A La Cart & the Hourglass District. Orlando’s Favorite “Third Places”

There’s something special about the places we drift to when we’re not at home and not at work, the “third places” where we meet friends, grab a bite, and feel plugged into the neighborhood. In Orlando, À La Cart and the surrounding Hourglass District have quietly become exactly that: a laid-back living room for the city with great food, drinks, and community vibes.

À La Cart: Orlando’s Outdoor Dining Room

À La Cart is a social dining experience built around some of Central Florida’s best street food, inspired by the food truck parks of Oregon. It's a family-friendly space that feels like a community backyard.

At its core, À La Cart is:

• Street food on rotation – Semi-permanent mobile vendors serve everything from global comfort food to creative fusion dishes, so there’s always something new to try (and something picky eaters will say yes to).
• Craft drinks for every palate – A rotating draft list of craft beer is the star, but you’ll also find wines, ciders, seltzers, and packaged options you can enjoy on-site or take home.
• An easygoing hangout – String lights, lawn games, shared tables, and that “stay a while” energy make it perfect for date nights, friend catch-ups, or low-key family evenings. Local guides even call it one of Orlando’s go-to food truck date spots.

Today, À La Cart has expanded beyond its original Milk District roots with a SoDo location – and it’s not stopping there. Orlando City Council recently approved À La Cart to manage Art² Park, a new downtown pocket park at Orange Avenue and Robinson, where they’ll bring their food-and-community formula to the city center.

What’s Happening at À La Cart This Month

If you’re looking for something fun (and low-pressure) to do this month, À La Cart has a steady rhythm of events:

• Weekly trivia nights – Both the Milk District and SoDo locations host recurring trivia evenings with Mike G Trivia, featuring two fast-paced rounds, prizes for top teams, and rotating themed rounds announced on Instagram Stories.
• K-Pop Christmas at À La Cart SoDo – Holiday season gets a twist with a K-Pop-themed event featuring music, vendors, photo ops, and Asian street-food favorites, held at the SoDo food park at 2207 E. Michigan St.

Their website and social channels keep a live calendar of what’s happening, so if you’re planning a date night, birthday meetup, or “we just need to get out of the house” evening, it’s worth a quick check before you go.

From Food Truck Park to Lifestyle: Why These “Third Places” Are on the Rise

Spots like À La Cart are more than just somewhere to grab dinner – they’re a preview of how it feels to live in a neighborhood.

When you see families spread out under the umbrellas, trivia teams huddled over answer sheets, and friends circling back to their favorite truck week after week, you’re watching community in real time. For buyers and renters, that’s a huge part of the decision: Do I feel at home here, even before I have keys?

And that’s where the surrounding Hourglass District comes in.

The Hourglass District: Eclectic, Walkable, and On the Rise

Just southeast of downtown Orlando, the Hourglass District sits around the intersection of South Bumby Avenue and Curry Ford Road, near Lake Como. It’s known for its eclectic mix of merchants, contemporary architecture, and creative energy – the kind of place where you can park once and wander from coffee to cocktails to dinner.

A few of the local highlights that give the district its flavor:

• Hourglass Brewing & Hourglass Social House – A craft brewery with dozens of beers on tap, board games, and rotating events, plus a social house that functions like a shared living room for the neighborhood.
• F&D Woodfired Italian Kitchen, Pizza Bruno, Papa Llama – Neapolitan-style pies, Peruvian-inspired tasting menus, and cozy Italian comfort food make this stretch a genuine dining destination.
• Foxtail Coffee, Purple Ocean Superfood Bar, Leguminati & more – Coffee, smoothie bowls, plant-based bites, Irish pub nights, and neighborhood bars all sit within walking distance, encouraging that “do the district your way” vibe.

From a real-estate perspective, the Hourglass District is very much an up-and-coming hotspot:

• It blends 1920s–1960s homes with newer builds, giving buyers options from charming bungalows to modern townhomes.
• Recent analyses call it a trendy area with rising demand and strong lifestyle appeal, thanks to its walkability, indie businesses, and proximity to downtown.
• New projects are underway, including a 36-unit townhome development at Clark and Raehn Streets and urban-style apartments designed for a live-local, work-from-home lifestyle right in the middle of the district.

Add in access to nearby Lake Conway and other surrounding neighborhoods, and Hourglass gives you a mix of “lake life meets city life” that’s hard to beat.

Living Near the Energy

If your ideal weekend includes:

• Grabbing a craft beer or cider under string lights
• Meeting friends at a food truck park instead of a crowded chain restaurant
• Walking to coffee, dinner, and a brewery without ever getting back in the car

…then neighborhoods around À La Cart, the Hourglass District, and nearby corridors might be a perfect fit.

These are the kinds of places where “going out” doesn’t have to mean a big production – just step outside, walk a few blocks, and you’re in the middle of it.

Ready to Explore Homes Near Orlando’s Favorite Hangouts?

There are some exciting listings popping up in the heart of these major lifestyle corridors – from townhomes and bungalows to low-maintenance condos that keep you close to all the food, drink, and neighborhood energy.

Check out November Listings Roundup on Legacy Loop, which includes a gem that put you within reach of spots like À La Cart and the Hourglass District.

If you’re curious about:

• What it really costs to live near these “third place” hubs
• Which pockets still have room to grow in value
• Or where to start if you’re moving, upsizing, downsizing, or investing

Contact me for more info. We’ll find a home that fits your lifestyle and puts you close to the places you actually love spending time.

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Dionne Aiken
‍REALTOR® | Coldwell Banker Realty
📍 Central Florida
‍legacymoves.com

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