Orlandoer - To Do Guide for Orlando Florida
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Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Air Conditioning Repair Tutorial
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Grub Crawl - International Drive and Downtown: Chuck Lager and Los Tres Golpes *FL Travel Notes
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
The New York Bagel Boys, Oviedo
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Grub Crawl - Audubon Park: Boxer & Clover, Skyebird and Dochi *Brazil Travel Notes
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Oviedo Oyster House, Oviedo
Thursday, April 11, 2024
240 Rose Cafe, Winter Park
Monday, April 8, 2024
Grub Crawl - Casselberry: Big Taco and Super 8 Chinese
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Purchasing A New Vehicle Tutorial
Saturday, March 30, 2024
Grub Crawl - Casselberry and Altamonte Springs: Johnny's Diner, Fiesta Azul Tequila House and Chic-N-Gyro *Chile Travel Notes
Monday, March 25, 2024
Grub Crawl - Downtown and OIA Area: Jack & Honey's, Birria 1983 and Vicky Bakery
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Grub/Pub Crawl - Windermere and Colonial: Windermere Brewing Company, Inti Cuisine and Koko Kakigori *FL Travel Notes
I tried these spots on Saturday at lunch. The first is on 5th Ave in Windermere. The second is in the old PUG location near John Young on 50. The last is aside Kaya on Thornton off 50.
Windermere Brewing Company - A cute little white house with an out side area out back. Open for two years. Good beer.
Inti Cuisine - A Peruvian restaurant. Open for a week. They did nothing to the interior. Food was good and properly priced. I had the saltado de carne y pollo for $17. Nicely cooked beef and chicken. A lot of meat. No gristle. Flavorful gravy. The rice was a bit hard. Either old or undercooked. Some grilled tomatoes and onions. French fries too. A little tough. Fryer was probably too cool. They have a large assortment. Apps, soups, chaufas, device, pastas, seafood and grilled items. Most things are under $20. This is their only location. Better than their more expensive competition. The name had some association with a god.
Koko Kakigori - Kakigori is shaved ice with condensed milk. I forget what koko referred to. I had a $15 ube with coconut cream and red beans and mango and corn flakes and some green fruit. It was large. You will be surprised that I won't call it a rip off. For a one time thrill. Especially when places are charging $4 for a small ice cream. It did take forever (half hour) to get it. And only one person ahead of me. They have four options and some tea and soy milk. It's in a hut. You eat at picnic tables out front. Even though it's a Japanese treat, they are Vietnamese. Their call out. Not mine. Open for a month or so. I'm unsure of the days or hours. Had a few customers. Two employees.
Travel Notes - Florida: This entry is really about two days in Daytona/Port Orange. I rented a room on Sunday at the Hyatt Place on A1A off Dunlawton for $104. I had good beer at Dunes Brewing under the bridge on Dunlawton. White building. Some parking. I had alligator ribs and fish collars (they said a type of grouper) at Millie's across from the hotel. On 3D. Pricy. On Monday I grabbed a pelua (beef and cheese) arepa at Arepita Beach on Beach Ave by International Speedway. Near the newspaper building before the bridges. Also on 3D. Good flavor. I also tried Ormond Brewing, but, it was not open. Daytona was empty.
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Grub/Pub Crawl - Titusville, Cocoa Village and Rockledge: Shiloh's, BeachFly, Dirty Oar, BB Rads Coastal BBQ and Playalinda
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Grub/Pub Crawl - Winter Garden and East Colonial: Poki Burri, Peach Cobbler Factory, Fire and Knife, Home State Brewing Co and Hao Wei Fang
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Vida Cocina, Altamonte Springs
Friday, March 8, 2024
Grub Crawl - International Drive: Helena and Jojo's Shake Bar *CO/UT/NV/AZ/NM Travel Notes
I tried these spots on Monday at lunch. The first is in the old Tapa Toro location in the strip mall with the ferris wheel. The second is at Pointe Orlando. Out front. Near the middle.
Helena Modern Riviera - I had the second cheapest thing on the menu. There is no separate/cheaper lunch menu or specials. Chicken burger with truffle fries for $19. It was good. A plump, hand molded patty. Nice grind. Loaf like consistency. Not tube like ground chicken. A bit dry. Glossy brioche bun. Bacon jam. Not so fresh tomato. Fresher, baby romaine. Blue cheese. The fries were crisp. Served in a mini fry basket. Both atop a wood plank. They had seven cooks and five wait staff. In uniform. The burger took a bit longer than necessary to appear. The menu has pan-Med plates. Even North African. Twelve apps ($8-$20). I remember escargot and an interesting scallop one. Six Handhelds ($19-$26). Like a $26 burger. Six Mains (over $20). A chicken breast, duck, two lamb, steak, etc. Six Pricy ones ($18-$50+). Pesto gnocchi (cheapest but small), seafood paella, cioppino, etc. They did nothing to the decor. The layout is still a patio, a bar room, a middle room (with extra seats around a large fry table/hot plate) and a rear room. That room was the only full one. Seemed like a group of conventioneers. Maybe here for the golf tournament? I was in the middle. They play mind numbing trance music. Owned by the Atelier Group (2 Winter Garden restos). The service was hit and miss. The manager was agreeable. He offered me a free drink (which was charged on the bill and then removed). He and some other back office staff were working on their computers in plain sight. That didn't help the ambience. No hostess. I saw a few groups leave because of that. It is a work in progress. There were moments when I considered walking out. The manager confused me with his answer to how long they had been open. He said six months and then mumbled something about permits or insurance and then said two weeks. Two weeks seems more plausible. At these prices, I would wait until they get their act together. I'm glad that at least my meal wasn't thrown together. *I saw that a Brother Jimmy's opened just past there. It was/is a notorious bar/bbq in Manhattan. Funny that it is a chain. But, I guess if TGIF is...
JoJo's Shake Bar - Seems to be out of Chicago. I just grabbed a Chai Town Milk Bar for $6. They include a 18% tip. It was very good. Good quality chocolate on it. The place looks like a modernized Fifties diner? Neon on the ceiling. Booths. Open until 2pm. Fourteen Sandwiches ($14) like Ruebens. Four Snacks ($12) like wings. Four salads ($12) like Chopped. Four Suppers ($16) like pot pie. Eight Brunches ($12-$14). $10-$14 shakes. Some with alcohol. $6-$10 hot chocolates. About half full. Mostly tween girls and their moms. I should go back and try the food.
*Travel Notes - Colorado/Utah/Nevada/Arizona/New Mexico: I flew to Denver on Frontier (non stop mid day flights) for $179. Rented a car from Budget for two weeks at $818. They gave me a new Dodge Hornet Hybrid (reserved a Jetta) that only had a gas range of 250 miles. The electric half was uncharged. Drove to Parachute on 70W. Stayed at the Western Slope Suites (Expedia 9.0) for $69. Drove the next day through Utah to Beaver. 70W to 15S. Saw San Rafael Reef and Black Dragon Canyon. Stayed at the Country Inn (Expedia 7.0) for $43. Ate a grilled cheese and ff at Creamery Kitchen. Drove the next day to Vegas. Stayed at the Aria (Expedia 8.4) for $112 plus $56 RF and $18 P. They upgraded me to a sweet suite. Saw Tyronne Lue playing craps. Ate lunch at the new Saigon Baguette on Spring Mountain Rd. A good traditional banh mi. Bought some wine and soda and water at Target (cheapest). Walked the strip and Aria shops. There is a new museum called Arte. Got dinner at the Cosmopolitan. Croque Madame Donut with egg at District Donuts. Got Cumin Beef Bowl with rice and cabbage at Bang Bar by Momofuku. Drank wine and watched the sunset and end of Daytona 500. Had ok lunch at the new Sushi Time on Spring Mountain Rd. AYCE sushi and shabu shabu. Stayed at the shitty Horseshoe/old Bally's (Expedia 7.8) for $14 plus $51 RF and $20 P. Internet said $18 parking and these dicks wouldn't even allow you to do kiosk check in before 3pm. They are connected to the Paris hotel. Walked to Sphere. It rained this day. Walked through Bellagio at night (Lunar New Year displays again). Had dinner at Caesar's. Finally, dropped the required $10 for a slice of DiFara Pizza. I hope the real thing is better than this. Had a $10 cookie shot (milk in a robot made cookie shot glass) at Dominique Ansel (it replaced a Giada salad/prepared food spot). I have had the cronut at his shop in NYC. This was a waste of money. FYI - Rao's closed. Went to lunch at the Fontainebleau (their spelling). Had a good bagel with cc at El Bagel. Had a beefy cb with a chocolate milkshake at Capons. Stayed at The Delano (Expedia 8.4) for $78 plus $51 RF and $18 P. Walked to Luxor. Passed on Blue Man or Carrot Top. Drank wine at watched the sunset. Got food poisoning from a shit chicken salad from Citizens at Mandalay Bay. Got no sleep. Had a terrible chicken sandwich for lunch from the new Houston TX Hot Chicken on Sahara. Had ok chicken rice noodles soup from the new Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodles on Spring Mountain Rd. Yunnan is north of Hunan. Less spicy. Tried to stop shitting at the Gold Coast (Expedia 7.8) for $53 plus $36 RF. They checked me in early. Walked to Rio for dinner. A good cheesesteak from Tony Luke's. Left Vegas. Drove to Flagstaff. 93S to 40W. Stayed at overrated Highland Country Inn (Expedia 9.2) for $100. Walked the town. Had to call it quits because of the last of the food poisoning. Grabbed some ok snacks at Natural Grocers. They outlawed the train horns in Flagstaff! Drove through Gallup New Mexico to Durango. 40E to 419N to Shiprock to 64 to 550N. Stayed at the overrated Adventure Inn (Expedia 9.0) for two nights at $70 per. Had two ok smash cbs at Famburger. Drove around town. Drove 160E to Wolf Creek Ski Resort. $89 lift ticket with $27 rentals. Not bad. Nice drive. About ninety minutes. Ate a late Mexican lunch in Pagosa Springs (bigger than I thought) at Santay's Taco Shop. Saw Chimney Rock NM. Had good beer in Durango at Animas Brewing Co. Saw the one trail Chapman Hill. Had good High Trestle Brewing Co beer at Durango Beer and Ice Company. Tried to ski Purgatory the next day. They raised the lift prices from around $80 (online a few days before) to $114 and the ski rental line was a joke. Plus parking was a pain, it was cold and cloudy and a storm was supposed to close the fastest route out of Durango if I stayed. I decided to skip Purgatory and default on my hotel ($89 Expedia 8.2 Comfort Inn) in Durango and drive on. I drove 550N (Million Dollar Highway) through Silverton. Saw that the Silverton Ski Resort was closed and on some bs dirt road that you probably need four wheel drive for. Also, found Kendall Ski Resort. It was closed and only one trail. Stopped in Ouray. Saw frozen Box Canyon Falls and the Hot Springs. Had one shot of good beer and a tasty beet Rueben with ff at Ouray Brewery. This town is called Little Switzerland or something. Passed Montrose. East on 50 to Gunnison. Stopped at Bay of Chickens at Curecanti NRA. Stayed at Gunnison Inn (Expedia 8.2) for $71. Had dry brisket from 5B's Barbecue. It snowed the next day, so, I extended at Gunnison Inn for the same rate (I hope - they never gave me a receipt). Ate a cobb salad and pork green chili at The Dive Pub. Drove the next day to ski at Crested Butte. They charged for $15 for parking and I couldn't get near the ticket office to see how bad they were going to hose me and the rental shops were not convenient, so, I left. Plus it was freezing cold. Drove to Monarch Mountain. Bought a half day for $79 ($114 for full day though internet said $89) with $39 for ski package. It warmed up and was sunny. Perfect call by me. Drove on to my hotel in Salida. American Classic Motor Inn (Expedia 8.6) for $79. Drove through downtown. Got pissed at the high prices at the restaurants. Ate from Walmart. Drove through Pueblo. Had two bad Sloppers (open faced burgers with chili). First at Broadway Tavern and Grill. with fries. The second north of DT at Sunset Inn Bar and Grill. This was a huge cb with a top bun and no fries. I tried it with red chili. It was dinner. They had more than green chili options. Drove on to Colorado Springs. Stayed at the disappointing SCP Hotel (Expedia 7.8) for $72. They would not let me check in until 4pm. I drove to Broadmoor, US Figure Skating HOF, World Arena and Cheyenne Zoo. On to DT. Checked out (again) the progress on the new US Olympic and Paralympic Museum and Weidner Field (Minor League Baseball Stadium). 25 North. Drove through Castle Rock (restaurants were too pricy) to DIA the next day. Stayed again at the Baymont for $105. I got a better rate though Booking here. Forgot to write down the rating. Had two bad pupusas at Pupusas Paradise. This area continues to explode. Sadly, it is becoming a homeless area too. They even have window squeegee guys at stop lights. No issues at the airport. It was empty. Had mostly good weather because I changed up my route multiple times. Wished I skied a little more. As always, the missing meals were fast food or markets. This time of year (post Washington's Birthday) in Vegas was cheap cheap. I could have stayed at Aria late in the week for even cheaper. I will change my routine to visit here at this point instead of MLK holiday. To remind you, I'm trying to stay in every themed hotel in Vegas. FYI - I chose the Denver airport over Vegas because of the better flight times. I didn't mind the drive and the skiing/scenery it afforded. I did two weeks because I hate dealing with the airlines, airports and rental car companies. This halved the pain of two trips.
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Grub Crawl - Casselberry and College Park: An Vi, Parlor Doughnuts, Freehand Goods and Mid Drive Dive
I am combining what should be two posts into one because they are short. You can blame Vida Cocina for being too full on these two occasions and screwing up the grouping. And Jimmy's Diner for having a broken credit card machine. The first is on 436 and Red Bug Lake Rd (Casselberry). In the strip mall no can see since they put in the over pass that doesn't make traffic any better. Southeast corner. The second replaced some uppity place on Edgewater Dr (CP) between the high school and Princeton. The second is closer to Princeton on the corner of the block away from the condos. The last is on the other side of the block next to the condos. I went to the first on Saturday night. The others at lunch on Sunday.
An Vi - Forgot to ask what it means. Maybe word play for envy? Not sure others would have any. It is in a soft opening. Three weeks long? Still hasn't worked out the kinks. There were three tables of four there. One left because they ran out of banh mi baguettes. Seems like a family. Mom and grandpa running the kitchen. The two kids waiting and filling in where needed. I chose the house special pork banh mi because getting the gumbo wouldn't improve my position (FIFO) and it was the cheapest thing at $10. They are giving a 10% discount for now. It was ok. The baguette was middling. Probably store bought (braille bottom). Not the worst quality, if so. A bit of pate. Pork roll cut like ham in a Chef Salad. And fatty (half the strip) pork belly. Scant carrot, jalapeno and cuke. Cilantro. And some spicy, dark green stem that tasted like spicy spinach. The rest of the menu was the usuals plus some Thai and Cajun. The sign out front said crawfish. I don't recall seeing them on the menu. And they also said the food was North Vietnamese. I didn't see much difference from the Southern menus. But, I really only know what I saw from that North Vietnamese place on Mills and 50. Phos and rice and noodle dishes were +$15. They did have sugarcane shrimp. That is always a plus. The place is mostly black. In front they have a windscreen made of (I think) those bamboo plates they dry rice on. Some signs on the wall. Twelve four seater. Three booths. Five two seaters. Kitchen in the rear. I think it has potential.
Parlor Doughnuts - Out of Indiana. Evansville. So, IU. Only one here. Opened a week ago? Their claim is layered donuts. Cronuts really. Probably trademarked by Ansel. I had some peanut butter cup one for $3.65. Good. Very good. They had a big poster of many donuts. It seemed like they only do a quarter of the menu. Most were out at this point in time. They also did keto, vegan, dog and mini donuts and breakfast items (like tacos). Coffee, tea, lattes and cold brew. A lengthwise situated floor plan. White like a hospital. A welcome addition.
Freehand Goods - I just popped in here to look while waiting until 3pm for the next place to open. Ended up having two beers and a Gnarly Cuban Empanada from Gnarly Cuban (interweb says they are coming to CP). They said they were located downtown. Can't recall eating there. The shredded pork was a bit dry. Cost $6. Great selection of beer. Mostly (to all) Florida. Fair pricing too. Around $5. They sell little keepsakes and food products too. They make leather goods. Teach a workshop on it. They were originally at the East End Market. Open for fifteen months.
Mid Drive Dive - The reason for the foray. I think they just opened. Upscale pub/diner fare? I had the Shellback Stew because they were out of the $8 kids menu chicken schnitzel with gravy and the oysters (only $9 for a half dozen from four decent regions). The stew was three shrimp and three mussels with some cod and tomato in a tomato/seafood broth. Two toasted slices of baguette. Good. But, not enough to justify the $26 price tag. They had four options in this price range (up to $29). Venison pot roast, fish and chips and steak Diane. Six burgers/sandos. An elk and one with bone marrow seemed interesting ($15-$19). Three salads ($14). Nine snacks ($7-$17). Four desserts ($8). A daily soup and blue plate special. Beer, wine, cider, seltzers and mixed drinks. The place has a high ceiling. White. Square. Mostly bar. Big, corrugated, gray back wall. Patio on the road. Totally full at 4pm. Probably worth the effort. Especially if you order wisely. Not an uptight/precious vibe. I sense that it will be a buzzy place. I'm not sure if they have a back story. The exec chef is named Matt Hinckley. Probably the guy from Hinckley Meats. The menu says they use their bacon. I think Freehand Goods supplies their beer. Happy hour until 6pm Monday through Friday. Open Monday to Thursday 3pm-10pm. Fri and Sat 3pm-11pm. Sunday 3pm-9pm. Not mid. As the youngins say.
*I noticed driving 436 that Poblanos has closed. And by Vida, Something Fishy has closed too.
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Grub Crawl - Universal Area: Boiled Fish, Tomatoes and One Lounge
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Grub Crawl - Orlando: K-Jumak, Southern Style BBQ and Over Rice *MX Travel Notes
I tried these spots around the intersection of Lee Rd and Edgewater Dr on Saturday at lunch. The first is on Edgewater. One block north of Lee in what may be the longest running worst strip mall in the area. The second is at the intersection on the far left if coming from I-4. The last is back towards I-4 on the south side in a strip mall next to Mee Thai. I should say that none of these was Plan A. And FYI - A place on Lee called Cookies is just a head shop.
K-Jumak - It is Korean. Internet has them as Korean Jumak too. They opened three weeks ago. Still in soft opening. Menu was small. Not sure if that is the trial menu. They had two apps. Dduk Bok Gi (they said it was a fried rice cake) at $15 and Soondae (beef small intestine) at $18. Love apps that cost more than mains. Two bops. Bi Bim Bop at $15 and a Stone Pot one at $16. Seven soups from $16 to $18. I'm only listing them in English - ox bone, beef innare/lean meat, beef intestine, blood pudding, pork back bone, beef fern and collard green beef rib. One Galbi Tang (Collard Green Beef Rib Stew) at $45. I had the Yuk Gae Jang (beef fern soup) for $16. Because I've never tried it before and have rarely tried fiddlehead fern (which is what I think it really is). It was good. Not too spicy, red broth. Like a minestrone. Beef broth. Stewed down onions, scallions, long stringy sprouts and something that looked like a non-spicy jalapeno (sliced and halved). The beef was in long strands. Tender. I was shocked. Scrambled eggs. And the ferns? They looked like dark green, skinny string beans. No circular tops. They tossed in a side of properly steamed white rice. Also, four bonchon (sesame oil bean sprouts, kim chi and two spicy roots (burdock and daikon?). The place is a blank, white square. Maybe eight tables. I mean it is good that something (anything) is coming to this area. I'm not sure you have to make it a bucket list item. But, it is fine if you are in the neighborhood. Not a ton of (or any) Korean places around. Like I said, the soup was tasty and they did have some more adventurous items. Open for lunch and dinner. Not sure if they take a day off. I had a great topical joke around the similarity with their name and the Big Mac, but, I will probably get shadow banned again if I tell it. Not that I am probably still banned anyway.
Southern Style BBQ - Wednesday through Saturday. Open for two years (but I swear some entity has been in this spot for a long time). A food truck with grills on the road. You can smell it in the air. I didn't inspect the heat source. Parking is tough. I tried a 1/4 chicken plate (two sides) for $8 and rib tips for $7. Both portions were huge. The chicken was smallish and had that weird pink look and rubbery texture you get with smoking. Still ok. Lots of potato salad and mac and cheese. I think the potato salad was store bought. It had that vinegar-y taste. The mac may have been home made. It tasted of bad American cheese. Never had that brand before if it was store bought. Mac was cooked properly though. I had a mix of Gold and another sweet bbq sauce on the chicken. I had hot bbq sauce on the tips. Good. Almost boneless. He also offered up sausage and hamburger (they looked fat and juicy) plates. Same price. Wings starting at 10 for $10. He said fried. I saw some on the grill too. Ribs starting at $18. Slab was $34. Sandwich was $13. Pulled pork sandwich at $8. Other sides - collards, beans and cole slaw. Sirloin sometimes. As I've said before, these set ups usually are more grill than smoke to my mind. It gives a different flavor/texture. I prefer low and slow. But, this is one of the better "grills" I've come across in town. That and the reasonable prices and large portions may tempt you too.
Over Rice - A Hawaiian/Filipino brick and mortar for a food truck you may have seen. Open for a year. I, stupidly, got talked into a "pork belly" banh mi special for $13. I should have stuck with the $3.50 spam musubi alone. That was ok. Good rice. Freshly made. Thin spam slice though. The banh mi should have been an embarrassment to serve. 95% of the "belly" (seemed like stew meat) was inedible. And I mean you could not eat it. It was like hard rubber. It could not be chewed. And the sad thing was that I had to wait for it. One cook. And I was first in line. The baguette seemed made by a multi-national. Those little, industrial ping marks on the bottom. Little veg. Ok aioli. They also sell two versions of kulua pork or hali hali chicken or one other thing (beef?) for $16. Moco loco and sisig (but not real sisig). Lumpia (fried spring rolls). Salmon on rice. It's small. A few tables. Some Hawaiian decor. Based on the disrespect that banh mi represented, I obviously can not recommend them. And I've had some of these dishes in Hawaii for nearly half the cost.
*Travel Notes - Mexico (Cancun): I used a $150 voucher I got from Frontier (Mid AM flights) and the ticket cost $26. They had few non-stops other than this. I hadn't been in here twenty years. We got delayed after landing both ways. You come in and out at Terminal 4. Odd fact - these jerks have to give you a free boarding pass on international flights. That helps when their god damn web site gets hung up checking you in and they charge $25 for a physical check in. I consulted the tourist booth. Used a HSBC atm at the exit. I took the Ado bus (they have a few ticket counters on the way out) from the airport to downtown for 130P. The exchange rate was down to around 17. These Ado buses also go to places like Tulum and Mayan Riviera. They were fine. Stopped at Terminal 3 for a bit of a delay. The taxis seemed like too much negotiating and the shared buses seemed like a pain. No offices at the airport and a couple I tried online (ahead of time) wanted the full bus fare ($250 - not pesos!) to take you. I grabbed some food at Soriano across from the bus station. Took a R1 (also R2) bus to my hotel on the north part of the lagoon for 12P. Cancun is like a square around this lagoon. You can stay on the top or right side (east) of it. I thought it might be cheaper on the transportation cost if I stayed closer to DT. Nope. One price. I also thought the south road was closed to traffic to and from the airport. Nope. I actually think I cost myself more money taking a taxi (750P) back to the airport because he took the long way anyway. It was a flat fare. Internet said it should be 700P. My hotel probably screwed me out of 50P. I'm not sure if it the same from every hotel. My hotel was called the Real Inn (Expedia 7.8 and VIP). I originally booked it for $110 a night (4). They wouldn't honor the room upgrade and the street side was so noisy as to be uninhabitable. I paid an extra $10 a night for a lagoon view. Best money ever spent. Night and day. Quiet (except for the ice machine and room service/maid trolleys). Good view. They gave you water and daily maid service. Most other hotels under $100 looked like shit in real life. Glad I didn't chintz. I didn't do much except "explore". Found a public beach across the street. Went there every morning. Swam in the pool. Read. Walked to downtown and beyond (Playa Chac-Mool+) one day. Farther (Playa Ballenas) on the bus and back another day. Went to the La Isla mall+ (ferris wheel there for $15). No fridge at hotel. I mostly ate tuna fish (with mayo and mustard I took from ZaZa at the airport) and chips and tortillas. And peanut butter "cups" I swiped from other hotels in the past. You can get these past TSA. Had these pretty good tacos at the OXXO market at their grill called O'Sabor a few times. Chicken Tinga, Machaca con Huevos and Poc Chuc (grilled, marinated pork and onions). Only 24P. I wasn't really excited about going. But, it turned out alright. If I go back, I will take the bus back to the airport. I just didn't want a hassle this time. And stay on the east side. Maybe bundle in the Mayan Riviera. FYI - I had already done Chichen Itza and all those things. It was a little cool for scuba. Didn't think the ferries to Isla Mujeres and Xcaret seemed worth it.
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Grub Crawl - Winter Park and Maitland: Chayote, Zymarium and Cow & Cheese
I tried these spots on Sunday at lunch. The first is in Winter Park Village. The second is on Mills. The third is north of The Enzian in a strip mall. If the reviews are short it is because Im using my touch screen on my tablet.
Chayote - They just started Sunday brunch that day. I had a shiitake omelette with goat cheese and a English cream sauce (a mushroom cream sauce). It didn't really work as a whole. Thin omelette. Probably two small eggs. A bit plastic-y. A ton of goat cheese. It was to have come with brown bread. They forgot that. Would have helped dispatch the goat cheese. The sauce was mostly decorative. It cost $19. They knocked $6 off for the bread snafu. Unprovoked. The rest of the brunch menu items consisted of pancakes, eggs Florentine, croque monsieur, alcapurrias, ahi tartare, burger, branzino and some other things. $19 and up. The space is large. Seats about 100. Space between tables. About half full and getting fuller. A bar between two sections. White, tan, brown stain and wine coloring. Wood. Statue up front. Modern classic. Plush backs. The servers all were dressed up in black with gold ties. Good service. Water was off tasting tap. Cool glasses. Average plates and silverware. People seemed to dress up, but, they let me in with a windbreaker and shorts. No res. The guy has six restaurants in Puerto Rico. They said he was on the line that day. He some relationship with Norman Van Aken, I think. The dinner menu is pricy. I'm not sure if I would pay up for it. This was a nice outing though. And nice extended hand to the hoi polloi. I could live without the banging pots music they were playing. They opened this Fall.
Zymarium - I did a flight of 5 for $28. It was good. They make mead. From regional honey. They have quite a few varieties. The place is black and gold with honeycomb accents. Plush. Minimal. Not open on M-W. Open for a few months.
Cow & Cheese - They were on The Weekly's Best Bites list. I was going to make the whole review this phrase - urban Shake Shack. Then I learned it is the Chicken Fire guy. So, bingo. I had a double cheeseburger for $6. Ok. I liked the cheese. Gave me a lot of indigestion though. And I hate smash burgers anyway. Let's knock all the juice out of an already leathery piece of meat! Makes sense to me. They don't do much more than multiple patty burgers. Fries. The place is basic. Some graffiti murals. A few tables. It was full at 2pm. Not on my Best Bites list. Closed M and Tu. No cash. Open a few weeks.