Club Crawl - Mills/Downtown: Peacock Room, Stardust Lounge

9-9:01pm: Paradise. It's a gay bar. Who knew? You did. You know it. (Renamed)

9:01-9:30pm: Peacock Room (on Mills). Really cool spot. No one was there yet. I just stumbled across it.

9:30-1am: Stardust Lounge. Empty until after 12. Older crowd. DJ played radio play music from across the decades. Will wait another year before I try again here. Good spot but weak crowds. I think the bartender padded my tab. Got to remember to get a line item.

1am-1:01am: Mansion. They wanted 10 bucks for a club that was full of dudes, trying to attract a following, closing in an hour and basically the same club that was already weighed and measured and found wanting. They must think they are at Mansion in Miami - a reputation they are obviously trying to glom off of even though it stinks of CHEEZE. (Closed).

Steak & Salad, Mills Ave - Closed

On Saturday I had lunch at this Steakhouse (?) on Mills Ave (17-92 in b/n Winter Park and 50). I had calamari for $5.99 and the Seafood Pizza for $5.99. The calamari was packaged I would guess. It had a burnt taste that I would ascribe to being reheated in a microwave. At least it wasn't greasy. The Seafood Pizza was better. I usually hate cheese and seafood but I already had steak this week. It came out looking like Baked Alaska (which was cool). It had fresh tomatos, and just a little cheese and some real shrimp and fake crab . The fake crab actually gave it some sweetness, but, I would remove it and let the shrimp talk. The place was nicer on the inside than you would expect from the outside. From the outside I was expecting a place that serves cold mashed potatos to octogenarians at 4 in the afternoon. It's small (30) seats. They have a bar by the kitchen with a flat screen above it. The owner seems to do the cooking and although it was empty at 8pm, they were fielding a lot of take out orders. Their main fare is meat - pork chops, steak, fish and chicken. The price point for these options was around 9 dollars and they came with sides. I bet they are far superior to Sizzler or IHOP at lower prices. They had limited parking.

I would offer one suggestion. Jazz up that sign. It doesn't reflect the inside effectively or positively. You are next to a gay bar. Ask them for some advice.

The Sweet Shoppe, Lake Mary - Closed

On Friday I had a dinner/snack at this space on Lake Mary Dr in the Town Hall Complex. I had a hot dog for $1.89 - huge but bologna like and gelato for $2.59. I had half Amaretto and half Pumpkin Pie. Both were good. I even had a taste of Tiramisu (good). The place is clean. Lots of parking. They also serve sandwichs and other snacks.

HS Football - Seminole v Lake Brantley

Friday I went to visit the home of State Champs. Parking was free (unlike at Brantley). Tickets cost $6 (paying for HS football still cracks me up). I still can't get over how many band dorks and football parasites there are. They do realize they're just riding the players coat tails, right? They would have no audience if they didn't force themselves on us and the team. The play was pretty bad. The band loud. The cheerleaders shrill. The Seminoles' dance squad dress up like Liza Minelli in bowler hats and black stretch pants - ridiculous. Well it's an excuse to see what they waste our tax dollars on. I mean how many Patriot costumes should we be on the hook for?

Nature's Table, Lake Mary

I had lunch today at this self described health food chain outpost in the former AT&T office down and acroos from Jax on Lake Emma Rd. I had a Roast Beef wrap that was done in some sort of southwest style (basically cheese and some sort of mayo that didn't really taste of jalapeno). The only reason to go is if you love what they offer at all their other locations. The only reason I went was to track down this mysterious location. It is basically this office park's snack shop. They close at 2:30pm. It's breakfast and lunch. I guess I'll add it to my fast food filler rotation. It was cheaper than Subway. Parking was plentiful in the back.

Citrus Bowl - UFL Tuskers v Redwoods

I attended the United Footbal League game last night. I paid $15 (plus $5 for parking. $10 in their lot) for a second tier seat on the 20. However, I easily moved to the 45. Could have had any seat I wanted if it mattered. The quality of play was good. Few penalties. On the down side TV timeouts lasted an eternity. The halftime show was kind of good. It had an old school feel that I found superior to what most pro teams try and cobble together. Just a high school marching band and some low trajectory fire works. The half time was also short (maybe the length of one of those TV timeouts). The best thing was the price (although I think I was the only one who actually paid for his ticket). The worst thing(s) were the parking that cost as much as the ticket for a beta version of a league and the fact that this joke of a stadium can never accept credit cards. Also, the merchandise (I think outsourced) was reasonable. I bought a sweatshirt for $35 (was $65 for the XFL) and a penant for $10. Food was the same ridiculousness as usual. $10 for a corn dog with fries? I got sushi for $10 at Yankee Stadium this summer. Citrus Bowl anything should be half price. You should be glad we risk our lives and our cars by coming to this ghetto at all.

They say 12, 000 people were there. I counted about 10 sections on each side with around 100 people in them. That's 2,000. That being said, I hope they come back next year. It was worth the effort. Tusker's Rumble. How about a Squeal? You got a purty mouth.

Pho Hoa, E. 50

Last Night I had dinner at this Vietnamese restaurant on N.Primrose and 50 (near Total Wines). I had Ga Xe Phay which was shredded chicken with cabbage in a lime, pepper and corriander dressing for $9.50. It's served cold. It was excellent. The service was good. The place was clean for an Asian restaurant. It seats over 100. It has a bar. The decor was Asian (although it looked more Chinese than Vietnamese). It has an enclosed patio area. It was peopled with Vietnamese customers. The menu was large. The portion was large. The quality was good. Could be the top Vietnamese restaurant in the area.

Va Ma Nos, Lake Mary - Closed

On Wednesday I had lunch at this new Taqueria on 46A in Lake Mary. It's aiming to be an upscale Chipotle. And while different and pricier, it really doesn't have the potential to be much better (even when they get the bugs out). The menu is conceptually like Chipotle. You choose tacos (soft only = mistake), burritos or tostados (difference) and then the meat that goes into it. They try and make it sound fancy, but, it's basically chicken, beef and pork. The also offer fish and pork chop meals. But, both are chopped up so it basically just falls into the cat food category with the others. How one offers a pork CHOP without the bone is a head scratcher. You can choose lettuce, pico de gallo, tomatos, onion, crema, and 2 types of cheese as toppings. Guac is extra of course. They have an interesting salsa bar (probably the best thing about the place). The place seems like an Angel's diner (white walls). It seats 80-ish. It's self serve. The people behind the counter were nice. Although, the mexican guy who starts you out is a mumbler and a low talker so you can't understand a word he says. The music was also very loud and made it hard to order and gave me a headache. Additionally, they try and relate that you can adjust the menu to your liking, but, this just makes a confusing experience worse.

Back to the meal. I had the tostadas tinga (chicken) for $6.50. The tostados (3) were tiny and burnt. The chicken was luke warm. It was shredded chicken which is far superior to diced. It was all white meat. If they want to be the top of the fast food chain they need to execute better. They have the opportunity because they offer more than Chipotle and Qdoba at around the same price point. Moe's gives chips (a huge plus) but, their meat is so salty it gives you 5 pounds of water weight with every meal. Tijuana Flats also gives chips and has hard tacos, but is less authentic. I still say Taco Bell for value and Taco Riendo in Sanford and on 436 past 434 for the real thing for $1.50. All these $8 taco places leave you hungry.

Best part about this restaurant is that they don't put that damn tip line on their receipts. It's self serv bitches. Stop making us feel uncomfortable for not tipping at a fast food joint.

PizzaAroma, I-Drive

On my way to lunch on Monday, I had a slice at this pizzeria while I stopped to get a paper. Suprisingly it was pretty good. It had a very crisp consistancy and the cheese wasn't half bad. I've been getting such awful pizza lately (Diginos, Gio's, etc) that this was a revelation.

Sizzler, I-Drive - Closed

On Monday I satisfied a life long curiosity and ate at Sizzler. In my defense, I was looking for Punjab but it has been torn down. I had a Sirloin for $10. Unsurprisingly, medium was well done. But, otherwise it didn't give me diarehea. A little grey. No fat. The meal came with access to a huge buffet and a baked potato (why this just isn't part of the buffet is strange). Almost everything on it was prison food (taco section was particulary bad) but, I did go to college so I wasn't scared away from it. If you want to gourge yourself on poor imitations of classic snacks and a mediocre piece of meat then this is the place. The service was good although unnecessary (it's a buffet). The place was as clean and exciting as any aforementioned cafeteria.

Cafe Murano, Altamonte Springs

I had lunch at this Italian restaurant an Monday. I had the cheese steak lunch special for $7. They also had burgers, sandwichs, and pies for $7. The sandwich was a little tiny. But, the bread was good and oiled. The inards were meek but tasty. The services was great (4 refills). The place is in the old Gina's by the lake (retaining pond) in "Uptown" Altamonte. It has a very open floor plan. It must seat over 100 (inside and out). It has a hotel banquet hall feel mixed with a touch of sports bar. Only one thing on the menu (dinner too) was over $20. I suspect it will become a much more defensible alternative for the Chili's/Golf Club type diner.

Gourmet Burgers, Longwood

Last Friday I had lunch at this burger restaurant in Longwood. I had a Pineapple/Swiss stuffed burger for $7 (Soda and Fries were an extra buck fifty). The reason you inwardly stuff the toppings in a burger is to keep it moist. This technique is frustrated when the cook presses the life out of the burger. It was burnt and dry. The stuffing was oozing out of the meat. A few things saved this meal from being a complete waste. The cook seemed well intentioned. I think he was just trying to acellerate the laws of thermo-dynamics to get the burger to the customer. Also, the fries were good and the waitress had a good personality and was nice to look at (in fact I believe she's the only reason the 5 other customers were there). The place seats abot 20. They said they were going to stay open until 2am to feed the drunks from a nearby club that is opening today. There's no decor. I guess the burgers ate up all the "gourmet". The "poor country" style AC units couldn't keep up with heat. They also served dogs and some latin themed entrees. They still have a way to go before they earn their name. A burger is not "gourmet" because you create some odd (actually pretty cliche) combos and print them on a menu. Little things like ingredients and preparation define the term.

Pollo D'Oro, Orlando

I had dinner (actually take out) at this rotisserie yesterday. I had the 2 piece meal for $3.59. Good chicken. Good slaw. Iffy fries. A steal at this price. Hear me Aobe? I would recommend they switch to shoe string fries or cook the ones the have longer. It's in a fast food type location on W50 before the fair grounds.

Soong Thai, Ocoee

Lunch 2 (The Make-Up meal) happened at this Thai Restaurant on W50 before the Mall. It was the anti-thesis of the Aobe debacle. For a scant $6.95 I was served a large portion of Garlic Pepper Chicken in Vegetables with a soup and an egg roll. Now I usually don't like my Thai mixed with Chinese, the egg roll was good. The soup was a chicken stock with chicken and scallions. The pepper chicken was good. The service (4) for a 40 seat restaurant (mostly full even at 2pm) was excellent. The one flaw was that they served things right on top of another. The place had authentic decor that included Thai panels. Like I said, they seem to blend non-Thai dishes into the menu.

Aoba, Ocoee

I've been waiting to write this one since I got in the car. Yesterday I went to this Japanese restaurant in Ocoee. It's in a decrepit shopping plaza on Maguire Rd. It fits right in with it's surroundings. It has horrible roll around wooden chairs from the eighties. They would be horrendous in a work station let alone a restaurant. The place may have the most expensive prices in all of Orlando. Which is ok if you are explaining them through the logic of the bizarro universe from Superman. It is the worst Japanese restaurant I've been to in Orlando. Not just on quality, but, on price to performance. I could see it was going to be a rough meal when the 3 piece sushi plus Ca Roll lunch special started at $10. I decided that if I was going to be hosed for $10 I would at least get something bordering on exotic. I has the conch for $4 and an escolar roll for $4.50. The cheapest things not grown in the ground. The conch was limp, mushy and paper thin. The sushi rice was mush. The wasabi was dry. The escolar was actually tasty, but, it had the girth of the owner's ding dong (I'm guessing) - straw like. On top of this, they charged $2.50 for a soda (and no refills). The service was ok because only 3 other numbskulls like me were being grifted at the time. The owner bemoaned how much longer he could stay in business. Baby, you're all ready out of business you just don't know it yet.

Epcot

I went to the Food and Wine Festival on Monday. I don't see why they don't keep many of these kiosks year round. It would balance out the regional representation and pass as an addition to this stale and crumbling park. It's not like they have excess capacity at any of their better restaurants.

France Bakery: Sacristan $3.25. It's like a chocolate chip croissant flattened out.
UK Pub: Chips $2.99.
Poland Kiosk: Pork Shank $3.50.
Spain: Red Snapper Escabeche $4.50 and Poema Cava $3.25
South Africa: Mealie Soup $3.25 and Goats do Roam White $2.50
Argentina: Bodegas Norton Char $2.50
Brazil: Miolo Char $2.25
Australia: Rosemount Tram/Ries $2.50
NY: Lieb Merlot Blanc $3.25, Dr Frank Riesling $3.25, Lakewood Riesling $3.25, Red Newt Riesling $3.

Pork shank was the best bite. Mealie Soup was the worst (corn chowdery). The Norton Char was some kind of Late Harvest blend. It was the most watery wine I have ever tasted. I hope the staff ruined this somehow. It was the worst. Merlot blanc was a close second. The best were the NY Rieslings.

Rice Paper, Sand Lake

I had lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant on Turkey Lake (in an older shopping cluster on the other side of the new Whole Foods) on Monday on my way to Disney. I just had a summer roll and soup because I wanted to check the place out. The summer roll (pork and shrimp) was $3.75. It was fine. Nice slice of pork. The meatball soup was $3.95. It was fine but I'm still not sure how the Vietnamese make these things so dense and rubbery. The place seats 24 on one side and probably the same on the other (it was hosting a private party). It was almost full. It was clean. It had some decor heralding the region it was representing. The staff (2) was quick and polite. I had read some posts about it being bad and rude. I found it very good.