBQ in Titusville includes, from left, Christina Mauer, Robert Tadlock, Joshua Goodrich, Zoe Russell and Brad Russell.
The team at BB Rad's Coastal BBQ in Titusville includes, from left, Christina Mauer, Robert Tadlock, Joshua Goodrich, Zoe Russell and Brad Russell.

Restaurateurs are a determined lot. We've had more than 60 restaurants open this year across Brevard County. Restaurant critic Lyn Dowling and I narrowed the field down to our 10 favorites.

It wasn't easy. There are so many awesome places opening here. Stay tuned for The Big List of new restaurants, which we'll be publishing in the next few days.

Delicious decor

Santa and Mrs. Clause have been known to make an appearance at Yellow Dog Cafe in Malabar.
Santa and Mrs. Clause have been known to make an appearance at Yellow Dog Cafe in Malabar.

'Tis the season for enjoying great food in cheerful atmospheres.

If you love getting into the holiday spirit while dining out, several local restaurants have upped their festive game this season. Lyn put together a list of restaurants that are especially merry and bright.

Food to celebrate

Dec. 22 is National Cookie Exchange Day.
Dec. 22 is National Cookie Exchange Day.

Cookie exchanges, date nut bread and sangria all have their days in the coming week. Given the choice of those three, I'm going to have to go with sangria, though cookies come in a close second.

But wait! We're also celebrating coquito and eggnog. Why can't we get those year-round? And let's not forget pfeffernusse, which I had to look up. They're German spice cookies with a white sugar coating. So much yum in the next seven days!

Here's what we're celebrating this week:

  • National Sangria Day, Dec. 20

  • National Armagnac Day, Dec. 21

  • National Coquito Day, Dec. 21

  • National French Fried Shrimp Day, Dec. 21

  • National Cookie Exchange Day, Dec. 22

  • National Date Nut Bread Day, Dec. 22

  • National Pfeffernusse Day, Dec. 23

  • National Eggnog Day, Dec. 24

  • National Pumpkin Pie Day, Dec. 25

Until next time, happy eating y'all.

And a very merry Christmas, too.

If you have questions about any of our food content, feel free to reach out anytime via email at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Or connect with me on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard

Suzy Fleming Leonard

FLORIDA TODAY food editor

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Make Christmas dinner plans now, plus new restaurants to try in 2024